Technical Report

NetApp AltaVault
Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances
Solution Deployment: AltaVault with HP Data Protector
Christopher Wong, NetApp
November 2017 | TR-4419

Abstract
This solution deployment guide outlines how easy it is to deploy and use a NetApp ®
AltaVault™ cloud-integrated storage appliance with HP Data Protector. AltaVault appliances
provide a simple, efficient, and secure way to offsite data to either public or private cloud
storage providers. Using advanced deduplication, compression, and encryption, AltaVault
enables organizations to eliminate reliance on older, less reliable data protection solutions
while improving backup windows and disaster recovery capabilities.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 AltaVault Overview ......................................................................................................................3

1.1 Executive Overview ...............................................................................................................................................3

1.2 Data Protector Architecture Overview...................................................................................................................3

1.3 AltaVault Appliance Overview ...............................................................................................................................4

2 Deploy and Configure AltaVault with Data Protector...................................................................5

2.1 AltaVault Solution Configuration Topography ......................................................................................................5

2.2 Hardware and Software Prerequisites ..................................................................................................................5

3 Configure Data Protector ............................................................................................................6

3.1 Create a Storage Device .......................................................................................................................................6

3.2 Associate a Client to Use the New Drive Resource ...........................................................................................11

3.3 Perform a Test Backup ........................................................................................................................................13

3.4 Monitor the Backup ..............................................................................................................................................14

3.5 Restore a Backup.................................................................................................................................................14

4 Solution Recommendations and Best Practices ....................................................................... 17

4.1 Data Protector Best Practices .............................................................................................................................17

4.2 Windows Best Practices ......................................................................................................................................17

4.3 Solaris Best Practices ..........................................................................................................................................18

Where to Find Additional Information ............................................................................................. 18

Version History ............................................................................................................................... 18

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1) Data Protector best practices. ..............................................................................................................................17

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1) HP Data Protector component view. .....................................................................................................................4
Figure 2) AltaVault appliance. ...............................................................................................................................................4
Figure 3) AltaVault ecosystem...............................................................................................................................................5

2 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
1 AltaVault Overview
This chapter provides an executive overview of the solution components.

1.1 Executive Overview

NetApp AltaVault storage enables customers to securely back up data to any cloud at up to 90% lower
cost compared with on-premises solutions. AltaVault gives customers the power to tap into cloud
economics while preserving investments in existing backup infrastructure and meeting backup and
recovery SLAs. AltaVault appliances simply act as a network-attached storage (NAS) target within a
backup infrastructure, enabling organizations to eliminate their reliance on tape infrastructure and all its
associated capital and operational costs, while improving backup windows and disaster recovery
capabilities.
It’s easy to set up the AltaVault appliance and start moving data to the cloud in as little as 30 minutes,
compared to setting up tape or other disk replication infrastructures, which can take days.
By applying industry-leading deduplication, compression, and WAN optimization technologies, AltaVault
appliances shrink dataset sizes by 10x to 30x, substantially reducing cloud storage costs, accelerating
data transfers, and storing more data within the local cache, which speeds recovery.
Security is provided by encrypting data on site or in flight, as well as in the cloud, using 256-bit AES
encryption and TLS v1.1/1.2. AltaVault appliances provide a dual layer of encryption, which means that
any data moved into the cloud is not compromised, and it creates a complete end-to-end security solution
for cloud storage.
Because an AltaVault appliance is an asymmetric, stateless appliance, no hardware is needed in the
cloud, and you can recover the last known good state of a broken or destroyed AltaVault appliance to a
new AltaVault appliance. AltaVault appliances offer the flexibility to scale cloud storage as business
requirements change. All capital expenditure planning required with tape and disk replication-based
solutions is avoided, saving organizations up to 90%.

1.2 Data Protector Architecture Overview

Data Protector is a backup solution that provides reliable data protection and high accessibility for your
fast-growing business data. Data Protector offers comprehensive backup and restore functionality
specifically tailored for enterprise-wide and distributed environments. Data Protector software is designed
specifically to reduce the PC protection burden on IT staff, address the needs of remote workers, and
help make sure that PC data is centrally protected to reduce your organization’s legal and compliance
risks.

3 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
Figure 1) HP Data Protector component view.

1.3 AltaVault Appliance Overview

Figure 2 is an illustration of the AltaVault appliance.

Figure 2) AltaVault appliance.

AltaVault appliances are optimized and purpose built for data protection. They easily integrate into your
existing backup infrastructure and favorite cloud storage provider. Setup and installation are easy
because backup applications allow you to add an AltaVault appliance as a common target within its
existing infrastructure. The backup server connects to the AltaVault appliance using standard SMB or
NFS protocol.
When you back up to an AltaVault device, it performs inline, variable-segment-length deduplication,
compression, and encryption of the backup data to minimize storage consumption and transmission
times. AltaVault appliances also use their local disk cache for fast recovery of recent backups, providing
LAN performance for the most likely restores. The AltaVault appliance then securely writes the
deduplicated backup data to cloud storage and accelerates restores from the cloud by moving only
needed segments of deduplicated data over the WAN. An easy-to-use graphical management console
enables you to manage one or more AltaVault appliances through a web browser interface.

4 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
2 Deploy and Configure AltaVault with Data Protector
Data Protector with AltaVault appliances provides you with a flexible, easy-to-configure-and-use solution
that can be deployed with major cloud storage providers. See the AltaVault Administration Guide for the
detailed steps required to deploy an AltaVault appliance.

2.1 AltaVault Solution Configuration Topography

Figure 3 illustrates the AltaVault solution configuration topology. Refer to the NetApp Interoperability
Matrix for current versions of the backup application supported with AltaVault.

Figure 3) AltaVault ecosystem.

2.2 Hardware and Software Prerequisites

To install and deploy AltaVault in a backup environment, you must first complete the following
prerequisites:
1. Have at least one server that acts as the Data Protector server. This server, along with clients, needs
minimum hardware features as identified by the backup application. Check the HP support site and
related compatibility lists where applicable.
2. Data Protector must be installed with a Windows domain account that is a member of the Backup
Operators group.
3. Obtain server systems and related software media supported by Data Protector and the AltaVault
appliance.
4. A physical AltaVault appliance or virtual AltaVault appliance must be online and connected to the
physical network infrastructure. A minimum of two IP addresses must be available for AltaVault.
5. Procure and set up all necessary software licenses from each vendor, using vendor-specific
guidelines, including cloud storage credentials from your designated cloud storage provider.
6. Provide physical stacking and racking of equipment at each site. All cabling and power must be
operational.
7. Verify that all LAN and WAN connections are functioning to and from your Internet and cloud storage
providers.
8. A Windows directory service (AD) must be available, and a user with Backup Operators group
membership must be used with Data Protector.

5 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
3 Configure Data Protector

3.1 Create a Storage Device

A device is a physical device configured by Data Protector to accept writes and reads to storage media.
The following describes the steps to create a device and associate it to the AltaVault appliance. These
steps use the best practice configuration for the Data Protector with the AltaVault appliance.
1. Open the Management Console, select File > Connect to Cell Manager (if not local to the
management console system), enter the host name, and click Connect.

2. Click the drop-down menu and select Devices & Media.

3. Right-click Devices in the list and select Add Device.

6 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
4. When the add device pane opens on the right side, enter in the following information, then click Next.

 Device Name. Type a unique name for the device. This is the target used by the backup job.
 Description. Provide an optional description about the device.
 Device Type. Select File Library from the drop-down menu of choices.
5. Provide the SMB path to the AltaVault share created previously and click Add. Select the newly
created SMB share from the list in the lower portion of the window and then click Properties.

7 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
6. In the properties window that appears, adjust the Maximum size of file depot. It is recommended to
use a value of 20GB or larger. Click OK and then click Next when you return to the previous screen.

7. Make sure the Media Type is set to the value of File, click Next, and click Finish to complete the
wizard.

8 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
8. Select and expand the newly created device that appears on the left tree. Expand Drives and right-
click and select Properties for the drive listed.

9. When the drive properties window appears on the right, select the Settings tab and click the
Advanced button.

9 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
10. In the Settings tab of the window that appears, adjust the Concurrency value. Tune performance by
setting a value higher than 1 in this field. The value will depend on your available resources and
infrastructure environment. Adjust the number accordingly based on your observed performance.

11. Select the Sizes tab and adjust the Block size value to 1024 from the drop-down menu. Click OK and
then click Apply at the previous screen to save the changes.

10 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
3.2 Associate a Client to Use the New Drive Resource
Data Protector backups can be performed as jobs under the Backup drop-down menu item. Using
policies, help align similar aspects of associated backup job properties, so that separate backup jobs do
not need to be configured individually. Among the properties that can be configured for a job or a policy is
the target to which the backup data is written. Use the following steps to associate a Data Protector job or
policy to a device based on AltaVault.
1. Select Backup from the drop-down to enter the backup view.

2. On the Backup pane that appears, select the backup job to be modified. On the right pane, go to the
Destination tab and make sure that the new AltaVault device is selected from the list.

11 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
3. On the Options tab, select the Advanced button in the section Filesystem Options.

4. When the Filesystem Options screen appears, make sure that the Enhanced Incremental Backup and
Software Compression checkboxes are not selected and Data security is set to None under the Other
tab. Click OK and click Apply on the previous panel to submit the change.

12 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
3.3 Perform a Test Backup
To test Data Protector with the AltaVault appliance, you can run a manual backup of a job modified in the
previous step.
1. To run a manual backup, right-click the backup job, then select Start Backup.

2. Select the backup type and click OK to begin the operation.

13 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
3.4 Monitor the Backup
The backup reports its status within the Backup view that appears when the backup is running. You may
also find the Backup view within the Monitor drop-down. The backup activity is provided in the Backup
Status pane in the Data Protector User window.

3.5 Restore a Backup

When the backup is complete, perform a restore to validate that the AltaVault appliance can restore the
backed-up data.
1. From the Data Protector Management console, select the Restore drop-down. When the restore tree
appears, expand the file system tree and select the server and drive you to which you want to restore
objects.

14 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
2. On the right pane, select the objects from the backup you want to restore.

3. In the Destination tab, select the target where you would like to restore the files.

15 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
4. Click the Restore button to bring up the Start Restore Session window. Click Finish.

16 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
4 Solution Recommendations and Best Practices
This chapter lists recommendations and best practices for deploying AltaVault within Data Protector
environments. The best practices are not requirements, but NetApp recommends that you follow these
suggestions for the best solution experience.

4.1 Data Protector Best Practices

Table 1 describes the recommended best practices for using Data Protector with AltaVault.

Table 1) Data Protector best practices.

Item Description
Use devices that point to AltaVault has been tested with HP Data Protector device targets.
SMB or NFS targets on
AltaVault

Set concurrency value Tune performance by setting a value higher than 1 in this field. The value will
appropriately depend on your available resources and infrastructure environment. Adjust the
number accordingly based on your observed performance.

Block size Set to a maximum value of 1024 for optimal backup performance.

Software compression Disable this option in HP Data Protector, and enable this on AltaVault, to allow
AltaVault to reduce the data received by HP Data Protector.
Data security Set this value to none and allow AltaVault to perform the necessary encryption
of the data. This maximizes the data reduction possible when writing data to
cloud storage.

Data Protector Inet service The Data Protector Inet service must be configured within Windows Services to
use a domain account that has Backup Operator membership.

4.2 Windows Best Practices

You can modify Windows networking parameters for SMB to improve overall backup application
performance. To make these changes, go to the Start menu and enter regedit to start the Windows
registry editor. Enter administrative permissions if prompted. Changes made in the Windows registry
editor are permanent upon entry, so use extreme caution when making the changes or additions. A
reboot is required.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanworkstation\parameters]
"SESSTIMEOUT"=DWORD:00000e10

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\AFD\Parameters]
"DefaultSendWindow"=DWORD:00040000
"DefaultReceiveWindow"=dword:00040000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize"=dword:00040000
"TcpWindowSize"=dword:00040000
"Tcp1323Opts"=dword:00000003

If Windows 2012 or Windows 8 or later is used with AltaVault versions earlier than 4.2, the Secure
Negotiate feature in those products requires SMB signing negotiation messages to be signed themselves;
otherwise, the connection fails. AltaVault versions earlier than 4.2 do not sign negotiation messages, and
this can cause the SMB connections to AltaVault to fail repeatedly. To work around this limitation, if you
cannot upgrade AltaVault to version 4.2 or later, disable the Secure Negotiate feature on the Windows

17 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
server by using the following command from Windows PowerShell. Refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base
article 2686098 for details.
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters"
RequireSecureNegotiate -Value 0 -Force

4.3 Solaris Best Practices

NFS networking parameters on Solaris operating systems should be configured to optimally send data to
AltaVault through configured NFS mounts. In addition to tuning the rsize and wsize mount options
appropriately, nfs3_max_transfer_size and nfs3_bsize should also be tuned. nfs3_max_transfer_size and
nfs3_bsize should be greater than or equal to the minimum of rsize and wsize. To set the values, edit the
/etc/system file and change/add the following lines to the file:
nfs:nfs3_max_transfer_size=<value>
nfs:nfs3_bsize=<value>

A reboot of the system is required in order for the configuration changes to take effect.

Where to Find Additional Information

To learn more about the information described in this document, refer to the following documents and/or
websites:
• AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage product page
http://www.netapp.com/us/products/cloud-storage/altavault-cloud-backup.aspx
• AltaVault Resources page
http://mysupport.netapp.com/altavault/resources

Version History
Version Date Document Version History
Version 1.0 May 2015 Initial version

Version 1.1 August 2015 Updated for 4.0.1 release

Version 1.2 November 2015 Updated for 4.1 release

Version 1.3 April 2016 Updated for 4.2 release

Version 1.4 August 2016 Updated for 4.2.1 release

Version 1.5 January 2017 Updated for 4.3 release

Version 1.6 April 2017 Updated for 4.3.1 release

Version 1.7 November 2017 Updated for 4.4 release

18 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector
Refer to the Interoperability Matrix Tool (IMT) on the NetApp Support site to validate that the exact
product and feature versions described in this document are supported for your specific environment. The
NetApp IMT defines the product components and versions that can be used to construct configurations
that are supported by NetApp. Specific results depend on each customer’s installation in accordance with
published specifications.
Copyright Information
Copyright © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S. No part of this document covered
by copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, taping, or storage in an electronic retrieval system—without prior
written permission of the copyright owner.
Software derived from copyrighted NetApp material is subject to the following license and disclaimer:
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY NETAPP “AS IS” AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WHICH ARE HEREBY
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL NETAPP BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR
OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
NetApp reserves the right to change any products described herein at any time, and without notice.
NetApp assumes no responsibility or liability arising from the use of products described herein, except as
expressly agreed to in writing by NetApp. The use or purchase of this product does not convey a license
under any patent rights, trademark rights, or any other intellectual property rights of NetApp.
The product described in this manual may be protected by one or more U.S. patents, foreign patents, or
pending applications.
RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the government is subject to
restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software
clause at DFARS 252.277-7103 (October 1988) and FAR 52-227-19 (June 1987).
Trademark Information
NETAPP, the NETAPP logo, and the marks listed at http://www.netapp.com/TM are trademarks of
NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
TR-4419-1117

19 NetApp AltaVault Cloud-Integrated Storage Appliances Solution Deployment: AltaVault © 2017 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.
with HP Data Protector