8.1 Using GWTSA in a NetWare 5.1 Cluster

In a clustering environment, GWTSA must be installed and loaded on each node from which your backup software backs up any portion of your GroupWise system.

You should not install GWTSA on the cluster-enabled volumes where domains and post offices are located. GWTSA cannot currently run in protected memory, nor can it run re-entrantly. If multiple GroupWise volumes failed over to the same node, and if that node attempted to start an instance of GWTSA for each GroupWise volume, only the first instance would run successfully. Subsequent instances of GWTSA would fail and the domains and post offices specified for backup by those instances would not be available to your backup software.

To accommodate the variable locations of data to back up from a clustered GroupWise system, the .ncf file for GWTSA on each node should be edited to include a /home startup switch for every domain and post office on every cluster-enabled volume that might ever be mounted on that node. Set the /home startup switch to the physical volume name (without the server name), rather than the cluster-enabled volume name, when specifying the location of each domain and post office. For example:

Correct: /home-gwvol1:\gwdom

Incorrect: /home-gwcluster_gwvol1:\gwdom

Before your backup software starts backing up your GroupWise system, it calls GWTSA to verify the accessibility of each physical volume specified by the /home startup switch.

Your backup software then backs up those domains and post offices that are currently accessible to the GroupWise TSA and skips those that are not accessible. The backup runs successfully, even if some locations are not currently mounted on the node where the GroupWise TSA is running. Locations skipped when backups are run from one node will be caught when backups are run from another node where the GroupWise TSA is also running.

If the node where GWTSA is running goes down, the backup needs to be rerun when the node is up again, unless the nodes where the domain and post office volumes failed over are also configured to back them up. Using GWTSA, there is currently no way to restart a backup from a checkpoint position. By configuring redundant backup jobs on all nodes where domains and post offices could fail over, you can ensure that domains and post offices are always backed up, regardless of the node they are mounted on when the backup takes place.

To restore data in a clustering environment, you must run your backup/restore software on the node where the location to restore is currently mounted.