HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices

Technical white paper
HP StoreAll Storage and
CommVault Simpana
best practices
Table of contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................2
HP StoreAll Storage overview..............................................................................................................................................2
CommVault Simpana and HP StoreAll architecture options............................................................................................ 4
Best practice recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 11
HP StoreAll Storage configuration for CommVault Simpana software ...................................................................... 14
Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................. 34
Reference material ............................................................................................................................................................ 34
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Introduction
This paper documents best practices for using HP StoreAll Storage systems as a backup, recovery, and archive
(BURA)storage target for CommVault Simpana 10.
The best practices and advice described in this paper have been gleaned from numerous successful deployments of StoreAll
and CommVault running in production environments. This paper builds upon the HP StoreAll BURA Solution Reference
Architecture technical white paper and HP StoreAll Storage best practices technical white paper, and will cover:
• How the HP StoreAll BURA Reference Architecture can be deployed with CommVault Simpana software
• Guidance on the use of StoreAll features with CommVault Simpana software
• Documented procedure illustrating the configuration of CommVault Simpana software with HP StoreAll Storage
• Configuration, tuning, and operation recommendations
CommVault Simpana 10 was used to create this paper; however, most of the recommendations are equally applicable to
solutions using CommVault Simpana 9. CommVault Simpana software is a highly flexible data management application that
can be configured in many ways to address customers differing backup and archive requirements. The paper will focus on
the interaction between the CommVault Media Agent and HP StoreAll as a backup target and will and not cover the design or
configuration of other elements of a CommVault solution.
HP StoreAll Storage overview
HP StoreAll Storage reduces the cost, complexity, and time it takes to effectively store, retain, protect, manage, access, and
extract value from expanding archives.
Ideal for both traditional archive deployments, as well as generation of private and hybrid cloud archive applications. —
Solutions can span from content depots and enterprise user sync and share repositories to general archives, compliance
archives, and backup repositories—
The basic StoreAll architecture consists of a couplet, which represents the physical foundation of the HP StoreAll Storage
architecture. A couplet consists of a pair of highly available (HA) nodes combined with shared storage. Multiple couplets can
be bound together into a scale-out cluster with a distributed file engine. HP StoreAll Storage gives you the flexibility to
create either a single file system or multiple file systems to host shares that can be made available to clients via file and
object modes using a broad range of data access protocols, and a rich set of data services built on a robust and scalable
foundation.
Figure 1. HP StoreAll Storage data services
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
HP StoreAll 8200 Gateway Storage
• Attach to 3PAR StoreServ 7000 and 10000 Storage via Fibre Channel attach
• Up to 240TB raw capacity per node pair
HP StoreAll 8800 Enterprise SAS Storage
• 1 to 8 Ent SAS Capacity Blocks per node pair
• Choice of 450GB and 900GB SFF 10K ENT SAS HDDs
• Up to 180TB raw capacity per Couplet
HP StoreAll 8800 MDL SAS Storage
• 1 or 2 MDL SAS Capacity Blocks per node pair
• Partially populated (36 HDDs) or fully populated (70 HDDs)
• Choice of 2/3/4TB LFF 7.2K MDL SAS HDDs
• Up to 560TB raw capacity per Couplet
HP StoreAll 8800 Hybrid Storage
• 1 to 4 Ent SAS Capacity Blocks and 1 MDL SAS Capacity Block per node pair
• Up to 370TB raw capacity per Couplet
StoreAll Storage data services
HP StoreAll possesses an extensive array of data management services. The data services highlighted below are limted to
those best suited for use with the CommVault Simpana software solution.
Protection
To ensure data integrity within the enterprise information archival environment, HP StoreAll Constant Validation helps
confirm that the file has not been modified through either hardware or software errors or through malicious intent for a
retention-enabled file system, and reports on any discrepancies.
Retention
The StoreAll write once, read many (WORM) and retention capability meets most corporate compliance and governance
requirements. With an enterprise WORM-enabled file system, WORM-retained files prevent both inadvertent and deliberate
attempts to delete, modify, or manipulate file content or metadata within an enterprise or corporate compliance
environment.
StoreAll governs data based on its internal retention policies. Maintaining this strict control enables the application to purge
files only after the retention policy has expired. Retention policies in Enterprise Mode can be extended, but the retention
duration cannot be reduced.
Management
StoreAll quota management provides user-level and directory-level granular control over storage consumption to properly
manage resource allocation and protect against runaway applications.
StoreAll Storage statistical tools can report on StoreAll utilization and performance over time, as archive demand grows.
This enables archival environments to plan the growth and resource utilization properly as demands change.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
CommVault Simpana and HP StoreAll architecture options
CommVault Simpana overview
The following diagram provides an overview of the core CommVault Simpana components.
Figure 2. CommVault CommCell overview
A typical CommVault Simpana deployment will contain the following components:
• CommCell: Backup domain comprising clients, media servers, and backup targets.
• CommCell Server: Orchestrates backup and archive activity, communicates with all clients and Media Agents, and
coordinates all operations such as backup, restore, copy, and media management. This provides the central
administration GUI console for the entire CommVault environment. The configuration metadata is stored in a separate
SQL Server database under the control of the CommCell Server.
• Client Agents: CommVault Simpana provides agents that are installed on the clients to manage both file and application
data. In addition to traditional backup and archive agents, CommVault now promotes the use of their “OnePass” agent.
This has the unique ability to perform both backup and archive operations avoiding the need to install, configure, and
manage multiple agents where backup and archive services are required.
• Application-aware modules (e.g., Oracle or Exchange).
• Media Agent: Manages transmission of data between clients and storage. Use of two Media Agent servers is the minimum
recommended to help ensure no single point of failure exists in the CommVault environment.
During the backup and archive process, the CommCell Server connects to the Client Agents and defines which files,
messages, or data are to be backed up and/or archived. During the backup/archive process, the Media Agents index the data
and store it on a storage system connected to the Media Agent servers.
This paper will focus on the use of HP StoreAll to provide storage resources to CommVault Media Agent servers.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
CommVault Simpana and HP StoreAll overview
The following diagram illustrates how a single CommVault Simpana Media Agent makes use of StoreAll configured
according to the StoreAll BURA Reference Architecture.
Figure 3. CommVault Simpana and the StoreAll BURA Reference Architecture
The StoreAll Storage system is configured using the HP StoreAll BURA Reference Architecture as documented in the “HP
StoreAll BURA Solution Reference Architecture technical white paper.” This can result in two or more StoreAll BURA Stores
available to be used by CommVault Simpana software. A BURA Store is an autonomic unit of target storage that consists of:
• A file system built on segments owned by one file serving node (FSN)
• One or more network shares provisioned from the file system
• An IP address that is the exclusive path through which the shares in the BURA Store are accessed—also known as a
virtual interface (VIF)
CommVault Simpana Media Agents can be configured on either Microsoft® Windows or UNIX/Linux platforms and have Disk
Libraries defined that make use of HP StoreAll Storage. A CommVault Magnetic Library or Disk Library is the combination of a
set of Disk Devices that are defined as accessible by a Media Agent for storing backup and archive data. A backup or archive
job can use one or more Disk Devices within a Disk Library to store data for any particular backup job. Concurrent use of
multiple Disk Devices for a single job can increase availability and throughput, minimizing the required backup and archive
window for the job. A Disk Device is a uniquely identified target within a Magnetic Library that can be written to by a Media
Agent Data Stream. A Mount Path is the NAS location at which a Disk Device is configured to store backup and archive data.
CommVault publishes sizing guides that describe the capabilities of a Media Agent but at the time of writing, a single Media
Agent is typically able to manage up to 100 TB of target storage.
Media Agents running on Microsoft Windows environments use StoreAll SMB access protocol to present shares, and
UNIX/Linux-based Media Agents use NFS. Where a HP StoreAll system is used to provision storage to a mixed Windows and
UNIX/Linux Media Agent estate, it is recommended that each BURA Store is dedicated to serving just one protocol. For
example, in a four-node cluster, two StoreAll BURA Stores can be used for provision of backup and archive storage to
UNIX/Linux Media Agents over NFS and two StoreAll BURA Stores can be used for provision of backup and archive storage to
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Windows Media Agents using SMB. Note: It is not supported to use the HP StoreAll REST API shares in object mode with
CommVault at this time.
Backup and archive jobs are processed and the data is delivered via one or more Data Streams through one or more Media
Agent servers. The configuration of a Media Agent server determines the available number of Data Streams that it will use
concurrently. This regulates the data throughput and helps ensure that both the network and the target NAS storage are
not over-run with data volume or concurrent connections.
CommVault Simpana and HP StoreAll deployment options
There are many ways to configure CommVault Simpana software to make use of the storage capacity presented from
StoreAll systems using the BURA Reference Architecture. This section will illustrate some of the possibilities; the solution
architect must create an appropriate design that addresses a specific customer’s requirements in terms of performance,
availability, and manageability.
Deployment option 1: Single BURA Store per CommVault Disk Library
The simplest deployment option is to have a one-to-one mapping between the CommVault Disk Library, single primary
Media Agent, and one or more StoreAll BURA Stores.
Figure 4. Simple Disk Library configuration with BURA Reference Architecture
In this configuration, the Disk Library is configured with a single share from one of the StoreAll BURA Stores and one primary
Media Agent is configured with a read/write data path to the share while a secondary Media Agent is configured to have a
read-only data path to the share. The read-only paths are created to provide data access to the Disk Library for restore or
retrieval purposes in the event a Media Agent is offline. Read-only paths are a good practice and should be added but not
required for most configurations. Access control, in terms of the ability to perform read and/or write is configured and
controlled within CommVault and not at the share level within StoreAll.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
It is recommended that each CommVault deployment has at least two Media Agents, and the following diagram illustrates
how the StoreAll system would be used to present backup and archive capacity to a pair of Disk Libraries.
Figure 5. Four-node StoreAll system presenting StoreAll BURA Stores to two CommVault Disk Libraries
This depicts the recommended building block for CommVault Simpana solutions with StoreAll. Each Disk Library makes use
of a dedicated BURA Store delivering predictable performance and high availability. The BURA Store can failover to the
second FSN in the couplet. Backups and archives can still be retrieved in case of Media Agent outage. The infrastructure can
also easily scale. Additional capacity can be added to a Disk Library by mapping a share from another BURA Store, or a new
Media Agent can be introduced to the CommCell that leverages its own BURA Store.
This option is recommended as the base building block for CommVault solutions with StoreAll; however, it is recognized that
depending on the capacity, availability, and performance requirements it may often be necessary to deviate from this
design. Additional configuration options are discussed below to illustrate how CommVault Simpana software can be used
with the BURA Reference Architecture to address these requirements. These options may improve availability and
performance of the overall solution, but it is generally at the cost of slightly increased complexity and management
overhead.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Deployment option 2: Multiple read/write Disk Devices per Disk Library
A slightly more complex variant involves presenting multiple read/write Disk Devices to each Disk Library as in the following
diagram.
Figure 6. Multiple Disk Devices per Disk Library
In this configuration, the Disk Library is presented backup and archive capacity from two independent StoreAll BURA Stores.
In the example, each BURA Store resides on a separate couplet providing the maximum availability from a StoreAll
system—all configured and monitored in a single StoreAll cluster framework and management interface. If the Media
Agents have been sized properly, this option can be used to expand a solution that was originally deployed with a single
BURA Store per Disk Library as in option 1. As long as one of the Disk Devices/StoreAll BURA Stores is available to the Media
Agent, the backup and archives can continue even if a whole StoreAll couplet is taken offline for maintenance.
The Media Agents write backups to either BURA Store according to the parameters defined for Mount Path usage. There are
two options, either “Fill and Spill,” where backups and archives are written to one Disk Device until it is full, and then move
onto the next or “Spill and Fill,” where CommVault software will distribute the writes across the Disk Devices in parallel. It is
recommended that the “Spill and Fill” option be used to both improve availability and load balance across the storage
resources.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Deployment option 3: Sharing a library among multiple Media Agents
This is similar to the previous options; however, secondary Media Agents are configured with read/write access to the Disk
Library.
This is used when you want to create a large backend repository and have multiple Media Agents write to a common area. It
is typically not used in smaller solutions.
Deployment option 4: GridStor (Alternate Data Paths)
This builds on the preferred deployment option. Within CommVault software, the Storage Policy defines how client data is
backed up or archived to media. Each Storage Policy has a default path, e.g., through the first Media Agent to the Disk Device
built upon a share from BURA Store 1. GridStor allows additional data paths to be defined in the Storage Policy to enhance
the performance and availability of the backup and archive operations that use that policy.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Figure 7. StoreAll BURA Reference Architecture with GridStor
Each Disk Library is configured in a similar fashion to deployment option 1 with shares from independent StoreAll BURA
Stores that are written to through a primary Media Agent with a secondary Media Agent configured with a read-only data
path. The data path configuration within the copy properties section of the Storage Policy definition can be configured to
make use of the data paths in a number of ways.
• It allows administrators the ability to move data down the best path available if the preferred storage policy/path is not
available.
• Provides for Media Agent failover, typically used in environments where the amount of data to be protected on a nightly
basis is large.
• Load balance between the data paths (round robin).
Considerations for archive data
The Simpana OnePass Agent combines backup and archive capabilities into a single agent, which leverages the same
CommVault components to move data from client to BURA storage. Implementing data archiving raises additional
challenges for the solution architect. As data is moved from the production storage tier to a backup or archive tier, there is
still only a single copy of the data. Is one copy good enough? Most customers will mandate that there are multiple copies of
archive data as it still holds value to their business. Secondary or Auxiliary copies can be configured in the CommVault
solution to help ensure that multiple copies of archived data are stored on Disk Libraries that use independent StoreAll
BURA Stores that are provisioned from independent “air-gapped” couplets from the same StoreAll system.
Summary of deployment options
In summary, configuration of CommVault components such as Disk Libraries and Storage Policies can be very complex.
Keep things as simple as possible by limiting the number of CommVault Storage, sub client and schedule policies, and
building Disk Libraries upon StoreAll BURA Stores as illustrated in option 1. In large environments, where it is necessary to
scale out to meet backup windows, this is accomplished by scaling up the number of Media Agents. As you scale Media
Agents, it makes sense to consider enhancing the infrastructure by considering sharing Disk Libraries as in option 2 or
preferably leveraging GridStor features.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Best practice recommendations
Sizing
Size the CommVault Simpana CommCell components using the CommVault sizing guides and configure the environment
following CommVault best practices.
A CommVault MediaAgent with an associated deduplication engine utilizing fast disk or solid-state drive (SSD) can typically
manage about 100 TB of target storage from StoreAll. For more information, see the Simpana deduplication building block
guide at documentation.commvault.com/commvault/v10/article?p=features/dedup_disk/building_block.htm.
Use of StoreAll data management features with CommVault
HP StoreAll systems include data services such as snapshots, replication, and tiering. While useful for many applications
these data services offer little value in a CommVault Backup and Archive solution and should not be configured.
Where replication of backup and archive data is required, it is recommended that replication features within CommVault
such as Deduplication Accelerate Streaming Hash (DASH) copy are used that can make the best use of low bandwidth links
and replicate only the backups and archives required according to CommVault policies. As with most applications that
include replication features, CommVault software keeps track of the location of replicated data and therefore makes access
to the replicated content much easier as compared to using native replication features in the storage device.
In most use cases, one type of disk is selected for all the couplets in a StoreAll system used for backup and archive negating
the need to consider using StoreAll data tiering features.
Data Retention settings for WORM storage
Normally, CommVault Simpana software manages the retention and deletion of backup and archive data using its own
software policies, but it is possible for a user with appropriate privileges to navigate to the BURA Store, and then share and
delete files from the application. The possibility of this can be minimized by managing permissions carefully, but if it is
required that the underlying storage enforces retention periods, then HP StoreAll file systems can be configured to support
that.
HP StoreAll Storage is certified and supported as WORM storage for CommVault Simpana 10. CommVault software can
manage the retention of files in an appropriately configured StoreAll file system via an application-programming interface
(API).
When this is a requirement:
• Data Retention must be enabled on the StoreAll file system.
• CommVault Disk Libraries must be configured as “Read-Only” (see later section).
Once enabled, Data Retention cannot be disabled, though some settings can be modified.
The properties screen for managing Data Retention settings for a StoreAll file system is shown below.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Figure 8. Managing retention settings for a StoreAll file system
These settings can also be defined when creating a file system.
The following Data Retention settings are recommended:
• Set Retention Mode to Enterprise. The alternate is relaxed that it allows file retention periods to be made shorter, which is
not appropriate for CommVault.
• Set minimum and maximum retention periods as required by the site. These settings define the lower and upper
boundaries of the retention period that CommVault software can apply to archived data, and they should be set to a
value that reflects the retention periods used within CommVault.
• Do not set to Default Retention Period. CommVault software will set the retention period on files.
• Do not enable Auto-Commit. If enabled, Auto-Commit will cause files to transition to a WORM state outside of the control
of the CommVault environment.
Enabling Data Validation is not recommended as it walks the file system and may affect overall system performance due to
the relatively large numbers of files that CommVault creates especially when using CommVault deduplication (Each file
must be opened and check summed.). If it is enabled, schedule it to run infrequently and at quiet times.
Authentication and security
Media Agents running on Microsoft Windows servers use SMB to connect to network shares presented from StoreAll.
CommVault software supports either Active Directory or local users to authenticate shares used for a Disk Library. While
Active Directory can be used with StoreAll, the recommended practice is to define local users. This is illustrated in the
example configuration later in this paper.
Media Agents running on UNIX/Linux mount the NFS v3 share from StoreAll and appropriate UNIX/Linux permissions should
be used to restrict access.
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Naming recommendations
Adopt a simple naming scheme that builds upon the BURA Reference Architecture naming scheme that makes it easy to
identify the allocation of resources from StoreAll to CommVault. In this paper, a directory is created in the BURA Store file
system named after the primary Media Agent that will have read/write access to the share. For example, a Media Agent
named cv-ma1 is allocated the BURA Store file system /burastore1 and a share burastore1_s1. A directory
/burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1 is created and accessed by the CommVault software using the network path \\<FSN1VIF>\burastore1_s1\cv-ma1.
Disk space management
A StoreAll directory level quota should be set at the root of each share. The quota sets the size of the share as seen by the
CommVault Disk Library. Quotas are defined using the StoreAll GUI and should be set in accordance with the StoreAll best
practice recommendations.
CommVault Simpana software also has the ability to manage space used in a Disk Library. Within the Mount Path properties,
Reserve Space can be configured to “Use until the Mount Path reaches the reserved space” or “Do not consume more than n
GB” options.
It is recommended to use both StoreAll directory tree quotas and CommVault Reserve Space features to help ensure that
neither the Mount Path within the CommVault software nor the file system in StoreAll ever reaches the full state.
CommVault Data Aging
By default, CommVault Simpana software will retain backup and archive data indefinitely. Most configurations will specify
data retention rules within Storage Policies to adhere to customer requirements. Data that has passed the retention rules
remains within a Disk Library until a CommVault Data Aging process is run that will remove the old data, freeing up space.
Data Aging can be scheduled and run as a manual task. By default, Data Aging happens once per day at noon. It is
recommended that Data Aging be scheduled to occur outside of the normal backup window.
Serving Windows and UNIX/Linux Media Agents from the same StoreAll system
Where there is a requirement to provision BURA Store capacity to CommVault Media Agents running on both Windows and
UNIX/Linux, then it is recommended that each BURA Store is dedicated to serving one variant/protocol. This may not be
achievable on smaller systems.
Tune Windows SMB session timeouts
By default, the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) timeout is set low for NAS backup implementations. This can cause
various error messages and conditions such as lost connection to the share, unrecoverable write errors, or timeout
problems resulting in backup job failures. It is recommended to add or to increase the “SessTimeout” value from the default
of 45 seconds to 600 seconds (ten minutes) on all Windows-based Media Agents (see
blogs.msdn.com/b/openspecification/archive/2013/03/27/smb-2-x-and-smb-3-0-timeouts-in-windows.aspx). Ensure that
the CommVault Disk Library Mount and Unmount Timeouts are set greater than or equal to the value set for “SessTimeout.”
Mount options for NFS
When using NFS v3 to mount StoreAll BURA Stores for CommVault, it is recommended to tune the NFS read and write block
size (rsize and wsize) mount options. From StoreAll OS version 6.5 the maximum value supported on StoreAll systems is
now 1 MB (1,048,576), and this should be used by default.
Note
It is necessary to ensure that the maximum supported rsize/wsize values on the Media Agent OS also support up to 1 MB. If
in doubt, use a 32 KB rsize/wsize (32,768).
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Oplocks
CommVault Simpana software will make use of SMB batch oplocks; however, it is recommended that they are “off” for all
version of StoreAll prior to 6.3.3 due to stability issues. Default is “on,” so they need to be disabled.
For 6.3.3 and later, it is recommend they are "on.” They are “off” by default, so need to be enabled.
CommVault Disk Library tuning
If a Disk Library is configured with “Mount Paths” from multiple StoreAll BURA Stores, then set the Mount Path usage to
“Spill and fill mount paths” in the Library Properties. This will allow multiple mount paths to be utilized simultaneously when
protection operations are running.
For each Mount Path in Disk Library, modify the allocation policy as required—depending on the configuration it may be
good to set the “Mount Path Allocation Policy” to “Maximum Allowed Writers” and limit the writers on the Media Agent level
from the Media Agent properties tab.
HP StoreAll Storage configuration for CommVault Simpana software
The following section illustrates how to configure CommVault Simpana software with shares from HP StoreAll that have
already been created according to the BURA Reference Architecture. In order to reduce contention on the NFS or SMB
mounts, it is best practice to mount each Media Agent to its own share and folder combination. All other Media Agents may
mount the primary paths as read-only to provide restore capability and support deduplication if required.
Four example scenarios are detailed:
• Configuring CommVault Simpana 10 to use HP StoreAll Storage (simple Media Agent) (SMB)
• Configuring CommVault Simpana 10 to use HP StoreAll Storage (simple Media Agent) (NFS)
• Configuring CommVault Simpana 10 to use HP StoreAll WORM storage (SMB)
• Configuring CommVault Simpana 10 to use HP StoreAll in an all node configuration (NFS)
Actual solutions may require alternative configurations depending on the scale and complexity of the customers’
requirements.
Configuring CommVault Simpana 10 to use HP StoreAll Storage (simple Media Agent)
(SMB)
Media Agents running on Microsoft Windows servers use SMB to connect to network shares presented from StoreAll.
CommVault software supports both Active Directory and local users to authenticate shares used for a Disk Library. The
following procedure details how to configure a StoreAll BURA Store onto a Disk Library using local user authentication.
This procedure will demonstrate how to create a Disk Library called CVDL_1 that has a single Disk Device, a read/write
Mount Path from Media Agent cv-ma1 through to BURA Store 1 in a StoreAll cluster and accessed via the share \\fsnode1vif\burastore1_s1\cv-ma1. A StoreAll local user, cvma, will be used to authenticate access from CommVault. A second
Media Agent, cv-ma2, will be configured with read-only access to the Mount Path.
Step 1: Identify the BURA Store to use for this Disk Library
The file systems and SMB shares should have been configured according to the BURA Reference Architecture. Login to the
StoreAll system and display the file system attributes.
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ibrix_fs -l
14
FS_NAME
STATE
CAPACITY (GB)
USED%
Files
----------
-------
------------
-----
---------
burastore1
Mounted
45.12
3.0
burastore2
Mounted
45.12
3.0
FilesUsed%
GEN
NUM_SEGS
----------
---
--------
6,515,200
1
2
10
6,515,200
1
2
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
[root@rh55fsnode1 ~]# ibrix_cifs -i
Host: fsnode1
=================
Share Name
:
burastore1_s1
Share Path
:
/burastore1/burastore1_s1
Share Description
:
File Create UMask
:
0700
Share Create UMask
:
0700
Filesystem Name
:
burastore1
Allow User Permissions
:
Everyone:read
Deny User Permissions
:
Allow Client IPs
:
Deny Client IPs
:
access based enumeration
:
false
Share Name
:
burastore1_s1
Share Path
:
/burastore1/burastore1_s1
Share Description
:
File Create UMask
:
0700
Share Create UMask
:
0700
Filesystem Name
:
burastore1
Allow User Permissions
:
Everyone:read
Deny User Permissions
:
Allow Client IPs
:
Deny Client IPs
:
access based enumeration
:
Host: fsnode2
=================
false
[root@rh55fsnode1 ~]#
Step 2: Create a local StoreAll group and user to mount the share
Use the ibrix_localgroups and ibrix_localusers command to create a user, cvma, in the group CVLT. The password will be set
to hpinvent.
[root@fsnode1 ~]# ibrix_localgroups -a -g CVLT
result: Successfully added group CVLT
Command succeeded!
[root@fsnode1 ~]# ibrix_localgroups -L
Group Name
Group ID
Group RID
----------
--------
---------
2003
2003
CVLT
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ibrix_localusers -a -u cvma -g CVLT -p hpinvent
result: Successfully added user cvma
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
result: Successfully modified user cvma
Command succeeded!
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ibrix_localusers -L
Username User ID User RID User Info Default Group
shell Additional Groups Last Modified
Home Directory
System
-------- ------- -------- --------- ----------------- -------------
-------------
--------------
-----------
cvma
2003
1395940937596
CVLT
/home/cvma
/bin/false
2001
Step 3: Create a directory for the Disk Library
Create a directory and set the ownership and access permissions accordingly.
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# mkdir -p /burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# chown cvma:CVLT /burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ls -ld /burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1
drwxr-xr-x 2 cvma CVLT 4096 Mar 27 12:43 /burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]#
Step 4: Change the share permissions
The local user, cvma, is given full control on the share.
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ibrix_cifsperms -i -s burastore1_s1
Share Name
:
burastore1_s1
Share Path
:
/burastore1/burastore1_s1
Host
:
fsnode1
Allow User Permissions
:
Everyone:read
Deny User Permissions
:
Share Name
:
burastore1_s1
Share Path
:
/burastore1/burastore1_s1
Host
:
fsnode2
Allow User Permissions
:
Everyone:read
Deny User Permissions
:
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ibrix_cifsperms -a -s burastore1_s1 -h fsnode1,fsnode2
-u LOCAL\\cvma -t ALLOW -p FULLCONTROL
Command succeeded!
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ibrix_cifsperms -d -s burastore1_s1 -u Everyone
Command succeeded!
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ibrix_cifsperms -i -s burastore1_s1
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Share Name
:
burastore1_s1
Share Path
:
/burastore1/burastore1_s1
Host
:
fsnode1
Allow User Permissions
:
LOCAL\cvma:fullcontrol
Deny User Permissions
:
Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
Share Name
:
burastore1_s1
Share Path
:
/burastore1/burastore1_s1
Host
:
fsnode2
Allow User Permissions
:
LOCAL\cvma:fullcontrol
Deny User Permissions
:
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]#
Step 5: Check that the share is visible from the Media Agent
Login to the Windows Server hosting the Media Agent and check that the share can be accessed using the cvma user.
Figure 9. Testing SMB connectivity between Media Agent and StoreAll
Unmap the share once testing is completed.
Step 6: Create the Disk Library in CommVault
Launch the CommCell Console and add a new Disk Library.
Figure 10. Add a new CommVault Disk Library
A new Disk Library, CVDL_1, is created using the Media Agent, cv-ma1, and connected to the Disk Path \\fsnode1vif\burastore1_s1\cv-ma1.
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Figure 11. Define the Network Path attributes for the new Disk Library
Figure 12. Disk Library status – CVDL_1
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Once the Disk Library is created, CommVault will create a CV_MAGNETIC directory in the Mount Path.
[root@fsnode1 cv-ma1]# pwd
/burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1
[root@fsnode1 cv-ma1]# ls -lR
.:
total 8
drwx------ 3 cvma CVLT 4096 Mar 27 15:00 Folder_03.27.2014_20.48
./Folder_03.27.2014_20.48:
total 8
drwx------ 2 cvma CVLT 4096 Mar 27 15:01 CV_MAGNETIC
./Folder_03.27.2014_20.48/CV_MAGNETIC:
total 16
-rwx------ 1 cvma CVLT
287 Mar 27 15:01 MountPathConfigs
-rwx------ 1 cvma CVLT 2048 Mar 27 15:00 MOUNTPATH_LABEL
[root@fsnode1 cv-ma1]#
Step 7: Create a read-only path from Media Agent cv-ma2
On the CommCell Console ribbon, select Storage, Library and Drive, and then select both Media Agents, cv-ma1 and cv-ma2.
Figure 13. Select Media Agents to have access to a Disk Library
Select Shared Disk Device, identify the device to be shared, and then configure it for all selected Media Agents.
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Figure 14. Modify properties for a Shared Disk Device
By default, both cv-ma1 and cv-ma2 will have write access to the Shared Disk Device. Change the properties for the device
as accessed from cv-ma2, and unselect Preferred and select Read Only.
Figure 15. Mark access as Read Only
Check and review the configuration using the CommCell Browser.
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Figure 16. Review Disk Library Mount Path properties
The Disk Library is now ready for use for backup and archives.
Configuring CommVault Simpana 10 to use HP StoreAll Storage (simple Media Agent)
(NFS)
Media Agents running on UNIX/Linux servers use NFS to connect to exports presented from StoreAll. The following
procedure details how to configure a StoreAll BURA Store onto a CommVault Disk Library using NFS v3.
This procedure will demonstrate how to create a Disk Library called CVDL_3 that has a single Disk Device, a read/write
Mount Path from Media Agent cv-ma3 through to BURA Store 3 in a StoreAll cluster and accessed via the export fsnode3vif:/burastore1/burastore3_s1. In this example, the CommVault Media Agent processes that run as the root user on Linux
require access to the StoreAll file system as root; therefore, the “root_squash” option should not be configured.
Step 1: Identify the BURA Store to use for this Disk Library
The file systems should have been configured according to the BURA Reference Architecture. Login to the StoreAll system
and display the file system attributes:
[root@fsnode1 burastore1]# ibrix_fs -l
FS_NAME
STATE
CAPACITY (GB)
USED%
Files
FilesUsed%
GEN
NUM_SEGS
----------
-------
------------
-----
---------
----------
---
--------
burastore1
Mounted
45.12
3.0
6,515,200
1
2
10
burastore2
Mounted
45.12
3.0
6,515,200
1
2
10
burastore3
Mounted
45.12
3.0
6,515,200
1
2
10
burastore4
Mounted
45.12
3.0
6,515,200
1
2
10
In this example, the CommVault Disk Library will use burastore3.
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An export is created for this file system following the naming convention in the BURA Reference Architecture:
[root@fsnode1 ~]# ibrix_exportfs -l
HOSTNAME
FSNAME
PATH
OPTIONS
-----------
----------
----------------------------------
-------
fsnode3
burastore3
*:/burastore3/burastore3_s1
rw,no_root_squash
fsnode4
burastore3
*:/burastore3/burastore3_s1
rw,no_root_squash
[root@fsnode1 ~]#
Step 2: Create a directory for the Disk Library
Login to a node on the StoreAll cluster that has the /burastore3 file system mounted, create a directory, and set the
ownership and access permissions accordingly.
[root@fsnode3 burastore3]# mkdir -p /burastore3/burastore3_s1/cv-ma3
[root@fsnode3 burastore3]# ls -ld /burastore3/burastore3_s1/cv-ma3
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 16 11:42 /burastore3/burastore3_s1/cv-ma3
[root@fsnode3 burastore3]#
Step 3: Mount the export on the Media Agent
On the Media Agent, mount the NFS export on /burastore1_s1.
[root@cv-ma3 /]# mkdir /burastore3_s1
[root@cv-ma3 /]# mount fsnode3-vif:/burastore3/burastore3_s1 /burastore3_s1
[root@cv-ma3 /]# ls -l /burastore3_s1
total 24
drwxr-xr-x. 5 2003 2003 4096 Apr 16 08:55 cv-ma3
Step 4: Create the Disk Library in CommVault
Launch the CommCell Console and add a new Disk Library.
Figure 17. Add a new CommVault Disk Library
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
A new Disk Library, CVDL_3, is created using the Media Agent, cv-ma3, and connected to the Local Path /burastore3_s1/cvma3.
Figure 18. Define the Local Path attributes for the new Disk Library
Figure 19. Disk Library status—CVDL_3
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Check and review the configuration using the CommCell Browser.
The Disk Library is now ready for use for backup and archives.
Configuring CommVault Simpana 10 to use HP StoreAll WORM storage (SMB)
This procedure illustrates how to create a Disk Library that allows CommVault software to store archive/backup files as
read-only files leveraging the WORM and data retention features of StoreAll.
Step 1: Ensure that Data Retention is enabled on the StoreAll file system
Using the StoreAll management console, select the respective BURA Store file system and Modify file system Properties.
Review the Data Retention settings. Retention Mode should be set to Enterprise, and Minimum Retention and Maximum
Retention Periods should be set according to the customer requirements and in line with the retention settings to be used in
the CommVault environment. Ensure that Set Default Retention Period and Set Auto-Commit Period are unset.
Figure 20. Configure Data Retention
Step 2: Create a Disk Library
Follow the procedure documented above to create a Disk Library using a BURA Store file system that has had Data
Retention enabled.
Step 3: Change the Disk Library to create backup/archive files as read-only files
Using the CommCell Browser modify the Library Properties and select the Mark Archive files as Read-Only.
This enables the corresponding read-only lock mechanism on the destination StoreAll system and saves the archive/backup
files as read-only files.
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Figure 21. Mark the Library as Read-Only
New backup and archives written to this Disk Library will now be protected from unauthorized deletion at the StoreAll file
system level. For example:
[root@fsnode1 V_10]# pwd
/burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1/Folder_03.27.2014_20.48/CV_MAGNETIC/V_10
[root@fsnode1 V_10]# ls -l
total 295112
-r-x------ 1 cvma CVLT 298975232 Mar 31 10:14 CHUNK_25
-r-x------ 1 cvma CVLT
2752512 Mar 31 10:15 CHUNK_27
-r-x------ 1 cvma CVLT
65536 Mar 31 10:15 CHUNKMAP_TRAILER_25
-r-x------ 1 cvma CVLT
65536 Mar 31 10:15 CHUNKMAP_TRAILER_27
[root@fsnode1 V_10]# rm CHUNK_25
rm: remove regular file `CHUNK_25'? y
rm: cannot remove `CHUNK_25': Read-only file system
The ibrix_reten_adm command can be used on the StoreAll system to check the retention settings placed on the files within
the CommVault Disk Library.
[root@fsnode1 V_10]# ibrix_reten_adm -l -f burastore1 -P
/burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1/Folder_03.27.2014_20.48/CV_MAGNETIC/V_10/CHUNK_25
/burastore1/burastore1_s1/cv-ma1/Folder_03.27.2014_20.48/CV_MAGNETIC/V_10/CHUNK_25:
state={retained} retain-to:{2014-Sep-30 01:14:59} [period: 182d15h (15778800s)]
[root@fsnode1 V_10]#
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Configuring CommVault Simpana 10 to use HP StoreAll in an all-node configuration
(NFS)
In the all node configuration (NFS), each Media Agent has write access to the BURA Store mastered on each StoreAll node
and read-only access to all paths from opposing Media Agents. This configuration is used if you want to utilize all nodes
from all the Media Agents. The read-only paths are created to provide data access to all the Media Agents for restore in the
event a Media Agent failure occurs and is recommended for some deduplication deployments. Read-only paths are a good
practice and should be added but not required for most configurations.
This procedure will demonstrate how to create a Disk Library called CVDL_AllNode1 that incorporates two Linux-based
Media Agents, cv-ma3 and cv-ma4, which have access to storage capacity on BURA Store 3 and BURA Store 4.
The following tables detail how the BURA Store exports will be used to create the Disk Library:
Table 1. StoreAll BURA Store exports
StoreAll BURA Store export
Mounted on
Media Agent
Media Agent mount
point
Disk Device
subdirectory
CommVault Shared
Device
fsnode3-vif:/burastore3/burastore3_s1
cv-ma3
/burastore3_s1
cv-ma3
cv-ma3 to burastore3
fsnode4-vif:/burastore4/burastore4_s1
cv-ma3
/burastore4_s1
cv-ma3
cv-ma3 to burastore4
fsnode3-vif:/burastore3/burastore3_s1
cv-ma4
/burastore3_s1
cv-ma4
cv-ma4 to burastore3
fsnode4-vif:/burastore4/burastore4_s1
cv-ma4
/burastore4_s1
cv-ma4
cv-ma4 to burastore4
Table 2. CommVault Shared Disk Devices to add to CVDL_AllNode1
Shared Disk Device
Preferred write path
Secondary read-only path
cv-ma3 to burastore3
cv-ma3:/burastore3_s1/cv-ma3
cv-ma4:/burastore3_s1/cv-ma3
cv-ma3 to burastore4
cv-ma3:/burastore4_s1/cv-ma3
cv-ma4:/burastore4_s1/cv-ma3
cv-ma4 to burastore3
cv-ma4:/burastore3_s1/cv-ma4
cv-ma3:/burastore3_s1/cv-ma4
cv-ma4 to burastore4
cv-ma4:/burastore4_s1/cv-ma4
cv-ma3:/burastore4_s1/cv-ma4
Step 1: Identify the StoreAll BURA Stores to use for this Disk Library
The file systems should have been configured according to the BURA Reference Architecture. Login to the StoreAll system
and display the file system attributes:
[root@fsnode1]# ibrix_fs -l
26
FS_NAME
STATE
CAPACITY (GB)
USED%
Files
FilesUsed%
GEN
NUM_SEGS
----------
-------
------------
-----
---------
----------
---
--------
burastore1
Mounted
45.12
3.0
6,515,200
1
2
10
burastore2
Mounted
45.12
3.0
6,515,200
1
2
10
burastore3
Mounted
45.12
3.0
6,515,200
1
2
10
burastore4
Mounted
45.12
3.0
6,515,200
1
2
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Technical white paper | HP StoreAll Storage and CommVault Simpana best practices
In this example, the CommVault Disk Library will use burastore3 and burastore4. An export is created for these file systems
following the naming convention in the BURA Reference Architecture:
[root@fsnode1 ~]# ibrix_exportfs -l
HOSTNAME
FSNAME
PATH
OPTIONS
-----------
----------
----------------------------------
-------
fsnode3
burastore3
*:/burastore3/burastore3_s1
rw,no_root_squash
fsnode3
burastore4
*:/burastore4/burastore4_s1
rw,no_root_squash
fsnode4
burastore3
*:/burastore3/burastore3_s1
rw,no_root_squash
fsnode4
burastore4
*:/burastore4/burastore4_s1
rw,no_root_squash
Step 2: Create a directory for the Disk Library
Login to a node on the StoreAll cluster that has the /burastore3 and /burastore4 file systems mounted, create a directory
and set the ownership and access permissions accordingly.
[root@fsnode3 ]# mkdir -p /burastore3/burastore3_s1/cv-ma3
[root@fsnode3 ]# mkdir -p /burastore3/burastore3_s1/cv-ma4
[root@fsnode3 ]# mkdir -p /burastore4/burastore4_s1/cv-ma3
[root@fsnode3 ]# mkdir -p /burastore4/burastore4_s1/cv-ma4
[root@fsnode3 ]# ls -ld /burastore3/burastore3_s1/cv-ma3
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 16 11:42 /burastore3/burastore3_s1/cv-ma3
Step 3: Mount the exports on the Media Agents
On the Media Agents, mount the NFS exports.
[root@cv-ma3 /]# mkdir /burastore3_s1
[root@cv-ma3 /]# mkdir /burastore4_s1
[root@cv-ma3 /]# mount fsnode3-vif:/burastore3/burastore3_s1 /burastore3_s1
[root@cv-ma3 /]# mount fsnode4-vif:/burastore4/burastore4_s1 /burastore4_s1
[root@cv-ma3 /]# ls -l /burastore3_s1
total 24
drwxr-xr-x. 5 2003 2003 4096 Apr 16 08:55 cv-ma3
drwxr-xr-x. 5 2003 2003 4096 Apr 16 08:55 cv-ma4
[root@cv-ma4 /]# mkdir /burastore3_s1
[root@cv-ma4 /]# mkdir /burastore4_s1
[root@cv-ma4 /]# mount fsnode3-vif:/burastore3/burastore3_s1 /burastore3_s1
[root@cv-ma4 /]# mount fsnode4-vif:/burastore4/burastore4_s1 /burastore4_s1
[root@cv-ma4 /]# ls -l /burastore3_s1
total 24
drwxr-xr-x. 5 2003 2003 4096 Apr 16 08:55 cv-ma3
drwxr-xr-x. 5 2003 2003 4096 Apr 16 08:55 cv-ma4
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Step 4: Create the Disk Library in CommVault
In the CommCell Console, launch the “Library and Drive Configuration” snap-in. Select the Media Agents (cv-ma3 and
cv-ma4) to be configured.
Figure 22. Launch Library and Drive Configuration
In the “Shared Disk Device” tab, right-click on “Disk Devices” and choose “Add Network Sharing Device” from the menu.
Figure 23. Add Network Sharing Device
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On the “Add Sharing Folder” snap-in, choose the MediaAgent and Local Path.
Figure 24. Select the MediaAgent and Local Path for the device
Note that this path is defined as the Preferred path.
Figure 25. Mark the path as Preferred
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Once configured, Simpana software will prompt to add another sharing folder for this device.
Figure 26. Option to add another sharing folder for the device
Add the secondary, read-only path through the second Media Agent, cv-ma4. Be sure to mark this as “Read Only.”
Figure 27. Add a Read Only Path
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Right-click the newly created Disk Device, Device_9 in this example, and modify the properties to change the name to
something more appropriate. In this example, “Device_9” is renamed as “cv-ma3 – burastore3_s1.”
Figure 28. Rename the Disk Device
Repeat the steps to add in the remaining Disk Devices.
Figure 29. Configure remaining Disk Devices
In this example configuration, each Media Agent (cv-ma3 and cv-ma4) has a write path to each of the StoreAll BURA Store
nodes (fsnode3 and fsnode4). At the same time, each Media Agent also has a read-only path to the opposing Media Agent
primary path. In cases where more than two Media Agents are being configured, each opposing Media Agent will be
configured with a read-only path.
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From the “Libraries” tab, create a Disk Library and add Shared Mount Paths” that were created from the previous step.
Figure 30. Create Disk Library
As part of the Disk Library creation, the first Disk Device is selected—“cv-ma3 to burastore3_s1” in this example.
Figure 31. Select the initial Disk Device for the Disk Library
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The remaining devices should be added using the Add Shared Mount Path option.
Figure 32. Add the remaining Disk Devices to the Disk Library
This results in the CVDL_AllNode1 Disk Library containing four devices.
Figure 33. Review the Disk Library configuration
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The Disk Library can now be viewed in the CommCell Browser and is ready for use as a backup and archive target.
Figure 34. Display the Disk Library definition in the CommCell
Summary
This paper has documented HP’s recommendations on how HP StoreAll Storage should be configured as backup and
archival storage for CommVault Simpana software.
Reference material
HP StoreAll BURA Reference Architecutre techncial white paper
HP StoreAll Storage General best practices guide
HP StoreAll Storage public documentation
Learn more at
hp.com/go/storeall
hp.com/go/BURAsolutions
Sign up for updates
hp.com/go/getupdated
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© Copyright 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for
HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as
constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
CommVault, CommVault and logo, the "CV" logo, CommVault Systems, Solving Forward, Simpana, GridStor, IntelliSnap, Recovery Director, CommServe,
CommCell, Simpana OnePass, CommVault Edge, and CommValue are trademarks or registered trademarks of CommVault Systems, Inc. All other third party
brands, products, service names, trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of and used to identify the products or services of their respective
owners. All specifications are subject to change without notice.
4AA5-3715ENW, August 2014

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