rp7420 nic hang cause by Symantec Netbackup

[Michele Musto]

I currently have a case opened with Symantec on this strange issue.

We have been doing an upgrade to our backup software from Netbackup 5.1 to 6.5. When running the new version on our rp7420 (2 npars, one split into 2 vpars) the nic hangs on the server and I need to use lanadmin to reset and then it works again.

The strange thing is that the same upgrade on a server on our rp7410 (2 npars) works just fine.

OS levels are the same on both -
rp7420 server -
$ uname -a
HP-UX dbproto B.11.11 U 9000/800 1525574745 unlimited-user license

rp7410 server -
$ uname -a
HP-UX marilyn B.11.11 U 9000/800 3800527293 unlimited-user license

The lan information is also the same and I have included that information in the attachment.

Since the lan cards are the same I am wondering what to look at next. I am not getting much direction from my case with Symantec :(

Any advice would be great.
Thanks.

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

Don't expect Symantec to be helpful at all.

See if the problem systems are on the same OS patch level as the ones that went well. Do what is possible to equalize things.

Check switch configuration for issues.

Netbackup has a 6.5.4 and a 6.5.5 update which is what really should be used. Those updates were released for a reason, not just to keep us and Netbackup people busy.

You will have to read the notes on that update.

SEP

[Michele Musto]

Thank you Steven...I am losing hope of Symantec helping, which is why I have posted here.

We are very conservative with patching our servers, but both are at the same pack level -

marilyn:/> swlist | grep -E -i "gold|qpk"
GOLDAPPS11i B.11.11.0612.459 Applications Patches for HP-UX 11i v1, December 2006
GOLDBASE11i B.11.11.0612.459 Base Patches for HP-UX 11i v1, December 2006

dbproto:/> swlist | grep -E -i "gold|qpk"
GOLDAPPS11i B.11.11.0612.459 Applications Patches for HP-UX 11i v1, December 2006
GOLDBASE11i B.11.11.0612.459 Base Patches for HP-UX 11i v1, December 2006

Network Admin already checked the switch. Both servers (working and non-working) are on the same switch.

I am using Netbackup 6.5.5 on both the server and client for the one that is not working.

The two other servers on the rp7420 (which has the issue) are being backed up by our 5.1MP4 server with a 5.1MP4 client.

Just wondering if there is some other level of difference between an rp7420 and rp7410. The only other difference is that on the rp7420 one npar has two vpars, but one is a standalone npar.

Thanks for your response.

[cnb · Accepted solution]

>"Just wondering if there is some other level of difference between an rp7420 and rp7410. "

Some Hardware changes and the Firmware:

rp7410:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=120&prodSeriesId=2512354&prodTypeId=15351&objectID=c00323635

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=2512353&swItem=PF-CKEYMAT0605&mode=4&idx=0

rp7420:
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11895_div/11895_div.HTML

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=2512350&swItem=pf-82060-1&prodNameId=392498&swEnvOID=7&swLang=13&taskId=135&mode=4&idx=1


PDC (Firmware) versions up to date?

Some fixes to the Core I/O LAN were addressed with F/W updates, others with OS patches.

See this patch support notice:

http://www13.itrc.hp.com/service/cki/docDisplay.do?docLocale=en&docId=emr_na-c01014531


Or your card might be having hardware issues. Check the event log, and cstm's logtool to see if anything is being reported.

Rgds,

[Michele Musto]

Thanks for the good information. The patch you referenced looks like it may apply.

I am 'still' working with Symantec, so I will wait for that before applying any patches or updates.

I am going to try using tcpdump to see what the traffic looks like.

[rick jones]

At the risk of making more work for an HP Response Center engineer, unless Symantec Netbackup has code in the kernel, there is nothing a user-space program (well non-priviledged) should be able to do to cause a NIC to hang. As such, while attributing cause to the coincidence of the Netbackup software upgrade is difficult to resist, I would suggest firing-up your support contract(s) and call the RC.

[Michele Musto]

Thanks Rick. I too would have thought that, but the same nic hang occurred on the three servers (1 npar, 2 vpars) on the rp7420 when being backed up with Netbackup 6.5. We r4everted two of those servers (our dev. and accpt.) back to the 5.1 backups and the issue went away. I am using the third server to continue testing.

But, that being said, I think you are correct that I may need to get HP involved with the troubleshooting.