Catalyst API Limitations and Configuration

[thomas60]

How can we find the relevant documentation? We would like to understand the maximum limit for each StoreOnce backup chain, as well as the precautions for exceeding the limit.

Thanks

[support_s]

System recommended content:

1. HPE StoreOnce VSA and High Availability Manager Systems User Guide for StoreOnce version 4.3.x | StoreOnce Catalyst stores screens and properties

2. HPE StoreOnce VSA and High Availability Manager Systems User Guide for StoreOnce version 4.3.x | StoreOnce Catalyst stores screens and properties

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[sbhat09]

Hello @thomas60,

There is no such maximum limit you can set for a backup chain. By default, there is no limit for a catelyst store as well.

If you want, you can set maximum limit for catalyst stores and threshold alert for system's overall usage.. to avoid exhausting the total capacity.

To set a maximum limit for a backup chain, you can consider to choose a dedicated catalyst store for that specific backup job.

Regards,
Srinivas Bhat

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[thomas60]

Hi Srinivas ,

Thank you for your reply. 

I am a bit confused about the backup chain.

I found the following information on Google, but I couldn't find any related documentation on HPE. How is the backup chain limit defined?

StoreOnce model Maximum number of restore points per backup chain

3500                                                                                            14

5100                                                                                             21

5500                                                                                            35

6600                                                                                           42 (per node)

[sbhat09]

Hello @thomas60,

Regular occurance of the backup job is backup chain.
Ex: You schedule the incremental backup of a VM at 10:00pm everyday.
Everyday at 10pm the backup application creates backup of the VM and stores in a specified catelyst store. This chain of process is the backup chain.

There is no such option available in HPE StoreOnce to set a maximum limit for a backup chain.
However, some backup applications may have that feature.

Regards,
Srinivas Bhat

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[thomas60]

Hi Srinivas,

I also asked the backup software vendor, and they said that when working with StoreOnce, the Catalyst API informs the backup software about the current StoreOnce model. When configuring the backup job, the backup chain restore point limit will be triggered.

Backup Chain Length: If the backup chain exceeds the limit, the Catalyst API will prevent the creation of new incremental or synthetic backups and return an error. This is a protective measure to prevent performance degradation or slower recovery speeds.

So what I would like to ask is whether there is any documentation available for the Catalyst API regarding backup chains?

Thanks

[sbhat09]

Hello @thomas60,

As I am aware, there is no such limitations on number of restore points among StoreOnce models.

If you can share that article link, let me check what exactly they meant about restore points.

Regards,
Srinivas Bhat

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[thomas60]

Hi Srinivas,

Thanks for your help. 

link: https://www.hpe.com/psnow/doc/a00023056enw 

P48 The incremental forever has a few limitations:

[yilmazaydin]

Hi.

You can get more clear information about it on the Veeam site - https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/deduplicating_appliance_storeonce.html?ver=120.

This is old dialog between HPE and Veeam about a "limit on the number of concurrently opened files".
For now, Veeam reports the presence of this limitation and keeps the table up to date - Table — Storage models and number of restore points.

Regards, YA. 

[thomas60]

Hi yilmazaydin,

Thanks for your information.

I found two limitations of HPE StoreOnce on the website.

1.For backup jobs, HPE StoreOnce does not support the forever forward incremental backup method. When creating a backup job, you must enable synthetic or active full backups.

2.HPE StoreOnce has a limit on the number of concurrently opened files. Due to this limit, the maximum length of backup chains (chains that contain one full backup and a set of subsequent incremental backups) on HPE StoreOnce is also limited and depends on the particular storage model.

I am confused. Srinivas mentioned that StoreOnce does not have a backup chain limit, meaning it can support forever incremental backups. However, from the Veeam documentation, it seems more concerning. Could you please ask the Catalyst development team to confirm whether there is indeed a limit on the number of incremental backups?

Thanks

[yilmazaydin]

@thomas60 , about  number of concurrently opened files - as far as I know, everything is ready in the system software from the HPE side. It is not embedded in HPE StoreOnce Catalyst agent - part of Veeam Data Mover setup - from Veeam side. 

But this should not limit you, because in combination with Veeam + Catalyst, the Synthetic Full Backup is much faster. You can schedule a synthetic full copy once a week without creating an increased load on the source application (if an active backup is created). In fact, Veeam creates another incremental backup, and after that it sends a set of metadata to StoreOnce to form a complete synthetic copy on the device. The operation doesn’t require high data movement because it is based on data pointer reorganization.

https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/storeonce_supported_features.html?ver=120

Synthetic Full Backups

HPE StoreOnce Catalyst improves synthetic full backup file creation and transformation performance. When Veeam Backup & Replication creates or transforms a synthetic full backup, HPE StoreOnce does not physically copy data between the existing backup chain and the target full backup file. Instead, it performs a metadata-only operation — updates pointers to existing data blocks on the storage device. As a result, the operation completes much faster. 

Requires version 4.3.2 or higher on the StoreOnce device. The best option is the latest versions of Veeam and system software on the StoreOnce device.

Regards, YA. 

[yilmazaydin]

@thomas60 , changes are expected in veeam version 13 - https://forums.veeam.com/veeam-backup-replication-f2/hpe-storeonce-chain-length-limit-to-7-t32264.html.

Last post

Regards, YA.

[thomas60]

Hi @yilmazaydin 

Thanks for your information. 

Does the last statement imply that the HPE team will provide other APIs to improve the restore point limit issue?

Thanks

[yilmazaydin]

@thomas60 ,for us, as Veeam users, everything will be transparent. In the new version of Veeam, the agent will work without restrictions on the number of restore points in one chain. Changes will also be made to the documentation. These are the expectations.

Regards, YA.

[support_s]

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[Gans_Tapes]

@thomas60 

The appropriate user guide for the catalyst plugin needs to be referenced if hte plugin is external (for example Oracle RMAN or Netbackup implementation). If however you are using Veeam / Data Protector/ CommVault) etc , then the plugin is integrated by the application so the best place for reference is the vendor software compatibility / admin guides.   To elaborate, let's for example say you are using Veeam, so the limits are defined by the best practices / "Considerations and limitations for HPE StoreOnce" 

Links / References: 

Considerations and limitations for HPE StoreOnce  - https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/deduplicating_appliance_storeonce.html?ver=120#considerations-and-limitations-for-hpe-storeonce

There's a table at the end of the section which tells you maximium number of restore points per backup chain for specific StoreOnce models and I hope that is the information you were after. 

Backup chain: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/backup_files.html?ver=120

Backup chain formats: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/per_vm_backup_files.html?ver=120 

Backup methods:  https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/backup_methods.html