SUMMARY
This article explains how to configure NFS or CIFS shares attached directly to a virtual UB appliance so that they can be used as the initial primary backup storage
ISSUE
How to configure NFS and CIFS shares attached directly to a virtual UB appliance so that they can be used as both backup and database storage.
Note: this applies to initial deployment of virtual UB appliances with release 8.1 or later running the database from the primary backup storage. If the database will not be run from the initially added storage (see information below), this will not be required.
RESOLUTION
When deploying a new UB with release 8.1 or later, its initial storage should support requirements for both backups and the database. Ideally with deployment, the initial 200GB or more of storage are added as a virtual disk, but the option exists to use NAS as primary storage. See our KB on Deployment best Practices for Unitrends Backup for more information, but if you are choosing to deploy primary backup and database storage to a NAS device, this information will be relevant.
Requirements:
For NFS shares to be used for initial primary UB backup and database storage, make sure to edit /etc/exports (or similar) on the storage server so that no_root_squash is set for this share (also known as "No Mapping").
Note that NFSv4 defeats the no_root_squash, so the NAS must allow NFSv3.
For CIFS shares to be used for initial primary UB backup and database storage, make sure that the CIFS server share is configured to support writes and Linux ownership permissions. This may not be feasible on some CIFS storage servers.
To put the database on independent virtual disk storage separate from the primary initial storage, see KB to Move the Unitrends database off of stateless storage and onto a new partition This may be necessary for some deployments where configured CIFS/NFS storage provides limited sustained IOPS.
For supported storage vendors, see Supported external storage vendors for use with Unitrends Enterprise Backup appliances
There are additional considerations if the NAS storage server has its own external deduplication.
CAUSE
Running a database remotely from NAS storage is not a common intended use for most NAS devices. Unitrends deployment creates it;s database on the first deployed storage device. As such, advanced settings may need to be used to ensure proper connectivity and permissions if a NAS device is used. It is the best practice when deploying Unitrends appliances to use Virtual Disks for deployment as these provide superior performance, portability, and expansion in most cases, but when deploying to supported NAS devices where direct connection of the NAS to a hypervisor is not viable, these additional requirements may come into play.