Technical Notes

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup

& Recovery Manager
302-002-360
03
October, 2015
This technical note contains the following sections:
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Revision history......................................................................................................... 2
Introduction............................................................................................................... 2
Prerequisites..............................................................................................................3
Avamar Enterprise Manager versus Backup & Recovery Manager functionality........... 3
Activities monitoring.................................................................................................. 5
Backup & Recovery Manager Mobile.......................................................................... 6
Monitoring systems....................................................................................................7
Avamar policy inventory............................................................................................. 9
Avamar replication................................................................................................... 11
Avamar EM versus Backup & Recovery Manager report comparison..........................12
Launch the Avamar Management Console................................................................13
Launch the Avamar Client Manager.......................................................................... 14
Launch Avamar System Maintenance....................................................................... 16
Avamar Enterprise Manager to Backup & Recovery Manager transition FAQ.............. 17
Conclusion...............................................................................................................18

Technical Notes

Revision history
The following table provides details and changes for published revisions of this technical
note.
Revision Date

Description

03

October 1, 2015 Added AD/LDAP to the list of items not supported in Backup &
Recovery Manager.

02

August 25, 2015 Updated the FAQ section of these technical notes.

01

August 17, 2015 First draft of this technical note.

Introduction
Beginning in EMC Avamar 7.2, the Enterprise Manager (EM) feature will no longer be
available in the Avamar software. EMC Backup & Recovery Manager replaces the
functionality previously available in EM.
Backup & Recovery Manager 1.3 and later provides the ability to monitor, report, and
perform basic administration tasks on multiple Avamar servers. This technical note is
designed to enhance/improve the user's transition from Avamar EM to Backup &
Recovery Manager. Backup & Recovery Manager functionality is mapped to the
corresponding EM functionality.

Avamar Enterprise Manager

Enterprise Manager is the web-based, multi system management console that provides
centralized monitoring of multiple Avamar servers. It helps monitor all Avamar servers in
the enterprise from a single web browser session. Enterprise Manager is backward
compatible, and monitors multiple versions of Avamar. The Enterprise Manager provides
an overview for the following:
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Avamar server status

Capacity

Succeeded and failed backups

Reports

Avamar client software version management

The following figure illustrates the Avamar EM.

Figure 1 Avamar Enterprise Manager

Technical Notes

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

Backup & Recovery Manager

Backup & Recovery Manager is a unified interface for the centralized monitoring, and
reporting for multiple Avamar, NetWorker and Data Domain systems.
Backup & Recovery Manager is deployed as a separate virtual appliance on a VMware
ESXi host. Backup & Recovery Manager monitors NetWorker and Avamar servers by using
a secure communication message bus technology that is set up automatically. Backup &
Recovery Manager can also be deployed on HyperV and a Physical server.
The following figure illustrates the Backup & Recovery Manager Dashboard.
Figure 2 Backup & Recovery Manager dashboard

Related documentation
The following is a list of available related documentation:
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Avamar Release 6.2.x, and later product documentation

Backup & Recovery Manager Release 1.3 product documentation

Prerequisites
There are specific prerequisites and expectations for administrators preparing to
transition from Avamar EM to Backup & Recovery Manager for reporting, monitoring, and
administration tasks.
It is expected that the Administrator is familiar with the features in the Avamar EM and
has used it to manage Avamar grids. A working knowledge of Backup & Recovery
Manager is helpful, but not necessary as this technical note provides the relevant
functionality descriptions, and mapping for both products.

Avamar Enterprise Manager versus Backup & Recovery Manager

functionality
There are differences in the functionality available in Avamar EM and Backup & Recovery
Manager.
The following table lists the available functionality for Avamar EM versus Backup &
Recovery Manager.

Backup & Recovery Manager

Technical Notes

Table 1 Avamar EM versus Backup & Recovery Manager comparison

Functionality

Avamar Enterprise Backup & Recovery Manager

Manager

Avamar System Status Monitoring

Yes

Yes (Backup & Recovery Manager

has system status monitoring in
Details section of the Systems tab.
However, all parameters available
in EM are not included.)

Avamar Event Monitoring

Yes

Yes

Avamar Alert Monitoring

Yes

Yes

EMC Data Domain Monitoring

No

Yes

EMC NetWorker Monitoring

No

Yes

Basic Reporting

Yes

Yes

Management Console Direct Launch

Yes

Yes

Available as an App on Tablet

Devices

No

Yes

Deployed as a Virtual Appliance

No

Yes

Before moving from Avamar EM to Backup & Recovery Manager, it is important to be

aware of the following capabilities that are not available in Backup and Recovery
Manager:
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Detailed Avamar Health Check Status Information

Avamar Client Management

Note

Backup & Recovery Manager provides the ability to launch the Avamar Client Manager
and Avamar System Maintenance with or without SSO configuration. Avamar
Enterprise Manager has a tab to launch the Client Manager and System Maintenance
directly.

Technical Notes

Avamar System Maintenance

Viewing the Avamar Licensing report

Displaying or reporting the maximum and minimum change rate for individual Avamar
Clients

Displaying the "Completed with exception" Avamar Status (In Backup & Recovery
Manager, this can be viewed in Activities by mouse hovering on the Activity Status
icon)

Avamar 7.x Policy-based Replication configuration (also not available in EM)

LDAP/Active Directory support in Avamar EM (by using MCGUI), but not in Backup &
Recovery Manager

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

Note

Backup & Recovery Manager offers a simplified Role based access control model, but
does not support LDAP/Active Directory. Also, a technical limitation in Backup &
Recovery Manager limits the number of local users displayed to a maximum of 25 in
the UI.
Figure 3 Role based access control in Backup & Recovery Manager

Activities monitoring
Backup & Recovery Manager provides real-time monitoring of Avamar operations across
multiple Avamar systems. Avamar backup and replication jobs can be centrally controlled
by using job Start, Restart, and Stop capabilities available in Backup & Recovery
Manager from the Activities section of the UI.
The following figures illustrate the Activities section of the UI and the details available for
specific systems.

Activities monitoring

Technical Notes

Figure 4 Activities

Figure 5 Activities details

Backup & Recovery Manager Mobile

Backup & Recovery Manager provides an included Mobile App for Android and iOS
tablets to provide all the same Backup & Recovery Manager features on supported
tablets. The Backup & Recovery Manager Mobile App is now available and includes a
demo mode with simulated data to provide an introduction and training for Backup &
Recovery Manager. Backup & Recovery Manager is now available on the following devices
at their respective locations:
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Android Tablets available at Google Play

iOS iPAD Tablets at the Apple App Store

Figure 6 Backup & Recovery Manager Mobile App dashboard

Technical Notes

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

Monitoring systems
The System section of Avamar Enterprise Manager provides the ability to monitor Avamar
System and Replication
The Systems section of Backup & Recovery Manager provides the ability to monitor
Avamar, Networker, and Data Domain Systems.

Monitoring systems in Avamar Enterprise Manager

The System section of the Avamar Enterprise Manager provides information on the
following:
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Capacity and usage of Avamar server

Event monitoring:

Unacknowledged events

Hardware events

Data Domain information:

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Status

Capacity and usage/forecast

Event monitoring

Average daily change rates for servers/clients

The following figure illustrates the System section of Avamar EM.

Monitoring systems

Technical Notes

Figure 7 System

Monitoring systems in Backup & Recovery Manager

The Systems section of Backup & Recovery Manager provides system status information
for Avamar, Networker, and Data Domain. Backup & Recovery Manager incorporates all
the features of EM for Avamar, Networker, and Data Domain in a single view including:
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Capacity and usage

Event monitoring

System configuration information

The following figures illustrate the Systems section of the Backup & Recovery Manager UI
and additional Details available by clicking a system.

Technical Notes

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

Figure 8 Systems

Figure 9 Sytem Details

Avamar policy inventory

The Policy section of the Avamar Enterprise Manager UI provides details on Avamar
Policies. In Backup & Recovery Manager, details on Avamar policies are available in the
Configuration report in the Reports section of the Backup & Recovery Manager UI. The
Policy section in Avamar EM, and the Backup & Recovery Manager Configuration report
both provide the following information on Avamar policies:
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Groups

Clients

Datasets

Schedules

Retention Policies

Viewing Avamar policy details in Avamar Enterprise Manager

You can view Avamar policy details in the Policy section of the EM UI. The same
information is available from Backup & Recovery Manager.
The following figure illustrates the Policy section of the Avamar Enterprise Manager UI.

Avamar policy inventory

Technical Notes

Figure 10 Avamar EM Policy UI

Procedure
1. In the Policy section of the Enterprise Manager UI, select the required system from the
Systems drop-down list.
2. Click to select All Domains, or Single Domain.
3. Click to select the required policy option:
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Groups

Clients

Datasets

Schedules

Retention Policies

The policy information is displayed.

Viewing Avamar policies with Backup & Recovery Manager

Backup & Recovery Manager provides the ability to view details on the same Avamar
policies as Enterprise Manager. Policy details are available by running Configuration
Reports.
The following figure illustrates the Configuration reports available from the Reports
section of the Backup & Recovery Manager UI.

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Technical Notes

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

Figure 11 Configuration report options

Procedure
1. In the Reports section of the Backup & Recovery Manager UI, click Configuration
Reports > Configuration from the Reports list.
2. Click to select Avamar in the System Options section of the window.
3. Move the Avamar systems for which you require the report from the Available Systems
list to the Selected Systems list by using the available controls.
4. Click to select the report from Report Content Options:
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Clients

Datasets

Groups

Retention Policies

Schedules

5. Click Run Report.

The report with all relevant details is displayed.

Avamar replication
Both Avamar Enterprise Manager and Backup & Recovery Manager provide the ability to
configure replication, start and stop replication jobs, and monitor replication status.
Note

Both Enterprise Manager and Backup & Recovery Manager have Replication configuration
management for legacy Avamar 6.x cron-based replication jobs. Replication configuration
management is not currently supported for Avamar 7.x Replication Policy configuration.
For Avamar 7.x, only Replication job monitoring is available. Replication Policy
configuration must be done from the main Avamar Administration Console or the CLI.
The following figure illustrates the Replication section Avamar Enterprise Manager.

Avamar replication

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Technical Notes

Figure 12 Avamar Enterprise Manager Replication

The following figure illustrates the Configuration section of the Backup & Recovery
Manager UI for Avamar replication jobs.
Figure 13 Replication Configuration

Figure 14 Configuration details for replication configuration

Avamar EM versus Backup & Recovery Manager report

comparison
The following table provides a comparison between reports available in Enterprise
Manager and Backup & Recovery Manager. The Avamar Reports Guide, the Avamar
Administration Guide, and the Backup & Recovery Manager User Guide provide complete
details on setting options and running reports.

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Technical Notes

Report

Avamar
Enterprise
Manager

Backup
Recovery
Manager

Completed Activities - All

Yes

Yes

& Comments

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

Report

Avamar
Enterprise
Manager

Backup
Recovery
Manager

& Comments

Completed Activities Success

Yes

Yes

Completed Activities Exceptions

Yes

No

There is no report for

exception with activities
explicitly. It is reported either
in success or failure with
exceptions and listed under
the corresponding report.

Completed Activities Success & Exceptions

Yes

No

This backup is listed under

success report in Backup &
Recovery Manager.

Completed Activities Failed

Yes

Yes

Licensing Report

Yes

No

Avamar Capacity Usage

Report

Yes

Yes

Avamar Capacity Forecast

Report

Yes

Yes

Data Domain Capacity

Usage Report

Yes

Yes

Data Domain Capacity

Forecast Report

Yes

Yes

System Average Daily

Change Rate

Yes

Yes

Client Average Daily Change Yes

Rate

Yes

Licensing report is not

available in Backup &
Recovery Manager.

Launch the Avamar Management Console

The Avamar Management Console UI (MCGUI) can be launched from both Avamar
Enterprise Manager (System) and Backup & Recovery Manager (Systems).
Backup & Recovery Manager provides the ability to launch both the NetWorker
management console (NMC) and Data Domain System Manager (DDSM) from the
Systems section of the UI.
The following figure illustrates the System section of the Avamar EM from which the
MCGUI can be launched.

Launch the Avamar Management Console

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Technical Notes

Figure 15 Launch MCGUI

The following figure illustrates how to launch the MCGUI from the Systems section of the
Backup & Recovery Manager UI.
Figure 16 Launch MCGUI from Backup & Recovery Manager

Launch the Avamar Client Manager

The Avamar Client Manager can be launched directly from Avamar Enterprise Manager.
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Technical Notes

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

The Avamar Client Manager can also be launched directly from Backup & Recovery
Manager, however it is a 2 step manual process to configure the Avamar server to launch
Client Manager. The Enable Single Sign on section of the EMC Backup & Recovery
Manager Release 1.3 User Guide provides complete details.
The following figure illustrates how to launch the Avamar Client Manager from the Avamar
EM UI.
Figure 17 Launch the Avamar Client Manager

The following figures illustrate the Backup & Recovery Manager Launch icon and the
Launch Client Manager menu option.
Figure 18 Launch icon

Launch the Avamar Client Manager

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Technical Notes

Figure 19 Client Manager menu item

Launch Avamar System Maintenance

The Avamar System Maintenance (Software Updates UI) can be launched directly from
Avamar Enterprise Manager. The Avamar System Maintenance (Software Updates UI) can
also be launched directly from Backup & Recovery Manager, however it is a two-step
manual process for configuring Avamar server to launch System Maintenance. Details are
available in Launch System Maintenance section in the EMC Backup & Recovery
Manager Release 1.3 User Guide.
The following figure illustrates how to launch System Maintenance from Enterprise
Manager.
Figure 20 Launch System Maintenance from Enterprise Manager

The following figure illustrates how to launch Avamar System Maintenance from Backup
& Recovery Manager.
Figure 21 Launch System Maintenance from Backup & Recovery Manager

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Technical Notes

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

Avamar Enterprise Manager to Backup & Recovery Manager

transition FAQ
Question: Why was Avamar Enterprise Manager discontinued?
Avamar Enterprise Manager has provided a multi-Avamar system monitoring capabilities
since Avamar 6.1. However, as Backup & Recovery Manager was created to monitor
multiple Avamar systems along with NetWorker and Data Domain systems, Enterprise
Manager became redundant. Backup & Recovery Manager is built on a newer technology
stack than Enterprise Manager, which would have required significant re-architecture to
bring it in compliance with ever growing security requirements.
Question: Can I continue to use and receive support on Enterprise Manager?
Yes, Avamar Enterprise Manager can continue to be used in Avamar 7.1 and prior
environments, but will not support, nor be part of the Avamar 7.2 installation. EMC will
continue to provide technical support for will continue to apply for existing and new
Avamar Enterprise Manager installations per EMC Support terms and policies.
Question: How do I order and obtain the EMC Backup & Recovery Manager?
EMC Backup & Recovery Manager is automatically added to any new NetWorker or
Avamar capacity order. To order EMC Backup & Recovery Manager without a capacity
order, please contact your EMC Sales Representative for them to manually order either or
both of the following model numbers in the Product Catalog (in DirectXpress) or the Spare
Model Store (in ChannelXpress):
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456-103-950: Backup & Recovery Manager Avamar

456-103-951: Backup & Recovery Manager NetWorker

Note

The two model numbers deliver the identical Backup & Recovery Manager product; there
are two model numbers to drive service requests to the proper EMC Technical Support
queue. Customers who use both Avamar and NetWorker should order one instance of
each model.
Question: How do I download EMC Backup & Recovery Manager?
EMC Avamar customers should download the Backup & Recovery Manager binaries from
support.emc.com ( https://support.emc.com/products/27368_Backup-&-RecoveryManager-Avamar).
Question: What components make up the EMC Backup & Recovery Manager solution?
EMC Backup & Recovery Manager is made up of the Server Virtual Management
Appliance as well adapter software components, which are installed in the various EMC
Backup product solutions. The component details are as follows:
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EMC Backup & Recovery Manager Server (OVA Template VM)

EMC Backup & Recovery Manager Server (bootable .iso image for installation on a
physical host by using the SLES native installer.)

EMC Backup & Recovery Manager Adaptor for EMC Avamar (RPM package)
Note

Beginning with Avamar v6.1.1-87 and later, the Avamar Adaptor is already built-in
and does not require a separate installable package.
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For Data Domain systems monitoring, no additional software or adaptors are required
to be installed on the Data Domain systems
Avamar Enterprise Manager to Backup & Recovery Manager transition FAQ

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Technical Notes

Question: What are the VM Requirements for Backup & Recovery Manager? Can it be
installed on Microsoft Hypervisor, or Open Virtualization solutions such as Ulteo, Oracle
VDI, Cantivo, and so on?
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Minimum required versions for the Virtual Application (vApp), currently only
supported for VMware:
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ESXi

ESX 5.1, 5.5 and 6.0

vCenter Server 5.0 and 6.0

vSphere Client 5.0 and 5.1

Question: I have tried Backup & Recovery Manager but I am still not happy with The End
of Life of Enterprise Manager, who can I contact at EMC?
We hope you will try Backup & Recovery Manager and find that it meets your needs of
monitoring multiple Avamar systems in your environment. However, we understand that
customers may not be satisfied with this change. Please contact your EMC Sales
Representative with your concerns and have them contact the Backup & Recovery
Manager and Avamar Product Management team.

Conclusion
Backup & Recovery Manager provides most of the functionality currently available in
Avamar Enterprise Manager. Backup & Recovery Manager can extend that functionality
for a multi-EMC product environment that includes Avamar, NetWorker, and Data
Domain.

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Technical Notes

Avamar Enterprise Manager Transition to Backup & Recovery Manager

Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in USA.

Published October, 2015
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Conclusion

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