Commvault

Client Computer Groups

Owned by Carl Brault (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Nov 30, 2021 by tdopko@commvault.com (Unlicensed)
5 min read

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Client Computer Groups Overview

Client Computer Groups are used to group like clients to simplify CommCell® administration. Clients can be added to one or more computer groups.

From the CommCell®, there are several methods for adding clients to groups:

  • During installation, the client group can be selected.
  • In the Client Group Properties, select the clients and include them in the group.
  • In the Group tab of the Client Properties, select the group or groups to add the client to.

Client Computer Groups provide the following benefits:

  • Simplified navigation when locating clients within the CommCell® console.
  • Configuring user group security to manage entire computer groups.
  • Simplified activity control, such as enabling or disabling data protection or recovery for an entire group.
  • Applying updates, bandwidth throttling, network configurations, for instance, to entire groups at the same time.
  • Executing schedule policies at the group level.
  • Assigning computer groups when configuring reports and alerts automatically adds/removes clients when changes are made to the group.





Client Association Methods

Right-click the client computer group | Properties | General tab

When using the CommCell® Console, there are two association methods for client computer groups. First, computers can be associated manually to a group. This method requires manual intervention to associate computers to the group. This is accomplished during the agent installation, by editing the computer group or by editing the client's properties.

In addition to the manual association method, automatic association rules can also be used. This efficient method automatically associates computers to a group based on a set of predefined rules. Many criteria can be used to define the rules. Once the rules are defined, a Preview button is available to view the resulting list of computers. This ensures that the rules are properly defined, and results are as expected.
 




Create a Client Computer Group

Create a client computer group from the CommCell® browser. Select the association method to use and configure any options that will be applied to every member of the group.




To create a new client computer group

1 - Right-click Client Computer Groups | New Group.

2 - From the General tab, use Manual Association to select specific servers manually.

3 - From the General tab, use Automatic Association to create a dynamic client list based on rules.



Association Rules setting

1 - The first field defines the criteria on which the rule is based.

2 - The second field defines the operator used for the rule.

3 - The third field contains the string of text that completes the rule.

4 - Click the plus sign to add a line to the group of rule.

5 - Define if all (logical AND) or any (logical OR) rule should be met.



Activity Control

As with a client, activity can be controlled for an entire computer group. This is useful when maintenance requires activity to be disabled and later re-enabled on several computers at once.




To disable activity for a client computer group

1 - Right-click the Client Computer Group | Properties.

2 - To disable job activity, in the Activity Control tab, deselect the appropriate activity.

3 - The enable after delay button allows to set a date and time to re-enable activity automatically.

4 - Set a date and time or click the calendar button.

5 - Use the calendar to pick a specific date.



Additional Settings

Right-click the client computer group | Click Properties | Additional Settings tab

Many options or settings have additional controls. These are considered registry keys on Windows® machines and configuration file entries on Linux servers. But instead of modifying files or registry keys manually, Commvault® software provides an Additional Settings tab that lets you create these entries. This tab exists in the Client and Client Computer Group Properties page. If the same setting requires to be pushed to several machines, using the client computer group is the ideal method.




To push additional settings to a server

1 - Right-click the Client Computer Group | Select Properties.

2 - The Additional Settings tab allows to simultaneously push out additional settings to multiple computers by clicking Add.

3 - Fill each field or use the Lookup button.



Computer Group Quotas

Right-click the client computer group | Click Properties | Advanced Settings tab

In Version 11, quotas are set at the client computer group level by selecting the CommCell® global option to 'Enable license limits at client group.' Once enabled, when configuring the client group, you can set the quota limit to determine the maximum volume limit of all clients within the group.

This option is frequently used by Managed Service Providers (MSP) or in chargeback scenarios, when limited resources are shared amongst different business units or entities.




To configure client computer group quotas

1 - From the Home menu | Click Control Panel.

2 - Select the System tool.

3 - Enable the use of client computer group Capacity License Limits.



4 - Right-click the computer group | Properties.

5 - Set the quota for the group.


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