Commvault

Client Administrative Tasks

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

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Administrative Tasks Overview

To help the Commvault® administrator manage clients, several tasks are available to perform on a client:

  • Check Client Connectivity
  • View Client Schedules
  • View Client Job History
  • Release a License
  • Delete a Client
  • Client Activity Control
  • Client Update Status
  • Change the Client Name


Check Client Connectivity (check readiness)

Right-click the client | Click All Tasks | Check Readiness

Connectivity to a client and all storage policy data paths for configured subclients, are checked and reported on at the client level. The Check Readiness command ensures that the CommServe® server can communicate with the client machine. It also checks data path connectivity to all MediaAgents and library paths for storage policies that are associated with subclients.



To check a client readiness

1 - Right-click the client | All Tasks | Check Readiness.

2 - The Check Readiness will verify connectivity to the Client and all MediaAgents defined as data paths within the Client as well as backup resources.



Client Schedules

Right-click the Client, Agent, Data Set or Subclient | Click View | Schedules

Client schedules are viewed and edited from the client, agent, backup set and subclient levels. When a specific level in the client tree structure is selected, all schedules at the selected level and all child object schedules are displayed.  

Client schedule key points:

  • Schedules can be viewed at the client, agent, backup set and subclient levels.
  • If a schedule is associated with a schedule policy, the policy name is listed in the first column.
  • Schedules can be edited, deleted, disabled or executed by right-clicking on the job schedule.
  • For clients with a large amount of scheduled jobs, consider using the Job Schedule report for a more consolidated view.
  • Though client schedules can be viewed at the CommCell® level using the Schedule icon, viewing schedules in the client tree provides a simplified view easing administration, especially in large environments.



To view schedules

1 - Right-click a Client, Agent, Data Set or Subclient | View | Schedules.

2 - Schedules can be viewed, edited and executed from the Schedules view.



Client Job History

Right-click the Client, Agent, Data Set or Subclient | Click View | Backup or Restore History
Job history for data protection and restore operations are viewed from the client, agent, backup set and subclient level.

Job history is used to perform the following:

  • View status of backup and restore jobs
  • View media used for the job
  • View items that successfully backed up or failed to back up
  • Browse a completed job



To view Job History

1 - Right-click Client, Agent of Data Set | View | Backup or Restore History.

2 - Select viewing filter criteria.

3 - Job history will be displayed in the details window.



Release a License

Right-click the client | Click All Tasks | Release License for Client
Releasing a license is a logical operation that is applied to clients or agents. Releasing a license 'grays out' the client or agent so data can still be recovered.

Release License key points:

  • The client or agent appears grayed out in the CommCell® console. This means that data is still retained and can be restored (out-of-place) in protected storage, but the client cannot be backed up unless the license is re-applied
  • If the CommCell licensing structure is agent based, the license becomes available to install on another system
  • If the CommCell licensing structure is capacity based, the size of data for the deconfigured client or agent no longer counts against the capacity usage of the CommCell® environment
  • Released licenses can be re-applied to the client by using the Reconfigure option
  • To facilitate subclient retention and proper pruning of data, synthetic full jobs can be run on clients or agents where the license has been released



To release a client license

1 - Expand Client Computers| Right-click the desired disk client | All Tasks | Release License for Client.

2 - Choose licenses to release by moving to the right.

3 - Click Yes to confirm the release of licenses.

4 - The client icon is changed to reflect the release of licenses.



Delete a Client

Right-click the client | Click All Tasks | Delete

Deleting a client is a task that removes the client completely from the CommCell® environment. It is considered a destructive operation, since the data associated to that client is marked to be destroyed. During the next data aging operation, which is scheduled every day at noon by default, the client's data is physically purged from the disk libraries. Data on tapes is also marked as aged, and tapes can be recalled as scratch media if empty.

Deleting a client key points:

  • All licenses for the client must be first released to allow the deletion
  • Deleting a client is a destructive operation that purges the client's data on the next data aging
  • Consider releasing licenses instead of deleting a client if data needs to be preserved



To delete a client

1 - Expand Client Computers | Right-click the desired client | Choose All Tasks | Delete.

2 - Click OK to confirm the deletion of data.

3 - Type the phrase for confirmation and click OK.



Client Activity Control

Right-click the client | Click Properties | Activity Control tab

Data protection and data recovery jobs are enabled or disabled in the Activity Control tab in the Client Properties. If activity is disabled, an Enable after a Delay button is displayed. This is used to automatically enable the activity on a specific date and time. Client activity control is useful when a client is offline, since any scheduled operations are, by default, ignored if activity is disabled.

Data aging can be disabled for a client as well. This prevents any jobs that belong to the client to be aged and purged from storage. This is useful in a situation where a server is decommissioned, and data is required to be kept until further notice.



To configure client activity control

1 - Right-click the client | Properties Click Next to continue.

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.

4 - Select the Time Zone and Date.

5 - Use the calendar to select the date.



Client Update Status

In the CommCell® browser | Click Client Computers

Update status for clients are viewed by selecting the Client Computers entity in the CommCell browser or through the Client Properties page, in the Version tab.

Summary Update Status View for all Clients

In the CommCell® browser | Click Client Computers

The current Commvault® software version, service pack level, update status, and operating system platform are viewed for all clients by selecting the Client Computers icon in the CommCell browser. All clients in the CommCell® environment are displayed, providing summary information on their status.

Checking Detailed Update Status for a Client

Right-click the client | Click Properties | Version tab

The Version tab displays the current version of software, service pack level and status of each package installed on a client.

Update status key points:

  • Installed packages contains:
    • The status of Up-to-Date
    • Needs Update
    • Ahead of cache
  • The Ahead of cache may appear in situations where updates have been applied to the system prior to their general release
  • Commvault recommends keeping all software up-to-date 



To check update status of all Clients

1 - Select Client Computers in the CommCell Browser.

2 - Product version, Service Pack level and update status will be displayed in the Contents / Summary window.


To check client update status

1 - Right-click the client | Properties.

2 - The Version tab in the Client properties displays the update status information.

3 - View the update status for all installed agents.



Change the Client Name

Right-click the client | Click Properties | General tab

The Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or the client name as it appears in the CommCell® console is modified to reflect changes to a client configuration. IP addresses can be used in place of the FQDN in the Host Name field.





To change the Client Host Name or console display name

1 - In the Client Properties General tab select Name Change.

2 - Change the Display Name or Host Name information.

3 - Enter the new Client Name or Host Name in the pop-up box.

4 - Enter the new Display Name in the pop-up box.


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