Current Version: Commvault Platform Release 2023E (11.

32)
We are using 11.28.83
11 version 28 Feature release 83 Maintenance
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=========================
Commvault Capacity Base License

FET (Front End Terabyte).

FET means totoal amount of data need to be backed up(Calculated before dedup and
compression).
In prodcution, license consumpetion is calculated by the size of the latest full
backup.
s
Capacity based license has 3 parts:
DPF(Data protection Fundamental): File system + NAS
DPA(Data protection Advance) : DPF + DB + Apps + Intellisnap
DPE(Data Protection Enterprise): DPF + DPA + Matric Reporting + Vault.

Commvault requirements:
All-in-One Configuration
In this configuration, all Commvault components (CommServe server, Web Server, Web
Console, Workflow Engine, MediaAgent, and access nodes) are installed on a single
computer.
This configuration supports a combination of up to 25 servers, 250 virtual
machines, 1000 Microsoft Office 365 users, or 50 million total objects indexed.

Windows Server operating systems latest version

16 CPU cores
32 GB RAM
2 TB of working space for the CommServe database, the deduplication database (DDB),
index, and job results (SSD disk is recommended)

Server and Storage (Distributed) Configuration:

In this configuration, server and storage components are distributed over two or
more computers.
This configuration supports a combination of up to 100 servers, 1000 virtual
machines, 30,000 Microsoft Office 365 users, or 700 million total objects indexed.

Computer 1 with CommServe, Web Server, Web Console, Workflow Engine Installed
Windows Server operating systems

8 CPU cores
32 GB RAM
500 GB for SQL database (SSD disk is recommended)

Computer 2 with MediaAgent and Access Nodes Installed

Windows Server operating systems and Linux operating systems, such as Red Hat and
Ubuntu

8 CPU cores
16 GB RAM
1.5 TB of working space for DDB, index, and job results (SSD disk is recommended)
====================================================================
RTO & RPO

RTO: Recovery Time Object:

RTO is the goal your organistation sets for the maximum length of time it should
take to restore normal operations following an outage.
RPO: Recovery Point Object:
RPO is your goal for the maximum amount of data the organization can tolerate
losing.
For example, if you experience a failure now and your last full data backup was 24
hours ago, the RPO is 24 hours.
================================================================
IDAs Type (Intelligent Data Agents)
File system IDAS
Application IDAs
Intelligent data agents interact with Hypervisors,Operation Systems and apps to
provide granular protection,recovery and source side deduplication.
Agents are avaible for many versions of enterprise apps,Big data apps and even
software as a service(SAAS)platforms.
Another widely deployed type of special agent in virtqual server agent(VSA) which
directly integrates with both on-premises hypervisors and public cloud platforms to
provide agentless protection of
virtual machines,thereby eliminating the need for an IDA in each VM.

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On which database platform the commserve database is hosted?
commserve database hosted in Microsoft SQL
============================================================================
Is it possible to have the commserve module installed on Linux OS?
Currenly commserver installed only on Windows
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What are all the services running in commserve?
Base service:
Commvault communicaiton service
commvault client manager service
commvault network Daemon

Commserver Services:
Commvault server Event Manager
Commvault job Manager
Commvault Application Manager
Commvault Media & Library Manager
Commvault Commands Manager
Commvault MongoDb

Indexing:
Commvault Data Analytics
Commvault Content Extractor

MediaAgent Services:
Commvault Media Mount Manager

Message Queue:
Commvault Messaging Queue

VSS Provider Service:

Commvault VSS Provider Service
Commvault VSS Hardware Provide Service

Workflow:
Commvault Workflow Engine

Web Console:
Commvautl Tomcat Service
Replication Service:
Commvault Block Level Replication Service

===================================================================================

Commvault Linux MA services:

+-------------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+
| Service | PID | Description |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+
| cvlaunchd | 3510 | Commvault Launch Daemo |
| | | n |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+
| cvd | 3518 | Commvault Communicatio |
| | | ns Service |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+
| cvfwd | 3543 | Commvault FireWall Dae |
| | | mon |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+
| ClMgrS | 3555 | Commvault Client Event |
| | | Manager |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+
| CvMountd | 3564 | Commvault Media Mount |
| | | Manager |

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===

Commvault Unix services:

cvlaunchd | 3805 | Commvault Launch Daemon

+--------------+------
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

| cvd | 3826 | Commvault Communications Service

+--------------+------
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

| CvMountd | 3866 | Commvault Media Mount Manager

+--------------+------
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

| ClMgrS | 3824 | Commvault Client Event Manager

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========
Commvault Windows Services:
Commvault communicaiton service
commvault client manager service
commvault network Daemon

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=========

 Scan (0-25%) / Backup (26-85%) / Archive Index (85-100%) Phase.

 Scan Phase: Communication Issue - Ping / Tracert / Check Readiness / Firewall
Port Block and communication / VSS writers / System state components.
 Backup Phase: Disk space issues / MA communication issues / DDB issues.
 Archive Index : Making another copy of index to the disk library and mostly
the issue occurs if there is no space in the disk library

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=========

What is the purpose of having Mongodb in commserve?

Commvault Content Store uses MongoDB to provide the following functionality:

Performance improvements for some list-based pages on the Command Center (Service
Pack 15 and more recent releases)·
Storage and retrieval of comments and replies associated with Edge Drive objects.
Storage and retrieval of shares associated with Edge Drive objects.
Analytics on REST API consumption for any CommCell environment.

Windows: <commvault_installation_directory>\MongoDB\Server\cvmongod.cfg
Linux: <commvault_installation_directory>\MongoDB\Server\cvmongod.conf

MongoDB operations are logged in the following log file in the Commvault
installation directory: <commvault_installation_directory>\Log Files\MongoDB.log

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What is Webserver and webconsole?

The Web Server is the web service that process requests from one or more web-based
applications and
communicates with the CommServe system to provide access to CommCell and end-user
operations on the web.

The Web Console is a web-based application that allows end-users manage their data.

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What is the difference between Commcell console, Webconsole and command center

Commcell console: user interface to administrat the activities of Commcell

Web Console: The Web Console is a web-based application that allows end-users
manage their data.

command center:The Command Center is a web-based user interface for administration

tasks that provides default configuration values and streamlined procedures for
routine data protection and recovery tasks.
You can use the Command Center to set up your data protection environment, to
identify content that you want to protect, and to initiate and monitor backups and
restores.
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Which commserve process is responsible for the communication?

Commvault communication service CVD 8400

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What are the port requirements for push installation?

Commvault base services – Ports 8400 and 8401 are used. Linux – port 22 is
required.
=====================================================================
What are the required TCP ports for commvault
Commserver (8400/8403)
Media Agent (8400/8403)
Client (8400/8403)

Client to Media agent (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403

Client to Commserver (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403
Media agent to Commserver (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403
Commserver to Media agent (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403
Commserver to Client (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403

VM Backups :
Commserver (8400/8403)
Media Agent (8400/8403)
VSA Proxy (Linux) (8400/8403/443/902)
VSA Proxy (Windows) (8400/8403/443/902)
VCenter Host (8400/8403/443)
ESX Host (8400/8403/443/902)
VM (No port to open)

Client to Media agent (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403

Client to Commserver (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403
Media agent to Commserver (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403
Commserver to Media agent (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403
Commserver to Client (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403
VSA Proxy to VCenter (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403/443
VSA Proxy to ESX host (bidirectionally) - 8400/8403/443/902
ESX host to VCenter - 443/80
=================================================================
How many DR backup targets are possible?

Disaster Recovery (DR) Backups are executed using the following phases:

DR staging Location: software_installation_directory\CommserveDR

Export (0 to 50%)
During the export phase, the software copies a metadata backup of the CommServe
database to the default staging directory that is in
software_installation_directory\CommserveDR.
You can specify a local path or a network path as a destination location to export
the metadata.
By default data will be retain for 5 copies. If we need we have extend the same but
we need to required space on disk or drive.

You can set up the following additional export destinations:

1) Commvault Cloud Services portal : Commvault uses AZUREblock storage

a)We need to register the commserver with the commvault cloud service. => gettin
started=>Initial setup=>Initial commcell configuration => Register product=>create
account.
b)Additionaly We need to register with clod metrics reporting.

2) Cloud storage library: We can configure any cloud storage.

Backup (50 to 100%)

During the backup phase, the metadata available in the staging directory in the
CommServe, along with the configured log files, are backed up using the DR storage
policy as follows:
A default DR storage policy (CommServeDR) is automatically created when the first
library is configured in the CommCell.
By default, the primary copy of the DR storage policy is created as a WORM copy to
prevents accidental deletion of data that is not qualified for aging.
A secondary copy for the DR backup data is automatically created when you configure
the first tape library.
An Auxiliary Copy schedule which runs every 15 minutes is automatically created.
If necessary, you can change the frequency of this Auxiliary Copy operation.

Recommended:
You must store the Disaster Recovery (DR) backup in a dedicated network location
that is accessible from both the production host and the new server host that is
used for recovery.
Do not use a local disk or local clustered disk because it is not safe and
recommended.
Use a UNC path to access the network location. Make sure that this dedicated
location is not used for any other CommServe task.
Do not use administrative shares as an export location. For example, \\MyServer\
E$\.
For a network location that is on a Windows mount path, the software enables
ransomware protection by default.
For a network location that is on a Linux mount path, you must enable ransomware
protection manually.
Do not use the Commvault installation directory as a backup location for DR backups
to local disk.
By default, the Commvault software enables ransomware protection for DR backup
folders on Windows.

========================================================
14. How to configure the backup networks?
From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Manage > Network > Backup networks.
On the Network pairs screen, click Add.
The Configure network pairs dialog box appears.
Click Select computers.
From the Select 1st computer list, select the first server or server group.
From the Select 2nd computer list, select the second server or server group.
Click Select network pairs.
Click Add network pairs.
The Add interfaces dialog box appears.
In the first computer list, either enter an interface, or select from the list of
available interfaces.
Select the Enabled check box.
Click Add.
The newly added network pair will appear in a table.
Click Save.

==============================================================

15. How to enable the commserve Live sync?

Verify that the Status icons in the Process Manager for Production Node and Passive
Node(s) are displayed in green in both the Production and Standby CommServe hosts,
before enabling the CommServe LiveSync operation.

Open Command Center URL using the following format: http://webhost/commandcenter.

Enter your user name and password and click Login.
From the navigation pane, go to Manage > System.
The System page appears.
Click the CommServe LiveSync tile.
The CommServe LiveSync page appears.
Under Replication, move the Enable toggle key to the right.
The Edit replication settings dialog box appears.

OPTIONAL: Edit the replication settings as follows:

To enable automatic failover, move the Automatic Failover toggle key to the right.
For more information on automatic failovers, see Enabling Automatic Failovers
In the Replication frequency box, increase or decrease the frequency of the
replication jobs.
In the Plan list, select a new plan for CommServe LiveSync.
Click Save.
59. What are the basic requiremenst to configre cloud library?

From the navigation pane, click Storage > Cloud.

The Cloud page appears.
In the upper right of the page, click Add to add a cloud storage.
The Add cloud storage page appears.
Enter the details needed to add the cloud storage. Depending on the Cloud Storage
vendor, the required options may vary.
For vendor specific options, see Cloud Provider Information.
From the Type list, select the cloud vendor.
In the Name box, type the name of the storage.
From the MediaAgent list, select the MediaAgent that will write the data to the
cloud storage.

Note: The list displays MediaAgents classified as Active (MediaAgents having

license) and Inactive (MediaAgents having MediaAgent package installed, but license
not consumed).
The license is auto consumed if you select an inactive MediaAgent.

Optionally, click the + sign to create new MediaAgent.

In the Service host box, type the name of the cloud server host.
The Commvault software populates the Service host box with the default value for
the vendor for some of the vendors.
From the Credentials list, choose a pre-defined credential.
Optionally, click the + sign to create new credential to access a cloud library.
For more information, see Adding Credentials to a Cloud Library.
In the Bucket or Container box, type the name of an existing bucket (or container)
that you want to use.

Note:
If the bucket does not already exist, a new bucket will be created. This is
applicable to all storage classes.

Slide the Use deduplication toggle key to the right, to enable deduplication on the
storage.
Click Add to add a Deduplication DB location.
The Add Deduplication DB location dialog box appears.
From the MediaAgent list, select the MediaAgent associated with the deduplication
database.
In the Deduplication DB location box, type a path to the deduplication database in
the selected MediaAgent.
Optionally,click the folder button to select a pre-existing Deduplication DB
location.
The Select deduplication DB location dialog box appears.
Select the deduplication database and then click Save.
Click Add to exit the Add Deduplication DB location dialog box.

Click Save.
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38. How to generate the reports in commvault?

Many reports are available in the Commcell console with no additonal configuration
required.
You can access the reports on commcell console using the report tab.
You can access more built in reports from under other reports.
Select configuration report
Report selection window
From here we can configure the report as needed.
Reports are divided into 6 categories and relevant reports are alreasy aligned
under respective category.
Categories are
Commserver
Information Management
Jobs
Analysis
Storage
Vault Tracker
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=========

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17. what are the transport modes available in VSA backups?

Auto
SAN
HotAdd
NAS
NBD
NBD/SSL

==============================================================

16. What is mean by Indexing V1 and V2 and what are the differences?

Index Cache:
Index Cache resides on MediaAgent(s) and is used for backup and recovery
operations.
ICL_Label shows the configuration information about index cache.Shows information
like Index cache used by which MA.
Cv_Index directory where our Index resides.

Index Server:
Index Server is used to index, search, and perform analytics operations on the data
and is not used for backup/recovery operations.

Commvault used V1 indexing till 10 version.

From version 11 they switched to V2.

Index need dedicated disk on MA.

Index and DDB could not be hosted on same disk, since it will affect the
performance.
V1:
In indexing V1 the index is created at subclient level
1) New Ctree DB is created for every full backup at subclient level, Hence occupy
more space on media agent.
2) Entire DB is written to Disk Library, hence consuming more space on dis lib.
3) While recalling index for restore,entire index DB is restored from disk lib.

When Backup started for client 1=>Subclient 1 0 to 5% client will communicate with
MA & CS.
Once the communication established after 5 to 25% scan will be done and identified
what file need to be backed up.
At 25 Index will be created.
For every subclient full Backup job, Index will get create a database called Ctree
DB inside the disk on MA.
Once the Database has been created, DB have all information about the files that
has been scanned.
After 25 to 85% Normal backup will run to disk library.
From 85 to 100% there is phase called archvie index phase.
In that what will happen your entire database which has been created at 25% will be
written to the disk library.

Incremental backup will not create an new database, it will append the information
whatever the new data which is getting backed up.
That information will be appended to the exisiting database, from 85% to 100% its
not just the inc index cache will be written to the library.
Again the entire database will be written to the library disk as a updated
database.

New Ctree DB will create at next fulll backup. Until the index will append on the
existing database.

Disadvantage on V1 creating Full DB for every full backup and occupy more space on
MA.
Entire DB is written to disk library.Hence consuming more space on disk library.

In commvault by default your index on the disk or drive of your MA is kept only for
14 or 15 days by default.
Once the 15 days passed the entire Data base will deleted from the particular disk
or drive.

V2:
1) Index DB is created at backupset level, when the first backup is run for any
subclient in it.
2) After that only logs are created even for full backup and written to DB.
3) In archive index mode, only logs(Action logs) are written to disk lib.
4) Index DB is backed up only when 1 million changes are done or backup is not
there for 30 days.
It is backed up using sub client Indxe created on media agent by default.
5) DB is only restore when media agent is lost.

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===================================================================================
================
53. What is mean by data aging
Data aging is a logical operation that compares what is in protected storage with
defined retention settings.
Jobs that have exceeded retention are logically marked as aged.
================================================================
58. How to troubleshoot the tape drives and library?
- ScanScsiTool
Browse to installation path and type ScanscsiTool.Exe

- ScsiCmdTool
Browse to installation path and type ScsiCmdTool

TapTool.exe (Command and GUI)

TapeToolGui.exe
==================================================================

60. what is mean by synth full?

Full synthetic backup is a backup strategy that combines the benefits of both full
and incremental backups.
The term “synthetic” refers to the process of synthesizing or combining different
backups into one.

Here’s how it works:

The backup process starts with a full backup of all the data.
Subsequent backups are then performed incrementally, meaning that only the changes
made since the last backup are backed up.
At the end of the backup chain, the incremental backups are merged with the full
backup to create a “full synthetic backup”.

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============================================================
What is a dash copy in commvault?
An Auxiliary copy job uses DASH (Deduplication Accelerate Streaming Hash) copy,
which is an option for a deduplication-enabled storage policy copy, to send only
unique data to that copy.
DASH copy uses network bandwidth efficiently and minimizes the use of storage
resources.

What is the difference between disk optimized and network optimized dash copy?
Disk and Network Optimized DASH Copy Disk optimized, which is the default setting,
should always be used when the source library is using Commvault® deduplication.

Network optimized should only be used if the source library is not using Commvault
deduplication.

Disk optimized DASH Copy will extract signatures from chunk metadata during the
auxiliary copy process which reduces the load on the source disks and
the MediaAgent since blocks do not need to be read back to the MediaAgent and
signatures generated on the blocks.

Network optimized DASH Copy reads all blocks required for the auxiliary copy job
back to the MediaAgent, which generates signatures on each block.

To schedule an auxiliary copy job as a DASH Copy, first go to the Secondary Copy
Properties Deduplication tab and, from the Advanced subtab, select the ‘Enable DASH
Copy’ check box.
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11. Block level backup:
To perform block-level backup operations on a snapshot-capable volume, configure
the volume as subclient content.
The volume that you back up can be a from a local disk or from a hardware snapshot
engine that is supported by Commvault.

Block-level backup operations have the following phases:

Snapshot copy phase

Backup copy phase
Both of these phases have several sub-phases.
For Commvault native engine backup operations, both phases run as a single job.
For hardware snapshots, the snapshot copy phase and the backup copy phase run
separately as two jobs.

Snapshot Copy Sub-Phases:

Backup sub-phase: A snapshot is created as follows:

For Commvault native engine backups, Commvault uses the Volume Shadow Copy Service
(VSS) to create the snapshot.
For hardware backups, Commvault uses the vendor-specific snapshot engines to create
the snapshot.

The QSnap driver monitors the device and creates a bitmap by tracking the changed
blocks, while writes are performed on the volume that is being monitored.
A block device config file, which holds the volume details and properties, is also
created.

Scan sub-Phase: If you enabled metadata collection at the subclient level,then file
level collect files are generated.
catalog sub-phase: The File-level metadata is collected. The volume bitmaps and the
block device config file are uploaded to the index.
Archive index sub-Phase: The index for the backup job is backed up to the media.
Clean Sub Phase: The temporary files that were created in the job results directory
are removed.

Backup Copy Sub-Phases:

Scan sub-phase: The volume bitmaps and the block device config file are downloaded
from the index. Extent collect files that have data-only blocks are generated.
Backup sub-phase: The snapshots are mounted, and the extents are moved from the
snapshot to the media.
Archive index sub-phase: The index for the backup job is backed up to the media.

Cleanup sub-phase: The temporary files that were created in the Job Results
directory are removed.

If you enable the Index files after backup option, files are cataloged offline as a
separate job after the block-level backup completes.
===================================================================================
===================================================
27. What is mean by aux copy and what are the different types?
A storage copy is a secondary copy that provides a means to make additional copies
of the data located on the primary copy.
Storage copies are useful when you want to make consistent point-in-time copies of
data within the cycle.

There are three types of storage copies:

Synchronous Copy
In a synchronous copy, all the backup jobs (full, incremental, differential,
transaction log or archive job) that are written to the primary copy are copied.
An auxiliary copy operation must be performed to replicate the data to the storage
copy.

Although a storage copy can use the same storage target as the primary copy, we
recommend that you use a different storage target for a storage copy.

Selective Copy
A selective copy allows you to copy specific full backup jobs from a source copy.
The source copy can be either a primary or a synchronous copy.
Selective copy facilitates better tape rotation.

Snapshot copy
You can create vault or replica copies, or mirror copies of the snapshot copy that
you have in the server backup plan.

===================================================================================
37. How the days and cycle retention works in commvault?
Days Retention set for the backup.
Cycle is nothing but the duration between 2 full backups.
7 days 1 cycle
Example
Friday (Full) Sat (Inc) Sun (Inc) Mon (Inc) Tue (Inc) Wed (Inc) Thursday (Inc) Fri
(Full)this is call as full backup.

===================================================================================
=======

17. What is mean by DDB and what is the purpose of having DDB?
All the signatures that are generated using the hash algorithm are stored in the
Deduplication database, i.e. DDB

18. What is mean by deduplication?

19. What is mean by global deduplication and what are the types of the
dedulication?

20. What is mean by source side and target side dedupication?

Deduplicaiton has been divided in to 2 types
1) Target side deduplication (Media Agent) & 2) Source client side deduplication
(Client)

26. How the deduplications works in the backend?

31. How to reconstruct the DDB?
32. What is the default block size for dedupe enabled SP?
33. How to seal the DDB and when it is really required?
34. How to make sure the DDB is reconstrcuted much faster than the normal
reconstruction?
35. Is it possible to manaullay start the DDB full reconstrcution?
36. When the DDB resync is used?
25. what are the tables present in the DDB?

===================================================================================
=========
10. What is mean by silent\decoupled installation?

Silent Installation/Decoupled Installation:

Push Installation: Push installation is nothing but installing client SW from
commserver.

12. How many DR metadata folders are maintained by deafult? 5

13. Where are the log files are stored and which tool can be used to monitor the
real time log?
16. How to enable the live sync for the clients?
23. What is mean by source side disk cache?
24. What us mean by Dashfull?
28. What is mean by basic retention and extended retention?
29. What is mean by grace days in extended retention?
30. How to reconstruct the index database?
15. Explain backup process flow and restore process flow?
39. How to perform the DR failover when Primary CS is down?
40. Which tool is used to perform the failover?
41. How many instance is required in priamry and DR CS to enable the live sync? 2
instance on primary and DR

42. what is mean by CS DB maintenance and what are the different types?
Full maintenance every 6 moths
Recommanded

43. What is mean by intellisnap and when its recommended to use?

44. What will you do if Index and DDB is correcupted?
45. What will you do if Index is missing in backup server?
46. What are all the different restore methods on VM, database and file system?
47. What is mean by floating name configuration?
48. where the index and DDB is hosted in commcell environment?
49. What is mean by Q and I in DDB, why its important and what is the threshold
value for DDB?
50. How to setup threshold for disk libaries?
51. What is mean by data verification and what are the types of verification and
why its performed?
52. How to reclaim space from library if the data is still being in storage even
after retentions
54. what are the permissions required during the agent level backup configurations
55. What is mean by encrytpion and what level it can be implemented
56. what are the supported encryption algorithms

VMware restoration options in commvault?

Ans. 1. Full Virtual machines
2. Virtual machine files(vm config. file and vmdk file to file system of
proxy)
3. attach disk to existing VM --restore VMDK file to datastore of esx host
and attach vmdk to existing VM
4. Guest file and folder
5. Virtual lab

VM backup type:
application aware--provide application granular recovery
file system and application consistent--need vmware tool to bbe installed to
perform quisce backup of FS and applications
crash consistent--use vmware software snapshot to alow basic backup of vm