COH-285 Questions and Answers

The replication job starts when the force interval for small replication jobs is reached. NetBackup SLP settings control how Storage Lifecycle Policy jobs are maintained and executed for the selected primary server. Cohesity documentation identifies these as SLP settings used to customize how SLP jobs run. For AIR replication batching, the controlling parameter here is SLP.MIN_SIZE_PER_REPLICATION_JOB. Official NetBackup documentation defines it as the smallest batch size that can run as a single replication job and states that the job does not run until enough images accumulate to reach that size, or until the force interval for small replication jobs is reached. (veritas.com)

In this scenario, three backups of 5GB each create only 15GB of eligible replication data. That is below the configured 20GB threshold, so NetBackup does not start the replication job based on size. Because the backup window has closed and no additional backup images will arrive, the batch cannot reach 20GB. NetBackup therefore submits the small replication batch when the oldest image reaches the configured 60-minute force interval. The force interval is specifically designed to prevent NetBackup from waiting too long before submitting a small replication job. (veritas.com)

The correct location is Media and Device Management > Device Monitor > Disk Pools. In NetBackup, the Devices > Disk Pools view is primarily used to view configured disk pools, manage disk-pool properties, delete disk pools, or perform inventory-related actions. It is not the operational monitoring location used to change the runtime state of a disk pool. Cohesity documentation distinguishes the disk-pool management view from state monitoring; for example, it states that disk pool state is UP or DOWN and that the state is displayed in the Status column when locating the disk pool. The classic NetBackup Administration Console procedure states that to change disk pool state, the administrator selects Media and Device Management > Device Monitor, opens the Disk Pools tab, selects the disk pool, and then chooses Actions > Up or Actions > Down. Cohesity’s disk-pool state guidance also notes that changing a disk pool to DOWN requires the disk pool not to be busy; assigned backup jobs must complete or be canceled before the state change succeeds. Therefore, the correct console path is option B.

The correct answer is A. NetBackup deployment policies use VxUpdate, and VxUpdate relies on the NetBackup package repository located on the primary server. Cohesity documentation states that “VxUpdate uses a repository that resides on the primary server” and that the repository contains the packages that can be deployed to media servers and clients. It also explains that the packages referenced by deployment policies are verified and installed into that repository before use. In the deployment policy workflow, the administrator selects a package from the policy’s Package drop-down list; therefore, the package must already exist in the repository before the policy can run successfully. Cohesity explicitly notes that packages must be added to the VxUpdate repository before creating a working deployment policy, and policies without packages in the repository fail when run. Packages are not manually copied to every client, are not maintained in an external repository, and are not downloaded automatically from support at launch time. The administrator downloads or obtains the appropriate signed VxUpdate package, then adds it using the web UI or nbrepo -a. References/topics: Deployment Management, VxUpdate, Package Repository, and nbrepo repository management.

The correct answer is A. The DISALLOW_SERVER_FILE_WRITES client configuration entry controls whether NetBackup servers are allowed to write files on the client host. Cohesity NetBackup documentation states that this entry “prevents the NetBackup server from creating files on the NetBackup server or client” and further explains that it prevents NetBackup servers from remotely performing restores or remotely changing client configurations. In practical administration terms, this disables server-directed restores to that client. Cohesity also maps the related Windows Backup, Archive, and Restore interface setting to File > NetBackup Client Properties > Allow server-directed restores, confirming that the function is specifically about whether restores can be initiated from the NetBackup server side toward the client. This is why option A is the best match. Option B refers to redirected restores, which are governed by alternate-client restore permissions and client authorization behavior, not this setting alone. Option C is too broad because client-initiated restore capability is controlled separately, such as by DISALLOW_CLIENT_RESTORE. Option D is unrelated to backup write permission. References/topics: Client configuration options, DISALLOW_SERVER_FILE_WRITES, Allow server-directed restores, and NetBackup host security controls.

The required prerequisite is to set an encryption passphrase for disaster recovery packages. In a NetBackup catalog backup workflow, the catalog backup creates disaster recovery information that is required during catalog recovery. Cohesity NetBackup documentation places the passphrase step before the catalog policy is configured. In the manual catalog backup procedure, after creating the DRPackages directory and setting ownership, the guide instructs the administrator to “set the passphrase to be used at time of catalog recovery,” then open the NetBackup Administrator Console and navigate to Security Management > Global Security Setting > Disaster Recovery. In the Encryption for Disaster Recovery section, the administrator must add, confirm, and save the passphrase. Only after these steps does the documented procedure proceed to “Configure NetBackup catalog backup policy.”

This makes option D correct. A universal share is not required; the DR package path can be a configured persistent directory. An email address is optional and only used to send DR packages when email is configured. Logging in as Systems Administrator is not the specific prerequisite identified by the catalog backup procedure. Reference topics: Performing catalog backup and recovery, Backing up a catalog, and Disaster Recovery encryption settings.

The unavailable feature is Spanning volumes. In NetBackup cloud storage, disk-volume spanning is not supported by cloud vendors for backup images. The official NetBackup Cloud Administrator’s Guide lists cloud-storage limitations and explicitly states that cloud vendors do not support disk volume spanning of backup images. This makes option C the only correct answer. The other options are valid cloud-storage configuration capabilities. Compression is available in the Cloud Storage Server Configuration Wizard; the wizard provides a setting to compress backup data before writing to cloud storage. Encryption is also a supported wizard function, including AES-256 encryption and KMS-related configuration for data written to cloud storage. Secure Sockets Layer is likewise a supported connection property: NetBackup cloud storage server properties include USE_SSL and USE_SSL_RW, with SSL enabled by default for control APIs and read/write operations. Therefore, because encryption, SSL, and compression are configurable cloud features, while disk-volume spanning is a documented cloud-storage limitation, the correct selection is C. Spanning volumes. Reference topics: NetBackup Cloud Administrator’s Guide, “Configuring cloud storage,” “Cloud storage server connection properties,” and “Support limitations for NetBackup cloud storage.”

( NetBackup storage units define the physical locations where backup data is stored, whether on disk or tape, and enable efficient storage utilization for backup data.)

The first command is Scan. After a storage shelf is physically connected and the appliance is powered on, the appliance must discover and refresh the newly attached storage hardware before the disks can be added or assigned. The NetBackup Appliance administration procedure states that storage devices are scanned from Main > Manage > Storage, and the administrator should enter the Scan command to scan connected storage devices. It specifically notes that whenever a storage device is connected or disconnected, this command is used to detect the storage device or refresh its status. The scan operation refreshes the storage inventory and, on 53xx appliances, can create new disk/RAID groups on external storage before reporting success. Only after the scan makes the disks visible as New Available should the administrator use Add to add the disks into unallocated storage. Grow and Resize are later capacity-management actions and are not the discovery step. References/topics: Manage > Storage, Scanning storage devices, Adding newly available disks, and storage shelf expansion workflow.

The correct answer is C because the failure is an authorization problem on the NetBackup client, not a basic network-connectivity failure. The job output explicitly states that nbumaster8 “is not an authorized server for host nbclient1,” followed by status 59: access to the client was not allowed. Cohesity NetBackup documentation maps status code 59 to “Access to the client was not allowed.” The controlling configuration is the client’s SERVER list. Cohesity states that the SERVER entry defines the list of NetBackup primary and media servers that can access the NetBackup client, and that media servers or other primary servers must be added for that client. Cohesity also explains that on UNIX servers and clients, the SERVER entries in bp.conf define the NetBackup servers that are allowed access, with additional entries identifying servers that can initiate scheduled backups. Therefore, the client rejected the backup request because the requesting server name was missing from the client’s server list or did not match the expected resolved name. References/topics: Status code 59, SERVER option for NetBackup clients, bp.conf, Host Properties > Clients > Servers, and NetBackup host-name authorization.

( NetBackup Compatibility Lists provide a comprehensive list of supported operating systems, applications, and hardware for NetBackup, enabling users to ensure that their backup environment is compatible with NetBackup and avoid potential compatibility issues.)

The correct action is to run content router queue processing on the media server that hosts the MSDP storage server. In an MSDP environment, expiring backup images with bpexpdate removes or marks the NetBackup catalog references, but the deduplicated segment references in MSDP are reclaimed through the deduplication transaction queue. Cohesity NetBackup documentation explains that after images are expired, MSDP may not immediately reclaim the freed space and that administrators can accelerate reclamation by manually processing the MSDP transaction queue. The deduplication process writes transaction log data into the queue directory, and that queue data is later processed during the next content router queue processing operation. Official NetBackup Deduplication procedures specify running crcontrol --processqueue on the MSDP storage server, not on the primary server. Image cleanup alone is not the MSDP space-reclamation mechanism after manual expiration, and a storage-pool inventory does not dereference deduplicated fragments. Therefore, the required step is option A.

The correct prerequisites are to enable granular recovery in the policy and ensure Network File System (NFS) is enabled/installed on the Active Directory client. Cohesity NetBackup documentation states that an Active Directory backup policy can be configured to allow restore of “objects and attributes” and that, in the policy Attributes tab, the administrator must select MS-Windows as the policy type and then Enable the Enable granular recovery option; if it is not enabled, the backup can run, but it cannot produce granular restores. Cohesity also defines the system requirement for Active Directory granular backup and recovery: NFS must be installed on the media server and all Active Directory domain controllers or ADAM/LDS hosts. This matches option E because the Active Directory domain controller is the NetBackup client in this workflow. Option C is incorrect because NBFSD is not installed as a client prerequisite; the client mounts a mapped drive, while the media server handles requests through the NBFS/NBFSD service. Option B is wrong because the documented policy type is MS-Windows, not FlashBackup-Windows. References/topics: Active Directory granular backups and recovery, GRT, NFS configuration, and Creating a policy that allows Active Directory granular restores.

( Storage unit groups in NetBackup enable load balancing and failover for backup jobs, by allowing you to define multiple storage units for a backup policy and specify the order in which they are used for backups.)

A Storage Unit is a logical NetBackup object used to represent the storage destination for backup data. The official Cohesity NetBackup documentation defines it directly: “A storage unit is a label that NetBackup associates with physical storage.” It further explains that the label can identify a robot, a path to a volume, or a disk pool. This makes option C the precise definition. Option A is incomplete because a storage unit does not merely define a physical location; it abstracts storage resources so policies and storage lifecycle operations can target them. Option B is incorrect because storage plans or lifecycle policies may use storage units, but a storage unit itself is not created for the sole purpose of creating a plan. Option D is too narrow because Media Manager is associated primarily with tape/robotic media handling, while storage units are broader NetBackup entities and can represent tape, disk, or disk-pool destinations. Cohesity NetBackup storage topics also describe storage units as part of the recognized storage configurations and note that they can be included in storage unit groups or storage lifecycle policies.

The Enable FIPS mode option is presented during a fresh NetBackup installation of primary, media, client, or clustered server software. Cohesity NetBackup Installation Guide procedures show that, during local, remote, or clustered server installation, the installer displays the FIPS Compliance in NetBackup screen where the administrator can enable or disable FIPS mode; by default, FIPS mode is disabled. The guide further states that enabling FIPS causes the NetBackup installer and subsequent operations to run in FIPS mode, and that enabling it during clustered installation applies it to the nodes added on the NetBackup Remote Hosts screen. Client installation follows the same model: the Windows client installation procedure includes a FIPS Compliance in NetBackup screen where FIPS mode can be enabled or disabled. Option C is incorrect because Cohesity explicitly states that NetBackup does not support changing FIPS mode during upgrade; it must be enabled before upgrade or after upgrade as a post-install configuration. Reference topics: NetBackup Installation Guide, FIPS Compliance in NetBackup, and Enable FIPS mode on NetBackup during installation.

The correct resources are the operating system logs and the robtest command. The failure is not a client file-read problem; it occurs when bptm requests tape media and the robot cannot complete the operation. Cohesity NetBackup documentation describes the tape workflow: bptm reserves drives and issues mount requests through the Media Manager and robotic daemons, which perform the physical media mount. When the job detail reports “Robot operation failed” and “All drives down,” the fault domain is tape device access, robotic control, drive visibility, zoning, library state, or OS-level SCSI communication. Official troubleshooting guidance states that NetBackup uses OS-level commands and drivers for tape operations, and recommends starting at the OS and hardware layer and checking OS system/event logs. The robtest utility is also directly relevant because it issues basic SCSI commands to a robotic device attached to a NetBackup media server and can test drive status, slot status, move operations, and robot readiness. Options B, C, and D are less relevant: bpbkar is a backup client read process, nbdevconfig is primarily disk-storage configuration, and bpmedia manages media records rather than robotic motion or drive connectivity.