COH-285 Sample Questions Answers

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 causes are an incorrect client host-name resolution entry on the primary server and stopped NetBackup client processes. The bptestbpcd utility is specifically used to establish a connection from a NetBackup server to the bpcd daemon on a NetBackup host or client, and successful output reports the socket connections that were established. A status 25: cannot connect on socket means the primary server could not complete that socket connection. Official NetBackup troubleshooting guidance states that status 25 commonly results when the client does not acknowledge the TCP connection, the server cannot resolve the client, the client is not listening on bpcd/vnetd, or name resolution fails. Therefore, an incorrect hosts-file entry for clientA on the primary server can send the connection attempt to the wrong address or prevent proper resolution. Likewise, if the NetBackup processes on the client are stopped, the client will not be listening on the required bpcd/vnetd ports. The troubleshooting procedure specifically instructs administrators to verify that the client has bpcd and vnetd ports in listening mode. Options B and E are unrelated to this client-side connection test, while C aligns more closely with authorization failures such as status 59. References/topics: bptestbpcd, status code 25, client name resolution, and bpcd/vnetd client connectivity troubleshooting.

The correct recovery options are recovering the MSDP catalog from an MSDP catalog backup and restoring the MSDP catalog from an MSDP catalog shadow copy. Cohesity documentation explains that the NetBackup Deduplication Manager automatically creates daily MSDP catalog shadow copies and transaction logs. If corruption is detected, the Deduplication Manager restores the catalog from the most recent shadow copy and replays the transaction log so the recovered catalog is current. Cohesity also states that administrators should protect the MSDP catalog with a dedicated MSDP catalog backup policy, because a NetBackup catalog backup does not include the MSDP catalog. The MSDP catalog backup is the second tier of protection and is used when shadow copies are unavailable or corrupt. The official recovery guidance identifies the two MSDP catalog recovery options as Restore from a shadow copy and Recover from a backup, specifically noting that a hardware problem can cause complete loss of the MSDP catalog and shadow copies. Options C and D are not the documented standard recovery choices for bringing the MSDP catalog online, and option E is incorrect because the NetBackup catalog backup excludes the MSDP catalog. References/topics: MSDP shadow catalog, MSDP catalog backup policy, Recovering the MSDP catalog, and drcontrol-based catalog protection.

The correct action is to increase the Maximum I/O Streams for the MSDP disk pool. In NetBackup disk storage, the disk pool stream limit is the effective gate for concurrent read/write activity against that pool. Cohesity documentation identifies Limit I/O streams as the disk-pool property that controls read and write streams, and notes that if the limit is reached, NetBackup queues jobs until a volume becomes available. The storage-unit Maximum concurrent jobs setting controls how many jobs NetBackup sends to a disk storage unit, but Cohesity also states that this setting is not the only concurrency limiter and depends on disk-pool and media-server factors. NetBackup performance guidance is more explicit for this scenario: the disk pool Max I/O Streams value sets concurrent read/write operations, while the storage unit concurrent-jobs value addresses backup/restore jobs and does not control secondary operations such as duplications and replications; those are usually dictated by Max I/O Streams. Therefore, increasing storage-unit jobs or SLP priority does not guarantee that AIR replications can run while backups consume all available disk-pool streams. The correct tuning point is the disk pool’s Maximum I/O Streams.

The irrelevant consideration is the file system folder depth. When selecting between NetBackup Accelerator and NetBackup FlashBackup for a file system containing millions of files, the key design factors are capacity, file-count/metadata handling, change processing, policy support, and file system/platform compatibility—not how deeply folders are nested. Cohesity documents that Accelerator performs an initial full backup and creates a track log, then identifies changed data by comparing track-log information against file-system information for each file; on NTFS/ReFS it can also use the Windows change journal. Cohesity also states that Accelerator track-log sizing is relative to file system size and number of backup files, with sizing formulas based on number of files and used disk space—not directory depth. FlashBackup is documented as combining raw-partition backup speed with individual file restore, and the FlashBackup/FlashBackup-Windows policy types are platform-specific, making the type of file system/client platform relevant. Storage capacity is also relevant because FlashBackup size reporting uses the mounted Windows disk volume or UNIX raw disk partition size. References/topics: Accelerator operation, track-log sizing, FlashBackup policy types, and large file-system backup planning.

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 answer is C. During an image verification operation, NetBackup validates the backup image stored on backup storage by reading the backup volume and comparing what is present on that storage with the metadata recorded in the NetBackup catalog. Cohesity NetBackup documentation states that NetBackup verifies backup contents “by reading the volume and comparing its contents to what is recorded in the NetBackup catalog.” It also clarifies that this operation does not compare the backup image with the original client disk contents. Therefore, the validation scope is the readability and catalog consistency of the stored backup image, not a live comparison against the client file system and not a primary-server data check. This distinction is important operationally: image verification confirms that NetBackup can locate and read the blocks belonging to the backup image and that the stored image aligns with catalog records. It is not a restore test and does not prove that current client data is unchanged. References/topics: Catalog utility, Verify backup images, bpverify, NetBackup catalog image validation, and backup storage readability verification.

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.

The correct action is to resume the job from Activity Monitor. Cohesity NetBackup documentation states that Activity Monitor provides a Resume action for jobs that are suspended or in an Incomplete state; the documented procedure is to open Activity Monitor > Jobs, select the incomplete job, and choose Actions > Resume Job. This is the supported way to make the same incomplete backup continue before the next scheduled backup starts. It is especially important in a multiple data streams policy, where each stream appears as an individual job and the failed stream should be resumed rather than replaced by a new manual backup. The Move backup job from incomplete state to done state property only controls how long a failed backup can remain incomplete before Activity Monitor shows it as Done; reducing that value would shorten the recovery window, not rerun the backup. Cohesity also notes that a resumed job reuses the same job ID, whereas a restarted job receives a new job ID. Running a manual client or mount-point backup would create a separate backup operation and would not verify completion of the existing incomplete job. References/topics: Activity Monitor job actions, Resume incomplete jobs, Checkpoint restart, and Clean-up host properties.

The correct action is to move E02003 to the scratch_pool. Cohesity NetBackup documentation states that the Policy volume pool specifies the default media pool for policy backups, and whenever a new volume is required, NetBackup allocates it from that indicated pool. It also identifies the scratch volume pool as the mechanism that lets NetBackup automatically transfer volumes when another pool has no media available. In the output, the policy requires server_tapes, but that pool has no usable available HCART2 media: E02007 and E02008 are active with retention levels 1 and 3, E02005 is full, E02006 is frozen, and E02004 is FULL/FROZEN. Unfreezing E02004 would not solve the issue because it remains full. NetBackup also stores tape backups with other backups at the same retention level by default, so this retention-level mismatch matters for active tapes. E02003 is the only unassigned, available HCART2 backup tape. Placing it in the scratch pool allows NetBackup to move it automatically into server_tapes when the job requests new media. References/topics: Policy volume pool, Scratch volume pools, retention-level media selection, and status 96 media allocation troubleshooting.

With ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES and Allow multiple data streams enabled, NetBackup can split each client backup into separate streams per drive or file system; Cohesity documentation states that NetBackup backs up the client and “splits the data from each drive” into its own stream when multiple data streams are enabled. However, the number of streams that can run concurrently is still constrained by job limits. Cohesity’s policy documentation states that concurrent stream count is affected by Maximum jobs per client, Limit jobs per policy, and related storage limits; when Maximum data streams is not explicitly set, NetBackup uses the lower of Maximum jobs per client or Limit jobs per policy. The default Maximum jobs per client is one job, so only one backup stream per client can run. With five clients, that means 5 active backup jobs, not 15.

The storage unit’s Maximum concurrent jobs = 15 does not restrict restores, because Cohesity states this setting controls backup and duplication traffic, not restore jobs. The disk pool’s Maximum I/O Streams = 20 limits read and write streams; restores read backup images and backups write them. Five backups plus ten restores equals 15 total streams, so all 10 restores can run.

The correct procedure is to delete the incorrectly discovered tape entry, configure the Media ID generation rule correctly, re-inventory the library, and then run the recovery. The catalog recovery request requires MediaID GBP847 for barcode GBP847S1, but the new server inventoried the tape as P847S1. Cohesity NetBackup documentation explains that, by default, NetBackup generates a media ID from the last six characters of a tape barcode. For barcode GBP847S1, the last six characters are P847S1, which exactly matches the incorrect media ID shown in the Administration Console. Cohesity further states that media ID generation rules override this default and define which barcode characters NetBackup uses to create the media ID. In this case, the rule must generate the media ID from the first six characters, producing GBP847. The rule is configured from the robot inventory advanced options under Media ID Generation. A barcode rule is not sufficient because barcode rules assign media attributes such as media type or volume pool, whereas media ID generation controls the actual media ID. bplabel is also inappropriate because it can relabel media and risks invalidating existing backup data. References/topics: Catalog recovery, robot inventory, media ID generation rules, and tape barcode handling.

The correct setting is Network Connections > Maximum concurrent jobs. In Cohesity NetBackup documentation, the Scalable Storage host property is accessed from Hosts > Host properties, selecting the media server, editing media server properties, and choosing Scalable storage. These settings cover cloud encryption, metering, bandwidth throttling, and network connections between NetBackup hosts and the cloud storage provider. The key requirement in the question is to reduce network use by limiting the number of parallel backup streams. Cohesity documents Maximum concurrent jobs as “the default maximum number of concurrent jobs that the media server can run for the cloud storage server,” and notes that when jobs exceed the allowed connection count, additional backup or restore jobs fail after the maximum is reached. By reducing this value, the administrator directly limits simultaneous cloud backup streams and therefore reduces concurrent network consumption. The other options control different behaviors: Metering interval affects reporting collection frequency, Total available bandwidth defines the cloud connection speed, and Sampling interval controls how often bandwidth usage is measured for throttling. References/topics: Scalable Storage properties, Network Connections, Maximum concurrent jobs, and Cloud storage server bandwidth throttling properties.

The correct command is bpclntcmd. A NetBackup Status 58: can’t connect to client indicates that the NetBackup server or media server cannot establish the required connection to the client. Veritas/Cohesity troubleshooting guidance states that this failure occurs when the media server cannot connect to the client on required NetBackup communication ports such as PBX/vnetd/bpcd, and connectivity or name-resolution problems are common causes. The bpclntcmd utility is the appropriate command from the listed options because it validates NetBackup host name and IP resolution between NetBackup nodes. Cohesity documentation states that bpclntcmd -ip and bpclntcmd -hn are used to verify whether a NetBackup node can resolve IP addresses and host names of other NetBackup nodes, and specifically notes using bpclntcmd -hn on the NetBackup server to verify that the client name resolves correctly. For this scenario, the administrator would run bpclntcmd from the media server against the Linux client to confirm that the client name resolves to the expected IP address and that reverse resolution is consistent. nbemmcmd is for EMM/media database operations, bpplclients lists policy clients, and bpclient manages client attributes. References/topics: Status 58 troubleshooting, bpclntcmd utility, client name resolution, and media-server-to-client connectivity validation.

The correct action is to increment the job priority in Activity Monitor for the specific queued job. Cohesity NetBackup documentation states that an administrator can dynamically change the priority of selected queued or active jobs that wait for resources directly from the Activity Monitor by selecting the job and choosing Change Job Priority. The available options include setting a specific priority, incrementing the job priority, or decrementing it, and the change affects only the selected job rather than all jobs of that type. This matches the requirement: a small subset of queued jobs must be favored during the same backup session, without changing long-term policy behavior.

Changing the priority in the policy is less appropriate because the policy attribute defines how that policy competes with other policies for resources, and is a configuration-level setting rather than an immediate per-job intervention. NetBackup uses job priority as a scheduling guide; higher-priority requests are evaluated before lower-priority requests, although resource optimization can still influence final selection. Therefore, the operationally correct response is option A.

The correct answer is Cumulative incremental backup. In NetBackup policy schedule configuration, the Synthetic backup schedule attribute is not limited only to a Full schedule. Cohesity documentation states that the Synthetic backup attribute allows a backup image to be assembled from prior backup images and that “a synthetic backup may be a synthetic full or a synthetic cumulative incremental backup.” This directly identifies cumulative incremental as the additional schedule type that can be configured as synthetic. Differential incremental backups are normally used as component images that feed the synthetic operation; they capture changed data and are later consolidated, but they are not the synthetic schedule type in this question. User archive and Vault catalog backup schedules are unrelated to synthetic backup image construction. Cohesity also explains that a synthetic cumulative incremental backup is produced by consolidating component images, including differential incremental backups taken since the last cumulative backup and, when available, the last cumulative incremental backup. Therefore, besides Full, the schedule type that supports synthetic configuration is Cumulative incremental backup. References/topics: Synthetic backup schedule attribute, Synthetic cumulative incremental backups, and Schedules required for synthetic backups.

The correct command is nbcertcmd -listCertDetails. Cohesity NetBackup documentation states that host ID-based certificate details can be viewed with the NetBackup web UI, the nbcertcmd command, or NetBackup APIs. In the command procedure, Cohesity specifically instructs administrators to run nbcertcmd -listCertDetails on the NetBackup host to view host IDs and associated certificate details for that host. The NetBackup Commands Reference also confirms that nbcertcmd is the utility used to request and manage host ID-based security certificates on NetBackup hosts, including primary servers, media servers, and clients. It lists -listCertDetails as the operation that displays certificate details for security certificates deployed on the NetBackup host.

Option A is incorrect because -listCACertDetails displays trusted CA certificate details, not the local host-ID certificate expiry. Option B is invalid in this context because enrollment status is not viewed with bpclntcmd. Option C, -hostSelfCheck, checks whether the host certificate is revoked, not its expiration date. Reference topics: NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide, Viewing host ID-based certificate details, and nbcertcmd command reference.

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 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 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.

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.