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Commvault Interview Questions and Answers

Written by Subashini | Jul 4, 2022 2:45:37 PM

Q1. What is Commvault?

Ans

Commvault is a data management platform that assists organizations with data backup and recovery, cloud, virtualization, disaster recovery, security, and compliance.Commvault software consists of modules to backup, restore, archive, replicate, and search data.

Q2. What is Commvault Simpana?

Ans

Simpana is one of the features of Commvault’s enterprise backup software platform that is specially designed for backup, archive, and reporting data. Simpana is the new version of the Deduplication process introduced by Commvault.

Q3. How is data protected using Commvault?

Ans

Data is protected by installing agent software on the physical or virtual hosts, which use operating system or application native APIs to protect data in a consistent state.

Production data is processed by the agent software on client computers and backed up through a data manager, the MediaAgent, to disk, tape, or cloud storage.

All data management activity in the environment is tracked by a centralized server, the CommServe, and can be managed by administrators through a central user interface.

End users can access protected data using web browsers and mobile devices.

Q4. What are the key features of Commvault?

Ans

The key features of Commvault are listed below:

  • Provides complete data protection and supports all the major applications, operating systems, databases, and mobile devices. 
  • Efficient storage management using deduplication for disk and tape.
  • Simplified management through a single console
  • Advanced security and encryption
  • We can use third-party screen readers with a command-line interface, web console, and admin console.
  • Snapshot Management
  • Edge Endpoint Solutions
  • CommCell Management
  • Media Management
  • Data Management

Q5. Explain about CommVault Tool?

Ans

CommVault is a data and the executives arrangement that offers to manage and protect your business information. CommVault is a publicly-traded software organization established in 1988, situated in the United States of America. This product can be utilized for cloud management, data backup, and recovery. CommVault, which is also known as Simpana, Software empowers us to access and utilize their information, anyplace, and whenever transforming the information into a ground-breaking vital resource. This software solution revamps the data's security for the expansive NetApp storage portfolio, and many firms use the CommVault as a reinforcement for the information recuperation purpose.

Q6. How to configure Commvault Proxy?

Ans

To configure the Commvault Proxy on the new client, follow the below steps:

Step1: Right-click on the client computer to be used as a Commvault proxy from the Commvault browser and select the properties. 

Step2: From the properties dialog box, click on the Network button and select the configure firewall settings checkbox.

Step3: Click on the options tab and choose “this computer is in DMZ and will work as a proxy checkbox.”

Step4: Click on the incoming connections tab and select add.

Step5: Select the CommServe_client_name from the list.

Step6: From the State list, select RESTRICTED and click OK.

Step7: From the State list, select RESTRICTED and click OK.

Q7. Explain the Commcell environment.

Ans

A Commcell environment is the logical grouping of all the software components that secure, transfer, and manage data and information. It contains a CommServe host, MediaAgent, and Clients.

CommServe - It is the central management component that coordinates and executes all Commcell operations.

MediaAgent - It is a data transmission manager in the Commcell environment, which enables high-performance data movement and handles data storage libraries.

Client - A Client is a logical group of agents that defines the protection, management, and movement of data associated with the client.

Q8. How does Commvault work?

Ans

  • Commvault software contains modules for protecting, analyzing, replicating, and searching data; all these modules share the same set of back-end services and advanced capabilities to seamlessly interact with each other.
  • Data is protected by installing agent software on the physical or virtual hosts that use the application's native APIs or operating systems to protect data in a  consistent state. This data is then backed up through Media Agent to the disk, tape, or cloud storage. The entire data management is controlled by a centralized server called CommServe.

Q9. Tell us about various ways of doing High Availability?

Ans

Following are various ways of doing High Availability: 

  • SQL Mirroring
  • Clustering SQL level
  • Log Shipping

Q10. Explain storage policy in CommVault?

Ans

The storage policy typically relies on customer reinforcement and storage plans. It characterizes which data should be stored and what kind of data should be stored. Further, the information is stored in a secured environment.

Q11. Explain various Copies that are available in CommVault?

Ans

CommVault had only one primary copy, and for that, there will be auxiliary types of copies. There are three auxiliary/secondary types of Copies in CommVault: 

Selective Copy: A Selective copy is a cycle that will permit a person to duplicate a particular set of reinforcements from a source copy. The source can be one of the accompanying, primary copy, or asynchronous copy. A selective copy turns out better for tape rotation.

Synchronous Copy: In Synchronous copy, it includes primary data from the source copy. 

IntelliSnap Backup Copy: In this copy phase, both the essential and auxiliary duplicates are stored to be accessible during the reinforcement stage. If the auxiliary storage doesn't have the necessary space, then the backup task will fail.

Q12. Explain about Silo?

Ans

A Silo is a collection of disk volume folders that are associated with the Deduplication Database. It contains the deduplicated data that are written on the disk storage.

Q13. What is Hash Algorithm in Commvault?

Ans

A hash algorithm is utilized in the deduplication operation in the Commvault at whatever point a square of information is perused from the source and an exceptional mark is created for the square of information utilizing a hash algorithm.

Q14. What is the default block size for deduplicated storage policies?

Ans

The default block size for deduplicated storage policies is 128kb.

Q15. What percentage of the deduplication ratio that we could maintain so far?

Ans

This can be a generalized answer and the ratio that we could maintain is as follows

  • About 90% or more when it comes to filing systems backups
  • Between 70% to 95% when it comes to the database backups

Q16. Where can you download the reports in Commvault?

Ans

You can download and view the reports in Commvault through the web console.

Q17. Define IRM in CommVault?

Ans

IntelliSnap recovery manager (IRM) is utilized to implement hardware storage operations snapshot into a recuperation procedure with no impact on the production server. It likewise gives a unified setup wizard through which you can configure policies, storage media and etc.

Q18. List out various types of backups that are available in CommVault?

Ans

CommVault replenishes productive backup and restores functionalities to any firm. Following are various types of backups that are available in CommVault: 

  • Full Backup
  • Incremental Backup
  • Differential Backup
  • Synthetic Full Backup
  • Selective Online Full Backup
  • Block-Level Backup

Q19. List out the regular backup failures that most of the clients experienced in CommVault?

Ans

Following are the most frequent backup failures that are reported by the clients: 

  • Client Services might be shut down for maintenance.
  • Data path Offline
  • Media agent Offline
  • Network communication issues
  • VSS snapshot backup issues
  • Destination disk libraries full

Q20. Tell us about Intellisnap.

Ans

Intellisnap reinforcement is utilized to develop a point-in-time snapshot of the information. It is primarily used for taking backup of live information and afterward proceeding with the live activities.

Q21. Differentiate between Snapshot and clone in CommVault?

Ans

Cloning is only duplicating something while a snapshot creates an underlying copy and afterward rolls out, resulting in improvements. Both cloning and snapshot are granted as acceptable methodologies for disaster recovery.

Q22. Is Commvault an enterprise-level software?

Ans

  • Yes, it is enterprise-level software.
  • Using Commvault software is simple; it is built up from scratch and has different modules which can be used independently based on the need.

Q23. Explain the main components of the CommCell Environment?

 Ans

Following are the three building components of CommCell Environment: 

CommServe: This is the essential management component that performs all the CommCell information tasks. 

Media Agent: This is an information transmission manager framework that empowers significant level information development execution and handles the information storage packages. 

Client: A client is a coherent group of information agents that executes assignments like the movement of information association, data protection, and management.

Q24. Explain deduplication building blocks?

 Ans

Commvault programming runs a structure block approach for information the executives. A structure block is a mix of worker and capacity to ensure informational indexes paying little heed to the information's sort or birthplace. 

Deduplication Building Blocks will permit you to secure enormous information measures with negligible foundation, better adaptability, and quicker reinforcements.

Q25. What are CommVault Appliances?

Ans

Commvault HyperScale Appliance provides seamless scale and data protection solutions. It is mainly used for scaling out infrastructure with cloud-like economics. It is a storage architecture that provides a platform for indexing, storage, data security, automation, reporting, etc.

Q26. Can you describe Scalability in Commvault?

Ans

Applications grow over time, and a Data Management solution needs to adapt with the change rate to protect the dataset quickly and efficiently, while maintaining an economy of scale that continues to generate business value out of that system.

Q27. What is Automation in Commvault?

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The cloud encourages automation, not just because the infrastructure is programmable, but the benefits of having repeatable actions reduce operational overheads, bolster resilience through known good configurations and allows for greater levels of scale.