Commvault Tutorial

Protecting data in hybrid and cloud environments from internal and external threats is a major challenge for enterprises. A systematic approach to handling and securing sensitive data is more important than ever.

Commvault is one of the most sought-after data protection solutions for enterprises today. So, gaining expertise in the Commvault platform will significantly advance your career in data protection.

As career opportunities for Commvault professionals are on the rise, we have developed this Commvault tutorial for beginners and experienced learners.

Table of Contents:

• What is Commvault
• Why Commvault?
• Commvault CommCell
• CommCell Console 
• CommCell Management
• CommCell Recovery
• CommCell Backup Agents
• Commvault Storage and Indexing
• Commvault Cloud Backup and Recovery
• Commvault Monitoring and Reporting
• Commvault Use Cases
• Certifications and Career Opportunities
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is Commvault?

Commvault is an enterprise-level data protection, backup, recovery, and data management platform. Organizations leverage Commvault to access, manage, and secure their data anytime, anywhere.

It has a customizable online user interface, CommCell Console, that enables effective disaster recovery. Through the Commvault Command Center, you can identify the content you want to back up and manage the backup and restore processes.  

Why Commvault?

The following are the key reasons why companies leverage Commvault for data protection and backup.

• You can store data on disk, tape, or a database server. You can also use the data to meet all compliance requirements.
• Commvault performs in-depth analytics and generates detailed reports on security operations.
• It offers robust data protection methods, including replication, archiving, and snapshots.
• It is a suitable solution for physical clients, virtual server backup environments, and servers.
• It supports cross-platform environments, including Windows and Linux.
• Every administrative task is handled using an intuitive interface – the CommCell Console.

We hope you are now familiar with the fundamentals of Commvault. It‘s time to dive deep into Commvault's technical aspects.

Want to Enrich your career and get a certified Commvault professional, then enroll in our “Commvault Online Training”  Course.  This course will help you to achieve excellence in this domain.

Commvault CommCell

CommCell environment is a set of protected computers where you can move, store, secure, and manage data. Each protected computer in that environment is known as a client.

CommCell Installation:

Follow the steps below while setting up a CommCell environment.

• First, install the CommServe and other server packages
• Then, install the Commvault MediaAgent
• Finally, install agents on client computers

The two key components of the CommCell environment are the CommServe server and MediaAgents. Let’s take a close look at them.

CommServe Server:

The CommServe server is the control and command part of the CommCell environment. 

This server performs the following operations:

• Provides tools to manage the administrative functions in a CommCell environment
• Maintains Microsoft SQL Server databases that store configuration and other critical data.
• Communicates with MediaAgents based on requirements

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MediaAgent:

A MediaAgent is a data transmission manager in the CommCell environment. It supports moving data effectively and manages data storage libraries. Note that the CommServe server manages MediaAgents effectively.

Next, we will learn about the CommCell console - another key component of CommCell.

CommCell Console

CommCell Console is a user interface for managing the CommCell environment. It performs the following operations:

• Monitor and control active jobs
• View events associated with activities

CommCell Console Tools:

CommCell Console provides various tools and utilities, as explained below.

• Developer Tools:
  • Commvault Automation: You can automate test case execution through the Commvault interface. You need to install the workflow and test automation package in the CommCell environment to enable automation.
  • Commvault PowerShell Module: Use this module to interact with objects in the CommCell environment.
• Events Organizer: Events Organizer is a web-based application for creating and managing various types of events. It allows you to generate reports and develop surveys to monitor and track events.

CommCell Management:

We cover the CommCell management concepts in this part of the Commvault backup tutorial. Here, you will learn about CommCell operations in depth.

CommCell Operations:

You can perform many operations in the CommCell environment. Let’s outline some of them in this section.

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• Disaster Recovery Backup – CommCell regularly backs up the CommServe database. It is essential to fetch data in the event of a system failure or a disaster.
• Data Aging  – CommCell performs data aging to remove data that is no longer required.
• Auxiliary Copy – The auxiliary copy operation enables you to create secondary copies of the data related to commvault data protection operations, irrespective of the native copy.
• View Schedules – You can use the CommCell browser to modify and view all the jobs scheduled to run on a CommServe server. The Scheduled Jobs window allows you to review scheduled jobs.
• Send Log Files – You can view and send the log files from a CommServe server. It helps analyze all the operations performed on systems.
• Event Search – You can search for a specific event in your CommCell environment.

Let’s dive into CommCell recovery in the next section.

CommCell Recovery:

It is a set of procedures you can use to recover data in the event of a CommCell disaster.

CommCell disasters include:

• Loss of access to storage resources
• Loss of a production service
• Loss of CommServe functionality

CommServe Recovery solutions:

If a failure occurs in the CommServe system, the entire CommCell group is turned off. So, it is vital to plan and implement CommServe recovery solutions to protect CommServe systems.

Let’s discuss the key CommServe disaster recovery solutions:

• Disaster Recovery Backups: CommServe executes Disaster Recovery (DR) backup jobs to protect the CommServe production databases. In this method, you can back up the database to disk and periodically move it to another storage location.
• CommServe LiveSync: In this method, you need to assign dedicated computers as standby or passive CommServe hosts. This is where you can install the CommServe software and stage the CommServe database.

CommCell Backup Agents:

Agents are software modules that you can use to access and secure data. Commvault uses agents to connect with file systems, applications, and databases for data protection.

Let’s go through some of the critical Backup Agents below:

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• Active Directory (AD): The Active Directory iDataAgent enables complete backup and restore of individual AD attributes.
• Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS): Commvault provides efficient methods for backing up and archiving HDFS. You can install Commvault on a Hadoop Client Node or Hadoop Data Node. These nodes are known as data access nodes.
• Microsoft SharePoint Server Agent: This backup agent can secure on-site SharePoint farms and documents. You can use this agent to perform various Commvault backup types, including full, incremental, and differential.

Commvault Data Deduplication:

Data Deduplication, or dedup, is a process of eliminating redundant information in a dataset. It helps optimize storage capacity without compromising data integrity.

Commvault offers enterprise-level data deduplication for data protection. By implementing data deduplication, users can optimize storage, boost performance, and reduce costs.

Commvault Storage and Indexing

In this section, we will look at Commvault storage policies and indexing.

Commvault Storage Policies:

At its core, a storage policy is a logical entity that supports backing up data from subclients. It has one or more copies of data that connect to a specific physical medium.

In Commvault, there are three types of storage policies, including:

• Standard storage policies
• Incremental storage policies
• Disaster recovery backup storage policies

Let’s uncover more information about these policies.

• Subclients related to an agent use the standard storage policy to perform backup and restore operations
• Administrators use incremental storage policies for incremental and differential backup operations.
• You can use Commvault disaster recovery backup storage policies to perform CommServe disaster recovery operations.

Commvault Indexing:

Indexing is the process of creating a file with the required metadata. It helps Commvault perform operations on data that it backs up.

While performing a data backup, Action logs with backup metadata are created on the backup MediaAgent. Then, indexes are created on the Mediagent index server.

Even a single index server MediaAgent can control indexing operations for multiple backup MediaAgents.

Commvault Cloud Backup and Recovery:

Commvault cloud backup and recovery offers robust backup and recovery, optimized cloud workload mobility, and increased data availability. The key thing is that Commvault supports data backup across multiple environments.

By using the Commvault cloud backup and recovery solution, you can manage various workloads, including:

• Virtual Machines
• Containers
• Applications
• Databases
• Endpoints
• File systems

Moreover, Commvault Cloud, powered by Metallic AI, allows users to perform the following:

• Implement role-based access control for self-service
• Eliminate data sprawl  and free up data administrators from extra workload

Next, we will move on to the Commvault application. We will begin with Commvault cloud services.

Commvault Cloud Services:

Commvault Cloud Services is a portal within the Commvault software. It provides a set of solutions for monitoring and managing data. In this portal, you can view dashboards, download the software updates, and more.

Let’s jump into the key features of Commvault Cloud Services now.

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• Cloud Metrics Reporting: You can use this feature to monitor the health of the CommCell environment using metrics reporting.
• Cloud-Based File Analytics: It allows you to view file analytics reports for your CommCell environment.
• Disk Performance Tool: This tool helps test read and write operations on a disk volume in a file system.
• Media Explorer Tool: It helps recover the CommServe disaster recovery data.

Next, we will jump into the reporting part of Commvault in this Commvault tutorial.

Commvault Monitoring and Reporting: 

You can access Commvault reports through the Commvault console, the Web Console, CommCell Console, Command Center, and Cloud Services Portal.

The information below will help backup administrators decide which Commvault report they need.

• Customization: Commvault lets you edit existing reports and create new ones to meet your organization's requirements.
• Critical Information: Commvault reports can highlight the key areas you need to address immediately.
• Commvault Store: It helps download available reports from Commvault.
• External Databases: You can connect to external databases to create reports based on your data.
• Sharing: Commvault allows users to share reports based on their roles.

Commvault offers many applications to users, which we can discuss in the next section.

Commvault Use Cases:

Let’s focus on the use cases of Commvault.

• Big Data Apps: You can use Commvault to back up and restore big data applications and file systems. You can install Commvault on multiple data access nodes and designate one as the master node.
• Cloud Environments: You can employ Commvault to access data on different cloud applications. Commvault supports backing up cloud applications and storing them on tape or disk.
  • Alibaba RDS: Commvault helps perform logical database dumps for moving data to disk, on-site or to the cloud.
  • Amazon DocumentDB: You can use Commvault to protect the Amazon DocumentDB clusters throughout multiple regions and accounts. Commvault uses AWS-native snapshot backups for the same.

Similarly, Commvault can back up data saved in the Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage, and Azure Storage.

Certifications and Career Opportunities:

Certifications:

Commvault offers many certification exams, as listed below. Passing the certifications helps you stand out in the competitive job market.

• Commvault Certified Professional
• Commvault Certified Engineer – Command Center
• Commvault Certified Expert – CommCell Console

According to Commvault, key industries such as supply chain, healthcare, construction, software development, education, and manufacturing use Commvault for data backup and recovery.

Salary for Commvault Backup Administrators:

According to Glassdoor, Commvault backup administrators can earn a salary ranging from ₹700,000 to ₹1,200,000 per annum in India. According to ZipRecruiter, salaries in the USA range from $11,000 to $124,000.

Companies Use Commvault:

TheirStack states that leading MNCs such as Capgemini, Datacom, Epic, UST, Kyndryl and TCS use Commvault to secure their constantly evolving IT environments.

Commvault Backup Job Roles:

Gaining expertise in Commvault allows you to apply for multiple job roles, including:

• Commvault Backup Engineer
• Commvault Backup Architect
• Commvault Backup Administrator
• Commvault IT Specialist

Summary:

• Commvault is a comprehensive data backup and recovery system.
• It offers a single platform that supports data backup, archiving, and cloud replication.
• It supports on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments.
• CommServe and MediaAgents are the two key Commvault components.
• You can generate and customise security operations reports in Commvault.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is learning Commvault easy for beginners?

Ans: Yes, beginners can learn Commvault easily. If they are familiar with Commvault basics, then they can understand it quickly.

2. Can I get the trial version of Commvault?

Ans: Yes, you can get the 30-day free trial version of Commvault to practice hands-on and hone your practical skills.

3. Does Commvault support cloud platforms?

Ans: Yes, Commvault supports cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud to implement cloud data backup and recovery.

4. What is the latest version of Commvault?

Ans: The latest Commvault LTS version as of June 2025 is 11.40.38.

5. Who should learn Commvault?

Ans: Learning Commvault will be helpful for:

• Beginners
• System Administrators
• Backup Engineers
• Cloud Engineers
• IT Security Professionals

Related Article: Best Commvault Interview Questions

Conclusion

In this Commvault tutorial, we have included all Commvault features and capabilities to help you become familiar with it. We hope this guide has helped you understand the big picture of Commvault and build a promising career in data protection and IT security.

If you still need help in exploring Commvault, don’t worry – you can take the Commvault training in MindMajix. After the training, you will gain mastery over Commvault and become confident in implementing Commvault backup and recovery solutions in complex real-time environments.

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