HP Data Protector 6.2 software integration with HP 3PAR Storage System

Executive summary

This white paper provides detailed information on how to integrate HP Data Protector software with

HP 3PAR Storage Systems. The solution is based on Data Protector Zero Downtime Backup concept.

The 3PAR InServ version mentioned and tested here is 2.3.1. The Data Protector version is 6.2.

Audience

This white paper is intended for solution architects, project managers, engineers, and support

personnel involved in planning, designing, and configuring a Data Protector Zero Downtime Backup

solution with HP 3PAR Storage Systems.

You need to be familiar with:

• HP 3PAR Storage architecture

• Data Protector and its Zero Downtime Backup solution

This white paper does not replace the standard product documentation.

Concepts

The solution presented in this white paper takes advantage of the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy

Service (VSS).

VSS is a framework that enables volume-based snapshots to be performed while the application

continues to write data to the volume. These can be used for different purposes: backup of open files

and applications with zero impact on the application, data restore and recovery and creating

transportable shadow copies by means of a Hardware Provider.

VSS involves the following three components when creating a volume-based snapshot:

• VSS Requestor

• VSS Writer

• VSS Hardware Provider

VSS Requestor

VSS Requestor is an application that uses VSS framework to create and manage shadow copies of

one or more volumes. Additionally, VSS Requestor (a backup/recovery application) communicates

with the application whose data is to be backed up, to gather additional information needed to

perform a backup.

The VSS framework, through the VSS Provider, makes an abstraction to the hardware specific replica.

This allows the backup/recovery application to take advantage of hardware features without the need

to know any details on how shadow copies are created on the hardware itself.

During restore, the Requestor communicates with the VSS framework in order to prepare the

application and the system for restore. The backup/recovery application (Data Protector) is

responsible for bringing data back to the application’s known location, in order that the application

can perform recovery from the restored data.

The HP Data Protector MS Volume Shadow Copy Integration component delivers VSS Requestor

functionality to Data Protector.