HP Data Protector A.06.
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Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................... 11 In this white paper ............................................................................................. Microsoft VSS integration enhancements for zero downtime backup (ZDB) and instant recovery .......................................................................................... Support for integration with Data Protector Disk Array XP Agent ................. Filesystem backup ....................
Prerequisites ........................................................................................ Writers specifics ................................................................................................ Backing up writers data ..................................................................................... Overview ................................................................................................... Overview ..................................................................
Instant recovery .......................................................................................... 69 Standard restore from tape ........................................................................... 70 Restoring components ........................................................................... 70 Restoring files ....................................................................................... 70 Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 writer concepts .........................................
Restore procedure ..................................................................................... Restore options ................................................................................... MSDE writer restore specifics ...................................................................... Microsoft Exchange Server writer restore specifics ......................................... Rollforward recovery from the loss of one or more databases ...................
Figures 1 Actors of the traditional backup model ............................................... 63 2 Actors of the Data Protector VSS integration backup model ................... 63 3 Local or network VSS backup ............................................................ 20 4 Selecting backup objects (Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 CCR copy) .............................................................................................
21 Transportable VSS backup ................................................................ 68 22 VSS transportable backup options ...................................................... 95 23 Selecting backup objects (Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 CCR copy) ............................................................................................. 96 24 Additional options for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 in a CCR environment .............................................................................
Tables 1 Writer description ............................................................................ 25 2 VSS specific backup options .............................................................. 32 3 Restore to a different location options ................................................. 51 4 Writer description ............................................................................ 83 5 Backup options ...............................................................................
1 Introduction In this white paper This white paper describes the extension of HP OpenView Storage Data Protector A.06.00, which enhances the Microsoft VSS integration for zero downtime backup and instant recovery support through the VSS interface using Data Protector Disk Array XP Agent (SSEA), and introduces support for additional applications through the VSS interface. The following sections briefly introduce the enhancements that are contained in this extension.
Mounting replicas to backup system Replicas created during ZDB sessions can be mounted on the backup system. This enables you to perform additional, non-backup or restore related tasks, such as data mining. Waiting for snapclone to complete For HP StorageWorks EVA, the Data Protector A.06.00 extension offers the option Wait for the replica to complete to wait for a specified period of time until the snapclone creation completes, before continuing with backup.
Before reading on Before reading this white paper, note the following: You should have access to the complete set of the HP OpenView Storage Data Protector A.06.00 manuals in either printed or electronic format. Content of this white paper supersedes the following Data Protector A.06.00 end-user documentation items, which should be treated as outdated in relation to the Data Protector A.06.
Introduction
2 Integrating Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service with Data Protector Introduction A traditional backup process is based on the direct communication between the backup application and the application whose data is backed up. This backup method requires from the backup application an individual interface for each application it backs up. The number of applications on the market is constantly increasing.
Figure 1 on page 63 and Figure 2 on page 63 show the differences between the traditional backup model and the model with the Data Protector Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy integration.
Figure 1 Actors of the traditional backup model Figure 2 Actors of the Data Protector VSS integration backup model Without using the Volume Shadow Copy Service, Data Protector has to communicate with each application to be backed up individually. The Data Protector VSS integration introduces a unified backup and restore interface and provides the coordination among the participants of the backup and restore process. HP Data Protector A.06.
Integration concepts The Data Protector integration with the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service provides full support for certified VSS writers. This includes automatic detection of the VSS writers and backup and restore functionality. For a complete list of supported VSS writers and providers refer to the latest support matrices at http://www.hp.com/support/manuals.
Backup During the Data Protector VSS integration backup, Data Protector does not interact directly with each writer, but through the VSS interface. It uses the VSSBAR agent to coordinate the backup process. The consistency of data is a responsibility of the VSS writer and not dependent on Data Protector functionality. The backup process of the VSS writers consists of the following phases: 1.
8. Data Protector backs up the data from the shadow copy to media and then notifies the VSS service that the shadow copy can be released. VSS issues a command to the shadow copy provider to destroy the shadow copy that has been already backed up. Figure 3 on page 20 shows the relations between the actors of a local or network VSS backup. Figure 3 Local or network VSS backup Data consistency The filesystem backup does not guarantee application data consistency, only filesystem consistency.
Restoring components During the restore procedure, the Data Protector VSS integration coordinates communication between Data Protector and the writers. In general, the restore flow consists of the following phases: preparing for restore, restoring components, and notifying the application writers that a restore has been completed. The restore procedure of the VSS-aware writers consists of the following phases. 1. Data Protector first restores the metadata, which was collected during the backup.
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 writer concepts This section gives details of additional features that Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 supports. Backup Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 offers two models of replication for data protection that are supported by Data Protector. • Local Continuous Replication (LCR) With LCR, you can create and maintain an exact copy (LCR copy) of databases in a storage group.
• A non-Exchange location – With this restore method, after the restore is completed, the Recovery Storage Group (RSG) can be created automatically. • A recovery server – This restore method restores data to different client and different storage group. If you restore to a different storage group, you can access single mailboxes or individual e-mail messages at a different location without changing the original storage group content.
Common limitations • Maximum 512 shadow copies per volume are allowed. The number of shadow copies per volume is limited by system resources. • To run a VSS integration backup, the writer’s data must be on an NTFS filesystem. For hardware providers, this is not required. • The VSS integration backup of writers which store their data on network shared volumes is not supported. • The Data Protector Microsoft VSS integration does not provide any restore method for writers requesting a custom restore method.
Prerequisites • When configuring an Exchange Server 2007 LCR environment, ensure that the original database and the database copy of the Exchange Server have the same directory and file structure. Failing to do so will result in unsuccessful attempts to mount the database after restore of an LCR copy to the location where original database resides. Writers specifics This section describes specific information about VSS writers, that you need to take into account before backing up or restoring the writers.
Writer name Description Restore method Cluster Service Writer This VSS writer using a custom API, is used to back up and restore Cluster Service on Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS). The Cluster Service is a component on Windows servers used to control server cluster activities on cluster nodes. It is fundamental to the operation of the cluster. Custom restore method COM+ REGDB Writer This VSS writer using a custom API, is used to back up and restore COM+ Database Service.
Writer name Description Restore method MSDE Writer This is a writer used to back up and restore Microsoft SQL Server 2000/2005. SQL Server is a database management system that can respond to queries from client machines formatted in the SQL language. Refer to “MSDE writer restore specifics” on page 46. Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2006 Writer This is a writer used to back up and restore Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2006.
Writer name Description Restore method System Writer This is a system writer that backs up a specific set of Windows dynamic link libraries (DLL). Files are restored after a reboot. TermServLicencing Writer This is a system writer that backs up Windows Terminal Services. These services provide a multi-session environment that allows client systems to access a virtual Windows desktop session and Windows-based programs running on the server. Files are restored after a reboot.
Overview Creating backup specifications using GUI The procedure below shows how to back up Microsoft VSS objects using the Data Protector GUI. Some writers have specific limitations. For writers specific limitations, see: • For Microsoft Exchange Server specifics, see “Microsoft Exchange Server writer backup specifics” on page 32. • For Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2006 specifics, see “Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2006 writer specifics” on page 36.
7. Select the backup objects you want to back up. Note that expanding the client to display available writers could take some time. You can specify a full client backup by selecting the top-level item (the name of the client), a single writer or a writer’s component backup by selecting a lower-level item. If full client is selected, Data Protector checks which writers exist on the client and backs up all of them at backup time.
represents the container for the mountpoint (for example c:\mnt\1). To select the mounted disk, select the container for the mountpoint. Microsoft Exchange Writer: Optionally, to specify options for consistency check of Microsoft Exchange Server Writer, right-click Microsoft Exchange Writer and click Additional options. Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Writer in a CCR environment: Optionally, to specify clustering options, right-click Microsoft Exchange Writer and click Additional options.
10. Once you have defined all backup options and the schedule, you need to name and save the newly-created backup specification. You have now completed the creation of a Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Writers backup specification. 11. You can review the newly-created and saved backup specification in the Backup context, under the specified group of backup specifications. 12.
• Differential - similar as incremental backup, but the transaction logs are not truncated. Requires Service Pack 1. • Copy - a Full backup, but the logs are not truncated. This type of backup is not intended for use in recovering failed systems. Limitations • A combination of VSS snapshot backups and non–VSS backups (for example, incremental stream backups) is not supported. • You can back up only the whole server or full storage groups. Single stores cannot be backed up.
Figure 6 Selecting Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 storage groups Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 writer backup specifics In LCR and CCR environments, the replicated storage groups are represented as a new instance of Exchange Server writer, Exchange Replication Service. The replicated storage groups are backed up in the same way as original (production) storage groups. You can select any combination of storage groups for backup.
Figure 7 Selecting a replicated Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 storage group In a CCR environment, a cluster node from which you want a backup to be performed can be selected, regardless of which instance (Information Store or Replication Service) resides on this node.
To avoid the session failing, select the option Revert to active node on failure in the same dialog box. The backup will be restarted on the original server (active cluster node) and the original storage group will be backed up. This option is ignored during backup of an Information Store instance.
Two backup types are supported: • Full (for the DPM databases and replicas) • Incremental (replicas only). If you select unsupported backup types (Copy or Differential) when scheduling the backup, Data Protector will abort the backup and display an error message. Prerequisite The MSDE writer (used for backing up the DPM databases) must be installed. Limitations • Hardware providers are not supported with DPM.
Figure 8 Selecting Microsoft Data Protection Manager database and replicas Scheduling the backup For more detailed information on scheduling, refer to the online Help index: “scheduled backups”. To schedule a Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Writers backup specification, perform the following steps in the Data Protector GUI: 1. In the HP Data Protector Manager, switch to the Backup context. 2. In the Scoping Pane, expand Backup, then Backup Specifications. Click MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers.
5. Specify Recurring, Time options, Recurring options, and Session options. Figure 9 Scheduling a backup 6. Click OK to return to the Schedule property page. 7. Click Apply to save the changes. Running an interactive backup An interactive backup can be started using the Data Protector GUI by following these steps: 1. In the HP Data Protector Manager, switch to the Backup context. 2. In the Scoping Pane, expand Backup; then expand the Backup Specifications and the MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers items. 3.
4. Click OK. Upon successful completion of the backup session, a Session Completed Successfully message appears. Restoring writers data You can restore the Data Protector Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service integration backup objects using the Data Protector GUI. NOTE: Data Protector first restores the Writer Metadata collected during the backup time. This metadata contains the information about the backup components and the restore method.
2. Expand Restore Objects, expand MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers, expand the client from which you want to restore the data, and then click MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers. In the Results Area, a list of writers, which were backed up on this client, is displayed. 3. Select the Restore mode: • Restore components With this option selected, whole components are restored using the Volume Shadow Copy Service. Individual files cannot be selected for restore.
4. In the Results Area, select the writers or writers’ components (for component restore) or files or a group of files (for file restore mode). Figure 10 Restore objects You can select the top-level item (full writer restore) or only specific components. If you select a full writer restore, but some components of this writer were not backed up in the same session, the unavailable components are shaded and you cannot select them.
To perform restore to a different location: HP Data Protector A.06.
a. Right-click a storage group, a store, or logs and click Restore as. Note that it could take some time for the Restore as dialog to display. The time depends on the number of the VSS clients in the cell and the available storages on the clients. b. In the MS Exchange additional options dialog box, select the target location for the components you want to restore: target server, target storage group, and target stores.
6. In the Devices and Media property pages, the devices and media for restore are automatically selected. Note that you can change the device used for the restore. Therefore, you have the possibility of using a different device for a restore than the one that was used for the backup. See the online Help index: “selecting devices for restore”. 7. Click Restore. Review your selection, and then click Finish to start a restore session. The restore session messages are displayed in the Results Area. 8.
your data will be restored to another directory. When defining the restore location, you can specify the path to the directory where you want to restore your data. MSDE writer restore specifics MSDE writer is used to back up and restore Microsoft SQL database. IMPORTANT: Before restoring the SQL system databases (master, model, msdb and pub), you have to stop the SQL service. Figure 12 MSDE writer When you expand the MSDE Writer item in the Results Area, all Microsoft SQL Server instances are displayed.
IMPORTANT: If system databases are restored, the whole internal database structure will be changed. NOTE: Only point-in-time restore is possible. Rollforward restore is not supported. User databases will be restored only if it is possible to overwrite the files. MSDE writer will take the user databases offline before the restore, while SQL service will have to be stopped manually in order to restore the system databases.
1. In case of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 writer, dismount all stores from the storage group in which the target store resides using Microsoft Exchange System Manager. 2. In the Data Protector GUI, switch to the Restore context. Expand Restore Objects and MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers and select the client from which you want to restore the data. In the Results Area, expand Microsoft Exchange Writer and select the stores you want to recover. The Logs component is shaded and cannot be selected.
1. In case of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 writer, start Exchange System Manager and check if the storage group is already dismounted. If not, dismount the whole group. 2. Switch to the Restore context. Expand Restore Objects and Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Writers and select the client from which you want to restore the data. In the Results Area, expand Microsoft Exchange Writer and select the whole storage group. Do not select individual stores.
• Restore to a different location than the location from where the backup was made (original location). After that, recovery storage group can be created byData Protector. The following restore scenarios are supported: • Restore of a storage group or individual stores to the original location. • Restore of LCR and CCR copies (storage groups or individual stores) to the location where the original database resides.
During restore to original location, all stores in the storage group are dismounted, even if only one store from the storage group will be restored. After restore, the stores are left dismounted. Table 3 Restore to a different location options Option Description With this option selected, Exchange Server replays the restored logs from the original storage group on the target storage group to bring the restored database up to date.
Prerequisites • For restore to a different location, Inet must run under a domain account which needs to be member of the following groups on the local system: • Administrators • Exchange Server Administrators • While configuring restore to a different storage group in the Data Protector GUI, only mounted stores are displayed in the Target drop-down list. To enable all stores for target selection, mount the dismounted stores and click Reload in the MS Exchange additional options.
Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2006 writer restore specifics When restoring the DPM writer, you can: • Restore the DPM server first and then use the DPM to restore clients. In case of a disaster, when the entire DPM server is lost, perform a standard disaster recovery procedure first and continue with restoring the DPM server.
4. Run the DPM command DpmSync -Sync to reallocate replicas. 5. Switch back to the Data Protector Restore context, and select and restore the necessary replicas. Figure 15 Restoring the Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2006 client 6. Use the DPM to restore individual clients. IMPORTANT: The DPM console does not automatically check for new or restored snapshots. Before you can start the restore of clients, you must use the Data Protection Manager to recreate a DPM snapshot. a.
Restore the DPM clients directly 1. Switch to the Restore context. Expand Restore and Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Writers and select the client from which you want to restore the data. 2. Select the restore modes: • Restore Components Use this mode only if the client to which you want to restore supports VSS, for example if you restore to Windows 2003 clients. You can restore only entire replicas. • Restore Files The client does not need to support VSS and you can restore individual folders or files. 3.
Figure 16 Monitoring a current session Clearing sessions To remove all completed or aborted sessions from the Results Area of the Monitor context, proceed as follows: 1. In the Scoping Pane, click Current Sessions. 2. In the Actions menu, select Clear Sessions. Or click the Clear Sessions icon on the toolbar. To remove a particular completed or aborted session from the current sessions list, right-click the session and select Remove From List.
4. Click the General, Messages or Media tab to display general information on the session, session messages, or information on the media used for this session, respectively. See Figure 17 on page 57. Figure 17 Viewing a previous session Troubleshooting This sectionchapter lists problems you might encounter when using the Data Protector Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy integration. For general Data Protector troubleshooting information, see the HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Troubleshooting Guide.
• See http://www.hp.com/support/manuals for an up-to-date list of supported versions, platforms, and other information. Checks and verifications • On the application and backup systems, examine system errors reported in: Data_Protector_home\log\debug.log Backup problems Problem Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 writer backup failed.
Event Type: Error Event Source: ESE Event Category: (16) Event ID: 2004 Information Store (4916) Shadow copy 3 time-out (20000 ms). Action The following can help to solve the problem: • Limit the number of users that are accessing the management system. • Reduce the number of volumes in a snapshot set. Create a backup specification dedicated to each storage group instead of one specification for the whole server. See “Microsoft Exchange Server writer backup specifics” on page 32.
5. On the passive node, check the status of the Exchange Replication Service by using vssadmin list writers command. If the status is not stable, restart Microsoft Exchange Replication Service. Problem Exchange Replication Service writer instance in LCR environment is not displayed in the Data Protector GUI In the Data Protector GUI, while creating a backup specification, the Microsoft Exchange Writer(Exchange Replication Service) object is not displayed on the pane for selection of backup objects.
3 Integrating the Data Protector ZDB integrations and Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service Introduction A traditional backup process is based on the direct communication between the backup application and the application whose data is backed up. This backup method requires from the backup application an individual interface for each application it backs up. The number of applications on the market is constantly increasing.
production application as well as the backup application must conform to the VSS specification. Figure 1 on page 63 and Figure 2 on page 63 show the differences between the traditional backup model and the model with the Data Protector Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy integration.
Figure 18 Actors of the traditional backup model Figure 19 Actors of the Data Protector VSS integration backup model Without using the Volume Shadow Copy Service, Data Protector has to communicate with each application to be backed up individually. The Data Protector VSS integration introduces a unified backup and restore interface and provides the coordination among the participants of the backup and restore process. HP Data Protector A.06.
VSS backup types Data Protector supports only full backups. The following backup types are available with the Data Protector VSS integration: • Local or network VSS backup The shadow copy is backed up to tape or to disk from the application system.
Integration concepts The Data Protector integration with the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service provides full support for certified VSS writers. This includes automatic detection of the VSS writers and backup and restore functionality. Refer to the HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Zero Downtime Backup Concepts Guide for a general description of ZDB (split mirror or snapshot backup) and instant recovery concepts.
Backup During the Data Protector VSS integration backup, Data Protector does not interact directly with each writer, but through the VSS interface. It uses the VSSBAR agent to coordinate the backup process. The consistency of data is a responsibility of the VSS writer and not dependent on Data Protector functionality. The backup process of the VSS writers consists of the following phases: 1.
8. Depending on the backup type, in the next step the following two options are possible: • With a local or network backup, Data Protector backs up the data from the shadow copy to media and then notifies the VSS service that the shadow copy can be released. VSS issues a command to the shadow copy provider to destroy the shadow copy that has been already backed up. Figure 20 on page 67 shows the relations between the actors of a local or network VSS backup.
Figure 21 Transportable VSS backup Data consistency The filesystem backup does not guarantee application data consistency, only filesystem consistency. Application data consistency can be achieved only by using supported application writers, such as Microsoft Exchange Server writer.
Backup with the Disk Array XP VSS and VDS hardware provider There are two configuration modes available for the backup with the Disk Array XP (XP) hardware provider: • VSS compliant mode When the XP provider is in VSS compliant mode, the source volume (P-VOL) and its replica (S-VOL) are in simplex, unpaired state after backup. Therefore the number of replicas (S-VOLs per P-VOL) rotated is not limited. Restore from a backup in such a configuration is possible only by switching disks.
For detailed information on instant recovery, refer to the HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Zero Downtime Backup Concepts Guide and HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Zero Downtime Backup Administrator’s Guide. Standard restore from tape Data Protector offers two restore modes: • component restore using the VSS service • file restore using the DMA instead of VSS. By default, Data Protector restores writer components using the VSS service.
This mode can also be used for restoring to systems that do not support VSS or do not have a VSS writer installed. When restoring files or a group of files, DMA is started and the files are restored using the standard Data Protector filesystem restore procedure.
Restore With Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 writer, you can restore your data not only to the original location (from which the backup was performed) but also to a different location. You can restore: • A whole storage group • A single store In both cases the respective LCR or CCR copies can also be restored.
• HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Product Announcements, Software Notes, and References for an up-to-date list of supported versions, platforms, devices, disk arrays, limitations, and other information. • HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Installation and Licensing Guide on how to install Data Protector on various architectures and how to install the Data Protector Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service integration.
• The Data Protector Microsoft VSS integration does not provide any restore method for writers requesting a custom restore method. These writers are by default not presented by Data Protector. If a writer specifies a custom restore method, it is only possible to restore the writer's data as plain files using the Data Protector functionality. You can perform the custom restore manually. Refer to the writers documentation for additional information on the restore methods.
If backup sessions are lengthy and there is a possibility that the VSS backup window will not be met, it is highly recommended that you first switch the Disk Array XP VSS hardware provider to resync mode. Afterwards, consecutively run backup sessions until the backup session count reaches the current value of the Number of replicas rotated option. This will start creating disk mirrors on Disk Array XP that will be used in scheduled backups.
used for the mirror replica in that session. As a consequence, a new backup session will not have a free MU number available to create a new mirror and the session will fail. ZDB limitations • For VSS transportable backups, the hardware providers for the volumes included are required. • Dynamic disks (Logical Disk Manager partitions) can only be backed up with software providers. • GPT disks are not supported for backup and instant recovery purposes.
Prerequisites • Disable the operating system option Automatic mounting of new volumes. At the command prompt, run: mountvol /N • Do not manually mount target volumes that have been created by Data Protector. • For cluster-aware clients, install the Data Protector VSS integration software component on all the cluster nodes.
Prerequisites • Install Disk Array XP components and licenses: • RAID Manager Library on the application and backup systems. See the RAID Manager Library documentation for installation instructions. RAID Manager Library is firmware-dependent. Consult the HP sales representative for information on which version of RAID Manager Library to use. • Business Copy (BC) XP microcode and a license for at least basic and Business Copy operation. • XP VSS and VDS provider. • Device specific module (MPIO DSM).
For general Data Protector and integration-specific limitations, see the HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Product Announcements, Software Notes, and References. VSS and VDS provider configuration for ZDB and instant recovery To be able to perform ZDB and instant recovery, you must configure the VSS and VDS provider for EVA or XP. Perform the configuration task before you run the backup with the specified instant recovery options for the first time.
NOTE: Changing the modes between backup sessions may have an impact on restore. For details, see “HP StorageWorks Disk Array XP considerations” on page 119. Microsoft Exchange Server writer specific configuration A backup of the Microsoft Exchange database is considered successful only when consistency check of the replicated data files succeeds. For instant recovery–enabled backups, it is recommended that the stores and transaction logs reside on different source volumes.
In cases where the application and backup systems are the same, ensure that the VSS/VDS hardware provider is configured for the same Command View on both EVAs. Otherwise, rotation and deletion of old replicas from other EVA disk array is not possible. If a failover occurs, the backup using the same backup specification as before failover will fail, since the backup system is no longer connected to the disk array where the new replicas reside.
If any file or folder on the volume does not belong to the component, the ZDB to disk or instant recovery fails. • Non-strict If any folder on the volume does not belong to the component, the ZDB to disk or instant recovery fails. • Disabled A check detects whether there is more than one component on the volume and whether there is any other data besides the component’s data on the volume, but the session will not fail.
NOTE: Writers requiring custom restore methods are by default not shown by Data Protector. The omnirc variable OB2VSS_SHOWALLWRITERS must be set to 1 for all writers to be displayed. Table 4 on page 83 provides a description of VSS writers. Table 4 Writer description Writer name Description Restore method Certificate Authority Writer This is a system writer, used to back up and restore Certificate Authority (CA) Service database.
Writer name Description Restore method FRS Writer This VSS writer using a custom API, is used to back up and restore File Replication Service data. File Replication Service is a multithreaded replication engine that replicates system policies and logon scripts stored in System Volume (SYSVOL). FRS can also replicate data for Distributed File System (Dfs), copy and maintain shared files and folders on multiple servers simultaneously.
Writer name Description Restore method Registry Writer This VSS writer using a custom API, is used to back up and restore Windows Registry. Windows Registry is a database repository of information containing the Windows system configuration. Custom restore method Remote Storage Writer This is a system writer used to back up and restore Remote Storage Service (RSS). RSS is used to automatically move infrequently accessed files from local to remote storage.
Backing up writers data Overview To run backups and restores of the VSS writers and filesystems, you need to configure the Data Protector Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service integration backup specifications. To configure the backup using the VSS integration, perform the following steps: Configuration steps 1. Configure disk arrays, devices, media, and media pools needed for the backup. See the online Help for instructions. 2.
• If the provider is in VSS compliant mode, the replica is an independent copy or clone of the source volume with no pair relationship between the replica and its source volume. • If the provider is in resync mode, the replica and its source volume are in a suspended mirror relationship, so you can only restore such a replica by re-synchronizing the replica with its source volume.
HP StorageWorks EVA specifics Limitations • When the cloning process for a source volume is in progress, another replica of the same source volume cannot be created. • Only one type of target volumes per source volume can exist on an EVA disk array at the same time. For example, creation of a snapclone may fail if a snapshot or vsnap for the same source volume exists on the array.
• For Microsoft Exchange Server specifics, see “Microsoft Exchange Server writer backup specifics” on page 99. To create a new backup specification for the VSS integration, proceed as follows: 1. In the HP Data Protector Manager, switch to the Backup context. 2. In the Scoping Pane, expand Backup Specifications. 3. Right-click MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers and click Add Backup. 4. In the Create New Backup dialog box, select the backup type.
5. Specify the following options: • The name of the application system. When backing up cluster-aware writers (such as SQL Server via the MSDE Writer, or Exchange Server in the LCR or CCR environment), specify the virtual server name given in the particular writer resource group as the application system. • For transportable backup, the name of the backup system from where the shadow copy can be backed up to tape.
created: by default, standard snapshot is created (with pre-allocated disk space). This replica type is not supported by XP hardware provider. A provider may support one or both types. If you select an unsupported replica type, the backup will fail. For more information on EVA VSS hardware provider replica types, see “Snapshot replica” on page 87. Optionally, specify the mount and replica management options: • Select Keep the replica after the backup to keep the replica on a disk array after backup.
Table 5 Backup options Option Description Application system System on which the application runs. In cluster environments, specify the virtual server hostname (rather than the physical node hostname). Backup system System to which your data will be backed up. Provider Select Use Hardware Provider if you want to perform instant recovery. Track the replica for instant recovery Select this option to perform a ZDB to disk or ZDB to disk+tape and leave the replica on a disk array for instant recovery.
Option Description Select Default if you want the provider to decide which replica type is used. Select Mirror/Clone (Plex) to create a target volume, independent from its source volume. Replica type Select Snapshot (Differential) to create a target volume, dependent on its source volume. NOTE: Some providers ignore this selection; in these cases make sure the provider is configured to create the intended type of copy.
Option Description Select this option to mount the replica on backup system. Specify the destination directory. Select one of the following options in case there is a disk already mounted in the specified directory: • Create a directory with the session ID and mount the replica there Mount the replica (on backup system) If this option is selected, a subdirectory for mounting replica is created in the specified directory. The name of the subdirectory is the session ID.
Figure 22 VSS transportable backup options 6. This page only displays the selection of your VSS client. Clik Next. HP Data Protector A.06.
7. Select the backup objects you want to back up. Note that expanding the client to display available writers could take some time. You can specify a full client backup by selecting the top-level item (the name of the client), a single writer or a writer’s component backup by selecting a lower-level item. If full client is selected, Data Protector checks which writers exist on the client and backs up all of them at backup time.
If a writer requires all of its components to be backed up, lower-level items are automatically selected. If you select such a writer for backup, all its components will be backed up. If a writer has no components to be backed up, it is not displayed in the list of writers, and is not backed up when the full client is selected. The Filesystem item displays all mounted disks. If another disk is mounted to a directory on a disk, the parent disk name is displayed twice.
Figure 24 Additional options for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 in a CCR environment 8. For ZDB to tape, select the devices you want to use for the backup to tape. Click Properties to set the device concurrency, media pool, and preallocation policy. For more information on these options, click Help. If you do not select a device, only backup to disk will be available.
10. Once you have defined all backup options and the schedule, you need to name and save the newly-created backup specification. You have now completed the creation of a Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Writers backup specification. 11. You can review the newly-created and saved backup specification in the Backup context, under the specified group of backup specifications. 12.
• Differential - similar as incremental backup, but the transaction logs are not truncated. Requires Service Pack 1. • Copy - a Full backup, but the logs are not truncated. This type of backup is not intended for use in recovering failed systems. Limitations • A combination of VSS snapshot backups and non–VSS backups (for example, incremental stream backups) is not supported. • You can back up only the whole server or full storage groups. Single stores cannot be backed up.
Consistency check A backup of the Microsoft Exchange Server database is considered as successful only if the consistency check of the replicated datafiles succeeds. The consistency check is enabled by default. To disable the consistency check, click on a created backup specification, right-click Microsoft Exchange Writer in the Source tab, and then click Additional options.
You can select any combination of storage groups for backup. However, you cannot select original and replicated storage group in the same backup specification. See Figure 26. Figure 26 Selecting a replicated Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 storage group In a CCR environment, a cluster node from which you want a backup to be performed can be selected, regardless of which instance (Information Store or Replication Service) resides on this node.
• The status of the storage group to be backed up is not "Healthy". • Data Protector is not running on the selected node. • Vssbar.exe cannot not be started on the selected node. To avoid the session failing, select the option Revert to active node on failure in the same dialog box. The backup will be restarted on the original server (active cluster node) and the original storage group will be backed up. This option is ignored during backup of an Information Store instance.
2. In the Scoping Pane, expand Backup, then Backup Specifications. Click MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers. A list of available backup specifications is displayed in the Results Area. 3. Double-click the backup specification you want to schedule and click the Schedule tab to open the Schedule property page. 4. In the Schedule property page, select a date in the calendar and click Add to open the Schedule Backup dialog box. 5. Specify Recurring, Time options, Recurring options, and Session options.
Running an interactive backup An interactive backup can be started using the Data Protector GUI by following these steps: 1. In the HP Data Protector Manager, switch to the Backup context. 2. In the Scoping Pane, expand Backup; then expand the Backup Specifications and the MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers items. 3. Right-click the backup specification you want to run, and then select Start Backup from the pop-up menu. The Start Backup dialog box appears.
Limitations for custom restore • Data Protector Microsoft VSS integration does not automatically provide any restore method for writers requesting custom restore. If a writer specifies custom restore method, it is only possible to restore the writer's data as plain files using the Data Protector file restore functionality. You can use the Restore Into option to specify an alternate restore path for these plain files. You can then perform the custom restore from these plain files manually.
4. In the Results Area, select the writers or writers’ components (for component restore) or files or a group of files (for file restore mode). Figure 28 Restore objects You can select the top-level item (full writer restore) or only specific components. If you select a full writer restore, but some components of this writer were not backed up in the same session, the unavailable components are shaded and you cannot select them.
To perform restore to a different location: a. Right-click a storage group, a store, or logs and click Restore as. Note that it could take some time for the Restore as dialog to display. The time depends on the number of the VSS clients in the cell and the available storages on the clients. b. In the MS Exchange additional options dialog box, select the target location for the components you want to restore: target server, target storage group, and target stores.
5. In the Options property page, select the MS Volume Shadow Copy specific restore options. Refer to “Restore options” on page 109. 6. In the Devices and Media property pages, the devices and media for restore are automatically selected. Note that you can change the device used for the restore. Therefore, you have the possibility of using a different device for a restore than the one that was used for the backup. See the online Help index: “selecting devices for restore”. 7. Click Restore.
However, if you specify the Restore into the following directory option, your data will be restored to another directory. When defining the restore location, you can specify the path to the directory where you want to restore your data. MSDE writer restore specifics MSDE writer is used to back up and restore Microsoft SQL database. IMPORTANT: Before restoring the SQL system databases (master, model, msdb and pub), you have to stop the SQL service.
Figure 30 MSDE writer When you expand the MSDE Writer item in the Results Area, all Microsoft SQL Server instances are displayed. Each instance contains all databases it includes. System databases (master, model, msdb and pub) are always listed there. IMPORTANT: If system databases are restored, the whole internal database structure will be changed. NOTE: Only point-in-time restore is possible. Rollforward restore is not supported.
Microsoft Exchange Server writer restore specifics Microsoft Exchange Server Writer is used to restore Microsoft Exchange Server database files. When restoring from a Microsoft Exchange backup, the following two scenarios are possible: • One or more databases are corrupted, but the log files are not damaged. In this case the database is restored and transaction logs are applied. See “Rollforward recovery from the loss of one or more databases” on page 112. • The log files are corrupted or missing.
2. In the Data Protector GUI, switch to the Restore context. Expand Restore Objects and MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers and select the client from which you want to restore the data. In the Results Area, expand Microsoft Exchange Writer and select the stores you want to recover. The Logs component is shaded and cannot be selected. You cannot select versions of individual stores, because a rollforward recovery is performed only to the current storage group state.
2. Switch to the Restore context. Expand Restore Objects and Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Writers and select the client from which you want to restore the data. In the Results Area, expand Microsoft Exchange Writer and select the whole storage group. Do not select individual stores. Figure 32 Selecting Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 stores for point-in-time restore 3. Proceed as with general VSS writer restore. See “Restore procedure” on page 106 for the general VSS writer restore procedure. 4.
The following restore scenarios are supported: • Restore of a storage group or individual stores to the original location. • Restore of LCR and CCR copies (storage groups or individual stores) to the location where the original database resides. • Restore of a storage group or individual stores and LCR and CCR copies (storage groups or individual stores) to a different location. For available options, see Table 7 on page 115.
Option Description Select this option to restore your data to a non-Exchange location. In this case, the restored data will not be managed by Exchange Server and Recovery Storage Group (RSG) will not be created. You can manually create RSG after the restore session completes. Restore to a non-Exchange location On Data Protector session level, this option is already available if you use Restore into the following directory option.
Limitations Due to Microsoft Exchange Server limitations: • Restore to an LCR or CCR storage group copy (Exchange Replication Service instance) is not supported. Restore of an LCR or CCR copy to original location will be performed to the location where original database resides (Exchange Information Store). • All stores in a RSG must originate from the same storage group. • You cannot mount public folders to RSG.
Overview Instant recovery restores data directly from a replica to source volumes. All data in the replica is restored (regardless of selections during backup). For instant recovery concepts, see the HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Zero Downtime Backup Concepts Guide. Instant recovery can be performed: • Using Microsoft Virtual Disk Service (VDS) With this method, switch of a replica from the specified backup session with the source volume is performed. Thus, instant recovery is very fast.
Limitations • Instant recovery cannot be performed after a point-in-time recovery. To be able to perform instant recovery, you first need to run backup with the instant recovery options set. • The number of replicas available for instant recovery is limited by Number of replicas rotated, which sets the size of the replica set. You can view these replicas in the GUI, in the Instant Recovery context by expanding Restore Sessions. Replicas are identified by the backup specification name and the session ID.
• Set the variable OB2VSS_FORCE_INSTANT_RECOVERY in the omnirc file and enable the restore option Retain source for forensics in the GUI. When this option is selected, Data Protector preserves the pair relationship between the S-VOL and its P-VOL created in the backup with resync mode. • If you perform restore using re-synchronization (the "copy of replica data" restore) and the production source volume (P-VOL) is not presented on the system, the restore session is aborted.
You cannot select only database stores for instant recovery in the GUI or CLI. If transaction logs and/or database stores are lost, whole storage group (or all objects residing on the target volume) need to be recovered. In this case, you can perform only point-in-time recovery. Transaction logs will be replaced with the backed up transaction logs. • Transaction logs and database stores are on different target volumes. You can select only the database stores for instant recovery in the GUI or CLI.
The reason for such a behavior is that source volumes, on which the database copy or Exchange Replication Service resides, are in the suspended mirror relationship with the ZDB replica, which should be restored to the original database. Under such circumstances, the restore process first unpresents the source volumes from the Exchange Server database copy, and presents them to the Exchange Server original database afterwards. These actions result in shortage of source disks presented to the database copy.
NOTE: It is recommended that both production and replication server systems are using disks of the same disk array. For additional restore limitations, which apply also to instant recovery, see “Limitations” on page 117. Database recovery You can run a database recovery from the Instant Recovery context of the Data Protector GUI.
2. In the Scoping Pane, expand MS Volume Shadow Copy Writers under Restore Objects, expand the backup specification from which you want to restore, and click the backup session from which you want to restore.
3. In the Source property page, specify writers and/or components for recovery. Select the configuration check mode. For more information, see “Configuration check” on page 81. To perform additional steps after the instant recovery before recovering the database, select the No recovery option. Data Protector will not perform a database recovery and you can finish the recovery steps (such as applying transaction logs) later on manually. If the option is not selected, all recovery steps are finished.
Figure 34 Restore to different location options (Exchange Server 2007 Writer) 126 Integrating the Data Protector ZDB integrations and Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service
4. Under the Options tab, you can select the VDS option Retain source for forensics. Select this option to retain the source volume after instant recovery. Otherwise, the recovery session overwrites the source volume during the switch process. If you do not select this option and the instant recovery session fails, the original data in the source volume can be lost. This option is not available if backup with the XP VSS hardware provider in resync mode was performed.
7. If you restored an LCR or CCR copy to the original database, perform additional steps: • In case of an LCR restore, it is recommended to seed the restored database to synchronize the original database with its copy. For more information, see the web page http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ library/aa995973.aspx. • In case of a CCR restore, you may need to perform additional steps.
4. On the passive node, use the Resume-StorageGroupCopy cmdlet to resume the storage group copy. Troubleshooting This sectionchapter lists problems you might encounter when using the Data Protector Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy integration. For general Data Protector troubleshooting information, see the HP OpenView Storage Data Protector Troubleshooting Guide. Before you begin • Ensure that the latest official Data Protector patches are installed. See the online Help index: “patches” on how to verify this.
Actions 1. Stop the Virtual Disk Service (VDS): • Check that Virtual Disk Service is started, stop it using the command net stop vds or via the Control Panel. • If the above step does not help, stop the Virtual Disk Service by terminating the process vds.exe using the Task Manager. VDS will be started automatically as needed. • Alternatively, you could also log in to the system again and check if the system requests your confirmation to stop a crashed VDS.
Action Restart the Information Store. For more information, see the web page http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945424/ en-us. Problem Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 aborts the backup if the shadow copy creation takes over 20 seconds. If an Exchange Server 2003 Writer is being backed up, the session can fail with VSSBAR reporting: Snapshot could not be created.
Action Do not select too many objects in a backup specification because they might reside on more than four source volumes. This means that for example a Microsoft Exchange Server storage group should not reside on more than four source volumes and only one storage group should be specified for backup in this case. The same applies to a Microsoft SQL Server database. Problem Volume shadow copies cannot be imported due to low space in registry and consequently backup fails.
It is recommended to perform registry management tasks periodically to prevent the registry from filling. Problem Data Protector reports that a volume was not removed. During a backup session, the following error is reported: Volume 'StorageID', which is part of backup 'backupID', was not removed. This error may appear if a replica on the disk array is removed, but its entry in the VSS database (VSSDB) remains intact.
This problem may occur in CCR environments, due to a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 issue with incorrect display of database copy states in Exchange Management Console. In such a case, a database copy in a "Failed" state may be displayed as "Healthy". Action To make the Exchange Management Console show the real status of a database copy, perform either of the following actions: • Update Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1. • Perform re-seeding procedure as follows: 1.
Restore problems Problem After the restore of system writers was aborted, the Windows operating system is corrupted when you restart it. If the restore of some system writers (for example, System Writer) is aborted for any reason (hardware or software failure, manually aborted, etc.), the Windows operating system may be corrupted after the restart (for example, the GUI or some system services cannot be started, etc.).
User scenario for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 backup and restore This section provides examples of backup and restore policies for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. Three examples are provided, one for ZDB (transportable VSS snapshots) and two for different types of restore. Example - VSS transportable backup This example describes a backup scenario for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 using VSS transportable backup together with HP StorageWorks EVA.
Figure 37 Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 storage groups For the first storage group (Lists_Group), create the following backup specification: 1. Select VSS transportable backup as the backup type. Select the application and backup system and specify Snapshot (Differential) as the replica type. 2. Expand the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 writer and select the first storage group (Lists_Group) for backup. 3.
Example restore scenario for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 In this example the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 is configured as in “Example VSS transportable backup” on page 136 and the backup policy given in the example was implemented. Example 1. Example - restoring a single store The second store (Support_Store) in the second storage group (Mailbox_Group), which contains user mailboxes, is damaged, but the transaction logs and other stores are not damaged.
4 Restoring data and performing instant recovery using Data Protector CLI This chapter provides command synopsis, description of options, and usage examples for omnir command, when used for restoring data using Data Protector Microsoft VSS integration. Command synopsis omnir -vss -barhost ClientName -session SessionID1 -tree TreeName1 [-tree TreeName2...] [ -session SessionID2 -tree TreeName3 [-tree TreeName4...]...
Options -vss Selects the VSS object for restore. -barhost ClientName Specifies the system where the VSS agent or application agent is run. -session SessionID Specifies the session to be used for restore. When restoring integration objects that have copies, do not use the copy session ID, but the object's BackupID, which equals the object's backup session ID. -tree TreeName Specifies the file, component, or tree to restore.
Leaves the application database in the recovery mode after completion of the instant recovery session, enabling you to manually apply transaction logs to the database. This option is available only for the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 writer. It is not supported for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 writer, where the transaction logs are always applied when the store is mounted. -use_vds Switches a replica from the specified backup session with the source volume.
Throttles down the consistency check to lessen impact on restore performance. Set the number of input/output operations, after which the check is stopped for one second. VSS_EXCHANGE_2007_SPECIFIC_OPTIONS -appsrv ClientName Specifies the system to which the components are restored. If not specified, the components are always restored to the server from where they were backed up. Note that all objects in one restore session must be restored to the same system.
During an instant recovery session, the replica will be mounted to Directory. The target directory for one session must always be the same, for example, you cannot specify one target directory for the store(s) and another one for the logs. Examples The following examples illustrate how the omnir command works: • Exchange 2007 VSS restore to a different storage group: To restore the Exchange 2007 Writer logs on the system “exch2007.company.
omnir -vss –use_vds –barhost exch2007.company.
