Introduction
Many Microsoft Window applications (like Exchange, MS-SQL, etc) are critical to the daily core functionality for many companies and organizations. Managing the data backup for these applications presents new challenges for system administrators. While there is an ever increasing need for more and more data to be backed up, at the same time the system administrator must cope with the issue of shrinking backup windows in which the application can be taken offline in order to backup the application data. Another issue to contend with is the performance hit the production server takes when backup is running.
Laptop Battery Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and SANRAD iSCSI V-Switch acting as VSS storage provider can help the system administrator resolve these issues by:
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Thinkpad . Eliminating the need to take the application offline.
(i) Windows Update Features. Under the Server Software’s default configuration, if you connect a Device to your Server and the correct device driver is not available on your Server, then Windows Update features on your Server (including Device Manager and the Plug & Play CDM Module) automatically attempt to check Microsoft computer systems via the Internet for the correct device driver. Play installation of new hardware a better experience for customers. You may switch off Windows Update’s automatic driver checking feature.
Microsoft . Quickly responding to the increasing need for storage.
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Laptop Computers . Enabling fast backup and restore by backing up to disks and offloading the backup performance hit from the production volumes and servers.
winning application that allows users to create an exact disk image for complete system backup and disk cloning providing the most comprehensive data protection. The disk backup file contains the exact copy of a hard disk, including all the computer data, operating system, and programs. After a system crash, the user can restore the entire system or simply replace lost files and folders from the disk backup. The product, which has won numerous industry honors for its usability and performance, is available for workstations, alone Windows and Linux servers, and networked Windows servers and workstations.
Laptop Computer
This application note describes VSS, how it works, the required basic configuration in order for VSS to work with the SANRAD V-Switch to create snapshots as well as the backup design options using VSS and SANRAD V-Switch. We use Veritas' BackupExec (V10.0) to help us demonstrate taking backups with VSS using SANRAD V-Switch.
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Desktop Computer This application note assumes that the user has basic knowledge of how to use SANRAD V-Switch to configure volumes and expose them to the servers as disks. The user should also be familiar with Microsoft Iscsi initiator for connecting Windows 2003 server to the exposed iSCSI volumes by the SANRAD V-Switch.
Notebooks
What is VSS?
Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) provides the backup infrastructure for the Windows Server 2003 operating systems, as well as a mechanism for creating consistent point-in-time copies of data known as shadow copies or snapshots.
Lenovo VSS can produce consistent snapshots by coordinating between different applications (business, file-system services, backup) and storage hardware.
Hard Drive
The following steps describe VSS Architecture:
Travelstar STEP 1. Path 1: The Requestor (usually a backup application) make a request to VSS (running on the application server) to create snapshots of production volumes so that backups can be made from the snapshots and not from the production volumes.
Gateway STEP 2. Path 2: If the volumes "belong" to an application that has a VSS Writer (VSS aware application like Exchange), the VSS requests the Writer to prepare the volumes. The Writer will usually flash the data to the disk and freeze IO writes from the application during the time the VSS takes the snapshots (usually few seconds). This ensures application data consistency when recovery is needed. If there is no VSS writer then VSS will go directly to the next step but there is no guarantee that the data is in a consistent state.
Laptop Parts STEP 3. Path 3: VSS requests a provider to create a snapshot. There are three kinds of VSS providers: Hardware, Software and System. A system provider is part of the Windows 2003 OS and it will take snapshots and keep them but only at the OS level. A hardware provider is usually a storage provider, like SANRAD Iscsi V-Switch, which creates and maintains snapshots at the storage hardware level. VSS chooses the provider from a list (first on the list with priority given to hardware provider if one exists).
Software STEP 4. Path 4: VSS goes back to the VSS Writer (if it exists) and allows it to unfreeze the application I/O activity and resume normal activity.
Hard Drives STEP 5. Path 5: VSS goes back to the requestor (backup application) and gives it the location of the snapshots so it can start the backup from the snapshots.
Electronics STEP 6. Path 6: Once backup is complete, the requestor informs VSS which in turn informs the VSS provider to delete the snapshots.
Canon
Summary
Desktop Pc The combined solution of Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), SANRAD V-Switch as the VSS storage provider and backup VSS aware applications (like Veritas BackupExec V10) allow companies to offload backup jobs from the production environment, leave applications up for user access while backing up the data and have a data life cycle for regulations compliance.
Desktop Computers This article describes VSS, how it works, the required basic configuration in order for VSS to work with the SANRAD V-Switch to create snapshots as well as the backup design options using VSS and SANRAD V-Switch. We use Veritas' BackupExec (V10.0) to help us demonstrate taking backups with VSS using SANRAD V-Switch.
It further discusses about Configuring Windows Application server to use the V-Switch as the VSS Hardware Provider, Configuring the V-Switch for VSS, Configuring the Backup Application to use VSS for the backup job,
Backup design options using the V-Switch as the VSS hardware provider, D2D - Offload the backup from the production volumes, D2D - Offload the backup from production servers,
D2D - Save the backups in remote location with SANRAD data replication, and D2D2T - Offload old backups from disks to tape with SANRAD data replication.
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