Overland Storage SnapSAN VSS User Manual

Overland
Storage

SnapSAN™ VSS

User Guide

August 2012

10400401-001

SnapSAN VSS User Guide

©2012 Overland Storage, Inc. All rights reserved.

Overland®, Overland Data®, Overland Storage®, ARCvault®, DynamicRAID®, LibraryPro®, LoaderXpress®, Multi-SitePAC®, NEO®, NEO

®

Series

, PowerLoader®, Protection OS®, REO®, REO 4000®, REO Series®, Snap Appliance®, Snap Care® (EU only), SnapServer®, StorAssure®,

®

Ultamus

GuardianOS™, RAINcloud™, SnapDisk™, SnapEDR™, Snap Enterprise Data Replicator™, SnapExpansion™, SnapSAN™, SnapScale™,
SnapServer DX Series™, SnapServer Manager™, SnapWrite™, and SnapServer Manager™ are trademarks of Overland Storage, Inc.

All other brand names or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The names of companies and individuals used in examples are fictitious and intended to illustrate the use of the software. Any resemblance to
actual companies or individuals, whether past or present, is coincidental.

PROPRIETARY NOTICE

All information contained in or disclosed by this document is considered proprietary by Overland Storage. By accepting this material the recipient
agrees that this material and the information contained therein are held in confidence and in trust and will not be used, reproduced in whole or
in part, nor its contents revealed to others, except to meet the purpose for which it was delivered. It is understood that no right is conveyed to
reproduce or have reproduced any item herein disclosed without express permission from Overland Storage.

Overland Storage provides this manual as is, without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied
warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Overland Storage may make improvements or changes in the product(s) or
programs described in this manual at any time. These changes will be incorporated in new editions of this publication.

Overland Storage assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, sufficiency, or usefulness of this manual, nor for any problem that
might arise from the use of the information in this manual.

, VR2®, and XchangeNOW® are registered trademarks of Overland Storage, Inc.

Overland Storage, Inc.
9112 Spectrum Center Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
U.S.A.

Tel: [phone] (toll-free U.S.)
Tel: [phone] Option 5 (International)
Fax: [phone] (general)
Fax: [phone] (sales)
www.overlandstorage.com

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Preface

This user guide explains how to install, setup, and use the SnapSAN VSS Provider software.

VSS Provider is software that facilitates business backup operations by linking the Volume Shadow Copy
Service (VSS) of Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003 or Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 with data
replication (VSS Storage Volume Cloning or VSS Provider Replication and Mirroring) and a snapshot
function (VSS Provider Snapshots).

This guide assumes that you are familiar with computer hardware, data storage, and network
administration terminology and tasks. It also assumes you have basic knowledge of Internet SCSI (iSCSI),
Serial-attached SCSI (SAS), Serial ATA (SATA), Storage Area Network (SAN), and Redundant Array of
Independent Disks (RAID) technology.

This guide is intended for those who have basic knowledge of backup and recovery using Microsoft Windows
Server 2003 or Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and the VSS Provider snapshot function or data replication
function.

This manual explains functions implemented by the following program products:

• VSS Provider Manager and VSS Provider base product

• VSS Provider Control Command

This manual is applicable to the program products of the following versions:

• VSS Provider Manager Ver4.2 or later

• VSS Provider Base Product Ver4.2 or later

• VSS Provider Control Command Ver4.2 or later

The VSS Provider series disk array subsystems is referred to as a disk array in this manual unless clearly
specified.

Product Documentation and Firmware Updates

Overland Storage SnapSAN product documentation and additional literature are available online, along
with the latest release of the SnapSAN VSS software.

Point your browser to:

http://docs.overlandstorage.com/snapsan

Follow the appropriate link to download the latest software file or document. For additional assistance,
search at http://support.overlandstorage.com

.

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Overland Technical Support

For help configuring and using your SnapSAN VSS, search for help at:

http://support.overlandstorage.com/kb

You can email our technical support staff at [e-mail] or get additional
technical support information on the Contact Us

web page:

http://www.overlandstorage.com/company/contact-us/

For a complete list of support times depending on the type of coverage, visit our web site at:

http://support.overlandstorage.com/support/overland_care.html

Conventions

This document exercises several alerts and typographical conventions.

Alerts

Convention Description & Usage

IMPORTANT An Important note is a type of note that provides information essential to

the completion of a task or that can impact the product and its function.

CAUTION A Caution contains information that the user needs to know to avoid

damaging or permanently deleting data or causing physical damage to
the hardware or system.

WARNING A Warning contains information concerning personal safety. Failure to

follow directions in the warning could result in bodily harm or death.

Typographical Conventions

Convention Description & Usage

Button_name

Ctrl-Alt-r This type of format details the keys you press simultaneously. In this

NOTE A Note indicates neutral or positive information that emphasizes or

Menu Flow
Indicator (>)

Courier Italic A variable for which you must substitute a value

Courier Bold

Words in this special boldface font indicate command buttons found in
the Web Management Interface.

example, hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys and press the r key.

supplements important points of the main text. A note supplies
information that may apply only in special cases, for example, memory
limitations or details that apply to specific program versions.

Words with a greater than sign between them indicate the flow of actions
to accomplish a task. For example, Setup > Passwords > User indicates
that you should press the
finally the

Commands you enter in a command-line interface (CLI)

User button to accomplish a task.

Setup button, then the Passwords button, and

Information contained in this guide has been reviewed for accuracy, but not for product warranty
because of the various environments, operating systems, or settings involved. Information and
specifications may change without notice.

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Electrostatic Discharge Information

A discharge of static electricity can damage static-sensitive devices. Proper packaging and grounding
techniques are necessary precautions to prevent damage. To prevent electrostatic damage, observe
the following precautions:

• Transport products in static-safe containers such as conductive tubes, bags, or boxes.

• Cover the appliance with approved static-dissipating material.

• Use a wrist strap connected to the work surface and properly-grounded tools and equipment.

• Keep the work area free of non-conductive materials such as foam packing materials.

• Make sure you are always properly grounded when touching a static-sensitive component or

assembly.

• Avoid touching pins, leads, or circuitry.

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Preface

Chapter 1 - Overview

Overview ...............................................................................................................................................................1-1

Backup ............................................................................................................................................................. 1-1

Providers ........................................................................................................................................................... 1-2

Software Required .......................................................................................................................................... 1-2

Volume Types ..................................................................................................................................................1-2

Requestors ....................................................................................................................................................... 1-2

Writers ............................................................................................................................................................... 1-2

Chapter 2 - VSS Provider Installation

Operating Environment ................................................................................................................................. 2-1

VSS Provider Installation and Operation Procedures ................................................................................. 2-2

Chapter 3 - System Configuration

Hardware Configuration ...................................................................................................................................... 3-1

Software Configuration ....................................................................................................................................... 3-2

Hardware Required ........................................................................................................................................ 3-2

Servers/Software ............................................................................................................................................. 3-2

Snapshot or Data Replication ............................................................................................................................. 3-3

Snapshot Installation ....................................................................................................................................... 3-3

Data Replication Installation ......................................................................................................................... 3-3

Volume Types ..................................................................................................................................................3-3

Initial Setup of Volumes .................................................................................................................................. 3-4

Backup Server Connected to Data Replication Volume (RV) .................................................................. 3-5

Backup and Restore Procedures .................................................................................................................. 3-5

Contents

Chapter 4 - Error Management

Actions When Error Occurs .................................................................................................................................. 4-1

When Backup has Errors ................................................................................................................................. 4-1

When VSS must be Restarted ........................................................................................................................ 4-1

When Returning Volume to Initial State ....................................................................................................... 4-1

Backup Server Connected to Snapshot LV .................................................................................................4-1

Backup Server Connected to Data Replication RV ................................................................................... 4-2

Collecting Information of Unclear Failure .................................................................................................... 4-3

Chapter 5 - Troubleshooting

About Snapshot or Data Replication ........................................................................................................... 5-1

Event Log Warning Message ......................................................................................................................... 5-1

Event Log Error Message ................................................................................................................................ 5-2

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Appendix A - Error Failure Messages

Appendix B - Command Lists

Index

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Chapter 1

Overview

Backup

Overview

This chapter provides an overview of the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and explains
system configuration and other fundamentals.VSS was implemented in Microsoft Windows
Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008, as a new function for performing storage
management. The graphic shows a basic VSS Configuration made up of backup software
(requestor), business applications (writers), and software that performs disk array shadow
copy (replication) instructions (VSS provider).

Backup using VSS is performed by taking a request from the requestor as a trigger. When
VSS receives a backup request from the requestor, it performs coordinating operations with
the writers and provider, and it instructs the provider to create a replication. This series of
operations is performed entirely under the control of VSS. Accordingly, a user can easily
carry out non-interrupting backup without becoming involved with complicated scripts for
each application, just by executing the requestor.

Figure 1-1: VSS Basic Configuration

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Providers

A hardware provider is software exclusively for the in-house manufactured disk arrays
(supplied by the storage vendor), makes it possible to create shadow copies using hardware­specific replication functions. VSS Provider is a hardware provider.

A software provider is software that a software vendor supplies for creating shadow copies.
The system provider that is supplied by Microsoft Corporation is also a software provider.

Software Required

The following software is needed on each server or disk array:

Application Server

• Job management software (Example: JobCenter)

• Requestor (Example: Protection Manager)

• Exchange Server 2003

• VSS Provider

• Control Command

Backup Server

• Job management software (Example: JobCenter)

• Requestor (Example: Protection Manager)

• Backup software (Example: NetBackup)

• VSS Provider

• Control Command

Management

• SnapSAN Manager

Disk Array

• Snapshots, Volume Cloning, or Replication and Mirroring

• Access Control

Volume Types

VSS Provider handles volumes that are subject to snapshot or replication operations by a
disk array’s logical disk.

Requestors

Server

VSS Provider supports Protection Manager and other software as requestors. For
introductions about each requestor, refer to the product-specific manual.

Writers

VSS Provider supports the following as a writer:

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

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• File system (NTFS)

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Chapter 2

VSS Provider Installation

This chapter provides a description of the basic requirements for installing VSS

Operating Environment

Item Description

Operating Systems Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

Required Free Disk Capacity At least 24 MB of free disk capacity is needed to perform

required Memory Capacity At least 6 MB of memory on the application server and at

Cooperation This software cooperates and operates with

Provider.

the installation tasks for this software.

least 30 MB of memory on the backup server are needed
in order to use this software.

ControlCommand
Protection Manager

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VSS Provider Installation and Operation Procedures

This example shows the system installation procedure by taking a tape backup system in
which the D series is used as an example. For the snapshot environment installation
procedure, refer to
Windows)”. For the data replication environment installation procedure, refer to the “Data
Replication User's Manual (Installation and Operation Guide for Windows)”. For hardware
configurations and software configurations, refer to the configurations in this manual. For
requestor installation procedures and operating procedures, refer to the manuals of the
selected requestor. Highlighted portions below are procedures to perform by
other manuals

the “Snapshot

User’s Manual (Installation and Operation Guide for

referring to

Figure 2-1: Hardware Configuration Flow

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