Storage Foundation 8.0 Administrator's Guide - Windows

Last Published:
Product(s): InfoScale & Storage Foundation (8.0)
Platform: Windows
  1. Overview
    1. About Storage Foundation
      1.  
        Optimized system performance
    2.  
      Software components
    3.  
      Supported software
    4.  
      Advantages of dynamic volumes
    5. Software RAID provided by SFW
      1.  
        What is RAID?
      2.  
        SFW and Virtual Disk Service (VDS)
      3. Choosing RAID levels
        1.  
          Concatenated
        2.  
          RAID level 0 (Striping)
        3.  
          RAID level 1 (Mirroring)
        4.  
          RAID level 5 (Striping with distributed parity)
        5.  
          RAID level 0+1 (Mirrored striped volumes)
      4.  
        Hardware and software RAID
  2. Setup and configuration
    1.  
      Setup and configuration overview
    2. Function overview
      1.  
        Basic and dynamic disks
      2. Basic and dynamic volumes
        1.  
          About dynamic volumes in SFW Basic
      3.  
        Disk groups
      4.  
        Dynamic volume components
    3. About the client console for Storage Foundation
      1.  
        Accessing VEA from the Windows Start screen
      2.  
        Accessing VEA through the Windows computer management window
      3.  
        Disconnecting from a server
      4.  
        Understanding the conditions for remote connection
    4. Recommendations for caching-enabled disks
      1.  
        Write caches
      2.  
        HBA caches
    5.  
      Review the Veritas Enterprise Administrator GUI
    6. Configure basic disks (Optional)
      1.  
        About basic disks
      2.  
        Upgrading basic disks to dynamic
    7. About creating dynamic disk groups
      1.  
        Considerations when changing a basic disk to dynamic
      2.  
        Creating a dynamic disk group
      3.  
        Making storage available after system startup
    8. About creating dynamic volumes
      1. Background information
        1.  
          Dynamic volume layouts or types
        2.  
          Volume size in the new volume wizard
        3.  
          Preselecting disks
        4.  
          Thin Provisioned disks
      2.  
        Creating a dynamic volume
      3. Dynamic volume types
        1.  
          Concatenated (Simple and spanned) volumes
        2.  
          Striped volumes
        3.  
          Mirrored volumes
        4.  
          RAID-5 volumes
        5.  
          Mirrored striped volumes (RAID 0+1)
    9. Set desired preferences
      1.  
        Hot relocation settings
      2.  
        Event notification settings
      3.  
        S.M.A.R.T. monitoring for a disk
      4.  
        Capacity monitoring for volumes
      5.  
        Task throttling
      6.  
        Configuration task performance tuning
      7.  
        Track alignment settings
    10.  
      Protecting your SFW configuration with vxcbr
  3. Using the GUI to manage your storage
    1. VEA Overview
      1. Viewing disks and volumes
        1.  
          Viewing all disks associated with a volume
        2.  
          Viewing all volumes associated with a disk
      2.  
        SFW general preferences
      3.  
        The URL bar
      4.  
        The Toolbar
      5.  
        The Perspective bar
    2. Systems perspective
      1.  
        The left pane
      2. The right pane
        1. Right-pane display for disks and volumes
          1.  
            Selecting all disks
          2.  
            Selecting an individual disk
          3.  
            Viewing subdisks
          4.  
            Selecting volumes
        2.  
          Disk view tab
        3.  
          Right-pane display for cache
        4. Right-pane legends
          1.  
            Disk usage legend
          2.  
            Disk view legend
        5.  
          Customizing the table headers
      3.  
        The lower pane
    3. The disk view
      1. Disk view overview
        1.  
          Refresh view
        2.  
          Show legend
        3.  
          Print
      2.  
        Options for graphical views
      3. Expanded view
        1.  
          Expanded view
        2.  
          Nonexpanded view
        3.  
          Vol details view
        4.  
          Full volume display
        5.  
          Projection
        6.  
          Context menu available from disk view
    4. Search
      1.  
        Conducting a search
      2.  
        Using saved queries
      3. Creating search reports
        1.  
          Types of search reports
    5.  
      Assistant perspective
    6.  
      Logs perspective
    7. Configuring SFW
      1.  
        Control Panel perspective
      2.  
        Log settings
      3.  
        Rule Manager
      4.  
        Configuration backup
      5.  
        Historical statistics
      6.  
        SMTP configuration
      7. System settings
        1.  
          Hot relocation
        2.  
          Snap Shot
        3.  
          GUID recycle
        4.  
          SCSI Support
        5.  
          SmartMove
        6.  
          Disk Management Snap-in
      8. Task settings
        1.  
          Task throttling
        2.  
          Configuration task performance tuning
      9.  
        Track alignment
  4. Working with disks, partitions, and volumes
    1.  
      Overview
    2. Adding storage
      1.  
        Add a new disk to your system
      2.  
        Add a disk signature to a disk
      3.  
        Add a disk to a dynamic disk group
      4.  
        Create new volumes
    3. Disk tasks
      1.  
        Remove a disk from a dynamic disk group
      2. Remove a disk from the computer
        1.  
          Identifying a physical disk
        2.  
          Basic disk
        3.  
          Dynamic disk
      3.  
        Offline a disk
      4.  
        Update disk information by using rescan
      5.  
        Set disk usage
      6.  
        Evacuate disk
      7.  
        Replace disk
      8.  
        Changing the internal name of a disk
      9.  
        Renaming an enclosure
      10.  
        Work with removable media
      11.  
        Working with disks that support thin provisioning
      12.  
        View disk properties
      13. Veritas Disk ID (VDID)
        1.  
          Generic VDID
    4. General Partition/Volume tasks
      1.  
        Delete a volume
      2.  
        Delete a partition or logical drive
      3.  
        Shredding a volume
      4.  
        Refresh drive letter, file system, and partition or volume information
      5.  
        Add, change, or remove a drive letter or path
      6.  
        Renaming a mirror (plex)
      7.  
        Changing the internal name of a volume
      8. Mount a volume at an empty folder (Drive path)
        1.  
          Unmount a volume
      9.  
        View all drive paths
      10.  
        Format a partition or volume with the file system command
      11.  
        Cancel format
      12.  
        Change file system options on a partition or volume
      13.  
        Set a volume to read only
      14.  
        Check partition or volume properties
      15. Expand a dynamic volume
        1.  
          Expanding a volume that has a snapshot
      16.  
        Expand a partition
      17.  
        Safeguarding the expand volume operation in SFW against limitations of NTFS
      18.  
        Safeguarding the expand volume operation in SFW against limitations of ReFS
      19. Shrink a dynamic volume
        1.  
          About the Shrink Volume command
        2.  
          Before shrinking a dynamic volume
        3.  
          Shrinking a dynamic volume
        4.  
          Canceling the shrink volume operation
      20.  
        Dynamic LUN expansion
    5. Basic disk and volume tasks
      1.  
        What can you do with a basic disk?
      2.  
        Converting the partition style of a disk
      3.  
        Creating primary and extended partitions
      4.  
        New logical drives
      5.  
        Mark a partition as active
      6.  
        Change a basic disk to dynamic
      7.  
        Troubleshoot basic disks and volumes
    6. Automatic discovery of SSD devices and manual classification as SSD
      1.  
        Disk media types
      2.  
        Supported Solid-State Devices
      3.  
        Icon for SSD
      4.  
        Enclosure and VDID for automatically discovered On-Host Fusion-IO disks
      5.  
        Enclosure and VDID for automatically discovered On-Host Intel disks
      6.  
        Enclosure and VDID for automatically discovered Violin disks
      7.  
        Classifying disks as SSD
      8.  
        Limitations for classifying SSD devices
    7. Volume Manager space allocation is SSD aware
      1.  
        Setting an SSD plex as a preferred plex to improve I/O performance
  5. Dealing with disk groups
    1. Disk groups overview
      1.  
        Basic and dynamic disk groups
      2.  
        Moving dynamic disk groups between computers
      3.  
        Primary and secondary dynamic disk groups
      4.  
        Cluster disks and cluster dynamic disk groups
      5.  
        Private dynamic disk group protection
    2. Delete a dynamic disk group
      1.  
        Recommended method for deleting a disk group
      2.  
        Alternative method for deleting a disk group
    3.  
      Upgrading the dynamic disk group version
    4.  
      Converting a Microsoft Disk Management Disk Group
    5.  
      Importing a dynamic disk group to a cluster disk group
    6.  
      Rename a dynamic disk group
    7. Detaching and attaching dynamic disks
      1.  
        Detaching dynamic disks
      2.  
        Attaching dynamic disks
    8. Importing and deporting dynamic disk groups
      1.  
        Deport a dynamic disk group
      2.  
        Import a dynamic disk group
    9.  
      Importing a cloned disk group
    10. Partitioned shared storage with private dynamic disk group protection
      1. Create a new dynamic disk group with private dynamic disk group protection
        1.  
          Using the vxdg init command
      2. Add private dynamic disk group protection to an existing dynamic disk group
        1.  
          Using the vxdg protect command
      3. Remove private dynamic disk group protection from a dynamic disk group
        1.  
          Using the vxdg release command
    11.  
      Dynamic disk group properties
    12.  
      Troubleshooting problems with dynamic disk groups
  6. Fast failover in clustered environments
    1.  
      What is fast failover
    2.  
      SFW changes for fast failover
    3.  
      Enabling fast failover for disk groups in a VCS environment
    4.  
      Enabling fast failover for disk groups in a Microsoft Failover Clustering environment
    5. Limitations
      1.  
        Configuration and functionality not supported
  7. iSCSI SAN support
    1. Overview of iSCSI SAN support
      1.  
        About iSNS servers
    2. Configuring an iSCSI SAN with SFW
      1.  
        Considering prerequisites
      2. Setting up an iSCSI SAN
        1.  
          Assigning access rights
        2.  
          Making a target available
      3.  
        Using the VxDgDI service for iSCSI
    3. Managing an iSCSI SAN with SFW
      1.  
        Managing with the VEA Console
      2.  
        About the iSCSI initiators node
      3.  
        About multiple sessions
      4.  
        About the iSCSI arrays node
      5.  
        About the iSNS server node
  8. Settings for monitoring objects
    1.  
      Overview
    2. Event monitoring and notification
      1.  
        Alert log
      2.  
        Severity levels
      3.  
        Log configuration
    3. Event notification
      1.  
        Accessing the Rule Manager utility
      2.  
        Preliminary setup
      3. Steps for creating rules
        1.  
          About SNMP traps
      4.  
        Accessing the SFW SNMP MIB files
    4.  
      Disk monitoring
    5.  
      Capacity monitoring
    6. Configuring Automatic volume growth
      1.  
        Enabling Automatic Volume Growth in a non-clustered and clustered environment
      2.  
        Configuring the Veritas Scheduler Service on a clustered environment
      3. Automatic volume growth script for volume capacity monitoring
        1.  
          Enabling the VEA and GridNode to interact with the desktop
        2.  
          Configuring a rule to execute volume growth
    7.  
      SMTP configuration for email notification
  9. Standard features for adding fault tolerance
    1.  
      Fault tolerance overview
    2. Mirroring
      1.  
        About mirroring
      2. Two methods for creating a mirror
        1.  
          Add a mirror to a volume
      3.  
        Break or remove a mirror
      4.  
        Break mirror
      5.  
        Remove mirror
      6.  
        Set the mirrored volume read policy
      7.  
        Reactivate a mirrored volume
      8.  
        Repair a mirrored volume
    3. RAID-5 and RAID 0+1
      1.  
        RAID-5
      2.  
        RAID 0+1
    4. Hot relocation
      1.  
        Hot relocation overview
      2.  
        Hot relocation setup summary
      3.  
        Hot relocation mode
      4. Customize target disks with set disk usage
        1.  
          Disk usage options
      5.  
        Undo hot relocation
      6.  
        Clear hot relocation information
    5. Dirty region logging (DRL) and RAID-5 logging
      1.  
        Dirty region logging for mirrored volumes
      2.  
        RAID-5 logging
      3.  
        Add a log
      4.  
        Remove a log
    6. Dynamic relayout
      1.  
        Examples of dynamic relayout
      2.  
        Detailed steps for dynamic relayout
  10. Performance tuning
    1.  
      Overview
    2.  
      Statistics overview
    3. Real-time statistics collection and display
      1.  
        Online monitoring window features
      2. Setup steps for real-time statistics
        1.  
          Getting acquainted with the statistics submenu
        2.  
          Selecting online display options
        3.  
          Selecting storage objects to monitor
    4. Historical statistics collection and graphing
      1.  
        Features of the graphing window
      2. Setup steps for historical statistics
        1.  
          Configuring settings in the historical statistics settings window
        2.  
          Historical Statistics Window Settings
        3.  
          Selecting storage objects and starting the data collection for historical statistics
        4.  
          Graphing steps
        5.  
          Stopping historical data collection
    5. Subdisk move, split, and join
      1. Purpose of the subdisk commands
        1.  
          Load balancing
        2.  
          Disk failure or removal
        3.  
          Disk phaseout
      2.  
        Subdisk context menu
      3.  
        Subdisk properties
      4.  
        Moving subdisks
      5.  
        Splitting subdisks
      6.  
        Joining subdisks
    6.  
      Command line commands for statistics
    7.  
      SmartMove
  11. FlashSnap
    1.  
      FlashSnap overview
    2. FlashSnap components
      1. Summary of the FlashSnap procedure
        1.  
          Off-host FlashSnap procedure (Two servers)
        2.  
          Same-host FlashSnap procedure (One server)
    3. FastResync
      1.  
        FastResync limitations
      2.  
        Resynchronization
      3.  
        Reconnection
      4. Enabling and disabling FastResync
        1.  
          Enabling FastResync
        2.  
          Disabling FastResync
      5. Disk Change Object (DCO) volume
        1.  
          Add a mirror to a DCO volume
        2.  
          Remove a mirror from a DCO volume
        3.  
          Move the DCO volume subdisk
    4. Snapshot commands
      1.  
        Using the snapshot procedure
      2.  
        Prepare
      3.  
        Snap shot
      4.  
        Snap back
      5.  
        Snap clear
      6.  
        Snap abort
      7. Using the Snapshot Scheduler wizard
        1.  
          Displaying the status of the scheduled snapshot
        2.  
          Deleting a schedule for a snapshot
    5. Dynamic Disk Group Split and Join
      1.  
        About Dynamic Disk Group Split and Join
      2.  
        Dynamic disk group split
      3.  
        Recovery for the split command
      4. Dynamic disk group join
        1.  
          About partial disk group join
      5. Using Dynamic Disk Group Split and Join with a cluster on shared storage
        1.  
          Using Dynamic Disk Group Split and Join with VCS or Microsoft Failover Clustering
        2.  
          Example of an off-host backup procedure using SFW and VCS or Microsoft Failover Clustering
      6.  
        Limitations when using dynamic disk group split and join with Volume Replicator
      7. Dynamic Disk Group Split and Join troubleshooting tips
        1.  
          Error message, "The disk group requires recovery. please recover..."
        2.  
          Error message, "One or more disk(s) in the source dynamic disk group are missing."
        3.  
          Error message about forcing a split or join operation
    6.  
      CLI FlashSnap commands
    7. Fast File Resync
      1. Overview
        1.  
          Prerequisites
        2.  
          Resynchronizing a file
        3.  
          Possible error for small files
    8. Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
      1.  
        Overview
      2. VSS components
        1.  
          Requestors
        2.  
          Writers
        3.  
          Providers
        4.  
          SFW as a VSS Provider and Requestor
        5.  
          Recovery
        6.  
          Advantage of SFW Snapshots
      3.  
        Overview of VSS process for SFW snapshots
      4.  
        VSS snapshot wizard for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL
    9. Using the VSS snapshot wizards with Microsoft Exchange
      1. Using the VSS Snapshot wizard
        1.  
          Creating the snapshot set
      2. Using the VSS Snapback wizard
        1.  
          Resynchronizing the snapshot set
      3. Using the VSS Snapshot Scheduler wizard
        1.  
          Displaying the status of the scheduled VSS Exchange snapshot
        2.  
          Deleting a schedule for a VSS Exchange snapshot
      4. Using the VSS Restore Wizard
        1.  
          Restoring the snapshot set (Exchange 2010)
        2.  
          Restoring the database (POF)
      5.  
        Refreshing the snapshot set
      6. Supporting replication in Exchange 2010
        1.  
          Using a snapshot of a replica for mailbox database recovery in Database Active Group (DAG)
    10. Using the VSS snapshot wizards with Enterprise Vault
      1. Using the Enterprise Vault Snapshot wizard
        1. Preparing for Enterprise Vault snapshots
          1.  
            Setting the execution policy with the Enterprise Vault Management Shell
          2.  
            Configuring the Veritas Scheduler Service
        2.  
          Preparing an Enterprise Vault snapshot mirror
        3.  
          Creating the snapshot set
      2.  
        Using the Enterprise Vault Snapback wizard
      3.  
        Using the VSS Enterprise Vault Snapshot Scheduler wizard
      4. Using the Enterprise Vault Restore Wizard
        1.  
          Recovering using snapshots without log replay
        2.  
          Restoring snapshots and manually applying logs
    11. Using the VSS snapshot wizards with Microsoft SQL
      1. Using the VSS Snapshot wizard
        1.  
          Creating the snapshot set
      2. Using the VSS Snapback wizard
        1.  
          Resynchronizing the snapshot set
      3. Using the VSS Snapshot Scheduler wizard
        1.  
          Displaying the status of the scheduled VSS SQL snapshot
        2.  
          Deleting a schedule for a VSS SQL snapshot
      4. Using the VSS Restore Wizard
        1.  
          Restoring the database with recovery and logs
        2.  
          Restoring the database with recovery without logs
        3.  
          Restoring the database with one or more missing volumes
        4.  
          Restoring the database with no recovery
    12. Copy on Write (COW)
      1.  
        COW overview
      2.  
        Additional information about COW snapshots
      3.  
        SFW VSS COW snapshot process
      4.  
        Managing Shadow Storage
      5.  
        Using the VSS COW Snapshot wizard
      6. Using the VSS COW Snapshot Scheduler wizard
        1.  
          Displaying the status of the scheduled VSS COW snapshot
        2.  
          Deleting a schedule for a VSS COW snapshot
      7.  
        Using the VSS COW Restore Wizard
    13. Using the VSS COW snapshot wizards with Microsoft Exchange
      1. Using the VSS COW Snapshot wizard
        1.  
          Creating the snapshot set
      2. Using the VSS COW Snapshot Scheduler wizard
        1.  
          Displaying the status of the scheduled VSS COW snapshot
        2.  
          Deleting a schedule for a VSS COW Snapshot
    14. Using the VSS COW snapshot wizards with Microsoft SQL
      1. Using the VSS COW Snapshot wizard
        1.  
          Creating the snapshot set
      2. Using the VSS COW Snapshot Scheduler wizard
        1.  
          Displaying the status of the scheduled VSS COW snapshot
        2.  
          Deleting a schedule for a VSS COW snapshot
  12. Configuring data caching with SmartIO
    1.  
      About SmartIO
    2. Typical deployment scenarios
      1.  
        Cluster deployment in a Hyper-V environment
      2.  
        Cluster deployment in a VMware environment- No vMotion support
      3.  
        Cluster deployment in a VMware environment- with vMotion support
    3.  
      How SmartIO works
    4.  
      SmartIO benefits
    5.  
      SmartIO limitations
    6. About cache area
      1.  
        Attributes of the cache area
    7.  
      About SmartIO caching support
    8. Configuring SmartIO
      1. Creating and administering cache area using VEA
        1.  
          Creating a cache area
        2.  
          Enabling caching on a volume
        3.  
          Growing a cache area
        4.  
          Shrinking a cache area
        5.  
          Disabling caching on a volume
        6.  
          Deleting a cache area
        7.  
          Viewing cache area properties
      2.  
        Creating and administering cache area through CLI
    9. Frequently asked questions about SmartIO
      1.  
        How to configure a volume to use a non-default cache area?
      2.  
        What is write-through I/O caching?
      3.  
        Does SmartIO with SFW support write caching?
      4.  
        Are there any logs that I can refer to, if caching fails for a particular volume?
      5.  
        I have deleted a cache area, but the disk is still present in the Cachepool. How can I remove it from the Cachepool?
      6.  
        Is the VxVM cached data persistent?
      7.  
        Is an application's performance affected if the cache device becomes inaccessible while caching is enabled?
      8.  
        Are there any tools available to measure SmartIO performance?
      9.  
        Will there be a performance drop after vMotion?
      10.  
        Will the cache area recreation fail, if the SmartDisk assigned has insufficient space?
      11.  
        A cache area recreation is in process in a VMware environment with vMotion, does it affect the sfcache operations?
      12.  
        Does SmartIO continue to use the previous cache area if the VM is moved back to the previous host?
      13.  
        How does SmartIO behave if the vxsvc service fails during vMotion?
  13. Dynamic Multi-Pathing
    1.  
      DMP overview
    2.  
      Major features of Dynamic Multi-Pathing
    3. Active/Active and Active/Passive settings
      1. Active/Active and Active/Passive settings in a cluster environment
        1.  
          DMP DSMs
        2.  
          SCSI-3 PGR technology
        3.  
          Enabling SCSI-3 PGR
    4. DMP DSMs
      1. DMP DSMs menus
        1.  
          Displaying the menu for arrays
        2.  
          Commands for arrays
        3.  
          Displaying the menu for disks
        4.  
          Commands for paths of a disk
        5.  
          Statistics monitoring
        6.  
          Clear performance statistics
        7.  
          Device settings
        8.  
          Set primary path
        9.  
          Properties
      2. Add and remove paths
        1.  
          Adding a path
        2.  
          Removing a path
      3. Specify load balancing settings and the primary path
        1.  
          Specifying load balancing settings for an array
        2.  
          Specifying load balancing settings for a disk
        3.  
          Specifying the primary path for an array or disk
      4.  
        Specifying control timer settings for an array
      5. View array, disk, and path status
        1.  
          Array status
        2.  
          Device status
        3.  
          Path status
  14. Configuring Cluster Volume Manager (CVM)
    1.  
      Overview
    2. Configuring a CVM cluster
      1. Preparing SFW for Microsoft Failover Clustering
        1.  
          Configuring CVM using ffconfigcli
      2. Creating cluster-shared disk groups and volumes
        1.  
          Creating a cluster-shared disk group
        2. Creating a cluster-shared volume
          1.  
            Manually creating a Volume Manager Shared Volume resource
      3.  
        Configuring a role for volume-level failover
    3. Administering CVM
      1.  
        Configuring CVM links for multi-subnet cluster networks
      2. Access modes for cluster-shared volumes
        1.  
          Setting the access mode using the Volume Manager Shared Volume resource
        2.  
          Setting the access mode using the GUI
        3. Set the access mode using the CLI
          1.  
            For volume access:
        4.  
          To check the volume state
      3. Storage disconnectivity and CVM disk detach policy
        1. Types of storage connectivity failures
          1.  
            Global partial failure
          2.  
            Global total failure
          3.  
            Local partial failure
          4.  
            Local total failure
        2.  
          How CVM handles local storage disconnectivity with the local detach policy
        3. CVM storage disconnectivity scenarios
          1.  
            Global partial failure
          2.  
            Global total failure
          3.  
            Local partial failure
          4.  
            Local total failure
        4.  
          Availability of cluster nodes and cluster-shared disk groups
        5.  
          Cluster-shared disk group fail policy
    4. Unconfiguring a CVM cluster
      1.  
        Unconfiguring CVM using ffconfigcli
    5. Command shipping
      1.  
        Operations supported by command shipping
      2.  
        Operations supported for running where volume is online
    6. About I/O Fencing
      1.  
        About preventing data corruption with I/O Fencing
      2.  
        About I/O Fencing operations
      3.  
        About I/O Fencing components
  15. Administering site-aware allocation for campus clusters
    1. Overview
      1.  
        Pre-requisites for enabling site-aware allocation on a campus cluster setup
    2.  
      About the site-aware read policy
    3. Administering hosts for site-based allocation
      1. Administering hosts for site-aware allocation through GUI
        1.  
          Adding a host to a site
        2.  
          Removing a host from a site
      2.  
        Administering hosts for site-aware allocation through CLI
    4. Administering disks for site-based allocation
      1. Administering disks for sites through GUI
        1.  
          Adding a disk to a site
        2.  
          Removing a disk from a site
      2.  
        Administering disks for sites through CLI
    5. Administering volumes for site-based allocation
      1. Setting or resetting volume Sitetype property for site allocation
        1.  
          Setting or resetting Volume Sitetype property through GUI
        2.  
          Setting or resetting volume Sitetype property through CLI
      2. Creating a dynamic volume
        1.  
          Creating a volume through GUI
        2.  
          Creating a volume through CLI
    6. Administering mirrored plexes for site-based allocation
      1.  
        Adding a mirror to a site-based volume through GUI
      2.  
        Adding a mirror to a site-based volume through CLI
  16. SFW for Hyper-V virtual machines
    1. Introduction to Storage Foundation solutions for Hyper-V environments
      1.  
        Advantages of running Storage Foundation in the Hyper-V parent
      2.  
        How Storage Foundation manages storage for virtual machines
    2. Live migration support for SFW dynamic disk group
      1.  
        About implementing Hyper-V virtual machine live migration on SFW storage
      2.  
        Tasks for deploying live migration support for Hyper-V virtual machines
      3.  
        Installing Windows Server
      4. Preparing the host machines
        1.  
          Adding the Hyper-V role
        2.  
          Adding the Microsoft Failover Clustering feature
        3.  
          Configuring failover cluster nodes
      5.  
        Installing the SFW option for Microsoft failover cluster option
      6.  
        Using the SFW Configuration Wizard for Microsoft Failover Cluster for Hyper-V live migration support
      7. Configuring the SFW storage
        1.  
          Creating dynamic cluster disk groups
        2.  
          Creating dynamic volumes
      8.  
        Creating a virtual machine service group
      9.  
        Setting the dependency of the virtual machine on the VMDg resource
    3. Administering storage migration for SFW and Hyper-V virtual machine volumes
      1.  
        About storage migration
      2.  
        About performance tunables for storage migration
      3.  
        Setting performance tunables for storage migration
      4.  
        About performing online storage migration
      5.  
        Storage migration limitations
      6.  
        About changing the layout while performing volume migration
      7.  
        Migrating volumes belonging to SFW dynamic disk groups
      8.  
        Migrating volumes belonging to Hyper-V virtual machines
      9.  
        Migrating data from SFW dynamic disks of one enclosure to another
      10.  
        Converting your existing Hyper-V configuration to live migration supported configuration
    4. Optional Storage Foundation features for Hyper-V environments
      1.  
        About using optional Storage Foundation features in the Hyper-V parent
      2.  
        Dynamic Multi-Pathing for the virtual environment
      3.  
        Replicating virtual machines
      4.  
        Virtual machine volume snapshots
      5.  
        Campus clusters
  17. Microsoft Failover Clustering support
    1.  
      Overview
    2.  
      Enabling Microsoft Failover Clustering after InfoScale Storage is already installed
    3. Configuring Microsoft Failover Clustering
      1. Create a cluster dynamic disk group
        1. Adding the clustered disk group as a resource to the Failover Cluster
          1.  
            Notes:
        2.  
          Displaying the cluster disk group resource properties
    4.  
      Additional considerations for SFW Microsoft Failover Clustering support
  18. Configuring a quorum in a Microsoft Failover Cluster
    1.  
      Overview
    2.  
      SFW support for dynamic quorum resource
    3. Configuring Failover Cluster quorum using SFW
      1.  
        Configuring cluster quorum settings
    4.  
      Microsoft Failover Cluster quorum arbitration time settings
  19. Implementing disaster recovery with Volume Replicator
    1. Overview
      1.  
        Volume Replicator feature highlights
      2.  
        How Volume Replicator works
    2.  
      Summary of the steps for setting up a disaster recovery solution with Volume Replicator
    3. Volume Replicator terms
      1.  
        Replicated Volume Group (RVG)
      2.  
        Replicated Data Set (RDS)
      3.  
        Replicator Log
      4.  
        Replication Modes
  20. Troubleshooting and recovery
    1.  
      Overview
    2. Using disk and volume status information
      1.  
        Disk status descriptions
      2.  
        Volume status descriptions
    3.  
      SFW error symbols
    4. Resolving common problem situations
      1.  
        Bring an offline dynamic disk back to an imported state
      2.  
        Bring a basic disk back to an online state
      3.  
        Remove a disk from the computer
      4.  
        Bring a foreign disk back to an online state
      5.  
        Bring a basic volume back to a healthy state
      6.  
        Bring a dynamic volume back to a healthy state
      7.  
        Repair a volume with degraded data after moving disks between computers
      8.  
        Deal with a provider error on startup
    5. Commands or procedures used in troubleshooting and recovery
      1.  
        Refresh command
      2. Rescan command
        1.  
          Additional important information about the rescan command
      3.  
        Replace disk command
      4.  
        Merge foreign disk command
      5.  
        Reactivate disk command
      6.  
        Reactivate volume command
      7.  
        Repair volume command for dynamic RAID-5 volumes
      8. Repair volume command for dynamic mirrored volumes
        1.  
          Using the repair volume command
        2.  
          Repairing a volume and manually selecting target disks
      9.  
        Starting and stopping the Storage Foundation Service
      10.  
        Accessing the CLI history
    6. Additional troubleshooting issues
      1. Disk issues
        1.  
          Disk type shows no signature
        2.  
          A disk is marked as foreign
        3.  
          Error when upgrading a basic disk to dynamic
        4.  
          Basic disk has more than 32 logical drives
        5.  
          Basic disk has an "Active" volume with no system files
        6.  
          You receive an error about disk geometry
      2. Volume issues
        1.  
          After a failover, VEA sometimes does not show the drive letter or mounted folder paths of a successfully-mounted volume
        2.  
          Cannot create a RAID-5 volume
        3.  
          Cannot create a mirror
        4.  
          Cannot extend a volume
        5.  
          When creating a spanned volume over multiple disks within a disk group, you cannot customize the size of subdisks on each disk
      3. Disk group issues
        1.  
          Sometimes, creating dynamic disk group operation fails even if disk is connected to a shared bus
        2.  
          Unknown group appears after upgrading a basic disk to dynamic and immediately deporting its dynamic disk group
        3.  
          Cannot use SFW disk groups in disk management after uninstalling InfoScale Storage management software
        4.  
          After uninstalling and reinstalling InfoScale Storage management software, the private dynamic disk group protection is removed
        5.  
          Cannot import a cluster dynamic disk group or a secondary disk group with private dynamic disk group protection when SCSI reservations have not been released
      4. Connection issues
        1.  
          When attempting to connect to a remote computer, you are denied access or get an error message
        2.  
          Most common situation
        3.  
          Client-only installation
        4.  
          Error message: "The connection to RemoteComputer has terminated. RemoteComputer will be removed from view."
      5. Issues related to boot or restart
        1.  
          During restart, a message may appear about a "Corrupt drive" and suggest that you run autocheck
        2.  
          Error that the boot device is inaccessible, bugcheck 7B
        3.  
          Error message "vxboot- failed to auto-import disk group repltest_dg. all volumes of the disk group are not available."
        4.  
          Error message "Bugcheck 7B, Inaccessible Boot Device"
        5.  
          When Attempting to Boot from a Stale or Damaged Boot Plex
      6. Cluster issues
        1.  
          Unable to bring a cluster disk group online when a minority of the disks in the disk group are available
        2.  
          Bring a cluster online that has a minority of the disks in the cluster
        3.  
          Issues while using SCVMM in an SFW environment
      7. Dynamic Multi-Pathing issues
        1.  
          When a Dynamic Multi-Pathing license is no longer valid
        2.  
          When an unknown disk group appears in a Dynamic Multi-Pathing environment
      8. vxsnap issues
        1.  
          General issue
        2.  
          In some cases, updated VSS components are not displayed in VEA console
        3.  
          In VEA GUI, SQL Server database does not show volumes on which they are mounted
        4.  
          vxsnap command error codes
        5.  
          Error code: 8004230e
        6.  
          Error code: 80042316
        7.  
          Error code: 80042301
        8.  
          Error code: e5090008
      9. Other issues
        1.  
          Live migration fails if VM VHD is hosted on an SFW volume mounted as a folder mount
        2.  
          Disk group deletion fails if ReFS volume is marked as read-only
        3.  
          ReFS volume deletion from VEA GUI fails if Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) is installed.
        4.  
          An option is grayed out
        5.  
          Disk view on a mirrored volume does not display the DCO volume
        6.  
          Snapshots are not triggered at the scheduled time
    7. CVM issues
      1.  
        After a storage disconnect, unable to bring volume resources online on the CVM cluster nodes
      2.  
        Error may occur while unconfiguring a node from CVM cluster
      3.  
        Shutdown of all the nodes except one causes CVM to hang
      4.  
        Sometimes, CSDG Deport causes Master node to hang due to IRP getting stuck in QLogic driver
      5.  
        Unknown disk groups seen on nodes after splitting a cluster-shared disk group into cluster disk groups from Slave node
      6.  
        In some cases, missing disks are seen on target Secondary dynamic disk groups after splitting a cluster-shared disk group from Slave node
      7.  
        Cannot stop VxSVC if SFW resources are online on the node
      8.  
        Cluster-shared volume fails to come online on Slave if a stale CSDG of the same name is present on it
      9.  
        CVM does not start if all cluster nodes are shut down and then any of the nodes are not restarted
      10.  
        Incorrect errors shown while creating a CSDG if Volume Manager Shared Volume is not registered
      11.  
        After splitting or joining disk group having mirrored volume with DRL, VEA GUI shows incorrect volume file system if volumes move to another disk group
      12.  
        Enclosure-level storage migration fails, but adds disks if a cluster-shared volume is offline
      13.  
        Volume Manager Shared Volume resource fails to come online or cannot be deleted from Failover Cluster Manager
      14.  
        Sometimes, source cluster-shared volumes are missing after joining two cluster-shared disk groups
      15.  
        If private CVM links are removed, then nodes may remain out of cluster after network reconnect
      16.  
        Format dialog box appears after storage disconnect
      17.  
        Volume Manager Shared Volume resources fail to come online on failover nodes if VxSVC is stopped before stopping clussvc
      18.  
        One or more nodes have invalid configuration or are not running or reachable
      19.  
        After node crash or network disconnect, volume resources failover to other node but the drive letters are left behind mounted on the failing node even after it joins cluster successfully
      20.  
        Shutdown of Master node in a CVM cluster makes the Slave nodes to hang in "Joining" state while joining to new Master
      21.  
        CVM stops if Microsoft Failover Clustering and CVM cluster networks are not in sync because of multiple, independent network failures or disconnect
      22.  
        Restarting CVM
      23.  
        Administering CVM using the CLI
    8.  
      Tuning the VDS software provider logging
  21. Appendix A. Command line interface
    1. Overview of the command line interface
      1.  
        SFW commands available from the command line
      2.  
        Command line log
      3.  
        Conventions for command line syntax
    2. vxclustadm
      1.  
        vxclustadm startnode
      2.  
        vxclustadm stopnode
      3.  
        vxclustadm nodestate
      4.  
        vxclustadm nidmap
    3. vxvol
      1.  
        vxvol volinfo
      2.  
        vxvol repair
      3.  
        vxvol set fastresync=on|off
      4.  
        vxvol reactivate
      5.  
        vxvol rdpol prefer
      6.  
        vxvol rdpol round
      7.  
        vxvol growfs
      8.  
        vxvol access
      9.  
        vxvol reclaim
      10.  
        vxvol reclaimcancel
      11.  
        vxvol capacitymonitor
      12.  
        vxvol autogrow
    4. vxdg
      1.  
        vxdg list
      2.  
        vxdg list (CSDG)
      3.  
        vxdg dginfo
      4.  
        vxdg dginfo (CSDG)
      5.  
        vxdg init
      6.  
        vxdg init (CSDG)
      7.  
        vxdg adddisk
      8.  
        vxdg rmdisk
      9.  
        vxdg import
      10.  
        vxdg import (CSDG)
      11.  
        vxdg deport
      12.  
        vxdg destroy
      13.  
        vxdg protect
      14.  
        vxdg release
      15.  
        vxdg upgrade
      16.  
        vxdg repldisk
      17.  
        vxdg split
      18.  
        vxdg recover
      19.  
        vxdg join
      20.  
        vxdg reclaim
      21.  
        vxdg reclaimcancel
      22.  
        vxdg refreshff
    5. vxclus
      1.  
        vxclus enable
      2.  
        vxclus disable
      3.  
        vxclus cleanup
      4.  
        vxclus UseSystemBus ON
      5.  
        vxclus UseSystemBus OFF
    6. vxdisk
      1.  
        vxdisk diskinfo
      2.  
        vxdisk attach
      3.  
        vxdisk detach
      4.  
        vxdisk list
      5.  
        vxdisk list (CSDG)
      6.  
        vxdisk merge
      7.  
        vxdisk reactivate
      8.  
        vxdisk set hotreloc
      9.  
        vxdisk hotrelocinfo
      10.  
        vxdisk sig
      11.  
        vxdisk set track
      12.  
        vxdisk trackaligninfo
      13.  
        vxdisk ping
      14.  
        vxdisk reclaim
      15.  
        vxdisk reclaimcancel
      16.  
        vxdisk setsite
      17.  
        vxdisk rmsite
    7. vxassist
      1.  
        vxassist make
      2.  
        vxassist growby
      3.  
        vxassist querymax
      4.  
        vxassist shrinkby
      5.  
        vxassist shrinkabort
      6.  
        vxassist mirror
      7.  
        vxassist break
      8.  
        vxassist remove
      9.  
        vxassist delete
      10.  
        vxassist shred
      11.  
        vxassist addlog
      12.  
        vxassist online (read/write)
      13.  
        vxassist offline
      14.  
        vxassist prepare
      15.  
        vxassist snapshot
      16.  
        vxassist snapback
      17.  
        vxassist snapclear
      18.  
        vxassist snapabort
      19.  
        vxassist rescan
      20.  
        vxassist refresh
      21.  
        vxassist resetbus
      22.  
        vxassist version
    8. vxassist (Windows-specific)
      1.  
        vxassist assign
      2.  
        vxassist unassign
      3.  
        vxassist create_part
      4.  
        vxassist create_ext
      5.  
        vxassist delete_ext
      6.  
        vxassist create_drive
      7.  
        vxassist taghost
      8.  
        vxassist showtag
      9.  
        vxassist untaghost
      10.  
        vxassist set sitetype
      11.  
        vxassist resetsitetype
    9.  
      vxevac
    10. vxsd
      1.  
        vxsd mv
      2.  
        vxsd split
      3.  
        vxsd join
    11.  
      vxstat
    12.  
      vxtask
    13. vxedit
      1.  
        vxedit set comment
      2.  
        vxedit set alias
      3.  
        vxedit rename
    14.  
      vxunreloc
    15. vxdmpadm
      1.  
        vxdmpadm dsminfo
      2.  
        vxdmpadm arrayinfo
      3.  
        vxdmpadm deviceinfo
      4.  
        vxdmpadm pathinfo
      5.  
        vxdmpadm arrayperf
      6.  
        vxdmpadm deviceperf
      7.  
        vxdmpadm pathperf
      8.  
        vxdmpadm allperf
      9.  
        vxdmpadm iostat
      10.  
        vxdmpadm cleardeviceperf
      11.  
        vxdmpadm cleararrayperf
      12.  
        vxdmpadm clearallperf
      13.  
        vxdmpadm setdsmscsi3
      14.  
        vxdmpadm setarrayscsi3
      15.  
        vxdmpadm setattr dsm
      16.  
        vxdmpadm setattr array
      17.  
        vxdmpadm setattr device
      18.  
        vxdmpadm setattr path
      19.  
        vxdmpadm set isislog
      20.  
        vxdmpadm rescan
      21.  
        vxdmpadm disk list
      22.  
        vxdmpadm getdsmattrib
      23.  
        vxdmpadm getmpioparam
      24.  
        vxdmpadm setmpioparam
    16. vxcbr
      1.  
        vxcbr backup
      2.  
        vxcbr restore
      3.  
        vxcbr write_signature
    17. vxsnap
      1.  
        vxsnap prepare
      2.  
        vxsnap create
      3.  
        vxsnap reattach
      4.  
        vxsnap restore
      5.  
        vxsnap refresh
      6.  
        vxsnap diffarea
      7.  
        vxsnap delete
    18.  
      vxfsync
    19. vxscrub
      1.  
        vxscrub [-a|-b|-l|-v]
      2.  
        vxscrub -p
      3.  
        vxscrub -forcepurge
    20.  
      vxverify
    21.  
      vxprint
    22. sfcache
      1.  
        sfcache create
      2.  
        sfcache delete
      3.  
        sfcache enable
      4.  
        sfcache disable
      5.  
        sfcache online
      6.  
        sfcache offline
      7.  
        sfcache growby
      8.  
        sfcache shrinkby
      9.  
        sfcache set
      10.  
        sfcache list
      11.  
        sfcache stat
    23. Tuning SFW
      1.  
        Displaying the tunable values
      2.  
        Setting the tunable values
  22. Appendix B. VDID details for arrays
    1.  
      Format of VDID strings for disks belonging to various arrays

vxsnap create

For Exchange operations:

vxsnap -x <Filename> create [-g <dynamicdiskgroupname>] 
source=<Volume>[/DriveLetter=<DriveLetter>][/DrivePath=<DrivePath>]
[/Newvol=<NewVolName>][/Plex=<PlexName>]...
[writer=<WriterName>] [component=<ComponentName>]
[backuptype=<Backuptype>] [-e] [-o] [-c] [secHosts=<SecondaryHosts>]

Creates snapshot(s) of the specified volume(s) or component. Allows the volumes to be snapshotted simultaneously.

Separate source volumes and attributes with forward slashes, not spaces. Source and snapshot volume attributes are paired. You must specify the source volume if you choose to specify the snapshot volume plex, drive letter, drive path, or volume name.

The following attributes apply:

-x <Filename>

Indicates the name to be assigned to the XML metadata file that is created with the command. The file name must include the ".xml" extension. To specify a location other than the default location for the file, you must enter the full path for the file (e.g. J:\XML\Image1.xml).

-g <DynamicDiskGroupName>

Name of the disk group that contains the source volume. Required when specifying volume name.

source=<Volume>

Indicates the source volume for the split-mirror snapshot specified by a drive letter, drive path (mount point), or volume name of the form "\\?\Volume{GUID}\". Repeat this parameter for each volume associated with the specified component (for example, Exchange storage group).

[/plex=<PlexName>]

Specifies the name of the mirror or plex that is to be detached. Use this parameter if there are multiple snap plexes available to be snapshotted.

[/DriveLetter=<DriveLetter>]

The drive letter to be assigned to the new snapshot volume.

[/DrivePath=<DrivePath>]

The drive path to be assigned to the new snapshot volume. The drive path must reference an empty local NTFS folder, which was created beforehand. The path must include the drive letter and folder to be mounted, for example, C:\DB1VOL.

[/Newvol=<NewVolName>]

Specifies the name of the new snapshot volume that is created.

If the name is not specified, then the default snapshot volume name begins with "SnapV" followed by a 12 character alphanumeric string. The 12 character alphanumeric string is a coded hexadecimal timestamp based upon the time that the snapshot was taken. For example, a default Snap Volume Name would be "SnapV4A7337AE038A".

The full device path becomes:

\Device\HarddiskDmVolumes

\<DiskGroupName>\<NewVolName>

writer=<WriterName>

Unique ID of the VSS writer, for example, "Microsoft Exchange Writer" or "Microsoft Exchange Writer Replica". If you plan to be able to do a roll-forward recovery to the point of failure, you must specify the writer.

component=<ComponentName>

Name of the component; for Exchange, this is the storage group name found in the Exchange System Manager, for example, "First Storage Group". If you plan to be able to do a roll-forward recovery to the point of failure, you must use this component.

backuptype=<Backuptype>

Specifies the type of backup, either a Full or Copy. If no option is specified then Copy is the default. Copy backup creates a copy of the database and transaction logs volumes. Full backup creates a copy of the database and transaction logs volumes, runs Eseutil to check for consistency, and if consistent, truncates the transaction logs.

-e

Runs the Eseutil consistency check for database and log files. Eseutil is run automatically with a full backup, but must be optionally specified for a copy backup.

-o

Allows an existing XML file of the same name to be overwritten. If -O is not specified the vxsnap create command does not overwrite an existing XML file of the same name and the operation fails.

-c

Specifies a COW snapshot.

In preparation for a COW snapshot, the vxsnap diffarea command must be used to create the shadow storage volume. The following vxsnap attributes are not compatible with COW snapshots and result in an error:

  • /DriveLetter=<driveLetter>

  • /DrivePath=<drivePath>

  • /Newvol=<newVolName>

  • /Plex=<plexName>

  • secHosts=<secondary hosts>

sechosts=<SecondaryHosts>

Applies to Volume Replicator (Volume Replicator) environment only. Comma-separated list of secondary hosts on which a synchronized snapshot is to be taken.

Note:

Any text string that contains spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks.

This example creates a snapshot of the replica of the component mailbox. It specifies that the VSS Writer, Microsoft Exchange Writer Replica, is used for the snapshot.

vxsnap -x snapdata.xml create 
-C writer="Microsoft Exchange Writer" 
component=mb1 backuptype=COPY -E

Creates a COW snapshot of component mb1 of Exchange server. A copy backup is created and an Eseutil consistency check is performed on the snapshot volumes.

For Enterprise Vault operations:

vxsnap -x <Filename> create writer=<WriterName> 
[site=<SiteName>[/VSG=<VSGName>[VS=<VSName>]]]
[[/]component=<ComponentName>[backuptype=FULL|COPY] [-o]

Creates snapshot(s) of the Enterprise Vault components. Allows the volumes to be snapshotted simultaneously.

The following attributes apply:

-x<Filename>

Indicates the name to be assigned to the XML metadata file that is created with the command. The file name must include the ".xml" extension. To specify a location other than the default location for the file, you must enter the full path for the file (e.g. J:\XML\Image1.xml).

writer=<WriterName>

Unique ID of the VSS writer, for example, EnterpriseVault. Required if you specify the component.

site=<SiteName>

Name of the Enterprise Vault site.

VSG=<VSGName>

Name of the Enterprise Vault Vault Store Group.

VS=<VSName>

Name of the Enterprise Vault Vault Store.

component=<ComponentName>

Name of the Enterprise vault component. For example, Vault Store database, Fingerprint database, or Volume component, such as index, partitions, etc.

backuptype=FULL|COPY

Specifies the type of backup, either a Full or Copy. If no option is specified then Copy is the default.

-o

Allows an existing XML file of the same name to be overwritten. If -o is not specified the vxsnap create command does not overwrite an existing XML file of the same name and the operation fails.

Note:

Any text string that contains spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks.

Additional information about the create operation for Enterprise Vault:

  • Specifying only the writer attribute (as in vxsnap -x xmlfile create writer=EnterpriseVault), results in the snapshot of the components of the entire Enterprise Vault farm. This would include the Enterprise Vault directory database, monitoring database, audit database, and reporting database.

  • Specifying the site attribute (as in vxsnap -x xmlfile create writer=EnterpriseVault Site=Site1), results in the snapshot of the components at the Enterprise Vault site level. This prepares the directory database and all the components (SQL and volume) in the specified site.

  • Specifying the vault store group attribute (as in vxsnap -x xmlfile create writer=EnterpriseVault Site=Site1/VSG=VSG1), results in the snapshot of the fingerprint database and all the components in all vault stores in the specified vault storage group.

  • Specifying the vault store attribute (as in vxsnap -x xmlfile create writer=EnterpriseVault Site=Site1/VSG=VSG1/VS=VS1), results in the snapshot of the vault store database and all the partitions in the specified vault store.

  • Specifying the component attribute (as in vxsnap -x xmlfile create writer=EnterpriseVault Site=Site1/VSG=VSG1/VS=VS1 Component=<Component Name>), results in the snapshot of the specified component. The component can be an Enterprise Vault SQL database or a volume component (e.g.vault store database, fingerprint database, directory database, monitoring database, reporting database, audit database, partition, index volume, etc.).

    • For vault store components: When the vault store database component is specified, the open partition in the vault store is also snapshotted.

    • For vault store components: When the open partition component is specified, the vault store database in the vault store is also snapshotted.

    • For different components: When different components reside on a common volume, the volume is snapshotted only once.

  • Upon completion of the operation, the status (successor failure) of the selected components is recorded in a log, %VMPATH%\logs\EVStatus.log. The log contains information about the success or failure of the operation for the components. In the event that the snapshot of a volume for a component fails, the operation does not snapshot the remaining volumes of the component nor any other requested components that are remaining. If the operation succeeds for all the volumes of a component, then the status of the component is logged as SUCCESS. If the operation fails for any one of the volumes of the component, then the status of all the components of that EnterpriseVault server is logged as FAILED along with the cause of the failure. The status of all components that had been already snapshotted earlier before the failed components are logged as SUCCESS, and the status of the remaining components that had not been snapshotted are logged as SKIPPED.

Examples

vxsnap -x snapdata.xml create writer=EnterpriseVault 
site=site1/vsg=vsg1/vs=vs1 
site=site2 component="Index Location (V:)" component="Directory DB"

This example makes a snapshot of vault store "vs1" of site1/vsg1, "Index Location (V:)" of site2 and component "Directory DB".

vxsnap -x snapdata.xml create writer=EnterpriseVault site=site1

This example makes a complete snapshot of site1 (including the directory database).

For SQL operations:

vxsnap -x <Filename> create [-g <dynamicdiskgroupname>]
source=<Volume>[/DriveLetter=<DriveLetter>][/DrivePath=<DrivePath>]
[/Newvol=<NewVolName>][/Plex=<PlexName>]...
[writer=<WriterName>] [component=<ComponentName>]
[server=ServerName] [instance=InstanceName]
[backuptype=FULL|COPY] [-o] [-c] [secHosts=<SecondaryHosts>]

Creates snapshot(s) of the specified volume(s) or SQL database. Allows the volumes to be snapshotted simultaneously.

Separate source volumes and attributes with forward slashes, not spaces. Source and snapshot volume attributes are paired. You must specify the source volume if you choose to specify the snapshot volume plex, drive letter, drive path, label, or volume name.

The following attributes apply:

-x <Filename>

Indicates the name to be assigned to the XML metadata file that is created with the command. The file name must include the ".xml" extension. To specify a location other than the default location for the file, you must enter the full path for the file (e.g. J:\XML\Image1.xml).

-g <DynamicDiskGroupName>

Name of disk group that contains the source volume. Required when specifying volume name.

source=<Volume>

Indicates the source volume for the split-mirror snapshot specified by a drive letter, drive path (mount point), or volume name of the form "\\?\Volume{GUID}\". Repeat this parameter for each volume associated with the specified component.

[/plex=<PlexName>]

Specifies the name of the mirror or plex that is to be detached. Use this parameter if there are multiple snap plexes available to be snapshotted.

[/DriveLetter=<DriveLetter>]

The drive letter to be assigned to the new snapshot volume.

[/DrivePath=<DrivePath>]

The drive path to be assigned to the new snapshot volume. The drive path must reference an empty local NTFS folder, which was created beforehand. The path must include the drive letter and folder to be mounted, for example, C:\DB1VOL.

[/Newvol=<NewVolName>]

Specifies the name of the new snapshot volume that is created.

If the name is not specified, then the default snapshot volume name begins with "SnapV" followed by a 12 character alphanumeric string. The 12 character alphanumeric string is a coded hexadecimal timestamp based upon the time that the snapshot was taken. For example, a default Snap Volume Name would be "SnapV4A7337AE038A".

The full device path becomes:

\Device\HarddiskDmVolumes

\<DiskGroupName>\<NewVolName>

writer=<WriterName>

Unique ID of the VSS writer, for example, SQLServerWriter or the GUID for the writer. Required if you specify the component.

component=<ComponentName>

Name of the database. The command prepares mirrors for both the database and log volumes of the SQL database.

server=ServerName

SQL Server server name.

instance=InstanceName

SQL Server instance name.

backuptype=FULL|COPY

Specifies the type of backup, either a Full or Copy. If no option is specified then Copy is the default. To back up logs in SQL Server so that you can restore the database using SQL log replay, at least one Full backup must have been created earlier.

-o

Allows an existing XML file of the same name to be overwritten. If -o is not specified the vxsnap create command does not overwrite an existing XML file of the same name and the operation fails.

-c

Specifies a COW snapshot.

In preparation for a COW snapshot, the vxsnap diffarea command must be used to create the shadow storage volume. The following vxsnap attributes are not compatible with COW snapshots and result in an error:

  • /DriveLetter=<driveLetter>

  • /DrivePath=<drivePath>

  • /Newvol=<newVolName>

  • /Plex=<plexName>

  • secHosts=<secondary hosts>

sechosts=<SecondaryHosts>

Applies to Volume Replicator (Volume Replicator) environment only. Comma-separated list of secondary hosts on which a synchronized snapshot is to be taken.

Note:

Any text string that contains spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks.

Examples

vxsnap -x billing_DB.xml create
source=G:/Newvol=billing_data
source=H:/Newvol=billing_log
writer=SQLServerWriter component=billing_DB
backuptype=full

This example creates a snapshot set based on the component billing_DB which contains volume G, the database volume, and volume H, the log volume. The snapshot volumes are named billing_data and billing_log, respectively. The XML file, billing_DB.xml, is used to store the VSS metadata that identifies the snapshot set. This file is used in the command to reattach the snapshot set to resynchronize it and in the command to recover the database using the snapshot set.

vxsnap -x snapdata.xml create 
-C writer=sqlserverwriter 
component=testDB server=localhost

Creates a COW snapshot of SQL database testDB used in the default instance of the localhost.

For volume operations:

vxsnap -x <Filename> create [-g <dynamicdiskgroupname>]
source=<Volume>[/DriveLetter=<DriveLetter>][/DrivePath=<DrivePath>]
[/Newvol=<NewVolName>][/Plex=<PlexName>]...[-o] [-c]

Creates snapshot(s) of the specified volume(s). Allows volumes to be snapshotted simultaneously.

Separate source volumes and attributes with forward slashes, not spaces. Source and snapshot volume attributes are paired. You must specify the source volume if you choose to specify the snapshot volume plex, drive letter, drive path, label, or volume name.

The following attributes apply:

-x <Filename>

Indicates the name to be assigned to the XML metadata file that is created with the command. The file name must include the ".xml" extension.

-g <DynamicDiskGroupName>

Name of disk group that contains the source volume. Required when specifying volume name.

source=<Volume>

Indicates the source volume for the split-mirror snapshot specified by a drive letter, drive path (mount point), or volume name of the form "\\?\Volume{GUID}\". Repeat this parameter for each volume associated with the specified component.

[/plex=<PlexName>]

Specifies the name of the mirror or plex that is to be detached. Use this parameter if there are multiple snap plexes available to be snapshotted.

[/DriveLetter=<DriveLetter>]

The drive letter to be assigned to the new snapshot volume.

[/DrivePath=<DrivePath>]

The drive path to be assigned to the new snapshot volume. The drive path must reference an empty local NTFS folder, which was created beforehand. The path must include the drive letter and folder to be mounted, for example, C:\DB1VOL.

[/Newvol=<NewVolName>]

Specifies the name of the new snapshot volume that is created.

If the name is not specified, then the default snapshot volume name begins with "SnapV" followed by a 12 character alphanumeric string. The 12 character alphanumeric string is a coded hexadecimal timestamp based upon the time that the snapshot was taken. For example, a default Snap Volume Name would be "SnapV4A7337AE038A".

The full device path becomes:

\Device\HarddiskDmVolumes

\<DiskGroupName>\<NewVolName>

-o

Allows an existing XML file of the same name to be overwritten. If -o is not specified the vxsnap create command does not overwrite an existing XML file of the same name and the operation fails.

-c

Specifies a COW snapshot.

In preparation for a COW snapshot, the vxsnap diffarea command must be used to create the shadow storage volume. The following vxsnap attributes are not compatible with COW snapshots and result in an error:

  • /DriveLetter=<driveLetter>

  • /DrivePath=<drivePath>

  • /Newvol=<newVolName>

  • /Plex=<plexName>

  • secHosts=<secondary hosts>

Note:

Any text string that contains spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks.

Examples

vxsnap -x snapdata.xml create
source=E:\Data\DB1/DrivePath=E:\Backup\DB1
source=E:\Data\DB2/DrivePath=E:\Backup\DB2

This command does not specify a specific storage group (component) but rather creates snapshots from the volumes mounted on E:\Data\DB1 and E:\Data\DB2. The resulting snapshot volumes are assigned mount points E:\Backup\DB1 and E:\Backup\DB2, respectively. The metadata involved in this operation is stored in snapdata.xml.

vxsnap -x snapdata.xml create 
-C source=D:

Creates a COW snapshot of volume D: