Snapshot Agents USER GUIDE

Transcription

1 Snapshot Agents USER GUIDE

2 FalconStor Snapshot Agents User Guide User Guide content for individual agents may change between major product versions of FalconStor CDP/NSS in order to reflect agent updates released via patches. In this guide and its table of contents, the heading for changed content will be followed by (updated Month Year). The document code at the bottom of the page shows the guide publication date. FalconStor Software, Inc. 2 Huntington Quadrangle, Suite 2S01 Melville, NY Phone: Fax: Web site: Copyright FalconStor Software. All Rights Reserved. FalconStor Software, IPStor, TimeView, and TimeMark are either registered trademarks or trademarks of FalconStor Software, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. FalconStor Software reserves the right to make changes in the information contained in this publication without prior notice. The reader should in all cases consult FalconStor Software to determine whether any such changes have been made. This product is protected by United States Patents Nos. 7,093,127 B2; 6,715,098; 7,058,788 B2; 7,330,960 B2; 7,165,145 B2; 7,155,585 B2; 7.231,502 B2; 7,469,337; 7,467,259; 7,418,416 B2; 7,406,575 B2, and additional patents pending

3 Snapshot Agents User Guide Contents Introduction User interface General installation requirements (updated June 2014) Additional resources Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Storage configuration guidelines Install the snapshot agent Silent install Configure the snapshot agent Snapshot options Advanced options Batch file options Manage the trace log Create a diagnostic X-ray file Test the snapshot agent History and event logs Remove snapshot agent software Error codes Hardware Provider Service Errors in the Windows event log Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange Storage configuration guidelines Install the snapshot agent Silent install Configure the snapshot agent options Batch file options Monitor tab Manage the trace log Configure service-enabled devices Test the snapshot agent (updated March 2014) Confirm snapshot status Purge log utility Remove snapshot agent software Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Guidelines Requirements Requirements for VMware environments Install the snapshot agent Silent install Configure the snapshot agent Database Security options Database Options tab Advanced Options tab Snapshot Agents User Guide i

4 Batch Files tab Monitor tab Transaction log backup best practice The <databasename>.hisu file Test the snapshot agent Recover a database manually Command line interface Manage the trace log Create a diagnostic X-ray file Remove snapshot agent software Snapshot Agent for Oracle Support for file systems Install the snapshot agent Install on Windows Silent install Install on Linux Install on AIX Install on Solaris Configure the snapshot agent Configure the snapshot agent on a Windows machine Database Security options Batch file options Monitor options Manage the trace log Configure the snapshot agent on a Solaris machine Configure ASM disks Configure the Oracle Listener Configure the snapshot agent on a Linux or AIX machine (Unix only) Add root user to database groups (Unix only) Set root user s PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH Turn on Oracle archive logging Test the snapshot agent (updated March 2014) Remove snapshot agent software Protect and recover Oracle databases Database design with virtual devices Data backup and protection scenarios TimeMark TimeMark Copy TimeView Replication TimeMark rollback Complete backup using a TimeView or TimeMark Copy Recovery scenarios Disk failure User failure Operator failure Restore backed-up Oracle databases Snapshot Agents User Guide ii

5 Automatic recovery Manual recovery Snapshot Agent for FileSystems Install the snapshot agent Install on Windows Silent install Install on Linux and AIX Configure snapshot agent options Batch file options Monitor tab Manage the trace log Update registry for service-enabled devices Test the snapshot agent (updated March 2014) Remove snapshot agent software Snapshot Agent for MySQL Install the snapshot agent Install on Windows Install on Linux Test the file system agent (updated March 2014) Manage the trace log Remove snapshot agent software Snapshot Agent for IBM DB2 Universal Database Install the snapshot agent on AIX Install on AIX Add root user to database groups Set root user s PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH Test the snapshot agent (updated April 2014) Log information Remove snapshot agent software Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes /Domino Install the snapshot agent Install on Windows (updated June 2014) Silent install Install on Linux Install on AIX Configure the snapshot agent on a Windows machine Test the snapshot agent (updated March 2014) Manage the trace log Remove snapshot agent software Index Snapshot Agents User Guide iii

6 Introduction Today s businesses put increasing demands on information and databases, resulting in the need for 24x7 availability and high performance. However, evergrowing capacity presents significant challenges to meeting these requirements. One of the most important issues identified by system administrators is the amount of time associated with backup - and more important, recovery. Recovering corrupted or lost data can cause extreme downtime for hours or even days. Because it takes a significant amount of time to copy large amounts of data to tape (or other media), data on the source device can change before copying is complete. As a result, the data written to tape represents changes over a period of time and does not have point-in-time consistency with the source. This means no guarantee that the data written to tape can be meaningfully restored. This is where FalconStor snapshot agents come in. Snapshot agents installed on host machines coordinate the process of taking snapshots, safely and reliably copying data as of a point in time with transactional integrity. Snapshots can be used for data copy, third-party backup, and as the basis for disaster recovery. Snapshot agents work seamlessly with FalconStor Continuous Data Protector (CDP) and Network Storage Server (NSS) options for TimeMark snapshots, replication, snapshot copy, ZeroImpact backup, and FalconStor HyperTrac Backup Accelerator, all of which are based on snapshot technology. FalconStor provides a snapshot agent for all supported database and messaging applications. The agent can use the functions or capabilities provided by the application to perform I/O quiescence before a snapshot is taken. The snapshot agent coordinates the operation between the application and the FalconStor snapshot system to bring the data to a consistent state and put databases into backup mode before the snapshot is created on the server side. Taking a snapshot is an instantaneous operation - it does not take any time because it is just a change of state. Snapshot agents reside on client hosts, which are remote from the server on which the snapshot mechanism operates. Coordination between the client and the server occurs in one of two possible forms. For in-band solutions, where the protected disk is the primary disk for the application and snapshot notification has been enabled on the disk, or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created, the server sends a snapshot notification to the client based on a scheduled operation or on-demand from the server console. The snapshot agent quiesces the database or messaging application and then returns a status to the server. The server creates the snapshot and informs the agent that the snapshot has been created. The agent then releases the application to normal operation. For sideband solutions, where DiskSafe mirrors data to the server, DiskSafe initiates a snapshot notification to the agent; after the agent has quiesced the database or messaging application, the snapshot request is sent to the server, which responds by creating the snapshot for the volume on the disk Snapshot Agents User Guide 1

7 Introduction that was provisioned by the server. The server then returns a success message to DiskSafe, which notifies the snapshot agent to release the data image to normal operation. Applications can immediately recognize and use data images created with the assistance of snapshot agents. Without snapshot agents to help achieve quiescence, data images might be seen as corrupted or otherwise unrecognizable when mounted. The snapshot agent is a critical component for creating usable snapshots. When replication is used in conjunction with snapshot agents, a copy of each snapshot - a replica - is maintained for off-host processing. Not only can the replica be backed up, but data can be changed for testing, what if analysis, or training purposes. Systems can be resynchronized quickly and easily with no impact on the production server. Snapshot agents help simplify many data management tasks, meeting the requirements of high availability and high performance in today s workplace. The following agents are available: Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Snapshot Agent for Oracle Snapshot Agent for FileSystems Snapshot Agent for MySQL Snapshot Agent for IBM DB2 Universal Database Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes /Domino Snapshot Agents User Guide 2

8 Introduction User interface Microsoft Windows-based agents provide a configuration utility for the purpose of specifying backup or database settings, mount points, and application/database server access information. Options vary per agent. Agents for other operating systems provide command-line configuration. The Windows-based configuration utility includes a drop-down menu displayed from the icon in the upper left corner of the utility window. The following support options are available: X-ray - The X-ray feature collects technical information - such as storage server messages and a snapshot of the server s current configuration and environment - for diagnostic purposes. Taking an X-ray generates a.cab file that you can send to FalconStor Technical Support for analysis. Trace log - The trace log collects information on agent activity, depending upon the level of detail requested by Technical Support. Log file content varies for each snapshot agent. General installation requirements (updated June 2014) A snapshot agent can be installed on any client machine that has the ability to connect to the storage server.the items below apply to installation of any snapshot agent that is part of an in-band solution. Silent install is supported for all agents. Additional requirements and Installation details are included in agent-specific sections of this guide. You can download software builds, patches, and documentation related to your FalconStor product from the FalconStor Customer Support Portal at support.falconstor.com (account required). Click the View Builds, Patches, & Documentation link in the GA Releases area to complete a simple search form and display available downloads. Install and configure an iscsi initiator or Fibre Channel HBA on the client machine. Launch the iscsi initiator and identify the storage server as the target server. In order to install a snapshot agent, you must be an administrator or have administrator privileges on the client machine. On the storage server, make sure the client machine has been added as a SAN Client in the FalconStor Management Console. Assess the requirements of each database or messaging system in order to determine how many resources are required. For instance, databases typically require data files to be on a separate disk from log files; in this case, two resources are required. On the storage server, create SAN Resources (logically mapped storage devices on the storage network) for each client s database/messaging system files and assign them to the related SAN Client. Snapshot Agents User Guide 3

9 Introduction Migrate the database/messaging system files you want to protect to the new resources. Create a Snapshot Resource on each SAN Resource. Continuing on the storage server, create a group for each client machine s SAN Resources. In the FalconStor management console, groups (also referred to as snapshot groups) are listed below the Logical Resources object. Doing this ensures transactional integrity for database and messaging files that reside on multiple disks. Whenever a snapshot is triggered, a snapshot is taken for each resource in the group. Before you install the snapshot agent, install the FalconStor Intelligent Management Agent (IMA). IMA enables the client machine to access storage server resources and manages notifications from the storage server. If IMA is not detected when snapshot agent installation begins, an error message will be displayed. You will need to cancel the procedure, install IMA, and then repeat snapshot agent installation. The SAN Disk Manager (SDM) user interface is provided on Windows machines. The Intelligent Management Agent User Guide includes details for operating IMA on Windows and Linux clients. Notes: If you have an out-of-band FalconStor CDP solution and FalconStor DiskSafe was previously installed on the client machine, IMA is already installed. If you plan to take snapshots of a volume that uses a mount point path instead of a drive letter and you will be using FalconStor NSS with a Windows snapshot agent (other than the Snapshot Agent for VSS), you must add a registry value in order for IMA to recognize the path value. In the Windows Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\FalconStor\IMA\CurrentVersion\. Add a DWORD (32-bit) value with the name USEMOUNTPT and set the value to 1. Install and configure the snapshot agent that corresponds to your database/ application (such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL, or Oracle). For in-band solutions, you must also install the Snapshot Agent for FileSystems with all Windows snapshot agents except the Snapshot Agent for VSS. Except for this requirement, FalconStor does not recommend installing multiple snapshot agents on the same host, as this may cause conflicts during the snapshot process that result in snapshot failure. Note: In this guide, storage server refers to the FalconStor storage server, whose associated storage is managed in the FalconStor Management Console. For details about snapshot agent installation as part of an out-of-band solution such as FalconStor DiskSafe, refer to the user guide for that solution. Snapshot Agents User Guide 4

10 Introduction Additional resources This guide supports the latest version of each snapshot agent. Snapshot agents are designed to work with FalconStor Continuous Data Protector (CDP) and FalconStor Network Storage Server (NSS). For more information, refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide. CDP and NSS support use of snapshot agents on most major platforms. For specific support information, refer to the Snapshot Agent Release Notes and the Certification Matrix on the FalconStor website. Note that the product release notes and patch descriptions can include information that may not appear in the user guide. Be sure to review all available documents. If you need technical support, create a support ticket on the FalconStor Customer Support portal. Snapshot Agents User Guide 5

11 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS The FalconStor Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) protects VSS-aware application drives with full point-in-time consistency. Users are always able to fully access the data, while the backup software sees a stable, read-only snapshot image. When snapshot notification has been enabled on the protected disk, or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created, the CDP/NSS server sends a snapshot notification to the application server running the snapshot agent before the snapshot is taken. After the VSS snapshot agent creates a snapshot of application data, the snapshot is mounted as a temporary snapshot view device and assigned to the host. (A snapshot may be referred to as a TimeMark; a mounted snapshot may be referred to as a TimeView.) The snapshot agent requestor clears read-only and hidden flags and saves writer metadata to each volume. The hardware provider performs additional cleanup and then tells CDP/NSS to unassign and delete the mounted snapshot; data from the mounted snapshot is then saved. The VSS snapshot agent can be used on a VMware virtual machine either by assigning data LUNs directly to the virtual machine from NSS, or by implementing an out-of-band solution for protecting local data storage using FalconStor DiskSafe. The VSS snapshot agent can also create snapshots of Cluster-Shared Volumes (CSVs) that are part of an NSS solution that protects Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V clusters. Microsoft VSS provides the backup infrastructure for Microsoft Windows operating systems, using a set of extensible application programming interfaces (APIs) to create consistent point-in-time copies of application data (shadow copies) across multiple volumes, regardless of the snapshot technology or application, by coordinating with business applications, filesystem services, backup applications, fast recovery solutions, and storage hardware. The FalconStor Snapshot Agent for VSS takes consistent point-in-time snapshots of VSS-aware application data and communicates with FalconStor Continuous Data Protector (CDP) and FalconStor Network Storage Server (NSS) using its own requestor and hardware provider. The hardware provider creates snapshot volumes and is compatible with any third-party VSS requestor. Microsoft VSS consists of four components: Requestors that start the VSS backup or restore operation and manage metadata. Writers that prepare applications for backups and restores. Hardware Providers that create the snapshot shadow copies by communicating with hardware. VSS Service - The Windows service that controls VSS operations by coordinating the other components. The VSS snapshot agent is designed to make backups uniform across applications. Some writers have distinct behaviors. Snapshot Agents User Guide 6

12 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Microsoft Exchange For snapshots of Exchange databases and log files on shadow copy devices, the snapshot agent can verify the checksum of the database and log files on the snapshot view, similar to the way this occurs for FalconStor IntegrityTrac. Snapshot verification may take a long time to complete and can be disabled in the snapshot agent configuration tool (refer to Configure the snapshot agent ). Refer to the Certification Matrix on the FalconStor website to determine the versions of Exchange supported by the Snapshot Agent for VSS. Microsoft Hyper-V In order to use the VSS agent with a virtual machine, Hyper-V integration tools must be installed; otherwise, the virtual machine is temporarily suspended and saved to the disk while a snapshot is being created. When snapshot view devices are assigned to the host during a full backup, the Hyper-V writer will roll back each virtual machine to the same point in time. In a Hyper-V cluster using CSVs, the snapshot agent identifies the master node in the cluster and takes a snapshot of that node. Snapshot Agents User Guide 7

13 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Storage configuration guidelines Install the snapshot agent Microsoft VSS supports devices formatted in NTFS or ReFS. Microsoft VSS limits the number of volumes in a group to 64. All devices in a snapshot group must be assigned to the same client(s) In order to replicate Microsoft VSS snapshots, the TimeMark option must be enabled on the primary and replica CDP/NSS virtual disks. When Continuous Replication is enabled on a device assigned to the client, the Create Primary TimeMark and Synchronize Replica TimeMark options must be selected in order to ensure synchronous VSS snapshots on both the primary and replica CDP and NSS resources. This is necessary because VSS snapshots contain additional VSS data that will be replicated only if these options are selected. If an application database and its log files are saved to different SAN resources, they must be joined to the same snapshot group in order for both resources to be backed up at the same time. The snapshot must be triggered at the group level. Dynamic disks are not supported. Complete the required steps described in General installation requirements. Note: Do not install the Snapshot Agent for VSS with non-vss agents; i.e., do not install the Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange if the Snapshot Agent for VSS is installed. Refer to the Snapshot Agent Release Notes to identify the snapshot agents that are compatible with your installed applications and databases. Installation requires the following: The client machine must support Microsoft VSS. The storage array used by the client must support SCSI commands required by Microsoft VSS, such as page 0x80 and 0x83 SCSI inquiry commands. Contact your storage array provider to verify. To install the snapshot agent: 1. Run the installation file. 2. When prompted, enter your license keycode. The snapshot agent license must be activated (registered with FalconStor). If your computer has an Internet connection, the license is activated as soon as you enter your keycode and click Next. However, if your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable or if your computer has no Internet connection, your license will not be activated. You must activate your license within 30 days. Snapshot Agents User Guide 8

14 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS If your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable, your license will be activated automatically the next time the snapshot agent is invoked, assuming you have an Internet connection then. You can also add your license through IMA. If your computer has no Internet connection, you can perform offline activation using IMA (refer to the Intelligent Management Agent User Guide). 3. When done, click Finish. The snapshot agent will be installed to the same directory as IMA. After the installation completes, the configuration utility launches automatically. Silent install Silent install is supported for snapshot agents. To install the agent in silent mode, perform the following steps: 1. Download the package from the FalconStor Support Portal and extract the agent package. 2. From the command line, navigate to the folder to which you extracted the package. 3. Install the Intelligent Management Agent: cd ima setup.exe /s cd.. 4. Install the snapshot agent: setup /s or setupsilent.bat When installing the snapshot agent in silent mode on any 64-bit platform, run setupsilent.bat from the AMD64 directory. Snapshot Agents User Guide 9

15 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Configure the snapshot agent Snapshot options After the installation completes, a configuration utility launches. Complete configuration as described below. When you are done, click OK to save the changes you made in all tabs and either keep the utility open or exit. Click Cancel to exit the utility and discard any changes. To access this utility at a later time, select Start --> Programs --> FalconStor --> Configuration for Snapshot Agent for VSS, which runs vsscfg.exe. Perform a full backup Run database or application verification The Snapshot tab allows you to configure or disable full and copy backups. Each writer decides how to handle a copy backup, but transaction log files are not usually truncated. Always (the default) - Always perform a full backup. Between the following times - If snapshot notification occurs between the times you specify, the snapshot will be a full backup. Every Nth snapshot - Snapshots are counted, with the first snapshot following a full backup designated as 1. When the count reaches the number you specify, that snapshot will be a full backup. For example, if you set the value to 5, every fifth snapshot will be a full backup. Note that if you revise this value to a lower number and the count is currently higher, the next backup will be a full backup, after which the count will restart. Never - Always perform a copy backup. You can specify when the Snapshot View should be verified during the snapshot process. Currently, verification is compatible only with Microsoft Exchange. When verification is enabled, the agent checks to see if Exchange is involved after Snapshot Agents User Guide 10

16 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Advanced options snapshot creation is finished. You can disable this option if the process takes too much time. For Exchange snapshots, the snapshot agent will verify the checksum of the database and log files on the Snapshot View, similar to IntegrityTrac. Always (the default) - Always run the verification. After a full backup - Run the verification if the current snapshot is a full backup. Never - Never run the verification. Use the advanced options to further refine snapshot configuration. VSS mount point directory - the directory on which snapshot view volumes are mounted. Drive letters are not assigned to these volumes. CDP/SafeCache timeout - set to 180 seconds (3 minutes) by default. Specify the number of seconds the hardware provider should wait for the storage server to flush the CDP journal/safecache resource when asked to import (create) a snapshot view volume. Since this process is potentially time consuming, the maximum setting is seconds (24 hours). Exchange object verification timeout in minutes - set to 360 minutes by default. If this timeout is exceeded before the agent has verified the Exchange database, the agent will stop the verification process the snapshot will fail. Allow snapshot of mount point volumes - enabled by default, which sets a registry value for IMA. When this option is enabled, the snapshot agent can identify path information for volumes mounted to directories. Storage Server for import operations - set to Automatic by default. In most cases this option should not be changed. However, if the client is registered to both the source and target of a replication pair, select the storage server to which the hardware provider should send RPCs for snapshot view assignment when multiple storage servers are used. Snapshot Agents User Guide 11

17 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Batch file options On the Batch Files tab, indicate if you want to run batch files before and/or after each snapshot. Manage the trace log In order to run batch files, you must enter an administrative user name and password for the local computer. Click the Create/Edit button and use Notepad to generate batch files. The trace log is a diagnostic tool used by Technical Support to help solve system problems. Each trace log contains technical information about your system as well as system messages and is updated whenever a snapshot occurs. Some of the messages that appear in the trace log are also sent to the Windows Event Log. Do not adjust the trace log setting unless you are requested to do so by a Technical Support representative. The configuration utility lets you maximize the level of detail that is displayed. 1. Click the icon in the upper left corner of the configuration utility and select Settings in the menu. The default value is 0. Snapshot Agents User Guide 12

18 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Create a diagnostic X-ray file 2. Select the Specify Trace Log level checkbox to maximize the level of detail displayed for agent activity. The value in the text box will change to 10. The trace log will include a list of the databases that have been backed up and other information that can be used to provide support. The log will reflect the change after the next snapshot is taken. The X-ray feature collects technical information - such as storage server messages and a snapshot of the server s current configuration and environment - for diagnostic purposes. Taking an X-ray generates a file (Agent.cab) that you can send to FalconStor Technical Support for analysis. 1. Click the icon in the upper left corner of the configuration utility and select Take X-ray in the menu. 2. Browse to and select the location to which the.cab file should be generated, and optionally change the default file name. The X-ray file will be generated to the specified location. Snapshot Agents User Guide 13

19 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Test the snapshot agent In order to understand how to view VSS snapshots in the FalconStor Management Console, create a manual snapshot of a virtual drive. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a TimeView from the snapshot and assign it to the client, then review the data. 1. In the console, select the virtual drive you want to use (under Logical Resources --> SAN Resources). Right-click the drive and select TimeMark/CDP --> Create. 2. Click OK. 3. In the console, select the TimeMark tab for the resource, then click the Timestamp column. The new snapshot should appear at the top of the list, with Yes with VSS in the Quiescent column. Values in the TimeView column can be available (data is present), none (there is no data), or in use (the mounted snapshot is active). History and event logs Snapshot agent events/history are recorded in the Microsoft Windows Event Log as Snapshot Agent events. If you are using a VSS snapshot agent build higher than 600, the hardware provider also logs events through the snapshot agent. Remove snapshot agent software Remove the software from the Windows Control Panel. Snapshot Agents User Guide 14

20 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Error codes Error Code Type Text Probable Cause Suggested Action General 1002 Warning Shadow copies will not be assigned during backup 1003 Warning Not running consistency check on snapshot 1004 Error Failed to acquire lock, or another backup or restore is running Some of the volumes in the snapshot set are on dynamic disks. The agent is configured to not perform consistency check. Another backup (snapshot) or restore operation is in progress. Move all volumes to basic disks. The agent configuration tool has a few options for this. Check that it is set correctly. Only one backup or restore operation is allowed at a time Error Out of memory The system is out of memory. Check the system resources Error Error writing registry values 1007 Error One or more volumes in the set are not formatted NTFS The user does not have administrator rights on the local machine or the registry has been modified manually. Some of the volumes in the snapshot set are on non-ntfs volumes. Check the user rights and that the registry has not been modified manually. If the registry has been changed, reinstall the agent. All volumes in the set need to be formatted NTFS. Move all non-ntfs volumes to NTFS Error HWP service is not started Agent installation or HWP service configuration may not be complete. Check the HWP service configuration to see if it can be started manually. Virtual Disk Service 1101 Error Failed to load VDS The virtual disk service may hang when busy. Close all agents and the Microsoft disk management MMC, stop the virtual disk service and retry Error Failed to clear volume flags The virtual disk service may be busy or the TimeView may not be good. Check the integrity of the TimeView and retry if it is good. Snapshot Agents User Guide 15

21 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Error Code Type Text Probable Cause Suggested Action 1103 Error Failed to add volume access path The virtual disk service may be busy or there is already a volume mounted to the mount point. Check that nothing is already mounted in the mount point directory and retry Error Disk rescan failed The virtual disk service may be busy Error Error finding volume The TimeView may not be assigned or there may be a problem with iscsi or FC connection. Close all agents and the Microsoft disk management MMC and stop the virtual disk service. Make sure the volume is visible from Microsoft disk management MMC. Volume Shadow Copy Service 1201 Error Error with a writer or its status 1202 Error Error with VSS asynchronous call 1203 Error Error during PrepareForBackup One or more writers is in a failed state or reported invalid status. VSS has failed. VSS or a writer has failed or has exceeded the timeout. Check the status of all applications included in the snapshot set. Check the status of VSS and retry. Check the status of VSS and all applications included in the snapshot set. Set the registry value PrepareForBackupTimeout to a higher timeout if needed Error Error initializing VSS VSS has failed. Check the status of VSS and retry Error Error creating snapshot set 1207 Error Error adding volume to snapshot set VSS has failed. The volume is not on an NSS/CDP disk or HWP has failed. Check the status of VSS and retry. Check the status of the HWP service and that the volume is on a valid NSS/ CDP disk. Snapshot Agents User Guide 16

22 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Error Code Type Text Probable Cause Suggested Action 1208 Error Error committing snapshot set 1209 Error Error saving requestor or writer metadata 1211 Error Error retrieving snapshot device properties 1212 Error Error adding component for backup 1213 Error Error setting file restore status 1218 Error Failed to create examine writer metadata object 1221 Error Error reporting backup complete VSS, a writer or the hardware provider has failed or has exceeded the timeout. Error retrieving or saving metadata VSS has failed. VSS or a writer has failed. VSS or a writer has failed. VSS has failed. VSS or a writer has failed or has exceeded the timeout. Check the status of VSS, all applications included in the snapshot set and of the HWP. Set the registry value DoSnapshotTimeout to a higher timeout if needed. Check if the log indicates that a writer has failed or if there was a problem saving files/creating directories Check the status of VSS and retry. Check the status of VSS and of all applications included in the snapshot set. Check the status of VSS and of all applications included in the snapshot set. Check the status of VSS and retry. Check the status of VSS and all applications included in the snapshot set. Set the registry value BackupCompleteTimeout to a higher timeout if needed. Hardware Provider Service Errors in the Windows event log Error Code Type Text Probable Cause Suggested Action 5000 Error Failed to load IMA DLL IMA DLL is missing. Check that file isclirpc.dll is in the IMA directory Error Invalid parameter passed by VSS VSS parameters may are invalid. Check the Windows event log for VSS errors. Snapshot Agents User Guide 17

23 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS Error Code Type Text Probable Cause Suggested Action 5002 Error DiskSafe return code was unexpected 5003 Error The snapshot set contains a mix of in-band and DiskSafe devices DiskSafe returned an unknown error. In-band and DiskSafe devices are in the same snapshot set. Verify that DiskSafe is installed and running. Take snapshots of Snap in-band and DiskSafe devices separately Error Error preparing LUN There might be a storage or configuration error. Check the storage server for any errors Info Shadow copy LUN information 5006 Error The storage server took too long to assign the shadow copy LUN 5007 Error Error assigning shadow copy LUN 5008 Info Shadow copy LUN assigned successfully 5009 Warning Error removing the shadow copy LUN 5010 Error Error removing the shadow copy LUN 5011 Info Shadow copy LUN removed successfully Informational A storage server error occurred or the SafeCache timeout is too low. This is due to IMA, storage server, or a connectivity error. Informational The operation will be retried later. This is due to a storage server error. Informational None Check the storage server for any errors. If using a CDP SafeCache, increase the timeout in the agent configuration tool. Check the storage server and IMA for any errors. None None Check the storage server for any errors. None 5012 Error Error taking the snapshot This is due to a storage server error. Check the storage server for any errors Info Snapshot taken successfully 5014 Error DiskSafe reports that at least one of the disks is not in sync Informational DiskSafe could not keep the mirror in sync during the snapshot process. None Check that DiskSafe device configuration can support the bandwidth needed to keep mirror in sync during snapshot. Snapshot Agents User Guide 18

24 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange Note: If you are using Microsoft Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2013, you must use the Snapshot Agent for Microsoft VSS. The FalconStor Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange enables FalconStor CDP/ NSS to protect Exchange databases with point-in-time consistency. Users are always able to fully access the data, while the backup software sees a stable, readonly snapshot image. Microsoft Exchange requires quiescent snapshots. In order for this to occur, the Snapshot Notification option must be enabled on the protected resource or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created (refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide). When a snapshot is triggered and snapshot notification is enabled, the FalconStor system notifies the application server running the snapshot agent to stop writing data to the database in order for the snapshot to be taken. The snapshot agent briefly puts the database into backup mode and notifies the FalconStor system that the snapshot can be performed. The application server is again notified once the snapshot has completed, and the snapshot agent takes the database out of backup mode. Using backup software, a backup of the snapshot image can be performed at high speed while Microsoft Exchange operates in normal mode. While the backup software is reading data from the snapshot image, changes that occur to the database will not affect what gets written. The snapshot agent will be triggered automatically whenever a snapshot operation occurs on the Microsoft Exchange drive. Storage configuration guidelines Before you install the snapshot agent, apply Microsoft's best practice for Exchange storage configuration. These items should be on the same disk: Exchange log System path These items should be together, on a separate disk: Exchange database Exchange streaming database Snapshot Agents User Guide 19

25 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange Install the snapshot agent Silent install Complete required steps described in General installation requirements (updated June 2014). Installation requires the following: Install the snapshot agent on the machine where Exchange Server is running. Start the Exchange Server before you install the snapshot agent. Only one active Exchange Virtual Server per node is supported; a snapshot group should not include multiple virtual servers on the same node. To install the snapshot agent: 1. Run the installation file. 2. When prompted, enter your license keycode. The snapshot agent license must be activated (registered with FalconStor). If your computer has an Internet connection, the license is activated as soon as you enter your keycode and click Next. However, if your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable or if your computer has no Internet connection, your license will not be activated. You must activate your license within 30 days so that you can continue to use the snapshot agent. If your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable, your license will be activated automatically the next time the snapshot agent is invoked, assuming you have an Internet connection then. You can also add your license through IMA. If your computer has no Internet connection, you can perform offline activation using IMA (refer to the Intelligent Management Agent User Guide). 3. When done, click Finish. The snapshot agent will be installed to the same directory as IMA. Silent install is supported for snapshot agents. To install the agent in silent mode, complete the following steps: 1. Download the package from the FalconStor Support Portal and extract the agent package. 2. From the command line, navigate to the folder to which you extracted the package. 3. Install the Intelligent Management Agent: cd ima setup.exe /s cd.. Snapshot Agents User Guide 20

26 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange 4. Install the snapshot agent: setup /s or setupsilent.bat When installing the snapshot agent in silent mode on any 64-bit platform, run setupsilent.bat from the AMD64 directory. Configure the snapshot agent options Batch file options Configuration is not required. The snapshot agent includes a utility that lets you configure optional features. To run the utility, select Start --> All Programs --> FalconStor --> Configuration for Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange. When you are done, click OK to save the changes you made in all tabs and either keep the utility open or exit. Click Cancel to exit the utility and discard any changes. On the Batch Files tab, indicate if you want to run batch files before and/or after each snapshot. In order to run batch files, you must enter an administrative user name and password for the local computer. You can then click Create or Edit and use Notepad to generate the batch files. Snapshot Agents User Guide 21

27 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange Monitor tab By default, the snapshot agent looks for databases based on information passed from IMA. This tab allows you to override the default drives on which databases are located. Manage the trace log The trace log is a diagnostic tool used by Technical Support to help solve system problems. Each trace log contains technical information about your system as well as system messages and is updated whenever a snapshot occurs. Some of the messages that appear in the trace log are also sent to the Windows Event Log. Do not adjust trace log settings unless you are requested to do so by a Technical Support representative. The configuration utility lets you maximize the level of detail that is displayed. 1. Click the icon in the upper left corner of the configuration utility and select Settings in the menu. 2. Select Set Agent Trace On to maximize the level of detail displayed for agent activity in the trace log. The value in the text box will change to 10 and is not editable. Increasing the level of detail will display a list of the databases that have been backed up, as well as information that can be used to provide support. The log will reflect the change after the next snapshot is taken. Other options in this dialog are not supported. Snapshot Agents User Guide 22

28 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange Configure service-enabled devices If you are using a service-enabled device (SED) and you have preserved the physical device s inquiry string (this is set when you create the SED in the FalconStor Management Console), you need to modify the ExAgent.ini file that is created under the directory when the snapshot agent is installed. In the ExAgent.ini file, you must use the DriveOverride option to specify the drive letter(s) to which the SED is mounted. For example: DriveOverride=E: or DriveOverride=E:;F:;. Also, if you want to send snapshot results to a third-party management system, you will have to use the Exchange configuration utility to enter the User Name and Password of a member of the local administrators group. This user account does not need permission from the Exchange Administrator; it is only used to run the prescript (exchpre.bat) and post-script (exchpost.bat) that are saved in the IMA installation folder. You do not need to run these scripts unless you want to send snapshot results to a third-party management system. Test the snapshot agent (updated March 2014) Confirm snapshot status To test the snapshot agent, create a manual snapshot of a virtual drive from the FalconStor Management Console. To do this, right-click a SAN Resource and select TimeMark/CDP --> Create. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a TimeView from the snapshot and assign it to the client, then review the data. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details on these procedures. To confirm the Exchange snapshot process, you can check the Windows Event log. The snapshot agent will send the backup command to each storage group on the protected disk. You can find these logs after the appctrl event: 1. The snapshot agent sends the full backup command to the storage group and then Exchange Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) starts the full backup process. 2. Exchange ESE checks the log files and the checkpoint. 3. Exchange ESE processes the log files. The snapshot agent will not request to truncate the log to affect other Exchange backup processes. Snapshot Agents User Guide 23

29 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange 4. Exchange ESE completes the backup process on a storage group. You may see the same process on another storage group. Snapshot Agents User Guide 24

30 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange Purge log utility If you are using the Snapshot Agent for MS Exchange to protect your Exchange environment but do not have third-party backup software to help purge the Exchange log files, you can use the ISPurgeExLog utility to clean up Exchange log files. Before you run the utility, check the Windows Application Event Log to make sure the latest snapshot was taken successfully. You can also dump the MS Exchange Checkpoint file using ESEUTIL.exe and check the timestamp of FullBackup Time to view the record of the last snapshot date and time. The Microsoft Exchange log file is generated based on each Exchange Storage Group; run the utility on each group. In addition, you can schedule a batch job with the following command inside the batch file: For Microsoft Exchange 2007: ISPurgeExLog64 "F:\Exchsrvr\System\E00.chk" "F:\Exchsrvr\log" v You must specify the location of the checkpoint file and log directory. Syntax: ISPurgeExLog "<Checkpoint File>" "<Exchange Log directory>" [Options]] Option Description -b#hour The number of hour(s) before the recorded checkpoint time, maximum 96 hours. For example, - b04, -b16, default is -b24. -c Use the last checkpoint log file date/time if it is earlier than the last full backup date/time -hhour From 00 to 23. For example, -h04, -h16. Execute purge only when run within a specific hour (hh:00- hh:59) -i Ignore the last full backup timestamp on CCR passive node. Works with -c option. -p Preview the purge list without actually deleting the log(s). -r"reportfilename - s"storagegroupname" -v verbose mode. Additional report file is generated. Storage Group Name in Report File. Snapshot Agents User Guide 25

31 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange It is recommended that you run the purge utility once a day, maintaining 24 hours of log files after each log purge. After the purge, you can examine the log file directory and make sure older log files are deleted. There is also an ISPurge.log file created containing the history of each ISPurgeExLog execution. Remove snapshot agent software Remove software from the Windows Control Panel. Snapshot Agents User Guide 26

32 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server The Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server enables FalconStor CDP/NSS to protect Microsoft SQL Server databases on protected disks with point-in-time consistency. Users always have full access to the database, while backup software sees a stable, read-only snapshot image. When snapshot notification has been enabled on the protected disk, or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created, the CDP/NSS server sends a snapshot notification to the server running the snapshot agent before the snapshot is taken. The snapshot agent quiesces all databases or messaging application and then returns a status to the server. The server creates the snapshot and informs the agent that the snapshot has been created. The agent then releases the application to normal operation. A snapshot can be taken of a database only if the disk on which the database instance resides is protected. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide. By default, the snapshot agent performs a full backup of all databases. The configuration utility allows you to choose different backup options for different SQL instances, and lets you exclude less critical databases from snapshots. Backup software can back up the snapshot image at high speed while Microsoft SQL Server operates in normal mode. Because the contents of the snapshot image are guaranteed never to change, the backup is consistent, ensuring transactional integrity. When backup software reads data from the snapshot image, changes that occur in the database do not affect what gets written. The snapshot agent includes a utility that allows you to recover a single database, as well as a command line interface. The Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server is supported for various Windows Server platforms. For specific version information, refer to the Certification Matrix on the FalconStor website. Guidelines Procedures related to the points below are performed using the FalconStor Management Console. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details. If you have more than one snapshot group and have databases that are related to each other, or if applications are sharing databases that reside on different disks, join all related disks to the same snapshot group in order to have their snapshots taken on the same schedule. The temporary database (TempDB) and the system database disk can be included in the same snapshot group or in different snapshot groups. In any case, TempDB will not be included in any snapshot. 27

33 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server In order to ensure better restore functionality, it is advisable to take a snapshot of the transaction log and the database at the same time. This is important, because if the transaction log has not been backed up at the point when a snapshot is taken of the database, point-in-time restore will not be possible. If transaction logs and databases must be in a different group or if they must have different snapshot schedules, manage schedules so the transaction log snapshot is taken before the database snapshot. Ensure that snapshots begin at least 30 minutes apart. Snapshots scheduled too close together may fail or may be inconsistent. In order to expedite the snapshot process, schedule snapshots to occur during periods of lower activity. Requirements Complete the required steps described in General installation requirements (updated June 2014). In addition: You need to know the database instance name. You need to know the database administrator password if the default policy is Windows authentication and the current Windows login account does not have enough access rights. Start SQL Server before you install the snapshot agent. The Snapshot Agent for FileSystems must be installed on the same machine unless you have an out-of-band FalconStor Continuous Data Protection (CDP) solution that includes FalconStor DiskSafe 3.70 or higher. In order to take snapshots for SQL Server 2012, you must add the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account to the sysadmin server role because Local System is not automatically provisioned. Doing this allows the snapshot agent to retrieve essential SQL server information when taking a snapshot. Requirements for VMware environments The following items are required in order to protect SQL databases in VMware environments. For an in-band solution (LUNs are provisioned to the ESX server from FalconStor NSS): Install FalconStor Snapshot Director for VMware vsphere on the ESX server (refer to the Snapshot Director User Guide). Install IMA and the snapshot agent on individual VMs. On each VM, configure IMA to specify override drives. These are the drives on the VM that you want to protect. If you do not do this, applications may not be quiesced correctly. 28

34 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Override drives should include any other drives that contain databases or other application data that should be quiesced before snapshots are taken. For an out-of-band solution (LUNs are provisioned directly to VMs): if DiskSafe 3.80 or higher is installed on VMs, it is not necessary to specify override drives for mount points. Remove override drives from IMA, if they exist. Refer to the DiskSafe User Guide for details. To manage override drive settings, execute the following commands in the command line on the VM: To specify override drives: iscmcli setoverridedrive -d "<drive_list>" where <drive_list> is a list of drive letters separated by semi-colons. For example: iscmcli setoverridedrive -d "C:;E:;F:;" To view the list of current override drives: iscmcli getoverridedrive If no override drives have been set, the command returns no output. To delete current override drive settings: iscmcli deloverridedrive 29

35 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Install the snapshot agent Silent install To install the snapshot agent: 1. Run the installation file on the machine on which the SQL Server database is running. 2. When prompted, enter your license keycode. You must activate the snapshot license (register it with FalconStor). If your computer has an Internet connection, this will occur automatically after you enter your keycode and click Next. However, if your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable or if your computer has no Internet connection, automatic activation is not possible. You must activate your license within 30 days so that you can continue to use the snapshot agent. If your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable, automatic activation will occur the next time the snapshot agent is invoked, assuming you have an Internet connection then. You can also add your license through IMA. If your computer has no Internet connection, you can perform offline activation using IMA. 3. When installation is complete, click Finish. The snapshot agent will be installed to the same directory as IMA. After the installation completes, the configuration utility launches automatically. Silent install is supported for snapshot agents. To install the agent in silent mode, complete the following steps: 1. Download the package from the FalconStor Support Portal and extract the agent package. 2. From the command line, navigate to the folder to which you extracted the package. 3. Install the Intelligent Management Agent: cd ima setup.exe /s cd.. 4. Install the snapshot agent: setup /s or setupsilent.bat When installing the snapshot agent in silent mode on any 64-bit platform, run setupsilent.bat from the AMD64 directory. 30

36 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Configure the snapshot agent Database Security options Complete configuration as described below. When you are done, click OK to save the changes you made in all tabs and either keep the utility open or exit. Click Cancel to exit the utility and discard any changes. To run the utility at a later time, select Start --> All Programs --> FalconStor --> Configuration for Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server. The snapshot agent supports multiple instances of Microsoft SQL on the same server. In order for the snapshot agent to communicate with an instance, you have to register the instance with the snapshot agent from this utility tab. The Database Security tab displays all databases on all protected disks. 31

37 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server 1. Click Add to add a SQL instance. The Database Login screen displays. 2. Select the virtual server or host on which the instance is located. If the SQL server is in a cluster, select the name of the virtual server on which the SQL instance was created. If the server is not in a cluster, select the local host name. The drop-down list displays the virtual server name and the host name detected in the registry. 3. In the Instance field, MSSQLSERVER will be displayed if the server uses the default instance. If the SQL instance is not displayed, enter it here or select it in the drop-down list. You can use the Services console (Control Panel --> Administrative Tools --> Services) to check instance names. In this console, the instance name will be listed in parentheses. For example, if the service name is shown as SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER), its instance name is MSSQLSERVER. If you have another instance, another service, such as SQL Server (INSTANCE1), will be listed. In this example, the SQL instance name is INSTANCE1. 4. Provide connection credentials: For Windows Authentication mode, user name and password are not required. Select the Trusted Connection - Windows Authentication checkbox to avoid storing credentials in connection strings. OR, for SQL Server authentication mode, enter the database user name and password of an account that has access to the database. 5. When you are done, click Verify to allow the snapshot agent to attempt to connect to the instance using the provided credentials. If connection is successful, the Verify button changes to OK. After you have added a SQL instance, you can change its information or remove it. To do this, select a SQL instance in the list and then: Click Edit to modify its information in the Database Login dialog. Click Remove to delete it. 32

38 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Database Options tab For each database in a selected instance, the Database Options tab provides information and lets you specify a location for the transaction log backup directory. 1. Select an instance from the drop-down list. The Database count and Total values are displayed. 2. Select a database from the drop-down list. The database directory, transaction log directory, and storage server ID are displayed automatically. If the database is not on a direct-connected CDP/NSS device, Not on Storage Server Device will be displayed in the Storage Server field. 3. The utility is designed to let you specify a transaction log Backup directory for all databases in the selected instance, or for individual databases. It is recommended that you store transaction log backups separately from the transaction log and the database. In addition, it is recommended that if you have two database instances, choose a different backup directory for each. Note: Ensure there is enough disk space for transaction log backups, based on the amount of data changes to record. Click the Browse button next to the Transaction log backup directory field and select a backup directory location. Manually entering a directory location is not recommended. Note: Make sure that you have selected a database before you do this; this is necessary in order for the selected location to be saved. 33

39 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server To specify this directory as the transaction log backup directory for all databases, respond Yes to the Change entry for all databases in this instance? message. To specify this directory as the transaction log backup directory only for the selected database, respond No to the change entry message. If you do not see the change entry message, the directory selection will apply only to the selected database. Notes: If you click in the Transaction log backup directory field but do not make a selection, the message Change entry for all databases in this instance? may be displayed when you continue with another action. Click No to close the message box. If a warning Transaction log backup directory is not on a storage device is displayed when you select a directory, you can ignore the message if DiskSafe is in use and the directory is on the disk being mirrored; A virtual machine is being used and the directory is on a disk that was assigned through the ESX server. Additional options for transaction log backup are available (refer to Transaction log backup best practice ). 34

40 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Advanced Options tab The Advanced Options tab allows you to choose a backup option for all databases in the selected instance and lets you exclude individual databases from that option. Notes: About checkpoint mode: The three system databases (Master, MSDB, and Model) are always backed up using checkpoint mode. During backup, the database will not be frozen or put in hit backup mode. If the checkpoint only option is selected, excluded databases will be ignored. About the copy-only option: Applies only to databases configured for Full recovery. Snapshots can be taken several times a day, providing more frequent data protection points. This option does not interfere with third-party backup software operations; however, if third-party backup software processing prevents a database from being put in backup mode, the copy-only snapshot may not be completed. Instead, the database will be backed up using checkpoint mode. To avoid this, make sure that backup schedules do not overlap. Allows you to perform Rollback recovery using a TimeMark or file copy recovery from a TimeView. Does not back up the transaction log. As a result, point-in-time recovery (between TimeMarks) is not available: the database can be restored only to the time the snapshot was taken. About full backup and/or copy-only full backup options: During backup, the database is put in hot backup mode and is read-only until the snapshot is completed. Backup time varies between a few seconds and 8 minutes, but is usually completed quickly. If the database is large and/or busy; backup may take up to 8 minutes to complete, but this rarely occurs. The snapshot agent will perform a checkpoint flush on excluded databases for overall snapshot consistency. 35

41 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server 1. Select one backup option. Full backup is selected by default: Full backup of all databases - The snapshot agent performs a full SQL Server snapshot backup of selected databases, regardless of their recovery model. Choose this option if the database has critical importance and/or requires point-in-time recovery. Make sure the recovery model is set to Full. It is not recommended to perform full backup on a database whose recovery model is set to Simple. Full backup, but checkpoint only on databases when recovery model set to Simple - The snapshot agent performs a full backup on selected databases except for those whose recovery model is set to Simple; for those, a checkpoint backup is performed. Note that checkpoint backup does not back up the transaction log. As a result, point-in-time recovery (between TimeMarks) is not available: the database can be restored only to the time the snapshot was taken. Do checkpoint only on all databases - If the instance includes a large number of databases, choose this option to save time. Do not exclude any databases. Copy-only, full backup of all databases - The snapshot agent performs a full backup of selected databases but does not notify SQL that backup has occurred. 2. You can select the option to Perform a transaction log backup for every snapshot. Refer to Transaction log backup best practice for more information. When transaction log backup is performed along with full backup, the transaction log is backed up first, and then the database. As soon as backup is completed, the transaction log is truncated (not shrunk) automatically. This option is disabled if you choose the checkpoint only or copy-only option. 36

42 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server 3. The Database Selection area lists all databases discovered in the selected instance. You can exclude specific databases from the selected backup operation. To do this, select a SQL instance from the drop-down list, which includes only those instances that have been registered with the snapshot agent using this utility. All databases in the instance are selected by default. Uncheck any database(s) that the snapshot agent should exclude from the selected backup operation. Use the Select All/Deselect All checkbox to select or deselect all databases at the same time. If you create additional databases after completing initial agent configuration and want to exclude any of them from the selected backup option, run the configuration utility again and deselect them here. Batch Files tab Use this tab to indicate if you want to run batch files before and/or after each snapshot, and allows you to create a pre- or post-batch file in Notepad. 1. Select the checkbox if you want to run batch files before and/or after the snapshot agent. 2. Enter an administrative user name and password for the local computer. 3. Click the appropriate Create/Edit button to open Notepad and create/save the batch file. 37

43 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Monitor tab By default, the snapshot agent looks for databases based on information passed from IMA. If the default drives (as seen in the Database Options tab) are incorrect or if no drives are listed, this tab allows you to identify the drives on which databases are located. 1. Select the option if you want the snapshot agent to look for databases elsewhere than in the default drive(s). For example, if a database is located on a SAN disk that is mounted to an NTFS folder such as E:\database, you need to identify that drive here. 2. Type the drives on which your databases are located; separate multiple drive names with a semicolon (for example D:;E:;F:). 38

44 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Transaction log backup best practice Transaction log backups make it possible to perform a point-in-time restore. When you install FalconStor Database Recovery for Microsoft SQL Server, you can configure a transaction log backup to occur immediately before a full backup (refer to the Database Recovery for Microsoft SQL Server section in the Recovery Agents User Guide). Note: Transaction log backup can occur only after the first full backup has occurred. Best practice recommendations include: Put the transaction log backup command in a batch file called <your file name>.bat. For example: fsssrest.exe -tlb -d "*" -i "ESX40W2K8DEVHAR" Schedule the snapshot agent to perform a normal full backup during a SQL server non-peak period. Use the Windows Task Scheduler to run your transaction log backup more frequently but make sure two processes do not execute at the same time. For example: If the snapshot agent is scheduled to perform a full backup at 2am every day, use the Microsoft Task Scheduler to run the <your file name>.bat file every hour on the half hour. How frequently you want to perform transaction log backup depends upon how you want to restore data and how much data loss you can afford. Make sure the directory to which transaction log backups are saved has enough disk space, based on the amount of data changes. If the transaction log size is large, we recommend performing transaction log backup between full backups, using the fsssrest tool (refer to Command line interface ). For example: * Transaction log backup, then full database backup if option to Perform a transaction log backup for every snapshot option is checked. 39

45 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server The <databasename>.hisu file The <databasename>.hisu file in the transaction log directory includes a file for each backup that has been performed since the time the application started. For example, this file shows that a full backup was done, followed by three transaction log backups, and then another full backup: db1.mdf; ;0;1 db log db log db log db1.mdf; ;0;1 Test the snapshot agent To test the snapshot agent, create a manual snapshot of a virtual drive. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a TimeView from the snapshot and assign it to the client, then review the data. 1. In the FalconStor Management Console, select the virtual drive you want to use (under Logical Resources --> SAN Resources). Right-click the drive and select TimeMark/CDP --> Create. 2. Click OK. 3. In the console, select the TimeMark tab for the resource, then click the Timestamp column. The new snapshot should appear at the top of the list. 4. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a snapshot view (referred to as a TimeView in the console) from the snapshot. Right-click the drive and select TimeMark/CDP --> TimeView. 5. In the wizard, select Create TimeView from TimeMark Snapshots and select the new snapshot. Do not select the TimeView Copy option. 6. Assign the snapshot view to a client and then review the data. In the FalconStor Management Console, the display for a snapshot includes a Quiescent column, which indicates whether or not snapshot notification occurred when the snapshot was created. Note that even if Yes is displayed, FalconStor recommends that you use the above procedure to test and verify snapshots on a regular basis in order to ensure successful database restore. If primary data has been compromised, the snapshot will be compromised as well. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details on these procedures. 40

46 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Recover a database manually Note: Use FalconStor Database Recovery for Microsoft SQL Server if you want to perform automatic recovery from a snapshot image of your SQL database. The snapshot agent includes a recovery utility that can either perform a rollback restore to the latest snapshot or complete the recovery process after you recover the data from a TimeView using the FalconStor Management Console. To do this: 1. Launch the recovery utility by selecting Start --> All Programs --> FalconStor --> Single Database Recovery for Microsoft SQL Server. 2. The Restore tab lists all databases for which snapshots have been taken. Select the instance and database to be restored. At any point, you can click Refresh to update all fields. 3. Click Restore. 4. In the Command Line dialog, click the Run button to begin the restore process or copy and paste the command to a command line. 41

47 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server 5. Follow the instructions displayed at the command prompt. Note: Double-byte database names may display as question marks (????) or spaces. This is OK. a. Detach the database you are restoring. b. Do one of the following: To have the utility to complete a TimeView restore, use IMA or the FalconStor Management Console for CDP/NSS to perform a TimeView restore from a Time Mark. Find the database files *.mdf, *.meta, *.ldf (if recovery model is full) on the TimeView. Rename or delete the original files. Copy the files from the TimeView to original location. To have the utility perform a Rollback restore, make sure the selected database is the only database on this device; otherwise, perform a TimeView restore. Press Enter to continue with Rollback restore. c. Press Enter to continue. When the recovery process is complete, verify that the database has been restored. 42

48 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Command line interface The snapshot agent includes a command line interface (fsssrest.exe). Usage: fsssrest [action][options] Actions: -fro - Perform full restore only. -tlb - Perform transaction log backup. -fb - Perform full backup. -cp - Perform checkpoint. -list - List databases in instance. -backuplist - List databases backed up in instance. Options: -t <trace path and file> - Specify a destination path and file name for the trace log. -d <databasename> - Specify the database name - applies to fb, tlb, and cp. -i <Server Name><Instance Name> - Specify server name and instance name. -dir <backup directory> - Specify the transaction log backup directory. -en - Display text in English. Note that if you do not include the -t option in the command, level 1 detail will be saved to the trace log. If you include the -t option, level 10 detail (the maximum) will be saved. Examples: Perform transaction log backup for a single database after a storage server snapshot has been taken: fsssrest -tlb -d <databasename> This command enables you to perform additional transaction log backups after a full backup. The command records the date and time, which makes it easier to identify the transaction logs that are needed during restore. You can run this command as needed, based on your backup schedule. You can also use other utilities to schedule additional transaction log backups between snapshots. Configure transaction log backup for all databases in one instance: fsssrest.exe -tlb -d * -i "ESX40W2K8DEVHAR\SQLINSTANCE1" Configure transaction log backup for all databases in all instances on the server: fsssrest.exe -tlb -d * -i "ESX40W2K8DEVHAR" Configure transaction log backup for all databases in one instance and generate the trace log: fsssrest.exe -tlb -d * -i "ESX40W2K8DEVHAR\SQLINSTANCE1" -t Configure transaction log backup for all databases in one instance; generate the trace log and save it to drive C: as test.log: 43

49 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server fsssrest.exe -tlb -d * -i "ESX40W2K8DEVHAR\SQLINSTANCE1" -t C:\test.log Transaction log backups are recorded in history files for use by the SQL Recovery tool. Transaction log backups can be used by any Microsoft SQL recovery utility. Note: If you use another utility to perform transaction log backups, you will need to manually enter the transaction records into FalconStor Database Recovery for Microsoft SQL Recovery. Manage the trace log The trace log is a diagnostic tool used by Technical Support to help solve system problems. Each trace log contains technical information about your system as well as system messages and is updated whenever a snapshot occurs. Some of the messages that appear in the trace log are also sent to the Windows Event Log. Do not adjust trace log settings unless you are requested to do so by a Technical Support representative. The configuration utility lets you maximize the level of detail that is displayed. 1. Click the icon in the upper left corner of the configuration utility and select Settings in the menu. The default value is Select the Specify Trace Log level checkbox to maximize the level of detail displayed for agent activity. The value in the text box can be changed to any value between 0 to 10. Increasing the detail value will display a list of the databases that have been backed up, plus, at higher levels (maximum 10), information that can be used to provide support. The log will reflect the change after the next snapshot is taken. 44

50 Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL Server Create a diagnostic X-ray file The X-ray feature collects technical information - such as storage server messages and a snapshot of the server s current configuration and environment - for diagnostic purposes. Taking an X-ray generates a file (Agent.cab) that you can send to FalconStor Technical Support for analysis. 1. Click the icon in the upper left corner of the configuration utility and select Take X-ray in the menu. 2. Browse to and select the location to which the.cab file should be generated, and optionally change the default file name. The X-ray file will be generated to the specified location. Remove snapshot agent software Remove software from the Windows Control Panel. 45

51 Snapshot Agent for Oracle The FalconStor Snapshot Agent for Oracle enables FalconStor CDP/NSS to protect Oracle databases with point-in-time consistency. Users always have full access to the database, while backup software sees a stable, read-only snapshot image of the database. When snapshot notification has been enabled on the protected disk, or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created, the CDP/NSS server sends a snapshot notification to the application server running the Snapshot Agent for Oracle before the snapshot is taken. The snapshot agent puts the Oracle database in backup mode and then notifies the server that the snapshot can be performed. While in backup mode, the database is frozen and Oracle sends all new incoming data to the Oracle online redo logs. When the snapshot has been taken, the server notifies the application server and the snapshot agent places the database back into normal mode, synchronizing all data back to the database. Backup software can back up the snapshot image at high speed while Oracle operates in normal mode. Because the contents of the snapshot image are guaranteed never to change, the backup is consistent, ensuring transactional integrity. When backup software reads data from the snapshot image, changes that occur to the database do not affect what gets written. Support for file systems The Snapshot Agent for Oracle supports the following file systems: ASM - Automated Storage Management - the disk are raw LUNs. OCFS - Oracle Cluster File System. Install the snapshot agent Complete required steps described in General installation requirements (updated June 2014). Installation requires the following: You need to know the database instance name and the database administrator password. Start your Oracle database before you install the snapshot agent. After the snapshot agent is installed, you must turn on Oracle archive logging before running the snapshot agent (refer to Turn on Oracle archive logging ). Snapshot Agents User Guide 46

52 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Install on Windows 1. Run the installation file.the snapshot agent will be installed to the same directory as IMA. 2. Select which version(s) of Oracle you are using. You must have a separate license for each. 3. When prompted, enter your license keycode. The snapshot agent license must be activated (registered with FalconStor). If your computer has an Internet connection, the license is activated as soon as you enter your keycode and click Next. However, if your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable or if your computer has no Internet connection, your license will not be activated. You must activate your license within 30 days so that you can continue to use the snapshot agent. If your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable, your license will be activated automatically the next time the snapshot agent is invoked, assuming you have an Internet connection then. You can also add your license through IMA. If your computer has no Internet connection, you can perform offline activation using IMA (refer to the Intelligent Management Agent User Guide). 4. When done, click Finish. After installation completes, a configuration utility launches. Refer to Configure the snapshot agent on a Windows machine. Silent install Silent install is supported for snapshot agents. To install the agent in silent mode, complete the following steps: 1. Download the package from the FalconStor Support Portal and extract the agent package. 2. From the command line, navigate to the folder to which you extracted the package. 3. Install the Intelligent Management Agent: cd ima setup.exe /s cd.. 4. Install the snapshot agent: For Oracle 11 Run setup /s or setupsilent.bat. For Oracle 10 a. Copy setup10.iss to setup.iss. b. Run setup /s or setupsilent.bat. Snapshot Agents User Guide 47

53 Snapshot Agent for Oracle For Oracle 9 a. Copy setup9.iss to setup.iss. b. Run setup /s or setupsilent.bat. Note: If your Oracle server is running a 64-bit operating system, perform these steps from the AMD64 directory. Install on Linux You must be root (or root equivalent) in order to install the snapshot agent. 1. Download the installation file to the local drive of your Linux client. 2. Install the snapshot agent software: rpm -i --nodeps oracleniagent-<version number>-<build number>.i386.rpm Oracle 9i example: rpm -i --nodeps oracle9iagent i386.rpm Oracle 10g example: rpm -i --nodeps oracle10gagent i386.rpm 3. Enter the Oracle lib directory. The default is $ORACLE_HOME/lib Continue with Configure the snapshot agent on a Linux machine. Install on AIX You must be root (or root equivalent) in order to install the snapshot agent. 1. Copy the tar file from the installation media to the local drive of your AIX client. 2. Type the following command to untar the agent package: tar -xvf oracleniagent-<version number>-<build number>.tar Oracle 9i example: tar -xvf oracle9iagent tar Oracle 10g example: tar -xvf oracle10gagent tar 3. Install the package: installp -afx -d IPStor.OraAgent.bff all Continue with Configure the snapshot agent on a Linux or AIX machine. Snapshot Agents User Guide 48

54 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Install on Solaris You must be root (or root equivalent) in order to install the snapshot agent. 1. Download the tar file to the local drive of your Solaris client (/tmp is used in the example). 2. Install the snapshot agent software: pkgadd -d /tmp/oracle8i9i10gagent-<version number>-<build number>.pkg For example: pkgadd -d /tmp/oracle8i9i10gagent pkg Continue with Configure the snapshot agent on a Solaris machine. Snapshot Agents User Guide 49

55 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Configure the snapshot agent Configuration details for each type of installation are provided below. Additional configuration steps are required for Unix platforms (refer to (Unix only) Add root user to database groups and (Unix only) Set root user s PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH ). Configure the snapshot agent on a Windows machine Note: When you are running a backup software application on the machine where the Snapshot Agent for Oracle is installed, you may see conflicts when the database is set in backup or non-backup mode. In this case, you can use flag BACKUPCHECK in configuration file snapagt.ini to indicate whether the snapshot agent can set the database mode. The default value is 0, which indicates the snapshot agent will always set the mode. If you set BACKUPCHECK=1, the snapshot agent does not set the mode and will let the backup application set the database mode. After the installation completes, a configuration utility launches. Complete configuration as described below. When you are done, click OK to save the changes you made in all tabs and either keep the utility open or exit. Click Cancel to exit the utility and discard any changes. To access this utility at a later time, select Start --> Programs --> FalconStor --> Configuration for Snapshot Agent for Oracle. Select Oracle version To begin, select the version of Oracle you are using, then click Edit. The Configuration screen displays. Snapshot Agents User Guide 50

56 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Database Security options The Database Security tab displays the databases whose snapshots will be managed by the snapshot agents. Add database To add a database whose snapshots will be managed by the snapshot agent, click Add Login. The Database Login dialog is displayed. 1. Enter the login credentials for the database you are adding: Database SID - Enter the Oracle instance name. User Name and Password - Enter the user name and password of an Oracle account with the DBA role (system, for example). This is the user and password that the storage server needs to access your database. When the Oracle database is set up initially, the default system user password is usually manager. Do not use the user name sys. Note: If you ever need to change the Database SID, User Name, or Password, click Remove to remove the existing SID and then re-add it. Snapshot Agents User Guide 51

57 Snapshot Agent for Oracle 2. Verify that the credentials you entered are correct: Click Verify to allow the agent to verify the SID by attempting to connect to the database with the provided information. If connection is successful, the database will be added to the list. Edit database credentials Use this function to validate the security credentials for the selected database. 1. Select a database in the list and click Edit. Login credentials are displayed. 2. Click Verify to allow the agent to attempt to connect to the database with the current information. Verify bin path Use this function to enter or verify the Oracle bin path for the selected database. 1. Select a database in the list and click Bin Path. 2. Enter the Oracle bin path, typically %ORACLE_HOME%/bin. You can either click the button next to the field to have the agent search for the path or you can manually enter the path. If you click the button and the SID is correct, the path will be discovered automatically. If the SID is incorrect, the path will not be found. You should then either enter the correct SID or, if the database is not running, start the specified database. Remove database Use this function to remove a database from the list. 1. Select a database in the list. 2. Click Remove. Batch file options On the Batch Files tab, indicate if you want to run batch files before and/or after each snapshot. Snapshot Agents User Guide 52

58 Snapshot Agent for Oracle 1. Select the checkbox if you want to run batch files before and/or after the snapshot agent. 2. Enter an administrative user name and password for the local computer. 3. Click the appropriate Create/Edit button to open Notepad and create/save the batch file. Monitor options By default, the snapshot agent looks for databases based on information passed from IMA. The Monitor tab allows you to identify the drives on which databases are located. Use the Monitor tab to override the default drives and then specify the drive(s) on which you want the agent to look for databases. 1. The snapshot agent assumes a default location for databases on the client machine. If your Oracle database(s) are located on any other drive(s), you need to tell the agent to monitor those drives as well. To do this, select the Override the default drives option. 2. Type the drive letter(s) on which your database(s) is/are located, separated by semicolons: for example, D;E;. Click OK to save the changes you made in all tabs and either keep the utility open or exit. Click Cancel to exit the utility and discard any changes. Snapshot Agents User Guide 53

59 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Manage the trace log The trace log is a diagnostic tool used by Technical Support to help solve system problems. Each trace log contains technical information about your system as well as system messages and is updated whenever a snapshot occurs. Some of the messages that appear in the trace log are also sent to the Windows Event Log. The trace log lets you see the connection to Oracle system and the ALTER tablespace begin backup and ALTER tablespace end backup command to all tablespaces on the protected disk. For Linux installations, trace log messages are logged to the system message file. Do not adjust trace log settings unless you are requested to do so by a Technical Support representative. The configuration utility lets you maximize the level of detail that is displayed. Snapshot Agents User Guide 54

60 Snapshot Agent for Oracle 1. Click the icon in the upper left corner of the configuration utility and select Settings in the menu. 2. Select Set Agent Trace On to maximize the level of detail displayed for agent activity. The value in the text box will change to 10 and is not editable. Increasing the level of detail will display a list of the databases that have been backed up, as well as information that can be used to provide support. The log will reflect the change after the next snapshot is taken. Other options in this dialog are not supported. Configure the snapshot agent on a Solaris machine If you have more than one Oracle SID, make sure all database instances are running before you configure the agent. 1. Run /usr/local/ipstorclient/agents/oracle/bin/ora_setup.sh. 2. Select the version of the Oracle agent you are setting up. Select 1 for the Oracle 8 agent, 2 for the Oracle 9 agent, or 3 for the Oracle 10 agent. 3. Enter the Oracle library path. Note: If you are using the 64-bit version of Oracle, enter the path of the 32-bit version of the Oracle libraries. Oracle 9i example: /export/home/ora9i/orahome1/lib32 Oracle 10g example: /export/home/ora10g/orahome1/lib32 4. Answer the questions that are asked by the setup program: Is Oracle started? -- Since the setup program needs to verify the Oracle user ID and password, the Oracle database must be started before the ora_setup program continues. What is the Oracle SID? -- In order to turn on Oracle archive logging, the setup program needs to know the Oracle instance name. What is the Oracle home path for SID xxx? -- This is the ORACLE_HOME environment variable. Type the path in the format /oracle/orahome1. Snapshot Agents User Guide 55

61 Snapshot Agent for Oracle What is the Oracle admin user id for SID xxx? (system) -- Type the admin user name needed to access the database. The user name should not be sys. What is the Oracle admin password for SID xxx? (manager) -- Type the password needed to access the database. The setup program will attempt to verify that the user ID and password are valid. What is the login name of the UNIX user account that owns Oracle software? (ora10) -- Type the name of the Oracle user. Would you like to enter another Oracle SID? -- Indicate if you want to configure more Oracle instances. 5. Shut down the client (ipstorclient) and log out. 6. Log in again as root and restart ipstorclient. Note: If you ever add another Oracle instance and need to configure it for the snapshot agent, you can run ora_setup.sh add. Conversely, if you ever need to remove an Oracle instance from your snapshot agent configuration, you can run ora_setup.sh remove. Configure ASM disks The snapshot agent includes a utility that helps you configure Oracle Automatic Storage Management (ASM) disks. The utility is /asm10config and its usage is as follows: asm10config -a -d -m -l -D -a : add an ASM disk group -d : delete an ASM disk group -m : modify an ASM disk group -l : list ASM disk groups -D : delete all ASM disk groups To add an ASM disk group: 1. Run /asm10config -a. 2. Indicate if Oracle is started. 3. Enter the IP address of the storage server. 4. Enter the password for the root user on the storage server. 5. Enter the Oracle SID. 6. Set ORACLE_HOME. A list of virtual devices will be displayed. 7. Select the virtual device(s) for your disk group by entering the appropriate line numbers. Snapshot Agents User Guide 56

62 Snapshot Agent for Oracle For multiple virtual devices, separate numbers with semicolons. For example: 1;2;5. 8. If you have multiple disk groups, select the virtual device(s) for each group. 9. Indicate if you want to save the displayed VGList information. It will be saved to /usr/local/ipstorclient/agents/oracle10/etc/agt.ini. Configure the Oracle Listener The snapshot agent needs the Oracle Listener, which should be configured to use the TCP/IP protocol and port number Each version of Oracle has its own Listener. If you have more than one version of Oracle running on the same machine, do the following: 1. Determine which version was installed first; for example, you have 9i and 10g installed on the same machine and 10g was installed first. 2. Run the Listener that came with the version that was installed first. For the purposes of our example, run the Listener that came with 10g. 3. Configure the other Oracle versions to use this Listener. For the purposes of our example, configure the 9i version of Oracle to use the 10g Listener. Refer to your Oracle documentation for information about how to use and configure the Oracle Listener. Configure the snapshot agent on a Linux or AIX machine Note for Linux only: When you are running a backup software application on the machine where the Snapshot Agent for Oracle is installed, you may see conflicts when the database is set in backup or non-backup mode. In this case, you can use flag BACKUPCHECK in configuration file snapagt.ini to indicate whether the snapshot agent can set the database mode. The default value is 0, which indicates the snapshot agent will always set the mode. If you set BACKUPCHECK=1, the snapshot agent does not set the mode and will let the backup application set the database mode. 1. Once the package is installed, re-login as root: su - 2. Run the setup program: /usr/local/ipstorclient/agents/oracle/bin/ora_setup.sh 3. Answer the questions that appear in the setup program: Is Oracle started? (y/n) -- Since the setup program needs to verify the Oracle user ID and password, the Oracle database must be started before the ora_setup program continues. Snapshot Agents User Guide 57

63 Snapshot Agent for Oracle What is the Oracle home path? -- Type the path in the format /oracle/ OraHome1. Enter the Oracle SID: -- In order to turn Oracle archive logging on, the setup program needs to know the Oracle instance name. What is the Oracle admin user id for SID xxx? (system) -- Type the admin user name needed to access the database. The user name should not be sys. What is the Oracle admin password for SID xxx? (manager) -- Type the password needed to access the database. The setup program will attempt to verify that the user ID and password are valid. Once the Snapshot Agent for Oracle is set up successfully, the configuration file / usr/local/ipstorclient/agents/oracle/etc/oracle.conf will be created and the following file will be updated: /usr/local/ipstorclient/etc/isdb.conf. Snapshot Agents User Guide 58

64 Snapshot Agent for Oracle (Unix only) Add root user to database groups The storage server uses the root user to trigger the agent and run agent commands. To make this possible, add the root user to your database groups. 1. Use an editor to edit the /etc/group file. 2. Add root to each database group. When you are done, your file should look something like this: system:!:0:root sys:!:3:root,bin,sys oinstall:!:206:root dba:!:207:oracle,root (Oracle 805 on Solaris ONLY) The default group for the root user should be set to the dba group, which owns the Oracle805 installation. 1. Use an editor to edit the /etc/passwd file. 2. The group ID for the root user should be the group ID of the dba group. In this example, 101 is the group id for the dba group: root:x:0:101:super-user:/:/sbin/sh daemon:x:1:1::/: bin:x:2:2::/usr/bin: sys:x:3:3::/: adm:x:4:4:admin:/var/adm: lp:x:71:8:line Printer Admin:/usr/spool/lp: uucp:x:5:5:uucp Admin:/usr/lib/uucp: nuucp:x:9:9:uucp Admin:/var/spool/uucppublic:/usr/lib/uucp/uucico listen:x:37:4:network Admin:/usr/net/nls: nobody:x:60001:60001:nobody:/: noaccess:x:60002:60002:no Access User:/: nobody4:x:65534:65534:sunos 4.x Nobody:/: ora8i:x:1001:101::/export/home/ora8i:/bin/sh oracle8:x:1002:101::/export/home/oracle8:/bin/sh sange:x:1003:10::/export/home/sange:/bin/sh 3. Verify the gid of the root user with the ID command: # id uid=0(root) gid=101(dba) Snapshot Agents User Guide 59

65 (Unix only) Set root user s PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH Snapshot Agent for Oracle You need to set the root user s PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH to include the database user s PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH variables. Example: root user s PATH is: /home/bin:/usr:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin root user s LD_LIBRARY_PATH is: /home/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/local/lib Oracle user s PATH is: /export/home/oracle/orahome1/bin Oracle user s LD_LIBRARY_PATH is: /export/home/oracle/orahome1/lib Note: Be sure to enter the 32-bit version of the Oracle library path for LD_LIBRARY_PATH. You have to add the Oracle user s environment variables to the root s variables. 1. Log in as the root user and edit the /.profile file. 2. Add the Oracle paths to the end of the root paths. Using the example above: PATH=/home/bin:/usr:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/export/home/oracle/OraHome1/bin ; export PATH LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/home/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/local/lib:/export/home/oracle/OraHome1/lib ; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH Snapshot Agents User Guide 60

66 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Turn on Oracle archive logging After the snapshot agent is installed, you must turn on Oracle archive logging before running the snapshot agent: 1. Include the following three lines in your initsid.ora: log_archive_start = true log_archive_dest = /mount_point/oradata/sid/archive/ log_archive_format = _%s.arc log_archive_start -- This parameter specifies whether archiving should be started automatically when the database is started. log_archive_dest -- This value specifies the default location of the file to be used when archiving redo log files. log_archive_format -- This parameter is used to specify the default file name format for the archive log files. This value is appended to the log_archive_dest value (%s is the log sequence number). Therefore, when a redo log is archived, Oracle will use a combination of log_archive_dest and log_archive_format to produce the location and file name of the archive log. For example: /mount_point/oradata/sid/archive/arch_1234.arc Before restarting the database, ensure that you have created the /mount_point/oradata/sid/archive directory. Note that the trailing arc in log_archive_dest is part of the archive log file name, not the directory. Also, these changes will not take effect until you restart the database. 2. With the database shut down, use one of the many DBA tools available (such as sqlplus) to manually start the database and execute the following commands: startup mount exclusive pfile=<path to pfile> connect internal alter database archivelog; archive log start; alter database open; Snapshot Agents User Guide 61

67 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Test the snapshot agent (updated March 2014) To test the snapshot agent, create a manual snapshot of a virtual drive. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a TimeView from the snapshot and assign it to the client, then review the data. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details on these procedures. Note: Use a group if your Oracle database uses multiple virtual devices. Remove snapshot agent software Do the following to remove snapshot agent software: Windows Linux Operating System Command/Instructions Remove from the Windows Control Panel. Log on to the system as root and execute the following command: rpm -e oracleniagent-<version number>-<build number> Oracle 9i example: rpm -e oracle9iagent Solaris AIX Log on to the system as root and execute the following command: pkgrm isora Log on to the system as root and execute the following command: installp -u IPStor.OraAgent.rte Snapshot Agents User Guide 62

68 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Protect and recover Oracle databases Database design with virtual devices Physical location of the tablespaces Fault tolerance and performance considerations Free disk space considerations Using groups We recommend that you create each tablespace on a separate virtual disk. If there are sufficient resources, the virtual disk should be created on a dedicated physical device. It this is not possible, the virtual disks should be created such that disk access is balanced across the available physical resources. For fault tolerance, mirroring can be done at the operating system level or you can use the Mirroring feature. Other fault-tolerance configurations can be implemented at the operating system level. When creating virtual devices, keep in mind that the operating system might configure the virtual disks in a RAID configuration. For RAID configurations, you should make sure the disks are from different physical disks. If the database is very active and changes are made randomly, the Snapshot Resource should be created with sufficient size, and the storage server should have enough free disk space to allow the snapshot resource to grow when needed. It is better to define which physical disk should be used when expanding the snapshot resource. Most Oracle databases use more than one virtual disk. In order to guarantee database integrity, use the FalconStor Management Console to create a group on the storage server (refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details): 1. Create a group; be sure to select the option to enable TimeMark (snapshots) for the group; you can also enable CDP Journal option. 2. Select the SAN resources (virtual disks) that are used by the Oracle database to join the group. 3. Assign the group to the client that runs the Oracle database. 4. Perform all snapshot-related functions using the group. Oracle control file If a raw device is used for the Oracle database, you must store the Oracle control file on another virtual disk, which should be in the same group as the raw device s virtual disk. Otherwise, snapshots of the raw device database may be inconsistent. Data backup and protection scenarios TimeMark The FalconStor TimeMark option is an effective way to protect your Oracle database by creating point-in-time snapshot copies TimeMarks of the database. You can use these TimeMarks to recover your database to the time at which the TimeMark was triggered. To create a TimeMark: 1. In the FalconStor Management Console, connect to the server that is serving the virtual disks for the Oracle database. Snapshot Agents User Guide 63

69 Snapshot Agent for Oracle 2. Expand Logical Resources --> Groups. 3. Right-click the group that was created for the Oracle database and select TimeMark --> Create. 4. Enter a descriptive name for the TimeMark. 5. Ensure that the snapshot agent has completed taking a snapshot of the disks. The Database Alert log should display messages showing that all tablespaces have been in and out of backup mode. 6. Expand the group and select one of the virtual disks. 7. In the right pane for the virtual disk, select the TimeMark tab. A list of TimeMarks will appear, with the latest TimeMark listed at the end. TimeMark Copy Use TimeMark Copy to create a physical copy of the disks that are used by the Oracle database. The set of TimeMark Copy disks should be created with the same TimeMark. The set of TimeMark Copy disks is exactly what the online Oracle disks looked like at the moment you created the TimeMark. This set of disks can be mounted on the Oracle Server and the Oracle database instance can be started with minimal recovery steps. Make sure there is enough free physical space for creating the TimeMark Copy. To create a TimeMark Copy: 1. Launch the FalconStor Management Console. 2. Connect to the server that is serving the virtual disks for the Oracle database. 3. Expand Logical Resources --> SAN Resources. 4. Right-click on the first virtual device of the group. 5. Select TimeMark --> Copy. 6. Select the desired TimeMark to be copied. 7. Repeat the last two steps for all virtual devices in the group. The TimeMark Copy disks can be assigned and mounted by the client using the Oracle database. When you start the Oracle database using the TimeMark Copy disks, the tablespaces are still in backup mode. Refer to the Disk failure section for information about how to recover a database with TimeMark Copy disks. TimeView Instead of recreating the Oracle disks with physical storage, you can create a TimeView that is mountable and works exactly like the TimeMark, except that the original set of disks for the production database have to be working. You can use TimeView to retrieve lost data without rolling back changes on the product database. TimeView does not require physical storage. To create a TimeView of the database disks: Snapshot Agents User Guide 64

70 Snapshot Agent for Oracle 1. Launch the Console. 2. Connect to the server that is serving the virtual disks for the Oracle database. 3. Expand Logical Resources --> SAN Resources. 4. Right-click on the first virtual device of the group. 5. Select TimeMark --> TimeView. 6. Select the desired TimeMark to be viewed. 7. Repeat the last two steps for all virtual devices in the group. You will see a new virtual disk for the TimeView you created for each disk in the group. You can assign TimeView virtual disks to a client and mount them just as you can any other virtual disks. You can copy files from the TimeView disks. You can start the Oracle database on the TimeView disks and export tables from that instance of the Oracle database. The tablespaces are set to backup mode when the snapshot occurs. When you first start your database using the TimeView disks you need to recover database to set the tablespaces back to normal mode. Replication TimeMark rollback You can set up replication of the Oracle database disks to protect the database in case of site failure. In the event that the primary site fails, the replica disks on the secondary site can be promoted, assigned to the Oracle server, mounted, and the database will be back and running with minimal down time. The database will be at the state of the last complete replication. This feature rolls back a disk back to the point in time at which you took the TimeMark. This is useful if you need to roll back changes to the disks to a known good stage, such as before a major update to the table that contains customer information. To perform a rollback: 1. Stop the Oracle database. 2. Stop the client on the Oracle database server. 3. Launch the Console. 4. In IMA, unassign the device(s) that the Oracle database resides on. 5. Connect to the server that is serving the virtual disks for the Oracle database. 6. Expand Logical Resources --> Groups. 7. Right-click on the group that was created for the Oracle database. 8. Select TimeMark --> Rollback. 9. Select the TimeMark that you want to roll back to. Snapshot Agents User Guide 65

71 Snapshot Agent for Oracle 10. Follow the wizard to complete the rollback procedure. 11. Start the client on the Oracle database server. 12. Start the Oracle database. 13. In IMA, reassign the device(s) on which the Oracle database resides. 14. Perform the Database recovery, if necessary, by typing recover database in SQL Plus or a command window. Complete backup using a TimeView or TimeMark Copy You can perform a complete tape backup of your database using a TimeView or TimeMark Copy. The TimeView or the TimeMark Copy disks contains the Oracle database files as regular files and can be backed up with your normal backup software. Recovery scenarios Disk failure You can quickly recover from disk failure by using a TimeMark Copy you created. The database can be brought back online in a matter of minutes. However, the data entered after the TimeMark was created cannot be restored. To recover using a TimeMark Copy: 1. Stop the client on the Oracle database. 2. Launch the Console. 3. Unassign all of the disks used for the Oracle database from the client. 4. Assign the set of TimeMark Copy disks for the Oracle database to the client. 5. Restart the client on the Oracle database server. 6. Start the Oracle database. 7. Recover the database, if necessary. 8. Open the database for normal access. User failure User failure can occur when users executes DDL commands, such as drop table, that they need to undo. The TimeMark option and the snapshot agent provide a quick and painless way to recover tables and records that were accidentally dropped. To recover from user failure: 1. Create a TimeView of the database disk using the desired TimeMark. 2. Assign the TimeView virtual disks to a backup Oracle database server. This could be the on same server as the production database server. Snapshot Agents User Guide 66

72 Snapshot Agent for Oracle 3. Rescan the client to discover the disks. 4. Start the Oracle database instance using the TimeView disks. 5. Export the object (such as a table) from this database instance to a dump file. 6. On the production database, drop the object that was altered by the user. 7. Import the object to the production database using the dump file. Operator failure If the system administrator or DBA accidentally deleted some files that are important to the Oracle database, you can quickly retrieve the files from a TimeView. To recover files from a TimeView: 1. Create a TimeView of the database disk using the desired TimeMark. 2. Assign the TimeView virtual disks to the Oracle database server. 3. Rescan the client to discover the new disks. 4. Mount the new disks and copy the files from the TimeView disks. If a disk for the database is accidentally formatted, you can recover it using rollback. Follow the steps in TimeMark rollback. Restore backed-up Oracle databases The backed up version of an Oracle database cannot be mounted until an Oracle end backup command is issued. If you issue the startup open pfile=... command without the end backup command being issued, you will get a message telling you that the database needs media recovery. For example: SQL> connect sys/password as sysdba Connected to an idle instance. SQL> startup open pfile=/oracle/pfile/init.ora ORACLE instance started. Total System Global Area bytes Fixed Size bytes Variable Size bytes Database Buffers bytes Redo Buffers bytes Database mounted. ORA-01113: file 1 needs media recovery ORA-01110: data file 1: '/oracle/system/system.dbf' Note that it says "file 1" needs recovery. While there may be multiple files, it stops after seeing the first error and does not try to continue to the other data files. Snapshot Agents User Guide 67

73 Snapshot Agent for Oracle Automatic recovery 1. When you see this message, you can run the recover database command which will find all tablespaces and take each out of backup mode. SQL> recover database; Media recovery complete. 2. Afterwards, you can open the database. SQL> alter database open; Database altered. Manual recovery You can also manually issue the Oracle commands to find each tablespace and then end the backup: 1. Instead of issuing the recover database command, check to see if the tablespaces are in the backup mode by issuing the following command. SQL> select * from v$backup; FILE# STATUS CHANGE# TIME ACTIVE AUG-00 2 ACTIVE AUG-00 3 ACTIVE AUG-00 4 ACTIVE AUG-00 5 ACTIVE AUG-00 6 ACTIVE AUG-00 6 rows selected. Since the file status is active, the tablespaces are still in the backup mode. 2. Find out what the names of the tablespaces are. SQL> select * from v$tablespace; TS# NAME INC SYSTEM YES 1 UNDOTBS YES 2 DRSYS YES 3 INDX YES 4 TEMP YES 5 TOOLS YES 6 USERS YES 7 rows selected. 3. Manually take each out of backup mode. SQL> ALTER TABLESPACE SYSTEM END BACKUP; Tablespace altered. SQL> ALTER TABLESPACE UNDOTBS END BACKUP; Tablespace altered. Snapshot Agents User Guide 68

74 Snapshot Agent for Oracle SQL> ALTER TABLESPACE DRSYS END BACKUP; Tablespace altered. SQL> ALTER TABLESPACE INDX END BACKUP; Tablespace altered. SQL> ALTER TABLESPACE TOOLS END BACKUP; Tablespace altered. SQL> ALTER TABLESPACE USERS END BACKUP; Tablespace altered. 4. Open the database. SQL> ALTER DATABASE open; Database altered. Snapshot Agents User Guide 69

75 Snapshot Agent for FileSystems The FalconStor Snapshot Agent for FileSystems protects data with point-in-time consistency. Users always have full access to data, while backup software sees a stable, read-only snapshot image. When snapshot notification has been enabled on the protected disk, or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created, the CDP/NSS server sends a snapshot notification to the server running the snapshot agent before the snapshot is taken. The snapshot agent flushes all disk cache and buffers to disk and then returns a status to the server. The server creates the snapshot and informs the agent that the snapshot has been created. The agent then releases the application to normal operation. Backup software can back up the snapshot image at high speed while the file system operates in normal mode. Because the contents of the snapshot image are guaranteed never to change, the backup is consistent, ensuring transactional integrity. When backup software reads data from the snapshot image, changes that occur to the data will not affect what gets written. The snapshot agent will be triggered automatically whenever a snapshot operation occurs on the disk. Install the snapshot agent Complete requirements described in General installation requirements (updated June 2014). Note: If you have an out-of-band FalconStor Continuous Data Protection (CDP) solution that includes FalconStor DiskSafe, the Snapshot Agent for FileSystems is not required, since its functionality is incorporated into DiskSafe. Install on Windows 1. Run the installation file. 2. When prompted, enter your license keycode. For Windows installations, the snapshot agent license must be activated (registered with FalconStor). If your computer has an Internet connection, the license is activated as soon as you enter your keycode and click Next. However, if your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable or if your computer has no Internet connection, your license will not be activated. You must activate your license within 30 days so that you can continue to use the snapshot agent. If your Internet connection is temporarily unavailable, your license will be activated automatically the next time the snapshot agent is invoked, assuming you have an Internet connection then. You can also add your license through IMA. If your computer has no Internet connection, you can perform offline activation using IMA (refer to the Intelligent Management Agent User Guide). Snapshot Agents User Guide 70

76 Snapshot Agent for FileSystems 3. When done, click Finish. The snapshot agent will be installed into the same directory as the IMA. 4. When done, click Finish. The snapshot agent will be installed to the same directory as IMA. After the installation completes, the configuration utility launches automatically. The snapshot agent will start automatically each time the client is started. Silent install Silent install is supported for snapshot agents. To install the agent in silent mode, complete the following steps: 1. Download the package from the FalconStor Support Portal and extract the agent package. 2. From the command line, navigate to the folder to which you extracted the package. 3. Install the Intelligent Management Agent: cd ima setup.exe /s cd.. 4. Install the snapshot agent: setup /s or setupsilent.bat When installing the snapshot agent in silent mode on any 64-bit platform, run setupsilent.bat from the AMD64 directory. Install on Linux and AIX You must be root or root equivalent in order to install the agent. 1. Copy the installation package to the local drive of your client (examples below use /tmp). 2. Install the snapshot agent software. Linux AIX Execute the following command on Linux: rpm -i filesystemagent-<version number>-<build number>.i386.rpm For example: rpm -i filesystemagent i386.rpm Execute the following command on AIX: installp -ad jfsagent-<version number>-<build number>.rte all Snapshot Agents User Guide 71

77 Snapshot Agent for FileSystems Configure snapshot agent options Batch file options Configuration is not required. The snapshot agent includes a utility that lets you configure optional features. To run the utility, select Start --> All Programs --> FalconStor --> Configuration for Snapshot Agent for FileSystems. When you are done, click OK to save the changes you made in all tabs and either keep the utility open or exit. Click Cancel to exit the utility and discard any changes. On the Batch Files tab, indicate if you want to run batch files before and/or after each snapshot. In order to run batch files, you must enter an administrative user name and password for the local computer. Click the Create/Edit buttons and use Notepad to generate the batch files. Snapshot Agents User Guide 72

78 Snapshot Agent for FileSystems Monitor tab By default, the snapshot agent looks for databases based on information passed from IMA. This tab allows you to identify the drives on which databases are located. Manage the trace log The trace log is a diagnostic tool used by Technical Support to help solve system problems. Each trace log contains technical information about your system as well as system messages and is updated whenever a snapshot occurs. Some of the messages that appear in the trace log are also sent to the Windows Event Log. For Linux installations, trace log messages are logged to the system message file. Do not adjust trace log settings unless you are requested to do so by a Technical Support representative. The configuration utility lets you maximize the level of detail that is displayed. 1. Click the icon in the upper left corner of the configuration utility and select Settings in the menu. 2. Select Set Agent Trace On to maximize the level of detail displayed for agent activity. The value in the text box will change to 10 and is not editable. Increasing the level of detail will display a list of the databases that have been backed up, as well as information that can be used to provide support. The log will reflect the change after the next snapshot is taken. Other options in this dialog are not supported. Snapshot Agents User Guide 73

79 Snapshot Agent for FileSystems Update registry for service-enabled devices If you are using a service-enabled device (SED) and you have preserved the physical device s inquiry string (this is set when you create the SED in the console), you need to make a change in the registry. 1. In the registry, locate the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\FalconStor\IPStor\CurrentVersion\ Agents\Agent n Agent n is the agent number (e.g. Agent 1). If you have multiple agents installed on the machine, highlight each and check the Name field for the one that says Windows. 2. Under the correct agent key, add a string (REG_SZ) named OverRideDrives and specify the drive letter(s) to which the SED is mounted. For example: the value might be E:;F:; Test the snapshot agent (updated March 2014) To test the snapshot agent, create a manual snapshot of a virtual drive. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a TimeView from the snapshot and assign it to the client, then review the data. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details on these procedures. Remove snapshot agent software Do the following to remove the snapshot agent software: Note: If you need to uninstall multiple snapshot agents, including the Snapshot Agent for FileSystems, uninstall this agent last. Operating System Windows Linux AIX Command/Instructions Remove from the Windows Control Panel. Log on to the system as root and execute the following command: rpm -e filesystemagent-<version>-<build> For example: rpm -e filesystemagent Log on to the system as root and execute the following command: installp -u jfsagt Snapshot Agents User Guide 74

80 Snapshot Agent for MySQL FalconStor provides a Snapshot Agent for MySQL, an RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) in which data is stored in the form of tables and the relationships among data are also stored in the form of tables. MySQL runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases and is a key part of LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP / Perl / Python), an open source enterprise software stack. The snapshot agent enables FalconStor CDP/NSS to protect MySQL databases on protected disks with point-in-time consistency. Users always have full access to the database, while backup software sees a stable, read-only snapshot image. When snapshot notification has been enabled on the protected disk, or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created, the CDP/NSS server sends a snapshot notification to the database server running the Snapshot Agent for MySQL before the snapshot is taken. The snapshot agent quiesces the MySQL database, ensuring that it is in sync and stable, and then returns a status to the server. The server creates the snapshot and informs the agent that the snapshot has been created. The agent then releases the application to normal operation. The Snapshot Agent for MySQL ensures the MySQL database is in sync and stable before taking snapshots, protecting MySQL databases with full point-in-time consistency while still allowing full speed, non-stop access. Install the snapshot agent Install on Windows Complete required steps described in General installation requirements (updated June 2014). Installation requires the following: Install the snapshot agent on the machine where the MySQL database is running. Start MySQL server before installing the agent. 1. Run the installation file. The snapshot agent will be installed to the same directory as IMA. 2. When prompted, enter your license keycode. The snapshot agent license must be registered with FalconStor and activated. If your computer has an Internet connection, the license is activated as soon as you enter your keycode and click Next. However, if your Internet connection is temporarily down or if your computer has no Internet connection, your license will not be activated. You must activate your license within 30 days so that you can continue to use the snapshot agent. 75

81 Snapshot Agent for MySQL If your Internet connection is temporarily down, your license will be activated automatically the next time the snapshot agent is invoked, assuming you have an Internet connection then. You can also add your license through IMA. If your computer has no Internet connection, you can perform offline activation using IMA (refer to the Intelligent Management Agent User Guide). 3. When done, click Finish. Silent install Silent install is supported for snapshot agents. To install the agent in silent mode, complete the following steps: 1. Download the package from the FalconStor Support Portal and extract the agent package. 2. From the command line, navigate to the folder to which you extracted the package. 3. Install the Intelligent Management Agent: cd ima setup.exe /s cd.. 4. Install the snapshot agent: setup /s or setupsilent.bat When installing the snapshot agent in silent mode on any 64-bit platform, run setupsilent.bat from the AMD64 directory. Install on Linux You must be root or root equivalent in order to install the agent. 1. Copy the installation file to the local drive of your Linux client. 2. Install the snapshot agent software:. rpm -i mysqlagent-<version number>-<build number>.i386.rpm For example: rpm -i mysqlagent i386.rpm 3. Run the setup program: /usr/local/ipstorclient/agents/mysql/bin/ismysql_setup 76

82 Snapshot Agent for MySQL Test the file system agent (updated March 2014) Manage the trace log To test the snapshot agent, create a manual snapshot of a virtual drive. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a TimeView from the snapshot and assign it to the client, then review the data. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details on these procedures. The trace log is a diagnostic tool used by Technical Support to help solve system problems. Each trace log contains technical information about your system as well as system messages and is updated whenever a snapshot occurs. Trace log messages are logged to the system message file. Remove snapshot agent software Do the following to remove snapshot agent software: Windows Linux Operating System Command/Instructions Remove from the Windows Control Panel. Log on to the system as root and execute the following command: rpm -e ismysql-<version number>-<build number> For example: rpm -e ismysql

83 Snapshot Agent for IBM DB2 Universal Database The FalconStor Snapshot Agent for DB2 protects DB2 databases with full point-intime consistency while still allowing full speed, non-stop access. Users always have full access to data, while backup software sees a stable, read-only snapshot image. When snapshot notification has been enabled on the protected disk, or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created, the CDP/NSS server sends a snapshot notification to the database server running the snapshot agent before the snapshot is taken. The snapshot agent suspends all DB2 database writes, then notifies the server that the snapshot can be taken. Once the snapshot has been taken, the application server resumes all database writes. When the snapshot is mounted for access by backup software, data backup can be performed at high speed while DB2 operates in normal mode. Because the contents of the snapshot are guaranteed never to change, what is backed up is consistent, ensuring transactional integrity. While the backup software is reading data from the mounted snapshot, database changes do not affect what gets written. Users can access the database at all times, while the backup software sees a stable, read-only image of the database. Install the snapshot agent on AIX Install on AIX Complete required steps described in General installation requirements (updated June 2014). Installation requires the following: You need to know the database instance name and the database administrator password. Start the DB2 database before installing the agent. You must be root (or root equivalent) in order to install the snapshot agent. 1. Make sure that your DB2 database is up and running. 2. Copy the tar file to the local drive of your AIX client. 3. Type the following command to untar the agent package. tar xvf db2agent-<version number>-<build number>.tar For example: tar xvf db2agent tar 4. install the agent package. installp -afx -d IPStor.DB2Agent.bff all Snapshot Agents User Guide 78

84 Snapshot Agent for IBM DB2 Universal Database 5. Run the setup program. /usr/local/ipstorclient/agents/db2/bin/db2_setup 6. When prompted, answer the following questions: What is the DB2 bin path? What is the DB2 admin user id? What is the DB2 admin password? What is the current db2 instance name? What is the login name of the UNIX user account that owns DB2 software? If there is more than one db2 instance, enter all the db2 instance names and separate them by a space. When you have responded to all questions, Updating/etc/profile will be displayed. 7. When installation is complete, the following messages are displayed: Please shutdown IMA then logout. Then re-login as root and start IMA Snapshot Agent for DB2 has been set up successfully 8. Stop the IMA Service; # /etc/init.d/ima stop 9. Log out from the machine. 10. Log in again as root. 11. Start the IMA Service: # /etc/init.d/ima start Add root user to database groups The root user is the user that the storage server uses to trigger the agent and run agent commands. Therefore, in order for the storage server to be able to execute database commands, you need to add the root user to your database groups. 1. Use an editor to edit the /etc/group file. 2. Add root to each database group. When you are done, your file should look something like this: system:!:0:root sys:!:3:root,bin,sys db2iadm1:!:999:db2inst1,db2as,root db2fadm1:!:998:db2inst1,db2fenc1,db2as,root Snapshot Agents User Guide 79

85 Snapshot Agent for IBM DB2 Universal Database db2asgrp:!:997:db2inst1,db2as,db2fenc1,root Set root user s PATH and LD_LIBRARY_ PATH You need to set the root user s PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH to include the database users PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH variables. Example: root user s PATH is: /home/bin:/usr:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin root user s LD_LIBRARY_PATH is: /home/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/local/lib DB2 user s PATH is: /home/db2inst1/bin DB2 user s LD_LIBRARY_PATH is: /home/db2inst1/lib where db2inst1 is the database name. You have to add the DB2 user s environment variables to the root s variables. 1. Log in as the root user and edit the /.profile file. 2. Add the DB2 paths to the end of the root paths. Using the example above: PATH=/home/bin:/usr:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/home/ db2inst1/bin ; export PATH LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/home/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/local/lib:/home/ db2inst1/lib ; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH Snapshot Agents User Guide 80

86 Snapshot Agent for IBM DB2 Universal Database Test the snapshot agent (updated April 2014) Log information To test the snapshot agent, create a manual snapshot of a virtual drive. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a TimeView from the snapshot and assign it to the client, then review the data. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details on these procedures. The log path is /var/log/messages. After a snapshot has been taken successfully, the log resembles the example below. Snapshot Agents User Guide 81

87 Snapshot Agent for IBM DB2 Universal Database Remove snapshot agent software Do the following to uninstall the snapshot agent software: Operating System Command/Instructions AIX Log on to the system as root and execute the following command, which will also uninstall the Intelligent Management Agent (IMA) package: installp -ug db2agent-<version number>- <build number> For example: installp -ug db2agent Snapshot Agents User Guide 82

88 Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes /Domino The FalconStor Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes/Domino protects databases with full point-in-time consistency. Users are always able to see the database with full access at all times while the backup software sees a stable, read-only snapshot image. When snapshot notification has been enabled on the protected disk, or selected in the schedule for automatic snapshots or when a manual snapshot is created, the CDP/NSS server sends a snapshot notification to the application server running the snapshot agent before the snapshot is taken. The snapshot agent prepares files for backup and the storage server takes the snapshot. When the server informs the agent that the snapshot has been created, the agent releases the databases to normal operation. Backup software can back up the snapshot image at high speed while Lotus Domino operates in normal mode. Because the contents of the snapshot image are guaranteed never to change, the backup is consistent, ensuring transactional integrity. When backup software reads data from the snapshot image, changes that occur to the database do not affect what gets written. The snapshot agent will be triggered automatically whenever a snapshot operation occurs on the Lotus Domino drive. Install the snapshot agent Complete required steps described in General installation requirements (updated June 2014). Install on Windows (updated June 2014) Installation requires Lotus Domino to be properly installed and functioning before you install the agent. To install: 1. Verify that the Lotus Domino path is set in the PATH environment variable. If it is not set, add the path (such as C:\Lotus\Domino) to the PATH environment variable and then reboot the machine. 2. Shut down the Domino server and stop IMA. 3. Run the installation file. 4. When prompted, enter your license keycode. Snapshot Agents User Guide 83

89 Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes /Domino The snapshot agent license must be activated (registered with FalconStor). If your computer has an Internet connection, the license is activated as soon as you enter your keycode and click Next. However, if your Internet connection is temporarily down or if your computer has no Internet connection, your license will not be activated. You must activate your license within 30 days so that you can continue to use the snapshot agent. If your Internet connection is temporarily down, your license will be activated automatically the next time the snapshot agent is invoked, assuming you have an Internet connection then. You can also add your license through IMA. If your computer has no Internet connection, you can perform offline activation using IMA (refer to the Intelligent Management Agent User Guide). 5. When done, click Finish. The snapshot agent will be installed to the same directory as IMA. 6. Start IMA and your Domino Server. Silent install Silent install is supported for snapshot agents. To install the agent in silent mode, complete the following steps: 1. Download the package from the FalconStor Support Portal and extract the agent package. 2. From the command line, navigate to the folder to which you extracted the package. 3. Install the Intelligent Management Agent: cd ima setup.exe /s cd.. 4. Install the snapshot agent: setup /s or setupsilent.bat When installing the snapshot agent in silent mode on any 64-bit platform, run setupsilent.bat from the AMD64 directory. Install on Linux Installation of the snapshot agent has the following requirements: You must be root (or root equivalent). Lotus Domino must be properly installed and functioning before you install the agent. Snapshot Agents User Guide 84

90 Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes /Domino To install: 1. Install the snapshot agent software. rpm -i notesagent-<version number>-<build number>.i386.rpm For example: rpm -i notesagent i386.rpm 2. Type the following command: # cd /usr/local/ipstorclient/agents/notes/bin 3. Type the following command: # isnotes_setup Install on AIX Installation of the snapshot agent has the following requirements: You must be root (or root equivalent). Lotus Domino must be properly installed and functioning before you install the agent. SAN Client software must be installed. To install: 1. Log on as root on the AIX machine where the Domino Server is installed. 2. Copy the installation package to the local drive of your AIX client. We will be using /tmp as an example. 3. Unzip the contents of the tar file: Tar xvf notesagent-<version number>-<build number>.tar For example: Tar xvf notesagent tar Once the package has been extracted, the install file can be found in the /tmp directory. 4. Type the following to install the agent: installp axd IPStor.NotesAgent.bff all A pre-installation summary will warn of any errors that may prevent the installation. If no errors are reported, the install will complete successfully. Snapshot Agents User Guide 85

91 Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes /Domino Configure the snapshot agent on a Windows machine The Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes can be configured to prepare specific database files for backup automatically. The parameter SnapOption in configuration file snapagt.ini, located in the IMA directory, can be set according to the following format: [NotesAgent] SnapOption=0 The available values are: 0 Prepare database files admin4.nsf, mail.box, and log.nsf for backup; this is the usual value. 1 Prepare all.nsf files for backup; this is not a recommended setting. 2 Prepare database files admin4.nsf, mail.box, log.nsf and individual .nsf files under the mail subdirectory for backup. Test the snapshot agent (updated March 2014) To test the snapshot agent, create a manual snapshot of a virtual drive. To confirm that data in the snapshot is valid, create a TimeView from the snapshot and assign it to the client, then review the data. Refer to the CDP/NSS User Guide for details on these procedures. Snapshot Agents User Guide 86

92 Snapshot Agent for Lotus Notes /Domino Manage the trace log You can get detailed information from the agent trace log file (agttrace.log).the trace log is a diagnostic tool used by Technical Support to help solve system problems. Each trace log contains technical information about your system as well as system messages and is updated whenever a snapshot occurs. Some of the messages that appear in the trace log are also sent to the Windows Event Log. The trace log allows you to see the connection to the Domino system and the backup command to all NFS databases on the protected disks. For Linux installations, trace log messages are logged to the system message file. On the Domino server, you can check the snapshot agent communication from the system log. Remove snapshot agent software Do the following to uninstall the snapshot agent software: Operating System Windows Linux AIX Command/Instructions Remove from the Windows Control Panel. Log on to the system as root and execute the following command: rpm -e notesagent-<version number>-<build number> For example: rpm -e antecedent Log on to the system as root and execute the following command: installp u IPStor.NotesAgent.bff all Snapshot Agents User Guide 87

93 snapshot Agents User Guide Index D DB2 Install AIX 78 Requirements 78 Remove snapshot agent software 82 Root user Database groups 79 PATHs 80 Downloads 5 E Exchange Batch file options 21 Exchange and VSS 19 Install 20 Silent install 20, 30 Licensing 20 Options 21 Override default drives 22, 53, 73 Purge Log utility 25 Remove snapshot agent software 26 Service-enabled devices 23 Status 23 Test 23 Trace log 22 F FileSystems Batch file options 72 Install AIX 71 Linux 71 Silent install 71 Windows 70 Licensing 70 Options 72 Remove snapshot agent software 74 Service-enabled devices 74 Test 74 Trace log 73 H HyperTrac 1 L Lotus Notes/Domino Configure Windows 86 Install AIX 85 Linux 84 Windows 83 Silent install 84 Licensing 83 Remove snapshot agent software 87 Test 86 Trace log 87 M MySQL Install 75 Linux 76 Windows 75 Silent install 76 Licensing 75 Remove snapshot agent software 77 Trace log 77 O Oracle Archive logging 61 Configuration 50 Configure AIX 57 Batch file options 52 Database security 51 Linux 57 Override drives 53 Solaris 55 ASM disk utility 56 Listener 57 Windows 50 Data backup and protection scenarios 63 Complete tape backup 66 Replication 65 TimeMark 63 TimeMark Copy 64 TimeMark rollback 65 TimeView 64 Database design-virtual devices 63 Database mode conflicts Linux 57 Windows 50 Snapshot Agents User Guide 88

94 File system support 46 Install 46 AIX 48 Linux 48 Requirements 46 Silent install 47 Solaris 49 Windows 47 License 47 License 47 Protect and recover databases 63 Protect databases 63 Recover databases 63 Recovery scenarios 66 Disk failure 66 Manual recovery 68 Operator failure 67 User failure 66 Remove snapshot agent software 62 Restore backed-up database 67 Restore databases 67 Automatic recovery 68 Test 62 Unix Add root user 59 Database groups 59 PATHs 60 Solaris 59 Oracle Listener Solaris 57 P Patches 5 R Release Notes 5 Replication 2 S Snapshot agents DiskSafe 4 In-band solutions 3 Installation overview 3 Out-of-band solutions 4 SQL Server 27.hisu file 40 Command line interface 43 Configure 31 Add instance 32 Advanced options 35 Backup options 35 Batch files 37 Change instance information 32 Checkpoint only 36 Copy only 36 Database options 33 Database security 31 Database selection/exclusion 37 Default drives 38 Full backup 36 Full backup plus checkpoint 36 Remove instance 32 Transaction log backup 36 Transaction log backup directory 33 Windows authentication 32 Diagnostics 45 fsssrest.exe 43 Guidelines 27 Install 30 Licensing 30 Offline activation 30 Manual recovery 41 Remove snapshot agent software 45 Requirements 28 Test 40 Trace log 44 Transaction log backup best practice 39 VMware requirements 28 X-ray 45 Support Portal 5 V VSS Advanced options 11 Batch file options 12 Configure 10 CSVs 7 Events 14 Exchange 7 Hyper-V 7 Hyper-V cluster 7 Install 3, 8 Silent install 9 Licensing 8 Remove snapshot agent software 14 Snapshot options 10 Snapshot View/TimeView 6 Storage guidelines 8, 19 Snapshot Agents User Guide 89

95 Test 14 Trace log 12 VMware 6 Writers 6 X-ray 13 Z ZeroImpact Backup Enabler 1 Snapshot Agents User Guide 90