EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide P/N 300-011-100 REV A03 EMC Corporation Corporate Headquarters: Hopkinton, MA 01748-9103 1-508-435-1000 www.emc.com
Copyright 2007-2011 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published May 2011 EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice. THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS IS. EMC CORPORATION MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. For the most up-to-date regulatory document for your product line, go to the Document/Whitepaper Library on EMC Powerlink. For the most up-to-date listing of EMC product names, see EMC Corporation Trademarks on EMC.com. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. 2 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Contents Preface Chapter 1 Overview About NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications... 16 NMM support... 16 Supported and unsupported NetWorker features in NMM... 18 Windows operating system support... 18 NMM can coexist with NetWorker Module for Microsoft Exchange... 19 NMM can coexist with NetWorker Module for Microsoft SQL Server... 19 Supported configurations... 20 The VSS snapshot creation process... 20 Providers... 21 Writers supported by NMM... 22 Dynamic volume support... 24 Providers and backup performance... 24 NMM client snapshot policies... 25 Preconfigured snapshot policies... 25 Rollover a snapshot... 25 Types of NMM client snapshot backups... 26 Serverless backup... 26 Nonpersistent rollover backup... 27 Instant backup with or without rollover... 27 Types of NMM client recoveries... 27 Conventional recovery... 27 Instant recovery... 28 Rollback recovery... 28 Full and granular backup and recovery for applications... 30 Directed recovery... 31 The NMM client interface... 32 Recover view... 32 Snapshot Management view... 33 Monitor view... 34 NMM client graphical user interface... 35 Opening the software and connecting to a NetWorker server... 35 Selecting an item for recovery... 35 Searching for an item... 36 Specifying a recovery browse time... 37 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide 3
Contents Selecting a backup version for recovery... 37 Viewing the volumes required for a recovery... 37 Performing a snapshot rollover... 38 Performing a rollback recovery... 39 Deleting a snapshot... 39 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Configuring a Scheduled Backup Backup configuration roadmap... 42 Name resolution... 43 Best practices and considerations for backing up application data... 44 Configuration tasks... 45 Configure a backup pool for snapshot operations... 45 Configure snapshot policies... 48 Configure a backup schedule... 51 Configure a backup group... 52 Configure a client resource... 53 Configure privileges... 58 Configure a proxy client... 59 Backing up a clustered NMM client... 61 Moving a NMM client to another NetWorker server... 62 NetWorker Client Management Specifying a remote client for directed recovery... 64 Requirements... 64 Specifying a remote client volume for recovery locally... 64 Recovering a remote client volume... 64 Connecting to a NetWorker server... 65 Specifying a recovery browse time... 65 Specifying ranges for service and connection ports... 65 Reducing the range of available ports:... 66 Specifying a password... 66 Changing the PW1 password... 66 Deduplication Backup and Recovery with Avamar Data deduplication with Avamar... 68 Deduplication differentiators... 68 Comparison of deduplication and non-deduplication... 69 Avamar integration in NMM... 69 Supported and unsupported applications, features, and configurations... 70 Supported Microsoft applications... 70 Supported configurations... 70 Unsupported applications, features, and configurations... 71 Related documentation about Avamar server and NetWorker server... 71 Additional NetWorker server deduplication operation information... 71 Avamar and NetWorker server configuration... 72 Configure the Avamar and the NetWorker server to receive deduplication data and process backups... 72 Set the DNS resolution for NetWorker deduplication node and NMM.. 73 Deduplication backups requirements for NetWorker server... 73 4 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Contents Backup levels and schedules for deduplication clients... 74 Retention policies... 74 Backup configuration notes... 75 Configuring a client resource for deduplication backup... 75 Querying deduplication save sets by using mminfo... 78 Recovering deduplicated data... 78 Deleting deduplication save sets... 78 Chapter 5 Deduplication Backup and Recovery with Data Domain Data deduplication with Data Domain... 80 Data Domain integration in NMM... 80 Integration requirements... 80 Supported operating systems... 81 Supported applications, features, and configurations... 81 Data Domain deduplication support... 81 Data Domain Boost on NMM support... 81 Not supported... 82 Related documentation about Data Domain and NetWorker server... 82 Data Domain and NetWorker configuration... 83 Configuring client resource for Data Domain Boost backups... 84 Recovering deduplicated data... 86 Chapter 6 Multihomed setup for backup and recovery Overview... 88 Basic requirements for setting up a multihomed environment... 88 Generic requirements for setting up a multihomed environment for NMM backups... 88 Requirements for multihomed NMM client's network configuration... 90 Requirements for multihomed NetWorker server's network configuration.. 91 Requirements for network configuration on NetWorker storage node... 91 Configuring NMM client resources in a multihomed environment... 91 Configuring NMM client resources in a multihomed environment... 92 Performing a configuration check for multihomed NetWorker backup.. 92 Chapter 7 Windows System Backup and Recovery Overview... 94 Access privileges for backup and recovery... 94 Performing system backups... 95 Specifying system save sets for backup... 95 NMM system data commands... 96 Configuring system backups... 97 Performing a recovery... 99 Recovery considerations... 99 System recovery in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003... 100 System Recovery Options Summary... 102 Recovery options... 103 General recovery options... 103 NetWorker recovery options... 103 Cluster recovery options... 105 ADAM recovery options... 108 DFS recovery options... 109 FRS recovery options... 112 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide 5
Contents NTDS recovery options... 114 Security recovery options... 115 Recovering file system snapshots that have not been rolled over... 116 Booting the NMM host in Directory Service Restore mode... 117 Performing an authoritative recovery of NTDS or FRS data... 118 Performing a directed recovery with NMM... 119 Recovering the Windows system configuration to an earlier state... 121 Restoring BOOT/BCD data in Windows 2008 R2... 122 Performing Windows print queues backup and recovery... 122 Performing Windows DFS-R granular backup and recovery... 123 Pre and post command support... 124 precmd.bat script... 124 postcmd.bat script... 124 nsrsnapvsssavepnpc file... 125 Performing disaster recovery for Windows 2003 and Windows 2003 R2... 125 Perform a disaster recovery operation when the NMM client is not on a domain controller... 126 Perform a disaster recovery operation when the NMM client is on a domain controller... 127 Performing disaster recovery for Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2... 128 Chapter 8 Microsoft Windows Cluster Backup and Recovery Windows Server Cluster backup and recovery... 130 Cluster support in NMM client... 130 Compatibility with previous Windows cluster backups... 130 Components used by NMM for Windows Cluster backup and recovery 131 Windows Cluster application information variable settings... 131 Performing Windows Server Cluster backups... 132 Cluster failover and backups... 132 Performing Windows Server Cluster recovery... 133 Performing Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2 clustered client disaster recovery... 133 Perform disaster recovery of a cluster client... 134 Cluster recovery environment variable settings... 137 Perform disaster recovery from a legacy VSS backup... 137 Perform a disaster recovery of a clustered client from a legacy non-vss backup... 140 Monitoring a recovery... 140 Glossary Index 6 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Figures Title Page 1 VSS backup process... 21 2 NMM client main page... 33 8 Snapshot Management view... 34 9 Monitor view... 34 10 Selected and partially selected items... 36 11 Snapshots and snapshot save sets... 38 12 Deduplication backup attribute... 77 13 Sample network topology of NetWorker multihomed backup... 89 14 NIC settings... 90 15 Local client on the taskbar next to client... 119 16 Configuration Options dialog box... 120 17 Select Viewable Clients dialog box... 120 18 NMM client menu list... 120 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide 7
Figures 8 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Tables Title Page 1 Currently supported writers... 22 2 Support for disaster and granular backup and recovery... 31 3 Pull and push support... 32 4 Backup tasks... 42 5 Best practices and considerations for application backups... 44 6 Conventional backup settings... 50 7 Hardware instant snapshot policy... 50 8 Hardware instant snapshot with rollover policy... 51 9 Considerations for NMM client backup schedules... 51 10 Save set syntax... 55 11 Special characters and their URL-encoded values... 57 12 Application information variable settings... 58 13 Configuration requirements for a proxy client... 59 14 Additional steps and considerations for backing up a clustered client resource... 61 15 Backup and recovery schedule comparison... 69 16 Configuration details for Data Domain and NetWorker... 83 17 Access privileges needed for backup and recovery... 94 18 NMM system data commands... 96 19 Tasks for scheduling a backup for VSS writers... 97 20 Windows Cluster application information variable settings... 131 21 Steps and considerations for backing up a clustered client resource... 132 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide 9
Tables 10 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Preface As part of an effort to improve and enhance the performance and capabilities of its product lines, EMC periodically releases revisions of its hardware and software. Therefore, some functions described in this document might not be supported by all versions of the software or hardware currently in use. For the most up-to-date information on product features, refer to your product release notes. If a product does not function properly or does not function as described in this document, please contact your EMC representative. Note: This document was accurate as of the time of publication. However, as information is added, new versions of this document may be released to the EMC Powerlink website. Check the EMC Powerlink website http://powerlink.emc.com to ensure that you are using the latest version of this document. Purpose This guide contains information common to all the Microsoft applications such as the following that can be backed up and recovered by using EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications: SQL SharePoint Exchange Active Directory Hyper-V Data Protection Manager IMPORTANT Ensure to download a copy of the EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Application Guide from the EMC Powerlink website http://powerlink.emc.com to use along with this guide. The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Application Guide contains information specific to an application, and must be referred to when backing up and recovering an application. EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide 11
Preface Audience Related documentation This guide is part of the EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications documentation set, and is intended for use by system administrators during the setup and maintenance of the product. Readers should be familiar with the following technologies used in backup and recovery: EMC NetWorker software EMC NetWorker snapshot management Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) technology Storage subsystems, such as EMC CLARiiON or Symmetrix, if used The following EMC publications provide additional information: EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Release Notes EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Installation Guide EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Application Guide EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications and EMC CLARiiON Implementing Proxy Node Backups Release 2.3 Technical Note EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications and EMC Symmetrix Implementing Proxy Node Backups Release 2.3 Technical Note EMC Cloning and Recovery of Expired Save Sets for NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Technical Note EMC NetWorker Cloning Integration Guide EMC Technical Advisory (ETA) esg121813 EMC NetWorker Licensing Guide EMC NetWorker Data Domain Deduplication Devices 7.6 SP1 Integration Guide EMC Information Protection Software Compatibility Guide EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix CLI Version 6.3 Quick Reference EMC NetWorker Release 7.6 SP1 documentation EMC NetWorker Release 7.6 SP2 documentation The NetWorker Procedure Generator (NPG) has been updated to provide application-specific procedures for NMM cloning configuration and NMM recoveries. 12 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Preface Conventions used in this document EMC uses the following conventions for special notices: Note: A note presents information that is important, but not hazard-related. IMPORTANT An important notice contains information essential to software or hardware operation. Typographical conventions EMC uses the following type style conventions in this document. Normal Used in running (nonprocedural) text for: Names of interface elements (such as names of windows, dialog boxes, buttons, fields, and menus) Names of resources, attributes, pools, Boolean expressions, buttons, DQL statements, keywords, clauses, environment variables, functions, utilities URLs, pathnames, filenames, directory names, computer names, filenames, links, groups, service keys, file systems, notifications Bold Used in running (nonprocedural) text for: Names of commands, daemons, options, programs, processes, services, applications, utilities, kernels, notifications, system calls, man pages Used in procedures for: Names of interface elements (such as names of windows, dialog boxes, buttons, fields, and menus) What user specifically selects, clicks, presses, or types Italic Used in all text (including procedures) for: Full titles of publications referenced in text Emphasis (for example a new term) Variables Courier Used for: System output, such as an error message or script URLs, complete paths, filenames, prompts, and syntax when shown outside of running text Courier bold Used for: Specific user input (such as commands) Courier italic Used in procedures for: Variables on command line User input variables < > Angle brackets enclose parameter or variable values supplied by the user [ ] Square brackets enclose optional values Vertical bar indicates alternate selections - the bar means or { } Braces indicate content that you must specify (that is, x or y or z)... Ellipses indicate nonessential information omitted from the example EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide 13
Preface Where to get help EMC support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows. Product information. For documentation, release notes, software updates, or for information about EMC products, licensing, and service, go to the EMC Powerlink website (registration required) at: http://powerlink.emc.com Technical support For technical support, go to Powerlink and choose Support. On the Support page, you will see several options, including one for making a service request. Note that to open a service request, you must have a valid support agreement. Please contact your EMC sales representative for details about obtaining a valid support agreement or with questions about your account. Your comments Your suggestions will help us continue to improve the accuracy, organization, and overall quality of the user publications. Please send your opinion of this document to: BSGdocumentation@emc.com If you have issues, comments, or questions about specific information or procedures, please include the title and, if available, the part number, the revision (for example, A01), the page numbers, and any other details that will help us locate the subject that you are addressing. 14 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
1 Overview This chapter includes the following topics: About NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications... 16 Supported configurations... 20 The VSS snapshot creation process... 20 NMM client snapshot policies... 25 Rollover a snapshot... 25 Types of NMM client snapshot backups... 26 Types of NMM client recoveries... 27 Full and granular backup and recovery for applications... 30 Directed recovery... 31 The NMM client interface... 32 NMM client graphical user interface... 35 Overview 15
Overview About NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications (NMM) works with Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) technology to provide snapshot backup and recovery services for file systems, Microsoft applications, and Windows system data. The NMM client allows for the creation of point-in-time snapshot data. A snapshot can be retained on storage volumes for quick access. You can also perform a rollover of a snapshot to a traditional backup medium, such as a tape, file type device, advanced file type device, Avamar device, or Data Domain device. Data can be recovered either from a snapshot or from the backup media. This section provides information on: NMM support on page 16 Supported and unsupported NetWorker features in NMM on page 18 Windows operating system support on page 18 NMM can coexist with NetWorker Module for Microsoft Exchange on page 19 NMM can coexist with NetWorker Module for Microsoft SQL Server on page 19 NMM support NMM provides the following support: Support for the following configurations: The VSS snapshot creation process LAN-based configuration with a proxy client LAN-free configuration LAN-free dedicated storage node configuration Support for several types of backup, depending on the types available for the given application or operating system: Serverless backup on page 26 Nonpersistent rollover backup on page 27 Instant backup with or without rollover on page 27 Support for several types of recovery, depending on the types available for the given application or operating system: Conventional recovery on page 27 Instant recovery on page 28 Rollback recovery on page 28 Deduplication support for most of the Microsoft applications and Windows operating systems that are supported by NMM: For the NetWorker server, NetWorker 7.5 SP3 or 7.6 SP1 is required. For the EMC Avamar server hardware, Avamar Axiom 4.0 SP2 or later is required. 16 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Overview For the Data Domain server: Data Domain Appliance with Data Domain operating system version supported by NetWorker client installed on NMM 2.3 client. Data Domain operating system 4.8 or later for Data Domain-Boost functionality. NetWorker 7.6 SP1 for Data Domain-Boost functionality. Microsoft application support: Exchange Server 2010 Exchange Server 2007 Exchange Server 2003 SQL Server 2008 R2 SQL Server 2008 SQL Server 2005 Office SharePoint Server 2010 Office SharePoint Server 2007 SharePoint Portal Server 2003 System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V Microsoft release-to-manufacturing (RTM) release of Hyper-V, which is available only for the x64 edition of Windows Server 2008 RTM. The initial Windows Server 2008 RTM provided a beta or release candidate (RC) inversion of Hyper-V. Note: If you are using one of these pre-rtm versions of Hyper-V, or did not order Hyper-V with your Windows Server 2008 RTM license, you must download the Hyper-V RTM update from Microsoft. Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and its updates Windows Server 2008, Server Core Installation, with Hyper-V Windows filesystem and system components Windows Cluster support Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) Active Directory Note: Application support often requires a minimum specific service-pack level. The service-pack levels frequently change. The EMC Information Protection Software Compatibility Guide provides the most up-to-date information about which service packs are required for each application. Support for system providers: Microsoft System Provider for use with disks that are directly attached to the host or are part of a hardware array. This includes directly connected disks such as SATA or SCSI and storage arrays, for example, where a hardware provider does not exist or has not been installed. However, the Microsoft System Provider will not take advantage of any features that a storage array can provide including any built-in snapshot capabilities. About NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications 17
Overview Note: The Microsoft System Provider is part of the operating system. The sizes and locations are managed in the Disk Management applet. With EMC VSS Provider: EMC Symmetrix arrays Symmetrix V-MAX arrays Symmetrix DMX arrays EMC CLARiiON arrays Note: When EMC VSS hardware providers are used with VMware ESX 3.5 or ESX 4.0 and Windows guest operating system in NMM clients, set the environment variable VICLIENT_DISABLE_CACHE=1 to disable Virtual Infrastructure Client (VI Client) cache in the NMM clients. EMC Celerra arrays with Celerra VSS Provider Dell EqualLogic PS Series arrays with Dell EqualLogic Integration ToolKit The EMC Information Protection Software Compatibility Guide provides the most up-to-date information about hardware array versions supported and NMM compatibility. Supported and unsupported NetWorker features in NMM The following NetWorker features are supported: Internationalization (I18N) NetWorker cloning and staging to create and manage additional copies of save sets. This NMM support requires the following software: NetWorker 7.6.1.5 or later NetWorker 7.5.4.2 or later Dedicated storage node for LAN-free backups Avamar and Data Domain support for data deduplication Mulithomed environment backup and recovery The following NetWorker features are not supported: Localization (L10N) Manual (adhoc) backups Windows operating system support NMM client supports the following versions of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Windows-related features: Windows Server 2008 R2 (x64) Standard, Enterprise, DataCenter Editions Windows Server 2008 SP2 (x86, x64) Standard, Enterprise, DataCenter Editions Windows Server 2003 R2 (x86, x64) Standard, Enterprise, DataCenter Editions Windows Server 2003 (x86, x64) Standard, Enterprise, DataCenter Editions Windows Storage Server 2003 Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 18 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Overview System state recovery, file servers, and operating system roles including the following: Active Directory DHCP Terminal Services GUID Partition Table disks: No disk size limit on Windows environments with CLARiiON storage (EMC SnapView clone, SnapView snap, and EMC SAN Copy technologies only) Disk size limit of less than 2 TB on Windows environments with Symmetrix storage Note: Windows IA64 editions is not supported. The following Windows features are not supported: BitLocker encryption VSS Hardware Provider based proxy backup of Windows dynamic disks. Single Instance Storage (SIS) NMM can coexist with NetWorker Module for Microsoft Exchange NetWorker Module for Microsoft Exchange (NME) 5.1 SP1 or later and NMM 2.3 can coexist on a server. While NMM can be used to perform database backups by using VSS, NME can be used to perform granular backups, which means individual mailbox and public folder item-level backups. However, make sure not to use both NMM and NME to back up the Exchange database. If NMM is used for backups, NME promotes an incremental database backup to full backup. Note: NME does not support Microsoft Exchange 2010. NMM can coexist with NetWorker Module for Microsoft SQL Server NetWorker Module for Microsoft SQL Server (NMSQL) and NMM 2.3 can coexist on a server. You can back up and recover SharePoint data by using NMM and NMSQL, where NMM 2.3 provides disaster recovery protection for the SharePoint content databases, such as CFG database, SSP web application, and search. The NMM 2.3 Applications Guide provides detailed information. About NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications 19
Overview Supported configurations The NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3, Installation Guide provides detailed information of the following configuration scenarios: Simple LAN-based configuration LAN-based configuration with a proxy client LAN-free configuration LAN-free dedicated storage node configuration The VSS snapshot creation process Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) acts as a coordinator among the following three components that create, modify, back up, and recover data: Requestors Include the NMM backup application. Providers Include the Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider or hardware-based providers such as the EMC VSS Provider. Writers Include writers for operating system data, application data such as the following: Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Microsoft SQL Server data Microsoft Exchange Writer SQL Server Writer System Writer File system volumes such as a D:\ data drive In VSS, NMM is a requestor, that is an application that performs the backup and recovery of applications or services. When a requestor performs a backup or recovery, the following occurs: 1. The requestor asks for information from VSS. 2. VSS reviews the request for validity. 3. VSS sends writer data from multiple application and system writers to the requestor. 4. The requestor tells VSS which writers and volumes to include in the snapshot. Each application and service that supports VSS has its own writer, which understands how the application or service works. After the writer signals that it has prepared the data, the following occurs: 1. The VSS software does the following: a. Directs the writer to freeze input/output (I/O) to the selected volumes. b. Queues transactions for later processing. c. Calls a provider to capture or take a shadow copy of the requested data. 2. The provider does the following: a. Captures the prepared data. b. Creates a snapshot that exists side-by-side with the live volume. 20 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Overview 3. After the snapshot is created: a. The provider signals VSS and this signal tells the writer to resume activity. b. I/O is released to the selected volumes and any queued writes that arrived during the provider's work are processed. Figure 1 on page 21 illustrates the VSS backup process. 4. Requestor asks VSS to create snapshot. Requestor 1. NetWorker software (the requestor) asks VSS to enumerate writers and gether their metadata. 2. Writers provide an XML description of backup components and define the recover method. 5. VSS tells the writers to freeze activity. Writer Writer Writer Writer 7. VSS tells the writers to resume activity. Writer 3. VSS asks which providers can support a snapshot for each of the required volumes. 6. VSS tells the providers to create the snapshot of the current state on disk. Microsoft VSS Software Provider EMC VSS Provider (CLARiiON or Symmetrix) Disk 1 Disk 2 Disk 3 Disk 3 GEN-000188 Figure 1 VSS backup process The following sections provide information on: Providers on page 21 Writers supported by NMM on page 22 Dynamic volume support on page 24 Providers and backup performance on page 24 Providers A provider is used to capture snapshots. One of the following types of providers are available: EMC VSS Hardware Provider, which supports EMC Symmetrix and CLARiiON arrays EMC Celerra VSS Hardware Provider, which supports Celerra arrays Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider The VSS snapshot creation process 21
Overview The Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider is a host-based provider that works with any type of storage hardware. The EMC VSS Hardware Provider works with a CLARiiON or a Symmetrix disk array. Some features of NMM, such as serverless backup (NMM proxy based backups) and rollback recovery, are available only with hardware providers such as the EMC VSS Hardware Provider. The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Installation Guide provides more information about using NMM with a VSS Hardware Provider, including hardware array installation and configuration, and NMM installation and configuration. Note: NMM does not support rollback restore for backups performed by Dell EqualLogic, Celerra, IBM, Microsoft, or any other hardware provider. Only conventional restore and snapshot restore are supported for backups performed by Dell EqualLogic or Celerra hardware. Writers supported by NMM Writers provide information about what data to back up, and specific methods for handling components and applications during backup and recovery. They also identify the type of application or service that is being backed up. If a service or application is present on a system but is not active, information from its writer will not be available. Consequently, a writer can appear or disappear from backup to backup. Table 2 on page 31 lists the writers that are supported for the NMM client. Note: Files located in an FTP directory are not included in a SYSTEM COMPONENTS snapshot. Typically, FTP files are stored by IIS in C:\inetpub. IIS metabase files are configuration files, which are backed up as part of SYSTEM COMPONENTS. The FTP files are content files, and must be backed up separately. Note: Some of the VSS writers appear under Bootable System State in SYSTEM COMPONENTS:\ save set. These writers are listed when the vssadmin list writers command is used at the command prompt. Table 1 Writer type Volumes Currently supported writers Writers supported by NMM A file system path such as D:\data Note: NMM only supports NTFS volumes. It does not support FAT16 and FAT32 volumes. Also, NMM does not support backup of raw volumes. 22 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Overview Table 1 Writer type Microsoft applications Currently supported writers Writers supported by NMM Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) Exchange Server 2003 Exchange Server 2007 Exchange 2010 System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 Distributed File Replication (Windows Server 2003) Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Office SharePoint Server 2007 Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SharePoint 2010 SQL Server 2008 SQL Server 2005 Windows 2008 R2 Windows Server 2008 (Full Installation) with Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 (Server Core Installation) with Hyper-V Windows system components For Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2: Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) COM+ Registration Database (REGDB) Certificate Authority Cluster Database (Windows Server 2003) Cluster Writer (Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Jet Event log File Replication Server (FRS) (Windows Server 2003) File Storage Resource Manager (FSRM) Microsoft Distributed File Replication (Windows Server 2003) IIS Configuration Writer (Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2) IIS Metabase MSSearch Service Writer (Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2) Network Policy and Access Service (NPS) VSS Writer (Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2) NTDS (Active Directory Schema) Registry Removable Storage Manager (RSM) Remote Storage Manager Shadow Copy Optimization Writer (Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2) SQL Embedded (SQL 2005 Express, or SQL 2008 Express, and SQL 2008 R2 Express) Terminal Services Gateway Writer (Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2) Terminal Services Licensing Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) VSS Performance Counters Writer (Windows Server 2008 R2) VSS Task Scheduler Writer (Windows Server 2008 R2) VSS Express Metadata Store Writer (Windows Server 2008 R2) DFS Replication Service Writer (Windows Server 2008 R2) The VSS snapshot creation process 23
Overview Dynamic volume support In Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2: NMM supports snapshots of dynamic volumes that use the Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider. NMM provides software-based support for: Dynamic volume on a single disk. Dynamic volume spanning multiple disk. NMM does not support dynamic volumes in striping. NSR Data Mover parameter is not supported for dynamic volume configuration. For example, hardware-based transportable snapshots are not supported when the dynamic volumes are on CLARiiON storage. NMM will attempt to perform the hardware-based snapshot, but the operation will fail during import of the hardware-based snapshot on the proxy backup host.! IMPORTANT Any attempt to take a hardware-based replica of a dynamic volume will fail, and cause instability in the system. Windows Server 2008 introduces support for local, hardware-based snapshots of dynamic volumes. NMM does not support local, nontransportable, hardware-based snapshots of dynamic volumes on Windows Server 2008. For customer environments where dynamic volumes are provisioned by using a storage array, customers must not install the storage array vendor s VSS provider on the production host. For example, if a dynamic volume was created on a CLARiiON LUN, customers must not install the EMC VSS Hardware Provider on the production host. Providers and backup performance The Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider uses a copy-on-write snapshot technology. Some hardware providers, such as the EMC VSS Hardware Provider, support split-mirror snapshot technology and copy-on-write technology. Although copy-on-write technology requires less hardware resources, split-mirror technology provides better performance. Large or fast-changing databases should not be saved with copy-on-write snapshot technology. The input/output requirements of these databases can cause the copy-on-write cache to overflow and invalidate the snapshot. Additionally, copy-on-write technology cannot match the performance of split-mirror technology. For large or fast-changing databases, use the EMC VSS Hardware Provider in conjunction with EMC hardware to provide a split-mirror storage solution such as a CLARiiON clone or a Symmetrix BCV. 24 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Overview NMM client snapshot policies Backups are configured as scheduled snapshot backups on a NetWorker server 7.5 SP3, 7.6 SP1, and 7.6 SP2. Note: Manual (adhoc) backups, from either the command line or from the NMM client, are not supported. However, you can manually start a scheduled backup at any time. Snapshot backups are specified through a snapshot policy and various settings for the client resource. Snapshot policies and client resources are set up on the NetWorker server by using NMC. Perform either of the following: Specify a preconfigured policy Preconfigured snapshot policies on page 25 provides information. Create a custom snapshot policy Configure snapshot policies on page 48 provides information. Preconfigured snapshot policies The following preconfigured snapshot policies exist: Serverless A single snapshot is taken per day. The data is then rolled over to conventional storage and the snapshot is deleted. This is a simple snapshot policy that can be considered as a default snapshot policy in NMM. Note: The serverless snapshot policy in NMC can be used in true serverless backup operations, as described in Serverless backup on page 26, and can also be used in normal non-serverless operations. Daily The daily snapshot policy in NMC has Retain Snapshots set to eight. This indicates that NMM should keep eight snapshots per day. When the ninth backup starts at the beginning of the next day, the oldest snapshot is deleted, and so on. Each snapshot has 24-hour expiration policy. If you select the daily snapshot policy, persistent snapshots are created. Rollover a snapshot A rollover is the process of creating a conventional backup from a snapshot. Conventional backups include backup to tape, file type, or advanced file type devices. Rollover policies are automatically controlled through snapshot policy settings on the NetWorker server. If necessary, perform a rollover manually by using the NMM GUI: Before recovering a data that currently exists only as a persistent snapshot, roll over the snapshot to tape to protect the data in case the snapshot becomes corrupted during the recovery process. Creating a convention backup copy of the snapshot data. This conventional copy will reside on the device even if the retention deletes the snapshot. NMM client snapshot policies 25
Overview Types of NMM client snapshot backups The NMM client supports three types of snapshot backups: Serverless backup on page 26 Nonpersistent rollover backup on page 27 Instant backup with or without rollover on page 27 Serverless backup Serverless backup is a method of offloading backup procedures from an application server so that the time ordinarily devoted to backup functions can be used to carry out other server tasks. Serverless backup uses an NMM proxy client to move the data from the proxy client to the backup media for a snapshot created on application server host. In this kind of backup, the snapshot is created on the application server and immediately mounted to the proxy client. After the snapshot is created, the application server is not involved in the backup operation. During the rollover, that is backup of the snapshot, the application server is free and all of its resources are available for use. Examples of scenarios when serverless backups are used: When Exchange Server is backed up by using serverless backup, Outlook users can continue to use the application server. Performing serverless backups are also useful when there is additional processing involved in a snapshot backup and is CPU intensive. For example, to help determine whether a snapshot of a Exchange database is consistent, the Exchange utility eseutil is run against the snapshot. Running eseutil can be disk and processor intensive. Using serverless backup helps free resources on the Exchange Server because the backup operation workload from the Exchange Server is offloaded to a proxy client. Serverless or proxy backup is enabled by specifying NSR_DATA_MOVER in the Application Information field of the client resource. Note: Serverless backup is available only with EMC VSS Hardware Providers and is subject to the capabilities of the vendor s hardware. The EMC VSS Provider for CLARiiON and Symmetrix provides the capability to perform serverless backup operations for these storage platforms. Ensure that the operating system version and the service pack or update level used is the same on both, the application server host and proxy host. For example, do not use a Windows Server 2003 system as the proxy mount host for Windows Server 2008 production host, otherwise backup fails. Note: If a production server is a virtual machine, then proxy host should be a physical machine. 26 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Overview Nonpersistent rollover backup Nonpersistent rollover backup means that snapshots are not retained once the backup is rolled over to a conventional backup medium such as tape, file, or advanced file type file type device, or Data Domain device. The snapshot is automatically deleted from the NMM client. The snapshot created is also called a temporary snapshot. For nonpersistent backup, the Retain Snapshots is set to 0 in the Snapshot Policy. Instant backup with or without rollover An instant backup creates a snapshot on a locally mounted storage volume. During the period the snapshot resides on a mounted storage disk volume, it is referred to as a persistent snapshot. Retention of persistent snapshots on a mounted storage disk volume enables the user to perform an instant recovery. The number of persistent snapshots that can be retained locally depends on the snapshot policy and the available disk storage. Depending on how the backups are configured, a snapshot that is created during an instant backup may be configured to rollover to a backup media. For persistent backup with or without rollover, the Retain Snapshots is set to any non-zero value in the Snapshot Policy. Types of NMM client recoveries There are three types of recoveries: Conventional recovery on page 27 Instant recovery on page 28 Rollback recovery on page 28 By default, recoveries are performed from a conventional backup. If a conventional backup is not available for the selected browse time, an instant recovery is performed. The default recovery method can be specified in the NetWorker recovery options dialog box. Instant recoveries are performed with persistent snapshots. NetWorker recovery options on page 103 provides more information about these recovery methods. Conventional recovery A conventional recovery consists of recovering data that has already been rolled over to a backup media. Conventional recoveries support the same level of item selection as do instant recoveries. Types of NMM client recoveries 27
Overview Instant recovery Instant recoveries are performed with persistent snapshots. An instant recovery can take less time to complete than a conventional recovery because the snapshot is available on a mounted disk storage volume rather than on a conventional backup medium. Instant recoveries support the selection of individual files in a file system snapshot. Additionally, instant recoveries support the selection of individual components at whatever level of granularity is supported by the application writer. If the persistent snapshot is created by using a proxy client, the snapshot file system on the proxy client is read to restore the files. In this way, performance is improved even further because the job of processing the snapshot for recovery is off-loaded from the NMM client production host to the proxy client. The procedure to perform an instant recovery of file system data differs if only a persistent snapshot is available. Chapter 6, Windows System Backup and Recovery, provides more information about performing recoveries. Note: When performing an instant recovery, the snapshot may become invalidated. This can occur if the snapshot is based on copy-on-write technology. If a large amount of data is recovered to the original volume, the cache may overflow. This is true for the Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider and for hardware providers that use copy-on-write technology, such as CLARiiON snapview snapshot and Symmetrix virtual devices. Rollback recovery A rollback recovery is the process of returning data volumes to an earlier point in time. The entire contents of a persistent snapshot are recovered during a rollback recovery. The user cannot select individual components in a rollback recovery operation. A rollback recovery is the fastest way to recover the contents of a persistent snapshot. A rollback recovery is known as a "destructive" recovery because all changes that were made to the file systems after the selected snapshot was taken are overwritten. For example, suppose that a snapshot of a database is taken every hour. At 5:30 p.m., it is determined that the database is corrupt and that the last known consistent database snapshot was taken at 5:00 p.m. When the database host is rolled back to the 5:00 p.m. snapshot, all database transactions between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. are overwritten. To perform a rollback operation, the following requirements must be met: The snapshot to be rolled back must reside on a CLARiiON or Symmetrix storage system that is supported with the EMC VSS Provider. The NMM client to which the snapshot is to be rolled back must be supported with a proxy client and the snapshot must have been created by using a proxy client. The nested mount points on file systems are dismounted prior to performing the rollback restore. The Microsoft Exchange checkbox titled This database can be overwritten by a restore is selected for each Exchange 2003 and 2007 database that is to be recovered. This checkbox can be found by using the Exchange Manager console for Exchange 2010 application. 28 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide
Overview Stop the SQL services for instance that are hosted on the volume which is being rolled back. NMM does not support rollback restore that is performed with Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider, Dell EqualLogic, or Celerra hardware. Only conventional restore is supported for those hardware products. Distributed Link Tracking Client must be turned off during rollback, or else dismount will fail. Turn off the Distributed Link Tracking Client in Windows Services before starting rollback. The Microsoft software VSS provider must not be running during rollback, or else dismount will fail. The SYSTEM process must not be running during rollback, or else dismount will fail. The SYSTEM process leaves the volume open when there are software shadow copies on the volume. To ensure that the volumes are not open, delete any shadow copies on the volumes that are being rolled back. Storage array descriptor file A storage array descriptor file, sa.ini, contains information about the storage arrays connected to the proxy client Data Mover. The sa.ini file is created with the nsr_sa_ini.exe utility and placed in the nsr\res directory on the NMM client host. nsr_sa_ini.exe prompts you for information about the storage arrays connected to the proxy client. The required inputs are different for CLARiiON and Symmetrix: For a CLARiiON storage array, you must provide an array username and password. When you complete the entries for a CLARiiON sa.ini file, the password string is encrypted when you save the file. Sample CLARiiON sa.ini file on page 30 provides an example of the entries in this file. For a Symmetrix storage array, the sa.ini file has fewer parameters. You do not need an account name, password, or IP address. Sample Symmetrix sa.ini file on page 30 provides an example of the entries in this file. To create a storage array descriptor file: 1. At the command line, type: nsr_sa_ini.exe 2. Follow the prompts to provide the array information. Note: Even though the utility appears to allow you to type credentials for more than one storage array, only the first one will be used by NMM. You must create a separate sa.ini for each storage array. When you have completed typing the array information, the file is saved to the nsr\res directory on the NMM client host.! IMPORTANT Do not edit the sa.ini file with a text editor to make changes in the array parameters. Using a text editor can corrupt the file, or compromise the password entries. Use the nsr_sa_ini.exe tool to edit the sa.ini file if you need to make changes after you create it. Types of NMM client recoveries 29
Overview Example 1 Sample CLARiiON sa.ini file A sample sa.ini file for a CLARiiON storage array would look similar to the following: [Storage_Array] Storage_Array_Count=2 Storage_Array_1=APM00052106710 [APM00052106710] Array_Type=CLARiiON Array_model=CX500 Array_user=sbarma Array_pass=**** Array_pass_confirm=**** Array_SPA=122.222.111.128 Array_SPB=122.222.111.129 Example 2 Sample Symmetrix sa.ini file A sample sa.ini file for a Symmetrix storage array would look similar to the following: [Storage_Array] Storage_Array_Count=1 Storage_Array_1=000187461273 [000187461273] Array_Type=Symmetrix Array_Sid=000187461276 Array_Model=1000P-M2 Full and granular backup and recovery for applications NMM provides full and granular backup and recovery for most applications: Full disaster backup and recovery The entire volume or database for that application is backed up, and the entire volume or database is recovered as a whole. In disaster backup and recovery, you cannot select individual items for backup and recovery. Full backup and recovery is used for disaster recovery. Granular backup and recovery In granular backup, individual items can be selected for backup and in granular recovery, individual items can be selected for recovery. For some applications, granular recovery of items requires that the items be specified for a granular backup. For other applications, items cannot be specified for backup at a granular level, but can be selected for granular recovery from the full backup. 30 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Release 2.3 Administration Guide