Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management

Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management

Contact Actifio Support As an Actifio customer, you can get support for all Actifio products through the Support Portal at http://support.actifio.com/. Copyright, Trademarks, and other Legal Matter 2014 Actifio, Inc. All rights reserved. Actifio, AnyIT, Dedup Async, and VDP are registered trademarks of Actifio, Inc. Manage Data Simply, Virtual Data Pipeline, Protection and Availability Storage Platform, PAS, Copy Data Storage Platform, CDS, and Actifio Sky are trademarks of Actifio, Inc. All other brands and product names for goods and/or services mentioned herein are trademarks or property of their respective owners. Actifio believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. Actifio reserves the right to make changes to information published in this document, including without limitation specifications and product descriptions, at any time and without notice. This document supersedes and replaces all information supplied prior to the publication hereof. THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS IS. ACTIFIO, INC. 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. This software and the associated documentation are proprietary and confidential to Actifio. Use, copying, and distribution of any Actifio software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. Any unauthorized use or reproduction of this software and the documentation may be subject to civil and/or criminal liability. Actifio strives to produce quality documentation and welcomes your feedback. Please send comments and suggestions to docs@actifio.com. Rev. CDS610 ii Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management actifio.com

Contents Purpose...1 Actifio Data Virtualization...1 Virtual Data Pipeline...2 Capturing Data...3 Capture Mechanisms...3 VMware API Calls...3 The Actifio Connector...4 Managing Microsoft SQL Server Data...5 Management Options...6 Managing Individual and Groups of Databases...6 Consistency Groups...6 Managing a VM s Databases and Boot Volume...6 Managing Entire VMware and Hyper-V VMs...7 Replicating Data...7 Accessing Data...8 Mounts...8 Clones...8 LiveClones...8 Workflows...9 Restores...9 About Actifio...9 actifio.com Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management iii

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Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management October 2014 Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a high-level overview of basic Actifio concepts and procedures used to manage Microsoft SQL Server databases. Actifio Data Virtualization Actifio Copy Data Virtualization introduces data virtualization technology into the management of copy data in both physical and virtual environments. The Actifio solution is SLA-driven and decouples data management from storage, network, and server infrastructure. The result is a single, radically simple solution that can dramatically reduce costs and efficiently manage all copies of production data for backup, disaster recovery, test, development or any other application that requires a copy of the data. Actifio provides a comprehensive and efficient solution for managing Microsoft SQL Server environments. actifio.com Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management 1

Virtual Data Pipeline Actifio created Virtual Data Pipeline (VDP) technology to virtualize production data copy management, eliminating redundancies and re-purposing the unique data for multiple applications. VDP efficiently captures a copy of changed data from Microsoft SQL Server databases allowing for direct access to the data from the Actifio solution, without any data movement. The Virtual Data Pipeline is a distributed object file system, virtualizing the core primitives of data management: copy, store, move, and access. This technology allows the instant creation of virtual copies of point-in-time data from the collection of unique blocks of data. A single solution can now be deployed to replace one or more of backup software, disaster recovery, business continuity, or test and development tools and can be used as a platform for search, compliance and analytics tools. The resulting simplicity of operations and reduction in infrastructure significantly drives down capital and operational costs.. Figure 1 Virtual Data Pipeline 2 Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management actifio.com

Capturing Data When capturing and moving Microsoft SQL Server data, production data is typically controlled by a non-actifio storage controller on your existing storage arrays. The Actifio appliance moves and manages the Microsoft SQL Server data separately from where Microsoft SQL Server writes its primary storage. As shown in Figure 2, an Actifio appliance manages copy data by presenting a staging disk. That staging disk maintains a golden copy of the application s historical data that is managed using Actifio snapshots. When capturing data: Figure 2 Actifio Data Capture A staging disk is automatically created and mounted on a server via Fibre Channel or iscsi. An initial full copy is made to the staging disk. Subsequent copies consist only of incremental change blocks. The staging disk is unmounted from the server. A snapshot of the staging disk is made on the Actifio appliance. Actifio offers an alternate configuration where production data storage is controlled by an Actifio appliance. With this approach snapshots and changed-block tracking are native to the Actifio appliance and the Actifio appliance is placed in the data path between the SAN and the application host. This approach to data control is known as In-Band. Capture Mechanisms An Actifio appliance captures data by making an initial full copy of the data, then making copies of incremental changes. This capability requires the ability to track and capture the changes that occur between capture operations. To track those changes the Actifio appliance uses either the Actifio Connector or VMware API calls. VMware API Calls An Actifio appliance can take advantage of VMware API for data protection (VAPP) calls to capture an entire virtual server. Specifically, the API calls can: Perform change block tracking - Makes an initial full snapshot of a database, then going forward only snapshots the changes to the database thereby enabling Actifio s incremental forever capture strategy. Quiesce applications - Ensures application consistency during capture. When an entire virtual server is managed, a fully functional virtual server (operating system, applications, and their data) is captured. Having a copy of the entire virtual server guarantees that the data can be accessed fast and without issues. Because the image presented is a fully functional virtual server, if needed, it may be started and run from an Actifio appliance directly and then optionally migrated to a new, permanent location. Virtual servers and their applications may be grouped and captured with a single SLA. actifio.com Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management 3

The Actifio Connector The Actifio Connector is used to manage selected Microsoft SQL Server databases. The Actifio Connector is a smallfootprint, lightweight service that may be installed on either virtual or physical servers. The Actifio Connector takes advantage of Microsoft SQL Server VSS Writer (SqlServerWriter) for discovery, capture, and access operations. SqlServerWriter is installed by default on most Microsoft SQL Servers. The Actifio Connector provides a more granular management capability than what is provided by VMware API calls. It allows you to: capture selected Microsoft SQL Server databases, capture databases that cannot be snapped by VMware, manage Microsoft SQL Server clusters. It offers more options for handling individual Microsoft SQL Server database transaction logs. Specifically, the Actifio Connector: Discovers applications Quiesces applications Identifies changes to application data for Actifio s incremental forever capture strategy. Manages databases in clustered Microsoft SQL Server deployments. Captures and manages transaction logs: o o o Manages Microsoft SQL Server database(s) and logs with one SLA Truncates Microsoft SQL Server database transaction logs Rolls Microsoft SQL Server database transaction logs forward for point-in-time recovery when accessing virtual copies. If multiple databases are resident on a server, a single SLA may be applied to multiple applications. For VMware VMs, the Actifio Connector captures databases that are on prdms and vrdms and avoids virtual server stun issues. For Hyper-V Servers, the Actifio Connector enables capture of entire Hyper-V VMs. 4 Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management actifio.com

Managing Microsoft SQL Server Data Managing Microsoft SQL Server copy data consists of four simple steps: 1. Discover servers and clusters that host Microsoft SQL Server databases. 2. Discover VMs and Microsoft SQL Server databases. For Microsoft SQL Server failover instances, use the active node for the Microsoft SQL Server failover instance to discover all the databases in that instance. 3. Define Actifio Policy Templates and Resource Profiles according to your RPOs and RTOs. Databases that use the Microsoft SQL Server Full Recovery Model can take advantage of Actifio LogSmart technology. Actifio LogSmart technology allows you to define a single policy to capture both the database and its logs. Because LogSmart captures both the database and its logs, a managed database can be recovered to a point in time by rolling its logs forward via the Actifio appliance s user interface. 4. Assign Actifio Policy Templates and Resource Profiles to Microsoft SQL databases. actifio.com Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management 5

Management Options When managing Microsoft SQL Server data, you may manage: Individual and groups of databases on physical or virtual servers Microsoft SQL Server databases on a VM along with the VM s boot volume Entire VMs Managing Individual and Groups of Databases The Actifio Connector is used to manage individual and groups of databases on physical and virtual servers. Figure 3 Managing Individual or Groups of Databases Installing the Actifio Connector on a physical server or VM allows you to create a single policy to capture all databases on the server or several policies to manage groups of databases. Consistency Groups A consistency group is a group of databases that are quiesced and captured together via a single policy. As the name implies, consistency groups ensure consistent point-in-time capture and recovery across multiple databases. If Actifio LogSmart is enabled on the policy, then all databases in that group may be recovered to the same point-in-time. Recovery and rolling forward of the logs for all databases in the group is performed via the Actifio user interface with a single action. In addition to making capture and recovery operations easy and fast, consistency groups consume fewer system resources. Managing a VM s Databases and Boot Volume When managing databases on VMs you have the option of also capturing the VM s boot volume. When a VM s boot volume is captured along with its databases, if needed, an image can be presented that is a fully functional database and VM. The image may then be migrated to a new, permanent location. 6 Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management actifio.com

Managing Entire VMware and Hyper-V VMs To manage entire VMware VMs, the Actifio appliance takes advantage of VMware APIs. To manage entire Hyper-V VMs, the Actifio appliance uses an Actifio Connector installed on the Hyper-V server. Figure 4 Managing Entire VMs Note: An Actifio Sky appliance is a VMware VM and may be on the same ESX server as the VMs it manages. Replicating Data Data replication has traditionally been an inhibitor to efficient data management in a geographically distributed environment. Actifio has addressed this inhibitor by leveraging its global deduplication and compression capabilities to provide the industry s first Dedup Async replication solution. Figure 5 Dedup Async Flow Dedup Async replication provides asynchronous data replication but moves globally deduplicated and compressed data over the network. The Dedup Async protocol data flow consists of: 1. Takes a snapshot of the physical or virtual server or databases. 2. Deduplicate and compress only the incremental block-level changes since the last cycle. 3. Replicate the new globally unique compressed blocks to a disaster recovery site. 4. Rehydrate the new unique blocks to ready the entire dataset for a failover condition or other remote use. actifio.com Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management 7

The Dedup Async approach has all of the benefits of asynchronous storage replication but only uses a fraction of the bandwidth required with traditional replication technologies. It also provides application consistent replicated copies at the remote site and shortens recovery time by avoiding the need for integrity checking that is typically performed with a crash-consistent copy. Actifio also delivers more traditional robust, efficient, and scalable synchronous and asynchronous data replication technology that not only drives down overall network usage but also eliminates the need for a dedicated WAN accelerator/optimizer. Actifio replication does not require storage array vendor licenses as data is sent from one Actifio appliance to another. Actifio replication is heterogeneous from any supported array to any supported array: Tier 1 to Tier 2 and/or Vendor A to Vendor B. Actifio replication preserves write-order, even across multiple LUNs in a consistency group. Actifio replication is fully integrated with VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) and Actifio Resiliency Director. Accessing Data For Microsoft SQL Server databases that use the Full Recovery Model, the Actifio appliance, thanks to its LogSmart capabilities, can instantly present a copy of the database rolled forward to a specific point of time. The roll forward operation is performed from the Actifio appliance s user interface. For Microsoft SQL Server databases that use the Simple Recovery Model, the Actifio appliance can instantly present the most recent backup of the database. Since the Simple Recovery Model does not include transaction logs, the database cannot be recovered to a specific point in time. Regardless of the Microsoft SQL Server recovery model used, Microsoft SQL Server data may be accessed via a Fibre Channel or iscsi interface, just as if accessing a traditional storage system. Captured data may be accessed in the following ways: Mounts The Actifio mount function provides instant access to data without moving data. Captured copies of databases can be rolled forward via the Actifio user interface and mounted on any database server. Clones The clone function is used to create an independent copy of a data set. The most common uses are: application development and testing, data audit for compliance, data warehousing, e-discovery, and user acceptance testing. Physical server or VM application-consistent data sets can be copied to a separate storage location anywhere in your environment. Like any other VM, a VM clone may be migrated to a new storage location. LiveClones The LiveClone is similar to the Clone function, however, when a refreshed copy of the data is available, LiveClone allows an independent copy of a data set to be mounted, and then refreshes the primary data with the independent copy. This allows teams such as development and test to ensure they are working on the latest set of data without having to manually manage the data. 8 Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management actifio.com

Workflows Workflows allow you to manage your data s life cycle by building and maintaining development and testing environments with the latest copies of production data. Workflows are built with Snapshots of production data and presented as LiveClones. Third party tools can be used (if needed) to mask sensitive data. A virtual copy of the masked LiveClone can then be made available to a development or testing group. Updates to the production snapshot and the LiveClone are scheduled by the Actifio appliance. How and when an updated LiveClone is re-masked is determined by the third-party tool. Figure 6 Workflow With Masked Data Restores The restore function reverts the production data to a specified point in time. Restores and clones are the only data access operations that actually move data. Typically restore operations are performed to restore a database to a valid state after a massive data corruption or storage array failure. The amount of time required to complete a restore operation depends on the amount of data involved. Note: Actifio provides the flexibility to restore Microsoft SQL Server databases to the original Microsoft SQL Server or to an alternate server. To restore to an alternate server, the Actifio Connector must be installed on the alternate server before initiating the restore operation. To restore a database and then apply logs, the restored database must be in Restoring Mode. Actifio s LogSmart functionality allows you to, from the Actifio user interface, restore the database in Restoring Mode and then roll the logs forward to a specific point in time. If you restore the database through the Actifio user interface without specifying Restore with no Recovery, the database will be restored, brought on line without applying logs. About Actifio Actifio is radically simple copy data management. Our copy data management lets businesses manage and recover anything instantly, for up to 90 percent less. Actifio eliminates siloed data protection applications, virtualizing data management to deliver an application-centric, SLA-driven solution that decouples the management of data from storage, network, and server infrastructure. Actifio has helped liberate IT organizations and service providers of all sizes from vendor lock-in and the management challenges associated with exploding data growth. Actifio is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with offices around the world. For more information, please visit www.actifio.com or email info@actifio.com. actifio.com Redefining Microsoft SQL Server Data Management 9

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