Configuration: Premium Feature—Snapshot Virtual Disks 151
Preparing Host Servers to Create the Snapshot Using the Advanced Path
NOTE: Before using the Snapshot Virtual Disks Premium Feature in a Microsoft®
Windows® clustered configuration, you must first map the snapshot virtual disk to
the cluster node that owns the source virtual disk. This ensures that the cluster
nodes correctly recognize the snapshot virtual disk.
NOTE: Mapping the snapshot virtual disk to the node that does not own the source
virtual disk before the Snapshot enabling process is completed can result in the
operating system mis-identifying the snapshot virtual disk. This, in turn, can result in
data loss on the source virtual disk or an inaccessible snapshot.
NOTE: For details on mapping the snapshot virtual disk to the secondary node,
refer to the Dell™ PowerVault™ MD3200i and MD3220i Storage Arrays With
Microsoft® Windows Server® Failover Clusters on support.dell.com/manuals.
The destination of a snapshot repository virtual disk is determined based on
the free capacity available in the disk group. A snapshot repository virtual disk
requires a minimum 8 MB of free capacity. You can choose your preferred
creation path—simple or advanced—if the disk group of the source virtual
disk has the required amount of free space.
If 8 MB of free capacity is not available in the disk group of the source virtual
disk, the Create Snapshot Virtual Disks feature defaults to the advanced path
(see "Creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk Using the Advanced Path" on
page 149). In the advanced path option, you can choose to place the snapshot
repository virtual disk in another disk group or you can use unconfigured
capacity on the storage array to create a new disk group.
NOTE: You can create concurrent snapshots of a source virtual disk on both the
source disk group and on another disk group.
Before creating a Snapshot Virtual Disk:
• The following types of virtual disks are not valid source virtual disks:
snapshot repository virtual disks, snapshot virtual disks, target virtual disks
that are participating in a virtual disk copy.
NOTE: Virtual Disk Copy is an Advanced (Premium) feature.
• You cannot create a snapshot of a virtual disk that contains unreadable
sectors.
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