Tandberg Data Viking FS-412, Viking FS-1600 Backup & Shadow Copies, Shadow Copy Transport, 4-21

Tandberg DataShadow Copy Service

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4.9.Backup & Shadow Copies

As mentioned previously, Shadow Copies are only available on the network via the client application and only at a file or folder level as opposed to the entire volume. Hence the standard backup associated with a volume backup will not work to back up the previous versions of the file system. To answer this particular issue, Shadow Copies are available for back up in two situations. If the backup software in question supports the use of Shadow Copies and can communicate with underlying block device, it is supported and the previous version of the file system will be listed in the backup application as a complete file system snapshot. Lastly, if the built in backup application NTbackup is utilized, the backup software forces a snapshot and then uses the snapshot as the means for backup. The user is unaware of this activity and it is not self evident although it does address the issue of open files.

4.10. Shadow Copy Transport

Shadow Copy Transport provides the ability to transport data on a Storage Area Network (SAN). With a storage array and a VSS-aware hardware provider, it is possible to create a shadow copy on one server and import it on another server. This process, essentially “virtual” transport, is accomplished in a matter of minutes, regardless of the size of the data.

Notes

Shadow copy transport is supported only on Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Windows Storage Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition. It is an advanced solution that works only if it has a hardware provider on the storage array.

A shadow copy transport can be used for a number of purposes, including:

•Tape backups

An alternative to traditional backup to tape processes is transport of shadow copies from the production server onto a backup server, where they can then be backed up to tape. Like the other two alternatives, this option removes backup traffic from the production server. While some backup applications might be designed with the hardware provider software that enables transport, others are not. The administrator should determine whether or not this functionality is included in the backup application.

•Data mining

The data in use by a particular production server is often useful to different groups or departments within an organization. Rather than add additional traffic to the production server, a shadow copy of the data can be made available through transport to another server. The shadow copy can then be processed for different purposes, without any performance impact on the original server.

4-21 Tandberg Viking Series Storage Server Administration Manual