Tandberg Data NAS Hardware Viking FS-1500 - Manual (Page 59)

Tandberg Data Shadow Copy Service
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4-21 Tandberg Viking Series Storage Server Administration Manual
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.