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Folder and share management, Shadow copy transport – HP ProLiant DL380 G5-Storage-Server User Manual

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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. If the

built-in backup application NTbackup is used, the backup software forces a snapshot, and then uses

the snapshot as the means for back up. The user is unaware of this activity and it is not self-evident

although it does address the issue of open files.

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.

NOTE:

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.

The transport process is accomplished through a series of DISKRAID command steps:

1.

Create a shadow copy of the source data on the source server (read-only).

2.

Mask off (hide) the shadow copy from the source server.

3.

Unmask the shadow copy to a target server.

4.

Optionally, clear the read-only flags on the shadow copy.

The data is now ready to use.

Folder and share management

The HP ProLiant Storage Server supports several file-sharing protocols, including DFS, NFS, FTP, HTTP,

and Microsoft SMB. This section discusses overview information as well as procedures for the setup

and management of the file shares for the supported protocols. Security at the file level and at the

share level is also discussed.

NOTE:

Detailed information on setting up and managing NFS and NCP shares is discussed in

Microsoft

Services for Network File System (MSNFS)

.

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File server management