Microsoft volume shadow copy service, Supported vss components – HP 3PAR Recovery Manager Software User Manual
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Creation of virtual copy on System Boot Volume
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Windows automount feature
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Automatic Recovery for File Copy and Volume restores for SCC
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Performing a mount, an unmount, or a restore function in RDM (Raw Device Mapping) disk
and passthrough disk
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Date customizing: HP 3PAR Recovery Manager always displays dates in month/day/year
format
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(For Exchange 2007) Exchange CCR volumes in a Remote Copy volume group
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(For Exchange 2007) HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage System mounts on a different storage system
(includes CCR dual HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage System configurations)
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(For Exchange 2007) VSS snapshot backup for Standby Cluster Replication (SCR) node
NOTE:
HP 3PAR Recovery Manager for Exchange does not support Storage Groups (For Exchange
2007) and Mailbox databases (For Exchange 2010/ Exchange 2013) having special characters
in their names
Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service
Microsoft includes VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) in Windows to simplify the enterprise’s
storage environment. It provides a framework for creating a point-in-time copy of either a single
volume or multiple volumes.
Microsoft Windows Server VSS works with the VSS-aware applications that are in use to determine
when a volume shadow copy (snapshot) can be made. (A snapshot is a virtual copy: a copy of
some data set, for example, a disk volume, at a point in time.) VSS then communicates with the
operating system and applications and freezes I/O to the storage system to allow snapshot creation
(without the freeze function, data could become inconsistent when the snapshot is taken because
the system might be in the middle of a task). Meanwhile, applications continue to run uninterrupted.
The original volume continues to change as the process continues, but the shadow copy of the
volume remains constant. VSS also gives permission to the backup application to access the volume
and back it up in its frozen state. The shadow copy volume is then used for the actual backup.
After VSS saves the shadow copy volume on the backup device, it deletes the shadow copy.
VSS coordinates between Requestors (backup applications such as HP 3PAR Recovery Manager),
Writers, and Providers (components that create the shadow copies).
Table 1 VSS Components
VSS Component Description
VSS Component
The requestor is backup software that initiates the creation
of the shadow copy.
Requestor
The writer is any application software that participates in
the shadow copy process and whose files and data are
included in the process.
Writer
The provider is the storage technology that does the actual
shadow copy.
Provider
Supported VSS Components
VSS components currently supported by HP 3PAR VSS Provider for Microsoft Windows include:
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Requestor
HP 3PAR Recovery Manager
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Symantec NetBackup for Microsoft Windows
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Overview of HP 3PAR Recovery Manager