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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

Windows automount feature

Automatic Recovery for File Copy and Volume restores for SCC

Performing a mount, an unmount, or a restore function in RDM (Raw Device Mapping) disk
and passthrough disk

Date customizing: HP 3PAR Recovery Manager always displays dates in month/day/year
format

(For Exchange 2007) Exchange CCR volumes in a Remote Copy volume group

(For Exchange 2007) HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage System mounts on a different storage system
(includes CCR dual HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage System configurations)

(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:

Requestor

HP 3PAR Recovery Manager

Symantec NetBackup for Microsoft Windows

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Overview of HP 3PAR Recovery Manager