Maico,
Here are the answers to your questions:
1. SharePoint Web Front End servers do not need SnapDrive installed. The SMSP Agent creates a backup of the SharePoint components on the WFEs by streaming the data to the SMSP Backup Index LUN which is connected to the SMSP Management host.
A SharePoint Search Server will have SnapDrive installed on it to store the SharePoint Search index files. If the SharePoint Search Index files are not on a NetApp LUN, then you cannot backup the SharePoint search database. The search database and the search index are backed up as a set.
2. SMSP can backup FAST. SMSP will still work.
3. SMSP Manager should use a LUN to store Backup Index metadata and the streamed backups of the WFE data. Installing SnapDrive on this LUN helps facilitate the management of this LUN. The SMSP Manager communicates with the SMSP Agents (Control and Member). The SMSP Member agent communicates with SnapDrive and SMSQL to help create a backup depending on how the SMSP backup plan is configured.
4. The SMSP Media server should use a LUN for the RBS Index if you are using Archiver. If you use a LUN for the Archiver RBS Index, then you will need SnapDrive so that this LUN will be backed up via snapshot.
5. In some smaller configurations, you can have the SMSP Management server and the SMSP Media server be on the same host. You can also have multiple media servers.
6. The media server should be located near to the primary storage where the SharePoint databases are stored. The media server also plays the role in indexing the backup of the SharePoint content databases. If you are using SMSP Archiver, you will need the media server located near the databases because the data path for the Archiver involves the BLOBs going from the WFEs through the media server and then stored on the RBS Store CIFS share. Extender does not rely on the media service to externalize BLOBs to a CIFS share.
Thanks,
Mark
