snapcreator design help required [ Edited ]

[#1]

Hi,

I have a lotus domino 8 environment on linux.I plan to use snacreator3.6 for backing it up.

I would require help in designing the strategy.

a) does the agent have to be installed directly on the linux domino server or can it be installed on another machine say a windows machine?

b) the document says "The change information must be stored on a volume that is not a part of the Snapshot copy" what do you mean by that?

c) also the document says "When the databases are quiesced, all the changes to the databases are stored in a temporary area known as change info" would the change info be a completely different volume?

[#2]

Rakesh,

I'll be happy to help.

To answer your questions:

A) Yes - the agent must be installed on the linux Domino server - this is because the Domino APIs are part of the Domino plug-in present in the Snap Creator agent.  These APIs need to be called on the same system where Domino is located.

B) When you select your volumes it is recommended to NOT add the change information volume to the list of volumes you are capturing as part of the snapshot copy.

Instead you can snapshot this volume using ONTAP scheduling (snap sched) or you can create an additional configuration that just takes a snapshot of this volume.

C) This is the same information addressed in B above.  It is recommended for this to be a completely different volume that any of the Domino volumes.

The reason is that the change information is applied during RESTORE.  If you have the change information on your data volume a volume restore would overwrite the very data that you need in order to create an application consistent restore.  That is also why we recommend that the volume not be part of the same snapshot set and the Domino data that we discussed in B. 

Slightly related - if you are just now implementing we suggest using Snap Creator 3.6 P1 - This patch release addresses some scheduler bugs as well as other small bugs.  See details and grab the latest version at:  http://support.netapp.com/NOW/download/software/snapcreator_framework/3.6P1/

Hope this helps - please feel free to ask any additional questions.

John

[#3]

Hi John,

a) As an expert what do you recommend for snapcreator , do you recommend a windows dominos server or a linux domino  server , i know the pain for mounting the volumes on a linux server( i mean for restore).

2) And also the domino linux server is managed by a different team , so is it possible once i install the agent on the linux server  will I be able to manage just the backup and restore part remotely.

3) As you have stated above that i need a different volume for the change info ( what will be the sizing of this volume/lun) and also the changeinfo configuration part does it requite some configuration on the linux side or is it completely on the snapcreator side.

4) Also the restore does it have to be a different volume or can it be set on the changeinfo volume.

[#4]

Rakesh,

It really is less about operating system and more about protocol.

Both Snap Creator and Domino really don't care much about the host OS.

Snap Creator 3.6 can do all backup and restore operations with the Domino plug-in through the NFS protocol.

However, when using block based protocol (FC or iSCSI) the Domino plug-in can only perform single file restore operations through the CLI and it is necessary to mount/unmount a snapshot or clone outside of Snap Creator. 

So, to your above:

a) Doesn't matter, but NFS protocol offers the most full features in the Snap Creator GUI.

If using NFS no mounting is needed, but if using iSCSI or FC you will need to manually mount a snapshot.

If you have the option, then this really depends what you are more comfortable with OS wise

2) Once the agent is installed the backup and restore operations can be managed through the GUI.  If using iSCSI/FC you may need to mount/unmount a snapshot and run Snap Creator through the CLI, but you can do this on a different Domino server if that is an option for your environment.

3) Sizing is managed much like the sizing for the Domino transaction log volume - you will need to monitor for the first few days.

It is very difficult to suggest sizing as each environment is different and it depends on the utilization of this particular server.

If you are not using archive logging this can be a fairly small volume as we are only storing the data that changes between quiesce/unquiesce - typically a few kb per database.  If you are using archive style transactional logging you wil also be storing .txn files in the change info volume to allow restores during your retention period.

4) restore needs to be performed on the same volume where the Domino data is located - most customers typically restore to a subdirectory of the Domino data directory so they can share a link to the restored file to the end user. 

Feel free to let me know if you have additional questions.

Thanks,

John

[#5]

Thank you for your help with this John i appreciate it.

a) Moreover i would like to know the document says snapdrive has to be installed.Is this for true for linux systems too.

b) I am not using snapdrive as of now, however do i have to disconnect the existing luns and connect them using snapdrive or once i install it , will it detect the underlying netapp storage

c) the document also talks about agent and snap creator server , are these separate installs or the same installer covers everything? and can the components be installed differently , i mean the agent on the domino linux server and the server admin part on a windows server taking into account i use iscsi and not nfs

[#6]

Rakesh,

a) Can you let me know what document you are referring to?

I am guessing that you are referring to TR-4009 where I walk through the steps of performing a Single File Restore in a SAN environment.

SnpDrive is NOT required to be installed - This is just the method that I choose to illustrate.

You may use any method you wish to use in order to mount a snapshot to a mount point and copy a file.

You may use SnapDrive for Windows/Unix if you want to, but it is not required.

The steps for single file restore in SAN environment are basically:

     1) mount snapshot/clone

     2) copy files to directory/volume managed by Snap Creator

     3) run Snap Creator via CLI

     4) unmount snapshot/clone

b) If you want to use SnapDrive to mount the luns you can do so - it is not necessary to disconnect/reconnect the existing luns unless you want to

c) Snap Creator Server and Agent are two different pieces, but they are included in the same download package.

With Windows when you install you are given options to install Server, Agent, or both.

With *nix you get a single zipped file - when it is unzipped it contains subdirectories for both server and agent - install and configure whichever one you need.

Yes - you can have the Snap Creator server on Windows and the Snap Creator Agent on Linux. 

There are several videos here on the community site that cover install and configuration of Snap Creator:  https://communities.netapp.com/community/products_and_solutions/databases_and_enterprise_apps/snapcreator/content?filterID=content~objecttype~objectty...

They might help.

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Thanks!

John

[#7]

Hi John,

The document is 215-06886_ B0.pdf

This is what was i was referring to in the document.

"

Performing single file restore with block protocols for Domino

With Snap Creator 3.6.0, you can apply change information to a restore that is performed outside of

Snap Creator. This custom action allows for all the functionality of the built-in restore functions of

the Domino plug-in.

Before you begin

You must have installed SnapDrive.

About this task

Using the custom action involves the following steps:

1. Mounting a Snapshot copy using SnapDrive for Windows

2. Copying the required file from the Snapshot copy to the volume managed by Snap Creator

3. Running Snap Creator with the custom action

Also for single file restore, say can I mount the volume on a windows server (* but the agent is installed on the linux domino server ) and then extraxt the db and copy it over to the linux server(* and as i said i use iSCSi not NFS)

[#8 · Accepted solution]

Rakesh -

I have no idea what that document number is

I'm pretty sure it is TR-4009 though.

For that particular example, since I was using SnapDrive SnapDrive must be installed.

I'll work on clarifying that next time I do a revision. 

SnapDrive was required in the example, but you are welcome to use any method to mount a snapshot and copy the desired file.

Thanks for the feedback.

Yes - you can mount the volume on any server and copy it over.

The file MUST be present in the location specified in the Domino Restore Path in the configuration file used with the Domino plug-in.

Then run Snap Creator using the --custom action on the command line.

Hope this helps!

John