Hyper-V - Should I use volume snapshots or SnapManager for Hyper-V, whats the difference?

[ALEXWILDEN]

We have in the past had issues with our existing snapshots which are at a volume level (CSV data) on our filers - in that the data has been corrupted previously and was inconsistent.

What is the recommended process for snapshots of CSV data where our VMs are stored?

Should we be using SnapDrive for Hyper-V instead, if so what disadvantages would this have? i.e. if the SnapDrive service stops for any reason will the snapshots stop, etc.

Our source filers are running 8.3.2P2 (yes I know they need to be upgraded, it is arranged for a time in the future) with our destination filers running 9.1P14.

If anyone could off any advise that would be great.

Thanks,

[ChanceBingen]

SnapManager for Hyper-V is what you want. It will coordinate with the Hyper-V VSS writers and Hyper-V integration components to make sure the guest file systems are consistent and any VSS-aware applications inside the guest are as well. SnapManager for Hyper-V is a VSS requestor that coordinates the storage-side snapshots taken with SnapDrive for Windows with the VSS service in Microsoft Windows Server.

SnapDrive for Windows is an out-of-band management application that has no impact on the block or SMB protocols, however it is required for invoking the snapshots from the host. That said, there are a plethora of tools out there, Microsoft System Center Operations Manager for one example, that can monitor your services and restart them if they crash. In my 13 years of working with the SnapDrive product line, I've only seen a handfull of instances where the service crashed hard. It's very robust.