Storage Foundation 8.0 Quick Recovery Solutions Guide for Microsoft Exchange - Windows

Last Published:
Product(s): InfoScale & Storage Foundation (8.0)
Platform: Windows
  1. Introducing Quick Recovery for Microsoft Exchange
    1.  
      About Quick Recovery snapshot solutions
    2.  
      Advantages of Quick Recovery snapshots
    3.  
      Quick Recovery process
    4. About the components used in Quick Recovery
      1.  
        FlashSnap and FastResync
      2. Integration with Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service
        1.  
          The VSS framework
    5.  
      About the Solutions Configuration Center
    6.  
      Starting the Configuration Center
    7.  
      Solutions wizard logs
  2. Planning a Quick Recovery snapshot solution for Exchange
    1. System requirements
      1.  
        Storage requirements
    2. Methods of implementing Quick Recovery snapshots
      1.  
        About the Quick Recovery Configuration Wizard
      2.  
        About the VSS Exchange Snapshot Scheduler Wizard
      3.  
        About the VSS Snapshot and Snapback wizards and the vxsnap utility
    3.  
      Planning your Quick Recovery solution
    4.  
      Backup types for snapshot sets
    5.  
      About logs
    6. Recommendations and best practices
      1.  
        Recommendations for Exchange storage configuration
      2.  
        Recommendations for maintenance and backups
      3.  
        SFW cluster considerations
      4. Exchange 2010 Database Availability Group (DAG) considerations
        1.  
          Using snapshot schedules in a DAG
        2.  
          Guidelines for creating passive copy snapshots in a DAG
        3.  
          Recovery in a DAG
      5.  
        Microsoft cluster considerations
      6.  
        Volume Replicator considerations
  3. Configuring Exchange for Quick Recovery snapshots
    1.  
      Tasks for configuring Exchange storage
    2.  
      Reviewing the prerequisites
    3.  
      Reviewing the configuration for Exchange 2010
    4.  
      Creating dynamic disk groups
    5.  
      Creating dynamic volumes
    6.  
      Pointing the database and log paths to the SFW volumes
  4. Implementing Exchange snapshot sets with the configuration wizard
    1. About the Quick Recovery Configuration Wizard
      1.  
        About snapshot sets
      2. About snapshot templates
        1.  
          Templates and multiple components
        2.  
          Templates and schedule start dates
    2.  
      Tasks for implementing snapshot sets with the configuration wizard
    3.  
      Reviewing the prerequisites
    4. Scheduling Exchange snapshot sets
      1.  
        System Selection panel details
      2.  
        Instance Selection panel details
      3.  
        Mount Details panel details
      4.  
        Synchronizing Schedules panel details
      5.  
        Template Selection panel details
      6.  
        Number of Snapshot Sets panel details
      7.  
        Snapshot Volume Assignment panel details
      8.  
        Snapshot Schedule panel details
      9.  
        Specifying snapshot schedule details
      10.  
        Summary panel details
      11.  
        Template Implementation panel
    5.  
      Administering or troubleshooting scheduled snapshots
  5. Scheduling or creating an individual snapshot set for Exchange
    1.  
      About scheduling or creating an individual snapshot set
    2.  
      Tasks to schedule a new snapshot
    3.  
      Tasks to create a one-time snapshot set
    4.  
      Reviewing the prerequisites
    5.  
      Preparing the snapshot mirrors
    6.  
      Scheduling a snapshot set
    7.  
      Creating a one-time snapshot set
    8. Refreshing a snapshot set
      1.  
        Reattaching the split-mirror snapshots
  6. Maintaining or troubleshooting snapshots
    1.  
      Viewing the status of scheduled snapshots
    2.  
      Troubleshooting scheduled snapshots
    3.  
      Deleting or modifying schedules
    4.  
      Synchronizing schedules after adding a cluster node
  7. Recovering Exchange mailbox databases
    1.  
      About recovery using Quick Recovery snapshots
    2.  
      Tasks for recovery using Quick Recovery snapshots
    3.  
      Prerequisites for recovery
    4.  
      Recovery using an Exchange 2010 passive copy snapshot in a Database Availability Group (DAG)
    5.  
      Recovery for Exchange 2010 using the VSS Restore Wizard
    6.  
      Recovery for Exchange 2010 using the vxsnap utility
    7.  
      Post-recovery steps
  8. Recovering after hardware failure
    1. About recovery after hardware failure
      1.  
        Recovery scenarios
      2.  
        Recovery tasks
    2.  
      Tasks for recovering after hardware failure
    3.  
      Reviewing the prerequisites
    4.  
      Reviewing the sample configuration for Exchange 2010
    5. Scenario I: Database and transaction logs volumes are missing
      1.  
        Identifying the missing volumes (Scenario I)
      2.  
        Deleting missing volumes from Storage Foundation
      3.  
        Replacing hardware and adding disks to the dynamic disk group
      4.  
        Changing the drive letter or mount points of the snapshot volumes
      5.  
        Restoring the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to the point in time
      6.  
        Refreshing the snapshot set (Scenario I)
    6. Scenario II: Database volumes missing, transaction logs are available
      1.  
        Identifying the missing volumes (Scenario II)
      2.  
        Deleting missing volumes from Storage Foundation
      3.  
        Replacing hardware and adding disks to the dynamic disk group
      4.  
        Changing the drive letter or mount points of the snapshot volumes
      5.  
        Restoring the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to the point in time
      6.  
        Recovering the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to the point of failure
      7.  
        Refreshing the snapshot set (Scenario II)
    7.  
      Refreshing the snapshot set
    8. Refreshing the snapshot set on the current disks
      1.  
        Reattaching healthy snapshot volumes
      2.  
        Clearing the snapshot association for volumes whose drive letters or mount points were reassigned
      3.  
        Creating snapshot mirrors of volumes whose drive letters or mount points were reassigned
      4.  
        Creating the new snapshot set
    9. Moving the production volumes to different disks and refreshing the snapshot set
      1.  
        Reattaching healthy snapshot volumes
      2.  
        Clearing the snapshot association for volumes whose drive letters or mount points were reassigned
      3.  
        Adding mirrors to volumes whose drive letters or mount points were reassigned
      4.  
        Creating snapshot mirrors of volumes whose drive letters or mount points were reassigned
      5.  
        Creating the new snapshot set
  9. Vxsnap utility command line reference for Exchange
    1.  
      About the vxsnap utility
    2. Vxsnap keywords
      1.  
        vxsnap prepare
      2.  
        vxsnap create
      3.  
        vxsnap reattach
      4. vxsnap restore
        1.  
          Recovery after hardware failure

Creating dynamic volumes

Create a volume for the log files and an additional volume for each database.

To create a dynamic volume from the VEA console

  1. Launch Veritas Enterprise Administrator from the Apps menu on the Start screen.

    Select a profile if prompted and connect to the appropriate host.

  2. In the tree, expand the system name, expand the storage agent, and then expand Disk Groups.
  3. Right-click on the disk group in which to create the volumes (for example, Exch-DG1) and click New Volume.
  4. In the Welcome panel of the New Volume Wizard, click Next.
  5. Select the disks for the volume as follows:
    • Make sure the appropriate disk group name appears in the Group name drop-down list.

      For example, Exch-DG1.

    • For Site Preference, leave the setting as Siteless (the default).

    • Specify automatic disk selection (the default) or manual disk selection. To manually select disks, use the Add button to move the appropriate disks to the Selected disks list. Manual selection of disks is recommended.

    • You may also check Disable Track Alignment to disable track alignment for the volume. Disabling Track Alignment means that the volume does not store blocks of data in alignment with the boundaries of the physical track of the disk.

    • Click Next.

  6. Specify the parameters of the volume:
    • Enter the volume name (for example, DB1-tlogs).

      Note:

      A volume name is limited to 18 ASCII characters. It cannot contain spaces, slash mark (/), backslash (\), exclamation point (!), angle brackets (< >), or equal sign (=). Also, a period cannot be the first character in the name.

    • Enter the size.

    • Select the layout.

    • Select the appropriate mirror options.

    • Click Next.

  7. Assign a drive letter to the volume (for example, I: for the DB1-tlogs volume) and click Next.

    If you are assigning a drive letter to a replication volume in an Exchange 2010 DAG, use the same drive letter as the volume on the active node.

  8. Create a file system as follows:
    • Make sure that the Format this volume checkbox is checked and clickNTFS.

    • Select an allocation size.

    • Accept the default file system label, which is the same as the volume name you entered previously or enter a file system label.

    • If desired, select Perform a quick format.

    • Click Next.

  9. Review the volume specifications, then click Finish to create the new volume.
  10. Repeat the previous steps as necessary to create volumes for the databases. For example, create volumes DB1 and DB2.

To create a volume from the command line

  1. Type the CLI command, as in the following example:

    vxassist [-b] -gExch-DG1 make DB1-tlogs 200 DriveLetter=I

    This example command will create a 200 MB volume named DB1-tlogs on drive letter I: in the Exch-DG1 dynamic disk group.

    Note:

    This command does not format the volume (a file system is not created on the volume). You must use the operating system format command to format the volume.

  2. Modify and repeat this command as necessary to create volumes for the databases.