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

Last Published: 2021-12-21

Product(s): InfoScale & Storage Foundation (8.0)

Platform: Windows

vxsnap create

Creates simultaneous snapshots of all volumes in a specified component, providing a point-in-time snapshot set.

Separate source volumes and attributes with forward slashes, not spaces. Source and snapshot volume attributes are paired. You must specify the source volume if you choose to specify the snapshot volume plex, drive letter, drive path, label, or volume name.

Note that if Exchange 2010 mailbox database is configured under VCS, then you can store the snapshot set file in a file share path by configuring a file share resource. This is to avoid configuring extra shared volumes to store the snapshot set file, which is available once the mailbox database fails over.

There can be large number of mailbox databases in Exchange 2010 and each database may have independent schedules. Hence number of different paths required for storing the snapshot metadata files are higher, which is achieved by configuring a file share resource. You can also specify the file share path in the redirect.txt path, for example, \\MySystemName1\share1\QRDir.

In case of schedule snapshot even though schedules are visible on all nodes, snapshot will happen only on a node where mailbox database is present.

See Creating a one-time snapshot set.

Syntax

The vxsnap create command has the following syntax:

vxsnap [-x <filename>] create [source=<volume>]
[/DriveLetter=<driveLetter>][/DrivePath=<drivePath>]
[/Newvol=<newVolName>][/Plex=<plexName>]...writer=<writerName>
component=<componentName>[backuptype=<backuptype>][-E][-O][-C]
[secHosts=<secondary hosts>]

Attributes

The vxsnap create command has the following attributes:

-x <Filename>	Indicates the name to be assigned to the XML metadata file that will be created with the command. The file name must include the ".xml" extension. The default path to the file is under the SFW program files directory (normally `C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Veritas\VSSXML\Exchange`). If you wish to place the file in another directory, specify a full path before the file name, for example `J:\XML\Image1.xml`. For a VCS cluster setup, you can configure a file share resource and give the file share resource path in the redirect.txt. See Creating a one-time snapshot set.
source=<Volume>	Indicates the source volume for the split-mirror snapshot specified by a drive letter, drive path (mount point), or volume name of the form "\\?\Volume{GUID}\". Repeat this parameter for each volume associated with the specified component (for example, Exchange storage group).
*[/plex=<PlexName>]*	Specifies the name of the mirror or plex that is to be detached. Use this parameter if there are multiple snap plexes available to be snapshotted.
*[/DriveLetter=<DriveLetter>]*	The drive letter to be assigned to the new snapshot volume.
*[/DrivePath=<DrivePath>]*	The drive path to be assigned to the new snapshot volume. The drive path must reference an empty local NTFS folder, which was created beforehand. The path must include the drive letter and folder to be mounted, for example, C:\DB1VOL.
*[/Newvol=<NewVolName>]*	Specifies the name of the new snapshot volume that is created. If the name is not specified using this option, the form "SnapVolume01" is created. The full device path becomes: \Device\HarddiskDmVolumes\ <DiskGroupName>\<NewVolName>
writer=<WriterName>	Unique ID of the VSS writer, for example, "Microsoft Exchange Writer" or the GUID for the writer. If you plan to be able to do a roll-forward recovery to the point of failure, you must specify the writer.
component=<ComponentName>	Name of the component; for Exchange 2010, this is the mailbox database name, for example, DB1. If you plan to be able to do a roll-forward recovery to the point of failure, you must use this component.
backuptype=<Backuptype>	Specifies the type of backup, either a Full or Copy. If no option is specified then Copy is the default. Copy backup creates a copy of the database and transaction logs volumes. Full backup creates a copy of the database and transaction logs volumes, runs Eseutil to check for consistency, and if consistent, truncates the transaction logs.
-E	Runs the Eseutil consistency check for database and log files. Eseutil is run automatically with a Full backup, but must be optionally specified for a copy backup.
-o	Allows an existing XML file of the same name to be overwritten. If -O is not specified the vxsnap create command does not overwrite an existing XML file of the same name and the operation fails.
sechosts=<SecondaryHosts>	Applies to Volume Replicator environment only. Comma separated list of secondary hosts on which a synchronized snapshot is to be taken.

Note:

Any text string that contains spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks.

Examples

The following is an example of the vxsnap create command:

   vxsnap -x backupdoc.xml create writer="Microsoft Exchange
	Writer" component="DB1"source=L:/DriveLetter=O
    source=M:/DriveLetter=P backuptype=full

This example creates a snapshot set based on the component "DB1," which contains volume L, the log volume, and volume M, the database volume.

The snapshots are assigned drive letters O, and P, and Q, respectively.

The XML file backupdoc.xml is used to store the VSS metadata that identifies the snapshot set. The Full backup creates the copy of the database and transaction logs volumes, runs Eseutil to check for consistency, and then truncates the transaction logs.

  vxsnap -x snapdata.xml
   createsource=E:\Data\DB1/DrivePath=E:\Backup\DB1

This command creates snapshots from the volume mounted on E:\Data\DB1. The resulting snapshot volume is assigned mount point E:\Backup\DB1.

The metadata involved in this operation is stored in snapdata.xml.