The Veritas Storage Checkpoint feature is available with the Enterprise Edition as part of the Veritas File System package and is used for the efficient backup and recovery of DB2 databases, including partitioned databases in an SMP environment. Storage Checkpoints can also be mounted, allowing regular file system operations to be performed. This chapter describes what Storage Checkpoints and storage rollback are and how to make use of these technologies through Veritas Storage Foundation.

The Storage Checkpoint facility is similar to the snapshot file system mechanism; however, a Storage Checkpoint persists after a system reboot. A Storage Checkpoint creates an exact image of a database instantly and provides a consistent image of the database from the point in time the Storage Checkpoint was created. The Storage Checkpoint image is managed and available through the GUI, or the Veritas Storage Foundation command line interface (CLI).

See the Veritas Storage Foundation for DB2 Graphical User Interface Guide.

A direct application of the Storage Checkpoint facility is Storage Rollback. Because each Storage Checkpoint is a consistent, point-in-time image of a file system, Storage Rollback is the restore facility for these on-disk backups. Storage Rollback rolls back changed blocks contained in a Storage Checkpoint into the primary file system for restoring the database faster.

For more information on Storage Checkpoints and Storage Rollback, see the Veritas File System Administrator's Guide.