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| Using the VSS snapshot wizards with Microsoft Exchange | ||
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SFW provides support for taking snapshots of Exchange 2010 mailbox databases. FlashSnap integrates with the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to allow snapshots to be taken of all the volumes that are associated with an Exchange mailbox database without taking the databases offline. The VSS Snapshot wizard uses VSS to take snapshots of mailbox databases. The VSS process allows the databases to be quiesced before the snapshot operation and reactivates them immediately after. The quiescing of the mailbox databases (Exchange 2010) level allows for Microsoft supported and guaranteed persistent snapshots of the data. A snapshot of a storage group or mailbox database can be reattached and resynchronized to match the current state of the storage group or mailbox database respectively with the VSS Snapback wizard.
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Snapshots can only be taken of read or write volumes when VSS is used. The resulting VSS snapshot is read only. The file system label of VSS snapshot volumes cannot be changed. |
SFW also provides a VSS Snapshot Scheduler wizard that can be used as an alternative to the VSS Snapshot wizard and the VSS Snapback wizard. It enables you to set up a schedule for taking the initial snapshots and for automating the snapback process. At the scheduled time for the snapshot, the snapshot volumes are automatically reattached, resynchronized, and then split again. The schedule is maintained by a scheduler service, VxSchedService.exe, that runs in the background.
SFW also provides recovery support for Exchange 2010 mailbox database. Using the VSS Restore Wizard, the snapshots that are taken with the VSS Snapshot wizard can be used for a point-in-time recovery of the storage group or a roll-forward recovery to the point of failure of either the storage group or an individual database in the storage group.
In case of Exchange 2010, mailbox databases are no longer tied to a particular server. Database configuration information is stored at the same hierarchy level as the Exchange configuration objects. Database names have to be unique across the organization. The failover occurs at the database level not the server level as in previous versions of Exchange.
The point-of-failure recovery recovers the Exchange storage group or mailbox database by restoring the old image of the data volumes only and replaying the logs to accomplish a roll-forward recovery, provided that the log volume is intact.
The point-in-time recovery restores the data to the time that the snapshot set was last refreshed - that is, it restores all the data that was recorded in the snapshot.
Refer to the Storage Foundation and High Availability Solutions High Availability and Disaster Recovery Solutions Guide for Microsoft Exchange for additional information about how to use FlashSnap with Microsoft Exchange to perform and to implement recovery procedures.