Creating a one-time snapshot set is a two-step process as follows:
The first step is to prepare snapshot mirrors attached to all the original volumes in the specified storage group. If you are creating a snapshot set after a snapback to refresh existing snapshot mirrors, you can skip this step.
The second step uses either the vxsnap create command or the VSS Exchange Snapshot Wizard to create the snapshot set by detaching the snapshot mirrors from the original volumes. This step creates separate on-host snapshot volumes as well as an XML file to store the Exchange and snapshot volume metadata.
The vxsnap create command and VSS Exchange Snapshot Wizard integrate with VSS to quiesce the databases and then simultaneously snapshot the volumes in the storage group. This snapshot is done while the databases are online and without disrupting the email flow. The resulting snapshot set provides a complete picture of the storage group at the point in time the command is issued.
The VSS Exchange Snapshot Wizard can be run from either a local system or a remote node. The vxsnap utility must be run from the local system.
To create the snapshot set from the VEA console
This panel is displayed only in an environment using Volume Replicator. Otherwise, you will be directly taken to the Schedule Information panel.
For Exchange 2007, if replication is enabled, an additional vxsnap option is available if you want to take a snapshot of a passive copy rather than the active store. This option enables you to specify the Microsoft Exchange Replication Service instance of the Microsoft Exchange writer, as in the following example. If you do not specify either writer, "Microsoft Exchange Writer" is the default.
For example, the following specifies that the VSS Writer, Microsoft Exchange Writer Replica, is used to take a snapshot of the passive copy:
vxsnap -x snapdata.xml create writer="Microsoft Exchange Writer Replica" component=SG1 backupType=COPY -E -O
The complete syntax of the vxsnap create command is:
vxsnap [-x <filename>] create [source=<volume>] [/DriveLetter=<driveLetter>][/DrivePath=<drivePath>][/Newvol=<n ewVolName>][/Plex=<plexName>]...writer=<writerName> component=<componentName>[backuptype=<backuptype>][-E][-O][-C][ secHosts=<secondary hosts>]
The WriterName and ComponentName must be included in the command. The option to assign drive letters or mount points is useful for tracking volumes and for scripting purposes. Creating the snapshot set with the copy backup type does not automatically run the Eseutil consistency check nor truncate the transaction logs. You can check the snapshot for consistency by specifying the -E flag.
See vxsnap create.