Pivot3 X5-6500 - Snapshots & Replications: Reporting Discrepancies Explained

Setup & User Guide
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DOC-246-GDE-Pivot3 Acuity 2.3 Setup & User Guide-v1.0.docx
Protected Hosts
Protected Hosts are ESXi Servers and Windows Servers hosting volumes on Acuity. The implementation of Protected
Hosts allows customers to create snapshots that are properly quiesced from the perspective of the operating system and
applications running on Acuity volumes.
CRITICAL:
Protected Hosts attempt to generate host consistent snapshots. If the host can’t quiesce IO, it will retry three times,
then take a crash consistent snapshot.
The ESXi Servers hosting Data Stores and VMFS volumes on Acuity are eligible for host consistent snapshots. Pivot3 works
with the ESXi API to accomplish the task.
Windows servers are eligible for host consistent snapshots if the Pivot3 VSS provider is installed. The Provider works with
Windows VSS Providers and Windows Writers to quiesce I/O on the server to accomplish the task.
NOTE:
Servers should have volumes configured for use before adding the Protected Host. Windows servers must have the
Pivot3 VSS Provider installed and authenticated.
To Add a Protected Host, click Add Protected Host and provide the following details:
Name Enter a descriptive name for the host.
Username Enter a username for a user on the host.
Password Enter a password for the user.
Retype Password Re-enter the password for the user.
Address Enter an IP address for the host.
Port (optional) Enter a specific port, if necessary.
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), introduced in Windows Server 2003, is a set of COM interfaces that implements a
framework to allow volume snapshots to be performed while applications on a system continue to write to the volumes.
NOTE: Certain types of 3
rd
party backups, when using the VSS provider, may fail if one of the Accelerated nodes is failed out of
the vPG. Once the failed node is restored, the 3
rd
party backups will complete successfully.
VSS allows applications to quiesce data prior to creating a snapshot. This framework allows for backup application to
utilize the ioControl feature of storage-based snapshots.
A high-level overview of the steps in the VSS process is described below:
The requestor creates a backup.
The writer quiesces the application to the volume.
The provider takes the snapshot.
Install the VSS Provider
Download and install the Pivot3 VSS provider install package.
Execute the install package on the Windows Client Servers.