Enable Shadow Copies with EXPRESSCLUSTER

• This page will be migrated to the following site.
  • https://github.com/EXPRESSCLUSTER/Volume-Shadow-Copy-Service

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Index

• Disclaimer
• About This Page
• Evaluation Environment
• Prerequisites for EXPRESSCLUSTER X
• Install EXPRESSCLUSTER X
• Create a Cluster
  • Save Data and Snapshots on the Same Volume
  • Save Data and Snapshots on Different Volumes
• Add a Volume Shadow Copy Storage
• Edit the Script Resource to Take Over Snapshots
• Failover Test

Disclaimer

The contents of this document are subject to change without notice. The author assumes no esponsibility for technical or editorial mistakes in or omissions from this clustering procedure.

About This Page

This page describes how to enable shadow copies with EXPRESSCLUSTER X.

Evaluation Environment

The following version of OS and EXPRESSCLUSTER are evaluated.

• OS
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
• EXPRESSCLUSTER
  • EXPRESSCLUSTER X 4.0
  • EXPRESSCLUSTER X 3.3
  • EXPRESSCLUSTER X 3.2

Prerequisites for EXPRESSCLUSTER X

If you use Mirror Disk Resource or Hybrid Disk Resource, you have to install EXPRESSCLUSTER X 2.1 or later. For more information, please visit NEC website and refer to Getting Started Guide and Installation and Configuration Guide.

Resource	Supported Version
Disk Resource (sd)	EXPRESSCLUSTER X 1.0 or later
Mirror Disk Resource (md)	EXPRESSCLUSTER X 2.1 or later
Hybrid Disk Resource (hd)	EXPRESSCLUSTER X 2.1 or later

Install EXPRESSCLUSTER

1. Install EXPRESSCLUSTER on both the primary and secondary node following Installation and Configuration Guide.
2. Register the licenses.
3. Restart both nodes.

Create a Cluster

Here is a sample configuration using a mirror disk resource. You can also use a disk resource and hybrid disk resource using the following steps.

Save Data and Snapshots on the Same Volume

1. Setup a failover group.
2. Add a script resource.
   1. Right click the failover group and click Add Resource.
   2. Select script resource for Type and set a resource name (ex. script-vss1) for Name. Then, click Next.
   3. Uncheck the box of Follow the default dependency and click Next.
   4. Check Retry Count or Failover Threshold and click Next.
   5. Click Finish.
3. Add a mirror disk resource.
   1. Right click the failover group and click Add Resource.
   2. Select mirror disk resource for Type and set a resource name (ex. md1) for Name. Then, click Next.
   3. Uncheck the box of Follow the default dependency. Then, select the script resource (ex. script-vss1) and click Add. After that, click Next.
   4. Check Retry Count or Failover Threshold and click Next.
   5. Set a data partition (ex. M: drive) and a cluster partition and click Finish.
4. Add other resources if you need.

Depth	Resource	Name	Remarks
0	Script resource	script-vss1	NULL
1	Mirror disk resource for data and snapshots	md1	M: drive

Save Data and Snapshots on Different Volumes

1. Setup a failover group.
2. Add a script resource.
   1. Right click the failover group and click Add Resource.
   2. Select script resource for Type and set a resource name (ex. script-vss1) for Name. Then, click Next.
   3. Uncheck the box of Follow the default dependency and click Next.
   4. Check Retry Count or Failover Threshold and click Next.
   5. Click Finish.
3. Add a mirror disk resource to save snapshots.
   1. Right click the failover group and click Add Resource.
   2. Select mirror disk resource for Type and set a resource name (ex. md-vss1) for Name. Then, click Next.
   3. Uncheck the box of Follow the default dependency. Then, select the script resource (ex. script-vss1) and click Add. After that, click Next.
   4. Check Retry Count or Failover Threshold and click Next.
   5. Set a data partition (ex. M: drive) and a cluster partition and click Finish.
4. Add a mirror disk resource to save data.
   1. Right click the failover group and click Add Resource.
   2. Select mirror disk resource for Type and set a resource name (ex. md-data1) for Name. Then, click Next.
   3. Uncheck the box of Follow the default dependency. Then, select the mirror disk resource to save snapshots (ex. md-vss1) and click Add. After that, click Next.
   4. Check Retry Count or Failover Threshold and click Next.
   5. Set a data partition (ex. N: drive) and a cluster partition and click Finish.
5. Add other resources if you need.

Depth	Resource	Name	Remarks
0	Script resource	script-vss1	NULL
1	Mirror disk resource for snapshots	md-vss1	M: drive
2	Mirror disk resource for data	md-data1	N: drive

• WARNING: If the only md-vss1 has been activated for 30 minutes, Volume Shadow Copy histories will be deleted. In this configuration, the both md-vss1 and md-data1 should be running simultaneously.

Add a Volume Shadow Copy Storage

1. Start the failover group on the primary server.
2. Add a Volume Shadow Copy Storage using GUI or vssadmin command. If you use vssadmin command, you need to add a schedule for Volume Shadow Copy manually.
3. Move the failover group to the secondary server.
4. Add a Volume Shadow Copy Storage using GUI or vssadmin command, again.

Ex. Save data and snapshots on the same volume (M: drive)

C:\> vssadmin add shadowstorage /For=M: /On=M: /MaxSize=UNBOUNDED

Ex. Save data and snapshots on different volumes (M: and N: drive)

C:\> vssadmin add shadowstorage /For=N: /On=M: /MaxSize=UNBOUNDED

Edit the Script Resource to Take Over Snapshots

1. Right click the script resource (ex. script-vss1) and click Properties.
2. Click Details tab.
3. Select stop.bat and Edit button.
4. Add following lines on the bottom of the script.

Ex. Save data and snapshots on the same volume (M: drive)

vssadmin list shadows
armsleep 1
vssadmin list shadows
armsleep 1
mountvol M: /P

Ex. Save data and snapshots on different volumes (M: and N: drive)

vssadmin list shadows
armsleep 1
vssadmin list shadows
armsleep 1
mountvol N: /P
mountvol M: /P

Failover Test

1. Start the failover group on the primary server.
2. Update some files and take a snapshot.
3. Move the failover group to the secondary server.
4. Check if the snapshot you took on the primary server is available.
5. Update some files and take a snapshot, again.
6. Shutdown the secondary server.
7. Check if the snapshot you took on the secondary server is available.