IBM storage solutions for the Microsoft application environment
Exchange 2000 Copy Services Integration
Customers who utilize Microsoft Exchange 2000 servers have requirements for FlashCopy support to enable more effective backup/restore of any particular Exchange database. IBM's FlashCopy feature on the IBM Enterprise Storage Subsystem (ESS) is designed to provide quick backup and restore operations with minimal service disruption on Exchange 2000 databases. In the case of backup, FlashCopy is designed to help reduce the performance impact on the production server from several hours to just minutes. More importantly, should the database need to be restored, FlashCopy can help reduce the outage from hours to minutes. A set of sample scripts and associated ESS utility programs are available for a single server or site-wide usage. These tools are designed to help minimize the service disruption to the entire Exchange 2000 server while backup / restore is done for any particular Exchange database.
ESSSync Services
Currently, customers who use FlashCopy or Peer to Peer Remote Copy (PPRC)on Microsoft Windows systems must reboot their target machines before the target volumes can be used. This services capability eliminates the need for a reboot. The ESSSync.exe utility is command-line driven to allow easy integration into nightly backup scripts. ESSSync supports Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows 2003 systems. It is compatible with both basic disks and dynamic disks and now supports mount points, providing additional flexibility in addressing target volumes.
IBM TotalStorage Data Manager for SQL Server 2000
Services
The IBM TotalStorage Data Manager for SQL Server 2000 services is designed to exploit the freeze/thaw capability in SQL Server 2000 and allow snapshot backups in conjunction with FlashCopy. It includes a set of sample scripts and an associated application to help enable automation of the functions below.
IBM's FlashCopy feature on the ESS can provide quick backup and restore operations with minimal service disruption on SQL Server 2000 databases. In the case of backup, FlashCopy can help reduce the performance impact on the production server from several hours to just minutes. More importantly, should the database need to be restored, FlashCopy can help reduce the outage from hours to minutes.
IBM TotalStorage Data Manager for SQL Server 2000 is designed to provide online snapshot backup and restores of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 databases on the IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server (ESS). It uses the FlashCopy or Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC) capability of the ESS to create online backups of the database (on both local and remote ESS) with no application downtime. During a backup operation, IBM TotalStorage Data Manager for SQL Server 2000 is designed to use the Microsoft Virtual Device Interface (VDI) to suspend writes on the SQL Server 2000 database to help preserve data integrity during the brief interval it takes to execute a FlashCopy.It then uses the FlashCopy feature of the ESS to create snapshot copies of the database volumes. These backups can be used for database cloning, data mining, or for disk or tape backups. The application then registers the backup with the msdb database in SQL Server, so that the backup can be used for a database restore. A set of sample scripts and the associated application are provided for automation purposes, for single server or single site usage.
This solution is also available for the IBM TotalStorage FAStT subsystem,but is limited to snapshot (FAStT FlashCopy) backups. FlashCopy restores are not possible with the FAStT due to subsystem limitations. The backups can still be used for data mining, or backing up to tape. Without this application, customers would typically need to shut down their database to create a FlashCopy backup, or use online backup tools, which can be CPU intensive and take a long period of time to complete.
