Understanding how SnapDrive connects to storage

What SnapDrive is

SnapDrive^TM software is an optional management package for Microsoft Windows and some UNIX hosts. SnapDrive can simplify some of the management and data protection tasks associated with iSCSI and FCP storage.

About SnapDrive for Windows

SnapDrive for Windows software integrates with the Windows Volume Manager so that storage systems can serve as storage devices for application data in Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 environments.

SnapDrive manages LUNs on a storage system, making this storage available as local disks on Windows hosts. This allows Windows hosts to interact with the LUNs just as if they belonged to a directly attached disk array.

SnapDrive for Windows provides the following additional features:

It enables online storage configuration, LUN expansion, and streamlined management.
It integrates Snapshot^TM technology, which creates point-in-time images of data stored on LUNs.
It works in conjunction with SnapMirror® software to facilitate disaster recovery from asynchronously mirrored destination volumes.

About SnapDrive for UNIX

SnapDrive for UNIX is a tool that simplifies data backup management so that you can recover should data be accidentally deleted or modified. SnapDrive for UNIX uses Snapshot technology to create an image of the data stored on a storage system attached to a UNIX host. You can then restore that data at a later time.

In addition, SnapDrive for UNIX lets you provision storage on the storage system. SnapDrive for UNIX provides a number of storage features that enable you to manage the entire storage hierarchy, from the host-side application-visible file down through the volume manager to the storage-system-side LUNs providing the actual repository.

With SnapDrive for UNIX installed, you can perform the following tasks:

Create and restore consistent Snapshot copies of one or more volume groups on a storage system. Host volume groups can span multiple storage system volumes and even multiple storage systems.
Rename a Snapshot copy of one or more host volume groups.
Restore or delete a Snapshot copy.
Display information about Snapshot copies that SnapDrive for UNIX created.
Display information about which Data ONTAP LUNs are used for a specific host volume group, host volume, or file system.
Connect objects captured by a Snapshot copy at a new location on a host.
Disconnect objects captured by a Snapshot copy from the host.
Create storage on a storage system. This storage can be in the form of LUNs, file systems, logical volumes, or disk groups.
Resize or delete storage.
Connect storage to and disconnect storage from the host.

SnapDrive limitations

In general, SnapDrive software works only with the storage it provisions. If you use SnapDrive, do not create LUNs manually.

Be sure that you have a supported version of SnapDrive for your version of Data ONTAP, your host environment, and your iSCSI support kit. See the support and interoperability matrices at: http://now.netapp.com/NOW/knowledge/docs/san/
fcp_iscsi_config/.