Using SnapVault to back up data to SnapLock volumes

SnapVault backup to SnapLock volumes

You can use SnapVault to back up data, whether it is Write Once Read Many (WORM) data or not, to SnapLock volumes. To keep data on the SnapLock volume compliant, retention periods and log files on a separate LockVault^TM log volume are used. For added data protection, you might create a copy of the SnapVault backup using SnapMirror.

The following process of backing up to SnapLock volumes using SnapVault is similar to the process of backing up to non-SnapLock volumes:

You back up the primary system data using SnapVault. See Setting up a SnapVault backup.
If you want a copy of the SnapVault backup, you copy the backup using SnapMirror. See Protecting your Compliant SnapVault backups with SnapMirror.
Note
Even though the process of using SnapVault is similar for SnapLock volumes and non-SnapLock volumes, there are some issues of file naming conventions and WORM management of which you should be aware. These are discussed in the following sections.

SnapVault resynchronization for SnapLock Compliance volumes

The snapvault start -r command enables you to re-establish a broken SnapVault relationship without a lengthy baseline transfer. Typically, this command locates the most recent Snapshot copy, discards any data written to the destination after that Snapshot copy, and begins to resynchronize content using the common Snapshot copies.

To support data integrity in a restrictive SnapLock Compliance environment, the snapvault start -r operation saves all data that was written after the common Snapshot copy to a directory on the volume. The snapvault start -r operation locates the most recent Snapshot copy, and saves any changes that occurred prior to that Snapshot copy to an image and log file. These files are then stored in following directory on the SnapLock Compliance volume:

/etc/logs/snapmirror_resync_archive/volname_UUID_qtree

The image and log files are named dump_image_YYMMDD_HHMMSS, and dump_log_YYMMDD_HHMMSS, respectively.

Note
The retention period for image and log files is equal to the longest retention period of any data file in the data set. This ensures that the image and log files will not be deleted before the retention period has passed.

If the save operation fails for any reason, the snapvault start -r transfer operation will not proceed.

For detailed information

The following sections discuss information that helps you to use SnapVault to back up data to SnapLock volumes: