Understanding the Volume Shadow Copy Service
The Data ONTAP VSS Hardware Provider is installed with SnapDrive for Windows and can be used with Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service.
- Overview of VSS
VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) is a feature of Microsoft Windows Server that coordinates among data servers, backup applications, and storage management software to support the creation and management of consistent backups. These backups are called shadow copies, or Snapshot copies.
- SnapDrive VSS requirements
To use VSS with SnapDrive for Windows, your storage system and SnapDrive host must meet minimum requirements.
- Typical VSS backup process
A typical backup using SnapManager for Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Exchange 2003 or 2007, and the Data ONTAP VSS Hardware Provider is outlined in the following process.
- Troubleshooting the VSS Hardware Provider
If you attempt to create a backup on a storage system running Data ONTAP, and a Snapshot copy is not created on the storage system , you can troubleshoot the VSS Hardware Provider in several ways.