About archiving

About archiving SnapManager backup sets

SnapManager Backup sets consist of three components--the snapshots of the virtual disk drives that store the Domino Data directory, the snapshot of the transaction log files, and the SnapInfo subdirectory that is created as part of the backup operation. You must create an archive of all these components together.

Due to the potential size difference between the SnapInfo directory and the virtual disk that it resides on, it might be more efficient to back up only the SnapInfo directory directly from the Domino server rather than backing up the entire virtual disk from the filer.

If you use the filer's dump command or NDMP, do the following:

Take a snapshot of the virtual disks that you do not plan to archive immediately prior to archiving.
Back up the virtual disk file corresponding to the drive letter where the SnapInfo directory is located as well as the virtual disk files associated with the drive letters that correspond to the Data directory and transaction logs.

Guidelines for archiving

Follow these guidelines when creating archives:

Create an archive of the most recent backup set: Domino server Data directory, transaction logs, and SnapInfo directory.
The most recent snapshot in the filer's virtual disk drive volume that stores the Domino Data directory is always named /dominosnap_win2kservername_Dominoservername_recent, where Dominoservername is the name of the Domino server from which the snapshot was taken.

Follow these guidelines about how to create the archive:

Backup files must have the following absolute path names when using the NDMP or Dump-based archive method:
/vol/virtual_disk_volume_name/snapshot/virtual_disk_filename/snapshot_name/virtual_disk_filename/virtual_disk_volume_name is the name of the volume on which the database resides.

snapshot_name is the name of snapshot you want to archive. It should be Dominoservername__recent.
Backup files must have the following absolute path names when using the CIFS-based archive method:
To back up a virtual disk file directly from the filer, use the following path:

\\filername\sharename\~snapshot\snapshot_name\
virtual_disk_filename

filername is the filer's host name.

sharename is the name that was used to share the volume. (This can be any name, not necessarily the volume name, which is suggested as a convenience.)

~snapshot

snapshotname is the name of the snapshot.

virtual_disk_filename is the name of the file (such as file.vld or file.lun).

Using archive media for disaster recovery

The combination of SnapManager for Domino and archives of SnapManager backup sets using media such as the NetApp NearStore^TM product provide a solid disaster recovery solution for Domino information store data. (A complete disaster recovery backup strategy must also include system level backups of the Domino server.)

Problems using tape as the archive media

Proper scheduling of SnapManager Backup requires consideration of the archive media solution's backup speed. Scheduling conflicts can occur if tape is used as the archive media. The best strategy for SnapManager and tape archive schedules is to consider the tape backup strategy required to meet Service Level Agreements, the desired total number of SnapManager backups per day, and Domino client activity schedule. Then devise a schedule that does not encroach on the time necessary to complete tape archive.