SnapManager and VSS

What VSS is

Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is a new feature of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 that coordinates between data servers, backup applications, and storage management software to support the creation and management of consistent shadow copies, or snapshots. For more information about VSS, see your NetApp VSS Hardware Provider documentation.

How SnapManager uses VSS

In the Windows Server 2003 environment, SnapManager is a VSS requestor, which means that it uses the VSS subsystem to initiate backups.

How you manage VSS snapshots created by SnapManager

Although SnapManager uses VSS to create snapshots, you manage the resulting snapshots using SnapManager or SnapDrive. You cannot use the VSS administration tool vssdamin to manage snapshots created by SnapManager.

NetApp VSS Hardware Provider requirement

Because SnapManager uses VSS to create snapshots on the filer in the Windows Server 2003 environment, you must have the NetApp VSS Hardware Provider installed for SnapManager to function properly. For more information about the NetApp VSS Hardware Provider, see your NetApp VSS Hardware Provider documentation.