Verifying Windows host system requirements

In the most basic configuration, SnapManager is installed on the same Windows host system as Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or 2005. In addition to this, you can install SnapManager on one or more remote Windows hosts for remote administration of the SQL Server computer or for remote verification of the databases contained in SnapManager backup sets.

The following topics describe the system requirements for all of the previously listed configurations of SnapManager:

Windows host system requirements

To run SnapManager, you must meet the following requirements.

Windows host component

Requirement if the host system is running Windows 2000 Server

Requirement if the host system is running Windows Server 2003

Operating system

One of the following:

Windows 2000 Server with SP4
Windows 2000 Advanced Server with SP4
If the host system is running SQL Server 2005, the following version of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) must be installed:

MDAC 2.8 SP1

One of the following:

Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with SP1, 32-bit edition
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with SP1, 32-bit edition
Note
Windows Server 2003 SP1 includes MDAC 2.8 SP2, which is required for SQL Server 2005 on Windows Server 2003.

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x86 Edition

Microsoft Windows hotfixes

See the SnapDrive software system requirements.

See the SnapDrive software system requirements.

Microsoft SQL Server

One of the following editions of Microsoft SQL Server:

Microsoft SQL Server 2000

Standard Edition with SP3a or SP4
Enterprise Edition with SP3a or SP4

Microsoft SQL Server 2005

Standard Edition
Standard Edition with SP1, x86 or x64 versions
Enterprise Edition
Enterprise Edition with SP1, x86 or x64 versions
Note
The preceding requirement does not apply to a remote administration server.

SQL Browser service

If the host system is running SQL Server 2005, configure the SQL Browser service to start automatically.

SnapDrive

SnapDrive 4.1

Note
For a remote administration server, SnapDrive is optional unless you intend to use the remote administration server to remotely administer SnapDrive. For a remote verification server, SnapDrive is required.

Windows registry keys

When used with SnapDrive 4.1 in a clustered environment, SnapManager 2.1 is capable of restoring databases in the cluster without taking the SQL Server cluster group offline.

To enable this feature, you must configure all of the nodes in the cluster by setting a registry variable. This configuration step is described in the procedure Installing SnapManager and creating a new Windows cluster.

Licenses enabled

Depends on the type of SnapManager licensing purchased:

If SnapManager is licensed per SQL Server, a SnapManager license is required on the Windows host system.
If SnapManager is licensed per storage system, a SnapManager license is required on the storage system.

Other hardware and software

See your SnapDrive documentation for complete details about the following system requirements:

Host hardware platform
LUN access protocol (FCP or iSCSI) software
Note
The preceding requirements do not apply to a remote administration server.

Windows host component	Requirement if the host system is running Windows 2000 Server	Requirement if the host system is running Windows Server 2003
Operating system	One of the following: Windows 2000 Server with SP4 Windows 2000 Advanced Server with SP4 If the host system is running SQL Server 2005, the following version of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) must be installed: MDAC 2.8 SP1	One of the following: Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with SP1, 32-bit edition Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with SP1, 32-bit edition Note Windows Server 2003 SP1 includes MDAC 2.8 SP2, which is required for SQL Server 2005 on Windows Server 2003. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x86 Edition
Microsoft Windows hotfixes	See the SnapDrive software system requirements.	See the SnapDrive software system requirements.
Microsoft SQL Server	One of the following editions of Microsoft SQL Server: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition with SP3a or SP4 Enterprise Edition with SP3a or SP4 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition Standard Edition with SP1, x86 or x64 versions Enterprise Edition Enterprise Edition with SP1, x86 or x64 versions Note The preceding requirement does not apply to a remote administration server.
SQL Browser service	If the host system is running SQL Server 2005, configure the SQL Browser service to start automatically.
SnapDrive	SnapDrive 4.1 Note For a remote administration server, SnapDrive is optional unless you intend to use the remote administration server to remotely administer SnapDrive. For a remote verification server, SnapDrive is required.
Windows registry keys	When used with SnapDrive 4.1 in a clustered environment, SnapManager 2.1 is capable of restoring databases in the cluster without taking the SQL Server cluster group offline. To enable this feature, you must configure all of the nodes in the cluster by setting a registry variable. This configuration step is described in the procedure Installing SnapManager and creating a new Windows cluster.
Licenses enabled	Depends on the type of SnapManager licensing purchased: If SnapManager is licensed per SQL Server, a SnapManager license is required on the Windows host system. If SnapManager is licensed per storage system, a SnapManager license is required on the storage system.
Other hardware and software	See your SnapDrive documentation for complete details about the following system requirements: Host hardware platform LUN access protocol (FCP or iSCSI) software Note The preceding requirements do not apply to a remote administration server.

Note
For the most current information about the Windows host system requirements, see the SnapManager 2.1 for Microsoft SQL Server Description page at the NetApp on the Web (NOW) site (http://now.netapp.com/NOW/software).

SnapManager license requirement

SnapManager 2.1 for Microsoft SQL Server requires that a SnapManager license be enabled on either the SQL Server or on the storage system.

Per-SQL Server license

This license is for a specific SQL Server and provides capacity-based utilization for enterprise accounts. This type of license is also called a per-server license or a server-side license. With server-side licensing, no SnapManager license is required on the storage system.

Note
If you are using a per-server SnapManager license, you can enter the license key while you are installing the SnapManager software (in the Customer Information screen of the SnapManager software installation utility), or you can enter the license key later (from the About SnapManager dialog box), after SnapManager is installed.

Per-storage-system license

This license is for a specific storage system and enables you to use SnapManager on the storage system with any number of SQL Server instances and any database sizes. This type of license is also called a per-filer license or a filer-side license. If no server-side license is detected, SnapManager checks the storage system for a filer-side license when a SnapManager operation is initiated. If a filer-side license is not enabled, the SnapManager operation fails and an error is written to the Windows event log.

SnapManager service account requirements

In order to run the SnapManager Backup and Restore functions, the SnapManager service account must have sysadmin fixed server role privileges on the SQL Server. This is usually addressed by giving the Windows user account administrator rights on the SQL Server. You can meet this requirement by adding the Windows domain account used by SnapManager to the system administrator's server role on the SQL Server.

SQL Server authentication

When using SQL Server authentication, the SQL Server administrator must have sysadmin server role privileges on the SQL Server instance. SnapManager for SQL Server requires that the database administrator have the required privileges to mount and dismount databases, back up data and transaction log files, and restore those same files. The system administrator role fulfills all these permissions requirements.

Windows authentication

When using Windows authentication, the Windows account that you are logged onto the system with must have system administrator privileges on the SQL Server. This account is presumably the same account running SnapDrive. However, some organizations give different categories of administrators different responsibilities and therefore different levels of access. For example, one group of administrators might run SnapManager to manage the SQL Server databases while another group of administrators might run SnapDrive to manage the LUNs. In this case, separate accounts would be used for SnapDrive and SnapManager. The SnapManager server would still run under the SnapManager user account.

Note
A storage system administrator must perform and verify the configuration.

SnapManager service account requirements in workgroup mode

To use SnapManager with Windows in workgroup mode, the SnapManager service account must be a local user account (not a domain account) that meets the requirements described in SnapManager service account requirements. For instructions on how to configure SnapDrive in workgroup mode, see the SnapDrive Installation and Administration Guide for your version of SnapDrive.

SnapDrive requirement

In a SnapManager configuration, SnapDrive is required on all Windows host systems except those that are used exclusively as remote administration servers.

On the Microsoft SQL Server computer

In order to use SnapManager to migrate, back up, and restore SQL Server data, you must have SnapDrive installed on the same machine and use it to create two or more dedicated LUNs to hold the SQL Server data and log files and the SnapManager SnapInfo directory (the SnapInfo directory and the transaction log files cannot be housed on the same LUN).

Note
NetApp recommends that you create a minimum of three LUNs so that the data files for system databases and user databases can be placed on separate LUNs.

For a remote administration server

The SnapManager installation package enables you to install SnapManager on a Windows host system without SnapDrive. This enables you to install SnapManager on a remote system that will be used to administer the Microsoft SQL Server computer that is running with SnapManager. As long as this remote system will not be used to perform database verification, SnapDrive is not required.

For a remote verification server

You can also install SnapManager on a remote Windows host system for the purpose of offloading the CPU-intensive database verification process. SnapDrive must be installed on this remote system, but you do not need to have LUNs on that system. For installation details, see the SnapDrive Installation and Administration Guide for your version of SnapDrive.

Implications for your storage system

The storage system used in your SnapManager environment must also be configured to meet the SnapDrive license requirements. For information about compatible versions of SnapManager, SnapDrive, and Data ONTAP, see the SnapManager and SnapDrive Compatibility Matrix. You can access this information from the NetApp on the Web (NOW) site, which is located at http://now.netapp.com/NOW/knowledge/docs. The system requirements for a storage system used in a SnapManager environment are described in Verifying storage system requirements.

Requirements for a remote administration server

An SQL Server that is running SnapManager can be remotely administered from another Windows system that is configured as a remote administration server:

You do not need to install an iSCSI driver or an HBA driver on this system.
SnapDrive does not need to be installed unless you want to use the remote administration server to remotely administer SnapDrive.
SnapManager must be installed.
Note
Some limitations apply to using SQL Server authentication as the security authentication method to be used to establish the connection to a remote administration server. For more information, see About SQL Server authentication.

Requirements for a remote verification server

Remote verification is performed using the same mechanisms used for local verification, except that the verification is performed on a host that is different from the SQL Server that initiated the backup. This is the reason that you need SnapDrive and SnapManager installed on your remote verification server, as well as connectivity to the storage system (through FCP or iSCSI).

To run remote database consistency checks, your remote Windows system must meet the following requirements:

The appropriate LUN driver (iSCSI or FCP) must be installed.
The remote Windows system must have connectivity (iSCSI or FCP) to the storage system.
SnapDrive must be installed.
Attention
Do not try to connect the SQL Server's LUNs to the remote SQL Server.
SnapManager must be installed, but it does not need to be configured. You must specify the user account that you use for the production SQL Server.
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or 2005 must be installed.
The SQL Server used for database verification cannot be a virtual SQL Server. However, a local SQL Server instance installed on one of the MSCS nodes can be used for database verification.
Note
If you cannot use a remote SQL Server instance or a local nonclustered SQL Server instance as the verification server, you can select not to perform database verification. Alternatively, you can select to verify only online databases before and after backup.

Attention
Although it is possible to restore from an unverified backup, NetApp strongly recommends that you restore only from verified backups.

The connectivity required to perform remote verification is shown in the following illustration.