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User and Administration Guide 1

This document provides an overview of AppSync and describes how to use the AppSync console and CLI utility. It covers topics like service plans, role-based access, the dashboard, login/logout, managing copies, mounting copies, and running reports.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
14 views360 pages

User and Administration Guide 1

This document provides an overview of AppSync and describes how to use the AppSync console and CLI utility. It covers topics like service plans, role-based access, the dashboard, login/logout, managing copies, mounting copies, and running reports.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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You are on page 1/ 360

AppSync 4.

6
User and Administration Guide

March 2023
Notes, cautions, and warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid
the problem.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

© 2020 - 2023 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell Technologies, Dell, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its
subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Customer notifications
Disclaimer for Dell Technologies content and third-party content that has not changed.
See table below for details:

Use case Information


Disclaimer for remaining third-party content that has not This product, document, KB, content, and its references may
changed. contain language from third-party content that is not under
the control of Dell Technologies, and is not consistent with
the current Dell Technologies guidelines for its content. When
such third-party content is updated by the relevant third
parties, this document is revised accordingly.
Disclaimer for Dell Technologies content that has not This product, document, KB, content, and its references may
changed. contain language that is not consistent with the current Dell
Technologies guidelines. Dell Technologies plans to update
the document over subsequent future releases to revise the
language accordingly.

Customer notifications 3
Contents
Customer notifications............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Preface....................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 15


AppSync overview ............................................................................................................................................................ 15
Overview of service plans.......................................................................................................................................... 16
Role-based management............................................................................................................................................16
AppSync reports ..........................................................................................................................................................17
AppSync architecture........................................................................................................................................................17
AppSync server ........................................................................................................................................................... 18
AppSync agent (host plug-in) overview.................................................................................................................18
AppSync console (user interface)............................................................................................................................18
REST interface..............................................................................................................................................................18

Chapter 2: AppSync Console ....................................................................................................... 19


Console overview...............................................................................................................................................................19
AppSync Dashboard Overview................................................................................................................................. 19
Times shown in the console.......................................................................................................................................21
Start the AppSync console.............................................................................................................................................. 21

Chapter 3: AppSync CLI Utility.................................................................................................... 22


AppSync CLI Utility........................................................................................................................................................... 22
CLI actions.......................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Login............................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Logout............................................................................................................................................................................ 24
subscribe........................................................................................................................................................................24
unsubscribe................................................................................................................................................................... 26
runSP..............................................................................................................................................................................28
enableSP........................................................................................................................................................................29
disableSP....................................................................................................................................................................... 29
listCopies....................................................................................................................................................................... 30
copyDetails....................................................................................................................................................................32
mount............................................................................................................................................................................. 33
unmount.........................................................................................................................................................................45
refresh............................................................................................................................................................................46
expire.............................................................................................................................................................................. 47
report.............................................................................................................................................................................. 47

Chapter 4: Service Plans............................................................................................................. 49


Service plan overview...................................................................................................................................................... 49
Create a service plan.................................................................................................................................................. 53
Run a service plan on demand ................................................................................................................................ 64
Enable and disable a service plan ........................................................................................................................... 64
Delete a service plan.................................................................................................................................................. 65
Unsubscribe from a service plan............................................................................................................................. 65

4 Contents
Enable or disable automatic expiry of a copy ...................................................................................................... 65
Service Plan Events.................................................................................................................................................... 66
Oracle service plan details.............................................................................................................................................. 66
SQL Server service plan details...................................................................................................................................... 71
File system service plan details......................................................................................................................................76
SAP HANA service plan details......................................................................................................................................80
VMware Datacenter service plan details.....................................................................................................................85
Microsoft Exchange service plan details..................................................................................................................... 88
Kubernetes Cluster service plan details.......................................................................................................................92

Chapter 5: Protect Microsoft Exchange ..................................................................................... 94


Overview of Exchange support .................................................................................................................................... 94
Deploying AppSync for Exchange protection.............................................................................................................95
Discover Exchange Database................................................................................................................................... 96
Removing an Exchange mailbox server ................................................................................................................ 96
Protecting DAG databases in a service plan.........................................................................................................96
Convert a standalone Exchange server to a DAG member...............................................................................96
Protect an Exchange database .....................................................................................................................................97
Protecting an Exchange database immediately................................................................................................... 97
Subscribe an Exchange database to a service plan............................................................................................ 97
Set preference to protect an Exchange database role or host....................................................................... 98
Unsubscribe Exchange from a service plan.......................................................................................................... 98
Expire an Exchange copy.......................................................................................................................................... 99
Service plan details........................................................................................................................................................... 99
Service plan schedule.................................................................................................................................................99
Pre-copy script ......................................................................................................................................................... 100
Create a Copy..............................................................................................................................................................101
Post-copy script.........................................................................................................................................................102
Mount copy................................................................................................................................................................. 103
Validate copy.............................................................................................................................................................. 105
Post-mount script..................................................................................................................................................... 105
Unmount copy............................................................................................................................................................ 106
Mounting Exchange copies........................................................................................................................................... 106
Mount and restore limitations.................................................................................................................................106
Mount a copy using the Exchange Mount wizard............................................................................................. 106
Unmount an Exchange copy................................................................................................................................... 108
Enable or disable an Exchange copy..................................................................................................................... 109
Expire an Exchange copy.........................................................................................................................................109
Path mapping...............................................................................................................................................................110
Overview of Exchange copy restore............................................................................................................................ 111
Affected entities during restore.............................................................................................................................. 111
Restore an Exchange copy.......................................................................................................................................112
Recovering an Exchange database manually....................................................................................................... 112
Partial restore.............................................................................................................................................................. 113
Restoring a deleted Exchange database...............................................................................................................113

Chapter 6: Protect SQL Server .................................................................................................. 115


Overview of SQL Server support................................................................................................................................. 115
SQL Server prerequisites..........................................................................................................................................115

Contents 5
SQL Server supported configurations................................................................................................................... 116
TDE enabled Microsoft SQL databases................................................................................................................ 116
Considerations for SQL Server in a VMware environment.............................................................................. 118
Required permissions and rights............................................................................................................................. 118
Set up SQL Server connection settings...............................................................................................................120
Support for AlwaysOn Availability Groups..................................................................................................................121
SQL Server transaction log backup............................................................................................................................. 121
Configure SQL Server transaction log backup................................................................................................... 122
Create log backup for SQL...................................................................................................................................... 123
Configure log backup scripts.................................................................................................................................. 123
Run Log Backups for a SQL database.................................................................................................................. 123
View log backups for a service plan...................................................................................................................... 123
Log backup expiration...............................................................................................................................................124
Considerations for working with SQL Server in a cluster......................................................................................125
SQL Server User Databases folder............................................................................................................................. 126
Discovering SQL Server databases....................................................................................................................... 126
Discover SQL Server databases.............................................................................................................................126
Protect a SQL Database................................................................................................................................................ 127
Subscribe a SQL database to a service plan....................................................................................................... 127
Create a SQL database copy.................................................................................................................................. 128
Microsoft SQL Server copies list .......................................................................................................................... 128
Unsubscribe database from a service plan.......................................................................................................... 130
Overriding service plan schedules......................................................................................................................... 130
View SQL database copies....................................................................................................................................... 131
Expire a SQL copy..................................................................................................................................................... 132
Service plan summary and details..........................................................................................................................133
Mount considerations for SQL Server........................................................................................................................142
Mount a copy using the SQL Mount wizard........................................................................................................143
Path mapping.............................................................................................................................................................. 147
Unmount a SQL copy......................................................................................................................................................148
Unmount a SQL copy from the Copies page...................................................................................................... 148
Unmount a SQL copy from the Service Plan page............................................................................................ 149
Create SQL repurpose copies.......................................................................................................................................149
Create second generation copies................................................................................................................................ 150
Enable or disable a SQL copy expiry............................................................................................................................151
Expire a SQL copy............................................................................................................................................................ 151
SQL Server database restore overview..................................................................................................................... 152
Restore considerations for databases in an Availability Group.......................................................................152
Affected entities during restore.............................................................................................................................152
Restoring a primary database or a secondary database with failover.......................................................... 153
Restoring a secondary database without failover..............................................................................................153
Restore a SQL copy.................................................................................................................................................. 154
SQL Server restore utility (assqlrestore).............................................................................................................155

Chapter 7: Protect Oracle.......................................................................................................... 158


Overview of Oracle support..........................................................................................................................................158
Oracle permissions.................................................................................................................................................... 159
Red Hat Cluster Services Integration with AppSync ....................................................................................... 159
Oracle Data Guard support..................................................................................................................................... 160
Veritas Cluster Services integration......................................................................................................................162

6 Contents
PowerHA (HACMP) cluster integration............................................................................................................... 163
Prerequisites and supported configurations........................................................................................................164
Protecting a database.................................................................................................................................................... 170
Discover an Oracle database................................................................................................................................... 171
Subscribe a database to a service plan................................................................................................................. 171
Unsubscribe database from a service plan.......................................................................................................... 172
Creating an Oracle database copy from the Copies page............................................................................... 172
Create Oracle repurpose copies............................................................................................................................. 173
Create second generation copies...........................................................................................................................174
Oracle Copies page....................................................................................................................................................175
Service plan details..........................................................................................................................................................176
Service plan schedule................................................................................................................................................177
Overriding service plan schedules..........................................................................................................................177
Storage preferences..................................................................................................................................................178
Pre-copy script........................................................................................................................................................... 178
Create copy................................................................................................................................................................. 178
Automatic expiration of copies............................................................................................................................... 179
Post-copy script.........................................................................................................................................................179
Unmount previous copy............................................................................................................................................179
Pre-mount script........................................................................................................................................................180
Mount copies ............................................................................................................................................................. 180
Overriding mount settings in a service plan........................................................................................................ 180
Post mount script....................................................................................................................................................... 181
Unmount copy............................................................................................................................................................. 181
Mount an Oracle copy..................................................................................................................................................... 181
Mount a copy using the Oracle Mount wizard................................................................................................... 185
Expire an Oracle copy............................................................................................................................................... 188
Enable or disable expiry of an Oracle copy..........................................................................................................188
RMAN cataloging feature ....................................................................................................................................... 188
Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts for manual database recovery......................................189
Mount on Grid Cluster and recover as RAC database......................................................................................190
Path mapping..............................................................................................................................................................190
Retry recovery of a mounted and recovered Oracle copy............................................................................... 191
Unmount an Oracle copy............................................................................................................................................... 192
Unmount an Oracle copy from the Copies page................................................................................................ 192
Unmount an Oracle copy from the Service Plan page......................................................................................192
Restore an Oracle copy..................................................................................................................................................193
Restore a standalone local copy ........................................................................................................................... 194
Affected entities during restore.............................................................................................................................195
Vdisk restore with affected entities......................................................................................................................196
Restoring a RAC copy for affected entities........................................................................................................ 197
Oracle database archive log backup........................................................................................................................... 198
Configure Oracle database archive log backup.................................................................................................. 198
Create Oracle database archive log back up from the copies page..............................................................199
View archive log backups for a service plan...................................................................................................... 200
Archive log backup expiration................................................................................................................................200
Mount wizard for Oracle archive log backup copies.........................................................................................201
Unmount an Oracle archive log backup copy from the copies page............................................................ 202

Chapter 8: Protect File Systems ...............................................................................................203

Contents 7
Overview of File System support................................................................................................................................203
Discover File Systems.............................................................................................................................................. 204
Protect NFS file systems on VNXFile, Unity, PowerMax, and PowerStore storage................................204
PowerHA (HACMP) cluster integration.............................................................................................................. 207
Windows failover clustered file systems............................................................................................................. 208
Subscribe a File System to a service plan.................................................................................................................208
Unsubscribe File Systems from a service plan........................................................................................................ 209
Create a File System copy............................................................................................................................................209
Create File System repurpose copies......................................................................................................................... 210
Create second generation copies................................................................................................................................. 211
Overriding service plan schedules............................................................................................................................... 212
Callout scripts support................................................................................................................................................... 212
Mount a copy using the File System Mount wizard................................................................................................ 214
Changing the mount point for an affected file system.................................................................................... 215
Override mount settings in a service plan........................................................................................................... 215
Nested mount support for File systems............................................................................................................... 216
Mounting a UNIX file system after reboot ......................................................................................................... 216
Enable or disable a File system copy..................................................................................................................... 217
Expire a File system copy.........................................................................................................................................217
Path mapping.............................................................................................................................................................. 217
Unmount a file system copy..........................................................................................................................................218
Unmount a File System copy from the Service Plan page.............................................................................. 218
Unmount a File System copy from the Copies page......................................................................................... 219
Restore a file system copy............................................................................................................................................ 219

Chapter 9: Protect VMware Datacenters ................................................................................... 221


Configuration prerequisites .......................................................................................................................................... 221
VMware vStorage VMFS requirements ..............................................................................................................222
Discover VMware Datacenters....................................................................................................................................223
List of datacenters .................................................................................................................................................. 223
Configure a VMware vCenter Server...................................................................................................................223
List of VMware datastores .................................................................................................................................... 224
Considerations when mounting a VMFS copy ........................................................................................................ 233
Mount a copy using the VMware Mount wizard............................................................................................... 233
Unmount a VMware copy....................................................................................................................................... 235
Restoring a VMware datastore from a copy............................................................................................................ 235
Datastore affected entities during restore......................................................................................................... 236
Restoring a virtual machine from a copy...................................................................................................................237
Virtual Machine Restore options........................................................................................................................... 238
File or folder restore with VMFS or NFS datastores............................................................................................. 238
Restoring a file or folder from a virtual disk....................................................................................................... 239

Chapter 10: Protect SAP HANA................................................................................................. 240


Overview of SAP HANA support.................................................................................................................................240
SAP HANA system prerequisites...........................................................................................................................240
Required permissions and rights............................................................................................................................ 241
Protect a SAP HANA system........................................................................................................................................241
Discover SAP HANA system................................................................................................................................... 241
SAP HANA systems list........................................................................................................................................... 242

8 Contents
SAP HANA system connection settings.............................................................................................................. 243
Pre-copy script.......................................................................................................................................................... 244
Post-copy script........................................................................................................................................................ 244
Service plan details................................................................................................................................................... 244
Create copy of SAP HANA system.......................................................................................................................245
Edit Subscription for SAP HANA...........................................................................................................................245
SAP HANA system copies list ............................................................................................................................... 245
Unsubscribe SAP HANA system............................................................................................................................ 247
Service plan schedule...............................................................................................................................................247
Create SAP HANA repurpose copies......................................................................................................................... 248
Create second generation copies..........................................................................................................................249
Mount a SAP HANA system copy...............................................................................................................................250
Mount and recovery considerations..................................................................................................................... 253
Pre-mount script....................................................................................................................................................... 254
Post mount script..................................................................................................................................................... 255
Mount a copy using the SAP HANA Mount wizard.......................................................................................... 255
Mount a copy of distributed or scale out system using the SAP HANA Mount wizard.......................... 258
Path mapping............................................................................................................................................................. 260
Overriding mount settings in a service plan........................................................................................................ 261
Unmount a SAP HANA copy......................................................................................................................................... 261
Unmount SAP HANA copy from the Service Plan page...................................................................................261
Unmount a SAP HANA copy from the Copies page......................................................................................... 262
Restore a SAP HANA copy...........................................................................................................................................262
Affected entities during restore............................................................................................................................ 263
Expire a SAP HANA copy..............................................................................................................................................264
Automatic expiration of copies.............................................................................................................................. 264
Enable or disable expiry of a SAP HANA copy...................................................................................................264

Chapter 11: Protect Kubernetes Cluster.....................................................................................265


Overview of Kubernetes Cluster.................................................................................................................................265
Steps to Configure a Kubernetes user account................................................................................................ 265
Discover Kubernetes Cluster........................................................................................................................................267
Subscribe a Kubernetes namespace to a service plan...........................................................................................268
Kubernetes Namespaces List.......................................................................................................................................268
Kubernetes Application Templates............................................................................................................................. 269
Pre Copy Command................................................................................................................................................. 269
Post Copy Command................................................................................................................................................270
Post Mount Command............................................................................................................................................. 270
Illustration on the usage of Application Templates........................................................................................... 270
Built-in Kubernetes Application Templates.......................................................................................................... 271
Create Kubernetes application template............................................................................................................. 272
Delete Kubernetes application template..............................................................................................................273
Copy Kubernetes application template................................................................................................................ 273
Edit Kubernetes application template.................................................................................................................. 274
Kubernetes Cluster service plan details.................................................................................................................... 275
Create copy of Kubernetes namespace.................................................................................................................... 276
Illustration on the usage of Application Templates for pod selection and grouping................................. 277
Edit Subscription for Kubernetes Cluster................................................................................................................. 278
Kubernetes Namespaces copies list .......................................................................................................................... 279
Unsubscribe Kubernetes namespace from a service plan.................................................................................... 280

Contents 9
Service plan schedule.................................................................................................................................................... 280
Overriding Kubernetes service plan schedules................................................................................................... 281
Create Kubernetes namespace repurpose copies................................................................................................... 281
Create Kubernetes namespace second generation copies............................................................................. 282
Mount a Kubernetes namespace copy...................................................................................................................... 283
Mount and recovery considerations..................................................................................................................... 284
Mount a copy using the Kubernetes Mount wizard..........................................................................................284
Overriding mount settings in a service plan....................................................................................................... 285
Unmount Kubernetes namespace copy.....................................................................................................................285
Unmount a Kubernetes copy from the Service Plan page..............................................................................285
Unmount a Kubernetes copy from the Copies page........................................................................................ 285
Expire a Kubernetes namespace copy....................................................................................................................... 286
Automatic expiration of copies.............................................................................................................................. 286
Enable or disable expiry of a Kubernetes namespace copy............................................................................ 286

Chapter 12: Repurposing........................................................................................................... 287


Repurposing overview....................................................................................................................................................287
Repurpose schedule................................................................................................................................................. 288
Modifying a repurpose plan.................................................................................................................................... 288
Repurpose refresh.................................................................................................................................................... 289
Repurpose copy expiry............................................................................................................................................ 290
Data masking using scripts..................................................................................................................................... 290
Creating Repurpose copies.......................................................................................................................................... 290
View or delete repurpose copy schedules...........................................................................................................292
View repurposed copies.......................................................................................................................................... 292

Chapter 13: Monitor AppSync.................................................................................................... 294


RPO concepts and best practices.............................................................................................................................. 294
Recovery point compliance report........................................................................................................................294
Exporting an RPO compliance report to CSV.................................................................................................... 295
View the Service Plan Completion Report..........................................................................................................295
View the Recovery Point Compliance Report....................................................................................................296
View the Automated Log Collection Status Report......................................................................................... 296
Alerts and associated events....................................................................................................................................... 297
Acknowledging alerts............................................................................................................................................... 297
Acknowledging alert icons for database, file system, and Datastore service plan runs.......................... 298
Email alerts....................................................................................................................................................................... 298
Configure server settings for email alerts...........................................................................................................298
Specify email alert recipients................................................................................................................................. 299
SNMP Notifications....................................................................................................................................................... 300
Configure SNMP trap destination for V3............................................................................................................ 301
Configure SNMP trap destination for V2c.......................................................................................................... 301
Configure SNMP notifications for alerts............................................................................................................. 302
View Jobs..........................................................................................................................................................................302
View Job Status progress.............................................................................................................................................303

Chapter 14: Storage considerations........................................................................................... 304


Overview........................................................................................................................................................................... 304
Dell SC............................................................................................................................................................................... 304

10 Contents
Service plan considerations for applications on Dell SC storage.................................................................. 305
Mount and unmount Dell copies............................................................................................................................305
PowerStore...................................................................................................................................................................... 305
Configure a PowerStore appliance....................................................................................................................... 305
Service plan considerations with PowerStore block storage......................................................................... 306
Service plan considerations with PowerStore File storage.............................................................................307
Mount and unmount PowerStore block copies..................................................................................................307
Mount and unmount for PowerStore file copies............................................................................................... 307
PowerStore restore considerations for block storage..................................................................................... 307
PowerStore restore considerations for file storage......................................................................................... 308
Repurposing copies on PowerStore block storage........................................................................................... 308
Repurposing PowerStore File storage................................................................................................................. 308
PowerFlex......................................................................................................................................................................... 309
Configure a PowerFlex array..................................................................................................................................309
Service plan considerations with PowerFlex storage.......................................................................................309
Mount and unmount PowerFlex copies................................................................................................................ 310
Restore considerations for PowerFlex storage.................................................................................................. 310
Repurposing copies on PowerFlex storage......................................................................................................... 310
RecoverPoint ................................................................................................................................................................... 310
Service plan considerations for applications with RecoverPoint protection...............................................310
RecoverPoint prerequisites...................................................................................................................................... 311
Dynamic or static mounts.........................................................................................................................................311
Repurpose RecoverPoint Bookmark copies of Oracle or SQL Server databases...................................... 312
Unity .................................................................................................................................................................................. 313
Service plan considerations with Unity.................................................................................................................314
Mounting and unmounting Unity NFS datastore copies.................................................................................. 314
Mounting and unmounting Unity copies...............................................................................................................314
Mounting and unmounting Unity NFS File system copies............................................................................... 314
Unity restore considerations................................................................................................................................... 315
Repurposing copies on Unity.................................................................................................................................. 315
VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash................................................................................................................... 315
Service plan considerations for applications on VMAX All Flash and VMAX3/PowerMax storage.......316
Service plan considerations with PowerMax File storage................................................................................317
Mount or unmount VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash copies.............................................................317
Mount and unmount for PowerMax file copies.................................................................................................. 318
PowerMax restore considerations for file storage............................................................................................ 318
VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash repurpose overview........................................................................319
VNXFile/eNAS..................................................................................................................................................................319
Service plan considerations for an application on VNX File storage............................................................ 320
VNX file mount.......................................................................................................................................................... 320
Metro node | VPLEX....................................................................................................................................................... 321
Service plan considerations for applications on metro node | VPLEX storage...........................................321
Mount and unmount metro node | VPLEX copies ........................................................................................... 322
Metro node | VPLEX restore considerations......................................................................................................322
XtremIO............................................................................................................................................................................. 323
Restore options with XtremIO storage................................................................................................................325

Chapter 15: Troubleshooting AppSync....................................................................................... 326


Automated log collection.............................................................................................................................................. 326
Collect Logs................................................................................................................................................................326

Contents 11
Dell SupportAssist...........................................................................................................................................................328
Dell SupportAssist..................................................................................................................................................... 328
Configuration information sent to Dell Technologies by Dell SupportAssist.............................................. 329
AppSync issues................................................................................................................................................................330
Oracle...........................................................................................................................................................................330
SQL...............................................................................................................................................................................336
File system.................................................................................................................................................................. 338
Exchange.....................................................................................................................................................................342
VMware....................................................................................................................................................................... 343
SAP HANA.................................................................................................................................................................. 344
Windows host plug-in...............................................................................................................................................345
Unix host plug-in....................................................................................................................................................... 346
General.........................................................................................................................................................................347
Error handling...................................................................................................................................................................352
Event logging................................................................................................................................................................... 353
Resource logging.............................................................................................................................................................353
Hotfix details.................................................................................................................................................................... 353
Glossary.................................................................................................................................... 354

Index......................................................................................................................................... 357

12 Contents
Preface
As part of an effort to improve its product lines, Dell periodically releases revisions of its software and hardware. All the versions
of the software or hardware that are currently in use, might not support some functions that are described in this document.
The product release notes provide the most up-to-date information about product features.
Contact your Dell technical support professional if a product does not function properly or does not function as described in this
document.
NOTE: This document was accurate at publication time. Go to support.dell.com to ensure that you are using the latest
version of this document.

Purpose
This document is part of the AppSync documentation set, and includes information about using and managing AppSync.

Audience
This guide is intended for use by customers and service providers to use and configure AppSync.

Related documentation
The following publications provide additional information:
● AppSync Installation and Configuration Guide
● AppSync Release Notes
● AppSync Security and Configuration Guide

Typographical conventions
Dell uses the following type style conventions in this document:

Table 1. Typographical conventions


Bold Used for names of interface elements, such as names of windows, dialog boxes, buttons,
fields, tab names, key names, and menu paths (what the user specifically selects or clicks).
Italic Used for full titles of publications referenced in text.
Monospace Used for:
● System code
● System output, such as an error message or script
● Pathnames, filenames, prompts, and syntax
● Commands and options
Monospace italic Used for variables
Monospace bold Used for user input
[] Square brackets enclose optional values.
| Vertical bar indicates alternate selections - the bar means "or"
{} Braces enclose content that the user must specify, such as x or y or z.
... Ellipses indicate nonessential information that is omitted from the example.

Preface 13
Where to get help
Dell support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows:

Product information
For documentation, release notes, software updates, or information about Dell products, go to support.dell.com.

Technical support
Go to support.dell.com and click Service Center. Several options for contacting Dell Technical Support are available. To open
a service request, you must have a valid support agreement. Contact your Dell sales representative for details about obtaining a
valid support agreement or with questions about your account.

Online communities
Go to community.dell.com for peer contacts, conversations, and content on product support and solutions. Interactively engage
online with customers, partners, and certified professionals for all Dell products.

Your comments
Your suggestions helps continue to improve the accuracy, organization, and overall quality of the user publications. Send your
opinions of this document to support.dell.com.

14 Preface
1
Introduction
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• AppSync overview
• AppSync architecture

AppSync overview
AppSync is software that enables Integrated Copy Data Management (iCDM) with the primary storage systems of Dell
Technologies.
AppSync simplifies and automates the process of generating and consuming copies of production data. AppSync abstracts the
underlying storage and replication technologies. Through deep application integration, AppSync enables application owners to
satisfy copy demand for operational recovery and data repurposing on their own. In turn, storage administrators need only be
concerned with initial setup and policy management, resulting in an agile, frictionless environment.
AppSync automatically discovers application databases, learns the database structure, and maps it through the virtualization
layer to the underlying storage LUN. It then orchestrates all the activities that are required from copy creation and validation
through mounting at the target host and launching or recovering the application. Supported workflows also include refresh,
expire, and restore production.

Key features
● Supports physical, virtual, and mixed host environments across Dell Block and File storage.
● Integrates with Oracle, SQL server, Exchange, VMware vCenter, SAP HANA, Kubernetes Cluster and more.
● Supports customer applications (EPIC, DB2, and so on) through file system copies with callout script integration to provide
application consistency.
● Supports application consistent, crash consistent, and virtual machine consistent (with individual virtual machine recovery)
copies.
● Supports Snaps, Clones, and RecoverPoint Bookmarks.
● Supports on-demand and scheduled plans.
● Repurpose wizard supports application consistent copy creation and manual modifications. Second-generation copies of the
modified copy are then distributed and optionally deleted upon configured expiration.

Supported applications and storage


AppSync supports the following applications and storage arrays:
● Applications
○ Oracle
○ Microsoft SQL Server
○ Microsoft Exchange
○ SAP HANA
○ VMware vStorage VMFS datastores
○ VMware NFS datastores
○ Windows, UNIX, and NFS file systems
○ Kubernetes Cluster
● Storage
○ VMAX3/PowerMax (Block and File)

Introduction 15
NOTE: In this document, all mentions of VMAX3 includes information and instructions for VMAX All Flash and
PowerMax arrays.
○ PowerStore (Block and File)
○ VNXFile/eNAS
○ XtremIO
○ Metro node | VPLEX
○ Unity (Block and File)
○ Dell SC (Block only)
○ PowerFlex (Block Only)
● Replication Technologies
○ PowerStore Snapshot
○ PowerStore Thin Clone
○ PowerStore File Snapshot
○ PowerStore File Thin Clone
○ PowerFlex Snapshot
○ SRDF
○ SnapVX
○ PowerMax File Snapshot
○ PowerMax File Thin Clone
○ RecoverPoint Bookmarks
○ XtremIO Virtual Copies
○ Unity Unified Snapshot
○ Unity Thin Clone
○ Dell SC Series Snapshots
○ Combination of PowerStore Block + PowerStore File Snapshot, and PowerMax Block + PowerMax File Snapshot. Applies
to SAP HANA copies only.
○ CSI Snapshot. Applies to Kubernetes only.

Overview of service plans


AppSync protects an application by creating copies of application data.
You indicate to AppSync what you want to protect by subscribing an application object to a service plan. When the service plan
runs, a copy is created. The service plan can also mount and unmount the copy, validate it, and run user-created scripts.
AppSync includes several application-specific plans that work without change. With the Subscribe to Service Plan and Run
command, you apply the settings of a service plan to the data and protect it immediately.

Role-based management
AppSync supports role-based access to resources and functionality.
You can set up AppSync to have multiple users. Each user can be assigned one or more roles that correspond to their
responsibilities and requirements. You can create users that are local to AppSync, and optionally add users through an LDAP
server which handles the authorization.
The following table describes the user roles.

Table 2. User Roles


Role Function
Security Administrator Manages users access to AppSync.
Resource Administrator Manages hosts, storage systems, servers, and RecoverPoint
sites.
Service Plan Administrator Customizes and runs service plans used for data protection.
Data Administrator Manages the protection and recovery of data.

16 Introduction
AppSync supports role-based access at the group level for LDAP. The groups that exist in LDAP can be added and roles can
be assigned. The members in the group will get the roles assigned for the group. The AppSync Security Configuration Guide
provides more information on the specific user roles and their permissions.
The following table lists the details of the group.

Table 3. Group Roles


Column Description
Group Specifies the group name
Role(s) Specifies the roles of the group
Authentication Specifies if the authentication is local or LDAP.
ACL Management Specifies if the group has ACL permissions enabled or not.

AppSync reports
AppSync generates reports that tell you whether your data is protected, recoverable, and compliant with service level
agreements.
Alerts and reports can be easily viewed at the top level of the AppSync dashboard. Alerts can be sent in email. AppSync can
export reports to comma-separated value format.

AppSync architecture
AppSync components include the AppSync server, agent (host plug-in software), and user interfaces (UI or console).

Figure 1. AppSync architecture flow

Introduction 17
AppSync server
The AppSync server software resides on a supported Windows system. It controls the service plans and stores data about each
copy it creates.
The repository is stored in a PostgreSQL database on the AppSync server.

AppSync agent (host plug-in) overview


AppSync installs light-weight agent plug-in software on the production and mount hosts.
AppSync pushes the plug-in software from the AppSync server to the host when you add the host as a resource. In an
environment that prevents the AppSync server from accessing a host, you can install the agent plug-in manually.
NOTE: With a push-install, the agent host plug-in remains at the same version as the AppSync server. If you want
to upgrade the agent host plug-in, go to Settings > Infrastructure Resources > SERVERS / CLUSTERS, select a
host, and click UPDATE PLUG-IN. For AppSync Velero plugin update, go to Settings > Infrastructure Resources >
KUBERNETES CLUSTERS > More update AppSync Velero plugin.
For UNIX, tar bundles for AIX and Linux are pushed and extracted on the host during host registration.
Examples of hosts where the plug-in resides are Exchange mailbox servers or Exchange validation or mount hosts. The agent
plug-in is not used for protection of VMware data stores.
The AppSync Installation and Configuration Guide provides more information about installing the AppSync agent.

AppSync console (user interface)


The AppSync console is web-based, with the following support:
● Minimum resolution: 1366 x 768 (best viewed in 1920 x 1080)
● Supported Browser: Google Chrome (latest version), Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox.
NOTE: See AppSync Support Matrix for supported version information.

REST interface
AppSync has a REST interface that allows application programmers to access AppSync controlled information.
The API is described in the Dell API Marketplace.

18 Introduction
2
AppSync Console
The chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Console overview
• Start the AppSync console

Console overview
The AppSync console is arranged in the Dashboard, Copy Management, Schedule Management, Alerts, Reports, and Jobs tabs.
● The Dashboard is a customizable view of reports and alerts. The default dashboard shows Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
status of protected applications, service plan job status, most recent alerts, summary of copies, and activities in progress.
● Copy Management provides an action-oriented entry to the copy management or service plan pages for applications such
as Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server. It also provides an application-oriented entry point for protection, mount,
restore, service plan subscription, and other operations.
● Schedule Management provides a bar chart representation of the service plans and their schedules. Required data can be
viewed based on day, week, or month.
● Alerts provides the ability to view and acknowledge alerts, filter alerts based on alert state, time, server, application, and
so on, and view details of the alerts in the right pane. Notification Recipients displays the list of all email notification
recipients and provides a central place for configuring the email alerts per application instance and service plans.
● Reports displays automated log collection status reports, recovery point compliance reports, and service plan completion
reports.
● The Jobs tab displays a list of all scheduled and on-demand running jobs, and the jobs that have completed or failed in
AppSync.
● The Settings section contains all the settings that you can configure for AppSync. This section also allows you to do the
following:
○ Configure Infrastructure Resources
○ Configure Licenses
○ Register Dell SupportAssist
○ Configure Notification
○ Configure Users, Groups, and Roles
○ Configure Advanced Settings
○ Configure Logs
○ View AppSync Support tools
User roles control which sections of the console are displayed and which operations are listed in menus. For example, the
console does not display the Copy Management tab for a user who has only the Security Administrator role.
NOTE: Settings > Advanced Settings tab is only accessible to a user who has all four roles (Service Plan Administrator,
Data Administrator, Resource Administrator, and Security Administrator).

AppSync Dashboard Overview


The Dashboard is a customizable view of reports, alerts, and summaries.
The default dashboard shows Recovery Point Objective (RPO) status of protected applications, service plan job status, most
recent alerts, summary of copies, and activities in progress.

AppSync Console 19
Schedule Management Overview
Provides an overview of the schedule management dashboard.
On the AppSync console, you must click Schedule Management to view the service plan schedule management dashboard
that provides a bar chart representation of the service plans and their schedules. Required data can be viewed based on day,
week, or month. Filters are available for every option. The default option is the day view. You can select a specific day, a specific
week, or a specific month to view the graph. You must use the filter for applications, to view the graph for specific applications.
Day View: In the Day View, the graph represents the data for every 1 hour. Each bar represents an hour, starting from 12:00
AM. Click the bar, to view the details of the selected service plan in the SCHEDULE and STORAGE tabs, available on the right
side of the page.
Week View: In the week view, the graph represents the data for every 4 hours. Each bar represents every 4 hours, starting
from Sunday 12:00 AM. Click the bar, to view the details of the selected service plan in the SCHEDULE and STORAGE tabs,
available on the right side of the page.
Month View: In the month view, the graph represents the data for every 4 hours. Each bar represents every 4 hours.

NOTE: Graphs can be viewed for the service plans that are repurposed, scheduled, and are schedule overrides.

View Alerts in the Dashboard


The Alerts summary on the dashboard shows the total number of alerts, and the doughnut chart displays the distribution of the
alerts among categories such as Service Plan, License, Maintenance, RPO, and so on.

About this task


To view the details of the alerts listed in the Dashboard:

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console.
2. In the Alerts widget, click the Details link to see a list of all the alerts in AppSync.
3. On the Dashboard, click the Refresh icon on the top of the widget to refresh the results.

View Service Plan Completion Status in the Dashboard


The Service Plan Completion Status summary on the dashboard shows the status of service plan jobs, and the doughnut chart
displays the distribution of the number of service plan jobs in the Successful, Completed with Errors, and Failed categories.

About this task


To view the details of the service plan jobs listed in the Dashboard:

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console.
2. In the Service Plan Completion Status widget, click the Details link to see the percentage of the service plans that
completed successfully, the ones that completed with errors, and the ones that failed.
3. On the Dashboard, click the Refresh icon at the top of the widget to refresh the results.

View Recovery Point Objectives in the Dashboard


The Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) summary on the dashboard shows the number of RPOs met across all objects that are
subscribed to RPO-enabled service plans. The doughnut chart displays the distribution of the number of RPOs in the Satisfied
and Not Satisfied categories.

About this task


To view the details of the RPOs listed in the Dashboard:

20 AppSync Console
Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console.
2. In the RPO region, click the Details link to see the recoverability for all objects that are subscribed to service plans with an
RPO recurrence type.
3. On the Dashboard, click the Refresh icon at the top of the widget to refresh the results.

View Copy Summary in the Dashboard


The Copy Summary on the dashboard shows the number of protection copies and the repurposed copies for each application
type. This dashboard includes the number of applications that were copied, discovered, and the service plans that were created.
NOTE: You can customize the number of applications that are displayed in this widget. To do so, click the settings icon in
the widget, select the applications that you want displayed, and click Apply.

View Job Status in the Dashboard


The Job Status summary on the dashboard shows the number of active and completed jobs. The list view displays the number
of jobs that are completed across the Completed Successfully, Completed with Errors, and Failed categories.

About this task


To view the details of the jobs listed in the Dashboard:

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console.
2. In the Job Status region, click the drop-down list and select one of the following choices:
● LAST 24 HOURS
● All
The displayed results are filtered based on the time period you select.
3. Click the Details link to see a list of all scheduled and on-demand running jobs, and the jobs that have completed or failed in
AppSync.

Times shown in the console


Times shown in the AppSync console reflect the local time of the AppSync server, not of the console.

Start the AppSync console


You can launch the AppSync console on a supported web browser from any system that has connectivity to the AppSync
server.
Use https://appsync_server:8445/appsync to start the console.

NOTE: See AppSync Support Matrix for supported version information.

AppSync Console 21
3
AppSync CLI Utility
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• AppSync CLI Utility
• CLI actions

AppSync CLI Utility


The AppSync CLI is a utility that is packaged with AppSync and is used for scripting or running tasks through a command-line
interface.
The AppSync CLI is installed in the EMC\AppSync\appsync-cli directory. You can run it on Windows with the file
appsync-cli.bat. If you want to use the AppSync CLI from UNIX, follow the below steps:
1. Copy <Install location>\EMC\AppSync\appsync-cli directory to the UNIX host.
2. Run dos2unix appsync-cli.sh.
3. Provide execute permission with chmod +x appsync-cli.sh. Now you can use appsync-cli.sh to perform all CLI
tasks.

Pre-requisites
● Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 11 - must be installed and available in path.
● OpenJDK Runtime Environment 18.9 (build 11.0.15+10).
● Configured AppSync installation with registered resources
● Discovered applications on registered hosts
● Configured service plans
● If you are using the CLI on a non-English host, ensure that you set the correct code page before execution. To set the code
page, use chcp on the command prompt.

Using the CLI


You can run the AppSync CLI on the server where the AppSync installation resides. Also, you can move the
\EMC\Appsync\appsync-cli directory to another location or host. All actions that are performed, for scripting purposes,
return code zero 0 for success and local system failure code -1 for Windows or 255 for Linux). The syntax for using the
AppSync CLI follows:
appsync-cli.bat -action options=value
You preface the action that you want to perform with a hyphenated -argument. All options specific to that action are
key=value pairs. When using a value that contains spaces such as a file system or path, you are not required to surround
the text in double quotations. Do not surround a value that ends with a trailing backslash with double quotes. Java ignores this
construct.
The AppSync CLI also has two optional arguments for message handling. At any point, you can use the argument
verbose=true for a more detailed messaging output, and silent=true to suppress all messages.
If you want to run CLI in debug mode, set environmental variable APPSYNC_CLI_LOG_DIR to the location where you want to
create the log file and set environmental variable APPSYNC_CLI_DEBUG_MODE to 1. By Default, no log file is created.

22 AppSync CLI Utility


The Help "/?" argument
To evoke a detailed help menu for a command, add the /? argument. This argument displays all available CLI commands.
Because of the complexity and vast number of arguments, the CLI help uses the following help menu partitions:
● appsync-cli.bat /? Returns information about all CLI-supported actions.
● appsync-cli.bat -action /? Returns nonspecific application options available for the selected action.
● appsync-cli.bat -action app=<value> /? Returns application-specific options available for the selected action.
● appsync-cli.bat -mount app=<value> option=<value> /? Returns mount-specific options for the provided
mount option.
NOTE: When using the help argument on non-English system locales, you must enclose the help argument /? in double
quotation marks.

CLI actions
This section describes the AppSync CLI actions.
The AppSync CLI supports the following actions:
● Login and logout.
● Run a service plan.
● Enable or disable a service plan.
● List all copies that are created for a service plan or application object.
● List all details of an application object.
● Subscribe or unsubscribe an application object to or from a service plan.
● Mount or unmount a copy.
● Expire a copy.
● Run and export AppSync reports.
● Refresh.

Login
Authenticates the AppSync server.

Syntax
-login
server value
port value
user value
password value
type value
/?

Arguments
server value The server that you want to authenticate. The default server is localhost.

port value The HTTPS port of AppSync server. The default port is 8445.

user value Specifies the user to be authenticated. The default user is admin.

password value Specifies the password for the user. You are prompted to enter a password, if no password is set.

AppSync CLI Utility 23


type value Specifies the type of user. Local and LDAP are supported. The default type is Local.
/? Displays command-line help.

Description
This command authenticates the AppSync server. It requires the server name, https communication port, AppSync user, and the
corresponding password. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -login server=<server> port=8445 user=admin password=<admin_pass>
After you log in, a file that is named LOCAL_TOKEN is created in the current directory containing required authentication
information. If this file is deleted or the current session expires, a new session must be created by running the login command
once again.
For LDAP user login, the type specifies as ldap. For example, appsync-cli.bat -login server=<server> port=8445
user=<LDAP user> password=<LDAP user password> type=LDAP

See also
logout

Logout
Invalidates an open AppSync CLI connection.

Syntax
-logout
/?

Arguments
/? Displays command-line help.

Description
This command invalidates an open CLI connection. After you complete actions with the AppSync CLI, ensure that you log out.
The log out command not only closes the current session, but also invalidates it. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -logout

See also
login

subscribe
Subscribes a data object to the specified service plan.

Syntax
-subscribe

24 AppSync CLI Utility


service_plan value
app value
/?

Arguments
service_plan value The service plan that you want to subscribe to.

app value The application name. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
/? Displays command line help.

Description
You can subscribe an application object to a service plan using the CLI. Options vary for each application. Run the help
command "/?" for the application that you want to subscribe for a complete list of required arguments. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -subscribe app=oracle service_plan=<sp1> oracle_server=<server>
db_name=<db1>

Table 4. Application specific options


Application specific options Description
SQL
sql_server value The SQL server of the desired database. The default is
sql_server=localhost.

instance_name value The SQL instance of the desired database. The default is
instance_name=MSSQLSERVER

db_name value The SQL database that you want to subscribe.

user_databases value Allows subscription of the user database folder. The value can
be true or false.
Oracle
oracle_server value The Oracle server of the desired database. The default is
oracle_server=localhost

db_name value The Oracle database that you want to subscribe.

File system
fs_server value The server of the desired file system. The default is
fs_server=localhost.

fs_name value The name of the file system. The default is fs_name=C:\\.

fs_type value The format of the file system. The default is fs_type=ntfs.

Datastore
datastore value The datastore that you want to subscribe.

datacenter value The datacenter to find the datastore.

AppSync CLI Utility 25


Table 4. Application specific options (continued)
Application specific options Description
vcenter value The vCenter server to find the datastore. The default is
vcenter=localhost.

Exchange
ex_server value The Exchange server that you want to subscribe.

db_name value The Exchange database that you want to subscribe.

SAP HANA
saphana_server value The SAP HANA server of the required database that you want
to subscribe.
system_name value The SAP HANA system that you want to subscribe.

Kubernetes Cluster
kubernetes_server value The Kubernetes Cluster name/IP of the required namespace
that you want to subscribe.
namespace value The Kubernetes Namespace name that you want to subscribe.

See also
unsubscribe

unsubscribe
Unsubscribes a data object from the specified service plan.

Syntax
-unsubscribe
service_plan value
app value
/?

Arguments
service_plan value The service plan that you want to unsubscribe from.

app value The application name. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
/? Displays command line help.

26 AppSync CLI Utility


Description
You can unsubscribe an application object from a service plan using the CLI. Options vary for each application. Run the help
command "/?" for the application that you want to unsubscribe for a complete list of required arguments. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -unsubscribe app=sql service_plan=<sp1> sql_server=<server>
instance_name=<instance> db_name=<db1>

Table 5. Application specific options


SQL
sql_server value The SQL server of the desired database. The default is
sql_server=localhost.

instance_name value The SQL instance of the desired database. The default is
instance_name=MSSQLSERVER.

db_name value The SQL database that you want to unsubscribe.

user_databases value Allows you to unsubscribe the user database folder. The value
can be true or false.
Oracle
oracle_server value The Oracle server of the desired database. The default is
oracle_server=localhost.

db_name value The Oracle database that you want to unsubscribe.

File system
fs_server value The server of the desired file system. The default is
fs_server=localhost.

fs_name value The name of the file system. The default is fs_name=C:\\.

fs_type value The format of the file system. The default is fs_type=ntfs.

Datastore
datastore value The datastore that you want to unsubscribe.

datacenter value The datacenter to find the datastore.

vcenter value The vCenter server to find the datastore. The default is
vcenter=localhost.

Exchange
ex_server value The Exchange server that you want to unsubscribe. In the
case of DAG, the server name is the DAG name.
db_name value The Exchange database that you want to unsubscribe.

SAP HANA
saphana_server value The SAP HANA server of the required database that you want
to unsubscribe.
system_name value The SAP HANA system that you want to unsubscribe.

Kubernetes Cluster
kubernetes_servervalue The Kubernetes Cluster name/IP of the required namespace
that you want to unsubscribe.
namespace value The Kubernetes Namespace name that you want to
unsubscribe.

AppSync CLI Utility 27


See also
subscribe

runSP
Runs the specified service plan.

Syntax
-runSP
service_plan value
app value
log_backup_only value
/?

Arguments
service_plan value The service plan that you want to run.

app value Specifies the application. Values:


● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
log_backup_only value Use for on-demand Oracle and SQL database log backup. Values:
● true
● false
/? Displays command line help.

Description
You can run a service plan by specifying the application name and the service plan. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -runSP app=sql service_plan=Bronze

See also
enableSP
disableSP

28 AppSync CLI Utility


enableSP
Enables the specified service plan.

Syntax
-enableSP
service_plan value
app value
/?

Arguments
service_plan value The service plan that you want to enable.

app value Specifies the application. Values:


● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
/? Displays command line help.

Description
You can enable a service plan by specifying the application name and the service plan. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -enableSP app=sql service_plan=Bronze

See also
runSP
disableSP

disableSP
Disables the specified service plan.

Syntax
-disableSP
service_plan value
app value
/?

AppSync CLI Utility 29


Arguments
service_plan value The service plan that you want to disable.

app value Specifies the application. Values:


● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
/? Displays command line help.

Description
You can disable a service plan by specifying the application name and the service plan. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -disableSP app=sql service_plan=Bronze

See also
runSP
enableSP

listCopies
Displays all copies that meet the specified application specific properties.

Syntax
-listCopies
service_plan value
app value
age value
/?

Arguments
service_plan value The service plan that created the copies.

app value The application name. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
age value Filters viewable copies on the console by the age of a copy. The value can be one of the following:
● day

30 AppSync CLI Utility


● week
● month
● all
/? Displays command line help.

Description
A copy's uuid is required before you can mount the copy. To get this information, run the -listCopies command for either a
service plan or an application object. The arguments are application-specific so ensure that you use the help command "/?" for
details. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -listCopies app=sql instance_name=<value> db_name=<value> age=all

Table 6. Application specific options


SQL
instance_name value The SQL instance of the desired database. The default is
instance_name=MSSQLSERVER.

db_name value Displays the specified SQL database.

log_backup_only value Determines whether the database log back up must be


displayed or not. The value can be true or false.
onlyRepurposeCopies value Determines whether repurposed copies must be displayed or
not. The value can be true or false.
Oracle
oracle_server value The Oracle server of the desired database. For an Oracle RAC,
enter all the nodes as a comma separated string. For example,
oracle_server=node1,node2.

db_name value Displays the specified Oracle database.

log_backup_only value Determines whether the database log back up must be


displayed or not. The value can be true or false.
onlyRepurposeCopies value Determines whether repurposed copies must be displayed or
not. The value can be true or false.
File system
fs_server value The server of the desired file system. The default is
fs_server=localhost.

fs_name value The name of the file system. The default is fs_name=C:\\.

fs_type value The format of the file system. The default is fs_type=ntfs.

Datastore
datastore value The name of the desired datastore.

datacenter value The datacenter to find the datastore.

vcenter value The vCenter server to find the datastore. The default is
vcenter=localhost.

Exchange
ex_server value Name of the Exchange server that you want to display. In the
case of DAG, the server name is the DAG name.
db_name value Displays the specified Exchange database.

SAP HANA

AppSync CLI Utility 31


Table 6. Application specific options (continued)
saphana_server value The name of the desired SAP HANA server.

system_name value The name of the desired SAP HANA system.

onlyRepurposeCopies value Determines whether repurposed copies must be displayed or


not. The value can be true or false.
Kubernetes Cluster
kubernetes_server value The name of the desired Kubernetes Cluster that you want to
list the copies.
namespace value The name of the desired Kubernetes Namespace that you
want to list the copies.
onlyRepurposeCopies value Determines whether repurposed copies must be displayed or
not. The value can be true or false.

See also
copyDetails

copyDetails
Displays information about a specified copy.

Syntax
-copyDetails
app value
copy_ID value
/?

Arguments
app value The application name. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to display.
/? Displays command line help.

Description
A copy's uuid is required before you can mount the copy. To fetch additional information of an application copy, run the
-copyDetails command for either a service plan or an application object. The arguments are application-specific so ensure
that you use the help command "/?" for details. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -copyDetails app=<app> copy_ID=<value>

32 AppSync CLI Utility


See also
listCopies

mount
Mounts a specified copy.

Syntax
-mount
copy_ID value
app value
/?

Arguments
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to mount.

app value The application name. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
/? Displays command line help.

Description
The AppSync CLI supports all mount options that are available through the GUI. The options vary for each application. Run the
help "/?" command for the application that you want to mount to determine the mount options. For example:
● appsync-cli.bat -mount app=filesystem copy_ID=<value> mount_host=<value>
● appsync-cli.bat -mount app=sql copy_ID=<value> option=recover recovery_instance=<value>
● appsync-cli.bat -mount app=datastore copy_ID=<value> mount_host=<value> cluster_mount=yes
image_access_mode=virtual_roll
● appsync-cli.bat -mount app=oracle copy_ID=<value> option=rac mount_cluster=<value>
mount_servers=<server1,server2>
● appsync-cli.bat -mount app=saphanasystem option=mount saphana_mount_volume=<value>
mount_host=<value> mount_all_copies=<value> mount_path=<value>
● appsync-cli.bat -mount app=k8sns copy_ID=<value> option=mount mount_host=<value>

Table 7. SQL specific options


SQL
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to mount.

option value Specifies the copy recovery option. The value can be mount
or recover.
Mount Standalone SQL options
mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy.

AppSync CLI Utility 33


Table 7. SQL specific options (continued)
mount_all_copies value Determines whether to mount all copies. The value can be
true or false.
qos_policy value Name of QoS policy as it appears in XtremIO.

mount_access value Type of access the copy must be mounted with.

mount_path value The non-default path to mount a copy. The value can be one
of the following:
● Mapped path
● Default path

UNIX DEFAULT: /appsync-mounts


WIN DEFAULT: SystemDrive
\AppSyncMounts\ProdServerName

mapped_path value The map of source to target path. This option is applicable
only to mapped path.

UNIX: /source:::/target,/abc:::/xyz
WIN: R:\:::S:\,T:
\MountPoint:::U:\

metadata_path value The non-default path to mount copy metadata.

image_access_mode value The access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
dedicated_sg value Specifies the dedicated storage group.

disable_rp_srmvalue Disables RecoverPoint SRM (Site Recovery Manager). This


option is only applicable to RecoverPoint 4.1 and later. The
value can be true or false.
desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

Mount and Recover SQL options


recovery_instance value The SQL Server instance to be used for recovery.

recovery_type value The type of recovery desired.

db_naming_suffix value Specify a suffix that must be appended to the database after
mount.
mount_path value The non-default path to mount a copy. The value can be one
of the following:
● Mapped path

34 AppSync CLI Utility


Table 7. SQL specific options (continued)
● Default path

UNIX DEFAULT: /appsync-mounts


WIN DEFAULT: SystemDrive
\AppSyncMounts\ProdServerName

mapped_path value The map of source to target path. This option is applicable
only to mapped path.

UNIX: /source:::/target,/abc:::/xyz
WIN: R:\:::S:\,T:
\MountPoint:::U:\

metadata_path value The non-default path to mount copy metadata.

image_access_mode value The access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
dedicated_sg value Specifies the dedicated storage group.

desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

vmware_vdisk_mode value Allows you to mount copies as independent disks. The value
can be one of the following:
● independent_persistent
● independent_nonpersistent
unlink_copy_before_unmountvalue Allows you to unlink the SnapVX snap during mount. This
option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second
generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-
demand service plans.
perinnially_reservedvalue Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially
reserved. The value can be true or false.

Table 8. Oracle specific options


Oracle
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to mount.

option value Specifies the copy recovery option. The value can be one of
the following:
● mount
● rman
● recover

AppSync CLI Utility 35


Table 8. Oracle specific options (continued)
● manual
● rac
Mount Standalone Oracle options
mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy.

mount_all_copies value Determines whether to mount all copies. The value can be
true or false.
log_backup_only value Determines whether to mount Oracle log back up copies. The
value can be true or false.
mount_path value The non-default path to mount a copy.

oracle_mount_volume value This will provide option to mount data, redoandcontrol,


and archivelog separately. Default value is
"data,redoandcontrol,archivelog".
pdbs_to_be_mounted value This will provide option to mount pdbs. You need to provide
comma separated pdb name. This option is valid when
"oracle_mount_volume" value has data.
qos_policy value Name of QoS policy as it appears in XtremIO.

image_access_mode value The access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
disable_rp_srmvalue Disables RecoverPoint SRM (Site Recovery Manager). This
option is only applicable to RecoverPoint 4.1 and later. The
value can be true or false.
filesystem_checkvalue Performs a file system check during mount. This is only
applicable to UNIX and LINUX hosts. The value can be true
or false.
desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

vmware_vdisk_mode value Allows you to mount copies as independent disks. The value
can be one of the following:
● independent_persistent
● independent_nonpersistent
Mount RMAN Oracle options
mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy.

mount_all_copies value Determines whether to mount all copies. The value can be
true or false.

36 AppSync CLI Utility


Table 8. Oracle specific options (continued)
mount_path value The non-default path to mount a copy.

image_access_mode value The access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
rman_user value Specifies the RMAN username.

rman_password value Specifies the RMAN password.

rman_connect_string value Specifies the RMAN connect string.

tns_admin value The nondefault path of TNS_ADMIN.

oracle_home value The non-default path of ORACLE_HOME.

asm_dg_name value The non-default name for the ASM disk group.

skip_data_files value Allows you to skip data files.

desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

Mount and Recover Oracle options


mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy.

mount_path value The non-default path to mount a copy.

image_access_mode value Access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
open_mode value Specifies the open mode for the copy after recovery.

oracle_home value The non-default path of ORACLE_HOME.

database_name value The non-default name for the database.

sid_name value The non-default name for the SID.

asm_dg_name value The non-default name for the ASM disk group.

init_params value Specifies the custom init parameters for recovery.

desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.

AppSync CLI Utility 37


Table 8. Oracle specific options (continued)
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

spfile_asmvalue Creates an SPFILE on ASM.

add_control_files value Creates additional control files.

change_db value Specifies the database ID of the mounted database.

use_adr_dest value Forces the mounted database to use the ADR home directory
instead of TEMP for diagnostic logs.
disable_arch value Disables the ARCHIVELOG mode on a mounted database.

unlink_copy_before_unmount value Allows you to unlink the SnapVX snap during mount. This
option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second
generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-
demand service plans.
Mount Manual Recovery ORACLE
mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy.

mount_path value The non-default path to mount a copy.

image_access_mode value Access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
open_mode value Specifies the open mode for the copy after recovery.

oracle_home value The non-default path of ORACLE_HOME.

database_name value The non-default name for the database.

sid_name value The non-default name for the SID.

asm_dg_name value The non-default name for the ASM disk group.

init_params value Specifies the custom init parameters for recovery.

desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

38 AppSync CLI Utility


Table 8. Oracle specific options (continued)
enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

Mount RAC
mount_cluster value The cluster that you wish to mount a copy to. The default is
Original Cluster.
mount_server value The server on which to mount the copy.

mount_path value The non-default path to mount a copy.

image_access_mode value Access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
open_mode value Specifies the open mode for the copy after recovery.

oracle_home value The non-default path of ORACLE_HOME.

database_name value The non-default name for the database.

sid_name value The non-default name for the SID.

asm_dg_name value The non-default name for the ASM disk group.

init_params value Specifies the custom init parameters for recovery.

desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

perinnially_reservedvalue Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially


reserved. The value can be true or false.

Table 9. File system specific options


File system
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to mount.

option value Specifies the copy recovery option. The value can be mount
or recover.
mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy. The default is original
host.
mount_all_copies value Determines whether to mount all copies. The value can be
true or false.
mount_access value Type of access the copy must be mounted with. The value
can be readonly or readwrite.
mount_path value The path to mount a copy. The value can be one of the
following:

AppSync CLI Utility 39


Table 9. File system specific options (continued)
● Mapped path
● Default path

UNIX DEFAULT: /appsync-mounts

WIN DEFAULT:
SystemDrive\AppSyncMounts\ProdServerName

mapped_path value The map of source to target path. This option is applicable
only to mapped path.

UNIX: /source:::/target,/abc:::/xyz
WIN: R:\:::S:\,T:\MountPoint:::U:
\

nas_preferred_interface value Specifies the preferred NAS interface in comma separated


values. (Format must be NAS_Server_Name: IP_Address).

image_access_mode value The access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
disable_rp_srm value Disables RecoverPoint SRM (Site Recovery Manager). This
option is only applicable to RecoverPoint 4.1 and later. The
value can be true or false.
qos_policy value Name of QoS policy as it appears in XtremIO.

filesystem_check value Performs a file system check during mount. This is only
applicable to UNIX and LINUX hosts. The value can be true
or false.
desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount. The value can be true or
false.
dedicated_sg value Specifies the dedicated storage group. The value can be true
or false.
vmware_vdisk_mode value Allows you to mount copies as independent disks. The value
can be one of the following:
● independent_persistent
● independent_nonpersistent
unlink_copy_before_unmount value Allows you to unlink the SnapVX snap during mount. This
option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second
generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-
demand service plans.

40 AppSync CLI Utility


Table 9. File system specific options (continued)
perinnially_reservedvalue Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially
reserved. The value can be true or false.

Table 10. Datastore specific options


Datastore
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to mount.

mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy. The default is original
host.
mount_all_copies value Determines whether to mount all copies. The value can be
true or false.
mount_signature value Allows you to specify whether you want to use the original or
new mount signature. The value can be new or original.
cluster_mount value Specifies whether you want to mount to a cluster or not. The
value can be yes or no.
image_access_mode value The access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
qos_policy value Name of QoS policy as it appears in XtremIO.

disable_rp_srmvalue Disables RecoverPoint SRM (Site Recovery Manager). This


option is only applicable to RecoverPoint 4.1 and later. The
value can be true or false.
desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

unlink_copy_before_unmount value Allows you to unlink the SnapVX snap during mount. This
option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second
generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-
demand service plans.

Table 11. Exchange specific options


Exchange
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to mount.

option value Specifies the copy recovery option. The value can be mount
or validate.
Mount Standalone Exchange options
mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy.

mount_all_copies value Determines whether to mount all copies. The value can be
true or false.

AppSync CLI Utility 41


Table 11. Exchange specific options (continued)
mount_access value Type of access the copy must be mounted with.

mount_path value The path to mount a copy. The value can be one of the
following:
● Mapped path
● Default path

UNIX DEFAULT: /appsync-mounts

WIN DEFAULT:
SystemDrive\AppSyncMounts\ProdServerName

mapped_path value The map of source to target path. This option is applicable
only to mapped path.

UNIX: /source:::/target,/abc:::/xyz
WIN: R:\:::S:\,T:\MountPoint:::U:
\

qos_policy value Name of QoS policy as it appears in XtremIO.

metadata_path value The non-default path to mount copy metadata.

image_access_mode value The access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
disable_rp_srmvalue Disables RecoverPoint SRM (Site Recovery Manager). This
option is only applicable to RecoverPoint 4.1 and later. The
value can be true or false.
desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

vmware_vdisk_mode value Allows you to mount copies as independent disks. The value
can be one of the following:
● independent_persistent
● independent_nonpersistent
unlink_copy_before_unmount value Allows you to unlink the SnapVX snap during mount. This
option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second
generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-
demand service plans.
Mount and Validate Standalone Exchange
mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy.

42 AppSync CLI Utility


Table 11. Exchange specific options (continued)
mount_all_copies value Determines whether to mount all copies. The value can be
true or false.
mount_access value Type of access the copy must be mounted with.

mount_path value The non-default path to mount a copy.

metadata_path value The non-default path to mount copy metadata.

image_access_mode value The access mode for the image. The value can be one of the
following:
● logged
● virtual
● virtual_roll
desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount.

validate_copies value Determines whether the copies will be validated as part of the
mount.
db_logs value Validate databases and logs. The value can be Sequentially or
in parallel.
log_check value Enables you to minimize log checking. The value can be true
or false.
working_dir value Specifies the working directory.

throttle_validation value Enables you to throttle the validation. The value can be true or
false.
pause_after_I/O_count_of value Specifies the pause after the I/O count. The default is 100.

pause_duration value Specifies the pause duration. The default is 1000 milliseconds.

skip_db_validation value Skips database validation. The value can be true or false.

perinnially_reservedvalue Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially


reserved. The value can be true or false.

Table 12. SAP HANA specific options


SAP HANA
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to mount.

option value Specifies the copy recovery option. The value is mount.

mount_host value The host on which to mount the copy. Default is original host.

mount_all_copies value Determines whether to mount all copies. The value can be
true or false.

AppSync CLI Utility 43


Table 12. SAP HANA specific options (continued)
mount_path value The path to mount a copy. The value can be one of the
following:
● MappedPath
● DefaultPath
DEFAULT: /appsync-mounts

mapped_path value The map of source to target path. This option is applicable
only if mount_path is set to MappedPath. For example:

/source:::/target,/abc:::/xyz

filesystem_checkvalue Performs a file system check during mount. The value can be
true or false.
desired_SLO value Specifies the desired service level objectives for VMAX3/
PowerMax arrays.
preferred_sg_host_map value Specifies the host storage group mappings. Standard format
is:

preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+<storage_ser
ial_id>+<esx_host or
physical_host>=<storagegroup_name>
For example,
preferred_sg_host_map=STORAGE+aaabbbbbxxyy
+xyzhost=test_sg

vplex_mount value Specifies the metro node | VPLEX mount options.

enable_cluster_mount value Enables VMware cluster mount. The value can be true or
false.
vmware_vdisk_mode value Allows you to mount copies as independent disks. The value
can be one of the following:
● independent_persistent
● independent_nonpersistent
perinnially_reservedvalue Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially
reserved. The value can be true or false.

NOTE: Mount options unlink_copy_before_unmount=<value> and option=recover are not supported. CLI does
not support scale-out HANA system and recovery type "Use HDBLCM Utility".

Table 13. Kubernetes Cluster specific options


Kubernetes Cluster
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to mount.

option value Specifies the copy recovery option. The value can be mount
or recover.
mount_host value The cluster on which to mount the copy. Default is original
host.
retain_changes_after_unmount value Retains changes made to a copy while mounted.

pod_startup_wait_timeout value Timeout value for pod start.

namespace_mapping value Namespace mapping for source to target by setting the


format

source_namespace:target_namespace

44 AppSync CLI Utility


Table 13. Kubernetes Cluster specific options (continued)
apply_yaml_after_recovery value Name of a valid yaml file to be applied on the mounted
namespace post recovery operation.

See also
unmount

unmount
Unmounts a specified copy.

Syntax
-unmount
copy_ID value
app value
/?

Arguments
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy that you want to unmount.

app value The application name. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
/? Displays command line help.

Description
To unmount a copy you must specify the application name and the copy uuid. For example: appsync-cli.bat -unmount
app=<app> copy_ID=<value>.
To unmount archive log backup copy you must specify the application name, log_backup_only (value true or false) and the copy
uuid. For example: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=<app> log_backup_only=<value> copy_ID=<value>.
To unmount the latest or oldest mounted copy specifically for a database, filesystem, or a datastore, use the following
commands:
● For Datastores: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=datastore datastore=<value> datacenter=<value>
vcenter=<value> option=latestMountedCopy/oldestMountedCopy
● For SQL: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=sqlinstance_name=<value> db_name=<value>
option=latestMountedCopy/oldestMountedCopy
● For Oracle: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=oracle oracle_server=<value> db_name=<value>
option=latestMountedCopy/oldestMountedCopy
● For File systems: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=filesystem fs_server=<value> fs_name=<value>
fs_type=<value> option=latestMountedCopy/oldestMountedCopy
● For Kubernetes Cluster:appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=k8sns copy_ID=<value>
To unmount a service plan copy of any application use the following commands:

AppSync CLI Utility 45


● For Datastores: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=datastore copy_ID=<value>
unmount_all_previous_mounted_copies=true
● For SQL: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=sql copy_ID= <value>
unmount_all_previous_mounted_copies=true
● For Oracle: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=Oracle copy_ID=<value>
unmount_all_previous_mounted_copies=true
● For File systems: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=filesystem copy_ID=<value>
unmount_all_previous_mounted_copies=true
● For Kubernetes Cluster: appsync-cli.bat -unmount app=k8sns copy_ID=<value>
unmount_all_previous_mounted_copies=true

See also
mount

refresh
Refreshes the specified copy.

Syntax
-refresh
app value
copy_ID value
/?

Arguments
app value The application that you want to refresh. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy to be refreshed.
/? Displays command line help.

Description
This command refreshes the specified application copy. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -refresh app=sql copy_ID=<value>

See also
expire

46 AppSync CLI Utility


expire
Expires a specified copy.

Syntax
-expire
app value
copy_ID value
force value
/?

Arguments
app value The application name. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
copy_ID value The UUID of the copy you want to expire.

force value Removes a copy which has multiple associated copies. The value can be true or false.
/? Displays command line help.

Description
To expire a copy, you must specify the application name and the copy UUID. For example: appsync-cli.bat -expire
app=datastore copy_ID=<value>

See also
refresh

report
Run and export AppSync reports.

Syntax
-report
report_type value
detailed value
category value
age value
service_plan value

AppSync CLI Utility 47


app value
/?

Arguments
report_type value The type of report that you want to run. The value can be one of the following:
● rpo
● spc
● alerts
● activity
detailed value The report format. You can run a detailed report or a summary report. The value can be true or false.

category value The category of the alerts. Values:


● all
● rpo
● other
● license
● maintenance
age value Specifies the duration of the events. The value can be one of the following:
● day
● week
● month
● all
service_plan value Displays alerts for the specified service plan. The default value is all.

app value The application name. The value can be one of the following:
● sql
● oracle
● filesystem
● datastore
● exchange
● saphanasystem
● k8sns
/? Displays command line help.

Description
There are four available reports that you can run and export through the AppSync CLI. They include:
● RecoverPoint Objective (rpo)
● Service Plan Completion (spc)
● Alert
● Activity
Run reports in either summary or detailed view using the detailed=true/false argument. The exception to this rule occurs
with an activity report which prints the activity that is currently running.
All reports are exported to a .csv file in the current directory with unique name from the report type and local time. For more
help, use the help command (/?) for reports. For example:
appsync-cli.bat -report report_type=rpo detailed=true

See also
expire

48 AppSync CLI Utility


4
Service Plans
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Service plan overview
• Oracle service plan details
• SQL Server service plan details
• File system service plan details
• SAP HANA service plan details
• VMware Datacenter service plan details
• Microsoft Exchange service plan details
• Kubernetes Cluster service plan details

Service plan overview


This section describes the default service plans available in AppSync, service plan operations, service plan settings, schedules,
subscriptions, and overrides.
AppSync creates and manages copies of application data. A service plan defines the attributes of these copies. You can
subscribe application data objects to a service plan, and then AppSync runs the service plan and creates copies of the
applications from attributes that you specified in the plan. Copies that are generated by a service plan are listed in service plan
Copies tab.
There is no limit to the number of objects that you can subscribe to a service plan. AppSync automatically divides up the
work for best performance. If you need fine control over which objects are grouped for mounting, scripting, and validating,
consider creating multiple service plans and distributing objects among the plans. This technique works when the objects that
are subscribed to a service plan are from the same server. It is not recommended to subscribe more than 12 objects to any one
service plan when using this method.

Service plan types


AppSync provides the following application-specific tiered plans. There are three types of service plans:
● Bronze — You can use the Bronze service plan to create local copies of your applications.
● Silver — You can use the Silver service plan to create remote copies of your applications.
● Gold — You can use the Gold service plan to create both local and remote copies of your applications.
NOTE: Ensure you understand the storage capabilities when selecting a service plan type. Not all storage technologies
support Remote Replication, so Silver or Gold service plans may not be successful for the application data.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold service plans are provided by default, however you can customize and create your own plans.
The following table describes the service plans and applications supported.

Storage Replication Bronze Silver Gold RP Application Repurposing


type support
support support

eNAS on File Snapshot Yes Yes Yes No VMware datastores, No


VMAX3/ File systems, and
PowerMax Oracle
PowerStore Snapshot Yes Yes Yes No All applications Yes a

AppSync supports.
Thin Clone Yes Yes Yes No

Service Plans 49
Storage Replication Bronze Silver Gold RP Application Repurposing
type support
support support

File Snapshot Yes No No No UNIX NFS File Yes. Supports only


systems, VMware local repurposing. a
datastores
File Thin Yes No No No UNIX NFS File
Clone systems, VMware
datastores
BlockAndFile Yes No No No SAP HANA systems Yes. Supports local
Snapshot repurposing only.
CSI Snapshot Yes No No No Kubernetes Cluster Yes. Supports local
repurposing only.
Immutable Yes Yes Yes No All applications No
Copy AppSync supports
PowerFlex Snapshot Yes Yes b No No All applications Yes
AppSync supports.
CSI Snapshot Yes No No No Kubernetes Cluster Yes. Supports local
repurposing only.
Unity Unified Yes Yes Yes Yes All applications Yes
Snapshot AppSync supports.
Unified File Yes No No No VMware datastores, No
Snapshot Oracle, SAP HANA
system, and File
systems
Thin Clone c No No No No Microsoft SQL, Yes
Oracle, SAP HANA
system, and File
systems
XtremIO Snapshot Yes Yes No Yes All applications Yes
AppSync supports
except SAP HANA
system.
VMAX3/ SnapVX Snap Yes No No No All applications Yes
PowerMax/ AppSync supports.
VMAX All
Flash SnapVX Clone Yes No No No All applications Yes
AppSync supports.
SRDF/A Local Yes No No No All applications Yes
AppSync supports.
SRDF/A No Yes Yes No VMware datastores,
Remote a Oracle, SAP HANA
system, and UNIX
file systems
SRDF/S Local Yes No Yes No All applications Yes
AppSync supports.
SRDF/S No Yes Yes No All applications
Remote AppSync supports.
SRDF/Metro Yes Yes Yes No All applications Yes
d AppSync supports.
NOTE: NOTE: Four
For site
Bronze configurations
and (SRDF/Metro +

50 Service Plans
Storage Replication Bronze Silver Gold RP Application Repurposing
type support
support support

Gold 2 DR sites) are


service not supported in
plans, PowerMax.
array
prefere
nce
should
be
selecte
d in the
service
plan to
create
local
copy.

Immutable Yes Yes Yes No All applications No


Copy AppSync supports.

File Snapshot Yes No No No Supports only Oracle, Yes. Supports local


e SAP HANA, VMware repurposing only.
NFS datastores and
Linux or UNIX NFS
file systems.

File Thin Yes No No No Supports only Oracle, Yes. Supports local


Clone e SAP HANA, VMware repurposing only.
NFS datastores and
Linux or UNIX NFS
file systems.

BlockAndFileS Yes No No No SAP HANA systems Yes. Supports local


nap ef repurposing only.
BlockAndFileC Yes No No No SAP HANA Systems Yes. Supports only
lone e 2nd gen local copy.
Metro node | VPLEX Snap h Yes No No No All applications XtremIO - Yes,
VPLEX g AppSync supports. Unity/PowerStore
VPLEX Clone Yes No No No - Yes i VMAX3/
PowerMax, VMAX
All Flash - Yes.
NOTE: Metro
node | VPLEX +
VMAX/Metro is
not supported.

RecoverPoint Local Yes No No Yes All applications Yes


bookmark AppSync supports
except SAP HANA
system.
Remote No Yes No Yes All applications Yes
bookmark AppSync supports
except SAP HANA
system.
Local and No No Yes Yes All applications No
remote AppSync supports
bookmark

Service Plans 51
Storage Replication Bronze Silver Gold RP Application Repurposing
type support
support support

except SAP HANA


system.
Dell SC Dell SC Series Yes No No No All applications No
Snapshots AppSync supports
except SAP HANA
system. j

a. The first-generation copy can be a snap or clone. The second-generation copy will always be a clone. If you select
first-generation snap, second-generation copies will not have modifications that are done in first-generation copy. If you
want changes to be done in first-generation copy to be propagated to second-generation copies, create a first-generation
clone copy.
b. Silver copies are supported with non-VSS applications only.
c. The first-generation copy is always a Snap. However, the second-generation copy can either be a Snap or a Clone.
d. SRDF/Metro + SRDF/A is not supported for windows applications.
e. Applies only to PowerMax 10 onwards.
f. For the support of BlockAndFileSnap and BlockAndFileClone replication types, both the block and file storage should be
from the same storage system or appliance.
g. Metro node | VPLEX is only supported on XtremIO, VMAX3/PowerMax, VMAX All Flash, PowerStore, and Unity back-end
arrays.
h. This is the snapshot on the back-end array.
i. Unity/ PowerStore thin clone is only supported on second-generation copies.
j. AppSync only supports VM and granular file restore on Dell SC arrays.

Service plan settings


When you subscribe an object to a service plan, it joins other objects that are already part of the plan. All objects in the service
plan are subject to the workflow and settings that are defined in the service plan.
Service plans set a copy priority which is the preferred order of storage technology the service plan uses when creating copies.
If AppSync cannot satisfy a preference, it tries to use the selected preference in the Copy Priority list. You can adjust the
preferences to create service plans that use the replication technology you want on priority. If you want AppSync to skip using a
particular replication technology, clear that preference from the Copy Priority list.
The default service plans offer tiered levels of protection. If you must change settings, modify the service plan.
Any service plan can set the automatic expiration of copies which limits the number of copies that AppSync keeps, and
automatically expires older copies that exceed the number that is defined for the service plan or AppSync keeps copies for
defined days and automatically expires copies that exceed days which are defined for the service plan.
Service plans also offers a few application-specific copy options which can be modified. For example, Oracle service plan has
the following copy options:
● Place a database in hot-backup mode (Default: Enabled )
● Copy the Fast Recovery Area (Default: Disabled)
● Index and copy BCT (block change tracking) file (Default: Disabled)
● Create backup control file for RMAN cataloging (Default: Disabled)
To avoid overutilization and depletion of replication storage, when you set up a service plan, set Retention in the Define the
copy screen and RPO in Schedule screen of the service plan.
NOTE: AppSync expiry of old copies works based on the current subscription in a service plan. If applications are added or
removed to a service plan, the current expire copy count and number of copies retained might not match. To avoid this,
subscribe new applications to newly added service plan than altering the application subscription often.

Service plan schedule overrides


You can override a service plan's run schedule settings and specify separate schedules for individual objects that are subscribed
to the plan.

52 Service Plans
You select a recurrence type that is based on which service plan is triggered. This recurrence type is applicable for all application
objects that are subscribed to a service plan. However, you can override the settings and specify separate settings for selected
objects.
As the Service Plan Administrator, if you change the generic recurrence settings (such as the time to run, or minutes after the
hour), there is no impact to the settings of the overrides.
NOTE: If an application object is subscribed to multiple plans, the plans must not be scheduled to be running
simultaneously.

Service plan events


Events show the progress of an operation. They are generated when a service plan is run.
Click any event to view the details in the right pane of the page. The event status, date and time, host, description, and event ID
details are shown for each event.
You can view events at:
● Service plan Events tab. For example, on the AppSync console, go to the Events tab in Copy Management > Copies >
Service Plans > Select Application > Microsoft Exchange, to view the copies. Select the specific copy and click on the
events in properties. This displays the events that are related to the Exchange copy.
● Events display the events that were generated as part of the service plan run.
By default, only the top-level events, which are known as milestone events, are displayed. You can expand a milestone event to
show the other events that were generated.

Create a service plan


You can create a new service plan for each application by using an existing plan as a template.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.
NOTE: The new service plan will contain the same schedule and other settings as the template, with no object subscribed
to the service plan, the user is allowed to change the settings of the service plan during creation.

Create a Service Plan for an Oracle database


Perform the following procedure to create a service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the service plan page.
4. Click CREATE SERVICE PLAN.
5. Click SELECT TEMPLATE and select one of the following options to use as the template to create the service plan and
click OK:
● Bronze
● Gold
● Silver
NOTE: User-created service plans are listed in this page. You can also use user-created service plans as templates.

6. In the Define the copy page, configure values for the following options:
a. Provide a name for the service plan in the Service Plan Name field.
b. Provide a description for the service plan in the Description field.
c. Configure the Service Plan State option to either Enabled or Disabled.
d. Select the copy location to local, remote, or local and remote (applicable only for gold service plans).

Service Plans 53
e. Configure the Mount Copy option to No, Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes -
Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
f. Configure the Immutable Copy option is set to No by default. You must change this option to Yes, to create immutable
copies of the application. Once you select Yes, the Always Keep _____ Copies option will be disabled, and you must
also specify the retention days in Keep Copy for _____ Days.
g. In the Retention field, you can configure the following settings.
● Always Keep _____ Copies to specify the number of copies to be retained. Older copies will get expired after the
copy count reaches the mentioned value.
● Keep Copy for _____ Days to specify the number of days to retain the copies. AppSync will expire the copy after it
crosses the Time to Live period.
Select the Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy, if you want to include RecoverPoint copies
in the expiration rotation policy.

NOTE: If there are copies for the service plan, you cannot change the retention policy from count to age or the
opposite way. This is applicable for immutable copies also.

7. Click NEXT.
8. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Select the desired Oracle Options:
● Place the database in hot backup mode
● Select archive destination for hot backup mode
● Index and copy the BCT(block change tracking) file
● Create backup control file for RMAN cataloging
● Copy the Fast Recovery Area
b. Select Enable Archive Log Backup to enable the archive log backup. Configure the following archive log backup
settings:
● Configure the Schedule field to Immediately after database backup, or Every and select the frequency of the log
backup subsequent drop-down lists.
● Configure the Minimum Retention Hours field, to control when archive log backup are deleted.
c. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. This applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
d. In the Select an Array section, select the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/Metro.

e. In the Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) section, select the preferred storage groups.
f. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can
drag and drop the arrays to change array preference.
g. Configure the Copy Priority to settings by dragging and dropping the Snapshot, Clone, and Bookmark options in the
desired order.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Scripts page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to run and configure the following fields:
NOTE: This step displays pre-mount scripts and post-mount scripts if the mount option is selected.

a. Full Path to Script


b. Script Parameters
NOTE: Parameters must be separated by space. Exact parameters depend on the script. Parameters with spaces
must be enclosed in double quotes. For example: “username” “password," or “F:\” “G:\."

c. Run as User Name


d. Password
11. Click NEXT.
12. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Runs a service plan when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Runs a service plan based on the specified recurrence type. Configure the following fields to schedule the
service plan.
○ In the Recurrence Type drop-down list, select the desired frequency of service plan run. Options are:

54 Service Plans
■ At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes after the hour
are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
■ Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes after the hour are
set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
■ On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more days of the
week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is
12:00 AM.
■ On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one or more days
of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute interval. Default is the first
day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
○ Select the Enable Recovery Point Objective to enable the RecoveryPoint objective.
○ In the RPO drop-down list, select the desired time.
13. Click NEXT.
14. Review the Service Plan creation settings and click FINISH.
NOTE:
● To edit an already created service plan, select the service plan and click EDIT in the Service Plan Details pane.
Repeat steps 6 to 14.
● For Oracle RAC database, click EDIT on the SUBSCRIBERS pane to edit subscribers of a service plan. This is
enabled only for Oracle RAC database, to configure priority of the RAC hosts that can be used by AppSync to
run the protection operations. The default option Any Hosts allows AppSync to choose the RAC host to run the
protection operations. Any of the selected Hosts option allows you to set the priority of the RAC host that is used
by AppSync to run the protection operations.

Create a Service Plan for a SQL database


Perform the following procedure to create a service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server to display the service plans page.
4. Click CREATE SERVICE PLAN.
5. Click SELECT TEMPLATE and select one of the following options to use as the template to create the service plan and
click OK:
● Bronze
● Gold
● Silver
NOTE: User-created service plans are listed in this page. You can also use user-created service plans as templates.

6. In the Define the copy page, configure values for the following options:
a. Specify a name for the service plan in the Service Plan Name field.
b. You can edit the description for the service plan in the Description field.
c. Configure the Service Plan State option to either Enabled or Disabled.
d. Configure the Mount Copy option to No, Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes -
Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
e. Configure the Immutable Copy option is set to No by default. You must change this option to Yes, to create immutable
copies of the application. Once you select Yes, the Always Keep _____ Copies option will be disabled, and you must
also specify the retention days in Keep Copy for _____ Days.
f. In the Retention field, you can configure the following settings.
● Always Keep _____ Copies to specify the number of copies to be retained. Older copies will get expired after the
copy count reaches the mentioned value.
● Keep Copy for _____ Days to specify the number of days to retain the copies. AppSync will expire the copy after it
crosses the Time to Live period.

Service Plans 55
Select the Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy, if you want to include RecoverPoint copies
in the expiration rotation policy.

NOTE: If there are copies for the service plan, you cannot change the retention policy from count to age or the
opposite way. This is applicable for immutable copies also.

g. In the Advanced plan settings field, specify the number of sql databases.
NOTE: 35 is the recommended value for this option.

7. Click NEXT.
8. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Configure the SQL Server Backup Type settings to either Full, Copy, Non-VDI, or Crash-Consistent.
NOTE:
● Auto Switch to Copy is enabled only when Full is selected as the backup type. However, it is unchecked by
default. Checking Auto Switch to Copy tells AppSync to check if the database role is Secondary, and if so, to
switch the backup type to Copy. If Auto Switch to Copy is not enabled, backups fail for all secondary databases.
When Non VDI or Crash Consistent backup type is selected, Auto Switch to Copy and Enable log backup are
disabled.
● Select Enable Log Backup to enable the log backup. However, when Non-VDI or Crash Consistent backup type
is selected, Enable log backup is disabled. Configure the following log backup settings:
○ Configure the Schedule field to either Immediately after database backup, or Every and select the
frequency of the log backup subsequent drop-down lists.
○ Specify the path for backup in the Backup path field.
○ Configure the Free space on the volume field, and select the wanted values from the subsequent drop-
down lists.
○ Select the Truncate the logs field, if you want to truncate the logs.
○ Select the Checksum the backup field, if you want to perform a checksum on the log backup.
○ Select the Compression field, if you want to enable compression.
○ Configure the Minimum Retention Hours field, to control when transaction log backup files are deleted.

b. Configure the Retry Count and Retry Interval settings under Advanced Plan Settings - VSS Retry Options.
c. Select the Skip non-readable secondary database protection option if there are secondary availability group
databases in non-readable state that should be skipped from protection.
d. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. This applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
e. In the Select an Array section, select the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/ Metro.

f. In the Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) section, select the preferred storage groups.
g. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can
drag and drop the arrays to change array preference.
h. Configure the Copy Priority to settings by dragging and dropping the Snapshot, Clone, and Bookmark options in the
required order.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Scripts page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to run and configure the following fields:
NOTE: This step displays the post-mount scripts if the mount option is selected. This step displays Pre Log-backup and
Post Log-backup scripts if the Enable log backups option is selected.

a. Full Path to Script


b. Script Parameters
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
11. Click NEXT.
12. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Creates a service plan when you click Finish on this wizard.

56 Service Plans
● Schedule - Creates a service plan based on the specified recurrence type. Configure the following fields to schedule the
creation of a service plan.
○ In the Recurrence Type drop-down list, select the desired frequency of creation. Options are:
■ At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes after the hour
are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
■ Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes after the hour are
set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
■ On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more days of the
week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is
12:00 AM.
■ On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one or more days
of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute interval. Default is the first
day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
○ In the Every drop-down list, select the desired time to create the service plan.
○ Select the Enable Recovery Point Objective to enable the RecoveryPoint objective.
○ In the RPO drop-down list, select the desired time.
13. Click NEXT.
14. Review the Service Plan creation settings, and click FINISH.

NOTE: To edit an already created service plan, select the service plan and click EDIT in the Service Plan Details pane.
Repeat steps 6 to 14.

Create a Service Plan for File Systems


Perform the following procedure to create a service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select File Systems to display the service plan page.
4. Click CREATE SERVICE PLAN.
5. Click SELECT TEMPLATE and select one of the following options to use as the template to create the service plan and
click OK:
● Bronze
● Gold
● Silver
NOTE: User-created service plans are listed in this page. You can also use user-created service plans as templates.

6. In the Define the copy page, configure values for the following options:
a. Provide a name for the service plan in the Service Plan Name field.
b. Provide a description for the service plan in the Description field.
c. Configure the Service Plan State option to either Enabled or Disabled.
d. Configure the Mount Copy option to No, Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes -
Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
e. Configure the Immutable Copy option is set to No by default. You must change this option to Yes, to create immutable
copies of the application. Once you select Yes, the Always Keep _____ Copies option will be disabled, and you must
also specify the retention days in Keep Copy for _____ Days.
f. In the Retention field, you can configure the following settings.
● Always Keep _____ Copies to specify the number of copies to be retained. Older copies will get expired after the
copy count reaches the mentioned value.
● Keep Copy for _____ Days to specify the number of days to retain the copies. AppSync will expire the copy after it
crosses the Time to Live period.
Select the Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy, if you want to include RecoverPoint copies
in the expiration rotation policy.

Service Plans 57
NOTE: If there are copies for the service plan, you cannot change the retention policy from count to age or the
opposite way. This is applicable for immutable copies also.

g. In the Advanced plan settings field, you can configure the following settings
● Enable CallOut scripts
● Callout timeout(in minutes)
7. Click NEXT.
8. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Configure the UNIX Filesystem consistency settings to either Filesystem Consistent or Crash Consistent.
b. Configure the Retry Count and Retry Interval settings under Advanced Plan Settings - VSS Retry Options.
c. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. This applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
d. In the Select an Array section, select the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/ Metro.

e. In the Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) section, select the preferred storage groups.
f. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can
drag and drop the arrays to change array preference.
g. Configure the Copy Priority to settings by dragging and dropping the Snapshot, Clone, and Bookmark options in the
desired order.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Scripts page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to execute and configure the following fields:
NOTE: This step displays pre-mount scripts and post-mount scripts if the mount option is selected.

a. File
b. Script Parameters
NOTE: Parameters must be separated by space. Exact parameters depend on the script. Parameters with spaces
must be enclosed in double quotes. For example: “username” “password," or “F:\” "G:\."

c. Run as User Name


d. Password
11. Click NEXT.
12. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Creates a service plan when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a service plan based on the specified recurrence type. Configure the following fields to schedule the
creation of a service plan.
○ In the Recurrence Type drop-down list, select the desired frequency of creation. Options are:
■ At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes after the hour
are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
■ Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes after the hour are
set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
■ On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more days of the
week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is
12:00 AM.
■ On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one or more days
of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute interval. Default is the first
day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
○ In the Every drop-down list, select the desired time to create the service plan.
○ Select the Enable Recovery Point Objective to enable the RecoveryPoint objective.
○ In the RPO drop-down list, select the desired time.
13. Click NEXT.
14. Review the Service Plan creation settings and click FINISH.
NOTE: To edit an already created service plan, select the service plan and click EDIT in the Service Plan Details pane.
Repeat steps 6 to 14.

58 Service Plans
Create a Service Plan for SAP HANA
Perform the following procedure to create a service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select SAP HANA to display the service plan page.
4. Click CREATE SERVICE PLAN.
5. Click SELECT TEMPLATE and select one of the following options to use as the template to create the service plan and
click OK:
● Bronze
● Gold
● Silver
NOTE: User-created service plans are listed in this page. You can also use user-created service plans as templates.

6. In the Define the copy page, configure values for the following options:
a. Provide a name for the service plan in the Service Plan Name field.
b. Provide a description for the service plan in the Description field.
c. Configure the Service Plan State option to either Enabled or Disabled.
d. Configure the Mount Copy option to No, Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes -
Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
e. Configure the Immutable Copy option is set to No by default. You must change this option to Yes, to create immutable
copies of the application. Once you select Yes, the Always Keep _____ Copies option will be disabled, and you must
also specify the retention days in Keep Copy for _____ Days.
f. In the Retention field, you can configure the following settings.
● Always Keep _____ Copies to specify the number of copies to be retained. Older copies will get expired after the
copy count reaches the mentioned value.
● Keep Copy for _____ Days to specify the number of days to retain the copies. AppSync will expire the copy after it
crosses the Time to Live period.
NOTE: If there are copies for the service plan, you cannot change the retention policy from count to age or the
opposite way. This is applicable for immutable copies also.

7. Click NEXT.
8. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. This applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
b. In the Select an Array section, select the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/ Metro.

c. In the Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) section, select the preferred storage groups.
d. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can
drag and drop the arrays to change array preference.
e. Configure the Copy Priority to settings by dragging and dropping the Snapshot, and Clone options in the desired order.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Scripts page, select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to execute and configure the following fields:
NOTE: This step displays pre-mount scripts and post-mount scripts if the mount option is selected.

a. Full Path to Script


b. Script Parameters
NOTE: Parameters must be separated by space. Exact parameters depend on the script. Parameters with spaces
must be enclosed in double quotes. For example: “username” “password".

c. Run as User Name


d. Password

Service Plans 59
11. Click NEXT.
12. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Creates a service plan when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a service plan based on the specified recurrence type. Configure the following fields to schedule the
creation of a service plan.
○ In the Recurrence Type drop-down list, select the desired frequency of creation. Options are:
■ At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes after the hour
are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
■ Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes after the hour are
set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
■ On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more days of the
week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is
12:00 AM.
■ On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one or more days
of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute interval. Default is the first
day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
○ In the Every drop-down list, select the desired time to create the service plan.
○ Select the Enable Recovery Point Objective to enable the RecoveryPoint objective.
○ In the RPO drop-down list, select the desired time.
13. Click NEXT.
14. Review the Service Plan creation settings and click FINISH.

Create a Service Plan for VMware


Perform the following procedure to create a service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select VMware Datacenters to display the service plan page.
4. Click CREATE SERVICE PLAN.
5. Click SELECT TEMPLATE and select one of the following options to use as the template to create the service plan and
click OK:
● Bronze
● Gold
● Silver
NOTE: User-created service plans are listed in this page. You can also use user-created service plans as templates.

6. Click OK.
7. In the Define the copy page, configure values for the following options:
a. Provide a name for the service plan in the Service Plan Name field.
b. Provide a description for the service plan in the Description field.
c. Configure the Service Plan State option to either Enabled or Disabled.
d. Configure the Mount Copy option to No, Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes -
Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
e. Configure the Immutable Copy option is set to No by default. You must change this option to Yes, to create immutable
copies of the application. Once you select Yes, the Always Keep _____ Copies option will be disabled, and you must
also specify the retention days in Keep Copy for _____ Days.
f. In the Retention field, you can configure the following settings.
● Always Keep _____ Copies to specify the number of copies to be retained. Older copies will get expired after the
copy count reaches the mentioned value.
● Keep Copy for _____ Days to specify the number of days to retain the copies. AppSync will expire the copy after it
crosses the Time to Live period.
Select the Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy, if you want to include RecoverPoint copies
in the expiration rotation policy.

60 Service Plans
NOTE: If there are copies for the service plan, you cannot change the retention policy from count to age or the
opposite way. This is applicable for immutable copies also.

8. Click NEXT.
9. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Configure the copy consistency settings to either VM Consistent or Crash Consistent.
b. Configure the Maximum Simultaneous VM Snapshots field.
c. Optionally you can select, the Include Virtual Machine Disk option.
d. Optionally you can select, the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete. This option only applies to
VMAX3/PowerMax arrays.
e. In the Select an Array section, select the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/Metro.

f. In the Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) section, select the preferred storage groups.
g. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can
drag and drop the arrays to change array preference.
h. Configure the Copy Priority to settings by dragging and dropping the Snapshot, Clone, and Bookmark options in the
desired order.
10. Click NEXT.
11. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Creates a service plan when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a service plan based on the specified recurrence type. Configure the following fields to schedule the
creation of a service plan.
○ In the Recurrence Type drop-down list, select the desired frequency of creation. Options are:
■ At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes after the hour
are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
■ Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes after the hour are
set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
■ On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more days of the
week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is
12:00 AM.
■ On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one or more days
of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute interval. Default is the first
day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
○ In the Every drop-down list, select the desired time to create the service plan.
○ Select the Enable Recovery Point Objective to enable the RecoveryPoint objective.
○ In the RPO drop-down list, select the desired time.
12. Click NEXT.
13. Review the Service Plan creation settings and click FINISH.
NOTE: To edit an already created service plan, select the service plan and click EDIT in the Service Plan Details pane.
Repeat steps 7 to 13.

Create a Service Plan for Exchange


Perform the following procedure to create a service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft Exchange to display the service plan page.
4. Click CREATE SERVICE PLAN.
5. Click SELECT TEMPLATE, then select one of the following options to use as the template to create the service plan:
● Bronze
● Gold

Service Plans 61
● Silver
NOTE: User-created service plans are listed in this page. You can also use user-created service plans as templates.

6. Click OK.
7. In the Define the copy page, configure values for the following options:
a. Provide a name for the service plan in the Service Plan Name field.
b. Provide a description for the service plan in the Description field.
c. Configure the Service Plan State option to either Enabled or Disabled.
d. Configure the Mount Copy option to No, Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes -
Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
e. Configure the Validate Copy option to Yes or No.
f. Configure the Immutable Copy option is set to No by default. You must change this option to Yes, to create immutable
copies of the application. Once you select Yes, the Always Keep _____ Copies option will be disabled, and you must
also specify the retention days in Keep Copy for _____ Days.
g. In the Retention field, you can configure the following settings.
● Always Keep _____ Copies to specify the number of copies to be retained. Older copies will get expired after the
copy count reaches the mentioned value.
● Keep Copy for _____ Days to specify the number of days to retain the copies. AppSync will expire the copy after it
crosses the Time to Live period.
Select the Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy, if you want to include RecoverPoint copies
in the expiration rotation policy.

NOTE: If there are copies for the service plan, you cannot change the retention policy from count to age or the
opposite way. This is applicable for immutable copies also.

8. Click NEXT.
9. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Configure the Exchange Backup Type to either Full, Copy, or Differential.
b. Optionally you can select, the Allow databases and logs to reside on the same volume option.
c. Configure Event log Scanning settings by selecting the following options:
● -1018 error (JET Read/Verify Failed)
● -1019 error (JET Page Not Initialized)
● -1022 error (JET Disk I/O Failure)
● Event ID 447
● Event ID 448
d. Configure the Retry Count and Retry Interval settings under Advanced Plan Settings - VSS Retry Options.
e. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. This applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
f. In the Select an Array section, select the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/Metro.

g. In the Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) section, select the preferred storage groups.
h. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can
drag and drop the arrays to change array preference.
i. Configure the Copy Priority to settings by dragging and dropping the Snapshot, Clone, and Bookmark options in the
desired order.
10. Click NEXT.
11. In the Scripts page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to execute and configure the following fields:
a. Path
b. File
c. Script Parameters
NOTE: Parameters must be separated by space. Exact parameters depend on the script. Parameters with spaces
must be enclosed in double quotes. For example: “username” “password," or “F:\” "G:\."

d. Run as User Name


e. Password

62 Service Plans
12. Click NEXT.
13. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Creates a service plan when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a service plan based on the specified recurrence type. Configure the following fields to schedule the
creation of a service plan.
○ In the Recurrence Type drop-down list, select the desired frequency of creation. Options are:
■ At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes after the hour
are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
■ Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes after the hour are
set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
■ On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more days of the
week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is
12:00 AM.
■ On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one or more days
of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute interval. Default is the first
day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
○ In the Every drop-down list, select the desired time to create the service plan.
○ Select the Enable Recovery Point Objective to enable the RecoveryPoint objective.
○ In the RPO drop-down list, select the desired time.
14. Click NEXT.
15. Review the Service Plan creation settings and click FINISH.
NOTE: To edit an already created service plan, select the service plan and click EDIT in the Service Plan Details pane.
Repeat steps 7 to 15.

Create a Service Plan for Kubernetes Cluster


Perform the following procedure to create a service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster to display the service plan page.
4. Click CREATE SERVICE PLAN.
5. Click SELECT TEMPLATE and select the following option to use as the template to create the service plan and click OK:
● Bronze
NOTE: User-created service plans are listed in this page. You can also use user-created service plans as templates.

NOTE: Only local copy creation is supported.

6. In the Define the copy page, configure values for the following options:
a. Provide a name for the service plan in the Service Plan Name field.
b. Provide a description for the service plan in the Description field.
c. Configure the Service Plan State option to either Enabled or Disabled.
d. Configure the Mount Copy option to No, Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes -
Mount the copy and on completion unmount.
e. In the Retention field, you can configure the following settings.
● Always Keep _____ Copies to specify the number of copies to be retained. Older copies will get expired after the
copy count reaches the mentioned value.
● Keep Copy for _____ Days to specify the number of days to retain the copies. AppSync will expire the copy after it
crosses the Time to Live period.
NOTE: If there are copies for the service plan, you cannot change the retention policy from count to age or the
opposite way. This is applicable for immutable copies also.

7. Click NEXT.

Service Plans 63
8. In the Create the Copy page,
● Select Prefer Volume Group Snapshot option to create copy using Volume Group snapshot. This option is applicable
only if Volume Group CRD is installed in the cluster. If Volume Group CRD is not installed, Volume snapshots are created.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Creates a service plan when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a service plan based on the specified recurrence type. Configure the following fields to schedule the
creation of a service plan.
○ In the Recurrence Type drop-down list, select the desired frequency of creation. Options are:
■ At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes after the hour
are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
■ Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes after the hour are
set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
■ On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more days of the
week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is
12:00 AM.
■ On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one or more days
of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute interval. Default is the first
day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
○ In the Every drop-down list, select the desired time to create the service plan.
○ Select the Enable Recovery Point Objective to enable the RecoveryPoint objective.
○ In the RPO drop-down list, select the desired time.
11. Click NEXT.
12. Review the Service Plan creation settings and click FINISH.

Run a service plan on demand


Service plans run on a schedule but you can also run a service plan on demand.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / VMware Datacenters / File
Systems / Microsoft Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster to display the service plan page.
4. Select the service plan you want to run and click RUN.
This service plan run is applicable to all the application objects currently subscribed to the plan. The service plan runs
immediately. The progress dialog displays information as application storage is discovered and mapped, and application
protection begins according to service plan settings.
5. Click Details to see more events.

Enable and disable a service plan


By default all service plans are enabled. You can disable a service plan or enable a disabled service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.

64 Service Plans
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / VMware Datacenters / File
Systems / Microsoft Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster to display the service plan page.
4. Select the plan and click ENABLE or DISABLE.

Delete a service plan


You can delete a user-created service plan.

Prerequisites
● This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.
● You cannot delete a built-in service plan (for example, Bronze, Silver, Gold).
● You cannot delete a service plan if the plan has subscriptions or if there are valid copies associated with the plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / VMware Datacenters / File
Systems / Microsoft Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster to display the service plan page.
4. Select a user-created plan and click DELETE.

Unsubscribe from a service plan


You can unsubscribe applications that are subscribed to bronze, silver, gold, or the custom service plans.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / VMware Datacenters / Microsoft
Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster .
4. Click the desired service plan.
The details are displayed in the right pane of the page for the selected service plan.
5. Select the SUBSCRIBERS tab.
The subscribers of the selected service plan displays.
6. Select an instance, application, datastore, or server and click UNSUBSCRIBE.
The selected application is no more subscribed to the service plan.
NOTE: You can also select multiple instances and unsubscribe all of them together.

Enable or disable automatic expiry of a copy


You can enable or disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / VMware Datacenters / Microsoft
Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster .
4. Click the name of the desired service plan.
5. In the Copies page, select a copy, and click MORE.
6. Select one of the following choices:
● Select Enable Copy Expiry to enable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
● Select Disable Copy Expiry to disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.

Service Plans 65
You can also navigate to Copy Management Copies > Copies > Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server /
File Systems / VMware Datacenters / Microsoft Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster , and navigate to the
copies page to disable automatic expiry of a copy.

Service Plan Events


The events page displays a list of the events associated with the service plan.
Click any event to view the details in the right pane of the page. To do so:
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / VMware Datacenters / Microsoft
Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster .
4. Click the name of the desired service plan.
5. In the Events tab, select an entry to view detailed events generated during the service plan run on the right pane.
The event status, date and time, host, description, and event ID details are shown for each event. Use the Show/Hide
Columns button to view or hide event details.
NOTE: Show Copies in Date Range: This option is used to list the copies for the selected From Date and To Date. The
From Date should not be greater than the To Date. If the From Date is not provided, Please provide a valid
From Date, error message appears.

Oracle service plan details


Lists the Oracle Database service plan settings with their default values.

Table 14. Oracle database Service Plan details


Name Description
Define the Copy
Service Plan Name Name of the service plan.
Description Describes the function of the service plan.
Service Plan State Specifies if the service plan is enabled or disabled.
Copy Location Specifies if the location is local, remote, or local and remote.
Mount Copy Specifies the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy
Immutable Copy Specifies whether the copy is immutable or not. You can choose the retention time for the copy.
NOTE: Once the retention time is set, you can only increase the retention time.

Retention Specifies the configured copy retention number.


● Always Keep ___ Copies : Specifies the number of copies to be retained.
● Keep Copy for ___ Days : Specifies the number of days to retain the copies.
Create the Copy
Oracle Options
Place the database in hot This option is enabled by default. When enabled, the protection puts the database in hot backup
backup mode and immediately creates copies of the data and archive logs. If you disable this option, the
database is not placed in hot backup mode. The copy is created from the live unquiesced data
without any instrumentation of the database.

66 Service Plans
Table 14. Oracle database Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Select archive destination ● This option is enabled by default. This means that all configured archive destinations are
for hot backup mode protected.
● This option is disabled only if you unselect Place database in hot-backup mode. You
can specify up to 10 archive log destinations. AppSync discovers the specified archive
destinations and maps them during protection. For example, consider archive destination 1
is on file system 1 and archive destination 2 is on file system 2. If you select only archive
destination 1, then AppSync maps and protects only file system 1.
Index and copy the BCT ● This option is disabled by default.
(block change tracking) file ● If enabled, AppSync creates an entry in the Oracle block change tracking file and re-copies
the file as part of the protection. This file can then be leveraged as part of a mount and
backup use-case to provide accelerated incremental backup. This option requires hot backup
mode.
Create backup control file ● This option is disabled by default.
for RMAN cataloging ● If enabled, AppSync creates a binary backup control file with a request to catalog the
database contents in a remote RMAN catalog. This option requires hot backup mode.
Copy the Fast Recovery When enabled, this field tells AppSync to create a copy of the underlying storage the FRA uses
Area when protecting the archive log files of database.
Enable archive log backup Specifies if the Enable archive log backup is enabled or disabled. Once enabled, it provides
Archive Log Backup Options.
Archive Log Backup Options
Schedule Specifies the following options for scheduling log backups.
● Immediately after database backup.
● Every ___ hours. Specifies the time interval for taking log backup.
Minimum Retention Days Controls when the archive log backups are deleted. AppSync deletes the log backup files, and
the log backup information that is available in the AppSync database. The default setting is 7
days, which means that AppSync will not delete any log backup for a minimum of seven days.
Storage Preferences
Wait for PowerMax/ Applies to PowerMax/VMAX3 only.
VMAX-3 clone sync to
complete
Array Selection (Applicable Allows you to select preferred production array for local copy in SRDF/Metro configuration.
only for SRDF/Metro)
Select Storage Groups Select the preferred storage groups to use if you are configuring VMAX3/PowerMax Arrays.
to be used for VMAX-3
Array(s)
Select the cluster/arrays in Allows you to configure array preference by dragging and dropping the available options in the
preferred order for metro preferred order.
node | VPLEX configuration
Copy Priority ● Specifies if the Snapshot, Clone, Bookmark, or all three options are selected.
● Allows you to order, select, or clear storage preferences. By default, all the options are
selected. You cannot clear all the preferences, at least one preference must be selected.
Mount
Mount Operation Allows the following mount operations:
● Mount on standalone server.
● Mount on standalone server and create RMAN catalog entry.
● Mount on standalone server and recover database.
● Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts for manual database recovery.
● Mount on Grid cluster and recover as RAC database.
General Settings

Service Plans 67
Table 14. Oracle database Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Mount to cluster Specifies the cluster name of the RAC database.
Mount on Server The server on which to mount the copy.
Mount on Path The Default Mount Path is /appsync. The mount path could also be Same as Original Path.
However, this option is not available when the mount host = production host. You can also
change Default Mount Path, for example, /EMC instead of /AppSync.

Run Filesystem Check During a mount operation, theAppSync agent checks file system data consistency by executing
the fsck command. This operation can be time consuming. You can clear this option to skip file
system check during a mount operation. By default, file system check is enabled.
NOTE:
● In the case of a restore operation, the Run Filesystem Check option is enabled by default.
You cannot disable it.
● The Run Filesystem Check option is not applicable to ASM file systems.

Copy to mount Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be mounted as part of service plan run
NOTE: Applies to Gold service plans or the service plans that were created using Gold
service plan as template.

Allow Unmount Of Allows you to unmount a copy that was mounted on-demand.
OnDemand Mounted Copy NOTE:
● This option is available during service plan edit only when you have selected Yes - Keep
it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted) option in Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted copy will be unmounted.

RMAN Settings
RMAN User Name Specifies the RMAN User name
RMAN Password Specifies the RMAN password
RMAN Connect String Specifies the TNS alias used to connect to remote RMAN catalog.
TNS_ADMIN Path of the tnsnames.ora file where the TNS alias is specified. Default path is
$ORACLE_HOME\network\admin\.

Skip Data Files Skip cataloging of database data files. Default: Not selected.
Recovery settings ● Recovery Settings:
○ Open-mode: Read-write
○ ORACLE_HOME: Same as production host or Oracle home location on mount host.
○ Database Name: APS is the prefix, %DB% is the variable which will be replaced with the
production database name during run time.
○ SID name: APS is the prefix, %SID% is the variable which will be replaced with the
production database SID during run time.
○ ASM Diskgroup Name: APS is the prefix, %DG% is the variable which will be replaced with
the production ASM diskgroup name during run time.
NOTE: If same diskgroups are already there on mount host, a prefix or suffix is
mandatory.
○ Customize Initialization Parameters: This field will be blank. You can fill in one parameter
per line, for example, memory_target=629145600
○ Create TEMP Tablespace: Use this option to create the Temp Tablespace on the recovery
mounted database copy. This setting is enabled when you select the following mount
operations with Read/Write Open-mode: Mount on standalone server and recover, Mount
on standalone server and prepare scripts for manual recovery, or Mount on grid cluster
and recover as RAC database. When you select the Create TEMP Tablespace option, two
additional options display:
○ Number of Tempfiles: The number of files to be added to Temp Tablespace. The size of
the files are specified in the Size of each file setting.

68 Service Plans
Table 14. Oracle database Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
○ Use BIGFILE option: Use the BIGFILE option when creating the new temp file. If this
option is selected, the number of temp files is 1.
○ Size of each file: The size of each temp file (in kilobytes (K), megabytes (M), gigabytes
(G), or terabytes (T)).
○ Restart databases after reboot: Select this option to start the AppSync mounted Oracle
databases automatically after a host reboot. By default, this option is disabled.
NOTE: This option is not available for RMAN and mount with generate scripts.
○ Create SPFile: Select this option to create an SPFile. The SPFile is created in the default
location ($ORACLE_HOME/dbs), with the name spfile<SID>.ora. During unmount,
the SPFile is removed from the $ORACLE_HOME/dbs folder.
○ Create on ASM disk: Select this option to create the SPFile on the primary ASM
diskgroup.
● Advanced Recovery Settings (Not applicable for RAC)
○ Create Control file copies: Select this option to create 0-3 additional control file copies for
redundancy purposes. The default is 0.
○ Use ADR (Automatic Diagnostic Repository) home directory for DIAGNOSTIC_DEST:
Select this option to force the mounted database to use the ADR home directory instead
of TEMP for diagnostic logs (default: off). By default, this option is disabled.
○ Change Database ID: Select this option to change the database ID of the mounted
database. By default, this option is disabled.
○ Disable archive log mode: Select this option to force the mounted database to start with
archive logging disabled. By default, this option is disabled.

Storage Settings
XtremIO QOS For XtremIO only, an option called Quality of Service policy appears in the wizard. You can select
the desired Quality of Service policy for mounting a copy.
Image Access Mode (during ● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large
RecoverPoint mount) areas of the replicated volumes. This is the only option available when you mount to the
production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the
replicated volume in the background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested
point in time, the RPA transparently switches to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy
processing. With RP-XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: Provides nearly instant access to the image; it is not intended for heavy
processing. With RP-XtremIO, virtual access is not supported.
Desired SLO For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays only, a setting that is called Desired SLO appears in the Mount
wizard and specifies the required VMAX3/PowerMax Service Level Objectives. SLO defines the
service time operating range of a storage group.
Metro node | VPLEX Mount ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
Option ● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this option if you want to mount the copy
as metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes.
Unlink the SnapVX Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes
snapshots during unmount on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy is stored on
the target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the next mount of
unmounted copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes
will not be available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and
second generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
PowerMax Storage Group Enable this option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays
Preference per Server in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In
turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage
group matches.

Service Plans 69
Table 14. Oracle database Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
NAS Preferred Interface For PowerStore and PowerMax file storage, this option allows you to select a preferred IPv4
interface among a list of Interfaces for a given NAS Server on a given storage array. The
preferred interface is used by AppSync during the mount operation.
VMware Settings
Enable VMware cluster ● Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount. By default, this option
mount. is enabled.
● If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster, the target
LUN is made visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is
enabled. If you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option. This
option is supported on metro node | VPLEX, XtremIO, VMAX3/PowerMax, VMAX All Flash,
PowerStore, PowerFlex, and Unity arrays. If this option is not selected, and the mount host is
part of an ESX cluster, the mount host must have a dedicated storage group, storage view,
or initiator group configured according to the storage system configuration. This enables
AppSync to mask LUNs only to that mount host.
Disable VMware SRM Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint
consistency group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
VMware Virtual Disk Mode Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can select this
option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this
option is disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
Mark storage devices as Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
perennially reserved
Scripts
Pre-copy script Allows you to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be run.
This script is run on Production host before creating a copy in AppSync.
Full path to Script The complete path to the script location.
Script Parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as User Name User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.
Post-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be
executed. This script is executed on Production host after creating a copy in AppSync.
Full path to Script The complete path to the script location.
Script Parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as User Name User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.
Pre-Mount script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be
executed. This script is executed on selected host before the copy is mounted by the service
plan run.
Full path to Script The complete path to the script location.
Script Parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as User Name User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.
Run on host Host where the script needs to run. Select Same as mount host if several mount hosts are
involved.
Post-Mount script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be
executed. This script is executed on selected host after the copy is mounted by the service plan
run.

70 Service Plans
Table 14. Oracle database Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Full path to Script The complete path to the script location.
Script Parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as User Name User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.
Run on host Host where the script needs to run. Select Same as mount host if several mount hosts are
involved.
Schedule/Run
OnDemand Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
Schedule Creates a copy based on the specified schedule.
Recurrence Type Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan. Options are:
● At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours.
Minutes after the hour are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
● Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day.
Minutes after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
● On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or
more days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the
week selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month.
Select one or more days of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times
are at 1 minute interval. Default is the first day of the month. Select Last to select the last
day of the month.
Every Specifies the desired time to create the service plan.
Enable Recovery Point Specifies if the RPO is enabled or not for the specified time interval. In the RPO drop-down list,
Objective select the desired time frame.
Review
Provides summary of the service plan details.

SQL Server service plan details


Summary of SQL Server service plan details.

Table 15. SQL Server Service Plan details


Name Description
Define the Copy
Service Plan Name Name of the service plan.
Description Describes the function of the service plan.
Service Plan State Specifies if the service plan is enabled or disabled.
Copy Location Specifies if the location is local, remote, or local and remote.
Mount Copy Specifies the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy
Immutable Copy Specifies whether the copy is immutable or not. You can choose the retention time for the copy.

Service Plans 71
Table 15. SQL Server Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description

NOTE: Once the retention time is set, you can only increase the retention time.

Retention Specifies the configured copy retention number.


● Always Keep ___ Copies : Specifies the number of copies to be retained.
● Keep Copy for ___ Days : Specifies the number of days to retain the copies.
Advanced plan Maximum number of SQL Databases: Specifies the maximum number of SQL databases allowed to be
settings configured in AppSync.
Create the Copy
SQL Server Backup Type
Full, Copy, Non VDI ● Full - protects the database and the active part of the transaction log.
or Crash Consistent ● Copy - protects the database and the active part of the transaction log without affecting the
sequence of backups.
● Non VDI - protects the database without using VDI, and depends on VSS to create crash
consistent copies.
● Crash Consistent - protects the database without using VSS or VDI, and depends on the array to
create crash consistent copies.
Auto Switch to Copy The Auto Switch to Copy option is enabled only when Full is selected as the backup type. However,
it is unchecked by default. Checking the Auto Switch to Copy option tells AppSync to check if the
database role is Secondary, and if so, to switch the backup type to Copy. If Auto Switch to Copy is
not enabled, backups fail for all secondary databases. When Non VDI or Crash Consistent backup type
is selected, Auto Switch to Copy and Enable log backup are disabled. Secondary databases are
read-only and can be backed up with the Copy backup type.
Enable log backup. Specifies if the Enable log backup is enabled or disabled. Once enabled, it provides Transaction Log
Backup Options.
Transaction Log Backup Options
Schedule Specifies the schedule for log backups.
Backup path Sets the location where AppSync writes log backup files. Default path uses the SQL Server instance
default backup directory. You can also enter a path on any volume on the server or the UNC path of a
network share.
Free Space on the AppSync verifies if the specified amount of free space is available on the volume before beginning
volume transaction log backup.
Backup group size Controls the number of parallel log backups for a SQL Server instance. The default value is 5 (AppSync
runs log backups in groups of five). For example, if you subscribe 15 databases from the same SQL
Server instance to a service plan, three log backups will run in parallel. Transaction log backups run
sequentially.
Truncate the logs Specifies whether to truncate the logs when you create Full database backups. This field is checked
by default when you select the Full backup type, and it is disabled when you select Copy. To protect
secondary databases, truncate logs, select Auto switch to Copy and Truncate the logs.
Checksum the Specifies whether to perform a checksum on the log backup.
backup
Compression Specifies if compression is enabled or disabled.
Expiration of Log Backups
Minimum Retention Controls when transaction log backup files are deleted. Transaction log backup expiration is done when
Hours no older database backups exist. AppSync deletes the log backup files and the log backup information
that is contained in the AppSync database. The default setting is 24 hours which means that AppSync
will not expire any log backup before it is a minimum of 24 hours old. The valid range is 0-10,000 hours.
Advanced Plan Settings- VSS Retry Options

72 Service Plans
Table 15. SQL Server Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
VSS Retry Count Specifies the number of times the VSS retry option is run. During protection, if a service plan fails
because of VSS failures such as VSS timeout issue, the service plan runs the VSS freeze or thaw
operation again based on the specified retry count.
VSS Retry Interval (In Specifies the timeframe (in seconds) between VSS retries. During protection, if a service plan fails
Seconds) because of VSS failures such as VSS timeout issue, the service plan runs the VSS freeze or thaw
operation again based on the specified retry interval.
SQL Secondary Database
Skip non-readable When this option is set to Yes, and if there are any user databases folder subscribed to this service
Secondary Database plan, all secondary non-readable SQL databases will be excluded from protection.
Protection
Storage Preferences
Wait for VMAX3/ Allows you to specify if AppSync must wait for the clone sync to complete for VMAX3/PowerMax
PowerMax clone sync Arrays.
to complete.
Array Selection Allows you to select preferred production array for local copy in SRDF/Metro configuration.
(Applicable only for
SRDF/Metro)
Select Storage Select the preferred storage groups to use if you are configuring VMAX3/PowerMax Arrays.
Groups for
PowerMax/VMAX3
Select the cluster/ Allows you to configure array preference by dragging and dropping the available options in the
arrays in preferred preferred order.
order for metro
node | VPLEX
configuration.
Copy Priority ● Specifies if the Snapshot, Clone, Bookmark, or all three options are selected.
● Allows you to order, select, or clear storage preferences. By default, all the options are selected.
You cannot clear all the preferences, at least one preference must be selected.
Mount
Mount copy Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be mounted as part of service plan run.
NOTE: Applies to service plans that create local and remote copies simultaneously.

Mount and recover Allows you to select both clustered and standalone instances to mount a SQL Server Database either
copy as a clustered or standalone database with recovery. For mounting as a clustered or standalone
database, you can mount to the original path or to the alternate mount point.
General Settings
Recovery Instance The SQL instance on which the mounted database has to be recovered.
NOTE: This option is available only when you select Mount and recover copyoption.

Recovery Type You can choose the type of recovery to be done for the SQL database like Recovery, No Recovery, or
Standby.
NOTE: This option is available only when you select Mount and recover copyoption.

Database Naming You can either choose "Use original database names" or "Use original database names with suffix"
option.
NOTE: This option is available only when you select Mount and recover copyoption.

Mount on Server The server on which copy has to be mounted. Only the nodes of the cluster and standalone hosts are
available for selection. SQL virtual servers are filtered out.
Mount with access Type of access the copy should be mounted with. (read-only or read-write)

Service Plans 73
Table 15. SQL Server Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Mount on Path ● The Default Mount Path is %SystemDrive%\AppSyncMounts\%%ProdServerName%%.
● To specify the value of a Windows environment variable in the mount path, delimit the variable
name with single percent signs (%).
● The default path also contains an AppSync variable (ProdServerName) which is delimited with 2
percent signs (%%).
● The following characters are not valid in the path:< > : " / | ? *
● The mount path could also be Same as Original Path. However, this option is not available when
the mount host is the same as production host.
● If you specify a non-default mount path, the drive that is specified for mount cannot be a clustered
disk.
● Select Mapped Path to specify the path where you want to mount the database.
Copy metadata files ● The Default Path is the location to copy VDI and VSS metadata files:%SystemDrive%
to \AppSyncMounts\%%ProdServerName%%
● The following characters are not valid in the path: < > : " / | ? *
● If you back up the database to another media, back up the metadata files as well.
● AppSync can integrate with third-party backup software to create tape backups of SQL Server
copies. The target directory that is specified here must be part of the backup.
NOTE:
● Metadata is not created for Non VDI copies.
● VSS or VDI metadata is not generated for Crash Consistent copies.

Copy to mount Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be mounted as part of service plan run
NOTE: Applies to Gold service plans or the service plans that were created using Gold service plan
as template.

Allow Unmount Of Allows you to unmount a copy that was mounted on-demand.
OnDemand Mounted NOTE:
Copy ● This option is available during service plan edit only when you have selected Yes - Keep it
mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted) option in Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted copy will be unmounted.

Storage Settings
XtremIO QOS For XtremIO only, the Quality of Service policy option appears in the wizard. You can select the
desired type of Quality of Service policy while mounting a copy.
Image access mode ● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas
(during RecoverPoint of the replicated volumes. Logged access is the only option available when you mount to the
mount) production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the
replicated volume in the background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested point in
time, the RPA transparently switches to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy processing.
With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: Provides nearly instant access to the image. Virtual access is not intended for
heavy processing. Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
Desired SLO For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays only, a setting called Desired Service Level Objective (SLO) appears in
the Mount wizard and specifies the required VMAX3/PowerMax Service Level Objectives. SLO defines
the service time operating range of a storage group.
Metro node | VPLEX ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
Mount Option ● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as
metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes.
Unlink the SnapVX Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes
snapshots during on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy is stored on the
unmount target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the next mount of unmounted
copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not be

74 Service Plans
Table 15. SQL Server Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second generation
repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
Use Dedicated ● Applicable only for physical hosts or virtual machines with direct iSCSI as part of cluster.
Storage Group ● Checked by default, enabling this option allows AppSync to enforce a dedicated VMAX storage
group, Dell SC array, PowerStore host group, or XtremIO initiator group for a mount. (A dedicated
VMAX storage group contains the selected mount host only.) For XtremIO, this option applies to an
XtremIO initiator group that only contains an initiator for the mount host. The mount fails if you are
mounting to a node of a cluster that is in a storage group that is shared with the other nodes.
NOTE: Use this option to mount the copy to a node for copy validation or backup to tape. In
this scenario, you need two storage groups. One storage group is dedicated to the passive node
being used as a mount host and the other storage group is for the remainder of the nodes in
the cluster. Both storage groups contain the shared storage for the cluster.
● If unchecked, AppSync does not enforce the use of a dedicated storage group for a mount.
NOTE: Uncheck this option for manually adding the target devices as clustered storage and
presenting them to clustered SQL Server instances for data repurposing and data mining.

PowerMax Storage Enable this option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the
Group Preference per service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In turn, the
Server storage group is masked in the desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage
group matches.

VMware Settings
Enable VMware If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made
cluster mount visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do not want
to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option. This option is supported on metro node
| VPLEX, XtremIO, VMAX3/PowerMax, VMAX All Flash, PowerStore, PowerFlex, and Unity arrays. If
this option is not selected, and the mount host is part of an ESX cluster, the mount host must have a
dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group configured according to the storage system
configuration. This enables AppSync to mask LUNs only to that mount host.
Disable VMware SRM Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint consistency
group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
VMware Virtual Disk Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can select this
Mode option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option
is disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
● Enable VMWare Virtual Disk Mode and select Persistent to mount the copy in an independent
persistent mode.
● Enable VMWare Virtual Disk Mode and select Non Persistent to mount the copy in an
independent non persistent mode.
Mark storage devices Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
as perennially
reserved
Scripts
Pre-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is executed on Production host before creating a copy in AppSync.
Post-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is executed on selected host after creating a copy in AppSync.
Post-mount script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is executed on selected host after the copy is mounted by the service plan run.
Pre-log backup script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is executed on production host before creating a log backup copy of the database in
AppSync.

Service Plans 75
Table 15. SQL Server Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Post-log backup Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
script This script is executed on selected host after creating a log backup copy of the database in AppSync.
Schedule/Run
OnDemand Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
Schedule Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan.
Recurrence Type Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan. Options are:
● At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
● Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
● On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more
days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week
selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one
or more days of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute
interval. Default is the first day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
Every Specifies the desired time to create the service plan.
Enable Recovery Specifies if the RPO is enabled or not for the specified time interval. In the RPO drop-down list, select
Point Objective the desired time frame.
Review
Provides summary of the service plan details.

File system service plan details


Use this table to learn file system service plan details.
Default service plan settings create an application-consistent copy every 24 hours. Only the replication technology that is
specified by the Copy type in the Create a Copy step varies among plans. The following table summarizes the service plan
details:

Table 16. File System Service Plan details


Name Description
Define the Copy
Service Plan Name Type of service plan.
Description Describes the function of the service plan.
Service Plan State Specifies if the service plan is enabled or disabled.
Copy Location Specifies if the location is local, remote, or local and remote.
Mount Copy Specifies the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy
Immutable Copy Specifies whether the copy is immutable or not. You can choose the retention time for the copy.
NOTE: Once the retention time is set, you can only increase the retention time.

Retention Specifies the configured copy retention number.


● Always Keep ___ Copies : Specifies the number of copies to be retained.

76 Service Plans
Table 16. File System Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
● Keep Copy for ___ Days : Specifies the number of days to retain the copies.
Advanced plan Specifies if the Enable CallOut script is enabled or disabled. By default, this option is enabled. Clear
settings Enable CallOut Scripts to disable call out scripts.
NOTE: For repurposing, if you want to disable callout scripts during refresh, edit the repurpose
plan and then clear Enable CallOut Scripts under service plan settings.

Create the Copy


Unix Filesystem Consistency
Filesystem Consistent If you select this option, the file system is frozen during copy creation. This pauses writes on the file
system. You can create UNIX file system consistent copies using the UNIX fsfreeze utility.

Crash Consistent This is the default option. In this case, the file system is not frozen during copy creation.
Advanced Plan Settings - VSS Retry Options
Retry Count Specifies the number of times the VSS retry option is run. During protection, if a service plan fails
because of VSS failures such as VSS timeout issue, the service plan runs the VSS freeze or thaw
operation again based on the specified retry count.
Retry Interval (In Specifies the timeframe (in seconds) between VSS retries. During protection, if a service plan fails
Seconds) because of VSS failures such as VSS timeout issue, the service plan runs the VSS freeze or thaw
operation, again based on the specified retry interval.
Storage Preferences
Wait for VMAX3/ Allows you to specify if AppSync must wait for the clone sync to complete for VMAX3/PowerMax
PowerMax clone sync Arrays.
to complete.
Array Selection Allows you to select preferred production array for local copy in SRDF/Metro configuration.
(Applicable only for
SRDF/Metro)
Select Storage Select the preferred storage groups to use if you are configuring VMAX3/PowerMax Arrays.
Groups for
PowerMax/VMAX3
Select the cluster/ Allows you to configure array preference by dragging and dropping the available options in the
arrays in preferred preferred order.
order for metro
node | VPLEX
configuration.
Copy Priority ● Specifies if the Snapshot, Clone, Bookmark, or all three options are selected.
● Allows you to order, select, or clear storage preferences. By default, all the options are selected.
You cannot clear all the preferences, at least one preference must be selected.
Mount
General Settings
Mount on Server The server on which to mount the copy. Only the nodes of the cluster or standalone hosts are available
for selection. SQL virtual servers are filtered out.
Mount with access Type of access the copy should be mounted with.
Mount on Path ● The Default Mount Path is %SystemDrive%\AppSyncMounts\%%ProdServerName%%.
● To specify the value of a Windows environment variable in the mount path, delimit the variable
name with single percent signs (%).
● The default path also contains an AppSync variable (ProdServerName) which is delimited with 2
percent signs (%%).
● The following characters are not valid in the path:< > : " / | ? *

Service Plans 77
Table 16. File System Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
● The mount path could also be Same as Original Path. However, this option is not available when
the mount host is the same as production host.
● If you specify a non-default mount path, the drive that is specified for mount cannot be a clustered
disk.
● Select Mapped Path to specify the path where you want to mount the database.
Copy to mount. Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be mounted as part of service plan run.
NOTE: Applies to service plans that create local and remote copies simultaneously.

Allow Unmount Of Allows you to unmount a copy that was mounted on-demand.
On Demand Mounted NOTE:
Copy. ● This option is available during service plan edit only when you have selected Yes - Keep it
mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted) option in Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted copy will be unmounted.

Run Filesystem Check During a mount operation, the AppSync agent checks file system data consistency by executing the
fsck command. This operation can be time consuming. You can clear this option to skip file system
check during a mount operation. By default, file system check is enabled.
NOTE: In the case of a restore operation, the Run Filesystem Check option is enabled by
default. You cannot disable it.

Storage Settings
XtremIO QOS For XtremIO only, the Quality of Service policy option appears in the wizard. You can select the
desired type of Quality of Service policy while mounting a copy.
NAS Preferred For PowerStore and PowerMax file storage, this option allows you to select a preferred IPv4 interface
Interface among a list of Interfaces for a given NAS Server on a given storage array. The preferred interface is
used by AppSync during the mount operation.
Image Access Mode ● Logged Access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas
(during RecoverPoint of the replicated volumes. Logged access is the only option available when you mount to the
mount) production host.
● Virtual Access with Roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the
replicated volume in the background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested point in
time, the RPA transparently switches to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy processing.
With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual Access: Provides nearly instant access to the image. Virtual access is not intended for
heavy processing. Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
Desired SLO For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays only, a setting called Desired Service Level Objective (SLO) appears in
the Mount wizard and specifies the required VMAX3/PowerMax Service Level Objectives. SLO defines
the service time operating range of a storage group.
Metro node | VPLEX ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
Mount Option ● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as
metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes.
● Enable VMware cluster mount:
Unlink the SnapVX Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes
snapshots during on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy is stored on the
unmount target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the next mount of unmounted
copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not be
available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second generation
repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
Use Dedicated ● Applicable only for physical hosts or virtual machines with direct iSCSI as part of cluster.
Storage Group ● Checked by default, enabling this option allows AppSync to enforce a dedicated VMAX storage
group, DELL SC array, PowerStore host group, or XtremIO initiator group for a mount. (A
dedicated VMAX storage group contains the selected mount host only.) For XtremIO, this option
applies to an XtremIO initiator group that only contains an initiator for the mount host. The mount

78 Service Plans
Table 16. File System Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
fails if you are mounting to a node of a cluster that is in a storage group that is shared with the
other nodes.
NOTE: Use this option to mount the copy to a node for copy validation or backup to tape. In
this scenario, you need two storage groups. One storage group is dedicated to the passive node
being used as a mount host and the other storage group is for the remainder of the nodes in
the cluster. Both storage groups contain the shared storage for the cluster.
● If cleared, AppSync does not enforce the use of a dedicated storage group for a mount.
NOTE: Clear this option for manually adding the target devices as clustered storage and
presenting them to clustered SQL Server instances for data repurposing and data mining.

PowerMax Storage Enable this option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the
Group Preference per service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In turn, the
Server storage group is masked in the desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage
group matches.

VMware Settings
Enable VMware ● Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount. By default, this option is
Cluster Mount. enabled.
● If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made
visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do
not want to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option. This option is supported
on metro node | VPLEX, XtremIO, VMAX3/PowerMax, VMAX All Flash, PowerFlex, PowerStore
block storage, and Unity arrays. If this option is not selected, and the mount host is part of an
ESX cluster, the mount host must have a dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group
configured according to the storage system configuration. This enables AppSync to mask LUNs
only to that mount host.
Disable VMWare SRM Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint consistency
group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
VMware Virtual Disk Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can select this
Mode option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option
is disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
● Enable VMware Virtual Disk Mode and select Persistent to mount the copy in an independent
persistent mode.
● Enable VMware Virtual Disk Mode and select Non Persistent to mount the copy in an
independent non-persistent mode.
NOTE: AppSync does not support:
● Protection of applications created on independent non persistent virtual disk.
● Mounting application copies to a virtual server or shared instance (such as SQL Failover cluster
and Oracle RAC) as independent non persistent disk.

Mark storage devices Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
as perennially
reserved
Scripts
Pre-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be run. This
script is executed on Production host before creating a copy in AppSync.
Post-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be run. This
script is executed on selected host after creating a copy in AppSync.
Pre-Mount script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be run. This
script is executed on selected host before the copy is mounted by the service plan run.
Post-Mount script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be run. This
script is executed on selected host after the copy is mounted by the service plan run.

Service Plans 79
Table 16. File System Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Schedule/Run
OnDemand Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
Schedule Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan.
Recurrence Type Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan. Options are:
● At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
● Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
● On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more
days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week
selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one
or more days of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute
interval. Default is the first day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
Every Specifies the desired time to create the service plan.
Enable Recovery Specifies if the RPO is enabled or not for the specified time interval. In the RPO drop-down list, select
Point Objective the desired time frame.
Review
Provides summary of the service plan details.

SAP HANA service plan details


Use this table to learn SAP HANA service plan details.
Lists the SAP HANA service plan settings with their description and default values.

Table 17. SAP HANA Service Plan details


Name Description
Define the Copy
Service Plan Name Name of the service plan.
Description Describes the function of the service plan.
Service Plan State Specifies if the service plan is enabled or disabled.
Copy Location Specifies if the location is local, remote, or local and remote.
Mount Copy Specifies the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy
Immutable Copy Specifies whether the copy is immutable or not. You can choose the retention time for the copy.
NOTE: Once the retention time is set, you can only increase the retention time.

Retention Specifies the configured copy retention number.


● Always Keep ___ Copies : Specifies the number of copies to be retained.
● Keep Copy for ___ Days : Specifies the number of days to retain the copies.
Create the Copy
SAP HANA Backup Specifies the data snapshot.
Type

80 Service Plans
Table 17. SAP HANA Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Storage Preferences
Wait for VMAX3/ Allows you to specify if AppSync must wait for the clone sync to complete for VMAX3/PowerMax
PowerMax clone sync Arrays.
to complete.
Array Selection Allows you to select preferred production array for local copy in SRDF/Metro configuration.
(Applicable only for
SRDF/Metro)
Select Storage Select the preferred storage groups to use if you are configuring VMAX3/PowerMax Arrays.
Groups for
PowerMax/VMAX3
Select the cluster/ Allows you to configure array preference by dragging and dropping the available options in the
arrays in preferred preferred order.
order for metro
node | VPLEX
configuration.
Copy Priority ● Allows you to specify if the copy created is Snapshot or Clone.
● Allows you to reorder by dragging and dropping, select, or clear storage preferences. By default,
all the options are selected. You cannot clear all the preferences, at least one preference must be
selected.
Mount
Mount Operation Allows you to select:
● Mount on standalone server.
● Mount on standalone server with recovery.
● Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts for manual recovery.
● Mount distributed HANA system.
● Mount distributed HANA system with recovery.
● Mount distributed HANA system and prepare scripts for manual recovery.
Recovery Type ● On Prepared Target HANA System (available only for scale-up SAP HANA systems).
● Using HDBLCM Utility.
NOTE: These recovery types are not available for selection when you choose "Mount on
standalone server " and "Mount distributed HANA system" option.

General Settings
Mount on Server The server on which to mount the copy. Applies to SAP HANA scale-up copy mount options.
Host Map Settings Allows you to specify target hosts for the source hosts for each scale-out system, by selecting the
systems subscribed to the plan from "Source HANA System" drop down.
Mount on Path Allows you to select:
● The Default Mount Path- Filesystems are mounted under /appsync-mounts path on mount
host.
NOTE: This option is not available if Recovery Type is "On Prepared Target HANA system".
● The mount path could also be Same as Original Path- Filesystem path is same as in the
production server. However, this option is not available when you select the production server
in Mount on Server drop down.
● Select Mapped Path to specify the path for each filesystem in the Path Settings table.
● You can also type in a custom path without selecting any of the above options.
NOTE: When "Mount on standalone server with recovery" option along with recovery type
being "On Prepared Target HANA System" is selected from the Mount Operation drop down,
ensure to specify the data and log volume base path, as that of the target SAP HANA system
on which it is recovered.

Service Plans 81
Table 17. SAP HANA Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Script export Specifies the target system directory, to export the manual recovery scripts. The default path
directory is /tmp/%SID%/RecoveryScripts. However, the path can be changed to any required location.

Mount Filesystems Allows you to select:


● Data
● Logs
● Shared
By default, all options are selected. These options are available if you choose mount operations "Mount
on standalone server" and "Mount distributed HANA system".
Run Filesystem Check During a mount operation, the AppSync agent checks file system data consistency by executing the
fsck command. This operation can be time consuming. You can clear this option to skip file system
check during a mount operation. By default, file system check is enabled.
NOTE: In the case of a restore operation, the Run Filesystem Check option is enabled by
default. You cannot disable it.

Copy to mount. Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be mounted as part of service plan run.
NOTE: Applies to Gold service plans or the service plans that were created using Gold service plan
as template.

Allow Unmount Of Allows you to unmount the mounted copies that were not mounted by previous service plan run.
On Demand Mounted NOTE:
Copy. ● This option is available during service plan edit only when you have selected Yes - Keep it
mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted) option in Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted copy will be unmounted.

Recovery Settings
Mount on HANA Lists the SAP HANA systems running on the server selected in Mount on Server drop down. The copy
system will be recovered on the mount host as the selected HANA system.
NOTE: The system selected must be stopped with data and log volumes unmounted.

HDB User Store Key Provided key must be created for the credentials of Production HANA system backup Administrator
user.
System ID For HDBLCM utility, System ID must be a three letter alphanumeric identifier, consisting of all
uppercase alphabets and starting with an alphabet. Default value is %SID%.
Instance Number Instance number must have two digits and it must not be greater than 99. Default value is
%INSTANCE NUMBER%.
System Usage Allows you to select:
● Custom
● Development
● Production
● Test
NOTE: Default value is Test.

Listen Interface Allows you to select:


● Global
● Internal
● Local
NOTE: The default value is Local for scale-up systems, and Global for scale-out systems.

Internal Network Specifies the internal subnet address in CIDR notation.


Address
System Administrator System Administrator password <sid>adm must contain at least 8 characters.
(<sid>adm) Password

82 Service Plans
Table 17. SAP HANA Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Confirm System Password confirmation.
Administrator
(<sid>adm) Password
Root User Name Root User Name used to communicate between nodes of target scale-out systems. Default value is
"root".
Root User Password Password of the user specified in the Root User Name field.
Use trusted This field is selected by default. If trusted connection between the target hosts of the scale-out SAP
connection between HANA system is not configured, unselect the check box, and enter the root user password.
the hosts
SAP Host Password to be set while deploying SAP Host agent on mount server.
Agent User(sapadm)
Password
Confirm SAP Host Password confirmation.
Agent User(sapadm)
Password
System System Administrator home directory. Default value is /usr/sap/<SID>/home.
Administrator(<sid>a
dm) Home Directory
System Administrator User ID of the target system administrator. Default value is %UID%.
(<sid>adm) User ID
Change System Yes/No.
Database User
Password
System Database User name of the System database. Default value is SYSTEM. You can specify a Database user name.
User name
Source System Password of the System database user that was specified in System Database Username field.
Database User
Password
Target System New password of the System Database user that was specified in System Database User name field.
Database User Must contain at least 8 characters.
Password
Confirm Target Password confirmation.
System Database
User Password
Storage Settings
Desired SLO Specifies the Service Level Objectives. SLO defines the service time operating range of a storage
group.
Metro node | VPLEX ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
Mount Option ● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as
metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes.
PowerMax Storage Enable this option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the
Group Preference per service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In turn, the
Server storage group is masked in the desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage
group matches.

VMware Settings
Enable VMware If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made
Cluster Mount. visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do not want

Service Plans 83
Table 17. SAP HANA Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option.This option is supported on metro node |
VPLEX, VMAX3/PowerMax, PowerStore, PowerFlex, and Unity arrays.
NOTE: If this option is not selected, and the mount host is part of an ESX cluster, the mount host
must have a dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group configured according to the
storage system configuration.

VMware Virtual Disk Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can select this
Mode option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option
is disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
Mark storage devices Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
as perennially
reserved
NAS Preferred For BlockAndFileSnap copies, this option allows you to select a preferred IPv4 interface among a list
Interface of Interfaces for a given NAS Server on a given storage array. The preferred interface is used by
AppSync during the mount operation.
Scripts
Pre-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be run. This
script is run on Production host before creating a copy in AppSync.
NOTE: For scale-out SAP HANA systems, script is executed on Active Primary Server.

Full path to Script The complete path to the script location.


Script Parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as User Name User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.
Post-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is executed on Production host after creating a copy in AppSync.
NOTE: For scale-out SAP HANA systems, script is executed on Active Primary Server.

Full path to Script The complete path to the script location.


Script Parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as User Name User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.
Pre-Mount script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is executed on selected host before the copy is mounted by the service plan run.
Full path to Script The complete path to the script location.
Script Parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as User Name User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.
Run on host Host where the script needs to run. Select Same as mount host if several mount hosts are involved.
Post-Mount script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is executed on selected host after the copy is mounted by the service plan run.
Full path to Script The complete path to the script location.
Script Parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as User Name User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.

84 Service Plans
Table 17. SAP HANA Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Run on host Host where the script needs to run. Select Same as mount host if several mount hosts are involved.
Schedule/Run
OnDemand Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
Schedule Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan.
Recurrence Type Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan. Options are:
● At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
● Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
● On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more
days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week
selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one
or more days of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute
interval. Default is the first day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
Every Specifies the desired time to create the service plan.
Enable Recovery Specifies if the RPO is enabled or not for the specified time interval. In the RPO drop-down list, select
Point Objective the desired time frame.
Review
Provides summary of the service plan details.

VMware Datacenter service plan details


The default service plan settings create an application-consistent copy every 24 hours. Only the replication technology, which is
specified by the Copy type in the Create a Copy step, is different from plan to plan.

Table 18. VMware Service Plan details


Name Description
Define the Copy
Service Plan Name Type of service plan.
Description Describes the function of the service plan.
Service Plan State Specifies if the service plan is enabled or disabled.
Copy Location Specifies if the location is local, remote, or local and remote.
Mount Copy Specifies the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted).
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
Immutable Copy Specifies whether the copy is immutable or not. You can choose the retention time for the copy.
NOTE: Once the retention time is set, you can only increase the retention time.

Retention Specifies the configured copy retention number.


● Always Keep ___ Copies : Specifies the number of copies to be retained.
● Keep Copy for ___ Days : Specifies the number of days to retain the copies.
Create the Copy

Service Plans 85
Table 18. VMware Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Copy Consistency
VM Consistent Specifies whether the copy is VM consistent.
Crash Consistent Specifies whether the copy is crash consistent.
Maximum Specifies the number of simultaneous snapshots of all VMs present. The default value is four
Simultaneous VM snapshots.
Snapshots
Include Virtual Specifies if this option is enabled or disabled. Includes all the datastores that are associated with the
Machine Disk virtual machines running on the datastores being protected. Select this checkbox to protect virtual
machine disks spanning multiple data stores. By default, this option is not selected.
Configure Virtual Allows you to select virtual machines from the datastores added to the service plan. You can explicitly
Machine Snapshots include or exclude virtual machines in the VMware Snapshot process (all virtual machines are already
for VM(s). included by default) This feature is enabled when you select a virtual machine either to include or
exclude. When you select a virtual machine to exclude, the selected virtual machine is ignored while
taking VMware snapshots during the service plan run. If you select the Include VM or VMs for
Snapshot option, only the selected virtual machines are considered for VMware snapshot creation
during the service plan run.
Storage Preferences
Wait for VMAX3/ Allows you to specify if AppSync must wait for the clone sync to complete for VMAX3/PowerMax
PowerMax clone sync Arrays.
to complete.
Array Selection Allows you to select preferred production array for local copy in SRDF/Metro configuration.
(Applicable only for
SRDF/Metro)
Select Storage Select the preferred storage groups to use if you are configuring VMAX3/PowerMax Arrays.
Groups for VMAX-3
Array(s)
Select the cluster and Allows you to configure array preference by dragging and dropping the available options in the
arrays in preferred preferred order
order for metro
node | VPLEX
configuration.
Copy Priority ● Specifies if the Snapshot, Clone, Bookmark, or all three options are selected.
● Allows you to order, select, or clear storage preferences. By default, all the options are selected.
You cannot clear all the preferences, at least one preference must be selected.
Mount
General Settings
Mount on host Lists all the ESX servers that are discovered on the registered vCenter servers.
Mount Copy with Select the type of access the copy should be mounted with Read-only or Read-Write.
access.
Mount Signature Lists Use original signature and Use new signature to select from. When Use new signature is selected,
AppSync resignatures the VMFS volume on mount. Applicable only for VMware VMFS datastores.
Copy to mount Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be mounted as part of service plan run
NOTE: Applies to Gold service plans or the service plans that were created using Gold service plan
as template.

Storage Settings
XtremIO QOS For XtremIO only, the Quality of Service policy option appears in the wizard. You can select the
desired type of Quality of Service policy while mounting a copy.

86 Service Plans
Table 18. VMware Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
NAS Preferred For PowerStore and PowerMax file storage, this option allows you to select a preferred IPv4 interface
Interface among a list of Interfaces for a given NAS Server on a given storage array. The preferred interface is
used by AppSync during the mount operation.
Image Access Mode ● Logged Access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas
(during RecoverPoint of the replicated volumes. Logged access is the only option available when you mount to the
mount) production host.
● Virtual Access with Roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the
replicated volume in the background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested point in
time, the RPA transparently switches to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy processing.
With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual Access: Provides nearly instant access to the image. Virtual access is not intended for
heavy processing. Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
Desired SLO Select the SLO for the mount copy. This is only applicable for VMAX3/PowerMax arrays.
Metro node | VPLEX ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
Mount Option ● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as
metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes.
Unlink the SnapVX Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes
snapshots during on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy is stored on the
unmount target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the next mount of unmounted
copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not be
available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second generation
repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
PowerMax Storage Enable this option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the
Group Preference per service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In turn, the
Server storage group is masked in the desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage
group matches.

VMware Settings
Enable VMware If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made
cluster mount. visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do not want
to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option. This option is supported on metro node
| VPLEX, XtremIO, VMAX3/PowerMax, VMAX All Flash, PowerStore, PowerFlex, and Unity arrays. If
this option is not selected, and the mount host is part of an ESX cluster, the mount host must have a
dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group configured according to the storage system
configuration. This enables AppSync to mask LUNs only to that mount host.
Disable VMware SRM Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint consistency
group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
Schedule/Run
OnDemand Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
Schedule Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan.
Recurrence Type Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan. Options are:
● At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
● Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
● On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more
days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week
selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one
or more days of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute
interval. Default is the first day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.

Service Plans 87
Table 18. VMware Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Every Specifies the desired time to create the service plan.
Enable Recovery Specifies if the RPO is enabled or not for the specified time interval. In the RPO drop-down list, select
Point Objective the desired time frame.
Review
Provides summary of the service plan details.

Microsoft Exchange service plan details


The default service plan settings create an application-consistent copy every 24 hours. Only the replication technology, which is
specified by the Copy type in the Create a Copy step, is different from plan to plan.

Table 19. Exchange Service Plan details


Name Description
Define the Copy
Service Plan Name Type of service plan.
Description Describes the function of the service plan.
Service Plan State Specifies if the service plan is enabled or disabled.
Copy Location Specifies if the location is local, remote, or local and remote.
Mount Copy Specifies the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy
Validate Copy Specifies if the Validate Copy option is enabled or disabled.
Immutable Copy Specifies whether the copy is immutable or not. You can choose the retention time for the copy.
NOTE: Once the retention time is set, you can only increase the retention time.

Retention Specifies the configured copy retention number.


● Always Keep ___ Copies : Specifies the number of copies to be retained.
● Keep Copy for ___ Days : Specifies the number of days to retain the copies.
Exchange Backup Type
Full, Copy, or Specifies the backup type.
Differential
Allow databases and Specifies if the Allow databases and logs to reside on the same volume option is enabled or
logs to reside on the disabled.
same volume.
Event Log Scanning
Fail copy creation Specifies if the copy creation must fail if this error is detected.
if -1018 error (JET
Read/Verify Failed)
detected.
Fail copy creation Specifies if the copy creation must fail if this error is detected.
if -1019 error (JET
Page Not Initialized)
detected.

88 Service Plans
Table 19. Exchange Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
Fail copy creation if Specifies if the copy creation must fail if this error is detected.
-1022 error (JET Disk
I/O Failure) detected.
Fail copy creation Specifies if the copy creation must fail if this error is detected.
if Event ID 447
detected.
Fail copy creation Specifies if the copy creation must fail if this error is detected.
if Event ID 448
detected.
Advanced Plan Settings - VSS Retry Options
Retry Count Specifies the number of times the VSS retry option is run. During protection, if a service plan fails
because of VSS failures such as VSS timeout issue, the service plan runs the VSS freeze or thaw
operation again based on the specified retry count.
Retry Interval (In Specifies the timeframe (in seconds) between VSS retries. During protection, if a service plan fails
Seconds) because of VSS failures such as VSS timeout issue, the service plan runs the VSS freeze or thaw
operation, again based on the specified retry interval.
Storage Preferences
Wait for VMAX3/ Allows you to specify if AppSync must wait for the clone sync to complete for VMAX3/PowerMax
PowerMax clone sync Arrays.
to complete.
Array Selection Allows you to select preferred production array for local copy in SRDF/Metro configuration.
(Applicable only for
SRDF/Metro)
Select Storage Select the preferred storage groups to use if you are configuring VMAX3/PowerMax Arrays.
Groups for
PowerMax/VMAX3
Select the cluster/ Allows you to configure array preference by dragging and dropping the available options in the
arrays in preferred preferred order.
order for metro
node | VPLEX
configuration.
Copy Priority ● Specifies if the Snapshot, Clone, Bookmark, or all three options are selected.
● Allows you to order, select, or clear storage preferences. By default, all the options are selected.
You cannot clear all the preferences, at least one preference must be selected.
General Settings
Mount on Server The server on which to mount the copy. Only the nodes of the cluster or standalone hosts are available
for selection. SQL virtual servers are filtered out.
Mount with access Type of access the copy should be mounted with.
Mount on Path NOTE: The drive that is specified for mount cannot be a clustered disk.

● The Default Mount Path is %SystemDrive%\AppSyncMounts\%%ProdServerName%%.


● To specify the value of a Windows environment variable in the mount path, delimit the variable
name with single percent signs (%).
● The default path also contains an AppSync variable (ProdServerName) which is delimited with 2
percent signs (%%).
● The following characters are not valid in the path:< > : " / | ? *
● The mount path could also be Same as Original Path. However, this option is not available when
the mount host is the same as production host.
● If you specify a non-default mount path, the drive that is specified for mount cannot be a clustered
disk.

Service Plans 89
Table 19. Exchange Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
● Select Mapped Path to specify the path where you want to mount the database.
Copy metadata files Defines the path where metadata files are copied.
to
Copy to mount Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be mounted as part of service plan run
NOTE: Applies to Gold service plans or the service plans that were created using Gold service plan
as template.

Allow Unmount Of Enabling this option will unmount the on demand mounted during next Service plan run.
OnDemand Mounted NOTE:
Copy ● This option is available during service plan edit only when you have selected Yes - Keep it
mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted) option in Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted copy will be unmounted.

Storage Settings
XtremIO QOS For XtremIO only, the Quality of Service policy option appears in the wizard. You can select the
desired type of Quality of Service policy while mounting a copy.
Image Access Mode ● Logged Access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas
of the replicated volumes. Logged access is the only option available when you mount to the
production host.
● Virtual Access with Roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the
replicated volume in the background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested point in
time, the RPA transparently switches to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy processing.
With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual Access: Provides nearly instant access to the image. Virtual access is not intended for
heavy processing. Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
Desired SLO Select the SLO for the mount copy. This is only applicable for VMAX3/PowerMax arrays.
Metro node | VPLEX ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
Mount Option ● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as
metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes.
Unlink the SnapVX Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes
snapshots during on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy is stored on the
unmount target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the next mount of unmounted
copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not be
available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second generation
repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
PowerMax Storage Enable this option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the
Group Preference per service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In turn, the
Server storage group is masked in the desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage
group matches.

VMware Settings
Enable VMware If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made
cluster Mount. visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do not want
to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option. This option is supported on metro node
| VPLEX, XtremIO, VMAX3/PowerMax, VMAX All Flash, PowerStore, PowerFlex, and Unity arrays. If
this option is not selected, and the mount host is part of an ESX cluster, the mount host must have a
dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group configured according to the storage system
configuration. This enables AppSync to mask LUNs only to that mount host.
Disable VMware SRM Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint consistency
group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.

90 Service Plans
Table 19. Exchange Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
VMWare Virtual Disk Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can select this
Mode option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option
is disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
● Enable VMWare Virtual Disk Mode and select Persistent to mount the copy in an independent
persistent mode.
● Enable VMWare Virtual Disk Mode and select Non Persistent to mount the copy in an
independent non persistent mode
NOTE: AppSync does not support:
● Protection of applications created on independent non persistent virtual disk.
● Mounting application copies to a virtual server or shared instance (such as SQL Failover cluster
and Oracle RAC) as independent non persistent disk.

Mark storage devices Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
as perennially
reserved
Validate Copy ● Check databases and logs: Select one of the following options.
○ Sequentially
○ In parallel
● Minimize log checking: User defined path can be specified.
● Throttle the validation: Specify values for the following options.
○ Pause after I/O count of
○ Pause duration
● Skip database validation (.edb file check only for DAG).
Scripts
Pre-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is ran on Production host before creating a copy in AppSync.
Post-copy script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is ran on selected host after creating a copy in AppSync.
Post-mount script Allows user to specify the name of the script and credentials with which the script has to be executed.
This script is ran on selected host after the copy is mounted by the service plan run.
Schedule/Run
OnDemand Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
Schedule Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan.
Recurrence Type Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan. Options are:
● At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.
● Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
● On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more
days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week
selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one
or more days of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute
interval. Default is the first day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
Every Specifies the desired time to create the service plan.
Enable Recovery Specifies if the RPO is enabled or not for the specified time interval. In the RPO drop-down list, select
Point Objective the desired time frame.
Review
Provides summary of the service plan details.

Service Plans 91
Kubernetes Cluster service plan details
Use this table to learn Kubernetes Cluster service plan details.
Lists the Kubernetes Cluster service plan settings with their description and default values.

Table 20. Kubernetes Cluster Service Plan details


Name Description
Define the Copy
Service Plan Name Name of the service plan.
Description Describes the function of the service plan.
Service Plan State Specifies if the service plan is enabled or disabled.
Copy Location Specifies if the location is local, remote, or local and remote.
Mount Copy Specifies the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy and on completion unmount
Retention Specifies the configured copy retention number.
● Always Keep ___ Copies : Specifies the number of copies to be retained.
● Keep Copy for ___ Days : Specifies the number of days to retain the copies.
Create the Copy
Prefer Volume group If Volume Group CRD is installed, Volume Group snapshot is created.
snapshot
Mount
Mount Operation Allows you to select:
● Mount on Kubernetes Cluster.
● Mount on Kubernetes Cluster with recovery.
General Settings
Mount on Kubernetes The cluster on which to mount the copy.
Cluster
Retain changes after Retains changes made to a mounted copy upon unmount.
unmount
Enable Namespace Allows you to specify a target namespace for the source namespace.
Mapping(s)
Recovery Settings
Apply YAML after Allows you to apply a YAML file during recovery.
recovery
Pod startup wait Wait timeout (in minutes) for all the pods to be in running state.
timeout (in minutes)
Schedule/Run
OnDemand Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
Schedule Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan.
Recurrence Type Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan. Options are:
● At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.

92 Service Plans
Table 20. Kubernetes Cluster Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
● Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
● On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more
days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week
selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one
or more days of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute
interval. Default is the first day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
Every Specifies the desired time to create the service plan.
Enable Recovery Specifies if the RPO is enabled or not for the specified time interval. In the RPO drop-down list, select
Point Objective the desired time frame.
Review
Provides summary of the service plan details.

Service Plans 93
5
Protect Microsoft Exchange
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Overview of Exchange support
• Deploying AppSync for Exchange protection
• Protect an Exchange database
• Service plan details
• Mounting Exchange copies
• Overview of Exchange copy restore

Overview of Exchange support


Use AppSync to create application-consistent copies of Exchange data.
AppSync support for Microsoft Exchange application includes:
● Protect and manage Microsoft Exchange in stand-alone and DAG environments (active and passive databases).
● Mount copies to a supported Windows host for running consistency check or to back up to long-term storage.
● Support for the Quality of Service feature for XtremIO release 6.2 and later.
● Restore from copies to production Exchange databases if production databases must be brought back to a point-in-time.
● Support for databases on physical hosts, RDMs, and virtual disks on virtual hosts.
NOTE: AppSync only supports RDMs in physical compatibility mode. RDMs in virtual mode are not supported.

Exchange Server prerequisites


Verify that the Exchange configuration meets supported version requirements for AppSync, including Windows operating system
requirements and supported service packs for Exchange. The AppSync Support Matrix on https://elabnavigator.dell.com/eln/
modernHomeDataProtection is the authoritative source of information on supported software and platforms.
AppSync supports protection and operational recovery of Exchange databases in stand-alone and DAG configurations.

Support for Exchange on virtual disks


You can protect, mount, and restore Exchange databases residing on VMware RDMs in physical compatibility mode and virtual
disks. AppSync supports Full, Copy, and Differential backup types.
During protection:
● If the source application VM has any VM snapshot during copy creation, then such copies are not useful for later mount or
restore.
● For successful mapping, the vCenter must be added to the AppSync server and discovery must be performed.
● For successful protection, log files and database files must reside on virtual disks. There cannot be a combination of physical
and virtual storage.
● Protection of Exchange databases across virtual machines sharing datastore is not supported.
● AppSync supports circular logging for Exchange Databases.

94 Protect Microsoft Exchange


Support for Exchange on Hyper-V
In Hyper-V environments, AppSync requires the storage for Exchange to be on iSCSI direct attached devices, Virtual Fiber
Channel (NPIV), or SCSI pass-through devices. SCSI Command Descriptor Block (CDB) filtering must be turned off in the
parent partition for SCSI pass-through. It is turned on by default. This is also applicable for databases in DAG configurations.
For Hyper-V SCSI pass-through, the mount host cannot be a Hyper-V host. It has to be a physical host, or a virtual machine
added with Virtual Fiber Channel adapter or iSCSI direct attached.

AppSync interaction with Microsoft VSS


Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is the infrastructure that enables AppSync to create application-aware copies.
When it creates a copy, AppSync coordinates with VSS and Exchange to create a shadow copy. The copy is a point-in-time
copy of the volumes that contain the data, logs, and system files for Exchange databases.
AppSync coordinates with VSS and Exchange to quiesce input-output to the databases when creating the copy, and then
resume the flow of data after the copy has been created. During a restore, AppSync coordinates with VSS and Exchange to
recover the point-in-time shadow copy.

Permissions required by Exchange


Accounts that AppSync uses to work with Exchange require special permissions.
● On Exchange stand-alone servers, the account must be a domain user account with the Databases role.
● On DAG servers, the account must be a domain user account with the Database and Database Copies roles.
● On a mount host, the user account must be a domain user account that is a member of the local Administrators group.
● The account must have Log on as a batch job and Log on as a service user rights.
● The account can have the View-only Organization role. This role is an optional role applicable only for Microsoft Exchange
2013 if you have public folder mailboxes in the environment. AppSync uses this role to determine the database containing the
public folder primary hierarchy mailbox.
AppSync Exchange Interface Service Credentials are required the first time that you access the Exchange server. You are
prompted to type two sets of credentials for the AppSync Exchange Interface Service configuration.
AppSync uses the first set of credentials to install and configure the AppSync Exchange Interface service on the Exchange
production or mount host. The account must have local administrator privileges. AppSync uses the second set of credentials to
run the service. A user must be a domain user with the following Exchange roles:
● Database role for stand-alone server
● Database and Database Copies roles in DAG environment.

Deploying AppSync for Exchange protection


A summary of steps from deployment of AppSync to setting up Exchange protection.

Steps
1. Install the AppSync server.
2. On the AppSync console, select Settings > Infrastructure Resources > SERVERS / CLUSTERS.
3. Click ADD APPLICATION HOST.
4. Log in to the AppSync console and select Copy Management.
5. Click Copies > Copies.
6. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange and click a server name from the list of Exchange standalone and DAG
servers.
7. Enter the credentials to configure and run the AppSync Exchange Interface service.
The Exchange databases are discovered.
8. Subscribe an Exchange database for protection by choosing one of the following options:

Protect Microsoft Exchange 95


● Protect immediately with Subscribe to Service Plan and Run, which subscribes the database to a service plan and
runs the protection immediately for the selected database only. In the case of databases in a DAG, one of the passive
databases is protected by default.
● Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override), which subscribes the database to a service plan, but does not
run the plan. Protection occurs according to the service plan's schedule.

Discover Exchange Database


Perform this procedure to discover Microsoft Exchange Databases.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select COPIES.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select Microsoft Exchange.
4. Under the Name column, click the desired instance.
5. In the Databases page, click MORE > Discover Databases.

Removing an Exchange mailbox server


Remove an Exchange mailbox server when there is no longer a need to manage its protection from the AppSync server.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync.
There should be no copies of the mailbox server that you want to remove.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Settings > Infrastructure Resources.
2. Click the SERVERS / CLUSTERS tab.
3. Select the Exchange mailbox you want to remove and click Remove.

Protecting DAG databases in a service plan


AppSync supports protection of Exchange databases that are part of a Database Availability Group (DAG).

About this task


When a DAG server is subscribed to an AppSync service plan, it is one of the passive members of the DAG that is selected for
protection, by default.

Steps
To protect an active DAG database member, select Active in the Copy to Protect column from the plan Subscriptions tab.

Convert a standalone Exchange server to a DAG member

Steps
1. Remove all the subscriptions and copies of the standalone Exchange server registered with AppSync.
2. Remove the host from the Servers page that was hosting the standalone Exchange server.

96 Protect Microsoft Exchange


3. After the standalone Exchange server is added as a DAG member, add the host back to the AppSync server.

Protect an Exchange database


Protect an Exchange database by subscribing it to an AppSync service plan.
AppSync uses service plans as its protection mechanism for databases. You subscribe a database to a service plan and run the
service plan immediately, or schedule the service plan to run later.
● Choose Subscribe to Plan and Run when you want to protect a selected database immediately. The service plan is run for
the database alone. In the case of DAG, one of the passive databases is protected by default.
● Choose Subscribe to Plan when you want to schedule the protection for later. Protection for databases that are part of
the service plan are run at the scheduled time.
● Choose Run from the Service Plan page to run the whole plan immediately. All databases subscribed to the plan are
protected.

Protecting an Exchange database immediately


Click Subscribe to Service Plan and Run to add a database to an existing service plan and run the service plan immediately
for the selected database alone.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select COPIES.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired Exchange instance.
5. Select the desired Exchange database, and click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
6. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
7. From the Protect list, select the appropriate service plan from Subscribe to Service Plan and Run.
In DAG, a passive database is protected by default.
The Subscribe to Plan and Run dialog appears displaying the progress.

Subscribe an Exchange database to a service plan


You can subscribe a database to a service plan and run the service plan immediately, or schedule the service plan to run at a
later time.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired Exchange instance.
5. Click the desired Exchange database, and click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
6. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
7. Select the appropriate option.

Protect Microsoft Exchange 97


Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the database for protection and run the plan immediately for any
selected database(s).
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the database for protection. Protection for all databases that are part
option to override) of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
8. Click Select and select the service plan that you want to subscribe to from the following options:
● Bronze
● Silver
● Gold
NOTE: User defined service plans are also listed.

9. Click OK.
10. Click NEXT to review your selection.
11. Click FINISH.

Set preference to protect an Exchange database role or host


Configure Exchange service plan to follow a specific database role if there is a DAG failover. You can also protect a specific host
irrespective of the exchange database role.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator or Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select SERVICE PLAN.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select Microsoft Exchange.
4. Select the service plan with the subscribed Exchange database. You can see the PROPERTIES in the details view, on the
right side of the page.
5. Select SUBSCRIBERS to see the databases that are subscribed.
6. Select the database for which you want to change the protection role, and click EDIT.
7. In the Edit Subscription page, select the database role that you want AppSync to protect from the Copy to Protect
drop-down. Following are the three options:
● Active: In this case, Mailbox Servers is set to "Server hosting the copy". AppSync protects the active database on the
server hosting it. If a failover occurs, AppSync will follow it.
● Passive: Exchange allows multiple passive replicas of an active database in a DAG. Hence, AppSync helps you to choose
the passive database copy to protect. Mailbox Servers options are:
○ Any Server Hosting a Copy: AppSync selects a passive database copy. If a failover occurs, AppSync will follow it.
○ Any of the Selected Servers: AppSync allows you to select one or more servers having a passive database copy
and organize based on priority, if there is a failover.
● Active or Passive: You can select the required host from the Mailbox Servers drop-down, and AppSync will either
protect active or passive copy on the selected host only.
8. Click OK.

Unsubscribe Exchange from a service plan


When you unsubscribe an individual database from a service plan, AppSync retains all existing database copies; only further
protection will be removed.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

98 Protect Microsoft Exchange


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select COPIES.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the preferred instance.
5. Select the database you want to unsubscribe, and click More > UNSUBSCRIBE.
6. In the Unsubscribe page, select the service plan and click OK.
NOTE: You can also unsubscribe applications from a service plans, from the Service Plan page.

Expire an Exchange copy


You can expire an Exchange copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired instance.
5. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy.
6. Select the copy that you want to expire and click More > EXPIRE .
7. Click OK.
NOTE: If the copy is an immutable copy, then the expiry is disabled as the secure snapshot on the array cannot be
deleted before the Time to Live. Once the Time to Live time is reached, the snapshot is automatically deleted from the
array and from AppSync. However, if copy is mounted and Time to Live is reached, then copy will be deleted only after
unmount.

Service plan details


A service plan has the following tabs: Settings, Subscriptions, Copies, and Events.
The Settings tab shows the name, description, and status (whether enabled or disabled) of the service plan. Click on the
appropriate tabs to see information regarding subscriptions, copies created by the plan, and events generated during the service
plan run.

Service plan schedule


The service plan scheduling options determine whether the plan is run manually, or is configured to run on a schedule. Options
for scheduling when a service plan starts are:
● Specify a recovery point objective (RPO)
○ Set an RPO of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours.
○ Minutes after the hour are set in 5 minute intervals.
○ Default RPO is 24 hours.
● Run every day at certain times
○ Select different times during the day.
○ Minutes after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals.
○ There is no default selected.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the week
○ One or more days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected.
○ There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the month
○ Select one or more days of the month (up to all days).

Protect Microsoft Exchange 99


○ Select one time of day. Available times are at 15 minute intervals.
○ Default is the first day of the month.
○ Select Last to select the last day of the month.

Control replication storage utilization


When you set up a service plan, set values in the following fields so that you avoid overutilization and depletion of replication
storage:
● RPO value
● Always keep n Copies
NOTE: Here n represents the value that you configure in this field.

You should also monitor your storage system with the storage system user interface.

Overriding service plan schedules


You can set individual schedules for databases subscribed to a service plan by overriding the generic recurrence setting.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


You can only override the settings of the recurrence type previously selected for the service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired instance.
5. Select the desired database and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
6. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
7. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override).
8. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
9. Click NEXT.
The Override Schedule page appears.
10. Select one or more databases and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
11. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and then click OK.
For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified days of the month, and the rule setting is to Run at 12:00 AM on
the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the day for individual databases.
12. Click NEXT to review your selection.
13. Click FINISH.

Pre-copy script
To perform preparatory steps before creating a copy, specify a pre-copy script and parameters.
For the pre-copy script, the valid script formats are .bat, .ps1, and .exe. You can optionally enter credentials to run the
script as a specific user. The script runs as Local System by default. The default location of the script is %ProgramData%
\EMC\AppSync\scripts\ on the application host.
AppSync now supports running of PowerShell scripts. The following points apply:
1. The execution policy on the Windows host is set to either Unrestricted or RemoteSigned.
2. If the script is set to run as a non-Default user, this user must have administrative rights to run the PowerShell commands in
the script.

100 Protect Microsoft Exchange


3. The .ps1 script runs using system PowerShell.exe assuming that the system drive is on the default C:\ drive.
4. Parameters such as $true, $false, output redirect using|out-file <filename> are not supported.
Exact parameters depend on the script. Parameters with spaces must be enclosed in double quotes.

Create a Copy
The Create a Copy step in the copy creation process creates a copy based on the replication technology specified in the service
plan.
It specifies the type of Exchange copy to make, whether to ignore Exchange errors in the event log, and if database and logs
can reside on the same volume.
Review Overview: Service Plan for more service plan copy information.

Exchange backup type


AppSync uses VSS to make a consistent online copy at the volume level.
● Full creates a copy of the databases in the service plan using VSS, and includes the database files, transaction logs, and
checkpoint files. On successful completion of the backup, the logs are truncated.
● Copy creates a copy of the databases in the service plan using VSS, which includes the database files, transaction logs, and
checkpoint files, as it does using the Full option. However, it does not truncate the logs.
● Differential copies the entire transaction log volume. A full backup of the selected database must exist or the backup fails.
The transaction logs are not truncated on completion of the backup.

Automatic expiration of copies


The automatic expiration value specifies the maximum wanted number of Snap, Clone, or Bookmark copies that can exist
simultaneously, or expires copies that exceed the number of defined days for the copies.
When the "Always keep x copies" value is reached, older copies are expired to free storage for the next copy in the rotation.
Failed copies are not counted. AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until its replacement has been successfully created. For
example, if the number of copies to keep is 7, AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until the eighth copy is created.
When the "Keep copies for x Days" value exceeds for created copies, AppSync will expire those copies in the next maintenance
step.
AppSync does not expire copies under the following circumstances:
● Mounted copies are not expired.
● A copy that contains the only replica of a database does not gets expired.
Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy: Check this option to include RecoverPoint copies when
calculating rotations.
NOTE: If this option is not selected, then RecoverPoint copies get accumulated, and remain until the bookmarks fall off the
RecoverPoint appliance.

Exchange event log errors


Exchange logs certain errors in the Application event log when they occur. These errors indicate a possible corruption of the
data in the .edb or log files. They can cause copy creation to fail unless you specifically instruct AppSync to ignore them.
AppSync searches the application event log for these errors every time a copy is created. The first time it runs, AppSync
searches the entire log. Subsequent runs search since the last successful run. If there are no existing copies, then AppSync
searches the entire log when creating the next copy.
You can configure AppSync to ignore any or all of these errors.

Protect Microsoft Exchange 101


Table 21. Microsoft Exchange event errors
Error Meaning
-1018 The database tried and failed to verify information about a
particular page in the database.
-1019 Similar to a -1018 error but indicates that the accessed page
has returned an invalid page number (usually all zeros) rather
than an invalid checksum.
-1022 Indicates major hardware problems, particularly disk
subsystem problems. If the database engine requests a
page from disk but instead receives an error from the I/O
subsystem, a -1022 error results.
447 Indicates corruption in the logical database structure. This
accompanies a message stating that the information store
terminated abnormally.
448 Indicates an inconsistency or corruption in a table in the
Microsoft Jet database. This accompanies a message stating
that an information store data inconsistency has been
detected in a table.

Database and log layout


Exchange supports environments in which the database and logs reside on the same volume when there is more than one copy
of the database in a DAG environment. Service plans can be configured to ignore the restriction that prevents databases and
logs from residing on the same volume.
When creating copies of Exchange databases, it is a best practice to restrict a service plan from allowing this configuration
because having databases and logs on the same volume limits your restore options. However, you can choose whether service
plans with this configuration should succeed or not.
When selecting this option, you are limited to restoring the database and logs together. Restore overwrites newer log files. To
preserve newer log files for use during recovery, copy them to another volume before restore.

Configure retry on VSS failure


You can configure a VSS retry count while creating a copy of a service plan. During protection, if a service plan fails because
of VSS failures such as VSS timeout issue, the service plan runs the VSS freeze/thaw operation again based on the specified
retry count and interval. This option is supported only on Windows applications - File system, Microsoft SQL, and Microsoft
Exchange. This option is not used while creating Crash consistent copies of SQL databases.
NOTE: AppSync does not perform a VSS retry, if the application freeze itself fails. If the application is not in a state to
create a copy, AppSync fails to quiesce it, and does not retry the VSS freeze/thaw operation. The application must be
brought back to a state where it can be quiesced and then the service plan must be re-run.

Post-copy script
To perform cleanup or other post-copy steps after creating a copy, specify a post-copy script and parameters.
The script runs on successful completion copy creation. Valid script formats are .bat and .exe. You can optionally enter
credentials to run the script as a specific user. The script runs as Local System by default.
When AppSync creates copies of application items in a service plan, it may break up the application items and place them
in separate groups for protection. This action can be for performance reasons (for example, VSS for Exchange and SQL)
or because items in a service plan may be protected by different replication technologies. For example, a service plan may
contain some application items that are protected by RecoverPoint bookmarks. As a result, application items in these groups are
protected independently.
When AppSync calls a post-copy script, it passes the copies which were created in the group by calling the script with
-appCopies <APP1> <APP2>, where APP1 and APP2 are the names of the application items in that grouping.

102 Protect Microsoft Exchange


AppSync now supports running of PowerShell scripts. The following points apply:
1. The execution policy on the Windows host is set to either Unrestricted or RemoteSigned.
2. If the script is set to run as a non-Default user, this user must have administrative rights to run the PowerShell commands in
the script.
3. The .ps1 script runs using system PowerShell.exe assuming that the system drive is on the default C:\ drive.
4. Parameters such as $true, $false, output redirect using|out-file <filename> are not supported.
When AppSync runs the post-copy script, it is run for the application items that are part of a group. If there are multiple groups,
the post-copy script runs multiple times. When AppSync runs the post-copy script, it passes the list of application items in the
replication group as arguments to the script, right after the user arguments. The syntax is:

-applicationCopies <ITEM1> <ITEM2> <ITEM3>

where <ITEMx> is the name of the application item that is being protected.
Exact parameters depend on the script. Parameters with spaces must be enclosed in double quotes.
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

Mount copy
The Mount Copy Defaults settings for the mount host value, mount path and mount access attributes (read-only or read-
write) depend on the service plan. Other mount settings determine where the Exchange metadata files are copied, the type of
copy to mount and the RecoverPoint image access type.
● Mount on Server
Allows you to choose between Windows hosts you have access to and Original Server. If you have chosen to validate the
copies, only servers that have the Exchange Management Tools installed are displayed in the drop down. These servers
display on the Microsoft Exchange Protection page as "Utility Host".
● Mount with access
Choose the type of access the copy should be mounted with - Read/Write or Read only
● Mount Path
○ Alternate mount path
The default mount path, when the mount host is the same as the production host, is SystemDrive:
\AppSyncMounts\Production_Server_Name.
path is represented in the console as %SystemDrive%\AppSyncMounts\%%ProdServerName%%.
To specify the value of a Windows environment variable in the mount path, delimit the variable name with single percent
signs (%). The default path also contains an AppSync variable (ProdServerName) that is delimited with two percent
signs (%%).
The following characters are not valid in the path:
<>:"/|?*
○ Same as original path This is another option for the mount path. You can select either of the options.
NOTE: When performing a DAG mount, do not select the mount path as Same as original path if the mount host
also happens to be a DAG node having a copy of the database that you are mounting.
● Copy metadata files to
By default, the location to copy VSS metadata files is the default path - SystemDrive:
\AppSyncMounts\Production_Server_Name.
The following characters are not valid in the path:
<>:"/|?*
If you are backing up the database to another media, you must backup these metadata files as well.
● Image access options during RecoverPoint mount
RecoverPoint provides a target-side host application the opportunity to write data to the target-side replication volumes,
while still keeping track of source changes.
○ Slow access time, fast image I/O performance (RecoverPoint access mode: Logged Access)

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Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated volumes. This is the only
option available when you mount to the production host.
○ Fast access time, Fast after roll image I/O performance (RecoverPoint access mode: Virtual Access with Roll)
Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in the background. When the
replicated volumes are at the requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches to direct replica volume access,
allowing heavy processing.
○ Fast access time, Slow image I/O performance (RecoverPoint access mode: Virtual Access)
Provides nearly instant access to the image; it is not intended for heavy processing.
○ Desired Service Level Objective (SLO)
Additionally if you are using a VMAX3/PowerMax array, a setting called Desired Service Level Objective (SLO) is
available. The option appears in the Mount wizard and it specifies the required VMAX3/PowerMax Service Level
Objectives. SLO defines the service time operating range of a storage group.
● Quality of Service Policy
You can select the type of Quality of Service policy while mounting a copy. This option is applicable for XtremIO only.
● Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount
Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy. Once
the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy is stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink from the
target device, and the next mount of unmounted copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy
changes will not be available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second generation
repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
● Copy to mount
Displayed for service plans that create both a local and remote copy. You can select the type of copy to mount.
● Additionally if you are using a VMAX3/PowerMax array, a setting called Desired Service Level Objective (SLO) is available.
The option appears in the Mount wizard and it specifies the required VMAX3/PowerMax Service Level Objectives. SLO
defines the service time operating range of a storage group.
● Enable PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/
PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In
turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view. Note that the mapped storage group is considered only if the
Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.

Mount host overrides in service plan


Select different mount hosts for multiple Exchange servers subscribed to a service plan.
In the Mount options, you can specify the host that the copy should be mounted on along with related mount options. If you
have multiple servers as part of a service plan, you may want to host their copies on different hosts. You can specify different
mount hosts and other options from the Mount Copy Overrides option in the Details page in the right pane.

Overriding mount hosts in a service plan


If there are multiple registered hosts and they are subscribed to the same plan, you can select a different mount host for each
server, overriding the generic mount host settings.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


Follow these steps when you have multiple hosts subscribed to a plan and you want different mounts hosts for their database
copies.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.

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2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange.
4. Click a service plan, and expand the right pane.
5. Click the OVERRIDES tab.
6. Select Mount Overrides.
7. Select an entry, and click OVERRIDE MOUNT.
8. Edit the required fields, and click APPLY CHANGES to save the settings.
9. To revert back to default settings for a server, select the server and click Use Default Settings.

Validate copy
By default, databases and logs are checked sequentially.
If the databases are not sharing the same LUN and the mount host has sufficient resources to support parallel consistency
checks, use the In parallel option. Note that there is a limit of 16 parallel checks that Exchange can handle.
If the consistency check completes successfully, AppSync instructs Exchange to truncate the logs so only the changes that are
uncommitted to the database remain.

Advanced options for consistency check


AppSync offers advanced options that change how Exchange consistency checks are executed. Enabling these features can
impact performance.
● Minimize log checking
Choosing this option speeds up the log checking by instructing the consistency checking software to check only those logs
that are required to recover the database. Selecting this option improves the performance of the consistency check. If you
disable the option, then consistency check will be performed on all of the database’s logs.
This command instructs AppSync to check only a subset of the Exchange logs that are included in the copy. The subset
of the logs are actually the logs that are required to recover the database. If your backup window is small, you may find
this option useful. However, the copy contains logs that have not been checked for consistency. If you attempt to restore
the log volume, you may find that some log files are corrupt or the log sequence is not complete. Before restoring the log
volume, you should mount the replica and run eseutil /k Enn against the log path.
For maximum protection, clear Minimize log checking. For maximum performance, select it.
You must also set a working directory, which is where the required log files will be copied for checking.
The Minimize log checking option is not available when the consistency method is Differential.
● Throttle Checking
Consistency checks can be paused to slow down the IOs during the check. You can specify the number of IOs after which to
pause, and the duration of the pause.
● Skip database validation(.edb file check only for DAG)
If you select this option, AppSync skips database validation in the case of DAG, if it has:
○ One active and mounted database copy, and at least one passive and healthy database copy
Or
○ Two passive and healthy database copies

Post-mount script
Specify a post-mount script and parameters from the Post-mount script option in the Settings tab of a service plan.
The script runs on successful completion of the mount copy or mount with recovery run. This script is typically used for backup.
The default location of the script is %ProgramData%\EMC\AppSync\scripts\ on the application host.
Exact parameters depend on your script. Parameters with spaces must be enclosed in double quotes.

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Unmount copy
All the mounted databases are shut down as part of unmount.
This option is disabled if the Unmount previous copy option is enabled.

Mounting Exchange copies


AppSync can mount a copy on-demand, or as part of a plan.
Copies created on a standalone production Exchange server can be mounted to:
● An alternate host in the same location as the production host.
● An alternate host in a new location. You specify mount option by adding an alternate path to the start of the path.
● The production host in an alternate location.
Copies created in a DAG can be mounted to:
● An alternate host
● A server in another DAG
● Another server in the same DAG
NOTE:
● Copies cannot be mounted to the same DAG server on which the copy was created.
● A single mount host with Exchange 2013 Management Tools can be used to run consistency check for Exchange 2010
and Exchange 2013 copies.

Mount and restore limitations


Limitations to mount and restore or Exchange copies appear in the following list:
● When the root drive letter has mount points on it and they are all included in the same plan, mounts and restores are likely
to fail. For instance, if the log and system files are on L:\ and the mailbox stores are on L:\SG1DBMP (where SG1DBMP is a
mount point), mounts and restores fail.
● In Windows 2012 and later environments, when doing a restore, the data on LUNs is overwritten even if the volume is in use.
This action differs from other Windows platforms in which AppSync displays a warning if the LUN is in use. Since restores
overwrite everything, be sure that there is no other data on that volume and the volume is not in use.

Mount a copy using the Exchange Mount wizard


You can initiate an on-demand mount of a database copy from a copy or a database.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired instance.
5. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy you want to mount.
6. Select the copy you want to mount and click Mount Copy.
If multiple databases were protected together, you may see the additional copies to mount option. Select the copies that you
prefer and click NEXT.

7. In the Select Mount Options page, under General Settings, do the following:
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount with access list, select the type of access the copy must be mounted with: Read-only or Read-write.

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c. From the Mount Location list, select a mount path location either to Default path, Same as original path, or Mapped
Path. The mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host. By default AppSync displays the
path of the mount host you selected. You can also edit and mount the copy to a user-defined location.
d. For the Copy metadata files to option, specify a path. By default the path is
SystemDrive\AppSyncMounts\ProdServerName\.
e. In case the selected copy is a RecoverPoint bookmark, from the Image access mode list, select one of the following
options:
● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated
volumes. Logged access is the only option available when you mount to the production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in the
background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches to direct
replica volume access, allowing heavy processing. With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: Provides nearly instant access to the image. Virtual access is not intended for heavy processing.
Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
f. Expand XtremIO QOS and select the desired Quality of Service policy from the list. This option is only applicable to
XtremIO 6.2 or later.
g. For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, from the Desired SLO list, select the desired Service Level Objective (SLO) for the
mount copy.
NOTE: The SLO values are dynamically fetched from the VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, and only the unique values are
displayed.

h. For XtremIO 6.2 and later, click the Quality of Service policy option to select the desired Quality of Service policy while
mounting a copy.
i. For VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVxSnap, select the Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount option to unlink the
SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the
changes on mounted copy is stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the
next mount of unmounted copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not
be available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second generation repurposing
SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
j. Clear the Use Dedicated Storage Group option, if you do not want AppSync to enforce the use of a dedicated storage
group for a mount. By default, this option is enabled.
k. Enable PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/
PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group.
In turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view. Note that the mapped storage group is considered only
if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.
l. From the VMware Settings, configure the following:
● Enable VMware cluster mount: Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount. By default,
this option is enabled.
● Disable VMware SRM: This option is applicable only for RP 4.1 and above.
● VMware Virtual Disk Mode: Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can
select this option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option is
disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
● Mark storage devices as perennially reserved: Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
8. Click Next to review the mount options.
9. Click Finish.

Validation options for a mount copy


Validation for differential backup copies is not supported.

Validate database and logs


When you create a replica of one or more Microsoft Exchange databases, you should mount the replica and test it for
consistency. If you choose to automatically mount the replica to an alternate host once it has been created, you should run a
consistency check on the replica. The options to validate are:
● Sequentially — Run tests on one database at a time in order (serial mode). Select this option if you have several Exchange
databases on one LUN.

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● In Parallel — Run tests on several databases simultaneously (parallel mode).

Minimize log checking


By selecting Minimize log checking, AppSync checks a subset of the Exchange logs that are included in the replica. If your
backup window is small, you may find this option useful. However, the replica may contain logs that have not been checked for
consistency.
For maximum protection, clear Minimize log checking. For maximum performance, select it.
Working directory — This field allows you to specify the directory to which the relevant log files will be moved in order to run
the check, since a consistency check can only be run on all logs in a single directory.

Throttle validation
Select this to throttle the I/Os during a consistency check. This option is for advanced users and typically should not be
selected unless you are working with Dell Support to resolve an issue related to I/O throughput. Typically, the throttling option is
not required.
If you choose to throttle I/Os, you have the following two options.
● Pause after I/O count of: 100 — This option allows you to choose how many I/Os can occur between pauses. You can
choose any value between 100 and 10,000 I/Os.
● Duration of pause (in milliseconds): 1000 — You can specify the duration of the pause in milliseconds. 1000 milliseconds = 1
second. If this option is not available, the pause will be one second long.)

Skip database validation(.edb file check only for DAG)


If you select this option, AppSync skips database validation in the case of DAG.

Unmount an Exchange copy


You can unmount an Exchange copy using the copy management page or the service plan page.

Unmount an Exchange copy from the Copies page


You can unmount a copy from the Copy Management page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired instance.
5. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy you want to unmount.
6. Select the copy you want to unmount and click UNMOUNT.
7. Click OK.

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Unmount an Exchange copy from the Service Plan page
You can unmount an Exchange copy from the service plan page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange.
4. Click the name of the service plan you prefer in the Service Plan column.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click Unmount.
6. Click OK.

Enable or disable an Exchange copy


You can enable or disable expiry of a copy during rotation using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired instance.
5. Click the name of a database to go to the copies page.
6. Select the copy that you want to enable or disable and click More.
7. Click one of the following options depending on the action you want to perform:
● Enable Copy Expiry: To enable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
● Disable Copy Expiry: To disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
8. Click OK.

Expire an Exchange copy


You can expire an Exchange copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired instance.
5. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy.
6. Select the copy that you want to expire and click More > EXPIRE .
7. Click OK.
NOTE: If the copy is an immutable copy, then the expiry is disabled as the secure snapshot on the array cannot be
deleted before the Time to Live. Once the Time to Live time is reached, the snapshot is automatically deleted from the
array and from AppSync. However, if copy is mounted and Time to Live is reached, then copy will be deleted only after
unmount.

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Path mapping
The path mapping option mounts the copy to a host using a path mapping table set to user-defined locations. When you use a
path mapping table, you have more control over where data is located.
You must specify the path where you want to mount a specific file system. You must provide a path map where the source file
system and the target mount point is specified.
The following is a sample path mapping table for Windows.
The first two target paths, G:\ and H:\ drives must already be available on the mount host. That is, the root drive for the
mount path must pre-exist before attempting a mount.

Source file system Target mount path


D:\Test1 G:\Test1
E:\ H:\Test2
F:\Test3 I:\
L:\ N:\

NOTE:
● If a target path is not provided for a source path, then it is mounted to a path same as the source path on the mount
host.
● Ensure that you type in the absolute mount path on the target host. If the path is invalid, mount fails.
● Mount copy overrides is unavailable, if you select the mount path as Mapped path.
● For Windows, if one of the entered path is invalid, VSS import fails. Therefore, the entire mount fails. Partial failed
scenarios are not supported for Windows mount.
● For Windows and NFS file systems on Unix, nested target mount points are not supported.
● Path Mapping is not applicable to metadata paths for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server.

Specify path mapping settings


You can specify the path where you want to mount a specific copy.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / VMware Datacenters / File Systems / Microsoft
Exchange.
4. Navigate to the folder that contains the copies.
5. Select the copy you want to mount, then click MOUNT COPY.
6. In the Mount Copy options, under the Specify Mount Settings section:
a. Select the mount host.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select Mapped Path.
The Path Mapping Settings link appears.
7. Click on the link to open the Path Mapping Settings window.
8. From the Select Source Host list, select a host.
All the file systems on the selected host are displayed in the source path column.
9. Specify the target path.
10. Click Save to save your settings.
If you want to set the target path for a file system on another source host, repeat steps 8 to 10.
11. Click Reset, to clear all the entered target paths for the selected source host.
12. Click OK to exit the Path Mapping window.

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NOTE: If you change the path mapping settings, the earlier saved path mapping settings is not valid and the new path
mapping settings takes precedence. Therefore, ensure that you save the path mapping settings for all the hosts before
changing it.

Overview of Exchange copy restore


Learn about Exchange restore features along with associated storage copy levels.
With AppSync you can restore the following objects:
● A database with its logs.
● A database .edb file.
● Only the logs for a database.
● An active or passive database (with any one of the three points already mentioned), if the server is a member of a DAG
(Database Availability Group).
AppSync restores VMAX3/PowerMax, or PowerFlex copies at the LUN/ Volume level, Unity copies at the consistency group
level, and PowerStore copies at the Volume Group level. In a RecoverPoint environment, restore is at the consistency group
level.
NOTE: Ensure that no virtual machine snapshots are present before protecting a datastore. If virtual machine snapshots
are present, protection succeeds, but AppSync fails to perform a file or virtual machine restore.

Affected entities during restore


When restoring from a copy, you may be prompted to restore items in addition to the ones you selected.
An affected entity is data that resides on your production host that unintentionally becomes part of a replica because of its
proximity to the data you intend to protect. You can prevent affected entity situations by properly planning your data layout
based on replica granularity. The granularity of a replica depends upon the environment.
If there are affected entities in your underlying storage configuration, the Restore Wizard notifies you of these items. The
following scenarios produce affected entities that require you to acknowledge that additional items will be restored:
● For RecoverPoint, if the databases are in the same consistency group they become affected entities when the other
database is protected.
● For Unity, if the databases are in the same consistency group, they become affected entities when another database in the
group is protected.
● For Unity, PowerStore, PowerFlex, or XtremIO, if the databases are on the same LUN they become affected entities when
the other database is protected.
● For VMware virtual disks, since restore involves a datastore, restore of all applications residing on the same datastore
(virtual disks on the same datastore) are also affected entities.
● For PowerStore, while restoring from remote copy, if the databases are in the same volume group and the replication session
is created for volume group, they become affected entities when another database in the group is protected.
● For PowerFlex, restoring from a remote copy is not supported.
If the affected entity was protected along with the database that is selected for restore, AppSync restores it. Any other
database that was not protected but is an affected entity is overwritten. AppSync calculates affected entities for the
consistency groups, LUN groups, or LUNs of the database that is selected for restore. If the affected databases partially
reside on other consistency groups, LUN groups, or LUNs, AppSync does not calculate affected entities on those consistency
groups. LUN groups or LUNs.
Affected entities are calculated based on restore granularity. If both data and logs are selected for restore, then affected
entities are calculated for all the consistency groups, LUN groups, or LUNs on which the database resides. If only data or only
log restore is selected, then the affected entities are only calculated for the components that are selected in consistency group,
LUN Group, or LUN.
If the database data and log components reside on the same consistency group, LUN group, or LUN, the option to restore only
logs or restore only data is not available. You have the option only to restore data and logs. The only exception to this scenario is
when you perform a differential copy restore.
Since restore involves a datastore with VMware virtual disks, restore of all applications residing on the same datastore (virtual
disks on the same datastore) are also affected entities.

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Restore an Exchange copy
You can perform a restore of an Exchange server copy using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft Exchange.
4. In the Name Column, click the instance that contains the database.
5. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy you want to restore.
6. Select the copy that you want to restore and click More > Restore.
7. In the Select a Copy page, select the copy you want to restore and click NEXT.
If multiple applications share the same LUN or file systems (as the application for which the copy is created), those
applications are listed as affected entities.
NOTE: You can perform this step only if you have multiple applications that share the same LUN or file systems.

8. Click NEXT.
9. In the Configure Storage Options page, configure the following:
● Wait for mirror rebuild to complete - This option is applicable for metro node | VPLEX Snap copies whose production
data resides on local or distributed RAID-1 volumes.
● Disable VMWare SRM - Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint
consistency group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
● Perform device restore in background - Allows you to optimize restore of VMAX3/PowerMax devices. If you select
this option, AppSync restore operation does not wait for track synchronization to complete. The production application is
available instantly.
NOTE: In the case of SnapVX/XtremIOSnap/PowerStoreSnap mounted copies, when you perform restore, AppSync
restores the data from the snapshots that are created on the array to the source devices, or from linked
devices(VMAX3/PowerMax) or read/write snapshots (XtremIO X2), or read/write clones (PowerStore).
○ Restore from snapshot: Restores copies from original snapshots.
○ Restore from changed data: Restores from the linked devices(VMAX3/PowerMax) or read/write snapshots
(XtremIO X2), or read/write clones (PowerStore).
10. Click NEXT.
11. In the Review page, review the restore options and click FINISH.

Recovering an Exchange database manually


Perform a manual recovery when you have not selected the Recover and mount the databases after restore option in the
Restore wizard.

Prerequisites
When you are recovering just a database file, verify that the transaction log files needed for recovery are present. An unbroken
sequence is required. To determine the minimum required range of logs, run the following command against each database after
the restore and before running recovery: ESEUTIL /mh <database name>. Look for the Log Required information in the
ESEUTIL output.
If the database is the active copy, it must first be unmounted in order to run the ESEUTIL command successfully.

Steps
1. Delete the checkpoint file (Enn.chk).
This is optional.

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2. Delete the restore.env file (EnnRESTORE.env).
3. Recover the databases manually in soft recovery mode using the ESEUTIL command.
eseutil /r E<nn> /l <logpath> /s <chkpt file path> /d <database path>
4. Use Exchange Management Console to mount all the restored databases.

Partial restore
In a partial restore, you restore data alone or restore data and then restore the logs separately.
Before you perform a partial restore, ensure that the database layout fulfills some conditions.

Partial restore considerations


In a RecoverPoint environment, the granularity of restore is at the consistency group level. When you restore a database from
a bookmark, any bookmarks that are newer than the bookmark being restored are deleted. The corresponding application copies
are also deleted. The following best practices are recommended:
● The database and logs must reside in different consistency groups.
If you have data and logs for an Exchange database in the same consistency group, partial restore is not supported.
● The logs should be restored from a newer Differential backup copy. AppSync does not support restoring only the logs from a
Full or Copy backup in a RecoverPoint environment.
In a VMAX3/PowerMax the database and logs must reside on different LUNs.

Restore data
Restore data from a Full or Copy backup. You can restore data only to preserve the logs that are on the production host.
In the Restore wizard, restore data from the most recent copy and select the Recover and mount the databases after
restore option.

Restore logs
Restore data from a Full or Copy backup and then restore the logs from a later copy to make the copy current.
Restoring a copy from the logs is a two-step process. Run the Restore wizard and select a full backup copy to restore only data.
Do not opt to Recover and mount the databases after restore in this run.
Run the Restore wizard again and select a backup copy (a differential backup in RecoverPoint) to restore only the logs. This
time, select the Recover and mount the databases after restore option. This copy must be later than the backup copy that
you selected during the first run.
NOTE:

If the restore operation includes restoring logs, the restore overwrites any logs that are created since the copy was created.
Therefore, after the restore, the database reflects the point in time when the copy was created. If you want to preserve
logs that are created since the copy, restore only the databases, preventing AppSync from restoring older logs over the
newer logs. You can also make a copy of the current log files on another volume.

Restoring a deleted Exchange database


AppSync can restore a database even if it is deleted from Exchange in standalone and DAG environments.

Prerequisites
● If you deleted the database files and created an empty database, dismount the database and delete its files. The database
that you are restoring should not have data and log files at the original location where they were when the empty database
was created. The log file signatures will not match those in the AppSync copy and the restore will fail.

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● If you completely remove the database and recreate it, the database name and its file path and names should be exactly the
same as those in your AppSync copy. If you do not recreate the deleted database, AppSync recreates it.
● In a DAG environment:
○ There should be no active or passive copies of the deleted DAG database.
○ AppSync recreates and restores only the active database copy to the server that created the AppSync copy. After the
database has been restored and recovered, you can recreate the DAG passive copies.

About this task


If you have not selected the Recover and mount the databases after restore option in the Restore wizard, perform the
following manual steps to recover the database.

Steps
1. Copy the required logs from _restoredLogs directory to the directory where the current logs reside.
2. If the log file prefix changed, rename the required log files to use the new prefix.
3. Delete the E<nn>restore.env file.
4. Recover the databases manually in soft recovery mode using the ESEUTIL command.
eseutil /r E<nn> /l <logpath> /s <chkpt file path> /d <database path>
5. Delete the _restoredLogs directory that should be empty after the database is recovered.

114 Protect Microsoft Exchange


6
Protect SQL Server
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Overview of SQL Server support
• Support for AlwaysOn Availability Groups
• SQL Server transaction log backup
• Considerations for working with SQL Server in a cluster
• SQL Server User Databases folder
• Protect a SQL Database
• Mount considerations for SQL Server
• Unmount a SQL copy
• Create SQL repurpose copies
• Create second generation copies
• Enable or disable a SQL copy expiry
• Expire a SQL copy
• SQL Server database restore overview

Overview of SQL Server support


Use AppSync to create and manage application-consistent or crash-consistent copies of Microsoft SQL Server databases.
AppSync support for Microsoft SQL applications includes:
● AlwaysOn Availability Group support.
NOTE: SQL Server 2022 introduced Contained AlwaysOn Availability groups. This is currently not supported.
● Dynamic discovery of user databases during service plan run.
● Support for databases on physical hosts, RDMs, and virtual disks on virtual hosts.
NOTE: AppSync only supports RDMs in physical compatibility mode. There is no support for RDMs in virtual mode.
● Protection for standalone and clustered production SQL Server instances.
● Mount on a standalone server or cluster nodes of alternate cluster or production cluster as non-clustered resource. Mount
with recovery on an alternate clustered instance belonging to an alternate or production failover cluster.
● Support for Repurposing SQL server database copies.

SQL Server prerequisites


Verify that the SQL Server configuration meets the prerequisites that are listed here. The AppSync Support Matrix on https://
elabnavigator.dell.com/eln/modernHomeDataProtection is the authoritative source of information on supported software and
platforms.
● SQL Server database and its transaction logs must be on disks in the same storage array.
● The SQL Server database must be online during replication.
● Full-text catalogs that are associated with a file group are included as part of a replica of that file group. If the full-text
catalogs are not on the supported storage, protection fails. When using full-text catalogs, ensure that the storage device
where the catalog is located does not include data that is not related to the database.
● If you want to recover databases from the mounted copy, the mount host must have an installed SQL Server. It is
recommended to use the same version of SQL Server on the production and mount hosts.
● When mounting with recovery to an alternate clustered instance, you must add all the owner nodes of the SQL Server
clustered instance to AppSync.
● When restoring SQL Server clustered databases, you must add all the owner nodes of the SQL Server clustered instance to
AppSync.

Protect SQL Server 115


● In Hyper-V environments, AppSync requires the storage for SQL database and log files to be on iSCSI direct attached
devices, Virtual Fiber Channel (NPIV), or SCSI pass-through devices. SCSI Command Descriptor Block (CDB) filtering must
be turned off in the parent partition for SCSI pass-through. It is turned on by default. This is also applicable for SQL cluster
servers.
○ For Hyper-V SCSI pass-through, the mount host cannot be a Hyper-V host. It has to be a physical host, or a virtual
machine that is added with Virtual Fiber Channel adapter or iSCSI direct attached.
● System databases are not supported.
● SQL Server database snapshots are not discovered.
● Creating a copy of a database mirror is not supported. Trying to do so results in an error that the database is not in a valid
state.

SQL Server supported configurations


AppSync provides support for the SQL configurations listed here.
● Multiple SQL Server databases can exist on the same volume, or across multiple volumes. However, it is best practice to not
mix databases from more than one SQL Server instance on a volume.
● Multiple SQL Server instances can coexist on the same host.

TDE enabled Microsoft SQL databases


TDE enabled Microsoft SQL databases are now supported in AppSync.
Follow the below mentioned steps:

SQL TDE Protection Production Alternate Mount Restore AS SQL Restore


database Mount with with recovery
Configuration recovery
SQL Standalone No change required No change required TDE Encryption No change required No change required
and certificate
must be available .
Steps are provided
in the below
section.
SQL Failover No change required No change required TDE Encryption No change required No change required
Cluster and certificate
must be available.
Steps are provided
in the below
section.
SQL Always-On No change required No change required TDE Encryption The database is See the
Availability Group and certificate removed from workaround
must be available. the Always-On provided below.
Steps are provided Availability Group
in the below during restore, and
section. after the restore
the database will
not be added back
to the Always-
On Availability
Group because
of Microsoft
restriction. See
the workaround
provided below.

Take a backup of the TDE certificate on production database. This is required for the further steps, for recovery mount.

USE master;
GO
BACKUP CERTIFICATE TDE_Certificate

116 Protect SQL Server


TO FILE = 'C:\temp\TDE_Certificate.cer'
WITH PRIVATE KEY (file='C:\temp\TDE_Certificate.pvk',
ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD='xxxxyyyy')

Ensure you follow the below prerequisites, before performing mount and recovery on an alternate host or cluster.
1. Import or copy the .cer and .pvk files from primary node, and also provide the same password that was used for encrypting
to decrypt.
2. Run below SQL transact commands.

CREATE Certificate xxxyyyy_TDE_Certificate


FROM FILE = 'C:\temp\TDE_Certificate.cer'
WITH Private KEY (
FILE = 'C:\temp\TDE_Certificate.pvk',
Decryption BY Password = 'xxxxyyyy'
);

USE master;
GO
CREATE MASTER KEY ENCRYPTION
BY PASSWORD='xxxxyyyy';
GO

3. Run Mount and Recovery from AppSync to this alternate host and verify that the TDE is enabled on the mounted and
recovered database.
Workaround after restore in Always-On Availability Group.
Following are the steps:
1. In Always-On Availability Group, the database is not added back to the Always-On Availability Group after restore. So after
restore from AppSync , turn off the TDE.

ALTER DATABASE <database name>


SET ENCRYPTION OFF;
GO

2. On the primary node, add the database to the availability group.


NOTE: In SQL Server Management Studio, it does not allow addition of the database to Always-On Availability Group.
Hence, you must run the below query.

USE MASTER;
GO
ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP <AGNAME> ADD DATABASE < database name>;
GO

3. Perform a full backup of the database on the primary node or replica.

BACKUP DATABASE < database name> TO DISK =


N'Path_to_Store_Backup_File\BackupFileName.bak';
GO

4. Restore the full database backup on the secondary node and also specify the “WITH NORECOVERY” option.

RESTORE DATABASE < database name>


FROM DISK = N'Path_Database_Backup_File_Stored\BackupFileName.bak'
WITH NORECOVERY;
GO

5. Check if the database on the secondary node is in a synchronized state, and is added to the Always-On Availability Group.
6. If the database is not in a synchronized state, then perform the below steps.
a. Perform a transaction log backup of the database on the primary node or replica.

BACKUP LOG <database name>TO DISK =


N'Path_to_Store_Log_Backup_File\LogBackupFileName.bak';
GO

b. Restore the log backup on the secondary node and also specify the option “WITH NORECOVERY."

Protect SQL Server 117


RESTORE LOG <database name> FROM DISK =
N'Path_Log_Backup_File_Stored\LogBackupFileName.bak' WITH NORECOVERY;
GO

c. On the secondary node, add the database to the availability group by altering it.

USE MASTER;
GO
ALTER DATABASE <database name> SET HADR AVAILABILITY GROUP = <AGNAME>;
GO

d. Check if all AG replicas are synchronized.


7. Now, enable the database encryption on the primary database.

ALTER DATABASE <database name>


SET ENCRYPTION ON;
GO

8. Verify that the encryption is enabled on both the primary and secondary node.

Considerations for SQL Server in a VMware environment


You can protect, mount and restore SQL Server standalone and clustered databases residing on VMware virtual disks (VDisks)
or raw device mappings (RDMs).
During protection of SQL on RDM or VDisks:
● For successful mapping, the Virtual Center must be added to the AppSync server and discovery must be performed.
● For successful protection, log files and database files must reside on virtual disks. There cannot be a combination of physical
and virtual storage.
● Protection of SQL Server databases across virtual machines sharing the same datastore is not supported.
○ If multiple SQL databases from different virtual machines on the same datastore are subscribed to the same service plan,
protection works, but multiple copies of the same datastore are created. This causes issues during mount and restore
operations.
○ If multiple SQL databases from different virtual machines on the same datastore are subscribed to a different service
plan, protection, mount, and restore works. However, restore causes problems for databases in other virtual machines
that are hosted on the same datastore. It is recommended that multiple SQL databases on different virtual machines be
hosted on different datastores.
● Multiple SQL databases from the same host can reside on the same or different virtual disk that are on the same VMFS
datastore, and protected by the same service plan. However, restore of one database on this VMFS datastore restores other
databases on the same datastore, which are listed as affected entities during restore.
● When restoring SQL Server clustered databases, you must add all the owner nodes of the SQL Server clustered instance to
AppSync.
● If the mount host is a virtual machine, the Virtual Center must be registered with AppSync. This is required to mount RDMs.
● For virtual disks:
○ Non-persistent virtual disks are not supported.
○ For datastore and virtual disk mounts on ESXi 5.x and RecoverPoint 4.1.7.7 environments, disable hardware acceleration
to ensure successful virtual access type mounts. For more details, refer the relevant VMware Knowledge Base article.
For Hyper-V SCSI pass-through, the mount host cannot be a Hyper-V host. It must be a physical host or virtual machine
with NPIV or iSCSI direct attached.
● If databases reside on raw device mappings in VMWare environments, the SQL Server cluster nodes must reside across
different ESXi. This is a requirement from VMWare. For database on virtual disks, SQL Server cluster nodes can reside on
the same ESX server.
● AppSync only supports RDMs in physical compatibility mode. There is no support for RDMs in virtual compatibility mode.
● For VMware virtual disks, restore of all applications residing on the same datastore (virtual disks on the same datastore) are
also affected entities because restore involves a datastore.

Required permissions and rights


Users require certain permissions and rights to protect databases in a SQL Server environment. The user account must be
configured to use either SQL Server authentication or Windows authentication. The Windows user account can either be a
member of the local Administrators group (that has log on locally rights) or a non-Administrator account with the restrictions

118 Protect SQL Server


outlined next. The SQL Server services must be restarted after performing these changes. AppSync supports SQL services
running with a Group Managed Service Account (GMSA). AppSync does not support SQL if the SQL Services are running with a
Managed Service Account (MSA).
For setting up SQL Server with AppSync, there are 2 types of users that are required for different purposes:
1. First user is used to run "SQL Server" and "Sql Server Agent" service. The SQL Server service and SQL Server Agent service
can be run as Local System or Local Administrator or default service accounts or a domain user. It is recommended that
the 2 SQL services - "SQL Server" and "SQL Server Agent" service to have same user for "Log on As" on both the source
instance and mount instance.
For setting up SQL services to be run using domain user, the following privileges must be granted to the user through group
policy management editor from domain controller or through local security policy editor on the domain computers - Log
on as a service (SeServiceLogonRight), Replace a process-level token (SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege), Bypass traverse
checking (SeChangeNotifyPrivilege), Adjust memory quotas for a process (SeIncreaseQuotaPrivilege). These privileges are
automatically granted during SQL server setup installation.
Also, domain user must be given full file system permissions on source database file system. There are many ways to give
permissions. One of the easiest ways is given below:
a. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the file system location where the database files are stored. Right-click the file
system or folder, and then click Properties.
b. On the "Security tab", click Edit, and then Add.
c. In the "Select Users, Computer, Service Account, or Groups" dialog box, click Locations, at the top of the location list,
select your computer or domain name, and then click OK.
d. In the "Enter the object names to select" box, type the username.
e. Click "Check Names" to validate the entry. Click OK again to return to the Permissions dialog box.
f. In the Group or user names box, select the per-service SID name, and then in the Permissions for <name> box, select the
Allow check box for "Full control". Click Apply, and then click OK twice to exit.
2. Second user is used to login to SQL instance. This is the username that is required by AppSync for performing sql operations.
It is recommended not to provide default service accounts for use with AppSync. If a domain user is provided here, then it
should have below privileges or permissions:
"Allow log on locally" through group policy management editor from domain controller or through local security policy editor
on domain computers as explained below. Also, the domain user should be given "public" and "sysadmin" as Server Roles in
both source and mount SQL instance.
An AppSync user may configure same domain user to perform both the above purposes. However, if there are different
users running SQL Services at mount and source host, then please follow below guidelines:
a. Recovery of SQL databases will not work for domain user if using cross-domain mount and recovery that is source
instance and mount instances are in two different domains.
b. The "mount host" domain user used for running SQL services for mount instances must be given these privileges on
mount instance.
Log on as a service (SeServiceLogonRight), Replace a process-level token (SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege), Bypass
traverse checking (SeChangeNotifyPrivilege), Adjust memory quotas for a process (SeIncreaseQuotaPrivilege). Also, this
domain user must have full file system permissions on source database files.
c. If there is different domain user provided to AppSync for mount instance, then it must have below permissions on source
database:
● Using SQL Studio and connecting to the Source host Database
Add the user the SQL Service and SQL Agent run as on the Mount host.
● In properties for the user(right click user, select properties), check off public and sysadmin for Server Roles.
● In properties for the user(right click user, select properties), check off public for User Mappings.
● Also, this domain user must have full file system permissions on source database files.

Setting up permissions for a domain account that does not have local
administrator privileges
Additional setup is required if you need to use a domain account that does not have local administrator privileges.

Steps
1. Create a Windows domain user (for example, sqluser) and make it part of the Domain Users group.

Protect SQL Server 119


2. In SQL Server Management Studio, create a new login, using the newly created domain account and select Windows
authentication.
3. In the General page, select master as the default database.
4. In the Server Roles page, select sysadmin and public.
5. In the User Mapping page, set the database role membership to public.
6. Add the user to each SQL Server instance on which this user needs access:
a. On the domain controller: On the hosts added to the domain: Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Domain
Controller Security Policy
On the hosts added to the domain: Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy
b. Access security settings and allow login locally (Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment >
Allow log on locally)
c. Add the user (the example is sqluser) you created earlier.
7. Log in to the domain controller machine for each host added to that domain that uses AppSync and set the Security policy.
8. Grant this user read and write permissions on the directory where the AppSync plug-in is installed (typically C:\Program
Files\EMC\AppSync Host Plug-in).
9. Use this user from AppSync when you configure protection or perform other actions that require access to SQL Server.
10. At the time of restore, if you select the option to back up the transaction logs to a file, the user must have rights to the
target directory.

Setting permissions for a local, non-administrator user


A user account that does not have local administrator privileges needs certain permissions before it can be used to access SQL
Server from AppSync.

Steps
1. Create a Windows user and make it part of the Users group.
2. In SQL Server Management Studio, create a new login, using the newly created account. For the authentication type, select
Windows authentication.
3. In the Server Roles page, select sysadmin and public.
4. In the User Mapping page, set the database role membership to public.
5. Add the user to each SQL Server instance on which this user needs access:
a. On the host running the plug-in, set the security policy. On the domain controller, run Start > Programs >
Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy.
On the hosts added to the domain: Start > Programs > Tools > Local Security Policy.
b. Access security settings and allow login locally (Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment >
Allow log on locally).
c. Add the user (the example is sqluser) you created earlier.
6. Grant this user read and write permissions on the folder where the AppSync plug-in is installed.
7. If you select the restore option to back up the transaction logs to a file, the user must have rights to the target directory.

Set up SQL Server connection settings


Perform this procedure to set up the SQL Server connection settings.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server to display the instance page.
4. Select a database and click CONNECTION SETTINGS.
The SQL Server Connection settings dialog appears.

120 Protect SQL Server


5. In the Authentication field, select one of the following:
● Windows Authentication
● SQL Server Authentication
6. Specify values for the following fields:
● Username
● Password
7. Click OK.

Support for AlwaysOn Availability Groups


The Availability Groups can be part of clustered and non-clustered SQL Server instances installed on AlwaysOn Failover clusters.
AppSync supports Full or Copy backups of primary databases and Copy backups of secondary databases. The Auto Switch
to Copy option in the SQL Server service plan's Create copy step allows you to switch from Full to Copy for secondary
databases.
Special considerations when you are using AlwaysOn Availability Groups:
● To protect secondary databases, they must be read-only. The Readable Secondary option in the SQL
ServerManagement Studio must be set to either Yes or Read-intent only.
● If there are secondary databases in the availability group which are set to Readable Secondary state No, they can be
skipped from protection using the option Skip SQL Secondary Database protection. When this option is set to Yes in
edit Service plan pane under Create the Copy page, any non-readable secondary databases subscribed to the service plan
will be excluded from protection. However, if this is the only type of database to be subscribed to in the service plan, it will
fail with event SQL_000080 as protection is not supported.
● Do not use the original path when mounting an AppSync copy to a node in the same cluster if that node hosts a copy of the
database.
● It is recommended to protect replicas in the Synchronous-commit mode.
● The considerations for working with SQL Server in a cluster also apply to Availability Groups. See Considerations for SQL in a
cluster.
● Multi-subnets are supported for AlwaysOn Availability Groups if none of the database copies belong to a clustered SQL
Server instance.

SQL Server transaction log backup


AppSync supports SQL Server transaction log backup. Get key considerations as well as restrictions before implementing your
backups.
Every SQL Server database has a transaction log. Write the log backups to Dell storage systems that are supported by AppSync
so you can create copies of the log backup volume. If you back up logs for databases in a failover cluster environment, use
shared storage or a network share so the log backups are written to the same location.
You can use transaction log backups during recovery of a production database or when making a copy of a production database.
Depending on the database recovery model, the transaction log can become full. To prevent the accumulation of logs, regularly
run transaction log backups with truncation enabled.
AppSync can backup transaction logs in AlwaysOn Availability Group (AAG) environments. It can back up primary or secondary
database copies. If truncation is enabled, to initiate truncation, back up either the primary or secondary database transaction
log.
Transaction log backups are supported using only streaming back up; they are not supported using VSS hardware snapshot
technology. You can use AppSync to back up transaction logs to a file. The file can be written to a local volume or network share
using a UNC path.

NOTE: AppSync supports UNC path of a network share only if both the machines are in the same domain.

Restrictions
● To back up a transaction log, the database recovery model must be either “Full” or “Bulk-logged.” AppSync skips backing up
the log for any database with the simple recovery model.

Protect SQL Server 121


● To create any log backups with log truncation, first create at least one full database backup.
● To truncate transaction logs, AppSync must have a Full database backup copy.
● Subscribe a database to only one service plan with log backup enabled.
● To truncate logs in an AAG environment, subscribe only one copy of a database to a service plan that is configured for Full
database backups and transaction log backups with log truncation.
● To back up transaction logs for databases that belong to an availability group, alter the schedule so that different copies of
the database are not backed up at the same time.

Configure SQL Server transaction log backup


Learn how to enable transaction log backups for an SQL Server service plan, by selecting the Enable log backup checkbox on
the Create Copy options page of the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user account you select for backups has full control of the directory. This account is the user account that you
entered when discovering databases. Also verify that the account configured for the SQL Server Database Engine Service of
the SQL Server instance being protected has full control of the backup directory.

About this task


To configure SQL server transaction log backup, edit the respective service plan and enable the Enable log backup option in
the Create the Copy step. Then, the Transaction Log Backup Options dialog box is enabled where you can customize when
and how to run log backups and where to write the log backup files. Transaction log backups run sequentially.

Steps
1. Use the Schedule field to set log backup runs.
You can select to run the transaction log backup once, immediately after a database backup is run, or you can select to
schedule log backups. You can set log backup schedules to run every 15 or 30 minutes or every 1 to 24 hours. If you set a
service plan to run on demand, you disable the log backup schedule.
When you schedule log backups to run at a specified interval, the service plan will have two schedules associated with it:
one for database backups and one for log backups. The log backup is referred to as the alternate schedule. Log backups run
between database backups using the alternate schedule.
2. Edit the Backup path field to set the location where AppSync writes log backup files.
Default path uses the SQL Server instance default backup directory. You can also enter a path on any volume on the server
or the UNC path of a network share.

AppSync creates the directory if it does not exist. It creates a subdirectory using the name of the SQL Server instance.
The log backup file names have the following format: EMC_AppSync_databasename_timestamp.trn, for example,
EMC_AppSync_AdventureWorks_2014_10_18_15_38_32.trn
3. Use the Free space on volume field to set a value to verify the amount of free space on the volume before AppSync begins
a transaction log backup.
If not enough free space is available, an alert is generated and the log backup fails.
4. Use the Backup group size field to control the number of parallel log backups for an SQL Server instance. The default value
is 5, (AppSync runs log backups in groups of five).
For example, if you subscribe 15 databases from the same SQL Server instance to a service plan, three log backups will run in
parallel. Transaction log backups run sequentially.
5. Select or clear the Truncate the logs field when you create Full database backups.
This field is checked by default when you select Full backup type, and it is disabled when you select Copy . To protect
secondary databases, truncate logs, select Auto switch to Copy and Truncate the logs.
6. To perform a checksum on the log backup, select the Checksum the backup field.
7. Set Minimum Retention Hours option to control when transaction log backup files are deleted.
Transaction log backup expiration is done when no older database backups exist. AppSync deletes the log backup files and
the log backup information contained in the AppSync database. The default setting is 24 hours which means that AppSync
will not expire any log backup before it is a minimum of 24 hours old. The valid range is 0 to 10,000 hours.

122 Protect SQL Server


Create log backup for SQL
You can create log backups for SQL Servers in the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copiesdrop-down, clickCopies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance.
5. In the user database folder, click the preferred server folder.
6. In the Name Column, click the preferred database and then click the Log Backups tab.
7. Click Create Log Backup Using Plan.
8. In the Create Log Backup page, select the service plan, and Click OK.
NOTE: The Enable log backup option should be enabled in the service plan.

The Subscribe to Plan Status window displays the status of the job.
9. Click Close.

Configure log backup scripts


You can run scripts before and after log backups by enabling the pre- and post- log backup scripts.
The pre-log backup script runs on the production host. The post-log backup script can run on the production host or the mount
host (if mount is enabled), or you can specify a server. The server must have the AppSync host plug-in installed.

Run Log Backups for a SQL database


Perform the following procedure to run log backups for a SQL database.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server to display the instances page.
4. Select the service plan for which you want to run log backup and click RUN LOG BACKUPS.

View log backups for a service plan


The list of SQL Server log backups can be viewed from the Service Plan Log Backups tab or from the Database Log Backups
tab.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


The list of copies can be filtered by time of creation, and by service plan. In the Service Plan Copies tab, you can also filter by
instance.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server.

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4. Click the name of a service plan.
5. Click the LOG BACKUPS tab.

Results
You can now view the log backup list for the service plan. The following table describes details about the log backup:

Table 22. Service Plan log backup details


Column Description
Status ● Green: successful
● Yellow: some log backups completed with errors when the
service plan ran.
● Red: failed
Log Backup Name Name of the log backup copy. The copy is named with the
time at which it was made.
Instance SQL Server instance name
Name SQL Server database name
Truncated Indicates if the transaction log was truncated by the log
backup. Yes, if the log was truncated, otherwise No.
Backup File The name of the log backup file and its location.

Log backup expiration


AppSync expires log backups when the service plan runs to create a new log backup. During expiration, AppSync deletes the log
backup file and removes information about the backup from the AppSync database.
Log backups are always based off the previous Full database backup. However, you do not have to use AppSync to create the
Full database backup. You can use AppSync to create a Copy database and log backup.
Additionally, AppSync can create Full database backups and log backups with, or without log truncation. Log backup expiration
behavior depends on the type of database backup you create.
Log backups are eligible for expiration when the following conditions occur:
● The log backup is older than the service plan Minimum Retention Hours setting.
● All older database backups are expired. The database backups included in this check depends on the SQL Server Backup
Type.
○ If the log backup service plan has SQL Server Backup Type set to Copy, only database backups created by that service
plan are considered when looking for older database backups.
○ If the log backup service plan has SQL Server Backup Type set to Full, then Full database backups created by any service
plan are considered.
Example 1: consider the following scenario:
● Service plan has log backup enabled.
● Database backup type set to Copy.
● Rotation set to one.
● Log backup minimum retention is set to 24 hours.
The service plan has run several times, creating a database backup and several log backups. The service plan runs again,
creating a database backup and expiring the first database backup. This leaves several log backups with no older database
backup. The service plan runs again, creating a log backup and expiring all of the previous log backups that are at least 24 hours
old.
Example 2: consider the following scenario:
● You have two service plans.
● Both have database backup type set to Full.
● Service plan 1 is scheduled to run a database backup once a week with rotation set to four.
● Service plan 2 is scheduled to run daily at 8 PM with a rotation of seven.
● Service plan 2 has log backup enabled to run every hour and the log backup minimum retention is set to 24 hours.

124 Protect SQL Server


● Both service plans have been running.
● Service plan 1 has four database copies and service plan 2 has seven database copies. Service plan 2 also has many log
backups that were run between each of the seven database copies.
● Service plan 2 runs again and creates a database copy and then expires its oldest copy. It runs an hour later to create a log
backup and looks for log backups that are eligible for expiration.
No log backups are eligible because service plan 1 has Full database backups that are older than all of the log backups. The next
time service plan 1 runs, the oldest database backup will be expired. Log backups will then be eligible for expiration.

Manual expiration of log backups


You can also expire log backups manually.
To expire log backups for several databases:
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server.
4. Click the name of a service plan.
5. Click the LOG BACKUPS tab.
6. Select the log backups that you would like to expire and then click EXPIRE.
7. Click OK on the confirmation dialog. AppSync will delete the log backup file and remove information about the backup from
the AppSync database.
To expire log backups for a single database:
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, and select the desired application.
4. Navigate to the Databases page.
5. Click on a database in the list and select the LOG BACKUPS tab.
6. Select the log backups that you would like to expire and then click EXPIRE.
7. Click OK on the confirmation dialog.

Considerations for working with SQL Server in a


cluster
There are special considerations when working with SQL Server in a cluster.
When protecting SQL Server databases in a clustered environment, you must install the AppSync host plug-in on all the nodes
that are possible owners of a clustered SQL Server instance. You can use the AppSync console to install the plug-in or manually
install the plug-in on each server.
NOTE: In a Windows cluster environment, AppSync agent port must be the same across all the nodes participating in the
cluster. Otherwise, AppSync operations fail.
Protecting clustered SQL Server instances:
● It is mandatory to add all the possible nodes of a clustered SQL Server instance and then add SQL Server virtual server
(network name or IP address) to AppSync after installing the AppSync host plug-in software on each node.
NOTE: The SQL Server virtual server is different from the failover cluster name.
● Select the databases from the discovered failover cluster instance, in order to protect it.
● Only single subnets are supported.
● Production VMWare virtual disk with multi writer option enabled is supported for SQL server failover cluster.
● Mounting AppSync copies as a standalone resource:
○ You can mount AppSync copies of clustered databases as a standalone database to a standalone server or any cluster
node.
○ You can mount AppSync copies of standalone databases as a standalone database to a standalone server or any cluster
node.
Mounting a SQL Server copy as a clustered resource:

Protect SQL Server 125


● Supports mount to either an alternate cluster or a production cluster as a clustered resource. On the production cluster, you
must select an alternate clustered instance for mount with recovery.
● Select the appropriate mount option that applies for cluster mount based on your cluster and storage configuration.
● Manually disable automount. Run diskpart at a command prompt then enter automount disable at the DISKPART>
prompt.
Special considerations for mount to production cluster:
● Mounting to a production cluster node using the original path is not supported.
● Virtual servers are filtered out while using the "mount copy" to server option. Only cluster nodes or standalone servers are
visible.
● Mount with Recovery as a clustered resource to a clustered production server is supported.
● For Mount with Recovery as a clustered resource to a production virtual server, consider the following:
○ Mounting to a different clustered SQL server instance is supported.
○ Mounting to a production clustered SQL server instance is not supported.
○ Mounting to an alternate mount path is supported. The root disk for the alternate mount point must be a clustered disk,
and must be added as a dependency to SQL server.
○ Mounting to the original path is not supported.
● Performing a RecoverPoint mounted restore while the copy is mounted to a production cluster is not supported.
NOTE: When AppSync mounts and recovers clustered SQL databases, AppSync stops and starts the SQL instance on the
mount host. This is an expected behavior.

SQL Server User Databases folder


The SQL Server User Database folder contains all the user databases for this SQL Server instance that have been discovered
and stored in the AppSync database.
From the Protect button, you can subscribe the folder to a plan. By doing so, all the databases part of this folder are also
protected. Once protected, the Service Plan column displays the name of the plan.
Clicking on the User Databases folder lists the individual databases part of this SQL Server instance.
In the Databases page, an entry in the Service Plans column tells you that all the databases that are part of the folder are
protected. Any user databases added to the instance will also be protected. AppSync will automatically stop protecting any
databases removed from the instance.
NOTE: If one or more user databases for an SQL Server instance are subscribed to a service plan, you cannot subscribe the
User Databases folder to the same service plan. Conversely, if the User Databases folder is subscribed to a service plan, you
cannot subscribe individual user database instances to the same service plan.

Discovering SQL Server databases


AppSync discovers new user databases on demand or automatically on a service plan run.
When you click the User Databases folder the first time, AppSync discovers databases and lists them. To manually discover
databases again, click Discover Databases in the Databases page.
On the other hand, when you subscribe the User Databases folder to a plan, databases are automatically discovered on each run
of the plan. All databases that are currently ONLINE, including those that were added to the SQL instance after the last service
plan run, are automatically protected.
If individual databases are subscribed to a plan instead of the User Databases folder, AppSync does not automatically discover
any new databases that were created after the last run of the plan. In this case, AppSync rediscovers the database information
of all the databases originally subscribed to the plan and protects the ones that are ONLINE.

Discover SQL Server databases


Perform this procedure to update the SQL Server databases that are known to AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

126 Protect SQL Server


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server to display the databases page.
4. Click DISCOVER INSTANCES.
5. In the Discover Microsoft SQL Server instance dialog, select a host and click OK.

Protect a SQL Database


Protect a SQL database by subscribing it to an AppSync service plan.
To optimize performance, AppSync creates copies of a maximum of 35 databases per instance. If more than 35 databases are
subscribed per instance, AppSync breaks them into groups of 35 and creates copies of the groups sequentially. If more than 35
databases are subscribed to a service plan, and the databases reside on same storage unit (CG, LUN, DS, and so on), modify the
Maximum number of Databases value under the Service Plan > Define the Copy options, accordingly.
You can protect objects in different ways from different places in AppSync:
● Choose an appropriate service plan from CREATE COPY WITH PLAN in the database Copies page.
○ Choose Subscribe to Plan and Run when you want to protect a selected database immediately. The service plan is run
for the database alone.
○ Choose Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override schedule selected), when you want to schedule the
protection for later. Protection for databases that are part of the service plan are run at the scheduled time.
● Choose RUN from the SQL Server Service Plans page to run the whole plan immediately.
NOTE: Ensure that the database you are protecting is not configured for backup simultaneously using a non-AppSync
backup tool. This might interfere with AppSync copy operation and result in unexpected errors.

Subscribe a SQL database to a service plan


You can subscribe a database to a service plan and run the service plan immediately, or schedule the service plan to run at a
later time.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the User Databases folder.
6. In the user databases folder, select one or more SQL databases, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
7. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
8. Select the appropriate option.

Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the database for protection and run the plan immediately for any
selected database(s).
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the database for protection. Protection for all databases that are part
option to override) of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
9. Click Select and select the service plan that you want to subscribe to from the following options:
● Bronze
● Silver
● Gold

Protect SQL Server 127


NOTE: User defined service plans are also listed.

10. Click OK.


11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Click FINISH.

Create a SQL database copy


Create a copy of a database by subscribing it to an AppSync SQL service plan from the Databases page.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server to display SQL instances page.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the User databases folder.
6. Select one or more SQL databases, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
7. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
8. Select the appropriate option.

Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the database for protection and run the plan immediately for any
selected databases.
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the database for protection. Protection for all databases that are part
option to override) of the service plan is run at the scheduled time.
9. Click Select and select the service plan that you want to subscribe to from the following options:
● Bronze
● Silver
● Gold
NOTE: User defined service plans are also appear in this list.

10. Click OK.


11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Click FINISH.

Microsoft SQL Server copies list


The list contains SQL Server copies that have been discovered and stored in the AppSync database.
Clicking a database name shows the AppSync copies of the database.
Each entry shows the subscribed service plans, mount status, Backup type, protected server information, site, and copy type
details.

Column Description
Status ● Green: Successful
● Yellow: Completed with errors
● Red: Failed

128 Protect SQL Server


Column Description
Immutable Copy Specifies if the copy is immutable or not. Manual enabling,
disabling, or expiry of immutable copy is not allowed. Hence
they are grayed out. Immutable copy is automatically expired
after the Time to live is reached.
Service Plan Name of the service plan that is associated with the copy. For
repurposed copies, a Repurpose link displays in this column.
Click this link to edit the Service Plan for 1st or 2nd generation
copies.
NOTE: In the service plan for repurposed copies, the
options to schedule and mount overrides will be disabled.

Backup Type Describes the type of backup.


Mount Status Hostname to which the copy is mounted, or Not Mounted.
Mount Type If copy is mounted as part of service plan run, value for Mount
Type is ServicePlan. If copy is mounted as OnDemand, value
for Mount Type is OnDemand.
Copy Type Replication technology that is used to create the copy: CLR
Bookmark, CDP Bookmark, CRR Bookmark, VPSnap, TFClone,
XtremIO Snapshot, DellSCSnap, and VPLEXSnap.
The copy can be one of the following types:
● RecoverPoint Continuous Data Protection Bookmark
● RecoverPoint Continuous Remote Replication Bookmark
● Unity Snap
● XtremIO snapshot
● VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVXClone, SnapVXSnap
● VPLEXSnap, VPLEXClone
● DELLSC Snap
● PowerStore Snapshot
● PowerStore Thin Clone
● PowerFlex Snapshot
Site Site where the copy is located.
The following additional details are displayed in the Service Plan Copies tab:
Source This column displays the source database or copy from which
a copy was created.
Automatic Expiration Determines whether automatic expiration is enabled or
disabled for the selected copy.
Generation Used for repurposed copies, this column describes how many
generations the copy is from the production database.
Label 1st or 2nd generation copy label
Storage system Storage array on which the copy is created.
Time to Live If Retention policy is set to Always Keep _____ Copies, value
for Time to Live will be disabled. If Retention policy is set
to Keep Copy for _____ Days, value for Time to Live will
be based on value set to Keep Copy for _____ Days. For
example, 2 days 14 hrs 8 minutes.

Protect SQL Server 129


Unsubscribe database from a service plan
When you unsubscribe an individual database from a service plan, AppSync retains all existing database copies; only further
protection will be removed.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server to display the databases page.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the user database page, click the user database that contains the database.
6. In the Name Column, click the database you want to protect.
7. Select the database you want to unsubscribe, and click UNSUBSCRIBE.
8. In the Unsubscribe dialog, select the service plan and click OK.
NOTE: You can also unsubscribe applications from a service plans, from the Service Plan page.

Overriding service plan schedules


You can set individual schedules for databases subscribed to a service plan by overriding the generic recurrence setting.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


You can only override the settings of the recurrence type previously selected for the service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the user databases folder, select one or more SQL databases, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
6. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
7. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override).
8. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
9. Click NEXT.
The Override Schedule page appears.
10. Select one or more databases and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
11. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and then click OK.
For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified days of the month, and the rule setting is to Run at 12:00 AM on
the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the day for individual instances.
12. Click NEXT to review your selection.
13. Click FINISH.

130 Protect SQL Server


View SQL database copies
View the list of database copies by navigating to Copy Management > Microsoft SQL Server and selecting a SQL Server,
then a database.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


You can also see details of a copy from the Copies tab of the Service Plan.
The list of copies can be filtered by time of creation, and by service plan. In the Service Plan Copies tab, you can also filter by
instance.

Table 23. Service Plan Copy details


Column Description
Status ● Green: successful
● Yellow: completed with errors
● Red: failed
Name Name of the copy. The copy is named with the time at which it was made.
Service Plan Name of the service plan associated with the copy. Service plan field is blank for
Repurpose copies.
SQL Server Backup Type Type of SQL backup: Full or Copy
● Full protects the database, and the active part of the transaction log. Copy protects
the database and the active part of the transaction log without affecting the sequence
of backups.
● Secondary databases are read-only and can only be backed up with the Copy backup
type. Auto Switch to Copy is enabled only when Full is selected as the backup type.
However it is unchecked by default. Checking Auto Switch to Copy tells AppSync to
check if the database role is Secondary, and if so, to switch the backup type to Copy.
If Auto Switch to Copy is not enabled, backups fail for all secondary databases.
Mount Status Whether the copy is mounted or not. If mounted, displays the name of the mount host.
Recovery Status Available values:
● Not Recovered - when copy is not mounted or it is a file system mount.
● Successful - when Recovery is successful
● Failed - when Recovery failed
Availability Group The Availability Group column lists the availability group the database belongs to.
Generation Used for repurposed copies, this column describes how many generations removed the
copy is from the production database.
Source This column displays the source database or copy from which a copy was created.
Copy Type Type of copy can be one of the following:
● CDP, CRR Bookmark
● UnitySnap
● XtremIOSnap
● VMAXSnap, VMAXClone
● SnapVXClone, SnapVXSnap
● VPLEXSnap, VPLEXClone
● DELLSCSnap
● PowerStoreSnap
● PowerStoreThinClone
● PowerFlexSnap
The following additional details are displayed in the Service Plan Copies tab:

Protect SQL Server 131


Table 23. Service Plan Copy details (continued)
Column Description
Instance The SQL Server instance that hosts the database.
Database The name of the copy's database.
Name The time at which the database copy was made.
Server/cluster Name of the server or the cluster that hosts the SQL Server instance.
Site RecoverPoint and VNX file site information.

NOTE: A Repurpose button on this page is enabled. When you select a 1st Generation copy and then click this button,
the Repurpose wizard is launches where you can create 2nd Generation copies.

View log backup list for a single database


You can also view log backups for a single database.

About this task


Follow these steps:

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, and select the desired application.
4. Navigate to the Databases page.
5. Click on a database and select the LOG BACKUPS tab.

Results
You can now view log the log backup list for the database. The following table describes details about the log backup:

Table 24. Database log backup details: SQL Server instance


Column Description
Status ● Green: successful
● Yellow: some log backups completed with errors when the
service plan ran.
● Red: failed
Name Name of the log backup copy. The copy is named with the
time at which it was made.
Service Plan Name of the service plan associated with the log backup.
Truncated Indicates if the transaction log was truncated by the log
backup. Yes, if the log was truncated, otherwise No.
Backup File The name of the log backup file and its location.

Expire a SQL copy


You can expire a SQL copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.

132 Protect SQL Server


3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the User Databases folder.
6. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy.
7. Select the copy that you want to expire and click More > Expire .
8. Click OK.
NOTE: If the copy is an immutable copy, then the expiry is disabled as the secure snapshot on the array cannot be
deleted before the Time to Live. Once the Time to Live time is reached, the snapshot is automatically deleted from the
array and from AppSync. However, if copy is mounted and Time to Live is reached, then copy will be deleted only after
unmount.

Service plan summary and details


The service plan Settings tab shows the name, description, schedule, and status of the service plan. Click the tabs in the
Details pane on the right for information about subscriptions and events generated by the plan.

Service plan schedule


The service plan scheduling options determine whether the plan is run manually, or is configured to run on a schedule. Options
for scheduling when a service plan starts are:
● Specify a recovery point objective (RPO)
○ Set an RPO of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours.
○ Minutes after the hour are set in 5 minute intervals.
○ Default RPO is 24 hours.
● Run every day at certain times
○ Select different times during the day.
○ Minutes after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals.
○ There is no default selected.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the week
○ One or more days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected.
○ There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the month
○ Select one or more days of the month (up to all days).
○ Select one time of day. Available times are at 15 minute intervals.
○ Default is the first day of the month.
○ Select Last to select the last day of the month.

Overriding service plan schedules


You can set individual schedules for databases subscribed to a service plan by overriding the generic recurrence setting.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


You can only override the settings of the recurrence type previously selected for the service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.

Protect SQL Server 133


5. In the user databases folder, select one or more SQL databases, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
6. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
7. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override).
8. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
9. Click NEXT.
The Override Schedule page appears.
10. Select one or more databases and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
11. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and then click OK.
For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified days of the month, and the rule setting is to Run at 12:00 AM on
the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the day for individual instances.
12. Click NEXT to review your selection.
13. Click FINISH.

Pre-copy script
To perform preparatory steps before creating a copy, specify a pre-copy script and parameters.
For the pre-copy script, the valid script formats are .bat, .ps1, and .exe. You can optionally enter credentials to run the
script as a specific user. The script runs as Local System by default. The default location of the script is %ProgramData%
\EMC\AppSync\scripts\ on the application host.
AppSync now supports running of PowerShell scripts. The following points apply:
1. The execution policy on the Windows host is set to either Unrestricted or RemoteSigned.
2. If the script is set to run as a non-Default user, this user must have administrative rights to run the PowerShell commands in
the script.
3. The .ps1 script runs using system PowerShell.exe assuming that the system drive is on the default C:\ drive.
4. Parameters such as $true, $false, output redirect using|out-file <filename> are not supported.
Exact parameters depend on the script. Parameters with spaces must be enclosed in double quotes.

Create copy
The Create a Copy options specify the criteria to a copy based on the replication technology specified in the service plan.
Review Overview: Service Plan for more service plan copy information.

SQL Server backup type


The four main backup types that are supported are: Full, Copy, Non-VDI, and Crash Consistent.
● Full protects the database, and the active part of the transaction log. This copy type is typically used when the copy will
be considered a backup of the database or when the copy will be mounted in order to use a third-party product to create
a backup of the database. This type of copy allows you to restore transaction logs to bring the database forward to a point
in time that is newer than the copy, assuming you have backed up those transaction logs. AppSync uses Microsoft SQL
Server’s VDI snapshot feature to create this type of copy.
○ Auto Switch to Copy is enabled only when Full is selected as the backup type. However it is unchecked by default.
Checking Auto Switch to Copy tells AppSync to check if the database role is Secondary, and if so, to switch the backup
type to Copy.
NOTE: If Auto Switch to Copy is not enabled, backups fail for all secondary databases.
● Copy protects the database and the active part of the transaction log without affecting the sequence of backups. This
provides DBAs with a way to create a copy without interfering with third-party backup applications that may be creating
full and/or differential backups of the SQL Server databases. AppSync uses Microsoft SQL Server’s VDI snapshot feature to
create this type of copy.
NOTE: Secondary databases are read-only and can only be backed up with the Copy backup type.
● Non VDI protects the database with the non-VDI approach. This creates crash consistent copies of SQL using the VSS
freeze/thaw framework. No VDI meta data is generated for non-VDI copies. You can mount Non-VDI SQL copies using the
Attach Database and Mount Copy options. You can restore a Non-VDI copy using the No Recovery mode.

134 Protect SQL Server


● Crash Consistent protects the database without any agent involvement, that is, VSS or VDI are not used. This backup
type creates crash consistent copies of SQL databases using array level features. You can use this backup type to resnap,
if the copy recovery fails. This eliminates intervention on the production side. There is no VSS and VDI metadata that is
generated for Crash Consistent copies. Crash Consistent SQL copies are mounted using VDS mount and are recovered with
the Attach Database recovery option. You can restore a Crash Consistent copy using the No Recovery mode. Crash
Consistent backup type is supported on all arrays and RecoverPoint with the following restrictions:
○ For Unity the SQL database must reside on the LUNs that are in a consistency group.
○ For PowerStore, the SQL database must reside on the volumes that are in a write-order-consistent Volume group.
○ For metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes on Unity, the SQL database must reside on the Unity LUNS that is in a
consistency group.
○ For metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes on PowerStore, the SQL database must reside on the PowerStore volumes that
are in a write-order-consistent Volume group.
○ There is no restriction for VMAX3/PowerMax, RecoverPoint, XtremIO, PowerFlex, and metro node | VPLEX virtual
volumes on XtremIO.
○ RecoverPoint bookmarks show Snap consistency as Crash Consistent in the RecoverPoint UI.

Automatic expiration of copies


The automatic expiration value specifies the maximum wanted number of Snap, Clone, or Bookmark copies that can exist
simultaneously, or expires copies that exceed the number of defined days for the copies.
When the "Always keep x copies" value is reached, older copies are expired to free storage for the next copy in the rotation.
Failed copies are not counted. AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until its replacement has been successfully created. For
example, if the number of copies to keep is 7, AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until the eighth copy is created.
When the "Keep copies for x Days" value exceeds for created copies, AppSync will expire those copies in the next maintenance
step.
AppSync does not expire copies under the following circumstances:
● Mounted copies are not expired.
● A copy that contains the only replica of a database does not gets expired.
Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy: Check this option to include RecoverPoint copies when
calculating rotations.
NOTE: If this option is not selected, then RecoverPoint copies get accumulated, and remain until the bookmarks fall off the
RecoverPoint appliance.

Configure retry on VSS failure


You can configure a VSS retry count while creating a copy of a service plan. During protection, if a service plan fails because
of VSS failures such as VSS timeout issue, the service plan runs the VSS freeze/thaw operation again based on the specified
retry count and interval. This option is supported only on Windows applications - File system, Microsoft SQL, and Microsoft
Exchange. This option is not used while creating Crash consistent copies of SQL databases.
NOTE: AppSync does not perform a VSS retry, if the application freeze itself fails. If the application is not in a state to
create a copy, AppSync fails to quiesce it, and does not retry the VSS freeze/thaw operation. The application must be
brought back to a state where it can be quiesced and then the service plan must be re-run.

Post-copy script
To perform cleanup or other post-copy steps after creating a copy, specify a post-copy script and parameters.
The script runs on successful completion copy creation. Valid script formats are .bat and .exe. You can optionally enter
credentials to run the script as a specific user. The script runs as Local System by default.
When AppSync creates copies of application items in a service plan, it may break up the application items and place them
in separate groups for protection. This action can be for performance reasons (for example, VSS for Exchange and SQL)
or because items in a service plan may be protected by different replication technologies. For example, a service plan may
contain some application items that are protected by RecoverPoint bookmarks. As a result, application items in these groups are
protected independently.

Protect SQL Server 135


When AppSync calls a post-copy script, it passes the copies which were created in the group by calling the script with
-appCopies <APP1> <APP2>, where APP1 and APP2 are the names of the application items in that grouping.
AppSync now supports running of PowerShell scripts. The following points apply:
1. The execution policy on the Windows host is set to either Unrestricted or RemoteSigned.
2. If the script is set to run as a non-Default user, this user must have administrative rights to run the PowerShell commands in
the script.
3. The .ps1 script runs using system PowerShell.exe assuming that the system drive is on the default C:\ drive.
4. Parameters such as $true, $false, output redirect using|out-file <filename> are not supported.
When AppSync runs the post-copy script, it is run for the application items that are part of a group. If there are multiple groups,
the post-copy script runs multiple times. When AppSync runs the post-copy script, it passes the list of application items in the
replication group as arguments to the script, right after the user arguments. The syntax is:

-applicationCopies <ITEM1> <ITEM2> <ITEM3>

where <ITEMx> is the name of the application item that is being protected.
Exact parameters depend on the script. Parameters with spaces must be enclosed in double quotes.
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

Mount copy
The Mount copy step either mounts the copy, or mounts and recovers the copy.
In the Mount Copy Defaults settings, you can set values to Mount copy or Mount and recover copy.
In the Mount copy settings, you set the mount host value, mount path and mount permissions (read-only or read/write). Other
mount settings determine where the SQL metadata files are copied and the RecoverPoint image access type.

Field Description
Mount on Server The server on which to mount the copy. Only the nodes of
the cluster or standalone hosts are available for selection. SQL
virtual servers are filtered out.
Mount with access Type of access the copy should be mounted with.
Mount on path ● The Default Mount Path is %SystemDrive%
\AppSyncMounts\%%ProdServerName%%.
● To specify the value of a Windows environment variable
in the mount path, delimit the variable name with single
percent signs (%).
● The default path also contains an AppSync variable
(ProdServerName) which is delimited with 2 percent signs
(%%).
● The following characters are not valid in the path:< > : " /
|?*
● The mount path could also be Same as Original Path.
However, this option is not available when the mount host
is the same as production host.
● If you specify a non-default mount path, the drive that is
specified for mount cannot be a clustered disk.
● Select Mapped Path to specify the path where you want
to mount the database.
Quality of Service Policy For XtremIO only, the Quality of Service policy option
appears in the wizard. You can select the required type of
Quality of Service policy while mounting a copy.
Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount. Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount.
This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy. Once
the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy are
stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink from
the target device, and the next mount of unmounted copy

136 Protect SQL Server


Field Description
would link with a new set of target devices. Previously
mounted copy changes will not be available in the mounted
copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and
second-generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and
on-demand service plans.
Copy metadata files to ● The Default Path is the location to copy VDI and
VSS metadata files:%SystemDrive%\AppSyncMounts\
%%ProdServerName%%
● The following characters are not valid in the path: < > : " /
|?*
● If you back up the database to another media, back up the
metadata files as well.
● AppSync can integrate with third-party backup software
to create tape backups of SQL Server copies. The target
directory that is specified here must be part of the backup.
NOTE:
● Metadata is not created for Non-VDI copies.
● VSS or VDI metadata is not generated for Crash
Consistent copies.

Image access mode (during RecoverPoint mount) ● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity
check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated
volumes. Logged access is the only option available when
you mount to the production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access
to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in
the background. When the replicated volumes are at the
requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches
to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy processing.
With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: Provides nearly instant access to the
image. Virtual access is not intended for heavy processing.
Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
Desired SLO For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays only, a setting called Desired
Service Level Objective (SLO) appears in the Mount wizard
and specifies the required VMAX3/PowerMax Service Level
Objectives. SLO defines the service time operating range of a
storage group.
PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server Enable this option to map host to the storage group for
the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan
configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped
storage group. In turn, the storage group is masked in the
desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if
the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.

Metro node | VPLEX Mount option ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the
copy as native array volumes.
● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this
option if you want to mount the copy as metro node |
VPLEX virtual volumes.
Use Dedicated Storage Group. ● Applicable only for physical hosts or virtual machines with
direct iSCSI as part of cluster.
● Checked by default, enabling this option allows AppSync
to enforce a dedicated VMAX3/PowerMax,DELL SC array,
PowerStore host group, or XtremIO initiator group for a
mount. (A dedicated VMAX storage group contains the
selected mount host only.) For XtremIO, this option applies

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Field Description
to an XtremIO initiator group that only contains an initiator
for the mount host. The mount fails if you are mounting to
a node of a cluster that is in a storage group that is shared
with the other nodes.
NOTE: Use this option to mount the copy to a node
for copy validation or backup to tape. In this scenario,
you need two storage groups. One storage group is
dedicated to the passive node being used as a mount
host and the other storage group is for the remainder
of the nodes in the cluster. Both storage groups
contain the shared storage for the cluster.
● If cleared, AppSync does not enforce the use of a
dedicated storage group for a mount.
NOTE: Clear this option for manually adding the target
devices as clustered storage and presenting them to
clustered SQL Server instances for data repurposing
and data mining.

Enable VMware cluster mount. ● Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX
cluster mount. By default, this option is enabled.
● If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing
on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made visible to all
the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default,
this is enabled. If you do not want to perform an ESX
cluster mount, you can clear this option. This option is
supported on metro node | VPLEX, XtremIO, VMAX3/
PowerMax, VMAX All Flash, PowerStore, PowerFlex, and
Unity arrays. If this option is not selected, and the mount
host is part of an ESX cluster, the mount host must have
a dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group
configured according to the storage system configuration.
This enables AppSync to mask LUNs only to that mount
host.
Disable VMware SRM. Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is
enabled on the RecoverPoint consistency group. This is only
applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
VMware Virtual Disk Mode Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as
independent disks. You can select this option to exclude
virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine.
By default, this option is disabled, and copies are mounted in
the persistent mode.
Allow Unmount Of OnDemand Mounted Copy. Allows you to unmount a copy that was mounted on-demand.
NOTE:
● This option is available during service plan edit only
when you have selected Yes - Keep it mounted
(Previous copy will be unmounted) option in
Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted
copy is unmounted.

In the Mount and recover copy settings, you specify the recovery instance, the type of recovery, and the database naming
details. Other settings are similar to the Mount copy settings such as mount path and image access type.

Field Description
Recovery Instance The SQL Server instance to be used for recovery. If the
connection settings are not set or are invalid for the instance,
the SQL Server Connection Settings dialog appears. Click

138 Protect SQL Server


Field Description
Connection Settings to reset the credentials. If you are
using a VMAX3/PowerMax array, a setting called Desired
Service Level Objective (SLO) is available. The option appears
in the Mount wizard, and it specifies the required VMAX3/
PowerMax Service Level Objectives. SLO defines the service
time operating range of a storage group.
Recovery Type Available options are: Recovery (default), No Recovery,
Standby, and Attach Database
Database renaming This drop down includes:
● Use original database names (default if alternate
instance): This is not available for selection if the
Recovery Instance is the production instance.
● Use original database names with suffix: This is the
default if Recovery Instance is the production instance.
Naming Suffix Only displayed when Original database names with Suffix
is selected in the Database renaming dropdown. The default
value is AppSync.

Mount path ● The default mount path, when the mount SQL
instance is a standalone instance (%SystemDrive%
\AppSyncMounts\%%ProdServerName%%).
● To specify the value of a Windows environment variable
in the mount path, delimit the variable name with single
percent signs (%).
● The default path also contains an AppSync variable
(ProdServerName) which is delimited with two percent
signs (%%).
● The following characters are not valid in the path: < > : " /
|?*
● The mount path could also be Same as Original Path.
You can select either of the options.
● If you specify a non-default mount path for mounting to a
standalone instance, the drive that is specified for mount
cannot be a clustered disk.
● For mounting to a clustered SQL instance, the “Same as
Original Path” and alternate mount paths are supported.
“Default mount path” is not supported. Instead, you can
type this option to specify an alternate mount path. The
root disk for the alternate mount path must be clustered,
and a dependency must exist for SQL server on the
clustered disk.
Quality of Service Policy For XtremIO only, the Quality of Service policy option
appears in the wizard. You can select the desired type of
Quality of Service policy while mounting a copy.
Copy metadata files to ● By default, the location to copy VSS metadata files is the
same as the mount path.
● If the mount path is Same as Original Path,
then this defaults to %SystemDrive%\AppSyncMounts\%
%ProdServerName%%.
● The following characters are not valid in the path: < > : " /
|?*
● If you are backing up the database to another media, you
must backup these metadata files as well.
● AppSync can integrate with third-party backup software
to create tape backups of SQL Server copies. The target
directory that is specified here must be part of the backup.
NOTE:

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Field Description

● Metadata is not created for Non-VDI copies.


● VSS or VDI metadata is not generated for Crash
Consistent copies.

Image access mode (during RecoverPoint mount) ● Logged Access: Use this mount option if the integrity
check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated
volumes. This is the only option available when you mount
to the production host.
● Virtual Access with Roll: Provides nearly instant access
to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in
the background. When the replicated volumes are at the
requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches to
direct replica volume access, allowing heavy processing.
● Virtual Access: Provides nearly instant access to the
image; it is not intended for heavy processing.
Use Dedicated Storage Group ● Applicable only for physical hosts or virtual machines with
direct iSCSI part of cluster.
● Checked by default, enabling this option allows AppSync to
enforce a dedicated VMAX3/PowerMax, DELL SC array,
PowerStore host group, or XtremIO storage group. For
XtremIO, this option applies to an XtremIO initiator group
that only contains an initiator for the mount host. The
storage group contains the selected mount host only for
a mount, and the mount will fail if you are mounting to a
node of a cluster that is in a storage group that is shared
with the other nodes.
NOTE: Use this option to mount the copy to a node
for copy validation or backup to tape. In this scenario,
you need two storage groups. One storage group is
dedicated to the passive node being used as a mount
host and the other storage group is for the remainder
of the nodes in the cluster. Both storage groups
contain the shared storage for the cluster.
● If cleared, AppSync does not enforce the use of a
dedicated storage group for a mount, and the mount will
proceed. Host initiators can only belong in one initiator
group in XtremIO, so use this option to ensure that you
mount to a mount host that is the only host in the initiator
group.
NOTE: Clear this option for manually adding the target
devices as clustered storage and presenting them to
clustered SQL Server instances for data repurposing
and data mining.

Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount.
This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy. Once
the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy are
stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink from
the target device, and the next mount of unmounted copy
would link with a new set of target devices. Previously
mounted copy changes will not be available in the mounted
copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and
second-generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and
on-demand service plans.
PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server Enable this option to map host to the storage group for
the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan
configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped
storage group. In turn, the storage group is masked in the
desired masking view.

140 Protect SQL Server


Field Description

NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if


the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.

Overriding mount settings in a service plan


If multiple registered SQL Servers are subscribed to the same plan, you can select different mount and recover settings for each
SQL Server, overriding the generic settings.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the Appsync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. Select a service plan and on the right pane, select Overrides > Mount Overrides.
The list of servers include all SQL servers whose databases are subscribed to this plan.
Based on whether Mount copy or Mount and recover copy is selected, the default settings display for all the Servers.
5. Select the Server whose settings you want to override and click OVERRIDE MOUNT.
The Override Default Mount Settings dialog is displayed.
6. Select options only for those mount settings that you wish to override.
Fields that do not have a selection retain their default settings.
7. Click OK.
NOTE: The OVERRIDE text appears in the last column of the row for which the default settings are being overridden.

8. To revert back to default settings for a server, click SET TO DEFAULT.

Post-mount script
Specify a post-mount script and parameters from the Post-mount script option in the Settings tab of a service plan.
The script runs on successful completion of the mount copy or mount with recovery run. This script is typically used for backup.
The default location of the script is %ProgramData%\EMC\AppSync\scripts\ on the application host.
Exact parameters depend on your script. Parameters with spaces must be enclosed in double quotes.

Unmount copy
The unmount copy option in the service plan unmounts the copy. This option is disabled if the Unmount previous copy option
is enabled.
If you choose to mount and recover the copy in the Mount copy options, all the mounted databases are shut down during
unmount.

Custom shutdown script prior to unmount


Prior to unmount, if you wish to perform a customized shut down of the databases, you can place a script at the following
location: %ProgramData%\EMC\AppSync\script.
The script name must be in this format: <ServicePlanName>_<host_ProductionInstanceName OR
ProductionInstanceName>_ ShutdownSQL.bat where:
● ServicePlanName is the name of the service plan that the database is subscribed to
● host_ProductionInstanceName OR ProductionInstanceName:

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○ In host_ProductionInstanceName , you can replace host by another name, the ProductionInstanceName is
needed irrespective of whether there are different SQL instances or not.
○ Use ProductionInstanceName in case of default production instance which is equal to the host name.
NOTE:
○ It is recommended that you run the script as a Windows user. To run the script as a SQL Server user in SQL Server
2012 environment, the Local System user must have the sysadmin role.
○ Using the _ as a separator in the script file name is mandatory.
In the absence of a customized script, AppSync will perform a shut down of the databases prior to unmount.

Mount considerations for SQL Server


This section describes the mount host requirements, including rules for mount and production host versions and virtual machine
mount host support.
The mount host requires the same versions of the AppSync agent plug-in, SQL Server, and HBA drivers as the production host.
Mount hosts must have an SQL Server installed if you want to recover databases from the mounted copy. If database recovery
is not performed, then SQL Server is not required on the mount host.
NOTE:
● When you mount a replica of a SQL Server database to the production server, do not mount it using the same instance
of SQL Server that the production database is using. You must use a different instance of SQL Server.
● The mount path must not exceed 32,767 characters in length.
● During a mount operation, do not use the MS SQL root directory as the mount path. If you select the root path, mount
succeeds, but unmount fails with the following error:

ERROR_DEPENDENT_RESOURCE_EXISTS
5001 (0x1389)
The operation cannot be completed because other resources are dependent on this
resource.

● Appsync supports the Quality of Service feature for XtremIO release 6.2 and later.

Mount and production host versions


● If the major version of the SQL Server instance on the production mount host is later than that of the mount host, recovery
will fail for all databases belonging to that instance.
● If the major version of the SQL Server instance on the production mount host is earlier than that of the mount host,
recovery will succeed only if the recovery type is either RECOVERY or NORECOVERY. Recovery will fail if recovery type is
STANDBY.
● If the major version of the SQL Server instance on the production mount host is same as that of the mount host, but the
minor version is earlier, recovery will fail for all databases belonging to that instance.
● If the major version of the SQL Server instance on the production mount host is same as that of the mount host, but the
minor version is later, recovery will succeed only if the recovery type is either RECOVERY or NORECOVERY. Recovery will
fail if recovery type is STANDBY.
● If an AppSync created SQL database copy is recovered on a higher version of SQL Server instance on the mount host,
recovery of the same copy on a lower version of SQL Server instance fails.

Virtual disk support


If the mount host is a virtual machine, the Virtual Center must be registered with AppSync. This is needed to mount RDMs.
If the source application VM has any VM snapshot during copy creation, then such copies are not useful for later mount or
restore.
For virtual disks:
● Production mount is not supported if the ESX host version is prior to 5.0.
● Non-persistent virtual disks are not supported.

142 Protect SQL Server


● For datastore and virtual disk mounts on ESXi 5.x and RecoverPoint 4.1.7.7 environments, disable hardware acceleration to
ensure successful virtual access type mounts. For more details, refer VMware Knowledge Base article 2006858.
For Hyper-V SCSI pass-through, the mount host cannot be a Hyper-V host it has to be a physical host or VM with NPIV or
iSCSI direct attached.

Mount SQL Server Cluster as a clustered resource


Considerations for working with SQL Server in a cluster provides information on adding and discovering clustered resources.
● To mount a copy from a production cluster to an alternate cluster as a clustered resource, you must select a clustered SQL
server instance of the alternate cluster on the Mount with recovery page. Mount as a clustered resource to any other
clustered instance on the production cluster is supported. Mount as a clustered resource to the production cluster instance
is not supported.
● Mount as a clustered resource is supported for SQL Server databases that reside on paths starting with drive letters
such as P:\mysqldb\ or Q:\mysqldb. Mount as a clustered resource is not supported if production databases reside
on clustered mount points such as I:\mount_point\, where I: is a clustered drive and another drive is mounted at
I:\mount_point\.
● Mount to Same as Original Path is supported.
● Mount to an alternate path on the mount host is supported. You must specify the alternate mount path in the Mount path
options. The root disk for the alternate mount point must be a clustered disk and SQL Server must have a dependency on
the clustered disk.
● Multiple copies of the same database can be mounted to an alternate cluster at the same time.
● All recovery types are supported.
● Repurposing is supported.
● Databases can reside on any storage supported by AppSync.
● If databases reside on raw device mappings in VMWare environments, the SQL Server cluster nodes must reside across
different ESXi. This is a requirement from VMWare. For database on virtual disks, SQL Server cluster nodes can reside on
the same ESX server.
● Raw device mapping in virtual compatibility mode is not supported.
● Static mounts are supported for RecoverPoint.

Mount a copy using the SQL Mount wizard


You can initiate an on-demand mount of a file system copy from a copy or a file system.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the user databases folder, click the database that contains the copy you want to mount.
6. Select the copy you want to mount and click MOUNT.
If multiple databases were protected together, you may see the additional copies to mount option. Select the copies you
prefer and click NEXT.

7. In the Select a Copy page, select a copy and click NEXT.


8. In the Select Mount Options page, select one of the following options:
● Mount copy
● Mount and recover copy
9. In the General Settings section, configure the following to mount the copy:
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount with access list, select the access permission to read-write or read-only.

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c. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Default path, Same as original path, or Mapped
Path. The mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host.
d. From the Copy metadata files to list, select Default path.
10. Under Storage Settings, do the following:
a. For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, select the Service Level Objective (SLO) for the mount copy.
b. For XtremIO 6.2 and later, click the Quality of Service policy option to select the desired Quality of Service policy while
mounting a copy.
c. VMware Virtual Disk Mode - Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can
select this option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option is
disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
11. Under VMware Settings, do the following:
a. Enable VMware cluster mount checkbox - If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster,
the target LUN is made visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do not
want to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option. Then the target LUN is made visible only to the ESX
cluster on which the mount host resides. This is applicable for both RDM and vDisk device types.
b. VMware Virtual Disk Mode - Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can
select this option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option is
disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
c. Mark storage device as perennially reserved - Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
12. Click NEXT to review the mount options.
13. Click FINISH.

SQL Server Mount Copy options


Review SQL server mount copy fields and descriptions.

Field Description
Mount on Server The server on which to mount the copy. Only the nodes of
the cluster or standalone hosts are available for selection. SQL
virtual servers are filtered out.
Mount with access Type of access the copy should be mounted with.
Mount on path ● The Default Mount Path is %SystemDrive%
\AppSyncMounts\%%ProdServerName%%.
● To specify the value of a Windows environment variable
in the mount path, delimit the variable name with single
percent signs (%).
● The default path also contains an AppSync variable
(ProdServerName) which is delimited with 2 percent signs
(%%).
● The following characters are not valid in the path:< > : " /
|?*
● The mount path could also be Same as Original Path.
However, this option is not available when the mount host
is the same as production host.
● If you specify a non-default mount path, the drive that is
specified for mount cannot be a clustered disk.
● Select Mapped Path to specify the path where you want
to mount the database.
Quality of Service Policy For XtremIO only, the Quality of Service policy option
appears in the wizard. You can select the desired type of
Quality of Service policy while mounting a copy.
Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount.
This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy.
Once the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy
is stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink
from the target device, and the next mount of unmounted

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Field Description
copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously
mounted copy changes will not be available in the mounted
copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and
second generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and
on-demand service plans.
Copy metadata files to ● The Default Path is the location to copy VDI and
VSS metadata files:%SystemDrive%\AppSyncMounts\
%%ProdServerName%%
● The following characters are not valid in the path: < > : " /
|?*
● If you back up the database to another media, back up the
metadata files as well.
● AppSync can integrate with third-party backup software
to create tape backups of SQL Server copies. The target
directory that is specified here must be part of the backup.
NOTE:
● Metadata is not created for Non VDI copies.
● VSS or VDI metadata is not generated for Crash
Consistent copies.

Image access mode (during RecoverPoint mount) ● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity
check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated
volumes. Logged access is the only option available when
you mount to the production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access
to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in
the background. When the replicated volumes are at the
requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches
to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy processing.
With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: Provides nearly instant access to the
image. Virtual access is not intended for heavy processing.
Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
Desired SLO For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays only, a setting called Desired
Service Level Objective (SLO) appears in the Mount wizard
and specifies the required VMAX3 Service Level Objectives.
SLO defines the service time operating range of a storage
group.
Metro node | VPLEX Mount Option ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the
copy as native array volumes.
● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this
option if you want to mount the copy as metro node |
VPLEX virtual volumes.
PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server Enable this option to map host to the storage group for
the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan
configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped
storage group. In turn, the storage group is masked in the
desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if
the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.

Use Dedicated Storage Group ● Applicable only for physical hosts or virtual machines with
direct iSCSI as part of cluster.
● Checked by default, enabling this option allows AppSync
to enforce a dedicated VMAX3/PowerMax, VMAX storage
group, DELL SC array, PowerStore host group, or XtremIO
initiator group for a mount. (A dedicated VMAX storage
group contains the selected mount host only.) For

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Field Description
XtremIO, this option applies to an XtremIO initiator group
that only contains an initiator for the mount host. The
mount fails if you are mounting to a node of a cluster that
is in a storage group that is shared with the other nodes.
NOTE: Use this option to mount the copy to a node
for copy validation or backup to tape. In this scenario,
you need two storage groups. One storage group is
dedicated to the passive node being used as a mount
host and the other storage group is for the remainder
of the nodes in the cluster. Both storage groups
contain the shared storage for the cluster.
● If unchecked, AppSync does not enforce the use of a
dedicated storage group for a mount.
NOTE: Uncheck this option for manually adding the
target devices as clustered storage and presenting
them to clustered SQL Server instances for data
repurposing and data mining.

Enable VMware cluster mount ● Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX
cluster mount. By default, this option is enabled.
● If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing
on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made visible to all
the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default,
this is enabled. If you do not want to perform an ESX
cluster mount, you can clear this option. This option is
supported on metro node | VPLEX, XtremIO, VMAX3/
PowerMax, VMAX All Flash, PowerStore, PowerFlex, and
Unity arrays. If this option is not selected, and the mount
host is part of an ESX cluster, the mount host must have
a dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group
configured according to the storage system configuration.
This enables AppSync to mask LUNs only to that mount
host.
Disable VMWare SRM Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is
enabled on the RecoverPoint consistency group. This is only
applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
VMware Virtual Disk Mode Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as
independent disks. You can select this option to exclude
virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine.
By default, this option is disabled, and copies are mounted in
the persistent mode.
Mark storage devices as perennially reserved Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially
reserved.
Allow Unmount Of OnDemand Mounted Copy Allows you to unmount a copy that was mounted on-demand.
NOTE:
● This option is available during service plan edit only
when you have selected Yes - Keep it mounted
(Previous copy will be unmounted) option in
Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted
copy will be unmounted.

146 Protect SQL Server


Supported mount recovery modes
The following mount recovery types are available when you are recovering a SQL database copy.

Recovery Description
Type
Recovery Instructs the restore operation to roll back any uncommitted transactions. After the recovery process, the
database is ready for use.
No Instructs the restore operation not to roll back any uncommitted transactions. When in No Recovery mode,
Recovery the database is unusable. This option is useful when the Database Administrator must restore one or more
transaction log backups. Database is attached to the instance selected for recovery and is left in the "Restoring"
state.
Standby Restores files and opens the database in read-only mode. Later, the Database Administrator can manually apply
additional transaction log backups.
NOTE: If you are restoring a database from an older version of SQL Server onto a newer SQL Server
version, do not use standby mode. If you use standby, the upgrade to the newer version cannot happen and
that results in a failure of the operation.

Attach Mounts the file system on which the database files are located, and then attaches the database to the SQL
Database Server. The Attach Database option is only available for Non-VDI and Crash Consistent copies because all the
data necessary to attach the database is part of the copy. You might have to perform additional steps for full
recovery of the database.

NOTE:
● Recovery, No recovery, and Standby modes are not supported for Non-VDI and Crash Consistent copies.
● Attach Database is not supported for Full or Copy SQL copies.
● AppSync supports protecting the mounted and recovered SQL databases that are hosted on XtremIO storage. If an SQL
database is hosted on the XtremIO source volume, and if any copy of the database is mounted and recovered, such a
database can be discovered and protected using AppSync SQL Service Plans. XtremIO snapshot is the only supported
copy type. XtremIO with metro node | VPLEX or RecoverPoint is not supported. This is applicable to the mounted and
recovered snapshot copies that are directly created from the source XtremIO volumes. Further nesting of snapshots in
this case is not supported.

Path mapping
The path mapping option mounts the copy to a host using a path mapping table set to user-defined locations. When you use a
path mapping table, you have more control over where data is located.
You must specify the path where you want to mount a specific file system. You must provide a path map where the source file
system and the target mount point is specified.
The following is a sample path mapping table for Windows.
The first two target paths, G:\ and H:\ drives must already be available on the mount host. That is, the root drive for the
mount path must pre-exist before attempting a mount.

Source file system Target mount path


D:\Test1 G:\Test1
E:\ H:\Test2
F:\Test3 I:\
L:\ N:\

NOTE:
● If a target path is not provided for a source path, then it is mounted to a path same as the source path on the mount
host.

Protect SQL Server 147


● Ensure that you type in the absolute mount path on the target host. If the path is invalid, mount fails.
● Mount copy overrides is unavailable, if you select the mount path as Mapped path.
● For Windows, if one of the entered path is invalid, VSS import fails. Therefore, the entire mount fails. Partial failed
scenarios are not supported for Windows mount.
● For Windows and NFS file systems on Unix, nested target mount points are not supported.
● Path Mapping is not applicable to metadata paths for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server.

Specify path mapping settings


You can specify the path where you want to mount a specific copy.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / VMware Datacenters / File Systems / Microsoft
Exchange.
4. Navigate to the folder that contains the copies.
5. Select the copy you want to mount, then click MOUNT COPY.
6. In the Mount Copy options, under the Specify Mount Settings section:
a. Select the mount host.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select Mapped Path.
The Path Mapping Settings link appears.
7. Click on the link to open the Path Mapping Settings window.
8. From the Select Source Host list, select a host.
All the file systems on the selected host are displayed in the source path column.
9. Specify the target path.
10. Click Save to save your settings.
If you want to set the target path for a file system on another source host, repeat steps 8 to 10.
11. Click Reset, to clear all the entered target paths for the selected source host.
12. Click OK to exit the Path Mapping window.
NOTE: If you change the path mapping settings, the earlier saved path mapping settings is not valid and the new path
mapping settings takes precedence. Therefore, ensure that you save the path mapping settings for all the hosts before
changing it.

Unmount a SQL copy


You can unmount a SQL copy using the copy management page or the service plan page.

Unmount a SQL copy from the Copies page


You can unmount a SQL copy from the Copy Management page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.

148 Protect SQL Server


4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the User Databases folder.
6. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy you want to unmount.
7. Select the copy you want to unmount and click UNMOUNT.
8. Click OK.

Unmount a SQL copy from the Service Plan page


You can unmount a SQL copy from the service plan page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. Click the name of the service plan you prefer in the Service Plan column.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click Unmount.
6. Click OK.

Create SQL repurpose copies


You can create first generation or second generation repurpose copies in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the server folder that contains the database.
6. In the Name Column, select the database and click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
7. In the Subscribe to Existing Service Plan page, select Data Repurposing > NEXT.
8. Define the following properties for the copy:
a. The Service Plan Name field is defined by default.
b. The Description field provides a brief description of the copy.
c. The Copy Label field provides an autogenerated label for the copy.
d. The Copy Location list allows you to select a copy location either to Local or Remote.
e. Configure the Use bookmark as intermediate step option. It is applicable only if RecoverPoint is registered in
AppSync.
f. The Mount Copy list allows you to select mount options for the copy. You can configure this option to either No, Yes,
Yes - Keep it mounted (where the previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post
mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
g. The 2nd Generation Copies list allows you to select either Yes or No.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Configure the SQL Server Backup Type settings to either Full, Copy, Non-VDI, or Crash-Consistent.
NOTE:

Protect SQL Server 149


Auto Switch to Copy is enabled only when Full is selected as the backup type. However, it is unchecked by default.
Checking Auto Switch to Copy tells AppSync to check if the database role is Secondary, and if so, to switch the
backup type to Copy. If Auto Switch to Copy is not enabled, backups fail for all secondary databases. When Non VDI
or Crash Consistent backup type is selected, Auto Switch to Copy and Enable log backup are disabled.

b. Configure the Retry Count and Retry Interval settings under Advanced Plan Settings - VSS Retry Options.
c. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. This applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
d. In the Array Selection section, click Select an Array to choose the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/Metro.

e. In the Storage Group to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) option, select the preferred storage group.
f. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can drag and
drop the arrays to change array preference.
g. Configure the Copy Type settings to either Snapshot or Clone.
11. Click NEXT.
12. In the Scripts page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to run and configure the following fields:
NOTE: If you selected mount options, you will see the post-mount script in same page.

a. Full Path to Script


b. Script Parameters
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
13. Click NEXT.
14. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● Run Now - Creates a copy when you click FINISH on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a copy, that is based on the specified recurrence type. On the first schedule, a repurposed copy is
created, and on subsequent schedules, it refreshes the copy.
● Run Only Once At later time - Creates a copy only once on the specified date and time.
15. Click NEXT.
16. Review the repurpose copy creation settings, and click FINISH.

Create second generation copies


Perform this procedure to create a second-generation copy from a first-generation existing copy.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the User databases folder.
6. Click the database that contains a first-generation copy.
7. Select a first-generation copy, and then click CREATE 2ND GEN COPY.
The Create 2nd-gen Copy wizard opens.
8. In the Define the 2nd-gen Copy page, configure the following:
a. 2nd-gen copies label - Specify a label for the copy.
b. Mount 2nd-gen copies - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● No
● Yes

150 Protect SQL Server


● Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the postmount scripts run, unmount the copy
c. 2nd-gen copies type - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● Snap
● Clone
9. Click NEXT to review your selection.
10. In the Scripts for 2nd-gen Copy page, select the pre-copy scripts and post-copy scripts you want to run.
NOTE: This step also displays the post-mount scripts if you selected the mount option.

11. Click NEXT to review your selection.


12. In the Schedule page, select one of the following options:
● Run now
● Run Recurrently As Per Schedule
● Run Only Once At Later Time
13. Click NEXT to review your selection.
14. Review the configurations for the second-generation copy and click FINISH.

Enable or disable a SQL copy expiry


You can enable or disable expiry of a copy during rotation using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the User Databases folder.
6. In the user databases folder, click the database that contains the copy.
7. Select the copy that you want to enable or disable and click More.
8. Click one of the following options depending on the action you want to perform:
● Enable Copy Expiry: To enable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
● Disable Copy Expiry: To disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
9. Click OK.

Expire a SQL copy


You can expire a SQL copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the User Databases folder.
6. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy.
7. Select the copy that you want to expire and click More > Expire .
8. Click OK.
NOTE: If the copy is an immutable copy, then the expiry is disabled as the secure snapshot on the array cannot be
deleted before the Time to Live. Once the Time to Live time is reached, the snapshot is automatically deleted from the

Protect SQL Server 151


array and from AppSync. However, if copy is mounted and Time to Live is reached, then copy will be deleted only after
unmount.

SQL Server database restore overview


Review and consider the following sections regarding SQL Server database restore options.
These include:
● Restore considerations for databases in an Availability Group
● Affected entities during restore
● Restoring a primary database or a secondary database with failover
● Restoring a secondary database without failover
● How AppSync manages damaged SQL databases
● Restoring an SQL Server copy
● Restoring an SQL Server copy on XtremIO
● SQL restore utility (assqlrestore)
NOTE: Ensure that no virtual machine snapshots are present before protecting a datastore. If virtual machine snapshots
are present, protection succeeds, but AppSync fails to perform a file or virtual machine restore.

Restore considerations for databases in an Availability Group


AppSync restores copies of primary and secondary databases. Consider the following when restoring a database in an
Availability Group.
● Restore is at the LUN level and must be restored back to the source LUN that was used to create the AppSync copy.
● AppSync suspends data movement as part of the restore process.
● A database cannot be restored if it is part of an Availability Group. AppSync removes the database from the Availability
Group as part of the restore process.
● AppSync does not put the database back in the Availability Group. For more information on restoring databases in an
Availability Group, see "Restoring a primary database or a secondary database with failover" and "Restoring a secondary
database without failover".

Affected entities during restore


When restoring from a copy, you may be prompted to restore items in addition to the ones you selected.
An affected entity is data that resides on your production host that unintentionally becomes part of a replica because of its
proximity to the data you intend to protect. You can prevent affected entity situations by properly planning your data layout
based on replica granularity. The granularity of a replica depends upon the environment.
If there are affected entities in your underlying storage configuration, the Restore Wizard notifies you of these items. The
following scenarios produce affected entities that require you to acknowledge that additional items will be restored:
● For RecoverPoint, if the databases are in the same consistency group they become affected entities when the other
database is protected.
● For Unity, if the databases are in the same consistency group they become affected entities when the other database is
protected.
● For VMAX3/PowerMax, Unity, PowerStore, PowerFlex, or XtremIO, if the databases are on the same LUN they become
affected entities when the other database is protected.
● For VMware virtual disks, since restore involves a datastore, restore of all applications residing on the same datastore
(virtual disks on the same datastore) are also affected entities.
● For PowerStore, while restoring from remote copy, if the databases are in the same volume group and the replication session
is created for volume group, they become affected entities when another database in the group is protected.
● For PowerFlex, restoring from remote copy is not supported.
If the affected entity was protected along with the database that is selected for restore, it is restored by AppSync. Any other
database that was not protected but is an affected entity will be overwritten.

152 Protect SQL Server


AppSync calculates affected entities for the consistency groups or LUN groups of the database that is selected for restore.
If the affected databases in turn partially reside on other consistency groups or LUNs groups, AppSync does not calculate
affected entities on those consistency groups or LUN groups.
Depending upon the type of affected entity, the affected databases are detached by AppSync or you must manually detach
them from the SQL Server instance.
Affected entities are calculated only for the SQL Server instances where the credentials are configured. AppSync does a fresh
database discovery for all these instances before calculating the affected entities.

Restoring a primary database or a secondary database with failover

About this task


Once you click the Finish button in the SQL Server Restore wizard, AppSync performs the following actions:
1. If you had selected the Failover the Availability Group if the current role is Secondary checkbox, AppSync verifies
the health of the databases in the Availability Group that are not being restored. If they are not healthy, AppSync cannot
perform the failover and the restore operation fails. You must retry the restore operation without selecting the checkbox.
2. If you had chosen to backup the transaction log, AppSync backs up the transaction log.
3. AppSync suspends data movement for all replicas of the selected database before removing all replicas of the selected
database from the Availability Group.
4. If the database being restored is secondary, AppSync initiates the failover.
5. AppSync restores the LUNs of the selected database.
6. Finally, AppSync recovers the database and leaves it in the Recovery state that you selected in the SQL Server Restore
wizard.
After AppSync completes the restore, you must perform the following steps.

Steps
1. Restore any log backups and recover the primary database.
2. Add the database back into the Availability Group.
3. If the primary database was rolled forward so it is at the same time as the secondary database, re-join the secondary copies
to the Availability Group.
4. If the primary database was not rolled forward:
a. Delete any secondary copies of the restored database.
b. Reseed and re-join the secondary database replicas to the availability group.
NOTE: After AppSync removes the primary database copy, the copy is in the recovered state if it is healthy. If you
restored a secondary copy with failover, the primary role will have moved to another SQL Server instance. You must
delete the original primary database and reseed it.

Restoring a secondary database without failover

About this task


Once you click the Finish button in the SQL Server Restore wizard, AppSync performs the following actions:
1. If you had chosen to backup the transaction log, AppSync backs up the transaction log.
2. AppSync suspends data movement for the selected secondary database replica. Replication continues to work for other
replicas of the database.
3. AppSync removes the selected secondary database replica from the Availability Group.
4. AppSync restores the LUNs of the selected database.
5. Finally, AppSync recovers the database and leaves it in the Recovery state that you selected in the SQL Server Restore
wizard.
After AppSync completes the restore, you must perform the following steps.

Steps
1. Restore any log backups and leave the secondary database in a "NO RECOVERY" state.

Protect SQL Server 153


2. Join the secondary database back into the Availability Group.

How AppSync manages damaged SQL databases


Damaged databases may have data files missing or damaged with their log files intact. AppSync can take tail log backups for
damaged databases. A damaged database must not contain bulk-logged changes and it must not be in OFFLINE state.
If the production database is damaged and you select the Database is damaged checkbox during restore, AppSync backs up
the tail log of the damaged database before proceeding with restore. If the damaged database is in RECOVERY_PENDING or
SUSPECT state, AppSync first tries to detach the database by setting the EMERGENCY mode on it. If AppSync fails to set
EMERGENCY mode on the database, it drops the database and then proceeds with the restore. Once the restore is successful,
you can recover the database manually using the tail log backup.

Restore a SQL copy


You can perform a restore of a SQL server copy using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Microsoft SQL Server.
4. In the Name Column, click the server instance that contains the database.
5. In the Folder Name Column, click the User Databases folder.
6. In the Name Column, click the database that contains the copy.
7. Select the copy that you want to restore and click More > Restore.
8. In the Select a Copy page, select the copy that you want to restore and click NEXT.
9. In the Warn affected application(s) page, select I have read and understand the warning above and want to
continue with restore.
If multiple applications share the same LUN or file systems (as the application for which the copy is created), those
applications are listed as affected entities.
NOTE: You can perform this step only if you have multiple applications that share the same LUN or file systems.

10. Click NEXT.


11. In the Configure Storage Options page, configure the following:
● Wait for mirror rebuild to complete - This option is applicable for metro node | VPLEX Snap copies whose production
data resides on local or distributed RAID-1 volumes.
● Disable VMWare SRM - Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint
consistency group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
● Perform device restore in background - Allows you to optimize restore of VMAX3/PowerMax devices. If you select
this option, AppSync restore operation does not wait for track synchronization to complete. The production application is
available instantly.
NOTE: In the case of SnapVX/XtremIOSnap/PowerStoreSnap mounted copies, when you perform restore, AppSync
restores the data from the snapshots that are created on the array to the source devices, or from linked
devices(VMAX3/PowerMax) or read/write snapshots (XtremIO X2), or read/write clones (PowerStore).
● Restore from snapshot: Restores copies from original snapshots.
● Restore from changed data: Restores from the linked devices(VMAX3/PowerMax) or read/write snapshots
(XtremIO X2), or read/write clones (PowerStore).

12. Click NEXT.


13. In the Review page, review the restore options and click FINISH.

154 Protect SQL Server


SQL Server restore utility (assqlrestore)
AppSync includes a SQL Server restore utility called assqlrestore.This section describes it's function and uses.
The assqlrestore utility lets you restore individual SQL Server databases from a tape backup or mounted copy without
reverse-syncing the target device over the source device. It can restore a database, filegroup, or file. The utility can restore
to the original database or to a new database. SQL Server VDI metadata that was created as part of the replication activity is
required to restore a database using assqlrestore.
NOTE: For Non VDI and Crash Consistent copies, you cannot restore a database using assqlrestore because no
metadata is created.
assqlrestore is a command-line interface that you run from a command prompt window on the AppSync client. It is installed
on the client as part of the AppSync installation.
Restoring an individual database from a mounted copy is especially useful when you must recover only one database and do not
want to overwrite an entire device which occurs with a normal AppSync restore. This utility supports item level restore from a
mounted copy.

Assqlrestore command syntax with examples


This topic lists the command syntax for the assqlrestore command followed by examples of the commands.

Command syntax
The following table lists the command syntax for the assqlrestore command.

Table 25. assqlrestore Command Syntax


Option Description
Required
-s SQL Server name including instance name (host\instance).

-f Metadata filename and location ( the path that is selected in


the UI under Copy metadata files to).

-d Database name.
Connection Types (-E or -U)
-E User used for Windows Authentication (specify username).

-U SQL Server login ID.


-P Clear text password (used with -E and -U options).
-p Encrypted password (used with -E and -U options).
Optional
-r Recover option - RECOVERY, NORECOVERY (default), or
STANDBY.

-u Undo filename, which is required for STANDBY


-m Move file. Option has two parameters: logical_file_name
and operating_system_file_name. Pathnames must
exist. Repeat option for each file, including log files or
full text catalog files. If you are restoring to a new
database name, use the -m option so you do not overwrite
the original files. For example: -m logicalfilename S:
\existingdir\newfilename.mdf

-fg Filegroup to restore. Repeat option for each filegroup.


-lf Logical file to restore. Repeat option for each logical file.

Protect SQL Server 155


Table 25. assqlrestore Command Syntax (continued)
Option Description
-e Displays encrypted password when unencrypted password is
specified as an argument. Not used with other parameters.
-v Verbose mode.
-q Quiet mode. Will not ask questions.
-l <log_dir> Creates log files in the specified directory.
-h Help.

Command syntax examples


Command options are case-sensitive. See the "SQL Server books online" for a description of the T-SQL.
● Using Windows authentication, restore without applying logs:

assqlrestore.exe -E Administrator -P password -s sql1\instance1 -d custinfo


-f "C:\AppSyncMounts\sql1\APPSYNC_VDI_INSTANCE1_ custinfo.bin" -r RECOVERY

● Restore to a new database name and move files using a SQL login and encrypted password:

assqlrestore -s sql1\instance1
-d custinfoTest
-f "C:\AppSyncMounts\sql1\APPSYNC_VDI_INSTANCE1_ custinfoTest.bin"
-r RECOVERY
-m custinfo_Data S:\custinfoTest.mdf
-m custinfo_Log T:\custinfoTest.ldf
-U sa -p 1EMC_4roJdyU5;x

○ To get the encrypted password:

assqlrestore -e <unencrypted_password>

Restoring an SQL Server database with assqlrestore


The basic steps to restore a database are provided here. You may need additional steps but use these as a framework.

Prerequisites
Log in to the SQL Server system as the default Administrator, then back up the SQL Server transaction log. Ensure that
the default administrator has the policy - Create Global Objects (SeCreateGlobalPrivilege) granted, along with the privileges
mentioned in "Required permissions and rights."

Steps
1. Take the target SQL Server database offline.
2. Restore the database files (.ldf, .ndf, and .mdf) from tape, or copy them from a mounted copy. You can copy them over the
original files or to a new location.
3. Open a command prompt window and cd to: C:\Program Files\EMC\AppSync Host Plug-in
4. Run the assqlrestore command.
See the Assqlrestore command syntax with examples section for sample commands. The basic command syntax is:

assqlrestore -s <SQLservername> -d <databasename> -f <metadatafile> -r <recovery_type>

5. If required, apply transaction logs and recover the database.

156 Protect SQL Server


Restoring a file or filegroup with the SQL Server restore utility
Learn how to restore a file or filegroup with the SQL Server assqlrestore utility.

Prerequisites
Be sure you understand how restore of files and filegroups behave in SQL Server before proceeding.
NOTE: You cannot use the assqlrestore utility to restore a SQL Server filegroup if the filegroup name contains
non-ASCII characters.
Log in to the SQL Server system as a user with Administrator rights, then back up the SQL Server transaction log. For file or
filegroup restore, the database must be online.

Steps
1. Open a command prompt window and cd to: C:\Program Files\EMC\AppSync Host Plug-in
2. Run the assqlrestore command.
a. When assqlrestore displays the restore command that it is about to run, verify with Y if it is correct.
b. When assqlrestore prompts, restore the files you are recovering, enter Y to continue.
To restore two files, for example, run:

assqlrestore -s <SQLservername> -d <databasename>


-f <metadatafile> -lf <logical_filename1>
-lf <logical_filename2> -r norecovery

To restore two filegroups, run:

assqlrestore
-s <SQLservername>
-d <databasename>
-f <metadatafile>
-lf <logical_filename1>
-fg <logical_filegroupname1>
-fg <logical_filegroupname2>
-r norecovery

Do not use the quiet mode for a file or filegroup restore. You can use -lf and -fg in the same restore command.

Protect SQL Server 157


7
Protect Oracle
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Overview of Oracle support
• Protecting a database
• Service plan details
• Mount an Oracle copy
• Unmount an Oracle copy
• Restore an Oracle copy
• Oracle database archive log backup

Overview of Oracle support


Use AppSync to create and manage application consistent (using hot backup mode) and crash consistent (without hot backup
mode) copies of Oracle® databases. The copies can be used for mount (with or without recovery) and restore.
The AppSync Support Matrix on https://elabnavigator.dell.com/eln/modernHomeDataProtection is the authoritative source of
information on supported software and platforms..
AppSync supports:
● Oracle - Standalone and Oracle Real Application Clusters and on Linux and AIX.
● Oracle installations on physical hosts and virtual machines (with pRDMs and Vdisks) - There is no support for RDMs in virtual
mode.
● Oracle databases residing on NFS file systems with VNX File, Unity File, and PowerMax File storage.
● Oracle databases residing on ASM disks.
● Oracle databases residing on file systems.
● Oracle Container Databases.
● Oracle PDB granular restore.
● Oracle ASM 4 KB sector disk drives.
● Oracle Flex ASM.
● RMAN cataloging of databases to a remote catalog.
● Repurposing of Oracle database copies.
NOTE:
● AppSync does not support file systems or ASM disk groups on Linux operating system devices which are not full block
devices (such as /dev/sdc) or primary first partition (such as /dev/sdc1).
● AppSync does not support Flex ASM clusters.
● When creating an ASM database, ensure that the diskstring is not in the /dev/sd* format. If the diskstring is in
the /dev/sd* format, the devices are not considered as UDEV devices, and protection fails.
● AppSync supports the Quality of Service feature for XtremIO release 6.2 and later.
● AppSync requires higher ulimit settings for the root user than the Oracle user.
○ If the ulimit settings for the root user are lower than the ulimit settings for the Oracle user, you must manually
alter the system to match ulimits between the root and oracle users. You can add the root ulimits to the /etc/
security/limits.conf file.

158 Protect Oracle


Table 26. RAC database supported features
Source Target AppSync/Manual
Snapshot presentation
Standalone AIX Four node RAC Not supported AppSync —
ASM (no- mirror,
one storage)
Standalone AIX Present to one Supported AppSync Rac features will not be
node of four available.
node-RAC ASM
(no-mirror, one
storage)
Standalone AIX Four node RAC Supported Manual snap —
ASM (ASM
mirror, two
storages)

Oracle permissions
These permissions are required for AppSync to work with Oracle.
● Root or sudo access to Oracle production server and mount server.
● When connecting to Oracle databases, AppSync uses a bequeath connection and always connects as SYSDBA.
● When connecting to Oracle ASM, AppSync uses a bequeath connection and always connects as SYSASM.

Red Hat Cluster Services Integration with AppSync


AppSync can work with standalone Oracle databases that are configured to failover from node to node in an RHCS (Red Hat
Cluster Services) environment.

Overview
During a replication process, if the node from which the database is subscribed to a service plan is not accessible, AppSync
does not automatically run the replication on another node in the cluster because AppSync does not rely on the Virtual IP of
the Oracle service group. Therefore, ensure that you register all nodes in the RHCS cluster in the AppSync server for database
replication.
From a restore perspective, AppSync can only restore to the node where the copy was originally created, therefore the original
node must be active, otherwise the restore process fails.

Requirements
Review the following requirements to use a standalone database that fails over as part of an RHCS cluster:
● The AppSync host plug-in must be installed on all nodes of the cluster.
● The IP resource must be configured in the Oracle service group for the clustered database.
● If a failover occurs while running a replication or restore process, the operation fails. Node failover should occur before
running the service plan, before the start of a replication, or start of a restore.
● The Oratab file should have an entry for all possible SIDs that can run on the specified node (passive and active instances).
● The package sg3_utils, which contains utilities for accessing devices that use SCSI command sets, must be installed on all
nodes.

Mount considerations
● The mount host must not be part of the RHCS cluster.
● The mount host run the same Oracle version as the copy host.
● The AppSync host plug-in must be installed on the mount host.

Protect Oracle 159


● The package sg3_utils, which contains utilities for accessing devices that use SCSI command sets, must be installed on the
mount host.

Restore considerations
● AppSync can only restore to the node where the copy was originally created, therefore the original node must be active.
Otherwise, the restore process fails, and corrupts the database. The console provides a detailed warning message before the
restart of the restore.
● To perform a restore in an RHCS environment, follow these steps:
1. Disable Resource Group service.
2. Perform restore from AppSync.
3. Enable Resource Group service.
4. Mount and recover the database manually.

Oracle Data Guard support


AppSync supports an Oracle Data Guard configuration for a primary (source database) and a physical standby (target database)
which is open in active or passive/non-active mode.
There are three types of standby databases:
● Physical standby
● Logical standby
● Snapshot standby
All three configurations can be opened in one of the following modes:
● Active standby mode—Standby database in read-only or read/write mode
● Passive/non-active standby mode—Standby database in mounted mode
AppSync currently only supports Data Guard physical standby configuration in active or non-active mode.
When a physical standby database is open in active mode, the standby database can be opened in read-only mode while logs are
applied. This action allows you to query the database for information while Data Guard applies logs.
Snapshot and logical standby configurations also allow the database to be open in read/write mode. A passive/non-active
setting means that the database can start in mounted mode and logs can be applied in the background.

Physical standby
In a physical standby environment, archive logs are applied when they are received. A physical standby has a 1:1 mapping of the
file and storage layout from primary to standby. A physical standby database can be open in both read-only or mounted mode
which means it can be either an active or passive/non-active configuration.
The following diagram displays a typical primary or standby (source/target) Data Guard configuration:

Figure 2. Physical standby environment

160 Protect Oracle


Copy Management
On the AppSync console, go to the Copy Mangement > Copies > Copies > Select Application > Oracle page. A Data Guard
relationship column now displays. Click the show/hide columns button and select Dataguard Relationships. A Data guard
relationship column now displays.

NOTE: By default, the Dataguard Relationships column is cleared and does not appear in the page.

If you have an existing Data Guard relationship, you can view two databases that are part of a Data Guard configuration. One
database is the primary database and one is the physical standby (non-active) database.
Review the following copy management considerations for Data Guard:
● To protect a primary Data Guard database (source database), create a copy like any other standalone database. You can
take a hot backup copy.
● For protection of an active standby Data Guard database (target database): Protection in hot backup mode of an active
standby database is not allowed because the standby database is in read-only mode. Also, the standby database contains
up-to-date archive logs and is an exact copy of the primary and does not require archive logs to be copied for recovery. You
can however take a non-hot backup copy of a Standby database.
● For protection of a passive or non-active standby Data Guard database (target database): A passive or non-active standby
database operates the same way as an active standby database. Hot backup copy of the database is not allowed. The
difference here is that the copy is created from the mounted database without opening the database in read-only or read/
write mode.
● Creating a copy of a mounted database only succeeds for a passive or non-active Data Guard standby database in
mounted state. Standalone Oracle databases that are mounted cannot be protected. They appear as offline on the database
protection page of the console.

Mount and restore (recover)


Review the following mount and restore considerations for Data Guard:
● For a primary database (Source database): Mount and restore operate the same way with a Primary Data Guard database as
any Oracle Standalone database. If you use RAC to configure the Primary database, then the Oracle RAC database copy can
be mounted to alternate Oracle RAC or Oracle standalone installation.
● For an active standby database (target database): Mount and restore operate the same for an active standby Data Guard
database as any other Oracle standalone databases. If the standby database is configured using RAC then the Oracle RAC
database copy can be mounted to alternate Oracle RAC or Oracle standalone installation.
● For a passive/non-active standby database (target database): Mount and restore operate the same for a passive/non-active
standby Data Guard database as any other Oracle standalone database. If the standby database is configured using RAC,
then the Oracle RAC database copy can be mounted to alternate Oracle RAC or Oracle standalone installation.
NOTE: If you mount and restore either a primary or standby database, the database appears on the console as a standalone
Oracle database. No Data Guard configuration persists.

Repurposing (copy or a copy) Data Guard databases


For general repurposing information, see the AppSync user documentation.
Review the following repurpose considerations for Data Guard:
● Repurposing a primary database (source database): Repurposing operates the same for a primary Data Guard database like
any Oracle standalone database.
● Repurposing an active standby database (target database): Repurposing operates the same for an active standby Data
Guard database as any Oracle standalone database. You cannot hot backup a standby database for a repurposed copy.
● Repurposing a passive or non-active standby database (target database): Repurposing operates the same for a passive or
non-active standby Data Guard database as any Oracle standalone database. You cannot hot backup a standby database for
a repurposed copy.

Restore Data Guard databases


Restore for a primary database (source database): Restore for a primary Data Guard database operates the same way for any
Oracle standalone database. Manually recover the database and then resynchronize the primary and standby databases after
the AppSync restore process completes.

Protect Oracle 161


Veritas Cluster Services integration
AppSync can work with standalone Oracle databases that are configured to failover from node to node in a VCS (Veritas Cluster
Services) environment.

Introduction
During a replication process, if the node that was used to create the service plan is not accessible, AppSync runs the replication
on another node in the cluster. AppSync does not rely on the Virtual IP of the Oracle service group. Therefore, register all nodes
in the VCS cluster to the AppSync server before you replicate the database.
From a restore perspective, AppSync can only restore to the node where the copy was originally created. The original node must
be active, otherwise the restore process fails.

Requirements
The following are the requirements for using a standalone database that fails over as part of a VCS cluster:
● Install the AppSync host plug-in on all nodes of the cluster.
● Configure the IP resource in the Oracle service group for a clustered database.
● If a failover occurs while running a replication or restore process, then the operation fails. Node failover occurs before
running a service plan, before the start of a replication, or a restore.
● The Oratab file should have an entry for all possible SIDs that can run on the specified node (passive and active instances).
● Ensure tnsnames.ora files on all nodes contain entries of all standalone instances, including the virtual IP address of the
Oracle service group (per Symantec documentation).
● The following files should be accessible to all nodes on the cluster where the database runs:
○ Database init/spfile
○ Password file
● Install package sg3_utils, which contain utilities to access devices that use SCSI command sets, on all nodes.

Mount considerations
● The mount host must not be part of the VCS cluster.
● The mount host requires installation of VxVM Storage Foundations minimum 6.1.
● The package sg3_utils, which contain utilities for accessing devices that use SCSI command sets, must be installed on
the mount host.
● Mount host should have same naming scheme as that of the VCS infoscale cluster production host.

Restore considerations
AppSync can only restore to the node where the copy was originally created, therefore the original node must be active. To
perform a restore in a VCS environment, follow these steps:
1. Freeze the Oracle service group: >hagrp -freeze <service_group_name>
2. Perform the restore.
3. Start the instance.
4. Perform a manual recovery.
5. Open the database.
6. Unfreeze the Oracle service group: >hagrp -unfreeze <service_group_name>.
NOTE: AppSync can only restore to the node where the copy was originally created, therefore the original node must be
active. Otherwise, the restore process fails, and leaves the database in a corrupt state. The console provides a detailed
message warning you of this scenario before the restart of the restore.

162 Protect Oracle


PowerHA (HACMP) cluster integration
AppSync can work with standalone Oracle databases that are configured to failover from node to node in an IBM® PowerHA
(HACMP) cluster environment.

Introduction
AppSync protects the database on the node where the current state is active before the Service Plan run. AppSync relies on
the service label IP of the Oracle database resource group.
NOTE:
● You must update the agent plugin to version 4.5 , if the AppSync server version is 4.5.
● AppSync mandates the use of service label IP for Oracle database protection.
Consider the following when protecting an application that fails over as part of a PowerHA (HACMP) cluster:
● The nodes of the PowerHA cluster must be registered with AppSync before registering the service label IP.
NOTE: You must register the objects with AppSync in the following order:
○ Active node
○ Passive node
○ Service label IP of the Oracle database
● The service label IP/name must be configured for the Oracle database resource group.
● If the resource group has multiple service label IPs configured, register only one service label IP with the AppSync server.
● If a failover occurs while running a replication or restore process, the operation fails. Node failover must occur before
running the service plan, or at the start of a restore.
● The Oratab file entry must be the same on all the cluster nodes.
● The following files should be accessible to all nodes on the cluster where the database runs:
○ Database init/spfile
○ Password file

Mount considerations
● The mount host must not be part of the PowerHA cluster.
● The AppSync host plug-in must be installed on the mount host.
● Mount to service label IP is not supported.

Restore in a PowerHA environment


Perform a restore. After a restore, the volume group is not concurrent. You must manually make them concurrent before
performing a host or file system rediscovery.
NOTE: AppSync can only restore to the node where the copy was originally created, therefore the original node must be
active, otherwise the restore process fails, and leaves the database in a corrupted state. The console provides a detailed
message warning you of this scenario before the restart of a restore. Restore of mounted copies is not supported for
applications (File System and Oracle databases), managed by AIX HACMP or PowerHA cluster.

Post restore procedure in a PowerHA environment


Learn how to perform manual steps with a restore in a PowerHA environment after a restore.

About this task


After restore, a file system mounts to the production host in non-concurrent mode. Remove the file system from the resource
group, make it a concurrent volume group, and then add it back to the resource group.
Perform these steps on an active node:

Protect Oracle 163


Steps
1. Unmount the file system.
2. Type the Varyoffvg command.
3. Type the Varyonvg command with -c option (to make it concurrent).
Verification:
The lspv command must show vg as concurrent on both nodes as follows:

node 2
hdiskpower8 00c2bfb0f1ee76ca oradata concurrent
hdiskpower9 00c2bfb0f1f434e3 oralogs concurrent

node 1
hdiskpower18 00c2bfb0f1ee76ca oradata concurrent
hdiskpower19 00c2bfb0f1f434e3 oralogs concurrent

4. Add the file system back to the resource group.


5. Verify and synchronize the configuration.

Prerequisites and supported configurations


Learn about prerequisites and supported configurations for Oracle with AppSync. Included is information about supported device
configurations, Oracle on file systems, logical volume managers and ASM-based storage, RecoverPoint consistency group-based
storage, Linux and AIX-based configurations including sudo user, and support for virtualization setups.
AppSync can create application-consistent (using Oracle hot backup) and crash-consistent (without hot backup) copies. For
AppSync to create application-consistent copies of Oracle databases, the datafile, fast recovery area, and archive logs must
not share the file system, volume group, ASM disk group, RP consistency group, or data store. If the Oracle configuration is
such that the datafile and archive logs share any of these groupings, then AppSync can create crash-consistent copies for such
databases.
During copy creation, if hot backup mode is not selected, AppSync creates crash consistent copies, and does not quiesce the
database. You must use this method to create copies, if you have archive logs or fast recovery area sharing the file system,
volume group, ASM disk group, RP consistency group, or data store as the datafile and/or control files and/or redo logs.
If all Oracle files, including archive logs are on one disk group, AppSync can protect that database without hot back mode. The
copy is crash consistent.

NOTE: Read-only Oracle databases can only be protected in no hot backup mode.

If the archive log location is shared with other database components, use init overrides (see the Custom initialization parameters
field under Mount options for details) and point to that location during mount with recovery to protect the archive log location
separately. Ensure that you specify the correct path in init overrides, especially if ASM disk group rename or alternate path
mount is used.
If the database is running in NOARCHIVELOG mode, do not select the hot backup mode option when creating copies.
NOTE: Database files see datafile, and/or control files, and/or redo logs. Archive log files see archive log destination and/or
Fast Recovery Area .

NOTE: AppSync does not support Oracle RAC on NVMe devices in VMware environment.

Oracle ASM 4K Sectors


Oracle ASM supports 4K sectors in native mode and emulation mode. AppSync supports Oracle ASM 4K sector configurations
with the following limitations.
AppSync supports:
● Linux with ASMLib.
● Dell SC, only while creating 4K sectors in emulation mode.
● XtremIO when the application hosts are physical, or are iSCSI-connected and using native mode.
NOTE: AppSync supports Oracle ASM 4K sector configurations for Oracle release 12cR2 or later.

164 Protect Oracle


Oracle Flex ASM
AppSync supports Oracle Flex ASM. AppSync detects the status of the database instance and the ASM instance on each RAC
node, and selects a node where both are online.
If either the ASM or database instance, or both instances, are offline or unavailable on one node, AppSync will check the next
node of the cluster for a running ASM and database instance. If both instances are online on the next node, AppSync sets the
current host to this node for further processing.
If either ASM or database or both the instances are unavailable on all RAC nodes, the job fails.
For standalone instances, ASM must be online and available on at least one node.

ASM rebalancing
AppSync switches off ASM rebalancing power factor before taking a snapshot or clone of the underlying disks and turns it
back on, after the copy is created. This is to ensure that no automatic rebalancing occurs during protection. AppSync disables
ASM rebalancing using the alter system set asm_power_limit=0 command. AppSync checks for active rebalancing
operations only on ASM disk groups that are involved in protection.

select count(group_number) from gv$asm_operation where operation='REBAL' and


group_number in <group_number of DGs in protection set>

The value returned must be 0 (which means that no disk group that is involved in protection is undergoing a rebalance
operation) for AppSync to continue. If there are disk groups undergoing rebalancing, AppSync polls for the operation to
terminate for a maximum of one hour, after which protection fails.
AppSync does not issue a manual rebalance operation per disk group, and it cannot disable ongoing manual rebalancing
operations that are issued outside AppSync. Manual rebalancing operations might take a long time to complete. In order to
avoid timeout failures during protection, you must ensure that no manual rebalancing operations are active in earlier Service Plan
run.
AppSync also enables and disables ASM rebalancing for no hot backup copies.

TDE enabled Oracle databases


AppSync now supports all its functionality with Oracle TDE enabled databases. To access the data of TDE enabled mounted and
recovered Oracle databases, follow the below steps.
1. Check the WRL_PARAMETER location on the mounted database by running select * from v$encryption_wallet.
2. Create the necessary WRL_PARAMETER wallet directories with proper permissions on the mount server, and copy the
required wallet KeyStore’s from production server to the mount server.

Removal of Oracle deleted database


When you remove or delete a database that has copies that are associated with it, the database is marked for pending delete.
NOTE:
● For Oracle RAC, all instances of the database must be removed.
● A database can be removed only if the entry for the database is absent in the /etc/oratab file.
● Subscribed or protected databases are marked for pending delete only if all the instances are removed.
If the database is recreated with the same name after deletion, and rediscovery is performed after the database has been
recreated, AppSync displays duplicate entries with the same database name. This is not a concern if you intend to retain the
copies of the deleted database. However, if you do not intend to retain the copies of the deleted database, host or database
rediscovery must be performed immediately after the removal of an Oracle database from a cluster or host.
Do the following to remove the duplicate entries:
1. Comment out the /etc/oratab entry for the database using a # at the beginning of the entry.
2. Remove all copies or subscriptions of the deleted database, and rediscover host or database in the AppSync UI. If the
created database has copies or subscriptions, it is marked pending delete. Otherwise, it does not show up after this step.
3. Uncomment the entry that was commented in step 1.

Protect Oracle 165


4. Rediscover host or database again in the AppSync UI. If the database was marked pending delete in step 2, the pending
delete flag is cleared. Otherwise, a single database entry for the new database is displayed in the UI.

Oracle on file system-based storage configurations


Some examples of Oracle configurations for which AppSync can offer both app-consistent and crash-consistent copies follow:
● Single database: database files on, for example, /data; archive log files on, for example, /archive.
● Multiple databases sharing single archive log location: for example, Database 1 on /db1, Database 2 on /db2, archive logs
on /arch.
● Multiple databases sharing data location and archive log locations: for example, Database 1, 2, 3 files on /data, database 1,
2, 3 archive log locations on /archive.
● Affected databases scenario: Two file systems on one volume group with two more file systems on another volume group,
such that one Oracle database has data on fs1 in vg1 and logs on fs1 on vg2 and second Oracle database has data on fs2 on
vg1 and logs on fs2 on vg2.
NOTE: AppSync does not support the following configuration: one oracle database has datafile on fs1 in vg1 and logs on fs1
on vg2, and a second Oracle database has datafile on fs2 on vg2 and logs on fs2 on vg1.

Oracle on logical volume managers-based storage configurations (LVM/VxVM)


● Single database: Database files on a volume in, for example, datavg, and then archive log files in a volume on, for example,
archvg.
● Multiple databases sharing single archive log location: Database 1 files on a volume in, for example, data1vg, and Database
2 files on a volume in, for example, data2vg, and then archive logs in a volume on, for example, archvg.
● Multiple databases sharing data location and archive log locations: Databases 1, 2, 3 files in a volume on, for example,
datavg, and then Database 1, 2, 3 archive log locations in a volume on, for example archvg.

Oracle on ASM-based storage configurations


● Single database: Database files on, for example, diskgroup +data, then archive log files on, for example, diskgroup +arch.
● Multiple databases sharing a single archive log location: Database 1 files on, for example, diskgroup +data1, and database 2
files on, for example, diskgroup +data2, then archive logs on, for example, diskgroup +fra.
● Multiple databases sharing data location and archive log location: Database 1,2,3 files on, for example, diskgroup +data1,
and database 1,2,3 archive logs on, for example, diskgroup +data2.

Oracle on RecoverPoint consistency group-based storage


● Single database: Database files on LUNs in RP consistency group, for example, DATACG and archive log files in RP
consistency group, for example, ARCHCG.
● Multiple databases sharing single archive log location: Database 1 files on LUNs in RP consistency group, for example,
DATA1CG, then database 2 files on LUNs in RP consistency group DATA2CG and then archive log files in RP consistency
group, for example, ARCHCG.
● Multiple databases sharing data location and archive log locations: Database 1, 2, 3 files on LUNs in RP consistency group,
for example, DATACG, then database 1, 2, 3 archive logs on LUNs in RP consistency group, for example, ARCHCG.

Oracle on datastore-based storage layouts


● Single database: Database files on vDISKs from data store, for example, DATADS and archive log files on vDISKs from data
store, for example, ARCHDS.
● Multiple databases sharing single archive log location: Database 1 files on vDISKs from data store, for example, DATA1DS,
then database 2 files on vDISKs from data store DATA2DS and then archive log files on vDISKs from data store, for example,
ARCHDS.
● Multiple databases sharing data location and archive log locations: Database 1, 2, 3 files on vDISKs from data store, for
example, DATADS, then database 1, 2, 3

166 Protect Oracle


archive logs on vDISKs from data store, for example, ARCHDS.

Oracle on Unity Consistency Group-based storage


The following configurations are supported:
● Single database: Database files on LUNs in Unity consistency group, for example, datafile in consistency group
DATALUNGRP and archive log files in consistency group ARCHCG.
● Multiple databases sharing single archive log location: Database 1 files on LUNs in Unity consistency group, for example,
DATA1LUNGRP, then database 2 files on LUNs in Unity consistency group DATA2LUNGRP, and then archive log files in
Unity consistency group, for example, ARCHLUNGRP.
● Multiple databases sharing data location and archive log locations: Database 1, 2, 3 files on LUNs in Unity consistency
group, for example, DATALUNGRP, then database 1, 2, 3 archive logs on LUNs in Unity consistency group, for example,
ARCHLUNGRP.

Supported virtualization configurations


If the source application VM has any VM snapshot during copy creation, then such copies are not useful for later mount or
restore.
AppSync supports protection, mount, and restore of Oracle databases on vDisks in standalone and RAC.
AppSync does not support configuration where data and archive logs are on mix of RDM and VDisks.
Considerations:
● To run SCSI commands from AppSync, set disk.EnableUUID on the VM.
● Ensure that your VM datastore does not share the same VMFS as your Oracle databases.
NOTE: AppSync does not support the following configurations:
● ASM database on VXVM volume groups
● ASM database on VXDMP devices
● ASM database on raw devices under the control of VXVM
● Non-ASM database on Native LVM volume group residing on VXDMP devices

Support for Oracle on VMware virtual disks


You can protect, mount, and restore Oracle standalone and clustered databases residing on VMware VMFS and NFS virtual
disks.
Consider the following information when working with Oracle and VMware virtual disks.
● For successful mapping, add the vCenter to the AppSync server and then perform discovery before adding the Oracle host.
Otherwise you must rediscover the Oracle host after adding the vCenter.
● For successful protection, log files and database files must reside on virtual disks. There cannot be a combination of physical
and virtual storage.
● AppSync does not support:
○ Protection of Oracle databases across virtual machines sharing the same datastore
● Production VMWare virtual disk with multi writer option enabled is supported for Oracle RAC.
● To perform Oracle mount and recovery to a virtualized host, you need VMware permissions to modify the VMware
configuration of the mount VM (create RDM / SCSI adapter), as well as rescan datastores/VMFS.
Refer also to Oracle vDisk restore with affected entities.

Protect Oracle 167


Support for VIO vSCSI
Oracle with AIX LPARs can now also use "virtual" connections to the storage.

Overview: Support for VIO (Virtual I/O disk) vSCSI


Previously, AppSync supported Oracle on AIX physical machines and on AIX virtual machines (LPARs) that use physical or NPIV
connections to the array storage. AppSync now supports Oracle AIX LPARs with virtual connections.
All supported applications and use cases for AIX Hosts using physical or NPIV storage connections are now also supported on
VIO VSCSI devices. Two restrictions apply to this support:
● Mounting of replicas must be done to mount hosts using physical or NPIV storage connections. Mounts cannot be created as
virtual disks .
● The VIO Server must map whole raw disks to the VIO Clients. Do not map logical volumes from the VIO Server.
In addition AppSync can coexist with AIX Live Partition Mobility. AppSync will continue to protect and repurpose applications
after the migration of a client partition to a new managed server.

Supported versions
When referring to an AppSync support matrix, AIX Virtual I/O disks are supported as a valid virtual disk type known as
Virtualization Server Solutions.

Oracle supported configurations


The following table describes the Oracle supported configurations.

Table 27. Oracle supported configurations


Oracle Features/ XtremI VMAX3 VN Unity Unity Metro RP Dell SC PowerS PowerFle PowerM
Environments O / X File node | tore x ax File
Power File VPLEX
Max

Oracle Standalone Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Oracle on file systems Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Oracle on ASM Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
Oracle ASM 4K Sector Yes N.A N.A N.A N.A N.A N.A Yes N.A N.A N.A
(For release 12cR2 or (Native (Emulati
later) Mode) on
Mode)
Oracle Container Yes Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Database
Oracle RAC with NFS No No Yes No Yes No N.A No No No Yes
(Non ASM)
Oracle RAC with ASM Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
Oracle Data guard Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
(Primary and
Secondary)
Host cluster support Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
for Oracle standalone
(PowerHA - AIX and
VCS/RHCS -Linux) a
Hot backup mode b Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
No hot backup mode/ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
crash consistent

168 Protect Oracle


Table 27. Oracle supported configurations (continued)
Oracle Features/ XtremI VMAX3 VN Unity Unity Metro RP Dell SC PowerS PowerFle PowerM
Environments O / X File node | tore x ax File
Power File VPLEX
Max

Oracle on physical and Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
virtual machines (with
pRDMs and Vdisks) -
no support for RDMs in
virtual mode c
Oracle databases N.A Yes N.A N.A Yes N.A N.A N.A No N.A Yes
residing on NFS file
systems
Oracle with AIX LPARs Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes No No N.A
- virtual connections
and physical or NPIV
connections
Repurposing of Oracle Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
databases
mknode with ASM d Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
UDEV with ASM e Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
ASMLib with ASM f Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
Mounting Oracle Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
standalone to
standalone
Mounting standalone Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
ASM to standalone
ASM
Mounting RAC NFS N.A N.A Yes N.A Yes N.A N.A N.A N.A N.A Yes
(non ASM) to alternate
RAC NFS (non ASM)
Mounting RAC ASM to Yes Yes N.A Yes N.A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N.A
alternate RAC ASM
Mounting to production Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
RAC as a cluster
Mounting back to Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
production RAC as
a single instance/non-
clustered
RMAN Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
RMAN with BCT Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
ASM RAC or Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
standalone databases
created using ASM
Filter Driver (ASMFD)
Mixed layout of an Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Oracle database which
has datafile, control
files, and redo logs
on ASM disk groups
and archive logs and/or
FRA on file systems
(such as ext4 on Linux)

Protect Oracle 169


Table 27. Oracle supported configurations (continued)

a. RHCS is applicable for RHEL and VCS for both SuSE and RHEL.
b. See the Prerequisites and supported configurations section for information about database layout.
c. This is only applicable for LINUX.
d. This is only applicable for AIX.
e. This is only applicable for LINUX.
f. This is only applicable for LINUX.

AppSync does not support the following Oracle environments:


● Oracle on any cluster file systems (such as ACFS, OCFS, GFS, GFS2, QFS, and so on)
● Cold backup
● Nested file systems on NFS
● Mounting to different OS versions and different Oracle versions
● Oracle RAC one node database
● Mix of data and archive logs on RDM and Vdisks
● Multiple databases residing on different virtual machines sharing datastore (for example, VM1 with DB1 and VM2 with DB2)
● ASM mounting to non-ASM
● ASM database on VXVM volume groups
● ASM database on VXDMP devices
● ASM database on raw devices under the control of VXVM
● Non-ASM database on Native LVM volume group residing on VXDMP devices
● Oracle Flex Cluster
● Oracle GoldenGate
● ASM Dynamic Volume Manager (ADVM)
● Oracle Multitenant

Protecting a database
To protect a database, subscribe it to an AppSync service plan.
You can protect objects in different ways from different places in AppSync:
● Select Copy Management > Copies > Copies > Select Application > Oracle > CREATE COPY WITH PLAN then select
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run option when you want to protect a selected database immediately. The service plan is
executed for that database alone.
● Select Copy Management > Copies > Copies > Select Application > Oracle > CREATE COPY WITH PLAN then select
the Subscribe to Service Plan option when you want to schedule protection for later. Protection for databases that are
part of a service plan is executed at a scheduled time.
● Select an appropriate service plan from Copy Management > Copies > Copies > Select Application > Oracle > CREATE
COPY WITH PLAN using a plan in the Oracle databases page.
● Select the Run now option from the Oracle Service Plans page to run the entire plan immediately.
For Oracle Pluggable Databases, consider the following limitations:
● There is no option to select PDBs within a CDB for protection. All PDBs are protected along with the CDB.
● All PDBs within a CDB except PDB$SEED must be in read/write mode for hot backup. AppSync mandates this and will fail
hot backup protection if any PDB is not in read/write mode.
● If certain PDBs within a CDB are not in read/write mode, then you can choose the no hot backup option while creating a
copy.
● For RAC databases, all the instances of each PDB on all the RAC nodes must be in read/write mode for hot backup to
succeed.
● PDB$SEED is always protected. This is mandatory for recovering the copy later during mount and recovery.
● When you unplug and plug a pluggable database, a database rediscover or a host rediscover is required. Consider the
following example:
The "CDB" database contains the PDB1, PDB2, PDB3 pluggable databases, and "CDB1" contains the PDB4 pluggable
database. If you unplug PDB3 from "CDB" and plug it into "CDB1", in the same or different PDB location, a database
rediscover or host rediscover becomes necessary.
● Restore is not supported for Non-CDB copies, if you are migrating from a Non-CDB to a PDB. Consider the following
example:

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If you migrated non-cdb copies to a PDB, then restore is not supported for the copies that were made before migration.
However, you can mount these copies on a mount host.

NOTE: The same limitations apply for repurposing copies.

Discover an Oracle database


To keep AppSync up to date, you must discover databases in the oracle databases page.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the databases page.
Only databases that are started and are in an open state show up as online on the databases page.

4. From the MORE drop-down, select Discover Databases. It provides below two options:
● Auto discover database. You can select the server where you want to discover the database, and click NEXT.
● Add and discover databases. You can manually add the database that is not available in the etc/oratab file, and
select the server where you want to discover the database, and click NEXT.
5. On the console, click ADD DATABASES, to add the Oracle/Asm Sid instance, and Oracle/Grid Home path.
NOTE: Enable "Use the oracle home of the first database for subsequent databases” checkbox, to copy the same
Oracle home for the other databases.

6. In the summary page, check the options that are selected, and click FINISH.
7. From the MORE drop-down, select Remove Databases, to remove the manually added databases.
NOTE: While removing the database, if there are any service plans subscribed or any copies present on a specific
database, AppSync provides an error message indicating the same.

Subscribe a database to a service plan


You can subscribe a database to a service plan and run the service plan immediately, or schedule the service plan to run at a
later time.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the databases page.
Only databases that are started and are in an open state show up as online on the databases page. Databases that do not
have an entry in the /etc/oratab file and databases that have been shut down do not appear.

4. Select one or more Oracle databases, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select the appropriate option.

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Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the database for protection and run the plan immediately for any
selected database(s).
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the database for protection. Protection for all databases that are part
option to override schedule) of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
7. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
8. Click NEXT to review your selection.
9. Click FINISH.

Related information
Overriding service plan schedules

Unsubscribe database from a service plan


When you unsubscribe an individual database from a service plan, AppSync retains all existing database copies; only further
protection will be removed.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the databases page.
4. Select the database to unsubscribe from a service plan.
5. From the MORE drop-down, select Unsubscribe.
6. Select the service plan you want to unsubscribe, and click OK.
NOTE: You can also unsubscribe applications from a service plans, from the Service Plan page.

Creating an Oracle database copy from the Copies page


Create a copy of a database by subscribing it to an AppSync Oracle service plan from the Databases page.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the databases page.
Only databases that are started and are in an open state show up as online on the databases page. Databases that do not
have an entry in the /etc/oratab file and databases that have been shut down do not appear.

4. Select one or more Oracle databases, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select Subscribe to Service Plan and Run.
7. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
8. Click NEXT to review your selection.
9. Click FINISH.

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NOTE:
● For Oracle RAC database, if host preference is set to Any of the selected Hosts, the protection runs based on the
priority set for the host. If the pre-requisites on that host is not met, the next host on priority is selected.
● In case of protection, to set the priority of the host, follow the below steps:
a. On the AppSync console, select Service Plan > Oracle.
b. Select the subscribed service plan and click SUBSCRIBERS on the right pane.
c. Click the EDIT button.
d. The Edit Subscription page opens. Select Any of the selected Hosts.
● In case of repurposing, to set the host preference, select Copies > Oracle and select the subscribed service plan.
Click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN. From the Subscribe to Existing Service Plan page, select Data Repurposing
> Create the Copy > Host Preference.

Create Oracle repurpose copies


You can create first generation or second generation repurpose copies in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Select the database and click Create Copy With Plan.
5. Select Data Repurposing.
6. Define the following properties for the copy:
a. The Service Plan Name field is defined by default.
b. The Description field provides a brief description of the copy.
c. The Copy Label field provides an autogenerated label for the copy.
d. The Copy Location list enables you to select a copy location either to Local or Remote.
e. Configure the Use bookmark to copy option. It is applicable only if RecoverPoint is registered in AppSync.
f. The Mount Copy list enables you to select mount options for the copy. You can configure this option to either No,
Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted (where the previous copy is unmounted), or Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post
mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
g. The 2nd Generation Copies list enables you to select either Yes or No.
NOTE: Creating second generation copies is not supported in this beta release.

7. Click Next.
8. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Configure the following Oracle settings:
● Place the database in hot backup mode
● Select archive destination for hot backup mode
● Copy the Fast Recovery Area
b. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. Applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
c. In the Array Selection section, click Select an Array to choose the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/Metro.

d. In the Select Storage Group for PowerMax/VMAX3 section option, select the preferred storage group.
e. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can drag and
drop the arrays to change array preference.

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f. For Oracle RAC database, select host preference to Any Hosts or Any of the selected Hosts. The default optionAny
Hosts allows AppSync to choose the RAC host to run the protection operations. Any of the selected Hosts option
allows you to set the priority of the RAC host that is used by AppSync to run the protection operations.
g. Configure the Copy Type settings to either Snapshot or Clone.
9. Click Next.
10. In the Scripts page, select the precopy or postcopy scripts that you want to run and configure the following fields:
a. Full Path to Script
b. Script Parameters
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
11. Click Next.
12. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● Run Now - Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a copy that is based on the recurrence type you specify. On the first schedule, a repurposed copy is
created, and on subsequent schedules, it refreshes the copy.
● Run Only Once At later time - Creates a copy only once on the specified date and time.
13. Click Next.
14. Review the repurpose copy creation settings and click Finish.

Create second generation copies


Perform this procedure to create a second-generation copy from an first-generation existing copy.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the databases page.
4. Click the database that contains a first-generation copy.
5. Select a first-generation copy, and then click CREATE 2ND GEN COPY.
The Create 2nd-gen Copy widget opens.
6. In the Define the 2nd-gen Copy page, configure the following:
a. 2nd-gen copies label - Specify a label for the copy.
b. Mount 2nd-gen copies - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the postmount scripts run, unmount the copy
c. 2nd-gen copies type - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● Snap
● Clone
7. Click NEXT to review your selection.
8. In the Scripts for 2nd-gen Copy page, select the pre-copy scripts and post-copy scripts you want to run.
NOTE: This step also displays the post-mount scripts if you selected the mount option.

9. Click NEXT to review your selection.


10. In the Schedule /Run page, select one of the following options:
● Run now: Creates a copy when you click FINISH on this wizard.
● Schedule: Creates a copy that is based on the recurrence type you specify. On the first schedule, a repurposed copy is
created, and on subsequent schedules, it refreshes the copy.

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● Run Only Once At Later Time: Creates a copy only once on the specified date and time.
11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Review the configurations for the second-generation copy and click FINISH.

Oracle Copies page


You can view a list of copies on the Oracle Copies page.
Copy information includes:

Table 28. Copy Information


Column Description
Status Green: successful
Yellow: Completed with errors
Red: failed

Copy Name Date and time when the copy was created
Immutable Copy Specifies if the copy is immutable or not. Manual enabling,
disabling, or expiry of immutable copy is not allowed. Hence
they are grayed out. Immutable copy is automatically expired
after the Time to live is reached.
Service Plan Name of the service plan that is associated with the copy. For
repurposed copies, a Repurpose link displays in this column.
Click this link to edit the Service Plan for 1st or 2nd generation
copies.
NOTE: In the service plan for repurposed copies, the
options to schedule and mount overrides will be disabled.

Server Name of the server associated with the copy.


Label Common name that is used to help identify repurposing copies
Application Consistent Displays whether or this copy leverages hot backup to create
an application consistent copy
Mount Status Indicates if the copy is mounted, or Not Mounted
Mount Type If copy is mounted as part of service plan run, value for Mount
Type is ServicePlan. If copy is mounted as OnDemand, value
for Mount Type is OnDemand.
Recovery Status Indicates if the copy has been recovered or not
Copy Type It displays the type of copy that was created. The copy can be
one of the following types:
● RecoverPoint Continuous Data Protection Bookmark
● RecoverPoint Continuous Remote Replication Bookmark
● Unity Snap
● VNX File Snap
● XtremIO snapshot
● VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVXClone, SnapVXSnap
● VPLEXSnap, VPLEXClone
● DELLSC Snap
● PowerStore Snapshot
● PowerStore Thin Clone
● PowerMax File Snapshot
● PowerMax File Thin Clone
● PowerFlex Snapshot

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Table 28. Copy Information (continued)
Column Description
Generation The generation number of the repurposed copy
Source The original source database for the copy, or source copy for
the copy
Site Site where the copy is located.
Storage System Storage system where the copy resides.
Automatic Expiration Determines whether automatic expiration is enabled or
disabled for the selected copy.
Time to Live If Retention policy is set to Always Keep _____ Copies, value
for Time to Live will be disabled. If Retention policy is set
to Keep Copy for _____ Days, value for Time to Live will
be based on value set to Keep Copy for _____ Days. For
example, 2 days 14 hrs 8 minutes.

Viewing database copies


Follow these steps to view an Oracle database copy on the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle .
4. Click a database to view existing copies of the database.
You can see details of a copy in the right pane of the copies page. The list of copies can be filtered using the filter option
located at the top-right corner of the table in this page.

Service plan details


The service plan Settings tab shows the Service plan name, Description, and Enabled status of the service plan.
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle.
4. Select the desired Service plan, and the summary of the service plan will display in the right pane of the page.
5. The SUBSCRIBERS tab displays the list of one or more subscribers, subscribed to the selected service plan.
NOTE: On the SUBSCRIBERS pane, EDIT will be enabled only for the Oracle RAC database. This is used to configure
the priority of the RAC hosts that are used by AppSync to run the protection operations. Two options are available.

The default optionAny Hosts allows AppSync to choose the RAC host to run the protection operations. Any of the
selected Hosts option allows you to set the priority of the RAC host that is used by AppSync to run the protection
operations.
Review Overview: Service Plan for more service plan copy information.

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Service plan schedule
The service plan schedule (On-demand or scheduled) determines whether the plan is run manually, or configured to run on a
schedule.
Options for scheduling when a service plan starts include:
● Specify a recovery point objective (RPO).
○ Set an RPO of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours
○ Set minutes after the hour in 5 minute intervals.
○ Default RPO is 24 hours.
● Runs every day at specific times.
○ Select different times during the day.
○ Select minutes after the hour in 1 minute intervals.
○ There is no default selected.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the week.
○ You can select one or more days of the week (up to seven days).
○ There is no default for day of the week. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● Runs at a certain time on selected days of the month.
○ Select one or more days of the month (up to all days).
○ Select one time of day. Available times are at 15 minute intervals.
○ Default is the first day of the month.
○ Select Last to select the last day of the month.
● Server plan Recurrence Type options include:
○ Run Now
○ Schedule
○ Run Only Once At later time

Overriding service plan schedules


You can set individual schedules for databases subscribed to a service plan by overriding the generic recurrence setting.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


You can only override the settings of the recurrence type previously selected for the service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the databases page.
Only databases that are started and are in an open state show up as online on the databases page. Databases that do not
have an entry in the /etc/oratab file and databases that have been shut down do not appear.

4. Select one or more Oracle databases, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override).
7. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
8. Click NEXT.
The Override Schedule page appears.
9. Select one or more databases and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
10. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and then click OK.

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For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified days of the month, and the rule setting is to Run at 12:00 AM on
the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the day for individual databases.
11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Click FINISH.

Storage preferences
Sets the preferred order of storage technology to use while creating copies, for example, VMAX3/PowerMax Snap or
RecoverPoint Bookmark.
Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons. Copies are made using the first technology preference when possible. If conditions
are such that the first technology can no longer be used, then any remaining copies will be handled by the next preference
instead. For example, if your first preference was a bookmark but not all the application data in the service plan could be
mapped to RecoverPoint, then AppSync uses Snap instead.
NOTE: A single service plan can contain a mix of datasets configured on VMAX3/PowerMax block or file and RecoverPoint.
For example, with VMAX3, if you have a Bronze service plan for Oracle, the databases subscribed can on a mix of
RecoverPoint and VMAX3/PowerMax block objects.
A database mix of VMAX3/PowerMax is not supported. Also to get an RP bookmark copy for a database, all LUNs in that
database should be configured with RecoverPoint protection; if not Snap copies are created for that database.

Pre-copy script
To perform preparatory steps before creating a copy, specify a pre-copy script and parameters.
AppSync executes this script once per host per service plan run on the production host.
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.
For a successful script run ensure:
● The preferred scripts are enabled.
● The script exists in the specified path. You provide absolute path to script; there is no default location.
● You use valid script formats: all executables on UNIX are supported. The script requires execute permissions for the specified
user.
● The script runs as Local System by default for Windows only.
● The script does not put the database/tablespaces in backup mode.
● The script does not shut down the database.

Table 29. Pre-copy script console fields


Field in UI Description
Full path to script The complete path to the script location.
Script parameters Parameters that will be passed to the script during the run.
Run as username User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.

Create copy
The Create Copy function creates a copy based on the replication technology that is specified in the service plan.
The create copy options specifies the backup type for the Oracle database copy that AppSync creates. It also sets the period
for automatic expiration of the copies.

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Automatic expiration of copies
The automatic expiration value specifies the maximum wanted number of Snap, Clone, or Bookmark that can exist
simultaneously or expires copies that exceed defined days for copies.
When the "Always keep x copies" value is reached, older copies are expired to free storage for the next copy in the rotation.
Failed copies are not counted. AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until its replacement has been successfully created. For
example, if the number of copies to keep before expiration is 7; AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until the eighth copy is
created.
When the "Keep copies for x Days" value exceeds for created copies, AppSync will expire those copies in the next maintenance
step.
AppSync does not expire copies under the following circumstances:
● Mounted copies are not expired.
● A copy that contains the only replica of a database does not gets expired.
This setting is independent of any storage policy settings. The service plan administrator should work with the storage
administrator to ensure that the Storage policy settings enable the support of the specified number of snap copies for that
application.
Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy: Check this option to include RecoverPoint copies when
calculating rotations.
NOTE: If this option is not selected, then RecoverPoint copies accumulate, and remain until the bookmarks fall off the
RecoverPoint appliance.

Post-copy script
To perform cleanup or other post-copy steps after creating a copy, specify a post-copy script and parameters.
You can run this script once per host per service plan run. If this script is enabled but the permissions to run it are improper, or if
the script does not exist in the specified path, the Service Plan run fails with appropriate error.
This process requires the role of AppSync Data Administrator. AppSync executes this script once per host per service plan run
on the production host.
For a successful script run ensure:
● The script exists in the specified path. You provide absolute path to script; there is no default location.
● You use valid script formats: all executables on UNIX are supported. The script requires execute permissions for the specified
user.

Table 30. Post copy script console fields


Field in UI Description
Full path to script The complete path to the script location.
Script parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as username User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.

Unmount previous copy


The service plan unmounts a previously mounted copy after creating the new copy.
The exception is a copy that was mounted on-demand instead of mounted by the service plan; in this case the on-demand
mounted copy is not unmounted.
All the recovered databases are shut down during unmount.

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Pre-mount script
You can enable this script if you want to run a script prior to AppSync performing a mount operation.
This script will be executed once per host per service plan run. If you enable the script but the permissions to run it are
improper, or if the script does not exist in the specified path, the service plan run fails with appropriate error.
Show caution when using several mount hosts in a Service Plan run. (Refer to Overriding mount settings on a service plan. You
must select Same as mount host in the Run on host option so that the script runs on all mount hosts.

Table 31. Pre-mount script field descriptions


Field in UI Description
Full path to script The complete path to the script location
Script parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run
Run as username User with execute permissions on the script
Password Password of the user
Run on host Host where the script needs to run. Select Same as mount
host if several mount hosts are involved.

Mount copies
The Mount copy step either mounts the copy or mounts and recovers the copy.
In Mount Copy Defaults settings, you can set values to Mount copy or Mount and recover copy.
For Mount copy settings, you can set the mount host value and mount path and the RecoverPoint image access type.
For Mount and recover copy settings, you specify the recovery instance, the type of recovery, and the database naming
details. Other settings are similar to the Mount copy settings such as mount path and image access type.
For Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts for Manual Recovery Oracle mount option, if you enable scripts,
AppSync creates scripts on the mount host that you run to recover the database. The scripts are two types, RMAN and SQL.
The scripts are created under /tmp/<MOUNTED_SID_NAME>/RecoveryScripts.
Console field descriptions:
● Host name: This field is used to specify the host where you want to mount the Oracle copy.
● Mount to path: The path on which to mount database files and file systems. For ASM RAC, this setting is unused/ignored.
● Service Level Objective (SLO): If you are using a VMAX3/PowerMax array, a setting called Desired Service Level
Objective (SLO) is available. The option appears in the Mount wizard and it specifies the required VMAX3/PowerMax
Service Level Objectives. SLO defines the service time operating range of a storage group.
● Database name: This field represents the format of the mounted database name. To specify the original database name use
the token %DB% . For example: To use the original name that is prefixed by TEST, use TEST%DB%.
● SID name: This field represents the format of the mounted instance name. To specify the original instance name use the
token %SID%. For example: To use the original name that is prefixed by TEST, use TEST%SID%.
● ASM Diskgroup: This field represents the format of the ASM disk group. To specify the original disk group name use the
token %DG%. For example: To use the original name that is prefixed by TEST, use TEST%DG%.
● Custom initialization parameters: This field is a multi-line field which allows you to specify settings which override any
original database setting on the mounted database copy. This field is useful for editing options such as memory settings.
● Restart databases after reboot: This option is used to start the AppSync mounted Oracle databases automatically after a
host reboot. By default, this option is disabled.

Overriding mount settings in a service plan


If multiple registered databases are subscribed to the same plan, you can select different mount settings for each database,
overriding the generic settings. Recovery settings cannot be overridden.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

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Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Click a service plan, and expand the right pane.
5. Click the OVERRIDES tab.
6. Select Mount Overrides.
7. Select an entry, and click OVERRIDE MOUNT.
8. Edit the required fields, and click APPLY CHANGES to save the settings.
9. To revert back to default settings for a server, click SET TO DEFAULT.

Post mount script


You can enable this script if you want to run a script after AppSync performs a mount operation.
This script will be executed once per host per service plan run. If you enable the script but the permissions to run it are
improper, or if the script does not exist in the specified path, the service plan run fails with appropriate error.
Show caution when using several mount hosts in a Service Plan run. (Refer to the Overriding mount settings on a service plan
section. You must select Same as mount host in the Run on host option so that the script runs on all mount hosts.

Table 32. Post-mount script field descriptions


Field in UI Description
Full path to script The complete path to the script location
Script parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run
Run as username User with execute permissions on the script
Run on host Host where the script needs to run. Select Same as mount
host if several mount hosts are involved.

Unmount copy
The unmount copy option in the service plan unmounts the copy.
This option is disabled if the Unmount previous copy option is enabled.
If you have chosen to mount with recovery options (standalone, RMAN, or cluster mount) in the Mount options, all the mounted
databases are shut down as part unmount.

Mount an Oracle copy


This section describes the AppSync console mount fields and their descriptions.

Mount operations
Table 33. Console field descriptions
Field Description
Mount on Server The server on which to mount the copy.
Mount on path The Default Mount Path is /appsync. The mount path could
also be Same as Original Path. However, this option is not
available when the mount host = production host. You can
also change Default Mount Path, for example, /EMC instead

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Table 33. Console field descriptions (continued)
Field Description
of /AppSync. Select Mapped Path to specify the path
where you want to mount the database.
Mount to cluster This field is used to specify the cluster where you want to
mount the copy. Alternatively, it can be Original cluster to
mount back to the production cluster
Copy to mount Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be
mounted as part of service plan run.
NOTE: Applies to service plans that create local and
remote copies simultaneously.

Quality of Service Policy For XtremIO only, an option called Quality of Service policy
appears in the wizard. You can select the desired Quality of
Service policy for mounting a copy.
NAS Preferred Interface For PowerStore and PowerMax file storage, this option allows
you to select a preferred IPv4 interface among a list of
Interfaces for a given NAS Server on a given storage array.
The preferred interface is used by AppSync during the mount
operation.
Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount.
This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy.
Once the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy
is stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink
from the target device, and the next mount of unmounted
copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously
mounted copy changes will not be available in the mounted
copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and
second generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and
on-demand service plans.
Image access mode (during RecoverPoint mount) ● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity
check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated
volumes. This is the only option available when you mount
to the production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access
to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in
the background. When the replicated volumes are at the
requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches
to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy processing.
With RP-XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: provides nearly instant access to the image;
it is not intended for heavy processing. With RP-XtremIO,
virtual access is not supported.
Restart databases after reboot Use this option to start the AppSync mounted Oracle
databases automatically after a host reboot. By default, this
option is disabled.
Desired SLO For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays only, a setting called Desired
SLO appears in the Mount wizard and specifies the required
VMAX3/PowerMax Service Level Objectives. SLO defines the
service time operating range of a storage group.
Metro node | VPLEX Mount option ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the
copy as native array volumes.
● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this
option if you want to mount the copy as metro node |
VPLEX virtual volumes.

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Table 33. Console field descriptions (continued)
Field Description
PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server Enable this option to map host to the storage group for
the VMAX3/PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan
configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped
storage group. In turn, the storage group is masked in the
desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if
the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.

Enable VMware cluster mount Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX cluster
mount. By default, this option is enabled.
Allow Unmount Of OnDemand Mounted Copy Allows you to unmount a copy that was mounted on-demand.
NOTE:
● This option is available during service plan edit only
when you have selected Yes - Keep it mounted
(Previous copy will be unmounted) option in
Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted
copy will be unmounted.

Enable VMware cluster mount ● Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX
cluster mount. By default, this option is enabled.
● If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing
on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made visible to all
the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default,
this is enabled. If you do not want to perform an ESX
cluster mount, you can clear this option. This option is
supported on metro node | VPLEX, XtremIO, VMAX3/
PowerMax, VMAX All Flash, PowerStore, PowerFlex, and
Unity arrays. If this option is not selected, and the mount
host is part of an ESX cluster, the mount host must have
a dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group
configured according to the storage system configuration.
This enables AppSync to mask LUNs only to that mount
host.
Disable VMware SRM Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is
enabled on the RecoverPoint consistency group. This is only
applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
VMware Virtual Disk Mode Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as
independent disks. You can select this option to exclude
virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine.
By default, this option is disabled, and copies are mounted in
the persistent mode.
Mark storage devices as perennially reserved Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially
reserved.
Mount Operation Allows the following mount operations:
● Mount on standalone server
● Mount on standalone server and create RMAN catalog
entry
● Mount on standalone server and recover database
● Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts for
manual database recovery
● Mount on Grid cluster and recover as RAC database
Run Filesystem Check During a mount operation, theAppSync agent checks file
system data consistency by executing the fsck command.
This operation can be time consuming. You can clear this

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Table 33. Console field descriptions (continued)
Field Description
option to skip file system check during a mount operation. By
default, file system check is enabled.
NOTE:
● In the case of a restore operation, the Run Filesystem
Check option is enabled by default. You cannot disable
it.
● The Run Filesystem Check option is not applicable to
ASM file systems.

Recovery Settings ● Open-mode: Read-write


● ORACLE_HOME: Same as production host
● Database name: APS is the prefix, %DB% is the variable
which will be replaced with the production database name
during run time.
● SID name: APS is the prefix, %SID% is the variable which
will be replaced with the production database SID during
run time.
● ASM diskgroup name: APS is the prefix, %DG% is the
variable which will be replaced with the production ASM
diskgroup name during run time.
NOTE: If multiple diskgroups are involved, a prefix or
suffix is mandatory.
● Customize Initialization Parameters: This field will be blank.
You can fill in one parameter per line, for example,
memory_target=629145600
● Create TEMP Tablespace: Use this option to create the
Temp Tablespace on the recovery mounted database copy.
This setting is enabled when you select the following
mount operations with Read/Write Open-mode: Mount
on standalone server and recover, Mount on standalone
server and prepare scripts for manual recovery, or Mount
on grid cluster and recover as RAC database. When you
select the Create TEMP Tablespace option, two additional
options display:
○ Number of Tempfiles: The number of files to be added
to Temp Tablespace. The size of the files are specified
in the "Size of each file" setting.
■ Use BIGFILE option: Use the BIGFILE option when
creating the new temp file. If this option is selected,
the number of temp files is 1.
○ Size of each file: The size of each temp file (in
kilobytes (K), megabytes (M), gigabytes (G), or
terabytes (T)).
NOTE: From Oracle 21c and above, AppSync creates
Temp Tablespace, by default.
● Restart databases after reboot: Select this option to start
the AppSync mounted Oracle databases automatically
after a host reboot. By default, this option is disabled.
NOTE: This option is not available for RMAN and
mount with generate scripts.
● Create SPFile: Select this option to create an
SPFile. The SPFile is created in the default
location ($ORACLE_HOME/dbs), with the name
spfile<SID>.ora. During unmount, the SPFile is
removed from the $ORACLE_HOME/dbs folder.
● Create on ASM disk: Select this option to create the
SPFile on the primary ASM diskgroup.

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Table 33. Console field descriptions (continued)
Field Description
Advanced Recovery Options ● Create Control file copies: Select this option to create 0-3
additional control file copies for redundancy purposes. The
default is 0.
● Change Database ID: Select this option to change the
database ID of the mounted database. By default, this
option is disabled.
● Use ADR (Automatic Diagnostic Repository) home
directory for DIAGNOSTIC_DEST: Select this option to
force the mounted database to use the ADR home
directory instead of TEMP for diagnostic logs (default:
off). By default, this option is disabled.
● Disable archive log mode: Select this option to force the
mounted database to start with archive logging disabled.
By default, this option is disabled.

You can mount a copy created on any multipathing device production host, and mount it on any multipathing device mount
host. This means you can create a copy on Block/PowerPath/MPIO devices and mount it on a mount host with any of these
combinations.
For DMP, make sure you install DMP on both production and mount hosts.

NOTE: It is recommended to install Oracle 12c Patch 19404068 for reliable recovery of an Oracle database.

Additional information
● You can configure a temporary location per UNIX host from the AppSync console in the Servers page.
○ AppSync uses the set temporary location during Oracle mount operations for storing information that previously resided
in /tmp/<SID>/.
○ /tmp/ is the default temporary location unless you specify otherwise.
● For UNIX hosts, you can configure a command execution timeout value from the Servers page of the AppSync console.
AppSync uses this value to wait for each operating system command that is executed by AppSync on a UNIX platform. The
default value is 60 minutes. For example, if fsck during file system copy mount takes more than 60 minutes on a host, you
can increase the command execution timeout value.
● AIX multiple mounts
○ Multiple copies can be mounted to the same AIX host only if the copies are created using AppSync 3.0.1 and later.
○ If copies were created using AppSync 3.0 or earlier, you cannot mount multiple copies to the same AIX host, even after
you upgrade both the sever and agent to AppSync 3.0.1 and later.
○ If you have copies created using both AppSync 3.0 and 3.0.1 and later, it is recommended that you mount the copy
created using AppSync 3.0.1 and later for successful concurrent mounts. If you intend to mount the AppSync 3.0 copy,
only one copy can be mounted.
○ If you mount the copy created from AppSync 3.0.1 and later, the mount of AppSync 3.0 copy might fail.
○ After you upgrade the AppSync server to 3.0.1 and later, ensure that you upgrade the agent to AppSync 3.0.1 and later.

Mount a copy using the Oracle Mount wizard


From the AppSync console, you can perform a mount of a copy using the Oracle Mount wizard .

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.

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4. Click the name of the database you prefer in the Name column.
5. Select the copy you want to mount, then click MOUNT COPY.
6. Click NEXT.
If multiple databases were protected together, you may see the additional copies to mount option. Select the copies you
prefer and click NEXT.

7. On the Select Mount Options page, from the Mount operation list, select one of the following options:
● Mount on standalone server
● Mount on standalone server and create RMAN catalog entry
● Mount on standalone server and recover database
● Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts for manual database recovery
● Mount on Grid cluster and recover as RAC database
If you select Mount on standalone server and recover database, Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts
for manual database recovery, or Mount on Grid cluster and recover as RAC database, with read/write open mode
for recovery, the Create TEMP Tablespace option is enabled. This option is used to create the Temp Tablespace on the
recovery-mounted database copy. After you select Create TEMP Tablespace, AppSync shows other options:
a. Number of Tempfiles: Number of files to be added to Temp Tablespace, each with size specified in 'Size of each file'
option.
● Use BIGFILE option: Select this option when creating the new temp file.
b. Size of each file: The size of each temp file (in kilobytes (K), megabytes (M), gigabytes (G), or terabytes (T)).
● The size_clause specifies the number of bytes, kilobytes (K), megabytes (M), gigabytes (G), or terabytes (T).
The size_clause allows you to establish amounts of disk or memory space, for example 10M. The size of the
TempTable Space equals the Temp table file that is multiplied by the size of each file. For example, if the Temp
table file count = 2 and the size of each file = 10M, the TempTable Space Size = 20M.
AppSync generates the name of the TempTable Space in the form of <DBNAME>_TEMP. This newly created Tablespace
is set as the default Temp Tablespace of the mounted database instance. During unmount, AppSync drops the created Temp
Tablespace.
NOTE:
● With manual recovery mount, scripts are prepared to both create ('Step-5_createTempTableSpace.sql') and drop
('Step-6_dropTempTableSpace.txt') TEMP TableSpace. You should drop the created Temp Tablespace manually
before unmounting a copy with AppSync.
● If AppSync fails to drop the Temp Tablespace during unmount, and if a restore operation is performed using this
copy, the tablespace is restored.
● If you attempt to restore a RecoverPoint copy, the Temp Tablespace, if created during mount with recovery, is also
restored to production. You should drop the Temp Tablespace manually from the mounted database copy, and then
attempt a restore.
● From Oracle 21c and above, AppSync creates Temp Tablespace, by default.

8. Under General Settings, do the following:


a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Default path, Same as original path, or Mapped
Path. The mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host.
c. When you select the Mount filesystems option, all file systems are selected by default that is Data, Redo, and Archive
log. If you do not want any of these, you must unselect the check box.
d. From the Specify Data Mount Option, by default both CDB and PDB are selected. You can mount one specific PDB by
selecting the one required.
NOTE:
● Mount file system option is supported for the ASM disks also. This option will be available only in the on-demand
mount wizard.
● Mount file system option is only supported if Mount Operation is selected as "Mount on Standalone server".
● Selective mount is supported only when there is no shared LUN between data files, redo logs, and archive logs.
RecoverPoint is not supported for the oracle selective mount.

e. Mount to cluster: This field is used to specify the cluster where you want to mount the copy. You can configure the
value of this field as Original Cluster, to mount back to the production cluster.

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f. Configure the Allow umount of On-demand mounted copy option to allow the unmount of copies that were mounted
on demand.
g. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default. This option is applicable for the UNIX or Linux platform only.
9. Under Recovery Settings configure the following options:
a. Open-mode
b. ORACLE_HOME
c. Database Name
d. SID Name
e. ASM Diskgroup Name
f. Customize initialization Parameters
g. Select Restart databases after reboot to start the AppSync mounted Oracle databases automatically after a host
reboot. By default, this option is disabled.
h. Select Create SPFile to create an SPFile. The SPFile is created in the default location ($ORACLE_HOME/dbs), with
the name spfile<SID>.ora. During unmount, the SPFile is removed from the $ORACLE_HOME/dbs folder. If the
Copy SPFILE to ASM diskgroup option is selected, the SPFile is created on the primary ASM diskgroup instead of
$ORACLE_HOME/dbs.
NOTE: The Restart databases after reboot and Create SPFile options are not available for RMAN and mount
with generate scripts.

10. Under Advanced Recovery Settings:


a. Select Create Control file copies to create 0-3 additional control file copies for redundancy purposes. The default is 0.
b. Select Change Database ID (DBID) to change the database ID of the mounted database. By default, this option is
disabled.
c. Select Use ADR (Automatic Diagnostic Repository) home directory for DIAGNOSTIC_DEST to force the mounted
database to use the ADR home directory instead of TEMP for diagnostic logs (default: off). By default, this option is
disabled.
d. Select Disable archive log mode to force the mounted database to start with archive logging disabled. By default, this
option is disabled.
NOTE: You cannot use the advanced recovery options when restoring a RAC copy.

11. Under Storage Settings, configure the following options:


a. Image Access Mode
b. Desired SLO
c. Metro node | VPLEX Mount Option
d. Unlink the SnapVX snapshots during unmount
e. PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server
f. NAS Preferred Interface
12. Under VMware Settings, do the following:
a. Enable VMware cluster mount checkbox - If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster,
the target LUN is made visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do not
want to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option. Then the target LUN is made visible only to the ESX
cluster on which the mount host resides. This is applicable for both RDM and vDisk device types.
-- For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, select the Service Level Objective (SLO) for the mount copy.
-- For XtremIO 6.2 and later, click the Quality of Service policy option to select the desired Quality of Service policy
while mounting a copy.
b. Disable VMware SRM - This option is applicable only for RP 4.1 and above.
c. VMware Virtual Disk Mode - Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can
select this option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option is
disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
d. Mark storage device as perennially reserved - Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
13. Click Next.
14. Review the mount settings and click Finish to complete the mount.

Results
In the Mount Copy Status page, you can view the progress.

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Expire an Oracle copy
You can expire an Oracle copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Click the name of the database you prefer in the Name column.
5. Select the copy you want to expire, then click More > Expire.
6. Click OK.
NOTE: If the copy is an immutable copy, then the expiry is disabled as the secure snapshot on the array cannot be
deleted before the Time to Live. Once the Time to Live time is reached, the snapshot is automatically deleted from the
array and from AppSync. However, if copy is mounted and Time to Live is reached, then copy will be deleted only after
unmount.

Enable or disable expiry of an Oracle copy


You can enable or disable expiry of a copy during rotation using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Click the name of the database you prefer in the Name column.
5. Select the copy that you want to enable or disable and click More.
6. Click one of the following options depending on the action you want to perform:
● Enable Copy Expiry: To enable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
● Disable Copy Expiry: To disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
7. Click OK.

RMAN cataloging feature


This section includes prerequisites and restrictions for creating RMAN catalog entry, and copying BCT file.

Mount Operation: Mount on standalone server and create RMAN catalog entry
Table 34. Console field descriptions
Field in UI Description
RMAN user Catalog owner
RMAN password Catalog owner's password
RMAN connect string The TNS alias used to connect to remote RMAN catalog
TNS_ADMIN Path of the tnsnames.ora file where the TNS alias is specified.
(Default Path : $ORACLE_HOME\network\admin\)
ORACLE_HOME ORACLE_HOME path for the Oracle binaries. Default: Same
as production host

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Table 34. Console field descriptions (continued)
Field in UI Description
ASM Diskgroup Name Specify prefix or suffix to rename diskgroups on mount host
or %DG% (if production ASM diskgroup name is to be used
during mount). Default: APS%DG%
Customize initialization Parameters This field will be blank. You can fill in one parameter per line,
for example, memory_target=629145600

Skip Data Files Skip cataloging of database data files. Default: Not selected.

Notes on prerequisites
● RMAN catalog database must exist and be accessible on the same network as the mount host.
● The tnsnames.ora file on the mount host must contain a TNS alias that points to the RMAN catalog database where
AppSync should catalog the copy.
● The catalog and catalog owner must be created prior to mounting a copy to be cataloged.
● Production database must be registered in the RMAN catalog before mounting the copy.
● The Oracle version running the RMAN catalog database must be equal to or greater than the highest Oracle version of all
production databases registered to that catalog.
● Copies mounted with RMAN integration cannot be renamed using the database rename option. This also implies that only
one copy per database can be mounted on a mount host for RMAN cataloging, and Mount to Original Host is not possible.
● Copies mounted with Read-only access cannot be cataloged using RMAN.
● Database must be put in hot backup mode.
● Create backup controlfile must be selected in during copy creation.

Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts for manual


database recovery
This action overrides mount settings on a service plan. This section includes prerequisites and details for performing a
standalone mount of an Oracle copy for use with script-assisted manual recovery steps.
Console field description:
● Mount on server: This field is used to specify the host where you want to mount the Oracle copy.
● Mount on path: The path on which to mount database files and filesystems. For ASM RAC, this setting is unused/ignored.
● Database name: This field represents the format of the mounted database name. To specify the original database name use
the token %DB% . For example: to use the original name prefixed by TEST, use TEST%DB%. The length of the database name
is eight characters.
● SID name: This field represents the format of the mounted instance name. To specify the original instance name use the
token %SID%. For example: to use the original name prefixed by TEST, use TEST%SID%. The length of the SID name is 16
characters and the length of the RAC SID is 15 characters.
● ASM Diskgroup: This field represents the format of the ASM diskgroup. To specify the original diskgroup name use the
token %DG%. For example: to use the original name prefixed by TEST, use TEST%DG%.
● Custom initialization parameters: This field is a multi-line field which allows the you to specify settings which will override
any original database setting on the mounted database copy. This is useful for editing options such as memory settings.
After the mount operations complete AppSync will create scripts on the mount host that you must execute to recover
the database. The scripts are RMAN scripts and SQL scripts. The scripts are created in /tmp/<MOUNTED_SID_NAME>/
RecoveryScripts. The script files are named as Step-<number>_<operation>.<extension>. The <number>
represents the file that must be run first and so on. The <operation> signifies what the script does. The <extension>
specifies the type of script, either RMAN or SQL. Depending on the type of script, either execute it in RMAN or execute
through SQLPlus. The generated filenames follow:
Step-1_DatabaseRename.sql
Step-1_DatabaseFileRename.sql
Step-2_RecoverDatabase.rman
Step-3_RecoverDatabase.sql

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Step-4_OpenDatabase.sql
There is only one Step-1 file created depending on whether the recovery operation was performed using the production SID
name or an altered SID name. In order to execute the scripts, follow these steps as an Oracle user:
1. Export the Oracle SID as the SID used during recovery.
2. When executing an SQL script, login to SQLPlus using sqlplus / as sysdba. You can then run the script: @/tmp/
<MOUNTED_SID_NAME>/RecoveryScripts/Step-<number>_<operation>.sql
3. When executing an RMAN script, login to RMAN using rman target=/. You can then run the script as, @/tmp/
<MOUNTED_SID_NAME>/RecoveryScripts/Step-<number>_<operation>.rman.
NOTE: Make sure you follow the order of these steps during recovery.

Mount on Grid Cluster and recover as RAC database


This section includes prerequisites and details for performing a mount of a copy containing an Oracle RAC database as a RAC
database on another cluster or, if renamed, back to the same cluster. The settings for this are as follows:
Console field descriptions:
● Mount to cluster: This field is used to specify the cluster where you want to mount the copy. Alternatively, it can be
Original cluster to mount back to the production cluster.
● Mount to servers: You can select a subset of nodes from the selected cluster, or alternatively, all nodes in the cluster that
have been added to AppSync.
NOTE:
○ AppSync will only mount to cluster nodes which have been registered; unregistered nodes will not be used.
○ To mount to an Oracle Flex ASM cluster, ensure that all nodes are accessible and the cluster services are online. The
recovery operation will fail if any node in the cluster is offline.
● Mount to path: For ASM RAC, ignore this setting
● Database name: This field represents the format of the mounted database name. To specify the original database name use
the token %DB% . For example: to use the original name prefixed by TEST, use TEST%DB%. The length of the database name
is eight characters.
● SID name: This field represents the format of the mounted instance name. To specify the original instance name use the
token %SID%. For example: to use the original name prefixed by TEST, use TEST%SID%. The length of the SID name is 16
characters and the length of the RAC SID is 15 characters.
NOTE: For RAC mounts, each node in the cluster receives a unique instance name, postfixed by a numeral.
● ASM Diskgroup: This field represents the format of the ASM diskgroup. To specify the original diskgroup name use the
token %DG%. For example: to use the original name prefixed by TEST, use TEST%DG%.
● Custom initialization parameters: This field is a multi-line field which allows you to specify settings which will override any
original database setting on the mounted database copy. This is useful for editing options such as memory settings.

Path mapping
The path mapping option mounts the copy to a host using a path mapping table set to user-defined locations. When you use a
path mapping table, you have more control over where data is located.
You must specify the path where you want to mount a specific file system. You must provide a path map where the source file
system and the target mount point is specified.
The following is a sample path mapping table for Windows.
The first two target paths, G:\ and H:\ drives must already be available on the mount host. That is, the root drive for the
mount path must pre-exist before attempting a mount.

Source file system Target mount path


D:\Test1 G:\Test1
E:\ H:\Test2
F:\Test3 I:\
L:\ N:\

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NOTE:
● If a target path is not provided for a source path, then it is mounted to a path same as the source path on the mount
host.
● Ensure that you type in the absolute mount path on the target host. If the path is invalid, mount fails.
● Mount copy overrides is unavailable, if you select the mount path as Mapped path.
● For Windows, if one of the entered path is invalid, VSS import fails. Therefore, the entire mount fails. Partial failed
scenarios are not supported for Windows mount.
● For Windows and NFS file systems on Unix, nested target mount points are not supported.
● Path Mapping is not applicable to metadata paths for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server.

Specify path mapping settings


You can specify the path where you want to mount a specific copy.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / VMware Datacenters / File Systems / Microsoft
Exchange.
4. Navigate to the folder that contains the copies.
5. Select the copy you want to mount, then click MOUNT COPY.
6. In the Mount Copy options, under the Specify Mount Settings section:
a. Select the mount host.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select Mapped Path.
The Path Mapping Settings link appears.
7. Click on the link to open the Path Mapping Settings window.
8. From the Select Source Host list, select a host.
All the file systems on the selected host are displayed in the source path column.
9. Specify the target path.
10. Click Save to save your settings.
If you want to set the target path for a file system on another source host, repeat steps 8 to 10.
11. Click Reset, to clear all the entered target paths for the selected source host.
12. Click OK to exit the Path Mapping window.
NOTE: If you change the path mapping settings, the earlier saved path mapping settings is not valid and the new path
mapping settings takes precedence. Therefore, ensure that you save the path mapping settings for all the hosts before
changing it.

Retry recovery of a mounted and recovered Oracle copy


You can retry recovery on a mounted and recovered copy without having to unmount and remount the copy.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


Use this feature to:
● Retry a failed recovery
● Retry recovery with new recovery options such as database rename

Protect Oracle 191


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Navigate to the folder that contains the copies.
5. Select a copy, and click on Retry Recovery.
The Retry Recovery of Mounted Oracle Copy wizard appears.
6. Select a copy, and click NEXT.
7. Under Recovery Settings, review the default settings and make the required changes.
8. Click NEXT.
9. Review the summary details, and click FINISH.

Unmount an Oracle copy


You can unmount an Oracle copy using the copy management page or the service plan page.

Unmount an Oracle copy from the Copies page


You can unmount an Oracle copy from the Copy Management page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Click the name of the database you prefer in the Name column.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click UNMOUNT COPY.
6. Click OK.

Unmount an Oracle copy from the Service Plan page


You can unmount an Oracle copy from the service plan page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Click the name of the service plan you prefer in the Service Plan column.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click Unmount Copy.
6. Click OK.

192 Protect Oracle


Restore an Oracle copy
You can perform a restore of an Oracle copy using the Appsync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.
NOTE:
● If a copy is mounted or recovered with database rename, it is not recommended to use this copy for restore.
● Ensure that no virtual machine snapshots are present before protecting a datastore. If virtual machine snapshots are
present, protection succeeds, but AppSync fails to perform a file or virtual machine restore.
● Oracle restore fails, if the volume group where Oracle database resides has LVMs being used for other purposes, and is
not protected by AppSync .

Steps
1. On the Appsync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired database that contains the copy.
5. Select the copy that you want to restore and click More > Restore.
You may receive the following warning message: You are attempting to perform a restore on a cluster.
Please follow the instructions in the AppSync documentation for specific cluster restore
procedures.
6. In the Select a Copy page, select the copy you want to restore and click NEXT.
7. In the Warn affected application(s) page, select I have read and understand the warning above and want to
continue with restore.
If multiple applications share the same LUN or file systems (as the application for which the copy is created), those
applications will be listed as affected entities.
NOTE: You can perform this step only if you have multiple applications that share the same LUN or file systems.

8. Click NEXT.
9. Click the Restore drop-down list and select one of the following options to restore:
a. For Non-Container Database, select Data by exclude redo logs, Archive logs, or Both Data and Archive logs by
exclude redo logs.
b. For Container Database (CDB), select CDB and PDB by exclude redo logs, Archive logs, CDB, PDB and Archive
logs by exclude redo logs, or PDB.
NOTE: The exclude redo option is selected, by default. If you want to include redo disk during restore, you must disable
exclude redo log option. Also, Data and redo logs should be on different disks to use the exclude redo logs option. If both
are on the same disk, then this exclude redo log option is not visible. To use the exclude redo log option, control file
should be on the redo log location.

If the database being restored affects any other database or file system, you might receive an affected entity warning
message.
10. In the Configure Storage Options page, configure the following:
● Wait for mirror rebuild to complete - This option is applicable for metro node | VPLEX Snap copies whose production
data resides on local or distributed RAID-1 volumes.
● Disable VMWare SRM - Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint
consistency group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
● Perform device restore in background - Allows you to optimize restore of VMAX3/PowerMax devices. If you select
this option, AppSync restore operation does not wait for track synchronization to complete. The production application is
available instantly.
NOTE: In the case of SnapVX/XtremIOSnap/PowerStoreSnap mounted copies, when you perform restore, AppSync
restores the data from the snapshots created on the array to the source devices, or from linked devices(VMAX3/
PowerMax) or read-write snapshots (XtremIO X2), or read-write clones (PowerStore Block).

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○ Restore from snapshot: Restores copies from original snapshots.
○ Restore from changed data: Restores from the linked devices(VMAX3/PowerMax) or read-write snapshots
(XtremIO X2), or read-write clones (PowerStore Block).
○ Restore from PowerStore NFS: Restore is only allowed from PowerStore File Snapshot copy type and is not
allowed from PowerStore File Thin Clone.
11. Click NEXT.
12. In the Review page, review the restore options and click FINISH.

Results
Appsync only displays restore warnings for databases discoverable by AppSync that are common to that host. No warnings
display for any databases which either are not common to the host or not discoverable.
NOTE: You must manually restart the Oracle database after restore. To start the database, run the following commands:

Export ORACLE_SID=<SID>
Sqlplus /nolog
Connect / as sysdba
Startup

Restore a standalone local copy

Steps
1. On the Appsync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired database that contains the copy.
5. Select the copy that you want to restore and click More > Restore.
The Oracle Restore wizard launches.
6. In the Warn affected application(s) page, select I have read and understood the warning above and want to
continue with restore.
If multiple applications share the same LUN or file systems (as the application for which the copy is created), those
applications will be listed as affected entities.
NOTE: You can perform this step only if you have multiple applications that share the same LUN or file systems.

7. Click NEXT.
8. Click the Restore drop-down list and select one of the following options to restore:
a. For Non-Container Database, select Data, Archive logs, or Both Data and Archive logs.
b. For Container Database (CDB), select CDB and PDB, Archive logs, CDB, PDB and Archive logs, or PDB.
If the database being restored affects any other database or file system, you might receive an affected entity warning
message.
9. In the Configure Storage Options page, configure the following:
● Wait for mirror rebuild to complete - This option is applicable for VPLEX Snap copies whose production data resides
on local or distributed RAID-1 volumes.
● Disable VMWare SRM - Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint
consistency group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
● Perform device restore in background - Allows you to optimize restore of VMAX3/PowerMax devices. If you select
this option, AppSync restore operation does not wait for track synchronization to complete. The production application is
available instantly.
10. Click NEXT.
11. In the Review page, review the restore options and click FINISH.

Results
After the restore (not applicable for Pluggable Database):

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1. Remount the diskgroups on the remote nodes as grid user:grid> asmcmd mount <DG>.
2. On any node, perform recovery of the restored database using redo or archive with resetlogs:
Oracle > startup mount
Oracle > recover database

3. Open the database on the recovery node:


Oracle > alter database open

After Granular restore of Pluggable Database, do the following.


When PDB is dropped, perform the below steps (for 12.2.0.1 and above):

BEGIN

DBMS_PDB.RECOVER (

pdb_descr_file => '/tmp/new_pdb1.xml',

pdb_name => 'clone_pdb1',

filenames => '/vmax_cdb_pdb/VMAXCDB/853D854C721B44C3E053DABAF70A318D_bkp/cold'

);

END;

Once above commands are executed, perform the below steps to recover the PDBs:
1. SQL> CREATE PLUGGABLE DATABASE PDB01 USING '/tmp/file.xml' NOCOPY TEMPFILE REUSE;
2. RMAN> Recover pluggable database PDB01;
3. SQL>alter pluggable database PDB01 open;**
When PDB is not dropped, perform the below steps:
1. RMAN> Recover pluggable database PDB01;
2. SQL>alter pluggable database PDB01 open;

Affected entities during restore


When restoring from a copy, you may be prompted to restore items in addition to the ones you selected.
An affected entity is data that resides on your production host that unintentionally becomes part of a replica because of its
proximity to the data you intend to protect. You can prevent affected entity situations by properly planning your data layout
based on replica granularity. The granularity of a replica depends upon the environment.
For Oracle, an affected entity can only be another Oracle Database data file(s) or archive logs. You can choose to restore using
one of the options. This determines the level to which affected entities are determined.
Below are the options for Non-CDB database:
● Data only
● Archive Logs only
● Data and Archive Logs
For CDB database, options are :
● CDB and PDB
● Archive Logs
● CDB, PDB, and Archive Logs
● PDB
Affected entities only display according to the restore option. If you select, Data (CDB and PDB), Appsync looks for affected
entities regarding the Oracle database data file system and storage. AppSync does not use Oracle database(s) archive log
storage for checking for affected entities.

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If you select, Archive logs, the reverse is true. Only the Oracle database archive logs file system and storage are used for
checking affected entities and not the Oracle databases data file system.
If you select both Data (CDB and PDB) and Archive logs, then file system and storage from both the Oracle databases
datafile and archive logs are used for checking for affected entities.
If you select PDB, then file system and storage for selected PDB are used for checking affected entities. AppSync does not use
Oracle CDB, Archive Log, and PDBs storage (that are not selected for restore) for checking affected entities.
If there are affected entities in your underlying storage configuration, the Restore Wizard notifies you of these items. The
following scenarios produce affected entities that require you to acknowledge that additional items will be restored:
● For RecoverPoint, if the databases are in the same consistency group they become affected entities when the other
database is protected.
● For Unity, PowerStore, VMAX3/PowerMax, PowerFlex, and XtremIO if the databases are on the same LUN they become
affected entities when the other database is protected.
● For Unity, if the databases are in the same consistency group they become affected entities when the other database is
protected.
● For vDISK/datastore - If datafile of two data bases: DB1 and DB2 reside on datastore [DS1] and or similarly archive logs of
same two databases resides on datastore [DS2], then both become affected entities.
● For PowerStore, while restoring from remote copy, if the databases are in the same volume group and the replication session
is created for volume group, they become affected entities when another database in the group is protected.
● For PowerFlex, restoring from remote copies is not supported.
If the affected entity was protected along with the Oracle database that is selected for restore, AppSync restores it. Any other
Oracle database that was not protected but is an affected entity is overwritten.
AppSync determines affected entities (databases or file systems) for the consistency groups, volume groups, or LUNs of the
Oracle database that is selected for restore. If the affected databases partially reside on other consistency groups, LUN groups,
or LUNs, AppSync does not calculate affected entities on those consistency groups, LUN groups, or LUNs.
Affected entities are calculated based on restore granularity. If both data and log are selected for restore, then affected entities
are calculated for all the consistency groups, volume groups, LUN groups, LUNs, or datastores on which the database resides. If
only data or only log restore is selected, then the affected entities are only calculated for the selected component's consistency
group, volume group, LUN group, LUN, or datastore.
If the database's data and log components reside on the same consistency group or LUN, the option to restore only logs or
restore only data is not available. You have the option only to restore data and logs. The only exception to this scenario is when
you choose to do a differential copy restore.
Oracle Pluggable Database
● Affected entities are reported at the CDB level only if the PDBs of two CDBs overlap.
● AppSync does not support configurations where the PDB of one CDB, shares the same file system with the archivelogs/FRA
of a different CDB.
PDB Granular Restore
Affected Entities page displays the details as below:
● PDBs that are not in the restore list and that are on same FS or DG.
● Same or different CDB on PDB FS that has to be restored on FS or DG.
● If PDB is renamed, that PDB is shown as affected entity. You must acknowledge that PDB is renamed and proceed with
restore.

Vdisk restore with affected entities


Review this information for a Vdisk restore with affected entities.
● During restore, if there are affected databases on virtual disks that are not protected by AppSync, shutdown the these
databases including all unmounted filesystems. Additionally, remove Vdisks from VM before proceeding with LUN level
restore.
● If affected databases reside on any volume or disk groups, then deport or dismount VGs and DGs before restore and then
manually import and mount them post-restore. (Since Appsync does not control these entities, a post storage LUN restore
can fail when attempting import/mount of affected VGs and DGs on the production host.)
● Affected entity databases on Vdisks with VG or ASM are not supported.

196 Protect Oracle


Restoring a RAC copy for affected entities
Follow these steps to create your restore.

Prerequisites
On remote nodes follow these steps:
1. Shutdown all impacted databases as oracle user: oracle> srvctl stop instance -d <RACDB> -i
<DbInstanceOnRemoteNodes>
2. Shutdown other affected databases: oracle> srvctl stop database -d <RACDB2>

3. Dismount all impacted ASM disk groups as grid user: grid> asmcmd umount <DG>
4. Disable all impacted ASM disk groups as grid user: grid>srvctl disable diskgroup -diskgroup <dg_name>
[-node "<node_list>"]
NOTE: This step is applicable for release 12cR2 or later versions of Oracle Database.

On the restore node, perform the restore. Follow these steps:

Steps
1. On the Appsync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired database that contains the copy.
5. Select the copy that you want to restore and click More > Restore.
The Oracle Restore wizard launches.
Verify the Warning:
You are attempting to perform a restore on a cluster. Please follow the instructions in
the AppSync documentation for specific cluster restore procedures.
6. Under the Restore drop-down list, select one of the following options along with a specific RAC node to perform the restore:
a. For Non-Container Database, select Data, Archive logs, or Both Data and Archive logs.
b. For Container Database (CDB), select CDB and PDB, Archive logs, CDB, PDB and Archive logs, or PDB.
7. In the Warn affected application(s) page, select I have read and understand the warning above and want to
continue with restore.
If multiple applications share the same LUN or file systems (as the application for which the copy is created), those
applications will be listed as affected entities.
NOTE: You can perform this step only if you have multiple applications that share the same LUN or file systems.

8. Click NEXT.
9. In the Configure Storage Options page, configure the following:
● Wait for mirror rebuild to complete - This option is applicable for VPLEX Snap copies whose production data resides
on local or distributed RAID-1 volumes.
● Disable VMWare SRM - Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint
consistency group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
● Perform device restore in background - Allows you to optimize restore of VMAX3/PowerMax devices. If you select
this option, AppSync restore operation does not wait for track synchronization to complete. The production application is
available instantly.
10. Click NEXT.
11. In the Review page, review the restore options and click FINISH.

Results
After the restore (not applicable for Pluggable Database) :
1. Remount the disk groups on the remote nodes as grid user: grid> asmcmd mount <DG>.
2. Enable the asm disk groups on the remote node as grid user: grid>srvctl enable diskgroup -diskgroup
<dg_name> [-node "<node_list>"]
NOTE: This step is applicable for release 12cR2 or later versions of Oracle Database.

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3. On any node, perform recovery of the restored database using redo or archive with resetlogs:
Oracle > startup mount
Oracle > recover database

4. Open the database on the recovery node:


Oracle > alter database open

5. Bring up the instances on the additional nodes:


srvctl start instance -d <RACDB> -i <DbInstanceOnRemoteNodes>

6. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to recover affected database <RACDB2>


7. Bring up affected database <RACDB2>
After Granular restore of Pluggable Database, execute the below command:

BEGIN

DBMS_PDB.RECOVER (

pdb_descr_file => '/tmp/new_pdb1.xml',

pdb_name => 'clone_pdb1',

filenames => '/vmax_cdb_pdb/VMAXCDB/853D854C721B44C3E053DABAF70A318D_bkp/cold'

);

END;

Once above commands are executed, perform the below steps to recover the PDBs:
1. SQL> CREATE PLUGGABLE DATABASE PDB01 USING '/tmp/file.xml' NOCOPY TEMPFILE REUSE;
2. RMAN> Recover pluggable database PDB01;
3. SQL>alter pluggable database PDB01 open;**
When PDB is not dropped, perform the below steps:
1. RMAN> Recover pluggable database PDB01;
2. SQL>alter pluggable database PDB01 open;

Oracle database archive log backup


Every Oracle database has archive log. Write the archive log backups to the Dell storage systems that are supported by
AppSync, so that you can create copies of the archive log backup volume.
You can use archive log backups during mount of a production database or while creating a copy of a production database.
Restrictions:
● To take archive log backup, the database must be in archive log mode.
● Recovery and restore is not supported for the archive log backups.

Configure Oracle database archive log backup


Learn how to enable archive log backups for an Oracle service plan, by selecting the Enable archive log backup checkbox on the
Create Copy options page of the AppSync console.

About this task


To configure Oracle archive log backup, edit the respective service plan and select the Enable archive log backup option in
the Create the Copy step. Then, the Archive Log Backup Options dialog box is enabled, where you can customize when and
how to run archive log backups.

198 Protect Oracle


Steps
1. Use the Schedule field to set archive log backup runs. You can run the Archive log backup once, immediately after a
database backup is run, or you can select to schedule archive log backups. You can set log backup schedules to run every 15
or 30 minutes or every 1 to 24 hours, and the default value is 4 hours. If you set a service plan to run on demand, you disable
the archive log backup schedule. Once you schedule archive log backups to run at a specified interval, the service plan has
two schedules associated with it, one for database backups and the other for archive log backups. The log backup is seen as
the alternate schedule. Log backups run between database backups using the alternate schedule.
2. You can set the Minimum Retention days option, to control when archive log backup copies are deleted. AppSync deletes
the archive log backup information that is contained in the AppSync database. The default setting is 7 days, which means
that AppSync will not expire any log backup before it is a minimum of 7 days old.

Create Oracle database archive log back up from the copies page
Perform the following procedure to run log backups for an Oracle database.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, by default Copies option is selected.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the databases page.
4. Select the required database, and click ARCHIVE LOG BACKUPS tab.
5. Click CREATE ARCHIVE LOG BACKUP USING PLAN and select the service plan for which you want to run archive log
backup and click OK. Ensure that Enable Archive Log Backup option is selected and configured for the service plan you
choose.

Table 35. Copy Information


Column Description

Last Service Plan completion Status Green: successful


Yellow: Completed with errors
Red: failed

Log Backup Name Date and time when the copy was created.
Servers Name of the server associated with the copy.
Service Plan Name of the service plan that is associated with the copy.
Mount Status Indicates if the copy is mounted, or Not Mounted
Copy Type It displays the type of copy that was created. The copy can
be one of the following types:
● RecoverPoint Continuous Data Protection Bookmark
● RecoverPoint Continuous Remote Replication Bookmark
● Unity Snap
● VNX File Snap
● XtremIO snapshot
● VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVXClone, SnapVXSnap
● VPLEXSnap, VPLEXClone
● DELLSC Snap
● PowerStore Snapshot
● PowerStore Thin Clone
● PowerFlex Snapshot
Site Site where the copy is located.

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Run a service plan for Oracle database archive log back up from the service
plan page
Perform the following procedure to run Oracle database archive log service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle to display the service plan page.
4. Select the service plan for which you want to run log backup and click MORE > Run Archive Log Backups.

View archive log backups for a service plan


The list of Oracle database archive log backups can be viewed from the Service Plan ARCHIVE LOG BACKUP tab or from the
Database ARCHIVE LOG BACKUPS tab.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


The list of copies can be filtered by time of creation, and by service plan. In the Service Plan Copies tab, you can also filter by
database name.
To view archive log backups for a service plan, follow these steps:

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle.
4. Click the name of a service plan, and select theARCHIVE LOG BACKUPS tab.

Results
You can now view the log backup list for the service plan.

Archive log backup expiration


AppSync expires archive log backups when the service plan runs to create a new archive log backup. During expiration, AppSync
deletes the archive log backup copy and removes information about the backup from the AppSync database. You can use
AppSync to create a Copy database and log backup.
Log backups are eligible for expiration when the log backup is older than the service plan Minimum Retention days setting.

Manual expiration of log backups


You can also expire log backups manually.
To expire log backups for several databases:
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle.
4. Click the name of a service plan.
5. Click the ARCHIVE LOG BACKUPS tab.
6. Select the log backups that you would like to expire and then click EXPIRE.

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7. Click OK on the confirmation dialog. AppSync will delete the archive log backup copy and remove information about the
backup from the AppSync database.
To expire log backups for a single database:
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Oracle
4. Navigate to the Databases page.
5. Click on a database in the list and select the ARCHIVE LOG BACKUPS tab.
6. Select the archive log backups that you would like to expire and then click EXPIRE.
7. Click OK on the confirmation dialog.

Mount wizard for Oracle archive log backup copies


From the AppSync console, you can perform mount of a copy for Oracle archive log backups using the Oracle Mount wizard .

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Click the name of the database you prefer in the Name column.
5. Go to log backups and select the copy you want to mount, then click MOUNT COPY.
6. Mount copy of Oracle archive log wizard will open. Click NEXT.
7. In the Select Mount Options page, under General Settings, do the following:
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount with access list, select the type of access the copy must be mounted with: Read-only or Read-write.
c. From the Mount Location list, select a mount path location either To original path, Mount to alternate path, or
Mapped Path. The mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host. By default AppSync
displays the path of the mount host you selected. You can also edit and mount the copy to a user-defined location.
d. In case the selected copy is a RecoverPoint bookmark, from the Image access mode list, select one of the following
options:
● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated
volumes. Logged access is the only option available when you mount to the production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in the
background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches to direct
replica volume access, allowing heavy processing. With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: Provides nearly instant access to the image. Virtual access is not intended for heavy processing.
Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
e. For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, from the Desired SLO list, select the desired Service Level Objective (SLO) for the
mount copy.
NOTE: The SLO values are dynamically fetched from the VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, and only the unique values are
displayed.

f. Enable PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/
PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group.
In turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view. Note that the mapped storage group is considered only
if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.
g. For XtremIO 6.2 and later, click the Quality of Service policy option to select the desired Quality of Service policy while
mounting a copy.
h. For PowerMax File storage, from the NAS Preferred Interface option, choose the NAS IP Interface for the NAS
servers.
i. For VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVxSnap, select the Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount option to unlink the
SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the

Protect Oracle 201


changes on mounted copy is stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the
next mount of unmounted copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not
be available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second generation repurposing
SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
j. Run Filesystem Check: During a mount operation, the AppSync agent checks file system data consistency by executing
the fsck command. This operation can be time consuming. You can clear this option to skip file system check during a
mount operation. By default, file system check is enabled.
NOTE: In the case of a restore operation, the Run Filesystem Check option is enabled by default. You cannot
disable it.

k. VMware Settings: Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can select this
option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option is disabled, and
copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
l. Clear the Use Dedicated Storage Group option, if you do not want AppSync to enforce the use of a dedicated storage
group for a mount. By default, this option is enabled.
m. From the Metro node | VPLEX Mount option, select one of the following:
● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as metro node | VPLEX
virtual volumes.
● Enable VMware cluster mount: Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount. By default,
this option is enabled.
● Mark storage devices as perennially reserved: Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
n. For PowerStore file storage, NAS Preferred Interface option allows you to select a preferred IPv4 interface from a list
of Interfaces, for a given NAS Server on a given storage array. The preferred interface is used by AppSync during the
mount operation.
8. Click Next to review the mount options.
9. Click Finish.

Unmount an Oracle archive log backup copy from the copies page
You can unmount an Oracle archive log backup copy from the Copy Management page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle.
4. Click the name of the database you prefer in the Name column.
5. Click ARCHIVE LOG BACKUPS.
6. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click UNMOUNT COPY.
7. Click OK.

202 Protect Oracle


8
Protect File Systems
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Overview of File System support
• Subscribe a File System to a service plan
• Unsubscribe File Systems from a service plan
• Create a File System copy
• Create File System repurpose copies
• Create second generation copies
• Overriding service plan schedules
• Callout scripts support
• Mount a copy using the File System Mount wizard
• Unmount a file system copy
• Restore a file system copy

Overview of File System support


Use AppSync to create and manage application-consistent copies of file systems.
File system features include:
● Dynamic discovery of file systems during service plan run.
● Protection of file systems with service plan or with copy now option. You can select one or more file systems to protect at
one time or click SELECT ALL to protect all the file systems on the list of file systems page.
● List copies that you can filter by time of creation, copy status, and service plan.
● Mount on a standalone server.
NOTE:
● AppSync does not support file systems on Linux operating system devices which are not full block devices (such
as /dev/sdc) or primary first partition (such as /dev/sdc1).
● AppSync does not support volume groups containing both partition and non-partition devices. All devices in any volume
group must be part of the same category.
● AppSync does not support file systems that are created using the mkfs command on AIX, if log is on separate device. If
file systems are created using mkfs command on AIX with log specified as INLINE , then it is supported.
● If the source application VM has any VM snapshot during copy creation, then such copies are not useful for later mount
or restore.

Hyper-V support
In Hyper-V environments, AppSync requires the storage for File systems to be on iSCSI direct attached devices, Virtual Fiber
Channel (NPIV), or SCSI pass-through devices. SCSI Command Descriptor Block (CDB) filtering must be turned off in the
parent partition for SCSI pass-through. It is turned on by default.
For Hyper-V SCSI pass-through, the mount host cannot be a Hyper-V host. It has to be a physical host or a virtual machine
added with Virtual Fiber Channel adapter or iSCSI direct attached.

Protect File Systems 203


Resilient File System (ReFS) and New Technologies File System (NTFS)
support
AppSync can discover, protect, mount, and restore ReFS and NTFS file systems, and AppSync supported standalone and
clustered applications residing on ReFS and NTFS file systems.
Repurposing is supported for ReFS and NTFS file systems for SQL server databases on ReFS and NTFS. Storage spaces are not
supported.
See File System Service Plan Details for information on service plan.

Discover File Systems


Perform this procedure to update the file systems known to AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select FILE SYSTEMS.
4. Click Discover HOSTFILESYSTEMS.
5. Select the desired server and click OK.

Protect NFS file systems on VNXFile, Unity, PowerMax, and


PowerStore storage
Learn how AppSync supports protection of NFS file systems on VNXFile, Unity, PowerMax, and PowerStore storage.
AppSync supports protecting NFS file systems on Linux (RHEL, SUSE, and OEL) and AIX. You can use these copies for
operational recovery.
NOTE: You can protect Linux file systems on vDisks from VMware VMFS or NFS datastores on VNXFile, PowerStore,
PowerMax, and Unity storage.
If service plans configured for VNX file remote protection, the NFS copy is created as a SnapSure Snapshot on the local and/or
remote file system. Copies of NFS data stores can be created from service plans configured for local, remote, and local and
remote protection. AppSync can also create copies for file system on an Oracle database for Bronze, Silver, and Gold service
plans.
During restore from a VNXFile copy, AppSync creates a rollback snapshot for every file system that has been restored. The
name of each rollback snapshot can be found in the restore details. You can manually delete the rollback snapshot after verifying
the contents of the restore. Retaining these snapshots beyond their useful life can fill the VNXFile snap cache and cause
resource issues.
Unity file snap only supports local (Bronze) copies. AppSync can create copies for file system on an Oracle database for Bronze
service plan.
Review the following pre-requisites for Silver and Gold copies:
● Register remote VNXFile arrays with AppSync.
● Create Remote Replication sessions with corresponding remote arrays for each NFS file system where you want creation of
Silver and Gold copies. Ensure that the array status is OK.
PowerStore file supports only local (Bronze and Repurpose) copies. AppSync can create both file snapshots and thin clones for
UNIX NFS File systems.
PowerMax file supports only local protection (Bronze and Repurpose) copies. AppSync can create both file snapshots and
clones for UNIX NFS file systems from PowerMax file storage.

204 Protect File Systems


NOTE: For PowerStore file pNFS, and nested file systems are not supported.

File System Hosts list


The list contains File System hosts that have been discovered and stored in the AppSync database.
Clicking the name of a host will display the Host File Systems within it.
Each entry shows the host name, virtual machine, virtual server, cluster, version, plug-in version, and last discovery details.

File system page


The File system page lists all the available file systems that are discovered for the selected server instance.
Click on a file system name to display copies of the file system.
File system information includes:
● Status of service plan run, for example checkmark in a green circle = successful
● Name
● Type, for example, NTFS
● Format, for example MBR
● Service plan, for example Bronze
Some file systems can be subscribed to multiple service plans.
● Storage size in GB
● Send alerts to (if requested)
You can select one or more file systems to protect at one time. Click SELECT ALL to protect all the file systems on this page
(except a file system C:\ which contains host system information).

File system Copies Page


In this page you can view the list of file system copies.
The list of copies can be filtered by time of creation, the status of the copies that are created and service plan.
Select a copy to display events for that copy in the Details panel located on the bottom of the Copies page.
From the Copies page, you can select to mount, restore, expire, refresh or repurpose copies.

File System copies list


The list contains File System copies that have been discovered and stored in the AppSync database.
You can also see details of a copy from the Copies tab of the Service Plan.
In the File system Copies page all the copies which are protected as part of a service plan are listed. From the Copies page, you
can select to mount, restore, expire, refresh, or repurpose copies.
Each entry shows the protection status, name, subscribed service plans, mount status, copy type, generation, automatic
expiration, label, file system consistence, source, storage system, and site details.

Column Description
Status Green: successful
Yellow: Completed with errors
Red: failed

Copy Name Date and time when the copy was created
Immutable Copy Specifies if the copy is immutable or not. Manual enabling,
disabling, or expiry of immutable copy is not allowed. Hence

Protect File Systems 205


Column Description
they are grayed out. Immutable copy is automatically expired
after the Time to live is reached.
Service Plan Name of the service plan that is associated with the copy. For
repurposed copies, a Repurpose link displays in this column.
Click this link to edit the Service Plan for 1st or 2nd generation
copies.
NOTE: In the service plan for repurposed copies, the
options to schedule and mount overrides will be disabled.

Label Common name that is used to help identify repurposing copies


Mount Status Hostname to which the copy is mounted, or Not Mounted
Mount Type If copy is mounted as part of service plan run, value for Mount
Type is ServicePlan. If copy is mounted as OnDemand, value
for Mount Type is OnDemand.
Copy Type Replication technology that is used to create the copy: CLR
Bookmark, CDP Bookmark, CRR Bookmark, VPSnap, TFClone,
XtremIO Snapshot and VPLEXSnap. The copy can be one of
the following types:
● RecoverPoint Continuous Data Protection Bookmark
● RecoverPoint Continuous Remote Replication Bookmark
● Unity Snap
● XtremIO snapshot
● VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVXClone, SnapVXSnap
● PowerMax File Snapshot
● PowerMax File Thin Clone
● VPLEXSnap, VPLEXClone
● DELLSC Snap
● PowerStore Snapshot
● PowerStore Thin Clone
● PowerStore File Snapshot
● PowerStore File Thin Clone
● PowerFlex Snapshot
Generation The generation number of the repurposed copy
Source The original source database for the copy, or source copy for
the copy
Site Site where the copy is located.
Storage System Storage system where the copy resides.
Automatic Expiration Determines whether automatic expiration is enabled or
disabled for the selected copy.
Time to Live If Retention policy is set to Always Keep _____ Copies, value
for Time to Live will be disabled. If Retention policy is set
to Keep Copy for _____ Days, value for Time to Live will
be based on value set to Keep Copy for _____ Days. For
example, 2 days 14 hrs 8 minutes.
File system consistence The type of consistence configured for the copy.
The following additional details are displayed in the Service Plan Copies tab:

206 Protect File Systems


PowerHA (HACMP) cluster integration
AppSync can protect file systems residing in a PowerHA cluster environment.
AppSync protects applications on the node where the resource group is available at the time of a service plan run. AppSync
relies on the service label IP (virtual IP) of the resource group to create copies or restore across failovers. All the nodes to
which clustered file systems can fail over must be registered with AppSync before registering the resource group's service label
IP.
Consider the following when protecting an application that fails over as part of a PowerHA cluster:
● The nodes of the PowerHA cluster must be registered with AppSync before registering the service label IP.
● The service label IP/name must be configured in the resource group for the clustered application.
● If a failover occurs while running a replication or restore process, the operation fails. Node failover must occur before
running the service plan, or at the start of a restore.
● Each resource group must have a unique service label IP and that must be registered with AppSync for failover awareness.
● File systems that belong to a particular resource group can be discovered and protected only if the corresponding service
label IP is registered with AppSync.
● Callout scripts must be present on both the nodes of a PowerHA cluster.
● Clustered file systems must be discovered and subscribed by using the service label IP/name and not through the physical
nodes.

Mount considerations
● Mount to the original path is not supported on any of the nodes of the production PowerHA cluster.
● The AppSync host plug-in must be installed on the mount host.
● Mount is only supported in a standalone mode. Cluster mount is not supported.
● Appsync supports the Quality of Service feature for XtremIO release 6.2 and later.

Restore in a PowerHA environment


Perform a restore. After a restore, the volume group is not concurrent. You must manually make them concurrent before
performing a host or file system rediscovery.
NOTE: Restore of mounted copies is not supported for applications (File System and Oracle databases), managed by AIX
HACMP or PowerHA cluster.

Post restore procedure in a PowerHA environment


Learn how to perform manual steps with a restore in a PowerHA environment after a restore.

About this task


After restore, a file system mounts to the production host in non-concurrent mode. Remove the file system from the resource
group, make it a concurrent volume group, and then add it back to the resource group.
Perform these steps on an active node:

Steps
1. Unmount the file system.
2. Type the Varyoffvg command.
3. Type the Varyonvg command with -c option (to make it concurrent).
Verification:
The lspv command must show vg as concurrent on both nodes as follows:

node 2
hdiskpower8 00c2bfb0f1ee76ca oradata concurrent
hdiskpower9 00c2bfb0f1f434e3 oralogs concurrent

node 1

Protect File Systems 207


hdiskpower18 00c2bfb0f1ee76ca oradata concurrent
hdiskpower19 00c2bfb0f1f434e3 oralogs concurrent

4. Add the file system back to the resource group.


5. Verify and synchronize the configuration.

Windows failover clustered file systems


AppSync can protect file systems residing in a Windows failover cluster environment.
AppSync protects applications on the node where the resource group is available at the time of a service plan run. AppSync
relies on the network name resource (virtual IP) of the resource group to create copies or restore across failovers. All the nodes
to which clustered file systems can fail over must be registered with AppSync before registering the resource group's network
name resource (virtual IP).
Consider the following when protecting an application that fails over as part of a Windows failover cluster:
● The nodes of the Windows failover cluster must be registered with AppSync before registering the network name resource
(virtual IP).
● If a failover occurs while running a replication or restore process, the operation fails. Node failover must occur before
running the service plan, or at the start of a restore.
● Each role in Windows failover cluster must have a unique network name resource (virtual IP) and that must be registered
with AppSync for failover awareness.
● File systems that belong to a particular role in Windows failover cluster can be discovered and protected only if the
corresponding network name resource (virtual IP) is registered with AppSync.
● Callout scripts, if applicable must be present on all the nodes of a Windows failover cluster.
● Clustered file systems must be discovered and subscribed by using the network name resource (virtual IP).
For mount, AppSync mounts the clustered disk by adding it in the Cluster Resource Group associated with the virtual Server IP,
but adds dependency on the disk based on the below scenarios:
● If there are no services associated with the virtual IP, then no dependency is added on to the disk.
● If there is a service associated with the virtual IP, but does not have any dependency on any clustered disk, then no
dependency for that service is added on to the disk.
● If there is a service associated with the virtual IP and has a dependency on at least one disk, then the newly added disk is
added as dependency to the service.
● If there are more than one service and both have dependency on the disks, then any one of them is chosen randomly and
made dependent onto the disk.
NOTE: In a Windows cluster environment, AppSync agent port must be the same across all the nodes participating in the
cluster. Otherwise, AppSync operations fail.

Subscribe a File System to a service plan


You can subscribe a database to a service plan and run the service plan immediately, or schedule the service plan to run at a
later time.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select File Systems, and click on a Windows or UNIX host.
4. Select the checkbox against the desired file system.
5. Select the checkbox for one or more File Systems, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
6. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
7. Select the appropriate option.

208 Protect File Systems


Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the file system for protection and run the plan immediately for any
selected file systems.
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the file system for protection. Protection for all file systems that are part
option to override) of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
8. Click Select and select the service plan that you want to subscribe to from the following options:
● Bronze
● Silver
● Gold
9. Click OK.
10. Click NEXT to review your selection.
11. Click FINISH.

Unsubscribe File Systems from a service plan


When you unsubscribe an individual database from a service plan, AppSync retains all existing database copies; only further
protection will be removed.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select FILE SYSTEMS.
4. Click on a Windows or UNIX host.
5. Select the checkbox against the desired file system.
6. In the Name Column, click the desired file system. Select the file system you want to unsubscribe, and click More >
UNSUBSCRIBE.
7. In the Unsubscribe dialog, select the service plan and click OK.
NOTE: You can also unsubscribe applications from a service plans, from the Service Plan page.

Create a File System copy


Create a copy of a file system by subscribing it to an AppSync service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select FILE SYSTEMS.
4. Click on a Windows or UNIX host.
5. Select the checkbox against the desired file system.
6. Select one or more File Systems, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
7. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
8. Select the appropriate option.

Protect File Systems 209


Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the file system for protection and run the plan immediately for any
selected file systems.
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the file system for protection. Protection for all file systems that are part
option to override) of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
9. Click Select and select the service plan that you want to subscribe to from the following options:
● Bronze
● Silver
● Gold
10. Click OK.
11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Click FINISH.

Create File System repurpose copies


You can create first generation or second generation repurpose copies in Appsync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. Click Select Application > File Systems .
4. Click on a Windows or UNIX host.
5. In the Host Name Column, click the desired file system and click Create Copy With Plan.
6. In the Subscribe to Existing Service Plan page, select Data Repurposing > Next.
7. Define the following properties for the copy:
a. The Service Plan Name field is defined by default.
b. The Description field provides a brief description of the copy.
c. The Copy Label field provides an autogenerated label for the copy.
d. The Copy Location list allows you to select a copy location either to Local or Remote.
e. The Mount Copy list allows you to select mount options for the copy. You can configure this option to either No, Yes,
Yes - Keep it mounted (where the previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post
mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
f. Configure the Use bookmark to copy option. It is applicable only if RecoverPoint is registered in AppSync.
g. The 2nd Generation Copies list allows you to select either Yes or No.
h. The Advanced plan settings option allows you to Enable CallOut Scripts. If you enable this option, you must set the
value of the Callout timeout field in minutes.
8. Click Next.
9. In the Create the Copy page, to specify the storage and copy options to create the copy, do the following:
a. Configure the Unix Filesystem Consistency option to select either Filesystem Consistent or Crash Consistent.
b. Configure the Retry Count and Retry Interval settings under Advanced Plan Settings - VSS Retry Options.
c. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. This applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
d. In the Array Selection section, click Select an Array to choose the preferred array from the list.
NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/Metro.

e. In the Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) section, select the preferred storage groups.
f. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can
drag and drop the arrays to change array preference.
g. Configure the Copy Type settings to either Snapshot or Clone.

210 Protect File Systems


10. Click Next.
11. In the Scripts page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to execute and configure the following fields:
a. File
b. Script Parameters
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
12. Click Next.
13. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a copy based on the specified recurrence type. On the first schedule, a repurposed copy is created,
and on subsequent schedules, it refreshes the copy.
● Run Only Once At later time - Creates a copy only once on the specified date and time.
14. Click Next.
15. In the Define the 2nd-gen Copy page, define the following properties for the 2nd-gen copies:
a. For the 2nd-gen Copies Label field, enter the label of the copy.
b. For the Mount 2nd-gen Copies field, enter the label of the copy. You can configure this option to either No, Yes -
Keep it mounted (where the previous copy will be unmounted), or Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount
scripts run, unmount the copy.
c. Configure the 2nd-gen Copies Type to either Snapshot or Clone.
16. In the Scripts for 2nd-gen Copy page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to execute and configure the
following fields:
a. File
b. Script Parameters
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
17. Review the repurpose copy creation settings and click FINISH.

Create second generation copies


Perform this procedure to create a second-generation copy from a first-generation existing copy.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select File Systems.
4. In the Name Column, click the host name.
5. Click the file system that contains a first-generation copy.
6. Select a first-generation copy, and then click CREATE 2ND GEN COPY.
The Create 2nd-gen Copy widget opens.
7. In the Define the 2nd-gen Copy page, configure the following:
a. 2nd-gen copies label - Specify a label for the copy.
b. Mount 2nd-gen copies - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the postmount scripts run, unmount the copy
c. 2nd-gen copies type - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● Snap
● Clone
8. Click NEXT to review your selection.

Protect File Systems 211


9. In the Scripts for 2nd-gen Copy page, select the pre-copy scripts and post-copy scripts you want to run.
NOTE: This step also displays the post-mount scripts if you selected the mount option.

10. Click NEXT to review your selection.


11. In the Schedule page, select one of the following options:
● Run now
● Run Recurrently As Per Schedule
● Run Only Once At Later Time
12. Click NEXT to review your selection.
13. Review the configurations for the second-generation copy and click FINISH.

Overriding service plan schedules


You can set individual schedules for filesystems subscribed to a service plan by overriding the generic recurrence setting.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


You can only override the settings of the recurrence type previously selected for the service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select File Systems.
4. Click on a Windows or UNIX host.
5. In the Host Name Column, click the desired host.
6. Select the checkbox for one or more File Systems, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
7. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
8. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override).
9. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
10. Click NEXT.
The Override Schedule page appears.
11. Select one or more databases and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
12. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and then click OK.
For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified days of the month, and the rule setting is to Run at 12:00 AM on
the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the day for individual file systems.
13. Click NEXT to review your selection.
14. Click FINISH.

Callout scripts support


The Create copy phase creates a copy that is based on the replication technology that is specified in the service plan. You can
configure and run freeze and thaw callout scripts in this phase

Configuring and running freeze and thaw callout scripts


AppSync provides two scripting opportunities during the execution of Create copy phase, called the freeze and thaw callout
scripts. Unlike pre-copy and post-copy script phases which are run before and after the Create copy phase, freeze and thaw
scripts are unspecifiable by the GUI. The scripts are placed in a pre-defined location with a pre-defined name. You can use these

212 Protect File Systems


scripts to quiesce (suspend I/O) and thaw on any AppSync unsupported databases residing on the subscribed file systems for a
short period ( usually few seconds). During this time the copy is activated. The scripts are run with the user credentials used to
register host-plugin with AppSync.
During the Create copy phase, when AppSync executes these scripts, a temporary XML file is provided as the only argument to
these callout scripts. This XML file has the list of file systems being protected by the Create copy phase.
AppSync continues with normal copy creation if no callout script is found or if the callout script in not executable. If either of the
callout scripts fail (non-zero exit value), copy creation fails and the Create copy phase ends with an error. If the freeze callout
script runs successfully, and then copy creation fails due to any storage issue, the thaw callout script is run before ending the
create copy phase with an error.
For a Windows host-plugin, place the callout executable scripts in the %ProgramData%\ EMC\AppSync\scripts folder and
name it appsync_freeze_filesystem_<service plan name in lower case>.bat for the freeze callout. Name
the thaw callout script: appsync_thaw_filesystem_<service plan name in lower case>.bat
For example, AppSync runs this script as follows:
C:\ProgramData\EMC\AppSync\scripts\appsync_freeze_filesystem_bronze.bat, C:
\Windows\TEMP\d575f2e6-7dc4-4389-87c9-491effc57318.xml
Where C:\Windows\TEMP\d575f2e6-7dc4-4389-87c9-491effc57318.xml file content is in the following form:
<Application type='Filesystem'><sourceVolumePath>F:\</sourceVolumePath><sourceVolumePath>G:
\</sourceVolumePath></Application>
For a UNIX host-plugin, place the callout executable scripts in the /var/opt/emc/appsync/scripts folder
name as appsync_freeze_filesystem_<service plan name in lower case> for the freeze callout and
appsync_thaw_filesystem_<service plan name in lower case> for the thaw callout. Do not use a file name
extension such as .pl or .sh. The scripts should be executable.
Unix scripts must have #!/bin/sh, #!/usr/bin/python, or any other type as the first line based on the script type being
used.
AppSync runs this script as follows:
/var/opt/emc/appsync/scripts/appsync_freeze_filesystem_bronze /tmp/904f510f-47ce-402f-a27a-
b3a48840a279ybo61k.xml
Where /tmp/904f510f-47ce-402f-a27a-b3a48840a279ybo61k.xml file content is in the
following form: <Application type='Filesystem'><filesystems><filesystem><name>/FS1</name></
filesystem><filesystem><name>/FS2</name></filesystem></filesystems></Application>

Repurposing example
● Windows - Place the callout executable scripts in the %ProgramData%\EMC\AppSync\scripts folder and name the
scripts:
○ Freeze callout script - appsync_freeze_filesystem_<first generation copy label name in lower
case>.bat
○ Thaw callout script - appsync_thaw_filesystem_<first generation copy label name in lower
case>.bat
○ Unmount callout script - appsync_unmount_filesystem_<first generation copy label name in
lower case>.bat
● Unix - Place the callout executable scripts in the /var/opt/emc/appsync/scripts folder and name the scripts:
○ Freeze callout script - appsync_freeze_filesystem_<first generation copy label name in lower
case>
○ Thaw callout script - appsync_thaw_filesystem_<first generation copy label name in lower
case>
○ Unmount callout script - appsync_unmount_filesystem_<first generation copy label name in
lower case>
Do not use a file name extension such as .pl or .sh. The scripts should be executable.
Unix scripts must have #!/bin/sh, #!/usr/bin/python, or any other type as the first line based on the script type
being used.

Protect File Systems 213


Mount a copy using the File System Mount wizard
You can initiate an on-demand mount of a file system copy from a copy or a file system.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. Click Select Application > File Systems.
4. In the Host Name Column, click the desired Host File System.
5. Select the copy you want to mount and click MOUNT.
If multiple databases were protected together, you may see the additional copies to mount option. Select the copies you
prefer and click NEXT.

6. In the Select a Copy page, select a copy and click Next.


7. In the Select Mount Options page, under General Settings, do the following:
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount with access list, select the type of access the copy must be mounted with: Read-only or Read-write.
c. From the Mount Location list, select a mount path location either To original path, Mount to alternate path, or
Mapped Path. The mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host. By default AppSync
displays the path of the mount host you selected. You can also edit and mount the copy to a user-defined location.
d. In case the selected copy is a RecoverPoint bookmark, from the Image access mode list, select one of the following
options:
● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated
volumes. Logged access is the only option available when you mount to the production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in the
background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches to direct
replica volume access, allowing heavy processing. With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: Provides nearly instant access to the image. Virtual access is not intended for heavy processing.
Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
e. For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, from the Desired SLO list, select the desired Service Level Objective (SLO) for the
mount copy.
NOTE: The SLO values are dynamically fetched from the VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, and only the unique values are
displayed.

f. Enable PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/
PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group.
In turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view. Note that the mapped storage group is considered only
if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.
g. For XtremIO 6.2 and later, click the Quality of Service policy option to select the desired Quality of Service policy while
mounting a copy.
h. For PowerMax and PowerStore File storage, from the NAS Preferred Interface option, choose the NAS IP Interface for
the NAS servers.
i. For VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVxSnap, select the Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount option to unlink the
SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the
changes on mounted copy is stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the
next mount of unmounted copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not
be available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second generation repurposing
SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
j. Run Filesystem Check: During a mount operation, the AppSync agent checks file system data consistency by executing
the fsck command. This operation can be time consuming. You can clear this option to skip file system check during a
mount operation. By default, file system check is enabled.
NOTE: In the case of a restore operation, the Run Filesystem Check option is enabled by default. You cannot
disable it.

214 Protect File Systems


k. VMware Settings: Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can select this
option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option is disabled, and
copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
l. Clear the Use Dedicated Storage Group option, if you do not want AppSync to enforce the use of a dedicated storage
group for a mount. By default, this option is enabled.
m. From the Metro node | VPLEX Mount option, select one of the following:
● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as metro node | VPLEX
virtual volumes.
● Enable VMware cluster mount: Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount. By default,
this option is enabled.
● Mark storage devices as perennially reserved: Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
n. For PowerMax and PowerStore file storage, NAS Preferred Interface option allows you to select a preferred IPv4
interface from a list of Interfaces, for a given NAS Server on a given storage array. The preferred interface is used by
AppSync during the mount operation.
8. Click Next to review the mount options.
9. Click Finish.

Changing the mount point for an affected file system


Follow this procedure to manually change the mount point for an affected file system.

About this task


Assume VG1 is the source volume group.

Steps
1. Get the list of LVs using the lsvg -l VG1 command, and check which file systems show mount point on /tmp/
EMCAppsync ** directory.
2. Run chfs -m <Original MT Pt> /tmp/EMCAppsync6922/vg1_logs command where <Original Mt Pt> is
the mount point where the file system was originally mounted.
3. Run fsck on the source Logical Volume fsck -y /dev/fslv01.
4. Run mount command using the log logical volume and make sure that the source has been mounted successfully mount -v
jfs2 -o rw,log=/dev/loglv00 /dev/fslv01 <Orig Mt Pt>

Override mount settings in a service plan


If there are multiple file systems subscribed from different hosts to the same plan, you can select different mount settings for
each file system, overriding the generic mount settings.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task

NOTE: Mount overrides are not supported for multiple file systems on the same host.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > File Systems.
4. Click a service plan, and expand the right pane.
5. Click the OVERRIDES tab.
6. Select Mount Overrides.

Protect File Systems 215


7. Select an entry, and click OVERRIDE MOUNT.
8. Edit the required fields, and click APPLY CHANGES to save the settings.
9. To revert to default settings, select the file systems and click Use Default Settings.

Nested mount support for File systems


If a file system is mounted at a mount point /a and another file system (from the same volume group or a different volume
group) is mounted at a mount point below /a such as /a/b, then /a and /a/b are considered as nested file systems because
its mount point is a sub-directory of the parent file system.
You can mount and unmount nested file systems even if they are spread across volume groups.
It is recommended that you avoid creating circular nested file systems across volume groups such as the following because
mount, unmount, and restore operations fail even if protection succeeds.
● /a in volume group 1
● /a/b in volume group 2
● /a/b/c in volume group1
Instead, do one of the following:
● Create the file system layout in the following manner:
○ /a in volume group 1
○ /a/b in volume group 2
○ /a/b/c in volume group 3
● Create all nested file systems in one volume group
NOTE:
● Supported only on UNIX platforms.
● NFS file systems are not supported in nested layouts.
● All the file systems from a single volume group must be mounted and unmounted together. Otherwise, the second
mount of a file system fails, if another file system is already mounted from that volume group. Even in the case of
non-nested file systems in a volume group such as /a and /b, if /a is mounted, then the second mount of /b fails.

Mounting a UNIX file system after reboot


When an AppSync protected file system copy is mounted on to the mount host, AppSync automatically modifies the mount point
related entries in the/etc/fstab file for Linux hosts. The AppSync agent modified entries in the /etc/fstab file is followed
by a comment - # line added by AppSync Agent. The file system remains mounted even if the mount host reboots
after a file system mount operation.
The following is an example of the /etc/fstab entry on a Linux host:

/dev/aps_1datavg_51fd06a41290/datalv /appsync-mounts/oracle_mounts/d1 ext4


rw,nofail,_netdev 0 0 # line added by AppSync Agent

On an AIX host, when a file system copy is unmounted, the entries are removed from the /etc/filesystem file.
The following is an example of the /etc/filesystem entry on an AIX host:

/appsync-mounts/symm1:
dev = /dev/APMlv02
vfs = jfs
log = /dev/APMloglv27
mount = true
check = false
options = nodev,rw
account = false

NOTE: To automatically mount a file system after a production host reboot, ensure that the value of mount is set to TRUE
for the production file system. For file systems created using crfs or smitty, the automatic mount option is turned to
TRUE by default. You can check /etc/filesystems and verify if the mount flag is set to TRUE, which allows a reboot.

216 Protect File Systems


Enable or disable a File system copy
You can enable or disable expiry of a copy during rotation using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > File Systems.
4. In the Host Name Column, click the desired Host File System.
5. In the Name Column, click the folder that contains the copies.
6. Select the copy that you want to enable or disable and click More.
7. Click one of the following options depending on the action you want to perform:
● Enable Copy Expiry: To enable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
● Disable Copy Expiry: To disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
8. Click OK.

Expire a File system copy


You can expire a File System copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > File Systems.
4. In the Host Name Column, click the desired Host File System.
5. In the Name Column, click the folder that contains the copies.
6. Select the copy that you want to expire and click More > Expire .
7. Click OK.
NOTE: If the copy is an immutable copy, then the expiry is disabled as the secure snapshot on the array cannot be
deleted before the Time to Live. Once the Time to Live time is reached, the snapshot is automatically deleted from the
array and from AppSync. However, if copy is mounted and Time to Live is reached, then copy will be deleted only after
unmount.

Path mapping
The path mapping option mounts the copy to a host using a path mapping table set to user-defined locations. When you use a
path mapping table, you have more control over where data is located.
You must specify the path where you want to mount a specific file system. You must provide a path map where the source file
system and the target mount point is specified.
The following is a sample path mapping table for Windows.
The first two target paths, G:\ and H:\ drives must already be available on the mount host. That is, the root drive for the
mount path must pre-exist before attempting a mount.

Source file system Target mount path


D:\Test1 G:\Test1
E:\ H:\Test2
F:\Test3 I:\
L:\ N:\

Protect File Systems 217


NOTE:
● If a target path is not provided for a source path, then it is mounted to a path same as the source path on the mount
host.
● Ensure that you type in the absolute mount path on the target host. If the path is invalid, mount fails.
● Mount copy overrides is unavailable, if you select the mount path as Mapped path.
● For Windows, if one of the entered path is invalid, VSS import fails. Therefore, the entire mount fails. Partial failed
scenarios are not supported for Windows mount.
● For Windows and NFS file systems on Unix, nested target mount points are not supported.
● Path Mapping is not applicable to metadata paths for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server.

Specify path mapping settings


You can specify the path where you want to mount a specific copy.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / VMware Datacenters / File Systems / Microsoft
Exchange.
4. Navigate to the folder that contains the copies.
5. Select the copy you want to mount, then click MOUNT COPY.
6. In the Mount Copy options, under the Specify Mount Settings section:
a. Select the mount host.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select Mapped Path.
The Path Mapping Settings link appears.
7. Click on the link to open the Path Mapping Settings window.
8. From the Select Source Host list, select a host.
All the file systems on the selected host are displayed in the source path column.
9. Specify the target path.
10. Click Save to save your settings.
If you want to set the target path for a file system on another source host, repeat steps 8 to 10.
11. Click Reset, to clear all the entered target paths for the selected source host.
12. Click OK to exit the Path Mapping window.
NOTE: If you change the path mapping settings, the earlier saved path mapping settings is not valid and the new path
mapping settings takes precedence. Therefore, ensure that you save the path mapping settings for all the hosts before
changing it.

Unmount a file system copy


You can unmount a file system copy using the copy management page or the service plan page.

Unmount a File System copy from the Service Plan page


You can unmount a File System copy from the service plan page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

218 Protect File Systems


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > File Systems.
4. Click the name of the service plan you prefer in the Service Plan column.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click Unmount.
6. Click OK.

Unmount a File System copy from the Copies page


You can unmount a File System copy from the Copy Management page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > File Systems.
4. In the Host Name Column, click the desired Host File System.
5. In the Name Column, click the server folder that contains the copies.
6. Select the copy you want to unmount and click Unmount Copy.
7. Click OK.

Restore a file system copy


You can perform a restore of a copy using the Appsync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the Appsync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > File Systems.
4. In the Host Name Column, click the Host that contains the file system.
5. In the Host Filesystem(s) page, select the file system and click More > Restore.
6. In the Select a Copy page, select one of the following choices:
● Select a Copy
● Select from RecoverPoint Bookmarks
7. Click NEXT.
8. In the Warn affected application(s) page, select I have read and understood the warning above and want to
continue with restore.
If multiple applications share the same LUN or file systems (as the application for which the copy is created), those
applications will be listed as affected entities.
NOTE: You can perform this step only if you have multiple applications that share the same LUN or file systems.

9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Configure Storage Options page, configure the following:
● Wait for mirror rebuild to complete - This option is applicable for metro node | VPLEX Snap copies whose production
data resides on local or distributed RAID-1 volumes.

Protect File Systems 219


● Disable VMWare SRM - Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint
consistency group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
● Perform device restore in background - Allows you to optimize restore of VMAX3/PowerMax devices. If you select
this option, AppSync restore operation does not wait for track synchronization to complete. The production application is
available instantly.
NOTE: In the case of SnapVX/XtremIOSnap/PowerStoreSnap mounted copies, when you perform restore, AppSync
restores the data from the snapshots created on the array to the source devices, or from linked devices(VMAX3/
PowerMax) or read-write snapshots (XtremIO X2), or read-write clones (PowerStore block).
○ Restore from snapshot: Restores copies from original snapshots.
○ Restore from changed data: Restores from the linked devices(VMAX3/PowerMax) or read-write snapshots
(XtremIO X2), or read-write clones (PowerStore block).
For PowerFlex, restoring from remote copies is not supported.

11. Click NEXT.


12. In the Review page, review the restore options and click FINISH.
NOTE: AppSync does not allow selection of multiple file systems during restore. When a file system is part of a volume
group, the copy automatically includes all file systems that are part of the volume groups. AppSync restores all such file
systems, but unmounts the ones selected in the restore dialog. This results in the failure of the deport volume group.
See Troubleshooting AppSync section, for more details.

220 Protect File Systems


9
Protect VMware Datacenters
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Configuration prerequisites
• Discover VMware Datacenters
• Considerations when mounting a VMFS copy
• Restoring a VMware datastore from a copy
• Restoring a virtual machine from a copy
• File or folder restore with VMFS or NFS datastores

Configuration prerequisites
AppSync can create, mount, and restore copies in VMware vStorage VMFS and NFS data store configurations. Configuration
prerequisites are required to integrate AppSync with VMware vStorage VMFS protection. Configure RecoverPoint and VMware
according to the product documentation.

VMware configuration prerequisites


● VMware vCenter Server must be used in the environment.
● AppSync supports VMware’s use of VSS with VM snapshots when a supported version of vSphere is installed and the
VMware Tools facility is present on the virtual machine on the VMFS you are replicating. Refer to VMware documentation
for information on the VSS-related characteristics in an AppSync copy. Contact VMware regarding considerations that are
related to VSS in this configuration.
● When there is a configuration change in the vCenter Server, perform a discovery of data centers in the vCenter Server from
the AppSync console before you protect a data store. Ensure that the VMFS UUID is unique in the virtual center inventory
across all data centers.
● Administrator rights and user roles and permissions must always be configured at the Datacenter level and not at the cluster
level.
● AppSync does not support protection of a datastore, that is shared across DataCenters from different Virtual Centers.
● AppSync can protect NFS datastores only if the mount-point path and the export path match on the ESX and the array.
● AppSync supports datastores which are created using NVMe devices.

RecoverPoint configuration prerequisites


● Configure RecoverPoint protection (Local/Remote/Local and Remote) for the production LUNs before deploying AppSync.
Refer to RecoverPoint documentation to create consistency groups and define replication sets.
● In an ESX cluster, target LUNs should be made visible to all the ESX hosts in the cluster.
● The AppSync server must connect to the RPA through the network.

VMware vMotion support


● You can perform a vMotion of virtual machines with vDisks from VMFS to VMFS datastores, or from NFS to NFS datastores
● You cannot perform a vMotion of virtual machines with vDisks from VMFS to NFS datastores, or from NFS to VMFS
datastores

Protect VMware Datacenters 221


VMware vStorage VMFS requirements
Some considerations apply when AppSync is introduced into a VMware environment for protecting VMware data stores.
All VMware specific operations occur through the VMware vCenter Server.
AppSync can be configured to require vCenter Server login credentials to allow protection of a certain VMFS for security
purposes. Unless you instruct AppSync to omit this feature, AppSync takes a VMware Snapshot for each virtual machine that is
online and residing on the VMFS before protection. This action ensures operating system consistency for the resulting replica.
The following user roles for a Virtual Center ESX cluster are allowed with AppSync:
● Administrator
● VM power user
● VM user
● Resource pool Administrator
● VMware consolidated backup user
● Data store consumer
● Network Administrator
The following privileges must be assigned to the VC role that you plan to use in AppSync:
Datastore
Folder > Create Folder
Host > CIM
Host > Configuration > Storage partition configuration
Resource > Assign virtual machine to resource pool
Resource > Migrate powered off virtual machine
Resource > Migrate powered on virtual machine
Sessions > Validate session
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Add existing disk
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Add new disk
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Add or remove device
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Advanced
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Modify device settings
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Raw device
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Reload from path
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Remove device
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Rename
Virtual Machine > Configuration > Settings
Virtual Machine > Guest Operations > Guest Operation Program Execution
Virtual Machine > Interaction > Guest operating system management by VIX API
Virtual Machine > Interaction > Power Off
Virtual Machine > Interaction > Power On
Virtual Machine > Inventory
Virtual Machine > Provisioning > Allow disk access
Virtual Machine > Provisioning > Allow read-only disk access
Virtual Machine > Provisioning > Clone virtual machine
Virtual Machine > Snapshot management
AppSync supports VMware’s use of VSS with VM snapshots when a supported version of vSphere is installed and VMware
Tools are present on the virtual machine on the VMFS you are protecting. Refer to VMware documentation for use of the
VSS-related characteristics in the AppSync copy and contact VMware regarding considerations that are related to VSS in this
configuration.

222 Protect VMware Datacenters


If virtual machines in the data store have RDMs or iSCSI LUNs visible to them, the resulting copy does not contain those LUNs.
If the virtual machine has virtual disks other than the boot drive located in other data stores, it is possible to capture these disks
by configuring the service plan to include virtual machine disks.

Discover VMware Datacenters


Perform this procedure to discover VMware Datacenters.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select VMware Datacenters.
4. Click DISCOVER DATACENTERS.
5. Select the desired server and click OK.

List of datacenters
The top level of the VMware Datacenters page shows all datacenters registered with AppSync.

Column Description
Protection status of ● Green: Latest copies of all datastores on the datacenter protected successfully
datacenter ● Yellow: One or more of the latest datastore copies on the datacenter completed with errors
● Red: One or more of the latest datastore copies on the datacenter failed to complete
● "i" symbol: One or more datastores on the datacenter are either not subscribed to service plans or do
not have copies associated with them
Name Name of the datacenter on the vCenter server.
vCenter Server Name of the vCenter server that hosts the datacenter.
Last Discovery Time when a discovery was last performed on the vCenter server.
Alert Recipients List of email aliases to receive email alerts.

Clicking on a datacenter name shows the datastores.

Configure a VMware vCenter Server


Add a VMware vCenter Server to AppSync when you want to protect VMWare datastores or when a virtual machine is used as
a mount host.

Prerequisites
● This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync.
● Ensure that you know the credentials of an account with Administrator privileges on the vCenter Server.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Settings > Infrastructure Resources > VCENTER SERVERS.
2. Click ADD SERVER.
3. Enter the following details in the Add vCenter Server page:

Protect VMware Datacenters 223


NOTE: Type the credentials for an account that has Administrator privileges on the vCenter Server.

a. Name: Enter name or IP address of the vCenter server.


b. Username: Enter the username of the user.
c. Password: Enter the password of the user.
NOTE: The Run Discover Now option is selected by default.

NOTE: AppSync allows you to mount a file system or a database (that is, the underlying storage LUN on which they
reside) from a physical Windows or Linux environment to a VMware virtual environment as an RDM device. Ensure that
you add the vCenter managing that virtual machine to AppSync before performing a mount.

4. Click OK.

List of VMware datastores


The list contains VMware datastores that have been discovered and stored in the AppSync database.
Clicking on the datastore name displays the copies of the datastore.
The Service Plan column shows the plans that the datastore is subscribed to. Other details include the type of datastore (VMFS
or NFS), and name of the ESX server.

Protect a VMware datastore


Protect a VMware datastore by subscribing it to an AppSync VMware service plan.
AppSync's protection mechanism for datastores is by means of service plans. You subscribe a datastore to a service plan and
run the service plan immediately, or schedule the service plan to run at a later time.
● Choose Subscribe to Plan and Run while performing the CREATE COPY WITH PLAN procedure from the datastores
page, when you want to protect selected datastores immediately. The service plan is executed for the datastores alone.
● Choose Subscribe to Plan while performing the CREATE COPY WITH PLAN procedure from the datastores page, when
you want to schedule the protection for later. Protection for datastores that are part of the service plan are executed at the
scheduled time.
● Choose an appropriate service plan from Create a copy using in the datastore Copies page.
● Choose Run from the VMware Datacenters Service Plan page to run the whole plan immediately.

Subscribe a VMware Datastore to a service plan


You can subscribe a datastore to a service plan and run the service plan immediately, or schedule the service plan to run at a
later time.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select VMware Datacenters.
4. Select one or more datastores, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select the appropriate option.

Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the datastore for protection and run the plan immediately for any
selected datastores.

224 Protect VMware Datacenters


Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the datastore for protection. Protection for all datastores that are part
option to override) of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
7. Click Select and select the service plan that you want to subscribe to from the following options:
● Bronze
● Silver
● Gold
8. Click OK.
9. Click NEXT to review your selection.
10. Click FINISH.

Overriding service plan schedules


You can set individual schedules for datacenters subscribed to a service plan by overriding the generic recurrence setting.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.
The Datastore for which you want to schedule override should be subscribed to service plan.

About this task


You can only override the settings of the recurrence type previously selected for the service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select VMware Datacenters.
4. Select one or more entries from the list, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override).
7. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
8. Click NEXT.
The Override Schedule page appears.
9. Select one or more databases and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
10. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and then click OK.
For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified days of the month, and the rule setting is to Run at 12:00 AM on
the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the day for individual datastores.
11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Click FINISH.

Protecting VMware datastores immediately


The Subscribe to Plan and Run operation adds datastores to an existing service plan and runs the service plan immediately for
the selected datastores only.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select VMware Datacenters.

Protect VMware Datacenters 225


4. Click a datacenter to display its datastores.
5. Select one or more datastores, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
6. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
7. Select Subscribe to Service Plan and Run.
The Subscribe to Plan and Run dialog appears displaying the progress

List of protected virtual machines


The list contains virtual machines belonging to datastores that are protected as part of a service plan run.
Click on the virtual machine name to display copies of the virtual machine. To perform a restore operation, select a virtual
machine and click RESTORE VM / RESTORE FILE.
Other details include the OS platform on the virtual machine, the version of the virtual machine, the ESX host on which the
virtual machine resides, as well as the path to the virtual machine file. In the path, the name of the datastore that the virtual
machine resides on is within the [ ] parentheses.

Unsubscribe VMware Datastore from a service plan


When you unsubscribe an individual datastore from a service plan, AppSync retains all existing datastore copies; only further
protection will be removed.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select VMware Datacenters.
4. In the Name Column, click the datastore you want to unsubscribe.
5. Click More > UNSUBSCRIBE.
6. In the Unsubscribe page, click OK.
NOTE: You can also unsubscribe applications from a service plans, from the Service Plan page.

VMware snapshots
When the VM consistency option is selected, AppSync creates snapshots of all the virtual machines that are in powered on
state while the datastore is being replicated.
AppSync creates a Quiesced snapshot of the virtual machines that are in powered on state. VMware Tools is used to quiesce
the file system in the virtual machine. Quiescing a file system is a process of bringing the on-disk data of a physical or virtual
computer into a state suitable for backups. This process might include operations such as flushing dirty buffers from the
operating system's in-memory cache to disk, or other higher-level application-specific tasks. If the VM consistency option is not
set, AppSync skips the process of creating the virtual machine snapshots.
NOTE: Due to VMWare limitations, virtual machine snapshot fails for a virtual machine with shared disk using multi-writer
flag. If you try to protect a datastore with such a virtual machine with VM consistency option set, service plan succeeds but
virtual machine snapshot does not occur.

VMware copies list


View the list of data store copies by browsing to Copies > VMware Datacenter and selecting a data center, and then a data
store.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

226 Protect VMware Datacenters


About this task
You can also see details of a copy from the Copies tab of the Service Plan.
The list of copies can be filtered by Copy (time of creation) and by service plan. In the Service Plan Copies tab, you can filter by
the vCenter Server, data center, data store, and time.

Column Description
Copy name Datastore copy created is displayed along with timestamp.
VM Consistent Shows whether the copy is VM Consistent. If No, it is Crash Consistent.
Immutable Copy Specifies if the copy is immutable or not. Manual enabling, disabling, or expiry of immutable
copy is not allowed. Hence they are grayed out. Immutable copy is automatically expired
after the Time to live is reached.
Service Plan Name of the service plan that is associated with the copy
Mount Status Shows whether the copy is mounted or not. If mounted, displays the name of the mount
host.
Mount Type If copy is mounted as part of service plan run, value for Mount Type is ServicePlan. If copy
is mounted as OnDemand, value for Mount Type is OnDemand.
Copy Type Copy types:
● RecoverPoint Continuous Data Protection Bookmark
● RecoverPoint Continuous Remote Replication Bookmark
● VNXFileSnap
● VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVXClone, SnapVXSnap
● PowerMax File Snapshot
● PowerMax File Thin Clone
● UnitySnap
● UnityThinClone
● XtremeIOSnap
● VPLEXSnap
● DellSC Snap
● PowerStore Snapshot
● PowerStore Thin Clone
● PowerFlex Snapshot
Automatic Expiration Determines whether automatic expiration is enabled or disabled for the selected copy.
Site RecoverPoint and VNXFile site information
Storage System Displays Remote VNXFile Array Serial ID for copies from all VMware service plans.
Time to Live If Retention policy is set to Always Keep _____ Copies, value for Time to Live will be
disabled. If Retention policy is set to Keep Copy for _____ Days, value for Time to Live
will be based on value set to Keep Copy for _____ Days. For example, 2 days 14 hrs 8
minutes.

When a copy is selected, you can:


● Click Mount or Restore to launch the respective wizard.
● View the virtual machines that are part of the selected data store copy from the Details > Virtual Machines tab.

Column Description
Name Name of the virtual machine.
Platform The OS platform on the virtual machine.
VM Version The version of the virtual machine
State Shows the state of the virtual machine. (Powered on or Powered off)
Host IP address of the machine hosting this virtual machine

Protect VMware Datacenters 227


Column Description
VM File Path Path to the virtual machine file. In the path, the name of the data store that the virtual
machine resides on is within the [ ] parentheses.
● View the virtual disks that are part of the selected data store copy from the Details > VM disks tab.

Column Description
Name Name of the virtual disk.
Type Shows the type of virtual disk.
Virtual Machine Name of the virtual machine that the disk resides on.
Mount Status Shows whether the copy is mounted or not. If mounted, displays the name of the mount host.
Size (GB) Size of the virtual disk.
Mode Mode of the disk - persistent or non-persistent.
Storage Type of storage on the virtual disk.
Path The path to the virtual disk file.
Controller Name of the controller being used by the disk.
● View the events that are associated with each copy of the virtual machine from the Details > Events tab.

VMware virtual machines copies list


View the list of virtual machine copies by navigating to Copies > VMware Datacenter and selecting a datacenter, then Virtual
Machines tab, then a virtual machine.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


The list of copies can be filtered by Copies (time of creation) and by service plan.

Column Description
Name Name of the virtual machine.
Platform The OS platform on the virtual machine.
VM Version The version of the virtual machine
State Shows the state of the virtual machine. (Powered on or Powered off)
Host IP address of the machine hosting this virtual machine
VM File Path Path to the virtual machine file. In the path, the name of the data store that the virtual
machine resides on is within the [ ] parentheses.
Immutable Copy Specifies if the copy is immutable or not. Manual enabling, disabling, or expiry of immutable
copy is not allowed. Hence they are grayed out. Immutable copy is automatically expired
after the Time to live is reached.
Time to Live If Retention policy is set to Always Keep _____ Copies, value for Time to Live will be
disabled. If Retention policy is set to Keep Copy for _____ Days, value for Time to Live
will be based on value set to Keep Copy for _____ Days. For example, 2 days 14 hrs 8
minutes.

When a copy is selected, you can:


● Click RESTORE VM / RESTORE FILE to launch the VM Restore wizard.
● View the events associated with each copy of the virtual machine from the Details > Events tab.

228 Protect VMware Datacenters


Create a VMware Datastore copy
Create a copy of a datastore by subscribing it to an AppSync service plan from the Datastores page.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select VMware Datacenters to display the VMWare datacenters.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired datacenter.
5. Select one or more datastores, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
6. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
7. Select the appropriate option.

Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the database for protection and run the plan immediately for any
selected database(s).
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the database for protection. Protection for all databases that are part
option to override) of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
8. Click Select and select the service plan that you want to subscribe to from the following options:
● Bronze
● Silver
● Gold
9. Click OK.
10. Click NEXT to review your selection.
11. Click FINISH.

Enable or disable a VMware copy


You can enable or disable expiry of a copy during rotation using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > VMware Datacenters.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired datacenter.
5. Click the preferred datastore to go to the copies page
6. Select the copy that you want to enable or disable and click More.
7. Click one of the following options depending on the action you want to perform:
● Enable Copy Expiry: To enable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
● Disable Copy Expiry: To disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
8. Click OK.

Expire a VMware copy


You can expire a VMware copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.

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2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > VMware Datacenters.
4. In the Host Name Column, click the desired datacenter.
5. Click the preferred datastore to go to the copies page
6. Select the copy that you want to expire and click More > Expire .
7. Click OK.
NOTE: If the copy is an immutable copy, then the expiry is disabled as the secure snapshot on the array cannot be
deleted before the Time to Live. Once the Time to Live time is reached, the snapshot is automatically deleted from the
array and from AppSync. However, if copy is mounted and Time to Live is reached, then copy will be deleted only after
unmount.

Service plan schedule


The service plan scheduling options determine whether the plan is run manually, or is configured to run on a schedule. Options
for scheduling when a service plan starts are:
● Specify a recovery point objective (RPO)
○ Set an RPO of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours.
○ Minutes after the hour are set in 5 minute intervals.
○ Default RPO is 24 hours.
● Run every day at certain times
○ Select different times during the day.
○ Minutes after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals.
○ There is no default selected.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the week
○ One or more days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected.
○ There is no default day of the week selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the month
○ Select one or more days of the month (up to all days).
○ Select one time of day. Available times are at 15 minute intervals.
○ Default is the first day of the month.
○ Select Last to select the last day of the month.

Overriding service plan schedules


You can set individual schedules for datacenters subscribed to a service plan by overriding the generic recurrence setting.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.
The Datastore for which you want to schedule override should be subscribed to service plan.

About this task


You can only override the settings of the recurrence type previously selected for the service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. From the SELECT APPLICATION drop-down, select VMware Datacenters.
4. Select one or more entries from the list, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override).
7. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
8. Click NEXT.
The Override Schedule page appears.

230 Protect VMware Datacenters


9. Select one or more databases and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
10. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and then click OK.
For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified days of the month, and the rule setting is to Run at 12:00 AM on
the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the day for individual datastores.
11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Click FINISH.

Create copy
The create copy options specify the criteria to create a copy based on the preferred storage type specified by the user.
You can specify the type of datastore copy to make, and the storage settings for the copies. This option creates a local copy,
remote copy, or a local and remote copy based on whether you have chosen the bronze, silver, or gold service plan.
Review Overview: Service Plan for more service plan copy information.

Datastore copy options


Select the copy type, the virtual machines to ignore for snaps, storage preferences, and the number of snapshot copies to
retain.
● Copy Consistency
VM Consistent creates a copy of the datastores in the service plan including running programs, processes, and even
windows that were open at the time of the snapshot. Maximum Simultaneous VM Snapshots is the number of
simultaneous snapshots of all VMs present. The default value is four snapshots.
Crash Consistent creates a copy of the datastores in the service plan. Crash consistent copies have everything
except data from the memory at the time of taking the snapshot.
Configure VM Snapshots for VMs link allows you to select virtual machines from the datastores added to the
service plan. By default, the Exclude VMs for Snapshot option is enabled. This means that the selected VMs are
ignored while taking VMware snapshots during the service plan run. If you select the Include VMs for Snapshot,
only the selected VMs are considered for VMware snapshot creation during the service plan run.
Include Virtual Machine Disk includes all the datastores that are associated with the virtual machines running
on the datastores being protected. For example, Datastore DS1 is subscribed to the service plan. Virtual Machine VM1
which is a part of DS1 has virtual disks in Datastores DS2 and DS3. When the service plan runs, datastores DS2 and DS3
are protected along with DS1. However, datastores DS2 and DS3 are not subscribed to the service plan.
● Storage Ordered Preference- the preferred order of storage technology to use while creating copies. You can order,
select, or clear storage preferences. Copies are created using the first technology preference when possible. If the first
technology cannot be used, the remaining copies are processed using the next selected preference instead. For example,
if the first preference was a bookmark but not all the application data in the service plan was mapped to RecoverPoint,
then AppSync uses Unity snapshot instead. If you want AppSync to skip using a particular replication technology, clear that
preference from the storage ordered preference list.
NOTE: A single service plan can contain a combination of Unity block, Unity file, and RecoverPoint replication objects.
For example, if you have a Bronze service plan for VMware, the datastores can be a combination of RecoverPoint, Unity
file, and Unity block replication.
● Expiration - the maximum wanted number of array snapshot copies that can exist simultaneously.

Automatic expiration of array snapshot copies


The automatic expiration value specifies the maximum number of snapshot copies that can exist simultaneously or expires copies
that exceed defined days for copies.
When the "Always keep x copies" value is reached, older copies are expired to free storage for the next copy in the rotation.
Failed copies are not counted. AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until its replacement has been successfully created.
For instance, if the number of copies to keep is 3, AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until the fourth copy is created
successfully.
When the "Keep copies for x Days" value exceeds for created copies, AppSync will expire those copies in the next maintenance
step.
AppSync does not expire copies under the following circumstances:
● Mounted copies are not expired.
● A copy that contains the only replica of a datastore is not expired.

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Include RecoverPoint copies in expiration rotation policy: Check this option to include RecoverPoint copies when
calculating rotations.
NOTE: If this option is not selected, then RecoverPoint copies accumulate, and will remain until the bookmarks expire from
the RecoverPoint appliance.

Unmount previous copy


The service plan unmounts a previously mounted copy after creating the new copy. The exception is a copy that was mounted
on-demand as opposed to by the service plan.
The on-demand mounted copy is not unmounted.

Mount copy
Mount copy mounts all the datastore copies created by that service plan run.
The Mount Copy Defaults settings for the copy to mount depends on the service plan. Other mount settings determine the
mount host, access mode, and mount signature.
General Settings:
● Mount on host: lists all the ESX servers that are discovered on the registered vCenter servers.
● Mount Copy with access: Select the type of access the copy should be mounted with - Read-only or Read-Write.
NOTE: Applicable to XtreamIO and UNITY files only.
● Mount Signature: lists Use original signature and Use new signature to select from. When Use new signature is
selected, AppSync resignatures the VMFS volume on mount. Applicable only for VMware VMFS datastores.
● Cluster Mount: Select Yes or No .
● Quality of Service Policy: Select the wanted Quality of Service option. This option is applicable only for XtremIO.
● Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount: Enable this option to unlink the SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to
discard the changes on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the changes on mounted copy are stored on the target
device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the next mount of unmounted copy would link with a new set
of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not be available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for
regular SnapVX snap and second-generation repurposing SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
● Enable PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/
PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In
turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.
● NAS Preferred Interface: For PowerMax and PowerStore File storage, from the NAS Preferred Interface option, choose
the NAS IP Interface for the NAS servers.
RecoverPoint Settings:
● Image access mode (during RecoverPoint mount):
● Logged Access:
Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated volumes.
● Virtual Access with Roll:
Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in the background. When the replicated
volumes are at the requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches to direct replica volume access, allowing heavy
processing.
● Virtual Access:
Provides nearly instant access to the image; it is not intended for heavy processing.
● Desired Service Level Objective (SLO): Specifies the required VMAX3/PowerMax Service Level Objectives. SLO defines the
service time operating range of a storage group.
VNX File Settings: This option is available only for VMware VNXFile datastores.

232 Protect VMware Datacenters


Overriding mount settings in a service plan
If there are multiple VMware datastores subscribed to the same plan, you can select different mount settings for each
datastore, overriding the generic mount settings.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > VMware Datacenters .
4. Click a service plan, and expand the right pane.
5. Click the OVERRIDES tab.
6. Select Mount Overrides.
The list of datacenters includes all vCenter datacenters whose datastores are subscribed to this plan. The mount settings
display the default settings. Additionally, for VMAX3/PowerMax Datastores, SLO Service Level Objective appears as another
option.
7. Select an entry, and click OVERRIDE MOUNT.
8. Edit the required fields, and click APPLY CHANGES to save the settings.
9. To revert back to default settings, select the datastore(s) and click SET TO DEFAULT.

Unmount copy
The unmount copy step in the service plan unmounts the copy.
This option is disabled if the Unmount previous copy option is enabled.

Considerations when mounting a VMFS copy


When you mount a VMFS copy to an alternate ESX Server, AppSync performs all tasks necessary to make the VMFS visible to
the ESX Server.
● After these tasks complete, further administration tasks such as restarting the virtual machines and the applications must be
completed by scripts or manual intervention.

Mount a copy using the VMware Mount wizard


You can initiate an on-demand mount of a datastore copy from the datastore copies page.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > VMware Datacenters.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired data center.
5. Click any datastore to go to the copies page.
6. Select the copy that you want to mount, and click MOUNT.
If multiple datastores were protected together, you may see the additional copies to mount option. Select the copies that
you prefer and click NEXT.

7. In the Select Mount Options page, under General Settings, do the following:

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a. From the Mount on Host list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount Copy with access list, select access type (read-only or read/write).
NOTE: Applicable to UNITY, PowerStore, and PowerMax files.

c. From the Mount Signature list, select the signature type.


d. In case the selected copy is a RecoverPoint bookmark, from the Image access mode list, select one of the following
options:
● Logged access: Use this mount option if the integrity check entails the scanning of large areas of the replicated
volumes. Logged access is the only option available when you mount to the production host.
● Virtual access with roll: Provides nearly instant access to the copy, but also updates the replicated volume in the
background. When the replicated volumes are at the requested point in time, the RPA transparently switches to direct
replica volume access, allowing heavy processing. With RP XtremIO, virtual access with roll is not supported.
● Virtual access: Provides nearly instant access to the image. Virtual access is not intended for heavy processing.
Virtual access with RP XtremIO is not supported.
e. For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, from the Desired SLO list, select the desired Service Level Objective (SLO) for the
mount copy.
NOTE: The SLO values are dynamically fetched from the VMAX3/PowerMax arrays, and only the unique values are
displayed.

f. For XtremIO 6.2 and later, click the Quality of Service policy option to select the desired Quality of Service policy while
mounting a copy.
g. For VMAX3/PowerMax SnapVxSnap, select the Unlink the SnapVX snapshots in unmount option to unlink the
SnapVX snap during unmount. This helps to discard the changes on a mounted copy. Once the copy is mounted, the
changes on mounted copy are stored on the target device. Enabling this would unlink from the target device, and the
next mount of unmounted copy would link with a new set of target devices. Previously mounted copy changes will not
be available in the mounted copy. This option is applicable for regular SnapVX snap and second-generation repurposing
SnapVX snap, for on-job and on-demand service plans.
h. For PowerMax and PowerStore file storage, NAS Preferred Interface option allows you to select a preferred IPv4
interface from a list of interfaces, for a given NAS Server on a particular storage array. The preferred interface is used by
AppSync during the mount operation.
i. Clear the Use Dedicated Storage Group option, if you do not want AppSync to enforce the use of a dedicated storage
group for a mount. By default, this option is enabled.
j. From the Metro node | VPLEX Mount Option, select one of the following:
● Native array volume: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as native array volumes.
● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume: Use this option if you want to mount the copy as metro node | VPLEX virtual
volumes.
k. Enable PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/
PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group.
In turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view.
NOTE: The mapped storage group is considered only if the Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.

l. From the VMware settings, select one of the following:


● Enable VMware cluster mount: Clear this option if you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount. By default,
this option is enabled.
● Disable VMware SRM: This option is only applicable for RP 4.1 and above.
8. Click NEXT to review the mount options.
9. Click FINISH.

234 Protect VMware Datacenters


Unmount a VMware copy
You can unmount a VMware copy using the copy management page or the service plan page.

Unmount a VMware copy from the Copies page


You can unmount a copy from the Copy Management page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


You can unmount a copy only from a list of copies made for a datastore.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > VMware datacenters.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired datacenter.
5. Click on any datastore to go to the copies page.
6. Select the copy you want to unmount and click Unmount Copy.
7. Click OK.

Unmount a VMware copy from the Service Plan page


You can unmount a VMware copy from the service plan page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > VMware Datacenters.
4. Click the name of the service plan you prefer in the Service Plan column.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click Unmount.
6. Click OK.

Restoring a VMware datastore from a copy


You can perform a restore of a VMware Datastore copy using the Appsync console.

Prerequisites
● This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.
● Prior to restoring a datastore, it is recommended that you power off the VMs in the datastore.

Steps
1. On the Appsync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > VMware Datacenters.

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4. In the Name Column, click the datastore.
5. Select the datastore, and click More > Restore.
6. In the Select a Copy page, select the copy you want to restore and click NEXT.
7. In the Warn affected application(s) page, select I have read and understand the warning above and want to
continue with restore.
If multiple applications share the same LUN or file systems (as the application for which the copy is created), those
applications will be listed as affected entities.
NOTE: You can perform this step only if you have multiple applications that share the same LUN or file systems.

8. Click NEXT.
9. In the Virtual Machine Operations page, configure the following:
AppSync can perform operations on the virtual machines associated with the datastore selected for restore.
● Virtual machines present at the start of restore. This is applicable for the virtual machines that are part of protected
datastore.
○ Power down virtual machines on protected datastore before restore - AppSync power off virtual machines that are
part of protected datastore before restore operation.
○ Perform virtual machine operation after restore - Return virtual machines back to state found at the start of restore,
or register all virtual machines, or register and power up all virtual machines. AppSync performs the operation based
on selection after restore operation.
● Virtual machines not present at thestart of restore. This is applicable for the virtual machines, which are being stored as
part of restore operation.
○ Perform virtual machine operation after restore - Register all virtual machines or register and power up all virtual
machines. AppSync performs the operation based on selection after restore operation.
NOTE: Appsync does not restore the dependent datastores. If the virtual disks are on different datastores, they have to
be restored separately.

10. In the Configure Storage Options page, configure the following:


● Wait for mirror rebuild to complete - This option is applicable for metro node | VPLEX Snap copies whose production
data resides on local or distributed RAID-1 volumes.
● Disable VMWare SRM - Allows you to manage consistency groups, if the SRM flag is enabled on the RecoverPoint
consistency group. This is only applicable for RecoverPoint 4.1 and later.
● Perform device restore in background - Allows you to optimize restore of VMAX3/PowerMax devices. If you select
this option, AppSync restore operation does not wait for track synchronization to complete. The production application is
available instantly.
NOTE: In the case of SnapVX/XtremIOSnap/PowerStoreSnap mounted copies, when you perform restore, AppSync
restores the data from the snapshots created on the array to the source devices, or from linked devices(VMAX3/
PowerMax) or read-write snapshots (XtremIO X2), or read-write clones (PowerStore).
○ Restore from snapshot: Restores copies from original snapshots.
○ Restore from changed data: Restores from the linked devices(VMAX3/PowerMax) or read-write snapshots
(XtremIO X2), or read-write clones (PowerStore).
11. Click NEXT.
12. In the Review page, review the restore options and click FINISH.

Datastore affected entities during restore


When you restore a datastore, AppSync calculates affected entities for other datastores that share the same storage.
An affected entity is data that resides on your ESX server that unintentionally becomes part of a replica because of its proximity
to the data you intend to protect. You can prevent affected entity situations by properly planning your data layout.
In RecoverPoint, the granularity is at the consistency group (CG) level. If the CG is selected for restore, AppSync identifies
other datastores residing on the same CG that were also protected alongside, and restores them. If the affected entity was not
protected, AppSync cannot restore it properly. This is displayed as a warning in the Restore wizard.
If there are affected entities in your underlying storage configuration, the Restore Wizard notifies you of these items requiring
you to acknowledge that additional items will be restored.

236 Protect VMware Datacenters


NOTE: AppSync checks if the underlying datastore of a virtual disk is in use or not by other virtual machines before
performing a virtual disk restore. In case the underlying datastore is in use, it detects and fails the restore with the
appropriate error message.
For PowerFlex, restoring from remote copies is not supported.

Restoring a virtual machine from a copy


You can perform a restore of a virtual machine from the Virtual Machines tab in the copies view.

Prerequisites
● This operation requires the Data Administration role in AppSync.
● All datastores used by the virtual machine must be protected by selecting the Include Virtual Machine Disk option in the
Create a copy step.
● The virtual machine should not have any pre-existing snapshots.
● Virtual machines with RDMs cannot be restored.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > VMware Datacenters.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired datacenter.
5. In the Datastore page, click the VIRTUAL MACHINES tab.
6. Select the Virtual Machine for which you want to restore and click RESTORE VM.
7. In the Select Copy page, select copy from which VM should be restored.
8. Click Next.
If other VMs were also protected along with the selected virtual machine, the Multiple VM Restore page is displayed.
Select one of the following options:
● Continue to restore only one virtual machine.
● View and/or select the other VMs for restore.
9. In the Select Restore Location page, make the appropriate selections.
10. In the Select Mount Host page select mount host.
NOTE: If the mount host is part of a cluster, all cluster hosts must have access to storage.

11. In the Choose Instant Restore page, select Yes or No for the Do you want to perform an Instant restore ? option,
based on whether you want to perform an instant restore.
If you select Yes, you can start using the restored virtual machine as soon as it is powered on, though the VM is being
restored at the background. Also, when you select Yes for instant restore, the option Reset Changed Block Tracking
(CBT) flag on restored VM is disabled.
If you select No for instant restore, the option Reset Changed Block Tracking (CBT) flag on restored VM is enabled. If
Reset Changed Block Tracking (CBT) flag on restored VM checkbox is selected, the CBT flag on the VM to be restored
is disabled before the restore, and is enabled after the restore.

And if you had chosen to restore multiple virtual machines in Step 2 of this wizard, specify a number in the Maximum
number of simultaneous virtual machines to be restored box. By default, the number is 2.
NOTE: If you are restoring multiple virtual machines belonging to a vApp, set Maximum number of simultaneous
virtual machines to be restored to 1.

The Instant restore option is not available for:


● VMAX3/PowerMax copies
● Metro node | VPLEX snap copies
● Dell SC snap copies

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12. In the Summary page, review the settings that you selected in the previous pages, and then click FINISH to perform the
restore.
13. In the Results page, click View Details to see the progress.

Virtual Machine Restore options


You can select the restore location as well as restore operations.

Table 36. Virtual machine restore options


Restore Option Description
Original location Restores to the location where the virtual machine was
present at the time of protection.
NOTE: For a RecoverPoint copy, restoring to the
original location is not recommended. AppSync displays an
appropriate warning when you select this option.

Alternate location Restores to a location selected from the following options. All
are mandatory.
● Restores within the original vCenter Server where the
datastore with the VM was at the time of protection or
a different Server within the same vCenter.
● Datacenter
● Host
● Datastore
NOTE: Restore will fail if the VM restore is tried on a
different vCenter than the original vCenter from where
the protection was taken.

Options if the VM being restored already exists in the restore ● Fail the restore: AppSync checks for the existence of the
location virtual machines in the restore location. For those virtual
machines that exist in the restore location, the restore
operation is aborted. For the rest, the restore operation
continues. This is a precautionary option.
● Create a new virtual machine: AppSync creates a new
virtual machine before restoring.
● Unregister the virtual machine: If the virtual machines
selected for restore exist in the restore location, AppSync
unregisters them from the inventory before restoring.
● Delete from disk before performing restore: If the virtual
machines being restored exist in the restore location,
AppSync deletes them before restoring.
NOTE: It is recommended you take a backup of the
virtual machine before proceeding with the restore
operation.
● Delete from disk after performing restore: If the virtual
machines being restored exist in the restore location,
AppSync deletes them after restoring.

File or folder restore with VMFS or NFS datastores


Files or folders stored on virtual disks on a virtual machine in VMFS and NFS datastores can be restored through AppSync.
The virtual disks stored in a VMFS or NFS datastore that are protected by an AppSync service plan can be used for file or folder
level restore by specifying the location for mounting the virtual disk copy.
Within AppSync, file or folder level restore involves multiple steps: To complete the restore, the final step is performed manually
outside of AppSync. You must copy the files or folders from the location where the virtual disk is mounted to a location of your
choice.

238 Protect VMware Datacenters


1. AppSync mounts the datastore snapshots to the ESX server on which the virtual machine with the AppSync agent resides.
2. The vCenter server adds the virtual disks from the datastore snapshots to the mount VM without powering off the VM.
3. AppSync agent performs a filesystem mount to the mount VM.
Restore of files or folders from virtual disks with multiple partitions is supported.
If the ESX server version is 5.0 and higher, the original VM can also be the mount VM.

Restrictions
● File or folder level restore is not possible on dynamic disks.
● If a virtual disk from a local copy is mounted; then the same virtual disk from a remote copy cannot be mounted when
created using the Gold service plan.

Restoring a file or folder from a virtual disk


You can perform the restore of a file or folder of a virtual disk from the Protected Virtual Machines tab or the virtual
machine's Copies page.

Prerequisites
● This operation requires the Data Administration role in AppSync.
● The virtual machine on which the copy is mounted and restored must be 64-bit with Windows 2012, Windows 2016, Windows
2019, or Windows 2022 as the operating system. The AppSync host plugin must be installed on it and it should be registered
with the AppSync server.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > VMware Datacenters.
4. In the Name Column, click the desired datacenter.
5. In the Datastore page, click the VIRTUAL MACHINES tab.
6. Select the virtual machine for which you want to restore and click RESTORE FILE.
7. In Select Copy page, select the copy from the file or folder that needs to be restored.
8. Select the virtual disks whose files or folders must be restored and click Next.
9. In the Select Host page:
a. Select the virtual machine on which the copy must be mounted.
In addition, specify the location in the selected virtual machine where the disk must be restored to. By default, the files
are restored to the following location: %system drive%\AppSyncMounts\<VM_name>\<copy_id>\Hard disk#
where:
● %system drive% is system drive of the selected virtual machine on which the copy is to be mounted
● <VM_name> is the name of the virtual machine whose virtual disks are being restored
● <copy_id> is an AppSync generated ID
● Hard disk# is the number of the hard disk in the virtual machine. This number is the same as on the original virtual
machine.
b. Select the RecoverPoint image access mode from the list - Logged Access, Virtual Access or Virtual Access with Roll.
10. In the Summary page, review the settings that you selected in the previous pages and click FINISH to start the restore of
the disk.
11. In the Results page, click View Details to see progress the steps that are part of restoring a virtual disk.
12. Next, perform the manual step of copying the required files or folders from the mount location to a location of your choice.
13. Optionally, you can unmount the datastore.
NOTE: Virtual Machine file restore fails if vdisk sharing is enabled with multiwriter option.

Protect VMware Datacenters 239


10
Protect SAP HANA
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Overview of SAP HANA support
• Protect a SAP HANA system
• Create SAP HANA repurpose copies
• Mount a SAP HANA system copy
• Unmount a SAP HANA copy
• Restore a SAP HANA copy
• Expire a SAP HANA copy

Overview of SAP HANA support


Use AppSync to create and manage application-consistent (using internal database snapshot) copies of SAP HANA systems.
The copies can be used for mount (with or without recovery) and restore.
AppSync support includes:
● Scale-up and scale-out SAP HANA System on Linux (Intel-Based Hardware Platforms only).
● SAP HANA installations on physical hosts and virtual machines (with pRDMs and Vdisks). There is no support for RDMs in
virtual mode.
NOTE: AppSync only supports RDMs in physical compatibility mode. There is no support for RDMs in virtual mode. If
the source application VM has any VM snapshot during copy creation, then such copies are not useful for later mount or
restore.
● AppSync supports scale-out SAP HANA System with shared and non-shared storage configuration. For non-shared storage,
AppSync supports only fcClient as the storage connector in physical environments.
● Support for Repurposing SAP HANA System copies.
● SAP HANA System with single tenant and multiple tenants.
● SAP HANA System configured for high isolation.
NOTE: AppSync only supports high isolation for scale-up SAP HANA Systems.

SAP HANA system prerequisites


Verify that the SAP HANA system configuration meets the prerequisites that are listed here. The AppSync Support Matrix
on https://elabnavigator.dell.com/eln/modernHomeDataProtection is the authoritative source of information on supported
software and platforms.
● Register the hosts in AppSync with the same name that is used while configuring the scale-up or scale-out SAP HANA
System.
● SAP HANA System and all the tenant database must be online.
● SAP HANA System <sapmnt> (/hana/shared) persistent storage media for data and redo log files must be on disks in the
same storage array.
● Persistent storage media for the scale-up SAP HANA system must be from one of the following storages:
○ PowerMax 10 and above – Block and File
○ Unity – Block and File
○ PowerStore – Block and File
● Persistent storage media for the Scale-out SAP HANA system must be from one of the following storages:
○ Unity – File (Shared storage configuration)
○ PowerStore – Combination of File (shared file system) and Block (data and log location) devices.
○ PowerMax 10 and above – File (Shared storage configuration)

240 Protect SAP HANA


● AppSync does not support scale-up SAP HANA system that is installed on volumes having block and file together.
● AppSync does not support more than one scale-out SAP HANA System sharing host.
● AppSync supports only worker and standby host roles in SAP HANA scale-out configurations.
● If you have more than one scale-up SAP HANA system installed in the same host, AppSync recommends not to share file
systems and underlying storage volumes.
● Clusters of any kind including OS-based clusters like RHCS, VCS, and VXVM are not supported.
● AppSync does not support SAP HANA System Replication.
NOTE: AppSync supports protection and recovery of SAP HANA scale-up configurations from SAP HANA 2.0 SPS04
onwards. AppSync supports protection and recovery of SAP HANA scale-out configurations from SAP HANA 2.0 SPS05
onwards.

Required permissions and rights


Users require certain permissions and rights to protect SAP HANA systems in a SAP HANA system environment.
Following are the permissions required:
● Backup Administrator
● Catalog Read
● Inifile Administrator
● Database Recovery Operator
● Database Administrator

Protect a SAP HANA system


Protect a SAP HANA system by subscribing it to an AppSync service plan.
You can protect objects in different ways from different places in AppSync:
● Choose an appropriate service plan from CREATE COPY WITH PLAN in the database Copies page.
○ Choose Subscribe to Plan and Run when you want to protect a selected database immediately. The service plan is run
for the database alone.
○ Choose Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override schedule selected), when you want to schedule the
protection for later. Protection for databases that are part of the service plan are run at the scheduled time.
● Choose RUN from the SAP HANA system Service Plans page to run the whole plan immediately.
NOTE: Ensure that the database you are protecting is not configured for backup simultaneously using a non-AppSync
backup tool. This might interfere with AppSync copy operation and result in unexpected errors. If you choose to perform on
job mount, add only one SAP HANA system per service plan. Also, protection of scale-up and scale-out HANA systems using
same service plan is not supported.

Discover SAP HANA system


Perform this procedure to discover the SAP HANA systems on the servers registered in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select SAP HANA to display the SAP HANA systems page.
3. Click MORE > Discover Systems.
4. In the Discover Systems instance dialog, select a host and click OK.

Protect SAP HANA 241


Example
AppSync discovers new SAP HANA system and associated tenant databases on demand or automatically on a service plan run.
When you register a host, AppSync discovers SAP HANA systems available in the host. When you enter credentials for the SAP
HANA systems, AppSync discovers all the tenant databases that are associated with the SAP HANA system.
Ensure to register all the hosts of a scale-out SAP HANA System in AppSync before setting the credentials. This includes hosts
with worker and standby roles. If you chose to use HDB User Store key in HANA Connection Settings, make sure to create the
key on all hosts of the scale-out system.
When you subscribe a SAP HANA system to a plan, tenant databases are automatically discovered on each run of the plan.
SYSTEMDB and all tenant databases, including the ones that were added to the SAP HANA system after the last service plan
run, are automatically protected.
NOTE: On adding one or more nodes to the existing scale out system discovered in AppSync, register the newly added
nodes in AppSync and set the connection settings for the SAP HANA system. If the systems were already registered with
AppSync, run discover systems on those hosts.

SAP HANA systems list


The list contains SAP HANA systems that are discovered on the Linux hosts during host registration and stored in the AppSync
database.
Each SAP HANA system discovered has Name, Status, Credentials, Service Plan, Platform, Product, Servers, Version, Instance
number, and Distributed details associated with it.

Column Description
Protection Status of ● Green: Latest copies of SAP HANA system protected successfully
SAP HANA system ● Yellow: One or more of the latest SAP HANA systems copies completed with errors.
● Red: One or more of the latest SAP HANA systems copies failed to complete.
● "i" symbol: One or more of the SAP HANA systems are either not subscribed to service plans or
do not have copies that are associated with them.
Active Primary Server Active nameserver in the scale out system.

Distributed SAP HANA system is scale up or scale out system.


Storage configuration Type of storage configuration either Shared or fcClient.
Name SAP HANA system SID
Status Status of the SAP HANA system
Credentials Status of availability and validity of SAP HANA system credentials
Service Plan Name of the subscribed service plan
Platform Host operating system information
Version Version number of SAP HANA system
Instance Number Instance number of SAP HANA system
Servers Names of the servers
Product Product name with the version
Single Tenant Helps to identify if the system is a single tenant system.
Isolation Isolation level set on the discovered SAP HANA system.

When you select a SAP HANA system, the above details can be viewed in the PROPERTIES tab of the details view on right
side of the screen.
Click the SAP HANA system name, also known as the SID of the SAP HANA system, and it prompts to enter the Connection
Settings information. AppSync uses this information to discover the tenant databases running on the SAP HANA system and
also to create consistent copy of the SAP HANA system, during protection. To set the Connection settings, select SAP HANA
system and click MORE > Connection Settings.

242 Protect SAP HANA


Upon setting the credentials for SAP HANA system, you can view the discovered tenant databases running on the system along
with its status, at the time of discovery. This can be viewed in the DATABASES tab of the details view on right side of the
screen. After the credentials are set, click the SAP HANA system to go to the copies page.
To set alert notification, select the SAP HANA system and click MORE > Email Notifications. In the Email Notifications dialog,
enter comma-separated list of the email ids of the recipients. Click OK.
Select a SAP HANA system and click EMAIL RECIPIENTS in the details pane. It lists all the email recipients that will be notified
after the completion of the various operations on the SAP HANA system.

SAP HANA system connection settings


This allows you to set HDB User store key for the SAP HANA system, using which AppSync communicates with the system to
perform backup and recovery operations.

Prerequisites
Enter the credentials of the user that has privileges to back up a SAP HANA system. AppSync creates a HDBUserStore key on
the server for this user. This is further used to communicate with the SAP HANA system.
To create a custom user and/or HDBUser store key on the Server, follow the below steps:
1. Connect to the SAP HANA system with user credentials that has privilege to create and assign user roles. /usr/sap/
<SID>/SYS/exe/hdb/hdbsql -d SYSTEMDB -u <username> -d <password>
2. Create user and assign BACKUP ADMIN, CATALOG READ and INIFILE ADMIN privileges by using the following SQL
commands.
CREATE USER <name_of_the_user> PASSWORD <password> NO FORCE_FIRST_PASSWORD_CHANGE;
GRANT BACKUP ADMIN, CATALOG READ, INIFILE ADMIN, DATABASE RECOVERY OPERATOR, DATABASE
ADMIN TO <name_of_the_user>;
Where <name_of_the_user> is username, and <password> is password for the new user.
3. Create HDBUserStore key for the user created.
hdbuserstore set <key> <hostname>:<System_DB_SQL_port> <user_name> <password>
For scale-out SAP HANA system, hdbuserstore set <key> <hostname1>:<System_DB_SQL_port>;
[<hostname2>:<System_DB_SQL_port>;…..] <user_name> <password>
Where <key> is new user store key,
<hostname> is the hostname on which SAP HANA system is running,
<System_DB_SQL_port> is the SQL port of the name server of the system database. By default the port is
3<instance_id>13.
<user_name> is name of the user that has backup roles that are assigned in step 2, and
<password> is the password of the user identified by <user_name>.
<hostname1>, <hostname2> are the name servers.

About this task

NOTE: This operation requires Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select SAP HANA to list all the discovered SAP HANA systems.
3. Select a SAP HANA system and click MORE > CONNECTION SETTINGS.
4. In the SAP HANA system, Connection settings dialog appears. Specify the hdbuserstorekey or Username and Password of
the SAP HANA backup administrator user.
NOTE: If you are providing hdbuserstorekey, ensure to generate the key as operating system user with which AppSync
agent is installed or <sid>adm user. If you are providing hdbuserstorekey, ensure to generate the key on all nodes of the
scale-out SAP HANA System.

Protect SAP HANA 243


5. Click OK.
Credentials column for the SAP HANA system shows a green icon which indicates that credentials set are valid.

Pre-copy script
To perform preparatory steps before creating a copy, specify a pre-copy script and parameters.
AppSync executes this script once per host per service plan run on the production host.
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.
For a successful script run ensure:
● The preferred scripts are enabled.
● The script exists in the specified path. You provide absolute path to script; there is no default location.
● You use valid script formats: all executables on UNIX are supported. The script requires execute permissions for the specified
user.

Table 37. Pre-copy script console fields


Field in UI Description
Full path to script The complete path to the script location.
Script parameters Parameters that will be passed to the script during the run.
Run as username User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.

Post-copy script
To perform cleanup or other post-copy steps after creating a copy, specify the post-copy script and parameters.
You can run this script once per host per service plan run. If this script is enabled but the permissions to run it are improper, or if
the script does not exist in the specified path, the Service Plan run fails with appropriate error.
This process requires the role of AppSync Data Administrator. AppSync executes this script once per host per service plan run
on the production host.
For a successful script run ensure:
● The script exists in the specified path. You provide absolute path to script; there is no default location.
● You use valid script formats: all executables on UNIX are supported. The script requires execute permissions for the specified
user.

Table 38. Post copy script console fields


Field in UI Description
Full path to script The complete path to the script location.
Script parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run.
Run as username User that has execute permissions on the script.
Password Password of the user.

Service plan details


The service plan Settings tab shows the Service plan name, Description, and Enabled status of the service plan.
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select SAP HANA.
4. Select the desired Service plan, and the summary of the service plan will display in the right pane of the page.
5. The SUBSCRIBERS tab displays the list of one or more subscribers, subscribed to the selected service plan.

244 Protect SAP HANA


Review Overview: Service Plan for more service plan copy information.

Create copy of SAP HANA system


Perform this procedure to create copy of a SAP HANA system, by subscribing it to a service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

NOTE: For protecting distributed or scale out SAP HANA systems, all the nodes must be registered in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select SAP HANA to display the SAP HANA systems discovered in AppSync.
3. To set the credentials for the SAP HANA system, select the HANA systems and click MORE > Connection Settingsbutton.
4. Select one or more HANA systems, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select the required appropriate option.

Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and To subscribe the SAP HANA systems for protection and to run the plan immediately.
Run
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the SAP HANA systems for protection. Protection for all SAP HANA
option to override) systems that are subscribed to the service plan are run at the scheduled time.
7. Click Select to choose the service plan that you want to subscribe to (Bronze, Silver, or Gold).
NOTE: User defined service plans also appear in this list.

8. Click OK.
9. Click NEXT to review the selection.
10. Click FINISH.

Edit Subscription for SAP HANA


For SAP HANA scale out systems, if host preference is set to Any of the selected Hosts, the protection runs based on the
priority set for the host. If the pre-requisites on that host is not met, the next host on priority is selected.

Steps
1. For protection, to set the host preference, on the AppSync console, select Service Plan > SAP HANA. Select the service
plan to which the Scale out HANA system is subscribed and click SUBSCRIBERS on the right pane. Click the EDIT button.
The Edit Subscription page opens. Select Any of the selected Hosts.
2. In case of repurposing, to set the host preference, select Copies > SAP HANA and select the scale out SAP HANA system.
Click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN. From the Subscribe to Existing Service Plan page, select Data Repurposing >
Create the Copy > Host Preference.

SAP HANA system copies list


The list contains SAP HANA system copies that have been created using data protection or repurpose plans.
Each entry shows the copy details like Service Plan Name that is used to Create the Copy, Copy Type, Mount Status, Recovery
Status, and Storage Information.

Protect SAP HANA 245


Column Description
Status Green: Successful
Yellow: Completed with errors
Red: Failed

Immutable Copy Specifies if the copy is immutable or not. Manual enabling,


disabling, or expiry of immutable copy is not allowed. Hence
they are grayed out. Immutable copy is automatically expired
after the Time to live is reached.
Service Plan Name of the service plan that is used to create the copy.
For repurposed copies, Service Plan Name is displayed as
REPURPOSE.
Application Consistent Specifies if the copy is an application consistent copy or not.
Mount Status Hostname to which the copy is mounted, or Not Mounted.
Recovery Status Specifies if the recovery operation that is performed during
mount is successful or not.
Servers Specifies the host on which application was online when the
copy was created.
Mount Type Specifies that if the copy is mounted as part of service plan
run, value for Mount Type is Service Plan. If copy is mounted
as OnDemand, value for Mount Type is OnDemand.
Copy Type Replication technology that is used to create the copy.
Site Site where the copy is located. It can be local or remote site.
Source The SAP HANA system name or first generation copy name
from which the copy is created.
Automatic Expiration Specifies if automatic expiration is enabled or disabled for the
selected copy.
Time to Live If Retention policy is set to Always Keep _____ Copies, value
for Time to Live will be disabled. If Retention policy is set
to Keep Copy for _____ Days, value for Time to Live will
be based on value set to Keep Copy for _____ Days. For
example, 2 days 14 hrs 8 minutes.
Generation Applicable to repurpose copies. Specifies how many
generations away are the copy from the production SAP
HANA system.
Label First or second generation copy label.
Storage system Storage array on which the copy is created.
Single Tenant Displays if the SAP HANA system was a single tenant system
or not. Also shows when the copy was created.
Data Snapshot Present Displays if the copy has an internal database snapshot in it or
not.
Active Primary Server Active nameserver in the scale out system at the time of copy
creation.

Storage configuration Type of storage configuration either Shared or fcClient.

NOTE:
● To view the above details, select the copy and click PROPERTIES tab in the details view on the right pane.
● To view the storage specific details of the copy, select the copy and click on STORAGE OBJECTS tab in the details
view on the right pane.

246 Protect SAP HANA


● To edit the service plan or repurpose plan, select the copy and click SERVICE PLAN tab in the details view on the right
pane. Click EDIT.
● To view the events related to various operations performed on the copy, select the copy and click EVENTS tab in the
details view on the right pane.

Unsubscribe SAP HANA system


Perform this procedure to unsubscribe SAP HANA systems from the service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select SAP HANA to list the SAP HANA systems.
3. Select the SAP HANA system you want to unsubscribe, and click MORE > Unsubscribe.
4. In the Unsubscribe dialog, select the service plan you want to unsubscribe for a specific service plan, or ALL to unsubscribe
to all service plans it is subscribed to.
5. Click OK.
NOTE: After you unsubscribe, AppSync retains all existing copies and does not create further copies using the service
plan. You can also unsubscribe applications from a service plan, using the Service Plan page.

Service plan schedule


The service plan schedule (On-demand or scheduled) determines whether the plan is run manually, or configured to run on a
schedule.
Options for scheduling when a service plan starts include:
● Specify a recovery point objective (RPO).
○ Set an RPO of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours
○ Set minutes after the hour in 5 minute intervals.
○ Default RPO is 24 hours.
● Runs every day at specific times.
○ Select different times during the day.
○ Select minutes after the hour in 1 minute intervals.
○ There is no default selected.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the week.
○ You can select one or more days of the week (up to seven days).
○ There is no default for day of the week. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● Runs at a certain time on selected days of the month.
○ Select one or more days of the month (up to all days).
○ Select one time of day. Available times are at 15 minute intervals.
○ Default is the first day of the month.
○ Select Last to select the last day of the month.
● Server plan Recurrence Type options include:
○ Run Now
○ Schedule
○ Run Only Once At later time

Protect SAP HANA 247


Overriding service plan schedules for SAP HANA systems
Perform this procedure to set individual schedules for SAP HANA systems subscribed to a service plan, by overriding the
Schedule set in the Service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select SAP HANA to display the SAP HANA systems discovered in AppSync.
3. To set the credentials for the SAP HANA system, select the SAP HANA systems and click MORE > Connection Settings
button.
4. Select one or more SAP HANA systems, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override).
7. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
8. Click NEXT. The Override Schedule page appears.
9. Select one or more SAP HANA systems and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
10. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and click OK. For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified
days of the month, and the rule set is to run at 12:00 AM on the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the
day for individual instances.
11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Click FINISH.

Create SAP HANA repurpose copies


You can create first generation or second generation repurpose copies in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
4. Select the system and click Create Copy With Plan.
5. Select Data Repurposing.
6. Define the following properties for the copy:
a. The Service Plan Name field is defined by default.
b. The Description field provides a brief description of the copy.
c. The Copy Label field provides an autogenerated label for the copy.
d. The Copy Location list enables you to select a copy location either to Local or Remote.
e. The Mount Copy list enables you to select mount options for the copy. You can configure this option to either No,
Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted (where the previous copy is unmounted), or Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post
mount scripts run, unmount the copy.
f. The 2nd Generation Copies list enables you to select either Yes or No.
7. Click Next.
8. In the Create the Copy page, do the following:
a. Select the Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete option if you want to wait for VMAX3/PowerMax
clone sync to complete. Applies to VMAX3/PowerMax only.
b. In the Array Selection section, click Select an Array to choose the preferred array from the list.

248 Protect SAP HANA


NOTE: This is applicable only for SRDF/Metro.

c. In the Select Storage Group for PowerMax/VMAX3 section option, select the preferred storage group.
d. In the Select the cluster and arrays in preferred order for metro node | VPLEX configuration section, you can drag and
drop the arrays to change array preference.
e. Configure the Copy Type settings to either Snapshot or Clone.
f. For scale-out SAP HANA system, select host preference to Any Hosts or Any of the selected Hosts. The default
option Any Hosts allows AppSync to choose the SAP HANA host to run the protection operations. Any of the selected
Hosts option allows you to set the priority of the SAP HANA host that is used by AppSync to run the protection
operations.
9. Click Next.
10. In the Scripts page, select the precopy or postcopy scripts that you want to run and configure the following fields:
a. Full Path to Script
b. Script Parameters
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
11. Click Next.
12. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● Run Now - Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a copy that is based on the recurrence type you specify. On the first schedule, a repurposed copy is
created, and on subsequent schedules, it refreshes the copy.
● Run Only Once At later time - Creates a copy only once on the specified date and time.
13. Click Next.
14. Review the repurpose copy creation settings and click Finish.

Create second generation copies


Perform this procedure to create a second-generation copy from an first-generation existing copy.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Copies.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select SAP HANA to display the page.
4. Click the database that contains a first-generation copy.
5. Select a first-generation copy, and then click CREATE 2ND GEN COPY.
The Create 2nd-gen Copy widget opens.
6. In the Define the 2nd-gen Copy page, configure the following:
a. 2nd-gen copies label - Specify a label for the copy.
b. Mount 2nd-gen copies - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the postmount scripts run, unmount the copy
c. 2nd-gen copies type - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● Snap
● Clone
7. Click NEXT to review your selection.
8. In the Scripts for 2nd-gen Copy page, select the precopy scripts and postcopy scripts you want to run.
NOTE: This step also displays the postmount scripts if you selected the mount option.

Protect SAP HANA 249


9. Click NEXT to review your selection.
10. In the Schedule /Run page, select one of the following options:
● Run now: Creates a copy when you click FINISH on this wizard.
● Schedule: Creates a copy that is based on the recurrence type you specify. On the first schedule, a repurposed copy is
created, and on subsequent schedules, it refreshes the copy.
● Run Only Once At Later Time: Creates a copy only once on the specified date and time.
11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Review the configurations for the second-generation copy and click FINISH.
NOTE: Creating second-generation copy using PowerStore Snap: Up to AppSync 4.2 release, when second-generation
copy of a first-generation PowerStore Snap is created, it is always done from the base snapshot (and not the RW clone
that are created from that snapshot for mounting). From AppSync 4.3 release onwards, the second generation copy
is created from latest first generation copy data. This means, if first generation snapshot is mounted and the data is
modified, AppSync creates second generation copy from the modified data.

Mount a SAP HANA system copy


This section describes the AppSync console mount fields and their descriptions.

Mount operations
Table 39. Console field descriptions
Field Description
Mount Operations Allows you to select:
● Mount on standalone server.
● Mount on standalone server with recovery.
● Mount on standalone server and prepare scripts for
manual recovery.
● Mount distributed HANA system.
● Mount distributed HANA system with recovery.
● Mount distributed HANA system and prepare scripts for
manual recovery.
Recovery Type ● On Prepared Target HANA System (available only for
scale-up SAP HANA systems).
● Using HDBLCM Utility.
NOTE: These recovery types are not available for
selection when you choose "Mount on standalone server
" and "Mount distributed HANA system" option.

General Settings
Mount on Server The server on which to mount the copy.
Host Map Settings Allows you to specify target hosts for the source hosts for
each scale-out system, by selecting the systems subscribed to
the plan from "Source HANA System" drop down.

Mount on Path Allows you to select:


● The Default Mount Path- Filesystems are mounted
under /appsync-mounts path on mount host.
NOTE: This option is not available for "On Prepared
Target HANA System" recovery type.
● The mount path could also be Same as Original Path-
Filesystem path is same as in the production server.

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Table 39. Console field descriptions (continued)
Field Description
However, this option is not available when you select the
production server in Mount on Server drop down.
● Select Mapped Path to specify the path for each
filesystem in the Path Settings table.
● You can also type in a custom path without selecting any
of the above options.
NOTE: When "Mount on standalone server with
recovery" option along with recovery type being "On
Prepared Target HANA System" is selected in the
Mount Operation drop down, ensure to specify the
data and log volume base path, as that of the target
SAP HANA system on which it is recovered.

Script export directory Specifies the target system directory, to export the
manual recovery scripts. The default path is /tmp/%SID%/
RecoveryScripts. However, the path can be changed to
any required location.

Mount Filesystems Allows you to select:


● Data
● Logs
● Shared
By default, all options are selected. These options are available
if you choose mount operations "Mount on standalone server"
and "Mount distributed HANA system".
Run Filesystem Check During a mount operation, the AppSync agent checks file
system data consistency by executing the fsck command.
This operation can be time consuming. You can clear this
option to skip file system check during a mount operation. By
default, file system check is enabled.
NOTE: In the case of a restore operation, the Run
Filesystem Check option is enabled by default. You
cannot disable it.

Copy to mount. Allows user to select if the local or remote copy has to be
mounted as part of service plan run.
NOTE: Applies to Gold service plans or the service plans
that were created using Gold service plan as template.

Allow Unmount Of On Demand Mounted Copy. Allows you to unmount a copy that was mounted on-demand.
NOTE:
● This option is available during service plan edit only
when you have selected Yes - Keep it mounted
(Previous copy will be unmounted) option in
Define the copy page.
● For partial on-demand mounts, the latest mounted
copy will be unmounted.

Recovery Settings
Mount on HANA system Lists the SAP HANA systems running on the server selected
in Mount on Server drop down. The copy will be recovered on
the mount host as the selected HANA system.
NOTE: The system selected must be stopped with data
and log volumes unmounted.

HDB User Store Key Provided key must be created for the credentials of
Production HANA system backup Administrator user.

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Table 39. Console field descriptions (continued)
Field Description
System ID For HDBLCM utility, System ID must be a three letter
alphanumeric identifier, consisting of all uppercase alphabets
and starting with an alphabet. Default value is %SID%.
Instance Number Instance number must have two digits and it must not be
greater than 99. Default value is %INSTANCE NUMBER%.
System Usage Allows you to select:
● Custom
● Development
● Production
● Test
NOTE: Default value is Test.

Listen Interface Allows you to select:


● Global
● Internal
● Local
NOTE: The default value is Local for scale-up systems,
and Global for scale-out systems.

Internal Network Address Specifies the internal subnet address in CIDR notation.
System Administrator (<sid>adm) Password System Administrator password <sid>adm must contain at
least 8 characters.
Confirm System Administrator (<sid>adm) Password Password confirmation.
Root User Name Root User Name used to communicate between nodes of
target scale-out systems. Default value is "root".
Root User Password Password of the user specified in the Root User Name field.
Use trusted connection between the hosts This field is selected by default. If trusted connection between
the target hosts is not configured, unselect the check box,
and enter the root user password.
SAP Host Agent User(sapadm) Password Password to be set while deploying SAP Host agent on mount
server.
Confirm SAP Host Agent User(sapadm) Password Password confirmation.
System Administrator(<sid>adm) Home Directory System Administrator home directory. Default value
is /usr/sap/<SID>/home.

System Administrator (<sid>adm) User ID User ID of the target system administrator. Default value is
%UID%.
Change System Database User Password Yes/No.
System Database User name User name of the System database. Default value is SYSTEM.
You can specify a Database user name.
Source System Database User Password Password of the System database user that was specified in
System Database Username field.
Target System Database User Password New password of the System Database user that was
specified in System Database User name field. Must contain
at least 8 characters.
Confirm Target System Database User Password Password confirmation.
Storage Settings

252 Protect SAP HANA


Table 39. Console field descriptions (continued)
Field Description
Desired SLO Specifies the Service Level Objectives. SLO defines the
service time operating range of a storage group.
Metro node | VPLEX Mount Option ● Native array: Use this option if you want to mount the
copy as native array volumes.
● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volume mount: Use this
option if you want to mount the copy as metro node |
VPLEX virtual volumes.
NAS Preferred Interface For PowerStore and PowerMax file storage, this option allows
you to select a preferred IPv4 interface among a list of
Interfaces for a given NAS Server on a given storage array.
The preferred interface is used by AppSync during the mount
operation.
VMware Settings
Enable VMware Cluster Mount. If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an
ESX cluster, the target LUN is made visible to all the nodes
of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled.
If you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount, you
can clear this option.This option is supported on metro node |
VPLEX, VMAX3/PowerMax, PowerStore, and Unity arrays.
NOTE: If this option is not selected, and the mount host
is part of an ESX cluster, the mount host must have a
dedicated storage group, storage view, or initiator group
configured according to the storage system configuration.

VMware Virtual Disk Mode Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as
independent disks. You can select this option to exclude
virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine.
By default, this option is disabled, and copies are mounted in
the persistent mode.

Mount and recovery considerations


The following considerations are applicable only in the case of Recovery Type "On prepared target HANA system".
● Target SAP HANA system version must be the same or higher than the source SAP HANA system.
● Components and services configured on the target system must be identical to that of the source SAP HANA system.
● Target system data and log volume base path must be configured similar to the source SAP HANA system. An example is
provided below:

Source system Target system


/hana/data/H01 /hana/data/T01
/hana/log/H01 /hana/log/T01

/hana/data/H01 /hana_sps05/data/T01
/hana/log/H01 /hana_sps05/log/T01

● Target system must be configured with isolation level set to low.


● If the source system is configured with high isolation, during the recovery of the SAP HANA system, AppSync sets the
isolation level to low. While changing the isolation level SAP HANA system expects the OS users and groups to be available
in the target system. Hence, ensure you create the tenant specific OS users and groups in the target SAP HANA system and
assign permissions accordingly.
● Ensure the target system has enough computing resources like CPU and memory.
● You must create HDB user store key for the credentials of production SAP HANA system backup administrator user. This key
must be provided in the Mount Copy wizard while performing recovery.
● While mounting a recovered copy, make sure to mount it to the same SAP HANA system where it was recovered previously.

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● For Repurposing, if the first generation copy was recovered, you can recover the second generation copy created on same
SAP HANA system as the first generation copy.
Considerations for Mount on standalone server and prepare script for manual recovery with recovery type set to "On
prepared target HANA system".
● Recovery of SAP HANA system with high isolation is not supported.
● Recovery is not supported if you have partitioned the data volume for the indexserver.
● Ensure that the SYSTEMDB database of SAP HANA system is recovered before running the recovery scripts for one or more
tenant databases.
● Ensure that the SAP HANA system is stopped before unmounting the copy from AppSync.

Using HDBLCM utility


The following considerations are applicable for mount and recovery using HDBLCM utility.
● Recovery of SAP HANA system with high isolation is not supported.
● Based on the time required for application recovery, set the "Command Execution Time Out" to a greater value on the mount
host in the Settings > Infrastructure Resources > SERVERS/CLUSTERS option. See Command execution timeout
section in AppSync Installation and Configuration Guide, for more details.
● Recovery of scale-out SAP HANA system is not supported if you have partitioned the data volume for the indexserver.
● If you chose Mount distributed HANA system for scale-out SAP HANA System with non-shared storage configuration,
AppSync will mask the storage volumes corresponding to data and log locations. Only shared filesystem is mounted on all the
mount hosts.
● For non-shared scale out SAP HANA systems, target path specified in the path mapping settings must be
basepath_datavolumes and basepath_logvolumes without SID for the target system. For example, if you want the
basepath_datavolumes and basepath_logvolumes on target systems to be /hana/data/<SID> and /hana/log/<SID>,then
specify /hana/data and /hana/log respectively for the corresponding source paths.
● If you rename an SAP HANA system, this usually invalidates the permanent SAP license. A temporary license is installed, and
must be replaced within 28 days. If you mount and recover the same copy by renaming it the second time, the temporary
license will be invalidated and you will not be able to perform any operations on the HANA system.
● Recovery using HDBLCM utility sets some of the parameters to default values. For example, databackuppath,
logbackuppath, autostart and so on.
● For a scale-out SAP HANA system with non-shared storage, if you add a worker node without an index server or nameserver
running on it, AppSync does not protect the underlying volume and this results in recovery failure.
● For upgrade, it is not recommended to recover using HDBLCM utility or recovery scripts for manual recovery as mount
options, for pre-upgraded recovered copies.

Pre-mount script
You can enable this script if you want to run a script prior to AppSync performing a mount operation.
This script will be executed once per host per service plan run. If you enable the script but the permissions to run it are
improper, or if the script does not exist in the specified path, the service plan run fails with appropriate error.
Show caution when using several mount hosts in a Service Plan run. (Refer to Overriding mount settings on a service plan. You
must select Same as mount host in the Run on host option so that the script runs on all mount hosts.

Table 40. Pre-mount script field descriptions


Field in UI Description
Full path to script The complete path to the script location
Script parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run
Run as username User with execute permissions on the script
Password Password of the user
Run on host Host where the script needs to run. Select Same as mount
host if several mount hosts are involved.

254 Protect SAP HANA


Post mount script
You can enable this script if you want to run a script after AppSync performs a mount operation.
This script will be executed once per host per service plan run. If you enable the script but the permissions to run it are
improper, or if the script does not exist in the specified path, the service plan run fails with appropriate error.
Show caution when using several mount hosts in a Service Plan run. Refer to the Overriding mount settings on a service plan
section. You must select Same as mount host in the Run on host option so that the script runs on all mount hosts.

Table 41. Post-mount script field descriptions


Field in UI Description
Full path to script The complete path to the script location
Script parameters Parameters passed to the script during the run
Run as username User with execute permissions on the script
Run on host Host where the script needs to run. Select Same as mount
host if several mount hosts are involved.

Mount a copy using the SAP HANA Mount wizard


From the AppSync console, you can perform a mount of a copy using the SAP HANA Mount wizard .

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
3. Select the copy that you want to mount, select a copy, and then click MOUNT COPY.
4. In the Select a Copy page, click NEXT.
5. If multiple databases were protected together, you may see the additional copies to mount option. Select the copies that you
prefer and click NEXT.
6. On the Select Mount Options page, from the Mount operation list, select one of the following options:
● Mount on standalone server
● Mount on standalone server with recovery
● Mount on standalone server and prepare script for manual recovery.
7. On selecting Mount on standalone server option:
In General Settings, do the following.
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Default path, Same as original path, or Mapped
Path. The mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host.
c. From the Mount filesystems list you can mount Data, Logs and/or Shared file systems.
d. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default.
8. On selecting Mount on standalone server with recovery option:
For Recovery Type, On Prepared Target HANA system, in General Settings, do the following.
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Same as original path, or Mapped Path. The
mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host.
NOTE: The mount path that is specified in the wizard must be same as the data and log locations of the target SAP
HANA system, which is identified by basepath_datavolumes and basepath_logvolumes in global.ini file of the target
system.

c. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default.

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In the Recovery Settings configure the following options:

a. From the Mount on HANA system list, select the SID.


NOTE: The selected SAP HANA system must be created with low isolation set. System should be stopped with Data,
and Log volumes unmounted. The SAP HANA system configuration must be identical to the production SAP HANA
system.

b. In the HDB User Store Key field, specify the HDB User Store key created on the target host with production HANA
system backup administrator credentials.
For Recovery Type, Using HDBLCM Utility, in General Settings, do the following.
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Same as original path, Default Path, or Mapped
Path. The mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host.
c. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default.
In the Recovery Settings configure the following options:

a. The System ID must be a three letter alphanumeric identifier, consisting of all uppercase alphabets and starting with an
alphabet.
b. The Instance Number must have two digits and should not be greater than 99.
c. The System Usage allows you to select Custom, Production, Development, and Test options.
d. The Listen Interface allows you to select Global, Internal, and Local options.
e. The Internal Network Address specifies the internal subset address in CIDR notation.
f. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) Password specifies the System Administrator password <sid>adm, and must
contain at least eight characters.
g. The SAP Host Agent User (sapadm) Password specifies the password of the SAP Host Agent.
h. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) Home Directory system administrator home directory.
i. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) User ID specifies the user ID of the target system administrator.
j. The Change System Database User Password can be enabled by selecting the checkbox.
k. The System Database User name specifies the system database username.
l. The Source System Database User Password specifies the password of the system database user on the source
system.
m. The Target System Database User Password specifies the new password of the system database on the target
system.
9. On selecting Mount on standalone server and prepare script for manual recovery option:
For Recovery Type, On Prepared Target HANA system, in General Settings, do the following.
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Same as original path, or Mapped Path. The
mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host.
NOTE: The mount path that is specified in the wizard must be same as the data and log locations of the target SAP
HANA system, which is identified by basepath_datavolumes and basepath_logvolumes in global.ini file of the target
system.

c. From the Script export directory, you must specify the target system directory to export the manual recovery scripts.
The default path is /tmp/%SID%/RecoveryScripts. However, the path can be changed to any required location.
d. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default.
In the Recovery Settings configure the following options:

a. From the Mount on HANA system list, select the SID.


NOTE: The selected SAP HANA system must be created with low isolation set. System should be stopped with Data,
and Log volumes unmounted. The SAP HANA system configuration must be identical to the production SAP HANA
system.

b. In the HDB User Store Key field, specify the HDB User Store key created on the target host with production HANA
system backup administrator credentials.
For Recovery Type, Using HDBLCM Utility, in General Settings, do the following.
a. From the Mount on Server list, select the server on which to mount the copy.

256 Protect SAP HANA


b. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Same as original path, Default Path, or Mapped
Path. The mount path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount host.
c. From the Script export directory, you must specify the target system directory to export the manual recovery scripts.
The default path is /tmp/%SID%/RecoveryScripts. However, the path can be changed to any desired location.
d. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default.
In the Recovery Settings configure the following options:

a. The System ID must be a three letter alphanumeric identifier, consisting of all uppercase alphabets and starting with an
alphabet.
b. The Instance Number must have two digits and should not be greater than 99.
c. The System Usage allows you to select Custom, Production, Development, and Test options.
d. The Listen Interface allows you to select Global, Internal, and Local options.
e. The Internal Network Address specifies the internal subset address in CIDR notation.
f. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) Home Directory system administrator home directory.
g. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) User ID specifies the user ID of the target system administrator.
h. The Change System Database User Password can be enabled by selecting the checkbox.
10. Under Storage Settings, configure the following options:
For PowerMax/VMAX3 arrays, select Desired SLO for the mount copy. For metro node | VPLEX, from metro node |
VPLEX Mount Option, select metro node | VPLEX volume mount or Native array mount metro node | VPLEX
Mount. For PowerMax/PowerStore file storage, select NAS Preferred Interface.
11. Enable PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/
PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In
turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view. Note that the mapped storage group is considered only if the
Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.
12. Under VMware Settings, do the following:
a. Enable VMware cluster mount checkbox - If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster,
the target LUN is made visible to all the nodes of the ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do not
want to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this option. Then the target LUN is made visible only to the ESX
cluster on which the mount host resides. This is applicable for both RDM and vDisk device types.
b. VMware Virtual Disk Mode - Allows you to mount application copies on a virtual disk as independent disks. You can
select this option to exclude virtual disks from snapshots created from the virtual machine. By default, this option is
disabled, and copies are mounted in the persistent mode.
c. Mark storage devices as perennially reserved: Allows you to mark RDM devices on ESXi as perennially reserved.
13. Click Next.
14. Review the mount settings and click Finish to complete the mount.
NOTE:
● Applicable only for On Prepared Target HANA system.
○ If the SAP HANA system copy is mounted with recovery on an SAP HANA system, for example TST, you cannot
recover it on a different SAP HANA system like REP.
○ In data repurposing, if the first generation copy is mounted with recovery on SAP HANA system, for example
TST, second generation copy must be recovered on same system, else recovery fails.
○ If the production SAP HANA systems are running with high isolation set:
■ You must create the operating system users and operating system groups on the mount SAP HANA systems
and assign proper permissions.
■ The SAP HANA system is recovered on mount SAP HANA system with low isolation set. For such cases, you
have to manually set the isolation level to high or use post-mount script in the service plan.
● Applicable only for Mount on standalone server and prepare script for manual recovery.
○ Recovery of SAP HANA system with high isolation is not supported.
○ Recovery is not supported if you have partitioned the data volume for the indexserver.
○ Ensure that the SYSTEMDB database of SAP HANA system is recovered before running the recovery scripts for
one or more tenant databases.
○ Ensure that the SAP HANA system is stopped before unmounting the copy from AppSync.
● Switching Recovery Type is not allowed if you mount and recover the same copy multiple times.

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Mount a copy of distributed or scale out system using the SAP
HANA Mount wizard
From the AppSync console, you can perform mount of a distributed SAP HANA system copy using the SAP HANA Mount
wizard .

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
3. Select the copy that you want to mount, select a copy, and then click MOUNT COPY.
4. In the Select a Copy page, click NEXT.
5. If multiple databases were protected together, you may see the additional copies to mount option. Select the copies that you
prefer and click NEXT.
6. On the Select Mount Options page, from the Mount operation list, select one of the following options:
● Mount distributed SAP HANA System
● Mount distributed SAP HANA System with recovery
● Mount distributed SAP HANA System and prepare scripts for manual recovery.
7. On selecting Mount distributed SAP HANA System option:
In General Settings, do the following.
a. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Default path, Same as original path, or Mapped
Path. You can also specify a custom path. The mount on path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount
host.
b. From the Mount filesystems list you can mount Data, Logs and/or Shared file systems.
c. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default.
In the Host Map Settings table, select the target servers for each source server on which you want to mount the copy.
8. On selecting Mount distributed SAP HANA System with recovery option:
In General Settings, do the following.
a. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Same as original path, Default path, or Mapped
Path. You can also specify a custom path. The mount on path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount
host.
NOTE: For non-shared scale out SAP HANA systems, target path specified in the path mapping settings must be
basepath_datavolumes and basepath_logvolumes without SID for the target system. For examle, if you want the
basepath_datavolumes and basepath_logvolumes on target systems to be /hana/data/<SID> and /hana/log/<SID>,
then specify /hana/data and /hana/log respectively for the corresponding source paths.

b. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default.


In the Host Map Settings table, select the target servers for each source server on which you want to mount the copy.
In the Recovery Settings configure the following options:
a. The System ID must be a three letter alphanumeric identifier, consisting of all uppercase alphabets and starting with an
alphabet.
b. The Instance Number must have two digits and should not be greater than 99.
c. The System Usage allows you to select Custom, Production, Development, and Test options.
d. The Listen Interface allows you to select Global or Internal options. Default value is Global.
e. The Internal Network Address specifies the internal subnet address in CIDR notation. This field is mandatory if the
value for Listen Interface is set to Internal.
f. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) Password specifies the password for System Administrator (<sid>adm) user
and must contain at least eight characters.
g. The Confirm System Administrator (<sid>adm) Password specifies the password confirmation.
h. The Root User Name is used while communicating between nodes of target scale out systems. Default value is root.
i. Use trusted connection between the hosts. This field is selected by default. If trusted connection between the target
hosts of the scale-out SAP HANA system is not configured, unselect the check box, and enter the root user password.

258 Protect SAP HANA


j. Root User Password specifies the password of the user specified in Root User Name field.
k. SAP Host Agent User (sapadm) Password specifies the password to be set while deploying the SAP host agent on
mount server.
l. The Confirm SAP Host Agent User (sapadm) Password specifies the password confirmation.
m. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) Home Directory specifies the system administrator home directory.
n. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) User ID specifies the user ID of the target system administrator. By default,
the value is same as user ID of the system administrator on the production HANA system.
o. The Change System Database User Password enabling the option allows you to reset password for the System
database user on the mount SAP HANA system.
p. The System Database User name specifies the system database user name for which the password must be reset.
Default value is SYSTEM.
q. The Source System Database User Password specifies the password of the system database user on the source
system.
r. The Target System Database User Password specifies a new password of the system database user that was
specified in System database User name field.
s. The Confirm Target System Database User Password specifies the password confirmation.
9. On selecting Mount distributed HANA system and prepare script for manual recovery option:
In General Settings, do the following.
a. From the Mount on Path list, select a mount path location either to Same as original path, Default path, or Mapped
Path. You can also specify a custom path. The mount on path is the location where the copy is mounted on the mount
host.
NOTE: For non-shared scale out SAP HANA systems, target path specified in the path mapping settings must be
basepath_datavolumes and basepath_logvolumes without SID for the target system. For examle, if you want the
basepath_datavolumes and basepath_logvolumes on target systems to be /hana/data/<SID> and /hana/log/<SID>,
then specify /hana/data and /hana/log respectively for the corresponding source paths.

b. The Run Filesystem Check option is selected by default.


c. From the Script export directory, you must specify the target system directory to export the manual recovery scripts.
The default path is /tmp/%SID%/RecoveryScripts. However, the path can be changed to any required location.
In the Host Map Settings table, select the target servers for each source server on which you want to mount the copy.
In the Recovery Settings configure the following options:
a. The System ID must be a three letter alphanumeric identifier, consisting of all uppercase alphabets and starting with an
alphabet.
b. The Instance Number must have two digits and should not be greater than 99.
c. The System Usage allows you to select Custom, Production, Development, and Test options.
d. The Listen Interface allows you to select Global or Internal options. Default value is Global.
e. Use trusted connection between the hosts. This field is selected by default. If trusted connection between the target
hosts of the scale-out SAP HANA system is not configured, unselect the check box, and enter the root user password.
f. The Internal Network Address specifies the internal subnet address in CIDR notation. This field is mandatory if the
value for Listen Interface is set to Internal.
g. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) Home Directory specifies the system administrator home directory.
h. The System Administrator (<sid>adm) User ID specifies the user ID of the target system administrator. By default,
the value is same as user ID of the system administrator on the production HANA system.
i. The Change System Database User Password enabling the option allows you to reset password for the System
database user on the mount SAP HANA system.
j. The System Database User name specifies the system database user name for which the password must be reset.
Default value is SYSTEM.
10. Under Storage Settings, configure the following options:
NAS Preferred Interface allows you to specify NAS interface for PowerMax file copies and PowerStore BlockAndFileSnap
copies.
11. Click Next.
12. Review the mount settings and click Finish to complete the mount.
NOTE: Recovery of SAP HANA systems running with high isolation set is not supported.

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Path mapping
The path mapping option mounts the copy to a host using a path mapping table set to user-defined locations. When you use a
path mapping table, you have more control over where data is located.
You must specify the path where you want to mount a specific file system. You must provide a path map where the source file
system and the target mount point is specified.
Sample path mapping table is provided below:

Source file system Target mount path


/hana/data /sap_hana/data
/hana/logs /sap_hana/logs

NOTE:
● If a target path is not provided for a source path, then it is mounted to a path same as the source path on the mount
host.
● Ensure that you type in the absolute mount path on the target host. If the path is invalid, mount fails.
● Mount copy overrides is unavailable, if you select the mount path as Mapped path.
● Nested target mount points are not supported.
● For SAP HANA scale-out non-shared storage configurations, specify the basepath for data and log volume partitions
without SID for the respective source paths. For example, if you want the mount point on the target host for data
volume to be /appsync/data/<SID>/mnt00001, target path should be entered as /appsync/data.

Specify path mapping settings


You can specify the path where you want to mount a specific copy.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / Microsoft Exchange / SAP HANA.
4. Navigate to the folder that contains the copies.
5. Select the copy you want to mount, then click MOUNT COPY.
6. In the Mount Copy options, under the Specify Mount Settings section:
a. Select the mount host.
b. From the Mount on Path list, select Mapped Path.
The Path Mapping Settings link appears.
7. Click on the link to open the Path Mapping Settings window.
8. From the Select Source Host list, select a host.
All the file systems on the selected host are displayed in the source path column.
9. Specify the target path.
10. Click Save to save your settings.
If you want to set the target path for a file system on another source host, repeat steps 8 to 10.
11. Click Reset, to clear all the entered target paths for the selected source host.
12. Click OK to exit the Path Mapping window.

260 Protect SAP HANA


Overriding mount settings in a service plan
If multiple registered systems are subscribed to the same plan, you can select different mount settings for each database,
overriding the generic settings. Recovery settings cannot be overridden.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
4. Click a service plan, and expand the right pane.
5. Click the OVERRIDES tab.
6. Select Mount Overrides.
7. Select an entry, and click OVERRIDE MOUNT.
8. Edit the required fields, and click APPLY CHANGES to save the settings.
9. To revert back to default settings for a server, click SET TO DEFAULT.
NOTE: Overriding mount settings in a service plan is not applicable for recovery using HDBLCM utility.

Unmount a SAP HANA copy


You can unmount a SAP HANA copy using the copy management page or the service plan page.

Unmount SAP HANA copy from the Service Plan page


You can unmount a SAP HANA copy from the service plan page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies > Service Plan.
3. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
4. Click the name of the service plan you prefer in the Service Plan column.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click Unmount Copy.
6. Click OK.
NOTE:
● If the copy was recovered on a prepared SAP HANA system, the mounted SAP HANA system is stopped as part of
unmount.
● If the copy was mounted using "Using HDBLCM" option, the mounted SAP HANA system is unregistered as part of
unmount.
● If the copy was mounted using prepare scripts for manual recovery option, AppSync will not perform any operations
on the target systems. You must run the generated unregistration script on the server before performing unmount..

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Unmount a SAP HANA copy from the Copies page
You can unmount a SAP HANA copy from the Copy Management page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
4. Click the name of the SAP HANA system you prefer in the Name column.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click UNMOUNT COPY.
6. Click OK.
NOTE:
● If the copy was recovered on a prepared SAP HANA system, the mounted SAP HANA system is stopped as part of
unmount.
● If the copy was mounted using "Using HDBLCM" option, the mounted SAP HANA system is unregistered as part of
unmount.
● If the copy was mounted using prepare scripts for manual recovery option, AppSync will not perform any operations
on the target systems. You must run the generated unregistration script on the server before performing unmount.

Restore a SAP HANA copy


You can restore the production data from a copy of SAP HANA system created using data protection or repurpose generation
one plans.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.
NOTE:
● If a copy is mounted and recovered, it is not recommended to use this copy for restore.
● You must backup the encryption root keys at an external location to ensure recovery is possible.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
3. Select the SAP HANA system that contains the copy you want to restore, then click More > Restore.
4. Select Select a copy > Next.
5. In the Specify Restore Options select one of the following restore options and click Next. All are selected by default.
● Data
● Logs
● Shared
NOTE: If you are restoring <sapmnt> (shared), it is recommended to stop the SAP HANA system and all the
applications that access the SAP HANA system, before performing the restore operation.

6. In the Configure Storage Options page, configure the following storage options:
● Wait for mirror rebuild to complete: This option is applicable for metro node | VPLEX Snap copies whose production
data resides on local or distributed RAID 1 volumes.
● Perform device restore in background: Allows you to optimize restore of PowerMax/VMAX3 devices. If you select
this option, AppSync restore operation does not wait for VMAX track synchronization to complete. The production
application is available instantly.

262 Protect SAP HANA


NOTE: In the case of SnapVX or PowerStoreSnap mounted copies, during restore AppSync restores the data from
the snapshots that are created on the array to the source devices, or from linked devices (PowerMax/VMAX3) or
read/write clones (PowerStore Block). In this case you can:
● Restore from snapshot: Restores copies from original snapshots.
● Restore from changed data: Restores from the linked devices (PowerMax/VMAX3) or read/write clones
(PowerStore Block).

7. Click NEXT
8. If the file systems being restored affects any other SAP HANA systems or applications, you receive an affected entity
warning message. In the Warn affected applications page, select I have read and understand the warning above and
want to continue with restore. If multiple applications share the same LUN or file systems (as the application for which
the copy is created), those applications are listed as affected entities.
NOTE: You perform this step only if you have multiple applications that share the same LUN or file systems.

9. Click NEXT
10. Review the restore options and click Finish.

Results
After completion of restore from AppSync, you must manually start the SAP HANA system and recover the tenant databases.
To recover the SAP HANA system, run the below commands as a SAP HANA <sid>adm user:
● To recover the SYSTEMDB, use/usr/sap/<sid>/HDB<instance>/HDBSettings.sh, /usr/sap/<sid>/
HDB<instance>/exe/python_support/recoverSys.py, '--command=RECOVER DATA USING SNAPSHOT
CLEAR LOG'.
● To recover tenant database, use hdbsql SYSTEMDB=> RECOVER DATA FOR <Tenant> USING SNAPSHOT CLEAR
LOG;.

Affected entities during restore


When restoring from a copy, you may be prompted to restore items in addition to the ones you selected.
An affected entity is data that resides on your production host that unintentionally becomes part of a replica because of its
proximity to the data you intend to protect. You can prevent affected entity situations by properly planning your data layout
based on replica granularity. The granularity of a replica depends upon the environment.
For SAP HANA system, an affected entity can be another SAP HANA system which shares the same filesystem fully or partially
or an Oracle Database sharing the same file system.
If there are affected entities in your underlying storage configuration, the Restore Wizard notifies you of these items. The
following scenarios produce affected entities that require you to acknowledge that additional items will be restored:
● For Unity, PowerStore, PowerFlex, and VMAX3/PowerMax, if the databases are on the same LUN they become affected
entities when the other database is protected.
● For Unity, if the databases are in the same consistency group they become affected entities when the other database is
protected.
● For vDISK/datastore - If data files of two SAP HANA systems: H01 and H02 reside on datastore [DS1] and or similarly redo
logs of same two SAP HANA systems resides on datastore [DS2], then both become affected entities.
● For PowerStore, while restoring from remote copy, if the databases are in the same volume group and the replication session
is created for volume group, they become affected entities when another database in the group is protected.
● For PowerFlex, restoring from remote copies is not supported.
If the affected entity was protected along with the SAP HANA system selected for restore, AppSync restores it. Any other SAP
HANA system or Oracle database that was not protected but is an affected entity is overwritten.
AppSync determines affected entities (databases or file systems) for the consistency groups, volume groups, or LUNs of the
SAP HANA system that is selected for restore. If the affected SAP HANA system partially reside on other consistency groups,
LUN groups, or LUNs, AppSync does not calculate affected entities on those consistency groups, LUN groups, or LUNs.
Affected entities are calculated on the basis of restore granularity. If both data, log and shared are selected for restore, then
affected entities are calculated for all the consistency groups, volume groups, LUN groups, LUNs, or datastores on which the
database resides. If only data or only log restore is selected, then the affected entities are only calculated for the selected
component's consistency group, volume group, LUN group, LUN, or datastore.

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Expire a SAP HANA copy
You can expire a SAP HANA copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
4. Click the name of the SAP HANA system you prefer in the Name column.
5. Select the copy you want to expire, then click More > Expire.
6. Click OK.
NOTE: If the copy is an immutable copy, then the expiry is disabled as the secure snapshot on the array cannot be
deleted before the Time to Live. Once the Time to Live time is reached, the snapshot is automatically deleted from the
array and from AppSync. However, if copy is mounted and Time to Live is reached, then copy will be deleted only after
unmount.

Automatic expiration of copies


The automatic expiration value specifies the maximum desired number of Snap or Clone that can exist simultaneously.
When the "Always keep x copies" value is reached, older copies are expired to free storage for the next copy in the rotation.
Failed copies are not counted. AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until its replacement has been successfully created. For
example, if the number of copies to keep before expiration is 7; AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until the 8th copy is
created.
When the "Keep copies for x Days" value exceeds for created copies, AppSync will expire those copies in the next maintenance
step.
AppSync does not expire copies under the following circumstances:
● Mounted copies are not expired.
● A copy that contains the only replica of a database will not be expired.
This setting is independent of any storage policy setting. The service plan administrator should work with the storage
administrator to ensure that the Storage policy settings will enable the support of the specified number of snap copies for
that application.

Enable or disable expiry of a SAP HANA copy


You can enable or disable expiry of a copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > SAP HANA.
4. Click the name of the SAP HANA system you prefer in the Name column.
5. Select the copy that you want to enable or disable and click More.
6. Click one of the following options depending on the action you want to perform:
● Enable Copy Expiry: To enable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
● Disable Copy Expiry: To disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
7. Click OK.

264 Protect SAP HANA


11
Protect Kubernetes Cluster
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Overview of Kubernetes Cluster
• Discover Kubernetes Cluster
• Subscribe a Kubernetes namespace to a service plan
• Kubernetes Namespaces List
• Kubernetes Application Templates
• Kubernetes Cluster service plan details
• Create copy of Kubernetes namespace
• Edit Subscription for Kubernetes Cluster
• Kubernetes Namespaces copies list
• Unsubscribe Kubernetes namespace from a service plan
• Service plan schedule
• Create Kubernetes namespace repurpose copies
• Mount a Kubernetes namespace copy
• Unmount Kubernetes namespace copy
• Expire a Kubernetes namespace copy

Overview of Kubernetes Cluster


Use AppSync to create and manage application-consistent copies of namespaces in Kubernetes cluster. The copies can be used
for mount (with or without recovery).
AppSync support includes:
● Namespaces created in Bare metal Kubernetes cluster and cluster that is deployed using RedHat OpenShift and SUSE RKE 1
& 2.
NOTE: Supports Linux containers only.
● Support for creating application consistent copies applications running inside the namespace using application templates.
● Support for protecting applications running inside specific pods within a namespace using default or custom application
templates.
● Support for repurposing of Kubernetes namespace copies.

Steps to Configure a Kubernetes user account


Following are the steps to create a service account with minimal privilege for obtaining the token for Kubernetes cluster
registration in AppSync:
1. Creating a namespace for service account
kubectl create namespace appsync-users
2. Creating a service account
kubectl create serviceaccount appsync-service-account -n appsync-users
3. Creating the cluster roles
cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1

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kind: ClusterRole
metadata:
name: api-cluster-role
namespace: appsync-users
rules:
- apiGroups:
- ""
- apps
- rbac.authorization.k8s.io
- apiextensions.k8s.io
- velero.io
- snapshot.storage.k8s.io
- storage.k8s.io
- volumegroup.storage.dell.com
resources:
- namespaces
- nodes
- persistentvolumeclaims
- persistentvolumes
- pods
- pods/exec
- secrets
- services
- deployments
- replicasets
- statefulsets
- volumesnapshotclasses
- volumesnapshotcontents
- volumesnapshots
- storageclasses
- backupstoragelocations
- backups
- restores
- customresourcedefinitions
- clusterrolebindings
- serviceaccounts
- replicationcontrollers
- clusterroles
- dellcsivolumegroupsnapshots
- serverstatusrequests
- deletebackuprequests
verbs: ["get", "list", "create", "update", "patch", "delete", "bind"]
EOF

266 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


4. Creating the cluster role binding
cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
name: appsync-cluster-role-binding
subjects:
- namespace: appsync-users
kind: ServiceAccount
name: appsync-service-account
roleRef:
apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
kind: ClusterRole
name: api-cluster-role
EOF
5. Create service account secret (This step is applicable for K8's 1.24 and above versions)
kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
name: appsync-service-account-secret
namespace: appsync-users
annotations:
kubernetes.io/service-account.name: appsync-service-account
type: kubernetes.io/service-account-token
EOF
6. Obtaining the service token
kubectl describe secret appsync-service-account-token-<id> -n appsync-users

NOTE: Additional resources can be added based on the namespace configuration.

Discover Kubernetes Cluster


Perform this procedure to update the Kubernetes Clusters known to AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click DISCOVER CLUSTER.
4. Select the desired cluster and click OK.

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Subscribe a Kubernetes namespace to a service plan
Perform this procedure to create copy of a Kubernetes namespace, by subscribing it to a service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on a Cluster.
4. Select one or more namespaces, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select the appropriate option.

Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the namespace for protection and run the plan immediately for the
selected namespaces.
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the namespaces for protection. Protection for all namespaces that are
option to override) part of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
7. Click Select to choose the service plan that you want to subscribe to (Bronze).
NOTE: User defined service plans also appear in the list.

8. Click OK.
9. Click NEXT.
10. Follow the below procedure to specify the Application options:
a. Click on ADD LABEL SELECTOR.
b. Enter the label which you specified while creating the Application Template.
c. Application Templates matching the label is displayed in the Application Template drop-down.
d. Select the desired Application Template from the drop-down.
e. If multiple label selectors are added, optionally you can set the copy order.
f. Select Only include resources matching label(s) selected above in the copy option, if you choose to protect only
the pods that match the labels that are specified in the selected Application Template(s).
NOTE: This option is available only when user specifies a label using ADD LABEL SELECTOR.

g. Select Select any matching template based on label for Pod(s) whose label is not selected above option, if you
want AppSync to choose a matching Application Template.
NOTE: To remove a specified label, click DELETE SELECTOR.

11. Click NEXT to review your selection.


12. Click FINISH.

Kubernetes Namespaces List


The namespaces page lists all the available namespaces that are discovered for the selected cluster.
Click on a namespace name to display copies of the namespace.
Namespace's information includes:
● Status of service plan run, for example checkmark in a green circle = successful
● Name
● Label

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● Namespace Status
● Service plan, for example Bronze
You can select one or more namespaces to protect at one time. Click select all to protect all the namespaces on this page.

Column Description
Name Kubernetes Namespace name
Status Status of the namespace
Service Plan Name of the subscribed service plan
Copy Completion Status Status of the copy being created
Label Kubernetes namespace labels

When you select a namespace, the above details can be viewed in the PROPERTIES tab of the details view on right side of the
screen.
Upon clicking on Pod(s) tab, the pods that are available inside the namespace will be visible.
To set alert notification, select the namespace and click MORE > Email Notifications. In the Email Notifications dialog, enter
comma-separated list of the email ids of the recipients. Click OK.
Select a namespace and click EMAIL RECIPIENTS in the details pane. It lists all the email recipients that will be notified after
the completion of the various operations on the namespace.

Kubernetes Application Templates


Application Templates makes the AppSync protection and recovery operations application aware by allowing the user to execute
script(s) for quiescing application(s) running inside the namespaces.
NOTE: Ensure to review and validate the commands and scripts used in the Application templates to avoid any data loss
before deploying them in the production environment.

Pre Copy Command


AppSync allows user to execute a script to quiesce/freeze the application(s) before AppSync creates the copy on the array. The
script to be executed must be specified in the Pre Copy Command section of the application template.
If the script has dependencies like libraries, scripts, or configuration files, user should archive the dependencies using tar utility
and place it in the <AppSync install path>\jboss\applib folder on the AppSync server. In such scenario, user must
provide the tar file name in the Push file > Name field along with the target binary location on the pod where it must be
copied. The Pre Copy Command and Post Mount Command should have the steps to extract the tar file and execute the
script.

NOTE: If the target location is not specified, AppSync copies the specified tar file in /tmp directory.

The output of the pre copy script execution is captured and is made available to post copy and post mount commands as
environment variable AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand.
If the script execution results in generation of metadata files (for example: metadatafile1, metadatafile2 in /usr/data location on
the pod), you can download the files by capturing the filenames in the output as shown below:
DOWNLOAD_META_FILES<</usr/data/metadatafile1,/usr/data/metadatafile2;
AppSync makes it available to Post Copy Command and Post Mount Command in the same location on the respective pods
from where the metadata files were downloaded.
NOTE: If the location from which the metadata files were downloaded is not present during post copy or post mount
command execution steps, AppSync copies the metadata files to the location specified in target binary location in the
Application Template.

Protect Kubernetes Cluster 269


Post Copy Command
AppSync allows user to execute a script to unquiesce/thaw the application(s) after AppSync creates the copy on the array. The
script to be executed must be specified in the Post Copy command section of the application template. The artifacts of pre
copy command execution are automatically made available by AppSync in the form of environment variable and metadata files.
The output of the post copy script execution is captured and is made available to Post Mount Command as environment
variable AS_ENV_PostCopyCommand.
If the script execution results in generation of metadata files (for example: metadatafile3, metadatafile4 in /usr/data location on
the pod), you can download the files by capturing the filenames in the output as shown below:
DOWNLOAD_META_FILES<</usr/data/metadatafile3,/usr/data/metadatafile4;
AppSync makes it available to Post Mount Command in the same location on the respective pods from where the metadata
files were downloaded.

Post Mount Command


AppSync allows user to execute a script during recovery operation after AppSync performs mount on the target Kubernetes
cluster. The script to be executed must be specified in the Post Mount Command section of the Application Template.
The artifacts of pre copy and post copy command executions are automatically made available by AppSync in the form of
environment variables and metadata files.
NOTE:
1. Pods on which the scripts are executed must have the tar utility installed.
2. If the output of any of the command executions exceeds 2 KiB, AppSync truncates the output to 2 KiB before storing it.
In such a scenario, it is recommended to write the output to a file and download it.
3. It is recommended to restrict the size of metadata files that are generated by pre copy and post copy command to a
maximum of 48 MiB.

Illustration on the usage of Application Templates


Below procedure illustrates the usage of Application Template to create an application consistent copy a custom database
running inside the namespace.

Steps
1. The Application Template that is used for this illustration uses the scripts freeze.sh, thaw.sh, recover.sh which is dependent
on a library called dbquiesce.so and a configuration file dbquiesce.conf.
● freeze.sh is a script used for freezing the database and upon execution, it generates data that is needed by the thaw.sh
script. Below is the pseudo code for it.
chmod u+x dbquiesce.so
./dbquiesce -config dbquiesce.conf -freeze
The above command generates the below output:
{
"dbname": "custom_db1";
"sequenceNumber": 13579;
}

● thaw.sh is a script used for thawing the database and upon execution, it generates metadata file(s) required by
recover.sh to recover the database. Below is the pseudo code for it.
db_name = extract 'dbname' from $AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand
./dbquiesce -config dbquiesce.conf -dbname $db_name -thaw
The above command generates the below output:
{ "metadatafiles": "metadatafile1, metadatafile2" }

270 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


DOWNLOAD_META_FILES<</usr/local/bin/custom_db/metadatafile1, /usr/local/bin/custom_db/
metadatafile2;

● recover.sh is a script which is used for recovering the database using artifacts generated by freeze.sh and thaw.sh
scripts. Below is the pseudo code for it.
chmod u+x dbquiesce.so
db_name = extract 'dbname' from $AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand
meta_files = extract 'metadatafiles' from $AS_ENV_PostCopyCommand
./dbquiesce -config dbquiesce.conf -dbname $db_name -metafiles $meta_files -recover

2. Archive the dependencies (library and the configuration files) along with the scripts as a tar file. For example: custom_db.tar
3. Copy the tar file in <AppSync install path>\jboss\applib location on the AppSync server.
4. Log in to AppSync console. Click Copy Management.
5. Select Kubernetes Cluster from Select Application drop-down.
6. Click Application templates.
7. Click CREATE TEMPLATE.
8. In the Define Template Properties page, provide the following:
a. Application Template Name - Specify a name for the application template.
b. Description - Specify a description for the application template.
c. Application Label(s) - Specify one or more labels that match the pod label(s) running inside the Kubernetes
namespace.
d. Application Type - Specify a name to categorize the application template.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In Specify application action(s) page, provide the following:
Specify the tar file name (custom_db.tar) in Push file Name location.
● Below is the pseudo code for Pre Copy Command:
cd /usr/local/bin/custom_db
tar -xvf custom_db.tar
./freeze.sh

● Below is the pseudo code for Post Copy Command:


cd /usr/local/bin/custom_db
./thaw.sh

● Below is the pseudo code for Post Mount Command:


cd /usr/local/bin/custom_db
tar -xvf custom_db.tar
./recover.sh

11. Click NEXT.


12. In the Specify Copy Order options, select any one of the copy order:
a. By increasing order of name
b. By decreasing order of name
c. Parallelly (no specific order).
13. Click NEXT.
14. Review the Application Template Properties and click FINISH.

Built-in Kubernetes Application Templates


AppSync provides the following built-in templates:
● Postgresql Server Template
● MYSQL Server Template
● Mongodb Server Template

Protect Kubernetes Cluster 271


● Microsoft SQL Server Template
NOTE: Microsoft SQL Servers 2017 and 2019 are supported.
● Cassandra Server Template
These Application Templates can be used in the configurations as specified in the description of the respective templates. The
built-in Application Template can be copied, but cannot be deleted.

Create Kubernetes application template


You can create Kubernetes application template in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Select Applications drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click Application templates.
4. Click CREATE TEMPLATE.
5. In the Define Template Properties page, provide the following:
a. Application Template Name - Specify a name for the application template.
b. Description - Specify a description for the application template.
c. Application Label(s) - Specify one or more labels that match the pod label(s) running inside the Kubernetes
namespace.
d. Application Type - Specify a name to categorize the application template.
6. Click Next.
7. In Specify application action(s) page, provide the following:
● Push file
Name - Name of a binary or script for freezing and thawing applications running inside the pod.

NOTE: Scripts must be present in the <AppSync install path>\jboss\applib folder before the service plan runs.

Target binary location - Specify the location inside the pod where the scripts must be copied during the service plan
run. By default, scripts are copied to and executed from \tmp directory.
● Pre Copy Command - Specify the command that has to be executed before taking the application copy. For example, a
command that can put the application in backup/freeze mode.
NOTE: Output of Pre Copy command is made available in the source pod as environment variable
AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand while executing the Post Copy Command.

● Post Copy Command - Specify the command that has to be executed after taking the application copy. For example, a
command that can take the application out of backup/freeze mode.
NOTE: Output of Pre Copy command and Post Copy Command is made available in the recovered pod as
AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand and AS_ENV_PostCopyCommand environment variables respectively while executing the
Post Mount Command during recovery.

● Post Mount Command - Specify the command that has to be executed to recover the application once the copy is
mounted.
8. Click Next.
9. In the Specify Copy Order options, select any one of the copy order:
a. By increasing order of name
b. By decreasing order of name
c. Parallelly (no specific order).
10. Click Next.
11. Review the Application Template Properties and click FINISH.

272 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


Delete Kubernetes application template
You can delete user defined Kubernetes application template in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click Application templates.
4. Select the application template that you want to delete and click DELETE TEMPLATE.
NOTE: Built-in templates cannot be deleted.

Copy Kubernetes application template


You can copy Kubernetes application template in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Select Applications drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on Application templates.
4. Select the application template that you want to copy and click COPY TEMPLATE.
5. In the Define Template Properties page, provide the following:
a. Application Template Name - Specify a name for the application template.
b. Description - Specify a description for the application template.
c. Application Label(s) - Specify one or more labels that match the pod label(s) running inside the Kubernetes
namespace.
d. Application Type - Specify a name to categorize the application template.
6. Click Next.
7. In Specify application action(s) page, provide the following:
● Push file
Name - Name of a binary or script for freezing and thawing applications running inside the pod.

NOTE: Scripts must be present in the <AppSync install path>\jboss\applib folder before the service plan runs.

Target binary location - Specify the location inside the pod where the scripts must be copied during the service plan
run. By default, scripts are copied to and executed from \tmp directory.
● Pre Copy Command - Specify the command that has to be executed before taking the application copy. For example, a
command that can put the application in backup/freeze mode.
NOTE: Output of Pre Copy command is made available in the source pod as environment variable
AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand while executing the Post Copy Command.

● Post Copy Command - Specify the command that has to be executed after taking the application copy. For example, a
command that can take the application out of backup/freeze mode.
NOTE: Output of Pre Copy command and Post Copy Command is made available in the recovered pod as
AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand and AS_ENV_PostCopyCommand environment variables respectively while executing the
Post Mount Command during recovery.

Protect Kubernetes Cluster 273


● Post Mount Command - Specify the command that has to be executed to recover the application once the copy is
mounted.
8. Click Next.
9. In the Specify Copy Order options, select any one of the copy order:
a. By increasing order of name
b. By decreasing order of name
c. Parallelly (no specific order).
10. Click Next.
11. Review the Application Template Properties and click FINISH.

Edit Kubernetes application template


You can edit user defined Kubernetes application template in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click Application templates.
4. Select the application template that you want to edit and click EDIT TEMPLATE.
5. In the template properties screen, you can modify the description.
6. Click Next.
7. In Specify application action(s) page, provide the following:
● Push file
Name - Name of a binary or script for freezing and thawing applications running inside the pod.

NOTE: Scripts must be present in the <AppSync install path>\jboss\applib folder before the service plan runs.

Target binary location - Specify the location inside the pod where the scripts must be copied during the service plan
run. By default, scripts are copied to and executed from \tmp directory.
● Pre Copy command - Specify the command that has to be executed before taking the application copy. For example, a
command that can put the application in backup/freeze mode.
NOTE: Output of Pre Copy command is made available in the source pod as environment variable
AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand while executing the Post Copy Command.

● Post Copy Command - Specify the command that has to be executed after taking the application copy. For example, a
command that can take the application out of backup/freeze mode.
NOTE: Output of Pre Copy command and Post Copy Command is made available in the recovered pod as
AS_ENV_PreCopyCommand and AS_ENV_PostCopyCommand environment variables respectively while executing the
Post Mount Command during recovery.

● Post Mount Command - Specify the command that has to be executed to recover the application once the copy is
mounted.
8. Click Next.
9. In the Specify Copy Order options, select any one of the copy order:
a. By increasing order of name
b. By decreasing order of name
c. Parallelly (no specific order).
10. Click Next.
11. Review the Application Template Properties and click FINISH.

274 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


Kubernetes Cluster service plan details
Use this table to learn Kubernetes Cluster service plan details.
Lists the Kubernetes Cluster service plan settings with their description and default values.

Table 42. Kubernetes Cluster Service Plan details


Name Description
Define the Copy
Service Plan Name Name of the service plan.
Description Describes the function of the service plan.
Service Plan State Specifies if the service plan is enabled or disabled.
Copy Location Specifies if the location is local, remote, or local and remote.
Mount Copy Specifies the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted (Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy and on completion unmount
Retention Specifies the configured copy retention number.
● Always Keep ___ Copies : Specifies the number of copies to be retained.
● Keep Copy for ___ Days : Specifies the number of days to retain the copies.
Create the Copy
Prefer Volume group If Volume Group CRD is installed, Volume Group snapshot is created.
snapshot
Mount
Mount Operation Allows you to select:
● Mount on Kubernetes Cluster.
● Mount on Kubernetes Cluster with recovery.
General Settings
Mount on Kubernetes The cluster on which to mount the copy.
Cluster
Retain changes after Retains changes made to a mounted copy upon unmount.
unmount
Enable Namespace Allows you to specify a target namespace for the source namespace.
Mapping(s)
Recovery Settings
Apply YAML after Allows you to apply a YAML file during recovery.
recovery
Pod startup wait Wait timeout (in minutes) for all the pods to be in running state.
timeout (in minutes)
Schedule/Run
OnDemand Creates a copy when you click Finish on this wizard.
Schedule Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan.
Recurrence Type Specifies the recurrence type that is configured for the service plan. Options are:
● At frequency of...: Run at a frequency of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute interval. Default is 24 hours.

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Table 42. Kubernetes Cluster Service Plan details (continued)
Name Description
● Every day at...: Run every day at certain times: Select different times during the day. Minutes
after the hour are set in 1 minute intervals. There is no default selected.
● On selected days of the week: Run at a certain time on selected days of the week. One or more
days of the week (up to all seven days) can be selected. There is no default day of the week
selected. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● On specified days of the month: Run at a certain time on selected days of the month. Select one
or more days of the month (up to all days). Select one time of day. Available times are at 1 minute
interval. Default is the first day of the month. Select Last to select the last day of the month.
Every Specifies the desired time to create the service plan.
Enable Recovery Specifies if the RPO is enabled or not for the specified time interval. In the RPO drop-down list, select
Point Objective the desired time frame.
Review
Provides summary of the service plan details.

Create copy of Kubernetes namespace


Perform this procedure to create copy of a Kubernetes namespace, by subscribing it to a service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on a Cluster.
4. Select one or more namespaces, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select the appropriate option.

Option Description
Subscribe to Service Plan and Run To subscribe the namespace for protection and run the plan immediately for the
selected namespaces.
Subscribe to Service Plan (with To subscribe the namespaces for protection. Protection for all namespaces that are
option to override) part of the service plan is executed at the scheduled time.
7. Click Select to choose the service plan that you want to subscribe to (Bronze).
NOTE: User defined service plans also appear in the list.

8. Click OK.
9. Click NEXT.
10. Follow the below procedure to specify the Application options:
a. Click on ADD LABEL SELECTOR.
b. Enter the label which you specified while creating the Application Template.
c. Application Templates matching the label is displayed in the Application Template drop-down.
d. Select the desired Application Template from the drop-down.
e. If multiple label selectors are added, optionally you can set the copy order.
f. Select Only include resources matching label(s) selected above in the copy option, if you choose to protect only
the pods that match the labels that are specified in the selected Application Template(s).

276 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


NOTE: This option is available only when user specifies a label using ADD LABEL SELECTOR.

g. Select Select any matching template based on label for Pod(s) whose label is not selected above option, if you
want AppSync to choose a matching Application Template.
NOTE: To remove a specified label, click DELETE SELECTOR.

11. Click NEXT to review your selection.


12. Click FINISH.

Illustration on the usage of Application Templates for pod selection


and grouping
Below example illustrates the usage of application template framework to select and group pods to create a write order
consistent copy of the namespace using volume group snapshot capability provided by the underlying CSI driver.
For this illustration, consider a namespace - custom_namespace having clustered instances of custom_database1,
custom_database2 and custom_database3 each running on 4 pods with 2 volumes each (8 volumes per database instance;
24 volumes in total). To protect custom_database1 and custom_database2 running inside the namespace, follow the below
procedures:

Create an Application Template for custom_database1


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on Application templates.
4. Select the application template that you want to copy and click CREATE TEMPLATE to create application template for
custom_database1.
5. In the Define Template Properties page, provide the following:
● Application Template Name - application_template_for_custom_database1
● Description - Application Template for custom_database1.
● Application Label(s) -
key - dbtype
value - custom_database1
● Application Type - customdb1
6. Click NEXT.
7. In Specify application action(s) page, click NEXT.
NOTE: If the application templates are used for grouping without any scripts specified, the resultant copy will be write
order consistent.

8. In the Specify Copy Order options, select the option Parallelly (no specific order).
9. Click NEXT.
10. Review the Application Template Properties and click FINISH.

Create an Application Template for custom_database2


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on Application templates.
4. Select the application template that you want to copy and click CREATE TEMPLATE to create application template for
custom_database2.

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5. In the Define Template Properties page, provide the following:
● Application Template Name - application_template_for_custom_database2
● Description - Application Template for custom_database2.
● Application Label(s) -
key - dbtype
value - custom_database2
● Application Type - customdb2
6. Click NEXT.
7. In Specify application action(s) page, click NEXT.
NOTE: If the application templates are used for grouping without any scripts specified, the resultant copy will be write
order consistent.

8. In the Specify Copy Order options, select the option Parallelly (no specific order).
9. Click NEXT.
10. Review the Application Template Properties and click FINISH.

Protecting the custom_namespace using the Application Templates


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click Kubernetes Cluster and select the cluster in which custom_namespace is created.
4. Click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select Subscribe to Service Plan and Run and click SELECT to choose a service plan with Prefer Volume group option
enabled.
6. Click OK.
7. Click NEXT.
8. In the Specify the Application options page, click ADD LABEL SELECTOR.
Specify dbtype=custom_database1 in the label selector field.
Select application_template_for_custom_database1 in application template column.
9. Click ADD LABEL SELECTOR.
Specify dbtype=custom_database2 in the label selector field.
Select application_template_for_custom_database2 in application template column.
Set copy order to 1.
10. Select Only include resources matching label(s) selected above in the copy and deselect Select any matching
template based on label for Pod(s) whose label is not selected above.
11. Click NEXT to review your selection.
12. Click FINISH.
During the service plan run, AppSync will identify and group the storage volumes of the pods into two distinct volume groups
based on the application template selection and creates volume group snapshots on the array. The pods and the underlying
storage volumes of the application custom_database3 will be excluded from the copy creation operation.

Edit Subscription for Kubernetes Cluster


Perform the following procedure to modify the label selector options for protection copies. This option cannot be modified for
repurpose copies.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

278 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
4. Select the service plan to which the Kubernetes namespace is subscribed and click SUBSCRIBERS on the right pane.
5. Select the namespace and click the EDIT button to modify the options.
6. Click OK.

Kubernetes Namespaces copies list


The list contains Kubernetes namespace copies that have been discovered and stored in the AppSync database. You can also
see details of a copy from the Copies tab of the Service Plan.
In the Kubernetes namespace Copies page all the copies which are protected as part of a service plan are listed. From the
Copies page, you can select to mount, expire, refresh, or repurpose copies.
Each entry shows the protection status, name, subscribed service plans, mount status, copy type, cluster name, generation,
automatic expiration, label, source, storage system, and site details.

Column Description
Status Green: Successful
Yellow: Completed with errors
Red: Failed

Copy Name Date and time when the copy was created.
Service Plan Name of the service plan that is associated with the copy.
NOTE: In the service plan for repurposed copies, the
options to schedule and mount overrides will be disabled.

Label Common name that is used to help identify repurposing copies


Mount Status Kubernetes cluster name to which the copy is mounted, or
Not Mounted
Mount Type If copy is mounted as part of service plan run, value for Mount
Type is ServicePlan. If copy is mounted as OnDemand, value
for Mount Type is OnDemand.
Copy Type Replication technology that is used to create the copy: CSI
Snapshot
Generation The generation of the repurposed copy.
Source The original source namespace for the copy, or source copy
for the copy.
Site Site where the copy is located.
Storage System Storage system where the copy resides.
Automatic Expiration Determines whether automatic expiration is enabled or
disabled for the selected copy.

Time to Live If Retention policy is set to Always Keep _____ Copies, value
for Time to Live will be disabled. If Retention policy is set
to Keep Copy for _____ Days, value for Time to Live will
be based on value set to Keep Copy for _____ Days. For
example, 2 days 14 hrs 8 minutes.

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Unsubscribe Kubernetes namespace from a service
plan
Perform this procedure to unsubscribe Kubernetes namespaces from the service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on a cluster.
4. Select the namespace that you want to unsubscribe from a service plan.
5. Click MORE drop-down, select Unsubscribe.
6. In the Unsubscribe dialog, select the service plan that you want to unsubscribe for a specific service plan or ALL to
unsubscribe to all service plans and click OK.
NOTE: After you unsubscribe, AppSync retains all existing copies and does not create more copies using the service
plan. You can also unsubscribe applications from a service plan, using the Service Plan page.

Service plan schedule


The service plan schedule (On-demand or scheduled) determines whether the plan is run manually, or configured to run on a
schedule.
Options for scheduling when a service plan starts include:
● Specify a recovery point objective (RPO).
○ Set an RPO of 30 minutes or 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours
○ Set minutes after the hour in 5 minute intervals.
○ Default RPO is 24 hours.
● Runs every day at specific times.
○ Select different times during the day.
○ Select minutes after the hour in 1 minute intervals.
○ There is no default selected.
● Run at a certain time on selected days of the week.
○ You can select one or more days of the week (up to seven days).
○ There is no default for day of the week. Default time of day is 12:00 AM.
● Runs at a certain time on selected days of the month.
○ Select one or more days of the month (up to all days).
○ Select one time of day. Available times are at 15 minute intervals.
○ Default is the first day of the month.
○ Select Last to select the last day of the month.
● Server plan Recurrence Type options include:
○ Run Now
○ Schedule
○ Run Only Once At later time

280 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


Overriding Kubernetes service plan schedules
Perform this procedure to set individual schedules for Kubernetes namespaces subscribed to the service plan, by overriding the
scheduled set in the service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

About this task


You can only override the settings of the recurrence type that is previously selected for the service plan.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on a cluster.
4. Select one or more namespaces, and then click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. Select the purpose as Data Protection.
6. Select Subscribe to Service Plan (with option to override schedule).
7. Select the service plan that you want to subscribe to.
8. Click NEXT.
9. Follow the below procedure to specify the Application options:
a. Click on ADD LABEL SELECTOR.
b. Enter the label which you specified while creating the Application Template.
c. Application Templates matching the label is displayed in the Application Template drop-down.
d. Select the desired Application Template from the drop-down.
e. If multiple label selectors are added, optionally you can set the copy order.
f. Select Only include resources matching label(s) selected above in the copy option, if you choose to protect only
the pods that match the labels that are specified in the selected Application Template(s).
NOTE: This option is available only when user specifies a label using ADD LABEL SELECTOR.

g. Select Select any matching template based on label for Pod(s) whose label is not selected above option, if you
want AppSync to choose a matching Application Template.
NOTE: To remove a specified label, click DELETE SELECTOR.

10. Click NEXT.


The Override Schedule page appears.
11. Select one or more namespaces and click OVERRIDE SCHEDULE.
12. Specify the schedule based on your requirement and then click OK.
For example, if the default recurrence type is for specified days of the month, and the rule setting is to Run at 12:00 AM on
the 1st day of every month, you can override the time and the day for individual file systems.
13. Click NEXT to review your selection.
14. Click FINISH.

Create Kubernetes namespace repurpose copies


You can create first generation, and second generation repurpose copies in AppSync.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Protect Kubernetes Cluster 281


Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and go to Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on a cluster.
4. Select the desired namespace and click CREATE COPY WITH PLAN.
5. In the Subscribe to Existing Service Plan page, select Data Repurposing > NEXT.
6. Follow the below procedure to specify the Application options:
a. Click on ADD LABEL SELECTOR.
b. Enter the label which you specified while creating the Application Template.
c. Application Templates matching the label is displayed in the Application Template drop-down.
d. Select the desired Application Template from the drop-down.
e. If multiple label selectors are added, optionally you can set the copy order.
f. Select Only include resources matching label(s) selected above in the copy option, if you choose to protect only
the pods that match the labels that are specified in the selected Application Template(s).
NOTE: This option is available only when user specifies a label using ADD LABEL SELECTOR.

g. Select Select any matching template based on label for Pod(s) whose label is not selected above option, if you
want AppSync to choose a matching Application Template.
NOTE: To remove a specified label, click DELETE SELECTOR.

7. Click NEXT.
8. Define the following properties for the copy:
a. The Service Plan Name field is defined by default.
b. The Description field provides a brief description of the copy.
c. The Copy Label field provides an autogenerated label for the copy.
d. The Copy Location is set to local by default.
e. The Mount Copy list allows you to select mount options for the copy. You can configure this option to either No,
Yes, Yes - Keep it mounted (where the previous copy is unmounted), or Yes - Mount the copy and on completion
unmount.
f. The 2nd Generation Copies list allows you to select either Yes or No.
9. Click NEXT.
10. Select Prefer Volume Group Snapshot option to create copy using Volume Group snapshot. This option is applicable only
if Volume Group CRD is installed in the cluster. If Volume Group CRD is not installed, Volume snapshots are created.
11. Click NEXT.
12. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
● OnDemand - Creates a copy when you click FINISH on this wizard.
● Schedule - Creates a copy that is based on the specified recurrence type. On the first schedule, a repurposed copy is
created, and on subsequent schedules, it refreshes the copy.
● Run Only Once At later time - Creates a copy only once on the specified date and time.
13. Click NEXT.
14. If 2nd Generation Copies option is set to Yes in Define the Copy for Repurpose page, you will view the 2nd-gen Copy
page, define the following properties for the 2nd-gen copies:
a. The 2nd-gen Copies Label field, enter the label of the copy.
b. The Mount 2nd-gen Copies field, enter the label of the copy. You can configure this option to either No, Yes, Yes -
Keep it mounted (where the previous copy is unmounted), or Yes - Mount the copy and on completion unmount.
15. Review the repurpose copy creation settings, and click FINISH.

Create Kubernetes namespace second generation copies


Perform this procedure to create a second-generation copy from a first-generation existing copy.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

282 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click on a cluster.
4. Select the namespace that contains the first-generation copy.
5. Select the first-generation copy, and then click CREATE 2ND GEN COPY.
The Create 2nd-gen Copy wizard opens.
6. In the Define the 2nd-gen Copy page, configure the following:
a. 2nd-gen copies label - Specify a label for the copy.
b. Mount 2nd-gen copies - Configure this field to one of the following options:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy and on completion unmount
7. Click NEXT to review your selection.
8. In the Schedule page, select one of the following options:
● Run now
● Run Recurrently As Per Schedule
● Run Only Once At Later Time
9. Click NEXT to review your selection.
10. Review the configurations for the second-generation copy and click FINISH.

Mount a Kubernetes namespace copy


Use this table to learn Kubernetes Cluster service plan details.
Lists the Kubernetes Cluster service plan settings with their description and default values.

Table 43. Kubernetes Cluster Service Plan details


Name Description
Mount
Mount Operation Allows you to select:
● Mount on Kubernetes Cluster.
● Mount on Kubernetes Cluster with recovery.
General Settings
Mount on Kubernetes The cluster on which to mount the copy.
Cluster
Retain changes after Retains changes made to a mounted copy upon unmount.
unmount
Enable Namespace Allows you to specify a target namespace for the source namespace.
Mapping(s)
Recovery Settings
Apply YAML after Allows you to apply a YAML file during recovery.
recovery
Pod startup wait Wait timeout (in minutes) for all the pods to be in running state.
timeout (in minutes)

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Mount and recovery considerations
The following considerations are applicable only in the case of repurposing.
If a second-generation copy is created from a mounted first-generation copy with namespace mapping, while mounting the
second-generation copy with namespace mapping, you should specify the mounted namespace name of the first-generation
copy as the source namespace.
For example:
Namespace mapping of first-generation copy of prod_app namespace when the second-generation copy was created:

Source namespace Target namespace


prod_app prod_app_gen1

Namespace mapping to be specified while mounting second-generation copy:

Source namespace Target namespace


prod_app_gen1 prod_app_gen2

Mount a copy using the Kubernetes Mount wizard


From the AppSync console, you can perform mount of a copy using Mount Copy of Kubernetes Namespace wizard.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Select Application> Kubernetes Cluster .
3. Click on the Cluster.
4. Click the desired namespace.
5. Select the copy that you want to mount and click MOUNT COPY.
6. In the Select a Copy page, click NEXT.
7. On the Select Mount Options page, from the Mount Operation list, select one of the following options:
● Mount on Kubernetes Cluster
● Mount on Kubernetes Cluster with recovery
8. In the Select Mount Options page, under General Settings, do the following:
a. From the Mount on Kubernetes Cluster list, select the cluster on which to mount the copy.
b. Use Enable Namespace Mapping(s) option to mount the protected namespace with a different name.
c. Select Retain changes after unmount option to retain changes made to a mounted copy upon unmount.
NOTE: While specifying the namespace mappings for 2nd generation copies created from a first generation copy which
is in mounted state, specify the mounted first generation copy namespace name as the source namespace.

9. On selecting Mount on Kubernetes Cluster with recovery in the Select Mount Options page, under Recovery Settings:
a. Click on SELECT YAML button in Apply YAML after recovery option to apply a YAML file during recovery. You can
view (EXISTING YAML > View Yaml) or delete (EXISTING YAML > Delete Yaml) a YAML file if it was specified in the
Service Plan mount options.
b. Set an appropriate timeout value in Pod startup wait timeout (in minutes) option to specify a timeout for all the pods
to be in running state.
10. Click NEXT to review the mount options.
11. Click FINISH.

284 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


Overriding mount settings in a service plan
If multiple Kubernetes namespaces are subscribed to the same plan, you can select different mount clusters for each
namespace. Only Mount cluster can be overridden. Other Mount and Recovery settings cannot be overridden.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Service Plan Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Copies> Service Plan .
3. Click Select Application> Kubernetes Cluster .
4. Click a service plan, and expand the right pane.
5. Click the OVERRIDES tab.
6. Select Mount Overrides.
7. Select an entry, and click OVERRIDE MOUNT.
8. Edit the required fields, and click APPLY CHANGES to save the settings.
9. To revert back to default settings for a server, click SET TO DEFAULT.

Unmount Kubernetes namespace copy


You can unmount a Kubernetes namespace copy using the copy management page or the service plan page.

Unmount a Kubernetes copy from the Service Plan page


You can unmount a Kubernetes namespace copy from the service plan page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, select Service Plan.
3. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster .
4. In the Service Plan column, click the desired service plan.
5. Select the copy you want to unmount and then click UNMOUNT COPY.
6. Click OK.

Unmount a Kubernetes copy from the Copies page


You can unmount a Kubernetes namespace copy from the Copy Management page using the AppSync console.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. From the Select Application drop-down, select Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click the desired cluster.

Protect Kubernetes Cluster 285


4. Click the desired namespace.
5. Select the copy that you want to unmount and click UNMOUNT COPY.
6. Click OK.

Expire a Kubernetes namespace copy


You can expire a Kubernetes namespace copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Select Application > Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click the name of the Kubernetes cluster.
4. Click the desired namespace.
5. Select the copy that you want to expire, and then click More > Expire.
6. Click OK.

Automatic expiration of copies


The automatic expiration value specifies the maximum desired number of CSI Snapshots that can exist simultaneously.
When the "Always keep x copies" value is reached, older copies are expired to free storage for the next copy in the rotation.
Failed copies are not counted. AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until its replacement has been successfully created. For
example, if the number of copies to keep before expiration is 7; AppSync does not expire the oldest copy until the 8th copy is
created.
When the "Keep copies for x Days" value exceeds for created copies, AppSync will expire those copies in the next maintenance
step.
AppSync does not expire copies under the following circumstances:
● Mounted copies are not expired.
● A copy that contains the only replica of a namespace will not be expired.
This setting is independent of any storage policy setting. The service plan administrator should work with the storage
administrator to ensure that the Storage policy settings will enable the support of the specified number of snap copies for
that application.

Enable or disable expiry of a Kubernetes namespace copy


You can enable or disable expiry of a copy using the AppSync console.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Select Application > Kubernetes Cluster.
3. Click the name of the Kubernetes cluster.
4. Select the copy that you want to enable or disable and click More.
5. Click one of the following options depending on the action you want to perform:
● Enable Copy Expiry: To enable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
● Disable Copy Expiry: To disable automatic expiry of a copy during rotation.
6. Click OK.

286 Protect Kubernetes Cluster


12
Repurposing
Topics:
• Repurposing overview
• Creating Repurpose copies

Repurposing overview
This topic explains how to use the AppSync repurposing feature for database and file systems.
AppSync allows you to create copies of your database and file systems for application testing and validation, test and
development, reporting, data masking, and data analytics. AppSync identifies copies that are created from a repurpose action as
first generation and second generation copies. The source of a second generation copy is a first generation copy. You can create
multiple second generation copies from a first generation copy.
AppSync supports repurposing on File systems, Kubernetes Cluster, SQL Server, SAP HANA, and Oracle databases.
There are two types of repurposing:
● Native array repurposing - The first generation copy is a copy of the source database. For example, in the case of an
XtremIO array, snapshot of the source is the first generation copy.
● RecoverPoint bookmark repurposing - The first generation copy is a copy of the LUNs at the local or remote replication sites
in the RecoverPoint consistency groups.
NOTE: To create a snap of a bookmark on a remote site (remote RecoverPoint repurposing), add both the local and remote
native array to AppSync.
Review the following additional information about repurposing:
● A first generation copy creates a copy that can be used as source for other copies.
● Repurpose copies do not figure in RPO calculations.
● You can create first generation and second generation repurpose copies on-demand or schedule it.
● Restore is not supported for second generation copies.
● Restore of a first generation copy is not supported in the case of RecoverPoint bookmark repurposing.
● Restore from a first generation copy is not allowed in the case of PowerFlex, if it is created on the remote site.
● The first generation copy of a database creates an application consistent copy. It includes application discovery, mapping,
and database freeze/thaw. For File systems, you can configure freeze/thaw operation using callout scripts. Callout scripts
support provides more information on configuring and running freeze and thaw callout scripts.
NOTE: For a first generation copy of SQL, you can configure a VSS retry count and retry interval for freeze/thaw
operation using the Repurpose Wizard. VSS retry options are not applicable for Crash Consistent SQL copies.
● Second generation copies are created using the first generation copy as the source without impacting the application.
They do not include application discovery, mapping, and application freeze/thaw. If a first generation copy is mounted with
recovery, and if the second generation copy is refreshed, the second generation copy might not be recoverable after the
mount.

Repurposing 287
Additional Notes
● SQL
○ Log backup is not supported as part of repurposing.
○ Repurposing of multiple SQL databases is not supported.
● Oracle - RMAN options are not available in the Repurposing wizard.
● File system
○ Repurposing of the NFS file system is supported only for PowerStore file storage.
○ Repurposing of the NFS file system, Oracle, SAP HANA is supported for PowerMax file.
○ When repurposing multiple file systems together, failing to protect one or more file systems fails the repurpose operation
completely.
○ You cannot simultaneously protect two file systems residing on two separate storage arrays.
○ File systems that are repurposed together are mounted together.
○ File systems that are protected together are repurposed together for second generation copies.

Repurpose schedule
● If you attempt to create both the first generation and second generation copies simultaneously using the Repurpose wizard
from the Database page, the second generation copy is created automatically after the first generation copy is created. This
is applicable for Run Now, Schedule, and theRun Only Once At later time options.
● If you create a schedule for the second generation copy, the second generation copy is not triggered after the first
generation copy is created. The second generation copy runs according to the schedule.
● If you create a second generation copy using the Repurpose wizard from the Copies page, the second generation copy is not
triggered even though the first generation copy runs according to the schedule. However, if the second generation copy is
scheduled, it runs according to the schedule.
● On the first schedule, a repurposed copy is created, and on subsequent schedules, the copy is refreshed.
● Multiple file systems can be scheduled together as part of the same repurpose plan.
● If multiple file systems are scheduled to be repurposed together as part of the same schedule, selecting any of the file
system and viewing the schedule displays the schedule. If you delete the schedule, the schedule for all the file systems that
were scheduled to be repurposed together are deleted.

Modifying a repurpose plan


Each copy is associated with a unique repurposing plan. To modify a repurpose plan:
1. Log in to the AppSync console and select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File systems / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster.
4. Click the name of the database, instance, SAP HANA system or file system that contains copies.
5. Click MORE > Repurposed Copies to view the repurposed copies for all the databases, or application instance.
6. Select a copy, and click EDIT button in SERVICE PLAN tab in details pane on right to edit the repurpose plan options.

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NOTE:
● The options that you cannot modify are disabled.
● If you modify the label, the updated label is reflected in the Copies page only when you refresh the copy.

Repurpose refresh
Refresh means to discard the current copy data and recreate the copy data using its parent. When you refresh a copy, changes
from the source are reflected in the copy. This is normally done by creating a new point-in-time copy and expiring the old copy.
● First generation and second generation copies can be refreshed.
● Refreshing a first generation copy creates an application consistent copy with a new time.
● Second generation copies are not modified if you refresh the first generation copy.
● Refresh of a second generation copy recreates the second generation copy with the first generation parent. (Used for
discarding changes of second generation copy and starting over.)
● The timestamp on the second generation copy is the same as first generation copy. If the first generation copy is refreshed,
then the timestamp differs.
● When you refresh a mounted repurpose copy, AppSync unmounts the copy, expires the copy and creates a new copy and
the refreshed copy is mounted back with the same options as previous mount operation.
● When you refresh a mounted RecoverPoint repurposed copy, AppSync unmounts the copy and refreshes the copy. It is not
mounted back by the end of the refresh operation.
● When a repurposed copy is refreshed because of a scheduled repurpose service plan run, the refreshed copy is mounted
with the mount options as specified in the repurpose plan.
You can refresh a repurposed copy at any time. To start the refresh:
1. Log in to the AppSync console and select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster.
4. Click the name of the database, instance, SAP HANA system, or file system that contains copies.
5. Click MORE > Repurposed Copies to view the repurposed copies for all the databases, or application instance.
6. Select the copy and click Refresh.

Native array refresh


When storage arrays provide copy refresh capability natively (that is, the ability to refresh the same copy instead of creating a
new one), AppSync uses it instead of expiring the copy and recreating a new copy to refresh the copy data.

Native array refresh benefits


● Reduces the time required to complete a refresh workflow.
● If the copy being refreshed is mounted to a host, then the storage LUNs are not removed from the host. Only the application
is stopped, the file system is unmounted, data is refreshed on the existing copy, file system is mounted back, and the
application is started. In a VMWare virtual environment where application resides on virtual disks, the virtual disks are
removed from the virtual machine, but LUNs are not removed from ESX.
● Eliminates the need for a rescan in a VMWare virtual environment because storage LUNs are not removed from the mount
host.
● The WWN, volume, and device details of the mounted LUN remains the same because storage LUNs are not removed from
the mount host. This is beneficial in the case of some backup scenarios, where external post-mount scripts depend on the
copy WWN, volume, or device details for any action.

Native array refresh usage


● On Unity, first generation copies are refreshed using the native array refresh. However, for a second generation copy, native
array refresh is used only if the second generation snapshot is refreshed when the first generation snapshot is ATTACHED.
NOTE: This is only applicable for Unix based applications.
● On XtremIO, if all the LUNs to be protected are in a single XtremIO consistency group, native array refresh is used.

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● In the case of metro node | VPLEX virtual devices on XtremIO storage devices, native array refresh is used, if all XtremIO
LUNs belong to the same consistency group.
● For Windows based applications, the application must be fully part of a single XtremIO consistency group. For example, if a
SQL database resides on LUNs from two different XtremIO consistency groups, then native array refresh is not used.
● For Oracle databases, the data, redo, and control files must reside on one consistency group and archive log, and FRA must
be on a separate consistency group.

Repurpose copy expiry


You can expire a repurposed copy when you no longer need the copy. You have to expire the second generation copies to expire
the first generation copies.

Data masking using scripts


You can use the AppSync repurposing feature to mask sensitive data.
To mask data using scripts:
1. Mount and recover the first generation copy of a database.
2. Apply data masking on the same copy using the post mount script and unmount the database. You can specify post mount
script information in the scripts step by editing the respective repurpose plan.
3. Unmount the first generation copy.
4. Create a second generation copy from the first generation copy using the Repurpose wizard.

Creating Repurpose copies


Use the Repurpose wizard to schedule or immediately create first generation or second generation copies as required.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster.
4.
Option Description
To Repurpose an SQL copy: a. Select Microsoft SQL Server.
A list of available SQL server instances appears.
b. Select an instance.
c. On the Database folders page, select User databases.
The list of available database appears.
d. Select the database that you want to repurpose.
To Repurpose an Oracle copy: a. Select Oracle.
A list of available databases appears.
b. Select the database that you want to repurpose.
To Repurpose a File system copy: a. Select File system.
A list of available hosts appears.
b. Select a host.

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Option Description
A list of available file systems appears.
c. Select one or more file systems that you want to repurpose.
To Repurpose a SAP HANA system copy: a. Select SAP HANA system.
A list of one or more discovered SAP HANA systems appear.
b. Select the SAP HANA system that you want to repurpose.
To Repurpose a Kubernetes namespace copy: a. Select Kubernetes Cluster.
A list of one or more discovered Kubernetes namespace appear.
b. Select the Kubernetes namespace that you want to repurpose.
5. Select the database and click Create Copy With Plan.
6. Select Data Repurposing and click NEXT.
7. In the Define the Copy for Repurpose, define label for 1st gen copy to help identify the copy purpose.
NOTE: In the case of file systems, first generation label determines the callout script names. The name of the freeze/
thaw/unmount callout scripts uses the first generation label.

a. Copy location: select Local or Remote


b. For Use Bookmark as an intermediate step: This option appears only if the RecoverPoint appliance is configured in
AppSync.
c. Mount Copy: Specifies if the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy
d. Set the value of the 2nd gen copies to one of the following:
● Yes: To create the first generation copy and a second generation copy.
● No: To create the first generation copy only.
8. Click NEXT.
9. In the Create the copy page, select application-specific copy options for the first generation copy only.
a. Configure storage options
b. Choose appropriate copy type
10. Click NEXT.
11. In the Scripts page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to execute and configure the following fields:
NOTE: This step displays pre-mount scripts and post-mount scripts if the mount option is selected.

a. Full Path to Script


b. Script Parameters
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
12. Click NEXT.
13. In the Schedule/Run page, select one of the following scheduling options:
a. Run Now: Run a service plan when you click Finish on this wizard.
b. Schedule: Run a service plan based on the specified recurrence type. Configure the following fields to schedule the
created service plan.
14. Configure the following fields to schedule the creation of a service plan:
a. In the Recurrence Type drop-down list: select the desired frequency of creation.
b. In the Every drop-down list: select the desired time to run the service plan.
c. In the Run Only Once At Later Time drop-down list: Creates a copy only once on the specified date and time.
15. Click NEXT.

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NOTE: If 2nd gen copies was set to Yes in the Define the Copy step for Repurpose, the Define second gen copy
page appears.

16. In the Define 2nd-gen Copy page, define label for 2nd gen copy to help identify the copy purpose.
NOTE: In the case of file systems, second generation label determines the callout script names. The name of the
unmount callout scripts uses the second generation label.

a. Choose appropriate copy type: Snap or Clone


b. Mount Copy: Specifies if the following options for mounting a copy:
● No
● Yes
● Yes - Keep it mounted(Previous copy will be unmounted)
● Yes - Mount the copy, but after the post mount scripts run, unmount the copy
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
17. Click NEXT.
18. In the Scripts for 2nd-gen copy page select the pre-copy or post-copy scripts that you want to execute and configure the
following fields:
NOTE: This step displays pre-mount scripts and post-mount scripts if the mount option is selected.

a. Full Path to Script


b. Script Parameters
c. Run as User Name
d. Password
19. Click NEXT.
20. Review the Repurpose Plan options and click FINISH.

View or delete repurpose copy schedules


You can view or delete a repurpose copy schedule.

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and go to Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster.
4. Click the name of the database, instance, SAP HANA system, Kubernetes namespace, or file system that contains copies.
5. click on MORE > Repurpose Schedule to view all the schedules for the selected application.
6. Select one or more schedules, and click DELETE to delete the repurpose schedule.
NOTE: In the case of file systems, deleting the schedule by selecting one file system also removes the schedule for
other file systems.

View repurposed copies


You can view repurposed copies for File Systems, Oracle databases, SAP HANA, Kubernetes Cluster, and Microsoft SQL
application instances.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, go to Copy Management.
2. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems/ SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster .
3.

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Application Location
For Oracle Click MORE > Repurposed Copies.
For SAP HANA Click MORE > Repurposed Copies.
For Microsoft SQL Server Click an instance name, and click Repurposed Copies.
For File Systems Click Repurposed Copies.
For Kubernetes Cluster Click Repurposed Copies.

The Repurposed Copies window appears. It lists all the first generation and second-generation copies.
You can perform the following operations:
● Create second-generation copy.
● Mount
● Unmount
● Retry recovery
NOTE: This option is applicable to Oracle and Kubernetes cluster only.
● Refresh
NOTE: Refresh is not supported for the Kubernetes PowerStore CSI copy.
● Restore
NOTE: This option is not applicable to Kubernetes cluster.
● Expire

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13
Monitor AppSync
This chapter includes the following topics:
Topics:
• RPO concepts and best practices
• Alerts and associated events
• Email alerts
• SNMP Notifications
• View Jobs
• View Job Status progress

RPO concepts and best practices


A recovery point objective (RPO) is one of several scheduling options that can be configured in the service plan creation
options.
When you subscribe an object (such as an Exchange database) to a service plan that uses RPO as its recurrence type, the
object acquires the recovery point objective specified in the service plan.
Since you can subscribe an object to more than one service plan, it is possible for an object to have more than one recovery
point objective. When an object has more than one RPO, the service plan with the highest RPO frequency (that is, the lowest
RPO hours value) is used for calculation and reports.
As a best practice, you should subscribe an object to only one RPO-enabled service plan. If you subscribe an object to additional
service plans, they should not use the RPO-based recurrence type.

NOTE: RPO is an alerting mechanism only, no copies are initiated based on this setting.

Recovery point compliance report


The recovery point compliance report shows the recoverability for all objects that are subscribed to service plans with an RPO
recurrence type. The report is at Reports > Recovery Point Compliance Report.

Table 44. Recovery Point Compliance Report


Column Description
Server Host level object, such as a Microsoft Exchange Mailbox
Server
Application Name of the protected object, such as a Microsoft Exchange
database. Click the name to go to the list of copies for the
object.
Recovery Point Objective The recovery point objective as defined in the service plan
configuration options.
Time Since Last Recovery Point Amount of time since the last copy or bookmark created by
the associated service plan. A green icon indicates the copy is
RPO compliant. A red icon indicates non-compliance.
Service Plan Name of the service plan. Click the name to go to the service
plan definition.

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Exporting an RPO compliance report to CSV
You can create a recovery point objective (RPO) compliance report in comma-separated value format.

Prerequisites
No particular AppSync role is required for this operation.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console and click the Reports tab.
The recover point compliance reports are displayed on this page.
2. Sort and arrange columns as desired for the report.
3. Click the Export icon on the top-right of the table to run the export wizard.
You have the option to include table headers and export only selected rows.
4. Click Next and specify a filename and click Download to save the exported data to disk.

Results

Summary of RPO compliance


The Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) summary on the dashboard shows the percentage of RPOs met across all objects that are
subscribed to RPO-enabled service plans.

View the Service Plan Completion Report


The service plan completion report shows the service plan cycles that completed successfully, completed with errors, and failed.

About this task


You can view completed service plan cycles across all service plans for the last 24 hours, the last 3, 7 or 30 days, or for all time.
This page displays the following information for each service plan.

Table 45. Service Plan Completion Report


Column Description
Service Plan Name of the service plan.
Application Type Name of the application subscribed to the service plan.
Service Plan Cycles Number of service plan cycles run.
Completed successfully Percentage of service plan runs completed successfully.
Completed with errors Percentage of service plan runs completed with errors. In this
case, there is a successful copy for a given database, but
some other step in the service plan run failed.
Failed Percentage of service plan runs that have failed.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, Click the Reports > SERVICE PLAN COMPLETION REPORT tab.
The service plan completion reports are displayed on this page.
2. To filter the displayed results, click the TIME dropdown list, and select the desired timeframe.

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View the Recovery Point Compliance Report
The recovery point compliance report shows the recoverability for all objects that are subscribed to service plans with an RPO
recurrence type.

About this task


This page displays the following information for each server.

Table 46. Recovery Point Compliance Report


Column Description
Server Host level object, such as a Microsoft Exchange Mailbox
Server
Application Name of the protected object, such as a Microsoft Exchange
database. Click the name to go to the list of copies for the
object.
Recovery Point Objective The recovery point objective as defined at the start of the
associated service plan.
Time Since Last Recovery Point Amount of time since the last copy or bookmark created by
the associated service plan. A green icon indicates the copy is
RPO compliant. A red icon indicates non-compliance.
Service Plan Name of the service plan. Click the name to go to the service
plan definition.

Steps
On the AppSync console, Click Reports > RECOVERY POINT COMPLIANCE REPORT.
The Recovery Point compliance reports are displayed on this page.

View the Automated Log Collection Status Report


You can view reports for the status of all automated log collection activity in AppSync.

About this task


This page displays the following information for each report.

Table 47. Automated Log Collection Status Report


Column Description
Log Resources Name of the resource for log creation.
Status Current state of the resource.
File Name Name of the log file.
Description Description of the log file.
Start Time The time at which the log file was created.
Last Updated The time at which the log file was updated last.

Steps
On the AppSync console, Click Reports > AUTOMATED LOG COLLECTION STATUS REPORT.
The log collection reports are displayed on this page.

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Alerts and associated events
AppSync generates an alert when a step in service plan run fails, when a recovery point objective (RPO) is not met, or when a
mount or restore fails.
Service plan failure alerts are generated immediately on failure of a step in service plan run. When an application goes out of
RPO compliance, the associated alert is generated within 1 hour.
AppSync displays alerts in the console under the Alerts tab.

Table 48. Details of alerts


Column Description
Alert State Level of alert
Time Date and time of the alert.
Server Application server, such as the Name of Microsoft Exchange
database.
Application Replicated object, such as a Microsoft Exchange database.
Category RPO, License, Maintenance, and Other.
Service Plan Service plan name that was running when the alert was
generated, or the service plan that created the copy that
failed a mount or restore.
Message Describes the cause of the alert.
Acknowledged Indicates if the alert has been acknowledged. Note that
acknowledged alerts will not display in the AppSync
Dashboard.

You can filter alerts by the time they were generated, by alert category, and by the associated service plan.
View the associated events that led up to the alert by clicking the alert. Expand the top-level events to see additional details.
You can filter associated events by any column.

Acknowledging alerts
The following steps show how you can acknowledge alerts.

About this task


You can choose to acknowledge all alerts that are shown in the Alerts tab on the console.
When you choose acknowledge all, value for the Alert Acknowledged column is changed to YES for all alerts in the AppSync
server.

Steps
1. Go to AppSync > Alerts and select an alert from the alerts table with a current value of NO in the Alert Acknowledged
column.
2. Click Acknowledge Alert.

Results
The alert displays a value of YES in the Alert Acknowledged column of the Alert table. You can also choose to delete alerts,
using the delete option, and the alerts are deleted from the AppSync server.

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Acknowledging alert icons for database, file system, and Datastore
service plan runs
You can acknowledge an alert icon within the AppSync console for Oracle and SQL databases, File systems, SAP HANA system,
Kubernetes namespaces, and VMWare datastores.

About this task


An alert icon indicates the status of the most recent service plan run. The icon appears beside a database, file system, or
datastore after the run.
After you acknowledge the icon in the Acknowledge column, AppSync changes the icon to an information icon. Also, you can
acknowledge the alert after every Service Plan run. You are not restricted to acknowledge an alert only once.

NOTE: If a delete is pending, then the Acknowledge button becomes disabled for the database, file system, or Datastore.

The following procedure shows you how to view and acknowledge the alert.

Steps
1. Select an alert from the database, file system, or datastore table that has an alert icon that is associated with the last
service plan run.
2. Click the Acknowledge Alert button that is located below the database, file system, or Datastore table.
The alert icon changes to an information icon.
3. If required, re-run the service plan on the same database, file system, or Datastore to display the alert icon for this run.

Email alerts
You can configure AppSync to send alerts through email, to a list of recipients. Email alerts can be enabled per application
instance and per service plan. You can configure email recipients to get notified on license alerts as well.

About this task


You can enable email alerts and add recipients per application instance, such as an Exchange mailbox server or per service plan
and get notified on specific events based on the severity. Email recipients can be created and managed by going to AppSync
console Alerts > Notification Recipients.

Configure server settings for email alerts


Configure SMTP services on a machine that the AppSync server can access. Once the SMTP settings are completed, you must
setup email notifications individually on the applications or service plans, to receive alerts.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync.
See SMTP documentation for configuration procedures.

Steps
1. Select Settings > Notification.
2. Under SMTP Settings, enter values for SMTP Server Host Name, SMTP Server Port, and Sender Email Address.
For Sender Email Address, a valid email ID must be entered, that is already existing in the email server. IDs like
appsync@lrmu101, do not work.
3. To validate the settings, click SEND TEST EMAIL, and enter the email address of the recipient and then click OK. The
mailbox of the recipient should receive a test email from AppSync. You can also select RESET TO DEFAULT to reset the
values.
4. Click APPLY.

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NOTE: To set Email Recipient details for License alerts go to Alerts > Email Notifications.

Specify email alert recipients


Email alerts can be enabled per application instance and per service plan. You can configure email recipients to get notified on
license alerts as well.

Configure email alerts per application instance


NOTE:
● This operation requires the Data Administrator role in AppSync.
● SMTP services must be configured on a system accessible by the AppSync server.
Follow the below steps:
1. On the AppSync Console, select Alerts and click Email Notifications tab.
2. Click ADD.
3. Enter email addresses separated by commas, and click TEST, to send test email to the recipients for verification.
4. Expand Notify by Applications and expand the required application, for which you want to receive the email notifications.
To view or edit this option, you must have the Data administrator role.
5. Choose appropriate severity levels. For example, if you want to get notified only on failure events, select ERROR.
NOTE: Select Set Notifications for all if you want to change the severities of all the selected applications using the
bulk severity setting.
6. Click OK.
You can also configure Email Recipients per application instance by going to Copy Management > Copies. From the Select
Application drop-down, select Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / VMware Datacenters / Microsoft
Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster.
1. Go to the database or instance page, depending on the application you selected.
2. Select the wanted database, DataCenter, or instance, and click EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS.
3. Enter one or more email recipients, separated by commas or if you want to add email notifications to the existing recipients,
click on the Radio button ‘Add existing recipients’ and select the existing recipients from the list.
4. Select the required severity levels.
5. Click TEST to send test email to recipients for verification.
6. Click OK.
7. Email notification recipients with selected severity levels will be created. Email recipients created from this place will receive
email alerts for events with success or failure or warning severities.
8. Click the Email Recipients tab on the properties pane, to view the email recipients for a selected application.
NOTE:
● To edit or delete an email recipient, go to the AppSync console Alerts > Email Notifications.
● If you see multiple application instances with the same name, you must hover over the application to view the host to
which the application instance belongs.

Configure email alerts per service plan


NOTE:
● This operation requires Service plan Administrator role in AppSync.
● SMTP services must be configured on a system accessible by the AppSync server.
Follow the below steps:
1. On the AppSync Console, select Alerts and click Email Notifications tab.
2. Click ADD.
3. Enter email addresses separated by commas, and click TEST, to send test email to the recipients for verification.
4. Expand Notify by Service Plans and select the service plan, for which you want to receive the email notifications.

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5. Choose appropriate severity levels. For example, if you want to get notified on failure events or successful completion of
service plan, select ERROR or INFO.
NOTE: Select Set Notifications for all if you want to change the severities of all the selected service plans using the
bulk severity setting.
6. Click OK.
You can also configure Email Recipients per service plan by going to Copy Management > Service Plan. From the Select
Application drop-down, select Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / File Systems / VMware Datacenters / Microsoft
Exchange / SAP HANA / Kubernetes Cluster.
1. Select one or more Service Plans, and click EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS.
2. Enter one or more email recipients, separated by commas or if you want to add email notifications to the existing recipients,
click on the Radio button ‘Add existing recipients’ and select the existing recipients from the list.
3. Select the required severity levels.
4. Click TEST to send test email to recipients for verification.
5. Click OK.
6. Email notification recipients with selected severity levels will be created. Email recipients created from this place will receive
email alerts for events with success or failure or warning severities.
7. Click the Email Recipients tab on the properties pane, to view the email recipients for a selected service plan.
NOTE:
● On the AppSync console, to view the email recipients for a service plan, go to Copy Management > Service Plan.
Select the required Service plan and click Email Recipients tab on the properties pane.
● To edit or delete an email recipient, go to the AppSync console Alerts > Email Notifications.

Configure email recipients for license alerts


NOTE:
● This operation requires Resource Administrator role in AppSync.
● SMTP services must be configured on a system accessible by the AppSync server.
Follow the below steps:
1. On the AppSync Console, select Alerts and click Email Notifications tab.
2. Click ADD.
3. Enter email addresses separated by commas, and click TEST, to send test email to the recipients for verification.
4. Expand Resource Notifications and select appropriate severity levels to receive email notifications for license alerts. For
example, starter pack noncompliance alerts.
5. Click OK.
NOTE: To edit or delete an email recipient, go to the AppSync console Alerts > Email Notifications.

SNMP Notifications
You can configure AppSync to send alerts through SNMP traps, to the trap destinations registered in AppSync. SNMP
notification alerts can be enabled per application instance and per service plan. You can configure it to get notified on license
alerts also.
For a specific trap destination you can enable SNMP notification per application instance, such as an Exchange mailbox server or
per service plan and get notified on specific events based on the severity.
After you add SNMP Trap Destination in AppSync, create SNMP Notification using the Alerts tab. Go to AppSync console and
click Alerts > SNMP Notifications. Click Add.

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Configure SNMP trap destination for V3
You can configure AppSync to send alerts through SNMP traps, to the trap destinations registered in AppSync. SNMP
notification alerts can be enabled per application instance and per service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync. To configure and add AppSync MIB file on SNMP Trap
destination server, see AppSync Installation and configuration guide or user and administration guide. In this release, SNMP
Version V3 and V2c are supported.
For V3, following are the steps:

Steps
1. Select Settings > Notification > > SNMP TRAP DESTINATION
2. Enter the Name of the SNMP trap destination.
3. Enter NetworkName/ IP Address which is the SNMP server (destination) name or IP address where the SNMP trap has to
be sent.
4. Enter Port value as 162. This is the default value. You can change this if SNMP trap destination is using a different port.
5. Enter User Name which is the SNMP V3 username that is added at SNMP trap destination.
6. The Authentication Protocol options available are None, MD5, and SHA, and the Privacy Protocol options are None,
AES, AES192, AES256, and DES.
NOTE: Being more secure, it is recommended to use SHA as the Authentication Protocol, and AES256 as the
Privacy Protocol, along with the respective Passphrases set for the username. Also, you must have strong passwords
of a minimum length of eight characters, for both Authentication and Privacy protocols.

7. To validate the settings, click TEST, and a test SNMP trap is sent to the receiver. This indicates that the configuration is
correct.
Viewing and Editing the SNMP trap destination
Select the SNMP trap destination that was added, to view the details on the right side of the page. Click EDIT to modify.

Configure SNMP trap destination for V2c.


You can configure AppSync to send alerts through SNMP traps, to the trap destinations registered in AppSync. SNMP
notification alerts can be enabled per application instance and per service plan.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync. To configure and add AppSync MIB file on SNMP Trap
destination server, see AppSync Installation and configuration guide or user and administration guide. In this release, SNMP
Version V3 and V2c are supported.
For V2c, following are the steps:

Steps
1. Select Settings > Notification > SNMP TRAP DESTINATION
2. Enter the Name of the SNMP trap destination.
3. Enter NetworkName/ IP Address which is the SNMP server (destination) name or IP address where the SNMP trap has to
be sent.
4. Enter Port value as 162. This is the default value. You can change this if SNMP trap destination is using a different port.
5. Enter Community which is the community string for SNMP V2c, that was set at SNMP trap destination.
6. To validate the settings, click TEST, and a test SNMP trap is sent to the receiver. This indicates that the configuration is
correct.
Viewing and Editing the SNMP trap destination
Select the SNMP trap destination that was added, to view the details on the right side of the page. Click EDIT to modify.

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NOTE: It is recommended to configure and use SNMP V3 over V2c version, as SNMP V3 is more secure than V2c.

Configure SNMP notifications for alerts


This table lists the SNMP trap destination alert details available in the AppSync database.
To Configure SNMP notifications, go to Alerts > SNMP Notifications. Click Add. Select the desired trap destination from the
Destination drop down. See the table below to configure notifications by selecting respective application or service plan.

Table 49. Configuring SNMP notification for alerts


Column Description
Notify by Application Indicates the total number of applications selected under a category and the application
type associated with the SNMP trap destination. For example, 2 Oracle, where 2 is the
number of the databases selected under Oracle.
NOTE: You must have Data administrator role to view this column.

Notify by Service Plan Indicates the total number of Service Plan selected under a category and the service
plan type associated with the SNMP trap destination. For example, 2 SAP Hana Systems,
where 2 is the number of the Hana Systems selected under SAP HANA.
NOTE: You must have Service Plan Administrator role to view this column.

Resource Notifications Comma separated Resource Notification severities associated with the SNMP trap
destination.
NOTE: You must have Resource Administrator role to view this column.

View Jobs
Perform this procedure to view the scheduled, on demand, in progress, completed, and failed jobs running in AppSync.

Steps
On the AppSync console, Click Jobs.
The Jobs page is displayed with the list of in progress or completed jobs in AppSync.

Name Description
Time Shows the date and time of when the job started.
Application type Shows the type of application.
Service plan /Repurpose label Shows the name of the service plan type and label of the
copy.
Runs Shows the type of the job (Schedule or On Demand).
Status Shows the status of the job (Completed, Failed, or Completed
with errors).

NOTE: Once a copy is expired, all the jobs related to that copy will be removed.

302 Monitor AppSync


View Job Status progress
Perform this procedure to view the progress of jobs running in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, Click Jobs.
2. In the Jobs page, click a job to view the details in the right pane.
3. In the right pane, click VIEW PROGRESS.
The View in Progress Events dialog displays the status of the in-progress job.
4. In the Jobs page, click a job to view the details in the right pane.
5. Expand the Details section, to view the details of the job.
The event status, date and time, host, description, and event ID details are shown for each alert. Use the Show/Hide
Columns button to view or hide the details.

6. Click CLOSE.

Monitor AppSync 303


14
Storage considerations
Topics:
• Overview
• Dell SC
• PowerStore
• PowerFlex
• RecoverPoint
• Unity
• VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash
• VNXFile/eNAS
• Metro node | VPLEX
• XtremIO

Overview
AppSync supports multiple storage arrays and few details are specific to each storage array and its replication technologies.
This section provides the specific details about each supported storage array.
● If there are other applications sharing storage device with the application that is being restored, ensure that they are
stopped before attempting restore from AppSync. This is because AppSync can only quiesce the application being restored.

Dell SC
AppSync can create and manage application consistent copies on Dell SC storage, including mounting and recovering a copy of
the application instance to the original or an alternate host.
AppSync supports the following applications on Dell SC storage:
● Oracle databases
● SQL Server databases
● File systems
● Microsoft Exchange
● VMware data stores
AppSync does not support the following configuration with Dell SC storage:
● Repurposing copies on Dell SC arrays
● Restoring copies on Dell SC arrays, except Granular File and VM restore
● File storage
● Live volume replication
● When number of volumes protected together exceeds the maximum limit of volumes in a snapshot profile, for that version of
array.
NOTE: To change the IP address of the management server, you must use the Set preferred option.

Follow the below steps:

1. Add Dell SC IP to AppSync.


2. Change the Management IP address of Dell SC array.
3. Add the changed Management IP to AppSync.
4. Set the changed Management IP using Set preferred option.

304 Storage considerations


Service plan considerations for applications on Dell SC storage
After you register Dell SC storage, you can subscribe applications to a service plan to create and manage copies.
AppSync supports the Bronze service plan for applications on Dell SC storage. This means that you can only create and recover
application specific local copies on the local Dell SC storage array. AppSync supports the Dell SC Series Snapshot replication
technology to manage local copies that reside on Dell SC storage.
NOTE: The name of the service plan that is used to protect the application on the Dell SC array, must not contain the <, >,
or & symbols. If the service plan name contains these symbols, protection fails, as the snapshot profile name on the Dell SC
array cannot contain these symbols.

Mount and unmount Dell copies


Mount or unmount operations on Dell SC arrays involve adding or removing snapshots to ViewVolumes, and granting or
removing (masking or unmasking) snapshot access to ViewVolumes or a set of ViewVolumes to a host.
Before performing a mount or unmount, zone the mount host to the Dell SC array, and register the host name with its initiators
(HBA WWN or IQN).
If the mount host is a virtual machine, the following is supported:
● Direct iSCSI connectivity to the virtual machine
● FC or iSCSI connectivity to the ESX hosting the virtual machine

PowerStore
This section describes PowerStore support with AppSync. It includes information about configuration considerations, supported
service plan, and application details.
AppSync supports the following applications on PowerStore block storage:
● Oracle Databases
● SQL Server Databases
● File Systems
● Microsoft Exchange Databases and DAG
● VMware data stores
● SAP HANA
● Kubernetes Cluster
NOTE: AppSync supports only storage volumes provisioned using PowerStore CSI driver.

AppSync supports the following applications on PowerStore File storage:


● NFS File system on UNIX platform
● VMware NFS datastores
AppSync supports combination of PowerStore File, and Block storage for SAP HANA non-shared scale-out configuration.
NVMe over FC is supported only on physical hosts (RHEL and SUSE). See AppSync support matrix for the latest supported OS
version. "nvme-cli" package must be installed on UNIX hosts to support NVMe devices.
NVMe over TCP is supported only on physical hosts (RHEL and SUSE). "nvme-cli" package must be installed on UNIX hosts to
support NVMe devices.

Configure a PowerStore appliance


Perform this procedure to add a PowerStore appliance to AppSync.

Prerequisites
Supply the credentials for an account that has the role of Administrator or Storage Administrator.

Storage considerations 305


NOTE: This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Settings > Infrastructure Resources > STORAGE SYSTEMS.
2. Click ADD SYSTEMS.
3. In the Select System Type page, select PowerStore > Next
4. Type credentials for the appliance in the following fields:
a. Management Interface: Type the fully qualified Name or IP Address of the Management Interface.
b. Username: Type the username.
c. Password: Type the password.
NOTE: To edit the IP address of the management server, use the Change option.

5. Click Next.
6. Select the PowerStore appliance that you want to add to AppSync, and then click NEXT.
7. Review the configurations in the Summary page, and click FINISH.
AppSync discovers and operates on the registered system.
NOTE:
● A single PowerStore management provider can manage a single or multiple appliances, and AppSync supports both
the configurations.
● AppSync discovers all the NAS servers that are configured on PowerStore appliances. PowerStore array should be
rediscovered in AppSync whenever there is a configuration change on the NAS server.
AppSync manages PowerStore appliances with the Management Interface using REST APIs.

PowerStore volume import


AppSync treats imported volumes on PowerStore appliances like any other new PowerStore volume.

PowerStore volume migration


When you migrate PowerStore Volumes or Volume Groups across the appliances within a given cluster, the entire family
structure (snapshots and clones) of the Volume or Volume Group is migrated. When such migrations are performed on the
Array, you must rediscover the respective PowerStore appliance, to update the migration information in AppSync persistence. If
rediscover operation is not performed, Mount and Restore operations on the affected snapshots or clones may fail.

Service plan considerations with PowerStore block storage


Before you add a service plan to create PowerStore block copies, review these considerations.
AppSync supports Snapshot or Thin clone replication technology to create and manage:
● Local copies of applications that reside on PowerStore block storage using Bronze or Local Repurpose service plans.
● Remote copies of applications that reside on PowerStore block storage using Silver, Gold, or remote Repurpose service
plans.
NOTE: AppSync supports PowerStore asynchronous replication type. When using remote protection service plans,
AppSync first creates a PowerStore snapshot on the local array. It then uses the PowerStore Snapshot shipping technology
and creates remote snapshots on the remote array.
For Gold service plans only, snapshots are retained on both local and remote arrays. For Silver or remote repurpose service
plans, the intermediate snaps on local array are deleted. Any snapshots created on production volumes or volume groups before
running remote service plan will be shipped along, as part of sync operation. This is as per array functionality, and they must be
cleaned up on the remote array.
Source block storage volumes can be individual or in groups (Volume group).
● Create a volume - Creates an individual volume.

306 Storage considerations


● Create a Volume Group - Creates a grouping of volumes. The advantage of using a volume group is that all volumes within
the group are snapped together. To guarantee consistency across volumes in a volume group, you must choose "Write order
consistency" flag in the volume group settings on the array.
In Microsoft environments, you must use volume groups with "Write order consistency" in their storage layout. It helps to create
application consistent PowerStore snapshots within the Microsoft VSS Service time window.
AppSync does not support the following configuration with PowerStore:
● PowerStore Virtual Volumes.
● Remote replication from a source PowerStore appliance to multiple target PowerStore appliance.

Service plan considerations with PowerStore File storage


Before you add a service plan to create PowerStore copies, review these considerations.
AppSync supports Snapshot or Thin clone replication technology to create and manage:
● Local copies of applications that reside on PowerStore File storage using Bronze or Local Repurpose service plans.
AppSync does not support the following configuration with PowerStore File storage:
● Nested NFS Filesystem exports
● pNFS
● Remote protection

Mount and unmount PowerStore block copies


Review this information before you mount and unmount PowerStore copies with AppSync.
Mount and unmount operations on PowerStore appliances for snapshots have an intermediate step of creating mountable
objects or Thin clones. The clones are attached and detached to host or host-groups on PowerStore appliance. Volumes that
are contained in a volume group are attached and detached separately one after the other.
Before a mount or unmount, zone the mount host to the PowerStore appliance, and register the hostname with its initiators.

NOTE: Hosts must be zoned to all the PowerStore appliances in a multi-appliance cluster setup.

The first step AppSync performs when mounting a snapshot on PowerStore is host initiator discovery for the mount host. Based
on the snapshot information, AppSync maps to the appropriate volume to determine host access for the mount host.
Next, AppSync attaches or detaches clone volumes to either grant host access to perform a mount, or remove host access to
unmount.
For mount or unmount of RDM or vDISK, AppSync identifies host access based on the host initiator for the ESX server.
In a multi-appliance cluster setup, to migrate the volume whose copy is mounted, the copy should be unmounted first, before
migrating the volume on the appliance. If not, the AppSync operations might fail. Also, rediscover the appliance in AppSync after
migrating any resource on the appliance that AppSync is managing.

Mount and unmount for PowerStore file copies


Review this information before you mount and unmount for PowerStore File copies with AppSync.
Snapshot copy read/write mount and unmount operations on PowerStore appliances have an intermediate step of creating
mountable objects or Thin clones. The clones are exported and imported to or from the mount hosts on the PowerStore
appliance. The intermediate thin clone is deleted on the appliance only when the copy is expired.
Snapshot copy read-only mounts does not create any intermediate thin clones.
Before a mount or unmount, ensure IPv4 connection between the mount host and PowerStore NAS Server is intact.

PowerStore restore considerations for block storage


Consider the following when restoring data from PowerStore copies.
● When restoring a remote PowerStore Snapshot or Thin clone copy, AppSync:

Storage considerations 307


○ Syncs and Fails over the local array replication session
○ Resumes the remote array replication session
○ Restores and waits for data synchronization to complete.
○ Syncs and Fails over the remote array session and resumes the replication session on the local array.
○ Restores a copy either from snapshot or from changed data if the copy was created as a snapshot and was previously
mounted from all the service plans and for all applications.
● If there are other applications sharing the same storage device (or same volume group, if the replication session is created
on volume group) with the application that is being restored, ensure that they are stopped before attempting a restore from
AppSync. This is because AppSync can only quiesce the application being restored.
● For any application restore on PowerStore appliances, ensure that all IOs on the volume are stopped.

PowerStore restore considerations for file storage


Consider the following when restoring data from PowerStore copies.
Restore is supported only from PowerStoreFileSnap copy type.

NOTE: Restore operation fails if any NFS export is deleted on the appliance, for the file system that AppSync restores.

Following are the configurations which are considered as affected entities:


● If same NFS export is mapped to multiple hosts.
● If NFS mount point is a nested file system.

Repurposing copies on PowerStore block storage


AppSync supports repurposing application copies on PowerStore arrays. Both snapshot and thin clone copy technologies of
PowerStore are supported.
Repurposing overview provides additional information about repurposing.
● The first generation copy is a snapshot or a thin clone. By default, the first generation copy is a snapshot. You can change
the default option.
● The second generation copy is always a thin clone.
● If the first generation copy is a snapshot type, the second generation copies are always created using the snapshots (read-
only data). If the first generation copy use case involves data masking (mounting and modifying data), it is recommended to
use clone type.
For additional information about PowerStore snapshot and thin clone copy technologies, see PowerStore documentation.

Repurposing PowerStore File storage


AppSync supports repurposing application copies on PowerStore arrays for UNIX NFS file system application. Both snapshot
and thin clone copy technologies of PowerStore are supported.
Repurposing overview provides additional information about repurposing.
● The first-generation copy is a file snapshot or a thin clone. By default, the first-generation copy is a snapshot. You can
change the default option.
● The second-generation copy is always a thin clone.
● If the first-generation copy is a snapshot type, the second-generation copies are always created using the snapshots
(read-only data). If the first-generation copy uses case that is involved in data masking (mounting and modifying data), it is
recommended to use the clone type.
● AppSync uses array refresh only for snapshots which are not previously mounted.
For additional information about PowerStore snapshot and thin clone copy technologies, see PowerStore documentation.

NOTE: Refresh is not supported for the Kubernetes PowerStore CSI copy.

308 Storage considerations


PowerFlex
This section describes PowerFlex support with AppSync. It includes information about configuration considerations, supported
service plan, and application details.
AppSync supports the following applications on PowerFlex storage:
● Oracle Databases
● SQL Server Databases
● File Systems
● Microsoft Exchange Databases and DAG
● VMware data stores
● SAP HANA
● Kubernetes Cluster
NOTE: AppSync supports only storage volumes provisioned using PowerFlex CSI driver.

Configure a PowerFlex array


Perform this procedure to add a PowerFlex array to AppSync.

Prerequisites
Supply the credentials for an account that has the role of Administrator or Storage Administrator.

NOTE: This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Settings > Infrastructure Resources > STORAGE SYSTEMS.
2. Click ADD SYSTEMS.
3. In the Select System Type page, select PowerFlex> Next
4. Type credentials for the array in the following fields:
a. PowerFlex Gateway: Type the fully qualified name or IP Address of the PowerFlex gateway.
b. Username: Type the gateway admin username.
c. Password: Type the gateway admin password.
NOTE: To edit the IP address of the PowerFlex gateway, use the Change option.

5. Click Next.
6. Select the PowerFlex array that you want to add to AppSync, and click NEXT.
7. Review the configurations in the Summary page, and click FINISH.
AppSync discovers and operates on the registered system.

Service plan considerations with PowerFlex storage


Before you add a service plan to create PowerFlex copies, review these considerations.
AppSync supports Snapshot (read-write) replication technology to create and manage:
● Local copies of applications that reside on PowerFlex storage using Bronze or Local Repurpose service plans.
● Remote copies of applications that reside on PowerFlex storage using Silver or remote Repurpose service plans.
NOTE:

Gold service plans are not supported with PowerFlex storage. AppSync supports PowerFlex remote replication using RCGs
(Replication Consistency Groups). When using remote protection service plans, AppSync first initializes a sync of RCG on
the local array. Once sync operation completes successfully, it then uses the PowerFlex provided REST APIs to create RCG
snapshots at remote site.

Storage considerations 309


For remote copies, RCGs should be pre-configured by the user, and RCG link between local and remote PowerFlex systems
should be intact. AppSync does not support remote copies for VSS application copies.

Mount and unmount PowerFlex copies


Review this information before you mount and unmount PowerFlex copies with AppSync.
Mount and unmount operations on PowerFlex systems are performed by mapping and unmapping the snapshots to a mount host
using respective SDC (Storage Data Client).
NOTE: Hosts must be configured with PowerFlex SDC components and they must be added in the PowerFlex systems
appropriately.
For mount or unmount of RDM or vDISK, AppSync identifies host access based on the SDC of the ESX server.

Restore considerations for PowerFlex storage


Consider the following when restoring data from PowerFlex copies.
● AppSync does not support restore from a remote copy.
● AppSync does not support restore from a local copy if the source volume is part of replication (RCG).
● If there are other applications sharing the same storage device with the application that is being restored, ensure that they
are stopped before attempting a restore from AppSync. This is because AppSync can only quiesce the application being
restored.
● For any application restore on PowerFlex systems, ensure that all IOs on the volume are stopped.

Repurposing copies on PowerFlex storage


AppSync supports repurposing application copies on PowerFlex arrays. You can create read-write snapshots of PowerFlex
volumes for repurposing.
Repurposing overview provides additional information about repurposing.
● Both first generation and second generation copies are always read-write snapshots.
● During refresh, AppSync expires existing snapshots and creates new snapshots. This is more efficient as PowerFlex does not
support refreshing a group of volumes in a single operation.
For additional information about PowerFlex snapshot and thin clone copy technologies, see PowerFlex documentation.

RecoverPoint
Consider best practices for RecoverPoint setup before deploying AppSync. For example, be sure to observe RecoverPoint
consistency group granularity best practices.
NOTE: To change the IP address of the management server, click the EDIT option.

Service plan considerations for applications with RecoverPoint


protection
AppSync supports different RecoverPoint replication options.
Three types of replication options:

Local In Local protection, RecoverPoint replicates to a storage array at the same site. In a RecoverPoint
(Continuous Data installation that is used exclusively for local protection, you install RPAs at only one site and do not specify
Protection) a WAN interface. The Bronze service plan protects application replication.

Remote In Remote replication, RecoverPoint replicates over a WAN to a remote site. There is no limit to the
(Continuous replication distance. The Silver service plan protects application replication.

310 Storage considerations


Remote
Replication)

Local and Remote In Local and Remote replication, RecoverPoint protects production LUNs locally using local protection and
(Concurrent remotely using remote replication. Both copies have different protection windows and RPO policies. The
Local and Gold service plan protects application replication. RecoverPoint multi-site (multiple remote sites) is not
Remote) supported at this time.

NOTE: For RecoverPoint bookmarks, logged access is the only supported copy-access mode in RecoverPoint-XtremIO
environment.

RecoverPoint prerequisites
Verify that the RecoverPoint configuration meets the prerequisites necessary for use with AppSync.
● Install and configure RecoverPoint according to the RecoverPoint documentation.
● Use RecoverPoint to create consistency groups.
● Ensure that the splitters for all mount hosts are attached to the RecoverPoint target volumes they are going to use.
● Synchronize time on all systems. Follow the steps in the operating system documentation to configure the AppSync server
and all production and mount hosts to be synchronized with a time server. This includes all hosts, Unity storage, and
RecoverPoint appliances.
● For failover preparation, keep in mind that AppSync requires that RecoverPoint Local and Remote consistency groups have
both local and remote copies, even in a failover situation. This may require RecoverPoint administrator configuration steps
after failover to configure a local copy on the remote site.
● During AppSync configuration, the RecoverPoint site is added as a resource. In a Local and Remote configuration, AppSync
discovers all sites in the RecoverPoint system configuration. Credentials for an account that has RecoverPoint admin
privileges is required when adding the site.
● If you upgrade a SOAP enabled RecoverPoint version earlier than 4.1.1 to the same or a later REST enabled version, you must
add RecoverPoint to AppSync again.

Dynamic or static mounts


RecoverPoint copies can be mounted in two ways, statically or dynamically.
AppSync supported static mounts of RecoverPoint targets. Using static mounts, the RecoverPoint target LUNs (Local or
Remote) had to be pre-exposed (masked) to the mount host before you could mount the RecoverPoint copies. If you are using
static mounts in a virtual machine environment, the RecoverPoint target LUNs must be masked to the ESX server, and added as
RDMs to the virtual machines before mounting the copy.
RecoverPoint targets may also be dynamically mounted. RecoverPoint target LUNs are mapped at mount time to identify the
LUNs, and the LUNs are masked (moved to the mount host storage group) and surfaced before mounting. When the target
LUNs for dynamic mount are on Unity storage, the Unity must be registered with AppSync.
AppSync does not have a prerequisite that replica devices must be made visible to the mount host. AppSync can dynamically
expose devices across all storage technologies. For VMAX3/PowerMax, AppSync does not support static mounts. This is also
applicable for RecoverPoint environments involving VMAX3/PowerMax.
If you are using dynamic mounts in a virtual environment, do not mask the target LUNs to the ESX server. AppSync will mask
the LUN to the ESX server, and then add the LUN as an RDM to the mount host.
When unmounting:
● LUNs which were dynamically mounted are dynamically unmounted, that is, the LUNs are removed from the storage group.
● LUNs which were statically mounted remain in the storage group after the unmount completes.
● For application copies with LUNs that are mixed (both statically and dynamically mounted), the LUNs are dynamically
unmounted. All mounted LUNs are removed from the storage group.
Given proper zoning, AppSync presents storage to the host automatically when a copy is mounted.

Physical host AppSync dynamically assigns a snapshot to the host when the copy is mounted. The physical host must
be zoned to the Unity array of the RecoverPoint target LUNs (Local or Remote).

Virtual machine Dynamic mounts happen as a raw device mapping (RDM) or through native iSCSI on the VM.

Storage considerations 311


● For RDM, the ESX server where the VM resides must be zoned to the Unity array of the RecoverPoint target LUNs (Local or
Remote).
● For RDM and virtual disks, virtual center (which manages the ESX server where the VM mount host resides) must be
registered with the AppSync server.
● For native iSCSI, the virtual machine must be logged into the array (Unity) initiators of the RecoverPoint target LUNs (Local
or Remote).

Repurpose RecoverPoint Bookmark copies of Oracle or SQL Server


databases
AppSync supports the ability to repurpose RecoverPoint Bookmark copies for Oracle or SQL Server databases.
To copy Bookmarks, use the RecoverPoint repurpose wizard. The RecoverPoint Appliance and VNX must be registered in
AppSync.
Supported configurations include:
● Application: Oracle and SQL Server
● Storage: Unity
● Bookmark: The 2nd Gen copy is a copy of the 1st Gen copy.
In the repurpose wizard, select Use Bookmark as an intermediate step to perform RecoverPoint repurposing. If you do not
select this option, AppSync begins native repurposing. The drop-down list lists the create a 1st Gen copy from site. This
option determines if the system uses RecoverPoint Continuous Data Protection or RecoverPoint Continuous Remote Replication
Bookmark repurposing.

Considerations
● If you refresh the 1st Gen copy, AppSync takes a new copy of the database.
● 1st Gen and 2nd Gen copies are always local.
● Manual expires of 1st Gen the Bookmark copy.
● Refresh a 2nd Gen to create a copy of the 2nd Gen from the 1st Gen.

Repurpose (create) a 1st Gen copy of a RecoverPoint Bookmark


Learn to repurpose a RecoverPoint Bookmark on a Unity, or XtremIO target.

Prerequisites
The RecoverPoint Appliance and the underlying storage array (Unity, or XtremIO) must be registered in the AppSync Server.

About this task


To copy Bookmarks, use the RecoverPoint repurpose wizard.

Steps
1. Log in to the AppSync console and select Copy Management.
2. From the Copies drop-down, click Copies.
3. Click Select Application > Oracle / Microsoft SQL Server / VMware Datacenters / File Systems / Microsoft
Exchange.
4. Click the name of the database, instance, or file system that contains copies.
5. Click MORE > Repurposed Copies to view the repurposed copies for all the databases, or application instance.
The Repurposed Copies window appears. Copies.
6. Click Create second generation copy.
7. In the repurpose wizard, select Use Bookmark as an intermediate step to perform RecoverPoint repurposing.

312 Storage considerations


Unity
This section describes Unity support with AppSync. It includes information on configuration considerations, supported service
plan and application details.
Unity arrays support all applications within AppSync.
AppSync does not support the following configuration with Unity:
● Unity File storage on Windows platform

Unity copy management


This section describes a typical AppSync workflow where you can create and manage application-consistent copies on Unity
storage. AppSync manages Unity arrays with the Management Interface instead of the Service Processor interface.
Perform resource registration for Unity when you start AppSync after installation. Register hosts as well as vCenter and
storage systems so that AppSync can perform various operations that are required to create and manage copies of applications.
Typically, registration of an entity includes identifying the system using name/IP address and providing the necessary credentials
(username/password) for AppSync to discover and operate on the registered system.
NOTE:
● AppSync rediscovers file systems, interfaces, and file shares every hour. Therefore, any new file, file system, or file
share added on the array is not identified by AppSync until the next refresh cycle.
● To edit the IP address of the management server, click the Change option.

Protecting Unity Block storage (Silver and Gold plans)


AppSync supports asynchronous and synchronous replication types.

NOTE: Manual replication is not supported.

● Asynchronous replication — During remote protection (using Gold or Silver service plan), AppSync first creates a Unity
snapshot on the local array, and then using the Unity Snapshot shipping technology, remote snapshots are created on the
remote array.
NOTE: In the case of a Silver service plan, snapshots created on the local array are removed.
● Synchronous replication - During remote protection, AppSync creates the copy directly on the remote array, in the case of a
Silver service plan.
NOTE: AppSync does not support remote protection, if the replication session is configured between pools within the same
array.

Storage and replication type


AppSync supports Unified Snapshot replication technology to create and manage:
● Local copies of applications that reside on Unity block or file storage.
● Remote copies of applications that reside on Unity Block storage. Supported only on Unity 4.2 and later.
Source block storage LUNs can be pool LUNs that are either thick or thin. You can provision the required source block devices
using the Unity LUN or VMware data store wizards within the Unisphere UI. When creating basic LUNs using the LUN wizard
select one of the following options:
● Create a LUN - Creates an individual LUN from a desired storage pool.
● Create a Consistency group - Creates a grouping of LUNs from a desired storage pool. The advantage of using a consistency
group is that all LUNs within the group are snapped together guaranteeing consistency on the array.
Best practice states that in Microsoft environments you must use consistency groups in their storage layout to help the
application consistent creation of Unity snapshots within the Microsoft VSS Service time window.
You can provision the required source file devices using the Unity file system or VMware data stores wizard. When provisioning
from the file system wizard, only NFS share file systems are supported.

Storage considerations 313


Service plan considerations with Unity
Before you add a service plan to create Unity copies, review these considerations.
After you register Unity storage, you can subscribe to the Bronze, Silver, or Gold service plan to create and manage local or
remote copies for operation recovery and backup acceleration. After you register Unity storage, AppSync selects snap for the
selected service plan by default.
For copies across RecoverPoint Remote replication or Local and Remote replication, subscribe to Silver or Gold service plan
respectively. You can change snap to Bookmark for RecoverPoint copies.

Mounting and unmounting Unity NFS datastore copies


Review the following information for NFS datastore mount/unmount.
AppSync creates a share based on the Unity file snap that you want to mount. The share is visible to the mount host. During
unmount, the share created during the mount is deleted. The share name appears in the following format:
AS-Share-
lastFourDigitOfUnitySerialNum-ProductionFilesystemId-
TimeOfShareCreated
AppSync creates a list of export IP interfaces from the Unity array. Production export IP is a priority.

Mounting and unmounting Unity copies


Review this information before you mount and unmount Unity copies with AppSync.
Mount and unmount operations on Unity arrays involve attaching and detaching snapshots to SMPs, and granting and removing
(masking/unmasking) snapshot access to SMP LUNs or a set of SMPs to a host. Unity OE versions prior to 4.1 only allow
attaching one snapshot at a time for a set of LUNs or consistency groups to SMP LUNs. This restriction does not apply for OE
versions 4.1 and later. LUNs contained in a consistency group are attached and detached together, there is no partial attach or
detach.
Before performing a mount or unmount, zone the mount host to the Unity array, and register the host name with its initiators.
The first step AppSync performs when mounting a snapshot on Unity, is host initiator discovery for the mount host. Based on
the snapshot information, AppSync maps to the appropriate source LUN/consistency group(s) to determine host access for the
mount host.
AppSync verifies that no other snapshots are attached to the SMP LUNs. Next AppSync modifies host access to either grant
snapshot access to perform a mount, or remove host access to unmount.
For RDM or vDISK mount/unmount, AppSync identifies host access based on the host initiator for the ESX server.
NOTE: In a Linux iSCSI multipathed environment, mounting a Unity copy might fail. Ensure that at least one LUN from the
array is visible to mount the host, before trying mount.

Mounting and unmounting Unity NFS File system copies


Review the following information for NFS File system mount and unmount.
AppSync creates a share based on the Unity unified snapshot for file that you want to mount. The share is made visible to the
mount host by exporting the NFS file system's unified snapshots, and the file system is created on that NFS exports. During
unmount, the file system is unmounted and the NFS share created during mount is deleted. The share name appears in the
following format:

AS-SharelastFourDigitOfUnitySerialNum-ProductionFilesystemId-TimeOfShareCreated

AppSync creates a list of export IP interfaces from the Unity array. Production export IP is a priority.
Oracle database on Unity NFS file system is supported. The unified snapshots for file is created for Oracle data and logs. During
mount of an Oracle database, use one of the following options:
● Mount and Recovery - This option mounts the file system on the mount host and recovers the database.

314 Storage considerations


● Mount the file system - This option only mounts the file system on the mount host.

Unity restore considerations


Consider the following when restoring data from Unity copies.
● When restoring a local Unity Snapshot copy (if synchronous replication is configured), AppSync pauses the synchronous
replication session and resumes the session after the copy is restored.
● When restoring a remote Unity Snapshot copy, AppSync:
○ Fails over the local array replication session.
○ Resumes the remote array replication session.
○ Restores and waits for data synchronization to complete.
○ Fails over the remote array, and resumes the replication session on the local array.
● If there are other applications sharing the same storage device with the application that is being restored, ensure that they
are stopped before attempting a restore from AppSync. This is because AppSync can only quiesce the application being
restored.
● For any application restore on Unity arrays, ensure that all IO's on the LUN is stopped.

Repurposing copies on Unity


AppSync supports repurposing application copies on Unity arrays. Both snapshot and thin clone copy technologies of Unity are
supported. The minimum Unity version required is 4.2.
Repurposing overview provides additional information on repurposing.
● The first generation copy is always a snapshot.
● The second generation copy can either be a snapshot or a thin clone. By default, the second generation copy is a snapshot.
You can change the default option.
● First generation snapshots must not be mounted when creating or refreshing a second generation thin clone.
For additional information on Unity snapshot and thin clone copy technologies, see Unity documentation.

VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash


VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash arrays are supported with AppSync. This section describes supported features, and
service plan considerations including mount/unmount and restore of VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash copies.
To create and manage copies in VMAX3/PowerMax, it is required to register U4P(Unisphere for PowerMax) in AppSync.
AppSync supports SRDF/M, SRDF/S, and SRDF/A environment for VMAX3/PowerMax.
NOTE:
● In this document, all mentions of VMAX3 includes information and instructions for VMAX All Flash and PowerMax arrays.
● For SRDF/Metro, both the array should be registered in AppSync.
To create and manage copies of applications, AppSync supports SnapVX snapshot replication technology in VMAX3/PowerMax
and VMAX All Flash arrays.
NOTE: To change the IP address of management server, follow the below steps:
1. Add VMAX U4P to AppSync.
2. Change the Management IP address of U4P.
3. Add the changed Management IP to AppSync.
4. Set the changed management IP using set preferred option.

Storage considerations 315


Service plan considerations for applications on VMAX All Flash and
VMAX3/PowerMax storage
Review these considerations for service plan support with VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash.

Overview
After you register (add) VMAX3/PowerMax, and VMAX All Flash, storage, subscribe an application to a service plan to create
and manage copies.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold service plans are supported with VMAX3/PowerMax, and VMAX All Flash. You can create immutable
copies for all the service plans and all the applications. Snap in a service plan with VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash is
equivalent to a SnapVX snapshot linked in no copy mode. Clone in a service plan is equivalent to SnapVX snapshot linked in copy
mode. The default preference for a service plan is Snap.
If the source device is expanded online in a VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash array, expand the target devices in the
storage group configured in the AppSync server, or add new devices with the same geometry as the source device.
If the target storage being used is provisioned by AppSync from SRP, it must be expanded online to match the geometry of the
source device.
NOTE:
● After application discovery completes in the service plan, application source PowerMax volume identifier (Device Nice
Name) would be appended with "APS_<AppType>_<FQDN>_<AppName>_Vol" string. The maximum limit of volume
identifier is 64 chars in PowerMax. If the volume identifier do not have enough space to update the detailed information,
the string can be trimmed("APS_<AppType>_<HostName>_<AppName>_Vol" or "APS_<AppType>_<AppName>_Vol")
to fit in the available space. Existing pre-configured volume identifier length is more than 45 characters, AppSync
may not able to update application awareness information. This application awareness feature is applicable for
Oracle, SQL server, Exchange, and SAP HANA application. For example, APS_ORACLE_lrmu050_salesDB_Vol,
APS_SQLSERVER_lrmt181_marketingDB_Vol, APS_EXCHANGE_lrmt121_lss_emc_com_Sales_Vol. This feature can be
disabled using server settings.
● For application deployed on SRDF/Metro, local array preference needs to be configured in Bronze and Gold service
plan. The local copy would be created based on selected preference in SRDF/Metro array pair. This is applicable for
applications Bronze, Gold, and local repurposing service plan (in case the application is deployed on SRDF/Metro).
● In the case of Gold service plans (simultaneous local and remote copies), AppSync requires U4P (Unisphere for
PowerMax) that has gatekeepers presented from both the local and remote array.
● In the case of SRDF/Metro, AppSync supports Silver/Gold service plan on 3 site configuration (SRDF/Metro + 1 DR
site).
● To create copy of the application (which is deployed on PowerMax SRDF session), AppSync requires U4P (Unisphere for
PowerMax) that has access to both local and remote array. This applies to Gold, Silver as well as Bronze (local) service
plans.
● NVMe over FC is supported on both physical and virtual hosts (RHEL and SUSE) and as Datastores on ESXi servers.
See AppSync support matrix for the latest supported operating system versions.

AppSync does not supports RDM devices of NVMe over virtual hosts.

● “nvme-cli” package must be installed on RHEL and SUSE hosts to support NVMe devices.
● Mix of SCSI & NVMe devices in same service plan protection is not supported.

SnapVXClone optimization
AppSync supports both storage group level and volume group level snapvx snapshots based on application volume storage group
layout in array.
The SnapVX clone is created and linked with the target device during copy creation. AppSync optimizes the SnapVX clone
linking using the relinking strategy. While linking the SnapVX clone with the target device, AppSync attempts to find a suitable
target device, which is already linked with a previous SnapVX of the same source device, and can be used for relinking. If you
relink the new SnapVX with the same target device, it only synchronizes the delta data, that is the data that changed from the

316 Storage considerations


earlier SnapVX to the new SnapVX. This minimizes the linking time for larger devices. The non-repurposing service plan employs
the relinking feature during copy creation. The repurposing service plans can refresh the repurposed copies and use the relink
feature.
NOTE:
● To support clone relinking, n+1 set of target devices are required for n copies. For example, if there are seven copies,
and then eight target devices are required for each source device. This is applicable for VMAX3/PowerMax, VMAX All
Flash, and SnapVXClone. In the absence of the extra set of target devices, the SnapVX clone creation might fail with an
error.
● For storage group level copies, the storage group should be intact to mount and restore existing copies. Due to
array-related restrictions, adding devices to the storage group or renaming the storage group (after a copy is created)
would cause link failure during mount and restore of copies.
● In gold service plan rotation expiry, if any one of the local or remote copies is mounted, it would delete the copies that
are not mounted. The copies mounted would expire in the next rotation of expiry, once it is unmounted.

Restore VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash copies


When you restore SnapVX copies in AppSync, it restores the data from the SnapVX snapshots created on the array for the
source devices, or from linked devices (in the case of mounted copies).
● Restore from snapshot — Restores copies from unmodified SnapVX snapshots.
● Restore from changed data — Restores from the SnapVX snapshot linked device, which retains the changes in the mounted
copies.
NOTE:
● Restore from remote copies is not supported for VMAX3/PowerMax, and VMAX All Flash arrays in an SRDF
environment.
● In SRDF Metro, restore is supported only for R1 copies and not allowed for R2 copies.

Service plan considerations with PowerMax File storage


Before you add a service plan to create PowerMax copies, review these considerations.
AppSync supports Snapshot replication technology to create and manage:
● Local copies of applications that reside on PowerMax File storage using Bronze service plans or local repurpose plans.
AppSync does not support the following configuration with PowerMax File storage:
● pNFS
● Remote protection

Mount or unmount VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash copies


Mount or unmount operations on VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash include masking or unmasking LUNs or a set of LUNs
to a host. AppSync relies on the VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash Auto-Provisioning capability.
The mount host must be zoned to the VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash array. Next, you can create a masking view with
the initiator group, port group, and storage group.
When AppSync performs a mount operation on VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash, it discovers the host initiator for the
mount host first, and then based on this host initiator, AppSync maps to (or from) the masking view. This operation determines
the storage group where the target LUNs are masked/unmasked . For RDM or Vdisk mount/unmount, AppSync identifies the
masking view that is based on the host initiator for the ESX server.
You can select the required Service Level Objective (SLO) for the target LUN in the mount step of the service plan run. If there
is a storage group for the mount host with the required SLO, AppSync adds the LUN to the storage group. If this storage group
does not exist, AppSync adds the LUN to any storage group that is masked to the host.
If a storage group is configured to pick target devices, AppSync removes the devices from the storage group at the time of
mount and adds them to the storage group for the mount host. The devices are added to the original storage group when the
copy is expired.

Storage considerations 317


If the selected storage group does not have any SLO, the devices are not removed from the AppSync configured storage group.
Unlink the SnapVX snapshots during unmount mount option also frees up the unlinked target devices in protection copies
and second generation repurposing copies.
Once snapshots are mounted, any changes in the mounted copy are stored in the linked devices. After unmount of the copies,
the tracks must be cleaned up. To do so, AppSync would run scheduler to clean up the allocated tracks of unlinked target
devices. The scheduler is configured at 11 pm everyday, and this can be changed by using the server setting option.
Enable PowerMax Storage Group Preference per Server option to map host to the storage group for the VMAX3/
PowerMax storage arrays in the service plan configuration. The mount devices are masked using mapped storage group. In
turn, the storage group is masked in the desired masking view. Note that the mapped storage group is considered only if the
Desired SLO and SLO for storage group matches.
Do not use the AppSync created internal storage group for any other operation. Also, ensure that you do not configure an SLO
for this storage group. The format of the AppSync internal storage group is <hostname>+"__INTERNAL-AppSync"+number
format. For example, the AppSync internal storage groups created for the AppSync server lrmp253 are lrmp253__INTERNAL-
AppSync-0, lrmp253__INTERNAL-AppSync-1, lrmp253__INTERNAL-AppSync-2, and so on.
If multiple storage groups exist on the array for the same mount host with the same SLO, AppSync sorts the storage groups
alphabetically and selects the first one from the list. If you want AppSync to use a specific storage group, rename the storage
group in such a way that it appears on top of the list when sorted. The service plan must be recreated for this change to take
effect.
NOTE:
● Do not change the name of the storage group for the mount host when the copy is mounted. If you change the name of
the storage group, ensure that you revert to the original name before unmounting the copy from AppSync.
● All the AppSync provisioned storage pool devices created by AppSync is moved to an AppSync created internal storage
group. This internal storage group is not visible to the user. It is created to handle the AppSync provisioned devices
efficiently.
● Multiple AppSync servers must never use or share the same storage group from a given VMAX3/PowerMax array.
● Storage group configured with SRDF session is not used for VMAX application mount.
● Copy of production application on Nvme LUN's can be mounted to a mount host with only SCSI lun visibility and vice
versa.

Mount and unmount for PowerMax file copies


Review this information before you mount and unmount for PowerMax File copies with AppSync.
Snapshot copy read/write mount and unmount operations on PowerMax system have an intermediate step of creating
mountable objects or Thin clones. The clones are exported and imported to or from the mount hosts on the PowerMax system.
The intermediate thin clone is deleted on the appliance only when the copy is expired.
Before a mount or unmount, ensure IPv4 connection between the mount host and PowerMax NAS Server is intact.

PowerMax restore considerations for file storage


Consider the following when restoring data from PowerMax copies.
Restore is supported from PowerMaxFileSnap copy type.
NOTE: Restore operation fails if any NFS export is deleted on the system (or NAS server), for the file system that AppSync
is attempting to restore.
Following are the configurations which are considered as affected entities:
● If same NFS export is mapped to multiple hosts.
● If NFS mount point is a nested file system.

318 Storage considerations


VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash repurpose overview
Review VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash support for Repurposing.
AppSync supports local and remote repurposing of VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash SnapVX copies. Refresh of an
existing copy will create a new snapshot of the source LUN and link it to the original target of the copy in the required mode.
The old snapshot is then expired.
The first and second generation copies can either be a snapshot or a clone. By default, they are always a snapshot. You can
change the default options.
The Storage group first selected for Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 Array(s) option holds good for that
entire repurpose copy lifecycle. Even if you edit the repurpose plan of that copy and change the storage group later, copy
refresh or next scheduled run of that repurpose plan continues to use the initial storage group itself.
AppSync supports both SRDF/Metro for local and remote repurposing in SRDF/Metro + SRDF/A environment. Local
repurposing would create copy of selected production site in SRDF/Metro. Remote repurposing would create copy at SRDF/A
site. This is applicable for both SmartDR as well as HA + DR configuration. The following SRDF Metro options can be configured
in the Create the Copy step, during copy creation for data repurposing:
● Wait for VMAX3/PowerMax clone sync to complete
● Array Selection (Applicable only for SRDF/Metro)
● Select Storage Groups to be used for VMAX-3 array(s)
Use the Repurpose wizard to create a local or remote repurposed copy with VMAX3/PowerMax and VMAX All Flash.

NOTE: Refer to the AppSync VMAX Array Support Guide on support.dell.com for additional information.

VNXFile/eNAS
AppSync supports the creation and management of application copies using VNX File SnapSure copy technology. AppSync-
managed copies can be local, remote (off the VNX Replicator target) or identical point-in-time local and remote copies.
Consider best practices for VNX file setup before deploying AppSync.

VNX SnapSure
VNX SnapSure creates a point-in-time copy of all the data on the network file system (NFS). For the initial snapshot, this
method creates a full copy of the original file system, hence requiring the same amount of space on the file system. Subsequent
snapshots space usage depends on how much the data has changed since the last snapshot was taken.
SnapSure has the following characteristics:
● Storage Service — VNX File Server
● Source — VNX LUN
● Target — VNX SnapSure local snapshot
● Storage Requirements — The following storage requirements apply:
○ The source data must reside on VNX file systems.
○ Storage must include enough space for the snapshots on the VNX.
○ Storage pools cannot be defined for VNX jobs.
● Mount and Recovery — You can mount the replica on a target host and/or perform direct recovery from target to source.

VNX Replicator
VNX Replicator creates a point-in-time copy of all the data on the network file system (NFS). VNX Replicator maintains
consistency between the source and target file systems that are based on the Time Out of Sync policy settings.
VNX Replicator has the following characteristics:
● Storage Service — VNX File Server
● Source — VNX NFS
● Target — Replicator remote snapshot

Storage considerations 319


● Storage Requirements — The source data must reside on network file systems.
● Mount and Recovery — Can mount the copy on a target host and perform recovery from the copy if required.

VNX remote protection


Protection occurs between a local Data Mover and a Data Mover on a remote VNX system.
Both VNX for file cabinets must be configured to communicate with one another by using a common pass phrase, and both
Data Movers must be configured to communicate with one another by using a Data Mover interconnect. After communication is
established, a remote session can be set up to create and periodically update a source object at a remote destination site. The
initial copy of the source file system can either be done over an IP network or by using the tape transport method.
Some recommendations for the session include:
● The session must be created with the Time Out of Sync update policy instead of a manual refresh.
● The Time Out of Sync value should be set to lowest value possible for the network configuration.
After the initial copy, changes made to the local source object are transferred to a remote destination object over the IP
network. These transfers are automatic and are based on definable protection session properties and update policy.
One-to-many replication configurations are not supported in AppSync.

Protecting data on VNX network file systems


For service plans configured for remote protection, the NFS copy is created as a SnapSure Snapshot on the local and/or remote
file system. Copies of NFS data stores can be created from service plans configured for local, remote, and local and remote
protection.
During restore of an NFS copy, AppSync creates a rollback snapshot for every file system that has been restored. The name of
each rollback snapshot can be found in the restore details.
You can manually delete the rollback snapshot after verifying the contents of the restore. Retaining these snapshots beyond
their useful life can fill the VNX snap cache and cause resource issues.

Service plan considerations for an application on VNX File storage


Once you register VNX storage, you can subscribe the application to a service plan to create and manage copies.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans are supported for copies of applications (NFS data store, Oracle NFS) residing on VNX File.
The limits of VNX SnapSure technology determine the maximum number of copies that AppSync can create and manage for
VNX File.
For Local SnapSure copies you can have a maximum of 96 RO (read-only) snaps. AppSync service plan rotation for VNX NFS
file system is a maximum of 95.
For Remote SnapSure copies (across Remote Replicator), you can have a maximum of 95 RO snaps. AppSync service plan
rotation for VNX NFS file system is a maximum of 94.
For RW (read/write) mounts, SnapSure allows for up to 16 RW snaps off existing RO snaps. A maximum of 16 snapshots for
a given source can be mounted RW at any specified time. The service plans, by default, unmount the provision copy before
mounting the new copy so this limit has no consequences. However, if the implementation requires simultaneously mounting
multiple copies for the same source RW, the limit of 16 must be considered.

VNX file mount


You can mount any VNX File Snapshot copy created in the service plan at any time, independent of other copies created on the
same service plan.
The following considerations apply:
● ESX mount hosts must belong to a vCenter server.
● ESX mount hosts require visibility on the network.
● NFS.MaxVolumes, an advanced setting on the ESX server, should be set to the number of NFS datastores that will be
mounted to each ESX on the network.

320 Storage considerations


● When mounting to an ESX server, AppSync uses the lowest number interface that has connectivity.
NOTE: For VNX File Snapshot mount, alias of export is not used, if the source file system is NFSv4.X. Instead, in such a
scenario, the checkpoints are exported and mounted using the checkpoint's full name. This is because of a limitation from
VNX file storage.

Metro node | VPLEX


AppSync can create application consistent and crash consistent Snapshot (VPLEXSnap and VPLEXClone) copies on the
underlying managed array hosting metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes. AppSync supports the following applications on metro
node | VPLEX storage:
● Oracle databases
● SQL Server databases
● File systems
● Microsoft Exchange
● VMware data stores
● SAP HANA
The following metro node | VPLEX device configurations are supported:
● Metro node | VPLEX Local
○ RAID 0
○ RAID 1
● Metro node | VPLEX
○ Distributed devices
NOTE:
● Metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes must be mapped 1:1 to an array volume.
● Concatenated devices (RAID-C) are not supported.
● Nested devices are not supported.
● Remote volumes (local device with global visibility by setting remote access) is not supported.
● If there is a mobility job in progress, the device cannot be protected until the mobility job completes.
● AppSync does not support native replication with metro node | VPLEX for any storage.
To change the IP address of the management server, use the Set preferred option.
Follow the below steps:
1. Add metro node | VPLEX IP to AppSync.
2. Change the Management IP address of metro node | VPLEX array.
3. Add the changed Management IP to AppSync.
4. Set the changed management IP using Set preferred option.

Service plan considerations for applications on metro node | VPLEX


storage
After you register metro node | VPLEX storage, you can subscribe your application to a service plan to create and manage
copies.
● AppSync supports the Bronze service plan for applications on metro node | VPLEX storage. This means that you can only
create application specific local copies.
● When you select the storage preference as Snapshot in a service plan, AppSync creates a snapshot on the back-end storage
array.
● During mapping, AppSync queries metro node | VPLEX about the virtual volume details such as device components, extents,
and storage volume. It then communicates to the back-end storage array and maps the corresponding storage LUN to be
protected.
● If applications on the same hosts are from different metro node | VPLEX clusters, the applications are grouped separately
during protection.
● If applications are on the same host and on the same metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes, they are grouped together during
protection.

Storage considerations 321


● If the underlying metro node | VPLEX storage device is a RAID1, or a distributed device, you must configure storage options
in the create copy options under service plans.
● A metro node | VPLEX virtual volume on a RAID 1 device has two legs. The two legs can be from two different back-end
storage arrays. The leg to be protected is determined by the array that is selected in configure storage options. A metro
node | VPLEX distributed virtual volume has storage devices on both the clusters. The leg to be protected is determined by
the cluster that is selected in configure storage options.
● In the case of RAID 0 devices, the metro node | VPLEX back-end array's storage LUN which maps to the metro node |
VPLEX virtual volume is protected.
● In the case of RAID-1 devices, the metro node | VPLEX back-end array's storage LUN which maps to the selected leg of the
RAID-1 device is protected.

Mount and unmount metro node | VPLEX copies


Review this information before you mount and unmount metro node | VPLEX copies with AppSync.
AppSync provides two mount options:
● Mount as metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes
● Mount as native array volumes

Mount as metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes


When you select this option, the snapshot on the back-end array is made visible to metro node | VPLEX. AppSync creates metro
node | VPLEX virtual volumes on the underlying native array snapshots and provisions these virtual volumes to the mount host.
The provisioned virtual volumes are added to the storage view of the mount host. During unmount, the virtual volumes are
removed from the storage view of the mount host, and it tears down the created metro node | VPLEX virtual volume on the
underlying native array snapshots. The snapshot on the back-end array is de-provisioned from metro node | VPLEX.
Consider the following:
● The mount host must be zoned to the metro node | VPLEX cluster where the production copy is created.
● The mount host must be zoned to metro node | VPLEX, but does not have to be zoned to the native array where the
snapshot is created.
● Copy of production volumes on metro node | VPLEX RAID 0 devices are mounted as local RAID 0 volumes on the same
cluster.
● Copy of production volumes on metro node | VPLEX RAID 1 devices are mounted as local RAID 1 devices with a single leg on
the same cluster. If you manually add a mirror leg, ensure that you manually remove that leg before unmount.
● Copy of production volumes on metro node | VPLEX distributed RAID 0 devices are mounted as local RAID 0 volumes on the
same cluster.
● Copy of production volumes on metro node | VPLEX distributed RAID 1 devices are mounted as local RAID 1 volumes on the
same cluster. If you manually add a mirror leg, ensure that you manually remove that leg before unmount.

Mount as native array volumes


When you select this option, AppSync provisions the native array snapshots to the mount host. The mount host must be zoned
to the native array where the snapshot is created. All other mount considerations of the native array are applicable.

Enable VMware cluster mount


If the mount host is a VMware virtual machine residing on an ESX cluster, the target LUN is made visible to all the nodes of the
ESX cluster during mount. By default, this is enabled. If you do not want to perform an ESX cluster mount, you can clear this
option. Then the target LUN is made visible only to the ESX cluster on which the mount host resides. This is applicable for both
RDM and vDisk device types.

Metro node | VPLEX restore considerations


Consider the following when restoring data from metro node | VPLEX Snap copies:

322 Storage considerations


● The metro node | VPLEX production virtual volume layout must be the same as it was when the copy was created. If there is
any change in the production virtual volume layout, AppSync detects it and the restore fails.
● In the case of a RAID 1 and distributed devices, AppSync restores one leg of the mirror for which the copy was created. The
other leg is rebuilt and synchronized after restore is complete from the native array snapshots. If you do not want to wait for
mirror synchronization, ensure that you clear the Wait for mirror rebuild to complete option in the Restore wizard.
● During restore, AppSync removes metro node | VPLEX virtual volumes from the consistency group, restores from native
array snapshot, and adds the virtual volumes back to the consistency group. It also invalidates cache of all the metro node |
VPLEX virtual volumes.
● AppSync does not support restore of metro node | VPLEX production virtual volumes, which are protected by RecoverPoint.
● When restoring from metro node | VPLEX Snap copies, ensure that no other operation is performed on the device being
restored.

XtremIO
Review the supported applications, replication technology, configuration requirements, and restrictions for XtremIO arrays with
AppSync before you begin the installation.
AppSync creates write-consistent snapshots on the XtremIO array for each application you add to a service plan. AppSync
XtremIO supports the following applications:
● Oracle databases
● SQL Server databases
● Exchange databases and DAG
● File systems
● VMware data stores
After you register XtremIO storage, you can subscribe to the Bronze or Silver service plan to create and manage local or
remote copies for operation recovery and backup acceleration. After you register XtremIO storage, AppSync selects snap for
the selected service plan by default.

NOTE: Remote replication is supported only on XtremIO 6.1 and later.

For remote protection (using the Silver service plan), both the source and the target devices must be in a consistency group.
AppSync creates a local bookmark which, based on the XtremIO policy, gets shipped to the target XtremIO array, after which,
the local bookmark gets deleted.
In the case of remote repurposing, the first generation copy is the linked consistency group repurposed from the shipped
bookmark. The second generation copy is the linked consistency group repurposed from the linked consistency group of the first
generation copy.
In remote repurposing, refreshing the linked consistency group of a first generation copy creates a new bookmark to refresh the
existing linked consistency group.
NOTE:
● For remote protection and repurposing of XtremIO VSS applications, a maximum of four consistency groups are
supported.
● Static mount is supported for remote copies. However, it is not supported for repurposing.
AppSync supports the use of XtremIO consistency group APIs to create and refresh snapshots, allowing for the fastest possible
operation time. However, support is limited to the repurposing workflow. The minimum XtremIO version required is 4.0.2.
For XtremIO release 6.2 and later, consider the following:
● For protection local copies, the Quality of Service (QoS) policy is applied to the read/write snapshots that are created during
mount.
● For repurposing local copies, the QoS policy is applied to the read/write snapshot volumes, and are not linked to consistency
groups (CG).
● During protection for remote copies, the QoS policy is applied on the target CG volumes of remote replication sessions.
● For repurposing remote copies, the QoS policy is applied on the read/write snapshot volumes on the target array, and not on
the linked CG.
NOTE:
● XtremIO QoS policy is not supported along with AppSync mount overrides.
● XtremIO QoS policy is not supported for RecoverPoint bookmark copies.

Storage considerations 323


● XtremIO QoS policy is not supported for second generation copies created before the AppSync 3.9 release.
For XtremIO release 6.1 and later, consider the following:
● During protection, AppSync creates a snapshot-set with read-only immutable copies using the source volume list or source
consistency group depending on the application volume layout. When mounting these copies, AppSync creates an additional
snapshot-set of read-write volumes from the read-only copy.
● For repurposing, AppSync creates a linked consistency group, if all the repurposed production volumes belong to a single
consistency group. Otherwise, a snapshot-set with read-write copies are created.
(For releases earlier than XtremIO 6.1) To use XtremIO consistency group APIs, the following conditions must be met:
● All source LUNs must have the same consistency group
● All source LUNs must be part of only one consistency group
● All snapshots must be part of a single Snapshot-set (consistency group level refresh or restore)
NOTE: A single source LUN in a consistency group is also supported.

For Windows based applications, all the LUNs must be in one consistency group.
For Oracle, all archive log LUNs must be part of one consistency group and the database LUNs must be part of a different
consistency group.
If applications span across consistency group and non-consistency group volumes, repurpose the applications on consistency
group and non-consistency group volumes separately.
NOTE: If a single application entity is on both consistency group and non-consistency group volumes, AppSync treats the
volumes as non-consistency group volumes during affinitization.

Restrictions
Consider the following restrictions for XtremIO with AppSync:
● XtremIO Initiator Groups must be defined in XtremIO for all mount hosts to which AppSync mounts XtremIO copies.
● AppSync does not support XtremIO with ISCSI connectivity for AIX hosts.
● XtremIO remote protection and repurposing use cases are not supported, if:
○ The source and target arrays are managed by the same XMS
○ The source array has a replication session with more than one target array
● Do not change the name of the initiator group for the mount host when the copy is mounted. If you change the name of the
initiator group, ensure that you revert to the original name before unmounting the copy from AppSync.

Configuration considerations
● The XtremIO Management Server (XMS) should be configured on a SAN with at least one XtremIO array.
● Zone XtremIO arrays to production and mount hosts (physical) or ESX servers (virtual).
● For mount and unmount of copies:
○ Ensure that you configure Oracle or SQL Server databases on XtremIO arrays for data and logs.
○ Fibre Channel and iSCSI are supported.

Considerations before adding an array:


To add and configure an XtremIO array to work with AppSync, you need at least one XtremIO Management Server (XMS)
configured for that XtremIO array. Review the following considerations before adding an array:
● Administrator privileges are required to add the XtremIO array.
● Ensure XtremIO storage is zoned to production hosts (physical) or ESX servers (virtual). RDM and virtual disk are supported
on VMware virtual machines. iSCSI is supported for Windows and Linux hosts, allowing you to see XtremIO storage over an
iSCSI LAN. iSCSI is supported for physical or virtual hosts, and also ESX servers.
● Oracle, file systems and VMFS data stores on Linux/AIX are supported. File systems and virtual disks are supported on
Windows.
● You need the XMS name/IP address and credentials.

324 Storage considerations


NOTE:
● If you change the array credentials, ensure that you update the same in AppSync before attempting any operation. The
AppSync Installation and Configuration Guide provides instructions to add an XtremIO array.
● To edit the IP address of the management server, click the change option.

Restore options with XtremIO storage


Learn about restore options for application copies on XtremIO arrays when planning the installation.
AppSync 2.2.2 and later supports automated restore of XtremIO 4.0 and later copies. The following applications are supported:
● SQL Server databases
● Exchange standalone databases and Exchange Data Availability Groups (DAG)
● VMware data stores
● File systems
● RecoverPoint
AppSync uses the Restore wizard for automated restore on XtremIO storage. Click the Restore button to launch Restore
wizard for respective applications. During restore, AppSync creates another XtremIO-generated snapshot, stored under the
tag /volumes/AppSyncSnapshots/RestoredSnapshots. An Administrator must clean up these snapshots manually.

XtremIO remote restore considerations


When restoring a remote XtremIO Snapshot copy, AppSync:
● Fails over the local array replication session using Appsync-created remote bookmark.
● Refreshes the remote CG using linked CG, if the restore is from remote repurpose copy.
● Starts the replication session in the reverse direction.
● Fails over the remote array using the sync-and-failover option, and resumes the replication session on the local array.
NOTE: Appsync does not create rollback snapshots for XtremIO remote restore.

If there are other applications sharing the same storage device or the same CG, with the application that is being restored, then
ensure that they are stopped before attempting a restore from AppSync. AppSync can only quiesce the application that is being
restored.

Storage considerations 325


15
Troubleshooting AppSync
This section provides information on the common problems encountered while using AppSync.
Topics:
• Automated log collection
• Dell SupportAssist
• AppSync issues
• Error handling
• Event logging
• Resource logging
• Hotfix details

Automated log collection


AppSync provides an automated option to collect logs from the AppSync server, the AppSync agent hosts, vCenter servers, and
UNIVMAX.
The logs are collected and saved in a Zip file at the location that is specified during log collection. In the case of a failure, no logs
are collected. You can use the collected logs to report issues that you might encounter when using AppSync.
The final log file includes:
● AppSync KeyCloak logs
● AppSync server logs
● AppSync agent logs
● Vpxd logs from the selected Vcenter servers
● Consolidated agent logs from UNIX agent hosts
● U4P RESTAPI logs from selected UNIVMAX providers
The following items are packaged with AppSync:
● EMCGrab for Linux - Is packaged along with the agent_plugin_bundles (C:
\EMC\AppSync\agent\agent_plugin_bundles\linux\current_appsync_version) and is deployed on the
agent host when log collection is initiated.
● EMCGrab for AIX - Is packaged along with the agent_plugin_bundles (C:
\EMC\AppSync\agent\agent_plugin_bundles\aix\current_appsync_version) and is deployed on the agent
host when log collection is initiated.
● EMCRPT for Windows agent - Is packaged with the Windows agent and is deployed on the agent host during the installation
of the agent.
NOTE:
● AppSync server logs are collected by default.
● For log collection, you require Server Message Block (SMB) access (TCP port 135 and TCP port 445) from the AppSync
server to the AppSync Windows host plug-in.

Collect Logs
AppSync provides an automated option to collect logs from the AppSync server, the AppSync agent hosts, vCenter servers, and
UNIVMAX.

Prerequisites
This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync.

326 Troubleshooting AppSync


About this task
The logs are collected and saved in a Zip file at the location that is specified during log collection. You can use the collected logs
to report issues that you might encounter when using AppSync.
The final log file includes:
● AppSync KeyCloak logs
● AppSync server logs
● AppSync agent logs
● Vpxd logs from the selected Vcenter servers ,
● U4P RESTAPI logs from selected UNIVMAX,
● Consolidated agent logs from UNIX agent hosts

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Settings > Logs and Data Expiration.
2. Click COLLECT LOGS.
3. Specify the location to store logs in the Location to store logs field.
The default location for this field is C:\EMC\AppSync\jboss\advanced-logs.
NOTE:

By default, the logs are retained for 20 days. To modify the default value:

● Go to Settings > Logs and Data Expiration > Collect logs from registered hosts > Log retention.
● Configure the Update Log Retention (in days) option, and click APPLY.

By default, log collection has a default timeout of 90 minutes. To modify the default value:

● Go to Settings > Logs and Data Expiration > Collect logs from registered hosts.
● Configure the Update Timeout for log collection (in minutes) option, and click APPLY.

4. Click NEXT.
5. Select one or more hosts from which logs must be collected. :
NOTE: AppSync server logs are collected by default.

● Appsync host
● VMWare vCenter Server
● UNIVMAX
6. (Optional) Select Collect EMC Grab/EMCRPT to collect the logs that are generated using the EMCGrab tool from the
AppSync server and the agent hosts. This includes system logs, event logs, and so on, besides the AppSync logs. By default,
this option is disabled, and only AppSync logs are collected from the agent hosts.
The following items are packaged with AppSync:
● EMCGrab for Linux - Is packaged along with the agent_plugin_bundles (C:\EMC\AppSync
\agent\agent_plugin_bundles\linux\current_appsync_version) and is deployed on the agent host when
log collection is initiated.
● EMCGrab for AIX - Is packaged along with the agent_plugin_bundles (C:\EMC\AppSync
\agent\agent_plugin_bundles\aix\current_appsync_version) and is deployed on the agent host when
log collection is initiated.
● EMCRPT for Windows agent - Is packaged with the Windows agent and is deployed on the agent host during the
installation of the agent.
NOTE: AppSync server logs are collected by default. For log collection, you require Server Message Block (SMB)
access (TCP port 135 and TCP port 445) from the AppSync server to the AppSync Windows host plug-in. For Unix
agents, the emcgrab utility is installed under the appsync agent install directory. The default location is /opt/emc/
appsync/emcgrab.

NOTE:
● For Unix agents, the emcgrab utility is installed under the appsync agent install directory. The default location
is /opt/emc/appsync/emcgrab. If the emcgrab directory is deleted or corrupted accidentally, download the
latest version of emcgrab from Dell Support and install it under the installation directory of the AppSync agent.

Troubleshooting AppSync 327


● AppSync does not support log collection for UNIVMAX that are running inside arrays (embedded guests).
● For SUDO users, ensure that you create a folder under /opt/emc/appsync/logcollection with read, write,
and run permissions. Also, add the following in the Sudoers file to grant permission to run the script (/opt/emc/
appsync/logcollection/get_smis_log.sh) without any password:

<sudo_user_name> ALL = (root) NOPASSWD: /opt/emc/appsync/logcollection/


get_smis_log.sh

7. (Optional) Select Collect consolidated Log to collect only consolidated agent logs. This option is only applicable for UNIX
AppSync Host plug-ins.
8. (Optional) Select the vCenter servers to collect Vpxd logs. You can select multiple vCenter servers.
The vpxd logs include information about vSphere client and web service connections, internal tasks, events, and
communication with the vCenter Server Agent (vpxa) on managed ESXi or ESX hosts. The vpxd files are zipped along
with the AppSync server files, agent logs, and U4P REST API logs, if selected.

9. (Optional) Select the UNIVMAX server to collect U4P Rest API logs and enter the username and the password of the host.
Select Save UNIVMAX Host Credentials to save specified host credentials.
NOTE:
● Port 22 must be enabled for Linux hosts, to collect U4P REST API logs.
● UNIVMAX on appliance is not supported for automated log collection.

10. Click Next.


The Review screen appears.
11. Review the log collection summary, and click Finish.
The Log collection progress screen displays the progress of log collection.
12. Click Close.
13. Verify if the logs are collected.
The logs are located in a folder that is named with the current timestamp at the specified path. The log file format is
yyyy-mm-dd_hh.mm.ss (for example, 2019-12-27_08.47.13).

Dell SupportAssist
Dell SupportAssist is a software-based, secure access point for remote support activities between Dell technologies and your
Dell technologies information infrastructure.

Dell SupportAssist
Dell SupportAssist is a software-based, secure access point for remote support activities between Dell Technologies and your
Dell Technologies information infrastructure.

Prerequisites
You can configure AppSync to communicate with SupportAssist and provide system configuration information to Dell
Technologies.
● This operation requires the Resource Administrator role in AppSync.
● This operation requires a party number or site ID to register with SupportAssist.
● For connection through the gateway, SCG 5.x and higher gateway versions must be running in a supported VMware ESX or
Microsoft HyperV environment. This is not applicable for direct connection.

Steps
1. On the AppSync console, select Settings > Dell SupportAssist.
2. Click Connect Now.
The SupportAssist Enterprise Registration page opens.
3. Accept EULA, and click Next.
4. Select Mode of connection as direct or gateway. If gateway is selected, enter the gateway details.

328 Troubleshooting AppSync


5. Click Request a new access key and pin link to go to Dell Technologies AppSync support page.
6. Enter the user credentials to log in to the page, and click Generate Access Key.
7. Select Site ID, and enter a four-digit pin.
8. Next, click Generate Access Key.
You will receive an email from Dell Support, providing the access key.
9. Enter the Access key and pin in the SupportAssist Registration page in AppSync.
10. Click TEST AND ENABLE CONNECTIVITY.
11. Click Next.
12. Add Support contact details (optional). Click FINISH.
If the registration is successful, SupportAssist Connection Setting page opens. In this page, you can manage settings like
enable or disable, mode of connection, add or edit gateways, update contact details, access key, and pin.
AppSync sends a configuration file to Dell Technologies daily through SupportAssist, that contains the resource usage data
about your environment.
NOTE:
● In some machines DellEseService fails to start once it is stopped. You must change the DellEseService permission to
"Local System Account." To do so, right-click and select DellEseService > Properties > Log On > Local System
Account. Click Apply.
● Access Key and pin that is once used for a successful registration to SupportAssist cannot be reused.

Configuration information sent to Dell Technologies by Dell


SupportAssist
AppSync sends a configuration file to Dell Technologies every day that contains internal data about your environment.

Table 50. Configuration information


Category Details
Agent configuration ● Number of Linux hosts
● Number of Windows hosts
● Number of AIX hosts
● Average number of File systems per hosts
● Clustered agent usage
● LDAP configuration usage
Storage configuration ● Number of arrays
● Number of XtremIO arrays
● Number of VPLEX arrays
● Number of VMAX3/PowerMax arrays
● Number of Unity arrays
● Number of VNXFile arrays
● Number of Dell SC arrays
● License type: Array-based license, Starter Pack, VSL, and
DPS
Application configuration ● VMware usage
● Number of Virtual Centers
● Number of SQL databases
● Number of Exchange databases
● Number of Oracle databases
● Number of SAP HANA systems
● Number of K8S Namespaces
● Number of Data stores
● Oracle RAC usage
● SAP HANA distributed usage
● Exchange DAG usage

Troubleshooting AppSync 329


Table 50. Configuration information (continued)
Category Details
Copy usage ● Repurposing usage
● Number of copies currently mounted
● Number of SQL copies
● Number of Data store copies
● Number of Exchange copies
● Number of Oracle copies
● Number of File System copies
● Number of SAP HANA copies
● Number of K8S copies
● Number of SQL repurposing copies
● Number of Oracle repurposing copies
● Number of File system repurposing copies
● Number of SAP HANA repurposing copies
● Number of K8S repurposing copies

NOTE: During AppSync repair, sometimes you might see an additional folder named "ese_ "or "ese_<version>" at
<AppSync Install location>\AppSync\ese. This is a redundant folder and can be safely ignored.

AppSync issues
Oracle

Connection timeout error/exception during Oracle recovery.

Problem
Oracle recovery fails due to "session is down" error or exception (SSH connection timeout). One reason for this failure is a
system variable called clientAliveInterval present in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file. It is overriding AppSync timeout settings.

Resolution
After resetting or increasing the value for clientAliveInterval variable, this issue will be resolved.

AppSync fails to create symlinks

Problem
AppSync fails to create symlinks to the asdbora file when you select the restart database post reboot option.

Resolution
On Linux, run the following commands:
● ln -s /etc/init.d/asdbora /etc/rc.d/rc0.d/K01asdbora
● ln -s /etc/init.d/asdbora /etc/rc.d/rc3.d/S99asdbora
● ln -s /etc/init.d/asdbora /etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S99asdbora
On AIX, run the following commands:
● ln -s /etc/asdbora /etc/rc.d/rc0.d/K01asdbora

330 Troubleshooting AppSync


● ln -s /etc/asdbora /etc/rc.d/rc3.d/S99asdbora

Database fails to start with the created SPFile

Problem
When you mount a copy, the database does not start with the created SPFile.

Resolution
To start the database with the created SPFile, connect to the database and run the following commands:
● shutdown immediate
● startup mount

Oracle database fails to start after a reboot

Problem
The AppSync mounted Oracle databases does not start after a host reboot.

Resolution
If the mounted and recovered databases do not come up post a reboot, then the most common reasons can be:
● The file systems cannot be mounted before the database restart is triggered. AppSync waits for a maximum of 1 minute for
the file systems to be mounted.
● The ASM instance cannot be started (if database resides on ASM disk groups). AppSync waits for a maximum of 2 minutes
for the ASM instance to start.
● After reconnecting to the rebooted host, if you notice that the ASM disk groups and/or the file systems on which the
mounted and recovered database resides are mounted, do the following:
1. Navigate to the AppSync agent install path (usually /opt/emc/appsync).
2. If root is the owner of AppSync installation, run ./acp -b .
3. If a SUDO user is the owner of AppSync installation, then run su - <sudouser> and sudo ./acp -b.
4. Check whether all the databases that were mounted and recovered using AppSync are opened in the desired open mode
using sqlplus.
When you run acp -b, check for the events.
To check logs after a host reboot, refer to the following locations:
On Linux:
● Check /var/log/messages.
● Check /var/log/boot.log.
On AIX:
1. Add a line in /etc/inittab to direct the logs to boot log and console logs.

asdbora:2:once:/etc/asdbora 2>&1 | alog -tboot > /dev/console #oracle restart

2. Enable syslog, if it is not enabled, and check for errors.


3. Check the boot log and the console log.

Troubleshooting AppSync 331


Oracle database discovery failure - / file system full

Problem
Oracle database discovery fails with the following error:
No valid instance available when / file system is full

Resolution
Ensure that either disk space or inode usage in root (/) file system is not full.

Oracle database discovery failure

Problem
If a symbolic link is used for ORACLE_HOME in /etc/oratab for a database, AppSync fails to discover the database, if you
start the database with the actual path.

Resolution
Ensure that you start the database with the ORACLE_HOME variable set to the same symbolic link path.

Archive log file system discovery fails to create copy for new databases

Problem
Archive log file system discovery fails to create copy for newly added databases.

Resolution
If any new database is added after addition of the host, and if a full copy of the database is not taken, then discover the file
system first and then you will be able to get archive log backup.

Oracle ASM disk groups cannot be mounted after a host reboot

Problem
Production Oracle ASM disk groups cannot be mounted after a host reboot because of conflicting ASMLIB disks. The udev
rules that mask the devices of an AppSync mounted copy does not get loaded after a reboot leading to conflict between the
production ASMLIB devices and the mounted copy's devices. If udev rules are not loaded, then the mounted copy's devices are
exposed through their ASMLIB header because that information is present on the replicated device and it is not hidden by the
udev rules. Therefore, the ASM instance sees two ASMLIB disks with the same name and gets confused.

Resolution
Do one of the following:
● Unmount the copy in AppSync.
● Manually reload the udev rules according to the Linux platform version.

332 Troubleshooting AppSync


Restore of Oracle database causing server service to crash

Problem
AppSync server crashes while protecting Oracle database with large number of data files. When you try to protect a database
with several thousands of data files, AppSync server may crash with an out of memory exception.

Resolution
Increase the heap size by changing the below parameters in C:\EMC\AppSync\jboss\executive\application-
service.conf file. The default installation path may vary based on the installation location.
wrapper.java.additional.2=-Xms2048m (previous value - 1024m or 1GB)
wrapper.java.additional.3=-Xmx5120m (previous value - 2048m or 2GB)

Oracle restart script not removed for UNIX hosts registered using a SUDO
user on agent uninstallation

Problem
The Oracle restart script created by AppSync, that is, /etc/asdbora for AIX and /etc/init.d/asdbora for Linux might
not be removed, if a SUDO user is used for registering the host. There is no impact on functionality, it is only a cleanup issue.

Resolution
After the host agent is removed and uninstalled from the AppSync server:
1. Manually remove the script.
2. Remove the symlinks pointing to the asdbora file, if they are not removed from /etc/rc.d/[rc0.d,rc2.d, rc3.d,
rc5.d].

Oracle recovery failure

Problem
Oracle database recovery might fail during mount, if the database name starts with a numeric character.

Resolution
Ensure that the database name does not start with a numeric character because Oracle does not allow an ORACLE_SID to
begin with a numeric character.

Oracle 12.2 RAC database discovery failure

Problem
Oracle 12.2 RAC database discovery might fail, if you do not add the database name or SID in the /etc/oratab file when
creating the database using DBCA.

Resolution
Ensure that you add the database name or SID in the /etc/oratab file when creating the database using DBCA.

Troubleshooting AppSync 333


Oracle database recovery failure during prerecoverdb operation

Problem
Oracle database recovery fails during the prerecoverdb operation because two archive destinations point to the same
location on the mount host.

Reason
This is an edge scenario where the production database has two archive destinations pointing to the Fast Recovery Area. This is
possible when the first destination points to use_db_recovery_file_dest and the second destination points to the actual
Fast Recovery Area location (for example, /orafra/db).
log_archive_dest_1 - location=use_db_recovery_file_dest
log_archive_dest_2 - location=/ora_fra/bct_db
In this case, if you do not protect the Fast Recovery Area, but select 1 and 2 archive destinations, AppSync resolves the first
destination to the actual path because Fast Recovery Area is not protected. Therefore, the use_db_recovery_file_dest
parameter cannot be specified for an archive destination during mount. This causes the problem because both destinations 1 and
2 resolve to the same path.

Resolution
Protect the Fast Recovery Area when any selected archive log destination points to the use_db_recovery_file_dest
parameter.

Checking system logs for Oracle restart


To check system logs for Oracle restart:
On Linux, see:
● /var/log/messages
● /var/log/boot.log
On AIX:
1. Enable syslog (Note: Be careful while editing /etc/syslog.conf)
2. Create an empty file such as touch /tmp/syslog.out
3. Copy the following lines and paste it in /etc/syslog.conf

*.debug /tmp/syslog.out rotate size 100k files 4


*.crit /tmp/syslog.out rotate time 1d
*.info /tmp/syslog.out rotate time 1d
*.* /tmp/syslog.out rotate size 100k files 4

4. Type the following command to restart the syslog service:

refresh -s syslogd

5. Check whether syslog.out is populated with the logs.


6. Confirm that an entry in /etc/inittab exists for: asdbora:2:once:/etc/asdbora 2>&1 | alog -tboot
> /dev/console #oracle restart
7. Type the following command to view the boot log:

alog -o -t boot

8. Type the following command to view the console log:

alog -o -t console

334 Troubleshooting AppSync


AppSync fails to mount Oracle ASM disk groups (Event - ORCL_000043)

Problem
AppSync fails to mount Oracle ASM disk groups.

Resolution
1. Check the previous agent log for mountASMFilesystems operation to confirm if all the related devices have surfaced
correctly.
2. If MPIO on Linux 6.x and 7.x is used, ensure that no duplicate paths are presented to ASM through the existing
asm_diskstring parameter. Mount of ASM disk groups fail on RHEL 6.x and 7.x MPIO configurations provides more
information.
3. This issue might occur if the asm_diskstring parameter is empty or if it is set to nested paths such as /dev/*, /dev/
asm-disk*. Ensure that a proper value is assigned to the asm_diskstring parameter.
4. For Linux flavors, this issue might occur if there is any spurious udev rules file present under /etc/udev/rules.d/
directory masking the same target devices with some other NAME/SYMLINK parameter. Ensure that no such file exists and
remove the files, if any.
5. Ensure that there is enough space in /tmp.

Mount of ASM disk groups fail on RHEL 6.x and 7.x MPIO configurations

Problem
If you set the disk string to /dev/mapper/* on the mount host, it can lead to a conflict because AppSync attempts to
mask devices using the disk string /dev/emc-appsync-*. The /dev/emc-appsync-* paths are UDEV rules based NAME
parameter (in the case of RHEL 6.x) or UDEV rules based SYMLINK+ parameter (in the case of RHEL 7.x), and it is like
an alias over the /dev/mapper/* devices. The conflict occurs because the same target device is masked using two paths
- /dev/mapper/* path and /dev/emc-appsync-* path, and ASM does not accept duplicate paths for candidate disks.

Resolution
Remove /dev/mapper/* from the asm_diskstring parameter using the following command:

alter system set asm_diskstring= '<paths without /dev/mapper/*'> scope=both

For example, if existing ASM disks have paths with MPIO aliases such as /dev/mapper/asm_disk<n>, change /dev/
mapper/* to /dev/mapper/asm_disk*.

AppSync fails to unmount Oracle ASM disk groups (Event - ORCL_000044)

Problem
AppSync fails to unmount Oracle ASM disk groups during a restore operation.

Resolution
1. Check if there are any affected databases that must be shutdown manually before restore. AppSync reports unprotected
affected databases before restore and you must shut them down manually.
2. If the failure occurs during unmount of a mounted copy, connect to the ASM instance on the mount host and manually
dismount the mounted disk group using the sqlplus alter diskgroup <diskgroup name> dismount command .
Before executing this command, ensure that the mounted and recovered database is shutdown.

Troubleshooting AppSync 335


SQL

AppSync server crashes while protecting single SQL database with 3500
data files

Problem
AppSync server crashes while protecting single SQL database with 3500 data files.

Resolution
AppSync server heap memory requirements must be set to 6 GB.

SQL Cluster - second generation copy mount failure

Problem
When you mount both the first generation and the second generation copies sequentially under the same mount drive in a mount
cluster, the mount of the second generation copy fails.

Resolution
Ensure that you place the existing mounted drives in maintenance mode. After all the clustered mount points are placed in the
maintenance mode, the second generation mount succeeds.
AppSync places only the root of the mount point in maintenance mode. You must place the other clustered drives mounted
within the same root drive in maintenance mode. Before unmounting the copies, you must take out all such drives out of the
maintenance mode.

SQL recovery failure

Problem
SQL recovery might fail, if:
● There is a version mismatch in the minor number of SQL instance version
● The mount host-plugin version is earlier than 3.7 and the production host-plugin version is 3.7

Resolution
Update mount host-plugin version to 3.7 and re-discover the host.

SQL database protection failure

Problem
For Microsoft SQL server, if TLS 1.0 is disabled on the Windows host, you might get the following error during discovery or
protection of a SQL database:
Unable to connect to database xxxx\xxxx.master. This can happen if either SQL database is
not in online state or ODBC driver is not properly installed. Check the AppSync host plug-
in log for more details.

336 Troubleshooting AppSync


Resolution
● Install ODBC drivers on the Windows host, if not present already.
● If you want Appsync to use a specific version of the ODBC driver, you can specify the preferred ODBC driver for
connecting to the SQL instance using the following registry key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EMC\AppSync]
"CC_SQL_SERVER_ODBC_DRIVER"="ODBC Driver xx for SQL Server"

Timeout error during SQL database discovery

Problem
During SQL database discovery, you might receive a request timed out message even after configuring the SQL server settings
with the appropriate credentials.

Resolution
On the SQL Server, navigate to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > ODBC application to start the ODBC application
and ensure that the application is functioning.
Alternatively, you can consider running the sfc or the scannow command in DOS as Administrator to resolve possible issues
with the ODBC application. However, check with your SQL or Windows administrator before running the command, or work with
the owner of the ODBC application to resolve issues.

AppSync fails to mount SQL database as VMAX LUNs do not appear on


mount host

Problem
AppSync fails to mount SQL database as VMAX LUNs were not appearing on mount host. Both VSS and VDS mount failed.

Resolution
1. Add a registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE\EMC\AppSync \CC_VDS_MOUNT_RETRIES of type
REG_DWORD with value of 20.
2. Restart agent service.
3. Run service plan.

AppSync fails to freeze the SQL Server database in a timely manner (Event -
SQL_000018)

Problem
AppSync might fail to freeze the SQL Server database in a timely manner, if there is heavy IOPs on the database or due to other
database performance issues.

Resolution
1. Add a registry key CC_AGENT_THREAD_WAIT_TIME of type REG_DWORD with value of 1200 (See step 3 to determine the
actual time taken during a Microsoft VDI backup). Also, add another key of type REG_DWORD with the same value for VDI
timeout as CC_SQL_VDI_TIMEOUT.
2. Consider taking a non-VDI backup. Refer the SQL server mount and restore considerations for limitations with non-VDI
backups.

Troubleshooting AppSync 337


3. Contact the SQL Server database administrator to address the performance issues. Microsoft also provides VDI backup
diagnostic tools that can be leveraged to check the time taken by Microsoft VDI backups for a database. Contact Microsoft
or Dell support for more information.
4. You can consider taking Crash Consistent backup. The Protect SQL Server chapter provides more information on Crash
Consistent backup.
NOTE: For Crash Consistent SQL backup, AppSync does not use VSS or VDI framework. Therefore, there is no VSS
timeout or Freeze/Thaw failure issues.
NOTE: This does not address the VSS timeout issues that occur due to 10 second limitation from Microsoft. This resolution
is applicable only if AppSync fails to quiesce the SQL Server database before VSS comes into the picture.

SQL second generation copy creation fails

Problem
SQL second generation copy creation fails from first generation copy which was created before upgrading the array.

Resolution
After refreshing the first generation copy this issue is not seen, and you can create a second generation copy.

Recovery of 2nd-gen copy fails if the SQL backup type of the 1st-gen
service plan is altered

Problem
Creating a first generation full copy of a SQL database and then creating a second generation copy of the same database is
successful. However, editing the first generation service plan and setting the backup type to Non-VDI, and then creating a
second generation copy, and choosing to run mount with recovery causes recovery to fail.

Resolution
To resolve the issue, create a new second generation copy by navigating to the SQL Copies page.
See Create second generation copies for detailed information.

File system

Mount point of AIX Filesystem changes for affected entity restore

Problem
After restoring the affected entity filesystems, AppSync does not bring all the filesystems on the Volume Group into the same
original state.

Resolution
During affected entity restore, if there are two filesystems in a Volume Group (VG), AppSync mounts the copy of a filesystem
that was protected. The other filesystem that is not protected will be affected as it shares the same VG. It can be brought back
to the same original mount point by performing the following steps manually.
Assuming VG1 is the source volume group, steps to manually change the mount point of an affected filesystem:

338 Troubleshooting AppSync


1. Get the list of LVs using lsvg -l VG1 command. Check for all filesystems that are showing Mount Point on /tmp/
EMCAppsync ** directory and its LV name starting with RST< original lv name> (modified by AppSync).
2. Run chfs -m <Original MT Pt> /tmp/EMCAppsync6922/vg1_logs command where <Original Mt Pt> is the
mount point where the filesystem was originally mounted.
3. Run /usr/sbin/chlv -n <original lv name> <modified lv name>. For example: RSTf77_VG1_lv2.
4. Run fsck on the source Logical Volume fsck -y /dev/<original lv name>.
5. Run mount command using the Log Logical volume and ensure that the source has been mounted successfully mount -v
jfs2 -o rw,log=/dev/loglv00 /dev/<original lv name>.

Protection of File systems or Oracle applications on MPIO devices fail


during mapping

Problem
The protection of File systems or Oracle applications on MPIO devices on RHEL fails during mapping with the following error:
disk.EnableUUID=TRUE is not enabled for the virtual device.
The reason might be one of the following:
● File systems are created on /dev/mpath/ MPIO devices. AppSync does not support devices starting with /dev/mpath/*
for MPIO.
● The lvm.conf file might read preferred_names = [ "^/dev/mpath/", "^/dev/mapper/mpath", "^/dev/
[hs]d" ].

Resolution
● AppSync supports devices created only on /dev/mapper/ devices, because they are persistent and created early during
boot.
● The lvm.conf file must be modified to read preferred_names = [ "^/dev/mapper/mpath", "^/dev/
[hs]d" ].

UNIX file systems restore fails with error

Problem
Restore of AppSync created UNIX file systems may fail with the error: Some of the filesystems could not be
unmounted. Therefore, the volume group <VGNAME> cannot be deported from the host.
Or
Cannot import the VolumeGroup <VGNAME> because of the error: Unknown exception. See agent
logs for more details.

Resolution
AppSync does not allow selection of multiple file systems during restore. When a file system is part of a volume group, the copy
automatically includes all file systems that are part of the volume groups. AppSync restores all such file systems, but unmounts
the ones that are selected in the restore dialog. This results in the failure of the deport volume group.
As a workaround, follow the below steps:
1. Manually unmount all file systems in the target volume group before you begin the restore.
2. In the UI, select one file system to restore, and perform the restore as usual from the AppSync UI.
3. If you are restoring more than one volume groups, steps 1 and 2 have to be repeated for all volume groups.
4. Once the restore is complete, the target file system is added to the volume group and mounted as it was before the restore.
5. All other file systems in the volume group are mounted to an AppSync default mount point such as /tmp/
EMCAppsync1234. The LV name is also changed so it now has the prefix RST.

Troubleshooting AppSync 339


6. Before mounting these LVs, you must rename them to remove the RST prefix, and change the mount point using the chlv
command chlv -n lvname RSTlvname -m newmountpoint..
7. The file system should be mounted using the mount command mount /filesystemname.
NOTE: If you are using nested file systems, it is important to select the root file system in step 2. For example, if your
Volume Group contains the file systems:
● /prd
● /prd/fs1
● /prd/fs2

In this case, it is a must to select /prd in step 2. If either of the other file systems are selected, the restore fails as only one
file system is restored, and /prd will not be available to act as a mount point.

Mount of a File system or an Oracle database on RHEL 7.x fails

Problem
Mount of a File system or an Oracle database on RHEL 7.x might fail, if target devices are not under MPIO control during mount.

Resolution
Ensure that you comment the parameter find_multipaths in the /etc/multipath.conf file.

Repurposing file systems on multiple LUNs fail

Problem
Repurposing file systems on multiple LUNs might fail, if the file systems being repurposed are from different storage types.

Resolution
Ensure that you repurpose file systems on the same array together.

Problem
Repurposing file systems on multiple LUNs might fail, if the number of LUNs to be protected exceeds the number of storage
units allowed by the AppSync server.

Resolution
● Try repurposing fewer file systems.
● By default, the number of storage units that are allowed is 12. If you want to repurpose additional file systems, configure the
server settings in the following manner:
○ For VMAX3/PowerMax arrays - max.vmax.block.affinity.storage units
○ For VPLEX and XtremIO arrays - max.common.block.affinity.storage.units
For more information about configuring the server settings, contact Dell Support.

Problem
Repurposing file systems on multiple LUNs might fail, if the subset of file systems to be repurposed does not exist on the host.

340 Troubleshooting AppSync


Resolution
Create repurpose copies and schedules again.

Changed file system type not updated after host discovery

Problem
AppSync does not automatically update the Windows file system type when a file system is changed from NTFS to ReFS or
ReFS to NTFS.

Resolution
Do the following:
1. Remove the file system on the host.
2. Rediscover file systems in AppSync.
3. Add the new file system with the changed type on the host.
4. Rediscover file systems in AppSync again.

Mount of a file system snapshot to RHEL7 fails

Problem
Mount of a file system snapshot to RHEL 7 fails.

Resolution
Ensure that you set the auto_activiation_volume_list parameter in the lvm.conf file to read the following:
auto_activation_volume_list = [ "vplexvg1", "vplexvg2", "ol" ]

Filesystem mount to RHEL9 failed to perform VG-change operation

Problem
File system mount to RHEL9 failed to perform VG-change operation.

Resolution
Use lvm.conf file instead of device file.
In order to use lvm.conf file instead of the default device file, ensure that you setuse_devicesfile=0" in lvm.conf
file.

Troubleshooting AppSync 341


Exchange

User account does not have the correct permissions

Problem
If the AppSync Exchange Interface service fails to register properly, check the ExchangeInterfaceInstall.log file in
the AppSync host plug-in\logs directory. A common problem is that the user account for running the service was not granted
the Log on as a batch job permission.
If AppSync fails to discover databases, verify the AppSync Exchange Interface service user account has been granted the
correct Exchange permissions.

Resolution
To grant the user account the correct permissions, and manually register the AppSync Exchange Interface service:
1. Grant the user account that will run the AppSync Exchange Interface service Log on as a batch job and Log on as
a service user rights.
2. Open a command prompt and navigate to the directory where the AppSync Host Plugin is installed. The default location is
C:\Program Files\EMC\AppSync Host Plug-in.
3. Run the following command to register the service and the DCOM component:

awExchangeInterface /service /user <"domain\username"> /


password <"password"> /nopriv For example: awExchangeInterface /
service /user mydomain /appsyncexchuser /password
mYp@55W0rd.

4. To configure the password for the DCOM component, run DCOMCNFG.


5. Expand Component Services > Computers > My Computer > DCOM Config.
6. Right click on EMC AppSync Exchange Interface and select Properties.
7. Click on the Identity tab.
8. Select This user and enter the user account and password from step 3.
9. Click OK.
10. Verify that you can start the AppSync Exchange Interface service by running: net start
appsyncexchangeinterface.
11. Use the AppSync console to rediscover the server. Go to Settings > Servers, select the server, and then click Rediscover.
12. Discover the Exchange mailbox databases. Go to Copy Management > Exchange and click on the Exchange server. You
may have to re-enter the credentials.

AppSync Exchange Interface service is partially registered

Problem
If the rights and permissions are not granted properly to the user account, or if conflicting software is installed, the AppSync
Exchange Interface service does not register correctly. You might have to perform a manual cleanup.

Resolution
Do the following:
1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the directory where the AppSync host plugin is installed. The default location is
C:\Program Files\EMC\AppSync Host Plug-in.
2. Run the following command to remove the service and delete the DCOM component: awExchangeInterface /
unregserver
3. Using the Services console (service.msc), verify that the AppSync Exchange Interface service is removed. If it persists,
run: sc delete AppSyncExchangeInterface

342 Troubleshooting AppSync


4. Using the Component Services console (DCOMCNFG), verify that the AppSync Exchange Interface DCOM component was
removed. Expand Component Services > Computers > My Computer > DCOM Config.
5. If the component persists, click DCOM Config, then in the center pane, click EMC AppSync Exchange Interface, and
then click Delete.
6. Using REGEDIT, verify that all the stale entries related to AppSync Exchange Interface are deleted.

VMware

Failure while adding RDM

Problem
Adding an RDM fails if a virtual machine resides on an NFS Datastore. This issue occurs if the mount host virtual machine is on
an NFS Datastore, while adding an RDM. There is no option to store the RDM with the virtual machine since it is grayed-out on
the console. Adding the RDM fails.

Resolution
There is no workaround for this issue.

Error during datastore or virtual disk mount

Problem
If copy target LUNs are exposed to ESX, but they are not mounted (unmounted state) as datastores to ESX, you might
encounter the following error:
Host Platform Config fault

Resolution
Ensure that more than one copy of the same datastore is not left in an unmounted state on ESX.

Virtual disk mapping failure

Problem
Virtual disk mapping fails even after VMware VCenter Server and appropriate storage array is added.

Resolution
You must set the disk.EnableUUId value to true.
1. Power off the virtual machine.
2. Log into vCenter Server or the ESXi/ESX host through the vSphere Client.
3. Right-click the virtual machine, and click Edit settings.
4. Click the Options tab.
5. Go to Advanced > General > Configuration Parameters.
6. Add or modify the row disk.EnableUUID with the value TRUE.
7. Click OK to save
8. Click OK to exit.
9. Right-click the virtual machine and click Remove from Inventory to unregister the virtual machine from the vCenter Server
inventory.

Troubleshooting AppSync 343


NOTE: If you perform this change using the command line, use the vim-cmd command to reload the vmx file. For more
information, see the relevant VMware knowledge base article.
10. Power on the virtual machine.

Application mapping failure on VMware ESX environment

Problem
Storage for <File System Name> could not be mapped to replication storage or the selected replication preference is not
possible. Failed to create LUN entity for devices on Array :: null.

Resolution
When you perform storage management tasks or change the SAN configuration, like a storage device being added, removed,
changed from the array, or when the version for storage OEM is upgraded, you must rescan the storage.
After rescan, do the following on AppSync Server:
1. Perform a rediscovery of vCenter.
2. Perform rediscovery of hosts affected by the change in storage configuration.

Datastore mount fails when ATS locking is enabled

Problem
Datastore mount using virtual access mode fails when ATS locking is enabled.

Resolution
If your vDisk resides on ESX 5.0 or later, disable the VMFS3hardwareaccelated locking flag on the ESX that is hosting the
VMs hosting the databases on vDisks.
Disable ATS locking as AppSync datastore mount fails if ATS locking is enabled for VMFS3/5 datastore.

SAP HANA

SAP HANA host deployment failure

Problem
For SAP HANA systems, host deployment partially fails, if SAP HANA is not installed on that host.

Resolution
You must add atleast one supported Filesystem to the mount host.

344 Troubleshooting AppSync


Windows host plug-in

Failure of windows server configuration

Problem
When configuring windows server, it fails with the following error: Host plug-in registered to another AppSync
server

Resolution
Do the following:
1. Select Start > Run.
2. Type regedit and click OK.
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > EMC > AppSync.
4. Delete the following registry key entries:
● CC_AUTH_PEER_CERT
● CC_AUTH_SELF_CERT
● CC_AUTH_SELF_KEY
5. Restart the AppSync host plug-in service, before attempting to add the windows agent to another AppSync server.

Windows agent host plugin crashes intermittently

Problem
While performing AppSync operations on windows server 2016 and 2019, the host plugin service crashes intermittently.
Windows Event Viewer logs an application error for the crash with faulting module name as ucrtbase.dll and faulting module path
as C:\Windows\System32\ucrtbase.dll.
See the screen shot below:

Resolution
Do the following:
1. Run all cumulative windows updates and security updates on the host and reboot the host as required.
2. Ensure that the ucrtbase.dll file has the below minimum versions:
● For Windows server 2016, verify that minimum version of ucrtbase.dll is 10.0.14393.2097.
● For Windows server 2019, verify that minimum version of ucrtbase.dll is 10.0.17763.719.
3. Restart the host plugin service and run the service plan again.

Troubleshooting AppSync 345


VSS timeout issue

Problem
During protection of applications which reside on Unity, XtremIO, or VPLEX on XtremIO, protection fails with the VSS timeout
error.

Resolution
Add the IP address and the FQDN of the XMS in the AppSync server host file located at C:
\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. For example, 10.247.169.71 lrmb071.
NOTE: You can configure VSS retry settings during copy creation in the service plan for Windows applications such as
File system, Microsoft SQL, and Microsoft Exchange. For SQL Server databases, you can consider taking Crash Consistent
backup. The Protect SQL Server chapter provides more information on the Crash Consistent backup type.

Unix host plug-in

Mount failure on RHEL 7.4

Problem
Mount might fail on a RHEL 7.4 host with the vgimportclone exception.

Resolution
This is a RHEL 7.4 bug. A possible workaround is to edit the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf file on the mount host and enable
the auto_activation_volume_list variable. Set its value to volume groups that must be activated by default. Also, set the
use_lvmetad flag to 0. For more information, see RHEL documentation.

Mount host fails to respond during an unmount operation

Problem
The mount host stops responding during an unmount operation, if the operating system is SUSE 11 Service Pack 4. This
is because of an issue in the rescan-scsi-bus.sh script. This command removes all devices, if used with -w , -r
switches.

Resolution
Reboot the system and modify the /usr/bin/rescan-scsi-bus.sh script.
1. Disable the -r switch in the following places:

opt=${opt#-}
case "$opt" in
a) existing_targets=;; #Scan ALL targets when specified
d) debug=1 ;;
f) flush=1 ;;
l) lunsearch=`seq 0 7` ;;
L) lunsearch=`seq 0 $2`; shift ;;
m) mp_enable=1 ;;
w) opt_idsearch=`seq 0 15` ;;
c) opt_channelsearch="0 1" ;;
r) remove=0 ;; --------------------->Before change remove=1
s) resize=1 ;;

346 Troubleshooting AppSync


i) lipreset=0 ;;
I) shift; lipreset=$opt ;;

opt="$1"
while test ! -z "$opt" -a -z "${opt##-*}"; do
opt=${opt#-}
case "$opt" in
a) existing_targets=;; #Scan ALL targets when specified
d) debug=1 ;;
f) flush=1 ;;
l) lunsearch=`seq 0 7` ;;
L) lunsearch=`seq 0 $2`; shift ;;
m) mp_enable=1 ;;
w) opt_idsearch=`seq 0 15` ;;
c) opt_channelsearch="0 1" ;;
r) remove=0 ;; --------------------->Before change remove=1

s) resize=1 ;;
i) lipreset=0 ;;
I) shift; lipreset=$opt ;;

2. Change line 59 from

hosts=`find /sys/class/scsi_host/host* -maxdepth 4 -type d -o -type l 2> /dev/null |


awk -F'/' '{print $5}' | sed -e 's~host~~' | sort -nu`

to

hosts=`find /sys/class/scsi_host/host* -maxdepth 4 -type d -o -type l 2> /dev/null |


grep -v host0 | awk -F'/' '{print $5}' | sed -e 's~host~~' | sort -nu`

General

Unable to authenticate AppSync after adding DNS suffix

Problem
Unable to authenticate AppSync after adding DNS suffix.

Resolution
Changing host FQDN is not supported after installing AppSync. To fix this, follow the below steps:
1. Perform a backup of the AppSync database. See AppSync Installation and Configuration Guide for details.
2. Uninstall the already existing AppSync.
3. Install AppSync again.
4. Restore the AppSync database. See AppSync Installation and Configuration Guide for details.

Protection fails with XtremIO 4.x and RecoverPoint

Problem
With XtremIO 4.x and RecoverPoint, protection fails if you try to simultaneously protect LUNs from multiple consistency groups.

Resolution
Ensure that LUNs reside in the same consistency group with XtremIO 4.x.

Troubleshooting AppSync 347


Data not visible in UI with LDAP user login

Problem
If you are logging into AppSync with LDAP user, where the user is part of an LDAP group, and if you have provided at least one
capital letter in the group name, then tabs like Settings, Copy management and so on are disabled in AppSync.

Resolution
You must remove and add the LDAP group in AppSync again.

Mixed combination of service_plan and server/database name for listcopies


command fails.

Problem
A mixed combination of service_plan and server/database name for listcopies command fails.

Resolution
The listCopies command are designed to filter the results based on either service_plan or combination of server and database
name only. Hence you must filter the results only based on the service_plan or server and database name parameters.

SMB authentication error

Problem
If SMB1 is disabled on agent, log collection for agent fails with below smb authentication error:

"Exception Occurred: SmbAuthException, Message: Logon failure: unknown user name or bad
password."

Resolution
SMB v1 must to be enabled for JCIFs to work. Appsync internally uses this library for agent log collection. After enabling SMB
v1, this issue is resolved.

Clean up of temporary files in AppSync installation directory

Problem
The files in <AppSync>\jboss\standalone\tmp\vfs\ directory are temporary files. If the files accumulate in the folder,
disk usage can be very high.

Resolution
To free up disk space:
1. Stop the AppSync server service.
2. Stop the AppSync datasource service.
3. Delete all the files from the C:\EMC\AppSync\jboss\standalone\tmp\vfs directory.

348 Troubleshooting AppSync


This cleans up the old tmp\vfs files that can impact swapping.

4. Start the AppSync datasource service.


5. Start the AppSync server service.

XtremIO copy creation takes time

Problem
Snapshot creation on XtremIO takes significant time (more than 2 seconds) irrespective of the host (Windows or UNIX).

Resolution
Add the IP address and the FQDN of the XMS in the host file located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.
For example, 10.247.169.71 lrmb071.

Changing an XMS IP

Problem
Changing an XMS IP when a mount operation is in progress can lead to unmount failure because AppSync looks for the old XMS
IP.

Resolution
Before you change your XMS IP address, ensure that you unmount all the XtremIO copies mounted in AppSync.

Repurposing plans are not always mounting successfully without manual


script

Problem
Linux filesystems are not mounted on mount hosts, even after mount is successful in AppSync.

Resolution
You must set ./acp -c systemctlDaemonReload="TRUE" variable through acp option in Linux agent server from
the AppSync install directory. To set the variable in the Linux agent server, use the settings file./acp -c
systemctlDaemonReload="TRUE".

agentCmdTimeout=60
cleanupFrequency=86400
cleanupLastRun=1600836773
logDirectory=/opt/emc/sunil/appsync/logs
logLevel=4
logRetentionPeriod=30
logRetentionSize=200
systemctlDaemonReload=TRUE
tmpLocation=/tmp/
[root@host]

To confirm the setting, run ./acp -v from install directory or open the /root/.appsync/settings.xml file. For sudo
user, the location for settings.xml file is /home/sudouser/.appsync/settings.xml.

Troubleshooting AppSync 349


AppSync services do not start after reboot

Problem
If AppSync Server is installed on a Windows host, the AppSync security server and the AppSync server services do not start
after a reboot.

Resolution
Run a repair of the AppSync server on the host to resolve this issue.

Scheduled service plan fails

Problem
If you have scheduled a recurring service plan for a database, for example, everyday at 3 PM, and a backup tool is also
scheduled to run at the same time on a particular day (for example, Friday at 3PM), AppSync protection might fail because of
resource conflicts.

Resolution
To schedule a service plan to run every day, excluding a particular day (for example, Friday at 3PM), you must create two
schedules:
● Set a schedule to run “Every day at…” at > 12 AM, 3 AM, 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 PM, 6PM, 9PM
● Set a schedule to run "On selected days…" at > 3PM on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday

AppSync fails to launch on Google Chrome

Problem
By default, Google Chrome blocks some ports for security reasons (for example, port 123). If you use this port for Appsync
protocols such as http, htts, CAS, or tomcat, Appsync might fail to launch on a Chrome browser with the following error:

ERR_UNSAFE_PORT

Resolution
Do one of the following:
● Use a different browser to launch AppSync.
● Enable the port number used during Appsync installation. For example, to enable ports 123, 80, and 84 for Chrome, type the
following command:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application>chrome.exe --explicitly-allowed-


ports=123,80,84

AppSync server database failure

Problem
The AppSync server database might get corrupted, if the server host (AppSync services) shuts down abruptly.

350 Troubleshooting AppSync


Resolution
Do the following:
1. Uninstall and re-install AppSync.
2. Import the latest PG backup taken by AppSync.
The section Schedule automated backup of the AppSync server database in the AppSync Installation and
Configuration Guide provides additional information on scheduling backups.

Any disk mounted to more than one mountpoint fails.

Problem
Any disk mounted to more than one mountpoint is not supported.

Resolution
A possible workaround is to reconfigure the host and application so that the disks do not have more than one mountpoint.

CLI failure due to missing domain name

Problem
Running appsync-cli.bat -login server=<server> port=8445user=admin password=<admin_pass> shows the following error.

ERROR: Token file could not be found! Please run the'-login' command.

The appsync-cli failure is due to the missing domain name, as a result of which UI functions do not work.

Resolution
Adding the domain name along with server is mandatory. For example, \EMC\AppSync\appsync-cli>appsync-cli.bat
-loginserver=win-deldevvm port=8445 user=admin password=Appsync@123 verbose=true.

Unmount does not remove used devices from storage groups

Problem
Unmount does not remove used devices from the storage group if the storage group is renamed after mount.

Resolution
To resolve this issue you must unmount the copy manually and perform the following steps:
1. Unmount the database manually at OS level. (Shutdown the database, unmount the filesystems, and so on).
2. Cleanup the devices at the VC level (RDM/VDisk removal at ESX level).
3. Remove the devices from all the affected storage groups.
4. Choose the force unmount option under server settings at the AppSync level, and mark it as unmounted.
NOTE: Once done, revert the server settings in AppSync.

Troubleshooting AppSync 351


Error handling
The AppSync logging format is fixed and any log monitoring tool can be tuned to match the appropriate expression to raise an
alert in service desk. You can check the metadata part of a logged event to determine if an event is an error event or not. If
you see a TYPE-ERROR, then it is an error event, the ID appears after the EVENT in [], and the text that appears (excluding
the metadata information) after the event ID is the event message. Other details such as the time of error, from which AppSync
server, from which Appsync user, and so on can also be tracked. The category of events are indicated in the EVENT ID (for
example, ORCL, DPL, HST, SPP, and so on).
The following are some examples of AppSync generated events:
● 07-09-2016 14:06:57.489 INFO [Thread-58 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-2113097824)]
[com.emc.archway.service.eventservice.EventServiceBean] [] [] EVENT [ORCL_000104]:
During discovery, AppSync detected that the following database(s) were offline:
SymASM. As a result, they will not be available for protection.(METADATA: TYPE-
ERROR, TIME-2016-07-09 14:06:57.469-0400NATIVETIME-2016-07-09 14:06:57.469-0400, HOST-
lrmk096, PHASE-, THREAD=Thread-58 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-2113097824), USER-admin,
CATEGORY-GENERIC, SESSIONID-5br0S4+nz3-n6SzORPWYGAcn.undefined)
● 07-21-2016 05:07:45.076 INFO [Thread-156 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702)]
[com.emc.archway.service.eventservice.EventServiceBean] [] [] EVENT [SPP_000001]:
Mount copy phase for RPdb1 beginning(METADATA: TYPE-INFO, TIME-2016-07-21
05:07:45.076-0400NATIVETIME-2016-07-21 05:07:45.076-0400, HOST-lrmk096, PHASE-Mount
copy, THREAD=Thread-156 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702), USER-admin, CATEGORY-
GENERIC, SESSIONID-FPO4yGMevayAeRzNPJC8AAF0.undefined)
● 07-21-2016 05:04:26.027 INFO [Thread-158 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702)]
[com.emc.archway.service.eventservice.EventServiceBean] [] [] EVENT [UNM_000001]:
Skipping unmount phase. There were no previously mounted copies found for the
applications under protection during this cycle.(METADATA: TYPE-INFO, TIME-2016-07-21
05:04:26.027-0400NATIVETIME-2016-07-21 05:04:26.027-0400, HOST-lrmk096, PHASE-Create CRR
bookmark copy, THREAD=Thread-158 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702), USER-admin,
CATEGORY-GENERIC, SESSIONID-)
● 07-21-2016 05:04:10.178 INFO [Thread-158 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702)]
[com.emc.archway.service.eventservice.EventServiceBean] [] [] EVENT [SPP_000001]:
Application mapping phase for RPdb1 beginning(METADATA: TYPE-INFO, TIME-2016-07-21
05:04:10.178-0400NATIVETIME-2016-07-21 05:04:10.178-0400, HOST-lrmk096, PHASE-Application
mapping, THREAD=Thread-158 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702), USER-admin,
CATEGORY-GENERIC, SESSIONID-)
● 07-21-2016 05:04:09.398 INFO [Thread-162 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702)]
[com.emc.archway.service.eventservice.EventServiceBean] [] [] EVENT [MILE_000006]:
Application discovery phase for RPdb1 completed successfully(METADATA: TYPE-INFO,
TIME-2016-07-21 05:04:09.398-0400NATIVETIME-2016-07-21 05:04:09.398-0400, HOST-lrmk096,
PHASE-Application discovery, THREAD=Thread-162 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702),
USER-admin, CATEGORY-MILESTONE, SESSIONID-)
● 07-21-2016 05:03:11.102 INFO [Thread-89 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702)]
[com.emc.archway.service.eventservice.EventServiceBean] [] [] EVENT [VNX_000052]:
Successfully created repurpose VNX snapshot copy AppSyncSnap-20160721_050227:80-545e3dbf-
d238-4c8e-bd2e-883666512bb8-
APPSYNC_TMP_CG_20160721_050228:484_400_0_488.CopySnap.oracle.auto1_repurpose.2.1.20160721
_050310:946 of source VNX snapshot AppSyncSnap-20160721_050227:80-545e3dbf-d238-4c8e-
bd2e-883666512bb8-APPSYNC_TMP_CG_20160721_050228:484_400_0_488.(METADATA: TYPE-INFO,
TIME-2016-07-21 05:03:11.102-0400NATIVETIME-2016-07-21 05:03:11.102-0400, HOST-lrmk096,
PHASE-Create 2nd gen archLogs copy, THREAD=Thread-89 (HornetQ-client-global-
threads-436170702), USER-admin, CATEGORY-GENERIC, SESSIONID-Hgg-ZRqpCV0ixTrPp-
tXbJ+C.undefined)
● 07-21-2016 05:00:28.724 INFO [Thread-158 (HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702)]
[com.emc.archway.service.eventservice.EventServiceBean] [] [] EVENT [LIC_000004]: Storage
array APM00140431583 is not licensed for use with AppSync, but is within the 90 day trial
period.(METADATA: TYPE-WARNING, TIME-2016-07-21 05:00:28.724-0400NATIVETIME-2016-07-21
05:00:28.724-0400, HOST-lrmk096, PHASE-Create CRR bookmark copy, THREAD=Thread-158
(HornetQ-client-global-threads-436170702), USER-admin, CATEGORY-GENERIC, SESSIONID-Hgg-
ZRqpCV0ixTrPp-tXbJ+C.undefined)

352 Troubleshooting AppSync


Event logging
● The events.log file captures the generated events for every run of a service plan. It is located in the same place as the
server.log file. It also captures the details of the resources during different stages.
For example,

Resource involved at discovery phase are:


Production host Name lrmq020. Version :Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Server 2008 R2
Enterprise Edition 64-bit Service Pack 1 (build 7601)
Host : lrmq020 belongs to Virtual Center : lrma093 and Virtual Center version : 5.5.0
SQLServerInstance LRMQ020, Version : 10.50.1600.1 , Clustered : false

● The rotation count of the log file and the size of log file is dependent on Settings > Logs >Trace Logs.

Resource logging
The ResourceInfo.log file captures all the resources that are added into AppSync. The file is located at C:
\EMC\AppSync\jboss\logs. This file logs detailed information about the AppSync server settings, arrays, hosts, vCenters,
and service plans. You can enable or disable logging of resources, by setting the server setting "resourceInfo.logging.enable."
Information is logged once daily at 1:00 am.
For example,

Appsync Version is :4.4.0.0


Appsync setting :xio.ignore.storage.on.copy.deletes : false
Appsync setting :vnx.ssh.retries : 5
Appsync setting :logCollection.retention.days : 20
Appsync setting :schedule.alternate.schedule.start.window : 10
Appsync setting :xio.snapshot.foldername.type : hostname
Appsync setting :throttle.waitbetweenchecks : 5
Appsync setting :esrs.ping.interval.in.minutes : 2
Appsync setting :vdisk.remove.duplicate : false
Appsync setting :maint.app.datastore.hour : *
Appsync setting :max.vnxe.file.affinity.storage.units : 6
Appsync setting :events.maintenance.enabled : true
Appsync setting :vplex.allow.cluster.mount.vmrestore : false
Appsync setting :sftp.max.input.buffer.size : 65536
Appsync setting :xio.create.readonly.snapshot : false
Appsync setting :server.disable.mapping : false
Appsync setting :maint.xtremio.snapcleanup.enable : false
Appsync setting :xio.delete.rwsnapshots.on.unmount : false
Appsync setting :logcollection.timeout.minutes : 90

Hotfix details
To improve the visibility of all hot fixes installed in the AppSync server, details of all install or uninstall history of hot fixes or
patch, the patch version, hot fix version, and the timestamp are available. These are captured in a file named “patchinfo.txt” at
C:\EMC\AppSync\buildInfo\ path.

Troubleshooting AppSync 353


Glossary
A
alternate path
An user defined alternate path that AppSync uses while mounting a copy.

array
A collection of disk drives where user data and parity data may be stored. Devices can consist of some or all of the drives within
an array.

ASM (Automated Storage Management)


A disk volume manager used for storing Oracle files, ASM allows administrators to add and remove disks while the database is
available. Data is automatically striped across all disks in a disk group.

C
command line interface (CLI)
Method of operating system or application software by typing commands to perform specific tasks.

continuous data protection


The method of data protection in which all changes to data are continuously captured and tracked, allowing for data recovery to
any point in time.

copy - SQL backup


SQL Server backup type that is used to protect the database and active part of the transaction logs without affecting the
sequence of backups. The copy backup type allows you to take a backup without affecting other backup tools that might be
creating full copies of the database.

D
default path
AppSync's predefined alternate path used while mounting a copy. The format is %SystemDrive%\\AppSyncMounts\\%
%ProdServerName%%\\.

distributed device
A RAID 1 device whose mirrors are in different VPLEX clusters.

E
event
A log message that results from a significant action initiated by a user or the system.

F
failover
Automatically switching to a redundant or standby device, system, or data path upon the failure or abnormal termination of the
currently active device, system, or data path.

full - SQL backup


SQL Server backup type that is used to protect the database and active part of the transaction logs. The full backup type allows
you to restore transaction logs, so that you can restore the database to a point-in-time that is newer than the copy.

354 Glossary
H
host-plugin
An AppSync agent software that is installed and used on production and mount hosts to perform certain functions in order to
facilitate protection and recovery of applications.

L
logical unit number (LUN)
Virtual storage to which a given server with a physical connection to the underlying storage device may be granted or denied
access. LUNs are used to identify SCSI devices, such as external hard drives, connected to a computer. Each device is assigned
a LUN number which serves as the device's unique address.

M
metadata
Information about data, such as data quality, content, and condition.

mount host
The system that AppSync uses to mount a copy. This can be different from the production system.

N
network
System of computers, terminals, and databases connected by communication lines.

network name resource


A logical server name that is managed as a cluster resource. A network name resource must be used with an IP address
resource.

O
original path
The mount path AppSync uses to mount copies. The same path as on the production host.

P
production host
The production computer that contains the information system that manages the production data: a database server, Web
server, application server, or file server.

R
RAC
Real Application Clusters. Allows multiple Oracle instances on different nodes of a cluster to access a shared database on the
cluster to facilitate load balancing.

RAID
The use of two or more storage volumes to provide better performance, error recovery, and fault tolerance.

RAID 0
A performance-orientated striped or dispersed data mapping technique. Uniformly sized blocks of storage are assigned in regular
sequence to all of the arrays disks. Provides high I/O performance at low inherent cost. No additional disks are required. The
advantages of RAID 0 are a very simple design and an ease of implementation.

RAID 1
Also called mirroring, this has been used longer than any other form of RAID. It remains popular because of simplicity and a high
level of data availability. A mirrored array consists of two or more disks. Each disk in a mirrored array holds an identical image

Glossary 355
of the user data. RAID 1 has no striping. Read performance is improved since either disk can be read at the same time. Write
performance is lower than single disk storage. Writes must be performed on all disks, or mirrors, in the RAID 1. RAID 1 provides
very good data reliability for read-intensive applications.

recover
The additional operation performed on a protected application to bring the application online and running, after the copy has
been mounted or restored.

RecoverPoint Appliance (RPA)


Hardware that manages all aspects of data protection for a storage group, including capturing changes, maintaining the images
in the journal volumes, and performing image recovery.

RecoverPoint site
All RecoverPoint entities on one side of the replication.

resource group
A collection of cluster resources managed as a single cluster object. Typically a resource group contains all of the cluster
resources that are required to run a specific application or service. Failover and failback always act on resource groups.

restore
The process performed on a copy of a protected application to bring the production data of the application to contain consistent
data up to a point in time that is earlier than the current time.

S
service plan
Defines the attributes of a copy that AppSync creates and manages.

SRDF
A technology that allows two or more Symmetrix systems to maintain a remote mirror of data in more than one location.
The systems can be located within the same facility, in a campus, or hundreds of miles apart using fibre or dedicated
high-speed circuits. The SRDF family of replication software offers various levels of high-availability configurations, such as
SRDF/Synchronous (SRDF/S) and SRDF/Asynchronous (SRDF/A).

storage area network (SAN)


A high-speed special purpose network or subnetwork that interconnects different kinds of data storage devices with associated
data servers on behalf of a larger network of users.

storage volume
A Logical Unit Number (LUN) or unit of storage presented by the back end array.

U
universal unique identifier (UUID)
A 64-bit number used to uniquely identify an AppSync copy.

V
VDI
Virtual Device Interface. SQL Server provides an API called Virtual Device Interface (VDI) that helps AppSync agent in providing
support for backup and restore operations. These APIs provide maximum reliability and performance, and support the full range
of SQL Server backup and restore functionality, including the full range of snapshot backup capabilities.

virtual volume
Unit of storage presented by the VPLEX front end ports to hosts. A virtual volume looks like a contiguous volume, but can be
distributed over two or more storage volumes.

VSS
Volume Shadow Copy Service. A Windows service and architecture that coordinate various components to create consistent
point-in-time copies of data called shadow copies.

356 Glossary
Index
A discover Kubernetes Cluster 267
discover Oracle database 171
adding an RDM 343 distributed, scale out, SAP HANA, mount 258
agent, See AppSync host plug-in DNS suffix 347
alert dynamic and statis mounts 311
associated events 297
email 298, 299
filtering 297
E
when generated 297 edit subscription 245
where displayed 297 email 298
alerts 298 email alerts 298, 299
Alerts 20 enable 109, 217
AlwaysOn Availability Groups 121 enable disable 65, 229
AppSync enable_disable 286
architecture 17 enableSP 29
console 18 ESRS 328, 329
host plug-in 18 event
overview 15 alert-related 297
REST 18 event logging 353
server 18 events 66
summary of deployment steps 95 exchange 96
user interface 18 Exchange
AppSync host plug-in backup type 101
installation 223 consistency check 105
archive log backup expiration 200 DAG 96
archive log backups for a service plan 200 database and log layout 102
assqlrestore 156, 157 deleted database restore 113
assqlrestore commands 155 event log errors 101
audience 13 interaction with VSS 101, 106
mount 106
C overview of support 94
protect 97
CLI actions 23 protect immediately 97
cli failure 351 remove mailbox server 96
cli utility 22 requirements for partial restore 113
comments 13 restore 106, 111
configure Oracle database archive log 198 subscribe database to a service plan 294
connection timeout error 330 VSS 101
console exchange interface service 342
effect of user role on 19 exchange service plan details 88
overview 19 expire 47, 264
times shown 21 Expire 286
conventions for publication 13 expiry 188, 264
copyDetails 32
create copy 245
create service plan 57, 59
F
file system 192, 212, 216, 218, 235, 341
D File system 338, 339
file system restore error 339
dashboard 19 filesystem 203
data masking 290 Filesystem 203
datastore Filesystem copoies page 205
affected entities 236 Filesystem page 205
datastore, vmware 224 Filesystem, change mount point 215
datastores 221
definition 49
Dell SC 304, 305
G
disableSP 29 general 347
disclaimer 3
discover 126, 241, 248
H mount phase (continued)
datastore copy 232
HACMP cluster integration 163 mount SAP HANA 250
HACMP Restore 163, 207 Mount VMFS copy 233
host deployment 344 mountpoint 351
hotfix details 353
N
J
NFS file systems 204
Job Status 21
jobs 302
O
K on virtual disks 118
Oracel, Veritas Cluster Services 162
Kubernetes 280, 285 oracle 53, 177
Kubernetes Cluster Oracle
permissions 265 affected entities in restore 195
rights 265 override mount settings 180
kubernetes service plan details 92, 275, 283 summary of service plan settings 66
Kubernetes, application_templates_for_pod_selection 277 oracle copies 175
Kubernetes, built-in templates 271 Oracle Data Guard 160
Kubernetes, copy 273 Oracle database archive log backup 198
Kubernetes, copy expiration 286 Oracle on VMware virtual disks 167
Kubernetes, create 270, 272 Oracle pre-mount script 180
Kubernetes, delete 273 Oracle support 168
Kubernetes, edit 274 oracle, copy expiration 179
Kubernetes, mount 284, 285 Oracle, mount 185, 201
Kubernetes, post-copy 270 oracle, post-copy script 179
Kubernetes, post-mount 270 Oracle, pre-copy script 178
Kubernetes, pre-copy 269 oracle, prerequisites and supported configurations 164
Kubernetes, unmount 285 oracle, protecting 170
oracle, restoring RAC copy for affected entities 197
oracle, storage preferences 178
L oracle, unmount copy 181
ldap user 348 oracle, unmount previous copy 179
listCopies 30 overriding service plan 248
log backups Oracle 199
log collection 326 P
login 23
logout 24 path mapping 110, 147, 148, 190, 191, 217, 218, 260
post mount script 181, 255
powerflex 309
M PowerFlex 309, 310
metro node | VPLEX 321 PowerHA cluster 207
Microsoft Exchange, See Exchange PowerMax 316, 318
mixed combination 348 PowerStore 305, 307, 308
monitor 297 preface 13
Monitor 294 protect 224
mount protect exchange 98
by server 104 push install 223
copy by server 104
host override 104 R
locations 106
minimize log option 107 RecoverPoint
override 104 affected entities in restore 111
throttle option 107 affected entities in SQL restore 152
validation options 107 consistency groups 311
mount and recovery 253, 284 prerequisites 311
Mount dopy 180 replication options 310
mount on cluster 190 restore granularity 113
mount override setup 310
VMware datastore 215, 233 recovery point objective
mount phase compliance report 294, 295
recovery point objective (continued) server (continued)
concepts 294 adding 223
setting 99, 133, 230 service plan
refresh 46 create copy phase 101
related documentation 13 create new 53
report 47 definition 16
reports delete 65
overview 17 disable 64
recovery point compliance 294, 295 enable 64
save to CSV 295 mount copy phase 103, 104
repurpose 248, 288, 312 phase details 99
Repurpose post-copy script phase 102, 135
bookmark) 312 post-mount script phase 105, 141
repurpose expire 290 pre-copy script phase 100, 134
repurpose refresh 289 run on demand 64
repurpose schedule 288 save copy as 53
repurpose, view 292 schedule 99, 133, 230
repurposed 292 start 99, 133, 230
repurposing 149, 173, 281, 287, 290, 308, 310, 315, 340, 349 unmount copy phase 106, 141, 233
resource logging 353 unmount previous copy phase 232
REST API 18 validate copy phase 105
restore service plan schedule 177, 247, 280
affected entities 111, 195, 263 service plan summary and details 176, 244
deleted database 113 service plans 49
Exchange 111 smb authentication 348
manual option 112 SNMP
partial 113 SNMP Notifications 300
SQL affected entities 152 trap destination 301
Restore VMFS or NFS datastores 238 sql 123
restore VMware 235 SQL 148, 336, 337
RHEL 7 341 SQL database
role copies page 131
definition 16 SQL Database 127
effect on console 19 SQL restore 152
rotation 101, 135, 231 SQL second generation 338
RPO 20 SQL server
runSP 28 mount copy 144
SQL Server
considerations in a cluster 125
S database discovery 126
SAP HANA included plans 71
affected entities in restore 263 mount phase of service plan 136
override mount settings 261 permissions 118
SAP HANA connection 243 restore damaged database 154
SAP HANA copies list 245 rights 118
SAP HANA copy 245 user databases folder 126
SAP HANA overriding 248 user privileges 119, 120
SAP HANA service plan 80 SQL server backup 134
SAP HANA system 241 sql server log backup expiration 124
SAP HANA System SQL Server service plan
permissions 241 table of default settings 71
rights 241 sql server transaction log 121
SAP HANA, copy expiration 264 SQL Server:user privileges 119, 120
SAP HANA, mount 255 SQL, expire 132, 151
SAP HANA, post-copy script 244 SQL, mount 143
SAP HANA, pre-copy script 244 SQL, restore 154
SAP HANA, pre-mount script 254 SQL, unmount 148, 149
schedule management 20 storage 304
script Storage System
post-copy 102, 135 PowerStore 305
post-mount 105, 141 subscribe 24
pre-copy 100, 134 Subscribe 127
second generation 249 support information 13
server SupportAssist 328
systems list 242
T XtremIO (continued)
restore 325
TDE enabled 116 XtremIO 4.x and RecoverPoint 347
temporary files 348
transaction log
configure 122

U
Unity 313–315
Unix 346
unmount
as part of service plan 232
Unmount 261
unmount a copy
as part of service plan 106, 141, 233
unmount oracle archive log 202
unsubscribe 26, 247
Unsubscribe 130, 278, 280
unsubscribe SAP HANA 247

V
Vdisk restore 196
view copy summary 21
VIO vSCSI 168
virtual machine 237
vm consistency 226
VMAX All Flash 316
VMAX LUNs 337
vmax service plans 178
VMAX3
mount, unmount 317
vmfs requirements 222
VMware 343
VMware copies list 226
VMware service plan 85
vmware snapshots 226
VNX file service plan 320
VNX file setup 319
VNX File Snapshot copy mount 320
VNX remote protection 319
VNX Replicator 319
VNX Snapshot
affected entities in restore 195
affected entities in SQL restore 152
expiration 101, 135, 231
partial restore 113
VNX Snapshot, RP bookmarks
control replication storage utilization 100
VNX SnapSure’ 319
VSS failure 102, 135
VSS timeout 346

W
windows 345
windows agent 345
Windows server 345

X
XtremIO

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