Using VSS

The Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) enables application-consistent snapshots on volumes and specific applications used by Microsoft Windows machines. To useenable theMicrosoft VSSapplication featureconsistent snapshots with the StorONE system, you must install the S1StorONE VSS module must be installed on all Windows machineshost thator usecluster members using StorONE volumes.volumes and a Microsoft VSS capable application.

TheIn followingorder procedurefor describesMicrosoft howApplication consistent snapshots to enablebe enabled.

1) Only block based volumes are supported for Microsoft Application consistent snapshots.  These can be directly mapped from the host to storage, or the volumes must otherwise appear as a drive letter on the host.  Network mapped shares can not be used for Microsoft VSS snapshots.snapshots with StorONE at this time.

2) The Microsoft application must be VSS capable (MS SQL, MS Exchange, MS Sharepoint etc)

3) The StorONE VSS application must be installed on each Microsoft host where application consistent snapshots are required.  For Microsoft clusters, the VSS application will need to be installed on each individual cluster member.

The StorONE VSS module currently supports block-based volumes (Fibre Channel or iSCSI directly mapped to a Windows host (VM or physical), or volumes configured as virtual disks through a hypervisor to a virtual machine. Volumes used as virtual disks can be block volumes or filesystem-based volumes (NFS).

Installing the StorONE VSS plugin on a Microsoft Windows machine

Download the latest StorONE VSS installer .MSI file from the StorONE landing page. In a browser, go to the DNS name or IP address of either of the StorONE controller nodes.

Click StorONE VSS Installer to download the MSI installer. Run the installation on all Windows machines (physical or virtual) that use the StorONE volume that you want to enable VSS snapshots on.

After the installation finishes, two services are added to the Windows machine:host: S1VssHardwareProvider and S1VssService:

The S1VssHadwareProviderStorONE VSS hardware provider is named "S1VssHadwareProvider".  This service should be a manual start as it is only called and runs when Microsoft VSS snapshots are initiated.being taken.

When a Microsoft Application consistent snapshot is initiated onby the StorONE system, either manually or by schedule, the appliance contacts the VSS provider on the Windows machines on port 18222. In order for VSSapplication consistent snapshots to work properly, make sure that this port is open for requests from the management IP on both StorONE controller nodes.  Microsoft Application consistent snapshots can be scheduled or manually triggered via the StorONE UI.

StorONE system configuration

In the StorONE graphical user interface (GUI), there are two steps required to enable VSSMicrosoft Application consistent snapshots:

Step 1: Enable VSS for the required volume

Step 2: Configure a Snapshot

Step 1: Enable VSS for the required volume

In the GUI go to Applications 🡪 Snapshots, and click the VSS button:

Enter the application and volume that the Windows machine is using, and add the IP addresses of all Windows machines using the volume.

If the volume is a block volume (iSCSI or Fibre Channel) directly mapped to the Windows hosts, make sure to check the Direct Mapping checkbox. 

If the volume is an NFS filesystem volume or a block volume used as a datastore hosting virtual disks for the Windows hosts, do not check the Direct Mapping checkbox.

On the Applications 🡪 Snapshots page, you can manually take a one-time snapshot by clicking the Take button, or by clicking Schedule to schedule recurring snapshots. In both cases, check the Enable Vss box.

When a VSS-enabled snapshot is initiated, the StorONE system will communicate with the VSS services on the Windows machines to coordinate an application-consistent snapshot.

Using the CLI

To manually take a VSSMicrosoft Application consistent snapshot using the CLI, use the --vss argument: