Subclient Properties (IntelliSnap Operations)

IntelliSnap Backup with hardware Snap Engines | IntelliSnap Backup with Data Replicator

Use this tab to enable IntelliSnap backup and to establish the options for IntelliSnap backup operation, for the selected subclient.

These options are available if you select a hardware Snap Engine. Note that all the options described in this help may not be available and only the options displayed in the dialog box are applicable to the agent for which the information is being displayed.

IntelliSnap

Specifies whether IntelliSnap backup for the selected subclient is enabled or disabled.

Available Snap Engines

Lists the available snapshot engine vendors. To select a snapshot engine vendor, click the pull-down arrow and click the one that you want to use.

• Manage Array

Click to access the Array Management dialog box, which enables you to add or modify access information for a array.

Use Proxy

Use this list to specify the name of the proxy server that will be used for performing the IntelliSnap backup operations.

Use Separate proxy for Backup Copy

Select to use a separate proxy server for performing backup copy operations such as mounting the snapshot and copying the data to any media.

• Proxy

  Use this list to specify the name of the proxy server for performing backup copy operations such as mounting the snapshot and copying the data to any media.

Use source if proxy is unreachable

If the proxy client is unreachable, use the source computer, which is typically the client computer or the MediaAgent used during snap backup of the job.

Wait for snapshot to complete

This check box applies to Amazon RDS subclients. Amazon RDS backup job are asynchronous, so the job progress displays 100% when the software sends the backup request. Select this check box to synchronize the Commvault job progress with the Amazon web console.

Use RMAN for backup copy

Select to use RMAN for copying the data to the media. When data is moved from snap to media, the RMAN backup interface is used for block level backup operations. Also, RMAN is required in the case of Automatic Storage Management (ASM) Oracle Databases, since ASM data is not available on the file system.

Enable Snap Integrity Check

You can configure to run integrity check of a hardware snap during an IntelliSnap backup.

When the Snap Integrity Check is enabled, the following steps are performed automatically during an IntelliSnap backup:

1. The database is placed in a quiesced state.

2. A snapshot is created for data volumes.

3. The database is placed in a unquiesced state.

4. The snapshot is mounted on source and cataloging of datafiles is performed from mounted snapshot. This verifies whether all the datafiles are properly captured during an IntelliSnap backup.

   The RMAN catalog datafilecopy will check the datafile header and verify its authenticity before cataloging it.

5. The snapshot is created for log volumes

6. The snapshot is mounted on source and cataloging is performed for mounted log files.

When this is not enabled, you do not see the mount and catalog snap files happening in the Oracle RMAN.log.

The default is disabled.

Use Oracle VSS Writer

Select to initiate Oracle IntelliSnap backup operation using the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy service, Oracle VSS writer and VSS provider. The VSS provider and VSS writer service for the Oracle database need to be installed on the Oracle client machine and must be running in order to perform this type of backup.

Use RMAN for Tape Movement

Select to use RMAN for movement to media operations.

Allow multiple data readers within a drive or mount point

Specifies whether multiple data reads are allowed for a single physical drive or mount point during backups on this subclient. It is recommended that this option is selected for specialized hardware such as RAID, or possibly in the case of spanned volumes.

Number of Data Readers for Backup Copy

Use this space to specify the number of simultaneous backup data streams allowed for this subclient, during the movement to media operation. For best performance, this should be set no higher than the number of physical drives that hold this subclient's data, except for specialized hardware such as RAID.

Backup Copy Interface

This option applies to Oracle subclients. Select the interface that you want to use for the backup copy operation.

You can choose the interface based on your requirements and resource availability.

• File System Copy

  The following rules apply to the File System Backup Copy interface. The Commvault software:

  • Considers the job type as FULL

  • Mounts the snapshots

  • Clones the snapshot device and creates the volume group and logical volumes to mount the snapshot

  • Queries the index created by the snapshot, to identify files to backup to tape, and generates a collect file for the backup copy

  • Backs up the files to tape or magnetic library

  • Unmounts the snapshot

  • Archives the index created for the backup copy operations

• RMAN

  If the source client performs the backup copy, the Commvault software uses the "backup datafilecopy" command after the cataloging of all the datafiles. If the proxy performs the backup copy, the Commvault software mounts the data snapshot in the same location on the proxy and use the standard “backup database” command while it is connected to a recovery catalog.

  In either case, for archive log backups, the Commvault software backs up the logs to the snap mount location by using the "backup archivelog to /path_to_archive_log/archivelogs" command.

• Volume Copy (Block Level Backup-Supports Database Instant Recovery)

  Select this option when you want to use the Instant Application Recovery feature. For full backups, the Commvault software backs up the blocks that make up the snapped volume. For incremental backups, the Commvault software backs up the blocks that have changed since the last backup.

For the Oracle agent and the Oracle RAC agent, if you select the Use RMAN Image Copy option, then the Reconcile Backup area appears.

Reconcile Backup

If you select the Reconcile Backup option, then the synchronization is turned on for data on the source disk and the index. After you enable this option, the subsequent backup job compares the data blocks on the disk to the data on the index, and identifies the blocks that do not match with the index and includes them in the current backup.