Rapid Recovery 6.3 - User Guide

Creating a DVM repository

This process describes how to create a repository on your Core using the Deduplication Volume Manager (DVM) repository technology.

• You must have administrative access to the machine on which you want to create a DVM repository.
• This repository type requires at least 1GB of storage space available on the volume you define as the storage location.
• The storage location for a DVM repository must be on a local drive attached to the Core server or on a CIFS share.

Complete the following steps to create a DVM repository.

1. Navigate to the Rapid Recovery Core Console.
2. On the icon bar, click (More), and then select Repositories.

   The Repositories page displays.

3. At the top of the page, under the Repositories page title, click the drop-down arrow next to Create, and then select DVM Repository.

   The Create Repository Wizard appears.

4. On the Configuration page, enter the information as described in the following table.

   Table 5: Repository configuration settings

   Text Box	Description
   Name	Enter the display name of the repository. By default, this text box consists of the word Repository and a number, which corresponds to the number of repositories for this Core. For example, if this is the first repository, the default name is Repository 1. Change the name as needed. Repository names must contain between 1 and 40 alphanumeric characters, including spaces. Do not use prohibited charactersor prohibited phrases.
   Concurrent operations	Define the number of concurrent requests you want the repository to support. By default the value is 64.
   Comments	Optionally, enter a descriptive note about this repository. You can enter up to 254 characters. Examples might include a message such as DVM Repository 2 or This repository contains protected SQL Server data only.

5. Click Next.

   The Storage Location page displays.

6. On the Storage Location page, define a storage location for your repository on a local drive attached to the Core server or on a CIFS share, as described in the following steps. Apply this general guidance:
   • Use a fast storage drive, preferably a solid-state drive (SSD) with sufficient storage space.
   • Store metadata for your repository on a separate fast storage drive (preferably SSD) for increased efficiency.
   • After creating the DVM repository, consider modifying the location of the deduplication cache. Locate the deduplication cache for your repository on a separate fast storage drive (preferably SSD) for increased efficiency. For more information, see Optimizing deduplication in the topic Understanding deduplication cache and storage locations.
   • Disable anti-virus protection on repository folders, directories or volumes.

     NOTE: Rapid Recovery employs space-saving deduplication functionality that can conflict with anti-virus software, resulting in repositories with inaccessible data. For more information, refer to Quest Knowledge Base article 117506, "Software conflicts wtih AppAssure and Rapid Recovery."

   Quest strongly recommends specifying a dedicated folder within the storage drive or volume to store data files. For example, to store your repository data on the E drive, specify E:\Repository\Data. To store your repository data on a CIFS drive, specify \\servername\repository\data.

   Caution: If you define the location for your repository data at the root of the selected volume (for example, E:\ or \\servername) instead of in a dedicated folder, then if you subsequently remove the repository, other files and data stored in that root folder are deleted, which could result in catastrophic data loss.

   1. In the Location text box, specify the local or CIFS share storage location or volume for storing protected machine data in your repository.

      When specifying the path, use only alphanumeric characters, the hyphen, and the period (only to separate host names and domains). You can use the backslash character only to define levels in the path. Do not use spaces. No other symbols or punctuation characters are permitted.

      If you specified a path for a local storage location, skip to step d.

   2. For a CIFS share location, in the User name text box, enter the user name associated with an administrative account with access to the network share location, or to use a set of credentials saved to Credentials Vault, use the drop-down list and select a user name.

      Optionally, to save your credentials to Credentials Vault, click the plus sign next to the text box. For more information, see Credentials Vault.

   3. For a CIFS share location, in the Password text box, specify a password for accessing the network share location.
   4. In the Metadata path text box, enter the location for storing the protected metadata.

      For example, type X:\Repository\Metadata.

      When specifying the path, use only alphanumeric characters, the hyphen, and the period (only to separate host names and domains). The letters a to z are case-insensitive. Do not use spaces. No other symbols or punctuation characters are permitted.

7. Optionally, on the Storage Location page, if you want to enter advanced options, select Show advanced options and enter the details for the storage location as described in the following table.

   Table 6: Storage configuration details

   Text Box	Description
   Bytes per sector	Specify the number of bytes you want each sector to include. The default value is 512. NOTE: Quest recommends setting the bytes per sector to match the physical sector size of the storage location in which the repository resides. For example if the disk on the intended storage location has a 4096 byte sector size, change the bytes per sector setting to 4096. If using multiple storage locations with different sector sizes, Quest recommends retaining the default setting of 512 bytes per sector.
   Average bytes per record	Specify the average number of bytes per record. The default value is 8192.
   Write caching policy	The write caching policy controls how the Windows Cache Manager is used in the repository and helps to tune the repository for optimal performance on different configurations. Set the value to one of the following: On. If set to On, which is the default, Windows controls the caching. Off. If set to Off, Rapid Recovery controls the caching. Sync. If set to Sync, Windows controls the caching as well as the synchronous input/output.

8. Click Next.

   The Space Allocation page displays.

9. On the Space Allocation page, configure the amount of space on the disk to allocate to the repository. Quest recommends reserving 20 percent of the volume for metadata, which is the default. Optionally, using the slider control or the Data field, you can allocate more or less space on the volume for the repository.
10. When you have completed your repository configuration, click Finish.

    The Create Repository Wizard closes, and Rapid Recovery applies the settings to your Core. If Toast alerts are enabled, you see messages indicating that repository creation has started, and the repository is mounted. Alternatively, you can monitor the progress of the repository creation by viewing alerts on the Events page.

Adding a storage location to an existing DVM repository

1. Navigate to the Rapid Recovery Core Console.
2. On the icon bar, click (More), and then select Repositories.

   The Repositories page appears.

   The DVM Repositories pane appears.

3. In the repositories summary table, from the row representing the DVM repository for which you want to add a storage location, click the (More options) drop-down menu, and then select Add Storage Location.

   The Add Storage Location dialog box displays.

4. Specify how to add the file for the storage location. You can choose to add the file on the local disk or on a CIFS share.
   • Select Add file on local disk to specify a local machine and then enter the information as described in the following table.

     Table 7: Local disk settings

     Text Box	Description
     Data path	Enter the location for storing the protected data. For example, type X:\Repository\Data. The same limitations to the path apply; use only alphanumeric characters, hyphen, or period, with no spaces or special characters.
     Metadata path	Enter the location for storing the protected metadata. For example, type X:\Repository\Metadata. When specifying the path, use only alphanumeric characters, the hyphen, and the period (only to separate host names and domains). The letters a to z are case-insensitive. Do not use spaces. No other symbols or punctuation characters are permitted.

   • Or, select Add file on CIFS share to specify a network share location and then enter the information as described in the following table.

     Table 8: CIFS share credentials

     Text Box	Description
     UNC Path	Enter the path for the network share location. If this location is at the root, define a dedicated folder name (for example, Repository). The path must begin with \\. When specifying the path, use only alphanumeric characters, the hyphen, and the period (only to separate host names and domains). The letters a to z are case-insensitive. Do not use spaces. No other symbols or punctuation characters are permitted.
     User Name	Specify a user name for accessing the network share location.
     Password	Specify a password for accessing the network share location.

5. In the Storage Configuration pane, click More Details and enter the details for the storage location as described in the following table.

   Table 9: Storage location details

   Text Box	Description
   Size	Set the size or capacity for the storage location. The default size is 250 GB. You can choose from the following: GB TB NOTE: The minimum size is 1 GB. The size that you specify cannot exceed the size of the volume. If the storage location is an NTFS volume using Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, or 2016, the file size limit is 256 TB. NOTE: For Rapid Recovery to validate the operating system, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) must be installed on the intended storage location.
   Write caching policy	The write caching policy controls how the Windows Cache Manager is used in the repository and helps to tune the repository for optimal performance on different configurations. Set the value to one of the following: On. If set to On, which is the default, Windows controls the caching. Off. If set to Off, Rapid Recovery controls the caching. Sync. If set to Sync, Windows controls the caching as well as the synchronous input/output.
   Bytes per sector	Specify the number of bytes you want each sector to include. The default value is 512. NOTE: Quest recommends setting the bytes per sector to match the physical sector size of the storage location in which the repository resides. For example if the disk on the intended storage location has a 4096 byte sector size, change the bytes per sector setting to 4096. If using multiple storage locations with different sector sizes, Quest recommends retaining the default setting of 512 bytes per sector.
   Average bytes per record	Specify the average number of bytes per record. The default value is 8192.

6. Optionally, if you want to perform the repository optimization job for the selected repository, select Run Repository Optimization Job for [Repository name].

   Caution: Performing a Repository Optimization Job could take a substantial amount of time and bandwidth in your environment, based on factors such as the size of your repository, amount of data in your repository, available network bandwidth, and existing load on the input and output of your system. The only suggested use case for running this job is if your DVM deduplication cache was full and you subsequently increased the cache size.

   For more information about the repository optimization job, see About DVM repository optimization.

7. Click Save.

   The dialog box closes and the storage location is saved. In the repositories summary table, the storage location you created is visible if you expand the repository details.

Changing DVM repository settings

This procedure assumes that your Core is already using at least one DVM repository.

In the settings for a DVM repository, you can change such settings as number of concurrent operations, and enabling or disabling deduplication or compression.

Complete the following task to change the available settings for a DVM repository.

1. From the Rapid Recovery Core Console, in the icon bar, click (More), and then select Repositories.
2. On the Repositories page, from the row representing the repository you want to update, click (More options) and then select Settings.

   The Repository Settings dialog displays.

3. On the Repository Settings dialog, you can change the settings described in the following table.

   Table 10: DVM settings

   Option	Description
   Maximum concurrent operations	The number of jobs that the repository can perform at one time. The default is 64.
   Description	Can contain and display notes or a description that you want to associate with this repository.
   Enable deduplication	When this option is selected, Rapid Recovery Core deduplicates data so that only unique blocks are saved to the repository. This setting is enabled by default. Clear this option and save to disable deduplication.
   Enable compression	When this option is selected, Rapid Recovery Core compresses data to reduce space used. This setting is enabled by default. Clear this option and save to disable compression.

4. Click Save.

   The changes are applied to the repository.

About checking the integrity of DVM repositories

In AppAssure release 5.3.6 and earlier releases, replication included the process of copying recovery points from the source Core to the target Core regularly. Rollup of aging recovery points occurred only at the source Core. Combined older recovery points were synchronized daily when running the nightly job.

Starting with AppAssure version 5.4.1 and in current releases of Rapid Recovery Core, users can to set disparate retention policies between source and target Cores. For replication to work properly with different retention policies, the target Core must have the same software version (or newer) than the source Core.

Administrators can now configure rollup on a target Core at a different rate than on the source Core. Similarly, you can now define a custom retention policy for any replicated machine. For example, you can roll up recovery points in the target Core at a faster rate and with less granularity than on the source Core, saving space. Or you can roll up recovery points for any selected replicated machine at a slower rate in the target Core, maintaining more granularity, which may be useful for compliance purposes. For more information on using a retention policy that differs from the default in the Core, see Customizing retention policy settings for a protected machine.

Some customers experienced inconsistencies in recovery points that were replicated to a target Core prior to AppAssure release 5.3.6. To address this issue, AppAssure release 5.4.1 and later include a Core job to run on each DVM repository. Quest recommends performing the Integrity Check job a single time on each DVM repository on a replicated target Core if the repository was created prior to release 5.4.x (if it was created in release 5.3.x or earlier).

For instructions on how to perform this check, see the procedure Performing an integrity check on a DVM repository.

The Integrity Check job will not be available:

• On a new DVM repository on a target Core created in AppAssure release 5.4.1 or later or created in Rapid Recovery.
• On a source Core.
• If you have already run the Integrity Check Job (or Check Repository Job) on this repository.
• If you have not used replication.

If your Core has been upgraded at any point from AppAssure 5.3.x and you used replication, you must run this job before you can configure dissimilar retention policies between the source Core and a target Core, or configure a custom retention policy on a replicated machine.

You will not see or be able to run this job unless you have one or more eligible repositories (created prior to 5.4.x and not yet performed).

Running this job verifies the integrity of all data stored in the specified repository, ensuring you can recover data from each snapshot or base image. If the integrity check discovers any issue with data in your repository, the job ceases immediately. The event details for that job on the Core prompt you to contact Quest Data Protection Support, so you can schedule time to work with a Support representative to perform additional procedures to identify and remediate data inconsistencies.

You can perform other operations in other repositories while this job is running.