EVnearSync Administration Guide (QT3930)

EVnearSync has an intuitive web interface for configuration of Enterprise Vault data replication. Initially you’ll configure replication for data at the Vault Store level. The web interface can be accessed via the console session where the EVnearSync Core/Web components were installed using this URL: http://localhost/EVnearSync
In addition, you can access the web interface remotely from a workstation using this URL: http://servername.domainname/EVnearSync
Note: The first time you open the site, there can be a delay before the screen displays. This is because of the way that ASP.Net works. It is normal.

System Status

System Status page is where the overall system status can be found. You can find the page by going to Monitor > System Status. The page consists of three panels of information: Replication Gap, Service Status and Failover Status, and Replication Charts.

Replication Gap

Each Vault Store is represented by a rectangular colored block. Each color is defined below.

In addition, there are two data figures shown in each rectangle:

• Number at top right: Replication gap, i.e. how many savesets are left to replicate.
• Number at bottom left: Total size of the Vault Store

Service Status and Failover Status

This area shows information about whether EVnearSync is running correctly, and whether a storage failover has happened.

Replication Charts

This area at the bottom of the main window shows the number of items and the volume of replication. It refreshes every 10 minutes. The amount of space available on the targets is also indicated in a third chart.

Consistency Checks

The Consistency Checks page in the Admin Console shows the current progress of any running consistency checks. Open the page by going to Monitor > Consistency Checks.
Each Vault Store is represented by a rectangular colored block. Colors are defined below.

Services

The Services page in the Admin Console shows the current status of services in the environment. Access the page by going to Monitor > Services. It shows both Enterprise Vault services and EVnearSync services.

Alerts

The Alerts page in the Admin Console shows any active alerts, and it allows for the alerts to be acknowledged. Access the page by going to Monitor > Alerts.

Vault Store Replication

On the Vault Store Replication page you can review the replication that has been configured in the environment, and you can make any necessary changes. You can find this page by going to Manage > Vault Store.

Modify Vault Store Partition

If needed, individual Vault Store Partitions can be modified after the wizard runs. This is useful if the destination needs to be changed on any Vault Store Partitions.

Disable/Enable Replication

If needed, individual Vault Store Replication can be disabled or enabled.

Full Consistency Check

A full consistency check will verify that all data in the Vault Store has been replicated and is consistent between source and destination.
To perform this task, expand the Vault Store you want to modify, select the Vault Store, and click Modify > Full Consistency Check.
This is very resource intensive. There are daily consistency checks that run on a specific schedule. Before running the full consistency check, you’re asked to confirm the action.

Index Replication

The initial configuration should be done via the Index Replication Enablement Wizard. This is accessed by going to Manage > Index.

Index Replication Enablement Wizard

To configure replication for the first time, select the Add Index Wizard button. Then, follow these steps:

1. Select the Source Computer. To do this, on the first page of the wizard you’ll see a list of servers in the environment that have an indexing service. From the drop-down list, select the one you want to configure for replication, and then click Next.
2. Set the destination path. This is the path to the remote location where you want the replicated data to be sent.
3. Select EVnearSync service that is being used for the replication. This will normally be the Agent Service located on the Enterprise Vault server hosting the Index Service.
4. Specify any pre- and post-replication commands you want to perform with any additional parameters. Pre- and post-replication commands can be specified and uploaded on the Settings > Other > Pre/Post Scripts page. This is covered below.
5. Specify when you want the replication tasks to be performed, and then click Finish.

SQL Database Replication

EVnearSync can replicate a SQL database by replicating a SQL ‘dump’ file to a remote location.
The initial configuration happens via the Add SQL Replication Wizard. This is accessed by going to Manage > SQL Database.
Click the Add SQL Replication button to launch the wizard. Then, follow these steps:

1. Select the source and destination paths for replication. The source and remote locations specified are validated to ensure that they exist. The source and remote location must be specified as UNC paths.
2. Select the EVnearSync service that is being used for the replication.
3. Specify any pre- and post-replication commands you want to be performed with any additional parameters. Pre- and post-commands can be specified and uploaded by going to Settings > Other > Pre/Post Scripts. This is covered later in this document. Pre- and post-backup scripts are used as described in this Symantec article.
4. Specify when you want the replication tasks to be performed,  and then click Finish.

Custom Path Replication

EVnearSync can replicate any path on the Enterprise Vault server to a remote location. For example:

PST Holding folder (where .PST files are waiting for processing)
Vault Cache database build area.

The initial configuration happens via the Add Custom Replication Wizard, which you can access by going to Manage > Custom Path.
Click the Add Custom Replication button to launch the wizard. Then, follow these steps:

1. Specify the source and destination paths for replication.
2. Select the EVnearSync service that is being used for the replication.
3. Specify any pre- and post-replication commands that you want to be performed with any additional parameters.
4. Specify when you want the replication tasks to be performed, and then click Finish.

Failover and Failback

EVnearSync is constantly monitoring for failures in storage, indexing, and services. It will perform an automatic failover. However, occasionally you might need to perform a manual failover. This is possible with Vault Stores and Index locations, as described below.

Vault Store

To failover a Vault Store, go to Manage > Failover > Vault Store.
You’ll see a list of Vault Stores. If a Vault Store is expanded, it’s possible to see the current status and whether the primary storage is functioning or whether the Vault Store has been failed over.
Failover and Failback can also be performed from this screen.
When performing a Failback operation, a consistency check is automatically triggered.

Index

To failover an Index location, go to Manage > Failover > Index.
You’ll see a list of configured index replication elements and their current status.
Failover and Failback can also be performed from this screen.

Managing Services

Both the Enterprise Vault and EVnearSync services can be managed from the EVnearSync Core/Web interface.

• EVnearSync: Manage EVnearSync services by going to Manage > EVnearSync.
• Enterprise Vault: Manage Enterprise Vault services by going to Manage > Enterprise Vault.

Reports

EVnearSync has a number of reports that allow you to review operations performed by the product. To access the reports, click Reports and select the report you want to view. Reports are listed and described below.

• Vault Stores: Shows the amount of data that has been replicated by EVnearSync.
• Indexes: Shows the amount of data that has been replicated by EVnearSync.
• Replication Errors: Shows a list, by Vault Store, of issues that have been encountered when replicating data.
• Synchronization History: Shows the synchronization history that has been performed by EVnearSync.

Settings

The Settings section of the web interface controls EVnearSync operations and allows you to customize the product in a variety of ways. Settings are listed and described below.
Note: All appropriate settings are described in seconds. Time-based settings are local time to the EVnearSync server.

General

The general section lists settings that affect synchronization.
Global settings are:

• SaveSet Hashing: Turn on/off hashing for Vault Store replication
• Warning Threshold: The number of pending items in a Vault Store that should generate an alert warning
• Error Threshold: The number of pending items in a Vault Store that should generate an alert error

Maintenance settings are:

• Consistency Run Time: Time that the Consistency Check should run
• Enable Delayed Deletion: By enabling Delayed Deletion, replication of deleted savesets occurs
• Delay Days: After how many days should the item be deleted on the replicated device
• Delayed Deletion Run Time: Time that the Delayed Deletion should run

Automatic failover settings are:

• No Response Threshold: If the agent does not receive a response in this interval, a failover will be performed
• Agent Check Interval: How often the agent checks for service and storage failures
• Enable Index Failover: Index failover is enabled,and will be performed automatically by the agent
• Enable Vault Store Failover: Vault Store failover is enabled and will be performed automatically by the agent scheduler

Email

SMTP configuration settings are:

• Enable Mail Alerting: Email alerting is enabled.
• SMTP Server: SMTP server hostname (FQDN or IP)
• Port Number: SMTP listening port
• Sender: Who should the email alerts come from
• Recipient: Who should the email alerts be sent to. Use semi-colons to separate multiple recipients.
• Enable SMTP Authentication: SMTP authentication is used to connect to the SMTP server when sending email.
• User Name: SMTP username for authentication
• Password: SMTP password for authentication

Templates

EVnearSync has a number of built-in templates that can be used and customized. New ones can also be created. To access the templates, click Settings and then Templates (located under E-Mail). Here are template settings:

• Creating a new Template: Additional templates can be created to suit your environment by clicking Create.
• Editing a Template: Edit an existing template by clicking the checkbox next to the template, and then clicking Edit.

Pre/Post Scripts

Pre- and post-scripts can be configured for some of the replications tasks in EVnearSync. To access this part of the interface, and upload or edit the scripts, click on Settings > Pre/Post Scripts.

• Creating a Pre/Post Script: Click Create. A script can be uploaded and given a name.
• Editing a Pre/Post Script: Click the checkbox next to an existing script, and then click on Edit.
• Deleting a Pre/Post Script: Click the checkbox next to an existing script, and then click Delete.

Appendix 1: Description of Install-able Components

The table below lists the components that are available during the installation of EVnearSync.

Component	Notes
Core Service	This is the core component of EVnearSync. It provides the product functionality.
Web Interface	This is the user interface component that will be installed as an IIS application.

Note: The agent-only installation does not provide a list of components that can be enabled or disabled.
The table below lists the services that are installed with EVnearSync when the Core Services are installed:

Component	Notes
EVnearSync Core Service	This will be shown as CoreService.exe in Task Manager. This service will be set to automatic and logon information will be consistent with whatever was provided during the installation.

The table below lists the services that are installed with the EVnearSync agent installation:

Component	Notes
EVnearSync Agent Service	This will be shown as AgentService.exe in Task Manager. This service will be set to automatic, and logon information will be consistent with whatever was provided during the installation.

Appendix 2: Accessing the Core From a Remote Machine

The EVnearSync Core/Web components provide the administration interface for EVnearSync. They also provide monitoring and reporting information. It is not necessary to connect to the server console to run the administration console. It is a normal website that can be accessed from any web browser.

Appendix 3: Communication Ports

During installation, EVnearSync Core creates firewall rules on the local host to allow communication between EVnearSync agents and the Core. These ports may also need to be opened on a proxy or firewall between the machines in the network environment. A list of ports can be found here.