NetBackup RealTime 7.1.

1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

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NetBackup RealTime 7.1.1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

Document Control
Contributors Who Ashutosh Badve Adonijah Park Shilpa Umarjee Samer Mahajan Contribution Principle Author Reviewer/contributor Reviewer/contributor Reviewer/contributor

Revision History Version Date Changes

1.0

15-Feb-2012

Related Documents Version Date Title

Table of Contents Product Overview Protecting Microsoft SQL with RealTime Integration with NetBackup Restoring With RealTime Pros and cons Appendix A: Terminology 1 2 3 4 5 6

NetBackup RealTime 7.1.1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

Product Overview
Continuous Data Protection (CDP) is a methodology that continuously captures data modifications (disk writes) and stores changes independently of the primary disk (on secondary disk). CDP provides the ability to access and recover data to the exact state as it existed at any previous point in time. The NetBackup RealTime Protection product uses CDP technology to deliver data protection with the best RPO and RTO. It taps into the I/O operations of the host to the primary disk and captures every block as it is changes. Streams of changes (CDP Stream) are kept in the SAN based storage for a predefined duration of time.

Figure 1: NetBackup RealTime data flow

As an application sends I/O down to the disk, the NetBackup RealTime client sends a duplicate write to the RealTime server as a CDP Stream. NetBackup RealTime can then reconstruct an image or snapshot of the primary storage as it existed at any point in the past. With NetBackup RealTime, it is not necessary to store the snapshots on the primary storage. As a part of the NetBackup Platform, RealTime enables a different method for moving data off primary storage and off host for backups, but it retains the robust management, recovery, and application integration that NetBackup customers have relied on for years. Backup scheduling and storage lifecycle policies are managed via the NetBackup GUI or CLI like the traditional NetBackup Snapshot Policy NetBackup treats RealTime as a special type of Snapshot. The end result is a series of snapshots that can be used for recovery from NetBackup. The advantage is that the snapshots exist on secondary storage so they take up no space on the primary storage. The snapshots being on a separate physical system are protected from failure or corruption of the primary storage system.

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NetBackup RealTime 7.1.1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

The actual point in time for a Snapshot as scheduled by NetBackup is marked by placing a marker in the CDP Stream at the same time as it catalogs an event. For example, if the CDP Stream without NetBackup Snapshot Client looks like:

An equivalent CDP Stream with the NetBackup Snapshot Client integration would look like:

Snap 1

Snap 2

Bkp

Snap 3

Blocks marked as letters (A, B, C) represent the changed block of data kept in historical order. Blocks named Snap# and Bkp are markers inserted by NetBackup to identify snapshots or backup events. Additionally, this configuration also enables: Restoration to any point in time between the backups. 168 snapshots for a week long timeline (assuming hourly snapshot backups) Reduced storage requirements Management through the familiar NetBackup user interface Instant access to the data after a crash

RealTime stores the changes in its CDP Stream; thus you can recover from a snapshot or a backup, and recover to any time in between the marked events by requesting the data image. With standard disk based snapshots (for example: BCVs) there is a limit to the number of copies you can keep. You may keep 2-4 snapshots in addition to the daily media backup and then recycle them. Four snapshots per day can leave the data vulnerable for up to 6 hours. With RealTime, you can create an infinite number of snapshots without any additional cost because each snapshot consumes no additional. You can now schedule NetBackup to perform a snapshot every hour. NetBackup RealTime integrates with other products of NetBackup. A NetBackup administrator uses familiar tools and does not have to change the backup routine. The changes are identical to a new array. There is a new snapshot type (RealTime) to choose from. Just as with a standard snapshot, an image of the data can be presented to the application for immediate access after a data loss. The benefit is that a more granular recovery point can be chosen from the timeline. In the case of data corruption, you want to go back to the moment before the corruption; RealTime uses the historical data which can be used for restore by using copy back method. Currently since only copy back method is supported which is equivalent to current NetBackup traditional restore, restores can take some time according to the data size. Since the product has the capability to do rollback restore, future releases will focus on improving the RTO by rolling back only the changed blocks.

Protecting Microsoft SQL with RealTime

A typical Microsoft cluster environment is shown in the below figure. For SAN connectivity and other storage requirement for RealTime please see the RealTime Administrator guide.

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NetBackup RealTime 7.1.1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

RealTime Server

Storage For RealTime

Figure 2: Microsoft cluster environment For protecting whole Microsoft cluster using NetBackup RealTime the pre-requisites are as follows: Install the NetBackup RealTime client on all the nodes in the cluster. The cluster virtual name is DNS resolvable Expose Monitor LUN to all Microsoft cluster nodes and RealTime appliance. a. This LUN can be as small as 1GB in size. b. You need at least two monitor LUNs from each array (If Production storage is provided from multiple arrays). c. The normal storage array LUN is logically classified as Monitor LUN in RealTime. d. It is used by RealTime to understand whether one particular node in the cluster is down or operating. e. It should be made online in disk management snap-in. Do not put any file system and mount it. It is only for the use of RealTime. Production Storage should be visible to RealTime appliance for SAN sync. RealTime only reads from these LUNs for doing SAN sync.

On meeting the above requirements you can add the Cluster object via the RealTime GUI or CLI. This Cluster object contains all the nodes in the cluster. On adding the cluster object in the RealTime GUI or CLI, you can define the RealTime application container which has the assets to be protected in cluster. On applying the protection, RealTime synchronizes the production LUNs to make a mirror copy of it. While you protect and track the changes happening on the active cluster SQL instances, if the SQL cluster resources failover to other nodes in the cluster, it does not impact the RealTime protection. You can continue to track and protect every IO happening on the cluster. Even when a node in the cluster reboots, you get a black out window which signifies that protection is not available for that duration. RealTime would ideally support all the application clusters build on top of MSCS cluster technology which are supported by NetBackup snapshot client. Although, currently RealTime is only qualified with MSCS SQL cluster.

Integration with NetBackup

NetBackup RealTime provides the ability to mark specific points within the CDP stream as a snapshot. NetBackup Snapshot Client uses this functionality to create a snapshot at the transaction consistent point in time and prepare it for backup and/or instant recovery. When you back up a database while in the transaction consistent state, the database recovers quickly. There are several steps in this backup process. Backup is initiated using NetBackup SQL agent Page 3

NetBackup RealTime 7.1.1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

NetBackup SQL agent puts SQL database in quiescent state. Snapshot is created. In this configuration NetBackup RealTime acts as the snapshot provider. Instead of creating a physical copy of the data, RealTime inserts an annotation into the CDP Stream to mark the point in time as a snapshot. This operation is quick and requires no additional disk space. It can be performed as often as an application is put in a quiescent state. Snapshot Client uses API to communicate with the snapshot provider. It does not distinguish between the methods used underneath. This is why Snapshot Client recognizes RealTime snapshot as any other array or software based snapshot.

The event is cataloged with NetBackup

If a backup to the media is requested, Snapshot Client performs an additional step. It requests an access to the snapshot from the provider, in this case RealTime. RealTime provide an image of the data as it was at the time of the annotation. The image is mounted to the NetBackup client or Media Server and used as a source for the backup to the tape. NetBackup catalogues this event as a backup. While a backup is performed from the RealTime snapshot, the application continues to run, and RealTime continues to record new changes. The data flow described above is also presented in Figure 3.

NBU NBU Media NBU Catalog RealTime RealTime Server

PIT Image

DB Server

1am S1(snap only) 7am S2(snap only) 1pm S3(snap only) 7pm 4(snap+bckp) 1am S5(snap only)

DB

RealTime Storage

Figure 3: Data flow The snapshots created during the backup process can be used for cloning the database for processing on the same or on an alternate host.

Restoring With RealTime

There are two ways to restore the SQL database: Normal NetBackup restores procedure for SQL database from a snapshot. Restore through NetBackup allows granular restore capabilities with full database restore. The restoration of the database from the snapshot is invoked. Page 4

NetBackup RealTime 7.1.1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

Standalone RealTime GUI (Using RealTime GUI to recover to any point in time). This is the only method not available through the standard NetBackup user interface. It allows for restoration to the point in time immediately before the crash. Only the transactions which were committed are available on the snapshot copy. It resembles the state of the data as it would be after a system crash. Before opening the database, Microsoft SQL has to go through the internal recovery process. Transactions that have not been committed are rolled back.

These methods can be applied in the case of a disaster and data corruption. When choosing the recovery method, you should consider the best scenario for the specific environment. It has to be carefully planned in advance when designing a backup solution. What is the best recovery scenario? The same RPO can be accomplished using several methods. Which one presents the best RTO for your application? When using RealTime you have to decide between: Using RealTime without inserting frequent snapshot markers: There is no application downtime. At the restore time Microsoft SQL has to roll back the database to the transaction consistent state. Using RealTime with frequent snapshot type backups: There are penalty of application quiescent, but SQL database has all the transactions without doing any recovery procedure.

The best practices for scheduling a backup with RealTime are: Perform a snapshot and backup to a storage unit once a week. TM Create a TimeImage view snapshot every hour. When deciding on the frequency of the snapshots, note down the time required for snapshot backup to complete.

Pros and cons

This configuration offers a good return on investment. RealTime snapshots provide an unlimited number of snapshots without taking up any disk space. There is initial investment in the storage to be used by RealTime, but it can be a tier lower than the production storage. The size of initial storage is approximately 1.5 times the size of the protected data. RealTime should be considered a step in the Data Protection Life Cycle. It is best to use it for short term protection. Restores from RealTime are done for a quick recovery to a recent point in time. Creating a media based backup from a RealTime based snapshot is recommended to enable long term retention. Currently this can be done by using snapshot and copy to storage unit option in NetBackup schedule. Future releases will have ability to do delayed backup to storage unit from a specified snapshot by using SLP (storage life cycle policy) feature in NetBackup. RealTime snapshot can be used for off-host or remote processing (backups, reporting, etc) and for database cloning. Adding a new cluster node to already protected cluster is not supported currently with RealTime. In this case you have to reapply RealTime protection to Microsoft cluster. Microsoft Windows 2003 MSCS clusters are not supported. Only alternate client backups are supported in cluster environment. Alternate client could be one of the cluster nodes but we need to specify actual hostname of that host while specifying alternate host in NetBackup policy. RealTime has a presence on the application host in the form of a kernel driver. There is a small performance penalty associated with it. The overhead is less than 5%, equivalent to that of a software based mirror. On Windows RealTime kernel driver is signed and certified by Microsoft. Since RealTime is a flexible product, minimal scripting can enhance its usage to utilize its full potential.

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NetBackup RealTime 7.1.1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

In the future RealTime will add replication support, extending its use to the disaster recovery space. By replicating across the Data Centers it will provide the ability for remote backups, continuous data protection between remote sites; and failover capabilities. NetBackup RealTime utilizes NetBackup for SQL Database Agent, and NetBackup Snapshot Client. The characteristics of these products are inherited in RealTime and were discussed separately except where a variation was specifically noted.

Appendix A: Terminology
Annotation - A record of a user-initiated action. RealTime server records annotations, which can be viewed through the Annotations screen. Application - An instance of an application. Applications are directly accessed by the user. Examples include: SAP, Share point, NetBackup, a file server, or a database sandbox with SQL server instances. Application Host - SAN based host on which an application runs, also known as the production host, application server, or production server. Asset - Assets are only used by applications. They are not directly accessed by the user. An asset can depend on other assets. Examples include: data, configurations, file-systems, volumes, LUNs, physical storage, servers, SQL instances inside Share point, or Oracle databases inside SAP. Consistency Group - A group of LUNs that are common to an application. Production host The SAN host on which a targeted application runs, also known as the application host, application server, or production server. Production image - A store within the RealTime store that keeps a copy of the production image. Production Store - Storage that the application uses for reading/writing. Production Volume - The primary storage for the protected application RealTime Protection (RTP) - A protection method of RealTime that maintains a history of all changes to application data and allows recovery to any point on the timeline. RealTime protects against local data TM corruption and provides the TimeImage view side view and Production Restore features. RealTime is the next step in the evolution of data protection and recovery. RealTime provides snapshot, backup, and restore functionality with much finer grain control compared to existing disk and tape based solutions. RealTime Recovery Manager - A term for the GUI that drives the RealTime Server. RealTime Server - A soft appliance operating in Fibre Channel SANs that provides data protection recovery services. RealTime Store - The collection of storage used by the RealTime Server Cluster for collecting the time ordered writes. Internally, this may be broken up, such as into a Production Image store, an Indexing TM store, a Log, a Journal store or Scratch space for holding writes to a TimeImage view, or an Event store. Snapshot - A TimeImage
TM

view of the production store.

Soft appliance - A term for packaging software that runs on a standard x86 box. No specialized hardware or ASICs are required. Splitter - The host splitter (VxSplitter) or Data Tap (VxDataTap). TimeImage view - An exact reproduction of a specified Consistency Group at a specific point in time. TM When the RealTime server generates a TimeImage view, that image is made available via new virtual TM TM host-side TimeImage view volumes. A SAN host, used specifically as the TimeImage view host, can TM access the TimeImage view just as if it were the up-to-date RealTime server Consistency Group, and TM TM can manipulate the TimeImage view Consistency Group. However, the TimeImage view view is completely independent of the up-to-date Consistency Group maintained in the MirrorStore volume. Page 6
TM

NetBackup RealTime 7.1.1 for Microsoft SQL server in 2008 and 2008R2 cluster environment

TimeStore volume - The area of the RealTime servers dedicated storage reserved to hold both the timeline and all internal information associated with the data protection services. vLUN (virtual logical unit number) - A LUN that is virtual for the RealTime server, and is exposed by the RealTime target mode driver. A vLUN is treated as a normal LUN by an application host. MSCS - Microsoft cluster server

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