9.5 HP P4000 Application-Aware Snapshot Manager Deployment Guide (AX696-96106, September 2011)

1 The Application Aware Snapshot Manager
The HP P4000 Application Aware Snapshot Manager can be used to create application-managed
snapshots in Windows and VMware environments. In Windows environments, the HP P4000 VSS
provider is leveraged to quiesce VSS-aware applications before creating the snapshot. In VMware
environments, the Application Aware Snapshot Manager communicates with VMware Virtual
Center Server to create VMware snapshots of virtual machines whose datastores reside on SAN/iQ
volumes. Both one-time and scheduled snapshots are supported.
NOTE: “Application-managed snapshots” is the term used in the HP P4000 Centralized
Management Console to designate snapshots that are taken using the Application Aware Snapshot
Manager.
This chapter provides general information about installing and running the Application Aware
Snapshot Manager with the HP P4000 SAN Solution. Detailed information about creating and
using application-managed snapshots is available in the HP P4000 SAN Solution User Guide or
Online Help. The HP CLIQ - The SAN/iQ Command-Line Interface User Guide contains commands
for scripting the application-managed snapshots. You can find detailed information on the Microsoft
web site about using the Volume Shadow Copy Service.
Application Aware Snapshot Manager and VMware
When hosting VMware virtual machines on SAN/iQ volumes, the Application Aware Snapshot
Manager creates snapshots that contain quiesced virtual machines. The resulting snapshots contain
the virtual machine and its applications in a VMware snapshot. Mounting the application-managed
snapshot allows the VMware snapshot manager to see the VMware snapshot in its history. Rolling
back to the application-managed snapshot restores the virtual machine and its applications to a
known and viable state.
Requirements
• To use the Application Aware Snapshot Manager in VMware environments, the ESX servers
must be managed by VMware Virtual Center. The Application Aware Snapshot Manager must
be installed on the Virtual Center Server that manages the ESX servers which are connected
to the SAN/iQ volumes. The IP address of the Virtual Center Server must be configured as
the controlling server in the CMC for all ESX servers for which application-managed snapshots
are to be taken.
• The Application Aware Snapshot Manager only supports single-volume datastores. That is,
application-managed snapshots cannot be taken of volumes that are part of a datastore that
spans multiple volumes.
The Application Aware Snapshot Manager only supports single-volume datastores. That is,
application-managed snapshots cannot be taken of volumes that are part of a datastore that spans
multiple volumes.
Application Aware Snapshot Manager and Windows
The Application Aware Snapshot Manager quiesces applications and takes snapshots of single
volumes and Microsoft Windows Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV), or snapshot sets.
Application Aware Snapshot Manager and VMware 3