EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version

Transcription

1 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide P/N REV A01 EMC Corporation Corporate Headquarters: Hopkinton, MA

2 Copyright EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published April, 2011 EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice. THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS IS. EMC CORPORATION MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. For the most up-to-date regulatory document for your product line, go to the Technical Documentation and Advisories section on EMC Powerlink. For the most up-to-date listing of EMC product names, see EMC Corporation Trademarks on EMC.com. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. 2 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

3 Contents Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Introduction Understanding DiskXtender for Windows How to use this guide DiskXtender configuration overview Installation System requirements DiskXtender server requirements Extended drive requirements Storage device requirements Networking requirements Licensing Adding a license Basic installation Installation in a Microsoft cluster Number and type of cluster nodes Cluster system requirements Cluster failover model Licensing in a cluster Connecting users to the extended drive Pre-install steps in a cluster Running the cluster installation Configuration after installation Post-installation checklist Installation in an AutoStart domain Number and type of AutoStart nodes AutoStart system requirements AutoStart failover model Connecting users to the extended drive Pre-install steps for AutoStart Running the installation Configuration after installation Post-installation checklist Installation on VMware Number of virtual machines VMware clustering support EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide 3

4 Contents VMotion support VMware system requirements Pre-install steps for VMware Running the installation Installation on Hyper-V Number of virtual machines Clustering on Hyper-V Hyper-V system requirements Pre-install steps for Hyper-V Running the installation Installation with replication software Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Media Management EMC Centera Preparing the EMC Centera cluster Building the connection string Specifying EMC Centera media service options Creating EMC Centera media Deleting EMC Centera media Reclaiming deleted media space on EMC Centera Adding custom metadata to files on EMC Centera Performance tuning for EMC Centera Troubleshooting EMC Centera NAS Creating the shares for NAS media Adding a NAS media service Creating and managing NAS media Deleting NAS media Performance tuning for NAS Optical and tape Installing MediaStor and adding a library Setting up Sun StorageTek ACSLS Adding a MediaStor or ACSLS media service Managing removable media Performance tuning for removable media IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Installing TSM and adding a TSM media service Creating TSM media Deleting TSM media Performance tuning for TSM media Cloud media Adding the cloud media service Creating cloud media Removing cloud media from the system Performance tuning for cloud media Extended Drive Management Creating an extended drive Extended drive schedules Metadata exports Extended drive options Extended drive indexing settings Creating media folders EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

5 Contents Number of media folders Consider folder rename restrictions Consider filename length restrictions Background scans Background scan schedule Disabling background scans Tuning background scan speed Performing advanced or maintenance scans Virus scans Antivirus software interoperability Installing the virus scan client Configuring the virus scan Antivirus software filtering Chapter 5 Chapter 6 File Management Migrating files to media Developing a file migration strategy Setting up standard migration Setting up multi-target migration Setting up tiered migration Configuring media groups Configuring move rules Scheduling file migration Disabling file migration Retention Enabling retention Changing retention Deleting retained files Indexing files Enabling indexing Resynchronizing the index files and the extended drive Disabling indexing Purging files Recommended purge methods for different environments Combining purge methods in a mixed environment Enabling purging Controlling user access to purged files Fetching files from media Prefetching files from media Reading files directly from media Controlling third-party software access to purged files Deleting files Manually deleting files Automatically deleting files Recovering deleted files Monitoring DiskXtender Monitoring service events, errors, and warnings Monitoring file activity Monitoring media Media status indicators Media task queue Media group free space EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide 5

6 Contents Media logs Monitoring licensing Reports Audit logs Chapter 7 Appendix A Backup and Recovery Developing a backup strategy Backing up the extended drive Qualified backup software that is EA-aware Installing and configuring EA-aware backup software Configuring DiskXtender for EA-aware backup software Ensuring storage redundancy Copying removable media Replicating EMC Centera Backing up NAS Backing up TSM Backing up cloud media Multi-target migration Backing up the DiskXtender server Protecting against accidental deletion of files Recovering the system after a failure Special Environments High volume environments Defining a high volume environment Recommended settings for high volume environments User home directories Use recommended media types Assign necessary privileges to the service account Migrate only inactive files Purge only inactive files Avoid Direct Read Disable real-time moves Schedule media activities appropriately Index 6 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

7 Tables Title Page 1 Supported operating systems Minimum and recommended hardware requirements for DiskXtender Extended drive data requirements Supported CentraStar versions Supported DiskXtender environments for License Server Pre-install cluster configuration Supported VMware cluster models Best practices for EMC Centera media service options File system support by media type Status of media in the Available Media tree Media group options for removable media Service options for optical and tape media Recommended media group options for each media type Retention editing options Recommended environments for each purge method Available criteria for selecting files to purge Steps to enable purging File recovery requirements by media type Event Viewer icons for events, warnings, and errors Media status indicated by color Reports Recommended media protection methods Media fill methods EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide 7

8 Tables 8 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

9 Preface As part of an effort to improve and enhance the performance and capabilities of its product lines, EMC periodically releases revisions of its hardware and software. Therefore, some functions described in this document may not be supported by all versions of the software or hardware currently in use. For the most up-to-date information on product features, refer to your product release notes. If a product does not function properly or does not function as described in this document, please contact your EMC representative. Audience Related documentation Conventions used in this document This document is part of the EMC DiskXtender for Windows documentation set, and is intended for use by those who already have significant experience with and a thorough understanding of DiskXtender for Windows and the environments in which it is installed, such as EMC employees and partners. Readers of this guide are expected to be familiar with the following topics: DiskXtender installation and configuration Microsoft Windows network administration Storage media and hardware device management Related documents include: EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 SP2 Microsoft Windows Version Installation Guide EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 SP2 Microsoft Windows Version Administration Guide EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 SP2 Microsoft Windows Version API Reference Guide EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 SP2 Microsoft Windows Version Technical Product Overview EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 SP2 Microsoft Windows Version Release Notes EMC DiskXtender Search Module Release 2.0 Installation Guide EMC DiskXtender Search Module Release 2.0 Release Notes EMC uses the following conventions for special notices. Note: A note presents information that is important, but not hazard-related.! CAUTION A caution contains information essential to avoid data loss or damage to the system or equipment. EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide 9

10 Preface! IMPORTANT An important notice contains information essential to operation of the software. Typographical conventions EMC uses the following type style conventions in this document: Normal Bold Italic Courier Courier bold Used in running (nonprocedural) text for: Names of interface elements (such as names of windows, dialog boxes, buttons, fields, and menus) Names of resources, attributes, pools, Boolean expressions, buttons, DQL statements, keywords, clauses, environment variables, functions, utilities URLs, pathnames, filenames, directory names, computer names, filenames, links, groups, service keys, file systems, notifications Used in running (nonprocedural) text for: Names of commands, daemons, options, programs, processes, services, applications, utilities, kernels, notifications, system calls, man pages Used in procedures for: Names of interface elements (such as names of windows, dialog boxes, buttons, fields, and menus) What user specifically selects, clicks, presses, or types Used in all text (including procedures) for: Full titles of publications referenced in text Emphasis (for example a new term) Variables Used for: System output, such as an error message or script URLs, complete paths, filenames, prompts, and syntax when shown outside of running text Used for: Specific user input (such as commands) Courier italic Used in procedures for: Variables on command line User input variables < > Angle brackets enclose parameter or variable values supplied by the user [ ] Square brackets enclose optional values Vertical bar indicates alternate selections - the bar means or { } Braces indicate content that you must specify (that is, x or y or z)... Ellipses indicate nonessential information omitted from the example Where to get help EMC support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows. Product information For documentation, release notes, software updates, or for information about EMC products, licensing, and service, go to the EMC Powerlink website (registration required) at: Technical support- For technical support, go to Powerlink and choose Support. On the Support page, you will see several options, including one for making a service request. Note that to open a service request, you must have a valid support agreement. Please contact your EMC sales representative for details about obtaining a valid support agreement or with questions about your account. 10 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

11 Preface Your comments Your suggestions will help us continue to improve the accuracy, organization, and overall quality of the user publications. Please send your opinion of this document to: If you have issues, comments, or questions about specific information or procedures, please include the title and, if available, the part number, the revision (for example, A01), the page numbers, and any other details that will help us locate the subject you are addressing. EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide 11

12 Preface 12 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

13 1 Introduction The following topics provide an introduction to this best practices guide: Understanding DiskXtender for Windows How to use this guide DiskXtender configuration overview Introduction 13

14 Introduction Understanding DiskXtender for Windows EMC DiskXtender for Windows is an automated, policy-based file system archiving solution for long-term data retention. DiskXtender extends primary volumes by making them seem to have an unlimited amount of space. User data is automatically migrated from the local Windows NT File System (NTFS) volume to secondary storage based on system policies. However, the files still appear to be resident on the local volume. Users and applications can seamlessly recall the data from secondary storage when necessary for viewing or editing. For example, users on the network may typically save data to a drive on a Microsoft Windows file server. If the drive is an NTFS volume, you can use DiskXtender to move the files to media, such as an EMC Centera content addressable storage (CAS) system, tape in a library managed by DiskXtender MediaStor, or cloud media, without affecting the file listing as seen by the end user. When the users need to access the data again at a later time, they open the files normally and the files are recalled from media. The user is not aware of the retrieval process. 14 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

15 Introduction How to use this guide This guide is intended for those who already have significant experience with and a thorough understanding of DiskXtender for Windows and the environments in which it is installed. The content is intended to provide guidance on how to configure DiskXtender for Windows to maximize performance. The information is drawn from the DiskXtender for Windows installation and administration guides. However, this guide is not intended to replace those guides. Rather, it is a supplement, and it provides configuration highlights. The following types of information are available only in the installation and administration guides: Conceptual background information on product components and features Detailed explanations for different configuration strategies Step-by-step instructions to configure DiskXtender by using the File System Manager Administrator (GUI) interface Use this guide as a quick reference for the best practices to configure DiskXtender. The installation and administration guides provide in-depth details and explanations. To facilitate reference between the guides, the structure of the best practices guide deliberately follows the general structure of the installation and administration guides. How to use this guide 15

16 Introduction DiskXtender configuration overview To install and configure DiskXtender for Windows: 1. Ensure that the environment meets DiskXtender system requirements, which are discussed in System requirements on page Install DiskXtender by using the instructions in Chapter 2, Installation. 3. Connect DiskXtender to a storage device: To use an EMC Centera cluster, provide the connection information to DiskXtender and create virtual pieces of media that simulate divisions of the EMC Centera cluster. To use a share on a network-attached storage device, create the shares, and connect DiskXtender to the shares. Each share is considered an individual piece of media in DiskXtender. To use a storage device with removable media such as tape or optical, connect DiskXtender to the software managing the device (either MediaStor or Sun StorageTek ACSLS) and add media to the device. To use an IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) system to store DiskXtender files, install the TSM client on the DiskXtender server, connect DiskXtender to the TSM server, and then create virtual pieces of media that simulate divisions of the TSM server. To use cloud media to store DiskXtender files, configure cloud media as a media service. Private as well as public cloud networks can be configured as a media in DiskXtender. Chapter 3, Media Management, provides details on how to connect DiskXtender to one or more of these devices. 4. Identify the Microsoft Windows NTFS drives on the DiskXtender server that you want to extend by creating extended drives. Creating an extended drive on page 80 provides details 5. Identify or create the folders on the extended drive that will contain the files you want to move to storage by creating media folders. Creating media folders on page 82 provides details. 6. Configure file migration by specifying the criteria that files must meet before DiskXtender migrates them (move rules) and the media to which the files should be moved (media groups). Details on the available options for file migration are provided in Migrating files to media on page Configure file purging. You can automatically purge files from the extended drive in one of the following ways: Immediately after they are moved to storage. When extended drive space is low. Each night during the next background scan. Purging files on page 104 provides details. 8. (Optional) To index and search for files on the extended drive by using the DiskXtender Search Module, configure file indexing. Indexing files on page 97 provides details. 16 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

17 Introduction 9. (Optional) Enable the DiskXtender Recycler to protect against the accidental deletion of files from the extended drive. Manually deleting files on page 112 provides details on the Recycler. 10. (Optional) Configure automatic deletion of files by creating delete rules. Automatically deleting files on page 112 provides details. 11. Develop a comprehensive backup and recovery strategy for the DiskXtender system. Chapter 7, Backup and Recovery, provides guidance on the aspects of the DiskXtender system that must be protected, as well as best practices for the tools needed for backup and recovery. After you configure DiskXtender, monitor the system regularly by using the tools discussed in Chapter 6, Monitoring DiskXtender. DiskXtender configuration overview 17

18 Introduction 18 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

19 2 Installation The following topics provide best practices for installing DiskXtender for Windows: System requirements Licensing Basic installation Installation in a Microsoft cluster Installation in an AutoStart domain Installation on VMware Installation on Hyper-V Installation with replication software Installation 19

20 Installation System requirements The following topics list the system requirements to install DiskXtender for Windows: DiskXtender server requirements on page 20 Extended drive requirements on page 23 Storage device requirements on page 25 Networking requirements on page 29 DiskXtender server requirements Operating system requirements A DiskXtender server must meet the requirements listed in the following topics: Operating system requirements on page 20 Hardware requirements on page 23 DiskXtender and its components are supported on the operating systems listed in Table 1 on page 20. Table 1 Supported operating systems (page 1 of 2) Application Operating system File System Manager and MediaStor Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard (64-bit) with Service Pack 2 or R2 Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 Standard (64-bit) with Service Pack 2 or R2 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard /64-bit or R2 with Service Pack 1 Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit)) Microsoft Windows Vista (64-bit) (only for DiskXtender Client) File System Manager in a Microsoft clustering environment Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) with Service Pack 2 or R2 Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) with Service Pack 2 or R2 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition or R2 with Service Pack 1(64-bit) File System Manager on VMware Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard, Enterprise, or Small Business Edition (64-bit) with Service Pack 2 or R2 Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 Standard or Enterprise Edition (64-bit) with Service Pack 2 or R2 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard, Enterprise, or Small Business Edition, or R2 with Service Pack 1/(64-bit) File System Manager on VMware with Microsoft clustering Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) with Service Pack 2 or R2 Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) with Service Pack 2 or R2 File System Manager on Hyper-V Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 (x64) or Service Pack 2 or R2 with Service Pack 1 20 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

21 Installation Table 1 Supported operating systems (page 2 of 2) Application File System Manager on Hyper-V with Microsoft clustering Operating system Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 (x64) MediaStor Windows 2003 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 2 (x64) Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1, or R2 with Service Pack 1 (x64) Explorer Add-ons and Remote Administrators Windows 2003 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 2 (x64) Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1, or R2 with Service Pack 1 (x64) Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3 Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 Note: DiskXtender and its components are not supported in the following environments: on a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008, or on any version of the operating system for Itanium-based architectures. If the server on which you plan to install DiskXtender is not running one of the supported operating systems, upgrade the operating system before you install DiskXtender. If DiskXtender is already installed on a server with an operating system that is no longer supported, you must contact EMC Professional Services to assist with migrating the installation to a server with a supported operating system. The EMC DiskXtender Software Compatibility Guide, available on the Powerlink website, provides information on the latest Microsoft Windows operating system versions, service packs, and hot fixes certified for use with DiskXtender. Windows Server 2008 considerations Keep the following points in mind if you install DiskXtender on Windows Server 2008: If you install MediaStor on Windows Server 2008 as well as DiskXtender, then you must install two Microsoft hotfixes on both the DiskXtender server and the MediaStor server: The first hotfix is required to resolve a memory leak that occurs with Windows Server 2008 during an RPC client callback function, which is used when DiskXtender and MediaStor communicate to perform media management tasks. To obtain the hotfix, contact Microsoft Support and reference KB article The second hotfix is required to resolve a truncated registry entry that DiskXtender and MediaStor use to retrieve device type information. To obtain the hotfix, look up KB article the Microsoft website. Both hotfixes are also required if you use the StorageTek ACSLS media service. However, install them only on the DiskXtender server. The hotfixes should be incorporated in a future Windows Server 2008 service pack. Ensure that all other software necessary for the environment is supported on Windows Server System requirements 21

22 Installation If the User Account Control setting is enabled in Windows Server 2008, which is the default setting, then some operations cannot be completed for files on media that has been removed from a media group and then later restored. Specifically, you cannot change file attributes or delete files with the Read-Only attribute enabled. As a result, disabling the User Account Control setting is recommended. 22 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

23 Installation Hardware requirements Table 2 The servers on which you install File System Manager and MediaStor should meet the requirements listed in Table 2 on page 23. Minimum and recommended hardware requirements for DiskXtender Requirement Minimum Recommended Processor a 1.3 GHz 2.8 GHz Memory 1 GB 2 GB Free space on the system drive 200 MB 20% free Total size of the extended drive 100 MB 10 GB b a. DiskXtender is supported on x64 platforms running a supported version of the Windows operating system, including Intel and AMD x64 processors. Neither Itanium processors nor Windows operating systems for Itanium-based architectures are supported. b. The optimal size of the extended drive depends on the amount of data and expected growth. Extended drive requirements Number of extended drives Sizing extended drives DiskXtender extended drives should meet the following requirements. Each extended drive should be: Formatted as an NTFS volume. A local drive on the DiskXtender server. The drive must be directly attached to the server by using a block-level protocol such as SCSI or ATA, and it must be mapped as a local drive. Not the system drive or a drive where applications are running. Not a volume mount point. DiskXtender cannot fetch, move, delete, or purge files from a mount point. Not a network share that is attached to the DiskXtender server by using any network system protocol, including CIFS or NFS. Dedicated to files that are managed by DiskXtender. A minimum of 100 MB in size (10 GB or more is recommended), with sufficient space planned for future growth. The maximum size of an extended drive is 2 TB. A drive that contains (or will contain) no more than 20 million to 25 million files. If possible, a good rule of thumb for an appropriate number of extended drives is n 1, where n is the number of processor nodes. For example, a server with a four-node processor should manage only three extended drives. In environments where some of the extended drives are relatively inactive, a good rule of thumb is seven or fewer extended drives, where only three or fewer are active. Each extended drive must be at least 100 MB, and 10 GB or more is recommended. Larger extended drives generally yield faster user response time. This is because you can keep more file data on the drive, which improves the chance that any file requested is already on the drive. The maximum size of an extended drive is 2 TB. Determining the amount of space you need for files is subjective. Consider the following in your calculations: The current and expected file load The time span covered by the files on the server The quantity of data that is accessed frequently, and therefore should remain on the drive to ensure faster user response time System requirements 23

24 Installation The quantity of inactive data that can be moved to storage media and purged from the drive Note: Remember that purged files remain accessible through file tags on the extended drive. When a file has been migrated to a single piece of media, a file tag consumes between 0 bytes and 4 KB of disk space.when a file has been migrated to a single piece of media, then a file tag is likely to consume 1 KB of disk space. When a file has been migrated to multiple pieces of media through multi-target migration, then a file tag is likely to consume 4 KB of disk space. File overhead Note: In addition to the space used for file data, you must account for the file overhead required by the NTFS file system to store the attributes of each file. To calculate the total file overhead, multiply the total number of files by 1,500. For example, if there are 350,000 files on an extended drive, the amount of additional space those files consume is: 350,000 x 1,500 (bytes) = 525,000,000 bytes (or approximately 501 MB). Extended drive data requirements Table 3 DiskXtender supports a wide variety of file types. Because DiskXtender does not need to open a file in order to manage it, DiskXtender can manage most file types that can be saved on a Microsoft Windows NTFS volume. However, DiskXtender is designed to serve as an archiving tool for fixed or unstructured data. As a result, adherence to the guidelines in Table 3 on page 24 ensures optimal system performance. Extended drive data requirements File type Common file types used with DiskXtender Details Microsoft Office files (.doc,.ppt,.xls, and so on) Adobe Acrobat files (.pdf) Text files (.txt) HTML files (.htm or.html) XML files (.xml) ZIP archives (.zip) Image files, such as JPEGs (.jpg), TIFFs (.tif), bitmaps (.bmp), and GIFs (.gif) Macintosh files Personal Folder files (.pst) Note: The DiskXtender Search Module can index a majority of the common file types in this list. The DiskXtender Search Module installation guide provides a complete list of the file types that can be indexed. File and data types that are not recommended for use with DiskXtender Frequently accessed files, such as files or files in user home directories or temporary directories Data that is part of a database Application files 24 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

25 Installation International character support DiskXtender can manage files with Unicode characters in either the filename or the file data. However, characters may display incorrectly if the correct language code pages are not installed. Some applications used with DiskXtender do not provide the same level of international character support. The DiskXtender installation guide provides details. You should verify international character support statements for all applications installed on the DiskXtender server before you configure file migration. Path and filename length limitations The full path and filename for a file on the extended drive should total no more than 259 UTF-16 characters. DiskXtender does not prevent users from saving a file to the extended drive when the character count for the path and filename exceeds 259 characters. However, files with excessive path and filenames may not be migrated to media, depending on the type of media and the file system with which it is formatted. Storage device requirements EMC Centera Table 4 Ensure that the storage devices that you are planning to use with DiskXtender meet the requirements listed in the following topics. The EMC DiskXtender Software Compatibility Guide and the DiskXtender for Windows Supported Device List, both available on the Powerlink website, provide information on the latest versions of compatible hardware and software for use with DiskXtender. When you install DiskXtender, a compatible version of the EMC Centera SDK is also installed automatically on the DiskXtender server to facilitate communication between DiskXtender and an EMC Centera cluster. A supported version of the CentraStar operating system must be installed on the EMC Centera cluster. Table 4 on page 25 lists the supported CentraStar versions. Supported CentraStar versions If you are using this general CentraStar version Ensure that this specific CentraStar version is installed or later or later or later 3.2 or later Any version NAS DiskXtender considers Network Attached Storage (NAS) media to be any media available through a connection to a share on a network, including: A network share on a disk-based storage device, such as CLARiiON, Celerra, Symmetrix, EMC Isilon, EMC VNX/VNXe series or other RAID and NAS devices A shared folder on a server on the network A shared media folder on another DiskXtender extended drive Note: You cannot migrate files from a media folder on one extended drive to a location on the same extended drive. DiskXtender can connect to these shares by using network system protocols such as CIFS. System requirements 25

26 Installation Each DiskXtender installation can have only one NAS media service. However, you can create as many pieces of NAS media for that media service as you want, and each piece of media can write to a different share on a different device. Even if the NAS media service is writing to a single device, you should create several partitions and shares so that you can create multiple pieces of NAS media. NAS security requirements Only the DiskXtender service account should have full access to the share that corresponds to a piece of NAS media. No other user accounts or applications should have write access to the share. NAS share requirements The shares that will be identified as NAS media should meet the following requirements: The shares should not be located at the root of the storage device. Create shares for either folders or partitions on the device. The DiskXtender service account and any accounts required for backup purposes and only these accounts should have write access to the share. The shares should be visible over the network to the DiskXtender server. The absolute file path (in other words, the full file path on the device plus the file path of any files on the extended drive) must not exceed the maximum number of UTF-16 characters supported by both DiskXtender and the device. Note: You can create more than 256 pieces of NAS media in DiskXtender if you create that many shares. However, no more than 256 pieces of media can be online in DiskXtender at one time. You cannot write files to or read files from the media that DiskXtender does not set online at initialization. MediaStor The following topics provide details on the requirements to use the MediaStor media service with DiskXtender. File System Manager compatibility You can install MediaStor 6.5 to format media with OTG file system as well as media with UDF file system. DiskXtender architecture with MediaStor MediaStor must be installed on a Microsoft Windows server that is attached to the library or standalone drive you want to manage. MediaStor should be installed on a different server than DiskXtender to optimize system performance. The DiskXtender architecture with MediaStor is flexible. Consider the following possible environments: You can dedicate a MediaStor server with a single hardware device to a DiskXtender server. You can set up a single MediaStor server to manage multiple hardware devices that are all available to a single DiskXtender server. You can connect a single DiskXtender server to multiple MediaStor servers, each managing one or more hardware devices. Multiple DiskXtender servers can also connect to a single MediaStor server that manages one or multiple hardware devices. However, keep in mind the potential performance impact of sharing hardware devices among multiple DiskXtender installations. 26 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

27 Installation A single MediaStor installation must manage a hardware device. Multiple MediaStor installations cannot share a device, and the device cannot be shared with other non-diskxtender applications. You can use the MediaStor media service when DiskXtender is installed in a cluster. However, the MediaStor server must be outside the cluster. MediaStor device and media requirements The DiskXtender for Windows Supported Device List, available on the Powerlink website, contains a complete list of supported storage devices and adapters. The DiskXtender installation guide provides additional details on selecting the hardware to use with MediaStor. MediaStor supports the following removable media types: DVD-R DVD-RAM DVD-ROM Magneto-optical (MO) MO WORM Tape Tape WORM Ultra-density optical (UDO) UDO WORM DVD drive considerations Because different types of DVD media can be read and written in different types of DVD drives, you need to ensure that the hardware is configured to enable drives to perform the appropriate functions. Keep in mind the following considerations: If there are combo drives, different drive types, or both, all media must be readable in all library drives. For example, if a library contains both DVD-R and DVD-ROM drives, you cannot insert DVD-RAM media into the library because DVD-RAM media is not readable in DVD-ROM drives. All read/write library media must be both readable and writable in all read/write library drives. Unfinalized DVD-R media cannot be mounted in a read-only drive (a drive not configured to write to media). If you intend to update copies of media before the originals are finalized, you must have at least two write drives in the system: one drive for the copy and one for the unfinalized original. This is not an issue if you plan to only update the copy after the original is finalized. If the library contains both a read drive and a write drive, you must ensure that the drives are on separate buses, according to typical manufacturer s instructions. Carefully follow all manufacturer recommendations for hardware before you configure hardware in a DiskXtender system. System requirements 27

28 Installation UDO drive considerations DiskXtender supports both UDO1 and UDO2 media and hardware. You can install UDO1, UDO2, and MO drives in a UDO library. When you add such a library to the MediaStor configuration, select UDO2 as the drive type for the library. This enables you to use UDO1, UDO2, and MO media in the library. If you select UDO1 as the drive type for the library, then you can only use UDO1 and MO media in the library. If you select MO as the drive type for the library, you can only use MO media in the library. In a UDO library with mixed drives, you can only read from and write to MO media by using MO drives. Similarly, you can only read from and write to UDO1 media by using UDO1 drives. A UDO2 drive can read UDO1 and UDO2 media and write to UDO2 media. However, a UDO2 drive cannot write to UDO1 media. If you insert UDO1 media into a UDO library that has only UDO2 drives, then the media is inventoried as read-only media. If you later add a UDO1 drive to the library to enable writes to UDO1 media, you must reinventory the media to reset the UDO1 media to read/write status. IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Sun StorageTek ACSLS To use TSM as a media service, the TSM server must be running version 5.4, 5.5, or on either the Microsoft Windows or IBM AIX operating system. In addition, you must install and configure version 5.5 or of the TSM Backup/Archive Client on the DiskXtender server. (TSM is required for Windows Server 2008.) Installing TSM and adding a TSM media service on page 74 provides details. To use a Sun StorageTek ACSLS installation as a media service, version 7.3 must be installed on the ACSLS server. In addition, you must install LibAttach on the DiskXtender server. Use a SCSI cable to connect the DiskXtender server to one or more drives in the Sun StorageTek tape library. If the operating system on the DiskXtender server is Windows Server 2008, perform the following additional steps: Make an exception in the Windows firewall to enable LibAttach to communicate properly with the ACSLS server. The LibAttach and Windows Server 2008 Firewall Configuration document, available on the Sun website at provides instructions on how to add LibAttach as an exception program for the Windows firewall. Install two Microsoft hotfixes on the DiskXtender server: The first hotfix is required to resolve a memory leak that occurs with Windows Server 2008 during an RPC client callback function, which is used when DiskXtender and MediaStor communicate to perform media management tasks. To obtain the hotfix, contact Microsoft Support and reference KB article The second hotfix is required to resolve a truncated registry entry that DiskXtender and MediaStor use to retrieve device type information. To obtain the hotfix, look up KB article the Microsoft website. Both hotfixes should be incorporated in a future Windows Server 2008 service pack. 28 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

29 Installation Networking requirements Install all DiskXtender components to the same domain for ease of administration and performance. Do not install DiskXtender on a domain controller. However, ensure that the domain controller is running normally and is available on the network to ensure proper DiskXtender functioning. DiskXtender is supported in a Microsoft Windows Distributed File System (DFS) environment. However, DiskXtender manages only the files that are physically located on the server where it is installed. It does not manage files on other servers that are connected to it by DFS links. The DiskXtender installation guide provides details. System requirements 29

30 Installation Licensing DiskXtender licensing is capacity-based. A capacity-based license specifies the number of DiskXtender servers allowed, as well as the quantity of extended drive data that DiskXtender can manage. If you are installing DiskXtender in a Microsoft clustering environment or AutoStart domain, the license must account for each active File System Manager installation, and it must also be cluster-enabled. Additional licensing details are available in the DiskXtender installation guide. License Server Table 5 DiskXtender licenses are managed by the Xtender Solutions License Server product. The computer on which you install License Server depends on the environment: If License Server must manage only a DiskXtender license for a single DiskXtender installation, then it can be safely installed on the DiskXtender server without a significant impact on performance. If License Server must manage a DiskXtender license for multiple DiskXtender installations, then you may want to install it on a separate computer that is accessible to all of the DiskXtender servers. If License Server must manage licenses for both DiskXtender and multiple ApplicationXtender clients, then it should be installed on a separate computer to avoid an impact on DiskXtender server performance. The computer on which you install License Server determines the release of License Server that you need: If you plan to install License Server on a DiskXtender 6.5 SP 2 server, then use License Server 6.5 SP 2. If you plan to install License Server on a separate machine from DiskXtender, then the operating system on the machine determines the necessary License Server release. For a 32-bit operating system, use a 32-bit release of the License Server. For a 64-bit operating system, use a 64-bit release of the License Server. Either a 32-bit release of the License Server on a 32-bit operating system or a 64-bit release of the License Server on a 64-bit operating system can license DiskXtender. Table 5 on page 30 provides details on supported environments. Supported DiskXtender environments for License Server License Server release Supported DiskXtender environments License Server 6.5 SP2 supports the following 64-bit operating systems: 6.5 SP2 One or more DiskXtender 6.5 SP2 (64-bit) servers Microsoft Windows 2003 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 2 (x64) Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1, or R2 with Service Pack 1 (x64) The minimum system requirements for these operating systems are sufficient to run License Server. The License Server computer must belong to the same domain as all other DiskXtender servers. 30 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

31 Installation Before you install License Server, create a service account for License Server. The account should have access to the network and be a local administrator on the License Server computer. The necessary files to install License Server are available on the DiskXtender installation CD. A wizard leads you through the steps to install License Server. Evaluation licensing When you install File System Manager, you are prompted to select whether you are installing a licensed version or a 30-day evaluation version. If you choose a 30-day evaluation license, you must set up a license and point the program to the License Server before the 30 days expire, or the functionality of the product is disabled. Adding a license To obtain a product license and add the license for DiskXtender to use: 1. Determine the machine ID number for the License Server computer by opening the General tab of the Service Properties dialog box in the License Server Administrator after you install License Server. The machine ID is required to generate a product license. 2. Use the License Management process available on the Powerlink website, or contact the EMC Licensing Support team at licensing@emc.com. If you receive DiskXtender product license information in the form of a file with a.lic extension, you have a license file. If you receive DiskXtender product license information in the form of a series of numbers and letters, you have a license key. 3. Use the New License Wizard in the License Server Administrator to add the license file or key to License Server. To start the New License Wizard, open the Tools menu in the License Server Administrator, and select New License Wizard. 4. Connect DiskXtender to License Server: a. If License Server is installed on a different computer than DiskXtender, give the necessary user accounts the required privileges on the License Server computer: Add the DiskXtender service account to the local Administrators group on the License Server computer. If you log in to the DiskXtender server by using an account other than the DiskXtender service account, add the account to the local Administrators group on the License Server computer. b. Use the Edit product license information option on the DiskXtender setup wizard to point DiskXtender to the License Server installation with the license. Licensing 31

32 Installation Basic installation To install DiskXtender: 1. Ensure that the environment meets or exceeds the requirements listed in System requirements on page Check the Powerlink website for updates to the release notes for this release. Review the release notes. 3. Create a service account and log on to the server with the account. The service account must meet the following requirements: Be a member of the Administrators group on the server (File System Manager only) Have privileges on the extended drive Have the Log on as a service right Note: It might be necessary to assign the Act as part of operating system right to the service account if the service fails to log on to the server after the installation. 4. (Optional) Obtain a product license as discussed in Adding a license on page Run the DiskXtender setup wizard and select the Install new product option. You can install DiskXtender to multiple servers at the same time if you select the servers on the Target Computers page of the wizard. 6. Check the Powerlink website for any patches to this release. Download the patches and install them, if necessary, by using the instructions in the patch documentation. 32 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

33 Installation Installation in a Microsoft cluster You can install DiskXtender in a Microsoft clustering environment to maximize DiskXtender availability in a nonstop business environment. Before you install DiskXtender in a Microsoft clustering environment, consider the following best practices: Number and type of cluster nodes on page 33 Cluster system requirements on page 34 Cluster failover model on page 34 Licensing in a cluster on page 34 Connecting users to the extended drive on page 34 Pre-install steps in a cluster on page 35 Running the cluster installation on page 35 Configuration after installation on page 36 Post-installation checklist on page 36 Number and type of cluster nodes As you plan a DiskXtender installation in a cluster, you must answer the following questions about the number of cluster nodes and the type of DiskXtender installation on each node: How many nodes should be in the cluster? How many nodes should have an active DiskXtender installation (active nodes)? How many nodes should have a passive DiskXtender installation (passive nodes)? You can install DiskXtender in a cluster with as many as eight nodes. The DiskXtender installation guide lists the supported cluster models of active and passive DiskXtender installations. To determine the number of active and passive DiskXtender installations to include in the cluster, consider how many active DiskXtender installations are necessary. Each active DiskXtender installation has at least one extended drive. Anticipate the workload of each active DiskXtender installation and evaluate your tolerance for decreased system performance in the event of a failover. If you anticipate a light workload for each installation and few situations requiring a failover, a cluster with more active nodes might be more appropriate. In this case, an active node should be able to handle the workload of another active node (in addition to its own) if a failover occurs, with a tolerable impact to system performance. If you anticipate a heavy workload, however, consider dedicating a passive node for each active node. This ensures a minimal impact to system performance in the event of a failover, because the passive node would need to handle only the workload of the failed node. You should also consider any additional workload on cluster nodes for other applications. As with a standalone DiskXtender installation (outside a cluster), a dedicated server is recommended for each DiskXtender installation in a cluster. In addition, as a best practice, you may want to dedicate the entire cluster environment to DiskXtender. Maintain the high availability of other critical applications by dedicating a cluster to each application. Installation in a Microsoft cluster 33

34 Installation Cluster system requirements Ensure that the cluster meets (or preferably exceeds) DiskXtender requirements for operating in a cluster. These requirements include the hardware, operating system, and media services. Hardware and operating system requirements are listed in DiskXtender server requirements on page 20. All media services except for Sun StorageTek ACSLS are supported in a cluster. However, MediaStor must be installed outside the cluster. Cluster failover model If all of the DiskXtender installations in the cluster are active, decide whether you want to fail over an entire DiskXtender installation at once, or if you want the ability to manually fail over a single extended drive. Failing over a single extended drive might improve system performance when all of the extended drives for a DiskXtender installation on one node are receiving numerous file requests, but the DiskXtender installation on another node is less active. By moving one or more extended drives to another node in the cluster, the file requests are spread out and the system can respond more efficiently. This functionality is only available if all of the DiskXtender installations in the cluster are active. You cannot fail over an extended drive to a passive node. Licensing in a cluster When you obtain a license for a DiskXtender installation in a cluster, ensure that the license is cluster-enabled and that the license accounts for each active DiskXtender installation in the cluster. In addition, decide whether to manage the DiskXtender license from within the cluster or on a server outside the cluster. When installed in the cluster, License Server runs actively on one node in the cluster. It can then fail over to one of the other nodes in the environment. In other words, License Server runs in active/passive mode in a cluster. You can assign the License Server cluster resources to the same virtual server group as the DiskXtender resources. This enables License Server to fail over to another node in the cluster at the same time as DiskXtender. Alternatively, you can create a separate virtual server for the License Server cluster resources. This virtual server could fail over separately from DiskXtender, if necessary, or it could fail over at the same time, if the node with both virtual servers fails. Note: License Server runs active/passive even if DiskXtender is running active/active. This is true regardless of whether License Server resources are assigned to the DiskXtender virtual server. Connecting users to the extended drive Users and applications that access the extended drives can connect to shares on the drives by using the virtual server name (or virtual server IP address), and not the Windows computer name of the node on which the virtual server is hosted. If you create shares for the extended drive, associate the shares with File Share resources in the Cluster Administrator. 34 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

35 Installation Pre-install steps in a cluster Table 6 Before you install DiskXtender in a Microsoft cluster, use the Cluster Administrator to configure the items in Table 6 on page 35. Pre-install cluster configuration Cluster configuration DiskXtender virtual server Extended drive virtual server Physical Disk resources File Share resource Details Create a virtual server for the DiskXtender service on each cluster node that will have an active DiskXtender installation. Ensure that the virtual server is assigned to its primary owner node. Do not create a virtual server on nodes that will have a passive DiskXtender installation. If you want the ability to manually fail over a single extended drive, create a separate virtual server for the extended drive on the preferred owner node for the drive. Ensure that the virtual server is assigned to its primary owner node. If there are multiple extended drives, you can create a virtual server for each extended drive, or group extended drives together in one or more virtual servers. On each cluster node that will have an active DiskXtender installation, move the shared Physical Disk resources for the extended drives to the appropriate virtual server group: If you want all extended drives to fail over with the DiskXtender service, move the Physical Disk resources to the DiskXtender virtual server group. If you want the ability to manually fail over a single extended drive, move the Physical Disk resource for that drive into the virtual server group that you created for the drive. Verify that each Physical Disk resource has all necessary cluster nodes listed as Possible Owners. If you set up a file share for users to access an extended drive, create a File Share resource for the share to enable the share to remain accessible when a failover occurs. The File Share resource should belong to the virtual server group that contains the Physical Disk resource for the drive associated with the file share (either the DiskXtender virtual server group or the extended drive virtual server group). Running the cluster installation When you run the setup wizard to install DiskXtender in a cluster, you only have to run the wizard once. The wizard enables you to install to multiple servers (cluster nodes) at the same time. When you select the nodes on which to install DiskXtender, it is important to understand whether you want an active or passive DiskXtender installation on the node: For active installations, you select the DiskXtender virtual server name in the wizard. This is the name of the virtual server that you created in the Cluster Administrator. For passive installations, you select the Windows computer name for the node. To determine the Windows computer name, right-click My Computer on the Windows desktop, and select Properties. The computer name is listed on the Computer Name tab of the System Properties dialog box. When you install License Server in a cluster, a License Server Service resource is created in the default cluster group. Move the License Server Service resource out of the default cluster group to follow Microsoft best practices: To fail over License Server with DiskXtender, move the resource to the DiskXtender virtual server group. To fail over License Server separately from DiskXtender, create a new virtual server and move the resource to the new virtual server group. Installation in a Microsoft cluster 35

36 Installation Configuration after installation In general, DiskXtender configuration in a cluster is the same as it is outside a cluster. Keep in mind the following points: When you create an extended drive in the File System Manager Administrator, select the drive associated with the Physical Disk resource in the Cluster Administrator. The Physical Disk resource for the drive should be assigned to a virtual server group. After you create the extended drive, a DiskXtender Disk resource is automatically created in the same virtual server group as the associated Physical Disk resource. The DiskXtender Disk resource is named ExtendedDrive-VSName, where VSName is the name of the virtual server to which it is assigned. Only one DiskXtender Disk resource is created in each virtual server group, regardless of the number of extended drives (Physical Disk resources) assigned to the group. If there are two or more active DiskXtender installations in the cluster, use caution when you develop media naming conventions. The media names associated with the DiskXtender installation on each cluster node should be unique. This enables you to easily identify media from each node when DiskXtender is running on a standby node. To use TSM as a media service, there are additional configuration steps to set up the media service. The DiskXtender administration guide provides instructions. Post-installation checklist To verify that the DiskXtender installation in a cluster is successful, ensure that the appropriate cluster resources have been created in the correct virtual server groups, and then initiate a failover of each virtual server by using the Cluster Administrator. The following resources should be in the DiskXtender virtual server group: IP Address and Network Name resources for the virtual server A Physical Disk resource for the extended drive An extended drive (DiskXtender Disk) resource A File Share resource for the share on the extended drive Note: This resource is optional, depending on whether you set up a share for users to access the extended drive. The DiskXtender Service resource If you assign the Physical Disk resource for the extended drive to a different virtual server than the DiskXtender Service resource, then the extended drive virtual server group contains all of the resources except for the DiskXtender Service resource. The License Server Service resource is listed as well if you move it to the virtual server group. 36 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

37 Installation Installation in an AutoStart domain You can install DiskXtender in an AutoStart domain to maximize DiskXtender availability in a nonstop business environment. Before you install DiskXtender in an AutoStart domain, consider the following best practices: Number and type of AutoStart nodes on page 37 AutoStart system requirements on page 37 AutoStart failover model on page 37 Connecting users to the extended drive on page 38 Pre-install steps for AutoStart on page 38 Running the installation on page 39 Configuration after installation on page 39 Post-installation checklist on page 39 Number and type of AutoStart nodes There is no limit to the number of AutoStart nodes on which you can install DiskXtender in an AutoStart domain. The number of DiskXtender nodes is limited only by the node requirements of the domain itself. The AutoStart documentation provides details on the number of nodes supported in a domain. There must be an active DiskXtender installation (service) on each node. AutoStart system requirements Ensure that the environment meets (or preferably exceeds) DiskXtender requirements, which include the hardware, operating system, media services, and licensing. Hardware and operating system requirements are listed in DiskXtender server requirements on page 20. However, the hardware must also meet documented AutoStart requirements. If the hardware includes a Symmetrix device, then Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF ) can be used to mirror an extended drive from one AutoStart node to another. You can also use PowerPath to provide automatic failover and dynamic multipath load balancing for the I/O components that connect a DiskXtender server and the PowerPath supported device it uses as an extended drive. The EMC Centera and NAS media services are supported in an AutoStart domain. The DiskXtender license in an AutoStart domain must be cluster-enabled and must account for the total number of AutoStart nodes with an active DiskXtender installation. You must install License Server on a server outside the AutoStart domain. AutoStart failover model Decide whether you want to fail over an entire DiskXtender installation at once, or if you want the ability to manually fail over a single extended drive. Failing over a single extended drive might improve system performance when all of the extended drives for a DiskXtender installation on one node are receiving numerous file requests, but the DiskXtender installation on another node is less active. By moving one or more extended drives to another node in the cluster, the file requests are spread out and the system can respond more efficiently. Installation in an AutoStart domain 37

38 Installation Connecting users to the extended drive Users and applications that access the extended drives can connect to shares on the drives. The file share includes an AutoStart node alias (\\NodeAlias\DriveLetter\...), and not the Windows computer name of the node. Pre-install steps for AutoStart Perform the following steps to prepare the AutoStart environment before you install DiskXtender: 1. Prepare the AutoStart domain by installing AutoStart and (optionally) SRDF and PowerPath. 2. Open the AutoStart Console and add data sources for each extended drive. 3. Run the enabler wizard (AutoStartDx62Enabler.exe) to copy the required support files to each node in the AutoStart domain. 4. Run the configuration wizard (AsDxWizard.exe) to add a DiskXtender service resource group for each node. The service resource group contains a process that monitors the DiskXtender service. If the process detects that the service has stopped, it will go into a failed state, triggering a restart of the resource group. 5. Run the configuration wizard again to add resource groups for the drives you want to extend through DiskXtender. If you want all of the drives on a node to fail over together, create one extended drive resource group. If you want each drive to fail over separately, create one extended drive resource group for each extended drive. You can either create new resource groups or use existing resource groups for the extended drive resource groups. Each extended drive resource group contains the AutoStart data source resources for the drives you want to extend and manage with the group, as well as the following processes: A process that monitors DiskXtender registry changes. When a change occurs, the process exports the registry to a file on the extended drive. The file is then used during a failover to update the registry on the receiving node. A process that prevents the resource group from coming online until the registry import is complete. Processes that notify the DiskXtender service to set the resources in the group online or offline as necessary. 6. In the AutoStart Console, type the login information for the ResourceGroupName_Start and ResourceGroupName_Stop utility processes. Note: The MonServ and RegMon2_64 processes and the RegCheck_64 utility process do not require entry of login credentials. The accounts must belong to the local Administrators group on each node in the Microsoft Windows domain. In addition, the accounts for the Start and Stop utility processes must belong to the DxAdministrators group. 38 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

39 Installation 7. (Optional) If you are configuring the system in a wide area network environment and you used a Node Group Separator to separate the nodes at one site from the nodes at another site in the list of available nodes for an extended drive resource group, select the Auto Node Group Failover option for the group. This option enables a resource group to automatically fail over "across" the Node Group Separator to the first listed node from the different site. 8. Verify that each node alias, data source, and resource group is online and allocated to its preferred owner node. Running the installation When you run the setup wizard to install DiskXtender in an AutoStart domain, you only have to run the wizard once. The wizard enables you to install to multiple servers (AutoStart nodes) at the same time. When you select the nodes on which to install DiskXtender, select or add only the node aliases for the DiskXtender service resource groups. Configuration after installation In general, DiskXtender configuration in an AutoStart domain is the same as it is outside an AutoStart domain. Keep in mind the following points: When you create an extended drive in the File System Manager Administrator, select the drive that is associated with the AutoStart data sources that you created. Use caution when you develop media naming conventions. The media names associated with the DiskXtender installation on each node should be unique. This enables you to easily identify media from each node when DiskXtender is running on another node. Even though you configure EMC Centera media auto-creation when you create the media groups, the media is not created until you set the extended drive resource group online in the AutoStart Console. As you configure the extended drives, media services, and media in DiskXtender, the AutoStart configuration is updated. This enables AutoStart to begin to monitor the system accordingly. Post-installation checklist Review the following checklist after the installation is complete to ensure that all necessary items have been configured in the AutoStart Console: Isolation settings (Optional but recommended) Requires addition of isolation IP addresses for gateway addresses or a router that is accessible to all nodes in the AutoStart domain Resource groups DiskXtender service resource groups (one for each node in the domain) Created with the configuration wizard Contains the following resources: IP address (if an IP address was specified through the wizard) Node alias MonServ process (named ResourceGroupName_MonServ) Requires no additional configuration Installation in an AutoStart domain 39

40 Installation Extended drive resource groups (at least one for each node; can also be one for each extended drive, or one containing several extended drives) Created with the configuration wizard Contains the following resources: IP address (if an IP address was specified through the wizard) Node alias Data sources for each extended drive 30-second delay RegMon2_64 process (named ResourceGroupName_RegMon2_64) RegCheck_64 utility process (named ResourceGroupName_RegCheck_64) Start utility process (named ResourceGroupName_Start) Stop utility process (named ResourceGroupName_Stop) (Optional) Selection of the Auto Node Group Failover checkbox on the Options tab Processes ResourceGroupName_RegMon2_64 (one for each extended drive resource group) Created automatically when creating an extended drive resource group with the configuration wizard Contains additional environmental variables for changing optional configuration settings ResourceGroupName_MonServ (one for each DiskXtender service resource group) Created automatically when creating a DiskXtender service resource group with the configuration wizard Node aliases One for each DiskXtender service resource group Specified when the group is created with the configuration wizard One for each extended drive resource group Specified when the group is created with the configuration wizard Data sources One data source for each extended drive (either a Shared Disk Device for Windows data source or an EMC SRDF Mirroring data source) Must be created manually before the resource groups are created IP addresses (Optional but recommended) One for each service resource group Utility processes ResourceGroupName_RegCheck_64 (one for each extended drive resource group) Created automatically when creating an extended drive resource group with the configuration wizard ResourceGroupName_Start (one for each extended drive resource group) Created automatically when creating an extended drive resource group with the configuration wizard Requires entry of login credentials ResourceGroupName_Stop (one for each extended drive resource group) Created automatically when creating an extended drive resource group with the configuration wizard Requires entry of login credentials 40 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

41 Installation Installation on VMware You can install DiskXtender File System Manager on a VMware ESX Server. VMware enables you to create multiple virtual machines to maximize and consolidate your current hardware and enhance security. Virtual machines are completely isolated from the host server and from other virtual machines. If a virtual machine crashes, all others are unaffected. Before you install DiskXtender in a VMware environment, consider the following best practices: Number of virtual machines on page 41 VMware clustering support on page 41 VMware system requirements on page 42 Pre-install steps for VMware on page 42 Running the installation on page 42 Number of virtual machines You can install File System Manager on as many as four virtual machines running on a single VMware ESX Server. Each File System Manager installation should manage no more than four extended drives, for a total of 16 extended drives managed on one VMware server. Otherwise, performance problems may occur. VMware clustering support Table 7 You can install File System Manager on VMware virtual machines that are clustered with Microsoft clustering. VMware supports cluster environments of as many as two nodes. DiskXtender can run actively on both nodes (active/active), or it can run actively on one node and passively on another (active/passive). DiskXtender supports the VMware cluster models listed in Table 7 on page 41. Supported VMware cluster models Cluster model Cluster in a box Cluster across boxes Mixed cluster Description The clustered VMware virtual machines run on the same VMware ESX Server. The clustered VMware virtual machines run on two different VMware ESX Servers. The cluster contains one VMware virtual machine and one physical server that is not a VMware server. DiskXtender can run active/active or active/passive regardless of the cluster configuration. If DiskXtender is running active/passive, then the active installation can be on either a virtual machine or on a physical server. Regardless of the cluster configuration, each DiskXtender installation should manage no more than three extended drives, for a total of six extended drives shared by the cluster. Otherwise, performance problems may occur. VMotion support You can install DiskXtender 6.4 in a VMware environment that includes VMotion. VMotion moves live, running virtual machines including virtual machines with a DiskXtender installation from one host to another while maintaining continuous service availability. When this move happens, users continue to access files by using the same virtual machine name. The DiskXtender and VMware environment should not include Microsoft clustering. VMotion does not currently support migration of applications clustered using Microsoft clustering. Installation on VMware 41

42 Installation VMware system requirements Consult a VMware representative for assistance in determining the appropriate specifications for the VMware server to ensure an acceptable level of performance and reliability based on the expected workload. Each VMware virtual machine must meet or exceed the minimum hardware and operating system requirements listed for a DiskXtender server in DiskXtender server requirements on page 20. All media services except for the Sun StorageTek ACSLS media service are supported with VMware. However, MediaStor must be installed on a separate, non-vmware server. Pre-install steps for VMware Perform the following steps to prepare the VMware environment before you install DiskXtender: 1. Install VMware on the server before you install any other applications. The VMware install eliminates any other applications or data. The VMware ESX Server documentation, available on the VMware website, provides detailed information. 2. Configure the virtual machines: For a basic installation, use the instructions in the main VMware documentation. For a cluster installation, use the instructions in the VMware Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service document, available on the VMware website, to prepare the virtual machines and set up the cluster. You should also prepare the cluster for DiskXtender by using the instructions in the DiskXtender installation guide. 3. (Optional) Configure VMotion by using the instructions in the VMware documentation. Running the installation When you run the setup wizard to install DiskXtender in a VMware environment, you only have to run the wizard once. The wizard enables you to install to multiple virtual machines at the same time. When you run the setup wizard for a basic installation, select the virtual machine(s) as the target computers for installation on the Target Computers page of the wizard. When you run the setup wizard for a cluster installation, select the cluster virtual server name for an active DiskXtender installation and the Windows computer name for a passive installation, just as you would with a non-vmware cluster installation. Running the cluster installation on page 35 provides details. 42 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

43 Installation Installation on Hyper-V You can install DiskXtender and License Server on a virtual machine in a Hyper-V virtualization environment. Hyper-V enables the creation of a virtualized server computing environment on a server that uses the Windows Server 2008 operating system. Before you install DiskXtender in a Hyper-V environment, consider the following best practices: Number of virtual machines on page 43 Hyper-V system requirements on page 43 Pre-install steps for Hyper-V on page 43 Running the installation on page 43 Number of virtual machines You can install DiskXtender or License Server on one virtual machine per host (physical) server. The virtual machine should meet or exceed the minimum requirements listed in the DiskXtender installation guide. There is no limit to the number of extended drives that DiskXtender on the virtual machine can manage in a Hyper-V environment, aside from general DiskXtender guidelines. Clustering on Hyper-V You can install DiskXtender or License Server on a cluster in a Hyper-V environment. Hyper-V system requirements DiskXtender and License Server are supported on either Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition with Hyper-V enabled or on a dedicated Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 machine. The virtual machines that run on a Hyper-V server can run on other Windows operating systems that DiskXtender and License Server support, including 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server Each virtual machine must meet or exceed the minimum hardware and operating system requirements listed for a DiskXtender server in DiskXtender server requirements on page 20. All media services except for the Sun StorageTek ACSLS media service are supported with VMware. However, MediaStor must be installed on a separate, non-vmware server. Pre-install steps for Hyper-V Perform the following steps to prepare the Hyper-V environment before you install DiskXtender: 1. Prepare the Hyper-V environment by either installing Hyper-V or enabling the Hyper-V role on the server. The Microsoft Hyper-V documentation provides detailed information. 2. Configure the virtual machines by using the instructions in the Hyper-V documentation. Running the installation When you run the setup wizard to install DiskXtender or License Server, select the virtual machine as the target computer for installation on the Target Computers page of the wizard. Installation on Hyper-V 43

44 Installation Installation with replication software You can replicate files on the DiskXtender extended drive from one server to another by using EMC replication products. RepliStor can replicate files on a Windows server, MirrorView replicates files on a CLARiiON device, and SRDF replicates files on a Symmetrix device. Before you install DiskXtender in a RepliStor environment, consider the following best practices: Ensure that the environment meets (or preferably exceeds) DiskXtender requirements, which include the hardware, operating system, media services, and licensing: Hardware and operating system requirements are listed in DiskXtender server requirements on page 20. However, the hardware must also meet documented RepliStor requirements. All DiskXtender media services are supported in a DiskXtender environment with RepliStor. Because DiskXtender is installed on two servers, the DiskXtender license must be enabled for two DiskXtender servers. On the source system, exclude the DiskXtender file migration process from replication. This prevents RepliStor from sending useless attribute changes (made as a result of DiskXtender file migration, purging, and fetching) to the target. If antivirus software is running on the source system, exclude it from replication. This prevents RepliStor from sending useless attribute changes (made as a result of the virus scan) to the target. On the Advanced tab of the Options dialog box in RepliStor, leave the Replicate DX Stub Files checkbox clear. On the source system, add a Global Exclude specification for the DxLogs directory on each DiskXtender extended drive. This prevents the directory from being replicated to an extended drive on the target system. If the DxLogs directory is replicated, it might overwrite active work lists in the directory on the target system. On the target system, add DiskXtender as an exception process. This enables DiskXtender to have the necessary read and write access to migrate and fetch files. If you are setting retention on files that are being replicated with RepliStor, then enable Copy-on-Close. This enables RepliStor to replicate files as temporary files and then rename them to the correct filename after they are closed. By using Copy-on-Close replication with RepliStor, DiskXtender does not set retention on the files until after they have been completely and successfully replicated. Set up a synchronization schedule. The RepliStor documentation provides instructions. To install and configure DiskXtender with MirrorView or SRDF, contact EMC Professional Services. To install and configure DiskXtender and ApplicationXtender with RepliStor, consult the best practices that are provided in the ApplicationXtender documentation. 44 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

45 3 Media Management The following topics provide best practices for managing media with DiskXtender for Windows: EMC Centera NAS Optical and tape IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Cloud media Media Management 45

46 Media Management EMC Centera You can migrate files on a DiskXtender extended drive to an EMC Centera cluster. Consider the following best practices: Preparing the EMC Centera cluster on page 46 Building the connection string on page 46 Specifying EMC Centera media service options on page 47 Creating EMC Centera media on page 48 Deleting EMC Centera media on page 51 Reclaiming deleted media space on EMC Centera on page 51 Adding custom metadata to files on EMC Centera on page 51 Performance tuning for EMC Centera on page 52 Troubleshooting EMC Centera on page 54 Preparing the EMC Centera cluster Work with an EMC Centera technical representative to install and configure the EMC Centera cluster before you attempt to connect DiskXtender to the cluster. Consider the following best practices: Create one or more virtual pools to segregate data you write to EMC Centera through DiskXtender. Create one or more access profiles to provide access to the pools. The profile must have the Write, Read, Delete, and Query capabilities. To allow privileged deletes of retained files, the profile should also have the Privileged Delete right. This step should result in a.pea file. Copy the file to a location on the DiskXtender server. You specify the.pea file when you add the media service. (Optional) To use retention classes, have an EMC Centera administrator configure them for you. If you enable replication of data between EMC Centera clusters, determine whether to use unidirectional or bidirectional replication. In addition, decide whether to configure deletion of files from both the source cluster and all target clusters (delete propagation). Consult an EMC Centera representative to determine the appropriate replication strategy for the environment. Building the connection string When you create an EMC Centera media service in DiskXtender, you specify the connection string that the EMC Centera SDK uses to enable DiskXtender to connect to an EMC Centera cluster. The connection string includes information about the EMC Centera access nodes, as well as the access profile that should be used for the DiskXtender connection. To build the connection string for a single EMC Centera media service: 1. Collect the IP addresses for all access nodes on the primary EMC Centera cluster to which DiskXtender should write files.! IMPORTANT If EMC Centera replication is configured in the environment, do not include the IP addresses for the access nodes on the target cluster. 46 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

47 Media Management 2. Configure node name aliases for the access nodes. To configure node name aliases, add the appropriate entries for the access nodes to a common DNS server. If you do not have access to the DNS server, edit the local HOSTS file on the DiskXtender server to include the access node aliases. Note: The connection string for a media service is limited to 512 characters. Keep this limit in mind when you define node name aliases. The aliases should be kept to a reasonable length. Otherwise, you may not be able to specify a sufficient number of access nodes on the connection string to enable reliable connections in the event of a node failure. 3. On a single line in a text or word processor file, list the nodename aliases for the access nodes on the primary EMC Centera cluster, and separate the aliases with a comma. For example, if there are four access nodes on the primary cluster and the nodename aliases for the nodes are defined as Node1, Node2, Node3, and Node4, then type: Node1,Node2,Node3,Node4 4. In the text or word processor file with the list of nodename aliases, add a question mark (?) after the nodename aliases, and then include the path on the DiskXtender server to the.pea file for the access profile that DiskXtender should use to connect to the EMC Centera cluster. For example, if the.pea file is located on the system drive at C:\Centera\DXProfile.pea, then the connection string would appear as: Node1,Node2,Node3,Node4?C:\Centera\DXProfile.pea 5. Ensure that the string with the nodename aliases and the path to the.pea file is fewer than 512 characters. Specifying EMC Centera media service options When you create an EMC Centera media service, there are several options that control how DiskXtender writes and reads files to and from EMC Centera. Figure 1 on page 47 illustrates the media service options. Figure 1 Media service wizard - Centera Information page EMC Centera 47

48 Media Management Table 8 on page 48 lists the best practices for each EMC Centera media service option. Table 8 Best practices for EMC Centera media service options Media service option Pool Address Replica Address PEA File Name File Delete Audit String Embedded Blob Threshold Collision Avoidance Client-Side ID (hash) Calculation Best practice Type the connection string that you built in Building the connection string on page 46 to enable DiskXtender to connect to EMC Centera. Type the connection string that includes information about the EMC Centera access nodes of replica EMC Centera. Type the name of the PEA file for the access profile that DiskXtender should use to connect to EMC Centera Type the custom audit string to attach to file data when the file data is deleted from EMC Centera. The audit string is included in the reflection that remains on the EMC Centera cluster for the file. The audit string enables you to identify the data as deleted DiskXtender data if you perform an EMC Centera query to search for deleted data. If you have a significant number of unique, small files (less than 100 KB), type a threshold in KB. The file data for files that are smaller than the threshold are embedded in the CDF instead of being stored separately. Embedding file data in the CDF can decrease read and write times, since the overhead required to manage two objects (CDF and BLOB) is greater than the overhead required to manage a single object. Do not specify a threshold (in other words, leave the default of 0 KB) if most of your files are larger than the 100 KB maximum for the threshold, or if there are a significant number of duplicate files. If the EMC Centera is configured for Storage Strategy Capacity (single-instance storage), embedding BLOBs for files smaller than 100 KB will not allow you to realize the benefits of the storage strategy for these files. This is because the file content is embedded in the CDF. If you embed the BLOBs for files smaller than 100 KB, then single-instance storage is applied only to files larger than 100 KB. Enable collision avoidance only in environments where even the most remote possibility of data loss is unacceptable, or in environments where single-instance storage is forbidden, usually due to legal regulations. Collision avoidance ensures that a unique CA is created for each file stored on EMC Centera, even if the file is a duplicate of another file stored on the cluster. If the file is edited and re-migrated, then a different unique CA is created. This feature is designed to prevent the unlikely event where the same CA is created for different files. Collision avoidance should not be used in most environments because it prevents the primary benefit of single-instance storage the elimination of duplicate content so that only a single copy of each file is stored. Support for client-side ID calculation is being removed from DiskXtender in a future release. As a result, use of this feature is discouraged. Creating EMC Centera media When you configure a media group, you can enable the automatic creation of virtual EMC Centera media for that media group. This method of creating media is recommended in most environments because it ensures that media is available for file migration without requiring you to monitor each media group. On the Automation page for the media group, you can choose whether to automatically create media based on the amount of free space in the media group or on the number of active media (media that is not marked as full) in the media group. Figure 2 on page 49 illustrates the options to automatically create EMC Centera media. 48 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

49 Media Management Figure 2 Options for automatic creation of EMC Centera media Creating media based on the number of active media is recommended because it enables you to optimize the number of media that DiskXtender writes to and reads from simultaneously. This optimization can be configured by using the Maximum media simultaneously receiving files option for the media group, which is available on the Options page for the media group. To create media based on the count of active media, select Auto-create virtual media to maintain a count of active media on the Automation page, and then specify the count to maintain. Calculating the optimal number of active media on page 49 provides guidance on how to determine the appropriate count. In addition, type a media naming convention and select the media service in which the media should be created on the Automation page. Calculating the optimal number of active media When you control the number of active media, you effectively control the number of EMC Centera communication threads that can be used for file migration. To calculate the optimal number of active media to maintain in a media group, first determine the number of EMC Centera communication threads that are available for DiskXtender file activity. The equation to determine the optimal number of threads available for DiskXtender file migration and file fetches is as follows: where: (N x 20) - A - R = Available threads N is the number of access nodes in the EMC Centera cluster 20 is the optimal number of threads per node A is the number of threads used by other applications, including other DiskXtender installations R is the number of threads used for EMC Centera replication, if replication is enabled EMC Centera 49

50 Media Management For example, if you plan to write to an EMC Centera cluster with four access nodes, the cluster is dedicated to the DiskXtender installation, and replication is enabled and uses two threads, then the optimal number of threads available for file activity is 78, or: (4 access nodes x 20) = 78 Then, to determine the appropriate count of active media for each media group, divide the number of available threads by the number of media groups. For example, if the DiskXtender installation has two extended drives, each extended drive has two media folders, and each media folder has one EMC Centera media group, then there are a total of four media groups that target the EMC Centera cluster: 2 drives x 2 media folders x 1 media group (each) = 4 media groups If there are 78 available threads for the installation and you anticipate that file migration and fetch activity will be evenly distributed among the media groups, then divide the number of threads by the number of media groups: 78 available threads / 4 media groups = 19.5 pieces of active media Since it is not possible to have a half of a piece of media, you may want to round up to 20 pieces of active media for each media group. Note: In an active environment where simultaneous moves and fetches are enabled and are likely to occur, you should divide the number of active media by two. With simultaneous moves and fetches, two threads are used by each piece of media. Service options for EMC Centera on page 54 provides details on simultaneous moves and fetches. Fine-tuning the equation to optimize performance The equation to determine the optimal number of available threads and ultimately the number of pieces of active media for each media group does not take into consideration the volume of file migration and file fetch activity to and from the EMC Centera cluster at different times of the day. As a result, you may need to adjust the DiskXtender or EMC Centera configuration to remain within the recommended number of available threads per access node and to maximize system performance. Consider the following tasks to fine-tune the usage of available threads: Increase the number of access nodes in the EMC Centera cluster to increase the number of available threads. When more threads are available, determine whether to increase the number of active media in each media group: If file migration dominates the communication threads, then increase the number of active media in each media group to take advantage of the additional threads for file migration. If file fetches from full media (not active media) dominate the communication threads, then you may want to leave the same number of active media in each media group so that the additional threads can be used for file fetches. Schedule file migration so that it does not occupy the communication threads when they are needed for file fetches. By default, the file migration schedule is active at night, so that files are migrated when users typically do not fetch as many files. You may need to customize this schedule for the environment. Reduce the number of fetch requests from media so that they do not occupy the communication threads when they are needed for file migration. To reduce the number of requests for files on the EMC Centera cluster, leave as much active data on the extended drive as possible. Use DiskXtender purge rules to purge only file data that is no longer likely to be requested. 50 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

51 Media Management Deleting EMC Centera media You can delete any piece of EMC Centera virtual media, even if you applied retention to files that were written to the media. When you delete the media, you cannot restore the files on the media through DiskXtender. This is because the relationships between the file pointers used by DiskXtender and the file data on the EMC Centera device are removed when you delete the media.! CAUTION Do not delete a piece of EMC Centera media unless you are absolutely certain that you no longer need the files on the media. If you think you might need the files, compact the media before deleting it. Compaction writes the files on the media back to the extended drive so that they can be migrated to another piece of media. Before you delete a piece of media, assign a Compact media task to the media. This task copies all migrated files and file data on the media back to the extended drive, which prevents you from losing access to files that were written to the media. Then, run a Format media task on the media to reclaim space on EMC Centera by deleting the files that were written to the media. Reclaiming deleted media space on EMC Centera on page 51 provides details. Finally, ensure that the media service is online and then deallocate and delete the media by using the File System Manager Administrator. Reclaiming deleted media space on EMC Centera If you no longer need the files that have been written to a piece of EMC Centera virtual media, you can run a Format media task on the media to clear the files from the media. The EMC Centera Garbage Collection feature then reclaims the space made available by the deleted files. If you have an EMC Centera GE or CE+ device, then you cannot format media if there are retained files on the media. If you assign a Format media task to a piece of media on a GE or CE+ device and there are retained files on the media, then the task fails and the media goes into an error state. If you have an EMC Centera Basic, then files can always be deleted when you format a piece of media. This is because retention is not applied to the files on EMC Centera, even if you set retention for the files on the extended drive. Adding custom metadata to files on EMC Centera If you use EMC Centera Seek and Chargeback Reporter, you can enhance reports by adding custom metadata to each file that DiskXtender writes to EMC Centera media. The custom metadata, along with other standardized metadata, is added to the CDF. For example, you could add metadata to a group of files to indicate that they are associated with a particular department in the company, such as Human Resources or Legal. To add custom metadata to each file stored on an EMC Centera device, specify the metadata on the Metadata page when you create or edit an EMC Centera media group. EMC Centera 51

52 Media Management Performance tuning for EMC Centera Review the following recommendations to improve DiskXtender performance with EMC Centera through adjustment of the configuration of media folders, media groups, rules, file deletions, and service options. Media folder considerations for EMC Centera Use extra caution when you plan the directory structure and create media folders on the extended drive. After files move to media, you cannot change the directory structure. Media group considerations for EMC Centera When you create media groups, consider the following settings to optimize DiskXtender performance with EMC Centera: Enable automatic media creation based on the number of active media in the media group. Creating EMC Centera media on page 48 provides instructions. On the Options page for the media group: Leave the Media fill method option set to Random. This is the default setting. It allows DiskXtender to connect to any available piece of media in the group and even multiple pieces of media at the same time during file migration, rather than filling one piece of media and then moving on to the next one. Adjust the Maximum media simultaneously receiving files option as necessary. The default value for this option is the media count threshold that you type on the Automation page. DiskXtender should be configured to write to as many pieces as is appropriate for the best system efficiency. The number depends on the optimal number of media that should receive files at any given time, as discussed in Calculating the optimal number of active media on page 49. Leave the attributes checkboxes on the Recognize file attribute changes option clear. This enables DiskXtender to ignore unnecessary file attribute changes resulting from scans by system tools. If there are a significant number of media transactions that flush at the same time, such as delete transactions that occur when you delete many files, consider enabling the Prioritize fetches over media transactions option. The option enables fetches to occur even while media transactions are in progress. As a result, users no longer need to wait to fetch a purged file during media transactions. If you use EMC Centera Seek and Chargeback Reporter and you want to enhance the reports, type custom metadata on the Metadata page for the media group, as discussed in Adding custom metadata to files on EMC Centera on page 51. If you configure multi-target migration through DiskXtender and the media in two different targets are two EMC Centera clusters, do not use EMC Centera replication. If you use both replication and multi-target migration, the CDF for each file may be stored on each EMC Centera cluster twice. If single-instance storage is disabled, then the file data will also be stored on each cluster twice. 52 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

53 Media Management Move rule considerations for EMC Centera When you create move rules, consider the following settings to optimize DiskXtender performance with EMC Centera: To prevent files on the extended drive from being edited or deleted for a certain period of time, select a retention setting for the files on the Retention page of the move rule wizard. The retention applies when the file qualifies for the rule. On the Settings page for the move rule, do not select the options to purge files immediately after they are moved or to set Direct Read on the files. Instead, use the purge recommendations in Purge rule considerations for EMC Centera on page 53, and review the recommendations for when to use Direct Read in Reading files directly from media on page 109. Purge rule considerations for EMC Centera To maintain as many access node threads available as possible, limit the number of times that user requests for files are satisfied by having to fetch file data from the EMC Centera. In other words, leave as much file data on the extended drive as possible by waiting to purge files until it is absolutely necessary. To do this, configure an age delay for the purge rule. Select the Apply rule to files of age greater than option on the Age page of the purge rule wizard, specify the number of days (typically 30 or 60), and then select Last access time from the drop-down list. Also, on the Settings page of the purge rule wizard, select Do not force purges during background scans. This option prevents files from being purged until disk space is needed. File deletion considerations for EMC Centera When deleting files, consider the following to optimize DiskXtender performance with EMC Centera: When a significant number of delete transactions are sent to the EMC Centera device, the completion of those transactions may take a long time. During that time, file fetches may be delayed or even canceled due to timeout issues. Consider enabling the Prioritize fetches over media transactions option, which enables fetches to occur even while the delete transactions are in progress. As a result, users no longer need to wait to fetch a purged file during the transactions. Alternatively, do not empty the DiskXtender Recycler when users are most likely to access the system. Or, if the Recycler is disabled, do not delete a significant number of files from the extended drive when users are most likely to access the system. If the EMC Centera is a Basic or GE device, you can delete retained files with a privileged delete. To perform a privileged delete through DiskXtender, use the Privileged Delete option in the Explorer Add-ons utility. You can use delete rules and retention periods to keep files protected under retention for a specified period of time, and then automatically delete them when they are no longer needed. Automatically deleting files on page 112 provides instructions on how to set up delete rules to automatically delete files after a certain period of time. EMC Centera 53

54 Media Management Service options for EMC Centera On the Options tab of the Service Properties dialog box, consider adjusting the following settings to optimize DiskXtender performance with EMC Centera: For the Enable simultaneous moves and fetches option, select Enable simultaneous moves and fetches for Centera and NAS media. By default, simultaneous moves and fetches are disabled. When you enable simultaneous moves and fetches, DiskXtender can both read from and write to a single piece of media at the same time. This setting can improve performance in an active environment where file migration is necessary at the same time that file fetches are likely to occur. When simultaneous moves and fetches are disabled, and a fetch request occurs while a file is being moved, the fetch must wait until the move is complete. When DiskXtender communicates with a piece of EMC Centera media to write files, it maintains the connection for at least 5 seconds. If necessary, you can adjust this connection time by using the EMC Centera timeslice - minimum mount option. The timeslice option controls the minimum amount of time that DiskXtender keeps virtual media mounted in a virtual drive for file moves. For file fetches, DiskXtender maintains the connection for 1 second. You cannot edit the file fetch connection time. If replication is enabled, decide whether DiskXtender should perform synchronous deletion of files from all replica clusters. Synchronous deletion by DiskXtender is necessary only if the timing of delete transaction processing on the target clusters is important. Synchronous deletion may result in performance degradation when you delete files from the extended drive. This is because DiskXtender must process the deletion on all eligible clusters instead of on just the source cluster. To enable DiskXtender synchronous deletion, use the Enable synchronous deletes on replicated Centeras service option. Synchronous deletion is disabled by default. If the timing of delete transaction processing on the target clusters is not important, enable only the EMC Centera Replicate Delete feature. This enables EMC Centera to process the deletion as scheduled. Troubleshooting EMC Centera If you encounter unexpected errors, performance issues, or access problems between DiskXtender and EMC Centera, you can enable a log that traces EMC Centera events for DiskXtender. To enable the EMC Centera trace log: 1. Ensure that there is sufficient space for the log file on the system drive of the DiskXtender server. The log increases in size by as much as 1 GB each day. 2. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the DiskXtender bin directory, drive:\program Files\EMC\DiskXtender\Bin, where drive is the system drive. 3. Right-click and select New > Text Document. 4. Name the new text file Dx_EmcService.log. 5. Click Yes on the pop-up message that warns you about changing file extensions. 54 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

55 Media Management 6. Stop and restart the DiskXtender service. 7. After you finish troubleshooting and you no longer need the trace log, disable the log: a. Stop the DiskXtender service. b. Delete the Dx_EmcService.log file. EMC Centera 55

56 Media Management NAS You can migrate files on a DiskXtender extended drive to a share on a network-attached storage device. Consider the following best practices before you configure the environment: Creating the shares for NAS media on page 56 Adding a NAS media service on page 57 Creating and managing NAS media on page 57 Deleting NAS media on page 57 Performance tuning for NAS on page 58 Creating the shares for NAS media Before you add the NAS media service in the File System Manager Administrator, prepare the shares that will be identified as NAS media. The shares must meet the requirements listed in NAS on page 25. You should also decide the appropriate number of shares to create, and ensure the security of the shares. Deciding how many shares to create You can create as many as 256 shares for 256 pieces of NAS media, and each piece of media can write to a different share on a different device. Even if the NAS media service is writing to a single device, you should create several partitions and shares so that you can create multiple pieces of NAS media. This is important for the following reasons: DiskXtender performance improves when the system can write to and read from multiple media at once. Focusing all system activity on a single piece of media can cause a performance bottleneck. You can take advantage of the flexible file migration features available in DiskXtender. You can migrate data from multiple media folders to different locations (pieces of media) by using customized migration rules. More files remain available if an error or other system problem occurs. If a piece of media becomes inaccessible (for example, as a result of a failed transaction), the files on other pieces of media remain accessible while the inaccessible media is offline. The number of media you should create depends on the environment and your tolerance for system downtime. For assistance in how to determine the number of pieces of NAS media to create, contact EMC Professional Services. NAS share security Only the DiskXtender service account and any accounts required for backups should have full access to the share that corresponds to a piece of NAS media. No other user accounts or applications should have write access to the share.! CAUTION This restriction is critical to protect the data that DiskXtender manages. 56 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

57 Media Management If a user saves, edits, or deletes a file directly on the NAS share instead of through the extended drive, the files and file tags on the extended drive are not synchronized with the files on media. If this occurs, users receive Access Denied errors when they attempt to open those files from the extended drive. If the file is renamed directly on the media, the file data (or file tag, if the file is purged) on the extended drive becomes orphaned. Adding a NAS media service You can configure only one NAS media service for each DiskXtender server, but you can use multiple network shares as pieces of NAS media for that media service. Use the File System Manager Administrator to create the NAS media service. There are no options to configure for the media service. Creating and managing NAS media on page 57 provides guidance on creating the media for the media service. Creating and managing NAS media NAS media is considered "virtual" media because it does not correspond directly to a specific piece of media (like a tape cartridge). However, it does correspond to a specific location (the share) on a magnetic drive. When you create NAS media for the NAS media service, you specify: The path to the network share. Descriptive information about the media, which appears in the File System Manager Administrator to identify the media. The type of NAS media. In most cases, this is Standard NAS. Note: Aggregate NAS media is intended only when the share is a media folder on another DiskXtender extended drive as part of a tiered migration strategy. Retained NAS media is for a standard share on a retention-capable NAS device, such as a Celerra Network Server with the File Level Retention (FLR) file system and Network Appliance (NetApp) NAS devices with SnapLock software. After you create the media, allocate the media to the extended drive and add the media to a media group to make it available for file migration. Deleting NAS media Before you delete a piece of NAS media, you must remove the media from its media group. During this process, you have the choice of whether to remove the files on the media from the extended drive or to copy the files back to the extended drive: To copy the files on the media back to the extended drive and move the files to other media, compact the media. The media is automatically removed from the media group during compaction. To remove the files on the media from the extended drive altogether, simply remove the media from the media group. Finally, ensure that the media service is online and then deallocate and delete the media by using the File System Manager Administrator. NAS 57

58 Media Management The files remain on the NAS share when you remove it from the system. DiskXtender does not delete the files even when you remove the association between DiskXtender media and the NAS share. Performance tuning for NAS Review the following recommendations to improve DiskXtender performance with NAS through the adjustment of the configuration of media folders, media groups, rules, file deletions, and service options. Media folder considerations for NAS If you use Aggregate NAS or Retained NAS, use extra caution when you plan the directory structure and create media folders on the extended drive. When you use Aggregate NAS or Retained NAS, folder renames are not allowed on the extended drive. After files move to media, you cannot change the directory structure. As a result, do not use Aggregate NAS or Retained NAS if you plan to archive files that change frequently, such as user home directories. Media group considerations for NAS When you create media groups, consider the following settings on the Options page for the media group to optimize DiskXtender performance with NAS: Set the Media fill method option to Random. By default, the media fill method is set to Sequential. Setting the option to Random enables DiskXtender to connect to any available piece of media in the group and even multiple pieces of media at the same time during file migration, rather than filling one piece of media and then moving on to the next one. This option can improve DiskXtender performance during migration to more than one piece of NAS media in a media group. Adjust the Maximum media simultaneously receiving files option to the total number of media that are in the media group. This enables DiskXtender to write to all media as necessary. Since you must manually create NAS media when it is needed, enable the Warn when group free space falls below option so that you are notified when the NAS media in the media group starts to run out of space. You can then configure the warning to be sent out as an alert. Move rule considerations for NAS When you create move rules, consider the following settings to optimize DiskXtender performance with NAS: If you use Retained NAS, specify a retention period in days for the files on the Retention page of the move rule wizard. You must specify a retention period of one or more days for move rules that move files to a Retained NAS media group. The retention applies when the file qualifies for the rule. On the Settings page of the move rule wizard, consider whether to purge files immediately after they are moved and whether to mark them for Direct Read. To decide, review the purge recommendations and the recommendations for when to use Direct Read in Purging files on page EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

59 Media Management Purge rule considerations for NAS File retrieval from NAS media is typically faster than from other media types. As a result, the purge strategy you select depends on other factors in your environment, such as the type of files on the extended drive and the volume of files that DiskXtender manages. Review the purge recommendations in Purging files on page 104 to determine an appropriate purge strategy for your environment. File deletion considerations for NAS If you use Retained NAS, you can use delete rules and retention periods to keep files protected under retention for a specified period of time, and then automatically delete them when they are no longer needed. Automatically deleting files on page 112 provides instructions on how to set up delete rules to automatically delete files after a certain period of time. Service options for NAS Although simultaneous move and fetch from a single piece of media is available for the NAS media service, its use is not recommended. The Enable simultaneous moves and fetches option on the Options tab of the Service Properties dialog box controls this behavior. Simultaneous moves and fetches are disabled by default. There is no performance advantage to using the feature with NAS. In addition, when you use the feature with NAS, multiple files may be kept open at the same time, which leaves the system more vulnerable in the event of a system failure. Instead, leave the option disabled so that all activity to a piece of media, including reads and writes, are serialized, or performed in a single thread. Serial media activity prevents applications from backing up or restoring data to or from the same pieces of media at the same time. Note: Simultaneous moves and fetches are recommended for the EMC Centera media service. However, the feature is a global setting; you cannot configure it differently for EMC Centera than you do for NAS. If you use both NAS and EMC Centera, carefully weigh the performance advantages of this feature for EMC Centera against the failure risks of using it with NAS. NAS 59

60 Media Management Optical and tape You can migrate files on a DiskXtender extended drive to optical and tape devices. Consider the following best practices before you configure the environment: Installing MediaStor and adding a library on page 60 Setting up Sun StorageTek ACSLS on page 61 Adding a MediaStor or ACSLS media service on page 62 Managing removable media on page 62 Performance tuning for removable media on page 69 Installing MediaStor and adding a library MediaStor is a DiskXtender for Windows device management component that manages the retrieval, mounting, and dismounting of removable media in a variety of libraries and standalone drives. To install MediaStor and add a library, perform the following steps: 1. Ensure that the environment meets the requirements in System requirements on page If the operating system on the MediaStor and DiskXtender servers is Windows Server 2008, then install two Microsoft hotfixes on both servers: The first hotfix is required to resolve a memory leak that occurs with Windows Server 2008 during an RPC client callback function, which is used when DiskXtender and MediaStor communicate to perform media management tasks. To obtain the hotfix, contact Microsoft Support and reference KB article The second hotfix is required to resolve a truncated registry entry that DiskXtender and MediaStor use to retrieve device type information. To obtain the hotfix, look up KB article the Microsoft website. The hotfixes should be incorporated in a future Windows Server 2008 service pack. 3. Check the Powerlink website for updates to the release notes for this release. Review the release notes. 4. Create a service account and long on to the server with the account. The service account must meet the following requirements: Be a member of the Administrators group on the server Have the Log on as a service right Note: It might be necessary to assign the Act as part of operating system right to the service account if the service fails to log on to the server after the installation. 5. Run the MediaStor setup wizard and select Install new product. You can install MediaStor to multiple servers at the same time if you select the servers on the Target Computers page of the wizard. 6. Check the Powerlink website for any patches to this release. Download the patches and install them, if necessary, by using the instructions in the patch documentation. 60 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

61 Media Management 7. Confirm that all hardware is properly configured, specifically SCSI devices: a. Ensure that all devices and the SCSI adapter are properly terminated. b. Power on all SCSI devices before starting Microsoft Windows. c. Install any necessary drivers for the devices. d. Test access to the devices through Microsoft Windows. 8. If you are adding an iscsi library, configure an iscsi HBA or the Microsoft iscsi Initiator when using a LAN card, and configure the port in the device. 9. If you are adding a tape library with automatic drive cleaning capability, disable the automatic drive cleaning function for the library. 10. Open the MediaStor Administrator, right-click the Hardware node, and select New to launch the Hardware Wizard. Refer to the MediaStor Administrator online help for details on proceeding through the pages of the wizard. 11. Restart the server. 12. Perform a drive configuration test to determine if the order of the library drives in the configuration is correct: a. Set the library offline. b. Right-click the library and select Modify. c. Proceed through the pages of the Hardware Wizard until you reach the Library Drives page. d. Click Test Config. 13. Set the library online, selecting the option to perform a full inventory of the library. Setting up Sun StorageTek ACSLS If you have already invested in Sun StorageTek Automated Cartridge System Library Software (ACSLS), you can use DiskXtender to migrate files from a Microsoft Windows server to tape media in libraries managed by the ACSLS server. To set up Sun StorageTek ACSLS for use with DiskXtender: 1. Use SCSI cables to physically connect the DiskXtender server and the library drives that DiskXtender should use. 2. Install and configure ACSLS and configure the library as described in the Sun StorageTek documentation, including access control privileges. 3. In the ACSSS Command Processor Window, gather identifier and drive information for the drives that are connected to the DiskXtender server. 4. In the Registry Editor on the DiskXtender server, gather and construct the device names for the drives. Optical and tape 61

62 Media Management 5. If the operating system on the DiskXtender server is Windows Server 2008, perform the following steps: a. Make an exception in the Windows firewall to enable LibAttach to communicate properly with the ACSLS server. The LibAttach and Windows Server 2008 Firewall Configuration document, available on the Sun website at provides instructions on how to add LibAttach as an exception program for the Windows firewall. b. Install two Microsoft hotfixes on the DiskXtender server: The first hotfix is required to resolve a memory leak that occurs with Windows Server 2008 during an RPC client callback function, which is used when DiskXtender and MediaStor communicate to perform media management tasks. To obtain the hotfix, contact Microsoft Support and reference KB article The second hotfix is required to resolve a truncated registry entry that DiskXtender and MediaStor use to retrieve device type information. To obtain the hotfix, look up KB article the Microsoft website. Both hotfixes should be incorporated in a future Windows Server 2008 service pack. Adding a MediaStor or ACSLS media service When you create a MediaStor media service in the File System Manager Administrator, you specify the name of the server on which MediaStor is installed. After you create the media service, all of the media in the hardware that is connected to the MediaStor server is listed for the media service in the File System Manager Administrator and is available for allocation to an extended drive, as long as the media is not allocated already to a different extended drive. When you create an ACSLS media service, you confirm the ACSLS configuration and add drive information for the tape library drives that are connected to the DiskXtender server. Managing removable media The following steps detail the lifecycle process for removable media: 1. Insert the media into the hardware device by using the instructions from the hardware manufacturer. If you use MediaStor, some libraries support the Insert Library Media function available in MediaStor. 2. Allocate the media to the extended drive: If you use MediaStor, use either the File System Manager Administrator or the MediaStor Administrator. If you use ACSLS, use ACSLS to assign ownership of a range of media to the extended drive. 62 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

63 Media Management 3. Ensure that the media is formatted with a supported file system and labeled: If the media is blank, format and label the media. If the media has already been formatted with a supported file system, label the media. If the media has been formatted with a file system that is not supported, reformat the media and then label it. Formatting and labeling removable media on page 64 provides details. 4. Add the media to a media group. Note: To add DVD-ROM media to the system and make the files available on the extended drive, create a standard media group and select DVD-R as the media type for the group. 5. DiskXtender moves files to the media until the media is considered full. 6. The full media remains in the media group. This enables continued access to the files on the media. 7. (Optional) If the media is formatted with the UDF file system and it becomes corrupt, attempt to repair the media with a Check Disk media task. Repairing corrupt media on page 66 provides details. 8. (Optional) To reuse the media for example, because of an excessive amount of wasted space on the media compact and reformat the media. Reusing media on page 66 provides details. 9. If the media is DVD-R, finalize the media when it becomes full to stabilize the media and purge the files from the extended drive. Finalizing DVD-R media on page 68 provides details. 10. (Optional) If you no longer need the files that have been migrated to the media, or if you want to move the files to a different piece or type of media, remove the media from the media group. There are two ways to remove media from a media group: To copy the files on the media back to the extended drive and move the files to other media, compact the media. The media is automatically removed from the media group during compaction. To remove the files on the media from the extended drive altogether, simply remove the media from the media group. 11. (Optional) Deallocate the media from the extended drive, and delete it from the media service. 12. (Optional) Remove the media from the hardware device. Optical and tape 63

64 Media Management Formatting and labeling removable media Review the following topics for best practices to format and label media: Supported file systems on page 64 Deciding whether to format or label media on page 64 Choosing a format and label method on page 65 Low-level SCSI format on page 66 Supported file systems DiskXtender can write files to and read files from removable media that is formatted with either the OTG file system or the UDF file system. Table 9 on page 64 lists the file systems that DiskXtender supports for each type of media. Table 9 File system support by media type Media type DVD-R Supported file systems UDF DVD-RAM OTG UDF Magneto-optical (MO) OTG UDF MO WORM OTG UDF Tape Tape-WORM OTG OTG UDO (UDO1, UDO2) OTG UDF UDO WORM (UDO1 WORM, UDO2 WORM)) OTG UDF Note: DiskXtender can only read DVD-ROM if the media is formatted with the UDF file system. DVD-ROM must be created in another system. DiskXtender cannot write to DVD-ROM. In general, if media portability (the ability to read from and write to media outside of DiskXtender) is a concern, choose the UDF file system. In addition, there are some operations (deletions, renaming of files and directories, and file attribute changes) that are allowed for media with one file system but not the other. The DiskXtender administration guide lists file and folder behavior based on the file system. Deciding whether to format or label media After you insert media into a hardware device and allocate it to an extended drive, the File System Manager Administrator helps you to determine whether the media needs to be formatted or labeled. The allocated media appears under a node in the Available Media tree based on the status of the media. 64 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

65 Media Management Table 10 on page 65 lists the status of the media, depending on the Available Media tree node under which it is listed. Table 10 Status of media in the Available Media tree Available Media tree node Media status Required steps for the media Original Copy Duplicate Blank Media has been formatted and labeled. Media is a copy of a piece of original media, with the same data but a different serial number. Media has the same serial number as another piece of media. Media has been formatted but not yet labeled. Add the media to a media group for file migration and file fetches. DiskXtender updates the media as necessary to ensure that it matches the original. The copy can be promoted to an original if the original becomes unreadable. The presence of duplicate media likely indicates a problem in the system. Contact EMC Customer Service by using the Powerlink website for assistance. Label the media to make it a piece of original media, or label it as a copy of a piece of original media. You can also reformat the media. Note: DiskXtender automatically inventories new MO WORM media as blank media for the OTG file system. You can only format new MO WORM media if you want to use the UDF file system. Foreign Unknown Media has been formatted for a file system that is not supported for that media type, or the media was inserted in a library with a different drive type. DiskXtender does not recognize the media. If the media was formatted and written to by DiskXtender in a different library with a different drive type selected, then remove the media from the current library and reinsert it into the original library. If DiskXtender supports the type of media and you are sure that the media was formatted and written to outside of DiskXtender, then format foreign media with a supported file system, and then label the media. The problem could be an unsupported media type or an unsupported file system. Ensure that the media type is supported, and format the media with a supported file system. Then label the media. Unformatted Media is not formatted. Format and label the media. Corrupt DiskXtender recognizes the media but cannot use it because of problems with the media itself. Media corruption most often occurs as a result of a power failure while files are being written to the media. Perform a Check Disk media task on the media to attempt to find and repair the errors. Choosing a format and label method There are several ways to format and label media in DiskXtender. The most efficient method depends on the status of the media and the number of media that need to be formatted and labeled. To format and label multiple pieces of unformatted media at once, use the Media Prepare Manager. Note: The Media Prepare Manager is only available for media in a library configured through the MediaStor media service. To format and label a single piece of unformatted media, assign the Format and Label media tasks to the media. Optical and tape 65

66 Media Management To format but not label a single piece or multiple pieces of unformatted media, assign a Format media task to the media. You can then enable automatic labeling of the media through a media group, or you can label the media individually later by assigning a Label media task. To label a single piece of blank media, assign a Label media task. To set up automatic labeling and addition of blank media to a media group, use the Automation tab of the Media Group Properties dialog box. Media is labeled and added to the media group when the amount of free space on media in the group falls below a configured threshold. Low-level SCSI format When you format a piece of media, you must choose whether to perform a low-level SCSI format or a quick format by selecting or clearing the Force low-level SCSI format checkbox. Perform a low-level SCSI format when media has repeatedly failed for the current drive type due to media errors, or if the media is unformatted DVD-RAM that is not pre-certified. Perform a quick format (and leave the checkbox clear) if the media is preformatted or if the media has been previously low-level formatted for the current drive type. A quick format clears the file table of all pointers to files on the media, but not the actual information on the media. Repairing corrupt media Reusing media If media is formatted with the UDF file system and the media becomes corrupt, you can run the Check Disk media task to attempt to repair the media. Corrupt media is listed in the Corrupt node of the Available Media tree in the File System Manager Administrator. For MO, MO WORM, UDO, UDO WORM, and DVD-RAM media formatted with the OTG file system, the Check Disk media task performs a scan of DiskXtender file tags. To ensure the most efficient use of media, you may want to eliminate wasted space on the media by compacting and reformatting the media. The following topics provide best practices: When media reuse is necessary on page 66 Understanding the media reuse process on page 67 Automatically reusing media on page 68 When media reuse is necessary DiskXtender writes files sequentially to most removable media types. When you edit a file on the extended drive that has been written sequentially to rewritable media, DiskXtender does not "go back" to edit the file data on the media. Instead, when a migrated file is edited, the file is written as a new file to the next blank area on the media, and the file tag on the extended drive is updated to point to the new file. The old file data still remains on the media, but is orphaned. This is true for DVD-RAM, MO, UDO, and tape media. Similarly, when you delete a file that has been written sequentially to these media types, the file and its data are only deleted from the extended drive and are not removed from the media. Deleting the file on the extended drive removes the file tag, which contains the location information for the file on the media. Without the file tag, DiskXtender can no longer track that file on the media (even though the data is still there), and the file is orphaned. 66 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide

67 Media Management The only exception to this is when a file is renamed on rewritable media. In that case, the file trailer on the rewritable media, where the filename is kept, is updated to reflect the new filename. The space taken up by older versions of files and deleted files is wasted space on the media. Understanding the media reuse process on page 67 provides details on how to reuse the media and minimize the amount of wasted space. Understanding the media reuse process You can reclaim this wasted space on media and use the media more efficiently. To reuse media: 1. Return all valid versions of files to the extended drive through compaction. 2. Rewrite the files to another piece of media. 3. Reformat the media. 4. Write new files to the media. When you compact a piece of media, DiskXtender evaluates each file on the media. If there is a file tag on the extended drive for a file on the piece of media, the file data is copied back to the extended drive and the migration information for the file is removed. In this way, the file appears as if it has never been migrated to media.! IMPORTANT If you allow folder renames on media that does not support folder renames, do not compact the media. Data loss might occur because DiskXtender does not find the corresponding file tags on the extended drive, so the files are not copied back to the drive. DiskXtender then evaluates the file against configured move rules. Because the files have already been written to media once, they usually qualify for migration as soon as they are copied back to the extended drive. This means that the files are migrated back to media as soon as the file migration schedule is active (and a background scan occurs, if an age delay is configured for the assigned move rules). When DiskXtender finishes evaluating each file on a piece of media during compaction, the media is automatically removed from the media group to which it is assigned. The media can then be reformatted, labeled, and assigned to a media group. This enables DiskXtender to begin migrating new files to the media. Note: You can compact other removable media types, including DVD-R, MO WORM, UDO WORM, and tape-worm. However, you cannot reformat those media types. After the files are copied back to the extended drive through compaction and the media is removed from its media group, it remains assigned to the extended drive. The files also remain on the media. You can deallocate the media and remove it from the system. If you add the media to a media group again instead, the files are restored again to the extended drive, and DiskXtender continues to write files to the media from the point at which it last stopped. As a result, you cannot reuse these media types. You can configure DiskXtender to automatically reuse media based on the amount of wasted space on the media. You can also monitor the media by using DiskXtender reports, and then manually perform the steps to reuse the media at the appropriate time. Optical and tape 67

68 Media Management Automatically reusing media If you use DVD-RAM, MO, UDO, or tape media in a device configured as part of a MediaStor media service, then configure DiskXtender to automatically compact a piece of media, reformat it, re-label it, and re-add it to a media group. This automatic reuse occurs based on the percentage of wasted space on the media, and is configured by using the automation features on the Automation page for the media group, which are illustrated in Figure 3 on page 68. Figure 3 Media group automation options for removable media After the automatic compaction, media is reformatted with the same file system that was originally on the media. It is then labeled based on the configured label specifications, and added to the same media group. Finalizing DVD-R media After you finish writing files to a piece of DVD-R media, finalize the media. Finalization is a process of "closing" the media, which makes it read-only and prevents DiskXtender from writing any more files to it. Finalizing media makes the media more stable, better protecting the data on the media. It also enables the media to be removed from the DiskXtender system and read on a computer with the Windows XP, Windows 2003, or Windows Server 2008 operating system. When you finalize media, the files on the media can be purged from the extended drive. Files are not purged until the media is finalized because of the potential instability of unfinalized media. To ease the maintenance burden of monitoring the system to determine when media is full, set up automatic finalization of full media through the media group options. DiskXtender can automatically finalize DVD-R media when it is marked as full. Media is marked as full automatically when it reaches the free space threshold configured on the Mark media full when free space falls below option on the Options page for a media group. By default, this threshold is 1 MB. 68 EMC DiskXtender Release 6.5 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Windows Version Best Practices Guide