VSS instant restore processing

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A VSS instant restore operation restores data by using a hardware-assisted restore method. A FlashCopy® operation is an example of a hardware-assisted restore method. Instant restore processing is done at the volume level.

Even though Exchange Server data is restored relatively quickly, the transaction logs must be replayed after a restore operation. The time of recovery for the database increases as the number of logs to be replayed increases.

VSS instant restore is typically used to restore local VSS backups of the SAN-attached volumes from IBM® System Storage® SAN Volume Controller, IBM System Storage DS8000® series, IBM Storwize®, or XIV®. The VSS instant restore process requires a VSS hardware provider. For Exchange Server data, you cannot use instant restore processing for differential and incremental backups.

The data that is to be restored must be on a storage system that is valid for VSS instant restore operations. If data is not on an XIV, SAN Volume Controller, or Storwize family systems with space-efficient target volumes, you must ensure that background copies that use the volumes are restored.

You can manually disable VSS instant restore processing so that IBM Storage Protect™ Snapshot uses VSS fast restore. Instant restore processing is automatically disabled for these VSS restore operations:
  • Restore data to an alternate location
  • Restore data to an recovery database
  • Restore files by issuing the restorefiles command
When you plan to implement VSS instant restore operations, consider the following guidelines:
  • IBM System Storage DS8000 series requires IBM System Storage Support for Microsoft™ Volume Shadow Copy Service software.
  • SAN Volume Controller requires IBM System Storage Support for Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service software.
  • Storwize family requires IBM System Storage Support for Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service software.
  • XIV has separate VSS Provider software.
  • Backups can be restored only to the same storage system from which they are backed up.

For instant restore operations, use the devices that are listed here: Storage Architecture Support for Tivoli® Storage FlashCopy Manager and IBM Storage Protect™ Snapshot (http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21455924).