Netapp (Nseries) Snap diff Backups to TSM

littlepuppy · 18 Feb 2011 at 13:35

Im implementing a solution using this technology at the moment been a bit of a mission but down to the last few issues now and just wondering if anyone here has experience in this area.. In a nutshell I think I have got it all "working" but with caveats... A small number of files are skipping.... I dont think they should be - would be interested if others are seeing this and I am being overly perfectionist about it - or if I should actually be seeing close to 0 files skipped - which is what I want....

EDIT - we are looking at numbers well below 0.1%...

ThorpedoUK · 18 Feb 2011 at 23:49

Your implementing a solution, so are you able to communicate with the technical architect who recommended this solution?

I know Tivoli Storage Manager and NetApp it could be anything, what files are skipping??????? we can't help you or provide feedback if you don't even tell us what type of files are being skipped???????

0.1% means nothing without telling us what that 0.1% actuall comprises of........?

littlepuppy · 19 Feb 2011 at 21:54

Ill post in some sample errors... 0.1% means im missing less than 0.1% of the files in a volume due to "skipping" so its a small number.... But higher than I would like..

a1ex2001 · 21 Feb 2011 at 08:55

littlepuppy said:
Ill post in some sample errors... 0.1% means im missing less than 0.1% of the files in a volume due to "skipping" so its a small number.... But higher than I would like..

Why are they being skipped? Have you loggged a support call with Netapp and Tivoli that is after all what you pay them for.

littlepuppy · 21 Feb 2011 at 11:12

Yep, got a call today, will advise what comes out of it.... (raised one last week) they are coming on the phone today.. Not too many snapdiff deployments out there...

a1ex2001 · 22 Feb 2011 at 11:58

littlepuppy said:
Yep, got a call today, will advise what comes out of it.... (raised one last week) they are coming on the phone today.. Not too many snapdiff deployments out there...

You've had to wait a week for someone to call? Seriously I'd be all over my netapp rep like a bad suit there stuff isn't cheap and there support is expensive so that level of service is dire.

DustyMiller · 22 Feb 2011 at 12:03

I have found that if you log a call for an issue and let them call you it can take a week, if the system is serving data then its a P3 / P4 call. If the system is not serving or is repeatedly hanging ro crashing then thats a P1 / P2 call and they respond better, however by calling them and staying on the line they respond straight away.

littlepuppy · 22 Feb 2011 at 22:51

OK, sorry for slow response.. This isnt as such a netapp issue.. TSM is using netapp technology per say.. Its all about how the TSM API is hooking into the the snap environment and how it then proceeds to backup up the information - these type of scenarios are rare - where you are not using standard client server or NDMP...

Anyhow.. I ran a trace and got over 3gb to sift through which im manipulating now, and have some interesting results... I would like to thank everyone for their input..

To be clear - what im asking here is - Has anyone got experience of snapdiff / netapp TSM integration using snapdiff - not ndmp and not standard client server... Im not looking for comments and opinions on the support being recieved from either vendor. If you have please ping me in trust as I would rather discuss off forum.

Thanks in advance.

MossyUK · 24 Feb 2011 at 22:08

http://communities.netapp.com/thread/8392

is that of any use?

i have never heard of snapdiff - until now. Why not just take regular snapshots of your volume?

Other than that, sounds like you got yourself a relatively niche problem - and it's unlikely you will find someone with the knowledge to give you a solution on a board as generic as this.

littlepuppy · 28 Feb 2011 at 22:21

HI mate, already hit and solved that problem

That does not detail the whole fix..

Its being used as client wants a backup to tape... and we want to take an incremental not differential approach...

It is a highly bespoke solution, I was just testing the water to see if anyone else is working in this area - seemingly not at the moment.