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User Interface

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Components » User Interface

SIOS DataKeeper User Interface The SIOS DataKeeper User Interface uses a standard MMC snap-in interface. The left pane displays the Console Tree view. This includes the Jobs and Reports. Currently, there are two reports available – Job Overview and Server…

User Interface – Failed to Create Mirror

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » User Interface – Failed to Create Mirror

User Interface – Failed to Create Mirror, Event ID 137 Error/Message Failed to create the mirror. Event Id: 137 System Event Log Unable to initialize mirror on the target machine. Volume Device: Source Volume: E Target Machine: 10.17.103.135 Target Volume:…

User Interface – Shows Only One Side of the Mirror

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » User Interface – Shows Only One Side of the Mirror

If the SIOS DataKeeper UI shows a volume as a source and its corresponding target as available or a volume as a target with the corresponding source volume as available, you can use the command line utility to force an update to the SIOS DataKeeper GUI or delete the…

User Guide

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide

The topics in this section are designed to be a reference for you as you get started using SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition, helping you identify the type of configuration you are interested in implementing and providing detailed instructions for effectively using your…

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Startup Guide

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Startup Guide

This startup guide provides the minimum necessary steps and related information to start using DataKeeper Cluster Edition. For specific operations of the Windows OS itself, please check the manual of your OS. In this guide, the product name DataKeeper Cluster Edition…

Certification Information

Certification Information

Server Components The following operating systems can install SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition and utilize its replication functionality. Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Standard / Datacenter Editions Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Standard / Datacenter…

Components

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Components

DataKeeper Components SIOS DataKeeper for Windows is comprised of the following components: DataKeeper Driver (ExtMirr.sys) – The DataKeeper Driver is a kernel mode driver and is responsible for all mirroring activity between the mirror…

Delete and Switchover Actions Grayed Out

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » FAQs » Delete and Switchover Actions Grayed Out

Question Why are the Delete and Switchover actions grayed out on the DataKeeper User Interface? Answer If the volume is under clustering protection (Microsoft clustering or SIOS LifeKeeper clustering), these actions are disabled.

Evicting a Node from a Cluster

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Evicting a Node from a Cluster

Evict the node using Windows Failover Cluster user interface. When a node is evicted the mirror with remain intact and will continue mirroring outside of the cluster. The evicted node will no longer be on the list of possible owners.

Known Issues and Workarounds

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds

Included below are known issues open against DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition as well as possible workarounds and/or solutions. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Access to…

Installing Core

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide » Installation » Installing Core

Installing the DataKeeper Cluster Edition Core Software SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition uses the Flexera InstallShield product to provide a standard installation interface. A license must be obtained and installed for each server in the cluster. We recommend that you…

Using Microsoft iSCSI Target With DataKeeper on Windows 2012

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Using Microsoft iSCSI Target With DataKeeper on Windows 2012

The following topics will guide you in setting up Microsoft iSCSI Target with DataKeeper via the user interface. *NOTE: This configuration is not supported in a VMware ESX environment. …

Jobs

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Jobs » Jobs

For ease of use and configuration, SIOS DataKeeper does much of its management of mirrors through an entity called a job. A job is a logical grouping of related mirrors and servers. This feature allows you to create a job for complex repetitive tasks and run them…

Add the Secondary IP Addresses

Step by Step SQL Server 2019 FCI in OCI » Add the Secondary IP Addresses

In order for Windows Server Failover Clustering to work properly in OCI, you have to add the cluster IP address as a secondary address on the virtual network interface (VNIC) attached to SQL1 and SQL1. As you recall, we discussed using the following IP addresses on…

Failed to Create Mirror

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » Failed to Create Mirror

User Interface – Failed to Create Mirror – Application Event Log Error/Message Logged in the Application Event Log: File: .\GuiThread.cpp Line: 3099 Attempt to connect to remote system REMOTESERVER failed with error 5. Please ensure that the local…

Core Software

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide » Installation » Core Software

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Core Software DataKeeper DataKeeper Driver (ExtMirr.sys) DataKeeper Service (ExtMirrSvc.exe) Command Line Interface (EMCMD.exe) DataKeeper GUI (Datakeeper.msc) Packaging files, LifeKeeper for Windows…

Split-Brain Issue and Recovery

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Split-Brain Issue and Recovery

When protecting DataKeeper volume resources in Microsoft WSFC, if all nodes are included in the cluster split-brain recovery should occur automatically. However, in a Node Outside the Cluster scenario a split-brain may occur if network connectivity is lost to the DR…

Create the VCN and Subnets

Step by Step SQL Server 2019 FCI in OCI » Create the VCN and Subnets

This guide assumes you have some familiarity with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and a basic understanding of networking concepts. It illustrates common configuration tasks with descriptions and, where necessary, provides additional guidance to navigate some of the…

Hyper-V Host Cluster Error

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » Hyper-V Host Cluster Error

Failover Cluster Error After Changing Virtual Machine Configuration While VM Is Clustered Description If Failover Cluster Manager is used to modify the VM configuration while the VM is clustered such as adding a Network Interface to the VM, “Refresh Virtual…

High-Speed Storage Best Practices

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Configuration » High-Speed Storage Best Practices

Configure Bitmaps If the DataKeeper default bitmap location (%ExtMirrBase%\Bitmaps) is not located on high-speed storage, you should move the bitmaps to a high-speed storage device in order to eliminate I/O bottlenecks with bitmap access. To do this, allocate a small…

Using SIOS DataKeeper Standard Edition To Provide Disaster Recovery For Hyper-V Virtual Machines

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Using SIOS DataKeeper Standard Edition To Provide Disaster Recovery For Hyper-V Virtual Machines

Considerations When preparing a Hyper-V environment that spans subnets, subnetting may need to be taken into consideration for any applications that are running inside the virtual machine. Some applications “hard code” IP addresses into their…

Configure Failover Clustering Feature

Step by Step SQL Server 2019 FCI in OCI » Configure Failover Clustering Feature

Enable the Failover Clustering Feature on both SQL1 and SQL2 Run this PowerShell command on SQL1 and SQL2 Install-WindowsFeature -Name Failover-Clustering -IncludeManagementTools Validate your Cluster Run this PowerShell command from SQL1 or SQL2 Test-Cluster…

Manual Deployment of a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance

DataKeeper Cluster Edition in a Cloud Environment » Deploying DataKeeper Cluster Edition in AWS » Manual Deployment of a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance

*DISCLAIMER: While the following completely covers the high availability portion within the scope of our product, this is a setup “guide” only and should be adapted to your own configuration. *Please refer to the AWS Marketplace for a list of supported…

Using DKCE to Enable Multi-Site File Share Resources with Windows Server 2008R2 WSFC

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Using DKCE to Enable Multi-Site File Share Resources with Windows Server 2008R2 WSFC

Use the following procedure to protect File Share resources using SIOS DataKeeper and Microsoft Failover Cluster (WSFC). *IMPORTANT NOTE: DataKeeper Cluster Edition registration with Failover Cluster is automatic and occurs 60 seconds after detecting a Failover…

How to Obtain a License

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide » About DataKeeper Licensing » How to Obtain a License

Obtaining and Installing the License Activating Your License The final screen of the InstallShield installation utility displays the Host ID of your server. The Host ID, along with the Entitlement ID (Authorization Code) that was provided with your DataKeeper…

Split-Brain FAQs

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » FAQs » Split-Brain FAQs

Scenario I am using DataKeeper in a non-cluster environment. I am mirroring from Server1 at one site to Server2 at a second site. Communication is broken due to site-to-site VPN, and I need to fail over from Server1 to Server2. I cannot access Server1 from anywhere.…

Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper

The EMCMD utility that ships with SIOS DataKeeper provides users with a command line method to manipulate the mirror. Because these scripts run in situations where the “normal” validation rules may not apply, EMCMD does not perform the same kinds of sanity…

Initial Synchronization of Data Across the LAN or WAN

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Configuration » WAN Considerations » Initial Synchronization of Data Across the LAN or WAN

When replicating large amounts of data over a WAN link, it is desirable to avoid full resynchronizations which can consume large amounts of network bandwidth and time. DataKeeper avoids almost all full resyncs by using its bitmap technology. However, the initial…

How to cluster SAP ASCS and ERS on Windows in AWS using WSFC with SIOS DataKeeper

DataKeeper Cluster Edition in a Cloud Environment » How to cluster SAP ASCS and ERS on Windows in AWS using WSFC with SIOS DataKeeper

Introduction The following is a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to cluster SAP ASCS and ERS running on Windows in the AWS cloud. The examples assume that there are two nodes in the cluster (SIOS1, SIOS2) and each node resides in a different availability zone in…

Install DataKeeper

DataKeeper Cluster Edition in a Cloud Environment » Configure a File Server Cluster in Azure Spanning Multiple Availability Zones(AZ) » Install DataKeeper

After the cluster is created, DataKeeper is installed. It is important to install DataKeeper after the initial cluster is created so the custom cluster resource type can be registered with the cluster. If you installed DataKeeper before the cluster was created you will…

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Release Notes

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Release Notes

SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition Release Notes Version 10.0 *v10.0 refers to all v10.0.x product versions. Released November 11, 2025 Important!! Read This Document Before Attempting To Install Or Use This Product! This document contains last minute…

Create the Domain

Step by Step SQL Server 2019 FCI in OCI » Create the Domain

For resilience, you should provision multiple AD controllers across different availability zones, but for the purposes of this guide, we are just going to provision one AD controller. Follow the screenshots below to configure AD on DC1. Log on using the credentials…

Creating the SQL Server FCI

Step by Step SQL Server 2019 FCI in OCI » Creating the SQL Server FCI

Install DataKeeper Cluster Edition Before you can proceed with the next steps, you must install DataKeeper Cluster Edition on SQL1 and SQL2. Download the setup executable and run the DataKeeper setup on both nodes. Refer to the SIOS documentation for specific guidance…

Removing a Clustered DataKeeper Volume

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide » Installation » Removing a Clustered DataKeeper Volume

To remove a Clustered DataKeeper Volume follow these steps: Launch the Failover Cluster Manager. Select the Role and related DataKeeper Storage. Remove the DataKeeper Volume resource from the Role. This will move the DataKeeper Volume resource to the…

Prepare the Storage

Step by Step SQL Server 2019 FCI in OCI » Prepare the Storage

Once SQL1 and SQL2 are added to the domain, connect to the instances with the Domain Admin account you created to complete the rest of the configuration steps. The first thing you need to do is to attach and format the EBS volumes that we added to SQL1 and SQL2, as…

DataKeeper Notification Icon

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » DataKeeper Notification Icon

Mirror Status Notification The DataKeeper Notification Icon is an application that will show a summary of your DataKeeper mirrors in the Windows Notification Tray. The icon displayed indicates what conditions have been detected, with the following priority. Error:…

Disable “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives”

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Configuration » Disable “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives”

By default, Windows configures virtual memory so that page files are automatically created on volumes as the Operating System determines is best. This Virtual Memory setting is called “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives”. When this…

Extending a Traditional 2-Node WSFC Cluster to a Third Node via DataKeeper

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Extending a Traditional 2-Node WSFC Cluster to a Third Node via DataKeeper

When replicating from a WSFC 2-node cluster to a third node via DataKeeper, the following tasks are required: Replace the existing WSFC physical disk resource with a DataKeeper volume resource that supports data replication. Change the quorum type to Node…

Deploy an Active Directory Domain Controller in Azure

DataKeeper Cluster Edition in a Cloud Environment » Configure a File Server Cluster in Azure Spanning Multiple Availability Zones(AZ) » Deploy an Active Directory Domain Controller in Azure

Deploy a Virtual Machine that will work as a Domain Controller for the cluster that is going to be deployed. This step can be skipped if there is a Domain Controller already configured. *This Virtual Machine running a Domain Controller should be in a different…

Using DataKeeper Cluster Edition to Enable Multi-Site Hyper-V Clusters

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Using DataKeeper Cluster Edition to Enable Multi-Site Hyper-V Clusters

Prerequisite Familiarity with Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Windows Failover Cluster Server Management and Hyper-V Virtual Management procedures and commands is highly recommended. Note: DataKeeper ClusterCluster Edition does not support Cluster Shared Volumes;…

Deploying DataKeeper Cluster Edition in Azure

DataKeeper Cluster Edition in a Cloud Environment » Deploying DataKeeper Cluster Edition in Azure

DEPLOYING MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2017 FAILOVER CLUSTERS IN AZURE RESOURCE MANAGER (ARM) Before beginning, make sure you read the DataKeeper Cluster Edition Release Notes for the latest information. It is highly recommended that you read and understand the DataKeeper…

Extending a Traditional 2-Node WSFC SQL Server Cluster to a Third Node via DataKeeper

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Extending a Traditional 2-Node WSFC SQL Server Cluster to a Third Node via DataKeeper

When replicating from a WSFC SQL Server 2-node cluster to a third node via DataKeeper, the following tasks are required: Replace the existing WSFC physical disk resource with a DataKeeper volume resource that supports data replication. Change the quorum type to…

Provision the VMs

Step by Step SQL Server 2019 FCI in OCI » Provision the VMs

Now that the VCN is configured, it is time to start provisioning the VMs. In this example we are going to use Windows Server 2022 and SQL Server 2019. However, the steps described in this article are almost identical across all versions of Windows Server and SQL…

Server Login Accounts and Passwords Must Be Same on Each Server in the Cluster

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » Server Login Accounts and Passwords Must Be Same on Each Server in the Cluster

The DataKeeper GUI cannot connect to the target server in a cluster if server Login Accounts and Passwords are different on each server. Error Message An Error Code 1326 will appear in the Application log (Note: The Error Code may also be a 2 with Event ID…

Creating Other Server Resource in WSFC

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Creating Other Server Resource in WSFC

When creating an Other Server resource in WSFC, you will be prompted for a storage resource (DataKeeper resource) twice. You will check the first one, but do not need to check the second dialog. Click the “checkbox” for the first dialog “Select…

Mirror Creation and Cluster Configuration

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Using Microsoft iSCSI Target With DataKeeper on Windows 2012 » Mirror Creation and Cluster Configuration

Create your DataKeeper volumes and your cluster. See Creating a DataKeeper Volume Resource in WSFC for reference. *IMPORTANT: The iSCSI Target Role only supports DataKeeper Volumes that are mirrors of Simple Volumes placed on Basic Disks. If any of your mirrors are…

DataKeeper Service Log On ID and Password Selection

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Components » DataKeeper Service Log On ID and Password Selection

During a new DataKeeper installation setup, the user will be prompted for a DataKeeper Service Log On ID and Password. The DataKeeper Service uses authenticated connections to perform volume switchovers and make mirror role changes across multiple servers. The Log On…

Join SQL1 and SQL2 to the Domain

Step by Step SQL Server 2019 FCI in OCI » Join SQL1 and SQL2 to the Domain

DataKeeper Intent Log files on AWS Ephemeral Storage

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » DataKeeper Intent Log files on AWS Ephemeral Storage

DataKeeper systems that are running on AWS instances which are configured with local instance storage (i.e. ephemeral disks) can use the instance storage to store DataKeeper intent log files (i.e. bitmap files). It is important to be sure that when using AWS ephemeral…

ISBREAKUSERREQUESTED

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » ISBREAKUSERREQUESTED

EMCMD ISBREAKUSERREQUESTED This command checks whether a mirror state change is a result of a user request. The parameters are: This should be the source system. The drive letter of the volume that you want to check.…

Setup of iSCSI Initiator on Windows 2012

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Using Microsoft iSCSI Target With DataKeeper on Windows 2012 » Setup of iSCSI Initiator on Windows 2012

Once the virtual disks/targets are created, each of the cluster servers must initiate a connection to them via Microsoft’s iSCSI Initiator. From “Administrator Tools” in “Server Manager”, start “iSCSI Initiator”. Select the “Targets” tab and…

Installation of the iSCSI Target

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Using Microsoft iSCSI Target With DataKeeper on Windows 2012 » Installation of the iSCSI Target

From the Server Manager menu, select “Add Roles and Features” from the “Manage” drop-down. Select the “Role-based or feature-based installation” option. From the list of servers presented, select the appropriate server. On the…

Configure a File Server Cluster in Azure Spanning Multiple Availability Zones(AZ)

DataKeeper Cluster Edition in a Cloud Environment » Configure a File Server Cluster in Azure Spanning Multiple Availability Zones(AZ)

This step by step guide contains detailed steps that are required to deploy a 2-node File Server Failover Cluster that spans the new Availability Zones in a single region of Azure. The guide assumes that you have basic knowledge of Azure as well as Failover Clustering.…

Configuration of Data Replication From a Cluster Node to External DR Site

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Configuration » Configuration of Data Replication From a Cluster Node to External DR Site

For more information, see Extending a clustered datakeeper volume to a node outside the cluster.

Introduction – About this Document

Introduction – About this Document

Purpose of This Document and Target Audience The purpose of this document is to provide comprehensive information regarding the installation, configuration, and operation of SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition. The primary target audience includes IT professionals, system…

SIOS DataKeeper Intent Log

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Understanding Replication » SIOS DataKeeper Intent Log

SIOS DataKeeper uses an intent log (also referred to as a bitmap file) to track changes made to the source, or to target volume during times that the target is unlocked. This log is a persistent record of write requests which have not yet been committed to both…

Creating Mirrors With Shared Volumes

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Configuring Mirrors » Creating Mirrors With Shared Volumes

In order to properly configure DataKeeper in a shared volume configuration, use the DataKeeper GUI to connect to all systems where the shared volumes are configured. When connected, the DataKeeper GUI uses hardware signatures to automatically detect which volumes are…

Connecting to a Server

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Getting Started » Connecting to a Server

Use this dialog to connect to the server of your choice. You may enter the IP address, system NetBIOS name or the full system domain name for the server. Click Connect to select it.

Compression

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Configuration » WAN Considerations » Compression

DataKeeper allows the user to choose the compression level associated with each mirror. Enabling compression can result in improved replication performance, especially across slower networks. *Note: The compression level of a mirror can be changed after the mirror…

Firewall Configurations

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Configuration » Firewall Configurations

SIOS DataKeeper cannot function properly if the firewall settings for the source and target machines are not configured correctly. This means you will need to configure a rule for inbound and outbound connections on each server running SIOS DataKeeper as well as any…

Silent Installation

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide » Installation » Silent Installation

!When creating a response file, ensure that ALL dialog boxes have been responded to, including the final dialog box specifying when the system should reboot. Not providing a response for all dialog boxes will result in a faulty response file. To resolve a faulty…

Disconnecting from a Server

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Getting Started » Disconnecting from a Server

Use this dialog to disconnect from a server. You may use this option if you no longer wish to view the server in the Administration Window. From the list of servers, select the server(s) that you wish to disconnect from and click Disconnect.

Deleting a Job

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Jobs » Deleting a Job

Select the job in the left Console Tree pane of the main DataKeeper window. You can select Delete Job from the Actions pane or right-click on the selected job and choose Delete Job from the menu that displays. Select Yes to delete the selected job and…

Resources cannot Failover after a Target NODE/SYSTEM has been replaced

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » Resources cannot Failover after a Target NODE/SYSTEM has been replaced

Error message: Log Name: System Source: Microsoft-Windows-FailoverClustering Date: 2/12/2020 6:14:29 PM Event ID: 1205 Task Category: Resource Control Manager Level: Error Keywords: User: SYSTEM Computer: servername.FQDN Description The Cluster service failed to…

Dangling Sources

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » Dangling Sources

Mirror Broken – Notification Icon Indicates “dangling sources”, GUI shows Red X Solution By default, Windows configures virtual memory so that page files are automatically created on volumes as the Operating System determines is best. This Virtual…

Specifying Network Cards for Mirroring

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Understanding Replication » Specifying Network Cards for Mirroring

SIOS DataKeeper allows the administrator to specify which IP addresses should be used as mirror end-points. This allows the replicated data to be transmitted across a specific network which permits the user to segment mirrored traffic away from the client network if…

Synchronous and Asynchronous Mirroring

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Understanding Replication » Synchronous and Asynchronous Mirroring

SIOS DataKeeper employs both asynchronous and synchronous mirroring schemes. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages between synchronous and asynchronous mirroring is essential to the correct operation of SIOS DataKeeper. Synchronous Mirroring With synchronous…

Add a Node to the Cluster

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Add a Node to the Cluster

When adding a node to a cluster, uncheck the Add all eligible storage to the cluster checkbox. It is checked by default. If it is not unchecked it will cause all of the storage that is configured with DataKeeper to be turned into Cluster storage and all roles in…

Switchover and Failover with Multiple Targets

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Configuring Mirrors » Switchover and Failover with Multiple Targets

In a multiple target configuration, it is important to understand how DataKeeper mirrors will work in the following scenarios: Manual switchover to a target server Source server failure followed by a manual switchover to a target server Example: In the…

Creation of iSCSI Virtual Disks

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Using Microsoft iSCSI Target With DataKeeper on Windows 2012 » Creation of iSCSI Virtual Disks

Perform the following on the primary server, wherever the iSCSI Target server is online at the moment. From Server Manager, navigate to File and Storage Services and select iSCSI. Click on the link “To create an iSCSI virtual disk, start the New iSCSI Virtual Disk…

DataKeeper Target Snapshot

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » DataKeeper Target Snapshot

Overview *The TAKESNAPSHOT command does not work with mirrors that have different drive letters. DataKeeper’s target snapshot feature, integrated with both DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition, is the process of creating point in time copies of replicated…

How to create a DK Replicated Volume that has Multiple Targets via CLI

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » How to create a DK Replicated Volume that has Multiple Targets via CLI

The environment in this example looks like this: PRIMARY (10.0.2.100) – in AZ1 SECONDARY (10.0.3.100) – in AZ2 DR (10.0.1.10) – in a different Region *The Goals: • To create a synchronous mirror from PRIMARY to SECONDARY and an…

IMPORTANT NOTICE

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Release Notes » IMPORTANT NOTICE

During a review of the current releases of LifeKeeper for Windows and DataKeeper Cluster Edition, we discovered a memory leak issue in ExtMirrSvc.exe within DataKeeper. This issue is limited to LifeKeeper for Windows and DataKeeper versions 8.8.0 and…

Most Common DKCE Clustering Solutions

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Solutions » DKCE Common Solutions » Most Common DKCE Clustering Solutions

The following are the most commonly requested clustering related solutions. Perform a Health Check How do I add/register an existing DataKeeper Volume to a cluster? Why has my Role FAILED in WSFC (e.g. SQL, SAP, FileShare, Hyper-V, Generic App)? For…

Using DKPwrShell with SIOS DataKeeper

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Using DKPwrShell with SIOS DataKeeper

SIOS DataKeeper includes a powershell module (DKPwrShell) that allows a user to manipulate a DataKeeper mirror using Microsoft Powershell. Commands are passed to a SIOS DataKeeper service and will fail if the service is not running. With Microsoft Powershell v3 or…

Changing the Compression Level of an Existing Mirror

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Mirrors » Changing the Compression Level of an Existing Mirror

The compression level of the mirror is set during mirror creation and applies to that specific mirror only. To change the compression level of an existing the mirror, edit the properties of the mirror from within the DataKeeper GUI. Select the mirror and click on…

Switchover in an N-Shared x N-Shared Configuration

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Switchover in an N-Shared x N-Shared Configuration

In a multi-shared storage environment between two sites (as shown in the diagram below), each server in each site has access to the storage being shared between the servers at that site. When a DataKeeper mirror is created, one server in each site will be designated…

Disk-to-Disk

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Getting Started » Disk-to-Disk

This is a simple one server, two disks configuration, mirroring Volume X on Server A to Volume Y on Server A. The volumes that are used for Disk-to-Disk replication can’t also be configured to replicate to another system. *Disk to Disk does not support mirrors…

One-to-One

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Getting Started » One-to-One

This is a simple one source, one target configuration, mirroring Volume X across the network. In addition to providing a second physical copy of the data, DataKeeper also provides the ability to switch over the mirror which allows the data to become active on the…

Many-to-One

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Getting Started » Many-to-One

This configuration involves multiple source servers replicating one (or more) volumes to the same target system. In this configuration, each volume being replicated to the target server must have a unique drive letter. Note: This is actually two One-to-One…

Using the -proxy option with EMCMD

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » Using the -proxy option with EMCMD

All EMCMD requests can be routed through a “proxy” DataKeeper service. To do this, append the options –proxy – to the end of the EMCMD command line. The should be given using the same format as the option. EMCMD will open a connection to the first,…

Inability to Create a Mirror

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » FAQs » Inability to Create a Mirror

Question Why can’t I create a mirror? Answer The common cause of this problem is that the volume on either source or target is in use by another process. Stop the process that is accessing the volume and try again. The SIOS DataKeeper software requires…

Managing Shared Volumes

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Shared Volumes » Managing Shared Volumes

Once your mirrors have been created, DataKeeper allows you to manage your shared volumes. By choosing Manage Shared Volumes from the DataKeeper GUI, you can add another system, which is sharing a mirrored volume, to a job. It also allows you to remove a shared system…

Non-mirrored Volume Resource

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Non-mirrored Volume Resource

A non-mirrored volume resource is a DataKeeper resource where no data is replicated to any node in the cluster. This resource type should only be used where the data is temporary and/or non-critical such as MS SQL Server tempdb space. In this case, when MS SQL restarts…

Deploying a File Server Failover Cluster Instance using the Azure Portal

DataKeeper Cluster Edition in a Cloud Environment » Configure a File Server Cluster in Azure Spanning Multiple Availability Zones(AZ) » Deploying a File Server Failover Cluster Instance using the Azure Portal

To build a 2-node File Server Failover Cluster Instance in Azure, we are going to assume you have a basic Virtual Network based on Azure Resource Manager and you have at least one virtual machine up and running and configured as a Domain Controller. Once you have a…

Bitlocker Does Not Support DataKeeper

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Restrictions » Bitlocker Does Not Support DataKeeper

According to Microsoft, Bitlocker is not supported to work with Software RAID configurations. Since DataKeeper is essentially a software RAID 1, Microsoft does not support Bitlocker working with DataKeeper. * EFS (Encrypting File System) , *TDE (Transparent Disk…

Most Common DKCE Installation Solutions

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Solutions » DKCE Common Solutions » Most Common DKCE Installation Solutions

The following are the most commonly requested installation related solutions. How do I get and install my license(s)? Where can I get the latest software? (Log into the Customer Portal to access) Why can’t I create a new mirror? Firewall…

Volume Considerations

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Understanding Replication » Volume Considerations

SIOS DataKeeper primary and secondary systems have three types of volumes: system, non-mirrored and mirrored. During mirroring operations, system and non-mirrored volumes are not affected and the user has full access to all applications and data on these…

CREATEJOB

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » CREATEJOB

EMCMD . CREATEJOB . . . Ensure the Mirror(s) are in a Mirroring state To check the state of the mirror, use the command emcmd . getmirrorvolinfo Create your job from the command line using the following syntax: EMCmd CREATEJOB “Description” …

One-to-Many (Multiple Targets)

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Getting Started » One-to-Many (Multiple Targets)

This configuration involves one primary (source) system replicating one (or more) volume(s) to two different target systems across the network. This is referred to as a multiple target configuration. Note that there are two mirrors that are completely independent…

N-Shared-Disk Replicated to One

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Getting Started » N-Shared-Disk Replicated to One

This configuration allows you to replicate the shared volume(s) of the primary site to a remote system across the network. This configuration is ideal for providing local failover within the Primary Site and disaster recovery protection should the entire Primary…

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation

DataKeeper with High Availability – Cluster Edition Overview SIOS DataKeeper is a highly optimized host-based replication solution which ensures your data is replicated as quickly and as efficiently as possible from your source server across the network to one…

Read and Write Operations

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Understanding Replication » Read and Write Operations

After the volume mirror is created and the two drives on the primary and secondary servers are synchronized, the following events occur: The system locks out all user access to the target volume; reads and writes are not allowed to the target volume. The source…

Upgrading SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide » Upgrading SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition

*v10.0 refers to all v10.0.x product versions. !Before upgrading to v10.0.0, see this Known Issue. !Before upgrading from v8.10.2 or v8.11.0 to releases v10.0.0 or later, see this Known Issue. Upgrading DataKeeper Cluster Edition from previous versions of…

Mirror Properties

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Mirrors » Mirror Properties

Select a job in the Job Summary pane and right-click to choose Mirror Properties. This dialog displays the following information about the job, source and target systems: Job Name State (current state of the job; for example, Active) Source…

SETCONFIGURATION

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » SETCONFIGURATION

EMCMD SETCONFIGURATION This command sets the net alert settings (also referred to as “volume attributes”) for the volume. The parameters are: This can be either the source or the target system. The drive letter of the…

N-Shared-Disk Replicated to Multiple N-Shared-Disk Targets

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Getting Started » N-Shared-Disk Replicated to Multiple N-Shared-Disk Targets

This is a complex configuration which combines the aspects of replicating a shared storage environment to multiple shared targets. Note that the number of systems in the Primary Site does not have to equal the number of systems in the Remote Site. Also note that…

Using Volume Shadow Copy

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » FAQs » Using Volume Shadow Copy

Question Can Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) be Used with DataKeeper Volumes? Answer VSS Shadow Copy can be enabled for DataKeeper volumes. However, the following guidelines apply: VSS snapshot images must not be stored on a DataKeeper volume. Storing VSS snapshots on…

Creating a DataKeeper Volume Resource in WSFC

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » User Guide » Clustering » Creating a DataKeeper Volume Resource in WSFC

Automatic Creation of a Mirror in WSFC Use the SIOS DataKeeper GUI to configure a mirror. At the completion of the mirror creation operation, the following dialog box will pop up which will allow you to automatically add the mirror as a DataKeeper volume…

Solutions

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » DataKeeper Troubleshooting » Solutions

- Cloud Environment - How to properly use AWS instance storage (ephemeral storage/disk) If SIOS AMIs are not being deployed on an AWS server, these disk initialization steps must be considered. This was introduced with Windows 2016 and continues in later…