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DataKeeper Volume Resize

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Mirrors » DataKeeper Volume Resize

DataKeeper allows users to extend and shrink their DataKeeper volumes dynamically while retaining mirror settings. Once the resize is complete, a partial resync will be performed. Note: This resize procedure should be performed on only one volume at a time. !WARNING …

DataKeeper Volume Resize Restriction

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Restrictions » DataKeeper Volume Resize Restriction

The DataKeeper volume resize procedure should be performed on only one volume at a time.

Non-mirrored Volume Resource

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » 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…

Volume Considerations

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » 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…

Safe Creation of a Shared-Storage Volume Resource

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Configuring Mirrors » Safe Creation of a Shared-Storage Volume Resource

DataKeeper allows mirrors to be created on shared volumes where more than one system has access to the same physical storage. The shared volume can be on the source side of the mirror or on the target side. Note: Dynamic disks are not supported with Shared Storage…

DataKeeper Components

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » 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 endpoints. DataKeeper Service…

Using Volume Shadow Copy

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

DataKeeper Notification Icon

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » DataKeeper Notification Icon

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: An error condition, such as…

DataKeeper Target Snapshot

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » DataKeeper Target Snapshot

Overview DataKeeper’s target snapshot feature, integrated with both DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition, is the process of creating point in time copies of replicated volumes allowing access to data on a standby cluster node without interrupting data…

DataKeeper User Guide

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » DataKeeper » DataKeeper User Guide

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

Access to Designated Volume Denied

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » Access to Designated Volume Denied

If access to the designated volume is denied, then check whether you are attempting to create the mirror while other applications are accessing the volume. During Mirror Creation, the volumes must be locked on the target system for exclusive access by the SIOS…

Setting Up SIOS DataKeeper

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » DataKeeper » Setting Up SIOS DataKeeper

Follow these steps to start using SIOS DataKeeper: Connect to the servers you wish to configure for replication. You can select Connect to Server from the Action pull down menu, right-click on the job folder in the left panel tree display and select Connect to…

Setting Up SIOS DataKeeper

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Setup » Setting Up SIOS DataKeeper

Setting Up SIOS DataKeeper Follow these steps to start using SIOS DataKeeper: Connect to the servers you wish to configure for replication. You can select Connect to Server from the Action pull down menu, right-click on the job folder in the left panel tree…

SIOS DataKeeper Intent Log

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » 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…

DataKeeper Event Log Notification

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » DataKeeper Event Log Notification

The Event Log notification is a mechanism by which one or more users may receive email notices when certain events occur. The Windows Event Log can be set up to provide notifications of certain DataKeeper events that get logged. *Note: This option is only available…

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows

Your information resource for SIOS DataKeeper Standard Edition SIOS Technology Corp. maintains documentation for all supported versions of SIOS DataKeeper Standard Edition. We welcome your suggestions and feedback. To help us continue to improve our documentation,…

Uninstalling SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition

NO TOC » DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide » Uninstalling SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition

Before Removing DataKeeper If planning to uninstall DataKeeper and reinstall a previous version, all jobs/mirrors must be deleted on each node prior to uninstalling. These will need to be recreated once software is reinstalled. Uninstall DataKeeper Cluster…

Upgrading SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition

NO TOC » DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide » Upgrading SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition

Upgrading DataKeeper Cluster Edition from previous versions of DataKeeper Cluster Edition is very straightforward. Simply run the installation process outlined below on all systems. The upgrade process stops the DataKeeper Service, copies the new files to the…

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation

NO TOC » DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation

SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition Introduction

NO TOC » DataKeeper Cluster Edition Technical Documentation » SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition Introduction

SIOS DataKeeper Overview 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…

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Release Notes

NO TOC » DataKeeper Cluster Edition Release Notes

SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition Release Notes Version 8.6.2 (Version 8 Update 6 Maintenance 2) Important!! Read This Document Before Attempting To Install Or Use This Product! This document contains last minute information that must be considered before, during…

DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide

NO TOC » DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide

The DataKeeper Cluster Edition Installation Guide contains information on how to install and license your Cluster Edition software. Once you have completed the steps in this guide, you will be ready to configure your Cluster resources. The DataKeeper Cluster Edition…

Using DKPwrShell with SIOS DataKeeper

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » 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…

Bitlocker Does Not Support DataKeeper

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » 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. Note: EFS (Encrypting File System) and TDE (Transparent Disk…

Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » 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…

Resource Tag Name Restrictions

NO TOC » Resource Tag Name Restrictions

Tag Name Length All tags within DataKeeper may not exceed the 256 character limit. Valid “Special” Characters - _ . / However, the first character in a tag should not contain “.” or “/”. Invalid…

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Quick Start Guide

This topic provides step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring DataKeeper Standard Edition. The series of steps includes links into the documentation that describe each step in detail. Prerequisites and Installation Read the SIOS Protection Suite for…

Creating Other Server Resource in WSFC

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » 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…

DataKeeper Service Log On ID and Password Selection

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » DataKeeper 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…

DataKeeper Service Log On ID and Password Selection

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Configuration » 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…

Using Microsoft iSCSI Target With DataKeeper on Windows 2012

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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. …

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

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » 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;…

Installing and Using DataKeeper Cluster Edition on Windows Server 2008 R2 / 2012 Core Platforms

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » Clustering » Installing and Using DataKeeper Cluster Edition on Windows Server 2008 R2 / 2012 Core Platforms

Prepare the servers. Install Windows Server 2008 R2/2012 Core on two servers, configure IP, join a domain, configure firewall for remote administration, configure the server for remote access and install the Failover Cluster feature. Server Core Installation…

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

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

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

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » 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…

Extending a Traditional 2-Node Cluster to a Shared-Replicated Configuration

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » Clustering » Extending a Traditional 2-Node Cluster to a Shared-Replicated Configuration

Add a Shared Node Using Windows Server 2008R2 or 2012 When using Windows Server 2008R2 or 2012, a 1×1 2-Node replicated cluster using DataKeeper Volumes can be extended to a 2×1 shared and replicated 3-Node cluster by using either of the following…

Mirror Creation and Cluster Configuration

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

Restrictions

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Restrictions

Included below are restrictions associated with DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition as well as possible workarounds and/or solutions. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bitlocker…

Intensive I-O with Synchronous Replication

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Restrictions » Intensive I-O with Synchronous Replication

Description Due to the nature of synchronous replication (blocking volume writes while waiting for a response from the target system), you may experience sluggish behavior with any applications that are writing to the mirrored volume. The frequency of these events…

Creating Mirrors With Shared Volumes

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

Read and Write Operations

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » 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…

ISPOTENTIALMIRRORVOL

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » ISPOTENTIALMIRRORVOL

EMCMD ISPOTENTIALMIRRORVOL This command checks to determine if a volume is a candidate for mirroring. The command may only be run on the local system. The parameters are: This should be the local system. The drive letter of the…

AWS Issues and Workarounds

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » FAQs » AWS Issues and Workarounds

Question What is the best practice for shutting down clustered VMs in AWS? Answer If shutting down the primary source node, all cluster roles depending on a SIOS DataKeeper Volume Resource should be placed in the Offline state. Also make sure all mirrors are in the…

ISBREAKUSERREQUESTED

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » ISBREAKUSERREQUESTED

EMCMD ISBREAKUSERREQUESTED This command checks whether a broken mirror is a result of a user request. The parameters are: This can be either the source or the target system. The drive letter of the volume that you want to check.…

Switchover in an N-Shared x N-Shared Configuration

NO TOC » SIOS Protection Suite for Windows » 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…

DKHEALTHCHECK

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » DKHEALTHCHECK

DKHealthCheck.exe, found in the \DKTools directory, is a tool that can provide basic mirror status and problem detection of mirror issues. SIOS Support may request that you run this tool as part of the Support process. Note: DKHEALTHCHECK output is captured by…

High-Speed Storage Best Practices

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

User Interface – Shows Only One Side of the Mirror

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » 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…

Understanding Replication

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » Understanding Replication

How SIOS DataKeeper Works At the highest level, DataKeeper provides the ability to mirror a volume on one system (source) to a different volume on another system (target) across any network. When the mirror is created, all data on the source volume is initially…

UPDATEVOLUMEINFO

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » UPDATEVOLUMEINFO

EMCMD UPDATEVOLUMEINFO This command causes the SIOS DataKeeper service to query the driver for the correct mirror state. This command is useful if the DataKeeper GUI displays information that appears to be incorrect or not up-to-date. Note: The SIOS DataKeeper…

Resize or Grow Mirrored Volumes

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » FAQs » Resize or Grow Mirrored Volumes

Question Can you resize or grow mirrored volumes? Answer Yes, beginning with Version 7.4, users can extend and shrink their DataKeeper volumes dynamically while retaining mirror settings. See DataKeeper Volume Resize for more information.

Initial Synchronization of Data Across the LAN or WAN

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

Resynchronization

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » Understanding Replication » Resynchronization

SIOS DataKeeper Resynchronization SIOS DataKeeper performs resynchronization through the use of a bitmap file (intent log). It allocates memory that is used to keep track of “dirty” or “clean” blocks. When a full resync begins, SIOS DataKeeper…

User Interface – Failed to Create Mirror

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » 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:…

Get-DataKeeperVolumeInfo

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using DKPwrShell with SIOS DataKeeper » Get-DataKeeperVolumeInfo

This cmdlet is used to fetch information about a volume used in DataKeeper. It reports DataKeeper volume information. Parameters Parameter Type Required Position Notes Node String Yes 0 Use the Node parameter…

Failed to Create Mirror

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » 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…

Network Bandwidth

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Configuration » Network Bandwidth

Because DataKeeper can replicate data across any available network, special consideration must be given to the question, “Is there sufficient bandwidth to successfully replicate the volume and keep the mirror in the mirroring state as the source volume is updated…

Managing Shared Volumes

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

Synchronous and Asynchronous Mirroring

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » 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…

DROPSNAPSHOT

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » DROPSNAPSHOT

EMCMD DROPSNAPSHOT [ …] This command will notify DataKeeper to lock the volume and clean up the snapshot files that it created. The parameters are: This is the IP address of the system containing the snapshot. This is the…

GETVOLUMEDRVSTATE

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » GETVOLUMEDRVSTATE

EMCMD GETVOLUMEDRVSTATE This command retrieves the current state of the SIOS DataKeeper device driver. The parameters are: This can be either the source or the target systems. The drive letter of the volume you want to get the…

Sector Size

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Configuration » Sector Size

Beginning with DataKeeper Version 7.2.1, disks with sector size not equal to 512 bytes are supported. However, DataKeeper requires that the mirror source volume be configured on disk(s) whose sector size is the same as the disk(s) where the mirror target is configured.…

New-DataKeeperMirror

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using DKPwrShell with SIOS DataKeeper » New-DataKeeperMirror

This cmdlet is used to create a new DataKeeper mirror. Mirrors created with this cmdlet will be visible in the DataKeeper SnapIn (Reports > Server Overview). If a job exists that includes information that matches this mirror (systems, IP Addresses, Volumes, and Sync…

Stop Replication Between Source and Target

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » FAQs » Stop Replication Between Source and Target

Question How do I stop the replication between the Source and Target volumes? Answer Replication occurs at the driver level and can only be stopped or interrupted by sending a command from the DataKeeper GUI or the DataKeeper command line (EMCMD) to the DataKeeper…

Inability to Create a Mirror

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

Break

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Mirrors » Break

Breaking a mirror is similar to the Pause and Unlock function. It suspends mirror operation and unlocks the target volume for read/write access. The difference is that the Break operation marks all bits in the DataKeeper Intent Log as dirty, which forces a full…

TAKESNAPSHOT

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » TAKESNAPSHOT

EMCMD TAKESNAPSHOT […] This command, run on the target system, will notify DataKeeper to establish a snapshot of the given volume(s) on the given system. If no snapshot location has been configured, the command will fail. The parameters are: …

Registry Entries

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Registry Entries

The following registry entries are associated with the SIOS DataKeeper service or driver and can be viewed using Regedt32. The first section contains entries that may be modified; the second section contains entries that are for viewing only and should not be…

Error Messages Log

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » FAQs » Error Messages Log

Question Where does DataKeeper log error messages? Answer DataKeeper events are logged in the Windows Application Event Log and the Windows System Event Log. Here is a breakdown of the messages you can look for. Application Event Log: Source = ExtMirrSvc –…

Volumes Unavailable for Mirroring

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » FAQs » Volumes Unavailable for Mirroring

Question Why are some of my volumes not available for mirroring? Answer The SIOS DataKeeper service filters out the following types of disk partitions: Windows system volume Volume(s) that contain the Windows pagefile Non-NTFS formatted volumes (e.g. FAT,…

Continue and Lock

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Mirrors » Continue and Lock

This action locks the volume on the target system and then resumes the mirroring process. While the mirror is paused, writes on the source system are recorded in the SIOS DataKeeper Intent Log. When the Continue and Lock operation occurs, these changed blocks –…

Creating Mirrors With Multiple Targets

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Configuring Mirrors » Creating Mirrors With Multiple Targets

SIOS DataKeeper provides the ability to replicate data from a single source volume to one or more target volumes. In addition, DataKeeper also allows you to switch over control and make any of the target volumes become the source. Assuming you have already created a…

Windows Server 2012 iSCSI Target Role Does Not Support Dynamic Disks

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » Windows Server 2012 Specific Issues » Windows Server 2012 iSCSI Target Role Does Not Support Dynamic Disks

Description The iSCSI Target Role only supports DataKeeper Volumes that are mirrors of Simple Volumes placed on Basic Disks. If any of your mirrors are using volumes such as Striped or Spanned volumes on a Dynamic Disk on either the source or target system, then you…

CHANGEMIRRORENDPOINTS

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Restrictions » CHANGEMIRRORENDPOINTS

Description: This command, which is used to move a DataKeeper protected volume to another network location, only supports changing the endpoints of a mirrored volume that is configured on 3 nodes or fewer. Workaround: For configurations greater than three nodes, the…

Working With Mirrors

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Mirrors

Managing Mirrors Pause and Unlock Continue and Lock Partial Resync Break Resync Deleting a Mirror Replacing a Target DataKeeper Volume Resize Mirror Properties Changing the Compression Level of an Existing Mirror

Using Disk Management

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using Disk Management

When using the Windows Disk Management utility to access SIOS DataKeeper volumes, please note the following: Using Disk Management to delete partitions that are being mirrored is not supported. Deleting a partition that is part of a SIOS DataKeeper mirror will yield…

Introduction

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction

SIOS DataKeeper 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 or more target servers. Features Some…

New-DataKeeperJob

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using DKPwrShell with SIOS DataKeeper » New-DataKeeperJob

This cmdlet is used to create a DataKeeper job consisting of two nodes. Jobs created using this cmdlet will be added to the DataKeeper SnapIn the next time it is loaded. Parameters Parameter Type Required Position Notes JobName …

Primary Server Shutdown

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Primary Server Shutdown

On a graceful shutdown of the source server, all pending writes to the target are completed. This ensures that all data is present on the target system. On an unexpected source server failure, the Intent Log feature eliminates the need to do a full resync after the…

Add-DataKeeperJobPair

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using DKPwrShell with SIOS DataKeeper » Add-DataKeeperJobPair

This cmdlet will add a node pair to an existing DataKeeper Job. It is used to expand the nodes and volumes contained within an existing job. For example, if a job exists for a volume between nodes A and B, and you want to add node C, run AddDataKeeperJobPair…

Troubleshooting

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting

The topics in this section contain important information about known issues and restrictions offering possible workarounds and/or solutions. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Known Issues…

Remove-DataKeeperMirror

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using DKPwrShell with SIOS DataKeeper » Remove-DataKeeperMirror

This cmdlet will remove a DataKeeper mirror. It will attempt to remove the mirror from all nodes for this mirror. This command will not remove the mirror from any down or network inaccessible node. Parameters Parameter Type Required Position…

Network Disconnect

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » FAQs » Network Disconnect

Scenario #1 In a 2-Node, non-clustering configuration (1×1) replicating a 100TB volume between Source server and Target server over a WAN connection, the network goes down for twenty minutes. Question In this scenario, what would happen to the Mirror State with…

Delete and Switchover Actions Grayed Out

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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.

CLEARSWITCHOVER

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » CLEARSWITCHOVER

EMCMD CLEARSWITCHOVER This command should be run on a target system where a mirror has been previously deleted with the DELETELOCALMIRRORONLY command and now needs to be re-established. This command clears the SIOS DataKeeper switchover flag that is set for a volume…

System Event Log – Create Mirror Failed in the GUI

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » System Event Log – Create Mirror Failed in the GUI

Error/Message Create Mirror Failed in the GUI. Description This can result if a vmms.exe program is holding on to volume and preventing SIOS DataKeeper from locking it.

Firewall Configurations

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

GETSERVICEINFO

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » GETSERVICEINFO

EMCMD GETSERVICEINFO This command retrieves version and other information about the SIOS DataKeeper service and driver that is running on the specified machine. The parameters are: This can be either the source or the target systems. Sample…

CREATEMIRROR

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Using EMCMD with SIOS DataKeeper » CREATEMIRROR

EMCMD CREATEMIRROR [options] This command creates a mirror between two machines, using the same drive letter on each. The parameters are: This is the IP address of the source system (see Note below). This is the drive letter…

Configuring Mirrors

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Configuring Mirrors

Creating a Mirror Creating Mirrors With Shared Volumes Safe Creation of a Shared-Storage Volume Resource Creating Mirrors With Multiple Targets Switchover and Failover with Multiple Targets

One-to-One

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

Performance Monitor Counters

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Introduction » Understanding Replication » Performance Monitor Counters

SIOS DataKeeper provides counters that extend Performance Monitor with statistics about the status of mirroring on volumes. The counters are installed during the full installation of SIOS DataKeeper software. To access the counters, do the following: On a…

Replacing a Target

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » User Guide » Working With Mirrors » Replacing a Target

When replacing the target volume, you must either break the mirror or delete the mirror in order to ensure a full resync of the data from the source volume to the target volume when the target volume is back in place. Though similar to the Pause and Unlock, breaking…

Extensive Write Considerations

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » Extensive Write Considerations

SIOS DataKeeper allows users to access the source during the creation and resync process. Extensive writes during the create or resync process increase the amount of time required to complete the operation. The user can also increase the MaxResyncPasses registry…

MaxResyncPasses Value

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » MaxResyncPasses Value

If, during a volume resynchronization, the number of passes made through the intent log exceeds the MaxResyncPasses registry value (200 by default), SIOS DataKeeper logs a message to the Event Log indicating that the resync process is taking too many passes and…

Mirroring with Dynamic Disks

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Troubleshooting » Known Issues and Workarounds » Mirroring with Dynamic Disks

When changing from a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk, the underlying volume GUID may be changed by the OS upon reboot. This will cause a DataKeeper mirror to break. Suggested Action When mirroring with dynamic disks, your dynamic volumes should be created and a reboot…

CHKDSK Considerations

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation » Administration » CHKDSK Considerations

If you must run CHKDSK on a volume that is being mirrored by SIOS DataKeeper, it is recommended that you first pause the mirror. After running CHKDSK, continue the mirror. A partial resync occurs (updating those writes generated by the CHKDSK) and mirroring will…

Many-to-One

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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…

Split-Brain FAQs

SIOS DataKeeper for Windows 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.…