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

1. Read the SIOS Protection Suite for Windows Release Notes for late breaking information.
2. Firewall Configurations – Make sure you understand what ports must be opened on any firewalls.
3. Network Bandwidth – If replicating across a WAN, it is critical that a rate of change analysis be done to ensure there is adequate bandwidth.
4. DataKeeper is a block-level volume replication solution and requires that each server have additional volume(s) (other than the system drive) that are the same size. Please review Volume Considerations for additional information regarding storage requirements.
5. Review the section Understanding Replication to help understand how DataKeeper works and the difference between synchronous and asynchronous replication.
6. During installation/upgrade, you will be prompted to select and set up a user account that will be used to start the DataKeeper Service. SIOS recommends using a domain account on each server (same account with the same password). This account must be added to each server’s local Administrator Group. Perform the following on each server:
   1. Select Edit Local Users and Groups
   2. Select Groups, Administrators
   3. Add the DK Service Account being used to this Administrator’s Group.

The following topics provide further information about these accounts.

DataKeeper Service Log On ID and Password Selection

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

7. Configure your Network Adapter Settings.
8. Review Sector Size and GUI Requirements in the SPS Release Notes.
9. Set the Event Log to Overwrite Events as Needed.
10. Disable the Distributed Link Tracking Client service and set its startup policy to Manual.
11. If using High-Speed Storage, review High-Speed Storage Best Practices.

Configuration

1. Choose the type of replication scheme that meets your data protection requirements. The links below describe the possible configuration options.
   Disk-to-Disk
   One-to-One
   One-to-Many
   Many-to-One

2. Create a Job using the DataKeeper UI. The Job creation process also adds your first mirror.

3. If additional mirrors are required, you can Add a Mirror to a Job.

4. If you are creating a One-to-Many replication scheme, see Creating Mirrors with Multiple Targets.

*Note: A “Mirror” consists of a source volume and target volume as well as a source IP and target IP. A “Job” consists of one or more related “Mirrors”. For example, when replicating a database that consists of an E:\ volume for data and an F:\ volume for log files, you would place the E:\ and F:\ volumes into the same “Job”. However, if you have three VMs, one on the G:\, H:\ and I:\ volumes, you would create three separate Jobs as the VMs themselves are not related to each other. A general rule of thumb is that mirrors should always be grouped into the same Job if they should move as a group.

Management

Some of the more common management functions are described below.

Switching Over a Mirror

Managing Mirrors

Pause and Unlock

Continue and Lock

Break

Resync

Deleting a Mirror

Mirror Properties

Changing the Compression Level of an Existing Mirror

DataKeeper Volume Resize

You may also want to review the Frequently Asked Questions.

For more information, please refer to the DataKeeper section of the DataKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation.

Replicating Hyper-V Virtual Machines

If you are using DataKeeper to replicate Hyper-V VHD files in a non-clustered environment, you need to understand how to access and re-provision virtual machines based on those replicated VHD files. Please follow the instructions in the topic Providing Disaster Recovery for Hyper-V Virtual Machines.

Troubleshooting

Use the following resources to help troubleshoot issues:

• Troubleshooting issues section

• For customers with a support contract – http://us.sios.com/support/overview/

• For evaluation customers only – Pre-sales support