SIOS Protection Suite for Windows
Release Notes
Version 8.6.4
(Version 8 Update 6 Maintenance 4)
Important!!
Read This Document Before Attempting To Install Or Use This Product!
This document contains last minute information that must be considered before, during and after installation.
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Introduction
This information is provided for the person who installs, configures and/or administers the SIOS Protection Suite (SPS) for Windows product and contains important information such as version requirements, last-minute changes to instructions and procedures, product restrictions and known issues. It is important that you review this document before installing and configuring the SIOS Protection Suite software.
SIOS Protection Suite Product Descriptions
SIOS Protection Suite for Windows is a software bundle that integrates high availability clustering and data replication functionality to protect mission-critical data and applications and includes DataKeeper (DK), LifeKeeper (LK) and optional Recovery Kits.
LifeKeeper for Windows
LifeKeeper for Windows continues SIOS Technology Corp.’s tradition of providing world-class reliability for mission critical applications. LifeKeeper for Windows leverages over a decade of experience with high availability platforms by providing customers the ability to cluster multiple servers in order to monitor and restore their applications. In the event of a failure, LifeKeeper recovers all network interfaces, data and applications. Recovery occurs automatically and is transparent to clients, thus minimizing downtime and loss of business.
LifeKeeper for Windows enables continuous operations during planned downtime as well as in the event of a system or application failure. With LifeKeeper, the amount of downtime required for common maintenance tasks and upgrades is significantly reduced or eliminated.
DataKeeper for Windows
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.
New Features of SIOS Protection Suite for Windows v8
| Windows 2019 Support | SIOS Protection Suite for Windows now supports Windows 2019 (Restrictions) |
| Delay Writes when Write Queue limit is reached | Introduced the BlockWritesOnLimitReached tunable, which will delay writes when a mirror’s queue reaches the HighWater or ByteLimit, rather than pausing the mirror and going into a resync state. |
| PostgreSQL 11 | SIOS Protection Suite for Windows now supports PostgreSQL 11 |
| Oracle 18c | SIOS Protection Suite for Windows now supports Oracle 18c |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| Queue Current Age | This Performance Monitor Counter value is the age of the oldest write request in the write queue. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| Integration with SIOS iQ | DataKeeper now includes the DataKeeper Signal package to deliver events to SIOS iQ. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Support | The SIOS Protection Suite SQL Server Recovery Kit supports Microsoft SQLServer 2017. |
| General Maintenance | See Bug Fixes. |
| VSS Provider | SIOS VSS Provider has been disabled by default. |
| PostgreSQL Support | Added a new SIOS Protection Suite for Windows core Application Recovery Kit that provides protection for PostgreSQL database clusters. |
| Windows 2016 Support | SIOS Protection Suite for Windows now supports Windows 2016. |
| Tunable Write Queue Byte Limit | Users can specify the maximum number of bytes that can be allocated for the write queue of a mirror by changing the WriteQueueByteLimitMB registry value. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| CHANGEMIRRORTYPE | This EMCMD command is used to change the mirror type of a mirror that is part of a DataKeeper job. |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Support | The SIOS Protection Suite SQL Server Recovery Kit supports Microsoft SQLServer 2016. |
| Tunable bitmap block size | Users can modify the effective size of an entry in the DataKeeper intent log (bitmap) by changing the BitmapBytesPerBlock registry value. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| Target Bitmap File | Target writes are now tracked in a persistent target bitmap file. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| DataKeeper Notification Icon | The DataKeeper Notification Icon shows a summary of your DataKeeper mirrors in the Windows Notification Tray. In addition to the display functions, the DataKeeper Notification Icon also serves as a shortcut to managing your DataKeeper mirrors. |
| Oracle 12c and Oracle 12c Standard Edition 2 | SIOS Protection Suite for Windows Version 8.3 and later supports Oracle 12c and Oracle 12c Standard Edition 2 (excluding pluggable database). |
| Powershell cmdlet support | Powershell cmdlets that can be used to create job(s), create mirror(s), remove job(s), remove mirror(s) and fetch information about a volume used in DataKeeper (New-DataKeeperMirror, New-DataKeeperJob, Remove-DataKeeperMirror, Remove-DataKeeperJob, Add-DataKeeperJobPair, Get-DataKeeperVolumeInfo). |
| mirrorcleanup.cmd | This command will remove all remnants of a mirror for a selected volume on the local system only and should only be run when recommended by SIOS Support. |
| DKHEALTHCHECK | Support status and issue identification tool. Provides command line interface for basic mirror status and problem detection. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Support | LifeKeeper Version 8.1 and later supports Windows Server 2012 R2. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
| General maintenance | Bug Fixes. |
Discontinued Features of SIOS Protection Suite for Windows v8
| None | |
| Data Rewind | Removed Rewind feature from SPS for Windows |
Bug Fixes
The following is a list of the latest bug fixes and enhancements.
| 4189 | BSOD on shutdown if volume goes offline just after boot time on target node |
| 4211 | emcmd SETSNAPSHOTLOCATION command does not validate the snapshot path |
| 4367 | Ensure the PostgreSQL executable path lists all installed versions as choices and that help clarifies the need to select the correct PostgreSQL version |
| 4381 | Briefly delay writes to allow resync to complete |
| 4392 | Ensure a warning message is displayed when PostgreSQL is running without the port option |
| 4394 | Correct typo in message warning that the PostgreSQL datadir is not located on a protected volume |
| 4408 | Do not allow extension of a PostgreSQL resource to a target node that does not have PostgreSQL installed |
| 4419 | GenApp – remove the recover script should work and should disable local recovery |
| 4420 | Memory leak – shared disk taken offline / online |
| 4421 | Language Pack welcome screen has text cut off |
| 4427 | Correct typo in message warning that the PostgreSQL port is already being used |
| 4431 | SQL restore reports “/Binn not found” |
| 4432 | Fixed typo in PostgreSQL canextend informational message |
| 4433 | Implement BlockWritesOnLimitReached tunable |
| 4437 | License Manager not working properly in some locales (date calculations) |
| 4440 | License Manager incorrectly reports invalid host ID |
| 4441 | Removed rewind from DataKeeper |
| 4442 | Minor typos in the comment sections of a number of PostgreSQL scripts |
| 4444 | Removed ips_arpdate.exe from LifeKeeper for Windows |
| 4445 | Warning message during install about NIC IPV4 metrics |
| 4455 | Prevent product installation on Windows 2019 systems with Secure Boot enabled |
| 4458 | Possible data corruption if unlocked target is rebooted |
Hot Fixes and Add-on Support Packages
The patches are located here.
| LKW_PW4407_CygwinUpdate/ | When you run LK, you end up with files named “NUL:” throughout the LKROOT tree. That’s because ksh creates that file if it pipes to “NUL:”, which almost all of our scripts do. | This patch addresses occasional LK-W script failures that occur when a script attempts to open a file named NUL:. |
| SPSW-SQL-PW2505/ | SQL Kit quickchk.ksh script generates false service failure | This patch will resolve spurious SQL service false failure alerts. The correction is to validate service state codes before evaluating them. |
Product Requirements
Operating System
Important: SIOS Technology Corp. recommends that users use Domain accounts that have local administrator privileges on all servers running SIOS Protection Suite. If local accounts are being used, the user names and passwords must match on all servers running SIOS Protection Suite. This recommendation is for all editions and all platforms.
Note: All servers within a cluster should be running the same version of Windows.
| SIOS Protection Suite (Server Components) |
See the SPS Support Matrix | n/a | |||||||
| SIOS Protection Suite (User Interface) |
See the SPS Support Matrix | MMC 3.0 – download from: https://download.cnet.com/Microsoft-Management-Console-3-0-for-Windows-XP-KB907265/3000-2206_4-10741230.html | |||||||
| Virtual Environments | The operating system versions listed above are supported for guests running on the following virtual platforms:
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| 64-bit versions (x64, no Itanium) of all of the listed OS platforms are supported | |||||||||
Requirements for Windows 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2 and 2016
While installing SIOS Protection Suite on Windows 2008 R2, a dialog box will prompt whether the installer should make the system configuration changes described below. If the installer is not allowed to make these changes, they will need to be made manually after installation is complete.
- Windows Firewall
- The Distributed Link Tracking Client must be disabled
For systems running SIOS Protection Suite for Windows and Microsoft FTP Service 7.5 for IIS 7.0, Windows 2008 R2 or later is required.
In addition, if your Windows 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2 and 2016 servers are not in a domain, the Local Security policy setting “Network Access: Let Everyone permissions apply to anonymous users” must be enabled. If the servers are in a domain, then this setting is not required.
SIOS Protection Suite Requirements
The following table shows requirements applicable to the SIOS Protection Suite core and recovery kits.
| SIOS Protection Suite License | One license is required for every server on which SIOS Protection Suite runs. This applies to both physical and virtual servers. |
| LAN Manager Recovery Kit | Requires the “File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks” component (lanmanserver) to be installed on the Windows server. NetBIOS must also be enabled. Otherwise, the LAN Manager resource will not come in service. |
| Memory Requirements | The minimum memory requirement for a system supporting SIOS Protection Suite for Windows is based on the memory requirements for the operating system being used. Additional memory is required to run user applications in addition to that required for SIOS Protection Suite. |
| GUI | Ports: SIOS Protection Suite uses Port 82 for Remote Method Invocation (RMI) communication between the GUI server and client. The LifeKeeper GUI uses Port 81 for its administration web server which should be different from any public web server. This is used by the GUI when run as a Java applet on a remote client. In the event of conflict with an existing application, these ports can be changed by editing the RMI_PORT or WEB_PORT entries in the SIOS\LIFEKEEPER\JAVAGUI\SERVER registry key. |
Optional Recovery Kits
All optional SIOS Protection Suite Recovery Kits require a software license key in order to function with SIOS Protection Suite.
| Microsoft SQL Server Recovery Kit | See the SPS Support Matrix |
| Oracle Recovery Kit | See the SPS Support Matrix |
| PostgreSQL Recovery Kit | See the SPS Support Matrix |
GUI Requirements, Platforms and Browsers
LifeKeeper requires that the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) be installed on each server. The 32-bit Windows JRE 1.8.0_101 is installed with the SIOS Protection Suite Core software. JRE 1.8.0_101 has been fully tested with the LifeKeeper GUI Server and GUI Application components.
SIOS Protection Suite can be administered from a system outside the SIOS Protection Suite cluster by running the SIOS Protection Suite web client. Included in the following table is a list of the supported platforms and browsers for the SIOS Protection Suite web client. As in the case of the server, we have tested with JRE 1.8.0_101, but we expect that the client will work equally well with future JRE updates. Updating the client JRE only affects that machine, so it is not as critical to test for safety as when you are updating the server JRE. We do recommend that you test updates before committing to them, and that you prepare to roll them back if a problem occurs.
Explorer 7.0, 8.0 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 2016 | |||||||
| Windows 2012 R2 | |||||||
| Windows 2012 | |||||||
| Windows 2008 R2 | |||||||
| Windows 7 | |
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| Linux | |
Note: Other recent platforms and browsers will likely work with the SIOS Protection Suite web client, but they have not been tested by SIOS Technology Corp.
Installing and Removing SIOS Protection Suite for Windows
SIOS Protection Suite for Windows uses InstallShield to provide a standard installation interface with choices for Typical, Compact or Custom installation. See the SIOS Protection Suite Installation Guide for details about installing, removing or upgrading your SIOS Protection Suite software.
- Customizations made to SIOS Protection Suite scripts must be reapplied after upgrading to all releases of SIOS Protection Suite for Windows v8.
- Make sure you obtain the correct licenses; the old licenses will remain on the system and can be deleted with the license installer tool.
- SIOS does not support upgrading SIOS Protection Suite from more than one major version back. If upgrading from a version prior to LifeKeeper for Windows v7.x to SIOS Protection Suite for Windows v8, uninstall the old version of LifeKeeper and reinstall SIOS Protection Suite for Windows v8.
Technical Notes
lkstart
This program starts LifeKeeper on the current system if it is not currently running. lkstart modifies entries in the %LKROOT%\etc\LKinit.config file pertaining to the LifeKeeper daemons so that they will be respawned if they die.
The –w option, with waitperiod in seconds, can be used to change the timeout interval. Use the –w argument to specify a wait period before the startup.
The LifeKeeper service can also be started using the Microsoft Services MMC under Administrative Tools or from a command prompt using either “sc start LifeKeeper” or “net start LifeKeeper”.
Note: This program must be run from the console.
Running CHKDSK.EXE on SIOS Protection Suite Protected Volume
Microsoft recommends running the utility chkdsk.exe to check and correct file system or disk errors on volumes that have not been cleanly shut down. However, depending on the extent of errors, the utility may take a very long time to complete. It may take several hours or even days for chkdsk to completely check the volume, or it may hang while checking the volume. Due to these reasons, SIOS Protection Suite does not run the chkdsk utility on protected volumes. SIOS Protection Suite does run the Microsoft utility chkntfs.exe to check whether a volume is dirty or not before bringing the volume in service. If a protected volume is found dirty, SIOS Protection Suite will log an error to the event log.
It is recommended that administrators periodically run chkdsk on SIOS Protection Suite protected volumes on the server where the volume resource(s) are in service. Administrators should take all the applications using the volume resource(s) out-of-service prior to running chkdsk.
Running CHKDSK.EXE During System BootSIOS
Protection Suite protected volumes are typically not eligible for the chkdsk utility to run on them at system boot time because LifeKeeper and DataKeeper need to be able to lock the volumes. If a SIOS Protection Suite protected volume needs to be checked at boot time, the steps below can be performed on the active node.
For Mirrored Volumes or SDRS Volumes (shared at one site, replicated to a remote site)
- “%ExtMirrBase%\emcmd” . getconfiguration <drv> (save the number reported on the first line of output for later use after reboot)
- “%ExtMirrBase%\emcmd” . setconfiguration <drv> 32
- “%LKBIN%\lkstop” -f
- sc stop ExtMirrSvc
- sc config lifekeeper start= demand
- sc config ExtMirrSvc start= demand
- chkntfs /D
- chkntfs /c <drv>
- reboot
Perform the following steps after reboot.
- sc config lifekeeper start= auto
- sc config ExtMirrSvc start= auto
- sc start ExtMirrSvc
- “%ExtMirrBase%\emcmd” . setconfiguration <drv> (number reported by emcmd getconfiguration in step 1).
- reboot
For Shared Volumes
- “%LKBIN%\volume” -U <drv>
- “%LKBIN%\lkstop” -f
- chkntfs /c <drv>
- reboot
Perform following steps after reboot.
- “%LKBIN%\volume” -p <drv>
- “%LKBIN%\lkstop” -f
- “%LKBIN%\lkstart”
For Replicated Volumes
- “%LKBIN%\lkstop” -f
- chkntfs /D
- chkntfs /c <drv>
- reboot
Communication Paths Over Fibre Channel
When building a SIOS Protection Suite cluster using shared storage, it is important to maintain working communication paths between the nodes in the cluster. Communication paths should be created using TCP communication protocols. Normally, TCP communication paths are built on Ethernet network devices. SIOS Protection Suite, however, can use any type of connection on which the TCP protocol can run. If a shared storage cluster is being created using a Fibre Channel SAN, it is possible (and desirable) to use the Fibre Channel SAN as a SIOS Protection Suite communication path.
QLogic provides a miniport driver and an IP driver for Windows that will allow a QLogic Fibre Channel storage adapter to also run the TCP/IP protocol. This, in effect, allows the QLogic Fibre Channel adapter to function both as a storage adapter and as a network adapter. Once this driver is in place, the QLogic card can be configured, as any network card would, using standard network configuration techniques.
QLogic’s driver can be downloaded from the following web site:
http://driverdownloads.qlogic.com/QLogicDriverDownloads_UI/DefaultNewSearch.aspx
Using iSCSI Storage with SIOS Protection Suite
iSCSI storage can be used as shared storage and protected by SIOS Protection Suite. For shared storage environments, the iSCSI target device must be configured so that all server initiators have access to the disk. The vendor of the iSCSI storage device provides the interface and commands needed to configure the iSCSI device. A dependency on the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator service (MSiSCSI) should be added to the LifeKeeper service. This will ensure that the shared volume is available before LifeKeeper attempts to access the volume.
To create a dependency on MSiSCSI for the LifeKeeper service, use the registry editor “regedt32.exe” and select the subkey representing the LifeKeeper service under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LifeKeeper. The service key has a value name “DependOnService” with one value “EISM”. Double-click the value name “DependOnService” to open for editing. When the dialog box appears, add the service name “MSiSCSI” for Microsoft iSCSI Initiator service on a new line and click OK.
To verify that the dependency was created, open Administrative Tools->Services MMC snap-in. Go to LifeKeeper service and double-click to bring up the “Properties” dialog. When the dialog box appears, go to “Dependencies” page and verify that “Microsoft iSCSI Initiator” service is listed along with “LifeKeeper External Interface” in the “depends on” field.
System Load Considerations for Quickcheck and Deepcheck
SIOS Protection Suite launches a separate thread to monitor each protected resource in the system. These threads operate independently of one another. Typically, system load from Quickcheck and Deepcheck script execution will be randomly distributed. SIOS Protection Suite also works to distribute resource monitoring load by skipping a Quickcheck execution whenever a Deepcheck for the same resource is scheduled to run at the same time. However, because the check load is randomly distributed, there will occasionally be peaks in system load from resource monitoring. The more protected resources in the system, the larger these peaks will be and the more often they may occur. The largest peak will occur when LifeKeeper is started and Deepcheck scripts for each active resource are first launched. If the server can handle this first load peak in a satisfactory way, then there should not be a performance problem later.
Protection Suite support for VSS Shadow Copy requires that shadow copies must NOT be stored on the SIOS Protection Suite protected volumes. However, shadow copies may be saved on another non-protected volume.
Known Issues and Restrictions
Known Issue
Windows 2008 R2
SIOS DataKeeper includes a kernel-mode driver (ExtMirr.sys) which is signed with a SHA-256 signature. If you are installing on a Windows 2008 R2 system that has not been updated with Microsoft hotfixes, it might not be able to boot with such a driver. Please refer to this bulletin from Microsoft for more information, in particular the first event listed which applies to Windows 2008 R2 SP1.
If you are updating SIOS DataKeeper, and your previous version was version 8.6.2 or later, then your system does have SHA-256 driver support (the 8.6.2 driver is signed with SHA-256). In that case you can safely install this version of DataKeeper.
Restrictions
Windows 2019
Microsoft has introduced new driver signing restrictions with Windows Server 2019. Windows 2019 systems that are configured with the Secure Boot UEFI BIOS feature enabled will not boot if any SIOS product is installed unless Windows Driver Signing checks are disabled. Disabling driver signing checks is an interactive task that has to be done each time the system is booted. To use any SIOS product with Windows 2019 either disable Secure Boot in the UEFI BIOS settings or use a legacy BIOS bootloader.
Cloud environments such as AWS and Azure do not currently enable Secure Boot and it is not anticipated that this will change. However, given the uncertainty of the current and future status of Secure Boot use in the various cloud environments, we do not recommend or support running SIOS products on any production Windows Server 2019 workloads hosted in a 3rd-party Cloud environment.
The restriction regarding Secure Boot will be addressed in a future SIOS product release.
Antivirus Software
Antivirus software may mistakenly detect LifeKeeper binaries as malware. You should configure an exclusion for the folder LKROOT (C:\LK by default) to prevent LifeKeeper utilities from being mistakenly put into quarantine.
SCVMM 2012
If using DataKeeper with SCVMM 2012, you must use SCVMM 2012 SP1.
Server with Microsoft Failover Cluster Installed
SIOS Protection Suite is not supported on Enterprise or DataCenter class servers with Microsoft Cluster Server or Microsoft Failover Cluster features installed. It should never be the case that two “Clustering” solutions are deployed on the same group of servers. As part of this restriction, SIOS Protection Suite communication paths will not function using IP addresses (169.254.xxx.xxx) that are hosted by the Microsoft Failover Cluster Virtual Adapters (Virtual NICs).
FAT File System Support
SIOS Protection Suite does not support protection for volumes using the FAT or FAT32 file systems.
Fault Tolerant Disk Sets
While SIOS Protection Suite replicated volumes are supported using Windows fault tolerant disk sets (Software RAID), SIOS Protection Suite shared volumes are not compatible with Windows fault tolerant disk sets. Fault tolerant disk sets must be set up with dynamic disks and dynamic disks cannot be shared between two systems.
File Share Recovery Kit
- The File Share Recovery Kit is supported only in an Active Domain environment, not in a Workgroup environment. File share permissions granted to local machine accounts, either in a workgroup environment or a domain environment, will not be preserved during failover because local User IDs are valid only on the local system where they originated; other systems will not recognize them. Even if two local User IDs are spelled the same way on two different machines, they will be treated as two different accounts and valid only on the system where they originated. Domain accounts, on the other hand, are identifiable and usable on any system in the domain.
- The File Share Recovery Kit will not work if more than 9999 file shares are defined on the system. Any attempt to protect eligible file shares under SIOS Protection Suite will fail if the total number of user-defined shares exceeds 9999. This restriction also applies to editing file share resources. You will not be able to alter the list of protected shares if more than 9999 shares are defined on the system.
LAN Manager Recovery Kit
Microsoft supports LAN Manager functions only over the first IP address per network interface card (Microsoft bug SRX#9704116-48). This prohibits using LAN Manager functions over SIOS Protection Suite protected IP addresses. Therefore, the only way to switch over an alias computer name using the TCP/IP protocol is to allow dynamic IP#-to-LAN Manager name mapping for your clients. The recommended solution is to use a WINS server. You will need to make the SIOS Protection Suite servers (and all computers accessing the protected LAN Manager name) WINS clients of the same WINS server.
Low Virtual Memory Degrades System State
SIOS Protection Suite depends on memory being available when it is needed. If your system is reporting that it is low on virtual memory, that need must be resolved immediately.
A virtual memory shortage serious enough to degrade or delay communications and other internal system functions will very likely cause SIOS Protection Suite to malfunction. For instance, deepcheck of TCP/IP communication resources may be impacted enough to cause a false failure, and thus a failover of the resource to the backup server.
If SIOS Protection Suite communication with other servers in the cluster is degraded, it could cause a manually initiated switchover to fail. However, this will not affect SIOS Protection Suite’s ability to fail over protected resources when a server completely fails.
GUI interoperability
The LifeKeeper GUI may only be used to administer SIOS Protection Suite on Windows servers. Note that you can connect to and monitor a SIOS Protection Suite for Linux cluster. However, performing administrative tasks such as creating resources, editing properties, bringing servers in and out of service, is not supported at this time.
Discontinuing Serial Port Communication Paths
SIOS Protection Suite discontinued support for TTY communication paths in Version 7.2. Though SIOS does not recommend it, if currently using TTY communication paths, this option can be re-enabled by removing the (#) symbol on the TTYCA.EXE line in the /etc/lkinit.config file as shown below:
# … /bin/TTYCA.EXE|-t 1 X X X X X X <=
(TTY Comm Paths Disabled)
… /bin/TTYCA.EXE|-t 1 X X X X X X <=
(TTY Comm Paths Enabled)
To enable or disable the TTY communication path feature, the LifeKeeper service must be stopped and restarted after editing lkinit.config. To stop LifeKeeper, run command {c:\lk}\bin\lkstop.exe –f (c:\lk being the LifeKeeper installation path). Make sure the GUI is closed and all processes associated have stopped. Restart LifeKeeper by entering {c:\lk}\bin\lkstart.exe.
The TTY technology is obsolete. TTY communication paths are not supported and should be replaced with TCP/IP communication paths.
Console Application Management
Launching console applications from SIOS Protection Suite is not supported on Windows Server 2008 and later. Server architecture and security improvements in Server 2008 including UAC and memory management, prevent background processes such as SIOS Protection Suite from starting console applications.
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.
The specific article and section can be found here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee449438#BKMK_R2disks
Known Issues
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Optional Services
- SQL Server Launchpad
- SQL Server PolyBase Data Movement
- SQL Server PolyBase Engine
- SQL Server CEIP service
For additional known issues, see the Troubleshooting section of SIOS Protection Suite for Windows Technical Documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my SIOS Protection Suite configuration database setting including resource values without reinstalling SIOS Protection Suite or rebuilding my resources?
Yes. Use the lk_chg_value.ksh command.
Can I upgrade my existing SIOS Protection Suite hierarchies from a previous version of SIOS Protection Suite for Windows to v8?
You may upgrade your existing SIOS Protection Suite for Windows software while preserving your resource hierarchies. Please refer to the Upgrading SIOS Protection Suite topic for the correct upgrade procedure. Note: SIOS does not support upgrading SIOS Protection Suite from more than one major version back. If upgrading from a version prior to LifeKeeper for Windows v7.x to SIOS Protection Suite for Windows v8, uninstall the old version of LifeKeeper and reinstall SIOS Protection Suite for Windows v8.
Does SIOS Protection Suite operate in a cluster with Microsoft Cluster Services (Windows 2003) or Windows Server Failover Cluster (Windows 2008 and later)?
No. SIOS Protection Suite v8.0.1 is an alternative clustering product and does not support either Microsoft Cluster Service or Windows Server Failover Clustering.
Does SIOS Protection Suite require that all servers in the cluster be identically configured?
No. As long as all servers are powerful enough to run any application that may run on them as the result of a failover operation and meet all other SIOS Protection Suite requirements, a cluster can be built. SIOS Protection Suite does not require identical hardware, but the software should be the same and configured with the same service pack levels.
Does SIOS Protection Suite for Windows support 64-bit environments?
Yes. SIOS Protection Suite for Windows supports only 64-bit platforms.
How do I change permissions on SIOS Protection Suite protected File Share resources?
The EditFileShareResource utility can be used to update a file share resource with all current file shares and permissions on the associated volume(s). This can be useful in environments where there are a large number of file shares, and file shares have been added or deleted since the resource was created or permissions have been modified. Using the utility can prevent the need to delete and re-create the file share resource. The EditFileShareResource utility is located under %LKROOT%\bin directory.
To invoke the utility, on the command line enter:
EditFileShareResource <Tag name>
where <Tag name> is the tag name of a file share resource that is currently in service.
The utility protects all eligible file shares defined on the volumes that are associated with the file share hierarchy. It deletes any previously protected shares that have been deleted from the system and adds newly defined shares (meeting the eligibility criteria) to the list. It will also update the file share permissions defined on the file share.
Documentation
A complete reference providing instructions for installing, configuring, administering and troubleshooting SIOS Protection Suite for Windows is available in the SIOS Protection Suite Technical Documentation. The following sections cover every aspect of SIOS Protection Suite for Windows:
| Introduction | Provides an introduction to the SIOS Protection Suite for Windows product, including an overview of its components. |
| Installation | Provides useful information for planning and setting up your SIOS Protection Suite environment, installing and licensing SIOS Protection Suite and configuring the LifeKeeper GUI to run on a remote system. |
| Configuration | Contains detailed information and instructions for configuring the SIOS Protection Suite software on each server in your cluster. |
| Administration | Discusses server-level tasks such as editing server properties, creating resources and creating or deleting comm paths and resource-level tasks such as editing, extending or deleting resources. |
| Man Pages | Provides reference manual pages for the SIOS Protection Suite product. |
| User’s Guide | Contains detailed information on the LifeKeeper GUI, including the many tasks that can be performed within the LifeKeeper GUI. Also includes information on Data Replication along with many more Advanced Topics. |
| DataKeeper | Provides an overview of how DataKeeper replication works and contains complete information on configuring and administering DataKeeper. Topics include network considerations, common configuration issues and requirements necessary to successfully install and configure DataKeeper. |
| Troubleshooting | Describes known issues and suggests solutions to problems that may be encountered during installation, configuration or use of SIOS Protection Suite for Windows. |
| Recovery Kits | Contains planning and installation instructions as well as administration, configuration and user information for the Optional Recovery Kits (SQL Server and Oracle) that allow LifeKeeper to manage and control specific applications. |
Quick Start Guides
To get started using SIOS Protection Suite for Windows, refer to the SIOS Protection Suite for Windows Quick Start Guide and the DataKeeper Quick Start Guide.
Training
SIOS Protection Suite training is available through SIOS Technology Corp. or through your SIOS Protection Suite provider. Contact your sales representative for more information.
Technical Support
As a SIOS Technology Corp. customer with a valid Support contract, you are entitled to access the SIOS Technology Corp. Support Self-Service Portal.
The SIOS Technology Corp. Support Self-Service Portal offers you the following capabilities:
- Search our Solution Knowledge Base to find solutions to problems and answers to questions
- Always on 24/7 service with the SIOS Technology Corp. Support team to:
- Log a Case to report new incidents.
- View Cases to see all of your open and closed incidents.
- Review Top Solutions providing information on the most popular problem resolutions being viewed by our customers.
Contact SIOS Technology Corp. Support at support@us.sios.com to set up and activate your Self-Service Portal account.
You can also contact SIOS Technology Corp. Support at:
1-877-457-5113 (Toll Free)
1-803-808-4270 (International)
Email: support@us.sios.com
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