Release Notes
Version 8.9.2
(Version 8 Update 9 Maintenance 2)
Released June 28, 2023
Important!!
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 LifeKeeper 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 LifeKeeper software.
Quick Links
LifeKeeper Product Descriptions
LifeKeeper 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 for Windows, 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 Supported Versions of LifeKeeper for Windows Version 8
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| |
|
| LifeKeeper Core | LifeKeeper for Windows now supports Oracle Cloud. |
| Support for VMware vSphere 8.0. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
|
| Quick Service Protection Recovery Kit | Added a new LifeKeeper for Windows Application Recovery Kit that provides a simplified method to easily and quickly protect Windows services. (August 2023) |
| PostgreSQL Server Recovery Kit | LifeKeeper for Windows now supports PostgreSQL 15. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
| LifeKeeper for Windows now supports EnterpriseDB v15. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. | |
| LifeKeeper for Windows now supports Fujitsu Enterprise Postgres 15. (Certified in November 2023) See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
|
| Bug Fixes | |
| |
|
| LifeKeeper Core | AWS Cross Region Support |
| Stop supporting Windows operating systems older than Server 2012 and Client 10. | |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Support (Certified May 2023) | |
| DataKeeper Core | Upgrade AlphaVSS and IronPython to latest versions, 2.0.0 and 2.7.12 respectively. |
| Automatically update reported size when a volume is shrunk or expanded. | |
| Stop supporting Windows operating systems older than Server 2012 and Client 10. | |
| DataKeeper GUI | Display warning in DK GUI if a connected server has Automatically Manage Pagefiles enabled. |
| Added Total Bytes column for volumes on the Server Overview page. | |
| Users will now see a warning in the DK GUI if any target volumes are too small after resizing. | |
| Show volume size in mirror creation dialogs. | |
| User systems will receive a notification if there are any mirrored volumes on a system configured with “System Managed” page files. | |
| PostgreSQL Server Recovery Kit | LifeKeeper for Windows now supports FUJITSU Software Enterprise Postgres 14. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
| Bug Fixes | |
| |
|
| LifeKeeper for Windows Version 8.9.0 is the last version that will support Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise and DataCenter Editions. It is currently only supported in Azure. Any subsequent releases will not support an install or upgrade for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. | |
| LifeKeeper Core | LifeKeeper for Windows now has Quorum functionality. |
| LifeKeeper for Windows supports I/O Fencing. | |
| The Manual Page “volume” command has been removed as part of the new I/O Fencing feature. Refer to Using DataKeeper EMCMD to Replace LifeKeeper volume.exe. | |
| Bug Fixes | |
| |
|
| LifeKeeper Core | LifeKeeper for Windows now supports Windows Server 2022 |
| LifeKeeper for Windows now supports Windows 11 OS | |
| PostgreSQL Server Recovery Kit | LifeKeeper for Windows now supports PostgreSQL 14. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
| LifeKeeper for Windows now supports EnterpriseDB v14. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. | |
| Oracle Recovery Kit | LifeKeeper for Windows now supports Oracle 21c |
| Fixed memory leak in ExtMirrSvc. See this IMPORTANT NOTICE for more information. | |
| Bug Fixes | |
| |
|
| Bug Fixes | |
| |
|
| Recovery Kit for Route 53(™) | Added a new LifeKeeper for Windows Application Recovery Kit that provides a mechanism for updating Amazon Route 53 DNS information when switching from a failed primary server to a backup server. |
| Recovery Kit for EC2(™) | Added a new LifeKeeper for Windows Application Recovery Kit that provides a mechanism to recover an Elastic IP from a failed primary server to a backup server. It also provides a mechanism to enable the IP Recovery Kit to work in multiple availability zones. |
| Bug Fixes | |
| |
|
| LifeKeeper Core | LifeKeeper for Windows now supports and includes OpenJDK 15 |
| Support for VMware vSphere 7.0. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
|
| PostgreSQL Server Recovery Kit | LifeKeeper for Windows now supports PostgreSQL 13. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
| LifeKeeper for Windows now supports PostgreSQL 12. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
|
| LifeKeeper for Windows now supports EnterpriseDB v13. See the Support Matrix for supported configuration details. |
|
| Oracle Recovery Kit | Support for Oracle Pluggable Databases |
| Bug Fixes | |
| |
|
| Bug Fixes | |
Bug Fixes
The following is a list of the latest bug fixes and enhancements.
| Description | |
|---|---|
| PW-1825 | Lower the priority of bitmap whitespace elimination debug messages from 2 to 1 |
| PW-2575 | Clearly log QueryKey failure in Oracle Recovery Kit quickcheck |
| PW-3772 | Address transient errors when gathering instance information from LifeKeeper and the registry at the beginning of quickchk / deepchk as non-fatal |
| PW-5872 | Oracle quickchk logic cleanup |
| PW-6381 | Detect ExtMirr missing from UpperFilters key in registry and restore automatically upon reboot |
| PW-6453 | Don’t fail LifeKeeper volume restore if backup node is down when primary node reboots |
| PW-7627 | Update Curl to latest available version (v8.0.1) |
Discontinued Features of LifeKeeper for Windows v8
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| None | |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise and DataCenter Editions are no longer supported. | |
| LifeKeeper Core | Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is no longer supported. |
| Microsoft SQL Server Recovery Kit | Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R1 is no longer supported. |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 is no longer supported. | |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2012 is no longer supported. | |
| PostgreSQL Recovery Kit | PostgreSQL 10 is no longer supported. |
| Oracle Recovery Kit | Oracle 12c is no longer supported. |
| Oracle 12c Release 2 is no longer supported. | |
| Oracle 18c is no longer supported. | |
| PostgreSQL Recovery Kit | PostgreSQL 9.6 is no longer supported |
| Oracle Recovery Kit | Oracle 11g Release 2 is no longer supported |
| LifeKeeper Core | Windows 7 is no longer supported |
| Windows 8 is no longer supported | |
| None | |
| None | |
| None | |
| None | |
| None | |
| None | |
| None | |
| DataKeeper | Removed Rewind feature from LifeKeeper for Windows |
LifeKeeper for Windows Product Requirements
| Requirements | |
|---|---|
| LifeKeeper for Windows (Server Components) |
All servers within a cluster should be running the same version of Windows. See the LifeKeeper for Windows Support Matrix 64-bit versions (x64, no Itanium) of all of the listed OS platforms are supported.
Note: While installing LifeKeeper for Windows 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.
For systems running LifeKeeper for Windows and Microsoft FTP Service 7.5 for IIS 7.0, Windows 2008 R2 or later is required.
In addition, if your Windows 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. |
| LifeKeeper for Windows (User Interface) |
See the LifeKeeper for Windows 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:
|
| Memory | The minimum memory requirement for a system supporting LifeKeeper 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 LifeKeeper for Windows. |
| Ports | LifeKeeper for Windows 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. |
| LifeKeeper for Windows License | One license is required for every server on which LifeKeeper for Windows 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. |
DataKeeper System Requirements
| Minimum Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Memory | 1 GB RAM |
| Processor | Refer to Windows Server Processor Requirements |
| Disk size | 53 MB required for install |
LifeKeeper System Requirements
| Minimum Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Memory | 1 GB RAM |
| Processor | Refer to Windows Server Processor Requirements |
| Disk size | 750 MB required for install |
Optional Recovery Kits
All optional LifeKeeper for Windows Recovery Kits require a software license key in order to function with LifeKeeper for Windows.
| Kit Name | Versions/Requirement(s) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft SQL Server Recovery Kit | See the LifeKeeper for Windows Support Matrix |
| Oracle Recovery Kit | See the LifeKeeper for Windows Support Matrix |
GUI Requirements
LifeKeeper for Windows requires that the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) be installed on each server. The 64-bit Windows Java OpenJDK v15.0.1 is installed with the LifeKeeper for Windows Core software. Java OpenJDK v15.0.1 has been fully tested with the LifeKeeper GUI Server and GUI Application components.
Installing and Removing LifeKeeper for Windows
LifeKeeper for Windows uses InstallShield to provide a standard installation interface with choices for Typical, Compact or Custom installation. See the LifeKeeper for Windows Installation Guide for details about installing, removing or upgrading your LifeKeeper for Windows software.
- Customizations made to LifeKeeper for Windows scripts must be reapplied after upgrading to all releases of LifeKeeper 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 LifeKeeper for Windows from more than one major version back. If upgrading from a version prior to LifeKeeper for Windows v7.x to LifeKeeper for Windows v8, uninstall the old version of LifeKeeper and reinstall LifeKeeper 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 LifeKeeper for Windows 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, LifeKeeper for Windows does not run the chkdsk utility on protected volumes. LifeKeeper for Windows 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, LifeKeeper for Windows will log an error to the event log.
It is recommended that administrators periodically run chkdsk on LifeKeeper for Windows 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.
Communication Paths Over Fibre Channel
When building a LifeKeeper for Windows 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. LifeKeeper for Windows, 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 LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows
iSCSI storage can be used as shared storage and protected by LifeKeeper for Windows. 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
LifeKeeper for Windows 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. LifeKeeper for Windows 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.
LifeKeeper support for VSS Shadow Copy requires that shadow copies must NOT be stored on the LifeKeeper for Windows protected volumes. However, shadow copies may be saved on another non-protected volume.
Known Issues and Restrictions
Known Issue
Missing Job Information warning displayed during mirror creation or deletion
During job creation, the warning “This computer is missing SIOS DataKeeper Job information for the following target volume(s): <vol>” might be displayed in the GUI briefly. The warning will go away after a few seconds. This is a transient condition that can occur during mirror creation and deletion, and does not indicate an error.
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
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
LifeKeeper for Windows 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, LifeKeeper for Windows 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
LifeKeeper for Windows does not support protection for volumes using the FAT or FAT32 file systems.
Fault Tolerant Disk Sets
While LifeKeeper for Windows replicated volumes are supported using Windows fault tolerant disk sets (Software RAID), LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows servers (and all computers accessing the protected LAN Manager name) WINS clients of the same WINS server.
Low Virtual Memory Degrades System State
LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows communication with other servers in the cluster is degraded, it could cause a manually initiated switchover to fail. However, this will not affect LifeKeeper for Windows ability to fail over protected resources when a server completely fails.
GUI interoperability
The LifeKeeper GUI may only be used to administer LifeKeeper on Windows servers. Note that you can connect to and monitor a LifeKeeper 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
LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows 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
For more known issues, see the Troubleshooting section of LifeKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my LifeKeeper for Windows configuration database setting including resource values without reinstalling LifeKeeper for Windows or rebuilding my resources?
Yes. Use the lk_chg_value.ksh command.
Can I upgrade my existing LifeKeeper for Windows hierarchies from a previous version of LifeKeeper for Windows to v8?
You may upgrade your existing LifeKeeper for Windows software while preserving your resource hierarchies. Please refer to the Upgrading LifeKeeper for Windows topic for the correct upgrade procedure. Note: SIOS does not support upgrading LifeKeeper for Windows from more than one major version back. If upgrading from a version prior to LifeKeeper for Windows v7.x to LifeKeeper for Windows v8, uninstall the old version of LifeKeeper and reinstall LifeKeeper for Windows v8.
Does LifeKeeper for Windows operate in a cluster with Microsoft Cluster Services (Windows 2003) or Windows Server Failover Cluster (Windows 2008 and later)?
No. LifeKeeper for Windows v8.0.1 is an alternative clustering product and does not support either Microsoft Cluster Service or Windows Server Failover Clustering.
Does LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows requirements, a cluster can be built. LifeKeeper for Windows does not require identical hardware, but the software should be the same and configured with the same service pack levels.
Does LifeKeeper for Windows support 64-bit environments?
Yes. LifeKeeper for Windows supports only 64-bit platforms.
How do I change permissions on LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows is available in the LifeKeeper for Windows Technical Documentation. The following sections cover every aspect of LifeKeeper for Windows:
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Provides an introduction to the LifeKeeper for Windows product, including an overview of its components. |
| Installation | Provides useful information for planning and setting up your LifeKeeper for Windows environment, installing and licensing LifeKeeper for Windows and configuring the LifeKeeper GUI to run on a remote system. |
| Configuration | Contains detailed information and instructions for configuring the LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper for Windows 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 LifeKeeper 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 LifeKeeper for Windows, refer to the LifeKeeper for Windows Quick Start Guide and the DataKeeper Quick Start Guide.
Training
LifeKeeper for Windows training is available through SIOS Technology Corp. or through your LifeKeeper for Windows 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.
Contacting Support during Business Hours:
Please call if you have a critical issue involving a down production system or application where your data cannot be accessed using the SIOS Technology products.
1-877-457-5113 (Toll Free)
1-803-808-4270 (International)
For any other issues or questions, please open a case by logging into the Self Service Portal or sending an email to support@us.sios.com.
For After Hours Support For Critical Issues:
Outside of business hours and on the weekends, emergency support with guaranteed two-hour response time 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year is included under Product Support. After hours Support is only available for critical issues involving a down production system or application where your data cannot be accessed using the SIOS Technology products. These issues are handled by contacting the numbers below. Please note that emails to support@us.sios.com are not monitored outside of business hours and on the weekends. Non-critical issues are handled during business hours.
1-877-457-5113 (Toll Free)
1-803-808-4270 (International)
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