12.4 Managing Pool Snapshots Using iManager
This section discusses the following management tasks:
12.4.1 Creating a New Pool Snapshot
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In iManager, click .
For instructions, see Section 3.1.6, Accessing Roles and Tasks in iManager.
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In the server field on the Pool Management page, select a server to manage.
For instructions, see Section 3.1.7, Selecting a Server to Manage.
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In the Pools list, select the active pool that you want to be the original pool to be snapped, then click Snapshot.
Both the original pool and the stored-on pool must be active when you make the snap. The original pool and stored-on pool can be the same. To activate a pool, select the pool, then click .
IMPORTANT:If the selected pool is a pool snapshot, this option is not available. You cannot take a pool snapshot of a snapshot.
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In the Define Snapshot dialog box, name the snapshot and specify its stored-on pool.
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Name the snapshot.
By default, the name is the name of the original pool, appended with _Sn, where n represents a number. You can change this name; it should be something that you can easily relate to the original pool and the sequence in which the snapshot was taken. By default, _SV is added to volume names to indicate the storage object is a volume in a pool snapshot.
For example, if your original pool is named users, its default snapshot name is users_s1.
You can change the default name, if desired. For information about naming considerations, see Naming Pool Snapshots.
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Select the stored-on pool from the list of pools available on the selected server.
By default, NSS specifies the stored-on pool to be the same as the original pool. You can choose any of the pools on the server.
IMPORTANT:After you specify a stored-on pool, that pool is the default stored-on pool for all subsequent snapshots made of the original pool. To modify the stored-on pool associated with an original pool, you must delete all existing snapshots for the original pool, then begin again to create a new pool.
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Click to create the snapshot, or click to back out of the process.
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After NSS creates the pool snapshot, NSS opens to the Pool Snapshot Management page so that you can further manage the snapshot. The Snapshots list contains the newly created snapshot.
12.4.2 Viewing Pool Snapshot Details
In iManager, you can view the following details about a pool snapshot:
Table 12-1 Explanation of Pool Snapshot Details
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Snapshot Details |
Description |
|---|---|
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The descriptive pool snapshot name assigned by the administrator. |
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The name of the original pool that was snapped. |
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The total size allocated for the pool snapshot. |
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The pool where the snapshot metadata resides. This can be the same as the original pool. The current default in iManager is that the stored-on pool and the original pool are the same. If you want to store snapshots on a different pool, you must use the command line interface. For instructions, see Section 12.5, Managing Pool Snapshots Using Commands. |
|
|
The current state of the selected pool: Show or Hide. If you show pool snapshots (Online), they appear in the pool list. If you hide pool snapshots (Offline), they do not appear in the pools list. |
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The time stamp that shows the date and time the original pool was snapped. |
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The current size of the pool snapshot. The pool’s snapshot can continue to add metadata for the snapshot until it reaches the size allocated. |
To view details of a pool snapshot:
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In iManager, log on to the tree for the server you want to manage.
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In , click to open the Pool Management task
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Select the server that contains the original pool of the snapshot you want to view.
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In the list, select the original pool of the snapshot you want to view, then click .
This opens the Pool Snapshot page.
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Select the snapshot, then view its details in the Details field.
It can take a few seconds for iManager to load the details about the snapshot.
12.4.3 Renaming a Pool Snapshot
You can rename a pool snapshot. For example, you might want to assign a new name for the pool snapshot to correspond to a similar name change to its original pool.
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In iManager, log on to the tree for the server you want to manage.
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In , click s to open the Pool Management task
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Select the server that contains the original pool of the snapshot you want to view.
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In the Pools list, select the original pool of the snapshot you want to view, then click .
This opens the Pool Snapshot page.
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Select the snapshot in the Snapshots list.
It can take a few seconds for iManager to load the details about the snapshot.
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Click .
This opens the Pool Snapshot Rename wizard. For information about naming conventions in NetWare 6.5, see Section 4.5, Naming NSS Storage Objects.
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Specify the new name you want for the pool snapshot.
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Click to accept the new name, or click to back out of the process.
When the page refreshes, you can see the renamed pool snapshot in the Snapshots list.
12.4.4 Activating and Deactivating a Pool Snapshot
Although the pool snapshot is deactive by default, the snapshot functions are working in the background to capture any changes being made to the original pool. For pool snapshots, Deactive and Active are conditions related to the visibility of the pool snapshot to users as a pool. Active pool snapshots are online; deactive pool snapshots are offline.
To deactivate a pool snapshot and take it offline from the Pool Management page, see Moving an Active Pool Snapshot Offline from the Pools Page.
To activate or deactivate a pool snapshot for user access as a pool:
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In iManager, log on to the tree for the server you want to manage.
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In , click to open the Pool Management task
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Select the server that contains the original pool of the snapshot you want to view.
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In the Pools list, select the original pool of the snapshot you want to view, then click .
This opens the Pool Snapshot page.
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Select one or more pool snapshots that you want to manage, then modify the state:
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To change the state of the pool from Deactive to Active, click
.
This makes the selected pool snapshots and all the volumes in them available for user access.
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To change the state of the pool from Active to Deactive, click
.
This makes the selected pool snapshots and all the volumes in them temporarily unavailable to users. It does not destroy volumes in the snapshots, nor does it destroy the data contained in the volumes.
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12.4.5 Moving an Active Pool Snapshot Offline from the Pools Page
When online, pool snapshots appear and function as a regular pool in the Pools list on the Pools Management page.
Figure 12-1 Sample Pool Snapshot When Online
To move an active pool snapshot offline:
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In iManager, click .
For instructions, see Section 3.1.6, Accessing Roles and Tasks in iManager.
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Select a server to manage.
For instructions, see Section 3.1.7, Selecting a Server to Manage.
When the page refreshes, a list of pools appears in the Pools list. Online pools also appear in the list.
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Select the pool snapshot that you want to move offline.
Wait for the page to refresh. It displays the pools’s details and enables its management options.
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Verify that the pool you selected is the pool snapshot and not the original pool.
If it is a snapshot, in the Details area, the name of the pool should be followed “(snapshot)” and the Offline button is activated.
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Click .
12.4.6 Deleting a Pool Snapshot
Use the Delete option to permanently remove one or more selected pool snapshots from the server. Deleting a pool snapshot removes the ownership of the space it occupied, freeing the space for reassignment.
IMPORTANT:If you create a pool snapshot and specify its stored-on pool as the same pool where its original data resides, and more than one pool snapshot exists when you are ready to delete a snapshot, delete its oldest snapshot in a first created, first deleted sequence.
To delete a pool snapshot:
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In iManager, click .
For instructions, see Section 3.1.6, Accessing Roles and Tasks in iManager.
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Select a server to manage.
For instructions, see Section 3.1.7, Selecting a Server to Manage.
A list of pools appears in the Pools list.
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In the Pools list, select the pool that has a snapshot you want to delete.
Wait for the page to refresh. It displays the pools’s details and enables its management options.
If a pool snapshot is online, it might appear in the Pools list. If the selected pool is a snapshot pool, in the Details area, the name of the pool should be followed “(snapshot)” and the Offline button is activated. If you select a pool snapshot in the Pools list, the page refreshes and enables the Snapshot option.
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Click .
If the selected pool has snapshots available or is an online pool snapshot, the Pool Snapshot page opens. It the selected pool has no pool snapshots associated with it, the Snapshot
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On the Pool Snapshot page, select one or more snapshots in the Snapshots list that you want to delete.
Verify that the pool snapshots you selected are the versions you want to delete.
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Click .
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A message requests you to confirm ( ) or back out of ( ) this action.
12.4.7 Modifying the Stored-On Pool
After you specify a stored-on pool, that pool is the default stored-on pool for all subsequent snapshots made of the original pool. To modify the stored-on pool associated with an original pool, you must delete all existing snapshots for the original pool, then begin again to create a new pool.