Data Protection for Microsoft
Exchange provides software and hardware vendors with a
common interface model for generating and managing snapshots.
The Microsoft VSS service manages and directs three VSS software
components that are used during VSS operations: the VSS writer,
the VSS requestor, and the VSS provider. The VSS requestor is the
backup software. The VSS writer is the application software. Examples
of application software include Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft
SQL Server. The VSS provider is the specific combination of hardware
and software that generates the snapshot volume.
- VSS writer
- The VSS writer for the Microsoft Exchanger
Server is the Microsoft Exchange Writer. The Microsoft Exchange Writer
is provided by the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service or
the Microsoft Exchange Replication service.
- VSS requestor
- The Tivoli® Storage
Manager
backup-archive client serves as the VSS requestor component
and communicates with Microsoft VSS services to access data
and create volume shadow copies. Because the Tivoli Storage
Manager backup-archive
client acts as the VSS interface, features such as LAN-free
backup, client-side deduplication, data encryption, and data
compression, are available. These feature are enabled by setting certain
options that are defined in the backup-archive client options
file.
- This application initiates a snapshot operation. The application
sends a command to the VSS service to create a shadow copy of
a specified volume. The VSS requestor is the Tivoli Storage
Manager backup-archive
client.
- VSS provider
- This application produces the shadow copy and also manages the
volumes where the Exchange data is located. A provider
can be a system provider such as the one that is included with
the Microsoft Windows operating system. It can also be a software
provider or a hardware provider such as one that is included
with a storage system.
VSS hardware providers require installation
and configuration, including the installation of all required
fix packages. For instructions, see the documentation for the
VSS hardware provider.
For more information about VSS technology,
see this Microsoft Technical
Reference document: How Volume Shadow Copy Service Works.