Technical Information Documents:

Creating Restore Points from Windows 7 when dual-booting with Windows XP or Windows Server 2003

Using Portlock Leap Frog with Microsoft's pre-built Windows 7 VHD

Using Portlock Leap Frog with Microsoft's pre-built Windows Server 2008 R2 VHD

Portlock Leap Frog Frequently Asked Questions

Portlock License Manager Asian language support

How to connect to ESX or ESXi Server using Veeam Fast SCP

Resolving VMware boot issues

Using Portlock License Manager to receive Portlock Storage Manager images

Adding WIM support to Vista and XP

Managing Windows Updates for Hyper-V Server and Windows Server Core

Wireless LAN FAQ

Sun xVM VirtualBox FAQ

Poor Man's Windows image and deployment using Portlock SMART Suite

Using VNC with the Portlock Boot CD

Portlock Boot CD: Troubleshooting device recognition

Using Portlock Drive Explorer to create a bootable USB drive

Dual-booting: Portlock SMART Suite + Windows

Dual-booting: Portlock Boot CD + NetWare

How to boot from a USB device

How to install Portlock Storage Manager on NetWare from the Portlock Boot CD

Replacing the Portlock Storage Manager evaluation license

Physical-to-virtual migration (1.9 MB PDF)

Configuring the Windows XP Pro FTP server (1.9 MB PDF)

User Guides:

Portlock Boot CD

Portlock Leap Frog

Portlock Storage Manager

Portlock SMART Suite

Snapshot Abends Server

Date published: January 6, 2012

Products: Portlock Storage Manager Client and Portlock Storage Manager for NetWare.

Environment: Portlock Storage Manager Client is imaging a NetWare 6.5 SP7 server using the Image NetWare Server wizard and the server abended during the image.

Issue #1: The NetWare server abended when performing an online image.

Issue #2: After rebooting the server, a pool snaphot existed that prevented another online imaging attempt.

#Issue #3: After completing the Image NetWare Server wizard, an error message about an invalid file handle was reported.

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Resolution for Issue #1. Install NetWare 6.5 SP8 and N65NSS8C. Portlock Storage Manager uses Novell's Snapshot feature to image NSS Pools while they are active with mounted volumes. This features requires SP8 and the post SP8 NSS patch.

• Novell's Download Web Site
• Download NetWare 6.5 SP8
• Download N65NSS8C

Novell is constantly changing download URLs. If you have a problem with the above links search for the following file names with Google. Select a download location that is from Novell and not a third party:

• NW65SP8.ZIP Search
• N65NSS8C.ZIP Search

Note: Prior to installing a service pack, we recommend using Portlock Storage Manager to image your server. This way if a serious problem appears after installing SP8, you can restore your server back to its current configuration. In this case, do an offline image.

Note: If you do not want to install SP8, then use the offline imaging feature. Do not select a Pool for snapshots in the image wizard.

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Resolution for Issue #2: Delete the snapshot. After the server abended the snapshot that Portlock Storage Manager created was not deleted.

Start Portlock Storage Manager on the server:

• Select Pool Commands
• Select Pool Snapshot Menu
• Select Delete Snapshot
• Select the snapshot to delete

To load Portlock Storage Manager on the server type the following command at the server console:

• LOAD SYS:/STORMGR/STORMGR

NetWare also provides snapshot commands at the server console:

• To get a list of commands type HELP MM
• To list the existing snapshots type MM SNAP LIST
• To delete a snapshot type MM SNAP DELETE snapname
• To delete all snapshots type MM SNAP DELETE ALL /Y

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Resolution for Issue #3: Using the Novell Client, relogin to the NetWare server. When a NetWare server abends, the Novell Client sometimes does not reconnect to the NetWare server once it reboots. In some cases, a reboot of the workstation is required to clear the Novell Client connection table.

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More Information

Introduction

Novell SnapShot Backup

Portlock Online Imaging

Common reasons that Online Imaging fails:

NSS Pools must be in a stable and warning free state for NetWare's Snapshot feature to work correctly

If you are seeing pool errors during an Online Image

Portlock Storage Manager Log files

NSS /PoolVerify Log files

NSS /PoolRebuild Log files

Reporting issues to Portlock

Introduction

Data backup and Recovery is probably one of the most essential tasks as a system administrator. In the event of a disaster, a successful recovery of data and services will determine whether you will be getting your raise or you will be looking for a new job. Yet, many administrator do not pay much attention to backup and recovery strategy. Many put absolute faith in the backup software logs that declares that the backup is completely successfully for the day. However, we forget that a successful backup is not the end goal but a successful restore in an event of a disaster is the end goal. Herein lies the trap of false security. In the event of disaster, without a clear recovery and tested plan, administrator may spend the next 2 days trying to figure why data cannot be recovered. It does not help that your users and boss are breathing down your neck.

Novell SnapShot Backup

Novell SnapShot Backup feature alleviates problems encountered when backing up open files. SnapShot creates a virtual image or snapshot of a volume at a particular point in time. Once the snapshot is created, further changes are stored as "deltas" from the snapshot so that delta data plus the active volume can create a complete replica of data storage. Novell's innovative SnapShot approach allows a pool snapshot to be created in 10 to 20 percent of the size of the original pool and in a minimum amount of time. NetWare can support up to 500 active snapshots on a given NSS storage pool (500 different snapshots in time on the disk).

Snapshots provide an instant copy of volume's data that otherwise would be difficult to backup because of open files. Novell's "freeze/thaw" technology provides a consistent data set that facilitates non-disruptive backups. As contrasted to a traditional, full-data copy of the pool, the block-level copy only takes a moment to create and occurs transparently to the end user.

The Novell freeze/thaw interface manages snapshot events so that applications (databases, GroupWise®, etc.) are informed that a snapshot is about to take place. Applications then ready file system data by getting it consistent and flushing pending transactions. The application indicates its frozen or ready state to the NSS system where buffers are flushed and open disk files are rendered consistent. The snapshot then takes place in less than two seconds and the system indicates that the applications are free to "thaw" and continue. No longer do administrators have to take down a database or mail server to get a consistent backup. Freeze/thaw interfaces are published and being consumed by Novell and its third party partners so that snapshot solutions provide consistent data when done in a SAN or storage array as well as at a host.

Snapshots can be used as part of a disaster recovery plan and archived for online or near-line access. Applications or users can proceed to work from the snapshot in the event that the original files are inaccessible.

Portlock Online Imaging

Portlock Online Imaging provides block based imaging for NetWare 6.5 SP8 or later NSS Pools while they are active with mounted volumes. Portlock Online Imaging depends upon Novell SnapShot Backup. An NSS Pool, which can be empty, is used by Novell SnapShot Backup to store the deltas during an image command. Portlock Storage Manager automatically freezes the selected pools, creates the snapshots, images the pools, thaws the selected pools and finally deletes the snapshots.

Common reasons that Online Imaging fails:

• The Pool is corrupted.
• The Pool holding the snapshot is corrupted.
• The Pool has too many deleted files. Consider purging the volumes within the pool.
• The Pool does not have sufficient free space. Cleanup the volumes within the pool.
• There is too much I/O activity on the Pool. NetWare must duplicate data that is modified on the pool during an online image. Consider moving some application's datasets to other volumes to balance pool I/O.
• There is not enough free space on the pool holding the snapshot.
• There are hardware problems causing I/O errors on either the Pool or the pool holding the snapshot.

NSS Pools must be in a stable and warning free state for NetWare's Snapshot feature to work correctly.

• Check your Pool:
  •  Run "Check Pool" from Portlock Storage Manager.
    • This command is located under the "Pool Commands" menu.
    • Add the command line option "-logfile=filename", without the quotes when starting Portlock Storage Manager.
    • Specify the full path to the log file (example: -logfile=C:/STORMGR.LOG).
    • You can specify a floppy so that nothing on the server is modified (-logfile=A:/STORMGR.LOG).
    • Do not specify a volume located on a pool that you are "checking" as the log file would be closed before the full results of the Pool Check could be written.
• Verify your Pool:
  • Execute Novell's "nss /poolverify" command from the console. Select the pool to be verified. See the notes below about log files.
• Rebuild your Pool:
  • If there are any warnings or errors from the above commands run a "nss /poolrebuild" and then repeat the check and the verify.

If you are seeing pool errors during an Online Image:

• Reboot the server so that everything is in a stable state.
• Consider purging the volumes in the pool. We have seen a number for issues (NetWare bugs) when there are a lot of "unpurged" files.
• Manually create a snapshot and verify both the original pool and the snapshot pool:
• Assuming that your problem pool is called "SYS" and you have another pool called "TEST" to store the snapshot, execute the following commands from the NetWare console:
  • mm snap list - This will display any snapshots on the server. This should be an empty list
  • mm snap create sys test sys_snap - This creates a new snapshot called "SYS_SNAP", stores the temporary pool data on pool "TEST". The original pool is called "SYS". Change the names according to your setup.
  • mm snap list - Verify that your snapshot was created successfully.
  • mm snap activate sys_snap - This activates the snapshot pool called "SYS_SNAP".
  • nss /PoolVerify=SYS - This will verify the active pool "SYS".
  • nss /PoolVerify=SYS_SNAP - This will verify the snapshot of pool "SYS"
  • When Portlock Storage Manager is performing an "Online Image" of a pool, SYS_SNAP is the pool being imaged.

  Make sure that you don't have pool corruption in the pool that is holding the snapshot. In the above example, compete an "nss /PoolVerify" on the "TEST" pool.

  If you see any warnings or errors with the above (and they are not corrected by a Pool Rebuild), report this to Novell as you have a setup that does not support snapshots correctly or there is a bug in Novell's code supporting snapshots.

  To see the help screen for NetWare's "mm" commands type "help mm" at the console.

  To delete the above snapshot: "mm snap delete sys_snap".

Portlock Storage Manager Log files

• Portlock Storage Manager supports creating a log file for details of various warnings and errors. This is very important for commands such a Pool Check. Add the command line option "-logfile=filename", without the quotes. Specify the full path to the logfile (example: -logfile=C:/STORMGR.LOG). You can specify a floppy so that nothing on the server is modified (-logfile=A:/STORMGR.LOG) Do not specify a volume located on a pool that you are "checking" as the log file would be closed before the full results of the Pool Check could be written.

NSS /PoolVerify Log files

• NetWare stores the results of a Pool Verify in a log file that starts with the pool name and ends with the suffix VLF (Verify Log File). Each time you run a Pool Verify the results are appended to this log file. If you are sending this log file to Portlock, delete the log files first so that the log file only contains information about this issue being analyzed. We will not review log files with the results of multiple Pool Verifies stored within them.

NSS /PoolRebuild Log files

• NetWare stores the results of a Pool Rebuild in a log file that starts with the pool name and ends with the suffix RLF (Rebuild Log File). Each time you run a Pool Rebuild the results are appended to this log file. If you are sending this log file to Portlock, delete the log files first so that the log file only contains information about this issue being analyzed. We will not review log files with the results of multiple Pool Rebuilds stored within them.

Reporting issues to Portlock:

1. Send the NSS /PoolVerify log file. If reporting an Online Image issue, perform a Pool Verify on both the original pool and the snapshot pool. See above for manually setting up a snapshot.
2. Send the NSS /PoolRebuild log file.
3. Send the Portlock Storage Manager log file from the Pool Check command.