Clusters: Backing Up a Cluster as a Single Entity

This article applies to LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent 3.2 or later

If you are running LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent 3.1.2 or earlier, contact Customer Service for assistance.

Note: To verify the version of the LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent running on your server, see Viewing a Computer's Agent Software Version.

The LiveVault Online Backup Service allows you to back up your Microsoft Cluster service (MSCS) cluster as a single entity. This configuration allows you to:

  • Back up only those disk volumes that are shared as cluster resources. 

  • To provide backup application failover, as part of the cluster failover.

  • Manage a single cluster entity in MyLiveVault, using either one cluster node name or optionally the cluster name.

This configuration does not allow you to back up any node-specific resources. For example:

  • You cannot back up System private disks.

  • You cannot back up the System State/NT registry for the individual cluster nodes. 

Important: This means that you can restore only the data from the shared cluster disks. You will not be able to perform a LiveVault Online Backup Service disaster recovery for the individual cluster nodes. 

For Microsoft Exchange, you must back up the Active Directory. If this is a Microsoft Exchange cluster, your Windows 2000/2003 domain controller with Active Directory Service (ADS) must be on a non-cluster server and you must be backing up the System State on that server. You cannot back up a System State using this cluster configuration method.

If this configuration does not meet your needs, you may choose to back up each cluster node as a separate entity.

I. Installing and configuring the LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent software on the cluster nodes

You will install the LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent software on each cluster node, with the service internal files (journals and databases) located on a shared resource and all nodes sharing a common LiveVault Online Backup Service internal alias name.

Customer Service will provide two Agent kits, one for each node. Both kits will contain the same digital certificates and the same internal alias name, but each kit will contain the name of the specific cluster node on which it must be installed.

Follow these steps to install and configure the LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent on your cluster nodes:

  1. Contact Customer Service, inform them that you are going to be backing up a cluster, and provide the machine names for both the cluster nodes.

  2. Add the first node in MyLiveVault:

    1. On the MyLiveVault Home page is the All Computers form. Click Add Computer.

    2. Read the New Computer page, then click Next.

    3. On the New Computer form, type the simple machine name for the first cluster node (it does not matter which node you choose to do first) in the Computer name box. Also fill in the other requested information.

  3. Download the Agent kit for the first node:

    1. The primary technical contact for the computer receives an e-mail indicating that the LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent software kit for the first node is available. The service software kit contains the Agent software and digital certificates for the first node.

    2. On the MyLiveVault Home page, the All Computers form lists the name of the first node that you have added. Click Install Software in the Action column for the computer.

    3. Read the information on the Download and Install the Service Software page, then click Download Service Software to start the download process over the Internet. On the File Download dialog box, select the option Save this program to disk. The self-extracting service software executable is downloaded to your local system.

  4. Install the LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent software kit on the first cluster node:

    Important: Ensure you are installing the correct kit. The kit name will reflect the name of the first node. An Agent kit is configured for a specific computer. You must install the appropriate kit on the node, or the installation will fail. 

    1. Copy the self-extracting service software executable to the first node.

    2. Log on to the computer using a Windows account with Administrator rights on the computer.

    3. Double-click the self-extracting service software executable that you downloaded for the first node.

      The software files will be unpacked in an installation folder. You may be prompted for a path for the installation folder. If you are prompted for a path, accept the provided path or type in a new path, and then click Continue. If the folder does not exist, you will prompted to create it. When prompted, click Yes.

    4. The Agent Setup program starts running. During the installation make the following settings:

      • On the Setup Type dialog box:

        • Select the Custom installation type.

        • For Destination Folder, specify a local system disk path for the program files.

      • On the LiveVault Internal Data dialog box, specify a path on a cluster disk resource in an existing cluster group for the LiveVault Online Backup Service internal files directories (journals and databases).

      • When prompted, restart the first cluster node now.

        Important: You must restart this cluster node before proceeding to the next step.

  5. In MyLiveVault, change the machine name of the first node to the machine name of the second node:

    1. On the MyLiveVault Home page, you will see the name of the first cluster node on the All Computers form. Click Backup/Restore in the Action column.

    2. On the Computer Information form, click the Properties tab.

    3. In the Computer Properties section, click Edit.

    4. On the Computer Properties form, change the name in the Computer name box to the simple machine name for of the second node.

    5. Click Done.

  6. Notify Customer Service that you have downloaded the first node's Agent kit and renamed the computer in MyLiveVault. Customer Service will generate the Agent kit for the second node and notify you when it is ready.

  7. Download the Agent kit for the second node:

    1. On the MyLiveVault Home page, the All Computers form lists the name of the first node that you have added. Click Install Software in the Action column for the computer.

    2. Read the information on the Download and Install the Service Software page, then click Download Service Software to start the download process over the Internet. On the File Download dialog box, select the option Save this program to disk. The self-extracting service software executable is downloaded to your local system.

  8. Install the LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent software kit on the second cluster node.

    Important: Ensure you are installing the correct kit. The kit name will reflect the name of the second node.

    1. Copy the self-extracting service software executable to the second node.

    2. Log on to the computer using a Windows account with Administrator rights on the computer.

    3. Double-click the self-extracting service software executable that you downloaded for the second node.

    4. The software files will be unpacked in an installation folder. You may be prompted for a path for the installation folder. If you are prompted for a path, accept the provided path or type in a new path, and then click Continue. If the folder does not exist, you will prompted to create it. When prompted, click Yes.

    5. The Agent Setup program starts running. During the installation make the following settings:

      • On the Setup Type dialog box:

        • Select the Custom installation type.

        • For Destination Folder, specify a local system disk path for the program files.

      • On the LiveVault Internal Data dialog box, specify the same path on the cluster disk resource in the existing cluster group for the LiveVault Online Backup Service internal files directories (journals and databases).

        Important: This must be the same path that you specified when installing the agent on the first cluster node.

      • When prompted, restart the second cluster node now.

        Important: You must restart the second cluster node before proceeding to the next step.

  9. Create LiveVault Online Backup Service resources in the same cluster group as the disk drive holding the LiveVault Online Backup Service internal files directories (journals and databases):

    1. Open Cluster Administrator, and choose the Cluster group containing the cluster disk resource that holds the LiveVault Online Backup Service internal files directories (journals and databases).

    2. Create a resource in this group for the LiveVault Lvwfloservice service:

      1. Click File, point to New, and click Resource.

      2. On the New Resource dialog box, do the following:

        • Type Lvwfloservice in the Name field.

        • Choose Generic Service in the Resource type list.

      3. On the Possible Owners dialog box, ensure the correct cluster nodes are shown in the Possible owners list.

      4. On the Dependencies dialog box, ensure the Resource dependencies list is empty.

      5. On the Generic Service Parameters dialog box, type Lvwfloservice in the Service name field.

      6. On the Registry Replication dialog box, do not type a registry key for replication.

      7. Click Finish to create the LiveVault Lvwfloservice cluster resource. A message appears confirming the resource was created successfully.

      8. The Lvwfloservice resource should start automatically; confirm that the State column displays Online for the resource. If the State is Offline, then right-click on the resource and click Bring Online on the shortcut menu.

    3. Create a resource in the cluster group for the LiveVault Nisvc service:

      1. Click File, point to New, and click Resource.

      2. On the New Resource dialog box, do the following:

        • Type Nisvc in the Name field.

        • Choose Generic Service in the Resource type list.

      3. On the Possible Owners dialog box, ensure the correct cluster nodes are shown in the Possible owners list.

      4. On the Dependencies dialog box, in the Available resources list choose the cluster disk resource that holds internal files directories (journals and databases) and click Add. The cluster disk resource should appear in the Resource dependencies list.

      5. On the Generic Service Parameters dialog box, type Nisvc in the Service name field.

      6. On the Registry Replication dialog box, do not type a registry key for replication.

      7. Click Finish to create the LiveVault Nisvc cluster resource. A message appears confirming the resource was created successfully.

      8. The Nisvc resource should start automatically; confirm that the State column displays Online for the resource. If the State is Offline, then right-click on the resource and click Bring Online on the shortcut menu.

II. Configuring backup for the cluster

This cluster configuration allows you to back up shared cluster resources only.

To configure your cluster backup do the following:

  1. On the MyLiveVault Home page, you will see the name of the first cluster node on the All Computers form. This name represents the single cluster entity. Click Configure Backup in the Action column.

  2. The Configure Backup page explains the steps to configure backup. Click Next.

  3. If this is a Microsoft Exchange cluster, on the Microsoft Exchange Backup form specify how you want to back up Exchange on the computer (this step is only applicable for computers running both Agent version 4.0 or later and Microsoft Exchange; otherwise, skip to the next step):

    • Select Automatic Exchange Data backup only to have LiveVault Online Backup Service automatically generate and maintain back up for Exchange on this computer.

      Note: We recommend choosing this option to ensure your Exchange data is fully backed up.

    • Select Custom Exchange Data backup to define your own custom Exchange backup configuration.

    Important: The Exchange options Automatic entire Exchange Server backup and No Exchange Backup are not applicable for Exchange clusters.

  4. Click Next (located below the Microsoft Exchange Backup form) to continue configuring backup for your computer.

  5. On the Configure your Files and Directories backup page in the Files to Backup tab on the Computer Backup form, do the following:

    1. Click the Clear All button (at the bottom of the Files to Backup tab).

    2. Clear the Backup the Registry/System State check box.

    3. Click Save.

    4. The Computer Backup form's Properties and Specifications columns will indicate that no files are being backed up. Click Submit.

  6. If this is a Microsoft Exchange cluster, on the Computer Backup form, configure your Exchange backup (this step is only applicable for computers running both Agent version 4.0 or later and Microsoft Exchange; otherwise, skip to the next step):

    1. In the Files to Backup tab, review or specify the Exchange files and directories to back up:

      • If you chose Automatic Exchange Data backup only on the Files to Backup tab click View Files to Backup to review the Exchange files and directories that will be backed up.

        Note: You cannot edit the Exchange files and directories selections for an automatic Exchange data backup configuration.

      • If you chose Custom Exchange Data backup, on the Files to Backup tab specify the Exchange files and directories to back up. You can either browse and select the files from a tree view of your computer's file structure, or manually define the file selection rules. Follow the guidelines in the appropriate procedure for your Exchange version:

    2. In the Schedule tab, create a schedule for the backup configuration.

    3. In the Options tab, review and modify (if applicable) the Exchange application options for your Exchange version (for example, circular logging, or mailbox and message retention).

    4. Click Save.

    5. Review the information in the Computer Backup form's Properties and Specifications columns.  Click Submit to accept the backup configuration.

  7. Configure backup for shared resources that you want to back up as part of this backup configuration:

    1. On the Databases Backup form, click New.

    2. On the Configure a database backup page in the Computer Backup form, do the following:

      1. Type a name for this backup configuration in the Name of database box. For example, MyClusterResources.

      2. In the Files to Backup tab on the Computer Backup form, select the files/directories on the shared resources that you want to back up as part of this backup configuration. You can either browse and select the files from a tree view of your computer's file structure, or manually define the file selection rules.

        Note: You may want to create separate backup configurations for the various shared resources. For example, you may want to create one for SQL and another for general data on a shared disk.

      3. In the Schedule tab, create a schedule for the backup configuration.

      4. Click Save.

      5. Review the information in the Computer Backup form's Properties and Specifications columns. Click Submit to accept the backup configuration.

    3. On the Databases Backup page, the new backup configuration is listed. If you want to create another backup configuration, click New. Otherwise, click Done.

III. Naming the cluster in MyLiveVault

By default the cluster is identified in MyLiveVault by the name of the first cluster node that you added through MyLiveVault. To avoid confusion, you can optionally choose to change this name in MyLiveVault to your cluster name.

  1. On the MyLiveVault Home page, you will see the name of the first cluster node on the All Computers form. This represents the single cluster entity. Click Backup/Restore in the Action column.

  2. On the Computer Information form, click the Properties tab.

  3. In the Computer Properties section, click Edit.

  4. On the Computer Properties form, type the cluster name in the Computer name box.

  5. Click Done.

Related Information

MSCS Clusters
Understanding Microsoft Exchange Backup
Microsoft Exchange 2000 or 2003: Key Considerations for Backup
Understanding Database and Application Backup
 
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