VSS snaps filling my drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter Phil McNeill
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Phil McNeill

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Hi,

Just got a warning from my monitoring software that my 400GB database drive
with around 100GB of Exchange information store is 75% full. I've seen this
before,
so went looking at the System Volume Information folder (after changing
permissions to allow me access to it) to discover that it had accumulated
200GB worth of snapshots over the past 2 months. Every day when Veritas BE
9.1 (yes, we're upgrading this year) kicks in, I get the following message
in my app log:

Event Type: Information
Event Source: MSExchangeIS
Event Category: Exchange VSS Writer
Event ID: 9604
Date: 5/1/2008
Time: 4:30:37 PM
User: N/A
Computer: PAGE
Description:
Exchange VSS Snapshot metadata document has been collected.


This is immediately followed by the Event ID 210 indicating that a full
backup of the Exchange DB has started. Backups appear to be ok.

Each of the files in the Sysvol folder is created at the exact time the
backup starts.

The only article I see on the Symantec/Veritas site talks about seeing these
files pile up if a Shadow Copy Component backup is cancelled
(http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/269989.htm). Mine do not appear to be
cancelled, as the VSS components are being successfully backed up according
to the backup log. Anyway, the Veritas solution in the article is to stop
the Volume Shadow Copy Service on the server.

Questions:

1. If I disable the volume shadow copy service, what am I losing?
2. Can I safely disable the old files in the System Volume Information
folder?
3. Any other recommendations?

Thanks in advance,

Phil

Exchange 2003 SP2 on W2K3 SP2 being backed up by Veritas BE 9.1
 
Re: VSS snaps filling my drive

On May 5, 9:16 pm, "Phil McNeill"
<philmcne...@REMOVETEXTINCAPShydroottawa.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Just got a warning from my monitoring software that my 400GB database drive
> with around 100GB of Exchange information store is 75% full.  I've seen this
> before,
> so went looking at the System Volume Information folder (after changing
> permissions to allow me access to it) to discover that it had accumulated
> 200GB worth of snapshots over the past 2 months.  Every day when Veritas BE
> 9.1 (yes, we're upgrading this year) kicks in, I get the following message
> in my app log:
>
> Event Type: Information
> Event Source: MSExchangeIS
> Event Category: Exchange VSS Writer
> Event ID: 9604
> Date:  5/1/2008
> Time:  4:30:37 PM
> User:  N/A
> Computer: PAGE
> Description:
> Exchange VSS Snapshot metadata document has been collected.
>
> This is immediately followed by the Event ID 210 indicating that a full
> backup of the Exchange DB has started.  Backups appear to be ok.
>
> Each of the files in the Sysvol folder is created at the exact time the
> backup starts.
>
> The only article I see on the Symantec/Veritas site talks about seeing these
> files pile up if a Shadow Copy Component backup is cancelled
> (http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/269989.htm).  Mine do not appear to be
> cancelled, as the VSS components are being successfully backed up according
> to the backup log.  Anyway, the Veritas solution in the article is to stop
> the Volume Shadow Copy Service on the server.
>
> Questions:
>
> 1. If I disable the volume shadow copy service, what am I losing?
> 2. Can I safely disable the old files in the System Volume Information
> folder?
> 3. Any other recommendations?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Phil
>
> Exchange 2003 SP2 on W2K3 SP2 being backed up by Veritas BE 9.1

Hello Phil,

If you are taking VSS based backup of Exchange 2007, then VSS service
is must. VSS service is going to coordinate with VSS requestor, VSS
writer and VSS provider. I guess Veritas BE is a VSS aware application
hence the Veritas BE role will be VSS requestor here.
So, if you stop VSS service, future backups won't happen. I am not
sure why Veritas suggested to stop VSS service.

As per MSDN website, files should be deleted automatically after the
backup is completed.

You may increase log levels of Veritas BE and Exchange StoreDriver to
find more clues.

Regards,
Ramesh
 
Re: VSS snaps filling my drive


"Ramesh D" <mailto.d.ramesh@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:f7a9925f-54ea-4880-8b99-4e5bfdfd0208@q24g2000prf.googlegroups.com...


Hello Phil,

If you are taking VSS based backup of Exchange 2007, then VSS service
is must. VSS service is going to coordinate with VSS requestor, VSS
writer and VSS provider. I guess Veritas BE is a VSS aware application
hence the Veritas BE role will be VSS requestor here.
So, if you stop VSS service, future backups won't happen. I am not
sure why Veritas suggested to stop VSS service.

As per MSDN website, files should be deleted automatically after the
backup is completed.

You may increase log levels of Veritas BE and Exchange StoreDriver to
find more clues.

Regards,
Ramesh



Thanks Ramesh. I have to assume that the Backup Exec Service uses VSS, but
stops and starts it itself, hence the reason they tell you to just stop it,
rather than disable it. I stopped the service, and it cleared out all the
images as advertised. Backups still running fine, and I'm not accumualting
anymore of those files.

Thanks again!
 
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