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Dell PowerVault MD 32XX/36XX Series Storage Arrays CLI Guide

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Preparing Host Servers To Create An Initial Snapshot Virtual Disk

  • CAUTION: Before you create a new point-in-time image of a source virtual disk, stop any data access (I/O) activity or suspend data transfer to the source virtual disk to ensure that you capture an accurate point-in-time image of the source virtual disk. Close all applications, including Windows Internet Explorer, to make sure all I/O activity has stopped.
  • NOTE: Removing the physical disk letter of the associated virtual disk(s) in Windows or unmounting the virtual physical disk in Linux helps to guarantee a stable copy of the physical disk for the Snapshot.
Before creating a snapshot virtual disk, the server has to be in the proper state. To ensure that the host server is properly prepared to create a snapshot virtual disk, you can either use an application to carry out this task, or you can perform the following steps:
  1. Stop all I/O activity to the source.
  2. Using your Windows system, flush the cache to the source. At the host prompt, type SMrepassist -f <filename-identifier> and press <Enter>. See "SMrepassist Utility" in the Owner’s Manual for more information.
  3. Remove the physical disk letter(s) of the source in Windows or unmount the virtual physical disk(s) in Linux to help guarantee a stable copy of the physical disk for the Snapshot. If this is not done, the snapshot operation reports that it has completed successfully, but the snapshot data is not updated properly.
    • NOTE: Verify that the virtual disk has a status of Optimal or Disabled by clicking the Summary tab and then clicking the Disk Groups & Virtual Disks link.
  4. Follow any additional instructions for your operating system. Failure to follow these additional instructions can create unusable snapshot virtual disks.
    • NOTE: If your operating system requires additional instructions, you can find those instructions in your operating system documentation.
If you want to use a snapshot regularly, such as for backups, use the Disable Snapshot and Re-create Snapshot options to reuse the snapshot. Disabling and re-creating snapshots preserves the existing virtual disk-to-host mappings to the snapshot virtual disk.

After your server has been prepared, see Creating The Initial Snapshot Virtual Disk.

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