I think Stetson forgot to mention that you also need to shut the OS down as well otherwise your NTFS buffer cache will not get flushed and you will still be inconsistent...

You really need SnapDrive or a piece of software like the "sync" driver in VMware which will ensure that your system will boot up afterwards. Not sure if there are any alternatives on the market though.

SnapDrive isn't unstable (I have multiple happy people who think it isn't) ...I'm sure if you have any issues they can be sorted without looking for an alternative.

Even better use SnapManager for SQL, this uses Microsoft APIs to ensure that not only the OS but the database is properly consistent during backups.

Honestly though, if SnapDrive is causing you pain I'm sure it can be fixed - call up NetApp support and you'll get a good response.

If you don't have support, firstly you should....but if its a generic issue I'm sure there are people out there that can help.

cheers Eddie ________________________________

From: Webster, Stetson Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 4:44 AM To: lists@up-south.com; toasters@mathworks.com Subject: RE: Snapdrive alternative

Yes. It's simple. Just stop the db's, confirm completion of the stop, take a snapshot, restart db's.

Pardon brevity, typos, etc; sent from mobile.

-----Original Message----- From: Steve Rieger [mailto:lists@up-south.com] Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 07:32 PM Pacific Standard Time To: toasters@mathworks.com Subject: Snapdrive alternative

We found that snapdrive is not very stable. Are there any alternatives ?

Setup is as follows Win 2k3 servers Sql dbs 3070c running 7.2.2 With fiber Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile