SMVI uses snapshot 'normal' snapshot functionality of the filer so the granularity is constrained by that.

At the current time, you cannot snapshot a file of files within a volume/qtree so in your scenario, you'd consume more than the necessary amount of storage space in creating a snapshot.

To get around that you could either:

1) Reorganise your Datastores (perhaps using Storage VMotion) so that VMs with common snapshot/backup requirements live on the same Datastore

2) Hope that Netapp release additional functionality in OnTAP (and corresponding features in SMVI) so that you can snapshot individual files.

The only other thing to note is that SMVI does allow you select a subset of VM's on a datastore for backup. The effect this has is that SMVI doesn't waste time quiecing the VM's that you haven't included in the backup job.

Darren

-----Original Message----- From: Kumar, Rahul [mailto:kumarrahul@siemens.com] Sent: 14 January 2009 10:07 To: Sto Rage(c) ; toasters@mathworks.com; Darren Sykes; Adam.Fox@netapp.com Subject: RE: SMVI - Limitations?

Hi Toasters

A general scene and a question related to it.

We have over 5TB of NFS datastore spread across various qtrees.

We were evaluating SMVI and came to know that it also requires snaprestore to restore the VM's

Now my question is that if e.g there was a qtree with say 50 vms on it and we'd like to snapshot only a few of them. Will this work ?

When a snap is created on the filer it will capture all the VM's thus eating up valuable disk space from the snapreserve as time goes by.

Next when we do a restore of the individual machine, it does a snap restore, however I am not sure if this only restores the individual machine or the entire stuff

Any insight/help into this will be helpful

Thanks Rahul

-----Original Message----- From: owner-toasters@mathworks.com [mailto:owner-toasters@mathworks.com] On Behalf Of Sto Rage(c) Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 4:52 AM To: toasters@mathworks.com Subject: Re: SMVI - Limitations?

On Fri, Jan 9, 2009 at 12:19 AM, Darren Sykes Darren.Sykes@csr.com wrote:

You can tell SMVI (v1.1) not to perform OS level disk quiecing on

those

machines if that's any use to you? You'll then get a completely transparent Netapp level snapshot and

won't

interfere with the VM itself.

Darren

It is SMVI v1.01 BTW, not 1.1 Not sure I understand this correctly, but if you are bypassing OS disk quiesce (VMWare snapshot) and doing transparent NetApp level snapshot, then why do you even need SMVI installed? Can't we just do the regular filer level snap schedule? We just upgraded to 1.01 and noticed the checkbox and were wondering about its potential use. Any ideas?

thanks -G

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