Remote Storage

Like money and RAM, you can never have too much hard disk space. Because of this universal truth, Windows 2000 includes the ability to extend hard disk capacity using tape and other archival media.

This ability is provided by Remote Storage, which takes advantage of the Windows 2000 built-in, from-the-ground-up support for hierarchical storage utilities and enables Windows 2000 to extend an NTFS volume almost infinitely. Remote Storage does this by transparently migrating infrequently used files to tape while keeping them easily accessible.

Users see migrated files as if they were still stored on the disk instead of on tape. Even when users access migrated files, the only noticeable differences are a small dialog box informing them that the file is being recalled from tape and a somewhat longer file load time. Except for the setup and configuration of Remote Storage, this feature adds little or no burden to administrators. Remote Storage performs all migration and recovery from tape automatically (unless the required media is offline, in which case Removable Storage places a request for an operator to retrieve the media).

To help you capitalize on this new lease on a hard disk's life, the following sections examine key concepts and requirements of Remote Storage, its setup and configuration, and its data recovery and protection.

With hard drive capacities measured in the hundreds of gigabytes and terabyte storage solutions not unreasonable, many companies pass on remote storage and simply buy more hard drives or RAID solutions. However, if your company needs to archive large quantities of data, large-capacity tape drives remain unmatched.

Concepts and System Requirements

You probably have some questions about the purpose of Remote Storage: How does it interact with other programs such as the backup program and antivirus program? What kind of hardware and software do you need to make it work? We had the same questions when we first encountered Remote Storage, so we provide you with some background here that you can use to answer those nagging questions.

Purpose

Remote Storage is also known as Hierarchical Storage because it allows for two tiers of data storage. The first tier, local storage, is the standard hard disk or removable disk drive hosting an NTFS volume (such as an Iomega Jaz drive). The second tier, provided by Remote Storage and aptly referred to as the remote storage tier, is the tape drive or robotic tape library. Data is initially stored in local storage, and once the data has settled down (has not been accessed within a specified period of time), it is copied or migrated to remote storage but also left intact, or cached, in local storage for quick access. (Note that Remote Storage only manages files physically on a volume—it doesn't follow Dfs links.) Finally, as local storage fills up and it becomes necessary to free up space for additional data, the files that have settled down and been migrated to remote storage are converted to placeholders or links, freeing up the space they used to consume.

Files that have been moved to remote storage and are no longer cached locally still appear to be resident in local storage (Figure 17-14). These placeholders look and act the same as normal locally stored files, except for a couple of small differences.

Figure 17-14. Windows Explorer in Details view.

The first difference is that the icon for the file that was moved to remote storage has a small clock face on it to indicate that to open the file, a user has to wait while Windows 2000 retrieves the file from remote storage (Figure 17-15).

Figure 17-15. Windows Explorer in Large Icon view displaying a remote storage placeholder.

The second difference is that, although Windows Explorer shows remote files using the same amount of disk space as when the files were stored locally, and it doesn't change how disk quotas work (remote files count against a disk quota the same as local files do), Windows Explorer does subtract remote files from the total space used on a disk estimate. In other words, Windows 2000 treats remote files exactly the same as local files except when calculating the amount of free space on a disk, at which point Windows 2000 recognizes that remotely stored files take up no local disk space. Windows Explorer also adds a Remote Storage tab to the Properties dialog box of managed volumes, allowing administrators to view and change the settings on managed volumes directly from within Windows Explorer.

When a user accesses a remotely stored file, the Recalling From Remote Storage dialog box appears, explaining that Windows is recalling the file from Remote Storage (Figure 17-16). If a user doesn't want to wait for the file, he or she can click Cancel and leave the file in remote storage. Otherwise, the file is restored into local storage and its last-accessed-date timestamp is reset, preventing it from migrating to remote storage until the file has settled down.

Figure 17-16. The Recalling From Remote Storage dialog box.

Copy and move operations performed on placeholders act a little differently than normal file copy and move operations. Placeholders that are renamed or moved to a different location on the same volume don't need to be recalled from remote storage. However, when a user copies the file, Remote Storage recalls the file and then copies it to the new location. (Note that the new file is in no way linked to the old file in remote storage, just like you would expect from a copied file.) When a user moves a placeholder to a different volume, Remote Storage recalls the file, copies it to its new location, and then deletes the original file.

Program Compatibility

Compatibility with Windows 2000 programs is an important Remote Storage issue. Although Remote Storage is thoroughly integrated into the operating system, some programs might not behave optimally unless they are specifically made aware of Remote Storage. Two examples are backup programs and antivirus programs.

Backup programs that aren't Remote Storage aware can back up all locally stored data and data links, but they have no way of backing up data that has been moved to remote storage (except by restoring the remotely stored files, rendering Remote Storage useless). If a backup program is Remote Storage aware (such as the Windows 2000 Backup program), you might have the option to retrieve files from remote storage and back them up along with all locally stored data, and then return the files to remote storage when finished.

Many antivirus, backup, search, and indexing programs that aren't Remote Storage aware have a nasty tendency to access every file they check, thereby resetting Remote Storage usage data, as well as pulling files from remote storage to check them for viruses. Remote Storage-aware programs don't have this liability.

Real World

Microsoft Office FindFast

Microsoft Office 97 causes all Word documents, PowerPoint documents, and HTML files in remote storage to be recalled at the end of Office 97 installation. You can stop this by terminating the Findfast.exe process. You should turn FindFast off by using the FindFast Control Panel tool and by making sure that the Findfast.exe shortcut isn't in the Startup folder on the Start menu. Microsoft Office 95 and Office 97 might also recall files from remote storage when you use the Edit menu's Find command.

Fortunately, Remote Storage has a workaround for programs that aren't Remote Storage aware. Remote Storage limits the allowable number of successive recalls from remote storage. If a program recalls a file from remote storage and requests that another file be recalled within 10 seconds of the last file being recalled, Remote Storage counts this. When the count reaches a configurable limit (the default is 60), Remote Storage prohibits further recalls during that session. Setting a limit doesn't usually bother normal users but can prevent an antivirus program that isn't Remote Storage aware from inadvertently restoring all remote storage files.

Data Safety

You're probably wondering how to ensure that your data is adequately backed up when working with Remote Storage. If a file has been moved to tape, what happens if the tape gets damaged or lost? What happens if the link to the file in local storage is lost? You can assuage your fears of data loss in several ways. The first way you're already familiar with—frequent and thorough backups.

Most companies combine making regular backups of the local storage systems with creating copies of Remote Storage's media, the second way of protecting data. Thus, every time you back up the local storage, you make a copy of the Remote Storage media and keep that with the local storage backup. This step ensures that the entire storage system is backed up: both the local storage tier and the remote storage tier. You can also protect the data by using a Remote Storage-compatible backup program to back up data in remote storage along with the local storage backup. The recovery process is the same as that for any other type of backup.

To summarize, if you want to thoroughly protect the data and you have the ability to copy the Remote Storage media, use a strategy similar to the following one (for more specific information, see the section entitled Data Recovery and Protection, later in this chapter):

  • Back up the local data regularly.
  • Validate local volumes managed by Remote Storage regularly.
  • Make more than one copy (up to three) of the Remote Storage media master, and regularly synchronize these copies with the media master each time you perform a full backup.
  • Optionally take a media copy and add it to the backup set (as described later in this chapter). This allows you to keep the complete data together, and removes the limitation of three media copies.
  • Consider backing up data in remote storage at the same time as you back up local storage. It might take longer and use more media, but it offers greater data protection and flexibility in case of a disaster.

Although Remote Storage media isn't the easiest type of media from which to extract data, it isn't difficult for an unsavory individual with a stolen Remote Storage tape. Always keep close tabs on your media—store them in a secure location.

System Requirements

Remote Storage isn't particularly resource intensive, and as such, it works well on almost any system that meets the recommended system configuration for Windows 2000 Server. Note that you can't run Remote Storage on a Windows 2000 Professional machine, and Remote Storage can manage volumes formatted only with NTFS 5.

However, Remote Storage is somewhat fussy about the removable storage subsystem you use. The drive needs to be recognized by Removable Storage; you should use hardware only in the Hardware Compatibility List. Additionally, at shipping, Remote Storage supports only SCSI-class 4 mm (DAT), 8 mm, and DLT tape libraries that Removable Storage recognizes. Remote Storage doesn't support optical drives (including CD-RW and DVD-RW), QIC tape libraries, or any type of removable disk drive (Jaz, Zip, and so on). Some of these restrictions might change in future versions of Windows (Windows .NET Server supports magneto optical disks), but some devices such as QIC tapes and Jaz drives just aren't meant for Remote Storage, so forget about them. If you're thinking about QIC tapes, you probably don't need Remote Storage—you need another hard disk.

Microsoft recommends that you avoid using Remote Storage with Exabyte 8200 tape libraries.

Client systems using Windows File Manager can't access files managed by Remote Storage, which precludes Windows 3.x clients from accessing these files. Also, Windows 95 users should refrain from using File Manager if they want to access Remote Storage files (or maintain any dignity; they've had seven years to learn Windows Explorer).

Remote Storage won't fail over on a server cluster.

Setup and Configuration

The following sections explain how to set up Remote Storage, how to configure it optimally, and how to ensure that your data is appropriately protected from disaster.

If you launch Remote Storage and walk through the Remote Storage Setup Wizard before you configure the system with a supported storage library, you need to uninstall and reinstall Remote Storage to use it, as Remote Storage won't detect added devices after installation.

Setting Up Remote Storage

Remote Storage is easy to set up. Just make sure that the storage library you want to use with Remote Storage is connected and configured, and then follow these steps:

  1. Open the Add/Remove Programs tool from the Control Panel.
  2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components in the left pane.
  3. Select the Remote Storage check box, if it isn't already selected, and click Next.
  4. Restart the computer.
  5. Launch Remote Storage from the Administrative Tools folder on the Start menu. The Remote Storage Setup Wizard appears. Click Next. The wizard detects any compatible storage devices and checks the security settings.
  6. On the next screen, shown in Figure 17-17, select the volumes with which you want to use Remote Storage (only NTFS volumes appear), and then click Next.

    Figure 17-17. The Volume Management screen of the Remote Storage Setup Wizard.

  7. In the Desired Free Space box, enter the minimum amount of free space you want available on the managed volumes, as shown in Figure 17-18.
  8. In the Larger Than box, enter the size of the smallest files you want Remote Storage to migrate to tape if more disk space is needed.

    Figure 17-18. The Volume Settings screen of the Remote Storage Setup Wizard.

  9. In the Not Accessed In box, enter the number of days that need to have passed since the file was last accessed for the file to be eligible for migration to tape. Click Next.
  10. Select the media you want Remote Storage to use from the Media Types drop-down list box (only detected, supported media are listed). Click Next.

    Be sure to select the correct media type because it can't be changed later.

  11. Click Change Schedule to change when Remote Storage copies files to tape, or click Next to continue.
  12. Review the settings you entered, and then click Finish to complete the Remote Storage setup.

Setting Up Additional Volumes with Remote Storage

If you want to set up additional storage volumes on the system for use with Remote Storage after you've already completed the initial setup, you can use the Add Volume Management Wizard. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Launch the Remote Storage MMC snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder on the Start menu, or enter %SystemRoot%\System32\RsAdmin.msc into the Run dialog box or at a command prompt.
  2. Select the Managed Volumes folder in the console tree.
  3. Click the New Managed Volume(s) toolbar button to launch the Add Volume Management Wizard, and then click Next on the first screen.
  4. Select the check box next to the NTFS 5 volume you want, or choose the Manage All Volumes option to instruct Remote Storage to manage all eligible volumes (Figure 17-19). Click Next.

    Figure 17-19. The Volume Management screen of the Add Volume Management Wizard.

  5. In the Desired Free Space box, enter the amount of free space you want to have on the volume, as a percentage of total space.
  6. Enter the minimum file size you want Remote Storage to migrate to tape in the Larger Than box. Note that migrating files smaller than 12 KB generally doesn't make sense because they don't take up much room, but you can change this setting as needed.
  7. In the Not Accessed In box, enter the number of days that must elapse since a file was last accessed before the file is eligible for migration to remote storage. Click Next. Keep in mind that setting this number too high limits the amount of disk space that Remote Storage can free up, but setting it too low causes an unnecessary amount of recall from tape.
  8. Review the settings on the final wizard screen, and then click Finish.

Changing Volume Settings

Remote Storage uses a set of rules to govern which files are eligible for migration to remote storage. You set these rules initially when you set up a storage volume on the computer for Remote Storage to manage, using either the Remote Storage Setup Wizard or the Add Volume Management Wizard. However, you might want to change these settings later or add exclusions such that certain file types never get migrated to tape. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Launch the Remote Storage MMC snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder on the Start menu.
  2. Select the Managed Volumes folder in the console tree, right-click the volume you want to configure, and choose Settings from the shortcut menu.
  3. In the Desired Free Space box, enter the amount of free space you want to have on the volume, as a percentage of total space.

    You can also change a managed volume's settings by right-clicking the volume in Windows Explorer, choosing Properties from the shortcut menu, and then clicking the Remote Storage tab. However, you can't change inclusion and exclusion rules from here.

  4. Enter the minimum file size you want Remote Storage to migrate to tape in the Larger Than box. Most users find that if anything, they'll want to increase this file size, although if you have a lot of seldom-accessed smaller files, you could consider lowering this setting also.
  5. In the Not Accessed In box, enter the number of days that must elapse since a file was last accessed before the file is eligible for migration to remote storage. Keep in mind that setting this number too high limits the amount of disk space that Remote Storage can free up, but setting it too low causes an unnecessary amount of recall from tape.
  6. Click the Include/Exclude Rules tab to create or modify rules that specify file types to exclude from Remote Storage, as shown in Figure 17-20.
  7. Select a rule that you want to modify (some rules can't be changed), and then click Edit to modify the rule or Remove to delete it.

    Figure 17-20. The Include/Exclude Rules tab of a managed volume's Properties dialog box.

  8. To add a new rule, click Add to display the Edit Include/Exclude Rule dialog box, shown in Figure 17-21.

    Figure 17-21. The Edit Include/Exclude Rule dialog box.

  9. Enter the folder path you want to apply the rule to in the Path box, or enter a backslash to apply the rule to the entire volume.
  10. In the File Type box, enter the type of file that you want to include or exclude from Remote Storage.
  11. Select Exclude Matching Files if you want to exclude files matching the criteria from Remote Storage.
  12. Select Include Matching Files if you want to explicitly allow Remote Storage to manage files matching the criteria. This is useful if you want to make an exception to an exclude rule for only a certain folder.
  13. Select the Apply Rule To Subfolders check box if you want Remote Storage to apply the rule to all subfolders of the folder listed in the Path box.

Turning Off Remote Storage for a Managed Volume

If you plan to uninstall Remote Storage, discontinue managing all of the volumes and recall the files in remote storage. This step is important because if you don't, files stored in remote storage will be lost.

You might also want to do this if you plan to perform a complete (clean) reinstallation of Windows 2000. Recalling the data allows you to either leave the data intact on the drive while reinstalling Windows, or back up the data using a backup program that isn't Remote Storage aware. (If you want to reformat the drive, you can back up the data and then restore it once you're finished with the installation.) If you don't recall the data or back up all data (including data in remote storage) before doing a clean reinstall of Windows 2000, you're left performing a somewhat complicated and risky Remote Storage recovery procedure. See the section entitled Data Recovery and Protection, later in this chapter, for more information.

Another case in which you might choose to discontinue Remote Storage's management of a volume is when the library you're using for the volume fills up and you don't want the remote storage database to include offline media. In this instance, you can discontinue Remote Storage's management of the volume, which tells Remote Storage to stop adding files to remote storage but to not recall the files already in remote storage.

Whatever the reason for ending Remote Storage's management of a volume on the system, you can use the Remove Volume Management Wizard to remove a managed volume from Remote Storage as follows:

  1. Launch the Remote Storage MMC snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder on the Start menu.
  2. Click Managed Volumes in the console tree.
  3. Right-click the volume you want to remove from Remote Storage and then choose Remove from the shortcut menu. Click Next when the Remove Volume Management Wizard opens.
  4. To recall all files from remote storage and place them back on the managed volume so that Remote Storage is no longer used at all on this volume, select the Recall Copied Files From Remote Storage option, shown in Figure 17-22. Note that the managed volume needs to have enough free disk space to hold all recalled files.

    Figure 17-22. The Removal Options screen of the Remove Volume Management Wizard.

  5. To stop Remote Storage from adding files to remote storage while letting it continue to manage the files currently in remote storage, select the Maintain Copied Files In Remote Storage option, and then click Next.
  6. Click Yes in the dialog box that opens.
  7. Review the settings and then click Finish to implement them.

Performing Tasks Manually

Remote Storage is configured to perform almost all operations automatically, using the Windows 2000 Scheduled Tasks folder. However, sometimes you might need to immediately copy all eligible files to remote storage, create additional free space on a managed volume, or validate all placeholders. To perform these tasks, follow these steps:

  1. Launch the Remote Storage MMC snap-in from the Administrative Tools folder on the Start menu.
  2. Click Managed Volumes in the console tree.
  3. Right-click the volume you want to perform a task on, choose All Tasks from the shortcut menu, and then choose the appropriate task from the submenu. See Table 17-5 for a description of the tasks you can perform.
  4. Click OK in the dialog box that opens.

Table 17-5. Tasks that you can perform manually

Task Description

Copy files to remote storage

Immediately copies all eligible files on the managed volume to remote storage.

Validate files

Verifies that all placeholders and locally cached files are still linked to valid data in remote storage, and updates volume statistics.

Create free space

Removes all cached data from files that have already been migrated to remote storage. This creates free space only if there is data cached locally.

Viewing Remote Storage Tasks

Remote Storage places all tasks in the Scheduled Tasks folder—both tasks that Remote Storage performs automatically and tasks that you perform manually. To view the tasks or modify when (or whether) they are performed, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Scheduled Tasks folder by opening the Start menu and choosing Programs, Accessories, and then System Tools (Figure 17-23).

    Figure 17-23. The Scheduled Tasks folder.

  2. To perform a scheduled task immediately, right-click the task and choose Run from the shortcut menu.
  3. To cancel a currently running task, right-click the task and choose End Task from the shortcut menu.
  4. To view the properties of the task (perhaps to change the schedule), right-click the task and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.

Changing Task Schedules

To change the schedule Remote Storage uses to copy files to remote storage, or to validate placeholders and cached files or create free disk space, follow these steps:

  1. To change the Remote Storage file copy schedule, right-click the Remote Storage root in the Remote Storage console tree and choose Change Schedule from the shortcut menu.
  2. Click Change Schedule.
  3. Use the dialog box provided to set up the schedule, shown in Figure 17-24.

    Figure 17-24. The Remote Storage File Copy Schedule dialog box.

  4. To make multiple schedules, select the Show Multiple Schedules check box and use the New and Delete buttons to add or remove schedules.
  5. To modify advanced scheduling information, click Advanced.
  6. To modify the schedules for other Remote Storage tasks, open the Scheduled Tasks folder by opening the Start menu and choosing Programs, Accessories, and then System Tools.
  7. Right-click the task and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
  8. Click the Schedule tab and then modify the scheduling information as described in steps 4 and 5.

Setting Recall Limits

As described in the section entitled Program Compatibility, earlier in this chapter, the Remote Storage recall limit feature can come in handy because programs that aren't Remote Storage compatible such as backup, antivirus, and search programs have an annoying knack for pulling all the data out of remote storage, making Remote Storage fairly useless.

When you set a recall limit, also known as a runaway recall limit because it limits only recalls that take place within 10 seconds of the last recall, you prevent these automatic assaults on the remote storage by stopping runaway recalls from remote storage. This usually doesn't affect end users because most users aren't that fast, unless they're performing a mass copy operation. To configure the recall limit, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the Remote Storage root in the Remote Storage console tree and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
  2. Click the Recall Limit tab, shown in Figure 17-25.

    Figure 17-25. The Recall Limit tab of the Remote Storage (Local) Properties dialog box.

  3. In the box provided, enter the number of successive recalls that take place within 10 seconds of the last recall that you want to allow before preventing further recalls. If the users frequently perform mass copy operations and you use Remote Storage-aware applications, you might want to set this limit higher; otherwise, leave it alone or reduce it as needed.
  4. If you want to exempt users with administrative privileges from this limit, select the Exempt Administrators From This Limit check box.

Selecting the Exempt Administrators From This Limit check box allows incompatible applications run by an administrator to potentially recall all files from remote storage if the administrator doesn't explicitly kill the process recalling the data.

Data Recovery and Protection

You might think that because data stored remotely is on tape, it's safe. Perhaps in some ways it is safer than when it's located on a local hard disk, but data protection is even more important for remotely stored data because of the inability of tape devices to have fault tolerance such as mirrored drives. Also, because the technology is new, an administrator is more likely to make an error that prevents data recovery from remote storage. Therefore, you must learn about and implement a good data protection plan.

Because even the best data protection plans can't always prevent a disaster, you must also know how to recover data if a problem occurs. The following sections teach you how to protect and recover data with Remote Storage.

Understanding Data Protection Strategies

The strategy you use to protect the remotely stored data will vary somewhat depending on your ability to create copies of the Remote Storage media. (You need two drives of the same media type to do this.)

Most of you don't need to be told to back up Windows 2000 itself—you know that backing up your operating system is as important as backing up your data. However, if you're one of those rare administrators who doesn't already do this, you should know that the entire Remote Storage database is stored in only two places: the %SystemRoot%\System32\RemoteStorage folder and on each media master tape. If the local folder is deleted, you're stuck restoring from your Remote Storage tapes—a complicated procedure (described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q235469). We highly recommend that you perform full backups of all essential servers.

Single Drive Strategies If you're using only a single tape drive with Remote Storage, back up the local files according to your preexisting backup plan. For example, you might perform an incremental backup every night and a full backup every weekend. For full backups, make sure that you instruct the backup program to back up migrated Remote Storage data, or else you won't have any backup of data in remote storage. Note that this almost certainly means backing up to a different drive than the one holding the Remote Storage media. If you don't have another backup device, consider purchasing a duplicate of the Remote Storage device and follow the advice in the next section, "Multiple Drive Strategies"—you'll be better off in the end.

You probably don't need to back up migrated files on the differential or incremental backup schedule because files that are added to remote storage probably haven't changed since the last full backup. In the event of disaster, restore these files to local storage from the last full backup. If the files have changed since the last full backup and have been migrated to remote storage and had their local cache removed (if you have a long backup schedule or a short migration schedule and a full volume), you can restore the files from a recent differential or incremental backup. Keep in mind, of course, that the longer you go between full backups, the more incremental patches you'll have to apply if you need to restore from backup (a good reason to use differential backups instead), or the more data that is lost if you don't frequently perform incremental backups. See Chapter 35, "Using Backup," for more information on using the Windows 2000 built-in backup utility.

The backup schedule that is best varies from situation to situation. Always closely evaluate the importance of the data. The more important the data, the more stringent the backup strategy and fault tolerance plans need to be.

In addition to the regular backup schedule, frequently verify the remote storage placeholders and cached files to make sure that they are still linked to valid data in remote storage. Note that Remote Storage automatically creates an appropriate validation schedule during installation.

Multiple Drive Strategies Multiple drives of the same media type provide additional flexibility in Remote Storage. Although the backbone of the data protection plan will still rest on a good backup plan, you can supplement this by creating copies of the remote storage media and frequently synchronizing the copies.

Back up the local files according to your preexisting backup plan. For full backups, you can choose to instruct the backup program to back up migrated Remote Storage data. This provides some extra insurance by eliminating the need to deal with Remote Storage when recovering; instead, you simply restore all data to local storage and don't even worry about Remote Storage. This is a good idea if you have the facilities (and time) to do it. Otherwise, back up only local storage according to the normal backup schedule.

You can't restore Remote Storage files to another computer. If you want to be able to restore data to another computer, you must use backups that also backed up migrated remote storage files.

In addition to your backup schedule, you should make one to three copies of the media master (the media that holds the remote storage data), and routinely synchronize them. If the media master fails, you can re-create it from one of the copies. If you don't back up the migrated remote storage files during the full backups, make sure that you synchronize a media copy and keep it with your full backup. This ensures that the full backup has all data backed up.

If you want to keep your backup sets complete, either perform a full backup (including data in Remote Storage) or back up only local storage, and then add a synchronized media copy to the backup set (by dragging it to the Backup media pool). The media copy you add to the backup set is removed from the Remote Storage media pool, allowing another media copy to be generated to replace it.

In addition to the regular backup schedule, you should frequently verify the remote storage placeholders and cached files to make sure that they are still linked to valid data in remote storage. Remote Storage automatically creates a validation schedule when you install it, and this is usually fine for most purposes. Just make sure that it covers all the volumes Remote Storage manages.

Working with Media Copies

Because you can't create fault-tolerant arrays of remote storage devices, Microsoft provides the ability to create copies of Remote Storage media so that some level of redundancy exists for remotely stored data. The next several sections show you how to work with media copies: how to specify the number you want, how to delete them, how to synchronize them, and how to re-create a failed media master from a media copy.

Place new media in the free media pool instead of manually in the Remote Storage pool. Remote Storage automatically takes and appropriately formats media from the free media pool when necessary.

Changing the Number of Media Copies You don't explicitly create media copies for Remote Storage; instead, you specify how many you want and Remote Storage automatically goes about creating them. When one copy is finished, Remote Storage begins creating the next copy, provided enough media is available in the Remote Storage application pool or free media pool. Each group of media copies is called a media copy set and includes one copy of each of the media masters. (It's possible to have more than one media master when the amount of data in remote storage is too big to fit on one tape.) To specify the number of media copy sets you want, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the Remote Storage root in the Remote Storage console tree and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
  2. Click the Media Copies tab, and then specify the number of media copy sets you want to create for each media master set (up to three maximum).

If you decide that you don't need as many media copy sets as you originally thought, you can decrease the number of sets that Remote Storage displays and accesses, as just described. However, note that doing so does not deallocate any media. If you want to free up media, you need to delete the media copies, as described in the next section.

Deleting and Checking the Status of Media Copies If you no longer need a media copy or want to check to see whether the media copy is functioning well (that is, to see if you have a bad tape), you should delete or check the media copies. Don't just reduce the number of copies Remote Storage supports. To delete or check on the status of a media copy, follow these steps:

  1. Select the Media folder in the Remote Storage console tree.
  2. Right-click the media master that is associated with the media copy you want to delete or check, and then choose Media Copies from the shortcut menu.
  3. View the status information of the media copies, and then click the appropriate Delete Copy button for any media copies you want to delete.

Synchronizing Media Copies Synchronizing media copies is so easy it's ridiculous. Just open the Remote Storage MMC snap-in, right-click Media in the console tree, and then choose Synchronize Media Copies from the shortcut menu. The Media Synchronization Wizard appears and walks you through the rest of the process. It's a piece of cake.

You can't recall or copy data to remote storage while synchronizing media copies. Therefore, you might want to synchronize the media copies after hours.

Adding Media Copies to Backup Sets To create a complete backup set that includes a full backup of local and remote storage, you can either use Backup to perform a full backup that includes Remote Storage files, or you can perform a full backup of local storage and add a media copy to the backup set. You can then eject the media copy and keep it with the backup tapes, and you can also regenerate a new media copy (so you don't use up one of the three media copies).

To do so, open the Removable Storage console and then use the following procedure:

  1. In the console tree, select Media Pools, then Remote Storage, and then the appropriate media type for your system.
  2. Right-click the synchronized media copy and choose Copy from the shortcut menu.
  3. Select the Backup media pool.
  4. Right-click the appropriate Backup media pool and choose Paste from the shortcut menu. The media copy is added to the Backup media pool, so you can then eject it and keep it with the rest of your backup set. Remote Storage automatically regenerates the ejected media copy with media from the Remote Storage or free media pools.

Recreating a Media Master in Case of Disaster If the media master is damaged or lost, you can re-create it from a recently synchronized media copy. Note that you'll lose all data that has been migrated to remote storage since the last time you synchronized the media copy unless the data's local cache hasn't been erased yet. So follow these steps only if you're experiencing errors:

  1. Make sure that you have sufficient media available in the remote storage pool or free media pool, and then open the Media folder in the Remote Storage console tree.
  2. Right-click the most recently synchronized media copy for the media master that you want to re-create, and then choose Media Copies from the shortcut menu.
  3. Click the Recovery tab and click Re-create Master.

Recovering from Disaster Disasters happen. Servers go down. Drives fail. The cable goes out during the Super Bowl. These are facts. However, if you're prepared ahead of time, you can reduce the negative impact of disaster when it strikes.

A few different types of disasters can occur with Remote Storage, and a few ways exist to recover from them. If the hard disk fails, restore locally stored files from the religiously kept backups, but be careful not to perform a Remote Storage validation operation until all incremental or differential backups are restored. As long as the Remote Storage database stored in the %SystemRoot%\System32\RemoteStorage folder isn't affected, you don't need to do anything else other than perform a validation operation to clean up any invalid placeholders.

If the hard disk storing Windows 2000 fails, restore the system from backup if possible. The system should function normally; however, you might see the following error when recalling a file from remote storage:

Path\filename.doc. The file cannot be accessed by the system.

If you experience this error, see Knowledge Base article Q235469 and perform the Restore A Damaged RSS Database procedure.

If you need to perform a clean reinstall of Windows 2000, the best approach is to first recall all data from remote storage. (Refer to the Turning Off Remote Storage for a Managed Volume section earlier in this chapter.) However, if a disaster occurs that precludes you from recalling the data and you can't restore the system from backup, you need to perform a special procedure to restore the Remote Storage database from the Remote Storage media after reinstalling Windows 2000.

The basic procedure is to perform a clean install of Windows into the same drive and folder as it was before, without installing Remote Storage, and then restore the Removable Storage database. Next, install Remote Storage and use the Rstore.exe command-line tool to restore the Remote Storage database. This is tricky business, so we're going to refer you to the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit and Knowledge Base articles Q235469 and Q235032 for the exact procedures.



Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administrator's Companion
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administrators Companion
ISBN: 0735617856
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 320

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