Create FlashCopy Logical Drive Wizard: Additional Information for Windows – Dynamic Disks
Use this procedure when you create on a running the Windows operating systems using . Failure to complete the steps listed might result in an inaccurate point-in-time image of the .
For a process over view of the flashcopy logical drive creation process, refer to the Create FlashCopy Logical Drive Wizard:
Process Overview – Windows Operating System online help topic.
You can reuse flashcopy logical drives for frequent backups or nightly backups. You can create flashcopy logical drives for
one-time usage, such as speculative change or upgrade testing. For instructions about how to reuse a disabled flashcopy logical
drive, refer to the Reusing FlashCopy Logical Drives online help topic.
Attention:
Risk of application errors – Windows operating systems traditionally support a Master Boot Record (MBR) disk partition format. The 64-bit version of
the Windows Server 2003 operating system supports the GUID Partition Table (GPT) disk partition format. The 32-bit version
of the Windows Server 2003 operating systems does not support this partition format and does not know how to correctly access
a GPT disk. When a base logical drive mapped to a 64-bit Windows Server 2003 host is with the GPT disk partition format, any flashcopy logical drives created from this base logical drive must also be mapped
to a 64-bit Windows Server 2003 host. If you map the flashcopy logical drive to a 32-bit Windows Server 2003 host, the operating
system does not recognize the partition format of the flashcopy logical drive. Alternatively, you can initialize the base logical drive on
the 64-bit Windows Server 2003 host with the older MBR disk partition format, and any flashcopys of that base logical drive
are accessible by other 32-bit Windows hosts.
Stop all activity to the base logical drive, or suspend data transfer before starting the procedure. Stopping all I/O activity makes
sure that an accurate point-in-time image of the base logical drive is captured. Close all applications, including Windows
Explorer, to make sure that all I/O activity has been stopped.
Start the storage management software.
The Enterprise Management Window appears.
Launch a Subsystem Management Window by selecting Tools >> Manage Storage Subsystem.
The Subsystem Management Window opens in a separate window.
In the Logical pane of the Logical/Physical tab, select a , and create a flashcopy logical drive by using one of these methods:
Subsystem Management Window –Use the Create FlashCopy Logical Drive Wizard, which is accessed through the Subsystem Management Window.
Either the Script Editor dialog or a command line interface on the host operating system – Type this command, and press Enter:
create snapshotVolume
Disable the flashcopy logical drive by using these methods:
Subsystem Management Window – Select Logical Drive >> FlashCopy >> Disable. For more information, refer to the Disabling a FlashCopy Logical Drive online help topic.
Either the Script Editor dialog or a command line interface on the host operating system – Type this command, and press Enter:
disableSnapshot volume
Assign a between the flashcopy logical drive and the host that will access the flashcopy logical drive. Define the mapping by using
one of these methods:
Storage Partitioning Wizard – This wizard helps you to quickly define a single . It guides you through the major steps required to specify which host will access a logical drive and the associated . For more information, refer to the Using the Storage Partitioning Wizard online help topic.
Either the Script Editor dialog or a command line interface on the host operating system – Type this command, and press Enter:
create mapping volume
For command reference-specific information about creating a mapping, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management
Window.
Run the utility to flush all the write buffers from the new disk drive. At the host prompt, type this command, and press Enter:
SMrepassist -f <filesystem-identifier>
In this command, <filesystem-identifier> is the drive letter assigned to the base logical drive.
Example:
If the new disk drive for the base logical drive was assigned drive letter “E” using the Create Partition Wizard, type this
command, and press Enter:
SMrepassist -f e:
The write buffers for the disk drive are flushed.
In the storage management software, re-create the flashcopy logical drive by using one of these methods:
Subsystem Management Window – Select Logical Drive >> FlashCopy >> Re-create. For more information, refer to the Re-creating a FlashCopy Logical Drive online help topic.
Either the Script Editor dialog or a command line interface on the host operating system – Type this command, and press Enter:
recreateSnapshot volume
Important:
If you stopped I/O activity to the base logical drive or suspended data transfer, either resume I/O activity to the base logical
drive at this time, or start data transfer.
Make sure that the host operating system recognizes the flashcopy logical drive by performing one of these actions:
Run the . You do not need to reboot the host.
Run an operating system-specific utility.
Reboot the host where the flashcopy will be used.
Run the utility to associate the LUN with a host operating system and to make sure that the flashcopy logical drive is recognized by the host.After you have created logical drives and defined
mappings, run the SMdevices utility to make sure that the logical drive name and the operating system storage subsystem name
that is assigned by the operating system correlate.
Open the dialog.
Select Start >> Settings >> Control Panel.
Double-click Administrative Tools, and double-click Computer Management.
In the console tree under Storage, select Disk Management.
Perform one of these actions:
Select Start >> Run, type the compmgmt.msc command, and press Enter.
At a host prompt, type the compmgmt.msc command, and press Enter. Then, in the console tree under Storage, select Disk Management.
The Disk Management dialog appears with a graphical representation of all the physical disk drives connected to the host and their associated
partitions.
Locate the disk drive and logical drive definition that represents the flashcopy logical drive that you re-created.
Note:
The flashcopy logical drive’s LUNs appear with the disk type foreign.
Select the flashcopy logical drive LUNs, right-click, and select Import Foreign Disks.The Import Foreign Disks dialog appears.
Select the appropriate disk, and click OK.
The flashcopy logical drives and the LUNs are imported.
From the Disk Management main menu, select Action >> Rescan Disks.
The manual re-scan verifies that the disk information is correct.
In the Disk Management dialog, locate the disk and logical drive definition that represents the flashcopy logical drive that you re-created, and
make sure that a new disk drive letter has automatically been assigned.
You can reuse the flashcopy logical drive with your backup application, or you can use the flashcopy logical drive one time
for speculative change testing or upgrade testing.For information about how to reuse a disabled flashcopy logical drive, refer
to the Reusing FlashCopy Logical Drives: Additional Information for Windows – Dynamic Disks online help topic.
After the flashcopy logical drive is no longer required, disable or delete the flashcopy logical drive.If you disable the
flashcopy logical drive instead of deleting it, you can retain the flashcopy logical drive and its associated . Then, when you must create a different flashcopy of the same base logical drive, you can re-create the disabled flashcopy
logical drive. This action takes less time than creating a new flashcopy logical drive and stops any reduction in performance
that might occur if the flashcopy logical drive remains available.
For more information, refer to the Disabling a FlashCopy Logical Drive online help topic and the Deleting a Logical Drive
online help topic. For command reference information about disabling or deleting a flashcopy logical drive, refer to the online
help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.