Reusing FlashCopy Logical Drives: Additional Information for Windows – Basic Disks


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.

Typically, when a has been created, it is disabled until a new point-in-time image of the same is required. Use this procedure to create a new point-in-time image of the same base logical drive.


Important:

Stop all activity to the base logical drive or suspend data transfer before starting this 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 all I/O activity has stopped.

  1. To flush all the write buffers from the new disk drive, run the utility on the host where the flashcopy logical drive is mounted. 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 flashcopy logical drive.

    The write buffers for the disk drive are flushed.
  2. List all of the mounted logical drives, and locate the disk representing the flashcopy logical drive. At the command prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    mountvol [drive:]path /l
    

    In this command, [drive:]path is the NTFS folder where the mount point resides.

    All of the mount logical drives are listed. For more information about using the mountvol command, refer to your operating system documentation.
  3. Unmount the disk representing the flashcopy logical drive. At the command prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    mountvol [drive:]path /d
    

    In this command, [drive:]path is the NTFS folder where the mount point resides.

    The disk is unmounted. For more information about using the mountvol utility, refer to your operating system documentation.

  4. Remove any for the flashcopy logical drive by using one of these methods:

    remove volume ["volume-name"]
    

    In this command, ["volume name"] is the flashcopy logical drive name.

    For command reference-specific information about disabling a flashcopy logical drive, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.

  5. Disable the flashcopy logical drive by using one of these methods:

    disableSnapshot volume
    

    For command reference-specific information about disabling a flashcopy logical drive, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.

  6. Run the SMrepassist utility on the host where the base logical drive is mounted 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 disk drive letter assigned to the base logical drive.

    The write buffers for the disk drive are flushed.
  7. In the storage management software, re-create the flashcopy logical drive by using one of these methods:

    recreateSnapshot volume
    

    For command reference-specific information about re-creating a flashcopy logical drive, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.


    Important:

    If you stopped I/O activity to the base logical drive or suspended data transfer, resume I/O activity to the base logical drive at this time, or start data transfer).

  8. Assign a mapping between the flashcopy logical drive and the that will access the flashcopy logical drive. Define mappings by using one of these methods:

    create mapping volume
    

    For command reference-specific information about creating a mapping, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.

  9. Make sure that the host operating system recognizes the flashcopy logical drive by performing one of these actions:
  10. Mount the disk that represents the flashcopy logical drive. At the command prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    mountvol [drive:]path Volume{GUID}
    

    In this command, [drive:]path is the NTFS folder where the mount point will reside, and Volume{GUID} is the name of the logical drive that is the target of the mount point in VolumeGUID format.

    The disk representing the flashcopy logical drive is renamed. For more information about using the mountvol command, refer to your operating system documentation.
  11. This step is optional. If you are configuring your using auto scripting operations, it is recommended that you complete this step.Assign the original logical drive label to the disk that represents the flashcopy logical drive. At the command prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    label [drive:][label]
    

    In this command, [drive:] is the location of the disk drive that you want to name, and [label] is the new logical drive label.

    The disk that represents the flashcopy logical drive is renamed. For more information about using the label command, refer to your operating system documentation.
  12. This step is optional. If you are configuring your storage subsystem using auto scripting operations, it is recommended that you complete this step. Run the chkdsk command on theflashcopy logical drive to create and show a status report for the disk. At the command prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    chkdsk [drive:]
    

    In this command, [drive:] is the disk drive that contains the disk that you want to check.

    A status report for the flashcopy logical drive appears. For more information about using the chkdsk command, refer to your operating system documentation.
  13. Use theflashcopy logical drive with your backup application (or with another application).
  14. When the flashcopy logical drive is no longer required, disable 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 . 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 Re-creating a FlashCopy Logical Drive online help topic.

    For command reference information about disabling and re-creating a sflashcopy logical drive, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.

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