sth pit master 072511v1

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

1/24

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

2/24

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in any electronic

retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of FileTek, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 FileTek, Inc. As an Unpublished Licensed Work.

Publication Number: 900202 Rev. C

NOTICE: U.S. GOVERNMENT USERS

This notice applies to all acquisitions of this work by or for the U.S. Government (“Government”), or by any

prime contractor or subcontractor (at any tier) under any contract, cooperative agreement or other activity

with the Government. By accepting delivery of this work, the Government agrees that this work and the

Licensed Program(s) described herein qualify as “commercial” computer software within the meaning of the

acquisition regulation(s) applicable to this procurement. The terms of conditions of the license for the

Licensed Program(s) shall pertain to the Government’s use and disclosure of this work and the Licensed

Program(s), and shall supersede any conflicting contractual terms or conditions. If the license for this work

and the Licensed Program(s) fails to meet the Government’s need or is inconsistent in any respect with

Federal law, the Government agrees to return this work and the Licensed Program(s), unused, to FileTek, Inc.

The following additional statement applies only to acquisitions governed by DFARS Subpart 227.4 (October

1988) “Restricted Rights - Use, duplication and disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as setforth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS

252.227-7013 (OCT. 1988).” Unpublished licensed work property of FileTek, Inc. Unauthorized use,

duplication or distribution prohibited. All rights reserved. A copyright notice on this work and/or on the

Licensed Program(s) by itself does not constitute publication or public disclosure of this work or the Licensed

Program(s). The contractor/manufacturer is:

FileTek, Inc.

9400 Key West Avenue

Rockville, Maryland 20850

Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a

commitment on the part of FileTek, Inc. Further, FileTek, Inc. reserves the right to supplement thedocument with information not available at the time of creation of the document. FILETEK, INC.

PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR

IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF

MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND CANNOT WARRANT THE RESULTS

YOU MAY OBTAIN USING THE DOCUMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL FILETEK, INC. BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS

OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS, OR FOR

INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, EVEN IF FILETEK, INC.

HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN

THIS PUBLICATION. Some states or jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of express or implied

warranties in certain transactions; therefore, this statement may not apply to you.

FileTek and StorHouse are registered U.S. trademarks of FileTek, Inc. VRAM is a U.S. trademark of

FileTek, Inc. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their

respective owners.

Documentation for FileTek’s StorHouse product. Protected by the following U.S. Patents: 5,727,197

and 6,049,804.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

3/24

FileTek Proprietary and Confidential iii

S t o r H o u s e M u l t i - V i e w P o i n t - I n - T i m e R e c o v e r y

Contents

Welcome ......................................................................................................1

Purpose of This Manual ........................................................................................ 1

Audience ............................................................................................................... 2

Contents ................................................................................................................ 2

Chapter 1 - Introducing StorHouse Multi-View Point-In-Time Recovery ....3

About StorHouse ................................................................................................... 3

About StorHouse/RFS ................................................................................... 4

About StorHouse/CCi .................................................................................... 4

About Multi-View Point-in-Time Recovery ........................................................... 5

Chapter 2 - Configuring Multi-View Point-In-Time Recovery ......................7 Installing the StorHouse/RFS PIT Instance ............................................................ 8

Editing the StorHouse/RFS Configuration File ...................................................... 8

Registering a StorHouse/RFS PIT System ............................................................ 10

Setting Up a StorHouse/RFS PIT System ............................................................. 12

Enabling End-Users to Browse and Access Files Presented

by the Point-in-Time View .................................................................................. 16

Resetting a StorHouse/RFS PIT System ............................................................... 17

Additional Information ....................................................................................... 20

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

4/24

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

5/24

FileTek Proprietary and Confidential 1

S t o r H o u s e M u l t i - V i e w P o i n t - I n - T i m e R e c o v e r y

Welcome

Welcome to StorHouse Multi-View Point-in-Time Recovery , a unique StorHouse

feature that enables StorHouse/RFS administrators to configure and allow end-user

access to views of a StorHouse storage environment in the exact state that existed

on a specified date and time. Using these point-in-time system views, end-users can

access historical files through the StorHouse/RFS system the same way they access

current files.

Purpose of This ManualThis manual introduces StorHouse multi-view point-in-time recovery and provides

the steps necessary to implement this feature. It does not contain StorHouse/RFS

installation and configuration instructions, which are discussed in other

publications.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

6/24

Welcome

2 StorHouse Multi-View Point-In-Time Recovery

AudienceThis document is for StorHouse/RFS system administrators who are responsible for

defining the point-in-time StorHouse/RFS system through StorHouse/CCi, a web-

based application for managing StorHouse software modules. At some sites, the

system administrator may also be responsible for installing the StorHouse/RFS

point-in-time system.

This document assumes that the reader is familiar with StorHouse and

StorHouse/RFS concepts, terminology, and operational procedures and knows how

to edit the StorHouse/RFS configuration file. It also assumes that the audience

knows how to access and use StorHouse/CCi to manage StorHouse modules.

ContentsThis manual contains two chapters:

Chapter 1, “Introducing StorHouse Multi-View Point-in-Time Recovery,”

describes StorHouse and defines the StorHouse multi-view point-in-time

recovery feature.

Chapter 2, “Configuring Multi-View Point-in-Time Recovery,” explains the

tasks required to implement this feature.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

7/24


C H A P T E R 1

Introducing StorHouse Multi-ViewPoint-In-Time Recovery

This chapter introduces StorHouse and defines the StorHouse multi-view point-in-

time recovery feature.

About StorHouseStorHouse is a comprehensive active archive repository for storing, accessing, and

managing massive amounts of structured and unstructured fixed content, near-line

historical and persistent archive data, and their associated backup and disaster

recovery requirements. It combines industry-leading, scalable storage devices and

Open System processors with storage management, relational database

management, and file system interface software components. No application

program interfaces are required.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

8/24

Chapter 1 - Introduction


While StorHouse is a full-service solution with many unique data and storage

management features, it’s simplest to view the software as a single, unified network

file share (for example, your J:\ drive) with the capability to store/ manage trillions

of files and scale to petabytes of data.

About StorHouse/RFS

StorHouse/RFS is the StorHouse file system interface responsible for archiving and

retrieving all formats of unstructured data to and from a StorHouse active archive

repository. End-users and applications utilize StorHouse/RFS to access theStorHouse “virtual drive” the same way they access any network drive or mount

point.

The StorHouse/RFS file system incorporates a unique relational method for storing

and indexing file metadata. Because of this innovative relational implementation,

there are no inode constraints, pointers, or operating system-imposed limitations

on the volume of information or the number of stored objects StorHouse can

support. In fact, StorHouse active archives and backups can grow to trillions of files

with no performance degradation. The benefit is a cost-effective, accessible,

performance-oriented solution well beyond the benchmark that defines when most

file systems and relational databases begin to fail.

About StorHouse/CCi

StorHouse/CCi is an easy-to-use, web-based interface for managing one or more

StorHouse systems, including StorHouse/RFS, regardless of their operating

platforms. The interface also provides system diagnostic and reporting tools to keep

your StorHouse environment healthy and robust. You can access StorHouse/CCi

through any browser-enabled system.

The StorHouse/CCi Main page presents a worldview of your StorHouse environment

for an immediate snapshot of all StorHouse and StorHouse/RFS activity. You can drill

down for each StorHouse and StorHouse/RFS instance, or node, to further

administer and manage those systems.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

9/24


StorHouse/CCi 3.0 is the system management tool that you will use to implement

multi-view point-in-time recovery. This version supports all the functionality

necessary to set up and manage PIT systems.

About Multi-View Point-in-Time RecoveryStorHouse multi-view point-in-time recovery enables StorHouse/RFS administrators

to configure and enable end-user access to views of a StorHouse storage

environment in the exact state that existed on a specified date and time. System

restoration at any point in time is achievable because StorHouse uses a recoverablerelational database to store metadata and other locator information for user files.

Metadata includes such things as file names, directory structure, file permissions,

and file version.

The metadata from a particular point in time forms the basis for restoring the

system view that existed at the specified time. Once the target StorHouse/RFS

metadata has been restored, it is applied to an independent StorHouse/RFS instance

called a point-in-time (PIT) system. End-users can access historical files through the

PIT system the same way they access current files.

A single StorHouse/RFS PIT system runs with one database and one StorHouse/RFScollector to deliver a specific point-in-time view of the target file system. During the

PIT setup process, you specify the original (production) StorHouse/RFS instance, the

collector name from that instance, and other configuration parameters.

A single PIT instance can deliver one point-in-time system view. Therefore, if other

users need to look at views from different systems, collectors, or time periods, they

either must wait for the current user to finish or configure/access a

separate/additional PIT system.

For example, assume your StorHouse/RFS system has two collectors, “Accounting”

and “Sales,” and you want to enable a point-in-time view from several months ago

for the file system associated with the Sales collector. To accomplish this goal, youmust create a StorHouse/RFS PIT system and specify the Sales collector and target

date/time during the setup process. If you want to concurrently enable a view of the

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

10/24

Chapter 1 - Introduction


file system associated with the Accounting collector, you must configure a separate

PIT system and specify the Accounting collector and target date/time.

Here’s how to determine which collector to specify during PIT configuration.

A representative from the end-user group will tell you the full path to the

files or directories that require access.

Using that information, you’ll review the UserDir entries in the collector

definitions section of the StorHouse/RFS configuration file to determine

which collector contains the target portion of the file system.

For instance, here is a sample collector definition section from a StorHouse/RFS

configuration file. The collector name is SALES, and the user directory for the SALES

collector is \sales.

[SALES]StagingDir=d:\localrwBigWaitTime=1UserDir=\salesMaxStagingSpace=10000MaxCollectionSpace=10000Permissions=R

KeepSubdirectories=0

Using this example, if the target files or directories to be accessed have a full path

name that begins with \sales, then SALES is the collector you’ll specify during

StorHouse/RFS PIT setup.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

11/24


C H A P T E R 2Configuring Multi-View Point-In-TimeRecovery

This chapter discusses the tasks necessary to configure a StorHouse point-in-time

(PIT) instance. These tasks are:

Create a PIT system (install StorHouse/RFS on a standalone server or on a

virtual machine)

Edit the StorHouse/RFS configuration file on the PIT system

Register the StorHouse/RFS PIT system using StorHouse/CCi

Use StorHouse/CCi to set up the StorHouse/PIT system by entering specific

point-in-time parameters

Present the system for use by end-users to browse and access files within

the point-in-time view

Reset the StorHouse/RFS PIT system when it is no longer required

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

12/24

Chapter 2 – Configuring Point-In-Time Recovery


Installing the StorHouse/RFS PIT InstanceTo implement point-in-time recovery, your site requires a separate StorHouse/RFS

instance – a StorHouse/RFS PIT machine. This dedicated system will read the historic

version of the metadata database and provide the point-in-time view of the file

system for users to access.

To create a StorHouse/RFS PIT machine, you must set up a server (or a guest under

a VM) and install StorHouse/RFS on that system. Because you will be configuring the

system to use a specific set of metadata tables related to a historic point-in-time,

you do not need to run the StorHouse/RFS tblgen utility or change the password in

the rfs.cfg file – tasks you would normally perform during a standard

StorHouse/RFS installation. Once server setup is complete, you must edit the

StorHouse/RFS configuration file on the PIT machine to include ownership

information.

Editing the StorHouse/RFS Configuration FileTo establish ownership and operating system information, you must add a new

section called [RFS_PIT] to the StorHouse/RFS configuration file on the

StorHouse/RFS PIT machine. This section must be inserted immediately followingthe [RFS] section.

The [RFS_PIT] section contains two case-sensitive keywords.

OwnedBy – indicates the name of the StorHouse/CCi system that configured

the PIT system. Initially the OwnedBy keyword value is blank.

PitOs – indicates whether the operating system of the PIT machine is

Windows or Linux. If you omit the PitOs keyword or specify it with a blank

value, the default operating system is Linux.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

13/24


Here is the exact information to add to the configuration file for a Windows PIT

system.

[RFS_PIT]OwnedBy=PitOs=Windows

Here is the exact information to add to the configuration file for a Linux PIT system.

[RFS_PIT]OwnedBy=PitOs=Linux

Note the following:

When you set up a PIT system, the node name of the StorHouse/CCi machine

that performed the setup automatically becomes the value ofOwnedBy. For

example:

[RFS_PIT]OwnedBy=linxdev.filetek.com

When you reset a PIT machine, the process restores the original

configuration file to the PIT machine and removes the StorHouse/CCi nodename. For example:

[RFS_PIT]OwnedBy=

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

14/24



Registering a StorHouse/RFS PIT SystemAfter updating the StorHouse/RFS configuration file, you must register the

StorHouse/RFS PIT machine in StorHouse/CCi.

Use the following procedure to register the StorHouse/RFS PIT machine.

To register the StorHouse/RFS PIT machine in StorHouse/CCi

1. Navigate to the StorHouse/CCi main page, place your cursor over New, and thenselect RFS Point in Time.

2. In the Point in Time Name text box, type any name for the StorHouse/RFS PIT

system (for example, RestoreSales).

3. In the Description text box, type a description of the StorHouse/RFS PIT system.

4. In the Point in time Host Name text box, type the host name or IP address of

the target PIT server (for example, 10.1.200.111).

To obtain the Host Name for a Linux StorHouse/RFS server, type

hostname at the server command prompt.

To obtain the Host Name for a Windows StorHouse/RFS server, click My

Computer View System Information Computer Name Full

Computer Name.

5. In the Point in Time Control Port text box, type the administration port used by

the StorHouse/CCi server to communicate with StorHouse/RFSAS. Alternatively,

you can accept the default port number 1346.

6. In the Point in Time Enabled drop down list, select Yes.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

15/24


7. Click Create Point in Time.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

16/24



Setting Up a StorHouse/RFS PIT SystemAfter you register a PIT system, you must configure it, which entails specifying the

restoration parameters.

Use the following procedure to set up a StorHouse/RFS PIT system.

To set up a StorHouse/RFS PIT system

1. Navigate to the StorHouse/CCi Main page.

2. Click Point in Time on the top menu.

3. Click Setup.

4. In the Point in Time dropdown lists, select a Day, Month, Year, Hour Minute,

and Second. If the exact date/time specified is not an actual restore point

option, the software chooses the closet restore point available.

5. In the Source RFS Instance dropdown list, select a StorHouse/RFS system to

restore to the specified point in time.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

17/24


6. Click Continue linxpc1. (Note that in steps 6-10, linxpc1 is an example server

name. Your StorHouse/CCi environment will display the name of your PIT

server.)

7. In the Source RFS Collector dropdown list, select a collector.

8. Click Continue linxpc1.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

18/24



9. The next webpage displays the selected point-in-time parameters necessary to

set up your StorHouse/RFS PIT system (that is, generate/deploy the necessary

point-in-time metadata database). Review these parameters, and then click

Continue linxpc1 to set up the system, or click Cancel to cancel the operation.

After you click Continue linxpc1 on the preceding webpage, StorHouse/CCi

displays a new webpage to notify you that PIT set up is in progress.

While the setup process completes, you can continue using StorHouse/CCi forother tasks.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

19/24


10. Click linxpc1 Setup in Progress - Continue to monitor setup from the

StorHouse/CCi Main worldview page. The “P” following RFS indicates that the

StorHouse/RFS node is a PIT machine. A status of yellow indicates that the

metadata database for the StorHouse/RFS PIT system is undergoing restoration.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

20/24



A status of “green” indicates that the setup process is complete.

Enabling End-Users to Browse and AccessFiles Presented by the Point-in-Time ViewOnce you configure and activate a PIT system, end-users can access it using the

same file system interface (NFS or CIFS) they use with standard StorHouse/RFS

instances.

With StorHouse/RFS for Windows, the system presents a drive that can be

shared on the network and mapped to/accessed by users with appropriate

Windows permissions.

With StorHouse/RFS for Linux, the system presents an NFS mount point that

can be mounted and accessed from any remote NFS client. Just like the

Windows share, users require appropriate security permissions to access and

view files/directories presented by the point-in-time view.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

21/24


Resetting a StorHouse/RFS PIT SystemOnly the StorHouse/CCi node that set up the PIT system can reset it. Resetting a

StorHouse/RFS PIT system closes the currently active point-in-time view and makes

the PIT system available to host a different one.

For example, assume that a StorHouse/RFS PIT system called myPIT2 is running, and

your users no longer need to access it. You can use the following procedure to reset

the system, remove the point-in-time view, and make the PIT system available to

host another point-in-time requirement.

To reset RFS Node myPIT2

1. On the StorHouse/CCi Main page, click Reset for the StorHouse/RFS PIT myPIT2.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

22/24



2. On the Point in Time Reset page, click Reset myPIT2 to reset the PIT node.

Alternatively, you can click Cancel to cancel the reset operation.

Once the myPIT2 system is reset, the StorHouse/CCi display looks like this.

StorHouse/CCi does not display reset PIT systems on the Main page. To locate

information for a reset PIT system, click Point in Time on the StorHouse/CCi

Main menu.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

23/24


You can configure an existing/inactive PIT instance to host a new point-in-time

view by clicking Setup for the existing/inactive PIT node and then reconfiguring

it for a specific date/time/collector/RFS instance. See the following figure for

the Setup button location.

8/20/2019 Sth Pit Master 072511v1

24/24



Additional InformationNote the following about StorHouse/RFS PIT systems:

At minimum, the StorHouse/SM software must be at delivery level #63

(Linux) to implement multi-view point-in-time recovery. To confirm you are

running at this delivery level, go to the /filetek/v5r6/o/run directory on

your StorHouse system, and find the CCi file. It should have a date of March

2, 2011 or later.

RFSAS is a controller service that starts/stops StorHouse/RFS and provides aStorHouse/RFS interface to StorHouse/CCi. It runs on all StorHouse/RFS

platforms. This service must always be active on the PIT machine.

To confirm that the RFSAS service is active on a Linux StorHouse/RFS server,

go to System Administration Server Settings Services rfsas service

on your PIT platform.

To confirm that the RFSAS service is active on a Windows StorHouse/RFS

server, go to Control Panel Services StorHouse/RFS Admin service

The PIT machine is configured for a single collector, not for an entire

StorHouse/RFS instance.

The PIT instance of StorHouse/RFS presents a read-only view of the target

portion of the system. As such, PIT servers have no real collectors,

collections, or locally used storage.

sth pit master 072511v1

Documents