Application Scenarios
HyperSnap provides advantages such as rapid execution, minimal storage space consumption, and quick restoration. Therefore, this feature can be used for various scenarios, including rapid data backup and restoration, continuous data protection, and repurposing of backup data.
Rapid Data Backup and Restoration (Working Jointly with the BCManager eReplication)
BCManager eReplication is host software developed by Huawei for application servers. Alongside value-added features on the OceanStor storage systems, it enables data backup, data protection, and disaster recovery for common applications. Additionally, it ensures consistency between snapshots, and increases the flexibility of HyperSnap policy configuration, which improves operating efficiency.
Figure 1-8 shows HyperSnap and BCManager eReplication software implementing data backup and restoration together.
If data on source LUNs encounters unexpected changes, the following processes can be used to restore data:
- Rolling back the source LUN
If the data of a source LUN encounters non-physical damage, a snapshot can be used to roll back the source LUN to the data state of that snapshot.
- Reactivating a snapshot
If data on a source LUN is changed, reactivate the snapshot of the source LUN to synchronize data changes made on the source LUN to the snapshot.
For details about how to install and configure BCManager eReplication, see the OceanStor BCManager VXXXRXXX eReplication User Guide, where VXXXRXXX indicates the eReplication version matching the storage system.
Continuous Data Protection
Snapshots occupy minimal storage space. You are advised to use BCManager eReplication to configure a periodic HyperSnap policy to create multiple snapshots for a source LUN. If the source LUN encounters unexpected change or loss, a snapshot LUN created before the change or loss can be used to restore lost data. This ensures data security and the retrievability of the source LUN. Figure 1-9 shows a periodic HyperSnap policy used for continuous data protection.
Repurposing of Backup Data
LUNs serve different purposes based on the service scenarios. If multiple application servers simultaneously write data to a single LUN, the data changes can impact running services.
Creating snapshot copies prevents service interruption. These copies are independent and share the attributes of the snapshot LUN. Each server accesses a snapshot copy to avoid simultaneous writing, protecting the source LUN. Figure 1-10 shows possible uses of snapshot copies.
