Adaptec 5325301507 Administration Guide - Page 104

iSCSI Configuration on the SnapServer iSCSI Configuration on the SnapServer iSCSI disks are created on the Storage > iSCSI screen of the Administration Tool. Before setting up iSCSI disks on your SnapServer, carefully review the following information. Isolate iSCSI Disks from Other Resources for Backup Purposes It is important to isolate iSCSI disks from other resources on the SnapServer for two reasons: • The file system of an iSCSI disk differs fundamentally from the SnapServer's native file system • iSCSI disks are managed from client software rather than the SnapServer's Administration Tool For ease of management and particularly for data integrity and backup purposes, either dedicate the entire SnapServer to iSCSI disks, or if the server is to be used with other shared resources, place the iSCSI disk and the other shared resources on separate volumes. • Back up an iSCSI Disk from the Client, not the SnapServer - An iSCSI disk is not accessible from a share and thus cannot be backed up from the SnapServer. The disk can, however, be backed up from the client machine from which the iSCSI disk is managed. Note While some third-party, agent-based backup packages could technically back up an iSCSI disk on the SnapServer, the result would be inconsistent or corrupted backup data if any clients are connected during the operation. Only the client can maintain the file system embedded on the iSCSI disk in the consistent state that is required for data integrity. • Do Not Use the GuardianOS Snapshots Feature on a Volume Containing an iSCSI Disk - Running a GuardianOS snapshot on a volume containing an iSCSI disk will abruptly disconnect any clients attempting to write to the server's iSCSI disk and the resulting snapshot may contain inconsistent data. Supported Windows servers can create a native snapshot of a SnapServer iSCSI disk using VSS (see "Configuring VSS/VDS for iSCSI Disks" on page 93 for more information). 88 SnapServer Administrator Guide