Shining a light on new Volume Shadow Copy Service provider

[mhardi01]

HPE continues to maintain the vital integrations and technologies to ensure your Microsoft data remains protected and available, given the ongoing risk of network outages, human error, system failures, and especially the growing threat of security breaches and ransomware. This week we released an update to the HPE Storage VSS Hardware Provider Software which is a key storage hardware-based component that ensures that backup data for Microsoft applications is captured effectively so that it will be correctly restored when needed.

HPE Storage VSS Hardware Provider Software version 2.7.5, released August 26, 2024, enables creation of point-in-time copies of a single volume or multiple volumes. Microsoft VSS service enables business applications to interface seamlessly with HPE Storage Arrays. This update expands the supported arrays including the newest HPE Alletra MP and is available for Free to all HPE Storage hardware customers.

Only the shadows knows… Windows data protection

A Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) hardware provider is a component that creates and maintains shadow copies of data, either in software or hardware. VSS is a set of Component Object Model (COM) application programming interfaces (API) that provide backup infrastructure for Windows Server systems. VSS hardware providers can be used to create and manipulate shadow copies for virtual disks.

The HPE Storage VSS Hardware Provider operates at the storage system controller level and integrates storage array-specific functionality into the VSS framework. Because it’s operating at the hardware level, it enables high-performance off-host backup, and avoids significant backup overhead on the source host, which is a problem with pure software-based alternatives.

The VSS provider is an important factor for protecting the data of business-critical Microsoft applications that are stored on our HPE Storage arrays. Some of the largest application installed bases on HPE Storage are Microsoft workloads including SQL Server, Hyper-V, and Microsoft Exchange.

Detailed features and benefits of the updated VSS provider

HPE Storage VSS Hardware Provider Software provides interfaces that are typically used in combination with a request or application to provide backup services. In addition, autonomic shadow copy creation is achieved by supporting up to 64 shadow copies per volume (snapshots to a volume) within a shadow copy set.

This latest version has significantly expanded support across the HPE Storage product family including the newest products:

• HPE Alletra MP
• HPE Alletra 9000
• HPE Primera 600
• HPE 3PAR

The new HP Alletra MP is a big step forward in data storage design – a disaggregated scale-out block storage system that scales up to over 5PBs capacity, uses all-NVMe media for high performance and low latency, and comes with a 100% data availability guarantee.

What's New with VSS Provider and how to get yours

Here is what's new with HPE Storage VSS Hardware Provider Software version 2.7.5

• Support for Microsoft Windows Server 2022
• Support for HPE Alletra 9000 and HPE Alletra MP
• Rebranding to HPE Storage VSS Provider for Microsoft Windows

To get your own update of the VSS provider, go to the following location and download the software: https://myenterpriselicense.hpe.com/cwp-ui/product-details/VSS_Provider/2.7.5/sw_free

At that site, you’ll also find info on system requirements and support.

Info on all our HPE Hybrid Cloud solutions for Microsoft is available online at HPE.com/Storage/Microsoft

[azamora]

Hi @mhardi01 ,

Will ths VSS HW provider help me with Remote Copy?

I have a Windows Failover cluster with some SQL databases I want to replicate using Remote Copy async

[mhardi01]

Did you already read the info with the VSS download?  https://myenterpriselicense.hpe.com/cwp-ui/product-details/VSS_Provider/2.7.5/sw_free?authToken=bb2aa4a6-7cb6-4c76-b5f4-c37515d3ceb2    See if that answers your question.  VSS at the source still works. Had our own question if the VSS snapshot gets replicated to the remote site with the mirror copy. You can send me a private message. 

[mhardi01]

Hello again - I confirmed that VSS will not help with remote copy.  We provide a number of data protection products, both HPE owned such as Zerto, as well as from Complete partners like Veeam and Commvault.  More info here:  https://www.hpe.com/us/en/data-protection-products.html