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Seth_E's avatar
Seth_E
Level 6
11 years ago

oracle.exe in \bin folder not backed up due to VSS

Hi all,

 

Windows 2008 R2 running SAP / Oracle

 

I'm having an issue with backing up d:\oracle\%oracle_sid%\11203\bin\oracle.exe (and other exe's). I've done some digging and found that running diskshadow list writers command shows that this folder , for whatever reason, is included to be backed up as part of the systemstate.

File List: Path = d:\oracle\qa2\11203\bin, Filespec = oracle.exe

other folders such as d:\usr are also in this list.

 

Yet, I restore systemstate sucesfully and the files are still not restored. there! I've tried using the filesnottosnapshot method, but, this won't work.

Netbackup's solution from here: http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH124654 says to backup using \\hostname\d$ but, i have one policy for all SAP clients. I would have to create multiple policies in order to specify the hostname of each client (unless there is a better way).Also, this technote mentions that files which are opened, are not backed up. oracle.exe is constantly opened.

 

Has anyone found a better workaround to this issue?

 

 

 

Backing Up
Backup and Recovery
NetBackup
  • Michael_G_Ander's avatar
    Michael_G_Ander
    11 years ago

    Seth it is caused by oracle.exe being used by the Oracle Service and not being on the system drive, you can exclude service binaries from the Shadow Copy by the ExcludeBinary key,  Microsoft KB number 980794.

    Of cause then you will have to ensure it is backed up by the file backup.

    I have used this solution with Simcorp Dimension scd.exe as the scd.exe was needed as a part of the file backup we did of the application files.

    As always when doing things like this make sure you do a restore test.

     

     

  • Marianne's avatar
    Marianne
    Level 6
    11 years ago

    Binary files filtered into SCC is not a NetBackup issue. 
    It is a Microsoft issue. NBU has no control over this.

    See:

    Extract: 


    The determination about which files and folder are classified into Shadow Copy Components happens outside of NetBackup.  If you feel a file or folder should or should not be filtered into Shadow Copy Components, you need to engage Microsoft to discuss options for modifying the file list. 

     

    I am not sure why you would want to backup the program files...

    Always best to reinstall the application (i.e. Oracle, SQL, etc) and then restore the data backed up with the Agent policy.

     

  • Seth_E's avatar
    Seth_E
    Level 6
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the response. We would want to backup the program files so that we can perform a bare metal recovery of an SAP server.

     

    You mentioned that it's always best to reinstall the application..  I didn't think this would be required when doing a BMR but, I suppose I was wrong to assume that.

    We succesfully used bare metal to recovery the server (C: and Systemstate only)

    I than used netbackup to restore the contents of d:\ .

    I also ran a systemstate restore after the server came up (hoping to find that the oracle.exe would be restored) but, it wasn't.

  • Michael_G_Ander's avatar
    Michael_G_Ander
    Level 6
    11 years ago

    Seth it is caused by oracle.exe being used by the Oracle Service and not being on the system drive, you can exclude service binaries from the Shadow Copy by the ExcludeBinary key,  Microsoft KB number 980794.

    Of cause then you will have to ensure it is backed up by the file backup.

    I have used this solution with Simcorp Dimension scd.exe as the scd.exe was needed as a part of the file backup we did of the application files.

    As always when doing things like this make sure you do a restore test.

     

     

  • Seth_E's avatar
    Seth_E
    Level 6
    11 years ago

    This may be the solution I'm looking for. I'll attempt and get back to you. Thanks!

  • Michael_G_Ander's avatar
    Michael_G_Ander
    Level 6
    11 years ago

    Hope it solves your problem.

    Like the script, it could have saved me quite  some time if I had known it sooner.

  • Seth_E's avatar
    Seth_E
    Level 6
    11 years ago

    I'm now wondering if it's safe to run this script against c:\. I wouldnl't want it to exclude files and folders that are actually required by systemstate.

     

     

  • Seth_E's avatar
    Seth_E
    Level 6
    11 years ago

    You rock Michael! This solution was exactly what helped me restore the oracle application, plus a few other files that were missing from backups.

     

    Excellent job!

     

    Take care and be well,

     

    Seth

  • Nicolai's avatar
    Nicolai
    Moderator
    11 years ago

    Even if oracle.exe is filtered by SCC it does not mean there is no backup of it. It just mean the file is located under Shadow Copy Components in the GUI insted of the orginal location.