I have VSS snapshots created in a batch file nightly and then Rsync the contents to a remote server. The trick is to mount the VSS snapshot on and empty folder or drive letter. I use a drive letter as mounting on an empty folder means that the folder will be empty if the snapshot has failed (this causes the --delete switch to empty the remote copy). I'm struggling with Exchange 2003 syncs at the moment. The EDB files seem to change too much during the nightly database maintenance (online defrag). This effectively means there is little to match between local and remote and so the whole file starts to transfer. I'm syncing over a 256Kbp link so the transfer cannot complete overnight. Anyone with Exchange Rsync options? I'll post some of my (plagarised) batch files if anyone wants them Regards, Ronan Guilfoyle -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed
The usual practise is to use a batch script to stop the services which keep the files you want to back up open. Once you've done the backup, restart the services. ie net stop <services> rsync.... net start <services> Works for me. :-) -- Stuart Halliday ECS Technology ltd Registered in Scotland - #212513
I'm going a little further than that; The script backs up all open files on the server, but I sync them directly to a standby server with Exchange installed (services are shut down to allow me to write to the databases). The same scripts also transfer SQL databases and general office docs. My particular Exchange issue is that the Rsync delta transfer does not seem to find much similatities between copies of the PRIV1.EDB. These copies are made a few days apart so there should be minimal data differences, possibly a few hundred mails but no more. The Sync seems to transfer the whole file again (or nearly the whole file). Regards, Ronan
Yes, the file is substantially re-arranged each night. This is the default for Exchange 2000 and 2003 and seems to be strongly recommended. I'm sure it would be possible to map the changes in the .edb file before and after a defrag, I can't say how much changes. Can anyone give me a hint how I might map the differences between files after the sums have been calculated? Is there another option? I have no trouble syning a 1.3Gb SQL file, Exchange has me foxed! Thanks, Ronan