The HP StoreAll Storage system provides a single, scalable archive platform to archive content from multiple information sources for longer term data retention. Built on a modular platform, the HP StoreAll Storage provides a modern, scale-out, pay-as-you-grow architecture allowing customers to scale their archives as needed.
The WORM feature of the HP StoreAll Storage platform is integrated with Symantec Enterprise Vault application to provide granular retention on a per item basis for content archived from the Symantec Enterprise Vault application.
The data mobility features of HP StoreAll Storage such as automated data tiering, rebalancer, and migrator—provide rich data management while helping to future-proof the infrastructure from hardware and technology changes. The end-to-end redundant architecture of the HP StoreAll Storage platform provides data high availability, and replication capabilities provide protection against disaster failures.
The HP StoreAll Storage configuration necessary to integrate with the Enterprise Vault application will be explored in detail in further sections.
For the Enterprise Vault application to archive content to the HP StoreAll Storage system, CIFS shares needs to be configured on either a WORM or non-WORM file system on the HP StoreAll Storage. Note that the HP StoreAll Storage system fully supports WORM and non-WORM file system within same appliance.
The HP StoreAll Storage network configuration is created per the best practices outlined in HP StoreAll Storage best practices guide (see references section). The HP StoreAll Storage system presents the CIFS shares (details outlined in the following sections) to Enterprise Vault via a user or data network.
In most environments, the HP StoreAll Storage is a dedicated device and is used exclusively for Enterprise Vault archiving.
Leveraging HP StoreAll Storage devices or for that matter any other type of archive storage when used for Enterprise Vault is not recommended.
When configuring the HP StoreAll Storage, the following prerequisites must be met before Enterprise Vault can be installed.
The following are HP StoreAll Storage configuration task and are performed from the fusion management consol.
• Normally the HP StoreAll Storage devices must be introduced into the same Active Directory domain as the Enterprise Vault servers and this is the HP recommendation. In situations where this is not possible and the HP StoreAll Storage devices must be installed into a separate domain to the EV servers, an authority’s two-way forest trust relationship must be setup. If a firewall exists between the two domains then the appropriate ports must be opened between the HP StoreAll Storage devices, the AD controller of the Enterprise Vault AD domain and the Enterprise Vault servers.
These ports and network requirements are documented in detail in the HP StoreAll Storage installation guide.
• The Enterprise Vault service account must be setup as a local “share administrator” on the HP StoreAll Storage device.
High availability within the HP StoreAll Storage must be configured as required.
• A method for backup of the HP StoreAll Storage data must be implemented. Either a traditional VTL or tape device or alternatively/additionally, it is possible to use replication to a secondary HP StoreAll Storage in an alternate location. Note that replication-only configurations require custom scripting.
• Such custom scripting requires a professional services engagement. The script must be developed and tailored to the customer’s specific requirements and verified in the customer environment.
• If only using HP StoreAll Remote Replication to provide the “safety copy” for Enterprise Vault then remote cluster replication on the HP StoreAll Storage system must be configured as required.
• If required, WORM options must be set. These are configured at the file-system level within the HP StoreAll Storage device using the Fusion Manager GUI. If both WORM and non-WORM options are required, then two separate file systems should be configured. One for WORM and one non-WORM.
Special notes on backup and replication
When using WORM, the method EV uses to determine when a file has been “made safe” i.e. backed up, changes. Generally, in non-WORM situations, Enterprise Vault uses the “archive attribute” (+A) of the archive files to determine when they have been backed up. All files are initially written with the archive attribute set “on” (+A). When the backup software backs up a file successfully, it sets the attribute to “off” (-A). Enterprise Vault uses the change to the archive bit as verification that the file is backed up. It then deletes the original item from Exchange and replaces it with a “stub” or shortcut.
When files are written in WORM, no changes can be made to the file once it’s created so neither backup or replication can change the archive attribute to “off.” This method of verification for a safe copy cannot therefore be used. Instead, Enterprise Vault uses a method called the “trigger file.”
The trigger file method works by writing a small XML file PartitionSecureNotification.XML to the root of each Enterprise Vault partition just after the backup has completed. Any files that are older than the date recorded in this file are considered to
Setting up CIF shares
When using the HP StoreAll Storage, HP best practice is to create a separate CIF share for each Enterprise Vault server that will be running a storage service. The directory structure is then created under that share.
The recommendation is to create the shares with a name that reflects the CNAME alias of the EV server they will attach to, for example for EVSERVER1 create “\\StoreAll\EVSERVER1”.
The actual Enterprise Vault archive partitions are created on these shares and the associated directory structure for these should be created on the NAS device prior to installing the EV servers.
We would recommend that typically that would take the form of a separate top-level directory for journaling and mailbox archiving and then within those, the rollover structure.
Partition rollover best practice
It is very difficult to define a single best practice for partition rollover, as all customers are different. In general, you should aim to keep it simple and keep partitions to a manageable number and size. How you configure your partition rollover depends on the individual customer’s requirements, but there are some general simple recommendations you can follow, such as:
• Use a separate partition for every Enterprise Vault server running a storage service
• Keep it simple
• Keep partitions to between 200 GB and 400 GB
• Don’t make partitions so big that you would never be able to recover them in the event of a disaster
• Don’t make partitions so small that they become difficult to manage and are rolling over unnecessarily often Enterprise Vault integration
Enterprise Vault fully integrates with the WORM features of HP StoreAll Storage. During creation of the vault store partitions, when HP StoreAll Storage is selected as the storage type, WORM or non-WORM can be selected.
Figure 13. HP StoreAll Storage WORM configuration settings
Selecting the option “Device Stores data in WORM mode” allows content to be stored on the HP StoreAll Storage in immutable form with appropriate retention settings applied by Enterprise Vault.
Additionally, the HP StoreAll Storage offers two forms of WORM storage, “relaxed” where the retention can be reduced or extended and “strict” mode where it can only be extended. For Enterprise Vault implementations, in most circumstances
“strict” would be the configuration used. The WORM storage options are configured at the file system-level on the HP StoreAll Storage.
Architecture diagram (HP StoreAll Storage) WORM-like compliant Figure 14. Architecture of HP StoreAll Storage solution
Table 13 list the type of connection between the components Table 13. Type connections
Ref# on
Diagram Component Type Connect
(minimum) # Connections
(#1) Archive server to Exchange Environment (via IP Switch) GigE 1
(#2) Archive server to HP StoreAll Storage GigE 1
(#3) Remote management 100 MB 1
(#4) SQL Server, remote access GigE 1
(#5) Archive server to HP SAN storage (HP 3PAR Storage) FC/2 Gb 2
(#6) SQL Server to HP SAN storage (HP 3PAR Storage) FC/2 Gb 2