5 1 0:Configuring a Data Store

Overview

Note that the procedures introduced in this article only apply to the configuration of the Path data store. For the configuration of other data store types, refer to the relevant documentation (see links under Data store types below).

What is a data store

A data store is a device type used used to write savesets directly to one or more configured storage locations – into the file system. SEP sesam uses a data store instead of a conventional media pool to define the storage repository. Data is still primarily backed up to a media pool, however, a data store is used underneath to save data to dynamically managed data areas, including disk backups.

SEP sesam can contain multiple data stores of different types and sizes depending on the type of data being backed up, the backup technique, and on the storage location (a local disk, virtualized storage device, storage appliances, etc.).

Data store types

The following data store types are supported:

• Path: The default data store type, relevant for configuring most storage locations, unless one of the following data store types is required, e.g., for deduplication or backup to cloud storage.
• SEP Si3 deduplication store and a new generation SEP Si3 NG deduplication store: Used for target-based (Si3T) and source-based deduplication (Si3S), replication, replication to S3 (Si3 store) and for backups directly to S3 (Si3 NG store).
• NetApp Snap Store: Used for NetApp snapshots backup.
• HPE StoreOnce: Used for integration with the HPE StoreOnce Catalyst storage system.
• HPE Cloud Bank Store: Used for replication of data to HPE Cloud Bank Storage.

You can also configure a data store to back up to and from CIFS share. For details, see How to use CIFS share (NAS) as a data store and how to back up data from a CIFS share.

Configuration procedure

Note that the procedures introduced in this article only apply to configuration of the Path data store. For the configuration of other data store types, refer to the relevant documentation (see links in the section Data store types).

1. In the Main selection -> Components, click Data stores to display the data store contents frame.
2. From the Data stores menu, select New data store. A New data store dialog is displayed.



Segment Data Store

3. Under the Data store properties in the Name field, enter a meaningful name for the data store.
4. From the Store type drop-down list, select Path. Skip the Messages section, which is used by SEP sesam to display the last executed action.

Note

When configuring any other store type other than Path, e.g., Si3 deduplication store, HPE StoreOnce or HPE Cloud Bank Store, you should be aware of the requirements and recommendations before you start using these special data store types. For details, see Configuring Si3 Deduplication Store, Configuring Si3 NG Deduplication Store, NetApp Snap Store, HPE StoreOnce, and HPE Cloud Bank Store, respectively.

Segment Drive Parameter

5. Make sure that the option Create drive for data store is checked under the Drive parameter properties. The predefined value for the drive is automatically added to the Drive number field.
6. Enable the option Create second drive.

	Tip
	It is recommended to use the option Create second drive. Without this option, SEP sesam can only allocate one drive for either reading or writing, running one job at a time on the same drive. If you use the additional drive for restore, you can perform a backup on the first drive and restore your data from the second drive at the same time. You can also add a third drive for migration.

• Note that for each additional drive intended for restore or migration, the access mode must be set to read in the Drive properties.
• If you use additional drives, all backup jobs must be configured to use the drive designated for backup. You specify the drive number for a backup job as described in Creating a Backup Event.
• If you use the additional drive for migration, you have to specify the dedicated drive as described in Creating a Migration Task.
• You can configure the number of streams per drive. For example, you can limit the number of parallel backups to 5, but use a higher number of concurrent streams for migration.
7. From the Device server drop-down list, select the device server for your data store. Note that the default device server is always the SEP sesam Server itself. Other available device servers in the drop-down list are additional SEP sesam Remote Device Servers (RDS).
8. In the Path field, enter the location of your data store or use the Browse button to select the relevant folder and click OK.

When using the Browse button to select the folder, the New data store information window appears with predefined recommended values for your data store size. Click OK to confirm the selected location and recommended size values. You can modify your data store size later under the Size properties (see step 12). For details on calculating the size, see How do I calculate the data store capacity.

9. The option This drive uses data deduplication technology ... is only available for the default data store type Path. Select this check box only if deduplication is enabled on the selected drive. In this case, the projected amount of storage available for backups will also include the deduplication factor.
10. Under Drive group properties, select Create new drive group if you want to create a new group or Use existing drive group to add a drive to one of the configured groups available in the drop-down list.
11. The predefined number of channels is already displayed in the Max. channels drop-down list. The number of available channels depends on your SEP sesam Server package. For example, if a license supports 5 concurrent streams, 5 backup processes can run simultaneously. For details on SEP sesam licenses, see Licensing.

Segment Size

12. Under the Size properties, the predefined recommended values for your data store size are already displayed. If not, enter the following values manually.
    • Capacity: The size (in GB/GiB) of the partition for backups.
    • High watermark: The value (in GB/GiB) for the high watermark (HWM). This is upper value for the used disk space on the data store. When this value is reached, the status of a datastore changes from OK to Warning, but backups continue to be performed.
    For details on what to consider when specifying the size, see How do I calculate the data store capacity.

Segment (read-only) Disk Space Usage

The Disk space usage properties are used by SEP sesam to report the following:

• Used: Total used space (Gib/Tib) on the partition.
• Total: Maximum available space (Gib/Tib) on the partition as reported by the operating system.
• Free: Available disk space (Gib/Tib) for SEP sesam.
• Deduplication rate: If applicable. The deduplication ratio is depicted as ratio:1. For more details, see Space reduction ratio and percent.
13. Click OK to configure your data store. You will be prompted to create a new media pool for it immediately. If you answer No, you have to create the media pool later and your configuration is complete. If you answer Yes, a new media pool dialog is displayed.

Creating a media pool

14. Enter a name for the media pool, select a drive group and set the Retention time in days. The retention time is a media pool related parameter that specifies the number of days, for which the media from the pool are protected from writing, thus preserving the backed up data and keeping it available for restore (see Automatic Retention (EOL) Management). Once the retention period has expired, the media are writable again. For details configuring a media pool, see Configuring media pools for data stores.

Once you have set up your backup strategy, you can back up your data to your new media pool. You can start a configured backup task immediately or schedule it to run after you create a schedule and link a backup event with it. For details, see Creating a Schedule and Creating a Backup Event.

If you want to start the backup task immediately, right-click the name of the backup task and click Immediate start. Note that you only need to select the appropriate media pool that relates to your data store and click Start.

Monitoring data store status

You can view the status of your data store in the GUI by double-clicking the data store. You can also check the status in SEP sesam Web UI. The data store status overview provides detailed information about consistency, utilization, sanity status, size, disk space usage as well as related media pools, media and drives, dependencies, data size before/after deduplication (if applicable), etc.

If the size of the actually used (filled) storage space is larger than the configured capacity on the data store (data store size overflow), the utilization color changes to red.

Clicking the name of a data store display its properties. Use the tabs Media Pools, Media, Drives (configured media pools/media), Dependencies, Savesets (overview of savesets), Actions (media-related events), Detailed Status and Storage Utilization (data store utilization) for more useful details.

	Tip
	Click the Dependencies tab to see the diagram of all dependencies of the datastore and Drives - RDS (first tab) or the datastore and Media Pools - Drive Groups - Drives - RDS (second tab). Hovering the cursor over the diagram shows a tooltip with details for each object.

See also

Configuring SEP Si3 NG deduplication store – Configuring Si3 Deduplication Store – NetApp Snap Store – HPE StoreOnce – HPE Cloud Bank Storage – How to use CIFS share (NAS) as data store and how to back up data from CIFS share

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