NetApp Recovery Manager and Citrix ShareFile (NRM-CS)
- Stephen Karras
- Sep 29, 2015
- 4 min read
If you have used Citrix ShareFile, you probably already know that it’s a great product – either standalone, or integrated with the XenMobile and Citrix WorkSpace Suite. One place where ShareFile can be a bit tricky is file recovery depending on how far back you're attempting to restore from. In ShareFile restores are a manual process and involve some PowerShell. Fortunately, there are built in APIs that allow 3rd party solutions to integrate and make restoration a bit easier – for example when your local storage zone is stored on a NetApp volume. Having ShareFile on Netapp storage allows you to use a tool known as the NetApp Recovery Manager for Citrix ShareFile (NRM-CS).
First, a little background on the backup and restore process. There are different steps required for file recovery depending on how long ago the user deleted the file.
Days 0 – 7: The user can manually restore the file from the recycle bin – no administrative action is required (only employees have a recycle bin)
Days 7 – 14: A site administrator must manually restore the file from the StorageZone admin page.
Days 14+ : A site administrator must request a restore from the StorageZone admin page then manually get the file into the recovery queue then run a PowerShell script.
Lets talk about days 14 and later as the first 14 days allow files to be restored from persistent storage on the StorageZone as they are never actually deleted. Before you can restore files that were deleted more than 2 weeks ago, you need to prepare the StorageZone for backup and restore – following the procedure here. What this does is create a ‘recovery queue’ as well as a location on the server where recovered files get copied to.
When a restore is requested from the admin page, the requested file metadata are added to the recovery queue – running a PowerShell script allows you to determine the details about the file. You can then find the file in your 3rd party backup software, backup tapes, or otherwise, and copy it to the restore location. Once the file is in place, the administrator runs another PowerShell script to ‘pick up’ the file and return it to StorageZone local storage, thus completing the process. More details on this process can be found here.
There is a better way!
If your on-premise storage is on a volume on a NetApp filer, all of the scripting and manual processes noted above are automated by the NRM-CS software. The recovery manager runs as a service, either local on the StorageZone controller, or on a remote server; watches the recovery queue for file restore requests, then it searches local Snapshots, SnapMirror partners, or SnapVault for the requested file, and restores it.
Full details can be found here in the NetApp® Recovery Manager 1.1 for Citrix® ShareFile® documentation.
Prerequisits:
SnapRestore license on the filer
User account to connect to the filer
NDMP credentials on the filer
The following should already be installed:
ShareFile storage zone controller
Microsoft .NET framework
PowerShell 3.0
Installation and configuration
Download and install the NRM-CS from the NetApp NOW site.
No configuration needed during install – accept all defaults
Launch the tool from the start menu
After installation, only the Recovery service should show as running (green check mark)
Edit the Recovery Service
Select ‘Recovery Service’ from the left column and choose ‘Edit’
Modify timers, retries, and StorageZone Controller URL as needed
See the documentation for timing calculations
Create the recovery queue
Select ‘Recovery Service’ from the left column
Select ‘Create Recovery Queue’ from the top bar
If a recovery queue had been previously created, delete it using the following PowerShell command: ‘Delete-SCQueue’
The Recovery Service page should now look like this:
Connect to the Filer
Select ‘StorageZone’ from the left column and select ‘Edit’.
Enter the hostname\IP, username and password to logon to the filer.
Select the VServer and volume hosting the data
Enter NDMP credentials
If the user account is non-root, unique NDMP credentials must be created by following these steps:
Generating an NDMP-specific password for non-root administratorsAn administrator without root privileges uses the NDMP-specific password for any NDMP backup and restore operation that requires password input in either a backup application or CLI environment.
Start a console session on the storage system you want to access.
Enter the following command: ndmpd password username
The system returns an 8- or 16- character string, depending on the password length set using the ndmpd.password_length command. For example:
filer>ndmpd password barbaraD
password QM12N%$cnaFWPBVe
Use this password in any current or future NDMP operation that requires password input.
Note: This NDMP-specific password is valid until you change the password to your regular account. If you change the password to your regular storage system account, repeat this procedure to obtain your new system-generated NDMP-specific password.
At this point, NRM-CS will be able to service recovery requests from local snapshots – the dashboard should appear like this:
That’s it! The ShareFile restore process for items older than 14 days has now been simplified and automated. You can add additional protection locations such as SnapMirror partners or SnapVault – see NetApp® Recovery Manager 1.1 for Citrix® ShareFile® document for details
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