Storage manager

Portlock Storage Manager 4.0 for NetWare User’s Guide

Portlock Storage Manager for NetWareThe Portlock storage management software described in this book is furnished under a LicenseAgreement and may be used only in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

Manual Version: 4.0Date of Publication: July, 2007

NO WARRANTY. The technical documentation is being delivered to you AS IS and Portlock makes no warranty as to its accuracy or use. Any use of the technical documentation or the information contained therein is at the risk of the user. Documentation may include technical errors, typographical errors or other inaccuracies. Portlock reserves the right to make changes without prior notice.

All technical documentation made available by Portlock is the copyrighted work of Portlock. No part of this publication may be copied without the express written permission of Portlock, 101 North Main Street, Butte, Montana 59701.

Copyright 2000-2007 Portlock. All Rights Reserved. Portlock, the Portlock logo, Portlock Storage Manager and the Portlock Boot CD are trademarks of Portlock.

Other vendor product names mentioned in this manual may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged. Printed in the United States.

License AgreementIMPORTANT: Read this before using your copy of Portlock Storage Manager 4.02 for NetWare. This document is a legal agreement between you (an individual or business), the Licensee and Portlock. Use of the enclosed software indicates your acceptance of these terms. As used in this License Agreement, the term SOFTWARE means the software electronically generated or included on the CD or media provided with this License Agreement. The term SOFTWARE does not include any software that is covered by a separate license offered or granted by a person other than Portlock.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, EITHER DESTROY OR RETURN (INTACT) THE SOFTWARE PACKAGE CONTAINING THE CD OR DISK MEDIA, ALONG WITH THE OTHER COMPONENTS Of THE PRODUCT TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE FOR A REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE.

1. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. The SOFTWARE and any accompanying documentation are the proprietary products of Portlock or its licensors and are protected by national laws and international treaty provisions. Ownership of the SOFTWARE and all copies, modifications, translations, and merged portions thereof shall remain with Portlock and its licensors.

2. GRANT OF LICENSE and TERM. The SOFTWARE and accompanying documentation are being licensed to you, which means you have the right to use the SOFTWARE only in accordance with this License Agreement. The SOFTWARE is considered in use on a computer when it is loaded into temporary memory or installed into permanent memory. PERSONAL LICENSE: This license is personal to you. You may not sublicense, lease, sell or otherwise transfer THE SOFTWARE or any of the accompanying documentation to any other person. You may use the SOFTWARE only for your own personal use if you are an individual, or for your own internal business purposes if you are a business. COMPUTER-SPECIFIC LICENSE: Each permitted copy of the SOFTWARE may be used only in connection with a hard drive(s) that is permanently connected to ONE specific computer (either a stand-alone computer or a computer connected to a network) owned or leased by you. Once a copy of the SOFTWARE has been used on a computer, it may not be used on any other computer, unless you have permanently stopped using (e.g., sold, destroyed or relinquished possession of) the SOFTWARE on the original computer. If the SOFTWARE is made available on a network, only ONE specific computer may access it. It may not be used on any additional computers without purchasing additional licenses. NUMBER OF COPIES LICENSED: You are authorized to use ONLY a single copy of the SOFTWARE on a single computer. All copies of the SOFTWARE must include our copyright notice and other legal notices. UPDATES AND SUPPORT: You are entitled to receive one year of technical support from the date of purchase. This support period is valid during the life of the product, which commences when the product is released to manufacturing and ceases six months after the release of the next major version of the product. Technical support shall be limited to telephone or e-mail support from Portlock’s offices, unless Portlock specifically agrees otherwise in writing. TERM: This license is effective from your date of purchase and shall remain in force until terminated. You may terminate the license and this License Agreement at any


time by destroying the SOFTWARE and the accompanying documentation, together with all copies in any form.

3. BACKUP COPY. Only ONE copy of the SOFTWARE may be created for archival or backup purposes.

4. NONPERMITTED USES. Without the express prior written permission of Portlock, you may not (a) use, copy, modify, alter or transfer, electronically or otherwise, the SOFTWARE or documentation except as expressly permitted in this License Agreement, or (b) translate, reverse program, disassemble, decompile or otherwise reverse engineer the SOFTWARE.

5. EXPORT CONTROLS. Certain uses of the SOFTWARE by you may be subject to restrictions under U.S. regulations relating to exports and ultimate end uses of computer software. You agree to fully comply with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations, including but not limited to the Export Administration Act of 1979 as amended from time to time and any regulations promulgated there under.

6. U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. If you are acquiring the SOFTWARE on behalf of any unit or agency of the United States Government, the following provision applies: It is acknowledged that the SOFTWARE and the documentation was developed at private expense and that no part is in the public domain and that the SOFTWARE and documentation are provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, duplication or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS252.227-7013 or subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software-Restricted Rights at 48 CFR 52.227-19, as applicable. Contractor / Manufacturer is: Portlock, 101 North Main Street, Butte, MT 59701.

7. LIMITED WARRANTY. (a) Portlock to you, the original end user, (i) that the SOFTWARE, other than third-party software, will perform substantially in accordance with the accompanying documentation and (ii) that the SOFTWARE is properly recorded on the disk media. This Limited Warranty extends for ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. Portlock does not warrant any third-party software that is provided with the SOFTWARE, but Portlock agrees to pass on to you any warranties of the owner or licensor to the extent permitted by the owner or licensor.

(b) This Limited Warranty does not apply to any Software that has been altered, damaged, abused, miss-applied or used other than in accordance with this license and any instructions included on the SOFTWARE and the accompanying documentation.

License Agreement

(c) Portlock’s entire liability and your exclusive remedy under this Limited Warranty shall be the repair or replacement of any Software that fails to conform to this Limited Warranty, or at Portlock’s option, return of the price paid for the SOFTWARE. Portlock shall have no liability under this Limited Warranty unless the SOFTWARE is returned to Portlock or its authorized representative, with a copy of your receipt, within the warranty period. Any replacement SOFTWARE will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or 30 days, whichever is longer.

(d) THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF AND EXCLUDES ALL OTHER WARRANTIES NOT EXPRESSLY SET FOR THEREIN, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR WARRANTIES ARISING FROM USAGE OF TRADE OR COURSE OF DEALING.

(e) THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. YOU MAY HAVE OTHERS WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

(f) Your failure to return the enclosed registration card or complete the electronic registration included with the SOFTWARE may result in Portlock’s inability to provide you with updates to the SOFTWARE, and you assume the entire risk of performance and result in such an event

8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. IN NO EVENT SHALL PORTLOCK’S LIABILITY RELATED TO ANY OF THE SOFTWARE EXCEED THE LICENSE FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU FOR THE SOFTWARE. EXCEPT FOR A RETURN OF THE PURCHASE PRICE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES PROVIDED UNDER THE LIMITED WARRANTY, NEITHER PORTLOCK

SOFTWARE NOR ITS SUPPLIERS SHALL IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, AND DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS, EVEN IF PORTLOCK HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, WARRANTY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE GROUNDS. BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU

9. NO WAIVER. Any failure by either party to this agreement to enforce a specific part of the agreement in a specific situation is not a waiver of rights under the agreement. The party may still enforce the rest of the agreement in that situation and may still enforce some or all of the agreement in other situations.


10. AGREEMENT. This License Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and PORTLOCK pertaining to its subject matter. The laws of the State of Montana govern this License Agreement. Any litigation arising from this license will be pursued only in the state or federal courts located in the State of Montana. Even if part of the agreement is held invalid, the rest of the agreement is still valid, binding and enforceable.

License Agreement

Table of ContentsChapter One: About Portlock Storage Manager .................................................................................. 14What is Portlock Storage Manager? ......................................................................................................... 15Design Philosphy of Portlock Storage Manager ....................................................................................... 15Before Loading Portlock Storage Manager ............................................................................................. 15Technical Support ................................................................................................................................. 17

Chapter Two: Using Portlock Storage Manager ................................................................................. 18Introduction to Portlock Storage Manager ............................................................................................... 19Introduction to Portlock Remote ............................................................................................................. 19Introduction to Portlock Installation Methods ......................................................................................... 19Portlock Storage Manager Installation Methods ...................................................................................... 19Installing Portlock Storage Manager on NetWare .................................................................................... 20Method One: Using INSTALL.NLM or NWCONFIG.NLM ................................................................... 21Method Two: Using PINSTALL.NLM ................................................................................................... 23Method Three: Using the directory SYS:/STORMGR ............................................................................. 25Loading Portlock Storage Manager ........................................................................................................ 25

Chapter Three: Drive Commands ....................................................................................................... 26Introduction to the Drive Commands ....................................................................................................... 27Explanation of the Drive Initialize Command .......................................................................................... 28Explanation of the Drive Sector Copy Command ...................................................................................... 30Explanation of the Drive Compare Command .......................................................................................... 30Explanation of the Drive Verify Command .............................................................................................. 31

Chapter Four: Partition Commands ................................................................................................... 34Partition Commands ............................................................................................................................. 35Activate Partition Command .................................................................................................................. 35Check Partition Command ..................................................................................................................... 36Combine NW 6 Master Partitions Command ........................................................................................... 37Convert to a NW 6 Partition Command ..................................................................................................... 37Copy Partition Command ...................................................................................................................... 38Create Partition Command ..................................................................................................................... 39Delete Partition Command ..................................................................................................................... 41Hide Partition Command ....................................................................................................................... 41Image Partition Command ..................................................................................................................... 42Resize Partition Command .................................................................................................................... 43Unhide Partition Command ................................................................................................................... 43


Chapter Five: Volume Commands ....................................................................................................... 44Volume Check Command ..................................................................................................................... 45Volume Delete Command ...................................................................................................................... 45Volume Rename Command ................................................................................................................... 45

Chapter Six: Pool Commands .............................................................................................................. 46Introduction to Pool Commands ............................................................................................................. 47Check Pool ............................................................................................................................................ 47Copy Pool .............................................................................................................................................. 48Delete Pool ............................................................................................................................................ 49Move Pool ............................................................................................................................................. 49

Chapter Seven: Image Commands ...................................................................................................... 52Overview of the Image Commands ......................................................................................................... 53Disaster Recovery ................................................................................................................................. 54Cloning a Server .................................................................................................................................... 54Upgrade of Hard Drives .......................................................................................................................... 54Write an Image to a Disk File .................................................................................................................... 55Write an Image to a TCP/IP Link .............................................................................................................. 57Write an Image to a Tape Drive ................................................................................................................. 58Write an Image to a CD/DVD Recorder .................................................................................................... 59Write an Image to an FTP Server .............................................................................................................. 59Online Imaging .............................................................................................................. 60

Chapter Eight: Restore Commands .................................................................................................... 62Introduction to the Restore Commands ................................................................................................... 63Read Image from a Disk File.................................................................................................................... 63Read Image from a TCP/IP Link .............................................................................................................. 64Read Image from a Tape Drive ................................................................................................................. 65Read Image from a CD/DVD ................................................................................................................... 66Read Image from a Web Server. ............................................................................................................... 66Read Image from an FTP Server .............................................................................................................. 67

Table of Contents

Chapter Nine: Repair Commands ....................................................................................................... 70Introduction to the Repair Commands ..................................................................................................... 71Create a Sector Image of a Disk Drive Command ....................................................................................... 71Fix Master Boot Record (MBR) .............................................................................................................. 72NetWare Traditional Partition and Volume Recovery Commands ............................................................ 73Copy a Corrupted Volume to a New Volume .............................................................................................. 74Repair a Volume with a missing Volume Segment ..................................................................................... 74Backup FAT Tables to a Disk File .............................................................................................................. 74NetWare NSS Partition and Volume Recovery Commands ....................................................................... 75Rebuild a Pool’s Tree .............................................................................................................................. 75VMware Partition and Volume Recovery Commands .............................................................................. 76

Chapter Ten: Hardware Commands ................................................................................................... 78

Chapter Eleven: System Commands ................................................................................................... 80Open Logfile ......................................................................................................................................... 80Close Logfile ......................................................................................................................................... 81Recv File ............................................................................................................................................... 81Send File ............................................................................................................................................... 81Disk Format .......................................................................................................................................... 82

Chapter Twelve: License Renewal ....................................................................................................... 84

Appendix A: Automated Imaging with the use of CRON.NLM ............................................................ 86

Appendix B: Portlock Storage Manager and NSS Snapshots ............................................................... 90Online Imaging and NSS Snapshots ........................................................................................................ 90Scripting Support in Portlock Storage Manager ....................................................................................... 91Guidelines for Crosss-Platform Compatibility of NSS ............................................................................. 92What is NSS Snapshotting? .................................................................................................................... 92Benefits of Pool Snapshopts .................................................................................................................... 93How to Enable Snapshots ........................................................................................................................ 94Activating NSS Snapshots ..................................................................................................................... 94Mounting a NetWare NSS Pool Snapshot ................................................................................................. 95

Glossary .............................................................................................................................................. 98


Table of Contents

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Chapter 1About Portlock Storage ManagerThis chapter includes the following topics:• What is Portlock Storage Manager?

• Design Philosophy of Portlock Storage Manager

• Before Loading Portlock Storage Manager

• Copying Portlock Storage Manager to a floppy diskette

• Technical Support


Chapter 1 About Portlock Storage Manager

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What is Portlock Storage Manager?Portlock Storage Manager is software designed to optimize server and desktop storage and protect critical business data. Users can copy, create, clone, image, restore and resize partitions and volumes. Recovery of failed servers is very fast and dramatically simplified. Portlock Storage Manager supports creating images of Linux, NetWare and Windows servers (Windows currently in Beta). Images can be stored on disk files, TCP/IP communication links, FTP servers and SCSI tape drives. Third-generation imaging technology supports streaming to the fastest SCSI tape drives or using high performance communications over TCP/IP for server-to-server cloning.

Portlock Storage Manager provides full-featured control over the size and layout of partitions, volumes, NSS (Novell Storage Services) volumes and NSS Storage Pools. Compaq, IBM and DELL Diagnostic partitions are also supported. With Portlock Storage Manager 4.0, NetWare and Linux customers have a backup, storage management and disaster recovery solution that provides support for imaging, moving, managing and recovering Novell Storage Services (NSS) pools, volumes and partitions on both SUSE LINUX and NetWare system kernels. In addition, Portlock Storage Manager supports all other leading filesystems, such as Reiser, Ext2, Ext3, etc.

Design Philosophy of Portlock Storage ManagerPortlock Storage Manager breaks commands into groups of commands based on the concepts of Drive, Partition, Volume, Pool, Image, Restore and Repair. For example, if you want to resize a volume, use the command Volume Resize, located under Volume Commands. If you want to resize a partition, then use the command Partition Resize under Partition Commands. Before you can modify a storage item, you must select it. Once an item is selected, a command menu will be displayed with the supported commands for that item.

Before Loading Portlock Storage ManagerWe recommend installing the latest Service Packs, especially if you are using NSS. However, this is not a requirement. Our Quality Assurance Department attempts to test Portlock Storage Manager on all versions of NetWare with all Service Pack releases.

Verify your NetWare and NSS volumes prior to modifying them with Portlock Storage Manager. Portlock Storage Manager performs a volume check on Traditional and NSS volumes prior to beginning any modification operation. This ensures that there is no volume corruption and ensures that Portlock Storage Manager supports the feature set of the volumes. Novell is constantly improving NetWare and this may result in new file system features being added. Portlock Storage Manager checks every data structure in a volume to ensure that all features are recognized and supported.

NOTE: Not all features are available for all file system types.

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Portlock Storage Manager operates the same in all supported OS environments: Dismounting where the underlying OS requires it. The program controls the underlying OS disk access in order to complete its functionality. Therefore, it is generally a poor idea for end users to be connected when Portlock Storage Manager is working on the server. Portlock Storage Manager does not require clients to log off from the server. Servers usually do not need to be rebooted after running Portlock Storage Manager. Only the volume being modified needs to be dismounted. However, when a volume is dismounted, files on that volume are no longer accessible. If a volume is dismounted when files are open, users will not be able to write to these files.

NOTE: BACKUP your data. Protect your data by maintaining current and reliable backups before you begin any storage management operation.

Install and use an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Portlock Software engineers design fault-tolerant features wherever possible in Portlock Storage Manager. However, not every disk operation can withstand power failures. Protect your servers and desktops with UPS devices.


Chapter 1 About Portlock Storage Manager

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Technical SupportPortlock is committed to providing support for its products that exceeds the industry standard for software companies. We provide support via our web site www.portlock.com, email and telephone.

NOTE: Technical Support is only available in English.

Before Contacting Technical SupportVerify that you are running the current version of Portlock Storage Manager. Our products are updated often. The README file may indicate that we have already corrected your problem.

Run Portlock Storage Manager with the • stormgr -logfile=stormgr.log command line option. Technical Support will usually ask for the log file so that we can see your hardware and software configuration.

Write down any error or warning messages exactly as displayed by Portlock Storage Manager. • This will often help Technical Support identify the location of the error in the Portlock Storage Manager source code. This can greatly speed up resolution of a support issue.

Know the operating system name and version.•

Know the makes and model numbers of the hardware you are using•

Contacting Technical Support by Email or TelephoneIf you are reporting a problem using Portlock Storage Manager, our preferred support contact is by email – [email protected] – you will receive a response within ONE business day.

If you prefer, you can contact our Technical Support Engineers via telephone: +1-406-723-5200 or 44 (0) 1256 392990 (best choice for Europe).

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This chapter includes the following topics:

Introduction to Portlock Storage Manager•

Introduction to Portlock Remote•

Introduction to Portlock Storage Manager • Installation Methods

Portlock Storage Manager Installation • Methods

Quick Installation of Portlock Storage Manager • on Novell Open Enterprise Server

Installing Portlock Storage Manager on • NetWare

Uninstalling Portlock Storage Manager using • NWCONFIG

Uninstalling Portlock Install, Remote and • Related Products

Loading Portlock Storage Manager•

Chapter 2Using Portlock Storage Manager


Chapter 2 Using Portlock Storage Manager

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Introduction to Portlock Storage ManagerPortlock Storage Manager is designed to support a large variety of bare-metal disaster recovery, server-to-server migration and storage management operations. Users can copy, create, clone, image, restore and resize partitions and volumes. Users can also image and restore from disk files, tape, CD/DVD, FTP and web servers. Recovery of failed servers is very fast and dramatically simplified. No other storage management product offers such a breadth of features.

Introduction to Portlock RemotePortlock Remote is a Windows-based program that supports remote control of Portlock Storage Manager. Portlock Remote executes from a DOS box on a Windows platform. You can use this program rather than using other screen capture tools, such as Rconj or Rconsole.

Introduction to Portlock Installation MethodsPortlock Storage Manager can be installed onto machines running NetWare and Linux operating systems using several methods. All of the files necessary to support these methods are available from the web and from the Portlock Boot CD (PBCD).

Download Portlock Storage Manager 4.02 from: http://www.portlock.com/products/storagemanager/evaluate/

The Portlock Boot CD may be downloaded from: http://www.portlock.com/products/storagemanager/boot_cd.aspx

The files on the Portlock Boot CD are accessed using two methods:

Boot the PBCD into local mode and recover the file(s) from the appropriate products 1. subdirectory. This method is described fully in a separate document on our web site.

Insert the PBCD into a running Windows-based machine and take advantage of the auto-2. starting menu that pops up containing access paths to all Portlock products.

Portlock Storage Manager Installation MethodsThe required file(s) may be downloaded from: http://www.portlock.com/products/storagemanager/evaluate/

Remote installation of Portlock Storage Manager on NetWare using Portlock Install. File(s): 1. Portlock Storage Manager Windows-based Installer.

Installation of Portlock Storage Manager natively on NetWare servers from a floppy diskette. 2. File(s): Minimum files to run Portlock Storage Manager from a floppy. Unzip to a formatted floppy diskette.

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Installation of Portlock Storage Manager natively on NetWare servers using NWConfig or 3. Pinstall methods. File(s): Download the zipped NetWare-based Installer. Unzip and execute NWConfig or PInstall to run Portlock Storage Manager on a NetWare server. Create the directory SYS:/STORMGR. Unzip into this directory. No installation is required. Create a temporary directory on your NetWare server and unzip these files into this directory.

NetWare 3.x & 4.x - run PINSTALL.NLM to install.

NetWare 5.x & 6.x - run NWCONFIG.NLM to install.

Quick Installation of Portlock Storage Manager on Novell Open Enterprise Server

Start a bash shell at the NetWare server console. Type “bash” at the server prompt.1.

Create a directory to store the Portlock Storage Manager files. Type “mkdir sys:/stormgr” 2. at the bash prompt.

Switch directories to sys:/stormgr. Type “cd /stormgr” at the bash prompt.3.

Download Portlock Storage Manager: Type “wget www.portlock.com/download/stormgr_4. 40.zip” at the bash prompt.

Unzip the files. Type “unzip stormgr_40.zip” at the bash prompt.5.

Copy your purchased license (optional). Insert a floppy diskette with your license. Type 6. “copy a:stormgr.lic stormgr.lic”.

Exit the bash shell. Type “exit” at the bash prompt.7.

Start Portlock Storage Manager. Type “sys:/stormgr/stormgr” at the server prompt.8.

Installing Portlock Storage Manager on NetWareIf you are installing from a CD-ROM, insert the CD-ROM into your drive. If you downloaded the software, the software is packaged as a ZIP file. Create a temporary directory on your system and unzip the files. There are three supported installation methods:

Method One: Using INSTALL.NLM or NWCONFIG.NLM

Method Two: Using PINSTALL.NLM

NOTE: Updated software evaluation licenses are avai lable at : http://por t lock .com/download/ portlock.zip



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Method Three: Using the directory SYS:/STORMGR

Method One: Using INSTALL.NLM or NWCONFIG.NLMFirst, copy the files either to a floppy diskette or to a temporary directory on your server.

Next, from the NetWare system console, type nwconfig and press [Enter]

From the Configuration Options menu, select Product Options and press [Enter].

From the Other Installation Actions menu, select Install a product not listed and press [Enter] to continue.

WARNING: Do not use emm386.exe in config.sys for the DOS version of Storage Manager. There are many issues associated with this memory manager. Portlock Storage Manager has removed the need for emm386.exe.

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The Previously Specified Paths menu will appear. Press [Enter] to continue.

A confirmation box will appear. Press [F3] to specify a different path or [Enter] to continue.

At this point, specify a directory path. In the example below, C:\STORMGR was entered because that is where we unzipped the Portlock Storage Manager files. Press [Enter] to continue.

Indicate which file groups you want installed by using the [Enter] key to toggle the [X] next to each item. Because there is only one group for the Portlock Storage Manager version to be installed and it is already marked, we will continue by pressing [F10] to Accept marked groups and continue.

After accepting the marked groups, the File Copy Status screen will appear. On top of this screen, the Available Options menu will appear. To continue, select Install Storage Manager by highlighting it and pressing [Enter].

NOTE: Even though the highlighted Previously Specified Path may not be correct, go ahead and continue because the next screen will give the option to specify a different path.



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The Portlock License Agreement will appear. Make sure you read the entire License Agreement by using the down arrow key to scroll through the document and when finished, press [ESC] to continue.

From this screen, select the option Accept License Agreement and press [Enter]. To reject the license agreement, select the option Reject License Agreement. If you choose to reject the license agreement, you will be unable to install Portlock Storage Manager and you will be returned to the Configuration Options menu.

The file copy procedure will begin after you accept the license agreement. Once all of the files have been copied and the status bar reaches 100%, a message box will appear indicating that the installation of Portlock Storage Manager is complete. Press [Enter] to continue and [ESC] to exit NWCONFIG.

Method Two: Using PINSTALL.NLMFrom the server console, type: load a:pinstall.nlm if the files are on a floppy diskette, or type load <path>/pinstall.nlm if the files are on a directory on the server. In example below, pinstall.nlm is located in the STORMGR directory on the C: drive.

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From the Install Portlock Storage Manager screen, choose YES to begin installing Portlock Storage Manager. Press [Enter] to continue.

This screen shows the Portlock License Agreement. After reviewing the license agreement, press [Enter] to continue and accept the license agreement or [ESC] to return to the previous screen.

From the Available Options menu, choose Accept License Agreement (if you accept the terms of the agreement) to continue with the installation and press [Enter].

The Software Installation Progress screen displays showing the installation of Portlock Storage Manager was successful.



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Method Three: Using the directory SYS:/STORMGRTo install using the directory SYS:/STORMGR, copy the files to the SYS:/STORMGR directory on your server. The software can also be copied to any directory on your server.

Loading Portlock Storage ManagerThe default installation directory for Portlock Storage Manager is SYS:/STORMGR. To load Portlock Storage Manager, type: load sys:/stormgr/stormgr. We recommend including the logfile command line option: load sys:/stormgr/stormgr –logfile=sys:/stormgr.log or if you are going to manipulate storage on the SYS: volume then save the logfile to the C: drive as shown in the Execute from DOS line. To execute Portlock Storage Manager from DOS, type: stormgr –logfile=c:/stormgr.log. As a shortcut, create a file in the SYS:/SYSTEM directory named stormgr.ncf. Place the following command line into this file: load sys:/stormgr/stormgr –logfile=sys:/stormgr.log. After attempting this procedure, you can type stormgr at the server console and load Portlock Storage Manager without specifying the path and options.

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Chapter 3Drive Commands


• Introduction to the Drive Commands

• Explanation of the Drive Information Command

• Explanation of the Drive Initialize Command

• Explanation of the Drive Sector Copy Command

• Explanation of the Drive Compare Command

• Explanation of the Drive Verify Command


Chapter 3 Drive Commands

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Introduction to the Drive CommandsThe Drive Commands are designed to diagnose problems and perform various storage management operations at the drive level. With the use of Drive Commands, a storage device can be copied, compared, checked for errors and/or cleared of all existing data. The Drive Commands make it fast and easy for users to work with their storage devices at the drive level without the need to worry about partitions, volumes and files.

The Main Menu offers access to all the features of Portlock Storage Manager quickly and easily. To access the Drive Commands, select Drive Commands from the Main Menu and press [Enter].

Inside the Drive Commands you will find information regarding your drives that currently reside on the device selected which will include partition type, partition size, free space, drive type and virtual environment.

If you have multiple devices in your configuration they will be listed under the Select Drive menu as shown below. Select your desired device for a list of options.

Your list of options will include Drive Attach, Copy, Create, Expand, Information, Initialize, Compare and Verify. Drive Attach, Copy, Create and Expand are primarily for virtual environments.

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You will find the rest of the Drive Commands useful for incidents such as information about your drive or checking the sectors of your drive for errors and performance. Drive Initialize must be used with caution because it will completely delete all partitions on your device.

Drive InitializeThe Drive Initialize command will rewrite the boot sector of a device. This will delete all partition table information. This command is designed to be used on new devices that do not yet have a valid partition table.

Highlight and select the device you wish to initialize:

You will be warned that all partitions on your device will be deleted. If you proceed, you will lose all data on your device.

NOTE: Do not run this command on a device with valid partitions. This will wipe your device clean.



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You have the option of writing all device sectors with a data pattern. You may skip this phase. When “Write All Device Sectors with Data Pattern” is selected, Portlock Storage Manager will start sector-by-sector initialization of the selected disk drive.

It is not always necessary to initialize every sector of your drive. This can be a lengthy process, depending on the size and speed of your device.

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Drive Sector CopyThe Drive Sector Copy command is used to copy one disk drive to another. The two drives will be an exact copy of each other. This command is typically used during data recovery. It should not be used as a method to make a copy of a partition. Most modern operating systems embed information into the partitions that must be modified for correct disk cloning. You should use the Partition or Image Commands to manage your partitions.

Drive CompareThe Drive Compare command will compare two disk drives. This command can be run after a Drive Sector Copy to verify that the copy was successful.

Select the drive you wish to make your comparison with:

NOTE: You must have two devices on your system in order to run this command.



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If you are trying to compare two drives that are not the same size, Portlock Storage Manager will prompt you with a message stating the amount of sectors that will be compared. The size of sectors will be dependant on the size of your drives.

Drive VerifyThe Drive Verify command will perform a test of the disk device. There are several types of tests, including Read-Only and Read-Write. Read-Only commands will not modify the media, and are safe to run when there are partitions and volumes present. The Read-Write commands are destructive and will destroy partitions and volumes.

1. Read-Only Sequential Verify

This method performs a read-only sequential scan of the disk drive. Block sizes from 1 sector to 128 sectors per I/O are supported. No data is written to the drive. This is also a quick method to determine the read performance of a disk drive.

2. Read-Only Random Verify

This method performs a read-only random scan of the disk drive. The software generates a random number which determines the sector to read. Block sizes from 1 sector to 128 sectors per I/O are supported. No data is written to the drive. This method is quick in determining the random I/O performance of a disk drive.

WARNING: Do not execute Read-Write commands on a device with valid partitions and volumes. Doing so will delete all data.

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3. Read-Write Sequential Verify

This method verifies that data can be written to a disk drive and then read back. A data pattern that is unique to each sector is written to the disk and then compared on read back. Block sizes from 1 sector to 128 sectors per I/O are supported. For this verify mode, an option is to perform an extensive verify, which writes multiple data patterns to the disk drive. This includes performing a bit-walk data pattern to detect missing sector bits. Data is written to the drive, which will destroy all partitions, volumes and data on the disk drive.

4. Read-Write Random Verify

This method verifies that the data can be written to a disk drive and then read back. The software generates a random number that is used to determine the sector to write/read. Block sizes from 1 sector to 128 sectors per I/O are supported. For this verify mode, an option is to perform an extensive verify, which writes multiple data patterns to the disk drive. This includes performing a bit-walk data pattern to detect missing sector bits. Data is written to the drive, which will destroy all partitions, volumes and data on the disk drive.

Two options for verifying your disk drive are verifying the entire drive or part of the drive. If you choose to verify only part of the drive, Portlock Storage Manager will prompt you for information regarding the length of the drive verification you wish to carry out.

NOTE: Portlock Storage Manager supports various size I/O operations. The size of an I/O is measured in sectors. The larger the I/O size, the faster most drives can transfer data. Most devices are limited to 128 sectors (64 KB) per I/O operation. Some devices can transfer larger amounts.



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NOTE: Portlock Storage Manager supports various size I/O operations. The size of an I/O is measured in sectors. The larger the I/O size, the faster most drives can transfer data. Most devices are limited to 128 sectors (64 KB) per I/O operation. Some devices can transfer larger amounts.

Portlock Storage Manager will give you the option of how many sectors per I/O to complete.

Give Portlock Storage Manager a number of passes you wish Drive Verify to make. In most cases, one pass is substantial.

The drive verification process will begin and may take a few minutes.

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Chapter 4Partition Commands

This chapter covers the following commands:

Partition Commands•

Activate Partition•

Copy Partition•

Defragment Partition•

Delete Partition•

Dismount Partition•

Display Partition•

Format Partition•

Hide Partition•

Image Partition•

Mount Partition•

Resize Partition•

Unhide Partition•


Chapter 4 Partition Commands

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Partition CommandsThe Partition Commands are designed to help you manage and diagnose problems and perform storage management operations3 at the partition level. By selecting the Partition Commands from the Main Menu of Portlock Storage Manager, you will find a number of options to assist you in managing your system.

From the Partition Commands you will have the option to Activate, Check, Copy, Create, Defrag, Delete, Dismount, Display, Format, Hide, Image, Mount, Resize and Unhide. There are many different scenarios for each command, all of which can be beneficial when managing your system.

Activate Partition The Activate Partition command is used to modify which partition will be set to boot in the Master Boot Record (MBR). For example, various MS-DOS partitions could be present on a drive, but only one could be active or able to “boot.”

Note: There are several features within the Partition Commands that are only usable when running under a NetWare system.

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Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with a list of partitions to activate. Your system will not boot from an inactive partition.

Check PartitionThe check partition feature will ensure that you have no warnings or errors that reside with any of the partitions on your device.

Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with a list of partitions on your device. Choose the partition that you wish to check.



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Once the partition check is complete and you have not received any notices or warnings, you will see that everything is checked with a “Success.”

Combine NetWare 6 Master PartitionFrom the Select Partition Command menu, select Combine NW 6 Master Partitions and press [Enter]. The selected NetWare 6 master partition tables will be combined and you will be returned to the Select Partition Command menu.

Convert into a NetWare 6 PartitionSelect the Convert into a NW 6 Partition from the Select Partition Command menu.

NOTE: Once you’ve combined partitions, you cannot revert those partitions to their original state.

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When migrating or copying partitions, ensure that you have an activated partition. If there is no activated partition or the correct partition is not activated, your system may not boot. Partitions marked with an asterisk (*) are bootable partitions.

Checking your partition may be a good idea before beginning any image or copy to ensure that your have no errors or corruption with any one partition.

Copy PartitionChoose the option “Copy Partition” as seen below. This will allow you to copy your partition to free space on your existing drive or to an additional device on your system. For example: You have a 9 GB drive that is almost full and you would like to replace this drive with a larger one. You can accomplish this by installing a new, larger drive (if applicable) and copy the partition to the larger drive and resize it using the Partition Resize command.

After selecting your device, its partitions are displayed. Once you have selected the partition you wish to copy, Portlock Storage Manager will ask you where you want to copy your partition. If you have no other existing devices on your system, you will need to copy your partition to the original device. You will not have the option to copy a partition if you do not have enough free space on the original device.

Two pools with the same name cannot reside on the same server. Portlock Storage Manager will ask you to rename the partition/pool that your are copying.

NOTE: You may rename your partition/pool back to its original name once the original partition/pool has been discarded.



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Portlock Storage Manager checks all partitions before allowing management operations to ensure that you are not moving or managing a potentially corrupted partition.

You will need to rename your volume just as you did for your pool because Portlock Storage Manager does not allow you to have duplicate volume names.

Select the device you wish to copy to and ensure you have enough free space on this device before beginning the copying process.

Upon copying your volume, you will have the option to resize your pool. Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with a minimum and a maximum size. If you do not wish to resize, select the default size provided and press [Enter].

The copying process will begin and may take a few minutes.

Create PartitionThe Create Partition command will allow you to create partitions so that data management can be more streamlined and changes can be made to the layout and location of your volumes and data. This command is most commonly used to prepare an un-partitioned disk or disk with available free space for use. A number of different partitions can be created using this command. Partitions that can be created with Portlock Storage Manager are DOS, FAT16, FAT32, NetWare, NTFS, Linux Swap and ReiserFS.

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Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with a list of partition types to create. Select the type that you wish to create and press [Enter].

Create either a NetWare Traditional or NSS partition.

Portlock Storage Manager specifies a minimum and a maximum size for your partition. Specify the size for your new partition and press [F10].

NOTE: Portlock Storage Manager can only create a partition if there is available free disk space to do so.



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Delete PartitionDeleting a partition is sometimes necessary to create free space for different scenarios. To delete a partition, select Delete Partition from the Partitions Command menu.

The partitions you may delete are displayed:

Hide PartitionThe Hide Partition command will allow you to hide partitions by changing their partition type in the Master Boot Record (MBR). This command is most useful when copying a NetWare partition without renaming the volumes inside of it. By hiding the partition, NetWare will not have a conflict with volume names.

Choose the partition that you wish to hide from the selection list and then confirm the process.

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Image PartitionThis allows you to take an image of a partition. The Image Partition command is designed to take a sector-by-sector image of the partition. It should not be used for normal image/restore operations as it is only designed to be used for disaster recovery in the event of a failure.

This command is intended for data recovery operations and not for duplicating partitions as most modern operating systems embed information into the partitions that must be modified for correct partition cloning.

Select the partition that you wish to image from the selection menu:

Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with several types of destinations to choose from. Choose the one that best suits your needs. For more information on imaging and destination selection, please see the Imaging Commands.



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Resize PartitionThis command resizes DOS, NetWare and NSS partitions. A partition can be resized larger or smaller, contain one or more volume segments, be resized by changing the starting or ending position of a partition and can also be moved. Volumes within a partition are not resized by this command. DOS partitions can be resized larger and smaller, both in place and upon image restoration. NSS partitions may only be resized larger. However, NetWare Traditional partitions may be resized both smaller and larger. Adequate disk space for resize-larger is needed since Portlock Storage Manager does not move partitions for the resize process.

Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with a list of partitions to resize. Choose the partition you wish to resize and press [Enter].

You will now be given a minimum and a maximum size that you will be able to resize your partition. Enter the new size in MB and press [Enter].

Unhide PartitionThe Unhide Partition command will do the opposite of the hide command by reverting the partition type bit in the MBR. Do not use duplicate volume names. Portlock Storage Manager will detect duplicate volume names and will prevent you from proceeding until the volumes have unique names. Use the Volume Rename Command to rename your volume.

Once you have chosen Unhide Partition, Portlock Storage Manager will show you a list of all the hidden partitions on your device. Select the partition you wish to unhide and press [Enter].

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Chapter 5Volume Commands


Volume Check Command•

Volume Delete Command•

Volume Rename Command•


Chapter 5 Volume Commands

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The Volume Commands are a subset of NetWare-specific commands that will allow the user to perform a variety of tasks on NetWare volumes. A few of the more commonly used commands are Volume Rename, Volume Resize/Merge and Volume Copy. If you wish to work with volumes and not partitions, this would be the appropriate selection. Depending on which version of NetWare you are using, Portlock Storage Manager will present the appropriate commands on the Volume Menu. On servers running versions of NetWare that use NSS technology, a NSS Volume Command item will be available from the Volume Menu.

Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with a list of all the volumes on your server. Select the volume that you wish to manage.

Volume CheckThe Volume Check command allows a quick, comprehensive check of the selected volume. When this command is used, Portlock Storage Manager will read and analyze the primary FAT Table, verify the Secondary FAT, read the directory tables and analyze the DIR Tables. This is a read-only command that checks a volume for errors. It does not repair any volume errors. Use the NetWare VREPAIR program to repair a Traditional NetWare volume.

If your volume check passed without any errors you will be able to continue with managing your volume.

Volume DeleteThis will permanently delete a volume from your pool and device. Use this command with caution as all data may potentially be lost

Volume RenameEnter a new volume name for your volume. This must be a unique name for Portlock Storage Manager to accept it.

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Chapter 6Pool Commands


Introduction to the Pool Commands•

Activate Pool•

Check Pool•

Copy Pool•

Create Pool•

Create Volume•

Deactivate Pool•

Delete Pool•

Hide Pool•

List Pools•

Move Pool•

Rebuild Pool•

Rename Pool•

Resize Pool•

Undelete Pool•

Unhide Pool•

Verify Pool•

NOTE: The Check Pool command uses Portlock’s pool-checking facilities with Portlock Storage Manager on a pool and it only reads the pool and does not correct any errors.


Chapter 6 Pool Commands

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Introduction to the Pool CommandsThe activate Pool Command will allow the user to activate the currently selected pool. Once the user selects this option, Portlock Storage Manager will activate the selected pool and return to the NSS Pool Command menu.

Check PoolThe Check Pool Command will allow the user to test the integrity of the selected pool. Some of the tests that will be performed include Verification of NSS Partition, Super Block, Free Tree, Check Point, Name Tree, Dir Tree, User Tree, Leaf Tree and more.

From the Select NSS Pool Command menu, select Check Pool by highlighting it and pressing [Enter]. You will be prompted to dismount any mounted volumes before proceeding.

NOTE: When possible, make sure you have a verified backup of all of the volumes in the Pool you are trying to rebuild. A system crash that halts running processes can cause volume errors, but they are typically repaired during volume mount. If the errors persist, use Rebuild Pool and Verify Pool commands to try and resolve any problems.

NOTE: The Check Pool command uses Portlock’s pool-checking facilities with Portlock Storage Manager on a pool and it only reads the pool and does not correct any errors.

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Portlock Storage Manager will show you a list off pools that reside on your server. Choose the pool that you wish to perform the check.

You may continue managing your pool after the pool check passes.

Copy PoolThe Copy Pool command allows you to copy an existing Pool to a new storage location on an existing disk or a new disk. The copy will create a new pool with all of the volumes inside the pool. You will need to assign new, unique names to the pool and the volumes inside the pool.

Portlock Storage Manager will require you to rename your pool and volume as you cannot have duplicate pool and volume names on your server.



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Select the device that you wish to copy your pool to. Verify that you have enough free space on your device or Portlock Storage Manager will not allow you to begin the copying process.

Delete PoolThe Delete Pool command allows you to delete existing pools on your server. If a pool is deleted unintentionally while using Console One, you can use Portlock Storage Manager to undelete the pool. Select the Undelete Pool option to see which pools may be undeleted.

Move PoolThis command allows you to “move” a pool from one storage location to another. The process involves Portlock Storage Manager hiding the original pool and copying it to the new storage location. The moved pool is identical to the hidden pool. All rights, restrictions, etc. are preserved as part of the move. This command is ideal when used to migrate from old storage to new storage, such as a locally attached disk to a new SAN environment. Select Move Pool from the Pool Commands menu to move a pool. If the move does not complete successfully, unhide the original pool and try again.

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After you select the pool to move and the device to move your pool to, Portlock Storage Manager will perform a pool check to ensure your pool is in good condition before moving it.

During the pool remove you will be given the option to resize your pool. Portlock Storage Manager will give you a minimum and a maximum size to choose from.

Once the pool move is complete you can confirm the move was a success by checking your device and the data in your pool.



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Chapter 7Image Commands


Overview of the Image Commands•

Disaster Recovery•

Cloning a Server•

Upgrading Hard Drives•

Writing Image to a Disk Drive•

Writing an Image to a TCP/IP Link•

Writing an Image to a Tape Drive•

Writing an Image to a CD/DVD Recorder•

Writing an image to a FTP Server•

Online Imaging•


Chapter 7 Image Commands

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Overview of the Image CommandsPortlock Storage Manager images Compaq, Dell and IBM diagnostic partitions, DOS FAT-16 partitions, Traditional Volumes and NSS Volumes. The volumes within a NetWare partition are imaged, but NetWare partitions are not imaged. Imaging the NetWare partition is unnecessary as they are created on the fly by Portlock Storage Manager during a restore. The Image Command dismounts Windows file systems before imaging when the Portlock Boot CD (WinPE) is used.

Portlock Storage Manager images Traditional and NSS Volumes by storing the volume ATA blocks and file system structure into the image. This allows the volumes to be resizable during the restore. Portlock Storage Manager implements a third-generation technology for imaging NetWare servers that maximizes the performance of the image and restore commands. For most systems, Portlock Storage Manager can easily stream the fastest SCSI tape drives such as Quantum’s LTO-3. An entire NetWare server can be saved into an image that can be stored as an image file on another server or as an image written to a SCSI tape drive. Images can consist of multiple files that are “spanned.” Spanning supports images that are larger than the media to which they are written (i.e., CD/DVDs).

Restoring an image can be done from DOS or NetWare. An entire server or just portions of the server can be restored from the image. Portlock Storage Manager does not support individual file recovery from images. This is a deliberate design decision due to our goal of very high performance and compressibility of images.

DOS FAT-32 partitions cannot be resized. This is a feature that will be added in a future release. Compaq Diagnostic partitions are not resizable when restored. This is also deliberate, as Diagnostic partitions are special types of partitions. Partitions can be enlarged using the Partition Copy command.

Portlock Storage Manager images Traditional and NSS volumes by storing the volume data blocks and file system structure into the image. This allows the volumes to be resizable during the restore. Portlock Storage Manager can image a NetWare server while NetWare is running or from DOS. Device drivers written for NetWare are 32-bit drivers that have been optimized for performance. For this reason, we recommend imaging servers from NetWare instead of from DOS. DOS device drivers are typically 16-bit, real-mode drivers that are usually optimized for small memory size, not performance. You will often see a two-to-one performance difference between DOS device drivers and NetWare device drivers.

NOTE: It is not possible to image volumes within a pool. To move a volume from one pool to another, you need to use the Volume Copy command.

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Portlock Storage Manager supports both the NWPA (HAM) drivers and NWIO (DSK) drivers for communicating with tape drives. Portlock Storage Manager interfaces directly with the HAM drivers when using the NWPA interface. When using the NWIO interface, Portlock Storage Manager uses the ASPI interface. NWPA drivers are faster. Portlock Storage Manager only supports ASPI drivers for communicating with tape drives under DOS. ASPI drivers provide interface to SCSI Host Adapters that are consistent with various SCSI Controllers.

Disaster RecoveryIf you are using Portlock Storage Manager to create an offsite disaster recovery image, remember that when you restore the image, only the data present at the time you created the image will be restored. Any newer files will not be part of the image that you have. For disaster recovery, you need to restore the image that you made with Portlock Storage Manager and overwrite the information with the latest version of the backup. This will provide you with all of the data up to the most recent backup that you restored. Your only consideration is that all of your user IDs and passwords for these user IDs will be the ones that were used when the Portlock Storage Manager image was created. Backup software such as FutureGate’s DeTroubler® supports restoration of NDS objects, which is acceptable in a single-server tree, but please consult your backup software manual for more information.

Cloning a ServerThis method is used when you are upgrading the hardware for your server. In this case, you use Portlock Storage Manager to create an image of the old server and restore it on your new server. Once the image is restored to the new server, you may have to modify the server so that it supports the new disk controller and Network Interface Card before your users will be able to login to the server. Please consult the manuals for your new hardware to ensure you have the correct drivers loaded for the disk subsystem under NetWare.

Upgrading Hard DrivesThis is the simplest solution for upgrading your server. Create an image of your server, remove the existing drives, install the new drives and restore the Portlock Storage Manager image, resizing the volumes as appropriate.

The imaging process will give you the following options:

Image entire system• Image a single disk drive• Create a Sector Image of a disk drive• Create a Sector Image of a partition• Create a Sector Image of a disk region•



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Creating a sector image of a disk drive and of a partition is also the same process as the aforementioned Drive and Partition Commands. Choose to Create a Sector Image when you would like a bit-for-bit image. However, this command is most commonly used for data recovery purposes and backing up a failing drive partition or region – errors and all.

When selecting to image your system your will receive a list of all the partitions that reside on the device you selected. You may skip a partition for the imaging process by pressing F5.

By default, Portlock Storage Manager will select all partitions on your device. Press [Enter] to image your entire server and view the image status next to each partition.

If you have volumes present, you will be asked if you wish to purge all volumes.

Write Image to a Disk FileFor your imaging process Portlock Storage Manager provides you with several different types of destinations for ease of management. Your destination selection will consist of:

Write image to a disk file• Write image to a TCP/IP link• Write image to a Tape Drive• Write image to a CD/DVD Recorder• Write image to an FTP Server•

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This guide will take you through each selection. For the first destination select Write image to a disk file.

Your image can be written to a DOS partition or a NetWare volume. Specify the path for your image and press [Enter].

Portlock Storage Manager provides you with several options pertaining to the image being created. The first option you are given is Compression, which can be enabled or disabled. Enabling compression will create smaller file sizes but will take longer to image and restore. Disabling compression increases imaging and restoring speeds but results in larger file sizes.

The second option is Image File. With Image File, you may:

Auto-name image files1. . This will name the files with an increasing numeric extension for each image file, such as .001, .002, etc.

Ask for new image filename when the image file is full2. . Enabling this will automatically split the entire image file into 2,000 MB segments.

Split Image Files at 2,000 MB3. . This value can be changed. Enabling this will automatically split the entire image file into 2,000 MB segments.

Wait after each image file change4. . Enabling this will pause the process after each image file change. Since all the choices are pertinent to our example, we will press [Enter] to continue.

NOTE: Portlock Storage Manager supports limiting the size of each image file to any size in multiples of 1,000,000 bytes. If you want to create an image that is limited to 650 MB for writing to a CD-ROM, specify a size of 650 in the Split. If you want to use removable media and you want to exchange the media when full, enable the Wait after each image file change option. If you want to write images to a Windows partition and have Portlock Storage Manager auto-name each file after the first one, enable the Auto-name image files field.



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Auto-naming image files will cause Portlock Storage Manger to write with the name of the image file that you specify. If you specified an image filename of netware.img, a new file is created with a suffix of .000 (e.g. netware.000) when the file size limit is reached. As each file fills a new file is created, e.g. netware.001, etc. If the disk runs out of space, you will be prompted for a new filename, and the process can repeat on the new disk drive or volume.

Portlock Storage Manager will begin the imaging process and it may take a few minutes to complete.

Write Image to a TCP/IP LinkPortlock Storage Manager supports sending an image over a TCP/IP link. The machine that is running on the other end of the TCP/IP link can be Portlock Storage Manager running in Restore Mode, which implements server-to-server cloning. The other end of the TCP/IP link can also be Portlock Image Manager, (IMAGEMGR.NLM , located in the same directory as Portlock Storage Manager) which can receive data from TCP/IP and write it as a disk file, or write it to a SCSI tape drive. The latter supports a multi-server environment with only one SCSI tape drive.

NOTE: Never give the initial image file a numeric extension as you may overwrite one of the files that you require as part of the image. Also ensure that the image files are no larger than 2,000 MB in size.

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When using Portlock Storage Manager on two servers with one executing the Image Server command and the other server executing the Restore Server command, you can clone servers at very high speeds. Portlock Storage Manger has been written with special performance features for high-speed tape drives. With the increased size of disk drives and RAID arrays, classic file-by-file backup methods are too slow.

Portlock Storage Manager can compress the image as it is being written. For a server-to-server migration, you should not enable compression because it can slow the process down. From the Compression Mode menu, select whether to disable or enable Software Write Compression and press [Enter] to continue.

When transferring an image via TCP/IP, one side needs to be a server, and the other side needs to be a client. The system that is running as a server must be started first. The system running as a server will listen for a connection from the other system (client). Select the TCP/IP mode for this system and press [Enter] to continue.

When selecting TCP/IP Server mode, Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with the IP address of your server and then listen for a connection from the client side. Please view the Restore Commands for completing your migration.

Write Image to a Tape DrivePortlock Storage Manager supports all SCSI tape drives that support writing in Variable Length Mode. Portlock Storage Manager does not support tape drives that only support block mode. This is not an issue, as all modern SCSI tape drives support Variable Length Mode. It provides better tape capacity and higher performance.

NOTE: Some FTP servers are case sensitive for file names. For example, if a file is “DOS.img,” specifying “dos.img” will not work.



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Portlock Storage Manager writes to a SCSI tape drive using a 32,768-byte block size. This block size was chosen to maximize performance and tape capacity. Portlock Storage Manager will write to a tape until the Early Warning of End of Media is detected. A file mark is written to the tape and the tape is rewound. The cycle repeats itself with a new tape until all data to be imaged has been written to tape. This allows an image to be spanned across multiple tapes.

Portlock Storage Manager encodes header information while writing to tape. This header information ensures that data written to tape can be verified when read back. If compression is enabled, additional information is written to ensure the validity of the uncompressed data.

Write Image to a CD/DVD RecorderThis command allows you to directly image to a DVD recorder. As most servers do not have DVD recorders installed (in some cases not even a DVD-ROM), a better option may be to image the server to an FTP server (see next section for details) and then burn those created images to a DVD or CD to do a file restore (see Chapter 8 for details on restoration of images from a disk file).

The DVD image command creates an image of your server on a recordable DVD. If the media is not formatted then Portlock Storage Manager will format the media and then proceed to write the image. If the image size exceeds the capacity of the media, you will be asked to remove the existing media and insert new media so the image can be spanned to accommodate the full image.

Write Image to a FTP ServerImaging and restoring using a remote FTP server allows network administrators to store and retrieve images of volumes, partitions and even entire servers. This function is good for backups and for storing and retrieving images used in a test environment. From the Select Image Destination menu, select Write image to an FTP server by highlighting it and pressing [Enter].

* See Write Image to a Disk File on page 56 for your Compression and Image File options

NOTE: Some FTP servers are case sensitive for file names. For example, if a file is “DOS.img,” specifying “dos.img” will not work.

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You are prompted to enter the IP address, the name of the file that is to be created and the username and password of the remote FTP server. Portlock Storage Manager will communicate with the server and start the actual imaging process. It will also simultaneously send the image to the FTP server to be stored as an image file.

Depending on your user rights on your FTP server, you may be able to send your image to a specific folder.

Online ImagingPortlock Online Imaging provides block based imaging for NetWare 6.5 SP3 or later NSS Pools while they are active with mounted volumes. Portlock Online Imaging depends upon Novell SnapShot Backup. An NSS Pool, which can be empty, is used by Novell SnapShot Backup to store the deltas during an image command. Portlock Storage Manager automatically freezes the selected pools, creates the snapshots, images the pools, thaws the selected pools and finally deletes the snapshots.

Common reasons that Online Imaging fails:

The Pool is corrupted.• The Pool holding the snapshot is corrupted.• The Pool has too many deleted files. Consider purging the volumes within the pool.• The Pool does not have sufficient free space. Cleanup the volumes within the pool.• There is too much I/O activity on the Pool. NetWare must duplicate data that is modified • on the pool during an online image. Consider moving some application’s datasets to other volumes to balance pool I/O.There is not enough free space on the pool holding the snapshot.• There are hardware problems causing I/O errors on either the Pool or the pool holding the • snapshot.

Note: Some FTP servers have a default timeout setting that may need to be configured before you begin the imaging process. If your timeout setting is not sufficient, the imaging process may not complete.



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NSS Pools Must be in a Stable and Warning-Free State for NetWare’s Snapshot Feature to Work CorrectlyCheck your Pool:

Run “Check Pool” from Portlock Storage Manager.• This command is located under the “Pool Commands” menu.•

Add the command line option “-logfile=filename”, without the quotes when starting • Portlock Storage Manager.Specify the full path to the log file (example: -logfile=C:/STORMGR.LOG).• You can specify a floppy so that nothing on the server is modified (-logfile=A:/• STORMGR.LOG).Do not specify a volume located on a pool that you are “checking” as the log file • would be closed before the full results of the Pool Check could be written.

Verify your Pool:

Execute Novell’s “nss /poolverify” command from the console. Select the pool to be verified. • See the notes below about log files.

Rebuild your Pool:

If there are any warnings or errors from the above commands run a “nss /poolrebuild” and • then repeat the check and the verify.

Troubleshooting Pool Errors During an Online Image

Reboot the server so that everything is in a stable state.• Consider purging the volumes in the pool. We have seen a number for issues (NetWare bugs) • when there are a lot of “unpurged” files.Manually create a snapshot and verify both the original pool and the snapshot pool:• Assuming that your problem pool is called “SYS” and you have another pool called “TEST” • to store the snapshot, execute the following commands from the NetWare console:

mm snap list - This will display any snapshots on the server. This should be an empty list• mm snap create sys test sys_snap - This creates a new snapshot called “SYS_SNAP”, • stores the temporary pool data on pool “TEST”. The original pool is called “SYS”. Change the names according to your setup.mm snap list - Verify that your snapshot was created successfully.• mm snap activate sys_snap - This activates the snapshot pool called “SYS_SNAP”.• nss /PoolVerify=SYS - This will verify the active pool “SYS”.• nss /PoolVerify=SYS_SNAP - This will verify the snapshot of pool “SYS”• When Portlock Storage Manager is performing an “Online Image” of a pool, SYS_SNAP • is the pool being imaged.

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Chapter 8Restore Commands


Introduction to the Restore Commands• Read Image from a Disk File• Read Image from a TCP/IP Link• Read Image from a Tape Drive• Read Image from a CD/DVD• Restore Image using Secondary CD/DVD • devices with the Portlock Linux Boot CDRead Image from a Web Server• Read Image from an FTP Server• Portlock Image Manager•


Chapter 8 Restore Commands

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Introduction to the Restore CommandsThe Restore Commands are a subset of commands that allow the user to restore an image previously created by Portlock Storage Manager’s Image Commands. An image can be restored from a variety of locations including a Disk File, across a TCP/IP link, a Tape Drive, a CD/DVD, a Web Server and an FTP Server.

NOTE: The “index.ftp” file is not automatically created. It is a “static” user-created file which is put on the FTP server. The “index.ftp” file contains comments, remarks and a selectable list of images. This option is mainly used if you would like to have a lot of different images on the FTP server but don’t want to remember the names and details of every image. You can put image names and comments in this file and select them from Portlock Storage Manager. A short example of an “index.ftp” file is listed below:

[dos.img] This is an image of a DOS partition• [diag.img] This is an image of a Diagnostic partition• [nw4.img] This is an image of a NetWare 4 server• [nw5.img] This is an image of a NetWare 5 server• [nw6.img] This is an image of a NetWare 6 server•

If you do not wish to create this file, you can use the [F5] key to get a directory listing of your FTP server and select the file that you wish to restore.

From the Select Image Source menu, choose Read image from a Disk File. This can be a file from a partition or external device.

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The image can be retrieved from a DOS partition, NetWare volume or a USB disk drive. Enter the filename of the image file and the source and press [Enter]. In this example, TEST.IMG is being restored from the SYS volume.

Read Image from a TCP/IP LinkThis command will allow you to receive an image sent by either Portlock Storage Manager or Portlock Image Manager. This command is most commonly used to send a volume or partition from one system to another across the wire. For example, you have an 8 GB volume you would like to move from Server A to Server B. One easy way to transfer this volume is to set up Server A in Image Mode and write that image to TCP/IP and at the same time setup Sever B in restore mode and read the image from TCP/IP. Using this procedure, the volume would simultaneously be restored on Server B acting much like a volume copy, except the volume is sent across the wire and the transfer speed is relatively fast. With 100-Megabit full-duplex Ethernet, transfer speeds of 7 MB per second are easily achieved.

When using the Restore Commands, you should always choose Client from the TCP/IP Mode. The server side will already be waiting from a connection.

You will be prompted for the IP address of the machine you are imaging after choosing Client from the restore side. Make sure you have the correct IP address or a connection will not be made and you will not be able to image and restore.

Note: In the above example, Server A needs to be set to Server Mode and started first. Server B needs to be set to Client.



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Once a connection is made, Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with the partition(s) of the device you are imaging from. When you are ready to begin the restore process, press [Enter] to continue.

The restore process will begin and may take a few minutes to complete. For this example, we restored a 10 GB image in 10 minutes.

Once your image has completed, Portlock Storage Manager will provide you a success status and your partition information. Ensure your drive is bootable to verify the image process was successful.

Read Image from a Tape DriveThis command allows you to restore an image from a tape drive. This is a common use of the image command as tape drives have been recognized as the most popular media for backup purposes for many years.

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Read Image from a CD/DVDThis command will allow you to restore an image from a CD/DVD drive. We recommend using the Portlock Boot CD to boot your system when restoring an image from CD/DVD. Use a portable USB drive and restore your files from the CD/DVD. This means using two CD/DVD drives – one to boot from and the other to restore from.

Read Image from a Web ServerPortlock Storage Manager can read an image from a web server. This allows Portlock Storage Manager to read a previously created Portlock Storage Manager image from a web server using HTTP commands and port 80. The Portlock Storage Manager image must be in a directory that an anonymous user can access. The file does not have to be linked to from a web page, it just needs to be an unsecured location. This option allows you to have images of your servers available for disaster recovery, server deployments or test servers.

Portlock Storage Manager can encrypt your image to prevent it from being intercepted during an image or restore.

Specify the TCP/IP address and image file to retrieve. This will be the address of your web server.

Note: Please see Sending Image to CD/DVD for proper restore methods.



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Once a connection is made, Portlock Storage Manager will show you the partition(s) of the .img file that resides on your web server. When you are ready to begin the restore process, press [Enter].

Portlock Storage Manager allows you to choose which device you wish to restore your image to. Select your device, confirm you have enough free space and press [Enter] to begin the restore process.

The restore process will take a few minutes to complete. For this example, we restored a 10 GB image in 10 minutes.

When your image completes, Portlock Storage Manager will provide you a success status and your partition information. Ensure your drive is bootable to verify the image process was successful.

Read Image from an FTP ServerPortlock Storage Manager supports using FTP servers for both imaging to and restoring from. This includes NAS devices that support the FTP. Create a disaster recovery image of your server and save it to an FTP server. Retrieve and install this image using FTP or HTTP onto a bare-metal machine.

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Enter the username and password of your FTP server. If your login credentials are incorrect, you will be unable to retrieve the .img file from your server. You may press F5 for a directory listing on your FTP server, providing you have the correct username and password.

* See Write Image to a Disk File on page 56 for your Compression and Image File options

After a connection is made, Portlock Storage Manager will display the partition(s) from your .img file that will be restored to your system. Press [Enter] to continue.

Portlock Storage Manager will ask you which device you wish to restore your image to. Select your device, verify it has enough free space and press [Enter] to begin the restore process.



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The restore process will begin and may take a few minutes to complete. For this example, we restored a 10 GB image in 10 minutes.

When your image completes, Portlock Storage Manager will provide you a success status and your partition information. Ensure your drive is bootable to verify the image process was successful.

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Introduction to the Repair Commands• Create a Sector Image of a Disk Drive • CommandRestore a Sector Image of a Disk Drive • CommandDOS Partition Recovery Commands• NetWare Traditional Partition and • Volume Recovery CommandsCopy a Corrupted Volume to a New • VolumeRepair a Volume with a Missing Volume • SegmentBackup FAT Tables to a Disk File• Restore FAT Tables from a Disk File• Recover a NetWare 386 Partition that • has been DeletedRepair a Mismatched Volume Directory • TableCopy Directory Tables to a Disk File• Restore Directory Tables from a Disk • FileNetWare NSS Partition and Volume • Recovery CommandsWindows Partition Recovery Commands• Change a Partition’s System Type • CommandSector Editor Command•

Chapter 9Repair Commands



Chapter 9 Repair Commands

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Introduction to the Repair CommandsThe Repair Commands in Portlock Storage Manager are invaluable. These commands have been designed to automatically find and restore deleted partitions and volumes and provide additional data recovery tools.

Create a Sector Image of a Disk Drive CommandThe Create a Sector Image of a Disk Drive Command is used to make an exact image of an attached disk drive. Instead of imaging and restoring a server at the partition/volume level, this command makes it possible to create and restore an exact 1:1 bit-for- bit image of a selected disk drive. This command is commonly used to make backups of failing disk drives while upgrading from smaller to larger drives. These “sector images” can be imaged and restored from a variety of devices, including hard disks, across a TCP/IP link, tape drives, CD/DVDs, Web servers and FTP servers.

Portlock Storage Manager will prompt you with a message stating this command is intended for data recovery operation and not for duplicating drives as most modern operating systems embed information into the partitions that must be modified for correct drive cloning.

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Portlock Storage Manager will ask you to select the device for the sector image to be written to.

Fix Master Boot Record (MBR)If the sectors in your MBR have been manipulated for any reason, Portlock Storage Manager will correct the MBR with the operating system that was selected.

Portlock Storage Manager will prompt you that the MBR has been repaired.

If you accidentally delete a DOS partition, Portlock Storage Manager will allow you to recover the partition as long as no other partitions have overwritten it.

It is recommended that a sector copy of the disk drive that contains the deleted partition be made prior to attempting a partition recovery. Depending on how many disk drives you have, this may take awhile.

If Portlock Storage Manager is able to find a partition that is recoverable, the size of the partition and the device it belongs to are displayed. Select this partition and hit [Enter] to recover the partition.



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The DOS partition has been successfully recovered and returned to its original location.

NetWare Traditional Partition and Volume Recovery Commands

Portlock Storage Manager provides you with another list of options to choose from. Choose the option that best suits your needs.

For NetWare 6 Master partitions, sub partitions and Traditional volumes, the process is the same. If Portlock Storage Manager sees a partition, you will have the ability to recover it. If you have overwritten your deleted partition, there will be no chance to recover your partition.

Portlock Storage Manager detects a deleted sub partition and allows you to restore your partition to its original location.

A NetWare 6 Master Partition was successfully recovered.

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Copy a Corrupted Volume to a New Volume

Repair a Volume with a Missing Volume Segment

Backup FAT Tables to a Disk File

Note: This command is only intended for Traditional Volumes.

Note: This command is only intended for Traditional Volumes.



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NetWare NSS Partition and Volume Recovery Commands

Portlock Storage Manager provides you with a list of options for recovering and repairing NSS partitions and volumes.

Recovering a NetWare 6 Master and Sub partition is the same procedure as recovering a traditional partition. If Portlock Storage Manager detects your deleted partition, you will have the ability to recover it.

Rebuild a Pool’s Free Tree

Portlock Storage Manager will provide you with a list off NSS pools to choose from to rebuild your free tree. Select the tree you wish to rebuild and press [Enter].

Portlock Storage Manager will perform a pool check on your selected pool and rebuild your free tree.

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VMware Partition and Volume Recovery CommandsFor virtualization, Portlock Storage Manager detects if the boot code in sector 0 exists. Virtual disks created by virtual software programs appear to be correct in regards to sector 0 (MBR) but they actually do not have any boot code. Storage Manager will install the correct boot code (if necessary) to prevent future problems with your system.

NOTE: This command will only work with VMFS partitions.



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Chapter 10Hardware Commands

Hardware Commands is a new feature in Portlock Storage Manager that provides information about your system. The list of features include: PCI information, CPU information and installing VMware device drivers.

To display information about your CPU make and model, select Display CPU Information and press [Enter].

Portlock Storage Manager displays several screens with the make and model as well as the speed of your CPU.

The next screen will give you your CPU type and model number.

To display your PCI devices, select Display PCI Devices and press [Enter].


Chapter 10 Hardware Commands

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Portlock Storage Manger will list your system’s PCI devices.

The last feature displayed is generally used for virtual environments only. This will install the VMware SCSI driver (vmscsi.sys) to your OS.

Select the source for editing the Windows registry. For this example, we will select a physical disk partition.

In this example, our VMware server has two devices to choose from to install the VMware SCSI driver. However, only one of them has a partition. If nothing resides on your device it will be impossible to install the driver.

You have successfully installed the VMware SCSI driver to your device.

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Chapter 11System Commands

The System Commands can open and close log files that can be used by Portlock Technical Support to troubleshoot customer issues. The user can manually rescan for drives and partitions, as well as send and receive various files from other instances of Portlock Storage Manager and Portlock Image Manager.

Although Portlock Storage Manager rescans drives and partitions by default after most operations, the System Menu will allow you to do so at anytime.

Open LogfileThis command opens a user-defined log file for Portlock Storage Manager.

To open your log file, specify the path of the created log file in the dialog box and press [Enter]. If you specified the correct path, you will be notified that the log file has been opened.


Chapter 11 System Commands

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Close LogfileTo close the log file, choose Close Logfile from the System Menu and press [Enter].

Recv FileThis command will allow the user to receive a file sent from either Portlock Storage Manager or Portlock Image Manager. It is useful for transferring images across the wire via TCP/IP.

Specify the path that you wish the file(s) be written to. For help, follow the examples below.

Send FileSend File allows the user to send a file to another instance of Portlock Storage Manager or Portlock Image Manager. Portlock Image Manager receives an image and simultaneously writes the image to a remote tape drive. Switch to remote mode to have Portlock Remote control Portlock Storage Manager remotely. See the Appendices for Portlock Remote for details.

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Specify the path of the file or press Insert to select a file and press [Enter].

Portlock Storage Manager takes you through the same steps as if you were imaging over TCP/IP. You will choose Server Mode from the sending side and Client Mode from the receiving side.

The server side waits for a connection until you have input the IP address of the server you are sending the image from on the client side. The send and receive process will begin.

Disk FormatPortlock Storage Manager allows you to format a disk from the System Commands. Use caution with this command as this will remove all data from your disk.

Portlock Storage Manager will display all of the devices in your system. Choose the one that you wish to format and press enter.



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Chapter 12License Renewal

Portlock Product Licensing and License RenewalAll Portlock products come with free technical support and free product updates for the first 12 months. Annual license renewal is available for all Portlock products. Portlock Storage Manager will continue working after the license expires. However, you will not be able to update Storage Manager or receive free technical support via e-mail or telephone. Renewing your Portlock product license before it expires allows you to continue updating Storage Manager to the newest versions as they become available and continue to receive free technical support for an additional year.

Level 1

If the renewal is purchased within 90 days of the maintenance expiration, the cost to renew your product license is $199.00 USD.

Level 2

If your product license expiration date is greater than 90 days, the cost to renew your product license is $299.00.

If your product license expiration date is greater than 12 months, a new license must be purchased at full retail cost.

Portlock License Renewal via Telephone and EmailTo renew your product license without using Portlock Storage Manager, you can call our office at (406) 723-5200 or email [email protected]. You will be asked to forward your original Portlock product license key electronically to sales and to verify your purchasing and company information currently on record. After your company and original purchase information have been verified, your new license will be sent electronically. Your new license replaces your original product license.

If you have any questions about Portlock licensing, please contact our Sales department: sa les@por t lock .com or read our Licens ing and License Renewal FAQs a t : http://www.portlock.com/sales/purchasing_faq.aspx



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To renew within Portlock Storage Manager, choose License Renewal from the Main Menu. Fill out your information and submit.

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Appendix AAutomated Imaging with the use of CRON.NLM

CRON.NLM can schedule Portlock Storage Manager specified dates and times. CRON.NLM reads an ASCII text file called “CRONTAB” that you create in the SYS:ETC directory. The CRONTAB file tells the CRON.NLM when to run a NetWare console process, such as a NetWare *.NCF Batch file. The formatting for CRONTAB and the CRON.NLM can be obtained below.

FILES: CRON.NLM, CRON.MSG, NCSCRIPT.NLM, COPY.NLM NCSCRIPT.NLM – http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/tools/1169.html CRON.NLM & CRON.MSG (cron5.exe) http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/searchtid.cgi?/2939440.htm COPY.NLM – http://www.netwarefiles.com

Results: The CRON.NLM will run the .NCF file at your scheduled time. The COPY.NLM will copy the NCSCRIPT job file, just before NCSCRIPT loads.

NOTE: It’s recommended to obtain all of these files from the following URLs and save them to a floppy before beginning. Be sure to unzip your files before adding them to your floppy. Your CRON.NLM and CRON.MSG are inside of your cron5.exe file.

NOTE: Be careful about capital letters and spacing when naming files and scripts. CRON is case sensitive to your files.


Appendix A Automated Imaging with the use of CRON.NLM

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SetupCopy and Paste NCSCRIPT.NLM into the SYS:SYSTEM directory1.

Type “Load NCSCRIPT” in the system console once and then unload 2. a. This creates the SYS:DISTRIB directory. Unload NCSCRIPT and refresh your SYS directory.

Create your stormgr file in SYS:DISTRIB directorya. This is where you will put the 3. path to load PSM. Right-click on the f ile and click edit file to add path directions b. Example: load sys:/stormgr/stormgr

Copy and paste COPY.NLM into the SYS:SYSTEM directory4.

Type “LOAD CRON.NLM” (without the quotations) in the autoexec.ncf of your file server, 5. located in SYS:SYSTEM with the rest of the LOAD .NLM files.

Copy and paste CRON.NLM to the SYS:SYSTEM6.

Create a file named crontab in the SYS:ETC 7. a. This is where you will put your CRON schedule b. Example: 00 21 * * * stormgr.ncf c. Also make sure this is where you put your .ncf file which is part of your script.

Type “Load CRON” in your system console8.

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Create a .ncf file in your SYS:SYSTEM 9. a. Example: stormgr.ncf b. This is the file you will run from the crontab file

You will need to implement the following commands into this .ncf file by right-clicking on it and selecting edit file.

#STORMGR.NCF BEGIN

UNLOAD COPY.NLMUNLOAD NCSCRIPT.NLMLOAD COPY SYS:DISTRIB\STORMGR SYS:DISTRIB\JOB\STORMGR? UNLOAD COPY.NLMLOAD NCSCRIPT /NOPURGEUNLOAD NCSCRIPT

#STORMGR.NCF END

EXPLANATIONUNLOAD COPY.NLM

# This uses the COPY.NLM to copy the file called stormgr (or the file that you created)

# to NCSCRIPT’s # incoming job queue UNLOAD NCSCRIPT.NLM

# This unloads the NCSCRIPT.NLM if it’s already loaded

# There are no errors when this NCF tries to load it again LOAD COPY SYS:DISTRIB\STORMGR SYS:DISTRIB\JOB\STORMGR

# This uses the COPY.NLM to copy the file called stormgr (or the file you created) to the JOB folder

# To NCSCRIPT’S # incoming job queue

NOTE: COPY.NLM is used to copy the file stormgr that you created from SYS:DISTRIB to the SYS:\DISTRIB\JOB directory just to run the file, this does not actually make a hard copy of the file.

NOTE: Loading CRON will also create a CRON.LOG, which shows when your schedule has been run and if it has been run successfully.


Appendix A Automated Imaging with the use of CRON.NLM

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? UNLOAD COPY.NLM

# This unloads COPY.NLM, AFTER A 10-SECOND WAIT.

# The question mark tells the OS to Pause for 10 sec LOAD NCSCRIPT /NOPURGE

# This loads NCSCRIPT and tells NCSCRIPT not to purge its JOB queue, which NCSCRIPT usually does on startup. NCSCRIPT Will first process the stormgr script and then it will purge the stormgr file.

Copy the Paste the CRON.MSG file in the SYS:/SYSTEM/NLS/4 and in the SYS:SYSTEM 10. directory

Now in the Crontab that you created in the SYS:/ETC you will need to set your schedule to run 11. your file that you created (stormgr.ncf).

Each entry is checked in turn, and any entry matching the current time is executed.

The entry * matches anything. A pound sign (#) is a comment. Valid values are:Minute (0-59)Hour (0-23)Day-Of-Month (1-31)Month (1-12)Day-Of-Week (0-6) Note: week starts with 0=Sunday

EXAMPLES: (schedules are all in military time)#Min Hr Dat Mo Day Command#run time every minute* * * * * time stormgr.ncf#Run stormgr.ncf on the hour0 * * * * stormgr.ncf#Do backup Mon-Fri at 4:3030 16 * * 1-5 stormgr.ncf#Do backup on Friday night at 11:00pm00 23 * * 5 stormgr.ncf#3:17 everyday run stormgr.ncf17 15 * * * stormgr.ncf

NOTE: The CRON.NLM will run the stormgr.ncf file at your scheduled time. The COPY.NLM will copy the NCSCRIPT job file, just before NCSCRIPT loads. This doesn’t actually create a hard copy, but rather places it into the job file for it to load and then erases it from the job file.

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Appendix BPortlock Storage Manager and NSS Snapshots

Online Imaging, Backup and Restore

The following discusses Portlock Storage Manager’s advanced support for NSS Snapshots, providing the ability to image mounted (online) and unmounted (offline) NSS Pools.

IntroductionFrom administrators of single-server networks to giant server farms, one of the most often requested improvements in the storage management arena is the ability to recover a failed volume, pool, partition or entire computer hard drive as quickly and transparently as possible.

Portlock Storage Manager can create, activate, delete, etc. NSS Pool Snapshots is of great potential value to NetWare customers. Falling disk prices have enabled imaged-based disk backups to be as inexpensive as tape, as well as faster and much more convenient. Days spent searching through backup tape index listings for an accidentally deleted file can now give way to a quick volume search and restoration.

Snapshot support in Portlock Storage Manager makes software-based backup and recovery operations incredibly easy and non-intrusive to end users. Portlock Storage Manager enables the creation of multiple Read/Write point-in-time copies of NSS Pools, and can retain these copies independently from the original pool.

Online Imaging and NSS SnapshotsOnline Imaging and NSS Snapshots feature creates images of snapshots that can be used to make data available to any host for archiving, testing or backup while production data continues to be updated without interruption.

Supported Novell NSS partition features:

Create NSS partitions.• Delete NSS partitions.• Hide NSS partitions.• Resize NSS type 1 (Non-Storage Group) partitions.•

NOTE: This feature is only supported on NetWare 6.5 SP3 and later versions.


Appendix B Portlock Storage Manager and NSS Snapshots

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Resize NSS type 2 (Storage Group) partitions.• Image and Restore NSS partitions.• Unhide NSS partitions.•

Supported Novell NSS volume features include:

Copy, clone and resize NSS Type 1 volumes.• Copy, and clone NSS Type 2 volumes.• Copy an NSS Non-Storage Group volume to a Storage Group volume.• Copy an NSS Storage Group volume to a Non-Storage Group volume.• Image and Restore NSS volumes.•

Scripting Support in Portlock Storage ManagerWe have added several command line options to automate scripting.

You want to image your workstation or server to an FTP server: 1. stormgr -script -os=6 -imageall - imageftp=192.168.1.10,anonymous,[email protected],imgfile.img

You have mapped a drive letter from DOS using either the Novell Client or the Microsoft 2. Client. You want to image your workstation or server to this mapped drive letter. stormgr -script -os=6 -imageall -imagefile=g:imgfile.img -purge

You want to image your NetWare 6.5 server using Online Imaging to an FTP server. 3. stormgr -script -online -imageall - imageftp=192.168.1.10,anonymous,[email protected],imgfile.img Details: -script Turn on scripting. -os=6 Set the version for NetWare emulation (3, 4, 5, 6 or 65). For Windows workstations, set to 6 -imageall Image all disk drives and all partitions/volumes -imageftp=ip_address,ftp_user,ftp_password,filename -imagefile=filename -purge Purge a volume before imaging it. For NSS volumes, the volume must be mounted. If an NSS volume is not mounted then the volume will not be purged. Traditional volumes can be purged while mounted or not mounted (scripting only). -purge will be ignored with -online. -nopurge Do not purge a volume before imaging (scripting only). -online Use Online Imaging for NSS Pools (enabled by default -- NetWare 6.5 and above). -skip_pool=pool_name Do not image the pool named pool_name. -vmsleep (default) Enables Virtual Machine Sleeping (CPU Idling) -novmsleep Disables Virtual Machine Sleeping

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Guidelines for Cross-Platform Compatibility of NSSThe following features of NSS are available for NSS on NetWare but not currently supported for NSS on Linux.

NSS Multiple Path I/O to Devices• NSS Software RAID 5• NSS Pool Snapshots• NSS Encrypted Volume Support• User Space Restrictions on NSS Volumes• Mountable Media and Image Files• Novell Distributed File Services• Novell Archive and Version Services•

What is NSS Snapshotting?Note: The NSS Snapshot feature is only available on NetWare 6.5. In addition, this is not the same as Novell ZENworks’ snapshot feature, which is an application cloner/installer.

A pool snapshot is a metadata copy of a storage data pool. The snap preserves a point-in- time view of a data pool, and supports data backup and recovery for that pool. You can create, manage and delete a pool snapshot for any pool on your server. You can take a snapshot and activate it later to access the original pool’s data as it existed at the time of the snapshot. Both the pool and its snapshots can be active and available concurrently. You can access data on the active pool snapshot just as you would any other pool, even while data is changing on the original pool. Exercise caution when using this feature, because its implementation will cause server performance to decrease. A pool snapshot facilitates non-disruptive backups because the snapshot becomes the source of the backup. As contrasted to a traditional, full-data copy of the pool, the metadata copy only takes a moment to create and occurs transparently to the user.

With traditional backups, applications might be shut down throughout the backup routine.

In comparison, the pool snapshot process makes the original pool available with almost imperceptible delay.

The pool snapshot function uses copy-on-write technology to enable the instantaneous block-level snapshot of a pool and requires only a fraction of the storage space of the original data pool. A pool snapshot does not save an exact copy of the original data pool. Instead, the snapshot is a metadata-based copy that stores only the blocks of data that change subsequent to the instant of the snap. The snapshot combines the metadata and stored block data with the unchanged data on the original pool to provide a virtual image of an exact copy of the data at the instant the snapshot was taken, plus any end-user modifications made to that snapshot.



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Benefits of Pool SnapshotsPool snapshots save time and preserve data. They provide an instant copy of a pool that can help expedite routine maintenance procedures to back up, archive and protect data on that pool. Because traditional methods of duplicating large amounts of data can be expensive and time consuming, the efficiency of snapshots can be an important benefit for your enterprise. You can make snapshots as frequently as needed to meet your data availability and resilience requirements. You can use pool snapshots in a variety of ways to enhance your current storage infrastructure, including the following scenarios:

Supporting Backup Operations

A pool snapshot facilitates non-disruptive backups because the snapshot becomes the source of the backup. As contrasted to a traditional, full-data copy of the pool, the metadata copy only takes a moment to create and occurs transparently to the user. With traditional backups, applications might be shut down throughout the backup routine. In comparison, the pool snapshot process makes the original pool available with almost imperceptible delay.

Archiving and Restoring Data

Administrators can archive pool snapshots to capture a history of the changes made to the original data pool. Pool snapshots can be used as a source for restoring information. Two common reasons to restore information are user error and application errors.

A user might inadvertently make changes to a file which needs to be reversed. Files can become corrupted or deleted. The pool snapshot provides a quick and easy way to locate and reinstate selected files.

An application might be infected by a virus or be corrupted by other problems, causing the application to store erroneous data throughout the pool. With a pool snapshot, you can rollback all or part of the original pool to a point in time before the virus or problem was known to exist in the system.

Re-Creating Operational and Development Environments

You can write to the pool snapshot just as you would to any pool. You can work with and modify the snapshot version of the data. For example, in a development environment, the engineers might want to repeat builds and tests of data in a particular snap. Snapshots can also provide a convenient source for data mining, as well as testing and training environments.

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How to Enable SnapshotsNovell interfaces into the NSS via the “_ADMIN” volume with NetWare 6.5 to flush and freeze a file system prior to taking a snapshot. This interface takes XML-formatted requests, which specify the pool name, a timeout and a hold timer. When requests are submitted, they are assigned keys that are unique to the given request. When queried with this key, the interface will return an XML-formatted response that includes the freeze status and other information.

The simplest way to automate the freeze/snap/thaw process is to make use of the PERL interpreter included with NetWare. As a language, PERL easily handles string manipulation and parsing. In addition, the open-source and business communities have contributed hundreds of modules that can be used to extend the capabilities of PERL without significant development effort. A standard set of modules ship with NetWare 6.5 SP3/Open Enterprise Server.

Before the snapshot can occur, the snapshot function must render the original pool quiescent by briefly halting data transaction activity when current transactions complete. It temporarily prevents new writes to the pool and flushes the file system cache to make the pool current with existing writes. Open files are seen by the snapshot feature as being closed after these outstanding writes occur. Then, it snaps the now-stable pool and allows data transaction activity to resume.

The quiescence process provides a consistent image at the instant the snapshot is made. Because the snapshot is consistent, it is not necessary to check the consistency of the file system or database when you activate the snapshot for access. After the snap, the snapshot function continues to track transaction activity in the original pool. It determines which blocks in the original pool will change as data writes are made to the original pool. It suspends write activity while it copies the original block data to the designated pool where it stores the pool snapshot, referred to as the “stored-on pool.” Then it allows a write to that block in the original pool. This keeps the snapshot metadata consistent in time with the exact instant the snapshot was taken. As the original pool changes, the snapshot can grow to the size of the stored-on pool.

The average disk space requirements for a pool snapshot are 10 percent to 20 percent of the original pool size. The actual space depends on how many writes are made to the original volume and the time period that the snapshot exists before it is archived or deleted. Currently, a combination of up to 500 snapshots can exist on any given stored-on pool. Remember that the more snapshots you must traverse to find data, the longer it takes to retrieve the data, and the slower the perceived response time to the user.

Activating NSS SnapshotsAlthough the pool snapshot feature is inactive by default, the snapshot functions are working in the background to capture any changes being made to the original pool. For pool snapshots, Inactive and Active are conditions related to the visibility of the pool snapshot to users as a pool. Active pool snapshots are online; inactive pool snapshots are offline.



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You activate a pool snapshot when you want to access the data on it, such as for data retrieval, data modification and data backup. After the pool snapshot is active, it appears by its user-assigned snapshot name in the pool list. Treat it as you would any pool to manage the pool and to activate and mount its volumes.

The names of volumes on the pool snapshot are a modified version of the volumes on the original pool. Generally, a “_SV” (snapshot volume) is added to the volume name. When you deactivate the pool snapshot, any snapshot volumes on it are automatically deactivated and its snapshot name is no longer listed in the pool list.

Mounting a NetWare NSS Pool SnapshotTake a snapshot1.

Define a subdisk on one storage LUN which will be used to hold the snapshot. Create the snapshot and activate it. At this point, you will have captured the “point in time” state of your target volume which will remain intact until the snapshot is deactivated or deleted.

Expose the snapshot2.

When you are ready to use the snapshot for a backup session or file recovery, expose it on a new target. Do not expose it on a target that is already connected to the NetWare server.

Mount the snapshot onto the backup server3.

If the NetWare backup server also contains the original volume (pool) then it is necessary to rename the original pool before mounting the snapshot volume. This can be done in Remote Manager simply by selecting the appropriate “pool” link from the Partition Disks menu. The option to rename the pool will appear.

Once the pool is renamed, connect to the target on which the snapshot resides (through the iSCSI services menu in Remote Manager). Once connected, the volume should appear as a complete device/partition/pool/volume scheme in the Partition Disks menu.

Select “Mount Volume” from the menu.

Run the backup4.

If you are doing a simple file recovery, you can copy the lost files back to your original volume directly. If you are running a backup, run your backup routine on the snapshot volume as though it’s a full, active volume. If you want to separate the backup IP server traffic from the production IP traffic, you can simply put the backup server onto a different subnet. The storage side will still be sharing the traffic load between the production servers and the backup server, but its effect on performance should be negligible.

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Unmount the snapshot volume5.

When the backup is complete, unmount the snapshot volume in NetWare and disconnect from the target. Rename the original pool back to its original name, if desired. Delete or deactivate the snapshot.

NOTE: Novell Storage Services enables snapshot file services for backup and versioning of enterprise applications running on NetWare 6.5, even when files are open. For example, a GroupWise application opens a database and is always running during the nightly backup. NSS can keep an original backup of the database when that file was last closed. While the backup is running, NSS will backup the open file as well as the original copy.

NOTE: Mounting a snapshot on a NetWare server which contains the target pool requires that the pool be renamed so the server does not contain two active volumes with the same pool name.



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GlossaryATA: Supports 1 or 2 hard drives, a 16-bit interface and PIO modes 0, 1 and 2. Also known as IDE.

ATA-2: Supports faster PIO modes (3 and 4) and multiword DMA modes (1 and 2). Also supports logical block addressing (LBA) and block transfers. ATA-2 is marketed as

Fast ATA and Enhanced IDE (EIDE).

BIOS (Basic Input Output System): The BIOS is built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions.

Disk: A round plate on which data can be encoded. There are two basic types: magnetic and optical disks.

EIDE (Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics): A newer version of the IDE mass storage device interface standard developed by Western Digital Corporation. It supports data rates of between 4 and 16.6 MB/s, about three to four times faster than the old IDE standard. It can support mass storage devices of up to 8.4 gigabytes, whereas the old standard was limited to 528 MB. Because of its lower cost, enhanced EIDE has replaced SCSI in many areas. EIDE is sometimes referred to as Fast ATA or Fast IDE, which is essentially the same standard, developed and promoted by Seagate Technologies. It is also sometimes called ATA-2.

FAT (File Allocation Table): File systems used by DOS, DR-DOS, PC-DOS, and Windows to store user files and directories.

FAT-12: A version of the DOS FAT that uses twelve-bit numbers to store disk block addresses.

FAT-16: A version of the DOS FAT that uses sixteen-bit numbers to store disk block addresses.

FAT-32: A version of the DOS FAT that uses thirty-two-bit numbers to store disk block addresses.

GB (Gigabyte): A GB is 1,073,741,824 bytes. However, most disk drive companies use 1,000,000,000 as a GB when referring to disk drive capacity.

HotFix: HotFixing of disk sectors prevents data from being stored in a bad sector or cluster.During a HotFix, the operating system automatically detects bad disk sectors, relocates the data to a safe cluster and marks the bad cluster as unusable to the system. This process is transparent to the user, requires no interaction on the user’s part and does not report any error messages to any applications.

IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics): An IDE interface is an interface for mass storage devices, in which the controller is integrated into the disk or CD-ROM drive.


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Image: A method of converting the contents of a hard drive — including its configuration settings and applications into an image, and then storing the image on a server or burning it onto a CD or another device.

Input/Output (I/O): The term I/O is used to describe any program, operation or device that transfers data to or from a computer and to or from a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input into another. Devices such as keyboards and mouses are input-only devices while devices such as printers are output-only. A writable CDROM is both an input and an output device.

Logical Block Addressing (LBA): A method used with SCSI and IDE disk drives to translate the cylinder, head, and sector specifications of the drive into addresses that can be used by an enhanced BIOS.

LBA is used with drives larger than 528 MB.

Master: Refers to an architecture in which one device (the master) controls one or more other devices.

MB (Megabyte): A MB is 1,048,576 bytes. Most disk drive companies use 1,000,000 as a MB when referring to disk drive capacity.

NetWare: A popular local area network (LAN) operating system developed by Novell. NetWare is a software product that runs on a variety of different types of LANs, from Ethernets to IBM token-ring networks. It provides users and programmers with a consistent interface that is independent of the actual hardware used to transmit messages.

NetWare Partition: A NetWare Partition is an area of a disk drive that stores NetWare volumes. A NetWare partition contains three data areas: 1) System Area, HotFix Data Area, and the Data Area. The System Area contains information about the size of the partition. The HotFix Data Area contains information about redirected data blocks. The Data Area contains NetWare volumes. A NetWare Partition can contain eight NetWare volume segments. A NetWare volume can consist of one to thirty-two volume segments.

Novell’s Definition: A partition created on each network hard disk, from which NetWare volumes are created.

NetWare Volume: A NetWare volume is a file system that contains user files and data. A NetWare volume can consist of one to thirty-two NetWare volume segments.

Novell’s Definition: A fixed amount of physical hard disk storage space. A NetWare volume is the highest level in the NetWare file system directory structure.

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NetWare Volume Segment:

Novell’s Definition: A physical division of a volume. A volume can span up to 32 disk drives. If more than one drive, each drive in the volume is a volume segment.

NSS (Novell Storage Services):

Novell’s Definition: A high-performance, 64-bit storage and access system that supports very large files as well as large numbers of files and NSS volumes. NSS runs with the traditional NetWare file system in NetWare. NSS installs on the server as a set of NLM programs. NSS also runs on Open Enterprise Server running a SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server kernel.

NSS Admin Volume:

Novell’s Definition: In NSS, a read-only volume that is automatically created when a storage group and NSS volume are created. This volume contains a dynamic list of objects that NSS uses, and cannot be deleted.

NSS Type 0 Partition: A NetWare Partition without the HotFix Data Area. This partition is not used for NSS volumes, it is used for NetWare volumes that cannot be Mirrored or support HotFix Data Areas.

NSS Type 1 Partition: An NSS Type 1 Partition is a Partition that contains one NSS volume. This is basically the first level of NSS partitions. The NSS volume must be the same size as the partition. This partition cannot be mirrored or support HotFix Data Areas. Portlock Storage Manager supports converting an NSS Type1 partition with a volume into a Storage Group.

NSS Type 2 Partition: An NSS Type 2 partition is an NSS Storage Group that can contain one or more volumes. With Novell supplied tools, you first create an NSS partition and then convert it into an NSS Storage Group. Then you can add volumes to the Storage Group.

NSS Storage Group (See NSS Type 2 Partition)

Novell’s Definition: A pool of storage free space representing logical space owned by NSS. Once space is claimed by NSS, the free space becomes a managed object that can be divided into other storage groups and NSS volumes.

Partition: A partition is a contiguous region of a disk drive used to store data.

Primary Partition: A primary partition contains a single volume that is the size of the partition.

Read-Only Sequential Verify: This method performs a read-only sequential scan of the disk drive. Various block sizes are supported from 1 sector to 512 sectors per I/O. No data is written to the drive. This method is also a quick method to determine the read performance of a disk drive.


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Read-Only Random Verify: This method performs a read-only random scan of the disk drive. The software generates a random number which determines the sector to read. Various block sizes are supported from 1 sector to 512 sectors per I/O. No data is written to the drive. This method is quick in determining the random I/O performance of a disk drive.

Read-Write Sequential Verify: This method verifies that data can be written to a disk drive and then read back. A data pattern that is unique to each sector is written to the disk and then compared on read back. Various block sizes are supported from 1 to 512 sectors per I/O. For this verify mode, an option is to perform an extensive verify, which writes multiple data patterns to the disk drive. This includes performing a bit-walk data pattern to detect missing sector bits. Data is written to the drive, which will destroy all partitions, volumes, and data on the disk drive.

Read-Write Random Verify: This method verifies that the data can be written to a disk drive and then read back. The software generates a random number that is used to determine the sector to write/read. Various block sizes are supported from 1 sector to 512 sectors per I/O. For this verify mode, an option is to perform an extensive verify, which writes multiple data patterns to the disk drive. This includes performing a bit-walk data pattern to detect missing sector bits. Data is written to the drive, which will destroy all partitions, volumes and data on the disk drive.

Restore: A method of converting the contents of an Image. When the contents are needed again, ghosting software converts the image back to original form.

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface): A method of linking disk drives (and more) to a computer.

Slave: Any device that is controlled by another device, called the master. The secondary device (slave) is connected and configured on an IDE controller.

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