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  1. Home
  2. Veritas NetBackup™ Snapshot Client Administrator's Guide
  3. Policy configuration
  4. Selecting the snapshot method
  5. Configuration parameters for Snapshot Client
  6. Provider Type parameter
Veritas NetBackup™ Snapshot Client Administrator's Guide

Provider Type parameter

Indicates the type of VSS snapshot provider that creates the snapshot.

0-auto (the default)

If the policy is not configured for Instant Recovery, you can select this option. The auto option attempts to select the available provider in this order: Hardware, Software, System.

For an Instant Recovery backup, you must select the appropriate provider type (not 0-auto) and snapshot attribute; otherwise, the backup fails.

For example: To use a hardware provider to back up a CLARiiON array using the EMC_CLARiiON_SnapView_Clone method, you must select 3-hardware as the provider type and 2-plex as the snapshot attribute.

1-system

Use the Microsoft system provider, for a block-level copy on write snapshot.

  • Unlike options 2 and 3, the Microsoft system provider does not require any additional software or hardware.

  • The Microsoft system provider does not support off-host backup, such as alternate client backup. For off-host backup, select option 2 or 3, depending on your environment.

2-software

For instance, use the Veritas Storage Foundations provider, for VxVM volumes. The software provider intercepts I/O requests at the software level between the file system and the volume manager.

3-hardware

Use the hardware provider for your disk array. A hardware provider manages the VSS snapshot at the hardware level by working with a hardware storage adapter or controller. For example, if you want to back up an EMC CLARiiON or HP EVA array by means of the array's snapshot provider, select 3-hardware.

  • Depending on your array and on the snapshot attribute you select, certain preconfiguration of the array may be required.

    See the appropriate topic for your disk array and snapshot method.

More Information

Important note on VSS and disk arrays

Configuration parameters for Snapshot Client

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