IVssBackupComponents::ImportSnapshots method (vsbackup.h)

Article
10/13/2021

The ImportSnapshots method imports shadow copies transported from a different machine.

Note This method is supported only on Windows Server operating systems and for Volume Shadow Copy Service hardware providers.

Syntax

HRESULT ImportSnapshots(
  [out] IVssAsync **ppAsync
);

Parameters

[out] ppAsync

Doubly indirect pointer to an IVssAsync object containing the imported shadow copy status data.

Return value

The following are the valid return codes for this method.

Value	Meaning
S_OK	Successfully returned a pointer to an instance of the IVssAsync interface. Refer to the reference page for IVssAsync::QueryStatus for the error codes returned in the pHrResult parameter.
E_ACCESSDENIED	The caller does not have sufficient backup privileges or is not an administrator.
E_INVALIDARG	The ppAsync parameter does not point to a valid pointer; that is, it is NULL.
E_OUTOFMEMORY	The caller is out of memory or other system resources.
VSS_E_BAD_STATE	The backup components object is not initialized, this method has been called during a restore operation, or this method has not been called from within the correct sequence.
VSS_E_UNEXPECTED	Unexpected error. The error code is logged in the error log file. For more information, see Event and Error Handling Under VSS. Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP: This value is not supported until Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. E_UNEXPECTED is used instead.

Remarks

Only one shadow copy can be imported at a time.

The requester is responsible for serializing the import shadow copy operation.

The caller is responsible for releasing the IVssAsync interface.

For more information on importing shadow copies, see Importing Transportable Shadow Copied Volumes.

Transportable shadow copies in a cluster: For details about using transportable shadow copies in a cluster, see Fast Recovery Using Transportable Shadow Copied Volumes. The transportable shadow copy must be imported from outside the cluster as long as the original volume is mounted within the cluster.

Note If the shadow copy import fails, the Volume Shadow Copy Service won't clean up LUNs on its own. The requester has to initiate the cleanup of LUNs.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	None supported
Minimum supported server	Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 Datacenter, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise [desktop apps only]
Target Platform	Windows
Header	vsbackup.h (include VsBackup.h, Vss.h, VsWriter.h)
Library	VssApi.lib