2.5.2.3 Perform Backup of a File Share Remotely

  • Article

Goal

To back up a file share remotely by an administrator.

Context of Use

The administrator has to back up a file share remotely, and in this process, the administrator creates a shadow copy.

Actors

  • Admin Tool: A Microsoft Management Console (MMC) component, which is used by the administrator to configure the storage on the server.

  • Admin Client: The primary actor. The Admin Client is code that is running on the administrator's computer. The Admin Client implements client-side protocol components and consumes the storage services that are offered by the storage server. The Admin Client's interest is to correctly interpret, execute, and display the results of the commands that are issued by the administrator.

  • File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service: The server-side implementation of this service as described in [MS-FSRVP].

Stakeholders

  • Administrator: The administrator is the person who administers the storage. The administrator is interested in organizing the storage, setting access rights, and enforcing quota-based limits on the storage. The administrator is external to the Storage Services protocols and interacts with the Storage Services protocols through the Admin Client.

Preconditions

None.

Main success scenario

  1. Trigger: The administrator requests to perform a backup of a file share by using the Admin Tool.

  2. The Admin Tool requests that the Admin Client establish a communication channel to the File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service of the Storage Services protocols.

  3. The Admin Client contacts the File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service to create a shadow copy set on the server by using the IsPathSupported, GetSupportedVersion, SetContext, StartShadowCopySet, AddToShadowCopySet, and PrepareShadowCopySet methods, as described in [MS-FSRVP], in sequence.

  4. The Admin Client contacts the File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service to commit the shadow copy set on the server by using the CommitShadowCopySet method. The method initiates the shadow copy creation sequence on the file server by the Shadow Copy service and is coordinated by the File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service.

  5. The Admin Client contacts the File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service to expose the shadow copy as a share by using the ExposeShadowCopySet method, as described in [MS-FSRVP] section 3.1.4.6.

  6. The Admin Client contacts the File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service to get the shadow copy information on a file share on the server by using the GetShareMapping method, as described in [MS-FSRVP] section 3.1.4.11.

  7. The Admin Client contacts the File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service to indicate that the shadow copy creation sequence has finished by using the RecoveryCompleteShadowCopySet method, as described in [MS-FSRVP] section 3.1.4.7. When this method has finished, the shadow copy share creation has finished. The shadow copy share is available to be used by the administrator to retrieve the data.

Postcondition

The backup of the required file share has finished successfully.

Extensions

If backup writers are involved, the shadow copy share is initially exposed as a writeable shadow copy to enable the backup writer from the Admin Client machine to adjust the shadow copy. Then the Admin Client calls the RecoveryCompleteShadowCopySet method. The File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service then initiates the action to make the shadow copy share read-only, and the shadow copy share creation sequence is finished.