SAP System Copy

The MaxBack VSS Writer supports two methods for SAP system copies:

  • System rename with SAP SWPM

    The system rename function is recommended for initial system copies of virtual machines. To use this feature you clone the source system to a new VM and execute the SAP SWPM in rename mode. Please see SAP documentation for the entire procedure.

  • System refresh with data volume restore

    Another option is to restore only the Data Volumes from a previous backup or from a snapshot of the production system.

System refresh with data volume restore

If you allready have a running Database and SAP System for the target system you can simply just restore the data volumes from a backup and recover the database automatically with the MaxBack VSS Writer.

Prerequisites:
  • Source and target database are on the same MaxDB version
  • Target database is activated can be set to online state
  • Make sure that the data volumes are stored on a separate volume(s)
  • Perform a backup of source system in online mode
System refresh procedure:

  1. Restore the disk volume for the MaxDB data volumes to the target VM. They may also be located on a new disk.

  2. Attach the new disk volume to the target VM.

  3. Logon to the target system and lookup the path for the first data volume. Within this path you will find a file named ‘datavolume.metadata’

  4. Make sure that the target database is stopped

  5. Recovery the data volumes using the command:

    maxback.vssconfig autorecovery -m [Path to first datavolume directory]

The MaxBack VSS Writer will now automatically detect the new datavolume paths and will rename them to the target database if necessary. If required you now can apply log backups using the standard recovery procedure.

Note

If you have separated the data volumes to multiple disks the VSS Writer may not correctly adopt all of them. Therefore you should assign all other disks to the same disk letter as on source system before starting the recovery. Another option is perform a disk volume mapping by editing the metadata file. For details on this scenario please contact our consulting team at support@Contiva.com.