Open Systems SnapVault (OSSV) Web Reporting
Open Systems SnapVault (OSSV) is a data replication/protection software from NetApp. OSSV runs on Windows, UNIX/LINUX, and VMWare ESX servers and it replicates block level changes back to a NetApp filer. We use this technology to replicate the data on all of branch office servers back to our datacenter. This replication allowed us to remove the need to perform tape backups in each branch office.
One of the strengths of OSSV is its simplicity, but that is also it’s weakness. The reporting and monitoring capabilities of OSSV can be cumbersome. You can get a lot of status information from the filer itself via the snapvault status command. However, the one thing that you can’t tell from filer is how far along the process is. That information is only available when the snapvault status -l command is run on the primary system (your Windows/UNIX/VMWare server). With windows that means that you either need to get either console access (via. Remote Desktop, VNC, etc.) or command line access with something like PsExec.
We’ve been running this way for almost two years, but I finally got tired of all of the typing. So I developed a web based reporting tool that gathers all of information and presents it in a nice graphical clickable interface.
The front screen of this php web application displays the status of all currently configured snapvault relationships. It does this by executing the snapvault status via an encrypted ssh key-based session to the filer. The resulting output is shown below.
For each specific qtree you can click to get the detail about that status of that relationship just as if you had run the snapvault status -l command on the primary server. Thereby showing you how many files have been transferred, how far along you are on the current file and what errors have been encountered. All this is accomplished via winexe linux command. Winexe remotely executes commands on WindowsNT/2000/XP/2003 systems from GNU/Linux just like PsExec does from windows.
If anyone is interested in using this, I can supply you with my really ugly code. Finally a big shout out the phpSysInfo project from where I borrowed the CSS styling.
Tags: netapp ossv filer php web windows linux
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September 11, 2008 at 10:58 am
I would like to see your ugly code, if I can.
Thanks
Bill
September 11, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I am interested in this as well. Thank you.
October 2, 2008 at 10:24 am
Hi,
This is a good web app you have written is it possible i could get the code.
Thanks
Gary
October 4, 2008 at 6:19 pm
This is the best of this sort of thing I’ve seen. has a lot of value and OSSV is good for thing it does (remote site backup)… but management of it (even with NetApp’s tools like Protection Manager) is not fun.
Thought about GPl’ing this? Rock on Ken.
October 5, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Rick,
Thanks for the kind thoughts about my little hack job. As far as GPL’ing it we’ll see. You are more than welcome to what I’ve done. I have hopes to possibly expand it over time. In fact I’m playing with A-SIS in the NetApp 7.3 simulator and may add that reporting to the next version.
–ken
January 29, 2009 at 3:46 am
This link has steps to configure Netapp Snapvault : http://geekyfacts.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64:snapvault .
Can you publish ur code and document for OSSV reporter?
April 6, 2009 at 6:02 am
Hi,
I am very intrested in testing your application. Colud I get access to your code ?
November 8, 2009 at 7:21 am
Hi. I would like to use your “ugly” code. Can you please send it to me?
Thanks.
Luis
November 16, 2009 at 8:10 am
Hello again,
My previous message which was sent about 1 week ago is “awaiting moderation”….
I’m still interested on using/testing your scripts. Can you please send them to me?
Sorry to double-post, but I’m doing this in the hope that it would trigger some kind of auto-notification mechanism…
Regards