Performing the EMC Microsoft Application Agent for SQL Server

TECHNICAL NOTES

Performing the EMC ® Microsoft Application Agent for SQL Server

Always-On Availability Group Backups by Using the Availability

Group Listener Names

Release 2.0

Technical Notes

P/N 302-002-426

REV 01

November 09, 2015

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These technical notes contain supplemental information about how to perform the

Microsoft Application Agent for SQL Server Always-On Availability Group Backups by Using the Availability Group Listener names. Topics include:

Revision history ........................................................................................................ 2

Introduction.............................................................................................................. 3

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group sample environment ................................... 4

Backing up the SQL Server Always-On Availability Group databases .......................... 5

Restoring the SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group databases............................ 16

Documentation ....................................................................................................... 17

Troubleshooting and getting help............................................................................ 18

Note: This document was accurate at publication time. Go to EMC Online Support

( https://support.emc.com

) to ensure that you are using the latest version of this document.

Revision history

Revision history

The following table presents the revision history of this document.

Revision

01

Date Description

November 09, 2015 First release of these technical notes for EMC Microsoft

Application Agent 2.0.

2 Performing the EMC Microsoft Application Agent for SQL Server Always-On Availability Group Backups by Using the Availability Group

Listener Names Release 2.0 Technical Notes

Introduction

Introduction

These technical notes provide information about how to perform SQL Server AlwaysOn

Availability Group backups by using the Availability Group Listener names. An Availability

Group Listener consists of a Domain Name System (DNS), a port, and an IP address. The

Availability Group Listener becomes a resource in a cluster with an associated Virtual

Network Name (VNN), a Virtual IP (VIP), and an Availability Group dependency.

The Microsoft application agent provides multiple user interfaces such as, plug-in (GUI),

CLI, and T-SQL script to perform SQL database backup and recovery. In the SQL Server

AlwaysOn Availability Group environment, the database or replica of SQL Server is distributed across multiple nodes. If you perform a full backup of SQL database on one node, you can perform a transaction log backup of the same SQL database on another node without promoting the backup to full. This work flow requires using the Availability

Group Listener name as a client and performing the backup by selecting the Continue backup as set in backup type and do not promote to full option in the GUI, or using the -a

"SKIP_BACKUP_PROMOTION=TRUE option in the CLI and T-SQL scripts.

Note: The backup workflow does not check for any log gap or backup chain, and proceeds depending on the backup type that you have selected or specified. You must take care of the backup chain. Otherwise, recovery can result in a potential data loss.

By using the Microsoft application agent, you must select a database or multiple databases of a particular AlwaysOn Availability Group, configure the respective

Availability Group Listener name as the client name for the selected AlwaysOn Availability database and perform the backup. You must perform all the backups of the AlwaysOn

Availability database across all nodes by using an Availability Group Listener name. Using the Availability Group Listener name ensures that all the backups are accessible from one node during restore. If you configure an Availability Group Listener as part of the

AlwaysOn Availability Group, you can use the listener name as the client name across all the nodes during backup. The common or client name can be specified by using the -c option in the CLI and T-SQL scripts.

If an Availability Group Listener does not exist, you can use a particular client name in the

Availability Group as the common client name during the backup. For example, if node1 and node2 are part of an AlwaysOn Availability Group and you have not configured an

Availability Group Listener, you can use node1 as the common client name for all backups on node1 and node2. You can restore all backups by using node1 as the client name.

Performing the EMC Microsoft Application Agent for SQL Server Always-On Availability Group Backups by Using the Availability Group Listener

Names Release 2.0 Technical Notes 3

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group sample environment

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group sample environment

The following figure illustrates a sample SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group environment:

Figure 1 Sample SQL AAG environment

This sample setup consists of the following components:

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SQL Server instance: MSSQLSERVER_GRP1

SQL 2012 (or 2014) AlwaysOn Availability Groups: SQLAAG3 and SQLAAG4

AlwaysOn Availability Group Listeners: SQLAAG3List and SQLAAG4List

SQL Server databases: SQL_DB01 through SQL_DB10

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The primary replica of the SQL_DB01 to SQL_DB05 of SQLAAG3 is hosted in node

SQL2014N1

The primary replica of the SQL_DB06 to SQL_DB10 of SQLAAG4 is hosted in node

SQL2014N1

The secondary replica of the SQL_DB01 to SQL_DB05 of SQLAAG3 is hosted in node

SQL2014N2

The secondary replica of the SQL_DB06 to SQL_DB10 of SQLAAG4 is hosted in node

SQL2014N2



Backing up the SQL Server Always-On Availability Group databases

The following table presents the tabular structure of the sample setup:

Table 1 Sample SQL AAG setup

SQL Server instance SQL Server database name

MSSQLSERVER_GRP1 SQL_DB01










AlwaysOn Availability

Group name

AlwaysOn Availability

Group Listener name

SQLAAG3

SQLAAG3

SQLAAG3

SQLAAG3

SQLAAG3List

SQLAAG3List

SQLAAG3List

SQLAAG3List

SQLAAG3

SQLAAG4

SQLAAG4

SQLAAG4

SQLAAG4

SQLAAG4

SQLAAG3List

SQLAAG4List

SQLAAG4List

SQLAAG4List

SQLAAG4List

SQLAAG4List

Primary

Primary

Primary

Primary

Primary

Primary

SQL2014N1

(Replica Type)

SQL2014N2

(Replica Type)

Primary

Primary

Primary

Primary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary


Perform the following steps to back up the SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group databases:

1. Configure Availability Group Listeners for each SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group

as shown in Figure 2 on page 6 .




Figure 2 Configuring Availability Group Listeners

In this sample setup, there are two SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups and each

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group has one Availability Group Listener.




2. Specify the Availability Group Listener name and the SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability

Group databases to back up:

• In the GUI, on the General page of the Backup window, select SQL Server host and type the correct Availability Group Listener name of the appropriate AlwaysOn

Availability Group in the FQDN format as shown in

Figure 3 on page 7

.

Figure 3 Specifying the SQL Server host and selecting the AlwaysOn Availability Group databases

Note: Specify the SQL Server host field only when you back up the AlwaysOn

Availability Group databases. Do not specify this option when you back up databases in the standalone and shared cluster environments.

In this sample setup:

– SQLAAG3List.contoso.com is the Availability Group Listener name in the FQDN format

– SQLAAG3 is the AlwaysOn Availability Group




– SQL_DB01 through SQL_DB05 are the databases

• In the CLI and T-SQL scripts, use the -c option as shown in the following sample scripts:

– Sample CLI script: ddbmsqlsv.exe -c SQLAAG3List.contoso.com

-l full -y +0d

-a "NSR_DFA_SI=TRUE" -a "NSR_DFA_SI_USE_DD=TRUE" -a

"NSR_DFA_SI_DD_HOST=dd990_196_90.lss.emc.com" -a

"NSR_DFA_SI_DD_USER=ost" -a

"NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=/ddbmav2b91" -a

"NSR_INCLUDE_AAG_DATABASE=AnyReplica" -a

"NSR_SKIP_NON_BACKUPABLE_STATE_DB=TRUE" -a

"SKIP_BACKUP_PROMOTION=FALSE"

"MSSQL$MSSQLSERVER_GRP1:SQL_DB01"





– Sample T-SQL script:

USE [master]

GO

DECLARE @returnCode int EXEC @returnCode = dbo.emc_run_backup ' -c SQLAAG3List.contoso.com

-l full

-y +0d -a "NSR_DFA_SI=TRUE" -a "NSR_DFA_SI_USE_DD=TRUE"

-a "NSR_DFA_SI_DD_HOST=dd990_196_90.lss.emc.com" -a


"NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=/ddbmav2b91" -a

"NSR_INCLUDE_AAG_DATABASE=AnyReplica" -a







"MSSQL$MSSQLSERVER_GRP1:SQL_DB05"'

IF @returnCode <> 0

BEGIN

RAISERROR ('Fail!', 16, 1)

END




3. Specify the type of replica:

• In the GUI, on the Options page of the Backup window, select the appropriate type

of replica as shown in Figure 4 on page 9 .

Figure 4 Selecting replica

In this sample setup and according to this figure, the primary replica of the SQL

Server AlwaysOn Availability Group databases is backed up.

Assume that you select 10 databases SQL_DB01 through SQL_DB10, where,

SQL_DB01 through SQL_DB05 belong to the primary replica and SQL_DB06 through SQL_DB10 belong to the secondary replica.

Selecting Primary replica backs up only SQL_DB01 through SQL_DB05.

Selecting Secondary replica backs up only SQL_DB06 through SQL_DB10.




• In the CLI and T-SQL scripts, use the -a "NSR_INCLUDE_AAG_DATABASE= option as shown in the following sample scripts:

– Sample CLI script: ddbmsqlsv.exe -c SQLAAG3List.contoso.com -l full -y +0d

-a "NSR_DFA_SI=TRUE" -a "NSR_DFA_SI_USE_DD=TRUE" -a



"NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=/ddbmav2b91" -a

"NSR_INCLUDE_AAG_DATABASE=Primary" -a



"MSSQL$MSSQLSERVER_GRP1:SQL_DB01"






USE [master]

GO

DECLARE @returnCode int

EXEC @returnCode = dbo.emc_run_backup ' -c

SQLAAG3List.contoso.com -l full -y +0d -a

"NSR_DFA_SI=TRUE" -a "NSR_DFA_SI_USE_DD=TRUE" -a











"MSSQL$MSSQLSERVER_GRP1:SQL_DB05"'

IF @returnCode <> 0

BEGIN


END




4. Perform the full backup of the databases on a SQL Server:

• In the GUI, on the General page of the Backup window:

1. From the Backup type drop-down list, select Full.

2. Click Run.

Figure 5 Performing the full backup of the primary replica

In this sample setup, the full backup of the primary replica of the SQL_DB01 database on the SQL2014N1 SQL Server is performed.




• In the CLI and T-SQL scripts, use the -l full option as shown in the following sample scripts:

– Sample CLI script: ddbmsqlsv.exe -c SQLAAG3List.contoso.com -l full -N

"Full backup of primary replica on SQL2014N1" -y +0d -a










USE [master]

GO

DECLARE @returnCode int

EXEC @returnCode = dbo.emc_run_backup ' -c

SQLAAG3List.contoso.com -l full -N "Full backup of primary replica on SQL2014N1" -y +0d -a









IF @returnCode <> 0

BEGIN


END

5. On a different SQL Server, perform the transaction log backup of the same databases, the full backup of which you performed in

step 4 :

• In the GUI: a. On the General page of the Backup window:

1. Select SQL Server host and type the correct Availability Group Listener name of the appropriate AlwaysOn Availability Group in the FQDN format.

2. Specify the appropriate SQL Server instance.

3. Select the databases.

4. From the Backup type drop-down list, select Transaction Log.




Figure 6 Performing the transaction log backup of the primary replica

In this sample setup, the transaction log backup of the secondary replica of the

SQL_DB01 database on the SQL2014N2 SQL Server is performed.



Backing up the SQL Server Always-On Availability Group databases b. On the Options page of the Backup window, select Continue backup as set in

‘backup type’ and do not promote to full as shown in Figure 7 on page 14

.

Figure 7 Continuing the backup without promoting to the full backup

The backup workflow does not check for any log gap or backup chain in the following scenario:

– On the General page, you have selected the Backup type as either

Transaction Log or Differential.

– On the Options page, you have selected Continue backup as set in ‘backup type’ and do not promote to full.

The backup proceeds depending on the backup type that you have selected.

You must take care of the log gap or the backup chain. Otherwise, recovery can result in a potential data loss.

c. Click Run.




• In the CLI and T-SQL scripts, use the -l incr and -a

"SKIP_BACKUP_PROMOTION=TRUE options as shown in the following sample scripts:

– Sample CLI script: ddbmsqlsv.exe -c SQLAAG3List.contoso.com -l incr -N

"Transaction Log backup of secondary replica on

SQL2014N2" -y +0d -a "NSR_DFA_SI=TRUE" -a

"NSR_DFA_SI_USE_DD=TRUE" -a




"NSR_INCLUDE_AAG_DATABASE=Secondary" -a

"SKIP_SIMPLE_DATABASE=FALSE" -a

"NSR_SKIP_NON_BACKUPABLE_STATE_DB=TRUE" -a

"SKIP_BACKUP_PROMOTION=TRUE"



USE [master]

GO

DECLARE @returnCode int EXEC @returnCode = dbo.emc_run_backup ' -c SQLAAG3List.contoso.com -l incr

-N "Transaction Log backup of secondary replica on

SQL2014N2" -y +0d -a "NSR_DFA_SI=TRUE" -a





"NSR_INCLUDE_AAG_DATABASE=Secondary" -a

"SKIP_SIMPLE_DATABASE=FALSE" -a

"NSR_SKIP_NON_BACKUPABLE_STATE_DB=TRUE" -a

"SKIP_BACKUP_PROMOTION=TRUE"


IF @returnCode <> 0

BEGIN


END

The backup workflow does not check for any log gap or backup chain in the following scenario:

– If you have specified the backup type -l as either incr or diff.

– If you have specified the -a "SKIP_BACKUP_PROMOTION=TRUE" option.

The backup proceeds depending on the backup type that you have specified. You must take care of the log gap or the backup chain. Otherwise, recovery can result in a potential data loss.



Restoring the SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group databases

Restoring the SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group databases

Perform the following steps to restore the SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group databases:

1. Remove the databases from the Availability Group.

Use the relevant Microsoft document to perform this step.

2. Restore the databases by using Microsoft application agent:

• In the GUI, on the General page of the Restore window:

1. From the SQL Server host drop-down list, select the appropriate Availability

Group Listener name.

2. Select the databases to restore.

3. Click Run.

Figure 8 Restoring the AlwaysOn Availability Group databases



Documentation

• Use either the CLI script or the T-SQL script.

Sample CLI script: ddbmsqlrc.exe -c sqlaag3list.contoso.com

-f -t "09/25/2015

01:18:44 PM" -S normal -a "NSR_DFA_SI=TRUE" -a




"NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=/ddbmav2b91" -$

"MSSQL$MSSQLSERVER_GRP1:" -d



Sample T-SQL script:

USE [master]

GO

DECLARE @returnCode int EXEC @returnCode = dbo.emc_run_restore ' -c sqlaag3list.contoso.com

-f -t

"09/25/2015 01:18:44 PM" -S normal -a "NSR_DFA_SI=TRUE" -a




"NSR_DFA_SI_DEVICE_PATH=/ddbmav2b91" -$

"MSSQL$MSSQLSERVER_GRP1:" -d



IF @returnCode <> 0

BEGIN


END

Documentation

The following EMC publications provide additional information:

◆

EMC Data Domain Boost for Enterprise Applications Microsoft Application Agent 2.0

Installation and Administration Guide

◆

EMC Data Domain Boost for Enterprise Applications Microsoft Application Agent 2.0

Release Notes

◆

Microsoft SQL Server product documentation



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Copyright © 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the USA.

Published November 09, 2015

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For the most up-to-date regulatory document for your product line, go to EMC Online Support ( https://support.emc.com

).



Performing the EMC Microsoft Application Agent for SQL Server

TECHNICAL NOTES

Performing the EMC ® Microsoft Application Agent for SQL Server

Always-On Availability Group Backups by Using the Availability

Group Listener Names

Technical Notes

Revision history

Introduction

SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group sample environment

Backing up the SQL Server Always-On Availability Group databases

Restoring the SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group databases

Documentation

EMC Data Domain Boost for Enterprise Applications Microsoft Application Agent 2.0

Installation and Administration Guide

EMC Data Domain Boost for Enterprise Applications Microsoft Application Agent 2.0

Release Notes

Troubleshooting and getting help

Support page

Knowledgebase

Online communities

Live chat

Service requests

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