SharePoint High Availability and Disaster Recovery

Michael Noel@MichaelTNoel

Michael Noel• Author of SAMS Publishing titles “SharePoint 2007 Unleashed,” the upcoming

“SharePoint 2010 Unleashed,” “SharePoint 2003 Unleashed”, “Teach Yourself SharePoint 2003 in 10 Minutes,” “Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed,” “Exchange Server 2010 Unleashed”, “ISA Server 2006 Unleashed”, and many other titles .

• Partner at Convergent Computing (www.cco.com / +1(510)444-5700) – San Francisco, U.S.A. based Infrastructure/Security specialists for SharePoint, AD, Exchange, Security

What we will cover• SharePoint 2010 Structure • SharePoint Component Redundancy• Sample Architecture of Redundant/Highly Available

Deployments– Smallest redundant/highly available farm– Mid-sized farms– Large farms– Virtualization farm architecture

• SQL Mirroring of Content Databases– Synchronous Mirroring in Single Site Model– Synchronous Mirroring in Highly Connected DR Site Model– Asynchronous Mirroring in DR Site Model

• Backup/Restore Tips, including info on DPM 2010 Snapshot-based backup for SharePoint

SHAREPOINT 2010 COMPONENT REDUNDANCY

SharePoint 2010 Component Redundancy

• Each SharePoint 2010 server type has different redundancy/availability concerns.– Web Server– Search Service Application Role– Other Service Application Roles– Database Server

• Hardware Based Load Balancing (F5, Cisco, Citrix NetScaler – Best performance and scalability

• Software Windows Network Load Balancing fully supported by MS, but requires Layer 2 VLAN (all packets must reach all hosts.) Layer 3 Switches must be configured to allow Layer 2 to the specific VLAN.

• If using Unicast, use two NICs on the server, one for communications between nodes.

• If using Multicast, be sure to configure routers appropriately

• Set Affinity to Single (Sticky Sessions)• If using VMware, note fix to NLB RARP

issue (http://tinyurl.com/vmwarenlbfix)

SharePoint 2010 Component RedundancyWeb Servers – Network Load Balancing

• Best Practice – Create Multiple Web Apps with Load-balanced VIPs (Sample below)– Web Role Servers

• sp1.companyabc.com (10.0.0.101) – Web Role Server #1• sp2.companyabc.com (10.0.0.102) – Web Role Server #2

– Clustered VIPs shared between SP1 and SP2 (Create A records in DNS)• spnlb.companyabc.com (10.0.0.103) - Cluster• spca.companyabc.com (10.0.0.104) – SP Central Admin• spsmtp.companyabc.com (10.0.0.105) – Inbound Email VIP• home.companyabc.com (10.0.0.106) – Main SP Web App (can be

multiple)• mysite.companyabc.com (10.0.0.107) – Main MySites Web App

SharePoint 2010 Component RedundancyWeb Servers – Network Load Balancing

SharePoint 2010 Component RedundancyService Application Servers

• Redundancy for Service Applications can be added by simply adding S.A. roles to additional servers

• Redundancy and availability is automatically handled from within SharePoint

• Most Service Applications have an associated database that must also be made redundant / available

• Special considerations for Search• Important to understand what the Service Application roles

are

Service applications Description SharePoint Foundation 2010

SharePoint Server 2010 Standard

SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise

Access Services Lets users view, edit, and interact with Access 2010 databases in a Web browser. X

Business Data Connectivity service Gives access to line-of-business data systems. X X X

Excel Services Application Lets users view and interact withExcel 2010 files in a Web browser. XManaged Metadata service

Manages taxonomy hierarchies, keywords and social tagging infrastructure, and publish content types across site collections. X X

PerformancePoint Service Application Provides the capabilities of PerformancePoint. X

Search service Crawls content, produces index partitions, and serves search queries. X X

Secure Store service Provides single sign-on authentication to access multiple applications or services. X X

State service Provides temporary storage of user session data for SharePoint Server components. X X

Usage and Health Data Collection service

Collects farm wide usage and health data, and provides the ability to view various usage and health reports. X X X

User Profile service Adds support for My Site Web sites, profile pages, social tagging and other social computing features. X X

Visio Graphics Service Lets users view and refresh published Visio 2010 diagrams in a Web browser. X

Web Analytics service Provides Web service interfaces. X XWord Automation Services Performs automated bulk document conversions. X XMicrosoft SharePoint Foundation Subscription Settings Service

Provides multi-tenant functionality for service applications. Tracks subscription IDs and settings for services that are deployed in partitioned mode. Deployed through Windows PowerShell only.

X X X

Additional Service Applications

• Office Web Apps– Excel Calculation Services– Word Viewing Service– PowerPoint Service

• Project Server 2010• Third Party (Newsgator, etc.)

SharePoint Component RedundancySearch Service Application Role

• Replaces both Index and Query Roles from 2007 into one Role• Processes query results for Web servers• Holds the index, either in entirety or a partial copy when using ‘index

partitions’• Runs the query processor, which merges search results from multiple

index partitions, performs security trimming, and other search tasks.• Adding multiple Query servers creates redundancy• Each Query Server requires a large drive set for the Index partitions. Be

sure to set aside enough space! The index size may be from 5% to 30% of the size of the content being indexed. Don’t forget external content sources!

SharePoint Component RedundancyQuery Servers: Index Partitions

• Portion of the entire Index• Can be spread across multiple query servers• Multiple index partitions = faster search queries• Query mirrors (second copy of an index partition) can be deployed

across query servers for redundancy.

SharePoint Component RedundancyCrawl Servers

• Runs the Crawl component, which creates index partitions and propagates them to query servers

• Typically used to house the Search Administration component• Multiple crawl servers provide High Availability for the crawl architecture• Crawl database(s) and Property Database(s) utilized for crawl

information and history, and properties for crawled data• Multiple crawlers can be associated with each crawl database• Can be run on a server with Web role or Query role

SharePoint Component RedundancyDatabase Role

• Shared Storage Clustering (MSCS) can be used for local server High Availability

• Mirroring of Content Databases to remote SQL instance is supported (and recommended) More on this…

• SQL Server 2005/2008/2008R2 Standard Edition supports two-node Cluster and synchronous mirroring.

• SQL Server 2005/2008/2008R2 Enterprise Edition supports more than two-nodes, asynchronous mirroring, and Transparent Data Encryption (SQL 2008 only)

• SQL Server 2012 (Denali) has potential…not yet released

SharePoint Component RedundancyDatabase Role – Two Instance / Two Node Cluster Model

SharePoint Component RedundancyRedundancy/HA of Database Server Instance

• Use SQL Client Aliases for Config DB Server (i.e. spsqlfarm.companyabc.com)

• Use a second SQL Client Alias for Content DBs (i.e. spsqlcontent.companyabc.com)

• Loss of SQL Server can be mitigated by simply pointing the alias to a new SQL instance.

• Be sure to add the Kerberos SPNs to the aliases

SAMPLE HIGHLY AVAILABLE ARCHITECTURE FOR SP2010

• All SharePoint roles and SQL Server on the same box

• For very small environment without a lot of load

• SQL contention with SharePoint• Easy to deploy, but highest

potential for contention

Farm ArchitectureAll-in-One Farm (No Redundancy)

• Dedicated SQL Server• All SharePoint roles on single box• Disk IO contention lessened by

moving SQL off SP Server• Greater performance can be

gained by breaking SharePoint roles onto separate servers

Farm ArchitectureDedicated SQL Database Server (Better Performance / No HA)

• 2 Web/Query/Crawl Servers• 2 Database Servers (Clustered or

Mirrored)• 2 Query components for each

index partition• 2 Crawlers for the Crawl DB, one

on each server• Search Admin Service on one

server

Farm ArchitectureSmallest Highly-Available Farm

• 2 Web/Query Servers• 2 Crawl Servers• 2 Database Servers (Clustered or

Mirrored)• 2 Query components for each

index partition• 2 Crawlers for the Crawl DB, one

on each Crawl server• Search Admin Service on one

Crawl server

Farm ArchitectureMedium Sized Farm

Farm ArchitectureLarge Farm

• Multiple Dedicated Web Servers• Multiple Dedicated Query Servers• Multiple Dedicated Crawl Servers, with multiple Crawl DBs to increase parallelization of the crawl

process• Multiple distributed Index partitions (max of 10 million items per index partition)• Two query components for each Index partition, spread among servers

SQL DATABASE MIRRORING FOR HIGH AVAILABILITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY

• Clustering is Shared Storage, can’t survive storage failure, makes Mirroring more attractive

• Clustering fails over more quickly• Mirroring is not supported for all databases,

but Clustering is• Both Clustering and Mirroring can be used at

the same time (Instance to Instance)

SQL Database MirroringClustering vs. Mirroring

• Introduced in SQL 2005 SP1• Greatly improved in SQL 2008 and now SQL 2008 R2• Available in Enterprise and Standard (Synchronous only) editions• Works by keeping a mirror copy of a database or databases on two

servers• Can be used locally, or the mirror can be remote• Can be set to use a two-phase commit process to ensure integrity

of data across both servers• Can be combined with traditional shared storage clustering to

further improve redundancy• SharePoint 2010 is now Mirroring aware!

SQL Database MirroringHistory of Mirroring

• Single Site• Synchronous

Replication• Uses a SQL

Witness Server to Failover Automatically

• Mirror all SharePoint DBs in the Farm

• Use a SQL Alias to switch to Mirror Instance

SQL Database MirroringDatabase Mirroring Model #1 – Single Site

• Two Sites• 1-10 ms

Latency max• 1Gb

Bandwidth minimum

• Farm Servers in each location

• Auto Failover

SQL Database MirroringDatabase Mirroring Model #2: Cross-Site (Stretch) Farm

• Two Sites• Two Farms• Mirror only

Content DBs• Failover is

Manual• Read-only

Mode possible

• Must Re-Attach and Re-Index

SQL Database MirroringDatabase Mirroring Model #3 – Failover Farm in Remote Site

Synchronous Mirror Support

Asynchronous Mirror Support

Configuration XCentral Administration content XContent Databases X XUsage and Health Data Collection

Business Data Connectivity XApplication Registry service * (BDC Upgrade)

Subscription Settings service * (PowerShell Enabled)

X

Search – Search Administration XSearch - Crawl XSearch - Property X

SQL Database MirroringDatabases Supported for Mirroring – Slide 1 of 2

Synchronous Mirror Support

Asynchronous Mirror Support

User Profile - Profile XUser Profile - Synchronization

User Profile – Social Tagging

Web Analytics - Staging

Web Analytics - Reporting XSecure Store X XStage XManaged Metadata XWord Automation Services XPerformancePoint X

SQL Database MirroringDatabases Supported for Mirroring – Slide 2 of 2

SHAREPOINT DATA REDUNDANCY

• SharePoint Databases– Config Database (typically excluded)– Content Database(s)– Services Databases

• IIS Configuration• Web.config files in \inetpub directory• Web part assemblies in %systemroot%\assembly• Any custom templates

SharePoint Data RedundancyWhat are the Critical SharePoint Components to Backup?

Understanding the SP2010 DatabasesSharePoint 2010 Databases (Part I)

• Stores farm configuration data• Mostly unchanged from 2007 ConfigDBConfig• Used to store documents, sites, lists, etc.• Mostly unchanged from 2007, Central Admin also has Content DBContent• Used by Usage and Health Data Collection Service• Temporarily stores health monitoring and usage data for use in reportsLogging• Created for the Search Service, 2007 equivalent was SSP DB• One Admin DB created per Search applicationAdministration• Also used for Search Service• Stores crawled propertiesProperty• Also used for Search Service, 2007 equivalent was Search DB• Drives crawl component, hosts crawled dataCrawl• Used by Web Analytics Service to analyze traffic• Stores fact data, queued batch data, and asset metadataStaging• Also used by Web Analytics Service• Stores report data, diagnostics info, etc.Reporting

Understanding the SP2010 DatabasesSharePoint 2010 Databases (Part II)

•Used by Managed Metadata Service•Stores Managed Metadata for use data layerTerm Store•Used by the State Service•Stores temporary state info for InfoPath Forms ServicesState•Part of the User Profile Service•Stores user and associated informationProfile•Used by User Profile Service•Stores Configuration and Staging Data for Prof SyncSynchronization•Also used by User Profile Service•Stores social tags and notes from usersSocial Tagging•Used by Business Connectivity Service to store external objectsBCS•Used by Secure Store Service to map credentials•Replaces SSO DB in 2007, can be used by ERP/DRM SystemsStore•Not a SharePoint Database, but included in this list as it is critical to SP•Highly critical for performance! Do not underestimate!tempDB•Other Services Databases (Others)

• Two-stage Recycle Bin• Site Recycle Bin (added in SharePoint 2010 Service Pack 1)• SharePoint Central Admin Tool• PowerShell• STSADM• IIS Metaverse Backup Script• SQL 2005/2008 Tools (Maintenance Plan)• Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM)

2010• Third-party (Quest, Metalogix, AvePoint, others)

SharePoint Data RedundancyTools available for Backup and Restore

BACKUP WITH THE SHAREPOINT CENTRAL ADMIN TOOL

What does the Central Admin Backup Tool do?

• Full fidelity backups of all SharePoint content and indexes

• Backs up all SharePoint databases except Config DB, which is not needed.

• Similar to SQL level backup, except can be more granular at the Web Application level

• SP2010 now has status indicators• SP2010 now allows for Site Collection Backup from

Central Admin

Disadvantages of Central Admin Backup Tool

• Not automated• If XML catalog is damaged, entire backup can

be at risk• No item-level restore capabilities• Not enterprise level

POWERSHELL BACKUPS

PowerShell Backup in SP2010

• PowerShell can be used to automate Backups– Backup-SPConfigurationDatabase– Backup-SPFarm– Backup-SPSite

• Equivalent to Central Admin or STSADM• Can pipe out results and backup multiple site

collections, etc.

PowerShell BackUp & Restore CMDLETSCmdlet SharePoint Component

Backup-SPFarm Entire Farm

Service Applications

Web Applications

Content Databases

Restore-SPFarm Entire Farm

Farm Configuration Only

Service Applications

Web Applcations

Content Databases

Backup-SPConfigurationDatabase Farm Configuration Only

Backup-SPSite / Restore-SPSite Site Collection

Export-SPWeb / Import-SPWeb Sites

Subsites

Libraries

Lists

PowerShell - Farm Configuration Backup

• Farm Configuration Only Backup– backup-spfarm –backupMethod full –directory \\

servername\Backup -configurationonly • Complete Farm Backup– Backup-spfarm –backupmethod full – directory \\

servername\Backup• Backup-SPFarm specific parameters– -BackupMethod– -BackupThreads

PowerShell - Configuration DB Backup• Configuration Database Backup

– Backup-spconfigurationdatabase –directory \\servername\\sp2010backup –databaseserver server –databasename mss_configdb

• Backup Farm Configuration Information– Information Rights Management– Workflow– Diagnostic logging– Customizations [solutions deployed]– Outbound e-mail configuration– Antivirus settings

PowerShell – Site Collection Backup

• Backup Site Collection– Backup-SPSite –Identity http://justsharepoint.com/Sites/demo -

Path \\servername\sp2010backup\demosc.bak -Force• Other Parameters –

– -NoSiteLock – use with caution, possible data corruption– -UseSQLSnapshot – use content database snapshot when doing

a backup• Can be run multiple times and/or scripted to automate

backups• Extremely useful approach to backing up SPF Site

collections and personal sites

Granular Backup / Restore

• New in SharePoint 2010 - – Granular Backup/Restore From Central Administration

• Site Collection Backup• Export a site or list• Recover data from an unattached content database

– Granular Backup Job Status indicators• Granular restore operations only using PowerShell• Workflows are not included when exporting a site

or a list

PowerShell – Export Site / List

• Export-SPWeb –Identity http://companyabc.com/sites/site1/ -path \\server\backup\backup.bak -itemurl “features” –force

• Option to include user security and versions

Unattached Content Databases

• New feature of SharePoint 2010• Granular restores of SharePoint content• Read-only content databases• Restored SharePoint content databases• Content database snapshots• Restore Site Collections, Sites, Libraries and

Lists

How to backup the IISv7 Config

• Open a command prompt by using the Run as Administrator option and change directory to %windir%\system32\inetsrv.

• At the command prompt, type appcmd add backup <backupname>. If you do not include the name of the backup, the system will name it for you by using a date, time format.

SQL MAINTENANCE PLAN BACKUPS

Backing up using SQL Tools

• SQL 2005/2008/2008 R2 Management Studio can be used to backup all Databases

• Same as Central Admin Backup, but only backs up SQL databases, not index

• Can be scheduled as part of a SQL Maintenance Plan

• Can backup as Full, Differential, or Incremental• Can backup Config DB, but normally not needed

(only supported scenario is during a SAN Snapshot)

SYSTEM CENTER DATA PROTECTION MANAGER

2010

Features of DPM for SharePoint

• Item-level recovery of Documents and List Data

• VSS Snapshot Integration, can snapshot SQL Databases every 15 minutes

• Backup to Disk (near-term), Backup to Tape (long-term) – Direct integration

• Not only SharePoint, but File Data, Exchange, SQL, and Bare-metal recovery

“Farm” Config dB(SQL)

SharePoint VSS Writer

DPM 2010

System State

Enterprise Search (index)

SQLSQLSQL

Content Servers (SQL)

Files

Internet InformationServices (IIS)“Front End”

DPM Backing up a SharePoint Farm

SharePoint Recovery

• The Entire Farm

“Farm” Config dB(SQL)

DPM 2010

Enterprise Search (index)Content Servers (SQL)

Entire Farm

SharePoint Recovery

• The Entire Farm• A Content DB

“Farm” Config dB(SQL)

DPM 2010

Enterprise Search (index)Content Servers (SQL)

Content DB information

Content DB

SharePoint Recovery

• The Entire Farm• A Content DB• Site Collection• A Site• Document “Farm” Config dB

(SQL)DPM 2010

Enterprise Search (index)Content Servers (SQL)

Site Collection / Site / Individual Document

DPM handles restore thru Recovery Farm to production Farm

Farm then redirects data to appropriate content database and site

Third-party Backup Solutions

• Multiple tools available• Provide for item-level recovery and complex DR

scenarios• Often integrates with the storage platform vendor

For More Information• SharePoint 2010 Unleashed and SharePoint 2007 Unleashed (SAMS Publishing)

(http://www.samspublishing.com)• Microsoft SQL Mirroring for SharePoint 2007 Whitepaper

(http://tinyurl.com/mirrorsp) • Microsoft SQL Mirroring for SharePoint 2007 Case Study

(http://tinyurl.com/mirrorspcs)• Microsoft Virtualizing SharePoint 2007 Whitepaper (http://tinyurl.com/virtualsp) • Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Search Architecture Diagrams

(http://tinyurl.com/searchsp)

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Michael NoelTwitter: @MichaelTNoel

www.cco.comSlides: slideshare.net/michaeltnoel