The software provides a powerful set of storage management tools that help
you move and manage your critical data. These tools enable you to store
and retrieve data associated with computer systems in your enterprise.
The system consists of integrated software modules which can be grouped
together in a CommCell® configuration. Each CommCell configuration
consists of the following main components:
One or more of the following Client Agents:
iDataAgents
that perform the backup and restore operations
Archive Management Agents which includes agents for
Migration Archiving and Compliance Archiver agents
ContinuousDataReplicator to perform data replication
from a source Client to a destination Client
Storage Resource Manager (SRM) Agents for analyzing and
reporting of information on local storage resources.
Common Technology Engine (CTE) components consisting of:
One CommServe®
One or more MediaAgents
Once installed and configured, these CommCell elements can be
controlled and monitored from a single unified CommCell Console.
Client Agents are software modules that perform data protection and data recovery
operations for specific operating systems or applications. Multiple agents may be
used to protect all types of data residing on a computer. The following sections
provide a brief description of each of these Client Agents.
iDataAgents are software modules that
are used for backing up and restoring data. The system provides a variety of
iDataAgents, each one designed to handle
a different kind of data. If a given computer has two or more types of data, it
requires one iDataAgent for each data
type. For example, to secure all the data on a computer where a Microsoft Exchange
Server resides, you would need the following iDataAgents:
One Windows File System iDataAgent
to back up the computer’s file system.
One Microsoft Exchange Database iDataAgent
to back up the database.
In the CommCell® Console, such a configuration would appear as two
iDataAgents on a client computer.
Migration Archiver Agents are software modules that are responsible for periodically
moving unused or infrequently used data on their host computers to secondary
storage, thereby reducing the size of data on the primary storage. The system
provides several Agents, each one designed to handle a different kind of data.
Migration Archiver Agents reduce the duration of backup windows by reducing
the amount of data to be backed up by an iDataAgent.
Compliance Archiver Agents are software modules that are designed for long
term storage and indexing of data to meet security and compliance standards.
The primary function of Compliance Archiver Agents is to preserve data outside
of the operational environment. Compliance Archiver removes the data from the
source client once it has been archived and/or indexed. In this way, large amounts
of data can be stored, for example, and reviewed at a later time.
ContinuousDataReplicator (CDR) agents are software modules that provide protection
of application data and file systems, by replicating data from a source computer
to a destination computer in nearly real-time. High availability of protected data
in a consistent state is accomplished through the creation of Recovery Points, using
snapshots created on the destination computer, which can be mounted, made available
as shares, or recovered using Copyback. In addition, backups can be made from the
snapshots of file system data or application data in a consistent state for point-in-time
recovery.
SRM software provides the ability to discover, identify, and track available
storage resources such as disks, file systems, and network shares to provide detailed
analysis in the form of reports and summaries. SRM software consists of the SRM
Server which provides the reporting engine that obtains the data from the various
SRM Agents which are client agents that collect data from the various operating
systems and applications.
Common Technology Engine consists of software modules that provide the necessary
tools to manage and administer the Client Agents and also manage the storage
media associated with the CommCell® configuration. The following
sections describe the components of the Common Technology Engine.
The CommServe® Server ties the CommCell® components
together; it is the coordinator and administrator of the CommCell component.
The CommServe Server communicates with all agents in the CommCell to initiate data
protection, management and recovery operations. Similarly, it communicates
with MediaAgents when the media subsystem requires management. The CommServe
Server
maintains a database - also referred to as the CommServe Database Engine
- containing all the information relating to the CommCell configuration.
The MediaAgent transfers data between the client computer(s) and the
storage media. Each MediaAgent communicates locally or remotely to one or
more storage devices, which contains the storage media. The system provides
support for a wide variety of storage devices.
The CommCell Console is the graphical user interface that allows you to control
and manage CommCell group. The CommCell Console can be run in two ways:
As a stand-alone application, which can be installed directly on any computer
that can communicate with the CommServe® storage manager.
As a remote web-based application using Java Web Start, which allows you
to remotely access the CommCell Console using the web browser.
The entire software is modular and can reside on the same and/or separate
computers depending on your needs. Some administrators may have a dedicated
CommServe computer and a dedicated MediaAgent computer. Others may want
to back up the file system data on the CommServe Server and therefore install the
client software on the CommServe computer as well. Still others may use
the same computer to serve as the CommServe, MediaAgent, and a client. The
software supports any and all of these configurations.
The illustration provides an example of CommCell Architecture.
The software provides a powerful set of storage management tools that help
you move and manage your critical data. These tools enable you to store
and retrieve data associated with computer systems in your enterprise.
