To ensure consistent backups in Lotus Domino, the backup must be performed keeping in mind that Lotus Domino is not a VSS-aware application.
Most backup software rely on VSS technique to capture snapshots but unfortunately Lotus Domino does not provide a mechanism to capture consistent snapshots of databases while on line.
When the software tries to perform the Lotus Domino backup job, you finish the job with warning.
This result doesn’t guarantee you are able to properly restore the nfs databases.
Procedure
To perform a correct backup you need to stop and start Lotus Domino accordingly. To achieve that you need to create two scripts VMware Tools will use during quescing.
- pre-freeze-script.bat
- post-thaw-script.bat
Of course VMware Tools must be installed in the guest OS for this feature to work correctly.
pre-freeze-script.bat
@echo off Net Time \\%computername% >> C:\scripts\logs\freeze.log rem ********************* rem Stops Domino daemon rem ********************* net stop "Lotus Domino Server (DIBMLotusDominodata)"
post-thaw-script.bat
@echo off rem ********************* rem Start Domino daemon rem ********************* net start "Lotus Domino Server (DIBMLotusDominodata)"
Windows OS
Looking at the table identify the default directory location for custom scripts used by your ESXi version under Windows environment.
With ESXi 5.0/5.1 versions, the default directory is located in:
C:\>Windows
Then copy the two files under C:\>Windows folder.
Linux OS
If the OS is Linux, the two scripts must be saved in /usr/sbin directory giving the correct executable permissions.
/usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script.sh
/usr/sbin/post-thaw-script.sh
# chmod 755 /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script.sh
# chmod 755 /usr/sbin/post-thaw-script.sh
Running the backup, the two scripts stop and start Lotus Domino allowing to capture consistent snapshot to process the backup correctly. At the end of the procedure, the error disappear and the backup job completed successfully.
The main disadvantage of this solution is the temporary service interruption for the period of time necessary to capture the snapshot but because backups are normally performed during off-working hours a momentarily offline can be accepted.
After more than ten years since VSS appearance, sounds strange that some applications are still not VSS-aware.
