Introducing Arcserve Backup Agents and Options › Using Agents › Agent for Microsoft SQL Server › Installing the Agent › Installation Considerations

Installation Considerations

The following should be considered before installing the Arcserve Backup Agent for Microsoft SQL Server:

• Installing 32-bit components on a 64-bit machine generates two copies of the file PortsConfig.cfg on the machine. The PortsConfig.cfg file for the 64-bit components is in c:\Program Files\CA\SharedComponents\CA ARCserve Backup, and the PortsConfig.cfg file for the 32-bit components is in c:\Program Files (x86)\CA\SharedComponents\CA ARCserve Backup. If you make changes to one, you must make the same changes to the other, or the components may not be able to contact one another.
• The Agent is always installed in the version native to your computer's hardware.
• The Agent requires Named Pipes and TCP/IP protocols enabled on the SQL server to communicate.
• If you uninstall a Microsoft SQL Server instance, some components used by other Microsoft SQL Server instances on the machine may be deregistered, including the Virtual Devices mechanism used to perform backups. If this occurs, the agent generates Backup Agent Error 511 ("Error creating Virtual Device Interface: COM class not found") within the error AE50015 ("Backup Failed"), or AE51004 ("Restore Failed"). To address this error, perform the following procedure:
  1. Locate the version of sqlvdi.dll that belongs to the newest version of Microsoft SQL Server on the machine.
  2. From a command prompt, change to the directory containing the selected sqlvdi.dll, and enter the following command to re-register the Virtual Devices component and re-enable backup operations:

     	regsvr32 sqlvdi.dll
     

• Installing two or more versions of SQL Server concurrently on the same machine may create multiple versions of the SQLVDI.DLL file, which causes conflicts resulting in database backup job failures. To resolve any SQLVDI.DLL conflicts, ensure all instances of SQL Server are at the latest Service Pack, security patch or Hotfix level. You may also restart the failed SQL Server instance to reload a new SQLVDI.DLL file, or reboot the machine.
• In cluster environments, you may receive a Lost Connection error while installing the Agent for Microsoft SQL Server. This occurs in primary and stand-alone installations when you select the clustered SQL server instance as the Arcserve Backup database. To avoid this error, copy the Agent for Arcserve Backup database package to each cluster node and run setup manually. For more information, see the Arcserve Backup Administration Guide.
• To protect SQL Server instances in a cluster-aware environment, you must manually install the Agent for Microsoft SQL Server on all of the nodes in the cluster-aware environment.
• When installing the Agent for the Arcserve Backup database on other nodes in a cluster-aware environment, you must run SQLAgentRmtInst.exe, install and then run the Account Configuration Utility, DBAConfig.exe, after installation to input the correct cluster node name and password so that the Setup process can create ODBC communication.
• You do not need to install the Arcserve Backup Agent for Open Files on the Microsoft SQL Server servers that you are protecting. The Agent for Open Files is beneficial when you want to protect files that are open or in use by active applications. Because the Agent for Microsoft SQL Server is an application-specific agent that is dedicated to protecting Microsoft SQL Server servers, it offers a complete solution that encompasses all the features offered by the Agent for Open Files.