IBM Systems and Technology IBM System Storage

Disaster recovery in a virtualized worldIBM Storage and VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager

2 Disaster recovery in a virtualized world

Highlights●● ● ●Delivers business resiliency from planned or unplanned

outages●● ● ●Offers highly integrated and tested storage replication solution●● ● ●Improves operational efficiency with streamlined disaster

recovery●● ● ●Minimizes Recovery Time Objectives to reduce business risk

Protecting businesses by protecting applications is an investment required for IT operations. Protection solutions can be expen-sive, complex and unreliable without regular exercising of the recovery process. VMware® vCenter™ Site Recovery Manager together with IBM® System Storage® solutions delivers the highest levels of resiliency and protection within the virtualized environment. The combination provides a powerful solution to manage the planning, testing and execution of a scheduled migration or emergency scenarios involving a failover and failback of a data center from one site to another.

Deliver business resiliency with confidence and easeSite Recovery Manager extends the capabilities of VMware vCenter into disaster recovery management with automation enhancements. This is especially beneficial for Tier 1 applica-tions with business-critical data that are increasingly being transitioned to virtualized server environments. vCenter Site Recovery Manager uses VMware vSphere® replication or IBM storage-based copy services to provide:

●● ● Simple and powerful replication of applications to a secondary site.

●● ● Easy management of recovery and migration plans.●● ● Non-disruptive testing.●● ● Fully automated site recovery and migration.

System Storage solutions complement Site Recovery Manager by providing the critical performance and advanced functionality needed to replicate data from VMware virtual machine data stores to other IBM storage systems in secondary locations. The performance and f lexibility of IBM advanced copy services maximizes the investment in storage with the addition of disaster protection.

VMware vSphere also includes VMware High Availability (HA) which is supported by System Storage solutions to minimize unplanned downtime. VMware HA detects a physical server failure and restarts on a different server, and detects an operating system failure and restarts the operating system as required. Used in conjunction with Site Recovery Manager and System Storage solutions, high availability can be achieved without compromise.

Automating the recovery process and simplifying the manage-ment of disaster recovery plans with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager requires intelligent replication of data stores. Site Recovery Manager eliminates the historically complex pro-cesses typically implemented as manual steps with the associated risks and mistakes. The automation of the non-disruptive testing of recovery plans provides increased assurance of protection should a disaster occur. Site Recovery Manager can manage System Storage replication using the integration with VMware vSphere and vCenter Server. Systems Storage solutions handle the replication and failover/failback mechanisms for access to the storage required for virtual machines as an integral element of the Site Recovery Manager operation.

With VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager the steps and resources that make up the failover process are managed directly from vCenter. The sequence of steps required to perform the recovery is automatically captured, eliminating the need for a manual run book or documentation process and simplifying the

IBM Systems and Technology 3

disaster recovery operations. An audit trail of actions taken and a report on the results are also produced, which can be invaluable for understanding the operation and making improvements.

The elements involved for this disaster recovery solution from IBM and VMware include:

●● ● VMware ESXi installed on a physical server (ESX Host) at both the primary (protected) site and the secondary (recovery) site.

●● ● vCenter Server and vSphere Client at both sites.●● ● vCenter SRM (5.0 or later).●● ● A database for VMware vCenter SRM that is used to contain

virtual machine configurations, protection groups and recovery plans.

●● ● System Storage solutions with remote replication services configured to replicate data stores.

●● ● IBM Storage Replication Adaptor, the required plug-in component to manage the System Storage replication and automate the disaster recovery workflows.

Tight integration enables storage-based replicationSystem Storage solutions support Site Recovery Manager with individual software modules, called Storage Replication Adaptors (SRAs), along with the storage-based replication and snapshot capabilities available with the systems. Developed and supported by IBM, the Storage Replication Adaptors use the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) SMI-S interface to provide the connection to the storage array. For easy access, the SRAs are made available for distribution by VMware and can be found on the vCenter Site Recovery Manager product download website. This tight integration between Site Recovery Manager and System Storage solutions enables IT administrators to discover and display virtual

4 Disaster recovery in a virtualized world

machines protected by IBM storage-based replication and automate the copy operations for coordinated disaster recovery failovers as well as planned migrations.

The System Storage solutions provide for differing implementa-tions that are designed to address different customer require-ments. IBM supports VMware vCenter SRM through built-in snapshots capabilities, such as IBM FlashCopy®, and advanced

remote mirroring features, such as Metro and Global Mirror. Integration with System Storage solutions and advanced features allows customers to automate the recovery process and ensure reliable failover and failback. System Storage solutions are designed to permit non-disruptive testing of the disaster recovery process by using storage snapshot capabilities.

vCenter SRM Storage Replication Adapter

IBM FlashCopy

IBM XIV Snapshots Remote Mirroring

IBM Storwize V7000

IBM FlashCopy Metro and Global Mirror

IBM SAN Volume Controller

IBM FlashCopy Metro and Global Mirror

IBM System Storage N series

Snapshot SnapMirror, Met o Cluster

IBM System Storage DS5000

IBM Flashcopy Remote Mirroring

IBM System Storage DS3500

IBM Flashcopy Remote Mirroring

IBM Storage System

IBM System Storage DS8000

series

Built-in Point-in-time Copy Services

Metro Mirror, Global Mirror and Global

Copy

Advanced Storage-based Replication Services

5IBM Systems and Technology

Storage Replication Adapters are available for the following IBM storage systems:

●● ● IBM System Storage DS8000®●● ● IBM XIV® Storage System●● ● IBM Storwize® V7000 Unified●● ● IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller●● ● IBM System Storage N series ●● ● IBM System Storage DS5000●● ● IBM System Storage DS3500

The support of Site Recovery Manager is similar between each IBM storage system although the actual implementations may be slightly different.

Streamline disaster recovery with VMware and IBMEnterprise IT requires that critical applications and data be protected from disasters. Historically, the disaster recovery process has been complex and error prone. Adequate testing has been problematic and the automated failover and failback has been less than optimal. With the advent of VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager, in combination with intelligent System Storage solutions, the disaster recovery landscape has allowed for automation of processes, non-disruptive testing, and the ability to exploit advanced functionality of IBM storage solutions. System Storage solutions provide the advanced functionality to enable disaster recovery with Site Recovery Manager and to

integrate directly with VMware using IBM-supplied Storage Replication Adaptors. Disaster recovery for VMware using Systems Storage is a key solution for enterprise IT environments looking to improve and optimize data center operations and maintain high availability of business-critical applications.

The IBM and VMware partnershipTo help you make the most of your IT investments, IBM together with VMware can deliver a complete virtualiza-tion platform that can be tailored to meet any organization’s needs and environment. In partnership with VMware, IBM commits resources and establishes programs for ongoing testing, validation and interoperability. Together, IBM and VMware offer:

●● ● The broadest platform of proven virtualization solutions, giving organizations f lexibility and choice.

●● ● Deep integration between products for enhanced usability and advanced features.

●● ● Comprehensive service and support to protect your virtualization investments over the long term.

As established leaders in the virtualization space, IBM and VMware are uniquely positioned to help organizations achieve their virtualization goals while minimizing business risk. This unique combination of hardware and software solutions enables organizations to dramatically reduce the complexity of IT, signif-icantly lower IT costs and increase IT f lexibility for improved business agility.

For more informationTo learn more about IBM System Storage solutions, please contact your IBM marketing representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit the following website: ibm.com/systems/storage/

For a list of high-quality solutions with our partner Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), including access to solution briefs and white papers, visit: ibm.com/systems/storage/solutions/isv

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

IBM Corporation Systems and Technology Group Route 100 Somers, NY 10589

Produced in the United States of America June 2012

IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, System Storage, FlashCopy, DS8000, XIV, and Storwize are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml

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