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Using EMC SRDF Adapterfor VMware vCenterSite Recovery Manager 5

Version 2.0

SRDF Overview

Installing and Configuring the SRDF SRA

Initiating Test Site Failover Operations

Performing Site Failover/Failback Operations

Cody Hosterman


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Using EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.02

Copyright 2010 - 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information issubject to change without notice.

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS IS. EMC CORPORATION MAKES NOREPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THISPUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY ORFITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicablesoftware license.

For the most up-to-date regulatory document for your product line, go to the Technical Documentation andAdvisories section on support.emc.com.

For the most up-to-date listing of EMC product names, see EMC Corporation Trademarks on EMC.com.

All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

Part number H10553.1


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Preface

Chapter 1 Symmetrix Remote Data Facility

Introduction ....................................................................................... 14SRDF overview.................................................................................. 15Three-site SRDF................................................................................. 17

Concurrent SRDF........................................................................17Cascaded SRDF...........................................................................18

SRDF/Star overview ........................................................................ 21SRDF/Star operations................................................................23Concurrent SRDF/Star ..............................................................24

Cascaded SRDF/Star..................................................................25

Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration

Introduction ....................................................................................... 28EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter prerequisites .............. 29

Supported Symmetrix arrays....................................................29Solutions Enabler ........................................................................29

Supported SRDF Topologies ........................................................... 31Installing/configuring EMC Solutions Enabler ........................... 39

Configuring EMC Solutions Enabler on the VMware vCenterSRM server...................................................................................40Configuring a EMC Solutions Enabler SYMAPI server........40

Installing the EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter .............. 48Installing a new EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenterSRM...............................................................................................48Upgrading an existing installation of EMC SRDF Adapter forVMware vCenter SRM...............................................................50

Contents


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Contents

Configuring the EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter......... 53Array Manager configuration...................................................53

Installing/configuring EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities........ 58vCenter permissions...................................................................59

VSI configuration........................................................................61VSI logging ..................................................................................63

Configuring SRDF SRA behavior................................................... 67SRDF SRA Logging levels .........................................................71

Discovering and configuring Symmetrix replicated devices ..... 75Device discovery.........................................................................75Device discovery advanced options ........................................ 79Consistency protection with EMC VSI Symmetrix SRAUtilities......................................................................................... 85Consistency groups .................................................................... 86VSI consistency group creation algorithm..............................89Creating consistency groups with VSI ....................................93Assisted troubleshooting of SRDF configurations with VSI....107Recovery site device masking requirements ........................111

Configuring VMware vCenter SRM protection groups............ 113Configuring VMware vCenter SRM recovery plans ................. 116Configuring advanced SRM options ........................................... 117

Chapter 3 Testing Recovery Plans

Introduction..................................................................................... 124Test failover workflow in VMware vCenter SRM...................... 125

Requirements ........................................................................... 125Test............................................................................................. 126Cleanup..................................................................................... 129

EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities with Test Failover.............. 135Test Failover options file .........................................................135EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities for vSphere Client....... 137

Device Write Pacing and TimeFinder-based Test Failover ....... 149SRDF/A and device-level write pacing ................................ 149

Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder/Clone ............ 154Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder/Snap.............. 160Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder/VP Snap........ 166

TimeFinder/VP Snap Overview ............................................166Configuring TimeFinder/VP Snap for test failover ............ 167

Test Failover Advanced Options .................................................. 174IgnoreActivatedSnapshots ......................................................175TestFailoverForce .....................................................................177


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CheckForVirtualDisks..............................................................178TerminateCopySessions...........................................................182

Test Failover without TimeFinder................................................. 183TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots overview and

configuration..............................................................................184TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots with two-site SRDF..186TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots with ConcurrentSRDF/Star..................................................................................188TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots with CascadedSRDF/Star..................................................................................193TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots with Concurrent SRDF(Non-Star)...................................................................................198TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots with Cascaded SRDF(Non-Star)...................................................................................200

TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots andIgnoreActivatedSnapshots.......................................................202Protection during test failover with R2 devices ...................203

Testing recovery plans using GNS-enabled groups................... 206Mirroring remote device group definitions ......................... 207

Test Failover with non-VMware devices ..................................... 210

Chapter 4 Gold Copy Protection During Failover

Introduction ..................................................................................... 216Gold Copy considerations and requirements ............................. 217

Advanced option: FailoverIfGoldCopyFails.........................221Advanced option: CheckForVirtualDisks .............................222

Configuring recovery site gold copies ......................................... 228Device Write Pacing and recovery site gold copies .............239

Configuring protected site gold copies........................................ 240

Chapter 5 Recovery Operations with Two-site SRDF

Introduction ..................................................................................... 248Recovery ........................................................................................... 249

Planned MigrationTwo-site replication.............................250Disaster RecoveryTwo-site replication ..............................256

Reprotection with two-site SRDF.................................................. 265Reprotect after Planned Migration.........................................265Reprotect after a temporary failure ........................................269Reprotect after a failover due to unrecoverable failure.......271

Failback............................................................................................. 273Recovery with non-VMware devices ........................................... 274


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Contents

Chapter 6 Recovery Operations with Concurrent SRDF/Star

Introduction..................................................................................... 278Recovery........................................................................................... 279

Concurrent SRDF/Star configuration ...................................280Planned MigrationRecovery with Concurrent SRDF/Star ..281Disaster Recovery..................................................................... 289

Reprotection..................................................................................... 298Reprotect after Planned Migration ........................................298Reprotect after a temporary failure........................................300Reprotect after a failover due to unrecoverable failure ......303

Failback ............................................................................................ 304Failover with non-VMware devices............................................. 305

Chapter 7 Recovery Operations with Cascaded SRDF/Star


Cascaded SRDF/Star configuration ......................................310Planned MigrationRecovery with Cascaded SRDF/Star311Disaster Recovery..................................................................... 320

Reprotection..................................................................................... 330Reprotect after Planned Migration ........................................330Reprotect after a temporary failure........................................332Reprotect after a failover due to unrecoverable failure ......335

Failback ............................................................................................ 336Failover with non-VMware devices............................................. 337

Chapter 8 Recovery Operations with Concurrent SRDF


Planned MigrationRecovery with Concurrent SRDF......342Disaster Recovery..................................................................... 347

Reprotection and Failback............................................................. 353

Failover with non-VMware devices............................................. 354

Chapter 9 Recovery Operations with Cascaded SRDF


Planned MigrationRecovery with Cascaded SRDF.........360Disaster Recovery..................................................................... 365


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Reprotection and Failback.............................................................. 371Failover with non-VMware devices ............................................. 372

Chapter 10 Symmetrix Security with EMC SRDF AdapterIntroduction ..................................................................................... 376Symmetrix Access Controls ........................................................... 377

EMC SRDF SRA ........................................................................382EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities.........................................387

Symmetrix Authorizations............................................................. 389EMC SRDF SRA ........................................................................392EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities.........................................395

Appendix A Testing Recovery Plans with TimeFinder/Mirror

Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder/Mirror ........... 402TimeFinder/Mirror and IgnoreActivatedSnapshotsadvanced option........................................................................408


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Preface

VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) provides workflow andbusiness continuity and disaster restart process management for VMwarevSphere. The software leverages storage array replication and communicatesto replication management through a well-defined set of specifications. ThisTechBook discusses the best practices for using VMware vCenter SRMversion 5.1 with EMC SRDF Adapter version 5.1.

For information on VMware vCenter SRM version 4.1, refer to Using EMCSRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 4.1,located athttp://support.emc.com.

As part of an effort to improve and enhance the performance and capabilitiesof its product lines, EMC periodically releases revisions of its hardware andsoftware. Therefore, some functions described in this document may not besupported by all versions of the software or hardware currently in use. Forthe most up-to-date information on product features, refer to your productrelease notes.

Audience This document is part of the EMC Symmetrix documentation set, andis intended for use by storage administrators, system administratorsand VMware vSphere administrators.

Readers of this document are expected to be familiar with thefollowing topics:

EMC Symmetrix system operation. EMC Solutions Enabler and EMC Unisphere for VMAX. VMware vSphere products and their operation.

Organization The document is divided into ten chapters:


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10 Using EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.0

Preface

Chapter 1, Symmetrix Remote Data Facility, introduces the readerto SRDF technology with a focus on SRDF/S, SRDF/A and three-siteSRDF

Chapter 2, Installation and Configuration, discusses theinstallation, setup and configuration of the EMC SRDF StorageReplication Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Managerversion 5.1. This chapter also presents detailed best practices forinstalling and configuring Solutions Enabler for management ofSymmetrix storage arrays.

Chapter 3, Testing Recovery Plans, presents how to configure andexecute test recovery plans.

Chapter 4, Gold Copy Protection During Failover, presents how toconfigure gold copies for use during recovery plans failover.

Chapter 5, Recovery with Two-Site SRDF, discusses how toconfigure and execute failover with two-site SRDF configurations.

Chapter 6, Recovery with Concurrent SRDF/Star, discusses how toconfigure and execute failover with Concurrent SRDF/Starconfigurations.

Chapter 7, Recovery with Cascaded SRDF/Star, discusses how toconfigure and execute failover with Cascaded SRDF/Starconfigurations.

Chapter 8, Recovery with Concurrent SRDF, discusses how toconfigure and execute failover with Concurrent SRDF configurations

Chapter 9, Recovery with Cascaded SRDF, discusses how toconfigure and execute failover with Cascaded SRDF configurations.

Chapter 10, Symmetrix Security with EMC SRDF Adapter,discusses how to use Symmetrix Access Controls and SymmetrixAuthentication to manage access and control of the Symmetrixstorage arrays visible to the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Managerserver.

Note:Examples provided in this guide cover methods for performingvarious VMware vSphere activities using Symmetrix systems and EMCsoftware. These examples were developed for laboratory testing and mayneed tailoring to suit other operational environments. Any proceduresoutlines in this guide should be thoroughly tested before implementing in aproduction environment.


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Prefa

Related documents Using EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site RecoveryManager 4.1

VSI for VMware vSphere: Storage Viewer Version 5.4 Product Guide

VSI for VMware vSphere: Storage Viewer Version 5.4 Release Notes VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix SRA Utilities Version 5.4

Product Guide

VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix SRA Utilities Version 5.4 ReleaseNotes

VMware Site Recovery Manager Administration Guide

VMware vSphere 5 Documentation: Introduction to VMware vSphere

VMware vSphere 5 Documentation: Basic System Administration

VMware vSphere 5 Documentation: Fibre Channel SAN ConfigurationGuide

EMC Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) Product Guide

EMC Solutions Enabler Installation Guide

EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix Array Management CLI ProductGuide

EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix SRDF Family CLI Product Guide

EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix TimeFinder Family CLI ProductGuide

Authors Cody Hostermanis a Senior Systems Integration Engineer in theEMC Enterprise Business Technology Integration team focusing onVMware and Symmetrix integration. He has been with EMC since2008. Cody has a bachelor's degree in Information Sciences &Technology from The Pennsylvania State University.

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Preface


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Symmetrix Remote Data Facility

1

This chapter presents the following topics:

Introduction ........................................................................................ 14 SRDF overview................................................................................... 15 Three-site SRDF.................................................................................. 17 SRDF/Star overview ......................................................................... 21

Symmetrix RemoteData Facility


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Introduction

VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager leverages storage

array-based replication such as EMC

Symmetrix

Remote DataFacility (SRDF) to protect virtual machines in VMware vSphereenvironments. The interaction between VMware vCenter SiteRecovery Manager (SRM) and storage array replication (SRA) isgoverned through a well-defined set of specifications. TheseVMware-defined specifications are implemented by the storage arrayvendor as a lightweight application referred to as the storagereplication adapter.

EMC SRDF Adapter is an SRA that enables VMware vCenter SiteRecovery Manager to interact with an EMC Symmetrix storage

environment. It allows VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager toautomate storage-based disaster restart operations on Symmetrixarrays in a SRDF configuration. The EMC SRDF Adapter for VMwarevCenter Site Recovery Manager supports SRDF/Synchronous,SRDF/Asynchronous, Concurrent SRDF, Cascaded SRDF1 andSRDF/Star modes of operation.

The functionality of the adapter is enhanced through the use of theEMC Virtual Storage Integrator. The EMC Virtual Storage Integrator(VSI) Symmetrix SRA Utilities is an EMC plug-in to the VMwarevSphere Client that provides the ability to configure SRDF SRA

options and features without requiring the user to resort to commandline utilities or applications outside of the VMware application suite.

IMPORTANT

This book assumes the reader has at a minimum generalknowledge of the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Managerproduct. For in-depth information refer to VMware documentationon www.vmware.com.

1. Support for non-Star Cascaded SRDF or non-Star Concurrent SRDF issomewhat restricted. Refer to chapter 2 for further details on supportedconfigurations.


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SRDF overview

Symmetrix Remote Data Fac

SRDF overview

The EMC Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) family of products

offers a range of Symmetrix-based disaster recovery, parallelprocessing, and data migration solutions.

SRDF disaster recovery solutions are based on active remotemirroring and dependent-write consistent copies of data maintainedat one or more remote locations. A dependent-write is a writeoperation that cannot be issued by an application until a prior, relatedwrite I/O operation completes. Dependent-write consistency isrequired to ensure transactional consistency when the applicationsare restarted at the remote location.

SRDF configurations require at least two Symmetrix systems. In

two-site configurations, these systems are also known as the primaryand the secondary systems. Both sites can be located in the sameroom, in different buildings within the same campus, or hundreds tothousands of kilometers apart.

The EMC SRDF SRA supports two modes of two-site replication:

SRDF/Synchronous

SRDF/Asynchronous

SRDF/Synchronous (SRDF/S) is a disaster-restart solution that

operates in synchronous mode and maintains a real-time(synchronous) mirrored copy of production data (R1 devices) in aphysically separated Symmetrix system (R2 devices) within an SRDFconfiguration. SRDF/S is a method of replicating production datachanges from locations less than 200 km apart. Synchronousreplication takes writes that are inbound to the source Symmetrix andcopies them to the target Symmetrix. The resources of the storagearrays are exclusively used for the copy. The write operation from thevirtual machine is not acknowledged back to the host until bothSymmetrix arrays have a copy of the data in their cache. SRDF/S is abuilding block of several multisite disaster-restart options such as

SRDF/Star.

SRDF/Asynchronous (SRDF/A) mode provides a dependent writeconsistent copy on the target (R2) device, which is only slightlybehind the source (R1) device. SRDF/A session data is transferred tothe remote Symmetrix array in predefined timed cycles or delta sets,which minimizes the redundancy of same track changes beingtransferred over the link.


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SRDF/A provides a long-distance replication solution with minimalimpact on performance that preserves data consistency. In the eventof a disaster at the R1 site or if SRDF links are lost during datatransfer, a partial delta set of data can be discarded, preserving

consistency on the R2 with a maximum data loss of two SRDF/Acycles or less.

For more information on SRDF technology, including setup andconfiguration, refer toEMC Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF)Product Guideavailable athttp://support.emc.com.


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Three-site SRDF


Three-site SRDF

SRDF supports a variety of three-site solutions including Concurrent

and Cascaded replication.

Concurrent SRDF

Enginuity versions 5567 or higher support concurrent primarydevices (R11) that are configured with two R1 SRDF mirrors. Two R1SRDF mirrors allow the R11 devices to be mirrored concurrently totwo R2 devices that can reside in one or two remote Symmetrixarrays. Each R1 SRDF mirror is configured to a different SRDF group.

Note:The R11 devices have to be assigned to two different SRDF groupseven if the two partner R2 devices reside on the same remote Symmetrixarray.

Concurrent SRDF topologies are supported on Fibre Channel, GigabitEthernet (GigE), and ESCON SRDF topologies. Basic concurrentSRDF solutions require that each R1 SRDF mirror operate in the sameprimary mode, either both synchronous or both semi-synchronous,but allows either or both SRDF mirrors to be placed into one of theadaptive copy modes. Advanced concurrent SRDF solutions supportone or both R1 SRDF mirrors of the R11 device operating in

asynchronous mode.

Figure 1shows a concurrent SRDF topology in which the R11 devicecommunicates with the R2 device in Symmetrix B in synchronousmode. Concurrently, the same R11 device communicates with the R2device in Symmetrix C in one of the adaptive copy modes.

Concurrent SRDF supports the following topologies:

Both legs are replicating in Synchronous mode

Both legs are replicating in Asynchronous mode

One leg is Asynchronous and the other leg is Synchronous1

Adaptive Copy is also supported in place of Asynchronous orSynchronous.

1. This is the only topology supported by the SRDF SRA.


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Note:Not all revisions of Enginuity support all topologies. Please refer tothe SRDF Product Guide for specific restrictions.

Figure 1 Concurrent SRDF

Cascaded SRDF

Cascaded SRDF is a three-site disaster recovery solution where datafrom a primary (R1) site is synchronously mirrored to a secondary(R21) site, and then asynchronously mirrored from the secondary(R21) site to a tertiary (R2) site. The core benefit behind a cascaded

topology is its inherent capability to continue mirroring, withminimal user intervention, from the secondary site to the tertiary sitein the event that the primary site fails. This enables a faster recoveryat the tertiary site, assuming that the tertiary site is where you wantto restart production operations.


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Three-site SRDF


Cascaded SRDF uses dual-role SRDF devices (R21 devices) on thesecondary site which acts as both an R2 to the primary site and an R1to the tertiary site. The R2 SRDF mirror of the R21 device inSymmetrix B receives data from the R1 SRDF mirror of the R1 device

in Symmetrix A. The R2 SRDF mirror of the R2 device in SymmetrixC receives data from the R1 SRDF mirror of the R21 device inSymmetrix B. When data from Symmetrix A reaches Symmetrix B,both SRDF mirrors of the R21 device receive updates, but theirbehavior differs:

After the R2 SRDF mirror of the R21 device receives updates, datais written to drives in Symmetrix B. If SRDF operates insynchronous mode, the SRDF emulation sends theacknowledgment to Symmetrix A.

After the R1 SRDF mirror of the R21 device receives updates, theSRDF emulation sends data across the SRDF links to the R2 SRDFmirror of the R2 device in Symmetrix C as shown in Figure 6 onpage 34. When data is received in Symmetrix C, the R1, R21 andR2 device are synchronized.

Figure 2shows an example of a Cascaded SRDF configuration.

Figure 2 Cascaded SRDF

The benefits of cascaded SRDF are:

Faster recovery times at the tertiary site enabled by thecontinuous mirroring from the secondary site to the tertiary sitein the event of the primary site failure.

Tight-integration with TimeFinder product family.


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Management capability by using the current storage managemenportfolio of software products.

Geographically dispersed secondary and tertiary sites.


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SRDF/Star overview


SRDF/Star overview

SRDF Symmetrix Triangular Asynchronous Replication (SRDF/Star)

is a data protection and failure recovery solution that covers threegeographically dispersed data centers in a triangular topology.SRDF/Star protects business data against a primary site failure or aregional disaster using concurrent SRDF or cascaded SRDFcapabilities. These technologies mirror the same production datasynchronously to a nearby remote site and asynchronously to adistant remote site. This architecture can be expanded to includemultiple Symmetrix triangles.

SRDF/Star consists of three sites. The terminology that will be usedthroughout this book to refer to these three sites are:

Workload site: The primary data center where the productionworkload is running.

Sync target site: The secondary site usually located in the sameregion as the workload site. The production data is mirrored tothis site using synchronous replication.

Async target site: The secondary site in a distant location. Theproduction data is mirrored to this site using asynchronousreplication.

SRDF/Star provides consistent data protection and incremental data

recovery between target sites in the event of a workload site failure ortransient fault (link failure). If a workload site becomes inoperable,SRDF/Star provides failover capability through SRDF/A recoverylinks that quickly reestablish data replication between the target sites.One target site resumes data replication for the workload site whilethe other resumes as a protected secondary target site. SRDF/Starrequires SRDF/A recovery links and an additional control host at oneof the target sites.

Each Symmetrix array in an SRDF/Star configuration uses dynamicSRDF devices that can function as either an R1 or an R2 device.

During failure recovery, the R2 devices at either the synchronoustarget site or the asynchronous target site are dynamically convertedto R1 devices to become production devices at the new workload site.

SRDF/Star data consistency is achieved through a composite group(CG) that leverages Multi-Session Consistency or EMC Enginuity

Consistency Assist technology to ensure all members in the CG areeither replicating or not replicating at any given point. A composite


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group enabled for MSC or RDF-ECA consistency is referred to as anRDF consistency group. Devices in an RDF consistency group areprotected to preserve the dependent-write consistency of a database,which may be distributed across multiple SRDF platforms.

IMPORTANT

Since SRDF/Star environments are built on RDF consistency grouptechnology, an RDF daemon must be running on at least onecontrol host attached locally to each site. EMC stronglyrecommends running redundant RDF daemons on multiple controlhosts to ensure that at least one RDF daemon is available toperform time-critical, consistency monitoring operations. Byrunning redundant RDF daemons, you avoid service interruptionscaused by performance bottlenecks local to a control host, and link

failures of the redundant RDF daemons and control hosts.

SRDF/Star environments provide advanced multi-site businesscontinuity protection. They combine SRDF technologies to enableconcurrent or cascaded SRDF/S and SRDF/A operations from thesame source volumes. The SRDF/Star operation is a combination ofhost software and Enginuity functionality that operates in aconcurrent or cascaded SRDF configuration.

SRDF/Star provides the following benefits and features:

Sites can be geographically dispersed. SRDF/Star can span multiple RDF groups and Symmetrix arrays

RDF consistency groups maintain data consistency acrossSRDF/Star.

In the event of a workload site failure, SRDF/Star enables you tofailover and resume asynchronous data transfer between theremaining target sites.

Data is synchronized differentially, so the time to establish remotemirroring and consistency is minimal.

In the event of a rolling disaster affecting the workload site, youcan determine which of the target sites (synchronous orasynchronous) holds the more current data and switch workloadoperations to that site.

The EMC SRDF SRA supports two types of SRDF/Starconfigurations; Concurrent SRDF/Star and Cascaded SRDF/Star.Diskless Cascaded SRDF/Star, otherwise known as SRDF/EDP


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SRDF/Star overview


(Extended Distance Protection) is not supported with the SRDF SRA.The two supported configurations are discussed briefly in thefollowing subsections. For detailed information on setting up andconfiguring Star, refer to SRDF documentation.

SRDF/Star operations

Controlling SRDF/Star involves tasks such as bringing up theSRDF/Star sites for normal operation, isolating one or more sites fortesting or other purposes, or switching the workload to one or moreof the remote sites after workload site failure. Understanding theseoperations are integral to understanding the different operationsperformed by the SRDF SRA. Users can perform these and otherSRDF/Star operations using the Solutions Enabler symstar command

or Symmetrix Management Console GUI1. Common operations arelisted and described inTable 1, SRDF/Star operations.

1. Unisphere for VMAX 1.5 does not yet support SRDF/Star operations

Table 1 SRDF/Star operations (page 1 of 2)

Name Results

Cleanup Cleans up internal meta information and Symmetrix cache

at the remote site after a failure at the workload site.

Configure Upgrades or transitions an existing SRDF/Star environment to employ R22devices, provided the current SRDF/Star environment is operating in

normal condition.

Connect Starts the SRDF data flow

Disable Disables SRDF/Star consistency protection across the three sites.

Disconnect Suspends the SRDF data flow and transitions the path to adaptive copydisk mode.

Enable Enables complete SRDF/Star consistency protection across the three sites.

Halt Used to prepare the system for a planned switch of the workload to a targetsite. This action write-disables the R1 devices, drains all invalid tracks and

MSC cycles so that Site A=Site B=Site C, suspends SRDF links, disablesall consistency protection, and sets adaptive copy disk mode.

Isolate Isolates one target site from the SRDF/Star configuration

and makes its R2 devices read/write enabled to their hosts.


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Concurrent SRDF/Star

In a concurrent SRDF configuration, data on a single source device isremotely mirrored to two target devices at the same time, providingtwo available copies of data. These mirrors operate independentlybut concurrently using any combination of SRDF modes.

Concurrent SRDF/Star environments provide a rapidreestablishment of replication operations in the event of a workloadsite failure. Rather than performing a full resynchronization betweenthe asynchronous and synchronous target sites, concurrentSRDF/Star performs a differential synchronization, which

List Lists each SRDF/Star composite group configuration,

including workload name, mode of operation, CG and Star

states, and target names and states.

modifycg Maintains consistency protection when adding or removing

device pairs from an SRDF/Star consistency group.

Protect Synchronizes devices between the workload and target sites and enablesSRDF/Star consistency protection to the specified target site.

Query Displays the status of a given SRDF/Star site configuration.

Reconfigure Transitions the SRDF/Star setup from concurrent SRDF to

cascaded SRDF or vice versa after a site or link failure, or aspart of a planned event.

Reset Cleans up internal meta information and Symmetrix cache

at the remote site after transient fault (such as a loss of

connectivity to the synchronous or asynchronous target

site).

Show Displays the contents of the internal definition for a given

SRDF/Star site configuration.

Switch Transitions workload operations to a target site after a workload site failure

or as part of a planned event.

Unprotect Disables SRDF/Star consistency protection to the specified target site.

Verify Returns success if the state specified by the user matches

the state of the star setup.

Table 1 SRDF/Star operations (page 2 of 2) (continued)

Name Results


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SRDF/Star overview


dramatically reduces the time it takes to remotely protect the newworkload site after the primary site failure. With ConcurrentSRDF/Star you can determine which site contains the most currentdata in the event of a rolling disaster that affects the workload site.

Figure 3illustrates a Concurrent SRDF/Star configuration. Theworkload site (New York) transfers data synchronously to the targetsite (New Jersey) and asynchronously to the distant target site(London). The recovery links are between London and New Jersey,and if an outage happens at New York, an SRDF/A session can beestablished between these two target sites.

Figure 3 Concurrent SRDF Star

Concurrent SRDF/Star is valuable for duplicate restarts and disasterrecovery, and provides increased flexibility for data mobility andapplication migrations.

Cascaded SRDF/Star

Cascaded SRDF is a three-way data mirroring and recovery solutionthat provides enhanced replication capabilities, greaterinteroperability, and multiple ease-of-use improvements. A cascaded


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SRDF configuration does not require three separate site locations,although that is the most common configuration for a disasterrecovery solution.

Cascaded SRDF introduces the concept of the dual role R1/R2 devicereferred to as an R21 device. The R21 device is both an R1 mirror andan R2 mirror, for use only in cascaded SRDF operations. Whenthinking of the R21 device, it is easier to understand the concept if itis thought of as a mirror type, instead of as a device. The controls forthese devices are relationship-based.

Figure 4illustrates a Cascaded SRDF/Star configuration. In the eventof a synchronous target site loss, a differential data resynchronizationcan be performed between the workload site and the asynchronoustarget site. This is achieved by using change tracker technology at theworkload site to keep track of the data difference between theworkload site and the asynchronous target site. In the case ofCascaded SRDF/Star, the synchronous target site is always morecurrent than the asynchronous target site. In all cases, however, thechoice of which site to use in the event of a failure is left to thediscretion of the customer.

Figure 4 Cascaded SRDF/Star


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Installation and Configuration

2

This chapter presents the following topics:

Introduction ........................................................................................ 28 EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter prerequisites................ 29 Supported SRDF Topologies ............................................................ 31 Installing/configuring EMC Solutions Enabler ............................ 39 Installing the EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter ............... 48 Configuring the EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter .......... 53 Installing/configuring EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities ......... 58 Configuring SRDF SRA behavior.................................................... 67 Discovering and configuring Symmetrix replicated devices ...... 75

Configuring VMware vCenter SRM protection groups ............. 113 Configuring VMware vCenter SRM recovery plans................... 116 Configuring advanced SRM options............................................. 117

Installation andConfiguration


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Introduction

In order to enable the processes and functionality offered by VMware

vCenter Site Recovery Manager that leverage SRDF, special softwaremust be installed and configured to create the interface betweenVMware and the underlying storage and replication.

EMC provides three main applications to enable, simplify andmanage this interface:

EMC Solutions Enabler (required)

SRDF Storage Replication Adapter (required)

EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities (optional but recommended)

The installation and configuration of these tools is covered in thischapter. The installation and configuration of SRM itself is notcovered in this book with the exception of portions directly related tostorage and replication. For guidance on SRM installation andconfiguration not covered in this book please refer to VMwaredocumentation.

This book discusses using SRDF with VMware vCenter SRM version5. Throughout the book SRM will typically be referred to genericallyas version 5 and, unless otherwise stated, all discussions in this bookrefer to all minor versions of SRM between 5.0.0 to 5.1.0. Features orbehaviors introduced in a particular version of SRM 5 will bespecifically called out as unique to version 5.0.1 or 5.1.0.

Note:Examples of SRDF management in this book utilize either SolutionsEnabler CLI or Unisphere for VMAX. Unisphere for VMAX is thereplacement software for the Symmetrix Management Console. WhileUnisphere for VMAX includes the functionality that meets the need of mostcustomers, there is still advanced functionality that has yet to be included inUnisphere for VMAX. For those scenarios, examples will use SolutionsEnabler CLI or Symmetrix Management Console.


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EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter prerequisites

Installation and Configurat

EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter prerequisites

This book assumes that the user is running the 5.1 release of the EMC

SRDF SRA Adapter and VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities 5.4. As newversions are released, functionality and requirements can change, soit is important to consult the individual SRA release notes to verifysupport information.

Supported Symmetrix arrays

The EMC SRDF Adapter version 5.1 for VMware vCenter SiteRecovery Manager supports the following arrays1:

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 40K storage arrays running

Enginuity version 5876 or later

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K storage arrays running Enginuityversion 5874 or later.

EMC Symmetrix VMAX 10K/VMAXe storage arrays runningEnginuity version 5875.231 or later.

Refer to theEMC Support Matrixand SRDF Product guides forin-depth interoperability information.

IMPORTANT

The bit settings on the front-end Fibre Channel adapter play acrucial role in the proper operation of EMC SRDF Adapter. Pleaseconsult the EMC Support Matrix on www.emc.com for furtherinformation.

Solutions Enabler

Solutions Enabler version 7.5 is the minimum version of the softwarerequired for EMC SRDF Adapter version 5.1.

The 32-bit version of Solutions Enabler must be installed on the SRMserver (even though the OS itself must be 64-bit) before installation ofthe SRDF Adapter. The adapter can be configured to use a remote

1. DMX support has been dropped in version 5.1 of the SRDF SRA. Userswho wish to use DMX arrays with SRM must remain on the SRDF SRAversion 5.0.1 with SRM 5.0.1.


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installation of Solutions Enabler which can then be 32 or 64-bit.Nevertheless, regardless of whether or not the SRDF SRA is using thelocal installation for SYMAPI calls or a remote one, the localinstallation of Solutions Enabler is still required and must be 32-bit.


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Supported SRDF Topologies



The SRDF SRA supports a wide variety of SRDF topologies that

customers can leverage to protect their VMware environment. TheSRDF SRA 5.1 adds four newly supported configurations to theexisting set.

Supported two-site SRDF configurations:

1. Synchronous SRDF (Figure 5)

2. Asynchronous SRDF (Figure 6)

Supported three-site SRDF configurations:

1. Concurrent SRDF/Star

Recovery between workload and synchronous site (Figure 7)

Recovery between workload and asynchronous site (Figure 8)

2. Cascaded SRDF/Star

Recovery between workload and synchronous site (Figure 9)

Recovery between workload and asynchronous site (Figure10)

3. Concurrent SRDF (Figure 11)

4. Cascaded SRDF (Figure 12)

Since VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager is, by design, atwo-site paradigm, only two of the three SRDF sites in a three-sitesolution can be directly managed by the SRDF SRA. In other words,recovery can only occur between two of the three SRDF sites andwhich sites those are depends upon by where the compute resources1

are physically located.

While only the recovery ESX hosts must be in the same physicallocation as the configured recovery array, the vCenter server andSRM server can be located anywhere, this is highly discouraged. If

these management applications are in a physically separate locationfrom the recovery storage and compute, it is possible that they couldbe in the failure domain of the protected site resources. If so, a

1. In three-site SRDF configurations, (Star or non-Star) there is norequirement by SRM or the SRDF SRA to have any compute ormanagement applications at the bunker site.


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disaster would render failover through SRM and the SRDF SRAimpossible. It is important to locate the vCenter and SRM servers inthe same domain as the recovery storage and compute.

The SRDF SRA only supports managing certain types of three siteconfigurations. The following diagrams lay out the supported SRDFconfigurations and recovery locations. In all of the diagrams, SRMserver 1 is the protected site SRM server and SRM server 2 is therecovery site SRM server, further more, the storage, compute andmanagement applications (Solutions Enabler, SRM, vCenter) are alllocated in the same physical location.

IMPORTANT

Although the SRDF SRA supports failing over to different sites ofSRDF/Star, the choice of which Star site is the recovery site is not adecision made at the time of failover but rather dictated by thelocation of the compute resources. The SRDF SRA can only failovervirtual machines to the array where the recovery hosts arephysically located.

Figure 5 Synchronous SRDF Support


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Figure 6 Asynchronous SRDF Support

Figure 7 Concurrent SRDF/Star Support--Failover to Synchronous site


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Figure 8 Concurrent SRDF/Star Support--Failover to Asynchronous site


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Figure 9 Cascaded SRDF/Star Support--Failover to Synchronous site


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Figure 10 Cascaded SRDF/Star Support--Failover to Asynchronous site


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Figure 11 Concurrent SRDF Support--Failover to Asynchronous site


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Figure 12 Cascaded SRDF Support--Failover to Asynchronous site


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Installing/configuring EMC Solutions Enabler



The EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager

utilizes Solutions Enabler software to perform the discovery andmanagement of the Symmetrix storage arrays on behalf of VMwarevCenter Site Recovery Manager. The Solutions Enabler software usesin-band commands to small devices called gatekeepers to manipulatethe Symmetrix storage arrays. Therefore, Solutions Enabler must beinstalled on a host that has access to gatekeepers from the storagearray that hosts the replicated devices presented to the VMwareenvironment. The simplest configuration provides the server runningVMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager with direct connectivity tothe relevant storage arrays.

The more common deployment of Solutions Enabler for EMC SRDFAdapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager is anticipatedto be a client-server model. In this model, the EMC SRDF Adapterutilizes the Solutions Enabler API server running on a remote hostthat has direct connectivity to the storage arrays. The communicationbetween the Solutions Enabler commands executed by the EMCSRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager andSolutions Enabler API server occurs over a TCP/IP network. For easeof management, setup, and use, EMC offers the Solutions EnablerVirtual Appliance which can be used for the remote SYMAPI servers.Solutions Enabler can also be installed on any virtual or physical

machine that is running a supported operating system. For details onthese methods refer to the Solutions Enabler Installation Guide.

Note:The terms SYMAPI server is simply the name given to a SolutionsEnabler installations that has its server daemon turned on and configured. ASYMAPI server is a Solutions Enabler installation that can service remote APIrequest from remote clients.


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Configuring EMC Solutions Enabler on the VMware vCenter SRM server

The EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Managerdoes not utilize Solutions Enabler CLI commands to manage theSymmetrix storage arrays. The adapter utilizes API calls to performany storage control operations. This feature optimizes theperformance of the adapter for large replicated environments. Theseare the types of environments frequently encountered whenSymmetrix storage arrays are deployed in enterprise solutions.

Although the EMC SRDF Adapter uses the Solutions Enabler API, theadapter still requires the Solutions Enabler libraries that are installedwith Solutions Enabler to execute the API calls. Therefore, SolutionsEnabler software has to be installed on the VMware vCenter SiteRecovery Manager server.

Configuring a EMC Solutions Enabler SYMAPI server

Regardless of whether the SYMAPI server is locally installed on theSRM server or is on a separate, dedicated server there are a fewsimple configurations required before it can service the EMC SRDFSRA. Note that these steps are only required on the Solutions Enablerinstallation with gatekeepers and are not required on the client-sideSolutions Enabler install in a client/server configuration.

These steps should be performed on both the protected and recoverySYMAPI server installations. For more information on any of thesesteps or options please refer to the Solutions Enabler InstallationGuide on support.emc.com

Gatekeepers Solutions Enabler is an EMC software component used to control thefeatures of Symmetrix arrays. Solutions Enabler receives userrequests from CLI, GUI, or other means, and generate low-levelcommands (syscalls) that are transmitted to the Symmetrix array foraction.

Gatekeeper1

devices are Symmetrix devices that act as the target ofcommand requests from Solutions Enabler. These commands arrivein the form of disk I/O requests (and so a disk must be named bythe host as the address or target of that command). The morecommands that are issued from Solutions Enabler, and importantly

1. For more detailed information on gatekeepers refer to EMC knowledgebase article emc255976 on support.emc.com.


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the more complex the actions required by those commands are, themore Gatekeepers and/or array processor resources that are requiredto handle those requests in a timely manner.

Gatekeepers require only a small amount of space, 3 MB (3 cyl). Usersare discouraged from building Gatekeepers in larger sizes as thesmall size is used by Enginuity to automatically identify and usedevices as Gatekeepers.

While in most cases Gatekeeper devices must be mapped andmasked to single servers only and should not be shared acrossservers, virtualized environments offer an exception. VMwareenvironments permit the movement of a virtual machine from onephysical ESX server to another (VMware vMotion) and if that virtualmachine is executing Symmetrix management or control operations,the Gatekeepers being used must be visible to that virtual machine onwhichever physical server it is running upon. As a result, theGatekeeper devices must be made visible to any ESXi server the guestmay operate upon. Note that while each ESX server must be able tosee the same Gatekeepers, they may not be shared among the virtualmachines.

The minimum requirement of six Gatekeepers should provesufficient for most SYMAPI servers, except, for instance, thosemanaging Consistency Groups. Since most SRM SYMAPI serversutilize Consistency Groups, additional devices are usually required.

Here is how to calculate the required Gatekeeper count:[Number of CGs] * 0.3 = Gatekeepers needed for Consistency Groupoperation

Round up the result of calculations to whole integers and then do thefollowing addition:

6 + (GKs needed for CG operation) = total number of Gatekeepers toprovision.

Daemonconfiguration

The storsrvd daemon (allows for and receives remote SYMAPIconnections) and storrdfd daemon (provides consistency protectionfor RDF device configurations) should be installed and configured.Since these daemons are not enabled by default in standard SolutionsEnabler installations, with the notable exception of the vApp version,they may not be active. These daemons can be installed by executingthe following commands on the server(s):

stordaemon install storsrvd -autostartstordaemon install storrdfd -autostart


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These commands must be run from binary location of the SYMCLIcommands (if not already in the path), usually /usr/symcli/bin inUnix orC:\Program Files\EMC\SYMCLI\binin Windows.

The USE_RDFD parameter must also be enabled in the options file in/var/symapi/configin Unix orC:\ProgramFiles\EMC\SYMAPI\config1 in Windows to enable the use of thestorrdfd.

Nethost configuration In order to control and restrict trusted-user and node access2 anoptionalnethost file can be created in the SYMAPI serverconfiguration directory. When this file exists, only the nodes/userslisted in this file are allowed to connect to the server to executeremote SYMAPI functions. If the security functionality provided by

the nethost file is not desired, the file itself can just be deleted fromthe SYMAPI server.

The identity of a client host may vary from the perspective of theserver, since the server can accept connections from IPv4 and IPv6clients. Thus the network address of the client could be an IPv4 orIPv6 address. If you have decided to specify the network address inthe nethost file instead of the node name, then the exact syntax of theaddress is important. If you incorrectly specify an address,connections from some clients may be denied (see the end of thissection for more information on troubleshooting). In general,

specifying the node name (or the FQDN) is advised, since properDNS configuration will usually ensure that the name of the host willbe consistent, regardless of the network address of the client.

In addition to specifying the node, each user that requires access froma particular host must also be authorized.

For ease of use, an asterisk (*) can be entered as the user or host andthis will allow all users or all hosts (or a combination of the two) tohave API access. It is important to note that the Solutions Enablervirtual appliance does not support entering an asterisk for the host

1. The root drive letter may change depending on the location of theinstallation. C:\Program Files is the default.

2. The nethost functionality is a per-SYMAPI server feature. It is unrelated toand performs a different function than Symmetrix Access Control Listsand Symmetrix Authorizations. These features are discussed later in thisbook. Nevertheless, these three security features can be used in acomplementary fashion.


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entrythis is only currently supported in standard installations. Thevirtual appliancedoessupport entering an asterisk as the userthough.

For SRM environments, any user accounts that operate VSI and theaccount running the VMware vCenter SRM service (this is theaccount that the SRDF SRA, when called, runs under) must beentered into the nethost file (only if the file exists OR the vApp is inuse). The protection and recovery side SRM server FQDNs and therespective accounts used on both should be added to boththeprotection and recovery side SYMAPI servers. This will allow for fulluse of VSI and the SRDF SRA.

Traditional installations of Solution Enabler require the user tomanually edit or create the file in a standard text editor using thesyntax displayed inFigure 13.

Figure 13 Nethost file

If the file is not present in the config folder the user must create a newfile entitled nethost with no file extension/type.

As an example, imagine the following SRM environment:

Protected side information

SRM/VSI admin username: john

SRM service account name: srm1

SRM server FQDN: srm1.ebc.emc.local

Recovery side information SRM/VSI admin user username: lisa

SRM service account name: srm2

SRM server FQDN: srm2.ebc.emc.local


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If the storage admin wanted to limit SYMAPI access to just the SRMservice accounts, Lisa and John, the nethost file onbothSYMAPIservers should look likeFigure 14.

Figure 14 Nethost example with limited user access

If the storage admin wanted to limit SYMAPI access to the SRMservers and anyone who was able to log on to them, the nethost fileswould look like what is shown inFigure 15.

Figure 15 Nethost example with full user access

Note:The nethost file does not distinguish between domain and local hostaccounts and therefore no domain prefix for the user is needed or allowed.

The Solutions Enabler Virtual Appliance is slightly different in that itoffers a web-based interface to edit the nethost file as seen inFigure 16.


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Figure 16 Solutions Enabler Virtual Appliance nethost entry

Unlike standard installations of a SYMAPI server, the virtualappliance enforces the use of the nethost file. Since the file system isprotected, the nethost file is present upon initial deployment of thevApp therefore enforcing its use.

Troubleshooting nethost permissionsIf the nethost information is incorrect or missing, VSI or the SRDFSRA will report an error such as the one below in their log files:

Failed connection to SYMAPI server(192.168.160.127:2707). Error = The trusted hostfile disallowed a client server connection.

The trusted host file is another name for the nethost file.This errormeans that either the host or user was incorrectly entered or notentered at all. Verify the listings in the nethost file or refer to thestorsrvd log on the target SYMAPI server for a message such as theone below that indicates a blocked session due to a nethost issue:

[1232 API_Listener] Jul-09 16:46:44.488 :ANR0018E Rejecting session 927 [email protected]: The trusted hostfile disallowed a client server connection

Note the bold portion which indicates the user (before the @ symbol)and the host FQDN (after the @ symbol). If what is displayed in thestorsrvd log is the correct user/host, ensure that they are entered intothe nethost file in the proper format as discussed above.


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Troubleshootingremote Solutions

Enabler service

When connecting remote clients to a remote SYMAPI server, commonsituations can occur that prevent remote access from a client.Table 2shows the typically encountered errors and the usual resolution tothe issue.

Certificate errors can be handled in one of two ways; either the clientcertificate must be fixed or the SYMAPI server can be altered toignore invalid certificates. To alter SYMAPI certificate handling the

following process should be used:1. Log on to the SYMAPI server

2. Navigate to \EMC\SYMAPI\config

3. Open the daemon_options file (using a standard text editor likeVI or Wordpad)

4. Find the line storsrvd:SECURITY_CLT_SECURE_LVL = VERIFY

Table 2 Common client/server SYMAPI connection errors

Error message Common explanation

The remote client/server handshakefailed.

Typically caused by inconsistentinformation in the client hostsecurity certificates.

The remote connection is refused.The server may not be running.

Caused by the storsrvd servicenot running on the target server

or the incorrect port was entered.In some occasions SYMAPIservers are configured to not usethe default port of 2707.

A network data operation failed Caused by incorrect firewallsettings or a network outage.

The server refused a connection dueto a security level mismatch

Caused by a difference in settingsbetween the target SYMAPIserver's storsrvd daemon securitylevel and the client's securitysettings. It is recommended that

both be set to SECURE.

Host system not recognized orauthenticated

The hostname entered wasincorrect or has no DNS entry.

The trusted host file disallowed aclient server connection

The SYMAPI servers nethost fileis incorrectly configured.


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5. Uncomment the line by removing the preceding pound sign (#)and change the value from VERIFY to NOVERIFY

6. Restart the storsrvd service with the following solutions enablercommands:

stordaemon shutdown storsrvd

stordaemon start storsrvd

If there is a security mismatch, the SYMAPI server behavior mayneed to be changed. To alter SYMAPI certificate handling thefollowing process should be used:

1. Log on to the SYMAPI server

2. Navigate to \EMC\SYMAPI\config

3. Open the daemon_options file (using a standard text editor likeVI or Wordpad)

4. Find the line storsrvd:SECURITY_LEVEL = SECURE

5. Uncomment the line by removing the preceding pound sign (#)and change the value from SECURE to NONSECURE or ANY.

6. Restart the storsrvd service with the following solutions enablercommands:

stordaemon shutdown storsrvd

stordaemon start storsrvd

Changing the SYMAPI security setting mentioned above in step 4may affect/block other applications remotely accessing that SYMAPIserver. Change this option with care.


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Installing the EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter

The EMC SRDF Adapter allows for a new installation or an upgrade

of an existing installation. Depending on which method is used, theconsiderations for installation are slightly different. This sectiondiscusses both options.

Installing a new EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SRM

The EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Managerhas to be installed on both servers running the VMware vCenter SiteRecovery Manager software.

Installation

The installation of the adapter is executed using the standardWindows InstallShield utility and must be run on both the protectedand the recovery site. The software distribution consists of a singlefile that performs the installation of EMC SRDF Adapter.

Version 5.1 of the SRDF SRA automatically determines the directoryin which the adapter has to be installed. This is determined by usingthe information in the registry and the configuration file for VMwarevCenter SRM. The installation directory is displayed by the installerbut cannot be changed.

The successful installation of version 5.1 of the adapter results in thecreation of two files in the install directory/directories. Theinstallation places the adapter executable itself (EmcSrdfSra.exe) andan associated interface file (command.pl) within the SRA installdirectory indicated by SRM.

In the SRM 5.1 release, the architecture of the SRM software has beenupgraded to 64-bit. This means two things; the SRM server must beinstalled on a 64-bit OS and the install file directories of SRM and theSRA will be in different locations as compared to earlier versions.Therefore, a new install of the SRDF SRA in 5.0.x and 5.1.x willbehave slightly different. Those differences are outlined below.

SRM 5.0.xThe two files placed during the SRA install for SRM 5.0.x(EmcSrdfSra.exe and command.pl) will be saved together in the samedirectory under:


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/VMware\VMware vCenter Site RecoveryManager\storage\sra\EMC Symmetrix\

SRM 5.1.x

The two files placed during the SRA install for SRM 5.1.x(EmcSrdfSra.exe and command.pl) will be saved in separate places inthe file system.

The command.pl file that is used by SRM to call the SRDF SRAexecutable is in the SRA directory of SRM:

/VMware\VMware vCenter Site RecoveryManager\storage\sra\EMC Symmetrix\

The SRA itself (EmcSrdfSra.exe) is placed in a separate directorycreated by the SRA installation process:

C:\Program Files (x86)\EMC\sra\

Options files

Furthermore, the installation places four options files into the EMCapplication folder deemed by the operating system(%programdata%\EMC\EmcSrdfSra\Config in Windows 2008).Unlike the install files of the SRA, the location of the options files isthe same regardless of the version of SRM (5.0 or 5.1).

These files are:

EmcSrdfSraGlobalOptions.xmlGlobal options for adapterbehavior during SRM operations. These are advanced settingsthat should only be edited with discretion.

EmcSrdfSraTestFailoverConfig.xmlFile for test failoverdevice configuration pairings

EmcSrdfSraProtectionSiteGoldcopyConfig.xmlFile for goldcopy device configuration pairings of R1 devices

EmcSrdfSraRecoverySiteGoldcopyConfig.xmlFile for goldcopy device configuration pairings of R2 devices

These configuration files are discussed in detail in the relevantsections later in this book.


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Upgrading an existing installation of EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SRM

The installer for EMC SRDF Adapter supports an upgrade of the SRAfrom earlier versions to the latest, version 5.1. The process for theupgrade is similar to a fresh install of the adapter discussed in theprevious section with the exception that the old files will be removedand the new SRA 5 files will be loaded into the new directories.

The 5.1 version of the SRDF SRA introduces a number of new globaloptions and other enhancements so current options files will bereplaced with new versions. When upgrading from a previousversion of SRDF SRA 5, the older XML files will not be deleted butwill be renamed to .bak files. If the user needs to reference oldconfigurations these archived files can be viewed with any standardtext editor.

Upgrading SRM 4.x toSRM 5.x

It is important to note that protection groups and recovery plans willnot be affected by the upgrade of SRM 4 to 5. SRM 5 includesmethodologies to ensure these remain intact after upgrade.Conversely, the information populated into the options files will notbe preserved after upgrade. Test Failover pairings, gold copyinformation or advanced global options must be reconfigured afterinstall.

After the upgrade of SRM from 4 to 5, an option to export arraymanager information is provided. If the array manager information

has not changed, utilize this XML file to ensure proper configurationRefer to SRM 5 documentation for detailed information on upgradingSRM.

Note:SRM 4 or 4.1 cannot be upgrade directly to SRM 5.1. SRM 4.xinstallations must be first upgraded to SRM 5.0 or 5.0.1 and then can beupgraded to 5.1.

Upgrading from SRM5.0.x to SRM 5.1

As mentioned previously, SRM 5.1 is now a 64-bit1 application and

the file directories of SRM and the SRA will be in different locationsas compared to earlier versions.

1. The 64-bit architecture of SRM 5.1 requires a 64-bit open databaseconnectivity (ODBC) database source name (DSN) to connect to the SRMdatabase. The creation of a 64-bit DSN to the current database is requiredfor an upgrade to SRM 5.1.


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An upgrade to SRM 5.1 will preserve protection group and recoveryplan information as well as any configured array managers. Noreconfiguration of these items is normally required by this upgradepath. For more information please refer to VMware documentation.

SRM 5.1 upgrade preserves the following settings and configurationsthat were created with the previous release.

Datastore groups

Protection groups

Inventory mappings

Recovery plans

IP customizations for individual virtual machines

Custom roles and their memberships SRM object permissions in vSphere

Custom alarms and alarm actions

Test plan histories

Security certificates

Mass IP customization files (CSVs)

IMPORTANT

During an upgrade, SRM 5.1 preserves only protection groups andrecovery plans that are in a valid state. SRM discards protectiongroups or recovery plans that are in an invalid state.

Since the architecture of SRM has changed, the install files will berelocated and accordingly the directory for SRAs will be in a newlocation. Therefore, even if the SRDF SRA is currently installed priorto the upgrade, the SRA will always (regardless of version) need to bere-installed after SRM has been upgraded to 5.1. The SRA installerwill recognize the new install location of SRM and will place itscommand.pl file in the appropriate folder in the SRM SRA directory.

Since the SRDF SRA itself remains a 32-bit application the SRDF SRAwill be placed in a separate directory in the 32-bit program files folder(default is C:/Program Files (x86)/EMC/sra/).

Note that until the SRDF SRAs are installed on both sides and thearray managers configured, previous protection groups will appearas invalid. Once array managers have been configured and a devicediscovery has been run the protection groups will be resolved.


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IMPORTANT

Only the SRDF SRA 5.1 and later is supported with SRM 5.1.Earlier versions of the SRDF SRA are not compatible with the

64-bit architecture of SRM 5.1.


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Configuring the EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter



The configuration of the EMC SRDF Adapter is performed through

the Array Managers wizard in the VMware vCenter Site RecoveryManager plug-in. The wizard should be invoked only after theconnection between the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager atthe protected site and recovery site has been established.

Array Manager configuration

Before protection groups or recovery plans can be configured, anarray manager must be configured for each instance of the SRDF SRAto provide connectivity information for device discovery. The Add

Array Managerwizard for configuring the array managers isinvoked by right-clicking on a SRM server under the Array Managersmenu. In the array manager wizard enter a descriptive name for thearray manager. The optionEMC SRDF Adapter for VMware SRMisdisplayed if the EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SiteRecovery Manager has been properly installed. The process forconfiguring the EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SiteRecovery Manager is detailed inFigure 17. Readers can perform thisin their environment by following the numbers associated with eachstep in the process. This must be completed for both SRM serversbefore continuing on.


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Figure 17 Initiating the Configure Array Managers wizard

The configuration of the storage arrays connected to the protectedsite can be determined by entering the hostname or IP address of thelocal and remote servers providing the EMC Solutions Enabler APIservices and selectingNext. The textlocalcan be entered in lieu of ahostname if the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager host hasdirect access to Gatekeepers.

Note:If the Solutions Enabler API service is configured to listen on anon-default TCP port, a non-default port number can be optionally specifiedby appending the port number after a colon following the hostname/IPaddress of the SYMAPI server. For instance if the SYMAPI server isconfigured to listen at a non-default port such as 2739 the entry would besimilar to this: symapiserver1.emc.com:2739


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Once the array manager has been configured on the first site, areciprocal array manager must be configured on the remote site. Inthe second array manager, the SYMAPI servers should be reversedfrom the first (the local SYMAPI server address is now the remote

address and vice versa).

IMPORTANT

It is sometimes tempting to have just a single SYMAPI serverprovide API services for both the local and remote Symmetrixarrays to provide simplicity. This is not usually possible inlong-distance configurations but in the case of campusconfigurations or iSCSI Gatekeepers it may be. DO NOTdo thisitis not supported andWILLcause the SRDF SRA to malfunction.The local and remote SYMAPI servers must be distinct servers in

order to provide resiliency for disaster recovery (among otherreasons). Each SYMAPI server must see its proximate arrays as localand their respective remote arrays as remote.

After initial setup of the array managers the SRA queries for activeRDF groups from the discovered arrays on the local SYMAPI server.The SRDF SRA log will report messages, such as the one below, if anRDF group is successfully discovered.

[DiscoverArraysCommand::Run] Found a remote Symmetrix

[000192603603] connected through director [RF-8H], remote

director [RF-8H] and RA group [30], remote RA group [30]

After both array managers have been configured the array pairs mustbe enabled within SRM. Select one of the paired array managers andnavigate to the Array Pairs tab on the right. This process is shown inFigure 18and only needs to be performed once per array pair on oneof the two array managers (it doesnt matter which one). Once a pairhas been successfully enabled for one array manager that pair will beenabled on the other respective array manager.

It is important to note that these array pairs must be enabled in order

to discover devices from them. Therefore, for two site replicationenvironments the array pair including the source and target arraymust be enabled. For three site solutions only the array pair including


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the workload site and the chosen target site must be enabled. Anypair including the third bunker site does not need to be (andtypically cant be) enabled.

Figure 18 Enabling array pairs for the SRDF SRA

If no array pairs show up this usually indicates a configurationproblem. Refer to the SRDF SRA logs for detailed information buttypically it is one of the following reasons:

1. Incorrect SYMAPI server address or lack of Gatekeepers from thecorrect array(s) to the SYMAPI server.

2. The same SYMAPI server is configured as both the local andremote SYMAPI servers

3. Symmetrix array is not properly configured.

a. Symmetrix Remote Adapters are not online

b. SPC-2 is not enabled on the Fibre Adapters or Initiators

c. No RDF groups are configured.

4. An array manager is not configured on one of the two SRMservers.

5. The environment is set to failover to the Asynchronous site of aStar environment and the advanced option to allow this is not

enabled. The global option FailoverToAsyncSite must be enabledat both sites for the SRDF SRA to discover the correct arrays.Instructions on configuring this option is discussed in the sectionentitledConfiguring SRDF SRA behavior on page 67of thischapter.


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If one or more array pairs fail to enable, it means that the remote SRMserver does not have an array manager that has discovered the samepairs. Ensure that the remote SYMAPI server has the proper access tothe correct arrays as described in the boxed note onpage 55.

Array Manager configuration with three site SRDF

For SRDF/Star or standard three-site SRDF environments, theprotected site array manager should always have the workload siteSYMAPI server designated as the local SYMAPI. The remote SYMAPIserver is a different situation.

Typically, three site topologies have three SYMAPI servers, one foreach respective site. The SYMAPI server that is to be designated asthe recovery site SYMAPI server can therefore either be the SYMAPIserver located at the synchronous site or the asynchronous site. For

Star, the correct one to be indicated in the array managers depends onif the users intends for the synchronous site or the asynchronous siteto be the location of the DR site. Wherever the recovery VMwareinfrastructure resides dictates which SYMAPI server is to be used.

The SRDF SRA only supports non-Star Cascaded or non-StarConcurrent failover to the asynchronous site. Consequently, unlikeStar, there is no decision to be made as to which SYMAPI server touse. The SYMAPI server that is always to be designated as therecovery SYMAPI server must always be the one local to theasynchronous site.

For Star and non-Star alike, if there is a tertiary SYMAPI server thereis no need (and frankly no mechanism) to configure it within SRM.The SRA does not require access to the third SYMAPI server.


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Installing/configuring EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities

With the emergence of VMware's vSphere as a true computing

platform, users are spending increasingly more time withinVMware's vSphere Client. As such, users no longer want outsidemanagement applications and would prefer to remain inside ofvSphere Client and complete all of their tasks through a single paneof glass. The EMC Virtual Storage Integrator for VMware vSphereleverages the existing vSphere Client plug-in framework, to helpunify multiple EMC plug-ins to vSphere Client by presenting them asfeatures. One such feature dedicated to the SRDF SRA is the EMCVSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities.

IMPORTANT

For Windows 2008 and later, if User Account Control (UAC) isenabled, users must run the vSphere Client as an administrator byright-clicking the vSphere Client icon and choosing the Run asAdministrator option. Otherwise, the Symmetrix SRA Utilitiesmay fail to edit and save SRA options files.

The Symmetrix SRA Utilities includes five separate functions withinthe Virtual Storage Integrator version 5.4. Discussion on how to useeach of these features is discussed in-depth in the relevant chapters.These features are:

Automated consistency groups creationIn order to enableproper discovery of devices and assist with test recovery andrecovery configuration, VSI includes the ability to easily andautomatically create and configure Symmetrix device consistencygroups.

Assisted troubleshootingVSI assists with troubleshootingcommon configuration issues in the SRDF and VMwareenvironment that prevent the creation and/or operation ofrecovery plans.

Test failover configurationThis offers the ability to help userswith the task of defining device pairs to be used by EMC SRDFAdapter when testing recovery plans with EMC TimeFinder

technology.


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Installing/configuring EMC VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities


Gold copy configurationThis offers the ability to help userswith the task of defining device pairs to be used by EMC SRDFAdapter when creating gold copies during failover to a recoverysite.

SRA global options editorThis offers the ability to edit theglobal options for the SRA without having to manually edit anXML file to alter SRA behavior.

The SRA Utilities must be installed locally on the SRM server as itrequires the SRA executable and access to SRM to function properly.Furthermore, the SRA Utilities should be installed on both SRMservers to enable the consistency group creation feature andbi-directional support for the other features. Once installed, the SRAUtilities plug-in is automatically enabled and ready for use.

Note:The 5.4 version of the SRA Utilities is required in order to leverage thenew features of the 5.1 version of the SRDF SRA and is the only version ofVSI that is supported with SRM 5.1.

vCenter permissions

For a user to be able to successfully use the EMC VSI SymmetrixUtilities their user account must have at least certain permissionswithin vCenter. Depending on what tasks the user w

vmware site recovery manager with srdf version 2

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