EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix SRA Utilities · Published October 2013 EMC believes the...

EMC VSI for VMware vSphere:Symmetrix SRA UtilitiesVersion 5.6

Product GuideP/N 300-013-066REV 06

EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix SRA Utilities Version 5.6 Product Guide

2

Copyright © 2010 – 2013 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the USA.

Published October 2013

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

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CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1 About VSI and Symmetrix SRA Utilities

Virtual Storage Integrator for VMware vSphere overview .............................. 10 Symmetrix SRA Utilities overview ................................................................ 11 VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager ...................................................... 12

EMC SRDF Adapter overview .................................................................. 12 VSI software requirements .......................................................................... 13

Chapter 2 Installation and getting started with VSI

Prerequisites............................................................................................... 16 Installing EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SRM................................. 16

Configuration files and location............................................................. 17 Installing Symmetrix SRA Utilities................................................................ 18

Upgrading VSI ....................................................................................... 18 Enabling or disabling the VSI plug-in ........................................................... 19 Using VSI with the vSphere Client................................................................ 20

EMC VSI window overview ..................................................................... 21 Using the VSI Feature Manager .................................................................... 22

Enabling, disabling, or uninstalling VSI features.................................... 22 Uninstalling or repairing a VSI feature using the installer ............................. 23 Uninstalling the VSI plug-in ......................................................................... 23

Chapter 3 VSI Configuration

Configuring Solutions Enabler for EMC SRDF Adapter................................... 26Solutions Enabler requirements for SRA Utilities ................................... 26vCenter permissions for SRA Utilities..................................................... 27Symmetrix access control lists (ACLs).................................................... 28

Configuring SRDF SRA Global Options ......................................................... 29 VSI logging.................................................................................................. 31

Setting logging options ......................................................................... 32

Chapter 4 Procedures

Working with SRA Utilities elements ............................................................ 34Defining device pairs............................................................................. 36

Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder .............................................. 38Enabling the TestFailoverForce option ................................................... 38Using TimeFinder/Snap or TimeFinder/VP Snap with SRDF/A................. 39Testing recovery plans........................................................................... 39SRDF/A: Device-level write pacing and AutoStart property ..................... 42

Using the FailoverToAsyncSite Global Option............................................... 43Failover to Async site in Star environments............................................ 43Failover to Sync and Async sites in non-Star environments .................... 44

Creating automated consistency groups ...................................................... 44Using consistency groups...................................................................... 44About consistency groups ..................................................................... 44

EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix SRA Utilities Version 5.6 Product Guide 3

Contents

VSI algorithm for creating consistency groups ....................................... 45Creating consistency groups with VSI .................................................... 48Merging consistency groups.................................................................. 49Assisted troubleshooting of SRDF configurations with VSI ..................... 51

Creating gold copies for recovery plans ....................................................... 53 Using device masking ................................................................................. 55

Setting device masking controls............................................................ 55RDF device masking .............................................................................. 56Replica Device Masking......................................................................... 57

4 EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix SRA Utilities Version 5.6 Product Guide

PREFACE
As part of an effort to improve its product lines, EMC periodically releases revisions of its software and hardware. Therefore, some functions described in this document might not be supported by all versions of the software or hardware currently in use. The product release notes provide the most up-to-date information on product features.

Contact your EMC technical support professional if a product does not function properly or does not function as described in this document.

Note: This document was accurate at publication time. Go to EMC Online Support (https://support.emc.com) to ensure that you are using the latest version of this document.

PurposeThis document describes how to configure and use EMC® VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix® SRA Utilities.

AudienceThis guide is part of the EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) for vSphere documentation set and is intended for use by VMware administrators and storage administrators during installation, system setup, and routine operations.

Storage administrators working with VSI must be proficient in the use of the following products:

◆ VMware vSphere Client 5.1 or 5.5 with VMware vCenter Server 5.1 or 5.5, VMware ESX 5.x and VMware ESXi 5.x as installed

◆ EMC Symmetrix, CLARiiON®, Celerra®, VNX®, Next-Generation VNX, or VPLEX® storage systems and the following applicable software:

• Solutions Enabler (SYMCLI/SYMAPI)

• EMC Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF®) software

• EMC PowerPath®/VE software, if installed.

VSI documentationThe following documentation is part of the EMC Virtual Storage Integrator for vSphere Client documentation set:

◆ EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix SRA Utilities Version 5.6 Product Guide and Release Notes

◆ EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Storage Viewer Version 5.6 Product Guide and Release Notes

◆ EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Path Management Version 5.6 Product Guide and Release Notes

◆ EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Unified Storage Management Version 5.6 Product Guide and Release Notes

Preface 5


Preface

◆ EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: RecoverPoint Management Version 5.6 Product Guide and Release Notes

◆ EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: AppSync Management Version 5.6 Product Guide and Release Notes

Related documentationThe following EMC documentation contains information that may be helpful in a Virtual Storage Integrator environment and is available at EMC Online Support.

EMC Solutions Enabler:

◆ EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix Array Controls CLI Product Guide

◆ EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix Array Management CLI Product Guide

◆ EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix SRDF Family CLI Product Guide

◆ EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix TimeFinder Family CLI Product Guide

◆ EMC Solutions Enabler Installation Guide

EMC Symmetrix Array:

◆ Using EMC Symmetrix Storage in vSphere Environments TechBook

◆ Storage Pool Management Feature in EMC Virtual Storage Integrator TechBook

◆ Enabling SPC-2 Compliancy on EMC Symmetrix Devices Connected to VMware Environments Applied Technology white paper

◆ Using EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager TechBook

EMC ControlCenter:

◆ EMC ControlCenter Planning and Installation Guide

◆ Symmetrix SRDF Host Component Product Guide

EMC PowerPath:

◆ EMC PowerPath Product Guide

Fibre Channel:

◆ Symmetrix Fibre Channel Product Guide

Conventions used in this document

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IMPORTANT

An important notice contains information essential to software or hardware operation.


Preface

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buttons, fields, and menus)• Names of resources, attributes, pools, Boolean expressions, buttons, DQL

statements, keywords, clauses, environment variables, filenames, functions, utilities

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Preface


CHAPTER 1About VSI and Symmetrix SRA Utilities
Invisible Body Tag

This chapter presents the following topics:

◆ Virtual Storage Integrator for VMware vSphere overview .......................................... 10◆ Symmetrix SRA Utilities overview ............................................................................ 11◆ VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager .................................................................. 12◆ VSI software requirements ...................................................................................... 13

IMPORTANT

EMC recommends reading this chapter in its entirety before installing and configuring the Virtual Storage Integrator for vSphere Client plug-in.

About VSI and Symmetrix SRA Utilities 9

About VSI and Symmetrix SRA Utilities

Virtual Storage Integrator for VMware vSphere overviewVirtual Storage Integrator (VSI) is an EMC plug-in to the VMware vCenter management software. VSI allows VMware administrators to provision, monitor, and manage VMware vSphere datastores on EMC storage arrays, facilitating management of the virtualized environment. This plug-in supports EMC VNX and Next-Generation VNX, VNXe®, Symmetrix VMAX® 10K, VMAX 20K, VMAX 40K, VPLEX®, CX™4, and Celerra® storage systems and is available to customers at no charge.

VSI 5.6 includes multiple features for use with the vSphere Client. Using VSI Feature Manager, you can add, manage, and remove features independently, providing flexibility for customizing VSI user environments. VSI provides a unified user experience. You can upgrade each feature independently and quickly introduce new features in response to changing customer requirements.

Available features for VSI are:

◆ Symmetrix SRA Utilities—The Symmetrix storage replication adapter (SRA) Utilities feature helps you efficiently manage vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) configurations in Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) environments. The feature provides SRM diagnostic tools to help quickly identify configuration errors, along with several other functions, as described in “Symmetrix SRA Utilities overview” on page 11.

◆ Storage Viewer—The Storage Viewer feature enables you to use the vSphere Client to discover and identify EMC Symmetrix VMAX, CLARiiON, Celerra, VPLEX, and VNX storage devices allocated to VMware ESX/ESXi hosts and virtual machines. Storage Viewer presents the underlying storage details to the virtual data center administrator, by merging the data from several different storage mapping tools into a few seamless vSphere Client views.

◆ Path Management—The Path Management feature for VMware Native Multipathing and PowerPath/VE enables you to change the multipath policy for groups of LUNs based on the storage class and virtualization object.

◆ AppSync Management—The AppSync Management feature provides a VMware vSphere datastore protection management base on the EMC AppSync server with service plan configuration and datastore copy, mount, unmount, restore, and expire functions.

◆ EMC RecoverPoint Management—The EMC RecoverPoint Management feature helps recover data when using VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager. With EMC RecoverPoint Management, you can select specific point-in-time backups to be used for your data protection and disaster recovery needs.

◆ Unified Storage Management—The Unified Storage Management feature provides array-based storage management and provisioning for XtremIO, VPLEX, CLARiiON, Celerra, Symmetrix VMAX, and VNX series storage arrays, and allows for virtual machine deduplication, compression, cloning, and storage extension for Celerra, Clariion, VMAX, and VNX systems.



Symmetrix SRA Utilities overviewThe SRA Utilities feature of VSI allows you to perform many systems-related and storage-related tasks from within the vSphere Client, eliminating the need for external tools and management applications.

The SRA Utilities feature includes the following:

◆ Global Options editing—You can edit the SRDF SRA Global Options file from within the VSI interface. “Configuring SRDF SRA Global Options” on page 29 provides details on this feature.

◆ Automated consistency groups creation—In VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) environments, it is critical to preserve the order of writes to devices backing entities that will fail over. When using SRDF with SRM you can automatically create and configure Symmetrix device consistency groups to enable failback and assist with failover preparation and configuration. VSI assists with troubleshooting common configuration issues in the SRDF and VMware environment that prevent recovery.

◆ Test failover configuration—You can define device pairs that EMC SRDF Adapter uses when testing recovery plans with TimeFinder® technology.

◆ Gold copy configuration—You can define device pairs that EMC SRDF Adapter uses when creating gold copies for failover to a recovery site.

◆ Device masking and unmasking—EMC SRDF SRA version 5.5 uses a configuration file, EmcSrdfSraDeviceMaskingControl.xml, to control masking or unmasking of Symmetrix LUNs. The SRA Utilities feature provides a user interface for generating this configuration file.

With the exception of Global Options editing, Chapter 4 provides instructions for using these features. Any required configuration is described in Chapter 3.

Symmetrix SRA Utilities overview 11


VMware vCenter Site Recovery ManagerVMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) delivers advanced capabilities for disaster recovery management, nondisruptive testing, and automated failover. VMware vCenter SRM manages the failover from production data centers to disaster recovery sites, as well as the failover between two sites with active workloads. It can even recover multiple sites into a single shared recovery site. VMware vCenter SRM also helps with planned data center failovers, such as data center migrations.

VMware vCenter SRM is integrated with a range of storage replication technologies including EMC Symmetrix Remote Data Facility, EMC MirrorView™ for CLARiiON, EMC Celerra RepliCare™, and EMC RecoverPoint® replication software.

EMC SRDF Adapter overview

VMware vCenter SRM uses storage array replication, such as EMC Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF®), to protect virtual machines in VMware vSphere environments. A storage replication adapter (SRA) implements VMware specifications that govern the interaction between SRM and the storage array replication.

EMC SRDF Adapter is an SRA that enables VMware vCenter SRM to interact with an EMC Symmetrix storage environment and automate storage-based disaster restart operations on Symmetrix arrays in a SRDF configuration. The EMC SRDF Adapter supports:

◆ SRDF/Synchronous and SRDF/Asynchronous modes of operation

◆ Concurrent SRDF/Star, Cascaded SRDF/Star, Concurrent SRDF, and Cascaded SRDF

The EMC SRDF Adapter also uses consistency groups in configurations where the data for a group of related virtual machines is spread across multiple Symmetrix VMAX storage arrays or SRDF groups.

Note: Because of VMware limitations, consistency groups spread across multiple storage array configurations are not supported.



VSI software requirementsVSI for VMware vSphere requires the following software:

◆ VMware vSphere Client 5.1 or later—The VMware software must be installed prior to installing VSI features.

◆ EMC SRDF Storage Replication Adapter 5.5

◆ Operating system—VSI and VMware vSphere Client are supported only on Microsoft Windows operating systems. The VMware Infrastructure Compatibility Matrixes with the complete list of supported operating systems are located on the VMware website:

http://www.vmware.com

Note: For x64 operating systems, all installed software components are x86 images that are running in compatibility mode.

◆ VMware vCenter Server 5.1 or later—The vSphere Client connects to a vCenter server that manages the entire virtual datacenter, including any number of ESX or ESXi hosts. Do not connect to an earlier version of VMware vCenter Server, because it results in changes to the vSphere Client that VSI does not support.

Note: EMC VSI for VMware vSphere does not support VMware vCenter Linked Mode.

◆ VMware ESX and ESXi 5.1 or later—To access the SRA Utilities wizard, you must connect to the ESX/ESXi host through the vCenter Server, because the SRA Utilities feature uses the vCenter task functionality. The SRA Utilities feature is disabled if the vSphere Client connects directly to an ESX/ESXi host.

◆ EMC Solutions Enabler 7.6.1

◆ SRDF requirements for Symmetrix VMAX arrays:

• The host with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager must be running 32-bit Solutions Enabler Version 7.6.1 or later.

• If the server that provides the Solutions Enabler API service is different from the server running VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager, both servers must run Solutions Enabler Version 7.6.1.

• Symmetrix VMAX arrays must be running Enginuity 5874 or later.

VSI software requirements 13

http://www.vmware.com

CHAPTER 2Installation and getting started with VSI
Invisible Body Tag


◆ Prerequisites........................................................................................................... 16◆ Installing EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SRM............................................. 16◆ Installing Symmetrix SRA Utilities............................................................................ 18◆ Enabling or disabling the VSI plug-in ....................................................................... 19◆ Using VSI with the vSphere Client............................................................................ 20◆ Using the VSI Feature Manager ................................................................................ 22◆ Uninstalling or repairing a VSI feature using the installer ......................................... 23◆ Uninstalling the VSI plug-in ..................................................................................... 23

Installation and getting started with VSI 15

Installation and getting started with VSI

PrerequisitesThis chapter describes how to install the VSI for VMware vSphere: Symmetrix SRA Utilities feature, enable or disable the VSI plug-in, uninstall the VSI plug-in, and disable or uninstall the SRA Utilities feature.

The SRA Utilities feature must be installed on the same host server that is running the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager software. Before you install the SRA Utilities feature, ensure that the following installation requirements have been met:

1. Install VMware vSphere Client version 5.1 or later on the same host on which you will install the SRA Utilities feature.

Note: The VSI feature cannot be installed if the VMware vSphere Client is not already installed.

2. Install VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager at both the protection and recovery sites.

3. Install EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager on the servers running the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager software.

“Installing EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SRM” on page 16 provides instructions.

Note: To use SRA Utilities 5.6 with SRA 5.5, Solutions Enabler 7.6.1 or later is required.

Installing EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SRMTo use the VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities feature to configure advanced options, you must first install the EMC SRDF Adapter software at both the protection and recovery sites.

Note: You can use the EMC SRDF Adapter installation file for a new installation or an upgrade of an existing installation. Although EMC supports SRDF Adapter upgrades, you must reconfigure all array managers and Global Options after the upgrade.

1. On the SRM server, ensure that the VMware vSphere Client version 5.1 or later and VMware vCenter SRM are installed.

2. Double-click EMCSRDFSRA_5.5.exe and follow the prompts in the InstallShield wizard.

The installer automatically determines the installation directory and displays it for information only.

When the installation is complete, the following files are located in the installation directory:

• The adapter executable file, EmcSrdfSra.exe

• The command.pl file, which provides the interface between VMware vCenter SRM and the EmcSrdfSra.exe executable file



Configuration files and location

SRA Utilities saves the configuration files in a user-accessible location. By default, the files are in the following location:

◆ On a Windows 2008 server, in C:\ProgramData\EMC\EmcSrdfSra\Config

◆ On a Windows 2003 server, in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\ApplicationData\EMC\EmcSrdfSra\Config

The root directory location can also be found in the registry in the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\Common AppData

You can edit the following configuration files using the Global Options function of the SRA Utilities feature:

◆ EmcSrdfSraGlobalOptions.xml—Configuration file for global application options

◆ EmcSrdfSraRecoverySiteGoldcopyConfig.xml—Configuration file for creating gold copy replications on the recovery site

◆ EmcSrdfSraTestFailoverConfig.xml—Configuration file controlling the parameters for failover testing, including the TimeFinder technology used, the Symmetrix array serial number, and the list of device pairings

◆ EmcSrdfSraProtectionSiteGoldcopyConfig.xml—Configuration file for creating gold copy replications on the protection site

◆ EmcSrdfSraDeviceMaskingControl.xml—Configuration file for device masking and unmasking

Installation support with Site Recovery Manager 5.5SRA 5.5 is a 32-bit application that creates an entry in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node hive of registry as EMC\EMC SRDF SRA for VMware SRM <InstallPath & Version >

The installation path is:

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\storage\sra\EMC Symmetrix

The two files generated by SRA, command.pl and EmcSrdfSra.exe, have the following criteria:

◆ Command.pl resides at the install path location that is specified in the registry.

◆ EmcSrdfSra.exe resides in the location (SRABinPath) specified in the registry for SRM 5.1 and 5.5.

SRA 5.5 or later is required to launch the SRA Utilities installer. The installer verifies that SRA 5.5 is installed on the host and that Solutions Enabler is installed locally and is a 32-bit application.

Installing EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SRM 17


Installing Symmetrix SRA Utilities You must install the SRA Utilities feature on the same host server that is running the VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager software. Installing SRA Utilities automatically installs the VSI framework if it is not already installed.

1. Ensure that all requirements in “Prerequisites” have been met.

2. Download the VSI Symmetrix SRA Utilities 5.6 Zip file from EMC Online Support.

3. Unzip the file and run the emc-vsi-sra-5.6.0-vmware-vsphere-WINDOWS-x86.exe file.

The installation wizard copies all necessary files.

The feature is installed with all necessary components.

No configuration or input is required during the installation other than accepting the prompts to move forward with the installation. You cannot change the installation directory because the vSphere Client requires that the files are placed in a specific location.

Upgrading VSI

You can upgrade VSI version 3.x or higher to a later version using the installation wizard. The upgrade to version 5.6 does not retain any of the configuration options, but it retains the log files for Storage Viewer and the Solutions Enabler server.

IMPORTANT

Upgrading VSI might remove certain features that you must then reinstall.





Enabling or disabling the VSI plug-in

To enable the VSI plug-in

1. Launch VMware vSphere Client and from the vSphere main menu select Plugins > Manage Plugins.

2. Right-click EMC Virtual Storage Integrator... and select Enable.

The status changes from Disabled to Enabled. The VSI loads automatically. This process does not require a restart of vSphere Client.

3. Select Close to exit the Plug-in Manager.

If you no longer want to use the VSI plug-in, but do not want to uninstall it, you can simply disable it.

To disable the VSI plug-in

1. Launch vSphere Client and from the vSphere main menu select Plugins > Manage Plugins.

2. Right-click EMC Virtual Storage Integrator... and select Disable.

The status changes from Enabled to Disabled. This process does not require a restart of vSphere Client.

3. Select Close to exit the Plug-in Manager.

Enabling or disabling the VSI plug-in 19


Using VSI with the vSphere Client The VMware vSphere Client provides context-sensitive storage information depending on the object that is selected from the inventory tree in the left pane. You can use VSI to connect to a vCenter server or directly to an ESX or ESXi host.

To view host or cluster information using VSI

1. From the VMware vSphere Client Home view, select Hosts and Clusters from the Inventory pane.

2. Select a host or cluster in the inventory tree in the left pane, and then select the EMC VSI tab.

The main window reflects the information for the selected item, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Viewing information for an ESX or ESXi host



EMC VSI window overview

The EMC VSI window provides access to the installed VSI features and their functionality.

To open the EMC VSI window

◆ From the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Solutions and Applications > EMC VSI.

Figure 2 shows the EMC VSI window.

Figure 2 EMC VSI window with Feature Manager selected

The EMC VSI window includes the following panes:

◆ Settings—This pane provides access to the Feature Manager function, which manages the separate plug-in features. It also provides access to logging information for each installed feature. “VSI logging” on page 31 provides information for using the VSI logging function.

◆ Features—This pane lists the installed VSI features and their related functions and components.

For example, with Storage Viewer installed, this pane lists all storage arrays and servers that VSI has discovered and allows for the discovery of new arrays and the deletion of previously discovered arrays.

◆ Main window—This pane reflects information for items selected in the Settings and Features panels. For example, in Figure 2, Feature Manager is selected in the Settings pane, so the main pane contents reflect the installed features.

Using VSI with the vSphere Client 21


Using the VSI Feature ManagerThe Feature Manager enables you to view, enable, and disable VSI features.

From the EMC VSI window, under Settings, select Feature Manager.

A list of installed VSI features is displayed.

Enabling, disabling, or uninstalling VSI features

1. Ensure that the VSI plug-in is enabled.

2. From the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Solutions and Applications > EMC VSI.

3. Under Settings, select Feature Manager.

A list of installed VSI features is displayed. Figure 3 shows an example.

The default status of the features is Enabled.

4. To disable, uninstall, or enable a feature, right-click the feature and select Disable, Enable, or Uninstall.

• Disabled features remain fully installed and can be re-enabled later.

• Uninstalled features are permanently removed once the vSphere Client is closed and must be reinstalled separately.

Figure 3 VSI Feature Manager



Uninstalling or repairing a VSI feature using the installerIndividual VSI features can be repaired or removed as follows:

1. Run the installation executable file that you downloaded from EMC Online Support.

2. Select the VSI feature to be removed or repaired.

• To remove the feature, click Remove.

The selected VSI feature is removed. The VSI framework remains installed and listed under Add/Remove Programs.

• To repair the feature, select Repair.

The selected VSI feature is repaired.

Uninstalling the VSI plug-inTo uninstall VSI, use the Windows Add/Remove Programs utility. This removes the VSI framework as well as all VSI features.

Note: Using Add/Remove Programs to uninstall the VSI plug-in removes all installed VSI features at once. No individual selection is possible.

To uninstall VSI

1. Exit VMware vSphere Client in all user sessions on the client host.

2. From the Start menu, select Settings > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.

3. From the list of currently installed programs, select EMC Virtual Storage Integrator for VMware vSphere.

4. Select Change/Remove and follow the instructions in the dialog boxes presented.

Uninstalling or repairing a VSI feature using the installer 23




CHAPTER 3VSI Configuration
Invisible Body Tag


◆ Configuring Solutions Enabler for EMC SRDF Adapter............................................... 26◆ Configuring SRDF SRA Global Options ..................................................................... 29◆ VSI logging.............................................................................................................. 31

VSI Configuration 25

VSI Configuration

Configuring Solutions Enabler for EMC SRDF AdapterThe EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager uses Solutions Enabler software to discover and manage the Symmetrix VMAX 10K, VMAX 20K, and VMAX 40K storage arrays for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager. Solutions Enabler uses in-band commands to small devices called gatekeepers to manipulate the Symmetrix storage arrays. Therefore, Solutions Enabler must be installed on a host with access to the gatekeepers on the storage array that contains the devices presented to the VMware environment. The simplest configuration provides the server running VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager with direct connectivity to the storage arrays.

A client-server model is the most common deployment of Solutions Enabler for EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager. In this model, the EMC SRDF Adapter uses the Solutions Enabler API server running on a remote host that has direct connectivity to the storage arrays. The communication between the Solutions Enabler commands executed by the EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter SRM and the Solutions Enabler API server occurs over a TCP/IP network. For ease of management, setup, and use, EMC recommends that you use the Solutions Enabler Virtual Appliance as the remote SYMAPI servers.

IMPORTANT

The Using EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager TechBook provides complete configuration instructions for SRM, SRA, and the Solutions Enabler servers. The EMC Solutions Enabler Installation Guide provides complete Solutions Enabler installation instructions. Both are available on EMC Online Support.

Solutions Enabler requirements for SRA Utilities

The following Solutions Enabler requirements are prerequisites for SRA Utilities:

◆ You must have two separate Solutions Enabler servers (one per site). VSI uses the same server as the SRDF Adapter and SRM.

◆ For configuring consistency groups using SRDF/A devices, the SYMAPI_USE_RDFD must be set to Enable in the options file for SRDF/A consistency group creation and the RDF Daemon must be on. EMC recommends enabling AutoStart for the RDF Daemon.

◆ You must have the required Solutions Enabler licenses for SRDF SRA operations as described in the appendix of the Using EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager TechBook.



VSI Configuration

vCenter permissions for SRA Utilities

The SRA Utilities feature requires certain vCenter permissions to be granted. Custom tasks can be enabled only when the vSphere Client is connected to a vCenter server. A direct connection to the ESX host disables all Symmetrix SRA Utilities functionality.

For test failover and gold copy

Create a custom role on the vCenter object that has the following permissions:

◆ Extension

• Register extension

• Unregister extension

• Update extension

◆ Tasks

• Create tasks

• Update tasks

◆ “Read Only” role access to clusters and hosts

◆ “No Access” role is permissible for all sub-objects

For consistency groups

Create a custom role on both the local and remote vCenter servers with the following permissions:

◆ Extension




◆ Tasks

• Create tasks

• Update tasks

◆ Sessions

• Validate session

◆ “Read Only” role access to hosts

◆ “No Access” role is permissible for clusters


Configuring Solutions Enabler for EMC SRDF Adapter 27

VSI Configuration

For RDF device masking and test replica masking

Create a custom role on the vCenter object that has the following permissions:

◆ Extension




◆ Tasks

• Create tasks

• Update tasks

◆ Sessions

• Validate session

◆ “Read Only” role for access to hosts

◆ “No Access” role is permissible for clusters


Symmetrix access control lists (ACLs)

All ACLs need access to the relevant SRM devices. SRA needs VLOGIX access to ALL_DEVS (pre-created device group for all devices).

When creating ACLs you must provide a host ID, an access privilege (vlogix, base, or other), and the devices that the host can control. In the case of SRM, the host needs the listed privileges with access to the SRM-related devices. The exception is the SRA Utilities feature, which needs VLOGIX access to all devices (SRM-related or not).

The Symmetrix SRA Utilities feature requires the following ACLs:

◆ BASE

◆ SNAP (This ACL is required only for using TimeFinder/Snap for failover tests or gold copies.)

◆ BCV (This ACL is required only for using BCV/Clone for failover tests or gold copies.)

◆ RDF

◆ BASECTRL

◆ VLOGIX


VSI Configuration

Configuring SRDF SRA Global Optionsthe Symmetrix SRA Utilities feature provides users with the ability to edit the options in the EmcSrdfSraGlobalOptions.xml file from within the VSI interface.

From the VSI Home view, select EMC > SRA Utilities > SRDF SRA Global Options to display the global options.

The SRDF SRA Global Options window displays the following information:

◆ Option Name

◆ Default Value

◆ Current Value

◆ Definition

Figure 4 shows the SRDF SRA Global Options window.

Figure 4 SRDF SRA Global Options window

Configuring SRDF SRA Global Options 29

VSI Configuration

Table 1 lists the options that are configurable from the SRDF SRA Global Options window.

Note: If the Global Options XML file (EmcSrdfSraGlobalOptions.xml) does not contain the accepted value for any of the options, it will display the default value for the given option. If the file does not exist or is empty, it will display default values for all options.

Changing options

1. In the Current Value list box, select Enabled or Disabled.

Orange highlighting in the Current Value list box means that the value has been changed but not saved.

2. Click Save, and then click Yes at the confirmation prompt.

Table 1 SRDF SRA Global Options

Option Default Result when Enabled

SymapiDebug Disabled Generates SYMAPI debug logs.

TestFailoverForce Disabled Allows a test failover to proceed regardless of the state of the RDF.

Note: You cannot use this option in combination with the TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots option.

TerminateCopySessions Disabled Allows snapshot and clone sessions to be terminated during a test failover.

TestFailoverWithoutLocalSnapshots Disabled Allows a test failover directly from the R2 devices without the need to use local TimeFinder devices.

Note: You cannot use this option in combination with the TestFailoverForce option.

FailoverIfGoldCopyFails Enabled Allows a test failover to continue if gold copy backups fail.

IgnoreActivatedSnapshots Disabled Allows the EMC SRDF SRA test failover operation to accept the state of test failover BCV devices that are already split. This option also allows for a user-initiated, manual consistent BCV split operation across devices internal and external to the VMware environment.

FailoverToAsyncSite Disabled Allows failover to the Async site in three-site configurations.

FilterNonVmwareDevices Disabled Filters from discovery devices that are not visible to any of the ESX servers managed by the vCenter.1

CheckForVirtualDisks Disabled Determines if the TimeFinder target devices configured for use as R2 snapshots are already part of VMware datastores and raw device mappings (RDMs).

SetReplicaTargetToReady Disabled Sets any target replication devices that are not ready to ready.

TestReplicaMaskingControl Disabled Allows SRA to present the Symmetrix TimeFinder target devices to or remove them from the VMware environment during test failover.

RdfDeviceMaskingControl Disabled Allows SRA to present the Symmetrix RDF devices to or remove them from the VMware environment during a Recovery operation.

ReverseReplicationDuringRecovery Disabled Allows an SRDF personality swap during the Recovery operation.

1. Requires additional configuration on the local SE installation for this to work. See the Using EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.5 TechBook for more information.


VSI Configuration

Notes: • Option values are updated in the EmcSrdfSraGlobalOptions.xml file. This does not

affect the options that are not displayed in the GUI but are present in the Global Options file.

• If the SRA Utilities feature is unable to load the options file or to read an option, it loads the default values for all options.

Undoing changes

◆ Click Refresh to discard all changes, and then reload the current settings from the EmcSrdfSraGlobalOptions.xml file.

◆ Click Restore Defaults to set all the options back to the default values, except for the Global Options FailoverToAsyncSite file. This value remains unchanged.

VSI loggingVSI for VMware vSphere provides a feature logging function for configuring log levels and storing logs. Select Logging from the Settings menu to display logging configuration options. Figure 5 shows an example. The various VSI log files are located on disk at:

$APPDATA%\EMC\Virtual Storage Integrator\vSphere4\Logs

Figure 5 VSI Feature logging

VSI logging 31

VSI Configuration

Setting logging options

The General\Logging window provides the following options:

◆ Select a log from the Log Files list for the desired VSI loaded feature.

◆ Clear Active Logs Only to view previous log files that are stored by date. Select files in the Log Files list.

◆ Click File to open the log files directory:

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\EMC\Virtual Storage Integrator\vSphere4\Logs

◆ Click Auto-Load to enable or disable auto-load. When enabled, a log file is monitored and loaded into the viewer as it is modified.

◆ Click Scroll Lock to enable or disable scroll lock. When enabled, the scroll lock feature prevents the log viewer from automatically scrolling to the bottom of the log file whenever information is added.

◆ Click Search log files to open the Find window to search log files for standard or regular expressions. The search can match case, whole words, or the start of a word.

◆ Select Compress file to create a zip archive of the log files to save in another location.

◆ Set log files to one of the following levels in the Log Levels list:

• Off—No log entries will be written.

• Fatal—Only fatal errors will be written.

• Error—Only error messages will be written.

• Warn—Warning and error messages will be written.

• Info—All information including error and warning messages will be written. This is the default value.

• Debug—Informative messages as well as errors and warnings will be written for any general operations that occur.

• All—Everything will be written.


CHAPTER 4Procedures
Invisible Body Tag


◆ Working with SRA Utilities elements ........................................................................ 34◆ Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder .......................................................... 38◆ Using the FailoverToAsyncSite Global Option........................................................... 43◆ Creating automated consistency groups .................................................................. 44◆ Creating gold copies for recovery plans ................................................................... 53◆ Using device masking ............................................................................................. 55

Procedures 33

Procedures

Working with SRA Utilities elementsThis section provides definitions of the elements in the SRA Utilities feature. Figure 6 shows a typical screen with the EMC VSI tab and the SRA Utilities Failover Test option selected.

Figure 6 Sample SRA Utilities screen showing Failover Test Pairings

The SRA Utilities options are Failover Test and Gold Copy. Table 2 provides a description of the elements and fields in the SRA Utilities screen. Fields in the main window whose values you can change are denoted with an asterisk (*).

Table 2 SRA Utilities elements and fields

Element or Field Description

Features pane under SRA Utilities:

Failover Test Populates the main window with Symmetrix devices that are available for failover testing and the associated fields and values.

Gold Copy Populates the main window with Symmetrix devices that are available for creating gold copies and the associated fields and values.

Only show replicas with sessions

Located under both Failover Test and Gold Copy. When selected, the main window displays only replicas with sessions.

Star Devices Located under both Failover Test and Gold Copy. When selected, the main window displays only Star devices. When cleared, devices of two-site replication and non-Star three-site cascaded and concurrent configuration are displayed.

Non-Visible Replica Located under Failover Test. When selected, the main window displays both devices that are visible to the server and devices that are not visible with related fields.

Menu items (main window):

Replication Type Allows you to choose the TimeFinder technology that you want to use to define device pairing: TimeFinder/Clone, TimeFinder/Snap, or TimeFinder/VP Snap. The TimeFinder technology is automatically selected based on the object in the Inventory pane and Failover Test filters, but you can change it if necessary.


Procedures

Ignore All Clears all suggested device pairings.

Refresh Updates changes in the configuration.

Export Allows you to export and save the device definitions file to another location.

Save Options File Saves the device pair definitions to the options file. VSI ensures that each device pair definition is unique before saving it to the appropriate options file on the recovery site.

Note: “Configuration files and location” on page 17 lists the location of the configuration files.

The device pairs define the relationship between the replica at the recovery site and the target. The SRDF Adapter uses the pairing defined in the options file to determine the devices to use for a recovery plan test or gold copy.

Fields displayed in the main window:

Source Array Source array ID number.

Source Device Source device ID number.

Group Group number to which the device belongs.

SDRF Mode Replication mode for the device. Available values are Synchronous, Asynchronous, and Adaptive Copy

SDRF State Condition of the replication. All of the SRDF state links are supported, such as Synchronized, Consistent, Suspended, Split, Failed Over, and so forth.

SDRF Config Configuration of the device replication. Available values are Cascaded, Concurrent, Two-Site, Star.

Target Array Target array ID number.

Target Type The RDF target device type, such as RDF2, RDF21, RDF2+TDEV, RDF2+Mir, and so forth

Target Device Target device ID Number.

Replica Device* Lists device pairing candidates with their respective SRDF protected devices. • NA is displayed if no available candidate replica devices for a RDF device pair in Async Mode exist.• An ellipsis (...) is displayed if no available candidate replica devices for an RDF device pair in Sync

Mode exist. • You can select Ignore if an SRDF pair is not involved in a recovery plan test or the creation of a gold

copy.

Replica Type Type of device for the replica. Available values are TDEV, BCV + TDEV, Mir, or a combination of these.

Replica State Condition of the replica creation. All replica states can be displayed, such as Copied, Created, None.

Replica Status Displayed when Non-Visible Replica is selected. Available values are Visible, Non-visible.

Save Pool* Displayed when TimeFinder/Snap technology is selected to define device pairs. You can select a different item if necessary.

Star CG Name The composite group name of a Star configuration.

Star Mode The Star Mode: Cascaded or Concurrent

Star State The Star State, such as Protected, Suspended, Split, and so forth.

Workload Site Name The work load site name in a Star configuration.

Target Site Name The target site name locally attached to current vCenter in a Star configuration.

Table 2 SRA Utilities elements and fields (continued)


Working with SRA Utilities elements 35

Procedures

Defining device pairs

Device pairs define the relationship between the replica at the recovery site and the target. The SRDF Adapter uses the pairing defined in the options file to determine the devices to use for a recovery plan test or gold copy. You can edit the EMC SRDF Adapter options file using the SRA Utilities feature.

Understanding device pairs logic

VSI uses the following logic to determine potential device pairings:

◆ If the options file has existing device pairs, VSI automatically selects the TimeFinder technology that is defined in the options file and suggests the existing pairs if they are valid.

◆ If the options file does not define any device pairs, if the defined device pairs are invalid, or if the user changes the TimeFinder technology to use, VSI determines the devices that have (a) the same configuration as the R2 (for example, metavolume configuration), and (b) the appropriate attribute for the TimeFinder technology in use (for example, TDEV if TimeFinder/VP Snap is selected) and presents them as candidates for the replica device.

◆ If the device pairs are presented to test recovery plans, VSI filters the candidate list to display only those devices visible to the object selected in the left pane of the Inventory view. The additional check prevents users from defining device pairs that will result in a failed recovery plan test.

To define device pairs

1. Ensure that the target for the cloning operation is presented to the appropriate VMware ESX hosts at the recovery site.

2. In the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Inventory > Hosts and Clusters.

3. In the vCenter inventory, select the appropriate host or cluster containing the SRM-protected virtual machines for which you want to define device pairs.

Target Site State The target site state in a Star configuration, such as Protected, Suspended, Split, Connected, and so forth.

Other elements:

Diamond icons The status of the SRDF link for the device pair.Green: NormalUnfilled or red: Abnormal and might require the attention of the storage administrator

Table 2 SRA Utilities elements and fields (continued)



Procedures

4. Select the EMC VSI tab, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7 Selecting Failover Test pairs

The status box below the tabs displays the status of the connection. Double-click the status box to close it.

5. In the Features pane, under SRA Utilities, select Failover Test or Gold Copy, and then select the filter for the operation you want to perform.

Refer to Table 2 on page 34 for available options and definitions.

VSI discovers all replicated devices and all possible candidates for use as replica devices. Device pairing candidates are listed in the Replica Device column and are associated with their respective SRDF protected devices.

If an existing replication session that a previous test failover created, the device and its replica state are shown.

6. Optionally, change the following as required. Refer to Table 2 on page 34 for more information on these options.

• TimeFinder technology

• Replica Device

• Save Pool

7. Click Save Options File to save the device pair definitions to the appropriate options file.

Working with SRA Utilities elements 37

Procedures

Note: VMware vCenter SRM version 5.0 and later and EMC SRDF Adapter version 5.0 and later support recovery plan definitions that include multiple protection groups with more than one Symmetrix storage array at the recovery site. VSI supports this feature by implementing the following:

◆ Grouping the information on the recovery site per target Symmetrix when displaying device pairings in vSphere Client

◆ Accommodating the changes to the CopyInfo stanza and the addition of the ArrayID tag in the EmcSrdfSraTestFailoverConfig.xml file that the EMC SRDF Adapter uses

Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder

Note: Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder/Mirror is not available in SRA Utilities 5.6.

This section explains how to test recovery plans using the following EMC TimeFinder technologies:

◆ TimeFinder/Clone—Instructions are provided in “Testing recovery plans” on page 39.

◆ TimeFinder/Snap and TimeFinder/VP Snap—If you are using SRDF/A, review “Using TimeFinder/Snap or TimeFinder/VP Snap with SRDF/A” on page 39 before following the instructions in “Testing recovery plans” on page 39.

For each of the recovery plans, the EMC SRDF Adapter creates and activates the TimeFinder sessions only if the state of the SRDF relationship for the devices involved in the recovery plan is Consistent or Synchronized. Without the additional check, the adapter cannot determine whether the source devices for the TimeFinder sessions contain valid data for testing recovery plans.

To test the recovery plan even though the SRDF link is in either a Suspended or Split state (for example, for enterprise consistency configurations that contain data outside a VMware environment), follow the steps in “Enabling the TestFailoverForce option.”

Enabling the TestFailoverForce option

To test the recovery plan even though the SRDF link is in either a Suspended or Split state, do the following:

1. Ensure that the source devices in the TimeFinder sessions contain a consistent and valid copy of the data.

2. Use the Global Options feature in the SRA Utilities feature to change the TestFailoverForce option to Enabled.

“Configuring SRDF SRA Global Options” on page 29 provides instructions.

The EMC SRDF Adapter ignores the state of the SRDF links and creates a TimeFinder copy.


Procedures

Using TimeFinder/Snap or TimeFinder/VP Snap with SRDF/A

Note: TimeFinder/Snap operations are not supported on VMAX 10K and cannot be configured on VMAX 10K with the Symmetrix SRA Utilities feature.

The following requirements must be met to test a recovery plan using TimeFinder/Snap or TimeFinder/VP Snap with SRDF/A replicated devices:

◆ For TimeFinder/Snap, VMAX arrays are running Enginuity 5875 or later.

◆ For TimeFinder/VP Snap: VMAX arrays are running Enginuity 5876 or later.

◆ The SRDF session is active.

◆ Device-level write pacing and the Autostart property must be set:

• In two-site configurations and concurrent Star configurations, device level write pacing and device level Autostart must be enabled on both R1 and R2.

• In a cascaded Star setup, TimeFinder Snap snapshots for gold copy and test failover require Solutions Enabler 7.5 or later when the site is running at the Async site. The Symmetrix array at R21 must be running Enginuity 5876.159 or later and device-level write pacing with Autostart must be enabled at both R21 and R2 sites.

“SRDF/A: Device-level write pacing and AutoStart property” on page 42 provides more information.

Testing recovery plans

For any of the TimeFinder technologies, follow these general instructions.

1. Use the Failover Test feature of VSI SRA Utilities to verify that the correct number of properly sized devices are present on the recovery cluster and define the device pairs as described in “Defining device pairs” on page 36.

2. Optionally, to display only the replicas with active and existing sessions, select Only show replicas with sessions from the Features pane.

To display replicas which are not visible to the VMware environment but qualify as potential replicas, select the Non-visible Replicas.

Selecting this option lists both visible and non-visible replicas.

3. Select the pairs for the test, and then click Save Options File.

The device pairs define the relationship between the replica at the recovery site and the clone or snap target. The adapter uses the pairing defined in the options file to determine the devices to use for a recovery plan test. The options file also reflects the TimeFinder technology for the test.

4. In the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Solutions and Applications > Site Recovery.

Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder 39

Procedures

5. In the Recovery Plans pane, select the plan to test, and then select the Recovery Steps tab, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8 Recovery plan testing

6. In the Recovery Steps tab, click Test.

7. In the Test Confirmation dialog box, click Next.

8. In the review dialog box, confirm that the information is correct, and then click Start.

The EMC SRDF Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager uses the information provided in the options file and performs the appropriate TimeFinder/Clone, Snap, or VP Snap operations.

Note: The EMC SRDF Adapter does not verify the TimeFinder license on the server that provides the EMC Solutions Enabler API service. The API calls made by EMC SRDF Adapter to perform TimeFinder operations fails if the required license keys are not present.

The EMC SRDF Adapter creates a local copy of the devices associated with the protection group using the selected TimeFinder technology. The VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager uses the copy of the datastore on the VMware ESX host at the recovery site and powers on copies of the virtual machines hosted on those devices.

When the test is complete, the Test Complete notice appears and the status of each step is displayed in the Recovery Steps tab.

9. To reset the environment to pre-test status, click Cleanup.


Procedures

The Cleanup operation reverts all changes incurred by the test failover operation and allows for subsequent actual failover operation. The cleanup operation performs the following:

• Powers off and unregisters test virtual machines.

• Unmounts and detaches replica VMFS volumes.

• Replaces recovered virtual machines with original place holders (shadow virtual machines), preserving their identity and configuration information.

• Cleans up replicated storage snapshots that the recovered virtual machines used during the test.

Note: After you execute a test failover, you must run the Cleanup operation before you can run an actual failover or another test failover.

10. In the dialog box that appears, click Next.

11. In the dialog box that appears, click Start.

The environment is reset to its pre-test status.

• For TimeFinder/Clone, the EMC SRDF Adapter re-creates the cloning relationship, optimizing the performance of future recovery plan tests while minimizing the impact on the storage arrays when copying data to the target clone devices.

• For TimeFinder/Snap:

– If the target array is running Enginuity 5773 or earlier, the EMC SRDF Adapter terminates the TimeFinder/Snap sessions created during the testing of the recovery plan.

– If the target array is running Enginuity 5874 or later, the EMC SRDF Adapter automatically re-creates the TimeFinder/Snap sessions.

• For TimeFinder/VP Snap, if the target array is running Enginuity 5876 or later, the EMC SRDF Adapter automatically re-creates the TimeFinder/VP Snap sessions.

12. For Snap, run the symsnap Solutions Enabler command to verify the state of the VDEV devices.

Enabling TerminateCopySessions

The Global Option TerminateCopySessions is disabled by default to allow re-creation of clone and snap relationships. To automatically terminate the relationship when the execution of the recovery plan is completed, use the Global Options setting in the SRA Utilities feature to enable TerminateCopySessions.

Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder 41

Procedures

SRDF/A: Device-level write pacing and AutoStart property

Use TimeFinder/Snap with R2 devices in an SRDF/A session only when device-level write pacing on R1/R21devices and device-level AutoStart on R2 and R1/R21devices is configured on the RA groups on the R1 side of the SRDF replication. SRDF/A device-level write pacing extends SRDF/A group-level write pacing to address conditions that lead to cache overflow.

A TimeFinder/Snap or VP Snap copy from an R2 could cause the SRDF/A session to fail because of the R2 lagging too far behind the R1. A session can drop because of certain high-intensity copy-on-write workloads on the Snap or VP Snap copy that overwhelm the R2 device and cause cache overflow on the R1 side as writes build up.

The SRDF/A write pacing feature helps secure the availability of an SRDF/A session by preventing conditions that cause this cache overflow on both the R1 and R2 sides. SRDF/A detects when SRDF I/O service rates are lower than the host I/O rates, and then takes corrective actions to slow down the host I/O rates to match the SRDF I/O service rates. It works in conjunction with the SRDF/A DSE and transmit idle functionality. SRDF/A write pacing monitors and responds to spikes in the host write I/O rates and slowdowns in data transmittal to the R2 and in R2 restore rates. By monitoring and pacing the host write I/Os, the SRDF/A write pacing feature controls the amount of cache SRDF/A uses. Write pacing prevents cache overflow on both R1 and R2, and helps the SRDF/A session stay up.

Note: When a failover is performed from SRA with only device-level write pacing enabled for Snap or VP Snap, the device-level write pacing could become disabled. Setting the AutoStart property automatically enables the device-level write pacing when the link is resumed.

IMPORTANT

If a host application cannot tolerate the I/O throttling caused when device-level write pacing is triggered, do not enable this feature. Use TimeFinder/Clone for test failover operations instead.

To enable device-level write pacing

1. Identify the RA groups in use by the SRDF/A devices. Every RA group that contains the SRDF/A devices for use with TimeFinder/Snap or VP Snap must have write pacing enabled. Perform this function on the RA groups on all R1 and R2 Symmetrix arrays to enable bidirectional support. You can use Solutions Enabler or Symmetrix Management Console to configure device-level write pacing.

2. The following three settings can be configured for write pacing.1

• Write pacing delay—Specifies the maximum host I/O delay that the SRDF/A write pacing feature will cause. The value is specified in microseconds; the allowable values are from 1 to 1,000,000 (1 sec). The default value is 50,000 µs (50 ms).

1. In-depth discussions on the exact values to set for the delay and threshold are beyond the scope of this guide. Consult the EMC SRDF documentation or contact your local EMC technical support professional for further details.


Procedures

• Write pacing threshold—Specifies the minimum percentage of the system write pending cache at which the Symmetrix array will start pacing host write I/Os for this RDF group. The allowable values are from 1 to 99 percent. The default value is 60 percent.

• Device write pacing autostart—Specifies whether to automatically enable the device-level write pacing when the SRDF/A session is activated. EMC recommends that you set the device-level write pacing to autostart. If autostart is not set, you must activate write pacing manually whenever the SRDF/A link is resumed.

If the Autostart feature is enabled on the R1 side of the SRDF/A session, Enginuity will automatically activate the device-level write pacing feature when the SRDF/A session is active. Solutions Enabler activates the SRDF/A session when an RDF control is issued to bring the devices RW on the link (Resume, Establish, and so forth).

Using the FailoverToAsyncSite Global OptionFailoverToAsyncSite is included in the SRA Utilities Global Options. The default value of this option is disabled.

Table 3 shows the items displayed in the SRA Utilities main window when FailoverToAsyncSite is enabled or disabled.

Set the Global Option FailoverToAsyncSite to an appropriate value depending on whether the Star configuration is Sync or Async. The SRA Utilities feature detects the Star/non-Star devices and displays details for the Global Option setting and the filter that is selected.

Failover to Async site in Star environments

EMC SRDF SRA supports failover to the Async site in concurrent and cascaded SRDF/Star environments. The environment is a data protection and failure recovery solution that covers three geographically dispersed data centers in a triangular topology.

◆ The primary data center is called the Workload site.

◆ The secondary site where the production data is mirrored using synchronous replication is called the Sync target site.

◆ The site where data is replicated using asynchronous replication is called the Async target site.

Table 3 FailoverToAsyncSite settings and results

FailoverToAsyncSite Enabled Disabled

Source device R1 or R11 R1 or R11

Target device R2 or R22 R21 or R2

Star devices selected Displays only Star devices that have Async replication

Displays only Star devices that have Sync replication

Non-Star devices Displays only non-Star devices that have Async replication

Displays only non-Star devices that have Sync replication

SRDF Displays only SRDF devices having Async replication.

Not supported

Using the FailoverToAsyncSite Global Option 43

Procedures

Failover to Sync and Async sites in non-Star environments

EMC SRDF SRA 5.5 supports failover to Sync and Async sites in concurrent and cascaded SRDF non-Star environments.

Creating automated consistency groups This section provides instructions for creating consistency groups, as well as information about their nature and logic.

Using consistency groups

A typical SRDF configuration contains applications that write data on multiple Symmetrix LUNs at the protected (R1) site, which are replicated to remote (R2) sites over SRDF/A or SRDF/S links. These LUNs can span multiple Symmetrix arrays or multiple SRDF groups within a single Symmetrix array. Data replication is a complex process that often requires preserving the order of writes on these LUNs. A typical example is a database application writing data and transaction logs across multiple LUNs. Preserving the order of writes in such cases is critical. In SRDF environments, this can be achieved with a feature known as consistency groups.

Similarly, in a VMware environment, virtual machines are running applications that are writing data to one or more Symmetrix LUNs. These virtual machines must be able to correctly restart on the recovery site in case of failure at the protection site. To achieve this, EMC recommends the use of consistency protection across all of the related Symmetrix LUNs.

Note: The Symmetrix SRA Utilities feature supports only automated Consistency Group creation with SRDF/S and SRDF/A. Star groups must be created manually in SMC or SYMCLI.

About consistency groups

A consistency group is a device or composite group of Symmetrix RDF devices (RDF1, RDF2, or RDF21) that are enabled for remote consistency. The devices in the consistency group are configured to act in unison to maintain the integrity of data when distributed across multiple devices within an array.

Note: The Solutions Enabler SRDF Product Guide available on EMC Online Support provides more information about consistency groups.

RDF consistency protection software preserves the dependent-write consistency of devices within the group by monitoring data propagation from source devices to their corresponding target devices. If a source R1 device in the consistency group cannot propagate data to its corresponding R2 device, RDF consistency software suspends data propagation from all the R1 devices in the group. When data propagation is suspended, you can quickly recover from certain types of failures or physical disasters by retaining a consistent environment.



Procedures

RDF consistency group protection is available for both synchronous mode (SRDF/S) and asynchronous mode (SRDF/A). RDF consistency protection for SRDF/S devices is provided through RDF Enginuity Consistency Assist (RDF-ECA). RDF consistency protection for SRDF/A devices is provided through Multi Session Consistency (MSC).

Notes:

◆ For consistency groups that use MSC to provide consistency, the RDF Daemon on both the protected and recovery SYMAPI servers must be running. EMC strongly recommends that you set RDF Daemon to autostart on both sides in case the SYMAPI server is rebooted.

◆ Ensure that Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) on the Protected Site and the Recovery Site can communicate with each other. The Windows WMI website provides more details. On Windows Sever 2012 Standard if the Windows Firewall is On, add Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to the Exception list on the Firewall.

VSI algorithm for creating consistency groups

To perform failback or failover, VSI must identify which devices belong in each consistency group. Algorithms are used to identify device relationships. SRDF/A algorithms are slightly different from SRDF/S algorithms and SRDF/A restrictions could cause unintended devices to be included in the consistency groups.

SRDF/S algorithm

The algorithm for SRDF/S is as follows:

1. VSI enumerates the list of replicated datastores present on the ESX server/cluster.

2. For each datastore, VSI determines the underlying Symmetrix devices.

3. VSI generates a set of virtual machines for each datastore.

4. VSI notes any virtual machine that spans multiple datastores and all of the underlying Symmetrix devices. Steps 1–4 are repeated for each datastore.

5. VSI notes any virtual machines that have RDMs with additional Symmetrix devices.

6. All the devices in the set from steps 2, 4, and 5 are considered part of one consistency group.

7. VSI calculates consistency groups for all the remaining datastores.

Creating automated consistency groups 45

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa393266(v=vs.85).aspx

Procedures

Figure 9 shows a sample configuration.

Note: This example shows how the VSI algorithm for consistency group creation works. The sample environment might not follow recommended Symmetrix/VMware best practices.

Figure 9 Sample virtual machine storage mapping

The algorithm for the SRDF/S configuration shown in Figure 9 results in the following (if all devices are SRDF/S):

1. VSI finds three datastores: “VMFS 1” (one extent), “VMFS 2” (two extents), and “VMFS 3” (one extent).

• “VMFS 1” is on Symmetrix device A1 and only device A1 is in the consistency group CG1.

2. Virtual machines 1 and 2 have virtual disks that reside on VMFS 1. Additionally, virtual machine 1 has an RDM association with Symmetrix device G1. As a result, G1 is added to the list.


Procedures

3. Virtual machine 2 has a virtual disk on VMFS 2. Therefore, the Symmetrix devices contained in VMFS 2 are also added to the consistency group.

• The consistency group CG1 contains Symmetrix devices A1, C1, D1, and G1.

• Datastore VMFS 3 contains Symmetrix device E1. One virtual machine, virtual machine 3, uses VMFS 3. It does not span multiple datastores, and does not have any RDMs.

4. VSI creates a second consistency group, CG2, with device E1.

5. VSI lists the two consistency groups as possible options. You can select all or some of the groups for consistency group creation.

6. Based on your selection, VSI creates the desired consistency groups, adds the corresponding devices to the groups, and enables RDF consistency.

SRDF/A algorithm

The algorithm for SRDF/S also works well for SRDF/A. However, SRDF/A operations cannot be performed on a subset of devices contained in a single RA group. All the devices within an RA group must be part of any SRDF/A operation.

The following steps show how the algorithm would be executed if the environment in Figure 9 on page 46 was configured with SRDF/A:

1. VSI finds three datastores: VMFS 1, VMFS 2, and VMFS 3.

• VMFS 1 is on Symmetrix device A1.

• Virtual machines 1 and 2 have virtual disks that reside on VMFS 1.

2. Virtual machine 1 has an RDM to Symmetrix device G1 and G1 is added to the list. Because of the extra restriction on SRDF/A devices, the Symmetrix device F1 is added to CG1 as well.

3. Again, because of the extra restriction on SRDF/A devices, Symmetrix devices B1 and C1 are also part of the same consistency group CG1 because they are all part of the same RA group, RA1. Even though B1 is not an RDM or VMFS volume, it is included.

4. Virtual machine 2 also has a virtual disk on VMFS 2 and the Symmetrix devices contained in VMFS 2 are also added to the consistency group. This device was identified in Step 5, so no changes are made.

5. Symmetrix device E1 is part of RA group RA2. Because of the SRDF/A restriction, E1 is part of consistency group CG1 and E1 is added to consistency group CG1.

At this point, all discovered Symmetrix devices are part of consistency group CG1; therefore, VSI presents one consistency group, CG1 that contains Symmetrix devices A1, B1, C1, D1, E1, F1, and G1.

6. Based on your selection, VSI creates the consistency groups, adds the corresponding devices to the groups, and enables RDF consistency.


Procedures

Creating consistency groups with VSI

Using the Automated Consistency Groups feature of VSI SRA Utilities, you can create consistency groups from within the vSphere Client without manual configuration on the array.

VSI enables the creation of consistency groups for both failover and failback operations.

To create consistency groups in preparation for failover

1. Connect to the Protection vCenter and navigate to the EMC VSI tab as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10 Accessing the consistency group creation pane in VSI

2. Click Login.

The Remote Site Connection wizard opens.


Procedures

3. Enter the server name or IP address and administrator credentials for the remote vCenter server.

4. If the remote vCenter and SRM servers are on the same host, in the Remote SRM Server box, select that option, and then click Next.

If the remote vCenter SRM server is on a different host:

a. Select Enter the address and port for a remote SRM Server.

b. In the fields provided, enter the IP address or name of the remote SRM server and the administrator credentials, and then click Next.

The Failover Configuration pane lists suggestions for candidate consistency groups.

5. Select the consistency groups to be created.

6. Click Create Checked CGs.

Merging consistency groups

Before creating consistency groups, suggested consistency groups can be merged into one larger consistency group. The decision as to whether to merge consistency groups depends on the logical relationships between the protected virtual machines. VSI never requires merging because any mandatory virtual machine groupings are already enforced.

In the example in Figure 11, VSI suggests the creation of four separate consistency groups named CG0, CG1, CG2, and CG3. CG0, CG2, and CG3 are virtual machines protected by SRDF/S replication, and CG1 contains virtual machines entirely protected by SRDF/A. For this environment, the three SRDF/S groups are merged into one. The SRDF/A group remains as originally suggested.

Figure 11 Merging consistency groups with VSI


Procedures

VSI never prevents merging consistency groups in memory within VSI. Two consistency groups can be logically merged in memory regardless of any issues present on the various components within each consistency group being merged. However, checks are run on the merged consistency group and corresponding flags are set based on the devices contained in the merged consistency group. Some of these flags may prevent creation of the consistency group but will not prevent in-memory merges. For more information on these flags, refer to “Assisted troubleshooting of SRDF configurations with VSI” on page 51.

◆ Optionally, once the consistency group configuration has been designed, you can right-click the groups to rename them according to applicable naming conventions.

◆ Click Create Checked CGs, as shown in Figure 12, to check and create the consistency groups.

VSI commits these groups on both the local and remote SYMAPI servers with the user-specified group name. If a device is already present in one or more consistency groups on the target SYMAPI server, those consistency groups are deleted and the devices are added to the new consistency group. After successful completion of the task, you can view the advanced details of the groups using the Symmetrix Management Console or the Solutions Enabler command line interface.

Figure 12 Creating consistency groups


Procedures

Assisted troubleshooting of SRDF configurations with VSI

VSI’s consistency group creation process can quickly and easily identify misconfigurations of SRDF for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager. VSI identifies each device, datastore, and virtual machine present in the consistency group. If VSI discovers errors, it sets flags and shows a corresponding alert in the VSI consistency group pane. The four types of flags are: device flags, datastore flags, virtual machine flags, and consistency group flags.

Possible errors related to device flags

Device flags are set depending on the device configuration. Each device present in the consistency group is analyzed and one or more flags are set.

◆ A flag is set on a device when it becomes part of the consistency group because an SRDF/A device is present and not all of the devices present in the RA group are contained in the corresponding datastore. Consistency group creation will be successful when any of these flags are set.

◆ A flag is set on a non-RDF Symmetrix device. This device is displayed in the consistency group but consistency group creation is not allowed for these devices.

◆ A flag is set on a non-Symmetrix device. This device is displayed in the consistency group but consistency group creation is not allowed for these devices.

◆ A flag is set on a Symmetrix device that is not visible to the ESX host. This device is displayed in the consistency group but consistency group creation is not allowed because such devices are present.

◆ A flag is set on a valid RDF Symmetrix device with a remote device that is not visible to the remote ESX host. This device is displayed in the consistency group but consistency group creation is not allowed because such devices are present.

◆ A flag is set on a valid RDF Symmetrix device that has a remote device attached but cannot be queried for properties. Consistency group creation is not allowed because such devices are present.

◆ A flag is set on a device when:

• A device becomes part of the consistency group because an SRDF/A device is present

• Not all of the devices present in the RA group are contained in the corresponding datastore

• The devices are not visible to the corresponding ESX host

Consistency group creation is not allowed because such devices are present.

◆ A flag is set on RDF devices that are neither R1 nor R2. This device is displayed in the consistency group but consistency group creation is not allowed for these devices.

◆ A flag is set on RDF devices that are neither Async nor Sync. This device is displayed in the consistency group but consistency group creation is not allowed for these devices.


Procedures

Possible errors related to datastore flags

Datastore flags are set depending on the devices present in the datastore. Each datastore attached to the consistency group is analyzed and one or more of the flags are set.

◆ A flag is set on a datastore that has mixed mode RDF devices (SRDF/A and SRDF/S devices). If such devices are present in a datastore, the datastore and the corresponding consistency group is labeled with an alert icon within the VSI plug-in GUI. Consistency group creation is not allowed when datatstores contain such devices.

◆ A flag is set on a datastore that has RDF devices from multiple Symmetrix arrays. If such devices are present in a datastore, the datastore and the corresponding consistency group are labeled with an alert icon within the VSI plug-in GUI. Consistency group creation is not allowed when datastores contain such devices.

Possible errors related to virtual machine flags

Virtual machine flags are set depending on the devices present in the virtual machine. Each virtual machine attached to the consistency group is analyzed and one or more flags are set.

◆ A flag is set on a virtual machine that has mixed mode RDF devices (SRDF/A and SRDF/S devices). If such devices are present in a virtual machine, the virtual machine and the corresponding consistency group are labeled with an alert icon within the VSI plug-in GUI. Consistency group creation is not allowed when VMs contain such devices.

◆ A flag is set on a virtual machine that has RDF devices from multiple Symmetrix arrays. If such devices are present in a virtual machine, the virtual machine and the corresponding consistency group are labeled with an alert icon within the VSI plug-in GUI. Consistency group creation is not allowed when VMs contain such devices.

Possible errors related to consistency group flags

Consistency group flags are set depending on the devices present in the consistency group. Each consistency group is analyzed and one or more of the flags are set.

◆ A flag is set on a consistency group that has mixed-mode RDF devices (SRDF/A and SRDF/S devices). If such devices are present in a consistency group, the consistency group is labeled with an alert icon within the VSI plug-in GUI. Consistency group creation is not allowed when it contains such devices.

◆ A flag is set on a consistency group that has RDF devices from multiple Symmetrix arrays. If such devices are present in a consistency group, the consistency group is labeled with an alert icon within the VSI plug-in GUI. Consistency group creation is not allowed when it contains such devices.

When the consistency group is first displayed, VSI marks any offending objects with a general warning icon. If the object is far down in the consistency group hierarchy, all of the objects superior to the offending object are marked with the warning sign. For instance, if a device containing a VMFS volume has a problem, the consistency group is marked with a warning label, the virtual machine is marked, the VMFS volume is marked, and finally the actual offending device is marked.


Procedures

Hover your mouse over the device with the warning, as shown in Figure 13, to view specific error details.

Figure 13 Troubleshooting SRDF configuration with VSI

Creating gold copies for recovery plansDuring the execution of a recovery plan, the EMC SRDF Adapter supports the creation of a gold copy of the data on the recovery site before giving the VMware ESX hosts on the recovery site access to the replicated data on the R2. The creation of the gold copy provides a dependent write-consistent copy of the data. You can revert to this copy in the event of problems during the execution of recovery plans.

To set the configuration and behavior of gold copy associations

Refer to Table 2 on page 34 for more information about the available options.

1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Inventory > Hosts and Clusters.

2. Select the recovery cluster from the Inventory in the left pane.

3. Select the EMC VSI tab.

4. In the Features pane, select Gold Copy.

5. Optionally, under Gold Copy, select the filter.

6. Select the TimeFinder technology from the list box.

7. Select the device pairs from the Replica Device list box.

8. Click Save Options File.

9. To export the configuration for the gold copies, click Export.

Creating gold copies for recovery plans 53

Procedures

Note: By default, the options file allows the continuation of the failover process even if the attempt to create a gold copy of the replicated data fails. If creating a gold copy of the replicated data is a critical requirement, disable FailoverIfGoldCopyFails in the SRDF SRA Global Options window in the VSI interface.

Figure 14 shows the state of the environment on the recovery site after executing the recovery plan, as discussed in “Testing recovery plans using EMC TimeFinder” on page 38. Before the recovery plan was executed, VSI set the EmcSrdfSraRecoverySiteGoldcopyConfig.xml file to the options shown. Figure 14 shows that the EMC SRDF Adapter created a gold copy of the data before giving the VMware ESX hosts at the recovery site access to the replicated devices (R2).

VSI used the consistency group creation function to create the device group that the EMC SRDF Adapter used to execute the TimeFinder operations for failover. The gold copy targets were added to the same group, named “SRDF_S_Group.” “Creating consistency groups with VSI” on page 48 provides details.

Figure 14 Creation of a gold copy of replicated data during execution of a recovery plan


Procedures

Using device maskingEMC SRDF SRA version 5.5 supports masking and unmasking of Symmetrix LUNs as required. SRA uses the configuration file EMCSrdfSraDeviceMaskingControl.xml to mask and unmask LUNs. SRA Utilities can automatically generate this file from the RDF Device Masking and Test Replica Masking options in the SRA Utilities GUI.

Auto-provisioning groups enables storage administrators to create groups of host initiators, front-end ports, and logical devices. These groups are then associated to form a masking view from which all controls are managed. Once a masking view exists, devices, ports, and initiators can be easily added or removed from their respective groups. This feature reduces the number of commands needed for masking devices and allows easy management of the masking view.

Setting device masking controls

The following options help to control masking and unmasking of either or both the RDF devices and replicas.

◆ When TestReplicaMaskingControl is enabled:

• For Test Failover, TimeFinder and RDF devices (if TFWLS is enabled) are unmasked at the recovery site.

• For Cleanup, TimeFinder and RDF devices are masked at the recovery site.

◆ When RdfDeviceMaskingControl is enabled:

• For Failover, RDF1 devices are masked at the protected site and RDF2 devices are unmasked at the recovery site.

• For Restore, RDF2 devices are masked at the recovery site and RDF1 devices are unmasked at the protected site.

EMCSrdfSraDeviceMaskingControl.xml is used to store the storage group associations of R1, R2, and TimeFinder devices. The XML file is located in C:\ProgramData\EMC\EmcSrdfSra\Config at both sites. SRA does not check for duplicate device IDs. The first MaskView under which a device ID is found will be used in the device masking operation.

The fields in the EMCSrdfSraDevceMaskingControl.xml file are defined as follows:

◆ Array ID—This option takes the Symmetrix array ID. You can specify multiple MaskView blocks within the MaskViewList with different array IDs.

◆ Storage Group—In VMAX, a masking view is a container of a storage group, a port group, and an initiator group. When a masking view is created, the devices in the storage group become visible to the host. This option takes the name of the storage group to which a set of devices should be added or removed as necessary.

◆ Device List—Contains a list of devices to be added or removed from a storage group.

◆ Device—ID of a Symmetrix device that needs to be added or removed from a storage group. A device can be either an RDF device or a TimeFinder device.

◆ MaskView—Multiple MaskView blocks can be used for different array IDs.

Using device masking 55

Procedures

Masked replicas are visible only when the Global Options TestReplicaMaskingControl and RdfDeviceMaskingControl are enabled.

RDF device masking

Use the following procedure to change the RdfDeviceMaskingControl configuration file.

To access the Device Masking feature

1. From the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Inventory, select the vCenter server for which you want to configure device masking, and then select the EMC VSI tab.

2. In the Features pane under SRA Utilites, click RDF Device Masking.

A list of all mapped R1 devices is displayed.

3. Optionally, to show R2 devices whose remote replicas (R1) are visible to the ESX servers managed by the remote vCenter:

a. Select Show R2 Device Also.

b. In the Remote Site Information dialog box, enter the credentials for the remote vCenter server, and then click Next.

c. Click Finish.

The default value for Storage Group is Ignore.

4. Under Storage Group, change the storage group configuration as needed.

5. Click Save Option File.

The pairs with a designated Storage Group other than Ignore are saved to the configuration file EmcSrdfSraDeviceMaskingControl.xml.


Procedures

Notes: ◆ Ensure that communication exists between Windows Management Instrumentation

(WMI) on the Protected Site and on the Recovery Site. The Windows WMI website provides more details. On Windows Sever 2012 Standard, if the Windows Firewall is On, add Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to the Firewall Exceptions list.

◆ The SRA Utilities feature does not support Symmetrix DMX arrays.

◆ The SRA Utilities feature does not support the Gold Copy pane on the R1 site.

◆ The SRA Utilities feature supports device masking only for two-site replication. Star and non-Star are not supported.

◆ The Device Masking window calculates and lists only RDF devices according to the Global Options settings.

◆ When Show R2 Device Also is selected, the feature displays all R2 devices—whether visible or non-visible—whose paired R1 device meets any of the following criteria:

• For SRDF Synchronous Mode:

– The R1 contains a VMFS that hosts all or part of a virtual machine

– The R1 contains a VMFS extent and any one of the extents of that VMFS contains all or part of a virtual machine

• For SRDF Asynchronous Mode: As long as one of the R1 devices within an SRDF group meets any of the above criteria, all the other R1 devices in the same SRDF group are included and all of their respective R2 devices are displayed.

Replica Device Masking

Use the procedure in this section to change the TestReplicaMasking configuration file.

To access the Replica Device Masking feature

1. From the vSphere Client, navigate to Home > Inventory, select the vSphere Center server for which you want to configure device masking, and then select the EMC VSI tab.

2. In the Features pane under SRA Utilites, click Test Replica Masking.

Using device masking 57

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa393266(v=vs.85).aspx

Procedures

A list of all visible R2 devices and their replica candidate devices is displayed. The default values for Device, Device Config, and Storage Group is Ignore.

3. Under Device, select the replica devices needed to control masking and unmasking. Under Storage Group, select the corresponding storage group configuration as needed.

4. Click SaveOptions File.

The configuration is saved to the options file.


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