POWERMAX FAMILY

ADMINISTRATION –
REMOTE REPLICATION

PARTICIPANT GUIDE

PARTICIPANT GUIDE
 PowerMax Family Administration – Remote Replication-SSP New

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Table of Contents

PowerMax Family Administration – Remote Replication 9

SRDF Concepts 10

SRDF Overview 11
SRDF Use Cases 12
SRDF Terminology 13
SRDF Group Support Limits 14

SRDF Topologies 15

Two-Site Configurations 16
Concurrent SRDF Configuration 17
Cascaded SRDF Configuration 18
SRDF/Star Configuration 19
Four-Site Configuration 20

Knowledge Check: SRDF Topologies 21

Knowledge Check 1 22
Knowledge Check 2 23

SRDF Synchronous Concepts and Operations 24

SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations 25

SRDF/S Introduction 25
Listing the Remote Adapters and RDF Groups Using SYMCLI 27
Identify SRDF Devices Accessible to Host – Symdev list pd 28
Online Device Expansion Using Unisphere for PowerMax 29

Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs 30

Create Dynamic SRDF Groups Using Unisphere for PowerMax 30
Create Dynamic SRDF Group Using Unisphere – Activity 31

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 Create Dynamic SRDF Group Using SYMCLI – Activity 32
Create Dynamic SRDF Pairs Using Unisphere for PowerMax 33
Create Dynamic SRDF Pairs Using Unisphere – Activity 34
Delete SRDF Groups Using Unisphere for PowerMax 35
Delete SRDF Group Using Unisphere – Activity 36
Delete SRDF Group Using SYMCLI – Activity 37

SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations 38

SRDF Disaster Recovery Overview 38
Failover 39
Perform Failover Using Unisphere for PowerMax 40
Perform Failover Using Unisphere – Activity 41
Perform Failover Using SYMCLI – Activity 42
Update 43
Perform Update Using Unisphere for PowerMax 44
Perform Update Using Unisphere – Activity 45
Perform Update Using SYMCLI – Activity 46
Failback 47
Perform Failback Using Unisphere for PowerMax 48
Perform Failback Using Unisphere – Activity 49
Perform Failback Using SYMCLI – Activity 50

SRDF Decision Support Operations 51

SRDF Decision Support Operations Overview 51
Split 52
Perform Split Using Unisphere for PowerMax 53
Perform Split Using Unisphere – Activity 54
Perform Split Using SYMCLI – Activity 55
Establish 56
Perform Establish Using Unisphere for PowerMax 57
Perform Establish Using Unisphere – Activity 58
Perform Establish Using SYMCLI – Activity 59
Restore 60
Perform Restore Using Unisphere for PowerMax 61

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 Perform Restore Using Unisphere for PowerMax – Activity 62
Perform Restore Using SYMCLI – Activity 63

SRDF Asynchronous Concepts and Operations 64

SRDF/Asynchronous Replication Concepts 65

SRDF/A Overview 65
SRDF/A Write Operations 66
SRDF/A Delta Sets 67
SRDF/A Multi-Cycle Mode 68
SRDF/A MCM Operations 69

SRDF/A Mode Transition 70

Overview 70
Synchronous Mode to SRDF/A Using SYMCLI – Activity 71

Add and Remove Devices in SRDF/A 72

Overview 72
Add Devices to Active SRDF/A Session Using SYMCLI – Activity 73
Remove Devices from Active SRDF/A Session Using SYMCLI – Activity 74

SRDF/A Resilience Features 75

SRDF/A Limitations 75
Delta Set Extension 76
Set SRDF/A Controls Using Unisphere for PowerMax 77
Set SRDF/A Controls Using Unisphere – Activity 78
Manage DSE SRP Capacity Using SYMCLI – Activity 79
Transmit Idle 80
Temporary Link Loss - SYMCLI Activity 81
Group-Level Write Pacing 82

SRDF/A Configuration Parameters 83

Array-Wide Attributes 83
SRDF/A Array-Wide Attributes – SYMCLI Activity 84
Group Attributes 85

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 Set SRDF/A Group Attributes Using Unisphere for PowerMax 86
Set SRDF/A Group Attributes Using Unisphere – Activity 87
Set SRDF/A Group Attributes Using SYMCLI – Activity 88

Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A 89

Link Loss 89
Recovery Example with Partitioned State Using SYMCLI – Activity 91
Recovery Example with Suspended State Using SYMCLI – Activity 92
Recovery Example with SynchInProg State Using SYMCLI – Activity 93
Recovery Example with Consistent State Using SYMCLI – Activity 94
Failover 95
Failback 96

SRDF/A Multi-Session Consistency 97

Overview 97
RDF Daemon 99
SRDF/A MSC Operations 100
SRDF/A MSC Operations Using SYMCLI – Activity 101

SRDF Metro Concepts and Operations 102

SRDF/Metro Overview 103

SRDF/Metro Introduction 103
SRDF/Metro Host Configurations 104
SRDF/Metro Resiliency – Device Bias 105
SRDF/Metro Resiliency – Array Witness 106
SRDF/Metro Resiliency – Virtual Witness 107
SRDF/Metro Extended DR with SRDF/A – Primary Site Protection 108
SRDF/Metro Extended DR with SRDF/A – Secondary Site Protection 109
SRDF/Metro Extended DR with SRDF/A – Primary and Secondary Site Protection 110
SRDF/Metro Smart DR 111

SRDF/Metro Management 112

SRDF/Metro Management Overview 112
View SRDF/Metro Group Details Using Unisphere for PowerMax 113

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 View SRDF/Metro Group Details Using Unisphere – Activity 114
SRDF/Metro Restrictions 115

Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs 116

Create SRDF/Metro Device Pairs Using Unisphere for PowerMax 116
Select SRDF Mode 118
Create SRDF/Metro Device Pairs Using Unisphere – Activity 119
Mobility ID with ALUA 120
Move SRDF/Metro Device Pairs Using Unisphere for PowerMax 121
Move SRDF/Metro Device Pairs Using Unisphere – Activity 122

SRDF/Metro Implementation 123

SRDF/Metro Life Cycle 123
Create Physical Witness Group 124
Create Physical Witness Using Unisphere – Activity 125
Virtual Witness 126
Create Virtual Witness 127
Create Virtual Witness Using Unisphere – Activity 128
Protect Storage Group 129
Protect Storage Group Using Unisphere – Activity 130

SRDF/Metro Online Device Expansion 131

Online Device Expansion Overview 131
Online Device Expansion Using Unisphere for PowerMax 132
SRDF/Metro Online Device Expansion Using Unisphere – Activity 133

SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations 134

Planned Outage – Suspend SRDF Pair 134
Planned Outage – Establish or Restore 135
Changing Host Accessibility – Suspend 136
Unplanned Outage – Link Failure 137
Unplanned Outage – Link Fixed 138
Unplanned Outage Recovery Issue 139
Unplanned Outage – Recovery Resolution 140

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 Suspend and Establish Operations Using Unisphere – Activity 141
You Have Completed This Content 142

Appendix 143

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

PowerMax Family Administration – Remote Replication

PowerMax Family Administration – Remote Replication-SSP New

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SRDF Concepts

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

SRDF Overview

Symmetrix Remote Data Facility

(SRDF) maintains a real-time
copy of data from a source
storage array on one or more
remote storage arrays.

SRDF offers various levels of

business continuance and
disaster recovery solutions.
SRDF is a replication technology
which has minimal impact on the
performance of the source
application.

The benefits of SRDF are:

• Provides protection against local and regional site disruptions with
continuous data availability and multiple remote recovery sites.
• Migrates, consolidates, and distributes data across storage platforms.
• Offers fast recovery in the event of a disaster by providing application
restarts and fast business resumption.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

SRDF Use Cases

There are three use

cases for SRDF:
• Disaster
Recovery: SRDF
enables host
applications to
recover quickly
from a disaster by
accessing real-time
data copy on a
remote storage
array.
• High Availability:
SRDF enables
devices which have
a shared identity
across the arrays Two-array configuration with SRDF links.
appear to the
application host as a single virtual device.
This increases the availability of data as one device can always
continue to operate even when another device becomes unavailable
without impacting the host application.
• Data Migration: SRDF enables devices on either side of a two-array
configuration to be replaced with new devices without interrupting the
disaster recovery operations.

To accomplish this, the configuration is enhanced with a third array

that contains the new devices and data is replicated to the third array
when the migration is complete.
After the replication is completed, the devices being replaced are taken
out of the configuration leaving one of the original arrays and the new
array.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

SRDF Terminology

The commonly used SRDF terms and descriptions are shown in the table.

Term Description

SRDF A logical device that is paired with another logical device

Device from a second array. The arrays are connected by SRDF
Pair links.

R1 A member of the device pair at the source site. R1 devices

Device are generally Read/Write accessible to the application host.

R2 A member of the device pair at the target site. During

Device normal operations, host I/O writes to the R1 devices are
replicated to the R2 device through the SRDF links.
Generally, R2 devices are not host accessible while the
SRDF relationship is active.

R11 Devices which operate as the R1 device for two R2 devices.

Devices These devices are used in a three-site configuration.

R21 Devices that have a dual role and used in a cascaded three-
Devices site configuration with the following functionality:
• R21 device acts as an R2 device that receives updates
from the R1 device.
• R21 device acts as an R1 device that sends updates to
the R2 device.

R22 Devices which have two R1 devices, only one of which is

Devices active at a time. These devices are used in a cascaded
SRDF/Star configuration, concurrent SRDF/Star
configurations, and Smart DR solution.

Invalid Tracks which are not synchronized and not guaranteed with
Tracks consisitency between the two devices in an SRDF pair.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

SRDF Group Support Limits

An SRDF group defines the logical relationship between SRDF devices

and directors on both sides of an SRDF pair.

PowerMaxOS 10 supports 2048 SRDF groups.

• PowerMaxOS 10 to PowerMax or VMAX3 remote replication only

supports 250 SRDF groups.
• Provides increased granularity between hosts or storage groups and
SRDF groups.
• Enables a 1:1 host or storage group to SRDF group correspondence.
• The number of remote arrays that can be configured with SRDF
connections also increases from 32 to 64.

Unisphere SRDF Groups page showing SRDF group number 2048 (7FF).

PowerMaxOS 9.x and older supports 250 SRDF groups.

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SRDF Topologies

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Two-Site Configurations

The two-site configurations for

SRDF between various
PowerMax systems include:
• SRDF/Synchronous
(SRDF/S): Maintains a real-
time copy of the source data
at a physically separated
array, providing a zero data
loss solution. Supports
replication only up to a
limited distance between the
arrays.
• SRDF/Asynchronous
(SRDF/A): Maintains a Two-site SRDF configuration.
dependent-write consistent
copy of the data on a remote secondary site, providing a minimal data
loss solution. Supports replication for unlimited distance between the
arrays.
• SRDF/Data Mobility (SRDF/DM): Used only for data replication or
migration and is not used for disaster recovery solutions. Supports
replication for unlimited distance between the arrays.
• SRDF/Metro: SRDF/Metro enhances the remote device availability to
support host applications in high-availability environments. The arrays
can be upto 200 kms or 125 miles apart.

Most the of the BFSI sectors running mission-critical applications use two-
site replication based on the distance between the sites and the
requirement of RPO and RTO for their organization.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Concurrent SRDF Configuration

Three-site replication is used when customers are looking for data with
zero RPO and zero RTO to survive if there is a disaster situation.

SRDF supports replicating to two

systems concurrently. Concurrent
SRDF is a three-site disaster
recovery configuration using an
R11 device that replicates to two
R2 devices.

The two R2 devices operate

independently but concurrently
using any combination of SRDF
modes—synchronous or
asynchronous. SRDF/S functions
between the source and nearby
target site and SRDF/A functions
between the source and distant
target site.

Concurrent SRDF configuration.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Cascaded SRDF Configuration

Cascaded
SRDF is a
three-way
data
mirroring
topology
providing a
zero data
loss solution
at long
distances
when there is
a primary
site failure. Cascaded SRDF configuration.

In a cascaded SRDF configuration, data from a primary site is replicated

to a secondary site with SRDF/S. Data is continuously replicated from the
secondary site to a tertiary site with SRDF/A.

A benefit of cascaded configuration is continuous replication from the

secondary site to the tertiary site when the primary site is down.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

SRDF/Star Configuration

SRDF/Star is a disaster recovery

configuration that consists of three
sites: primary (production),
secondary, and tertiary.

The secondary site synchronously

mirrors the data from the primary
site, and the tertiary site
asynchronously mirrors the source
data.

SRDF/Star operates in a
concurrent and cascaded
configuration:
• Concurrent SRDF/Star: Data
is mirrored from the primary
site concurrently to two R2
devices. Both the secondary
and tertiary sites are the
potential recovery sites if the
primary site fails.
• Cascaded SRDF/Star: Data is
mirrored first from the primary
site to a secondary site, and
then from a secondary site to a
tertiary site. Both the SRDF/Star configuration.
secondary and tertiary sites
are potential recovery sites.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Four-Site Configuration

Four-site SRDF configurations provide multi-region protection for open

systems and mainframe environments.

• Four-site configurations for open systems environments provide

disaster recovery by combining concurrent and cascaded SRDF.
• Symmetrix Quadrilateral Asynchronous Replication (SQAR) for
mainframe environments enables differential resynchronization
between sites in a square SRDF topology by combining SRDF/S and
SRDF/A.

− Dell Geographically Dispersed Disaster Restart (GDDR) and Multi

Session Consistency (MSC) are required for SRDF/SQAR.

Four-site SRDF open systems configuration.

Four-site SRDF mainframe SQAR
configuration.

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Knowledge Check: SRDF Topologies

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Knowledge Check 1

1. Identify the SRDF topology in the image below.

a. Concurrent SRDF
b. Cascaded SRDF
c. SRDF/Star
d. Cascaded SRDF/Star

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Knowledge Check 2

2. Read through the scenario. What solution could Jeff provide to the
Customer Engineer?

a. An SRDF/Star cannot be created with two PowerMax arrays as a

minimum of three arrays are required.
b. An SRDF/Star can be created with just two PowerMax arrays as
there is no minimum number of arrays required for this data
protection solution.
c. An SRDF/Star can be created by asynchronously mirroring the
data between the two sites: primary and secondary.

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SRDF Synchronous Concepts and Operations

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup

Operations

SRDF/S Introduction

SRDF/S connection between primary and secondary arrays.

SRDF/Synchronous (SRDF/S) maintains a real-time mirror image of data

between the source (R1) and target (R2) devices:

• SRDF/S connectivity is limited to 200 km (125 miles) or less due to

increased latency at longer distances.

During write operations, host writes are written simultaneously to both

arrays:

• Acknowledgements are not sent until the data is stored in cache on

both arrays.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Read operations do not usually involve SRDF:

• For read hits, data is read from cache on the primary array and sent to
the host.
• For read misses, data is read from the R1 device and sent to the host.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Listing the Remote Adapters and RDF Groups Using

SYMCLI

The symcfg command is used to list the remote adapters and RDF
groups. These operations include:

• Viewing the arrays and its details using the list operation.
• Displaying the remote adapters and the ports used using the list -
ra all operation.
• Displaying the RDF groups and its related information using the list
-rdfg all operation.

The symsan command helps in situations where SRDF groups have not
yet been created between the storage array pairs.

• Discovering and displaying SRDF connectivity between the arrays

using the command symsan with the list -sanrdf -dir all
operation.

View the remote adapters, the RDF group, and the SRDF connectivity
using the SYMCLI interaction below. The environment for this interaction
includes:

• Local array: 0639

• Remote array: 0303

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Identify SRDF Devices Accessible to Host – Symdev

list pd

The command symdev list pd displays the list of all the devices that
the host can access on the array.

This command correlates the host physical device name with the array
device number.

The physical device names from the host are used to format the devices,
create partitions, and create and mount file systems.

Display the list of devices using the CLI interaction below.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Synchronous Overview and Initial Setup Operations

Online Device Expansion Using Unisphere for

PowerMax

Expand option and expanding a storage group volume from 4 GB to 7 GB.

To view the list of volumes and perform an online device expansion of

volumes, use the Storage Groups menu option.
• Select a storage group and choose the Volumes number link to view
the list of volumes.
• Select the desired volume from the available devices to be expanded
and select Expand.
• Enter the desired volume size and choose an RDF group for the
volumes.

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 Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs

Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic

SRDF Pairs

Create Dynamic SRDF Groups Using Unisphere for

PowerMax

Create SRDF Group option and Create SRDF group dialog in Unisphere for
PowerMax.

To create dynamic SRDF groups for a selected array, use the Data
Protection menu option.

• Click Create SRDF Group to open the Create SRDF group dialog.
• Select the remote array and provide an SRDF group label.
• Select the SRDF group number and the local ports.
• Select the SRDF group number and the remote ports.

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 Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs

Create Dynamic SRDF Group Using Unisphere –

Activity

Use the simulation to create a dynamic SRDF group using Unisphere for
PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs

Create Dynamic SRDF Group Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to create a dynamic SRDF group. The

operations include:

• Creating an empty dynamic SRDF group on the source and target

array using the addgrp operation and logically linking them.

The physical links and communication between the two arrays must exist
for this command to succeed.

Create the dynamic SRDF group using the SYMCLI interaction below. The
environment for this simulation includes:

• SRDF group name: SRDF_Sync

• Local array: 0639
• Remote array: 0303
• SRDF group: 204
• Source director: 1C:03,2C:03
• Remote director: 1C:03,2C:03

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

Important: Note that if this was the first SRDF group

between these two arrays, the full 12-digit serial numbers
of the two arrays must be specified.

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 Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs

Create Dynamic SRDF Pairs Using Unisphere for

PowerMax

Create Pairs option and Create Pairs dialog in Unisphere for PowerMax.

To create dynamic SRDF pairs on a selected array, use the Data

Protection menu option for SRDF groups.

• Select an SRDF group and use the Create Pairs option.

• Choose the mirror type and the SRDF mode of operation.
• Select the local array devices.
• Select the remote array devices.

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 Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs

Create Dynamic SRDF Pairs Using Unisphere – Activity

Use the simulation to create dynamic SRDF pairs using Unisphere for
PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs

Delete SRDF Groups Using Unisphere for PowerMax

To delete SRDF groups on a selected array, use the Data Protection

menu option for SRDF groups.

Delete option and Delete Pair dialog in Unisphere for PowerMax.

• Select the SRDF group and view the volumes associated with the
SRDF group.
• Select and delete all the volumes associated with the local and remote
array.
• Delete the SRDF group after all the SRDF group volumes are deleted.

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 Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs

Delete SRDF Group Using Unisphere – Activity

Use the simulation to delete an SRDF group using Unisphere for

PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Configure Dynamic SRDF Groups and Dynamic SRDF Pairs

Delete SRDF Group Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to delete a SRDF group. These operations

include:

1. Suspending a device pair using the suspend operation.

2. Deleting a device pair using the deletepair operation.
3. Deleting a SRDF group using the removegrp operation.

Delete a SRDF group using the SYMCLI simulation below. The

environment for this simulation includes:

• Array: 0639
• Device File: sess.txt
• SRDF Group: 201

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

SRDF Disaster Recovery Overview

SRDF disaster recovery operations include:

1. Failover from the source site to the target site, switching data
processing to the target site.
2. Update the source site after a failover while the target site is still used
for applications.
3. Failback from the target site to the source site by switching data
processing to the source site.

Important: Before performing Disaster Recovery

operations, make sure SRDF pair is synchronized in
SRDF/S and consistent in SRDF/A.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Failover

A failover operation is a process that protects the data on the primary site
by moving production applications from the primary site to the secondary
site.

The attributes of a failover operation are:

• Makes a copy of the data on target devices.
• Can be invoked after a disaster—host, storage array, or site failure.
• Can be used for maintenance operations on the source site.
• Source devices are Write Disabled.
• SRDF links are suspended.
• Target devices are Read/Write enabled.

Important: To perform operations from the target side, a

device pair of type RDF2 must be created and R2 devices
are added to it. If there is a disaster, this is helpful as
there would otherwise be no way of communicating with
the source array.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Failover Using Unisphere for PowerMax

To perform a failover operation for SRDF storage groups on a selected

array, use the Protection dashboard.

Failover option and dialog for an SRDF storage group in Unisphere for PowerMax.

• Select the storage group and use the Failover option from the more
actions menu.
• Select Type.
• Select Use Immediate with the operation to immediately drop the
SRDF/A session and make the devices Not Ready on the link.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Failover Using Unisphere – Activity

The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.

[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Failover Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to manage Disaster Recovery operations.

These operations include:

• Switching production to the target array using the failover

operation.
• Viewing the SRDF pair state using the query operation.

Switch production to the target array using the SYMCLI simulation below.
The environment for this simulation includes:

• Source array: 0639

• Target array: 0303
• SRDF group: 3
• Storage Group: 03_R1

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Update

Extended outages on the source side lead to accumulation of invalid

tracks on the R2 devices.

Performing failback right after failover resumes production on the R1. New
writes to the R1 have to be transferred synchronously to the R2.

Any track requested on the R1 that has not yet been transferred from the
R2 has to be read from across the links. This could lead to performance
degradation on the R1 devices.

The update operation helps to minimize this impact by initiating an

incremental copy of data from the target R2 device to the source R1
device. Production work continues at the R2 device.

The attributes of update operation are:

• Updates the source device with changed tracks from the target device.
• Source devices are still Write Disabled.
• SRDF links are resumed.
• Target devices remain Read/Write enabled.

Tip: You can choose to update the data until the

accumulated invalid tracks are down to a skew value
using –until flag.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Update Using Unisphere for PowerMax

To perform an update operation for SRDF storage groups on a selected

array, use the Protection dashboard.

R1 Update option and dialog for an SRDF storage group in Unisphere for PowerMax.

• Select the storage group and use the R1 Update option within Set
Volume Attributes from the More Actions menu.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Update Using Unisphere – Activity

The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.

[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Update Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to manage Disaster Recovery operations.

These operations include:

• Updating the R1 device with the changed tracks on the R2 device

using the update operation.
• Viewing the SRDF pair state using the query operation.

Update R1 devices using the SYMCLI simulation below. The environment

for this simulation includes:

• Source array: 0639

• Target array: 0303
• SRDF group: 3
• Storage Group: 03_R1

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Failback

The failback operation is a process used to return to the original

production site after a failover event. It is the reverse of the failover
operation.

The attributes of a failback operation are:

• Production returns to the source site.
• Accumulated invalid tracks are transferred to the source devices from
the target devices.
• Source devices are Read/Write enabled.
• SRDF link is resumed.
• Target devices are Write Disabled.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Failback Using Unisphere for PowerMax

To perform a failback operation for SRDF storage groups on a selected

array, use the Protection dashboard.

Failback option and dialog for an SRDF storage group in Unisphere for PowerMax.

• Select the storage group and use the Failback option from the more
actions menu to invoke a failback operation.

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Failback Using Unisphere – Activity

The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.

[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

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 SRDF Disaster Recovery Operations

Perform Failback Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to manage Disaster Recovery operations.

These operations include:

• Switching production back to the source site using the failback

operation.
• Viewing the SRDF pair state using the query operation.

Switch production to the source array using the SYMCLI simulation below.
The environment for this simulation includes:

• Source array: 0639

• Target array: 0303
• SRDF group: 3
• Storage Group: 03_R1

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

SRDF Decision Support Operations

SRDF Decision Support Operations Overview

During decision support operations, both the source and target sites are
healthy and available. The decision support operations for SRDF devices
include:
• Split an SRDF pair which stops mirroring for the SRDF devices in a
device pair.
• Establish—full or incremental—an SRDF pair by initiating a data copy
from the source volume to the target volume.
• Restore—full or incremental—remote mirroring, which initiates a data
copy from the target volume to the source volume.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Split

A split operation is a process that allows separate hosts to access the

same data independently.

The attributes of a split operation are:

• Suspends replication and enables Read/Write on both the source and
target devices.
− Writes to source devices accumulate as target invalid tracks—owed
to the R2 devices.
− Writes to target devices accumulate as source invalid tracks—owed
to the R1 devices.
• SRDF links are suspended.

Important: To invoke a split, the SRDF pairs must be in a

synchronized, suspended or updated state.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Split Using Unisphere for PowerMax

To perform a split operation for SRDF storage groups on a selected array,

use the Protection dashboard.

Split option and dialog for an SRDF storage group in Unisphere for PowerMax.

• Select the storage group and use the Split option.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Split Using Unisphere – Activity

The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.

[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Split Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to manage decision support operations.

These operations include:
• Suspending mirroring for SRDF pairs using the split operation.
• Viewing SRDF pair state using the query operation.

Split an SRDF pair using the SYMCLI simulation below. The environment
for this simulation includes:

• Source array: 0639

• Target array: 0303
• SRDF group: 3
• Storage Group: 03_R1

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Establish

An establish operation is the process to retain the data on the R1 side.

The attributes of an establish operation are:

• Resumes normal SRDF remote replication.
• Changes made to the source devices while in a split state are
transferred to the target devices.
• Changes made to the target devices while in a split state are
discarded.
• Source devices are Read/Write enabled.
• Target devices are Write Disabled.
• SRDF links are set to Read/Write.

Important: Since the target devices are Write Disabled,

applications should stop accessing the target devices and
the volumes should be unmounted before invoking an
establish operation.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Establish Using Unisphere for PowerMax

To perform an establish for SRDF storage groups on a selected array, use

the Protection dashboard.

Establish option and dialog for an SRDF storage group in Unisphere for PowerMax.

• Select the storage group and use the Establish option to invoke the
establish operation.
• Select Type – Incremental or full.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Establish Using Unisphere – Activity

The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.

[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Establish Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to manage decision support operations.

These operations include:
• Resuming mirroring for the SRDF pairs using the establish
operation.
• Viewing SRDF pair state using the query operation.

Perform an establish operation using the SYMCLI simulation below. The

environment for this simulation includes:

• Source array: 0639

• Target array: 0303
• SRDF group: 3
• Storage Group: 03_R1

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Restore

A restore operation is the process to retain the data on the R2 side.

The attributes of a restore operation are:

• Resumes SRDF remote replication.
• Changes made to the target devices while in a split state are
transferred to the source devices.
• Changes made to the source devices while in a split state are
discarded.
• Source devices are Read/Write enabled.
• Target devices are Write Disabled.
• SRDF links are resumed.

Important: The data on the source devices changes

without the knowledge of the source host during a restore
operation. Hence, applications should stop accessing the
source devices and the volumes should be unmounted
before invoking a restore operation.
After performing the restore command, R1 devices can be
accessed without waiting for the synchronization to
complete. Any required track on the R1 that has not yet
been received from the R2 will be read across the links.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Restore Using Unisphere for PowerMax

To perform a restore for SRDF storage groups on a selected array, use

the Protection dashboard.

Restore option and dialog for an SRDF storage group in Unisphere for PowerMax.

• Select the storage group and use the Restore option.

• Select Type – Incremental or full.

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Restore Using Unisphere for PowerMax –

Activity

The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.

[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

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 SRDF Decision Support Operations

Perform Restore Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to manage decision support operations.

These operations include:
• Resuming mirroring for the SRDF pairs using the restore operation.
• Viewing SRDF pair state using the query operation.

Resume replication using the SYMCLI simulation below. The environment

for this simulation includes:

• Source array: 0639

• Target array: 0303
• SRDF group: 3
• Storage Group: 03_R1

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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SRDF Asynchronous Concepts and Operations

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 SRDF/Asynchronous Replication Concepts

SRDF/Asynchronous Replication Concepts

SRDF/A Overview

SRDF/Asynchronous Replication.

SRDF/Asynchronous (SRDF/A) mode of replication is a key component

for Disaster Recovery (DR), but with data loss at the recovery site. The
level of data loss is determined by Recovery Point Objectives (RPO).
• Data is copied from the source site (R1) to the remote site (R2) with a
predefined timed cycle named delta set.
• SRDF/A maintains a consistent copy of data between the R1 and the
R2 over unlimited distances.
• Data mirroring at the remote site is performed at near real time.
− The copy of data at the remote site is slightly behind that on the
source site.
• Ordered write processing eliminates duplicate tracks, transferring only
the changed tracks within any single cycle.
• SRDF/A has little or no impact on the performance of the R1 if:

− SRDF links contain sufficient bandwidth.

− R2 accepts the data as quickly as it is sent across the SRDF links.

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 SRDF/Asynchronous Replication Concepts

SRDF/A Write Operations

SRDF/A write operations among host, primary, and secondary array.

Following are the write operations in asynchronous mode:

1. The host writes data to the primary array which collects host write
operations into delta sets.
2. The primary array acknowledges the write operations to the host when
they are written to the cache.
3. The primary array then transfers the delta set data in cycles to the
secondary array.
4. The secondary array acknowledges receipt of the data to the primary
array.

SRDF/A sessions are managed in two ways.

• Individually using Single Session Consistency (SSC).
• As a consistency group using Multi Session Consistency (MSC).

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 SRDF/Asynchronous Replication Concepts

SRDF/A Delta Sets

Data in a delta set is processed using four cycle types. The table shows
cycle types and associated functions.

Cycle Type Function

Capture Incoming I/O is buffered in the capture cycle on the R1

cycle side. The host receives immediate acknowledgment.

Transmit Data that is collected during the capture cycle is moved

cycle to the transmit cycle on the R1 side and sent to the R2.

Receive Data is received on the R2 side.

cycle

Apply cycle Changed blocks in the delta set are marked as invalid
tracks which are then destaged to the disks.

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 SRDF/Asynchronous Replication Concepts

SRDF/A Multi-Cycle Mode

Multi-cycle mode (MCM) places host writes into cycles or chunks and
transfers entire chunks to the target system.
• Scenarios in which SRDF/A operates in MCM are:
− Arrays in the configuration run PowerMaxOS or HYPERMAX OS.
• MCM permits multiple cycles on the R1 side and only two cycles on the
R2 side.
− R1 side – one capture and one or more transmit.
− R2 side – one receive and one apply.
• MCM is the default for both SSC and MSC sessions.
• MCM improves the robustness of the SRDF/A session and reduces
spillover into the Delta Set Extension (DSE) storage pool.

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 SRDF/Asynchronous Replication Concepts

SRDF/A MCM Operations

View the transcript for this video.

Movie:

The web version of this content contains a movie.

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 SRDF/A Mode Transition

SRDF/A Mode Transition

Overview

The time that is consumed transitioning to SRDF/A mode from another

mode depends on the mode being transitioned.

Synchronous mode to Asynchronous mode

• If the devices are in a synchronized state, the R2 data is already
consistent.
• Enabling SRDF/A provides consistent data on the R2 immediately.
Adaptive copy disk mode to Asynchronous mode

• Any invalid tracks owed to the R2 are synchronized.

• Data on the R2 becomes consistent when two cycles are switched
after synchronization.

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 SRDF/A Mode Transition

Synchronous Mode to SRDF/A Using SYMCLI –

Activity

The symrdf command is used to set the SRDF mode of operation.

These operations include:

• Viewing the operational mode for the device group using the query
operation.
• Setting the mode of operation to Asynchronous using the set mode
async operation.
• Enabling the consistency using the enable operation.

Set the mode of operation to Asynchronous using the SYMCLI simulation

below. The environment for this simulation includes:

• Device group: asyncdg03

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Add and Remove Devices in SRDF/A

Add and Remove Devices in SRDF/A

Overview

Dynamically add and remove device pairs from an active SRDF/A session
using the consistency exempt option.
• When the consistency exempt flag is enabled, devices are excluded
from the consistency check on the group.
• The consistency exempt state is automatically terminated once the
operation is complete.
• The -exempt option can be used with the createpair, movepair,
and suspend operations.
• Devices that are suspended and consistency exempt can be controlled
independently of the other devices in the active SRDF/A session.

− This is useful for resume, establish, deletepair, and

movepair operations.

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 Add and Remove Devices in SRDF/A

Add Devices to Active SRDF/A Session Using SYMCLI

– Activity

The symrdf command is used to add devices to an active SRDF group.

The steps to perform these operations include:

1. Create a device pair using the createpair -establish operation

and add them to a temporary SRDF group.
2. Monitor synchronization using the verify -synchronized
operation.
3. Suspend the device pair in the temporary group using the suspend
operation.
Note: If the temporary group is synchronous, the consistency exempt
option cannot be used.
4. Move the device pair to the active SRDF/A group using the movepair
operation with the -exempt flag.
5. Resume the device pair using the resume operation.
6. Verify that the device pair is consistent and there are no invalid tracks
on both R1 and R2 using the verify -consistent -noinvalids
operation.

Add devices to an active SRDF/A group using the SYMCLI simulation

below. The environment for this simulation includes:

• Device File: add_sess.txt

• Array: 0639
• Temporary SRDF group: 2
• Active SRDF group: 203

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Add and Remove Devices in SRDF/A

Remove Devices from Active SRDF/A Session Using

SYMCLI – Activity

The symrdf command is used to remove devices from an active SRDF

group. The steps to perform these operations include:

1. Suspend the device pair in the active SRDF/A group using the
suspend operation with the -exempt flag.
2. Move the device pair from the active SRDF/A group using the
movepair operation.
3. Resume the device pair using the resume operation.
4. Monitor synchronization using the verify -synchronized
operation.

Remove devices from an active SRDF/A group using the SYMCLI

simulation below. The environment for this simulation includes:

• Device File: add_sess.txt

• Array: 0639
• New SRDF group: 3
• Active SRDF group: 203

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/A Resilience Features

SRDF/A Resilience Features

SRDF/A Limitations

The operational limitations that interfere with SRDF/A configuration

include:
• Unbalanced configurations
• I/O spikes
• Transient network outages
• Constant writes to the same location

SRDF/A features that address the above operational limitations include:

• SRDF/A cache data offloading to manage unbalanced configurations
and I/O spikes.
• Transmit Idle to manage SRDF/A sessions during temporary link
outages without terminating.
• Write pacing to dynamically manage the pace of host I/O rates.

Important: Write pacing is deprecated in configurations

that include arrays running PowerMaxOS 10.

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 SRDF/A Resilience Features

Delta Set Extension

SRDF/A Delta Set Extension (DSE) extends the cache space available for
SRDF/A session cycles by offloading cycle data from cache to a
preconfigured storage pool.

• DSE offloads the delta set data when the system approaches the
maximum SRDF/A cache utilization threshold.
• DSE is enabled by default and can be configured independently on the
source and target arrays. Dell recommends using the same
configuration of DSE on both sides.
• Arrays are preconfigured with one or more Storage Resource Pools
(SRPs) before installation.
• The SRP designated for DSE supports the DSE allocations for all
SRDF/A sessions on the array.
− The default SRP for DSE is the default SRP for Fixed Block
Architecture (FBA) devices.
• Data is paged to disk when the array Write Pending count crosses the
DSE threshold.

− The default DSE threshold is 50% of the array Write Pending limit.
− When conditions return to normal, data is read back from disk to
cache and transmitted to the target array.

Deep Dive: To learn more about DSE, view Delta Set

Extension management in the Dell Solutions Enabler
SRDF Family CLI User Guide.

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 SRDF/A Resilience Features

Set SRDF/A Controls Using Unisphere for PowerMax

To set SRDF/A controls for SRDF storage groups on a selected array, use
the Protection dashboard.

Set SRDF/A option and dialog for an SRDF storage group in Unisphere for PowerMax.

• Select the SRDF storage group and from the More Actions menu use
the Set SRDF/A option from Asynchronous.
• Activate SRDF/A.
• Set Activate Type.

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 SRDF/A Resilience Features

Set SRDF/A Controls Using Unisphere – Activity

The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.

[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

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 SRDF/A Resilience Features

Manage DSE SRP Capacity Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symcfg command is used to manage DSE SRP capacity. These

operations include:

• Viewing the detailed list of all the configured SRPs using the list -
srp -detail operation.
• Viewing the details about specific SRP using the show -srp
operation.
• Modifying reserved capacity on the SRP using the set -resv_cap
operation.

Set the DSE SRP capacity using the SYMCLI simulation below. The
environment for this simulation includes:

• Local Array: 0639

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/A Resilience Features

Transmit Idle

Transmit Idle is the state in which an SRDF/A session is unable to

transmit data in the transmit cycle over the link to the remote site.
• Occurs as the link is unavailable due to short-term network
interruptions.
• When enabled, the link limbo timer starts during a link failure.
• When all links are lost:
− Cycle switching continues.
− The transmit queue depth increases.
− Host writes accumulate in cache on the R1 side as invalid tracks
owed to the R2.
− Once the maximum cache utilization is reached, the data from
cache is offloaded to the DSE SRP.
− The session is dropped once the DSE threshold is reached.
• When links are restored, data transmission and resynchronization
resumes.

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 SRDF/A Resilience Features

Temporary Link Loss - SYMCLI Activity

In this scenario, a temporary link loss has occurred.

The symrdf command is used to view the SRDF pair state.

Viewing the state of the device pairs using the -rdfg query operation
and use the -rdfa option for specific SRDF/A information.

Check the status of the SRDF device pair using the SYMCLI simulation
below. The environment for this simulation includes:

• Device File: add_sess.txt

• Local Array: 0639
• Active RDF group: 203

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/A Resilience Features

Group-Level Write Pacing

When host I/O rates spike or link slowdowns make the transmit or apply
cycle times longer, group pacing extends the host write I/O response time.
Response time is extended through RA group-level pacing. This
parameter adjusts the pace of incoming host I/O writes to match the SRDF
link bandwidth and transfer rate. Group-level write pacing is user enabled
or disabled.

If DSE is activated for an SRDF/A session, host-issued write IOPS are

paced. Pacing controls the I/O rate so that it does not exceed the rate at
which DSE can offload the session cycle data to the DSE SRP.

Group-level write pacing.

Important: Write pacing is deprecated in configurations

that include arrays running PowerMaxOS 10.

Deep Dive: To learn more about write pacing, view the

document PowerMaxOS 10 Dell SRDF Introduction.

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 SRDF/A Configuration Parameters

SRDF/A Configuration Parameters

Array-Wide Attributes

The SRDF/A array-wide attributes are:

• Maximum Host Throttle – The maximum time that the host writes are
delayed until a cache slot becomes free.
− Values range from 0 s to 65535 s. The default value is 0.
− The throttle parameter engages only when the write pending limit is
reached.
− If the value is greater than 0, the throttle attribute overrides the
cache and session parity settings.
• Maximum Cache Usage – The percentage of write pending slots
available to SRDF/A.
− Values range from 0 to 100 percent. The default value is 75.
− The value can be modified to indicate the amount of cache SRDF/A
can use.
− Lowering this value reserves additional cache for purposes other
than SRDF/A.
• DSE Maximum Capacity – The maximum capacity of the Storage
Resource Pool (SRP) that DSE can use.

− DSE offloads some or all the delta set data into the SRP based on
the maximum SRDF/A cache utilization.
− Values range from 0 GB to 100000 GB. The default value is
NoLimit.

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 SRDF/A Configuration Parameters

SRDF/A Array-Wide Attributes – SYMCLI Activity

The symcfg command is used to set SRDF/A array-wide attributes.

These operations include:

• Viewing the current settings of the array using the list -v operation.
• Setting DSE maximum capacity using the set -dse_max_cap
operation.
• Setting maximum cache percentage using the set -
rdfa_cache_percent operation.
• Setting time for throttling the host writes using the set -
rdfa_host_throttle_time operation.

Set the SRDF/A array-wide attributes using the SYMCLI simulation below.
The environment for this simulation includes:

• Local Array: 0639

• Remote Array: 0303

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/A Configuration Parameters

Group Attributes

The SRDF/A group attributes are:

• Minimum Cycle Time – The minimum time to wait before attempting
an SRDF/A cycle switch.
− Values range from 1 s to 60 s. The default value is 15.
• Session Priority –The priority used to determine which SRDF/A
sessions to drop when the cache becomes full.
− Values range from 1 to 64. The default value is 33, with 1 being the
highest priority—the last to be dropped.
• Transmit Idle – Preserves the data in the cache when the link is idle.

− Must be enabled on both local and remote arrays.

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 SRDF/A Configuration Parameters

Set SRDF/A Group Attributes Using Unisphere for

PowerMax

To set SRDF/A group attributes for SRDF groups on a selected array, use
the Data Protection option.

• Select the SRDF group and use the SRDF/A Setting option from the
More Actions menu.
• Set the Minimum Cycle Time.
• Set the Session Priority.
• Enable Transmit Idle.
• Enable Use Both Sides to set the attributes on both the source and
target arrays.

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 SRDF/A Configuration Parameters

Set SRDF/A Group Attributes Using Unisphere –

Activity

The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.

[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

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 SRDF/A Configuration Parameters

Set SRDF/A Group Attributes Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symcfg command is used to list attributes and the symrdf command
is used to set SRDF/A group attributes.

• Viewing the group attributes of the array using the list -rdfa
operation.
• Setting minimum cycle time using the set rdfa -cycle_time
operation.
• Setting session priority using the set rdfa -priority operation.
• Enabling Transmit Idle using the set rdfa -transmit_idle
operation.
• Setting attributes on both local and remote arrays using the -
both_sides operation.

Set the SRDF/A group attributes using the SYMCLI simulation below. The
environment for this simulation includes:

• Local Array: 0639

• Remote Array: 0303
• SRDF group: 201

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A

Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A

Link Loss

SRDF links can be lost for more time than link limbo or Transmit Idle can
manage. During these extended link losses, all devices in the SRDF group
are set to a Not Ready state.

A link loss during an active SRDF/A session requires resynchronization of

the volumes in the session once the link is restored. The R1 volumes
continue to be written to during the period of link loss. These writes result
in many R2 invalid tracks building up on the R1 side.

Enabling SRDF/A immediately after resuming the link causes a surge of

traffic1. If the system Write Pending limit is reached, SRDF/A drops again.
As with SRDF/S, resynchronization should generally be performed during
periods of lowest production activity.

Recovery After Link Loss

Several considerations must be made to successfully recover from a loss

of the SRDF links, including:
• Recommended practice is to make a Gold Copy of the R2 before
starting any resynchronization.
− Regularly taken snaps of consistent R2 volumes should safeguard
the resynchronization process against unexpected failures.
• Enabling SRDF/A after the two sides are synchronized.

1The surge is due to shipping accumulated invalid tracks, and adding new
data with host writes to the SRDF/A cycles. This added data could lead to
SRDF/A consuming excessive amounts of cache and reaching the System
Write Pending Limit.

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 Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A

− Resynchronization before enabling SRDF/A can be performed by

setting the SRDF mode to adaptive copy disk mode.

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 Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A

Recovery Example with Partitioned State Using

SYMCLI – Activity

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

In this scenario, there is a workload on the devices in an SRDF/A enabled

state. A permanent link loss places the devices in a Partitioned state.
Production work continues on the R1 devices and new writes to the R1
devices are marked as invalid tracks that are owed to the R2. At some
point, SRDF/A is dropped and the session is marked Inactive. To get to
this state, the maximum DSE capacity has been exceeded, which causes
SRDF/A to drop.

The symrdf command is used to view the state of SRDF pair.

View the state of the device pairs using the -rdfg query operation with
the -rdfa option for specific SRDF/A information.

Check the state of the SRDF/A device pair after a link loss using the
SYMCLI simulation below. The environment for this simulation includes:

• Local array: 0639

• SRDF group: 203

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A

Recovery Example with Suspended State Using

SYMCLI – Activity

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

In this scenario, the links are restored and the pair state moves to
Suspended. Although the flags indicate SRDF/A mode, the session status
is Inactive. The R2 data is consistent because the data would be
consistent up to the last apply cycle. However, there are accumulated R2
invalid tracks that are owed to the R2 side.

The symrdf command is used to view the state of SRDF pairs.

View the state of the device pairs using the -rdfg query operation with
the -rdfa option for specific SRDF/A information.

Check the state of the SRDF/A device pair after the links are restored
using the SYMCLI simulation below. The environment for this simulation
includes:

• Local array: 0639

• SRDF group: 203

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A

Recovery Example with SynchInProg State Using

SYMCLI – Activity

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

The symrdf command is used to recover from a failed link. The steps to
perform this operation include:
1. As consistency was enabled when the links were lost, disable
consistency using the disable operation.
2. Resume the links using the resume operation.

View the state of the device pairs using the -rdfg query operation with
the -rdfa option for specific SRDF/A information.

Check the state of the SRDF/A device pair after resuming using the
SYMCLI simulation below. The environment for this simulation includes:

• Device group: asyncdg01

• Local array: 0639
• SRDF group: 203

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 Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A

Recovery Example with Consistent State Using

SYMCLI – Activity

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

The symrdf command is used to monitor the synchronization.

Enable consistency using the enable operation.

View the state of the device pairs using the query operation with the -
rdfa option for specific SRDF/A information.

Check the status of the SRDF device pair using the SYMCLI simulation
below. The environment for this simulation includes:

• Device group: asyncdg01

• Local array: 0639
• SRDF group: 203

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Disaster Recovery – SRDF/A

Failover

Failover is an SRDF operation that is used to recover from disasters and

perform DR testing. It is used in cases where the primary array has failed.
• Failover places R1 volumes—identified in a device group—in a write-
disabled state.
− All applications running on the R1 volumes must be stopped and
unmounted before running the failover operation.
• The R2 volumes are Read/Write enabled on the remote array.
− The remote host that owns the R2 volumes should then run the
failover command to gain read/write access to the R2 volumes.
• If the primary site fails, data on the R2 volumes is consistent up to the
last complete Apply cycle that was saved on disk.
− Partial data in the Receive cycle is discarded.
• The SRDF failover procedure is run at the remote array. The
application workload is started on the R2 volumes when they become
Read/Write enabled.
− Consistency protection must be disabled before issuing symrdf
failover without the –force option.
• After the failover, the SRDF personalities of the R1 and R2 pairs swap.

− Once the devices have been swapped and an incremental

establish command is issued, the devices are available.

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Failback

Once the primary array is operational, run a failback command on

either side of the SRDF environment to return Read/Write access to R1
volumes and enable SRDF/A.
• After the failback command is started, accumulated invalid tracks
are synchronized from R2 to R1, and new writes to the R1 must be
sent to the R2.
− If there is an interruption while synchronization is taking place, data
on the R2 is not consistent.
• Once the devices have been swapped back and an incremental
establish command is issued, the devices are available.
• Though SRDF/A can be enabled right after a failback, it should be
enabled after the SRDF pairs enter the Synchronized state.

Deep Dive: To learn more about SRDF operations, view

the Dell SRDF Introduction.

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 SRDF/A Multi-Session Consistency

SRDF/A Multi-Session Consistency

Overview

SRDF/A MSC managing RA Group 1 and RA Group 2 as a single session.

Multi Session Consistency (MSC) manages multiple SRDF/A sessions

logically as a single session.
• The RDF daemon—storrdfd—controls cycle switching and cache
recovery operations across all SRDF/A sessions in the group.
− This ensures that a consistent R2 data copy of the database exists
at the point-in-time any interruption occurs.
• If one or more R1 devices in an MSC enabled SRDF consistency
group cannot mirror data to their R2 devices, the MSC process
suspends data mirroring.
− The suspension is in effect for all RA groups across the entire MSC
session.
• MSC can manage multiple SRDF/A sessions as a unit within a single
storage array or across arrays.

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 SRDF/A Multi-Session Consistency

• If a session has devices from multiple arrays, the host running storrdfd
must have a connection to all the arrays to coordinate cycle switches.
• Dell Technologies recommends having multiple hosts running the
storrdfd daemon with connection to the arrays.

− If one host fails, the surviving host can continue processing MSC
cycle switches.

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 SRDF/A Multi-Session Consistency

RDF Daemon

RDF Daemon coordinates cycle switching of the SRDF/A MSC group

sessions as a single entity.

The RDF process daemon maintains consistency for enabled composite

groups across multiple arrays for SRDF/A with MSC.

The daemon monitors for any failure to propagate data to the secondary
array devices and drops all SRDF/A sessions together to maintain
dependent-write consistency.

Operational characteristics of storrdfd are:

• Each host running storrdfd must also run an instance of the base
storapid daemon.
• If the Group Naming Services (GNS) daemon is running, it
communicates composite group definitions to the SRDF daemon.
• If the GNS daemon is not running, the composite group must be
defined on each host individually.
• The daemon holds off host writes during the cycle switch to ensure
dependent-write consistency.
• All sessions in the MSC must complete their Transmit and Apply cycles
before the next cycle switch.

Important: Each locally attached host must run an

instance of storrdfd for the rdf_consistency MSC option to
work in an RDF consistency-enabled environment.

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 SRDF/A Multi-Session Consistency

SRDF/A MSC Operations

SRDF/A MSC operations are not active until storrdfd is enabled and
started in the SYMAPI options file.

The steps to start SRDF/A operations with Multi Session Consistency are:
1. Set the SYMAPI_USE_RDFD = ENABLE parameter in the options
configuration file.
2. Create a Composite Group (CG).
− Group definition is passed to the SRDF daemon as a candidate
group.
− The storrdfd daemon is started automatically.
3. Add all the devices in the SRDF/A sessions to the CG.
4. Place all the CG devices into Async mode.
5. Enable the CG.
6. When the devices become Read/Write enabled on the link, the
daemon:

− Starts performing cycle switching.

− Monitors the health of the group to maintain R2 data consistency.

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 SRDF/A Multi-Session Consistency

SRDF/A MSC Operations Using SYMCLI – Activity

The symcg command is used to manage multiple SRDF/A groups as a

single entity using MSC. The steps to perform these operations include:

1. Create a Composite Group (CG) using the create operation and the
-rdf_consistency option.
2. Add devices to the CG using the add operation.
3. View information about CG using the list operation.
4. View the properties of the CG using the show operation.
5. Enable consistency using the enable operation.

Note: Consistency must be enabled only after the devices are in

asynchronous mode.
• View daemons running on the array using the stordaemon command
and the list operation.
• View the consistency mode for the CG using the symrdf command
and the query operation with the -rdfa option.

Manage two SRDF/A groups as a single entity using MSC using the
SYMCLI simulation below. The environment for this simulation includes:

• Composite Group: msc7cg

• Device group 1: msc1dg7
• Device group 2: msc2dg7
• SRDF type: RDF1

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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SRDF Metro Concepts and Operations

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 SRDF/Metro Overview

SRDF/Metro Overview

SRDF/Metro Introduction

SRDF/Metro
delivers active-
active high
availability for non-
stop data access
and workload
mobility.

In SRDF/Metro,
both R1 and R2
devices are
Read/Write
accessible to the
host systems
simultaneously.

SRDF/Metro
synchronously
copies data that is
written to a device
SRDF/Metro configuration.
to another device in
the pair. This
ensures that both devices have identical content.

In an SRDF/Metro configuration, the arrays can be up to 200 km (125

miles) apart.

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 SRDF/Metro Overview

SRDF/Metro Host Configurations

Single and clustered host configurations.

SRDF/Metro can be deployed in either a single multipathed host or in a

clustered host environment.

In a single multipathed host configuration:

• A single host issues I/O operations.
• Multipathing software enables parallel reads and writes to each array.

In a clustered host configuration:

• Multiple hosts issue I/O operations to both sides of the SRDF device
pair.
• Each cluster node has dedicated access to an individual storage array.
• Each cluster node has a passive connection to the other storage array.

In both single host and clustered configurations, writes to the R1 or R2

devices are synchronously copied to the paired device.

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SRDF/Metro Resiliency – Device Bias

SRDF/Metro has three methods for determining which side remains

accessible during a failure—Device Bias, Array Witness, and Virtual
Witness.

When the
devices in an
SRDF/Metro
group become
Ready on the
SRDF link,
PowerMaxOS
marks the
array that
contains the
R1 devices as
the bias. The
other array
becomes the
non-bias side.
SRDF/Metro resiliency configuration with no witness configured.

If a device pair
becomes Not Ready on the SRDF link, PowerMaxOS allows all devices
on the bias side to remain accessible to the application host. The devices
on the non-bias side become inaccessible to the application host.

The ActiveBias pair state indicates that the devices operating with device
bias are ready to provide high availability.

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SRDF/Metro Resiliency – Array Witness

SRDF/Metro has three methods for determining which side remains

accessible during a failure—Device Bias, Array Witness, and Virtual
Witness.

The array witness

enables
SRDF/Metro to
use a third witness
array to determine
the bias side.

The array witness

method requires
two SRDF groups.
One between the
R1 array and the
witness array, and
the second
between the R2
array and the
witness array.
SRDF/Metro Resiliency Configuration with Array Witness

When devices are

operating with array witness, the state of the device pairs is ActiveActive.
If the witness array becomes inaccessible from both R1 and R2 arrays,
the state of the device pairs becomes ActiveBias.

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 SRDF/Metro Overview

SRDF/Metro Resiliency – Virtual Witness

SRDF/Metro has three methods for determining which side remains

accessible during a failure—Device Bias, Array Witness, and Virtual
Witness.

Virtual Witness (vWitness) is

a resiliency option which is
packaged to run in a virtual
appliance (vApp) on a
VMware ESXi server and
does not run on an array.

Up to 32 vWitnesses can be
configured for redundancy.

When devices are operating

with vWitness, the state of
the device pair is
ActiveActive.

To improve resiliency for

each SRDF/Metro
configuration, it is SRDF/Metro Resiliency Configuration with
Virtual Witness
recommended to use two
vWitness instances. Each
instance is placed in a separate fault domain.

If two separate fault domains are unavailable for vWitness, the two
vWitnesses can be placed on a third fault domain but on a different Linux
or ESX server.

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 SRDF/Metro Overview

SRDF/Metro Extended DR with SRDF/A – Primary Site

Protection

Extended Disaster Recovery (DR) using SRDF/A in an SRDF/Metro

environment includes protecting the primary, secondary, or both sites.

The best practice

recommendation is to protect
the primary (bias) site with
SRDF/A to a tertiary site.

In this scenario, the primary

device acts as an R11.

Primary (bias) site with SRDF/A to tertiary site.

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 SRDF/Metro Overview

SRDF/Metro Extended DR with SRDF/A – Secondary

Site Protection

Extended Disaster Recovery (DR) using SRDF/A in an SRDF/Metro

environment includes protecting the primary, secondary, or both sites.

Disaster Recovery in an
SRDF/Metro
configuration can also be
accomplished using
SRDF/A from the
secondary site.

In this configuration, the

secondary device acts as
an R21.

Secondary (Non-Bias) Site with SRDF/A to Tertiary

Site

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 SRDF/Metro Overview

SRDF/Metro Extended DR with SRDF/A – Primary and

Secondary Site Protection

Extended Disaster Recovery (DR) using SRDF/A in an SRDF/Metro

environment includes protecting the primary, secondary, or both sites.

Primary Site with SRDF/A and Secondary Site with SRDF/A to Tertiary Site

The primary and secondary sites can also be protected with SRDF/A to
their respective tertiary sites.

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 SRDF/Metro Overview

SRDF/Metro Smart DR

SRDF/Metro provides
higher database resiliency
at short distances of up to
200 kilometers (125 miles)
based on synchronous
replication. To provide
longer distance resiliency,
SRDF/A replication is
used.

SRDF/Metro Smart DR Single Smart DR asynchronous target volume.

integrates SRDF/Metro and
SRDF/A to provide both high availability and disaster recovery.

SRDF/Metro Smart DR provides SRDF/Metro with a single asynchronous

target R22 volume which is either populated from the R1 or R2 volume of
an SRDF/Metro configuration.

The capabilities added by the Smart DR feature to SRDF/Metro are:

• Witness configuration is required for all Smart DR configurations.
• Ensures that only a single SRDF/A session is sending data to the
Disaster Recovery (DR) site.
• Ensures dependent-write consistent copy of data on the DR site is
maintained and is up to date.

Deep Dive: For more details on SRDF/Metro Smart DR,

visit the Dell Support site

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 SRDF/Metro Management

SRDF/Metro Management

SRDF/Metro Management Overview

The key features of SRDF/Metro management include:

• Managed using either Solutions Enabler or Unisphere for PowerMax

and requires licence on both arrays.
• All device pairs in an SRDF/Metro group are managed together for all
the supported operations, except when changing the configuration of
the group:

− Create pair and move pair operations can add devices to the
SRDF/Metro group.
− Delete pair and move pair operations can remove devices from the
SRDF/Metro group.

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 SRDF/Metro Management

View SRDF/Metro Group Details Using Unisphere for

PowerMax

Unisphere provides SRDF monitoring and management for storage

groups, including SRDF/Metro protected storage groups.

SRDF/Metro Storage Group with details in Unisphere for PowerMax.

To view the list of SRDF/Metro storage groups, use the protection

dashboard.
• Select SRDF/Metro from the Protection section to view the list of
SRDF/Metro storage groups.
• The following properties are displayed:
− Storage Group: User-defined storage group name.
− States: The state of the storage group. The possible values are
ActiveActive and ActiveBias.
− Modes: The SRDF modes.
− SRDF Type: The storage groups with volumes having multiple
SRDF types such as R1 or R2.
− SRDF Groups: The SRDF group number.
− Capacity (GB): The total capacity of the storage group in GB.
− Witness Protected: Indicator if the witness is protected.
• By selecting an SRDF/Metro storage group, additional details can be
viewed on the right side of the screen. Operations such as establish,
split, suspend, restore, and others can be performed depending on the
operating environment and the mode.

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 SRDF/Metro Management

View SRDF/Metro Group Details Using Unisphere –

Activity

Use the simulation to view the SRDF/Metro group details using Unisphere
for PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Metro Management

SRDF/Metro Restrictions

The restrictions and dependencies of SRDF/Metro configuration are:

• Online Device Expansion (ODE) is available when both the sides run
PowerMaxOS 10 (6079) or PowerMaxOS 5978.444.444 and later.
• R1 and R2 devices must be identical in size.
• In an SRDF/Metro group, all the R1 devices must be on one side of the
SRDF link. The R2 devices are on the other side of the link.
• Operations such as setting devices to Ready or Not Ready on the
SRDF/Metro link and changing bias apply to all devices in an
SRDF/Metro group.
• Devices in an SRDF/Metro configuration cannot be BCVs.

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 Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs

Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs

Create SRDF/Metro Device Pairs Using Unisphere for

PowerMax

To accommodate the storage needs of the application, the storage

administrator creates and moves device pairs to the SRDF/Metro group.

Create Pairs option and Create Pairs dialog in Unisphere for PowerMax.

To create SRDF/Metro device pairs on a selected array, use the Data

Protection menu option for SRDF Groups.
• Select the storage group and use the Create Pair option.
• Choose the mirror type and the SRDF mode of operation.
• Select the local array devices.
• Select the remote array devices.

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 Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs

Tip: It is possible to create an SRDF/Metro device pair

when SRDF/Metro exists in a current group or an empty
SRDF group exists on the storage device.

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 Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs

Select SRDF Mode

SRDF/Metro device pairs can be created in an existing SRDF/Metro

storage group or an empty storage group. The Select SRDF Mode dialog
for a Create Pair operation differs based on the storage group type.

• Mirror Type – R1 or R2
• SRDF Mode – Active for SRDF/Metro

To create a device pair in an To create an SRDF/Metro device

SRDF/Metro storage group, Active pair in an empty storage group,
is the only option for SRDF mode. select Active as the SRDF
mode.

Select SRDF Mode dialog for Create Pair

operation on an SRDF/Metro storage Select SRDF Mode dialog for Create
group. Pair operation on an empty storage
group.

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 Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs

Create SRDF/Metro Device Pairs Using Unisphere –

Activity

Use the simulation below to perform the creation of SRDF/Metro device

pairs using Unisphere for PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs

Mobility ID with ALUA

PowerMaxOS brings Mobility ID with Asymmetric Logical Unit Access

(ALUA) capabilities to SRDF/Metro.

• Mobility ID is a feature of PowerMax storage arrays when used with

ALUA assigns a unique identifier to a device in a system.
• The identifier allows the device to be moved between the arrays
without any reconfiguration on the host.
• When both the R1 and R2 sides run PowerMaxOS, the Mobility ID is
specified in place of the regular device identifier in the create pair
operation.

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 Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs

Move SRDF/Metro Device Pairs Using Unisphere for

PowerMax

Moving SRDF pairs moves SRDF pairs from one SRDF group to another.
The move type can be a full move or a half move. A half move specifies to
move only the local half of the SRDF pair.

Move option for SRDF pairs in Unisphere for PowerMax.

To move the SRDF/Metro device pairs for an SRDF/Metro storage group,

use the protection dashboard.
• Select the SRDF/Metro storage group and view the SRDF pairs
associated with the storage group.
• Select the local volumes to be moved and perform the Move operation.
• Select the target SRDF group and choose the type of move to be
performed.
• Remove the pairs from the local or remote storage group and
optionally add the pairs to the local or remote storage groups.

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 Configure SRDF/Metro Device Pairs

Move SRDF/Metro Device Pairs Using Unisphere –

Activity

Use the simulation to move SRDF/Metro device pairs using Unisphere for
PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Metro Implementation

SRDF/Metro Implementation

SRDF/Metro Life Cycle

The following steps demonstrate the life cycle of an SRDF/Metro

configuration:
1. Initial provisioning and configuration setup: The storage must be
provisioned and made available to the application host:
a. Create the SRDF/Metro configuration.
b. Synchronize each device pair in the configuration.
c. Enter high-availability mode.
2. Add and remove devices: The storage needs of the application
change during its lifetime. To accommodate the changes, the storage
administrator adds devices or removes them from the SRDF/Metro
group.
3. Remove the SRDF/Metro configuration: Removing devices from a
SRDF/Metro group removes the associated SRDF/Metro configuration.

a. The storage administrator uses the delete pair or move pair to

remove all the device pairs except the last one. To remove that pair
and the SRDF/Metro configuration, the storage administrator uses
the delete pair operation.
b. Once the SRDF/Metro group is empty, it is no longer considered to
be an SRDF/Metro group and the group is available as traditional
SRDF devices.

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 SRDF/Metro Implementation

Create Physical Witness Group

Steps to create physical witness using Unisphere for PowerMax.

A physical witness for SRDF/Metro is an SRDF group that does not send
any data and serves the role of a third site to SRDF/Metro cluster for
arbitration purposes only. To create a physical witness group, create an
SRDF group from both the local and remote storage systems to a third
PowerMax storage system.

To create physical witness SRDF group on a selected array, use the Data
Protection menu option for SRDF groups.
• Select the communication protocol, remote array ID, and provide a
label for the SRDF group.
− Select the SRDF/Metro Witness Group checkbox to create a
physical witness SRDF group.
• Select the SRDF group number and select the local ports.
• Select the SRDF group number and select the remote ports.

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 SRDF/Metro Implementation

Create Physical Witness Using Unisphere – Activity

Use the simulation to create physical witness group using Unisphere for
PowerMax.

The process of creaing physical witness groups must be done on both the
R1 and R2 sides of the Metro configuration. In this simulation, run through
the R1 side configuration.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Metro Implementation

Virtual Witness

A virtual witness (vWitness) for SRDF/Metro is a pre-configured VMware

ESXi virtual appliance (vApp) of Solutions Enabler (SE) or Unisphere for
PowerMax. Virtual witness provides an alternative witness functionality
without requiring additional PowerMax hardware.

vWitness is a resiliency option that runs as a daemon:

• On a Linux system when either or both of the SRDF/Metro arrays run

PowerMaxOS 10.
• In a vApp on a VMware ESXi server.
• On Linux or vApp if none of the sides run PowerMaxOS 10 – Neither of
the arrays are beyond PowerMaxOS 5978.

If the Linux daemon is used in a non-PowerMaxOS 10 environment, an

external Unisphere 10 or SE 10 instance is used to manage the vWitness.

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 SRDF/Metro Implementation

Create Virtual Witness

Steps to create a virtual witness using Unisphere for PowerMax.

To create a virtual witness on a selected array, use the Data Protection

menu option.
• Select the storage system and from the navigation pane, select Data
Protection > Virtual Witness.
• Provide a name for the virtual witness and enter the IP address of the
SE vApp.
• Check the Add Virtual Witness to remote arrays box if the virtual
witness needs to be added to the remote array.

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 SRDF/Metro Implementation

Create Virtual Witness Using Unisphere – Activity

Use the simulation to create a virtual witness using Unisphere for

PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Metro Implementation

Protect Storage Group

Storage groups are protected using SRDF/Metro to improve support for

host applications in high availability environments.

Steps to protect storage group with SRDF/Metro using Unisphere for PowerMax.

To protect a storage group of a selected array, use the Storage menu

option.
• Click Protect to open the Protect dialog.
• Setup High Availability using SRDF/Metro.
• Select the Remote Array.
• Optionally, to stop the initiation of pair mirroring, clear the Establish
Pairs option. If Establish Pairs is checked, choose Protected by
Witness or Bias.
• Optionally, change the Remote Storage Group Name and select a
Remote Service Level. To disable data reduction, clear the Enable
Data Reduction option.

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 SRDF/Metro Implementation

Protect Storage Group Using Unisphere – Activity

Use the simulation to protect a storage group using Unisphere for

PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Metro Online Device Expansion

SRDF/Metro Online Device Expansion

Online Device Expansion Overview

Online Device Expansion (ODE) is available when both sides of an

SRDF/Metro configuration run PowerMaxOS 10 (6079) or PowerMaxOS
5978.444.444 and later. The functionalities that are provided by the
SRDF/Metro ODE feature are:

• Supports devices in SRDF/Metro active or suspended pair states.

• Expansion does not impact read/write performance to associated
devices or applications.
• Supports SRDF/Metro R1 or R2 topology with a single command or
operation.
• If the expansion operation fails for either site, the paired devices
maintain the original size.

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 SRDF/Metro Online Device Expansion

Online Device Expansion Using Unisphere for

PowerMax

Expand option and dialog for storage group volume in Unisphere for PowerMax.

To view the list of volumes and perform an online device expansion of

volumes, use the Storage Groups menu option.
• Select an SRDF/Metro protected storage group and choose the
Volumes number link to view the list of volumes.
• Select the desired volume from the available devices to be expanded
and select Expand.
• Enter the desired volume size and choose an RDF group for the
volumes.

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 SRDF/Metro Online Device Expansion

SRDF/Metro Online Device Expansion Using Unisphere

– Activity

Use the simulation to perform an online device expansion using Unisphere

for PowerMax.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

Planned Outage – Suspend SRDF Pair

Suspend action is issued for a configuration with no witness array during planned
SRDF outage.

For a planned SRDF/Metro outage, the suspend action is issued to take

the device pairs out of the ActiveActive or ActiveBias SRDF pair state and
move into the Suspended state.

In the example shown in the image, bias is used since there is no witness
array. The R1 devices are Read/Write to the host, and the R2 devices are
Not Ready to the host.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

Planned Outage – Establish or Restore

Establish and restore operations after a planned outage is completed.

Once the planned outage is complete, the user can decide to keep the R1
or R2 data.

• If the user wants to keep the data on the R1 side, execute an

establish command.
• If the user wants to keep the data on the R2 side, execute a restore
command.

Deep Dive: To learn more about the establish and

restore commands, use the latest version of Dell
Solutions SRDF Family Enabler CLI User Guide.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

Changing Host Accessibility – Suspend

Suspend operation is performed to make the R1 become the R2.

If there is a planned application outage to the R1 devices, the symrdf

suspend -bias R2 -force is used to make the R1 become the R2.

• The R2 which is the side that is Read/Write to the host, becomes the
R1.
• For a planned application outage to the R1 devices, which is the
default bias side, a half swap to both the R1 and R2 is allowed.

Note: Half swaps force a bias change when the devices are Not Ready
on the SRDF link.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

Unplanned Outage – Link Failure

When an unplanned link

failure occurs in an
SRDF/Metro
configuration, device
pairs change from
ActiveActive or
ActiveBias to a
Partitioned SRDF pair
state.

Operations continue on
the R1 side, and the R2
side is Not Ready to the
host.

Partitioned SRDF pair state, R1 is Read/Write to the

host, R2 is not ready to the host.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

Unplanned Outage – Link Fixed

If the application
continues running on
the R1 side, the SRDF
pair state changes
from Partitioned to
Suspended once the
SRDF link failure is
addressed. At this
point, an establish or
restore operation can
be performed.

Suspended SRDF pair state, R1 is Read/Write to the

host, R2 is not ready to the host.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

Unplanned Outage Recovery Issue

An issue occurs to the

device pairs when they
are in a Partitioned
state.

The R2 devices have a

personality swap;
however, the R1
devices do not, resulting
in two R1s in the Metro
configuration, as shown
in the image.

Two R1s in an SRDF/Metro configuration with links in a

partitioned state.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

Unplanned Outage – Recovery Resolution

When the SRDF link failure is resolved, the device pair status remains
Partitioned because there are two R1s in the Metro configuration.

To solve this issue, take

the application offline
and perform a half swap
on the failed site, the R1
and swap it back to an
R2. The results of the
swap are:

• There is an R1 and
R2 in the
configuration.
• Bias is applied on
the R1 side.
• The device pairs go
into a Suspended
state.
• The application can
now be brought Half swap is issued to the original R2.
online to the original
R1 side and either an establish or restore operation can be performed.
The configuration returns to its original condition.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

Suspend and Establish Operations Using Unisphere –

Activity

Use the simulation to perfom the suspend and establish operations using
Unisphere for PowerMax when there is a planned outage.

The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

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 SRDF/Metro Failure Scenarios and Operations

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Appendix

Create SRDF/Metro Configuration

The storage administrator sets up the SRDF/Metro configuration by doing
the following:
• Creates two empty SRDF groups, one on each array.
• Uses the create pair operation to create each device pair and add it to
the empty SRDF groups.
• Makes the device pairs Ready on the SRDF link between the arrays.

Synchronize Each Device Pair in the Configuration

Each device pair synchronizes its data to provide high availability:
• The device pair state becomes SyncInProg.
• Invalid tracks synchronize.
• R2 copies the device personality such as geometry and identity of the
R1 device.
• R2 adopts the personality of the R1 device.

Enter High-Availability Mode

Once the synchronization is complete, SRDF/Metro does the following to
provide high availability:
• Makes the R2 devices accessible to the host using the R1
personalities.
• Sets the state of each device pair to:

− ActiveActive: If a witness resiliency is in use.

− ActiveBias: If device bias resiliency is in use.

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Adaptive copy disk mode
Adaptive copy disk mode is a type of adaptive copy mode where write
requests accumulate on the R1 device and not in the cache.
Adaptive copy mode transfers a large amount of data without any impact
on the host.

ALUA
ALUA is a standard which defines how a host can access a storage device
through multiple paths. ALUA allows the host to use the most efficient path
to the storage device.

BCV
BCV refers to Business Continuity Volume which is a full copy of the
source device and can be mounted to the same or different host.

BFSI Sectors
BFSI sectors refers to Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance sectors.

Half Swap
Half swap operation swaps one half of an SRDF relationship to change an
R1 to R2 or R2 to R1. Half swap is performed when one end of the
devices are not available and a full personality swap cannot be performed.

Link Limbo
Link limbo allows you to set a specific length of time for Enginuity to wait
when a link goes down before updating the link status. Link limbo value
can be specified on the local side or both the local and remote sides. If the
link status is still not ready after the link limbo time expires, devices are
marked not ready to the link. The value of the link limbo timer can be 0
through 120 s. The default is 10 s. To protect from session drops after the
maximum link limbo time expires, the Transmit Idle feature may be
enabled.

Logical Device

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Logical device is an abstraction of a physical device which has its own
address or ID.

Multi Session Consistency

With MSC, the SRDF group is part of a consistency group spanning all
associated SRDF/A sessions. SRDF host software coordinates cycle
switching to provide dependent-write consistency across multiple
sessions, which may also span arrays. The host software switches
SRDF/A cycles for all SRDF groups in the consistency group
simultaneously.

Single Session Consistency

With SSC, the SRDF group is managed individually. The operating
environment on the primary array controls cycle switching. SRDF/A cycles
are switched independently of any other SRDF groups on any array in the
solution.

Zero RPO
Zero Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is a setup in which no data loss is
accepatble in the event of an outage.

Zero RTO
Zero Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is a setup in which application
downtime is never acceptable when an outage occurs.

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