Release Notes

49 Dell Virtual Storage Manager: Installation Considerations and Local Data Protection | 2079-BP-V-VSM
These clones will be listed as a completed task for the clone. This will ensure proper removal of the iSCSI
targets and deletion of PS Series cloned volumes.
6.8 Multilayered data protection approach and data placement
PS Series SANs are integrated with vSphere through the Virtual Storage Manager. With features such as snapshots, they
provide an additional layer of protection by offering hypervisor-aware snapshots for virtual machines. These tools and
techniques are designed to enhance existing data protection or business-continuance strategies and work in
conjunction with other solutions. Traditional backup techniques, as well as the PS Series Auto-Snapshot
Manager/Microsoft Edition inside Windows VMs, can be used to protect Microsoft SharePoint
®
, SQL, and Exchange
data or Auto-Snapshot Manager/Linux Edition used to protect Linux data drives.
Leveraging all of these tools together requires a new approach to data protection and data placement. The snapshot
within the PS Series SAN is done at the volume level even if the object in vCenter is a folder or a subset of VMs. This
means that to meet the SLA and RTO of a particular set of VMs, they should all reside together in the same protection
scheme. During VM deployment, a location for the VM so that it can have the required protection options and service
level for recovery needs to be identified. As data protection scenarios are built, it will be easier to decide where the VM
belongs. Once the tiers are set up and configured by either folders or datastores, VM placement will be easier. In
addition to meeting SLAs, VM placement also has an effect on local PS Series snapshot space. Whenever a VM is moved
using migrate or storage vMotion, the SAN keeps track of the movement because it is identified as new writes.
Leveraging Storage DRS (sDRS) or constantly moving VMs from one volume to another, could dramatically increase the
amount of snapshot space consumed on the SAN to keep track of this movement.
VSM Snapshots can also be used in conjunction with a variety of the other PS Series host integration tools for more
granular protection of the application data within the virtual machine.