Administrator Guide

Synchronous replication use cases
29 Dell EMC SC Series: Synchronous Replication and Live Volume | CML1064
DSM bundles DR automation tools to help meet RTO requirements
For virtualization and database use cases alike, Unisphere Central is used to create asynchronous or
synchronous replications. These replications predefine the destination volumes that will be presented to
storage hosts for disaster recovery.
Note: Destination replica volumes are for DR purposes only and should not be used actively in a Microsoft or
VMware vSphere Metro Storage Cluster design.
In most cases, predefined destination volumes are data volumes. Where physical hosts are involved, boot
from SAN volumes can also be included in the pre-defined DR plan to quickly and effortlessly recover
physical hosts and applications as opposed to rebuilding and installing applications from scratch. Rebuilding
takes significant time, is error prone, and may require subject matter expert knowledge of platforms,
applications, and the business depending on how well detailed the build process is in the DR plan. Confusion
or errors during test or DR execution lead to high visibility failure. Detailed and current DR documentation
provides clarity at the DR site. Process inconsistency and errors are mitigated by automation or closely
following DR documentation. With these points in mind, the benefit of automating a DR plan with DSM (or a
similar tool) is clear. From the moment a disaster is declared by the business, the RTO is in jeopardy;
automation of tasks saves time and provides process consistency.
Predefining a DR plan in Unisphere Central for SC Series
Once the volumes are prepared and presented manually or automatically by DSM or API scripting, the
process of data recovery continues. For SQL Server and Oracle database servers, databases are attached
and various scripts are run to prepare the database server and applications for production use (such as to