Dell PowerVault MD Series Storage Replication Adapter Best Practices Guide (Web Client)
Notes, cautions, and warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. Copyright © 2015 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws.
Contents 1 SRA download................................................................................................................. 4 2 Installation procedure......................................................................................................5 3 Password protected storage arrays................................................................................. 6 4 Snapshot repository sizing..............................................................................................
1 SRA download The Dell Modular Disk (MD) Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) is used with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) to facilitate Datacenter failover between separate VMware vCenter Server environments. To use the SRA, download the latest version of the SRA from VMware vCenter SRM download page at http://www.vmware.com/download. For the latest version, see the Support Matrix available at the Dell.com/support.
2 Installation procedure After verifying that the download file is complete and not corrupted, perform the following steps: 1. Copy the installer to the SRM servers. 2. Run the SRA installer on these SRM systems. 3. To accept the End-User License Agreement, follow the prompts and installation paths. The SRA is installed in the following location: Install Directory: • C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\MD SRA Scripts Directory: 4. • C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\storage\sra\MD
3 Password protected storage arrays If your environment implements password security on the storage arrays, modify the SraConfigurationData.xml file to prompt for the storage array password. To modify the file, complete the following tasks: 1. Edit C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\storage\sra\ MD\config\SraConfigurationData.xml file. 2. Locate the tag. 3. Change the default value of "false" to "true". 4.
4 Snapshot repository sizing Point-in-time snapshots provide the ability to roll back virtual disks to previous point-in-time saves, and optimize the data changes between snapshot images. This feature utilizes two separate repositories, the Snapshot Group repository and Snapshot Virtual Disk repository, to facilitate tracking of changes to the base virtual disk.
Figure 4. MD Storage Manager Snapshot Virtual Disk View How SRA uses snapshots The MD SRA uses Point-in-Time Snapshots if the feature is enabled on the storage array. During test failover, the SRA creates a Snapshot Group, Snapshot Image, and Snapshot Virtual Disk on the recovery site’s storage array for all virtual disks contained in the protection groups being tested. This process requires the creation of the two snapshot repositories, listed earlier.
recommend using these values for Snapshot repositories for other purposes. You can monitor the sizes and status of the repositories from within MD Storage Manager by selecting the All Logical Objects container, and then selecting Repositories in the Object Type drop-down menu. Figure 5. MD SRA Repository View You can view more information, such as available repository space, mode, and timestamps by selecting Snapshot Virtual Disks or Snapshot Groups in the drop-down menu.
5 NVSRAM settings You must change the following NVSRAM setting to allow for the mapping of LUNs to multiple hosts or host groups in order to support test failover within SRM. During test failover, snapshots are created on the Recovery Site Storage Array. You can map these snapshots to multiple hosts or host groups of the ESX or ESXi host participating in the recovery. 1. From the MD Storage Manager Enterprise Management window, select Tools → Execute Script option from the drop-down menu. 2.
6 MD SRA device management service The MD SRAsvc process monitors and synchronizes communications between the SRA and the MD storage arrays. SRA workload is partitioned between a persistent server and multiple transient client programs, which endure only during a single SRM command.
vmarg.1=-Xms256m vmarg.2=-Xmx512m NOTE: If you modify this file, stop and restart to implement the new settings.
7 Asynchronous remote replication The Asynchronous Remote Replication (aRR) feature allows for a new method of remote replication utilizing point-in-time copies. This feature supports both Fibre Channel and iSCSI remote array connections.
8 General virtual disk recommendations When designing a DR strategy by using VMware vCenter SRM and MD storage arrays, consider the following: • Protection works on a datastore level (storage array virtual disk). All VMs that require protection on the same datastore as the VM will also be protected and replicated. • Use multiple small datastores and virtual disks to limit the size of data replicated across to the recovery site.
9 SRA command line options The SRA installs a command line utility that provides the following functions: • Trace Logging: This option provides detailed logging for each command run and received by the SRA. The log files are placed in the \track directory. The command line options are \svrCmd track on to enable or \svrCmd track off to disable.
10 SRA java update script Installed with the SRA is a command line utility to update the Java runtime environment, in the event an updated JRE is required. This script is called UpdateJREPath.bat and is typically located in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\ Storage Replication Adapter directory. • Running the batch file without any options displays the current JRE path that is used by the SRA.
11 SRM Advanced Settings SRM settings are accessed by selecting Sites from the SRM, selecting a specific site, the Manage tab, and then the Advanced Settings button (see Figure 6). You can select the settings group to edit. Figure 6. SRM Advanced Settings Dell recommends the following changes for proper SRA operation: • storage.commandTimeout = 900 • storageProvider.hostRescanRepeatCnt = 2 • storageProvider.
12 Troubleshooting tips In certain environments, you may need to implement one or all the following settings to enable successful operation of the SRA. Do not change these settings unless advised by technical support. These are nonstandard settings; therefore, you should use them only if your environment is experiencing the symptoms described for the change. Datastore expected to be automounted Error: Failed to recover Datastore ‘XYZZY’.
This modification requires a restart of the ESXi host system. Possible Solution 3:(For ESXi 5.x Only) Modify /etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml and add the following entry under /: false true 120000 /lib/ This modification increases the SSL handshake timeout value. This change may be necessary on busy systems.
13 Getting help Documentation matrix The documentation matrix provides information about documents that you can refer to for setting up and managing your system. Dell documentation • For all PowerEdge and PowerVault documentation, go to Dell.com/support and enter the system Service Tag to get your system documentation. • For all Virtualization documents, go to Dell.com/virtualizationsolutions. • For all operating system documents, go to Dell.com/operatingsystemmanuals.
The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed. 4. For general support: a. Select your product category. b. Select your product segment. c. Select your product. The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed. Locating your system Service Tag Your system is identified by a unique Express Service Code and Service Tag number. The Express Service Code and Service Tag are found on the front of the system by pulling out the information tag.
