Managing Virtual Machine Disaster Recovery

Data Protection

Data Protection Overview

The HX Data Platform disaster recovery feature allows you to protect virtual machines from a disaster by setting up replication of running VMs between a pair of network connected clusters. Protected virtual machines running on one cluster replicate to the other cluster in the pair, and vice versa. The two paired clusters typically are located at a distance from each other, with each cluster serving as the disaster recovery site for virtual machines running on the other cluster.

Once protection has been set up on a VM, HX Data Platform periodically takes a replication snapshot of the running VM on the local cluster and replicates (copies) the snapshot to the paired remote cluster. In the event of a disaster at the local cluster, you may use the most recently replicated snapshot of each protected VM to recover and run the VM at the remote cluster. Each cluster that serves as a disaster recovery site for another cluster, must be sized with adequate spare resources so that upon a disaster, it can run the newly recovered virtual machines in addition to its normal workload.


Note

Only one snapshot retention is supported for backup workflows.

Each virtual machine can be individually protected by assigning it protection attributes, chief among which is the replication interval (schedule). The shorter the replication interval, the fresher the replicated snapshot data is likely to be, when it is time to recover the VM after a disaster. Replication intervals can range between 5 minutes and 24 hours.

Protection group is a group of VMs that have a common replication schedule and snapshot properties.

Setting up replication requires two existing clusters running HX Data Platform version 2.5 or higher. Both clusters must be on the same HX Data Platform version. This setup can be completed online.

First, each cluster is set up for replication networking. Use HX Connect to provide a set of IP addresses to be used by local cluster nodes to replicate to the remote cluster. HX Connect creates VLANs through UCS Manager, for dedicated replication network use.


Note

When this option is chosen in HX Connect, UCSM is configured only when both UCS Manager and fabric interconnect are associated with the HyperFlex cluster. When UCSM and FI are not present, you must enter the VLAN ID, and not select UCSM configuration in HX Connect.

The two clusters, and their corresponding existing relevant datastores must be explicitly paired. The pairing setup can be completed using HX Connect from one of the two clusters. This requires administrative credentials of the other cluster.

Virtual machines can be protected (or have their existing protection attributes modified) by using HX Connect at the cluster where they are currently active.

HX Connect can be used to monitor the status of both incoming and outgoing replications at a cluster.

After a disaster, a protected VM can be recovered and run at the cluster that serves as the disaster recovery site for that VM.

Port Requirements for Replication

Verify that the following firewall ports are open when configuring native HX asynchronous cluster to cluster replication:

Port Number

Service/Protocol

Source

Port Destinations

Essential Information

9338

Data Services Manager Peer/TCP

Each CVM Node

Each CVM Node

Bidirectional, include cluster management IP addresses

3049

Replication for CVM/TCP

Each CVM Node

Each CVM Node

Bidirectional, include cluster management IP addresses

4049

Cluster Map/TCP

Each CVM Node

Each CVM Node

Bidirectional, include cluster management IP addresses

4059

NR NFS/TCP

Each CVM Node

Each CVM Node

Bidirectional, include cluster management IP addresses

9098

Replication Service

Each CVM Node

Each CVM Node

Bidirectional, include cluster management IP addresses

8889

NR Master for Coordination/TCP

Each CVM Node

Each CVM Node

Bidirectional, include cluster management IP addresses

9350

Hypervisor Service/TCP

Each CVM Node

Each CVM Node

Bidirectional, include cluster management IP addresses

Replication and Recovery Considerations

The following is a list of considerations when configuring virtual machine replication and performing disaster recovery of virtual machines.

  • Administrator―All replication and recovery tasks, except monitoring, can only be performed with administrator privileges on the local cluster. For tasks involving a remote cluster, both the local and remote user must have administrator privileges and should be configured with the vCenter SSO on their respective clusters.

  • Storage Space―Ensure that you have sufficient space on the remote cluster to support your replication schedule. The protected virtual machines are replicated (copied) to the remote cluster at every scheduled interval. Though storage capacity methods are applied (deduplication and compression), each replicated virtual machine will consume some storage space.

    Not having sufficient storage space on the remote cluster can cause the remote cluster to reach capacity usage maximums. If you see Out of Space errors, see Handling Out of Space Errors. Pause all replication schedules until you have appropriately adjusted the space available on the HX Cluster. Always ensure that your cluster capacity consumption is below the space utilization warning threshold.

  • Supported Clusters―Replication is supported between the following HyperFlex clusters:

    • 1:1 replication between HX clusters running under fabric interconnects.

    • 1:1 replication between All Flash and Hybrid HX cluster running under fabric interconnects.

    • 1:1 replication between 3-Node and 4-Node HX Edge and another 3-Node and 4-Node HX Edge cluster.

    • 1:1 replication between All Flash 3-Node and 4-Node Edge and Hybrid 3-Node and 4-Node HX Edge clusters.

    • 1:1 replication between 3-Node and 4-Node HX Edge and an HX cluster running under fabric interconnects.


    Note

    1:1 replication with 2-Node HX Edge is not supported.

  • Rebooting Nodes―Do not reboot any nodes in the HX Cluster during any restore, replication, or recovery operation.

  • Thin Provision―Protected virtual machines are recovered with thin provisioned disks irrespective of how disks were specified in the originally protected virtual machine.

  • Protection Group Limitations

    • The maximum number of VMs allowed in a protection group is 64.

    • Do not add VMs with ISOs or floppies to protection groups.

  • Non-HX Datastores―If you have protected a VM with storage on a non-HX datastore, periodical replication will fail on this. You can either unprotect this VM or remove its non-HX storage.

    Do not move protected VMs from HX datastores to non-HX datastores. If a VM is moved to a non-HX datastore through storage vMotion, unprotect the VM, then reapply the protection.

  • Templates―Templates are not supported for Disaster Recovery.

  • Protection and Recovery of Virtual Machines with Snapshots

    • A VM with no Snapshots—When replication is enabled the entire content of the VM is replicated.

    • A VM with VMware Redolog snapshots—When replication is enabled the entire content including the snapshot data is replicated. When a VM with redolog snapshots is recovered, all previous snapshots are preserved.

    • A VM with Hyperflex Snapshots—When replication is enabled only the latest data is replicated, and the snapshot data is not replicated. When the VM is recovered, previous snapshots are not preserved.

  • Data Protection and Disaster Recovery (DR) snapshots are stored on the same datastore as the protected VMs. Deleting these snapshots manually by an Admin, is not supported. Deleting the snapshot directories would compromise HX data protection and disaster recovery.


    Caution

    As in any VMware environment, not restricted to HX on VMware, datastores can be accessed by the Admin via VCenter browser or by logging into the ESX host. Because of this, snapshot directory and contents are browse-able and accessible to Admins. VMware does not restrict operations on datastores by Admin. Please be aware of this to avoid deleting snapshots manually.

Replication Network and Pairing Considerations

A replication network must be established between clusters that are expected to use replication for Data Protection. This Replication network is created to isolate inter-cluster replication traffic from other traffic within each cluster and site.

The following is a list of considerations when configuring replication network and pairing:

  • To support efficient replication, all M nodes of cluster A have to communicate with all N nodes of cluster B, as illustrated in the M x N connectivity between clusters figure.

  • To enable replication traffic between clusters to cross the site-boundary and traverse the internet, each node on Cluster A should be able to communicate with each node on Cluster B across the site boundary and the internet.

  • The replication traffic must be isolated from other traffic within the cluster and the data center.

  • To create this isolated replication network for inter-cluster traffic, complete these steps:

    • Create a replication network on each cluster.

    • Pair clusters to associate the clusters and establish M x N connectivity between the clusters.

  • IP addresses, Subnet, VLAN, and Gateway are associated with each replication network of each cluster. You must configure the corporate firewall and routers on both sites, to allow communication between the clusters and the sites on TCP ports 9338,3049,9098,4049,4059.

M*N Connectivity Between Clusters

Data Protection Terms

Interval―Part of the replication schedule configuration, used to enforce how often the protected VMs replication snapshot must be taken and copied to the target cluster.

Local cluster―The cluster you are currently logged into through HX Connect, in a VM replication cluster pair. From the local cluster, you can configure replication protection for locally resident VMs. The VMs are then replicated to the paired remote cluster.

Migration―A routine system maintenance and management task where a recent replication snapshot copy of the VM becomes the working VM. The replication pair of source and target cluster do not change.

Primary cluster―An alternative name for the source cluster in VM disaster recovery.

Protected virtual machine―A VM that has replication configured. The protected VMs Reside on a datastore in the local cluster of a replication pair. They have a replication schedule configured either individually or through a protection group.

Protection group―A means to apply the same replication configuration on a group of VMs.

Recovery process―The manual process to recover protected VMs in the event the source cluster fails or a disaster occurs.

Recovery test―A maintenance task that ensures the recovery process is successful in the event of a disaster.

Remote cluster―One of a VM replication cluster pair. The remote cluster receives the replication snapshots from the Protected VMs in the local cluster.

Replication pair―Two clusters that together provide a remote cluster location for storing the replication snapshots of local cluster VMs.

Clusters in a replication pair can be both a remote or local cluster. Both clusters in a replication pair can have resident VMs. Each cluster is local to its resident VMs. Each cluster is remote to the VMs that reside on the paired local cluster.

Replication snapshot―Part of the replication protection mechanism. A type of snapshot taken of the protected VM, which is copied from the local cluster to the remote cluster.

Secondary cluster―An alternative name for the target cluster in VM disaster recovery.

Source cluster―One of a VM replication cluster pair. The source cluster is where the protected VMs reside.

Target cluster―One of a VM replication cluster pair. The target cluster receives the replication snapshots from the VMs of the source cluster. The target cluster is used to recover the VMs in the event of a disaster on the source cluster.

Protecting Virtual Machines

Protecting Virtual Machines Overview

To protect a virtual machine, specify the following protection attributes:

  • Replication interval, which is the frequency of replication.

  • A start time (within the next 24 hours), which specifies the first-time replication is attempted for that virtual machine.

  • Specify if the replication snapshot should be taken with the virtual machine quiesced or not.

Protection attributes can be created and assigned to protection groups. To assign the protection attributes to virtual machines, they can be added to a protection group.

For example, say you have three classes of protection: gold, silver, and bronze. Set up a protection group for each class, with replication intervals such as 5 or 15 minutes for gold, 4 hours for silver, and 24 hours for bronze. Most of your VMs could be protected by merely adding them to one of the three already created protection groups.

To protect virtual machines, you can choose from the following methods:


Note

When you select multiple virtual machines, you must add them to a protection group.

  • Independently―Select one virtual machine and configure. Set the replication schedule and the VMware quiesce option for the specific virtual machine. Changes to the replication settings will only affect the independently protected virtual machine. The virtual machine is not included in a protection group.

  • Existing protection group―Select one or more virtual machines and add them to an existing protection group. The schedule and VMware quiesce option settings are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group. When the protection group settings are changed, the changes are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group.

  • New protection group―Select two or more virtual machines and choose to create a new protection group. Define the protection group name, schedule, and VMware quiesce option settings. These settings are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group. When the protection group settings are changed, the changes are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group.

Data Protection Workflow

To protect VMs and their data using replication, perform the following steps:

  • Configure two clusters and pair them to each other, to support the replication network activity.

  • Assign replication schedule for the VMs to set the frequency (interval) for creating replication snapshots on the source cluster and copy them to the target cluster. Set replication schedule on individual VMs and on protection groups.

Replication Workflow

  1. Install HX Data Platform, create two clusters.

  2. Create at least one datastore on each cluster.

  3. Log in to HX Connect.

  4. Before creating the replication network, verify the IP addresses, subnet mask, VLAN, gateway, and IP range to be used for the replication network. After the replication network is created, validate connectivity within the cluster over this new replication network.

  5. The default value of MTU is 1500. If your HyperFlex cluster uses OTV or other tunneling mechanisms, ensure that you choose an MTU which will work for inter-site or inter-cluster connectivity.

  6. Configure cluster replication network on each cluster. The replication network information is unique to each cluster.

    Specify the subnet, gateway, range of IP addresses, bandwidth limit for dedicated use by the replication network. HX Data Platform configures a VLAN through UCS Manager for both clusters.

  7. An intra-cluster network test is performed to validate connectivity between the nodes in the cluster, after the replication network is configured. If the intra-cluster network test fails, the replication network configuration is rolled back. Reconfigure the replication network after fixing the issue.

  8. Before creating the replication pair, ensure that you have updated the corporate network to support this pairing.

  9. Create a replication pair from one cluster to the other, connecting the two clusters. After the replication pair is created, a test of the inter-cluster pair network is performed to validate bidirectional connectivity between the clusters. Set the datastore mapping from both clusters.

  10. Optionally, you can create protection groups.

    • Set the schedule. Each protection group must have one schedule.

    • Create multiple protection groups if you want to have various replication intervals (schedules) for different virtual machines. A virtual machine can only belong to one protection group.

  11. Select virtual machines to protect, as individual virtual machines or virtual machines assigned to protection groups.

  12. Set protection, do the following:

    1. Select one or more virtual machines. Click Protect.

    2. From the Protect Virtual Machine wizard, the options are:

      • Protect a single virtual machine through an existing protection group.

      • Protect a single virtual machine independently.

        Set the schedule.

      • Protect multiple virtual machines through an existing protection group.

      • Protect multiple virtual machines through a new protection group.

        Create new protection group and set schedule.

Configuring the Replication Network in HX Connect

Before a replication pair can be configured, the replication network has to be configured on both the local and remote cluster. Complete the configuration on the local cluster, then log in to the remote cluster and complete the configuration there.

Before you begin

Ensure that the following prerequisites are met, before configuring the replication network:

  • A minimum of N + 1 IP addresses is required, where N is the number of converged nodes. An IP subnet spanning these new IP addresses, the gateway, and VLAN associated with this subnet is also required.

  • To accommodate future cluster expansion, ensure that there are sufficient IP addresses in the subnet provided, for later use. Any new converged nodes in the expanded cluster would also need to be assigned IP addresses for replication. The subnet provided in the previous step should span the potentially new IP range as well.

  • Additional IP-pool ranges can be added to the network later, however IP-pools already configured in the replication network cannot be modified.

  • Make sure that the IP addresses to be used for the replication network are not already in use by other systems.

  • Before creating the replication network, verify IP addresses, Subnet, VLAN, and Gateway to be used for the replication network.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect as administrator.

Step 2

Select Replication > Replication Configuration > Configure Network.

Note 

You can only configure the replication network once. Once configured, you can edit the available IP addresses and the networking bandwidth.

Step 3

In the Configure Replication Network dialog box, under the tab, enter the network information.

UI Element Essential Information

Select an existing VLAN radio button

Click this radio button to add an existing VLAN.

If you manually configured a VLAN for use by the replication network through Cisco UCS Manager, enter that VLAN ID.

Create a new VLAN radio button

Click this radio button to create a new VLAN.

VLAN ID field

Click the up or down arrows to select a number for the VLAN ID or type a number in the field.

This is separate from the HX Data Platform Management traffic network and Data traffic network.

Important 
Be sure to use a different VLAN ID number for each HX Storage Cluster in the replication pair.

Replication is between two HX Storage Clusters. Each HX Storage Cluster requires a VLAN dedicated to the replication network.

For example, 3.

When a value is added, the default VLAN Name is updated to include the additional identifier. The VLAN ID value does not affect a manually entered VLAN name.

VLAN Name field

This field is automatically populated with a default VLAN name when the Create a new VLAN radio button is selected. The VLAN ID is concatenated to the name.

For Stretched Cluster, provide Cisco UCS Manager credentials for primary and secondary FIs (site A and site B).For normal cluster, provide Cisco UCS Manager credential for single FI.

UCS Manager host IP or FQDN field

Enter Cisco UCS Manager FQDN or IP address.

For example, 10.193.211.120.

Username field

Enter administrative username for Cisco UCS Manager.

Password field

Enter administrative password for Cisco UCS Manager.

Step 4

Click Next.

Step 5

In the IP & Bandwidth Configuration tab, set the network parameters and the replication bandwidth.

UI Element Essential Information

Subnet field

Enter the subnet for use by the replication network in network prefix notation. The subnet is separate from the HX Data Platform Management traffic network and Data traffic network. 
Format example:
x.x.x.x/<number of bits>
1.1.1.1/20

Gateway field

Enter the gateway IP address for use by the replication network. The gateway is separate from the HX Data Platform Management traffic network and Data traffic network.

For example, 1.2.3.4.

Note 

The gateway IP address must be accessible even if the disaster recovery is being setup for a flat network.

IP Range field

Enter a range of IP addresses for use by the replication network.

  • The minimum number of IP addresses required is the number of nodes in your HX Storage Cluster plus one more.

    For example, if you have a 4 node HX Storage Cluster, enter a range of at least 5 IP addresses.

  • The from value must be lower than the to value.

    For example, From 10.10.10.20 To 10.10.10.30.

  • If you plan to add nodes to your cluster, include sufficient number of IP addresses to cover any additional nodes. You can add IP addresses at any time.

Note 

The IP address range excludes compute-only nodes.

Add IP Range button

Click to add the range of IP addresses entered in IP Range From and To fields.

Set Replication Bandwidth Limit check box

Enter the maximum network bandwidth that the replication network is allowed to consume for inbound and outbound traffic. Acceptable value is 33,000 Mbits/sec.

The default value is unlimited, which sets the maximum network bandwidth to the total available to the network.

The replication bandwidth is used to copy replication snapshots from this local HX Storage Cluster to the paired remote HX Storage Cluster.

Note 

  • At lower bandwidth (typically, lesser than 50 Mbits/sec), the replications of multiple VMs may exit without executing the replication process due to high data transfer rate. To overcome this issue, either increase the bandwidth or stagger VM replication schedule so that VMs do not replicate in the same window.

  • The bandwidth setting must be close to the link speed. The bandwidth setting for the clusters in the pair must be same.

  • The set bandwidth is applicable only for the incoming and outgoing traffic of the cluster to which the bandwidth is set to. For example, setting the bandwidth limit as 100Mb means that the 100Mb is set for incoming traffic and 100Mb is set for outgoing traffic.

  • The set bandwidth limit must not exceed the physical bandwidth.

  • The bandwidth configured must be same on both sites of the disaster recovery environment.

  • The allowed low bandwidth is 10Mb and the maximum latency supported with 10Mb is 75ms. If the initial replication of VMs fails due to lossy network or unstable HX clusters, the VM replication will be initiated again in the next schedule as a fresh replication job. In this case, you have to size the schedule accordingly to protect VMs.

Set non-default MTU check box

Default MTU value is 1500.

Select the check box to set a custom MTU size for the replication network. MTU can be set in the range 1024 to 1500.

Note 

  • Ensure to use the same MTU value on both sides of the cluster.

  • After configuring the cluster, if the MTU value needs to be changed, you must reconfigure the cluster.
Note 

When you use an existing VLAN for replication network, the replication network configuration fails. You must add the self-created replication VLAN to the management vNIC templates in Cisco UCS Manager.

Step 6

Click Next.

Step 7

In the Test Configuration tab, check the replication network configuration.

Step 8

Click Configure.

What to do next

  • Be sure to configure the replication network on both HX Storage Clusters for the replication pair.

  • After the replication network is created on the cluster, each converged node on the cluster would be configured with an IP address on the eth2 interface.

  • Check for duplicate IP assignment using 'arp-scan'. 

    For example if your replication subnet is 10.89.1.0/24:
$ sudo arp-scan 192.168.0.0/24 | cut -f1 | sort | uniq -d

    If there is a duplicate IP assignment, it is necessary to remove the replication network assignments.

Editing the Replication Network

When you expand a HX Cluster that has replication configured, ensure that you have sufficient IP addresses available for the replication network. The replication network requires dedicated IP addresses, one for every node in the cluster plus one more. For example, in a 3 node cluster, four IP addresses are required. If you are adding one more node to the cluster, five IP addresses are minimum. Edit the replication network to add IP addresses.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect as administrator.

Step 2

In the Navigation pane, Select Replication.

Step 3

From the Actions drop-down list, select Edit Replication Network.

Step 4

In the Edit Network Configuration dialog box, you can edit the range of IPs to use and set the replication bandwidth limit for replication traffic. The replication network subnet and gateway are displayed for reference only and cannot be edited.

UI Element Essential Information

Subnet field

The subnet that is configured for the replication network in network prefix notation. This value cannot be edited.

Gateway field

The gateway that is configured for the replication network. This is value cannot be edited.

IP Range field

Enter a range of IP addresses for use by the replication network.

  • The minimum number of IP addresses required is the number of nodes in your HX Storage Cluster plus one more.

    For example, if you have a 4 node HX Storage Cluster, enter a range of at least 5 IP addresses.

  • The from value must be lower than the to value.

    For example, From 10.10.10.20 To 10.10.10.30.

  • If you plan to add nodes to your cluster, include sufficient number of IP addresses to cover any additional nodes. You can add IP addresses at any time.

Note 
The IP address range excludes compute-only nodes.

Add IP Range field

Click to add the range of IP addresses that are entered in IP Range From and To fields.

Set replication bandwidth limit check box (Optional)

Enter the maximum network bandwidth that the replication network is allowed to consume for outbound traffic. Acceptable value is between 10 and 10,000.

The default is unlimited, which sets the maximum network bandwidth to the total available to the network.

The replication bandwidth is used to copy replication snapshots from this local HX Storage Cluster to the paired remote HX Storage Cluster.

Step 5

Click Save Changes.

The replication network is now updated. The added IP addresses are available for new nodes when they are added to the storage cluster. Replication traffic adjusts to any changes made to the bandwidth limit.

Replication Pair Overview

Creating a replication cluster pair is a pre-requisite for setting up VMs for replication. The replication network and at least one datastore must be configured prior to creating the replication pair.

By pairing cluster 1 with cluster 2, you are specifying that all VMs on cluster 1 that are explicitly set up for replication, can replicate to cluster 2, and that all VMs on cluster 2 that are explicitly set up for replication, can replicate to cluster 1.

By pairing a datastore A on cluster 1 with a datastore B on cluster 2, you are specifying that for any VM on cluster 1 that is set up for replication, if it has files in datastore A, those files will be replicated to datastore B on cluster 2. Similarly, for any VM on cluster 2 that is set up for replication, if it has files in datastore B, those files will be replicated to datastore A on cluster 1.

Pairing is strictly 1-to-1. A cluster can be paired with no more than one other cluster. A datastore on a paired cluster, can be paired with no more than one datastore on the other cluster.

Creating a Replication Pair

The replication pair defines the two halves of the protection network. The HX Storage Cluster you are logged into is the local cluster, the first half of the pair. Through this dialog, you identify another HX Storage Cluster, the second half of the pair, the remote cluster. To ensure the storage component, map the replication pair to datastores on each HX Storage Cluster. After the replication pair is configured, you can begin protecting virtual machines. See the Virtual Machines tab.


Important

When pairing or mapping clusters at different versions, cluster pairing must be initiated on the 3.5 cluster and then the datastore mapping must be initiated from the 3.0 cluster.

  • Cluster pairing must be initiated only from a 3.5 cluster to a 3.0 cluster.

  • Datastore mapping must be initiated only from a 3.0 cluster to a 3.5 cluster.

Before you begin

  • Create a datastore on both the local and the remote cluster.

  • Configure the replication network.

Procedure

Step 1

From HX Connect, log in to either the local or remote cluster as a user with administrator privileges. Select Replication > Replication Pairs > Create Replication Pair.

Step 2

Enter a Name for the replication pair and click Next.

Enter a name for the replication pairing between two HX Storage Clusters. This name is set for both the local and remote cluster. The name cannot be changed.

Step 3

Enter the Remote Connection identification and click Pair.

Once the Test Cluster Pair job is succesful, you can proceed to the next step. On the Activity page, you can view the progress of the Test Cluster Pair job.

UI Element Essential Information

Management IP or FQDN field

Enter the IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the management network on the remote HX Storage Cluster. For example: 10.10.10.10.

User Name and Password fields

Enter vCenter single sign-on or cluster specific administrator credentials for the remote HX Storage Cluster.

HX Data Platform verifies the remote HX Storage Cluster and assigns the replication pair name.

Note 
Virtual machines to be protected must reside on one of the datastores in the replication pair.
Step 4

Set the Datastore Mapping from both clusters and click Next.

Note 

  • The virtual machines to be protected must on the datastores you select. Moving virtual machines from the configured datastores for the replication pair, also removes protection from the virtual machines.

  • Moving virtual machine to another paired datastore is supported. If the VMs are moved to unpaired datastore, replication schedule fails.

Step 5

Review the Summary information and click Map Datastores.

Editing a Replication Pair

Editing a replication pair is changing the datastores for the replication pair.

Procedure

Step 1

Login to HX Connect as an administrator.

Step 2

Select Replication > Replication Pairs > Edit.

Step 3

Select the local or remote datastore and click Finish.

UI Element Essential Information

Local Datastore column

List of the configured datastores on this cluster, the local HX Storage Cluster.

Map one local datastore to one remote datastore.

Remote Datastore column

Pair the datastores between the HX Storage Clusters.

  1. To change the local datastore selection, remove the mapping to the current local datastore.

    From the pull-down menu in the Remote Datastore column, select Do not map this datastore.

  2. From the desired Local Datastore row, select a datastore from the Remote Datastore pull-down menu. This selects both the remote and local datastores in a single action.

Deleting a Replication Pair

Delete a replication pair on the local and remote clusters.

Select Replication > Replication Pairs > Delete.

Before you begin

On both the local and remote clusters, remove dependencies from the replication pair.

Log in to the local and the remote HX storage cluster and perform the following:

  • Unprotect all virtual machines. Remove virtual machines from protection groups.

  • Remove protection groups. If the protection group does not have a VM, deleting protection group is not required.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect as an administrator.

Step 2

Unmap the datastores in the replication pair.

  1. Select Replication > Replication Pairs > Edit.

    After the test cluster pair job is successful, you can proceed to the next step. You can view the progress of the Test Cluster Pair job on the Activity page.

  2. From the Edit Replication Pair dialog box, select Do not map this datastore from the Remote Datastore menu.

    UI Element Essential Information

    Local Datastore column

    List of the configured datastores on this cluster, the local HX Storage Cluster.

    Map one local datastore to one remote datastore.

    Remote Datastore column

    Pair the datastores between the HX Storage Clusters.

    1. To change the local datastore selection, remove the mapping to the current local datastore.

      From the pull-down menu in the Remote Datastore column, select Do not map this datastore.

    2. From the desired Local Datastore row, select a datastore from the Remote Datastore pull-down menu. This selects both the remote and local datastores in a single action.

  3. Ensure all the possible remote datastores are set to Do not map this datastore.

  4. Click Finish.

Step 3

Select Replication > Replication Pairs > Delete.

Step 4

Enter administrator credentials for the remote cluster and click Delete.

UI Element Essential Information

User Name field

Enter the administrator user name for the remote HX Storage Cluster.

Password field

Enter the administrator password for the remote HX Storage Cluster.

Creating a Protection Group

A protection group is a group of VMs with the same replication scheme.

Create protection groups on a local cluster. Protection groups provide protection to the VMs where they are created. If protection groups have protected virtual machines that replicate to the remote cluster, these protection groups are listed in HX Connect.


Note

You can only manage a protection group from its local cluster, the cluster where it is created.

Before you begin

Ensure that replication network and replication pair are configured.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect as an administrator.

Step 2

Select Replication > Protection Groups > Create Protection Group.

Step 3

Enter the information in the dialog fields.

UI Element Essential Information

Protection Group Name field

Enter a name for the new protection group for this local cluster.

Protection groups are unique to each cluster. The name is referenced on the remote cluster, but not editable on the remote cluster. You can create multiple protection groups on the cluster.

Protect virtual machines in this group every field

Select how often the virtual machines are to be replicated to the paired cluster. Default is every 1 hour. The pull-down menu options are:

5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 90 minutes, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours

Start protecting the virtual machines immediately radio button

Select this radio button if you want the first replication to start immediately after you add the first virtual machine to this protection group.

Start protecting the virtual machines at radio button

Select this radio button if you want to set a specific time for the first replication to start.

Before you start replication ensure:

  • At least one virtual machine is added to the protection group.

  • The scheduled start time is reached.

To specify the protection start time:

  1. Check the Start protecting the virtual machines at radio button.

  2. Click in the time field and select an hour and minute. Then click out of the field.

Cluster time zone and Current time on cluster are references to help you to choose the appropriate replication start time. Start time is based on the local cluster clock. For example:

10 hours, 3 minutes from now with Current time on cluster, 1:56:15PM, means that the first replication occurs at 11:59:00PM.

The hours, minutes from now states when the first replication will occur. This is updated when you change the time field setting.

Use VMware Tools to quiesce the virtual machine check box

To have HX Data Platform quiesce the virtual machines before taking the replication snapshot, click this check box.

This only applies to virtual machines with VMware Tools installed.
Step 4

Click Create Protection Group.

HX Data Platform adds the new group to the Protection Groups tab. This protection group is available to protect virtual machines on this cluster.

Step 5

Click the Replication > Protection Groups to view or edit the new protection group.

If the number of VMs is zero, add virtual machines to this new protection group to apply the replication schedule set in this protection group.

Editing Protection Groups

Change the replication interval (schedule) for the virtual machines in the protection group.

Procedure

Step 1

Login to HX Connect as an administrator.

Step 2

Select Replication > Protection Groups > Edit Schedule.

Step 3

Edit the information in the dialog fields.

UI Element Essential Information

Protect virtual machines in this group every field

Select from the pull-down list how often the virtual machines are to be replicated to the paired cluster. The options are:

5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 90 minutes, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours

Use VMware Tools to quiesce the virtual machine check box

To have HX Data Platform quiesce the virtual machines before taking the replication snapshot, click this checkbox.

This only applies to virtual machines with VMware Tools installed.
Step 4

Click Save Changes.

HX Data Platform updates the interval and start time for the protection group. See the Protection Groups tab to view the new interval frequency.

Deleting Protection Groups

Before you begin

Remove all virtual machines from the protection group.

Procedure

Step 1

Select Replication > Protection Groups > protection_group_name
Step 2

Click Delete. Click Delete in the verification pop-up.

Protecting Virtual Machines with an Existing Protection Group

This task describes how to protect multiple virtual machines using an existing protection group.

Using an Existing protection group―Select one or more virtual machines and add them to an existing protection group. The schedule and VMware quiesce option settings are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group. When the protection group settings are changed, the changes are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group.

Before you begin

Replication network and replication pair configured.

Create protection group prior to adding the virtual machines.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect with administrator privileges and select Virtual Machines.

This lists the virtual machines on the local cluster.
Step 2

Select two or more unprotected virtual machines from the list.

Click in the virtual machine row to select it. As you click a virtual machine row, the corresponding virtual machine check box is selected.

Step 3

Click Protect.

The Protect Virtual Machines wizard, Protection Group page is displayed.

Step 4

Click the radio button, Add to an existing protection group

UI Element Essential Information

Set the protection parameters table

Verify the selected virtual machine Name.

Use the Storage Provisioned and Storage Used to check you have sufficient resources available on the remote HX Storage Cluster.

Add to an existing protection group radio button

Select an existing protection group from the pull-down list.

The interval and schedule settings of the protection group are applied to this virtual machine.

Create a new protection group radio button

Enter a name for the new protection group for this local cluster.

Protection groups are unique to each cluster. The name is referenced on the remote cluster, but not editable on the remote cluster. You can create multiple protection groups on the cluster.

Step 5

Select a protection group from the pull-down list and click Next.

Be sure the protection group you choose has the schedule interval desired.

The Protect Virtual Machines wizard, Summary page is displayed.

Step 6

Confirm the information in the Summary page and click Add to Protection Group.

HX Data Platform adds the virtual machines to replication protection. View the Replication or Virtual Machines pages to confirm. Notice on the Replication page the Protection Group is listed.

Protecting Virtual Machines with a New Protection Group

This task describes how to protect multiple virtual machines by creating a new protection group.

Using a New protection group―Select two or more virtual machines and choose to create a new protection group. Define the protection group name, schedule, and VMware quiesce option settings. These settings are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group. When the protection group settings are changed, the changes are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group.

Before you begin

Replication network and replication pair configured.

Procedure

Step 1

Login to HX Connect with administrator privileges and select Virtual Machines.

This lists the virtual machines on the local cluster.
Step 2

Select two or more unprotected virtual machine from the list.

Click in the virtual machine row to select it. As you click a virtual machine row, the corresponding virtual machine checkbox is selected.

Step 3

Click Protect.

The Protect Virtual Machines wizard, Protection Group page is displayed.

Step 4

Click the radio button, Create a new protection group, add a name for the protection group, and click Next.

The Protection Schedule Wizard Page wizard page is displayed.

Step 5

Complete the schedule and VMware quiesce option, as needed, and click Next.

UI Element

Essential Information

Protect virtual machines in this group every field

Select how often the virtual machines are to be replicated to the paired cluster. Default is every 1 hour.

Start protecting the virtual machines immediately radio button

Select this radio button if you want the first replication to start immediately after you add the first virtual machine to this protection group.

Start protecting the virtual machines at radio button

Select this radio button if you want to set a specific time for the first replication to start. To start replication requires:

  • At least one virtual machine is added to the protection group.

  • The scheduled start time is reached.

To specify the protection start time:

  1. Check the Start protecting the virtual machines at radio button.

  2. Click in the time field and select an hour and minute. Then click out of the field.

    The hours, minutes from now states when the first replication will occur. This is updated when you change the time field setting.

Cluster time zone and Current time on cluster are references to help you to choose the appropriate replication start time. Start time is based on the local cluster clock. For example:

10 hours, 3 minutes from now with Current time on cluster, 1:56:15PM, means that the first replication occurs at 11:59:00PM.

Use VMware Tools to quiesce the virtual machine check box

To have HX Data Platform quiesce the virtual machines before taking the replication snapshot, click this checkbox.

This only applies to virtual machines with VMware Tools installed.

The Protect Virtual Machines wizard, Summary page is displayed.

Step 6

Confirm the information in the Summary page and click Add to Protection Group.

Review the summary content to confirm the settings to apply to the selected virtual machines.

  • Name of the protection group

  • Number of virtual machines to protect

  • Names of virtual machines

  • Storage provisioned for each virtual machine

  • Storage used (consumed) by each virtual machine

HX Data Platform adds the virtual machines to replication protection. View the Replication or Virtual Machines pages to confirm. Notice on the Replication page the Protection Group is listed.

Protecting Individual Virtual Machines

This task describes how to protect a virtual machine.

  • Independently―Select one virtual machine and configure. You set the replication schedule and the VMware quiesce option for the specific virtual machine. Changes to the replication settings only affect the independently protected virtual machine. The virtual machine in not included in a protection group.

  • Existing protection group―Select one or more virtual machines and add them to an existing protection group. The schedule and VMware quiesce option settings are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group. When the protection group settings are changed, the changes are applied to all the virtual machines in the protection group.

Before you begin

Replication network and replication pair configured.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect with administrator privileges and select Virtual Machines.

Step 2

Select one unprotected virtual machine from the list. Click in the virtual machine row to select it.

Click in the virtual machine row to select it. As you click a virtual machine row, the corresponding virtual machine check box is selected.

Step 3

Click Protect.

The Protect Virtual Machine dialog box is displayed.

Step 4

Complete the fields as needed.

UI Element Essential Information

Add to an existing protection group radio button

Select an existing protection group from the pull-down list.

The interval and schedule settings of the protection group are applied to this virtual machine.

No additional configuration is required, click Protect Virtual Machine.

Protect this virtual machine independently radio button

Enables the interval, schedule options, and VMware Tools option for defining protection for this virtual machine.

Protect this virtual machine every field

Select from the pull-down list how often the virtual machines are to be replicated to the paired cluster. The options are:

5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 90 minutes, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours

Start protecting the virtual machines immediately radio button

Select this radio button if you want the first replication to start immediately after you add the first virtual machine to this protection group.

Start protecting the virtual machines at radio button

Select this radio button if you want to set a specific time for the first replication to start. To start replication requires:

  • At least one virtual machine is added to the protection group.

  • The scheduled start time is reached.

To specify the protection start time:

  1. Check the Start protecting the virtual machines at radio button.

  2. Click in the time field and select an hour and minute. Then click out of the field.

    The hours, minutes from now states when the first replication will occur. This is updated when you change the time field setting.

Cluster time zone and Current time on cluster are references to help you to choose the appropriate replication start time. Start time is based on the local cluster clock. For example:

10 hours, 3 minutes from now with Current time on cluster, 1:56:15PM, means that the first replication occurs at 11:59:00PM.

VMware Tools to quiesce the virtual machine check box

To have HX Data Platform quiesce the virtual machines before taking the replication snapshot, click this checkbox.

This only applies to virtual machines with VMware Tools installed.
Step 5

Click Protect Virtual Machine.

The virtual machine status is updated in the Virtual Machine page and the Replication page. Notice on the Replication page no Protection Group is listed.

Replication is now enabled on this virtual machine.

Unprotecting Virtual Machines


Note

You do not need to unprotect virtual machines to pause replication for cluster activities. See Pausing Replication.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect as an administrator.

Step 2

Select Virtual Machines.

Step 3

Select a protected virtual machine from the list. Click in the virtual machine row.

You can unprotect one virtual machine at a time.

Step 4

Click Unprotect and click to confirm.

The state changes for the virtual machine from protected to unprotected.

Data Protection Recovery

Disaster Recovery Overview

Disaster recovery is performed when the source site is unreachable and you want to failover the VMs and the protected groups to the target cluster. The process of recovery recovers the VM on the target cluster. Recovering virtual machines is restoring a most recent replication snapshot from the recovery (target) cluster.

Testing VM recovery—Testing VM recovery gives you the ability to test recovery without breaking replication. It can bring up your VM workload on the target to verify the contents of the VM.

Recovering virtual machines—Recovering virtual machines is restoring a most recent replication snapshot from the target (recovery) cluster. Once you start Recovery, all the scheduled replication will be stopped.

Planned migration—Performing planned migration pauses the replication schedule, replicates the most recent copy, recovers on the target, switches the ownership from the source to the target, and resumes replication on the target that is now the new source.

Disaster Recovery and Reprotect—Recovers the VM on the target, switches the ownership from the source to the target, and resumes replication on the target that is now the new source.

Protecting VMs after disaster—In the event of a disaster, you may lose the source site altogether. After the recovery is performed, complete this task to protect the recovered VMs to a newer cluster.

Testing Virtual Machine Recovery

Testing VM recovery gives you the ability to test recovery without breaking replication. It can bring up your VM workload on the target to verify the contents of the VM.


Note

  • Testing recovery does not disrupt the running clusters. The intent is to verify, in the event of an actual disaster, that the VMs are recoverable.

  • Using the HX Connect user interface, to test VM recovery, you can run a maximum of 10 tasks in a sequence without waiting for the previously submitted task to complete.

Before you begin

Before you begin the test virtual machine recovery process, ensure the following:

  • The target cluster is up and in good health.

  • The protected virtual machines completed a recent replication to the target cluster. These replicated virtual machines are stored as snapshots on the target clusters.


Important

Only one copy of the test recovered VM can be made at any point. If you need to have another test recovered VM, please delete the previously created VM.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect on the target cluster as administrator.
Step 2

Navigate to Replication > Remote VMs Tab > protected_vm.

Step 3

To test the recovery process, click the Test Recovery button.

Note 

When you configure recovery settings, the following fields are auto-populated.

UI Element

Essential Information

Resource Pool drop-down list

Select a location for the test VM to be stored.

Folders drop-down list

Select a location for the test VM to be stored, for example:

  • Discovered Virtual Machine

  • HX Test Recovery

Power On/Off radio button

By default Power ON option is selected. The recovered VM is powered on or left off after it is created as per the selected option.

VM Name field

Enter a new name for the created test VM.

Test Networks radio button

Select which HX Storage Cluster network to use for transferring the data from the replication snapshot.

Network options for example:

  • Storage Controller Data Network

  • Storage Controller Management Network

  • Storage Controller Replication Network

  • VM Network

Map Networks radio button

Select to create a map between the source and the target cluster networks.

  • Source Network―Network name at the source side on which the VM is connected.

  • Target Network―Select target network from the drop-down list, where the VM has to be connected.
Step 4

Click Recover VM.

Step 5

For VMs that are part of a protection group, perform a test recovery on each VM in the group.

Step 6

Verify the contents of the recovered VM.

Recovering Virtual Machines

Recovering virtual machines is restoring a most recent replication snapshot from the target (recovery) cluster.


Attention

  • You may configure the folder, network, or resource pool parameters to be used during recovery, test recovery and migrate operations. If the global recovery setting is not configured, you will need to explicitly map individual VMs at the time of recovery.

  • Recover VM is not supported between different vSphere versions. If the Target is at a lower version vSphere environment and does not support the hardware version of a protected VM on the primary, VM test recovery and recovery may fail. Cisco recommends to test recover each protected VM to validate the support on the target site.

    Upgrade the target environment to enable recovery of protected VMs.

  • When running recovery on virtual machines, you may specify explicit network mapping when recovering the VMs to avoid unintentional network connections to recovered VMs.

    You can skip specifying network mapping in the following cases:

    • If the source VMs use vSphere Standard Switches and if all ESXi hosts on the recovery side have standard switch networks with the same name.

    • If the source VMs use vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) port groups and if the recovery site has identically named vDS port groups.

  • If you want to specify network mapping, ensure that both the name and the type of the VM network matches between the source and the target.

  • When running recovery on virtual machines that are individually protected, or that are in different protection groups, the maximum number of concurrent recovery operations on a cluster is 20.

Before you begin

Ensure the following:

  • The target cluster is up and in good health.

  • The protected virtual machines completed a recent replication to the target cluster. These replicated virtual machines are stored as snapshots on the target clusters.

On the target cluster, perform the following to do disaster recovery.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX Connect as administrator.
Step 2

Select Replication > > Remote VMs tab > > protected_vm and click Recover.

Step 3

To recover the VM and build a new VM on the local cluster, click the Recover VM button.

Note 

When you configure recovery settings, the following fields are auto-populated.

UI Element

Essential Information

Resource Pool drop-down list

Select a location for the new VM to be stored.

Folders drop-down list

Select a location for the new VM to be stored.

Power On/Off radio button

By default Power ON option is selected. The recovered VM is powered on or left off after it is created as per the selected option.

Map Networks

Select to create a map between the source and target cluster networks.

  • Source Network―Network name at the source side on which the VM is connected.

  • Target Network―Select target network from the drop-down list, where the VM has to be connected.

Network options for example:

  • Storage Controller Data Network

  • Storage Controller Management Network

  • Storage Controller Replication Network

  • VM Network
Step 4

Click Recover VM.

Step 5

Wait for the recovery to complete. View the recovered VM in the target vCenter.

Recovering Virtual Machines in Protection Groups

Procedure

Step 1

Select a protected-vm and click Recover.

All VMs will be moved from the protection group and the selected VMs will be recovered. Recovered VMs show protection status as Recovered and the remaining (protection group) VMs show protection status as Recovering. The protection group will go in Recovered state and is not reusable. You can delete it from the primary site.

The recovered VMs are displayed in the Standalone Protected VMs subpane.

Step 2

Recover the remaining virtual machines from the Standalone Protected VMs subpane, which were a part of the protection group. See Recovering Virtual Machines for more details.

Planned Migration Workflow

Performing planned migration pauses the replication schedule, replicates the most recent copy, recovers on the target, switches the ownership from the source to the target, and resumes replication on the target that is now the new source.

Use the following procedure to migrate the protected VM from the source to the target. At the end of the migration process, the same schedule will be used and the direction of protection is reversed from target to source.


Attention

  • This process cannot be rolled back.

  • For successful mapping of the datastore in the replication network, atleast one snapshot of the source and target cluster is required.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX connect of the source and the target. The target cluster is where the replication snapshots were copied to. The source cluster is the cluster where the virtual machines reside.

Step 2

Using the WebCLI, run the following command to prepare for failover on the source: 

# stcli dp vm prepareFailover -vmid <VMID>

Result: The task ID is returned.

The source VMs are powered off and the final differences are replicated. The protection status changes to Recovering.

Step 3

Using the WebCLI, monitor the status of prepareFailover task:

stcli dp vm hxtask -vmid <VMID> -id <task id>

Use the task ID from the previous step.

Step 4

Select a VM from the remote VM list. Execute Recover VM on this cluster workflow.

Note 

If both the target and source clusters are on the same vCenter, then unregister the VM on the source cluster. This ensures that vCenter no longer has a record of the VM and it stops managing the VM, but it retains the data for the VM.

Step 5

Select Replication > > Remote VMs tab > > protected_vm and click Recover.

Step 6

To recover on the target VM and build a new VM on the local cluster, click the Recover VM button.

Complete the following fields in the Recover VM on this cluster dialog box.

UI Element

Essential Information

Resource Pool drop-down list

Select a location for the new VM to be stored.

Folders drop-down list

Select a location for the new VM to be stored.

Power On/Off radio button

By default Power ON option is selected. The recovered VM is powered on or left off after it is created as per the selected option.

Map Networks

Select to create a map between the source and target cluster networks.

  • Source Network―Network name at the source side on which the VM is connected.

  • Target Network―Select target network from the drop-down list, where the VM has to be connected.

Network options for example:

  • Storage Controller Data Network

  • Storage Controller Management Network

  • Storage Controller Replication Network

  • VM Network
Step 7

Click Recover VM.

Step 8

Execute the following command on the source cluster to unregister the source VM and transfer the VM ownership:

stcli dp vm prepareReverseProtect –vmid <VMID>

Result: The task ID is returned.

Protection status of the VM shows as Protecting.

Step 9

Using the WebCLI, monitor the status of preparereverseProtect task:

stcli dp vm hxtask -vmid<VMID> -id <task id>

Use the task ID from the previous step.

Step 10

Execute the following command on the target cluster:

stcli dp vm reverseProtect –vmid <VMID>

Result: The task ID is returned

Protection status of the VM shows as Protected.

Step 11

Using the WebCLI, monitor the status of reverseProtect task:

stcli dp vm hxtask -vmid <VMID> -id <task id>

Use the task ID from the previous step.

Unplanned Migration Workflow

Performing unplanned migration recovers the VM on the target, switches the ownership from the source to the target, and resumes replication on the target that is now the new source.

Unplanned migration is typically done when disaster occurs, and when you want to reverse the direction of protection.


Attention

This process cannot be rolled back.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to HX connect of the source and the target. The target cluster is where the replication snapshots were copied to. The source cluster is the cluster where the virtual machines reside.

Step 2

Select a VM from the remote VM list. Execute Recover VM on this cluster workflow.

Note 

If both the target and source clusters are on the same vCenter, then unregister the VM on the source cluster. This ensures that vCenter no longer has a record of the VM and it stops managing the VM, but it retains the data for the VM.

Step 3

Select Replication > > Remote VMs tab > > protected_vm and click Recover.

Step 4

To recover on the target VM and build a new VM on the local cluster, click the Recover VM button.

Complete the following fields in the Recover VM on this cluster dialog box.

UI Element

Essential Information

Resource Pool drop-down list

Select a location for the new VM to be stored.

Folders drop-down list

Select a location for the new VM to be stored.

Power On/Off radio button

By default Power ON option is selected. The recovered VM is powered on or left off after it is created as per the selected option.

Map Networks

Select to create a map between the source and target cluster networks.

  • Source Network―Network name at the source side on which the VM is connected.

  • Target Network―Select target network from the drop-down list, where the VM has to be connected.

Network options for example:

  • Storage Controller Data Network

  • Storage Controller Management Network

  • Storage Controller Replication Network

  • VM Network
Step 5

Click Recover VM.

Step 6

Execute the following command on the source cluster to unregister the source VM and transfer the VM ownership:

stcli dp vm prepareReverseProtect –vmid <VMID>

Result: The task ID is returned.

Protection status of the VM shows as Protecting.

Step 7

Using the WebCLI, monitor the status of preparereverseProtect task:

stcli dp vm hxtask -vmid<VMID> -id <task id>

Use the task ID from the previous step.

Step 8

Execute the following command on the target cluster:

stcli dp vm reverseProtect –vmid <VMID>

Result: The task ID is returned

Protection status of the VM shows as Protected.

Step 9

Using the WebCLI, monitor the status of reverseProtect task:

stcli dp vm hxtask -vmid <VMID> -id <task id>

Use the task ID from the previous step.

Protecting Virtual Machines After Disaster

In the event of a disaster, you may lose the source site altogether. After the recovery is performed, you may want to protect the recovered VMs to a newer cluster.

Procedure

Step 1

Recover the Virtual Machines. Perform standalone recovery (Recovering VMs) or group recovery (Recovering VMs in protection groups). See Recovering Virtual Machines for more details.

Step 2

Forget the pairing, run the following command in the HX Connect WebCLI:

stcli dp peer forget --all

Now the cluster is no longer paired to the original source.
Step 3

Unprotect all the local and remote VMs. See Unprotecting Virtual Machines for more details.

Step 4

Pair to the new cluster. See the Creating a Replication Pair section for more details.

Step 5

Protect the virtual machines.

Failback Virtual Machines

Scenario 1 - During Maintenance Window

Failback is the process that is used to migrate virtual machines back to their original source.

Failback can be done in the following scenarios:

  1. Perform planned migration from the source to the target.

  2. Perform planned migration from the new source to the newer target.

See Planned Migration Workflow for more details.

Scenario 2- After a Disaster Incident

  1. Perform unplanned migration from the source to the target. See Unplanned Migration Workflow for more details.

  2. Perform planned migration from the new source to the newer target. See Planned Migration Workflow for more details.

Replication Maintenance

Replication Maintenance Overview

Replication, when configured, runs in the background as per the defined schedule. Replication maintenance tasks include:

  • Testing recovery―Testing if the recovery methods are working. See Testing Virtual Machine Recovery for more details.

  • Pausing replication―When you are preparing to upgrade the HX Storage Cluster and you have replication configured, you must pause the replication activity.

    Use the stcli dp schedule pause command.

  • Resuming replication―After HX Storage Cluster maintenance activities are complete, resume the replication schedule.

    Use the stcli dp schedule resume command.

  • Migration―The option to shift VMs from one source cluster to the replication paired target cluster, making the target cluster the new source cluster for the migrated VMs. See Planned Migration for more details.

Pausing Replication

Before you perform a storfs or platform upgrade, if replication is configured in the network, you must pause the replication activity.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to a Storage Controller VM.

Step 2

From the command line, run the stcli dp schedule pause command.

Step 3

Perform your upgrade task.
Step 4

Resume the replication schedule.

Resuming Replication

After successfully upgrading the HX Storage Cluster which had replication configured, do the following to resume the replication schedule.

Before you begin

Ensure your HX Storage Cluster is paused and you have completed your maintenance or upgrade tasks.

Procedure

Step 1

Login to a Storage Controller VM.

Step 2

From the command line, run the stcli dp schedule resume command.

The previously configured replication schedule for all the protected virtual machines begins.