Managing Copy Services

This chapter contains the following sections:

Copy Services

Both IBM Storwize and IBM SAN Volume Controllers provide Copy Services functions that enable to copy volumes for all supported hosts that are connected to IBM Storwize and IBM SAN Volume Controllers.

FlashCopy

The FlashCopy function creates an instant, point-in-time copy from a source volume to a target volume, which associates the source volume and the target volume in a FlashCopy mapping.

  • Snapshot—The snapshot preset creates a point-in-time view of the production data. The snapshot is not intended to be an independent copy but is used to maintain a view of the production data at the time the snapshot is created. Therefore, the snapshot holds only the data from regions of the production volume that changed since the snapshot was created. Since the snapshot preset uses thin provisioning, only the capacity that is required for the changes is used.

  • Clone—The clone preset creates an exact replica of the volume, which can be changed without impacting the original volume. After the copy completes, the mapping that was created by the preset is automatically deleted.

  • Backup—The backup preset creates a point-in-time replica of the production data. After the copy completes, the backup view can be refreshed from the production data, with minimal copying of data from the production volume to the backup volume.

Remote Copy

Metro Mirror and Global Mirror are two types of remote-copy operations that enable you to set up a relationship between two volumes, where updates made to one volume are mirrored on the other volume. The volumes can be on the same system only . To use Metro Mirror and Global Mirror functions, you must have the remote-copy license installed on each enclosure that you plan to use these functions.

  • The synchronous copy service (Metro Mirror)—Provides a consistent copy of a source volume on a target volume so that the copy is continuously updated. Data is written to the target volume synchronously after it is written to the source volume, both of which can belong to the same instance or different instances.

  • The asynchronous copy service (Global Mirror)—Provides a consistent copy of a source volume on a target volume so that the copy is continuously updated, but the copy might not contain the most recent updates. Data is written to the target volume asynchronously after it is written to the source volume, both of which can belong to the same instance or different instances.

Creating FlashCopy Snapshot

    Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
    Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
    Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
    Step 4   Click FlashCopy.
    Step 5   Choose the volume that you want to create a snapshot.
    Step 6   Click Snapshot.
    Step 7   On the Create Snapshot screen, click Submit.

    Creating FlashCopy Backup

      Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
      Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
      Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
      Step 4   Click FlashCopy.
      Step 5   Choose the volume that you want to create a backup.
      Step 6   Click Backup.
      Step 7   On the Create Backup screen, click Submit.

      Creating FlashCopy Clone

        Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
        Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
        Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
        Step 4   Click FlashCopy.
        Step 5   Choose the volume that you want to clone.
        Step 6   Click Clone.
        Step 7   On the Create Clone screen, click Submit.

        Deleting FlashCopy

          Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
          Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
          Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
          Step 4   Click FlashCopy.
          Step 5   Choose the volume that you want to delete.
          Step 6   Click Delete.
          Step 7   Check the Delete the Volume even it has host mappings or is used in FlashCopy mappings or remote copy relationships check box, if required .
          Step 8   On the Delete screen, click Submit.

          Starting FlashCopy Services

          Before You Begin

          Create FlashCopy consistency group and FlashCopy mappings using one of the FlashCopy presets (Snapshot, Clone, or Backup).

            Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
            Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
            Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
            Step 4   Click FlashCopy Consistency Groups.
            Step 5   Choose the FlashCopy Consistency Group, which is empty.
            Step 6   Click Start.
            Step 7   On the Start Consistency Group screen, click Submit.

            Stopping FlashCopy Services

              Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
              Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
              Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
              Step 4   Click FlashCopy Consistency Groups.
              Step 5   Choose the FlashCopy Consistency Group.
              Step 6   Click Stop.
              Step 7   On the Stop Consistency Group screen, click Submit.

              Creating Remote Copy Relationships

                Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                Step 3   Choose the storage account type (IBM Storwize or IBM SAN Volume Controller).
                Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                Step 5   Click Create.
                Step 6   On the Create Remote Copy Relationships screen, complete the following fields:

                Name

                Description

                Copy Type drop-down list

                Choose the remote copy type.

                Name field

                Enter the name for the selected remote copy type.

                Master Volume field

                Choose the master volume.

                Auxilary volume field

                Choose the secondary volume.

                Sync Status drop-down list

                Choose if the volumes are already synchronization or not.

                Copy status drop-down list

                Choose if you want the volume to be copied or not.

                Step 7   Click Submit.

                Editing Remote Copy Relationships

                  Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                  Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                  Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                  Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                  Step 5   Choose the remote copy type that you want to edit.
                  Step 6   Click Edit.
                  Step 7   On the Edit Remote Copy Relationship screen, choose the remote copy type that you want to change to.
                  Step 8   For the Global Mirror type, choose the cyclic mode.
                  Step 9   For the Global Mirror type, enter the cyclic period in seconds.
                  Step 10   Click Submit.

                  Renaming Remote Copy Relationships

                    Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                    Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                    Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                    Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                    Step 5   Choose the remote copy relationship that you want to rename.
                    Step 6   Click Rename.
                    Step 7   On the Rename Remote Copy Relationship screen, enter a new relationship name for the remote copy.
                    Step 8   Click Submit.

                    Deleting Remote Copy Relationships

                      Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                      Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                      Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                      Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                      Step 5   Choose the remote copy relationship that you want to delete.
                      Step 6   Click Delete.
                      Step 7   On the Delete Remote Copy Relationship screen, check he Force Delete check box to delete the relationship even when the data in the target volume is inconsistent, or if the target volume has other dependencies.
                      Step 8   Click Submit.

                      Starting Remote Copy Relationships

                        Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                        Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                        Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                        Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                        Step 5   Choose the remote copy relationship that you want to start.
                        Step 6   Click Start.
                        Step 7   On the Start Remote Copy Relationship screen, click Submit.

                        Stopping Remote Copy Relationships

                          Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                          Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                          Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                          Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                          Step 5   Choose the remote copy relationship that you want to stop.
                          Step 6   Click Stop.
                          Step 7   On the Stop Remote Copy Relationship screen, click Submit.

                          Switching Remote Copy Relationships

                            Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                            Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                            Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                            Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                            Step 5   Choose the remote copy relationship that you want to switch the write access and primary volume between master auxiliary volumes.
                            Step 6   Click Switch.
                            Step 7   On the Switch Remote Copy Relationship screen, Click Submit.

                            Adding Remote Copy Relationships to Remote Copy Consistent Groups

                              Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                              Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                              Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                              Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                              Step 5   Click Add.
                              Step 6   On the Add to Consistency Group screen, click Select.
                              Step 7   Choose the consistent group to which you want to add the remote copy relationship with the consistent group.
                              Step 8   Click Select.
                              Step 9   Click Submit.

                              Removing Remote Copy Relationships from Remote Copy Consistent Groups

                                Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                                Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                                Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                                Step 4   Click Remote Copy.
                                Step 5   Choose the remote copy relationship that you want to remove from the consistency group.
                                Step 6   Click Remove.
                                Step 7   On the Remove Remote Copy Relationship screen, click Submit.

                                File Copy Services

                                The IBM Storwize V7000 Unified and the IBM SAN Volume Controller (SVCs) systems support the following methods to replicate data to and between different file systems:

                                1. Replicate file system—File system replication provides asynchronous replication of the file systems on one system to another system located remotely over an IP network. Replicating a file system creates copies of a file system between two systems, separated by some geographical distance to provide disaster recovery and business continuity. Asynchronous replication is normally used between the source and target systems where distance might affect the response time because of bandwidth shortages.

                                  You can use the current system as the source or target for replication.

                                  • if you want to use the current system as the source system for replication. the source system requires the management/admin IP address of the target system's management node and node pair definitions. Before entering these source settings, you must first go to the target system and specify the target settings.

                                  • If you want to use the current system as the target system for replication, the current (target) system requires the management/admin IP address of the source system's management node to establish the connection with the source system. You must go to the source system and specify the source settings.

                                2. Remote caching—Remote caching provides transparent data distribution among data centers and multiple remote locations over a wide area network (WAN). Remote caching fetches files on demand from the home system file set to the remote cluster cache in real time during normal operations. The data created, maintained, updated, and changed on the home system can be viewed and used on a cache system located anywhere in the WAN. Users can see only the files they have permission to see and access the files as if they are present locally. The data is revalidated when the user tries to access it, to ensure that the most recent file versions are available that can be prefetched by setting policies or the files can be pulled into cache on demand.

                                Creating a Replication Destination

                                Before You Begin

                                Configure the asynchronous replication relationship between the two (source and target) systems before configuring file system replication.

                                  Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                                  Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                                  Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                                  Step 4   Click File Systems.
                                  Step 5   Choose the file system for which you want to create a replication destination.
                                  Step 6   Click Replication Destination.
                                  Step 7   On the Replication Destination screen, enter the ID value of the source cluster (Source cluster ID) that uses the local path for replication.
                                  Step 8   Click Submit.

                                  Removing a Replication Destination

                                    Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                                    Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                                    Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                                    Step 4   Click File Systems.
                                    Step 5   Choose the file system for which you want to remove the replication destination at the specified path.
                                    Step 6   Click Replication Destination.
                                    Step 7   On the Replication Destination screen, click Submit.

                                    Consistency Groups

                                    A consistency group is a container for FlashCopy mappings, Global Mirror relationships, and Metro Mirror relationships. You can add many mappings or relationships to a consistency group, however FlashCopy mappings, Global Mirror relationships, and Metro Mirror relationships cannot appear in the same consistency group. When you use a consistency group, you can perform copy operations on the entire group instead of the individual mappings or relationships.

                                    • FlashCopy consistency groups—You can group FlashCopy mappings into a consistency group so that they can be updated at the same time.

                                    • Metro Mirror and Global Mirror consistency groups—You can group Metro Mirror or Global Mirror relationships into a consistency group so that they can be updated at the same time.

                                    Creating FlashCopy and Remote Copy Consistency Groups

                                      Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                                      Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                                      Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                                      Step 4   Click FlashCopy Consistency Groups or Remote Copy Consistency Groups.
                                      Step 5   Click Create.
                                      Step 6   On the Create this Consistency Group screen, enter the name for the consistency group.
                                      Step 7   Click Submit.

                                      Renaming FlashCopy and Remote Copy Consistency Groups

                                        Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                                        Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                                        Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                                        Step 4   Click FlashCopy Consistency Groups or Remote Copy Consistency Groups.
                                        Step 5   Choose the consistency group that you want to rename.
                                        Step 6   Click Rename.
                                        Step 7   On the Rename Consistency Group screen, enter the new name for the consistency group.
                                        Step 8   Click Submit.

                                        Deleting FlashCopy and Remote Copy Consistency Groups

                                          Step 1   Choose Physical > Storage.
                                          Step 2   In the left pane, navigate to the pod in which the storage account is added.
                                          Step 3   Choose the storage account type.
                                          Step 4   Click FlashCopy Consistency Groups or Remote Copy Consistency Groups.
                                          Step 5   Choose the consistency group that you want to delete.
                                          Step 6   Click Delete.
                                          Step 7   On the Delete this Consistency Group screen, click Submit.