Group Admin V4.0.0

Group Administration

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Copyright 2008 Dell, Inc. All rights reserved.

August 2008

Dell is a trademark of Dell, Inc.

EqualLogic is a registered trademark.

All trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell, Inc. is strictly forbidden.

PS Series Firmware Version 4.0

Part Number: H706H Rev. A01

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Table of Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................ xiiiAudience........................................................................................................................... xiiiWhat’s New in This Release ............................................................................................ xiiiOrganization ..................................................................................................................... xivConventions....................................................................................................................... xvDocumentation .................................................................................................................. xvTechnical Support and Customer Service ........................................................................ xvi

1 Introduction..................................................................................................... 1-1Storage Solutions for All Enterprises............................................................................... 1-1PS Series Groups.............................................................................................................. 1-2High-End Features in an Affordable iSCSI SAN............................................................. 1-3

Modular Hardware..................................................................................................... 1-3Seamless Online Scalability ...................................................................................... 1-4Interoperability .......................................................................................................... 1-5Easy Setup and Management..................................................................................... 1-5Automatic SAN Operation ........................................................................................ 1-5Robust Security for Group Administration ............................................................... 1-6Robust Security for Data Access ............................................................................... 1-7Advanced Functionality at No Extra Cost................................................................. 1-7

Host Integration Tools...................................................................................................... 1-8

2 Using and Customizing the User Interface................................................... 2-1Navigating the GUI .......................................................................................................... 2-1

Performing Operations in the GUI ............................................................................ 2-3GUI Icons .................................................................................................................. 2-4

Customizing the GUI ....................................................................................................... 2-6Setting General Policies............................................................................................. 2-6Setting Communication Policies ............................................................................... 2-7Setting Alarm Policies ............................................................................................... 2-9Setting Data Validation and Debugging Policies .................................................... 2-10

Launching Online Help .................................................................................................. 2-11Launching Online Help Locally .............................................................................. 2-11

Running the GUI on a Local Computer ......................................................................... 2-12Uninstalling the GUI Application............................................................................ 2-13

Launching Supplemental Utilities.................................................................................. 2-13

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Launching the Performance Monitor....................................................................... 2-14Launching the Manual Transfer Utility ................................................................... 2-15Launching the Diagnostic Reports Utility (Service Only) ...................................... 2-16Launching the Customer Support Website.............................................................. 2-17

3 Configuring Group Settings........................................................................... 3-1Configuring Network Interfaces on a Member ................................................................ 3-1Configuring General Group Attributes ............................................................................ 3-3Configuring Group Time and Date .................................................................................. 3-4

Specifying the Group Date and Time ........................................................................ 3-4Specifying an NTP Server ......................................................................................... 3-5

Configuring Event Notification........................................................................................ 3-6Event Priority Levels ................................................................................................. 3-6Event Notification Methods....................................................................................... 3-6Enabling Event Notification ...................................................................................... 3-7

Configuring Group Access Settings................................................................................. 3-9Controlling Access to the GUI and CLI Interfaces ................................................. 3-10

Managing Group Administration Accounts ................................................................... 3-11Types of Accounts ................................................................................................... 3-11About Local Administration Accounts.................................................................... 3-12Creating a Local Administration Account............................................................... 3-12About External RADIUS Administration Accounts ............................................... 3-15Configuring RADIUS Authentication and Accounting Servers.............................. 3-15

Configuring Group-Wide Volume Settings ................................................................... 3-17Changing Group-Wide Defaults .............................................................................. 3-18

Controlling Computer Access to Volumes..................................................................... 3-19Configuring CHAP for Initiator Authentication...................................................... 3-19Configuring External RADIUS CHAP Accounts ................................................... 3-20Creating Local CHAP Accounts.............................................................................. 3-23Configuring Target Authentication ......................................................................... 3-24Configuring iSNS for Automatic Target Discovery................................................ 3-25

Configuring SNMP Access to a Group .......................................................................... 3-26Configuring Windows Services Access to a Group ....................................................... 3-28Where to Go Next .......................................................................................................... 3-29

4 Configuring Advanced Group Settings......................................................... 4-1About Dedicated Management Networks ........................................................................ 4-1Configuring a Management Network............................................................................... 4-2

Step 1: Disable the Management Interfaces .............................................................. 4-2


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Step 2: Configure A Management Network in Your Environment........................... 4-2Step 3: Obtain Address and Gateway Information.................................................... 4-2Step 4: Configure the Management Interfaces and Network .................................... 4-3

Displaying Management Network Information ............................................................... 4-5Unconfiguring a Management Network........................................................................... 4-6

Step 1: Disable the Management Network and Gateway .......................................... 4-6Step 2: Connect the Member Interfaces to the iSCSI Network................................. 4-7Step 3: Unconfigure the Management Interfaces ...................................................... 4-7

Controlling Performance Load Balancing........................................................................ 4-8Enabling or Disabling Performance Load Balancing ................................................ 4-8

5 Managing Volumes ........................................................................................ 5-1Introduction to Volumes................................................................................................... 5-1

Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots ............................................................ 5-2Connecting Computers to Volumes and Snapshots................................................... 5-3

Creating Volumes............................................................................................................. 5-4Creating a Volume..................................................................................................... 5-5

Displaying Volume Summary and Status ........................................................................ 5-7Displaying Volume Details ....................................................................................... 5-9Displaying the iSCSI Target Name for a Volume................................................... 5-10Displaying Other Volume Information.................................................................... 5-11

Managing Access Control Records ................................................................................ 5-11Creating Access Control Records............................................................................ 5-11Displaying Access Control Records ........................................................................ 5-13Modifying an Access Control Record ..................................................................... 5-13Deleting an Access Control Record......................................................................... 5-14

Modifying a Volume Name, Description, and Alias...................................................... 5-14Modifying a Volume Name or Description............................................................. 5-14Modifying a Volume Alias ...................................................................................... 5-15

Increasing the Size of a Volume .................................................................................... 5-15Decreasing the Size of a Volume (CLI only)................................................................. 5-17Understanding Thin Provisioning .................................................................................. 5-17

Creating a Volume with Thin-Provisioning ............................................................ 5-19Enabling and Disabling Thin Provisioning ............................................................. 5-22Enabling Thin Provisioning on a Volume ............................................................... 5-22Disabling Thin Provisioning on a Volume.............................................................. 5-23

Setting a Volume Offline or Online ............................................................................... 5-24Changing Permission on a Volume................................................................................ 5-24Setting a RAID Preference for a Volume....................................................................... 5-25


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Moving a Volume Between Pools.................................................................................. 5-26Cancelling a Volume Move..................................................................................... 5-27

Managing Multi-Host Access to a Volume ................................................................... 5-27Enabling Multi-Host Access on a Volume .............................................................. 5-29Disabling Multi-Host Access on a Volume............................................................. 5-29

Binding a Volume to a Member (CLI Only).................................................................. 5-29Cloning a Volume .......................................................................................................... 5-30Managing a Volume with Lost Blocks........................................................................... 5-33Deleting a Volume ......................................................................................................... 5-33Managing Volume Collections....................................................................................... 5-34

Creating a Volume Collection ................................................................................. 5-34Displaying Volume Collection Status ..................................................................... 5-37

Displaying Details for a Volume Collection ..................................................... 5-38Modifying a Volume Collection.............................................................................. 5-39Deleting a Volume Collection ................................................................................. 5-39

6 Managing Snapshots....................................................................................... 6-1Introduction to Snapshots................................................................................................. 6-1Creating Snapshots........................................................................................................... 6-3Displaying Snapshot Summary and Status....................................................................... 6-4

Displaying Snapshot Details...................................................................................... 6-5Displaying Access Control Records for a Snapshot.................................................. 6-6

Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume..................................................................... 6-7Setting a Snapshot Online or Offline ............................................................................... 6-8

Setting a Snapshot Online.......................................................................................... 6-8Setting a Snapshot Offline......................................................................................... 6-8

Setting Snapshot Permission ............................................................................................ 6-8Modifying Snapshot Properties........................................................................................ 6-9

Modifying a Snapshot Name or Description ............................................................. 6-9Modifying a Snapshot Alias .................................................................................... 6-10Enabling Multi-Host Access on a Snapshot ............................................................ 6-10Disabling Multi-Host Access on a Snapshot ........................................................... 6-10

Scheduling Snapshots..................................................................................................... 6-11Restoring a Volume from a Snapshot ............................................................................ 6-11Cloning a Snapshot......................................................................................................... 6-12Deleting a Snapshot........................................................................................................ 6-12Managing Snapshot Collections..................................................................................... 6-12

Creating a Snapshot Collection ............................................................................... 6-13Creating a Custom Snapshot Collection.................................................................. 6-14


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Displaying Snapshot Collections ................................................................................... 6-16Displaying Snapshot Collection Details .................................................................. 6-17Displaying Custom Snapshot Collections ............................................................... 6-18Modifying a Snapshot Collection ............................................................................ 6-18Deleting a Snapshot Collection ............................................................................... 6-20

7 Managing Data Replication ........................................................................... 7-1Introduction to Replication............................................................................................... 7-1

Replication Configuration Options............................................................................ 7-2Replication Space Usage and Requirements ............................................................. 7-4

Calculating the Delegated Space and Replica Reserve Sizes ............................ 7-5Calculating the Local Replication Reserve ......................................................... 7-6

Configuring Replication Between PS Groups.................................................................. 7-7Replication Partner Checklist .................................................................................... 7-8Configuring Replication Partners .............................................................................. 7-8Example of Configuring One-Way Replication ........................................................ 7-9Modifying a Replication Partner ............................................................................. 7-15Deleting a Replication Partner................................................................................. 7-15

Configuring a Volume or Volume Collection for Replication....................................... 7-16Configuring a Volume for Replication.................................................................... 7-17Configuring a Volume Collection for Replication .................................................. 7-20

Creating Replicas ........................................................................................................... 7-21Creating a Replica of a Volume .............................................................................. 7-21Creating a Replica Collection of a Volume Collection ........................................... 7-21

Scheduling Replication .................................................................................................. 7-21Displaying Replication Information............................................................................... 7-22

Displaying the Replication Configuration for a Volume......................................... 7-22Displaying Replica Collections ............................................................................... 7-24Displaying Replication Activity Between Partners ................................................. 7-25Displaying Details for a Specific Partner ................................................................ 7-26Displaying Outbound Replication Status ................................................................ 7-27Displaying Inbound Replication Status ................................................................... 7-29

Modifying the Replication Settings on a Volume.......................................................... 7-31Disabling Replication on a Volume or Volume Collection ........................................... 7-31Pausing and Resuming Replication................................................................................ 7-32

Pausing Replication for a Volume........................................................................... 7-32Pausing Outbound Replication to a Partner............................................................. 7-32Pausing Inbound Replication from a Partner........................................................... 7-32Resuming Replication for a Volume ....................................................................... 7-32


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Resuming Outbound Replication to a Partner ......................................................... 7-32Resuming Inbound Replication from a Partner ....................................................... 7-32

Cancelling a Replication ................................................................................................ 7-33Deleting Outbound Volume Replicas ............................................................................ 7-33

Deleting An Outbound Replica Set ......................................................................... 7-35Deleting an Outbound Replica ................................................................................ 7-35

Deleting Outbound Collection Replicas......................................................................... 7-36Deleting an Outbound Replica Collection Set......................................................... 7-37Deleting an Outbound Replica Collection............................................................... 7-37Deleting an Outbound Replica ................................................................................ 7-38

Deleting Inbound Volume Replicas ............................................................................... 7-38Deleting an Inbound Replica Set ............................................................................. 7-39Deleting an Inbound Replica ................................................................................... 7-39

Deleting Inbound Collection Replicas ........................................................................... 7-40Deleting an Inbound Replica Collection Set ........................................................... 7-40Deleting an Inbound Replica Collection ................................................................. 7-40Deleting an Inbound Replica from a Replica Collection......................................... 7-41

8 Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas .............................................................. 8-1Schedule Attributes .......................................................................................................... 8-1Creating a Schedule.......................................................................................................... 8-2Displaying a Schedule for a Volume................................................................................ 8-5Displaying Schedules for a Volume Collection ............................................................... 8-6Modifying a Schedule ...................................................................................................... 8-7Disabling a Schedule........................................................................................................ 8-7Enabling a Schedule ......................................................................................................... 8-8Deleting a Schedule.......................................................................................................... 8-8

9 Recovering Replicated Data........................................................................... 9-1Introduction to Data Recovery ......................................................................................... 9-1

Common Data Recovery Scenarios........................................................................... 9-4Example of Failover, Replication, and Failback Operations..................................... 9-5

Failing Over and Failing Back a Volume......................................................................... 9-8Promoting an Inbound Replica Set to a Recovery Volume....................................... 9-9Replicating the Recovery Volume to the Primary Group........................................ 9-13Failing Back to the Primary Group.......................................................................... 9-17

Temporarily Making a Copy of a Volume Available on the Secondary Group ............ 9-20Permanently Switching Partner Roles............................................................................ 9-21

Making an Inbound Replica Set Promotion Permanent .......................................... 9-22


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Converting a Failback Replica Set to an Inbound Replica Set................................ 9-25Permanently Promoting a Replica Set to a Volume....................................................... 9-25Cloning an Inbound Replica .......................................................................................... 9-29Handling a Failed Operation .......................................................................................... 9-33

Manual Steps for the Replicate to Partner Operation .............................................. 9-34Manual Steps for the Failback to Primary Operation .............................................. 9-35

10 Managing Storage Pools ............................................................................. 10-1Planning Storage Pools................................................................................................... 10-1Creating a Storage Pool.................................................................................................. 10-2

Creating a Pool with No Members .......................................................................... 10-3Creating a Pool from a Current Group Member...................................................... 10-3

Displaying Storage Pool Summary and Status............................................................... 10-4Displaying Storage Pool Details.............................................................................. 10-5Displaying the Volumes in a Pool ........................................................................... 10-7

Modifying a Storage Pool Name or Description............................................................ 10-8Merging Storage Pools ................................................................................................... 10-8Deleting a Storage Pool.................................................................................................. 10-9

11 Monitoring and Managing Group Members............................................ 11-1Monitoring Group Members .......................................................................................... 11-1

Displaying All Group Members .............................................................................. 11-1Displaying Status for a Specific Member................................................................ 11-3Displaying Member Enclosure Status ..................................................................... 11-7Displaying Control Module Status .......................................................................... 11-9Displaying the Disk Configuration........................................................................ 11-11Displaying Network Configuration Information ................................................... 11-12Displaying Member Connections .......................................................................... 11-15Displaying Member Service Information .............................................................. 11-15

Managing Members...................................................................................................... 11-16Modifying the Group Membership Password ....................................................... 11-16Modifying a Member’s Name and Description..................................................... 11-17Moving a Member to a Different Pool .................................................................. 11-18Cancelling a Member Move Operation ................................................................. 11-18Changing the Member RAID Policy or Space Availability .................................. 11-19Removing a Member from a Group ...................................................................... 11-20Using LEDs to Identify a Member ........................................................................ 11-21Setting Memory Cache Modes .............................................................................. 11-22Managing the Disk Array ...................................................................................... 11-23


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Enabling or Disabling a Network Interface........................................................... 11-24Unconfiguring a Network Interface....................................................................... 11-25Modifying the Default Gateway ............................................................................ 11-25

12 Diagnosing Problems .................................................................................. 12-1Monitoring Events.......................................................................................................... 12-1

Displaying Events.................................................................................................... 12-1Accessing the Event Log File on a Remote Computer............................................ 12-3Accessing Events Sent to an E-Mail Address ......................................................... 12-3Examining SNMP Traps.......................................................................................... 12-4

Monitoring Alarms and Action Items ............................................................................ 12-4Critical Errors .......................................................................................................... 12-6Warnings.................................................................................................................. 12-7Actions..................................................................................................................... 12-7

Monitoring the Group..................................................................................................... 12-8Displaying iSCSI Connections ................................................................................ 12-8Displaying Schedules .............................................................................................. 12-9Displaying Replication Information ...................................................................... 12-10Displaying Login Information ............................................................................... 12-11Displaying Group Operations................................................................................ 12-12

Monitoring Space ......................................................................................................... 12-13Monitoring Replication ................................................................................................ 12-13Monitoring Volumes and Snapshots ............................................................................ 12-17

Volume and Snapshot Status ................................................................................. 12-17Monitoring Hardware................................................................................................... 12-19

Disk Status............................................................................................................. 12-21RAID Status........................................................................................................... 12-22Battery Status......................................................................................................... 12-23Power Supply Status.............................................................................................. 12-24Channel Card Status .............................................................................................. 12-25

Monitoring Performance Statistics............................................................................... 12-26Collecting Diagnostic Information (Service Only) ...................................................... 12-30Using MRTG to Monitor I/O and Performance ........................................................... 12-31Contacting Support....................................................................................................... 12-31

Appendix A Replicating Data Manually ........................................................ A-1Installing the Manual Transfer Utility ............................................................................ A-2

Installing the Utility on UNIX or Linux................................................................... A-2Installing the Utility on Windows ............................................................................ A-3


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Planning the Transfer Files ............................................................................................. A-3Planning the Number and Size of Transfer Files...................................................... A-4Planning Transfer File Compression ........................................................................ A-4Planning Encryption ................................................................................................. A-4Planning to Use Removable Media .......................................................................... A-5Planning to Use a Temporary Directory on the Computer....................................... A-5

Transferring Files Using the GUI.................................................................................... A-6Creating Transfer Files Using the GUI..................................................................... A-7Loading Transfer Files Using the GUI ................................................................... A-11

Displaying and Updating the Manual Transfer Status .................................................. A-14Displaying Copy Status .......................................................................................... A-15Displaying Load Status........................................................................................... A-16Displaying Details for a Specific Transfer Operation ............................................ A-17Updating Status for Completed Operations............................................................ A-19Deleting Completed Operations and Transfer Files ............................................... A-20

Transferring Files Using the CLI .................................................................................. A-20Preparing to Transfer Files Using the CLI ............................................................. A-21Creating a Single Transfer File Using the CLI....................................................... A-21

Example of Creating a Single Transfer File..................................................... A-24Creating Multiple Transfer Files for Large Data Transfers.................................... A-25Loading Transfer Files Using the CLI.................................................................... A-27

Example of Loading a Transfer File to the Replica Placeholder ..................... A-30

Appendix B SNMP Traps .................................................................................B-1

Appendix C Glossary ....................................................................................... C-1

Appendix D Legal Notices ............................................................................... D-1

Index............................................................................................................ Index-1

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Preface

This manual describes how to use the Group Manager graphical user interface (GUI) to manage a PS Series group. This manual will help individuals understand overall group features and operations.

For information about using the command line interface (CLI) to manage a group and individual PS Series storage arrays, see the CLI Reference manual.

AudienceThis manual is designed for administrators responsible for managing a PS Series group and also for individuals interested to learn more about group operation. You can manage a PS Series storage array without extensive network or storage experience. Ideally, you must understand:• Basic networking concepts• Current network environment• User disk storage requirements• RAID configurations• Disk storage management

Note: Although this manual includes examples of PS Series storage arrays in some common network configurations, information about setting up a network is beyond the scope of this manual.

What’s New in This ReleaseThis manual describes the features and functionality in the PS Series Firmware Version 4.0. The major differences from the previous release are as follows:• You can now optionally configure a dedicated management network, which lets you

separate group management traffic from iSCSI (volume I/O) traffic by dedicating one Ethernet port on each group member as a management port. See Chapter 4, Configuring Advanced Group Settings.

• The default behavior for volume access has changed. By default, only one initiator connection to a volume is allowed. You can enable multi-host access to a volume if

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your environment supports it. See Managing Multi-Host Access to a Volume on page 5-27.

• The failback process between replication partners has been improved and automated. See Chapter 9, Recovering Replicated Data.

• Using manual transfer replication is no longer restricted to the first replication of a volume. The Manual Transfer Utility has been updated to support this new feature. See Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually.

OrganizationOrganization is as follows:• Chapter 1, Introduction includes an introduction to arrays, group features, and

functionality.• Chapter 2, Using and Customizing the User Interface describes how to use and

customize the Group Manager Graphical User Interface (GUI).• Chapter 3, Configuring Group Settings describes how to configure access to the group

through its graphical user interface, create user accounts, and configure access to targets on the group (volumes) by initiators and computers.

• Chapter 4, Configuring Advanced Group Settings describes how to configure advanced group settings, such as a management network and performance load balancing.

• Chapter 5, Managing Volumes describes managing volumes and volume collections.• Chapter 6, Managing Snapshots describes how to manage volume and volume

collection snapshots.• Chapter 7, Managing Data Replication describes how to configure and schedule

volume replication.• Chapter 8, Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas describes managing schedules to create

regular snapshots or replicas of volumes and volume collections.• Chapter 9, Recovering Replicated Data describes how to restore access to your data

from replicas stored on a partner.• Chapter 10, Managing Storage Pools describes how to organize storage in a

multi-member group. • Chapter 11, Monitoring and Managing Group Members describes how to manage

group members.


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• Chapter 12, Diagnosing Problems describes how to monitor events, interpret status, identify problems, and monitor performance statistics.

• Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually describes how to install and use the Manual Transfer Utility to do manual transfer replication.

• Appendix B, SNMP Traps, contains a list of all the SNMP traps on a PS Series array.• Appendix C, Glossary contains definitions for terms used in the documentation.• Appendix D, Legal Notices lists the third-party copyright notices.

ConventionsDocumentation conventions are shown in the following table.

DocumentationFor detailed information about PS Series arrays, groups, and volumes, see the following documentation, available where indicated below and also on the customer support website:• Release Notes. Provides the latest information about PS Series arrays. Printed and

shipped with the product, and available on the documentation CD-ROM.• Installation and Setup. Describes how to set up the array hardware and create a PS

Series group. Be sure to use the manual for your array model. Printed and shipped with the product, and available on the documentation CD-ROM.

• CLI Reference. Describes how to use the Group Manager command line interface (CLI) to manage a PS Series group and individual arrays. Available on the documentation CD-ROM.

• Hardware Maintenance. Provides information about maintaining the array hardware. Be sure to use the manual for your array model. Available on the documentation CD-ROM.

Convention Usage

fixed width Command, parameter, output, file name, link, button, field, URL address, or e-mail address.

group_ip_address Variable. Replace the text in italics with the actual object name or identifier.

Volumes > Access tab When navigating the GUI, indicates that the user should click a menu and then a tab.


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• Host Integration Tools User Guide. Describes how to install and use the Host Integration Tools for Microsoft® Windows® systems. Available on the Host Integration Tools CD-ROM that is shipped with the product.

• Online help. In the Group Manager GUI, expand Tools in the far left panel and then click Online Help for help on both the GUI and the CLI.

Localized documentation is available on the localization CD-ROM that is shipped with the product in certain countries.

Technical Support and Customer ServiceDell's support service is available to answer your questions about PS Series arrays. If you have an Express Service Code, have it ready when you call. The code helps Dell's automated-support telephone system direct your call more efficiently.

Contacting Dell

Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area.

For customers in the United States, call 800-945-3355.

Note: If you do not have an Internet connection, you can find contact information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog.

To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or customer service issues:

1. Visit support.dell.com.

2. Verify your country or region in the Choose A Country/Region drop-down menu at the bottom of the window.

3. Click Contact Us on the left side of the window.

4. Select the appropriate service or support link based on your need.

5. Choose the method of contacting Dell that is convenient for you.


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Online Services

You can learn about Dell products and services on the following websites:• www.dell.com/

• www.dell.com/ap/ (Asian/Pacific countries only)• www.dell.com/jp (Japan only)• www.euro.dell.com (Europe only)• www.dell.com/la (Latin American countries)• www.dell.ca (Canada only)

You can access Dell Support through the following websites:• support.dell.com

• support.dell.com/EqualLogic

• support.jp.dell.com (Japan only)• support.euro.dell.com (Europe only)

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1 Introduction

PS Series storage arrays, configured into a PS Series group, deliver the benefits of consolidated storage in a a self-managing, iSCSI storage area network (SAN) that is easy to use and affordable—regardless of its size. Featuring automated management and fast, flexible scalability, PS Series storage arrays can greatly decrease the total cost of storage acquisition and management.

Storage Solutions for All Enterprises

Today, large and small businesses alike are under pressure to manage their rapidly-growing storage environments. Large amounts of data are still directly attached to computers—a configuration that is difficult to scale and offers lower service levels.

To use storage resources efficiently and economically, the best solution is to consolidate disparate storage configurations. With fewer things to manage, storage administration becomes easier and service levels increase, while offering data provisioning, backups, and disaster recovery. The challenge has been to find a consolidated storage solution that is easy to deploy, as well as to operate and manage.

With PS Series storage arrays, the benefits of storage consolidation are available to all enterprises. Grouping together one or more PS Series storage arrays lets you manage them as a single storage system. Now, businesses can leverage their current IP network infrastructure to deploy an easy-to-manage and full-featured iSCSI SAN.

To make storage management simple and efficient, PS Series storage arrays use virtualization technology that masks the underlying complexity of the storage configuration—saving you time and effort. An IP network is used not only to connect computers and applications to storage, but also to connect arrays to each other. Through this communication mechanism, arrays share configuration data and collaborate during automatic data provisioning and load balancing.

Self-managing PS Series storage arrays let you quickly and easily make configuration changes—without disrupting running applications. You can add more arrays to a group to seamlessly scale capacity and performance or replicate data over long distances for a simple, yet robust disaster recovery plan. With support for a variety of operating systems, PS Series storage arrays help you consolidate all your storage in an easy-to-grow and easy-to-use SAN.

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PS Series Groups

The foundation of an EqualLogic storage solution is a PS Series group: an iSCSI SAN including one or more PS Series storage arrays (members) connected to an IP network and managed as a single system.

Each array has fully redundant hardware and up to three active network connections for maximum bandwidth. Integrated virtualization firmware provides:

• Seamless scalability

• Automatic RAID configuration and spare disk configuration

• Automatic network, performance, and capacity load balancing

In a single-member group, data is automatically divided among the array disks. Add more arrays to the group to expand SAN capacity and increase performance—with no disruption to users. Management overhead stays the same, regardless of SAN size.

After an array is added to a group and you select a RAID level for the new member, the disks are automatically configured, and the space is immediately available for use. Data is divided among group members and automatically load-balanced, based on capacity and performance metrics.

To access the storage space in a group, use the Group Manager graphical or command line user interface to create volumes, each of which has a size, access controls, and other attributes. A volume can be divided among multiple disks, but is seen on the network as a single iSCSI target.

Optionally, you can use thin provisioning to use storage more efficiently by logically over-allocating SAN volumes. Thin provisioning lets you satisfy current and future storage requirements and resolves the difficulty of adding storage to operating systems or applications that do not accept online expansion.

A computer uses an industry-standard iSCSI initiator to access a volume in a group. Most major operating systems can use an iSCSI initiator (in the form of an iSCSI driver or a host bus adapter), with a range of price and performance options. Once connected, a volume looks like a regular disk that can be formatted with the operating system’s normal utilities. Even as members are added and removed from the group, volumes continue to be accessible through the same iSCSI targets; no modifications are necessary.


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In a group, you can put all the members and volumes in a single storage pool. Or, if you have multiple members, you can create additional pools and put members and volumes in different pools. Pools help you organize storage according to usage, giving you more control over resource allocation, while giving you a single system management view. You get the advantages of storage consolidation and the ability to easily segregate workloads.

Figure 1-1 shows a three-member group with multiple storage pools.

Figure 1-1: Three-Member PS Series Group

For backup purposes, you can create point-in-time snapshots of volumes. You can also replicate volumes between multiple groups for a simple, yet robust disaster recovery plan. In addition, failback functionality lets you temporarily host a volume from a replication partner and then fail back to the original replication configuration.

You can also clone volumes, snapshots, and replicas to create new volumes.

High-End Features in an Affordable iSCSI SAN

To meet the storage requirements of businesses today, a PS Series group offers advanced storage capabilities in a highly-available, cost-effective iSCSI SAN.

Modular Hardware

A PS Series group can easily adjust to workload requirements, so administrators purchase only hardware only when necessary. New product versions will fully interoperate with previous arrays, protecting your initial investment.


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Each PS Series storage array includes:

• No-single-point-of-failure hardware. Redundant, hot-swappable hardware components—disks, control modules, fans, and power supplies—offer the highest availability. Component failover and disk sparing occur automatically without user intervention or disrupting data availability. In addition, data in each array is kept safe with your choice of RAID technology.

• High-performance control modules. Each control module has three Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. You can configure multiple network interfaces for automatic failover. With dual control modules, data is mirrored across battery-backed write-back caches. If one control module fails, the other control module starts operating—automatically and with no disruption to users.

• Support for standard Ethernet networks. Only one IP network connection is necessary for array operation. You can configure up to three network interfaces for maximum bandwidth. You do not have to train administrators in unfamiliar and complex technologies like Fibre Channel. Also, costs are controlled due to the high volumes and intense vendor competition among Ethernet hardware vendors.

• Easy and online expandability. New arrays are guaranteed to work with older models, ensuring the viability of your initial purchase. You can expand SAN capacity with no disruption to users and application.

• Optional management connectivity through a serial port. A serial connection lets you connect the array to a console or computer running a terminal emulator, even if network connectivity is lost.

• High capacity SAS or SATA disk drives. In some array models you can install high-capacity drives to increase your storage potential.

Seamless Online Scalability

To increase the capacity of an individual PS Series array, you can install more drives or configure more network connections. Expand overall group capacity by adding arrays to the group. In all cases, performance scales automatically, and the new disk and network resources are immediately available for use. The additional control modules and caches also increase processing power. Meanwhile, volumes stay available with no effect on computers and applications, and management overhead stays the same.


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Interoperability

PS Series storage arrays are ideal for multi-platform, heterogeneous environments that previously had a different storage system for each operating system or application. Because a PS Series group provides block-level storage, computers can use a standards-compliant iSCSI initiator—available from most major operating systems—to access data. Once a computer connects to a volume, it looks like a regular disk that can be formatted using the normal operating system utilities.

Easy Setup and Management

A simple setup utility lets you quickly configure an array on the network and create a PS Series group. In minutes, you have a functioning iSCSI SAN. Automation of complex operations like RAID configuration, disk sparing, data provisioning, and load balancing means that even novices can effectively manage the SAN.

You can configure arrays and groups using a serial connection between an array and a console or computer running a terminal emulator. Alternately, Windows computers can run the Remote Setup Wizard to configure an array and set up access to the SAN. See Host Integration Tools on page 1-8 for more information.

Password-protected management accounts give easy, secure access to the group. Graphical and command line user interfaces give you a single-system view of the storage. Administrators do not have to use multiple consoles to manage the storage. Using the Group Manager graphical user interface (GUI), creating and managing volumes, configuring security, and setting up event notification are point-and-click operations. The equivalent command line interface (CLI) can be accessed through telnet, SSH, or a serial connection and also used in scripts.

Automatic SAN Operation

In contrast to traditional storage management environments involving error-prone, manual tasks, a PS Series group does complex tasks correctly and without user intervention:

• Automatic RAID configuration and data provisioning. Administrators do not have to manually create RAID sets or map data onto disks or individual control modules. Whether you are expanding a group or creating, expanding, or deleting volumes, the group manages storage allocation and load balancing within and across the arrays in the group. iSCSI access to volumes continues without interruption.


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• Automatic spare disk configuration and use. A PS Series array can include spare disks, which are automatically configured and used in the event of a disk failure, offering “hands-off” storage management.

• Dynamic load balancing. A PS Series group delivers three types of load balancing within the arrays in a storage pool. This lets the group quickly find and correct “hot spots” as the workload changes, with no user intervention or application disruption: – Capacity load balancing distributes data optimally across spindles, caches, and

controllers.– Network connections are load-balanced within and across members, decreasing

network “hops” and maximizing bandwidth.– Performance load balancing moves volume data to the member with the optimal

RAID configuration, based on internal group performance metrics. For example, if a volume would operate best in a RAID 10 configuration, the group tries to move volume data to arrays that are configured with RAID 10.

• Automatic event notification. A PS Series group uses standard event logging mechanisms and can automatically notify users of significant events through e-mail, remote syslog files, or SNMP traps.

Robust Security for Group Administration

You can access the group for management purposes by using telnet, SSH, or standard or encrypted Web access. Password-protected administration accounts can be created with either read-write or read-only privileges. You can use accounts configured and authenticated on the group or on a RADIUS (Remote Authorization Dial-in User Service) server.

You can create three types of administration accounts:

• Group administration accounts have full access to all members and volumes in the group. Only these accounts can add and remove members, create pools, and configure replication partners.

• Pool administration accounts can do tasks only within specific pools and optionally can see group information, but cannot make group-wide changes. Pool administrators also have access to the group monitoring information and event logs.

• Read-only accounts can only monitor group members and volumes.


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Robust Security for Data Access

Computer iSCSI access to volumes can be configured according to IP address, iSCSI initiator name, or CHAP user name (configured and authenticated locally or on a RADIUS server). You do not have to understand complicated security technologies, such as Fibre Channel Switch Zoning or LUN Masking.

Advanced Functionality at No Extra Cost

PS Series storage arrays match ease-of-use with ease-of-doing-business. Advanced features are included in the standard array offering, so you do not have to purchase expensive add-ons. New features become available in a group through firmware updates.

For example, a PS Series group delivers:

• Online scalability. You can expand array capacity or overall group capacity while online and with no effect on users or availability. Hot-swappable hardware means that failed components can be replaced while data stays online.

• Thin provisioning. In the right environment, you can use storage more efficiently by using thin provisioning to logically over-allocate SAN volumes. Thin provisioning lets you meet current and future storage requirements and resolves the difficulty of adding storage to operating systems or applications that do not accept online expansion.

To an application or operating system, a thin-provisioned volume is fully allocated. However, the group initially allocates only a portion of the volume size. As the volume is used, more space is automatically allocated, with no disruption in availability. Increased usage triggers automatic notifications, so you can make adjustments.

• Cloning. Cloning a volume creates a new volume with the same size and contents as the original volume. Cloning is commonly used in multiple computer deployments. For example, a master image of a system can be created and then cloned for each computer. Cloning can dramatically decrease overhead when deploying replicated computers, such as blade servers or Web servers.

• Snapshots. A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of volume data. Snapshots greatly simplify and increase the performance of backup and recovery operations. You can create snapshots on-demand and through schedules.


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To recover data from a snapshot, you can set the snapshot online, restore the volume from a snapshot, or clone the snapshot. Cloning a snapshot creates a volume containing the same data that was in the volume at the time the snapshot was created.

• Replication. A replica is a snapshot stored on a different group, and which contains the contents of a volume at a specific point in time. By replicating volumes from one group to another, you can set up a simple, yet robust disaster recovery plan. Groups can be in the same building or a large distance apart. You can create replicas on-demand and through schedules.

To recover data from a replica, you can clone a replica to create a new volume; replication will continue as usual. If a disaster occurs on the primary group, you can promote a replica set to a new volume and snapshots—temporarily (with the option of failing back to the primary group) or permanently.

• Failback. Failback functionality lets you temporarily host the volume on the secondary group and later go back to the original replication configuration. In some cases, you can fail back by replicating only the data that changed while the volume was hosted on the secondary group.

• Scheduled operations. You can set up schedules to create volume snapshots or replicas at a specific time in the future or on a regular basis.

• Volume collections. You can organize volumes into collections. This lets you create a snapshot or replication on all the volumes in the collection simultaneously, guaranteeing that the set of snapshots or replicas are consistent.

• Multiple storage pools. In a PS Series group, storage can be divided into multiple pools. This helps you organize storage according to usage, offering more control over resource allocation, while giving you a single system management view. You get the advantages of storage consolidation and the ability to easily segregate different workloads.

Host Integration Tools

The Host Integration Tools for Microsoft® Windows® are on the CD-ROM shipped with the array and also on the customer support website. They provide host-based solutions that expand PS Series group capabilities at no extra cost. Visit the website to make sure that you have the latest version of the Host Integration Tools kit and documentation.

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2 Using and Customizing the User Interface

The PS Series array graphical user interface (GUI) is called the Group Manager. It lets you manage a group using windows and dialog boxes.

You can run the Group Manager GUI:• From a Web browser through a standard Web connection using HTTP (port 80).• By installing the GUI on a local computer and running it as a standalone application.

See Running the GUI on a Local Computer on page 2-12.

Note: See the Release Notes for browser requirements for running the GUI. If the window size is not large enough, a pop-up message is shown. By default, Web access to the group is enabled. For information about enabling and disabling access, see Controlling Access to the GUI and CLI Interfaces on page 3-10.

Navigating the GUI

When you first log in to the GUI, the Group Summary window (Figure 2-1) opens. This window shows an overview of the group configuration and status. Any alarms are shown in the panel at the bottom of the window.

Group Administration Using and Customizing the User Interface

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Figure 2-1: Group Summary

The GUI lets you manage various group components, which you access by clicking and expanding objects in the tree structure in the far left panel:• Group Configuration – Change the group configuration and set up accounts, event

notification, network services, authentication, and SNMP. See Chapter 3, Configuring Group Settings.

• Group Monitoring – Monitor iSCSI connections to the group, snapshot and replication schedules, volume replication configurations and activity, administrative sessions and login history, and in-progress member and volume move operations. See Monitoring the Group on page 12-8.

• Events – Shows events in the group. See Monitoring Events on page 12-1.• Storage Pools – Create and manage pools in the group. See Chapter 10, Managing

Storage Pools.• Members – Monitor and manage group members, including configuring network

interfaces. See Chapter 11, Monitoring and Managing Group Members.• Volumes – Monitor and manage volumes, snapshots, replicas, and schedules. See

Chapter 5, Managing Volumes.


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• Volume Collections – Create and manage collections of volumes. Organizing multiple, related volumes into a collection lets you create snapshots or replicas of the volumes in a single operation or schedule. See Managing Volume Collections on page 5-34.

• Replication Partners – Monitor and manage replication partners. See Chapter 7, Managing Data Replication.

As you expand and select objects in the tree, progressively more specific information is shown in the status and summary panels.

For example, when you select the top-level group component, the following is shown:• The Group Information panel shows the group name, IP address, location (if

specified), the number of volumes, snapshots, and collections on the group, and details about their status.

• The Group Disk Space panel shows how space is being used on the group. You can display details about the space by selecting from the following:– Group space utilization – (Default view) Group space allocated to volumes,

snapshots, local replication reserve, and delegated space, and the percentage of free group space.

– RAID level space distribution – Group space configured with each RAID level (RAID 10, RAID 5, and RAID 50).

– Storage pool capacity – Percentage of group space in each storage pool and the capacity of each pool.

– Delegated space utilization – Used and free group space delegated to all replication partners.

• The Storage Pools and Group Members panel shows the members, capacity, and the percentage of free space in each storage pool.

See Displaying All Group Members on page 11-1 for information about monitoring members and identifying warning and critical health conditions.

Performing Operations in the GUI

Most main windows display an Activities panel that shows context-specific tasks for the selected object or component. By default, the Activities panel is displayed between the objects hierarchy panel (the far-left panel) and the status and summary panels (see Figure 2-1). You can change the location of the Activities panel; see Setting General Policies on page 2-6.


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Some objects in the tree also have pop-up menus that open when you right-click the object. The menus include the same actions that are available in the Activities panel. They also include an item to refresh the GUI data, which performs the same action as clicking the refresh icon (see Table 2-1).

For any specific object (such as an individual volume or member), the pop-up menu includes various View operations. These perform the same action as clicking the object, then clicking the Status tab or another object-specific tab. Objects that can have alarms also include a pop-up menu item to view alarms. This opens a new window that displays outstanding alarms and user actions only for the selected object. (The Alarms panel at the bottom of the GUI shows the alarms for all objects on the group, and for the group itself.) Pop-up menus are also available on any object that you can select within the status and summary panels.

Some operations are only available through the pop-up menus. For example, to retry or cancel a disaster recovery operation, right-click the top-level task to display a pop-up menu that lets you perform these operations. See Chapter 9, Recovering Replicated Data, for more information.

GUI Icons

Table 2-1 identifies the icons at the top of the GUI window.

Table 2-1: GUI Icons

Save changes. Saves and applies any changes you made in a GUI window. If you do not save the changes, you will be prompted to do so when you close the window or click another object in the tree.Discard changes. Discards changes you made in a window.

Refresh data in a window. Refreshes the GUI data. Do not use the browser refresh button to refresh the data in the GUI.

Navigate the GUI. Moves backward or forward through the GUI windows, accord-ing to the window history.


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The Outstanding Alarms panel at the bottom of the GUI window shows alarms in the group and tasks that are in progress.• Click the Show window or Hide window icon ( or ) in the Outstanding

Alarms title bar or click the title bar to open and close the panel. Each alarm contains a link to the object (member or volume). Click the link for additional information.

• Click the Acknowledge all icon ( ) to acknowledge all alarms and stop flashing the Caution icon ( ).

Click the Tools title bar or the Show window or Hide window icon ( or ) to open or close the Tools panel, which contains the following links:• User preferences – Controls the GUI behavior. See Customizing the GUI on page 2-6.• Online help – Gives topic-oriented help on every aspect of using the GUI and the CLI

to manage a group. See Launching Online Help on page 2-11.• Customer support – Launches the Dell EqualLogic Customer Support website. See

Documentation on page xv.• Performance monitor – Shows various performance statistics for the group. See

Monitoring Performance Statistics on page 12-26.• Manual transfer utility – Launches the Manual Transfer Utility. See Appendix A,

Replicating Data Manually.• Diagnostic reports – Opens a dialog box that lets you generate diagnostic information

for the group that will be sent automatically your support provider. See Collecting Diagnostic Information (Service Only) on page 12-30.

• Run as application – Installs the Group Manager GUI on the computer that is running the GUI through a browser window. This lets the Group Manager run as a standalone application.

If the GUI is already installed locally, clicking the link will launch the application. If you are currently running the GUI as an application, this link is not shown. See Running the GUI on a Local Computer on page 2-12.


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Customizing the GUI

You can change how the GUI looks and behaves, and you can configure the GUI to run as a stand-alone application on a computer.

Only group administrators can customize a group. For more information about group administrators, see Configuring Group Access Settings on page 3-9.• To change the look and behavior of the GUI, and the location of online help, see

Setting General Policies on page 2-6.• To specify what the GUI does when a connection is lost, see Setting Communication

Policies on page 2-7.• To change event logging options and how alarms are indicated, see Setting Alarm

Policies on page 2-9.• To control the GUI response to typed input and debugging, see Setting Data

Validation and Debugging Policies on page 2-10.• To run the GUI as a standalone application, see Running the GUI on a Local

Computer on page 2-12.

Setting General Policies

You can set the following general GUI policies:• GUI font size.• Location of the Activities panel, in relation to the main GUI panel.• Location of the Group Manager online help. For more information, see Launching

Online Help on page 2-11.• Whether the GUI shows tooltips and popup descriptions for list items.

1. Click Tools > User Preferences > General tab (Figure 2-2).


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Figure 2-2: User Preferences – General

2. Select the general settings and click OK.

Setting Communication Policies

You can set the following communication policies:• Whether or not the GUI will try to reconnect with the group when the TCP/IP

connection between the browser and the group is lost (these settings do not apply when running the GUI as an application:– Automatically reconnect if disconnected—(default). With this option,

the GUI automatically tries to reconnect for 100 seconds, then opens a dialog box that lets you try again. Without this option, the GUI does not try to reconnect, and immediately opens the dialog box that lets you try again.

– Keep session alive when temporarily leaving GUI page—(default). With this option, you do not have to re-enter login credentials if you leave the GUI for less than 10 minutes (for example, by clicking Back or Forward to navigate to a different URL within the browser window where the GUI was running). Without this option, you can leave the GUI for only 10 seconds before having to re-enter login credentials.


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• The maximum time interval between GUI data updates. The default setting is 60 seconds. For example, using the default value, GUI data will be updated every 60 seconds or less, based on the group workload. The minimum interval is 5 seconds.

To manually update the GUI, click the Refresh data icon ( ). Do not use the browser’s refresh button.

1. Click Tools > User Preferences > Communication tab (Figure 2-3).

Figure 2-3: User Preferences – Communication

2. Select the policies and click OK.


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Setting Alarm Policies

You can set the following alarm policies:• How the GUI shows that a failure has occurred: by flashing the status icons of the

failed objects, by highlighting failed objects in red, by expanding the browse tree and showing the failed objects, or any combination of these options.

• Whether the GUI opens pop-up windows for new alarms, or emits a sound.• How events are shown in the Events panel: either showing the events in a new

window or automatically retrieving the 100 most recent events when you start the GUI.

1. Click Tools > User Preferences > Alarms tab (Figure 2-4).

Figure 2-4: User Preferences – Alarms



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Setting Data Validation and Debugging Policies

You can set the following data validation and debugging policies:• Whether text is checked for errors as you type it or when the information is submitted. • Whether or not to log data polling activities and server notifications to a Java console.

If enabled, these options can slow performance, so keep them disabled for better performance.

1. Click Tools > User Preferences > Advanced tab (Figure 2-5).

Figure 2-5: User Preferences – Advanced



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Launching Online Help

When you expand Tools and click Online Help in the far left panel in the GUI, the Group Manager online help opens in a new window, giving you topic-oriented help on every aspect of managing a group using the GUI and CLI.

By default, the online help is launched from a directory on the Dell EqualLogic website specific to the PS Series firmware version, such as the following:

www.psonlinehelp.equallogic.com/V4.0

The Group Manager online help files are also on the CD-ROM shipped with each PS Series storage array.

Launching Online Help Locally

You can change the default online help location to a local network by adding the group IP address (or the management IP address, if using a management network) to the list of trusted sites, if necessary.

You can also put the online help files on a computer connected to your network, navigate to that directory using a browser, and enter groupmanager.htm in the browser’s address field.

Note: If you are running Java version 1.4.2 on the local computer, you might have to add the group IP address to the computer’s list of trusted sites in Internet Explorer to access the online help from a local directory.

1. Copy the groupmanagerhelp directory from the product CD-ROM to a network drive accessible to all computers that will be using the GUI online help.

2. Start Internet Explorer and under Tools, select Internet Options.

3. Select the Security tab and click Trusted Sites > Sites.

4. Add the group’s IP or management address to the list of trusted sites, using this format:

http://group_ip_address

Do not select the option to require server verification.


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5. Close both dialog boxes.

6. Start the GUI and click Tools > User Preferences > General tab (Figure 2-2).

7. In the field specifying the location of the online help files, enter the new help directory location (for example: file:///system.directory.company.com/share/groupmanagerhelp) and click OK.

Running the GUI on a Local Computer

You can install the Group Manager GUI on a local computer and run the GUI as a standalone application. You can have GUIs for more than one group installed on a computer.

Note: A computer must be running Sun Java version 1.4.2 or a later version to run the GUI as a standalone application.

1. On the computer on which you will install the GUI, specify the group (or management) IP address in a Web browser window and log in to a group administration account.

2. In the Group Summary window, expand Tools in the GUI and click Run as application.

3. When prompted to install the GUI on the local computer to manage the current group, click Yes.

4. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, select whether to create a shortcut on the desktop.

If you click Yes, the GUI will be launched locally, and a shortcut will be installed on your desktop for managing the current group, and added to the Startup menu of Microsoft Windows computers.

If you click No, the GUI will be launched locally, but no shortcut will be created. You can launch the GUI by using the Java Control Panel or Java Web Start. For example, using the Java Control Panel (available in the Windows Control Panel), click the General tab, Settings, and View Applications and then double-click the applet.

Click Configure to change the Java settings.


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Once the GUI is installed locally, it will be automatically updated when you update the PS Series firmware. However, you must log out from the GUI and then log back in after performing a firmware update, to make sure the GUI displays all the features in the updated firmware.

Note: If you change the IP address of a group for which you are running the GUI locally, or configure a management network for the group, you must uninstall the GUI from the computer and then install it again.

Uninstalling the GUI Application

To uninstall a standalone GUI application, you can use the Java Control Panel or Java Web Start.

1. In the Java Control Panel, click the General tab, Settings, and View Applications.

2. The GUI application for a group has two components, the applet and the library; both are prefaced with the group name and show EqualLogic as the vendor. Remove both components.

Launching Supplemental Utilities

Through the GUI, you can also launch the following supplemental utilities:• Performance Monitor• Manual Transfer Utility• Diagnostic Reports• Customer Support website


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Launching the Performance Monitor

The Performance Monitor shows statistics for various group components and operations.

Click Tools > Performance Monitor.

Figure 2-6: Performance Monitor Utility

For more information on using this utility, see Chapter 12, Diagnosing Problems.


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Launching the Manual Transfer Utility

The Manual Transfer Utility lets you perform volume replication using transportable media instead of having the group send volume data over the network connection between the replication partners.

Click Tools > Manual Transfer Utility.

Figure 2-7: Manual Transfer Utility

For more information on using this utility, see Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually.


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Launching the Diagnostic Reports Utility (Service Only)

If you must contact your support provider, you might need to collect diagnostic data from one or more group members to help your provider understand and correct the problem.

Use the Diagnostic Reports Utility to collect this information.

Click Tools > Diagnostic Reports.

Figure 2-8: Diagnostic Reports Utility

For more information on this utility, see Collecting Diagnostic Information (Service Only) on page 12-30.


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Launching the Customer Support Website

You can launch the Dell EqualLogic Customer Support website from the GUI. The Customer Support website contains downloads for firmware updates, documentation, and other services. You can also create and log into your customer support account to report a problem and receive direct technical support.

Click Tools > Customer Support.

Figure 2-9: Customer Support Website

For more information about creating or logging into a support account, and receiving technical support from Dell EqualLogic, see Technical Support and Customer Service on page xvi.

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3 Configuring Group Settings

This chapter describes how to configure important group settings.

Configuring Network Interfaces on a Member

When you create a group or add a member to a group, initially only one of the network interfaces (Ethernet ports) on each member is configured. For full redundancy, failover support, and availability, Dell strongly recommends that you configure the remaining network interfaces on each member.

Note: Changing the IP address for a functioning network interface disconnects all iSCSI initiators that are connected to that interface. However, initiators usually reconnect automatically.

To configure or modify a network interface:

1. Click Members > member_name > Network tab.

The current network configuration for each network interface on the member is shown (Figure 3-1).

Group Administration Configuring Group Settings

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Figure 3-1: Member Network

2. Configure (or modify) a network interface by doing one of the following:– Double-click a network interface in the IP Configuration panel.– Select a network interface and click Modify IP settings in the Activities

panel (Figure 3-2).

Figure 3-2: Modify IP Settings

3. Enter the following information about the network interface in the appropriate fields:– IP address — IP address for the network interface.


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– Subnet mask — Subnet mask (netmask) for the network interface IP address.

Note: Unless you are using a dedicated management network, the default gateway is the same for all network interfaces on an array. You cannot modify the default gateway using the Modify IP Settings dialog box. See Modifying the Default Gateway on page 11-25 for more information.

4. Click the checkbox to enable the interface, then click OK.

Configuring General Group Attributes

You can set or change the group attributes described in Table 3-1 at any time.

1. Click Group Configuration > General tab.

2. Set or change any of the group attributes.

3. Click Save ( ).

Note: If you change the group name or IP address and the group is configured as a replication partner on another group, log in to the other group and make the reciprocal name or IP address change. Replication will fail if the partner

Table 3-1: Group Attributes

Attribute Description

Group Name Name used to identify a group for administrative purposes and for volume replication.

Group IP address Network address used for group administration (unless you configure a dedicated management network) and for computer access to volumes.Changing the group IP address will disconnect current group administration and iSCSI connections to the group. Make sure group administrators know the new group IP address and that they update their configurations.

Location Physical location of the group, such as “Lab” or “Boston-office.” A location is optional.

Description Description of the group, such as “E-Mail storage group” or “Group storing databases.” A description is optional.


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information is incorrect. See Configuring Replication Between PS Groups on page 7-7 for information.

Configuring Group Time and Date

Make sure that the date and time settings, including the time zone, are correct.

You can specify an external Network Time Protocol (NTP) server that the group will use to automatically set the same time on all the members.

All group members use a consistent time. The clock in each array is set at the factory and is based on GMT. The default time zone is America/New York. The group time is based on the first member’s clock. When you add an array to a group, its clock is updated to the group date and time.

If the group time changes (either because you manually modified it or because the NTP server time changed), the time is first set on one group member. Then, the other group members set their times by this member. This operation can take as long as 24 hours if the time changes by an hour or more.

Specifying the Group Date and Time


2. Select the appropriate continent, country, city, or region from the Time zone drop-down menus. Daylight Saving Time will be applied when and where appropriate.

3. Click Modify group time (Figure 3-3) to change the date and time and click OK. You can also set the time to be the same as the time on the computer running the GUI. Click Reset to current group time to cancel the changes.


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Figure 3-3: Modify Group Time

Specifying an NTP Server

Alternately, you can get the group time from an NTP server, if one is available on the network.


2. In the NTP Servers area of the Date and Time panel, click Add.

3. Specify the IP address for an NTP server and click OK.

Use the ip_address:port format to specify a port number other than the default, 123.

You can specify up to three IP addresses. Only one server is used at one time. The first server specified is the default server. The other servers are used, in the order specified, if the default server is not available. – Use the up and down arrows to change the server order.– To change or delete an NTP server, select the server IP address and click Modify

or Delete.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add another NTP server.


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Configuring Event Notification

When you configure event notification, you automatically receive messages when events occur in the group (such as the creation of a volume or the failure of a hardware component). These messages help you to monitor normal operations and also to identify problems before they disrupt service.

Event Priority Levels

Each event has a priority. Table 3-2 lists event priorities in order from highest (most severe) to lowest (least severe).

Event Notification Methods

You can configure the following event notification methods:• E-mail notification. Sends events to e-mail addresses. The group collects multiple

events into a single e-mail message to decrease the number of messages sent. A message will be delayed three minutes at most.

• E-Mail Home. Dell strongly recommends configuring this feature, which helps customer support to rapidly resolve issues. If a hardware component (disk, control module, fan, or power supply) fails or if firmware on an array is updated, the group automatically sends e-mail to customer support and any other local e-mail address you specify.

E-Mail Home is available to all PS Series customers, but response time and assistance is based on the validity and level of your support contract.

Table 3-2: Event Priorities

Priority Description

FATAL Catastrophic failure. Identify and correct the problem immediately.

ERROR Serious failure. Identify and correct the problem as soon as possible.

WARNING Potential problem in the group that can become an event with ERROR priority if administrator intervention does not occur.

INFO Normal operational and transitional event that is of interest but requires no action.


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For any type of e-mail notification, the group must have access to a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server or e-mail relay.

• Remote server logging. Logs events to the syslog facility on a remote server that must be configured to store remote log files. Events are immediately sent to the syslog servers. This feature relies on the availability of the server.

• Informational event display. Controls whether to show informational event messages in the Group Events window and on the console.

Enabling Event Notification

You can enable e-mail event notification, syslog event notification, and the E-Mail Home feature at any time.

1. Click Group Configuration > Notifications tab (Figure 3-4).

Figure 3-4: Group Notifications


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2. In the E-Mail Event Notifications panel, do the following:

a. Select Send E-mail to addresses and click Add. In the Add List Item dialog box, enter an e-mail address and click OK. To enter another address (up to five, total), click Add again. All the specified addresses will receive event e-mail.

b. Select the event priorities for which all recipients will be notified. By default, Fatal, Warnings, and Errors are already selected.

c. Select Send e-mail alerts to Customer Support (E-Mail Home).In the Local contact e-mail field, enter a local e-mail address that will also receive E-Mail Home notifications.

d. Under E-Mail Configuration Settings, click Add to enter an SMTP server or e-mail relay for e-mail forwarding. In the Add List Item dialog box, enter an e-mail address and click OK. Use the ip_address:port format to specify a port number other than the default, 25.

To enter another address (up to three, total), click Add again. Only one server is used at any time. The first server specified is the default server. The other servers are used, in the order specified, if the default server is not available. Use the up and down arrows to change the preferred order.

In the Sender in e-mail address field, enter the e-mail address that will be shown in the “From” field in the notification e-mail. This reduces the chance that the e-mail server or recipient will discard or reject the notifications.

3. In the Event Logs panel, you can also optionally do the following:

a. If you want events sent to a syslog server, select Send events to syslog servers and click Add.

Specify up to three (3) IP addresses (optionally, including a port number) for remote syslog servers and click OK. All the specified servers will receive events.

To change or delete an IP address, select the address and click Modify or Delete.

b. Select the event priorities that will be logged. By default, Fatal, Warnings, and Errors are already selected. These priorities will apply to all the specified syslog servers.


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c. If you want informational messages to be shown in the Group Events window and on the CLI console, click Enable live informational messages. If you do not enable this feature, informational messages will still be logged to the event message database.

4. Click Save ( ).

To test the e-mail notification, you can log out of the GUI and then log in again. Each configured e-mail address will receive the message.

When you first enable E-Mail Home, you will receive a confirmation message stating that the functionality is enabled. If you do not receive this message, make sure that the local e-mail address is correctly configured. Also, look at the PS Series event log. If the configuration is correct and no errors are logged, contact your support provider. If you have a service agreement, your support provider will help you resolve the problem.

Configuring Group Access Settings

You can control access to the interfaces and the group by:• Specifying whether administrators can use the GUI, the CLI, or both, and optionally

specifying restrictions on that access. See Controlling Access to the GUI and CLI Interfaces on page 3-10.

• Creating administrator accounts, either locally or on an external RADIUS server, with various privileges. See Managing Group Administration Accounts on page 3-11.

• Configuring SNMP community strings. To use third-party monitoring tools or the Manual Transfer Utility, see Configuring SNMP Access to a Group on page 3-26.

• Configuring Windows Services access to the group. If you are using the Windows Virtual Disk Service (VDS) or Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), add an access control record to allow Windows service access. See Configuring Windows Services Access to a Group on page 3-28.


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Controlling Access to the GUI and CLI Interfaces

You can control whether administrators can use the GUI, the CLI, or both to manage a group. You can also specify restrictions on those access methods.

For example, you can allow GUI access through the Web (a browser), and further restrict access to browsers that use SSL connection. You can also allow CLI access through telnet, SSH, or both. You must permit access through at least one interface to access and manage the group.

Note: Read-only access to the group is available through SNMP if you set the community string. See Configuring SNMP Access to a Group on page 3-26 for more information. If you do not have network access to the group, you can use a serial connection to access the group and run CLI commands. See the CLI Reference for more information.

1. Click Group Configuration > Administration tab (Figure 3-5).

Figure 3-5: Group Administration

2. Enable or disable access, then click Save ( ).


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Managing Group Administration Accounts

To use the Group Manager GUI or CLI, log in to a group administration account. Administration accounts prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing a group, and can be created locally (on the group), or on an external RADIUS server, or both. You can also use an external accounting server to monitor the activity of RADIUS accounts.

The default administration account, grpadmin, can do all group operations. Dell recommends that you set up an account for each administrator to monitor their activities.

Types of Accounts

The account types are:• Group administrator. This account type has the same permissions as the default

grpadmin account to change any and all aspects of the group and all storage pools. Only group administrators can create or change other accounts.

• Pool administrator. This account type can operate only on the volumes, members, snapshots, and other objects in the pool or pools to which the account has permission. However, pool administrators cannot move objects between pools they manage. Pool administrators can optionally monitor the entire group.

• Read-only account. This type of account cannot change any objects in the group, but can see group and pool information. Use this account type for administrators who will only monitor group activity.

Group administrators can do the following: • Change an account from one type to another. If you are using an external RADIUS

authentication server, make sure to change the appropriate vendor-specific attributes for the account type.

• Edit the password, description, or contact information for an account.• Add or remove group-read access on a pool administrator account.• Add or delete pools from a pool administrator account.• Enable or disable an account.

Administrators (regardless of type) cannot do the following:• Change the name of an administration account. Instead, you must delete the account

and then re-create it with the new name.


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• Disable, delete, or change the type of the default administration (grpadmin) account.

About Local Administration Accounts

Local administration accounts provide access to the group by different categories of users. You create these accounts on the group itself, using the Group Manager GUI or the CLI.

Local accounts, such as the default grpadmin account, are authenticated by the PS Series group. Create local accounts when you need only a small number of management accounts for the group.

Accounts have the following attributes:

Creating a Local Administration Account

1. Click Group Configuration > Administration tab.

The Administration Accounts panel shows the default account and any local accounts.

2. Click Add.

Table 3-3: Local Administration Account Attributes


Name Name of the account, up to 16 alphanumeric characters, including period (.), hyphen (-), and underscore (_). The first character must be a letter or number. The last character cannot be a period.

Password Password for the account. The password must be from 3 to 16 alphanumeric characters and is case-sensitive. Only the first 8 characters are validated.

Description (Optional) Description for the account.

Type Type of account:• Group administrator—Has the same permission as the default grpadmin

account to manage the group and all its members and objects.• Pool administrator—Has permission to create, modify, and delete objects

within the specified pool or pools. Can also optionally have read-only permission to see, but not change, other objects on the group.

• Read-only—Has permission only to see objects on the group. Cannot create, modify, or delete objects.


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3. Enter the account name, password and (optional) description (Figure 3-6), then click Next:

Figure 3-6: Create Account - General Settings

4. Specify the type of account (Figure 3-7). For a pool administrator account, specify one or more pools that the account can manage, and (optionally) allow the administrator to have read-only permission for the entire group.

Figure 3-7: Create Account - Account Permissions


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By default, the checkbox for Enable administration account is selected. To disable the account, de-select the checkbox. Then, click Next.

5. Optionally, enter contact information for the account (Figure 3-8), then click Next.

Figure 3-8: Create Account - Contact Information

6. Review the information and click Finish (Figure 3-9).

Figure 3-9: Create Account - Summary


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About External RADIUS Administration Accounts

Using an external RADIUS authentication server improves security and centralizes administrator privileges. It also simplifies the process of creating and managing administration accounts for a large number of users (for example, more than 100), instead of creating them directly on the group.

A PS Series group can have both local accounts and RADIUS accounts, but for any individual account, create it one way or the other.

Note: See the Technical Report Using Active Directory for Account Authentication to a PS Series Group, on the customer support web site, for information about using the Microsoft Internet Authentication Service. If this Technical Report does not describe your environment, see your server documentation for information about setting up RADIUS servers and specifying vendor-specific attributes (VSAs).

You can also use RADIUS accounting servers to monitor account activity. A RADIUS accounting server collects information about user sessions, such as user identification, network address, session identifier, session duration, and the amount of data transmitted or received. This information can be used for customer billing (for example, by an Internet Service Provider) or for statistical or general monitoring purposes.

RADIUS authentication and accounting servers must be available on the network and accessible to the group.

Configuring RADIUS Authentication and Accounting Servers

Use this procedure to make an external RADIUS authentication or accounting server accessible to the group.

You can specify up to three authentication servers and up to three accounting servers. Only one authentication server and one accounting server is used at a time. The first server specified in each list is the default server. The other servers are used, in the order specified, if the default server is not available.

1. Click Group Configuration > Administration tab.

2. In the RADIUS Authentication panel, click to Enable RADIUS authentication for login.

3. Click to Enable RADIUS accounting for authenticated users.


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4. If applicable, click to Enable RADIUS accounting for authenticated users.

5. Click RADIUS settings to open the RADIUS settings dialog box (Figure 3-10).

Figure 3-10: RADIUS Settings

6. For each RADIUS authentication or accounting server, do the following:

a. Click Add.

b. In the dialog box, specify the IP address for the server. Use the format ip_address:port if using a port other than 1812 (for authentication servers) or 1813 (for accounting servers).

c. Optionally, enter a secret (password) for the RADIUS authentication or accounting server, of up to 63 characters. Dell recommends that you use secrets for better security.

d. When finished, click OK.e. Repeat steps a through d to add more servers.

To change or delete an IP address, in the RADIUS Settings dialog box, select the IP address and click Modify or Delete.

f. Specify the following, then click OK:– Request timeout — Number of seconds the group will wait for an

authentication or accounting server to transmit before timing out. The default is 2 seconds.


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– Number of retries — Number of times the group will try to contact an authentication or accounting server after the first failure. The default is 1 retry.

7. Click Save ( ).

Configuring Group-Wide Volume Settings

When you create a volume, the group-wide defaults for snapshot space, thin-provisioning, and iSCSI aliases are applied unless you explicitly override them. You can change the group-wide defaults at any time.

Group-wide defaults control the following volume attributes:• Snapshot reserve. To support snapshots, specify the amount of pool space, as a

percentage of the volume reserve, to reserve for snapshots. The default is 100% of the volume reserve. If you enter a value, this space is reserved even if you never create a snapshot. If no snapshot space is reserved for a volume, snapshot creation will fail.

• Snapshot space warning limit. In the Warn when in-use space reaches field, specify the percentage of the snapshot reserve that, when consumed, causes an alarm. The default is 90%.

For example, if a volume size is 200 MB and you reserve 100% of the volume size for snapshots, using the default limit of 90%, a warning occurs when the amount of in-use snapshot reserve is 180 MB.

• Snapshot space recovery policy. Select the action when the space reserved for snapshots has been exceeded: either delete the oldest snapshots until sufficient space is recovered (the default) or set the volume and snapshots offline. Active iSCSI connections will be terminated before a snapshot is automatically deleted.

• In-use space warning limit. For thin-provisioned volumes, you can change the default in-use space warning limit. When the in-use volume reserve is equal to this percentage of the volume size, a warning event message occurs. The default is 60% of the volume size.

For example, if you create a thin-provisioned volume with a size of 500 GB and set the warning limit to 75%, a warning occurs when the amount of used space in the volume is equal to 75% of 500 GB, or 375 GB.

• Maximum in-use space limit. For thin-provisioned volumes, you can change the default maximum in-use space limit, which is the maximum percentage of the volume


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size that can be in use. The volume reserve cannot increase above this value. When the maximum space is used, the volume is set offline. The default is 100% of the volume size.

For example, if you create a thin-provisioned volume with a size of 500 GB and set the maximum in-use space limit to 90%, the volume is set offline when the amount of used space in the volume is equal to 90% of 500 GB, or 450 GB.

• iSCSI target alias. If you select Use volume name for default iSCSI target alias, the iSCSI target alias (public name) for a volume or snapshot will be the same as the volume or snapshot name. If you do not select this option, no alias is created. The alias is seen on the network by some iSCSI initiators. It can be used by administrators to help identify the iSCSI target.

Note: Changes to the group-wide default settings will apply only to new volumes.

Changing Group-Wide Defaults

1. Click Group Configuration > Defaults tab (Figure 3-11).

Figure 3-11: Group Defaults


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2. Change one or more of the default settings.

3. Click Save ( ).

Controlling Computer Access to VolumesTo configure computer access to volumes using CHAP, you must do one or both of the following, then connect to a volume with an initiator:• Create local CHAP accounts on the group or on a RADIUS server. See Configuring

Group Access Settings on page 3-9 or About External RADIUS Administration Accounts on page 3-15.

CHAP account names can be specified in access control records for volumes. A computer must match the credentials in one record in order to access the volume. See Controlling Computer Access to Volumes on page 3-19.

• Configure target authentication. See Configuring Target Authentication on page 3-24.

Configuring CHAP for Initiator Authentication

Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) is a network login protocol that uses a challenge-response mechanism. You can use CHAP for iSCSI authentication to make sure that only computers that supply the correct account name and password (or “secret”) can access the volumes and snapshots on the group.

Using CHAP for iSCSI authentication can help you manage access controls because it limits access through account names and passwords, instead of IP addresses or iSCSI initiator names.

The iSCSI protocol offers initiator and target CHAP authentication through:• Initiator authentication. The iSCSI initiator (on the computer) is authenticated by

the iSCSI target (volume or snapshot). When an initiator tries to connect to a target (manually or through discovery), it supplies a user name and password to the target. Some implementations refer to the password as a “secret.”

The target compares the supplied user name to the access control record for the volume. If they are the same, the target compares the user name and password combination to an entry in a CHAP database. If the supplied user name and password is found in a CHAP database entry, the computer can connect to the volume or


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snapshot. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-2 for information on setting up access control records.

• Target authentication. Each iSCSI target on the group is authenticated by the iSCSI initiator. When an initiator tries to connect to a target, the target supplies a user name and password to the initiator. The initiator compares the supplied user name and password to information it holds. If they agree, based on a hashing algorithm, the initiator can connect to the target.

On the group side, target authentication is always enabled, although you can change the password and account name. The iSCSI initiator settings control whether the target authentication is used. See Configuring Target Authentication on page 3-24 for more information.

You can implement a CHAP database in a group using either or both of the following:– Local CHAP accounts configured in the group. Local CHAP does not rely on any

external system and is generally used if you have only a few CHAP users. You can create up to 100 local CHAP accounts. See Creating Local CHAP Accounts on page 3-23 for more information.

– An external RADIUS server whose IP address is known to the group. An external RADIUS server is beneficial if you are managing a large number of CHAP user names and passwords. However, if the server becomes unavailable, the computer cannot connect to the group. You can configure the group to use multiple RADIUS servers for high availability. See Configuring CHAP for Initiator Authentication on page 3-19 for more information.

Initiator authentication can be implemented without target authentication. However, target authentication can be implemented only if initiator authentication is also implemented. When used together, initiator and target authentication perform mutual authentication; that is, both the initiator and the target authenticate each other.

You can also configure one or more iSNS servers to manage and control iSCSI discovery of targets on the group.

Configuring External RADIUS CHAP Accounts

A RADIUS server must be available on the network and accessible to the group. Make sure that the RADIUS server is highly available. Downtime will disrupt computer access for any volume that uses CHAP authentication.


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Before configuring RADIUS authentication servers in the Group Manager GUI, you must set up accounts on the RADIUS servers.

1. Click Group Configuration > iSCSI tab (Figure 3-12).

Figure 3-12: Group iSCSI

2. In the iSCSI Authentication panel, select Enable RADIUS authentication for iSCSI initiators.

3. Optionally, to have the initiator try using local CHAP accounts on the group before trying an external RADIUS account, select Consult locally defined CHAP accounts first. See Creating Local CHAP Accounts on page 3-23 for more information.

4. Click RADIUS settings.

5. Under RADIUS authentication servers, click Add.

a. In the dialog box, specify the IP address for the server.


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Use the format ip_address:port if using a port other than 1812. b. Optionally, enter the secret (password) for the RADIUS authentication server. The

secret can contain up to 63 characters. Dell recommends that you use secrets for security reasons.

c. When finished, click OK to close the Add RADIUS authentication server dialog box.

6. In addition, specify the following:– Request timeout — Number of seconds the group will wait for an

authentication server to transmit before timing out. The default is 2 seconds.For example, when a user tries to log into an administration account, the group will try to contact a RADIUS authentication server. Then—if the account is authenticated—the group will try to contact a RADIUS accounting server. If the accounting server does not transmit within the request timeout period, the contact will fail. The group will try several times, based on the retry setting.

– Number of retries — Number of times the group will try to contact an authentication or accounting server after the first failure. The default is 1 retry.For example, when a user tries to log into a group administration account, the group will try to contact a RADIUS authentication server. Then—if the account is authenticated—the group will try to contact an accounting server. If no response occurs within the request timeout period, the group will retry contacting the server the number of times specified by the retry setting.

7. Click OK again to close the RADIUS settings dialog box.

8. Optionally, to prevent unauthorized computers from discovering targets, in the iSCSI Discovery panel select Prevent unauthorized hosts from discovering targets. Otherwise, initiators that use discovery will try to log in to the target, even if they do not have the right access credentials. This can cause a large number of events to be logged, and is an inefficient use of resources.

9. Click Save ( ).

After specifying a RADIUS server, create an access control record for a volume and specify a CHAP user name (already configured on the RADIUS server) in the record. To access the volume, a computer must supply a user name and password. A computer must meet all the requirements in one access control record to access the volume. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-2 for more information.


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Creating Local CHAP Accounts

Local CHAP is not dependent on any external system and is generally used if you have only a few CHAP users. You can create up to 100 local CHAP accounts.

You can create local CHAP accounts whether or not you also use an external RADIUS authentication server for CHAP accounts. Furthermore, you can configure initiators to try the locally defined CHAP accounts before using externally defined accounts.

1. Click Group Configuration > iSCSI tab (Figure 3-12).

2. In the iSCSI Authentication panel, select Consult locally defined CHAP accounts first.

3. In the Local CHAP Accounts panel, click Add. (To change or delete a local CHAP account, select the account name and click Modify or Delete.)

4. In the dialog box (Figure 3-13), enter a CHAP user name and (optionally) a password. If you do not enter a password, one is created automatically, and is 16 bytes (characters) long.

Figure 3-13: Add CHAP Account

Note: For optimal security, passwords used in CHAP authentication must contain at least 12 characters (preferably random). Individual initiators have their own rules and restrictions for length and format. Consult your initiator documentation for details.

5. By default, a CHAP account is enabled. To disable the account, de-select Enable CHAP account. You can enable the account later.

6. Click OK to create the account.

7. In addition, to prevent computers from discovering targets for which they are not authorized, in the iSCSI Discovery panel of the Group iSCSI window (Figure 3-12),


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select Prevent unauthorized hosts from discovering targets. Otherwise, initiators that use discovery will try to log in to the target, even if they do not have the right access credentials, resulting in a large number of events logged in the group and an inefficient use of resources.

After creating the CHAP account, create an access control record for a volume and specify the CHAP user name in the record. To access the volume, a computer must supply a user name and password. A computer must meet all the requirements in one access control record to access the volume. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-2 for more information.

Configuring Target Authentication

To configure the group for target authentication, in which each iSCSI target on the group is authenticated by the iSCSI initiator, you must first set up initiator authentication. See Creating Local CHAP Accounts on page 3-23 or Configuring External RADIUS CHAP Accounts on page 3-20. Using both initiator and target authentication is called mutual authentication.

Note: Target authentication is always enabled on the group. The iSCSI initiator settings control whether target authentication is used.

1. Click Group Configuration > iSCSI tab.

The Target authentication section in the iSCSI Authentication panel shows the group’s default account name and password (referred to by some initiators as a “secret”) for target authentication.

2. To change the user name or password, click Modify.

3. In the Modify Target CHAP Account dialog box (Figure 3-14), change the information and click OK. Passwords must include at least 12 characters, preferably random.


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Figure 3-14: Modify Target CHAP Account

4. If you change the user name or password, make sure you enter the same information in the initiator.

Configuring iSNS for Automatic Target Discovery

You can configure a group to use an iSNS (Internet Storage Name Service) server, which lets you manage, configure, and set up automated discovery of iSCSI devices and other devices on a TCP/IP network.

An iSNS server supplies a central management point for the group by dynamically updating information about the iSCSI target names for group volumes. Once the IP address of an iSNS server is entered in an iSCSI initiator’s configuration utility, the setting is persistent across initiator sessions. You do not have to enter the group IP address or iSCSI target name in the utility.

Note: An iSNS server must already be set up and available on the network in order for the group to access it.

1. Click Group Configuration > iSCSI tab.

2. In the iSCSI Discovery panel under iSNS servers, click Add. (To change or delete an address, select the address and click Modify or Delete.)

3. In the dialog box, specify the IP address for an iSNS server.

Use the format ip_address:port if using a port other than 3205.


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You can specify up to three IP addresses. Only one server is used at one time. The first server specified is the default server. The other servers are used, in the order specified, if the default server is not available. Use the up and down arrows to change the address order.

4. Click Save ( ).

Configuring SNMP Access to a GroupSome applications, like monitoring tools and the Manual Transfer Utility, use SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) to access a PS Series group. To support these operations, configure an SNMP read-only community name on the group.

You can also specify IP addresses to receive SNMP traps. Traps are unsolicited event messages sent to the management console by the agent. The PS Series storage array sends traps about equipment issues and security issues.

1. Click Group Configuration > SNMP tab (Figure 3-15).

Figure 3-15: Group SNMP


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2. To let an SNMP management console or the Manual Transfer Utility connect to the group, in the SNMP Access panel click Add. (To change or delete a community name, select the name and click Modify or Delete.)

3. In the dialog box, specify at least one read-only SNMP community name, up to 64 alphanumeric characters, and click OK.

To support the Manual Transfer Utility, enter the string public.

You can specify up to five read-only community names (which act like passwords) for the SNMP agent to use to authenticate SNMP requests.

4. To send SNMP traps to a destination, in the SNMP Traps panel, click Add.

5. In the dialog box, specify the IP address where SNMP traps (event messages) will be sent and click OK. You can specify up to five IP addresses. All will receive traps. (To change or delete a trap destination, select the IP address and click Modify or Delete.)

6. The SNMP trap community name is used when sending SNMP traps. The default name is SNMP-trap. To change the SNMP trap community name, enter a new name in the SNMP Trap community name field. Names must be unique and contain up to 64 alphanumeric characters, and cannot contain commas.

7. Click Save ( ).

The PS Series storage array MIBs (Management Information Bases) contain information about the traps and trap thresholds. If you have a support account, you can download the MIBs from the customer support website. Log in to a support account and click Downloads. Click the link for your PS Series Firmware version, then click MIBS.

The MIBs are collected in an archive. You can open this archive and examine the individual MIBs or you can download the archive and store it on your computer. To use MIBs, you must install them on a management station. Not all traps apply to all array models.


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Configuring Windows Services Access to a GroupMicrosoft Windows computers that are running Microsoft services, such as Virtual Disk Service (VDS) and Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), must be able to access a PS Series group for management operations.

Note: Access controls set up in the group must be the same as the access controls on the Windows computer, otherwise Microsoft service access will fail. See the Host Integration Tools documentation for more information.

1. Click Group Configuration > VDS/VSS tab (Figure 3-16).

Figure 3-16: Group VDS/VSS

2. To add a record, click Add.

3. In the dialog box (Figure 3-17), specify one or more of the following, then click OK:– CHAP user name (If you have not done so already, you must first set up a local

CHAP account. See Creating Local CHAP Accounts on page 3-23.)– IP address– iSCSI initiator name


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A Windows computer must meet all the requirements specified in an access control record in order for Microsoft services to access the group. For example, the CHAP user name stored on the server must be the same as the CHAP user name in the record.

Figure 3-17: Create Access Control Record

The access control record is shown in the VDS/VSS Access Control List panel. To see details about a record, select it. The details are shown below the panel.

To change or delete an access control record, select the record and click Modify or Delete.

Where to Go Next

To configure advanced group settings, such as a management network, or to specify the performance load-balancing policy for a multi-member group, see Chapter 4, Configuring Advanced Group Settings.

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4 Configuring Advanced Group Settings

If appropriate for your environment, you can configure or modify the following advanced group settings:• A dedicated management network, which separates iSCSI traffic (volume I/O) from

management traffic (GUI and CLI sessions and other group management communication), for environments that require this separation.

• Performance load balancing (applies only to multi-member groups).

About Dedicated Management NetworksA dedicated management network is used only for managing the group. When configured, the group has two IP addresses: • A management IP address, for managing the group using the GUI or the CLI.• The group IP address, for iSCSI traffic.

Note: Only very knowledgeable users should configure a management network, and only if their environment requires the separation of management traffic from iSCSI traffic. If not done correctly, you can lose the ability to manage the group. You might have to connect to a group member using the serial cable and restore the original configuration.

With a dedicated management network, the group IP address is no longer used to connect to the group to manage it with the GUI or CLI. Instead, users log in to the management IP address.

The group IP address continues to be used for iSCSI access to the group by replication partners and initiators. All management-related services, such as the Group Manager GUI and CLI, use the management IP address.

Note: There are potential disadvantages to using a dedicated management network.

One of the network interfaces on each control module of each group member is no longer available for iSCSI traffic; therefore, I/O bandwidth can be decreased.

In a single-member group if the management interface fails, or, for any group, if the management network loses connectivity, you lose management access to the group. However, you can connect to the console on an array to manage the group.

Group Administration Configuring Advanced Group Settings

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Configuring a Management NetworkOnly the highest-numbered Gigabit Ethernet port (usually eth2) on a member can be used for management. This is also called the management interface.

Note: For best results, follow the listed order of steps.

Step 1: Disable the Management Interfaces

For each group member, if the management interface (the highest-numbered Gigabit Ethernet interface) is currently enabled, disable it. This prevents iSCSI traffic from using the interface until you are ready to restrict it to management traffic.

Note: For best results, configure all the other network interfaces on both control modules for iSCSI traffic. See Configuring Network Interfaces on a Member on page 3-1.

1. Click Group Configuration > Advanced tab.

2. In the Dedicated Management Network panel, click Configure management network.

3. For each group member, right-click the management interface and click Disable interface.

Step 2: Configure A Management Network in Your Environment

Configure the network that will support management traffic. The management network must be on a separate subnet from the network for data traffic.

Connect the management interface on each controller on each member to the management network.

Note: Only one eth2 port is shown in the GUI for each member, but both (one on each control module) must be connected to the managament network. If the active control module fails over to the secondary control module, its eth2 port inherits the management network settings.

Step 3: Obtain Address and Gateway Information

Obtain the IP address for each member’s management interface, and the address and gateway information for the group.


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The management interface addresses must be on a different subnet than the iSCSI network, but can use the same netmask.

Step 4: Configure the Management Interfaces and Network

To complete the process of enabling a management network for the goup, configure the management interfaces for each member, and configure the management address and default gateway on the group.

1. Click Group Configuration > Advanced tab.

2. In the Dedicated Management Network panel, click Configure management network.

The Configure Management Network window opens (Figure 4-1).

Figure 4-1: Configure Management Network - Before Setup

3. Click to enable the dedicated management network. The text fields for the management IP address and default gateway become active.

4. Enter the management IP address and gateway for the group. The management gateway must be on the same subnet as the management interfaces.

5. For each member, double-click the management interface to modify the IP settings.


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6. Enter the management address for the interface, enable the interface and restrict it to management, then click OK (Figure 4-2). The default gateway for the interface changes automatically to the group’s default gateway you entered in step 4.

Figure 4-2: Configure Management Interface

When all the member interfaces and the management network for the group are correctly configured, the screen looks like Figure 4-3.

Figure 4-3: Configure Management Network - Setup Complete and Correct

In the column labeled Traffic, “Mgmt” shows that the interface will be used for the dedicated management network. “SAN” shows that the interface will be used for for iSCSI traffic for volume I/O.

7. Click OK.


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8. In the Warning dialog box, click Yes to restart the Group Manager GUI session using the new management IP address.

When the Group Manager GUI restarts, it uses the new management address. Any other open GUI or CLI sessions using the group IP address will eventually time out and close.

Note: If you run the GUI as an application and have a shortcut on the computer desktop, the group address in the shortcut is not updated with the new management address. You must uninstall and then reinstall the application. See Uninstalling the GUI Application on page 2-13.

Displaying Management Network InformationWhen a management network is configured and enabled for a group, the management address is shown in the Management IP address field in the GUI. (If no management network is enabled, this field is not shown.)

To see the managament address, click Group Configuration > General tab.


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Figure 4-4: Group Configuration with Management Network

The General Settings panel shows the group IP address, which is used for all volume I/O traffic, and the management address.

In addition, the Group Configuration > General tab contains a link called Configure management network. The same link is available on the Advanced tab. You can also see details about all the network and management interfaces on the group and its members by clicking Configure management network.

Unconfiguring a Management NetworkIf you decide to stop using a management network, you can unconfigure it and use all the interfaces on all group members for both iSCSI and management traffic.

Step 1: Disable the Management Network and Gateway

1. Click Group Configuration > General tab > Configure management network.


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2. Deselect the checkbox to enable a dedicated management network, then click OK.

3. Click Yes to confirm the operation. The Group Manager GUI will restart, using the group IP address.

4. Log back in to the GUI.

Step 2: Connect the Member Interfaces to the iSCSI Network

Connect the former management interface on each controller on each member to the same iSCSI network as the other member interfaces.

Note: Only one eth2 port is shown in the GUI for each member, but both (one on each control module) must be connected to the iSCSI network.

Step 3: Unconfigure the Management Interfaces

For each group member, you must unconfigure the management interface.


2. In the IP Configuration panel select the former management interface, and in the Activities panel, click Modify IP settings.

3. Change the IP address for the interface. The address must be on the same subnet as the other interfaces.

4. Deselect the checkbox to restrict the interface to management access.

5. Click OK.

The group no longer uses a dedicated management network. All members’ interfaces use the same gateway, and the group IP address is used for both volume I/O and group management.


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Controlling Performance Load Balancing

By default, a PS Series group offers automatic load balancing within storage pool members in a multi-member group for capacity, network connection, and performance. You can control whether this feature is enabled or disabled.• When performance load balancing is enabled, the group tries to put volume data on a

pool member with a RAID configuration that is optimal for volume performance. • When performance load balancing is disabled, volume data is balanced across the pool

members only by capacity.

For example, you can disable performance load balancing to restrict volume I/O traffic to specific interfaces or to a specific pool member (for example, with a specific RAID policy).

Enabling or Disabling Performance Load Balancing

Note: This feature is enabled by default.

1. Click Group Configuration > Advanced tab (Figure 4-5).


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Figure 4-5: Group Advanced

2. Do one of the following:– Select Enable performance load balancing in pools to enable

automatic load balancing. – De-select the checkbox to disable it.

3. Click Save ( ).

Note: Manually specifying a RAID preference for a volume or binding a volume to a member will disable automatic performance load balancing for that volume. See Setting a RAID Preference for a Volume on page 5-25 and Binding a Volume to a Member (CLI Only) on page 5-29 for more information.

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5 Managing Volumes

To access storage in a PS Series group, you allocate portions of a storage pool to volumes. Computers with iSCSI initiators can then connect to the volumes.

Only group administrators or pool administrators can create or modify a volume. For more information, see Managing Group Administration Accounts on page 3-11.

See Chapter 6, Managing Snapshots and Chapter 7, Managing Data Replication for information about managing volume snapshots and replicas.

Introduction to Volumes

In a PS Series group, each volume has a size, storage pool, and access controls. Optionally, you can reserve snapshot or replication space for a volume. Volume data is automatically load-balanced across pool members.

Volumes are seen on the network as iSCSI targets. Only computers with an iSCSI initiator and the correct access credentials can access a volume. The group automatically creates an iSCSI target name for each volume. This is the name that iSCSI initiators use to access the volume. An iSCSI target name must always agree with the iSCSI protocol specification, and includes a prefix (iqn.2001-05.com.equallogic), a string, and the volume name.

The following is an example of an iSCSI target name for a volume named db3:

iqn.2001-05.com.equallogic:7-8b0900-6d0000000-001ebbc5d80sf0k0-db3

For backup or disaster recovery purposes, you can create volume snapshots or replicate a volume to a different group. You can also clone a volume, snapshot, or replica to create an exact copy. See Chapter 6, Managing Snapshots and Chapter 7, Managing Data Replication for more information about snapshots and replicas.

You can group related volumes into a volume collection. You can then create snapshots or replicas of the volumes in one operation. In addition, you can set up schedules to create snapshots or replicas of volumes and volume collections at a specific time or on a regular basis.

Optionally, you can use thin provisioning to logically over-allocate SAN volumes. See Understanding Thin Provisioning on page 5-17 for more information.

Group Administration Managing Volumes

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Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots

In a PS Series group, access control records are used to control which computers can access a volume and its snapshots. Dell recommends that you control access to prevent multiple computers from simultaneously accessing a volume or snapshot and possibly corrupting data.

A volume and its snapshots share a single list of access control records (up to 16 for each volume). An access control record can apply to the volume, its snapshots, or both. For example, you can let a computer have access to both the volume and its snapshots and let another computer have access only to the volume’s snapshots.

In each record, you can specify one or all of the following, in any combination:• CHAP user name – Restricts access to computers that supply the specified CHAP user

name (and its associated password or “secret”). The user name must be the same as a local CHAP account or an account on an external RADIUS server. See Creating Local CHAP Accounts on page 3-23.

• IP address – Restricts access to computers with the specified initiator IP address (for example, 12.16.22.123). Use asterisks for “wild cards” (for example, 12.16.*.*). An asterisk can replace an entire octet, but not a digit within an octet.

• iSCSI initiator name – Restricts access to computers with the specified iSCSI initiator name.

To access a volume or snapshot, a computer must match at least one access control record.

For example, if a volume has only one access control record, which includes an IP address and CHAP user name, only a computer with that IP address and the appropriate CHAP credentials can access it. If an administrator creates another record that includes an iSCSI initiator name, a computer with that initiator can also access the volume.

You can also create a record that gives unlimited computer access. However, this is not recommended unless you are testing computer access to the volume. To prevent computer access to a volume or snapshot, delete all of its access control records. You can also set the volume or snapshot offline.

Optionally, a volume can have no access control record. Computers cannot connect to the volume until you create a record. You can set up access control records when you create a volume or later.


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Connecting Computers to Volumes and Snapshots

A volume can be accessed by an iSCSI initiator installed on a computer. Both hardware and software initiators are available from a variety of vendors. Install and configure initiators using the vendor-supplied instructions. Visit the customer support website for information related to your iSCSI initiator.

To access a volume, a computer must match at least one of the volume’s access control records, unless the volume has unlimited access. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-2 for more information.

Computer access to volumes is through TCP/IP port 3260 (the standard iSCSI port). Some iSCSI initiators use only this port number.

See your initiator documentation for the exact procedure for logging in to an iSCSI target. In most cases, specify the group IP address (not the group’s management address, if configured) as either the target portal or the discovery address in the initiator configuration utility.

If the initiator uses the discovery process, it will transmit a list of iSCSI targets that the computer can access. If you are using iSNS, the initiator will automatically discover targets from the iSNS server if the volumes and snapshots are online. Otherwise, you must specify the volume’s target name in the initiator configuration utility, and enter CHAP credentials if necessary for volume access.

After the initiator logs in to the iSCSI target, the computer sees the volume as a normal disk that can be formatted using the usual operating system utilities. For example, you can partition the disk and create a file system.

Note: In some file systems, volumes and snapshots must have read-write permission even if the file system will be read-only. See Changing Permission on a Volume on page 5-24 and Setting Snapshot Permission on page 6-8 for information about setting read-write permission on a volume or snapshot.


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Creating Volumes

When you create a volume, you specify the following common attributes: Table 5-1: Common Volume Attributes


Name Unique name, up to 64 alphanumeric characters (including periods, hyphens, and colons), used to identify the volume for administrative purposes.

The volume name is shown at the end of the iSCSI target name, which is generated automatically. Computer access to the volume is always through the iSCSI target name, not the volume name.

Description (Optional) Description for the volume, such as the application or department using it, or any other information, up to 128 bytes (ASCII characters) long.

Storage pool The pool in which to create the volume (default is the default pool). All the volume data will be stored on the members of the specified pool.

Size Size of the volume in MB or GB.

Volume sizes are rounded up to the next 15MB if the size is not a multiple of 15. Due to rounding, some volumes might require slightly larger replica reserve values, if you configure the volume for replication. See Replication Space Usage and Requirements on page 7-4 for more information.

Snapshot reserve By default, all volumes use the amount of snapshot reserve specified by the group-wide settings. This amount of space is reserved even if you never create a snapshot for the volume. You can deselect this attribute.

Access control records For initiators to connect to the volume, you must create at least one access control record. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots.

Access type Specifies whether the volume is read-write (the default) or read-only, and allows access from initiators with different IQN names.

For more information, see Enabling Multi-Host Access on a Volume on page 5-29.


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Creating a Volume

1. Click Volumes > Create volume.

2. Specify the volume name, description (optional) and pool (Figure 5-1), then click Next.

Figure 5-1: Create Volume - General Settings

3. Specify the volume size, unit of measure, and (optional) the amount of snapshot reserve as a percentage of the volume reserve (Figure 5-2), then click Next.

If creating the volume will exceed the capacity of the pool, the table cell showing free pool space will become red.


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Figure 5-2: Create Volume - Space Reserve

4. Select one or more access policies and enter the necessary information (Figure 5-3), then click Next.

Figure 5-3: Create Volume - iSCSI Access Policy



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Figure 5-4: Create Volume - Summary

The volume is created.

Displaying Volume Summary and Status

To see all the volumes in a group and their status, including current iSCSI connections, click Volumes in the far left column (Figure 5-5).


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Figure 5-5: Volume Summary

The Volumes panel shows information about each volume, including the storage pool, reported size, volume reserve, snapshot reserve, number of snapshots, status, replication partner, and number of iSCSI connections. Select a volume name to see volume-related tasks in the Activities panel.

The volume icon shows whether or not thin provisioning is enabled on the volume, and whether the volume is a failover or recovery volume:• Thin provisioning not enabled: • Thin provisioning enabled: • Recovery volume: (See Chapter 9 for information about recovery volumes.)

Move the mouse over a volume to see a pop-up message showing both the requested volume status and the current volume status. The requested status for a volume is set by an administrator. The current volume status, also shown in the status column in the Volume Summary window, is the actual status of the volume as reported by the group. For more information on volume status and troubleshooting, see Chapter 12, Diagnosing Problems.


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Displaying Volume Details

To see details about a specific volume, do either of the following:• Double-click the volume name in the Volumes panel• Click Volumes > volume_name > Status tab (Figure 5-6)

Figure 5-6: Volume Status

The General Volume Information panel shows:• Volume status• Access type and connections• Volume name, storage pool, and size• Replication settings, if any

Note: A volume can be offline due to a failure or administrator action. In addition, a thin provisioned volume can be set offline automatically if it uses all of its volume reserve. If volumes are offline, identify whether a failure has occurred. By default, snapshots are offline, although you can manually set a snapshot online.


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The Volume and Snapshot Space panel shows:• Reported size, thin provisioning status, and volume reserve• Snapshot reserve, space recovery policy, and number of snapshots• Volume distribution across pool members, RAID preference, and load balancing

policy

Displaying the iSCSI Target Name for a Volume

The Connections tab displays the iSCSI target name for a volume, and all the current connections to the volume, including information about the initiator address, connection time, and the amount of data sent.

Click Volumes > volume_name > Connections tab (Figure 5-7).

Figure 5-7: Volume Connections

The iSCSI target name is shown in the iSCSI target field. You can copy the name to the clipboard.


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Displaying Other Volume Information

The other tabs show additional information about the volume and let you manage the volume configuration.

Managing Access Control Records

Typically, you create access control records for a volume and its snapshots when you create the volume. However, at any time you can create more access control records, or modify or delete the current records.

Creating Access Control Records

Use this procedure if you did not create an access control record for a volume when you created the volume, or to add another access control record for the volume at any time.

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Access tab.

The Volume Access screen (Figure 5-8) shows the access control records for the volume and its snapshots.

Table 5-2: Volume Tabs

Tab Name Description

Access Displays the access control records for the volume and its snapshots. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-2 for more information.

Snapshots Displays the snapshot information for the volume. See Chapter 6, Managing Snapshots for more information.

Replication Displays the replication information and all replica sets for the volume. See Chapter 7, Managing Data Replication for more information.

Collections Displays the volume collection information for the volume. See Managing Volume Collections on page 5-34 for more information.

Schedules Displays the snapshot and replication schedule information for the volume. See Chapter 8, Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas for more information.


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Figure 5-8: Volume Access

2. In the Access Control List panel, click Add.

Figure 5-9: Add Access Control Record


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3. Select the access method (Figure 5-9) and specify the necessary information, and select whether the access control record will apply to the volume, its snapshots, or both (default), then click OK.

Displaying Access Control Records

Click Volumes > volume_name > Access tab (Figure 5-8).

The Access panel shows the records that have been created for the volume and its snapshots.

Select a record in the Access Control List panel to see details. An asterisk in a column means that any value is acceptable. If any access control record shows asterisks in the User name, IP address filter, and iSCSI initiator filter columns, the volume or snapshot is unlimited and all computers can access it.

Modifying an Access Control Record


2. In the Access Control List panel, select the record and click Modify.

The Modify Access Control Record dialog box contains the same fields as the Add Access Control Record dialog box.

3. Modify the access control record information and click OK.

Note: Do not modify a CHAP user name in an access control record or delete a record that includes a CHAP user name unless the target has no iSCSI connections. If you modify or delete an access control record that includes a CHAP user name, computers that have a current iSCSI connection to the target (volume or snapshot) might not be able to log in to the target again.

If you create an access control that limits computer access to an iSCSI initiator name, you cannot change the initiator name. Instead, you must delete the record and recreate it using the new name.


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Deleting an Access Control Record

If you delete all the access control records for a volume or snapshot, there will be no computer access to the volume or snapshot.


2. In the Access Control List panel, select the record and click Delete.

Modifying a Volume Name, Description, and Alias

You can modify the name and description for a volume.

You can also modify the iSCSI target name alias (public name) for a volume. If you are using the default group-wide volume setting, the alias is the same as the volume name. The volume alias is seen by some iSCSI initiators along with the iSCSI target name. It can help administrators identify the volume.

Note: If you rename a volume, the iSCSI target name (and any snapshot or replica set names) will not change. However, if you rename a volume and the volume alias is set to be the same as the volume name, the alias will change accordingly.

Modifying a Volume Name or Description

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings > General tab.

2. Modify the name in the Volume name field. The volume name must be unique and can contain up to 64 alphanumeric characters (including periods, hyphens, and colons).

3. (Optional) Specify a description for the volume in the Description field.

4. Click OK.


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Modifying a Volume Alias

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings > Advanced tab.

2. Specify a volume alias in the Public alias field and click OK.

Increasing the Size of a Volume

Increasing the size of a volume changes the reported size of the volume. If the new volume size you specify is not a multiple if 15MB, it is rounded up to the nearest multiple of 15.

Make sure you have sufficient free pool space on the group storing the volume, and sufficient delegated space on the partner if the volume is configured for replication. The secondary group will not recognize the volume size change until the next replication.

Note: To recognize the new volume size, computers that are currently connected to a volume must accept file system expansion. Not all operating systems, file systems, and applications accept increasing the size of a volume or behave in a predictable manner when a volume size is increased. Before increasing a volume size, know the effect on the operating system, file system, or application using the volume.

Because reserved snapshot and replication space is based on a percentage of the volume reserve, increasing the size of a volume usually causes an increase in snapshot and replication space. (If the volume has thin provisioning enabled, the volume reserve is less than or equal to the reported size. If not, the volume reserve is the same as the reported size.)

The alternative to increasing the size of a volume is to enable thin provisioning on the volume, if it is not enabled already. For information on enabling thin provisioning, including important considerations, see Enabling and Disabling Thin Provisioning on page 5-22.

For a thin-provisioned volume, increasing its size also increases the in-use warning value and maximum in-use space value (but not the percentages) because they are based on the volume size.


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To increase the size of a volume:

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings > Space tab (Figure 5-10).

Figure 5-10: Modify Volume Settings - Space

2. Specify the new volume size.

The values in the pool space table are updated. If the new volume size exceeds the capacity of the pool or the delegated space on the partner, the table cell showing the new space value space will become red

For a thin-provisioned volume, you can also modify the in-use warning value and maximum in-use space value using the slider bars.

If the volume is configured for replication, a table showing the replication partner delegated space is shown below the pool space table.

3. Click OK.


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Decreasing the Size of a Volume (CLI only)

You can decrease the reported size of a volume. This is called shrinking a volume.

Caution: Do not decrease a volume to less than the amount of space currently in use. You can lose data.

Snapshot reserve, local replication reserve, and replica reserve are based on a percentage of the volume reserve. (For a volume without thin provisioning, the volume reserve is the same as the reported size; for a thin-provisioned volume, the volume reserve can be less than or equal to the reported size.) Therefore, when a volume size is decreased, these reserves are also decreased, unless that would cause snapshots to be deleted. To prevent snapshot deletion, the snapshot reserve and local replication reserve are increased to a percentage that is sufficient to keep the snapshots.

To decrease the size of a volume, you must use the Group Manager command line interface (CLI). See the volume shrink command in the CLI Reference for more information.

Understanding Thin Provisioning

You can use thin provisioning technology to more efficiently provision storage, while still meeting application and user storage needs.

A volume has two capacity sizes associated with it:• The reported size is the size that is seen by iSCSI initiators. Computers connected to

the volume will associate this amount of space with the volume. • The volume reserve is the amount of space that is allocated to the volume.

For a volume without thin provisioning enabled, the reported size and the volume reserve are the same. For volume with thin-provisioning enabled, the reported size is greater than (or equal to) the volume reserve, because the volume is not fully allocated.

Normally, volumes are fully provisioned. That is, space equal to the volume size is allocated from free space. Because not all operating systems let you expand file systems or raw disks, you might have to allocate more storage space than the volume will use initially to accept possible future growth.


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For example, you might create a 100 GB volume for an organization that will use only a small fraction of the volume. Because the full 100 GB has been allocated to the volume, any unused volume space cannot be used for other purposes. If the space is never used, vital storage resources are wasted.

In contrast, a thin-provisioned volume is initially allocated only a portion of the volume size. As data is written to the volume, more space is automatically allocated (if available), and the volume reserve increases up to a specified limit. Regular event messages occur as space is used, giving you the opportunity to make adjustments.

The volume reserve for a thin-provisioned volume can automatically increase only if free pool space is available. If space is not available, the operation will fail. If in-use space consumes all the volume reserve, the volume will be set offline.

Because thin-provisioned volumes are allocated only the storage space that they actually use, you can more efficiently use storage resources, with no difficult resize operations on the computer.

Thin provisioning is most effective when you know how a volume will increase over time, the rate of growth is predictable, and users do not need immediate, guaranteed access to the full volume size. Administrators must monitor thin-provisioned volumes and be prepared to increase storage space by adding or moving arrays to the pool containing the volume. If you must guarantee the full volume size, thin provisioning is not recommended.

In a PS Series group, space utilization in a thin-provisioned volume is controlled by:• Volume size – Size that the group reports to iSCSI initiators (shown as reported size in

volume status). Computers connected to the volume will associate this amount of space with the volume.

• Minimum volume reserve – Minimum amount of pool space that the group will allocate to the volume. The default is 10% of the volume size.

As data is written to a thin-provisioned volume, volume reserve is consumed. When free volume reserve is less than 6 GB, the group will try to allocate additional pool space to the volume reserve, which can increase in size up to the maximum in-use space value described below. Space is allocated in increments of 10 GB, including the amount of free pool space.

If the pool does not have enough free space, the volume reserve will not increase. If in-use space consumes all the volume reserve, the volume will be set offline. If free pool space becomes available, the volume will be automatically set online.


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Snapshot reserve, local replication reserve, and replica reserve for a volume are all based on the current volume reserve, not the reported volume size.

• In-use space warning value – When in-use space is equal to this percentage of the volume size, a warning event message occurs. The default is the group-wide volume setting. See Configuring Group-Wide Volume Settings on page 3-17.

Additional warning messages occur according to the following policy:– For volumes larger than 200 GB, additional warnings occur when the in-use

volume reserve increases by every additional 10 GB.– For volumes smaller than 200 GB, additional warnings occur when the in-use

volume reserve increases by every additional 5%.• Maximum in-use space – Maximum percentage of the volume size that can be in use.

The volume reserve cannot increase above this value. The default is the group-wide volume setting. See Configuring Group-Wide Volume Settings on page 3-17.

If the volume uses all of its reserved space, it will be set offline. If pool space is available, and you increase the volume size or the maximum in-use space setting, the volume will be automatically set online.

You can enable thin provisioning on a volume when you create it, or later. For information about enabling and disabling thin provisioning on a volume, see Enabling and Disabling Thin Provisioning on page 5-22.

Creating a Volume with Thin-Provisioning

When you create a volume with thin-provisioning enabled, you can either use the group-wide default values for the following parameters, or specify different values:• Minimum volume reserve – The minimum amount of space to allocate to the volume.

The default is 10% of the volume size. As the volume is used, more space will be allocated to the volume, and the volume reserve will increase.

• In-use space warning value – When in-use space is equal to this value, as a percentage of the volume size, a warning event message occurs.

• Maximum in-use space value – When the in-use space is equal to this value, as a percentage of the volume size, the volume is set offline.

1. Click Volumes > Create volume.


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2. Specify the volume name, description (optional) and pool (Figure 5-11), then click Next.

Figure 5-11: Create Thin Volume - General Settings

3. Specify the volume size and unit of measure (Figure 5-12), and enable thin provisioning on the volume.

Either accept the default values or use the slider bars to specify the minimum volume reserve, in-use space warning threshold, and maximum in-use space value. Also (optional) specify the amount of snapshot reserve, as a percentage of the volume reserve, then click Next.

If creating the volume will exceed the capacity of the pool, the table cell showing free pool space will become red.


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Figure 5-12: Create Thin Volume - Space Reserve

4. Select one or more access policies and enter the necessary information (Figure 5-13), then click Next.

Figure 5-13: Create Thin Volume - iSCSI Access Policy


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Figure 5-14: Create Thin Volume - Summary

The volume is created.

Enabling and Disabling Thin Provisioning

At any time, you can enable or disable thin provisioning on a volume. See Understanding Thin Provisioning on page 5-17 for more information.

Enabling Thin Provisioning on a Volume

Enabling thin provisioning on a volume decreases the amount of space allocated to the volume (the reported size will be greater than the volume reserve).

Because snapshot reserve, local replication reserve, and replica reserve space are all based on a percentage of the volume reserve, enabling thin provisioning will change these values.


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When enabling thin provisioning on a volume, be aware of these issues:• Unused space that was allocated to the volume is added to free pool space.• The volume reserve will decrease. Because the snapshot reserve, local replication

reserve, and replica reserve are based on a percentage of the volume reserve, they will also decrease, unless that would cause snapshots to be deleted. To prevent snapshot deletion, the snapshot reserve and local replication reserve are increased to a percentage that is sufficient to keep snapshots.

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings > Space tab.

2. Select the checkbox next to Thin provisioned volume.

3. (Optional) Modify the minimum volume reserve, in-use space warning value, or maximum in-use space value by moving the relevant sliders. You cannot set the maximum value below the warning value.

4. Click OK.

Disabling Thin Provisioning on a Volume

Disable thin provisioning only when you have monitored a volume and found that the amount of in-use space stays significantly less than the reported size. You can disable thin provisioning for volumes that are nearing their maximum in-use space value.

Disabling thin provisioning on a volume will fully allocate the volume size from free pool space (the reported size and the volume reserve will be the same).

Because snapshot reserve, local replication reserve, and replica reserve space are all based on a percentage of the volume reserve, disabling thin provisioning will change these values.

When disabling thin provisioning on a volume, be aware of these issues:• The volume will use additional volume reserve, snapshot reserve, local replication

reserve, and replica reserve, unless the thin-provisioned volume was fully allocated (that is, the volume reserve and reported size were the same).

• If the volume is configured for replication, make sure that the partner has enough delegated space for the replica reserve to increase.

• In some cases, disabling thin provisioning on a volume will automatically decrease the snapshot reserve percentage to prevent a large amount of unused space.


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This can occur if the snapshot reserve percentage was increased to prevent snapshots from being deleted. (For example, the snapshot reserve percentage might have increased from 100% to 500%.) If thin provisioning is later disabled on the volume, and the snapshot reserve percentage would be excessive, the percentage will be decreased to a more appropriate value, closer to 100%, to keep snapshots.

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings > Space tab.

2. Deselect the checkbox next to Thin provisioned volume.

3. Click OK.

Setting a Volume Offline or Online

You can set a volume offline to make it temporarily inaccessible to computers (iSCSI initiators). Current iSCSI connections will be closed. Offline volumes cannot be found by iSCSI initiators during discovery or through iSNS.

To make the volume accessible again, set the volume online. All the members containing the volume’s data must be online, or you cannot set the volume online.

To set a volume offline, click:

Volumes > volume_name > Set volume offline

To set a volume online, click:

Volumes > volume_name > Set volume online

When a volume is set online, computers can connect to it if they have the right access credentials. See Connecting Computers to Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-3.

Changing Permission on a Volume

A volume can have either read-write (default) or read-only permission. To change the permission of an online volume to read-only, you must first set the volume offline.


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Note: An application might fail if it writes to a volume that has read-only permission.

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Set access type.

2. Change the read-write permission, then click OK.

For information about multi-host access, see Enabling Multi-Host Access on a Volume on page 5-29.

Setting a RAID Preference for a Volume

A PS Series group uses performance load balancing metrics (enabled by default) to automatically identify the RAID level that will give the best performance for the volume. For example, if a volume performs best with RAID 10, the group will try to keep the volume data on pool members configured with RAID 10.

However, you can manually specify a RAID preference for a volume (either RAID 10, RAID 50, or RAID 5), if your group includes members configured with the preferred RAID level. If a volume has a RAID preference, the group will try to store volume data on pool members with that RAID level.

Volume data is stored only on members of the specified storage pool. If you set a RAID preference for a volume and no member in the pool has that RAID level (for example, if you delete the only pool member with the preferred RAID level, or change its RAID level), the volume’s RAID preference will be ignored until a member is configured with the preferred RAID level. Until then, automatic capacity load balancing will be used.

Note: Setting a RAID preference for a volume overrides the automatic performance load balancing.

See Displaying Storage Pool Summary and Status on page 10-4 for information about identifying the RAID levels of the pool members.

To set a RAID preference for a volume:

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings > Advanced tab (Figure 5-15).


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Figure 5-15: Modify Volume Settings - Advanced

2. Under Volume storage preference, select the preferred RAID level and click OK.

Moving a Volume Between Pools

By default, a volume will be created in the default pool. In multi-member groups, you can divide group space into multiple storage pools on different members, and create volumes in those pools. All volume data will be stored on the members of the pool. See Chapter 10, Managing Storage Pools for information about setting up pools.

Only group administrators can move volumes between pools. Moving volumes between pools has no effect on users or applications.

You can move a volume to a different storage pool only if the new pool has free space equal to the size of the volume and any snapshot reserve and local replication reserve for the volume. If the pool does not have enough space, the volume will not move.

While a volume is moving, space equal to the volume reserve is allocated in both groups.

If you delete a pool that contains volumes, the volumes will be automatically moved to the default pool. If you cancel an in-progress volume move, the volume data will be moved back to the original pool.


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To move a volume from one pool to another:

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings > General tab.

2. Select the new pool for the volume, then click OK.

The Storage pool space table changes to show the new amounts of free and used space in each pool. If the pool does not have enough space for the volume, the table cell showing free pool space will become red.

Cancelling a Volume Move

You can cancel an in-progress volume move operation and move volume data back to the original storage pool.

Click Volumes > volume_name > Cancel volume moving

Managing Multi-Host Access to a Volume

In shared storage environments, you must control access to a volume (iSCSI target), both for security reasons and to prevent inadvertent corruption of the volume caused by multiple computers writing to it in an uncoordinated manner.

In PS Series Firmware releases prior to V4.0, volume access is managed only by access control records, which are based on any combination of initiator name, IP address, or CHAP user name. A computer must match the credentials in one record to access a volume.

However, access control records do not prevent multiple initiators, either on the same computer or different computers, from accessing the same volume. Unless your environment can manage multiple connections (for example, using a Distributed Lock Manager or SCSI reservations in a cluster environment, or a multipath I/O solution), a volume can be corrupted by allowing multiple connections from different sources.

To prevent this problem, PS Series Firmware V4.0 adds another layer of security: multi-host access.

By default, only one iSCSI qualified name (IQN) is allowed to connect to a volume at one time (that is, multi-host access is disabled). The best practice is for all initiators on a single


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server to use the same IQN. To allow multiple IQNs to connect to a volume, you must enable multi-host access to the volume.

When a computer tries to access a volume, if multi-host access is enabled, the group then compares the computer credentials to the volume’s access control records. If they match, access is allowed. If they do not match, access is denied. This is the same as the behavior in earlier firmware releases.

If multi-host access is disabled:• If no initiators are connected to the volume, the group compares the computer

credentials to the access control records. If they match, access is allowed. If not, access is denied.

• If an initiator is connected to the volume, the group compares the IQN of the current connection to the IQN of the incoming connection. If they are not the same, access is denied. If they are the same, the group compares the computer credentials to the access control records. If they match, access is allowed. If not, access is denied.

Do not enable multi-host access if your multipathing solution uses the same IQN on all initiators (for example, a software initiator and an HBA), or you can modify the names to be the same. If all initiators have the same IQN, they can access the same volume. The initiators manage the connections and prevent corruption.

Enable multi-host access if:• Your multipathing solution does not use the same IQN on all initiators, and you cannot

modify the names to be the same. • You use a cluster environment, which gives the initiators on each cluster computer a

different IQN. The cluster software manages the connections and prevents corruption.• You use an environment, such as a virtual server, that can manage multiple

connections to the same volume, for example, through SCSI reservations.

For all volumes, whether multi-host access is enabled or disabled, you must create access control records in order for a computer to connect.

Volumes created on groups running an earlier firmware version allow multiple initiator connections by default. If you upgrade a group from a previous firmware version, the volumes will continue to allow multiple initiator connections. After an upgrade, you must disable multi-host access on volumes, as appropriate.


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Enabling Multi-Host Access on a Volume

1. Do either of the following:– Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings >

Advanced tab.– Click Volumes > volume_name > Set access type.

2. Click the checkbox to enable shared access to the iSCSI target from multiple initiators, then click OK.

Disabling Multi-Host Access on a Volume

1. If applicable, disconnect all initiators from the volume except the preferred one. (If multiple initiators are connected when you try to disable multi-host access, the operation will fail.)

2. Do either of the following:– Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify volume settings >

Advanced tab.– Click Volumes > volume_name > Set access type.

3. Deselect the checkbox to enable shared access to the iSCSI target from multiple initiators, then click OK.

Binding a Volume to a Member (CLI Only)

You can configure a volume so that the group stores the volume data on one specific pool member, instead of divided among multiple members. If you bind a volume to one member, you will not get the performance benefits from load balancing data and network connections across multiple members.

Note: Binding a volume to a specific member overrides automatic performance, capacity load balancing, and RAID preference. See Controlling Performance Load Balancing on page 4-8 and Setting a RAID Preference for a Volume on page 5-25 for more information.

You can bind a volume only to a member that is in the same pool as the volume. If you bind a volume to a member and then delete that member from the pool or group, the bind will be cancelled.


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To bind a volume to a member, you must use the Group Manager command line interface (CLI). See the PS Series CLI Reference manual for more information.

Cloning a Volume

Cloning a volume creates a new volume with a new name and iSCSI target, but the same size, contents, and thin provisioning setting as the original volume at the time of the cloning. The new volume is created in the same pool as the original volume and is available immediately. Cloning a volume does not change the original volume.

A cloned volume consumes 100% of the original volume size from free space in the pool. If you create snapshots or replicas of the new volume, they will use additional pool space. You cannot select a different storage pool (if available) during the clone operation, but you can move the new volume to another pool later.

When cloning a volume, specify the following attributes:• Unique name for the volume, up to 64 alphanumeric characters (including periods,

hyphens, and colons). • (Optional) Description for the volume.• (Optional) Amount of space to reserve for snapshots.

The default is the group-wide volume setting. Snapshot space is reserved even if you never create a snapshot. You cannot create snapshots of a volume until you reserve space.

• Access control records for the new volume, and whether to enable multi-host access. See Creating Access Control Records on page 5-11, and Enabling Multi-Host Access on a Volume on page 5-29.

You can change the volume size, pool, and other attributes after creating the volume.

To clone a volume:

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Clone volume.

2. Enter the new volume name and (optional) description (Figure 5-16), then click Next.


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Figure 5-16: Clone Volume - General Settings

3. (Optional) Modify the amount of space, as a percentage of the volume reserve, to reserve for snapshots of the new volume (Figure 5-17), then click Next.

Figure 5-17: Clone Volume - Space Reserve

The values in the pool space table show the effect of the new volume on the pool space. If cloning the volume will exceed the capacity of the pool or the delegated space on the partner, the relevant table cell will become red.


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Figure 5-18: Clone Volume - iSCSI Access Policy

4. Specify the access control record for the new volume and its snapshots (Figure 5-18), then click Next.


Figure 5-19: Clone Volume - Summary

The new volume is shown in the list of volumes. You can optionally change the volume size, pool, and other attributes.


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Managing a Volume with Lost Blocks

In rare circumstances, such as if a power failure occurs and then a control module cache battery fails, a volume or snapshot might lose blocks. If the control module cache battery is the only power source for a control module for more than 72 hours after a power failure occurs, it can fail.

If a volume has lost blocks, the Volume Summary window (Figure 5-5) will show the current status of the volume as offline-lost-cached-blocks. If a snapshot has lost blocks, the Volume Snapshots window (Figure 6-2) will show the current status of the snapshot as offline-lost-cached-blocks. An event message occurs for volumes and snapshots that have lost blocks.

1. Select the volume or snapshot and click offline-lost-cached-blocks.

2. Do one of the following:– Click Set the volume online but retain the lost blocks to set the

volume or snapshot online but keep the lost blocks. The status will change to online-lost-blocks.If an application tries to read a lost block, an error occurs. If a lost block is written before it is read, the block will no longer have a status of lost. The member or members containing volume or snapshot data will show a status of RAID lost blocks until all of the lost blocks have been written with new data.

– Click Mark the lost blocks valid and set the volume online to set the status to valid and set the volume or snapshot online.The status will change to online.This option can be a security risk, and the blocks might contain old or invalid data. The status of the members containing volume data is set to normal.

Deleting a Volume

You can delete a volume and add the disk space to the free group space.

If you delete a volume, all the volume snapshots are also deleted. However, volume replicas on the secondary group are not deleted.


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Note: You must set the volume offline before you can delete it. Active iSCSI connections to a volume will be closed.

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Delete volume.

2. Confirm that you want to delete the volume and its data (Figure 5-20), then click Yes.

Figure 5-20: Confirm Volume Delete

Managing Volume Collections

A volume collection includes one or more volumes from any pool and simplifies the creation of snapshots and replicas. Volume collections are useful when you have multiple, related volumes and want to manage them as a single entity. In a single operation, you can create snapshots of the volumes (a snapshot collection) or replicas of the volumes (a replica collection).

Creating a Volume Collection

1. Click Volume Collections > Create volume collection.


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Figure 5-21: Create Volume Collection - General

2. Specify a name for the collection and an optional description (Figure 5-21), then click Next.

Figure 5-22: Create Volume Collection - Components

3. Select up to eight volumes for a collection (Figure 5-22), then click Next. A volume collection can contain volumes from different pools.


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Figure 5-23: Create Volume Collection - Summary


After you create a volume collection, you can configure a schedule that will create snapshots or replicas of all the volumes in the collection at the same time. For more information, see Chapter 8, Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas.


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Displaying Volume Collection Status

Click Volume Collections (Figure 5-24).

Figure 5-24: Volume Collections

The General Information panel shows the number of collections on the group.

The Volume Collections panel shows, for each volume collection:• The collection name and the volumes in the collection• The storage pool, size, snapshot reserve, number of snapshots, status, and replication

partner.

Select a collection name or volume name to see related tasks in the Activities panel.


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Displaying Details for a Volume Collection

Do either of the following:• Double-click a collection in the Volume Collections panel• Click Volume Collections > collection_name > Status tab (Figure 5-25)

Figure 5-25: Volume Collection - Status


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The snapshot and replication status of the collection and details about the collection volumes are shown. • See Chapter 8, Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas for information about setting up a

schedule for a volume collection.• See Displaying Snapshot Collections on page 6-16 for information about snapshot

collections. • See Displaying Replica Collections on page 7-24 for information about replica

collections.

You can perform operation on volumes in a collection from this panel. Select a volume name in the Collection Volumes panel to see volume tasks in the Activities panel.

Modifying a Volume Collection

You can modify a volume collection name, description, and the volumes that belong to the collection.

1. Click Volume Collection > collection_name > Modify volume collection.

2. Do one or both of the following:– Click the General tab to change the collection’s name or description.– Click the Components tab to add or remove volumes from the collection.

3. Click OK.

Deleting a Volume Collection

Deleting a volume collection does not delete the volumes in the collection or any snapshots or replicas associated with the volumes.

Click Volume Collection > collection_name > Delete volume collection.

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6 Managing Snapshots

A snapshot lets you capture the contents of a volume at a specific point in time. Snapshots greatly simplify and increase the performance of backup and recovery operations. You can create snapshots of volumes or volume collections.

Only group administrators or pool administrators can create or modify snapshots. For more information, see Managing Group Administration Accounts on page 3-11.

Introduction to Snapshots

A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of volume data. Snapshot creation does not disrupt access to the volume.

Like volumes, snapshots on the network look like iSCSI targets and can be set online and accessed by computers with iSCSI initiators. You can recover volume data by restoring a volume from a snapshot or by cloning a snapshot, which creates a new volume.

To create a snapshot, you must first reserve snapshot space for the volume. Snapshot reserve is taken from the pool containing the volume, and is based on a percentage of the current volume reserve.

You can create snapshots of:• An individual volume at the current time, or you can set up one or more schedules to

automatically create a snapshot at a specific time in the future or on a regular basis. See Creating Snapshots on page 6-3 and Scheduling Snapshots on page 6-11 for information.

• Each volume in a volume collection at the current time, or you can set up one or more schedules to automatically create a snapshot of each volume in the collection at a specific time in the future or on a regular basis. When you create snapshots of the volumes in a collection, the set of snapshots is called a snapshot collection. See Creating a Snapshot Collection on page 6-13 and Scheduling Snapshots on page 6-11 for information.

• Multiple volumes at the current time. The set of snapshots is called a custom snapshot collection, because it is not associated with a volume collection.See Creating a Custom Snapshot Collection on page 6-14 for information.

Group Administration Managing Snapshots

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A snapshot name is based on the volume name and the date and time when the snapshot was created (for example, staff1-2006-05-08-11:29:29.1). However, where the GUI shows snapshots under a volume name (for example, in the far left panel), the snapshots are identified only by the timestamp.

An iSCSI target name for a snapshot is also automatically created. The iSCSI target name includes an iSCSI prefix (iqn.2001-05.com.equallogic), a string, and the snapshot name.

As with volumes, computer access to snapshots is controlled by access control records. A volume and its snapshots share a list of access control records. You can specify that a record apply only to the volume, only to the volume’s snapshots, or to both the volume and its snapshots. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-2 for more information.

PS Series group snapshot technology uses a copy-on-write technique. When users make changes to the base volume (or to the snapshot), the group stores the changes in the snapshot reserve.

A warning is issued when the amount of free snapshot reserve for the volume falls below the warning threshold. You can increase the reserve if pool space is available.

Note: A snapshot relies on its base volume. If a volume is set offline because of a problem (for example, because a member is offline), all its snapshots will be set offline. If you delete a volume, all its snapshots are also deleted.

The following settings control the number of volume snapshots you can keep:• Snapshot reserve. The size of the snapshot reserve always limits the number of

snapshots for a volume, regardless of any schedule setting for the maximum number to keep. In some cases, the group might not be able to create the specified maximum number of snapshots to keep because the snapshot reserve is too small to hold that many snapshots.

• Snapshot space recovery policy. When the reserved snapshot space has been exceeded, the group will delete the oldest snapshots or set the volume and its snapshots offline, based on this setting.

• Maximum snapshots to keep schedule setting. When you create a snapshot schedule, you must specify the maximum number of snapshots created by the schedule to keep in the snapshot reserve. When the schedule creates its specified maximum number of snapshots, the oldest snapshots created by the schedule will be automatically deleted before a new snapshot is created.


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To use the data in a snapshot, you can clone the snapshot. See Cloning a Snapshot on page 6-12. For example, if a snapshot will be automatically deleted because of lack of snapshot reserve, you can clone the snapshot.

Creating Snapshots

You can create a snapshot of a volume at any time. Snapshot creation occurs instantly. The snapshot belongs to the same pool as the base volume.

Make sure that snapshot space is reserved for the volume. See Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7 for information about reserving snapshot space.

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Create snapshot (Figure 6-1).

Figure 6-1: Create Snapshot

2. (Optional) Enter a description for the snapshot.

3. Select whether to set the snapshot online, and whether to set read-write permission (the default is read-only) on the snapshot.

4. Click OK.

The snapshot is shown in the far left panel, under the volume name, identified by the date and time the snapshot was created (Figure 6-2).


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Displaying Snapshot Summary and Status

Click Volumes > volume_name > Snapshots tab (Figure 6-2).

Figure 6-2: Volume Snapshots

In the far left panel, snapshots are shown under the volume name and are identified by the date and time when the snapshot was created.

The Snapshot Summary panel shows details about the volume’s snapshot configuration, including the snapshot settings, the amount of free snapshot reserve, and any snapshot schedules for the volume.

If snapshot reserve is low, increase the size of the reserve. See Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7. If the snapshot reserve is exceeded, the snapshot space recovery policy will be applied.

The Snapshots panel shows details about each snapshot, including the date and time it was created, whether the snapshot is part of a snapshot collection, whether the snapshot was created from a schedule, the current status, permission, and iSCSI connections.


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Select a snapshot in the Snapshots panel to see related tasks in the Activities panel. For example, you can modify snapshot properties (name, description, or alias), clone the snapshot, set the snapshot online or offline, set the snapshot permission, or delete the snapshot.

Move the mouse over a snapshot to see a pop-up message showing both the current snapshot status and the requested snapshot status. See Chapter 12, Diagnosing Problems, for more information on snapshot status values.

If a snapshot is offline but it was set online by an administrator, make sure that all members that contain snapshot and volume data are online. Also, examine the volume status. If a volume is offline but was set online by an administrator, all its snapshots will be set offline.

Displaying Snapshot Details

Click Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp > Status tab.

Figure 6-3: Snapshot Status


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The Snapshot Status window shows details about the snapshot, including whether the snapshot was created from a volume collection or schedule, the current iSCSI connections, and the iSCSI target name. The Activities panel shows snapshot-related tasks.

If the snapshot belongs to a snapshot collection, click View snapshot collection to see details of the snapshot collection (Figure 6-13 and Figure 6-14).

Displaying Access Control Records for a Snapshot

Click Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp > Access tab.

The Snapshot Access window (Figure 6-4) shows the access control records for the snapshot and its base volume. A computer must exactly match one of the access control records in order to access the snapshot.

Figure 6-4: Snapshot Access

Select a record in the Access Control List panel to see details. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-2 for more information.


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Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume

The default snapshot settings for a new volume are the same as the group-wide settings. You can change the snapshot settings for an existing volume at any time. To change the group-wide default settings, see Configuring Group-Wide Volume Settings on page 3-17.

A volume has the following default snapshot settings: • Snapshot reserve. The amount of space, as a percentage of the volume reserve, to

reserve for snapshots of the volume. Default = 100% of volume reserve.• Snapshot space recovery policy. The action the group will take when the reserved

snapshot space has been exceeded. If a snapshot has active iSCSI connections, the connections will be closed before the action is taken. Default = delete oldest snapshot.

• Snapshot space warning level. When the amount of in-use snapshot space is equal to this value (set as a percentage of the snapshot reserve), an alarm occurs. For example, if a volume is 200 MB with 100% of the volume size reserved for snapshots, and the warning level is 90%, a warning occurs when in-use snapshot reserve is equal to 180 MB. Default = 90% of snapshot reserve.

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Modify snapshot settings (Figure 6-5).

Figure 6-5: Modify Snapshot Settings

2. Change the settings, then click OK.When you change the snapshot reserve, the values in the pool space table shown in Figure 6-5 are updated.


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If increasing the snapshot reserve will exceed the capacity of the pool, the new free pool space cell will become red.

Setting a Snapshot Online or Offline

An online snapshot can be accessed by computers. Set a snapshot offline to prevent computers from accessing the snapshot. If a snapshot was online and you set it offline, any iSCSI connections to the snapshot will be lost.

Setting a Snapshot Online

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp.

2. Click Set snapshot online.

3. Click Yes.

Setting a Snapshot Offline


2. Click Set snapshot online.

3. Click Yes.

Setting Snapshot Permission

A snapshot can have read-only or read-write permission.

To change the permission of an online snapshot to read-only, you must first set the snapshot offline. Caution: To prevent computers from writing to a snapshot, set its permission to

read-only (the default).


2. Click Set access type.

3. Change the permission, then click OK.


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Modifying Snapshot Properties

You can modify a snapshot name, description, or alias. The alias (public name) is seen by some iSCSI initiators along with the iSCSI target name. It can help administrators identify the snapshot.

If you rename a snapshot, and the iSCSI target name alias is set to be the same as the snapshot name (as described in Configuring Group-Wide Volume Settings on page 3-17), the alias will change to match the new snapshot name. The iSCSI target name will not change if you rename a snapshot.

You can also enable multi-host access for a snapshot. For more information about multi-host access, see Managing Multi-Host Access to a Volume on page 5-27.

Modifying a Snapshot Name or Description

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp > Modify snapshot properties.

2. On the General tab (Figure 6-7), enter the new snapshot name or description, then click OK.

Figure 6-6: Modify Snapshot Properties - General


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Modifying a Snapshot Alias


2. Click the iSCSI tab (Figure 6-7).

Figure 6-7: Modify Snapshot Properties - iSCSI

3. Enter the alias in the Public alias field, then click OK.

Enabling Multi-Host Access on a Snapshot


2. Click the iSCSI tab.

3. Click the checkbox to enable shared access to the iSCSI target, then click OK.

Disabling Multi-Host Access on a Snapshot


2. Click the iSCSI tab.

3. Deselect the checkbox to enable shared access to the iSCSI target, then click OK.


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Scheduling Snapshots

You can set up a schedule that lets you create snapshots of a volume or volume collection at a specific time in the future or on a regular basis.

Using a schedule can cause a large number of snapshots, so make sure that you have sufficient snapshot reserve. See Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7 for information on reserving snapshot space. You can also set a limit on the maximum number of snapshots created from a schedule.

See Chapter 8, Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas for information about creating a snapshot schedule.

Restoring a Volume from a Snapshot

When you restore a volume from a snapshot, the data in the volume is replaced with the data that the volume contained at the time the snapshot was created. The snapshot is still available after the restore operation.

Before the restore operation starts, a snapshot of the current volume state is automatically created. If the restore operation fails, or if for any reason you must put the volume back in its previous state, you can restore the volume from this snapshot.

After the volume is restored, you can set the volume online and reconnect iSCSI initiators to the volume. You can also change the volume properties.

All members that contain data from a volume or snapshot must be online to restore a volume from a snapshot.

1. Disconnect any iSCSI initiators from the volume. Follow the instructions for your operating system and initiator.

2. Set the volume offline by clicking:

Volumes > volume_name > Set volume offline

3. Set the snapshot you will use to restore the volume offline by clicking:

Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp > Set snapshot offline


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4. Restore the volume from the snapshot by clicking:

Volumes > volume_name > Restore from snapshot

5. Select the snapshot from the list and click OK to restore the volume.

Cloning a Snapshot

You can clone a snapshot to create a new volume with the same contents, size, and thin-provisioning setting as the original volume at the time the snapshot was created. The new volume is available immediately in the same storage pool as the original volume and can be used like any other volume. The snapshot is still available after cloning.

A cloned snapshot consumes 100% of the original volume size from free pool space. If you create snapshots or replicas of the new volume, they will use additional space.

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp > Clone snapshot.

2. In the subsequent dialog boxes, specify the new volume’s name, (optional) description and snapshot reserve, and access controls. See Cloning a Volume on page 5-30 for details.

Deleting a Snapshot

If you delete a snapshot that is part of a snapshot collection or a custom snapshot collection, the collection status will be incomplete.

Click Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp > Delete snapshot.

Managing Snapshot Collections

You can create snapshots of multiple volumes at the same time. For example, you can create snapshots of all the volumes in a volume collection in one operation. The set of snapshots, one for each volume, is called a snapshot collection and contains the contents of the volumes at the time the snapshots were created.


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In addition, you can create snapshots of multiple volumes in a single operation, without using a volume collection. The set of snapshots, one for each volume, is called a custom snapshot collection.

You can create snapshot collections at the current time (as described in Creating a Snapshot Collection on page 6-13) or by using a schedule (as described in Scheduling Snapshots on page 6-11).

Note: The snapshot space recovery policy applies to snapshots in a collection. Snapshots will be deleted or set offline, according to the policy. The maximum snapshot setting for the schedule also applies to snapshots in a collection. If a snapshot in a collection is deleted, the snapshot collection status will be incomplete.

Creating a Snapshot Collection

Before you create a snapshot collection of a volume collection, each volume must have sufficient snapshot space reserved. See Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7 for information about reserving snapshot space.

1. Click Volume Collection > collection_name > Create snapshot now.

Figure 6-8: Volume Collection - Create Snapshot

2. Enter an optional description for the snapshot collection (Figure 6-8) and click OK to create the snapshot collection.

The snapshot collection is shown under the volume collection name in the far left panel, identified by the date and time when the snapshots were created. The same timestamp is used to identify the individual snapshots, which are shown under their volume names.

The default snapshot collection name is the volume collection name followed by the date and time when the snapshots were created (for example, mailcol-2006-06-20-11:17:04.67). The snapshot collection name is shown when


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you move the mouse over the snapshot collection in the far left panel. The name is also shown in the Snapshot Collection window header (Figure 6-13).

Creating a Custom Snapshot Collection

You can create snapshots of multiple volumes in a single operation, without using a volume collection. The set of snapshots, one for each volume, is called a custom snapshot collection.

Before you can create a custom snapshot collection, all the volumes must have sufficient snapshot space reserved. See Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7 for information about reserving snapshot space.

If you often create snapshots of the same set of volumes, you can create a volume collection, and then create a snapshot collection of the volume collection. See Managing Volume Collections on page 5-34.

1. Click Volumes > Multi-volume snapshot.

Figure 6-9: Create Multi-Volume Snapshot - General Settings

2. Enter a name for the custom snapshot collection and an optional description (Figure 6-9) and click Next.


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Figure 6-10: Create Multi-Volume Snapshot - Components

3. Select the volumes (Figure 6-10) and click Next.

Figure 6-11: Create Multi-Volume Snapshot - Summary


The snapshots are shown in the far left panel under the volume names, identified by the date and time when the snapshots were created.

The name of a custom snapshot collection is the name you specified in the General Settings dialog box (Figure 6-9), followed by the date and time when the snapshots were created. For example, a custom snapshot collection named mailsnapcol is shown as mailsnapcol-2006-06-20-11:17:04.67.


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Displaying Snapshot Collections

You can see the snapshot collections created from a volume collection. You can also see the custom snapshot collections created from a multi-volume snapshot operation.

Snapshot collections are shown under the volume collection name in the far left panel, identified by the timestamp when the snapshot collection was created. Individual snapshots are shown under the volume names with the same timestamp.

Click Volume Collection > collection_name > Snapshots tab (Figure 6-12).

Figure 6-12: Volume Collection Snapshots

The snapshot collection status is either:• complete — Each volume in the collection still has a snapshot created by the

snapshot operation.• incomplete — A snapshot that was part of the collection was deleted, either

automatically or manually.

In the Snapshots panel, expand a snapshot collection to show the snapshots in the collection. Select a snapshot to see related tasks in the Activities panel. For example, you


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can modify the volume’s snapshot settings, clone a snapshot, set a snapshot online, change the permission for the snapshot (read-write or read-only), or delete the snapshot.

Displaying Snapshot Collection Details

Click Volume Collection > collection_name > timestamp (Figure 6-13).

Figure 6-13: Volume Collection - Snapshot Collection

The Snapshot Collection Status panel shows the integrity of the snapshot collection, in addition to the modification status of the snapshot collection, either:• not modified — No snapshot in the collection is currently set online with

read-write permission. • potentially modified — One or more snapshots in the collection are currently

set online with read-write permission.

The Snapshots panel shows specific information about the snapshots in the collection. Double-click an individual snapshot to see the Snapshot Status window, which shows details about the snapshot. See Displaying Snapshot Summary and Status on page 6-4 for more information about snapshot status.


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Displaying Custom Snapshot Collections

A custom snapshot collection is not associated with a volume collection. Therefore, to see information about a custom snapshot collection, you must know the timestamp of the snapshots in the collection.


2. In the General Snapshot Information panel, click View snapshot collection (Figure 6-14).

Figure 6-14: Custom Snapshot Collection

A custom snapshot collection shows a description of temporary collection in the Volume collection field.

Modifying a Snapshot Collection

You can modify the name and description for a snapshot collection created from a volume collection and also for a custom snapshot collection. The name and description are shown in the Snapshot Collection windows (Figure 6-13 and Figure 6-14).

Snapshot collections created from a volume collection are named after the volume collection, followed by the date and time when the snapshot collection was created.


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Custom snapshot collections use the name you specified, followed by the date and time when the custom snapshot collection was created.

1. Do one of the following:

– To modify a snapshot collection created from a volume collection, click Volume Collection> collection_name > snapshot_collection_timestamp (Figure 6-13).

– To modify a custom snapshot collection, click Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp > View snapshot collection (Figure 6-14).

2. Click Modify snapshot collection in the Activities panel (Figure 6-15).

Figure 6-15: Modify Snapshot Collection Settings

3. Modify the snapshot collection name, description, or both, and click OK.


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Deleting a Snapshot Collection

Deleting a snapshot collection also deletes the snapshots in the collection. • To delete a snapshot collection created from a volume collection, click:

Volume Collection > collection_name > snapshot_collection_timestamp > Delete snapshot collection

• To delete a custom snapshot collection, click:Volumes > volume_name > snapshot_timestamp > View snapshot collection > Delete snapshot collection

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7 Managing Data Replication

You can use data replication when designing your disaster recovery and business continuation strategies. By using data replication you can provide redundant storage of critical information across physically separate locations.

Note: Only group administrators can configure replication partners, but pool administrators can configure replication on volumes. For more information, see Managing Group Administration Accounts on page 3-11.

Introduction to Replication

Many disaster recovery solutions are available today. A solution must help you correct day-to-day mistakes, such as when users erroneously delete files or volumes, computer viruses, and site disasters.

Some solutions are time-consuming and involve backing up data and manually transporting the backups to a different physical location. Other solutions rely on expensive hardware and the ability to synchronously copy data over long distances, which can decrease application performance.

Replication technology in the PS Series firmware lets you copy volume data between groups, thereby protecting the data from a variety of failures, ranging from the destruction of a volume to a complete site disaster, with no effect on data availability or performance.

Similar to a snapshot, a replica is a copy of a volume at a specific point in time. A replica set is the set of replicas for a volume created over time.

A volume and its replica set are always stored in different groups. By separating the groups geographically, volume data is protected against a complete site disaster.

To replicate data between two PS Series groups, you must configure the groups as replication partners. The groups can be in the same building or an unlimited distance apart.

Note: There must be adequate network bandwidth and full IP routing between the groups.

Each replication partner plays a specific role in the replication of a volume. The volume is stored on the primary group, while the volume replica set is stored on the secondary

Group Administration Managing Data Replication

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group in space that the secondary group delegates to the primary group. The primary group sends (replicates) the data, and the secondary group receives the data. Mutual authentication offers security between partners.

You can create replicas of an individual volume or all the volumes in a volume collection. When you perform a replication operation on a volume collection, the set of replicas (one for each volume) created in that operation is called a replica collection. This way, you replicate data in related volumes in a single operation. You can also set up schedules to automatically create replicas or replica collections on a regular basis.

The first replication of a volume sends the entire contents of the volume to the secondary group. In subsequent replications, only the data that changed since the previous replication is sent to the secondary group. The longer a replication takes, or the longer the interval between scheduled replications, the more data might have to be transferred to the partner.

To recover volume data from replicas in the secondary group, you can clone an individual replica to create a new volume. You can also host a volume on the secondary group, either temporarily, for example to do backups, or permanently, to replace the primary group if it fails, or to change the roles of the primary and secondary groups.

If you are hosting the volume temporarily on the secondary group, you can later fail back to the primary group and use the original replication configuration.

Note: If you are transferring a large amount of volume data and your network link has insufficient speed or bandwidth, you can use manual transfer replication. This lets you copy the volume data to external media, send the media to the location of the replication partner, and then load the data from the media to the replica set on the secondary group.

Replication Configuration Options

For volume replication to occur, two or more groups must be configured as partners. Partners can be configured to perform any of the following:• One-way replication. One group replicates volumes to another group.• Reciprocal replication. Two groups replicate volumes to each other.• Centralized replication. Multiple groups replicate volumes to another group.


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Figure 7-1 shows one-way replication. Two groups, called AGroup and BGroup, are configured as replication partners. From the perspective of AGroup, which is replicating volumes to BGroup, replication of volumes AVol1 and AVol2 is outbound. From the perspective of BGroup, which is not replicating volumes to AGroup, replication of these volumes is inbound.

Figure 7-1: One-Way Replication

Figure 7-2 figure shows reciprocal replication, in which both groups replicate to each other. In this configuration, AGroup has delegated space to BGroup for storing its replica sets, and replication of volume BVol1 is outbound from BGroup and inbound to AGroup.

Figure 7-2: Reciprocal Replication


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Figure 7-3 shows a centralized replication configuration, in which two groups are replicating to a third group. In this configuration, CGroup has delegated space to both AGroup and BGroup.

Figure 7-3: Centralized Replication

Replication Space Usage and Requirements

Volume replication uses space on the primary group, where the volume is stored, and on the secondary group, where the volume’s replica set is stored, as shown in Figure 7-1.

Review the following terms and definitions:• Local replication reserve—On the primary group (where the original volume is

stored), space is used while a replication is in progress to record any changes that occur to the volume. When replication completes, this space is released unless you chose to keep a failback snapshot for the volume. In that case, the space is used to store the failback snapshot.


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The failback snapshot sets the failback baseline for the volume (that is, the time at which the data on the primary and secondary groups was the same) and can help you more quickly synchronize the groups during a failback operation by replicating only the data that changed.

After each replication completes, the failback snapshot is replaced with the most recent complete replica to update the failback baseline.

If the data in a volume changes while a replication is in progress, a snapshot of the volume is created in the local replication reserve to record the changes. When replication completes, the snapshot is deleted, unless you chose the option to keep a failback snapshot. If so, the snapshot becomes the failback snapshot and is not deleted. The failback snapshot is overwritten when the next replication completes, so that it always contains the same data as the most recent complete replica on the secondary group.

• Delegated space—On the secondary group (where the replicas are stored), space is delegated to each partner for the purpose of storing replicas from the partner. Delegated space has no default amount.

• Replica reserve—When you configure a volume for replication, you specify the portion of delegated space to use for storing the volume’s replicas.

See Calculating the Delegated Space and Replica Reserve Sizes and Calculating the Local Replication Reserve on page 7-6 for information about sizing replication space.

Calculating the Delegated Space and Replica Reserve Sizes

To calculate the amount of space to delegate to a primary partner group, add the replica reserve requirements for each volume that will be replicated from that group.

Replica reserve is based on the volume reserve. Therefore, if the volume size increases, the amount of replica reserve also increases.

Recommendation: The default and recommended value is 200%. The minimum amount of replica reserve is 105% of the volume reserve. There is no maximum amount. The practical limit depends on the amount of available delegated space on the partner, the number of volumes storing replicas on the partner, the size of those volumes, and their respective amounts of replica reserve.

Best practice is to use the default values, monitor your replication activity, and adjust any values as needed. Thin-provisioned volumes can increase unpredictably between replications. Dell recommends that you specify more replica reserve than necessary.


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Note: Volume sizes are rounded up to the next 15MB if the size is not a multiple of 15. Due to rounding, some volumes might require slightly larger replica reserve values.

The replica reserve space for a volume is used as follows:• The first replica uses 100% of the volume reserve from the replica reserve. The entire

contents of the volume are copied to the partner. For a thin-provisioned volume, only the in-use space is replicated, not the reported size.

• Each subsequent replication uses enough space to store the data that has changed since the previous replication. Replication will not complete unless the group has enough replica reserve to store the data. You can increase a specific volume’s replica reserve to complete a replication operation.

• When all the replica reserve is used, the oldest replicas are deleted from the replica set. However, the most recent complete replica is always kept and cannot be deleted.

To calculate the appropriate size of the replica reserve, identify the following:• The rate of change to the volume between consecutive replication operations.

Workloads can change over time. Although some applications do a consistent number of volume writes, others have a workload that changes daily. Also, volumes that receive more random writes can use more replication space than the actual volume changes suggest.

• Type of volume I/O. There might be no direct relationship between changes to the volume and the amount of replica reserve necessary. Volumes that receive more random writes might use more replica reserve, based on the actual volume changes.

• IT operations. Some disk operations can increase the amount of data that must be replicated. For example, defragmenting a disk or reorganizing a database on a volume that has already been replicated can cause a large transfer of data in the next replication. However, the defragmentation or reorganization can make subsequent replications more efficient.

• Number of replicas to keep. The more replicas you want to keep, the more replica reserve you will need.

Calculating the Local Replication Reserve

When you configure replication on a volume, you must specify the local replication reserve for the volume and, optionally, whether to keep a failback snapshot. Also, allow the volume to borrow from available free pool space.


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Recommendation: The default and recommended value is 100% of the volume reserve (without a failback snapshot), or 200% (with a failback snapshot). The range is 5% to 200%. Always allow the volume to borrow from available free pool space.

Configuring Replication Between PS Groups

To configure and use data replication, two administrators for two PS Series groups establish a reciprocal replication relationship between the groups. Each administrator logs in to their own group and adds the information about the other group.

For example, the administrator of AGroup, logged in to AGroup, configures BGroup as its replication partner. At the same time, the administrator of BGroup, logged in to BGroup, configures AGroup as its partner. (The administrators do not have to do these operations simultaneously. However, replication cannot occur until both administrators have configured the other group as the partner.)

Only group administrators can configure replication partners. For more information, see Managing Group Administration Accounts on page 3-11.

Then, each administrator configures replication on one or more volumes on their respective groups, to enable those volumes to replicate data to the other group. Each group acts as the primary group with respect to its own volumes, and as the secondary group with respect to the replicated data it receives from another group.

Note: Mutual replication is not required. One group can replicate volumes to the other, but the secondary group does not have to replicate volumes to the primary group. However, both groups must be configured as replication partners even if only one group is replicating data.

Finally, each administrator creates replicas of those volumes, either through a schedule (which the administrator configures) or individually.

Note: To use features such as manual transfer replication and failback, both partners must be running PS Series firmware version V3.2 or higher, and both partners must have firmware downgrades disabled.


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Replication Partner Checklist

The administrator of each group (primary and secondary) must configure the other group as its replication partner. Each administrator must know or obtain the following information:• Partner identification (name, group IP address, and description of the partner group).• Contact information (name, e-mail address, phone and mobile number of the

administrator for the partner group).

- Names can be up to 64 alphanumeric (ASCII) characters, including spaces.

- E-mail addresses can be up to 32 alphanumeric (ASCII) characters, including spaces, the “@” sign, dots, dashes, and underscores.

- Phone and mobile numbers can be up to 32 alphanumeric (ASCII) characters, including spaces, dots, dashes, and parentheses.

• Passwords that each group will use to access and authenticate the other. Two passwords are necessary for mutual authentication between groups. Each partner supplies a password to the other partner, which validates the password.

You will not know about password or configuration problems until replication is enabled on a volume. If you receive a login error message, make sure that the reciprocal passwords on the partners agree.

• Amount of space to delegate to the partner.

Configuring Replication Partners

The administrator for each group must do the following on their own group:

1. Click Replication Partners > Configure partner.

2. Enter the name, group IP address, and (optional) description for the partner, then click Next.

Do not use the management address, if the partner has a management network configured. (See About Dedicated Management Networks on page 4-1.)

3. (Optional) Enter the name, e-mail address, and phone number or mobile number for the partner administrator, then click Next.


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4. Enter the passwords that the partners will supply to each other to allow communication, then click Next.

- In the Password for partner field, specify the outbound password, which is the same as the inbound password on the partner. The administrator for the partner must specify this password in the Password obtained from partner field when configuring the current group as a partner.

- In the Password obtained from partner field, specify the inbound password, which is the same as the outbound password on the partner.

5. Enter the amount of space this group will delegate to the partner for storing replicas from the partner, select the pool for the delegated space, and then click Next.

By default, delegated space is taken from the default pool. Free pool space is immediately decreased by the amount of delegated space, and can show a negative value until communication occurs between the partners.

Delegated space is not visible in the Group Manager GUI or CLI output until replication is enabled on a volume. For more information on calculating the amount of delegated space, see Calculating the Delegated Space and Replica Reserve Sizes on page 7-5.

6. Review the information and click Finish.

Example of Configuring One-Way Replication

The following figures show examples of configuring two groups as replication partners.

In this example, AGroup is replicating volumes to BGroup, so BGroup must delegate space for AGroup’s replicas. However, BGroup is not replicating volumes to AGroup, so AGroup does not delegate space for BGroup.

Each pair of figures shows one step in the process, starting with AGroup.


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Step 1: Specifying the partner identification. In this step, you specify the partner’s group name, group IP address, and an optional description.

Figure 7-4: Partner Identification on AGroup

Figure 7-5: Partner Identification on BGroup


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Step 2: Specifying the contact information. In this step, you optionally specify the name, e-mail address, and phone numbers for the partner administrator.

Figure 7-6: Contact Information on AGroup

Figure 7-7: Contact Information on BGroup


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Step 3: Setting the mutual authentication passwords. In this step, you specify the reciprocal passwords for the partners. The figures show how to enter the passwords when configuring the partners. In the actual dialog boxes, the passwords will not be shown.

Figure 7-8: Authentication Information on AGroup

Figure 7-9: Authentication Information on BGroup


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Step 4: Delegating space to the partner. In this step, specify how much space to delegate to the partner and the pool containing the space. If you specify more space than the pool contains, the table cell showing free pool space will be red.

Figure 7-10: No Space on AGroup is Delegated to BGroup

Figure 7-11: Space on BGroup is Delegated to AGroup


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Step 5: Review the information. Review the information and click Finish.

Figure 7-12: Summary Information on AGroup

Figure 7-13: Summary Information on BGroup


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Modifying a Replication Partner

You can modify the name, group IP address, amount of delegated space and its pool, passwords, and contact information for a replication partner. • Changing the pool for the partner’s delegated space moves all the replicas and

recovery volumes for the partner to the new pool.• If you change the inbound or outbound password for a partner, the administrator for

the partner group must make the reciprocal change on the partner group.• You cannot decrease the space delegated to a partner below what is currently being

used to store the partner’s replicas.

Note: Replication management changes made on the secondary group will not be updated on the primary group until the next replication occurs.

1. Click Replication partners > partner_name.

2. Do one or more of the following, then click OK:

- Click Modify settings to change the partner name, group IP address, description, and contact information. Click OK to apply the changes.

- Click Modify passwords to change the passwords. Click OK to apply the changes.

- Click Modify delegated space to change the amount of space delegated to the partner or the pool containing the delegated space. The Space Utilization table shows how pool space is currently being used and how much space will be used after the change. If the new delegated space will exceed the capacity of the pool, the table cell showing free pool space will be red.

Deleting a Replication Partner

Deleting a replication partner breaks the replication relationship between the two groups. The next replication of a volume configured to use the deleted partner will fail or be paused.Caution: Deleting a replication partner deletes all inbound replicas from the partner

that are stored in the group, and releases the delegated space. Make sure the administrator of the partner group knows you are deleting the partner, and that the partner group’s replicas will be deleted.


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Replicas stored on the deleted partner are not deleted, and can be accessed by logging in to the partner.

Before you delete a partner, you must:• Pause inbound replication from the partner.• If the partner is hosting recovery volumes, do one of the following:

- Demote any recovery volumes to inbound replica sets (which will be deleted when you delete the partner). On the secondary group, double-click the recovery volume in the far left panel and click Demote to replica set in the activities panel.

- Promote the recovery volumes to permanent volumes, which breaks the association between the recovery volume and the original group. See Permanently Promoting a Replica Set to a Volume on page 9-25.

To delete a replication partner:

1. Click Replication Partners > partner_name > Pause inbound.

2. Click Delete partner.

Configuring a Volume or Volume Collection for Replication

To replicate a volume, you must do the following:• Configure the volume for replication. • If you are replicating a volume collection, configure replication on all the volumes in

the collection, and on the collection itself. The collection and all of its volumes must be configured to replicate to the same partner.


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When you configure a volume for replication, you specify the following attributes:• Replication partner. A group can have multiple replication partners configured, but a

volume can replicate to only one partner. See Configuring Replication Between PS Groups on page 7-7 for more information.

• Replica reserve on the partner. The portion of delegated space on the secondary group that will store the volume’s replica set. See Calculating the Delegated Space and Replica Reserve Sizes on page 7-5 for more information.

• Local replication reserve. The amount of pool space on the primary group that will be used to store volume changes during replication and, optionally, store a failback snapshot. See Calculating the Local Replication Reserve on page 7-6 for more information.

• Whether the volume can borrow from free pool space. This allows the volume to use free space temporarily if the local replica reserve is inadequate, so the replication can complete. This is the default and recommended option.

Configuring a Volume for Replication

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Configure replication.

2. Select the replication partner and specify the replica reserve and local replication reserve (Figure 7-14), then click Next.

Figure 7-14: Configure Replication - General Settings


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3. Select whether to keep a failback snapshot (Figure 7-15), then click Next.

Figure 7-15: Configure Replication - Advanced Settings

You can modify the volume’s replication configuration at any time to select this option. The failback baseline will be set when the next replication occurs.



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Figure 7-16: Configure Replication - Summary

5. A dialog box opens, letting you create a a replica now (Figure 7-17).

Figure 7-17: Create Replica Now?

Do one of the following:

- Click Yes if the volume is not part of a volume collection that you are configuring for replication, and you want to create a replica now. You can also select the manual transfer replication option. For more information, see Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually.

- Click No if the volume is part of a volume collection and the other volumes or the collection are not yet configured for replication, or you do not want to create a replica now.

The volume is configured for replication.


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Configuring a Volume Collection for Replication

To replicate a volume collection, all the volumes in the collection, and the collection itself, must be configured to replicate to the same partner. You can configure the volumes for replication individually (see Configuring a Volume for Replication on page 7-17) or while configuring the collection for replication.

1. Click Volume Collection > collection_name > Configure replication.

2. If the group has more than one replication partner configured, choose a partner from the drop-down list. The collection and all of its volumes must replicate to the same partner.

If a volume in the collection is already configured for replication, the Replicated To column will show a link for the replication partner. If a volume is not configured for replication, the link says not replicated (Figure 7-18).

Figure 7-18:

3. For each volume that is not configured for replication, click the link to configure replication for a volume. See Configuring a Volume for Replication on page 7-17.

4. When all volumes in the collection are configured for replication, click OK.


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Creating Replicas

You can create replicas of individual volumes or volume collections at any time. Alternately, you can set up a schedule for the creation of replicas. See Scheduling Replication on page 7-21.

The set of replicas for a volume is called a replica set. If you replicate a volume collection, the set of replicas created by the operation is called a replica collection. When complete, a replica collection contains one replica for each volume in the collection. Each replica contains the contents of the volume at the time the replication operation started. All the replica collections for a specific volume collection are called a replica collection set.

Before you can create a replica, you must set up the replication partners (see Configuring Replication Partners on page 7-8) and configure replication on the volume and volume collection, if applicable (see Configuring a Volume for Replication on page 7-17).

Creating a Replica of a Volume

1. Click Volumes > volume_name > Create replica now.

2. Click Yes to create a replica now, and (optional) select the option to use manual transfer replication if the network bandwidth between the partners is inadequate or too slow for a large replication operation. For more information, see Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually.

Creating a Replica Collection of a Volume Collection

1. Click Volume collection > collection_name > Create replica now.

2. Click Yes to create a replica collction now, and (optional) select the option to use manual transfer replication if the network bandwidth between the partners is inadequate or too slow for a large replication operation. For more information, see Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually.

Scheduling Replication

Schedules create replicas of a volume or all the volumes in a collection at a specific time or on a regular basis.


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Note: Schedules apply only to network replications. Scheduled replications will not run until any in-process manual transfer replications are complete.

Before you set up a replication schedule, make sure that a replication partner is configured for the group (see Configuring Replication Partners on page 7-8) and that the volume or volume collection is configured for replication (see Configuring a Volume or Volume Collection for Replication on page 7-16).

For more information about creating a replica schedule, see Chapter 8, Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas.

Displaying Replication Information

The Group Manager GUI shows the status of individual replicas, in addition to replication operations. The status on the primary group is different from the status on the secondary group. For more information about replica and replication statuses, see Monitoring Replication on page 12-13.

Note: Individual replicas are identified by the date and time that the replication operation started. From the perspective of the primary group, the timestamp is based on the time zone set on the primary group. However, from the perspective of the secondary group, the timestamp is based on the time zone set on the secondary group.

Displaying the Replication Configuration for a Volume

Click Volumes > volume_name > Replication tab (Figure 7-19).


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Figure 7-19: Volume Replication – Volume Replicas

The Replication Summary panel shows the following information about the volume:• Replication Settings – Partner that is storing the volume’s replicas, the size of the

replica reserve on the partner, and the size of the local replication reserve on the primary group.

• Status – Whether failback replication is enabled, the timestamp of the failback snapshot stored on the primary group (sets the failback baseline for the volume), and the size of any pending data transfers.

• Replication Schedules – The number of schedules, how many are running currently, and the time of the next scheduled replication.

The Remote Replicas panel shows the replicas in the volume’s replica set on the secondary group, and the status of the individual replicas. Each replica is identified by the date and time the replication operation started. Select the replica set or a replica to see related tasks in the Activities panel.

In the Remote Replicas panel, click Replication History to show details about each replication operation, including when it started, the duration of the replication, and the size and speed of the data transfer. The duration includes the amount of time during which replication was paused or the network was down.


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Note: If replication operations are taking longer than expected, make sure you have adequate network bandwidth between the groups, in addition to full IP routing. A slow network link can cause long replication times.

Displaying Replica Collections

When you replicate a volume collection, the set of replicas is called a replica collection. When complete, a replica collection contains one replica for each volume in the collection. Each replica contains the contents of the volume at the time the replication operation started.

All the replica collections for a specific volume collection are called a replica collection set.

Click Volume collection > collection_name > Replicas tab (Figure 7-20).

Figure 7-20: Volume Collection Replicas

The Remote Replicas panel shows the volume collection’s replication configuration and the replica collection set for the volume collection. Expand a specific replica collection to see the individual replicas.


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Select the replica collection set to see related tasks in the Activities panel. For example, you can disable replication to the partner, delete an individual replica collection, or delete the entire replica collection set.

Select a specific replica to see related tasks in the Activities panel. For example, you can delete a replica.

Displaying Replication Activity Between Partners

Click Replication Partners in the far left column (Figure 7-21).

Figure 7-21: Replication Partner Summary

The Delegated Space panel shows the following:• Outbound space, which is the space delegated to the group on all the replication

partners and used to store the group’s replicas. • Inbound space, which is the space on the group that is delegated to all the replication

partners and used to store partner replicas.

The Replication panel shows two entries for each replication partner. The arrows in the Direction column show the direction of the replication. The top entry describes outbound replication from the group to the partner, and the bottom entry describes inbound


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replication from the partner to the group. The Replication panel also shows the amount of space the partners have delegated to each other and the amount of free delegated space.

Note: If the available delegated space is low, the secondary group administrator can increase the space delegated to the primary group. See Modifying a Replication Partner on page 7-15.

Select a partner in the Replication panel to see related tasks in the Activities panel. For example, you can modify the partner configuration, delete the partner, or pause replication between the partners.

Displaying Details for a Specific Partner

Click Replication partner > partner_name > Status tab (Figure 7-22).

Figure 7-22: Replication Partner Status

The Status tab shows the partner configuration, inbound and outbound replication status, including the number of volumes or volume collections replicated, and any in-progress replication operations.


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Displaying Outbound Replication Status

Click Replication partners > partner_name > Outbound tab (Figure 7-23).

Figure 7-23: Outbound Replication – All Volumes

The Replica Space panel shows the usage of the space that the partner has delegated to the current group.

If the delegated space on the partner is too low, the partner administrator can increase the delegated space. See Modifying a Replication Partner on page 7-15.

In the Remote Replicas panel, you can:• Click Volume replicas to display replica sets for the volumes on the group.

When you select a volume name in the panel, or expand a volume name and select a specific replica, related tasks for that object are shown in the Activities panel.

• Click Collection replicas to display volume collection replicas (replica collections).


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When you select a collection name in the panel, or expand a collection name and select a specific replica set or replica, related tasks for that object are shown in the Activities panel.

• Click Replication history to display details about the last 10 replication operations for each volume (Figure 7-24), including the duration of the replication and the size and speed of the data transfer. The duration includes the amount of time during which replication was paused or the network was down.

Figure 7-24: Outbound Replication – Replication History


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Displaying Inbound Replication Status

Click Replication partners > partner_name > Inbound tab (Figure 7-25).

Figure 7-25: Inbound Replication – Volume Replicas

The Delegated Space panel shows how much delegated space has been used and the failback replica space, which is the total amount of space for a failback replica set associated with volumes that were previously replicating to the partner.

To increase the delegated space, see Modifying a Replication Partner on page 7-15.

In the Local Replicas panel, click Volume replicas to see the volumes that the partner is replicating to the group, replication details, and status. For more information on replica and replication status values, see Monitoring Replication on page 12-13.

To increase the replica reserve, see Configuring a Volume or Volume Collection for Replication on page 7-16.

Select a volume name in the Local Replicas panel to see related tasks in the Activities panel. For example, you can clone a replica, promote the replica set, delete a replica, or delete the replica set.


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Expand a volume to show the volume replicas (the replica set). Select a replica to see related tasks in the Activities panel. For example, you can clone a replica or delete a replica.

In the Local Replicas panel, click Collection replicas to see the volume collections that the partner is replicating to the group, as shown in Figure 7-26.

Figure 7-26: Inbound Replication – Collection Replicas

Select a volume collection to see related tasks in the Activities panel. For example, you can delete the replica collection set or an individual replica collection.

Expand a volume collection to show the replica collection set. Expand a replica collection to show the individual replicas.


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Modifying the Replication Settings on a Volume

At any time, you can modify the following replication settings for a volume:• Amount of replica reserve (on the partner)• Amount of local replication reserve (on the primary group)• Whether to let the volume borrow from free pool space (recommended)• Whether to keep a failback snapshot

Changes take effect on the next replication.

1. On the primary group, click Volumes > volume_name > Modify replication settings.

2. Do one or both of the following:

- Click the General tab and change the amount of replica reserve, the amount of local replication space, or whether to let the volume borrow free pool space (recommended) or not.

- Click the Advanced tab to change whether to keep a failback snapshot or not.

3. Click OK.

Disabling Replication on a Volume or Volume Collection

Disabling replication completely stops replication for the volume or volume collection, and stops any replication schedules for the volume or volume collection. If you later reconfigure replication on the same volume or collection, the first replication of each volume will transfer the entire volume contents. Disabling replication does not delete the volume replicas stored on the partner.

Alternately, you can pause replication instead of disabling it. See Pausing and Resuming Replication on page 7-32.

To disable replication on a volume, click:

Volumes > volume_name > Disable volume replication


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To disable replication on a volume collection, click:

Volume Collection > collection_name > Disable collection replication

Pausing and Resuming Replication

You must pause (temporarily stop) replication to do certain tasks like promoting a replica set. You can later continue the replication if it does not continue automatically.

Pausing Replication for a Volume

Click Volumes > volume_name > Pause replication.

Pausing Outbound Replication to a Partner

Click Replication Partners > partner_name > Pause outbound.

Pausing Inbound Replication from a Partner

Click Replication Partners > partner_name > Pause inbound.

Resuming Replication for a Volume

Click Volumes > volume_name > Resume replication.

Resuming Outbound Replication to a Partner

Click Replication Partners > partner_name > Resume outbound.

Resuming Inbound Replication from a Partner

Click Replication Partners > partner_name > Resume inbound.


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Cancelling a Replication

You can cancel an in-progress volume replication.

Note: To temporarily stop volume replication instead of cancelling it, pause the replication. See Pausing and Resuming Replication on page 7-32.

Click Volumes > volume_name > Cancel replication.

Deleting Outbound Volume Replicas

You can delete replicas or replica sets for a volume at any time. You cannot delete the most recent replica in a replica set, but you can delete the entire replica set containing the most recent replica.

Replicas and replica sets are visible on both groups, but are physically stored on the secondary group. Always delete volume replicas while you are logged in to the primary group, where the volumes are stored, unless the primary group is no longer available.

During a delete operation, the primary group communicates with the secondary group, where the replicas and replica sets are stored, to update the information for both groups. When the delete operation completes, both groups record the operation and the deleted objects are removed from the displays of both groups. If you delete replicas and replica sets while logged in to the secondary group, the primary group information is not updated and errors can result.

Figure 7-27 shows the outbound replicas for the volumes on a primary group, shown from that group’s perspective.


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Figure 7-27: Outbound Replicas for Volumes on group1

Replicas of volume “test”

Replica set for volume “test”

Note: If a volume belongs to a volume collection that has been replicated, the volume replicas are displayed for both Volume replicas and Collection Replicas. You can delete a replica or replica set from either display, which also deletes it from the other display, with no harmful effect on the collection set. (Collection replicas are not considered incomplete or broken if some of the replicas have been deleted.)

} }


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Deleting An Outbound Replica Set

Deleting a replica set disables replication for the volume. To create more replicas, you must reconfigure replication for the volume.

1. On the primary group, do one of the following:

- Click Volumes > volume_name > Replication tab.

- Click Replication partners > partner_name > Outbound tab.

2. In the Remote Replicas panel, click Volume replicas.

3. Select the replica set, then click Delete replica set.

A dialog box warns you that replication for the volume will stop and delete all replicas on the partner.

4. Click Yes.

Deleting an Outbound Replica

You cannot delete the most recent replica. If there is only one replica in a replica set, you can delete the replica set. See Deleting An Outbound Replica Set.

1. On the primary group, do one of the following:

- Click Volumes > volume_name > Replication tab.

- Click Replication partners > partner_name > Outbound tab.

2. In the Remote Replicas panel, click Volume replicas.


- Expand the replica set, select the replica to delete, then click Delete replica. Then, click Yes.

- Select the replica set and click Delete replicas. Select the replica from the list, then click OK.


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Deleting Outbound Collection Replicas

You can delete a replica collection set, a replica collection within a set, or a replica within a collection. Always delete collection replicas on the primary group, where the volume collection is stored, unless the primary group is no longer available.• A replica collection set is the set of all replica collections for a volume collection on

the primary group. It is named for the volume collection on the primary group.• A replica collection is the set of replicas of the volumes in the volume collection on

the primary group. It is identified by a timestamp for the date and time of the replication.

• A replica is identified by the name of one of the volumes in the volume collection.

Figure 7-27 shows detail for the outbound collection replicas for a volume collection called “coll1” on the primary group.

Figure 7-28: Outbound Replica Detail for Volume Collection

Replicas of volumes in volume collection “coll1.” The volume replicas and the replica collection ( ) have the same time stamp.

Replica collection for volume collection “coll1.”

Replica collection set for volume collection “coll1.”


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Note: If a volume belongs to a volume collection that has been replicated, the volume replicas are displayed for both Volume replicas and Collection Replicas. You can delete a replica or replica set from either display, which also deletes it from the other display, with no harmful effect on the collection set. (Collection replicas are not considered incomplete or broken if some of the replicas have been deleted.)

Deleting an Outbound Replica Collection Set

Deleting a replica collection set deletes all the replica collections and replicas in the collection set, and the collection set itself.

1. Click Replication Partners > partner_name > Outbound tab.

2. In the Remote Replicas panel, click Collection replicas.

3. Select the replica collection set and click Delete replica collection set.

4. Click Yes.

Deleting an Outbound Replica Collection

You can delete one or more replica collections from a replica collection set. Deleting the last collection from a collection set does not delete the collection set. If the collection set contains only one replica collection, you can delete the collection set. See Deleting an Outbound Replica Collection Set.

If there is only one replica in a replica set, you can delete the inbound replica set. See Deleting an Inbound Replica Collection on page 7-40.

1. Click Replication partners > partner_name > Outbound tab.


3. Expand the replica collection set.

4. Select the replica collection, then click Delete replica collection.

5. Click Yes.


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Deleting an Outbound Replica

You can delete one or more replicas from a replica collection in a replica collection set. Deleting replicas has no effect on the completeness of the replica collection or the replica collection set. You cannot delete the most recent replica.

If the replica collection contains only one replica, you can delete the replica collection. See Deleting an Outbound Replica Collection on page 7-37.

1. Click Replication partners > partner_name > Outbound tab.


3. Expand the replica collection set, then expand the replica collection.

4. Select the replica, then click Delete replica.

5. Click Yes.

Deleting Inbound Volume Replicas

You can delete a partner’s replicas and replica sets that are stored locally on the group (inbound replicas). Caution: If possible, always delete replicas from the perspective of the primary group.

Use these procedures only if the primary group is no longer available. Make sure the administrator of the partner group knows that you are planning to delete the partner’s replicas. Deleting an inbound replica or replica set stops the volume replication, deletes the partner’s replicas, and might make the partner unable to recover data.

Before deleting an inbound replica or replica set, you must pause inbound replication from the partner. See Pausing and Resuming Replication on page 7-32.


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Deleting an Inbound Replica Set

Replicas and replica sets are visible on both groups, but are physically stored on the secondary group. If the primary group is no longer available, you can delete replica sets stored on the secondary group for volumes on the primary group.

Deleting inbound replica sets does not stop replication from the primary volume.

1. On the secondary group, click Replication Partners > partner_name > Inbound tab.

2. In the Local Replicas panel, click Volume replicas.

3. Select the replica set and click Delete replica set.

4. Click Yes.

Deleting an Inbound Replica

Replicas and replica sets are visible on both groups, but are physically stored on the secondary group. If the primary group is no longer available, you can delete replicas stored on the secondary group for volumes on the primary group.

Deleting inbound replicas does not stop replication from the primary volume.

You cannot delete the last complete replica for a volume. If the replica set contains only one replica, you can delete the replica set. See Deleting an Inbound Replica Set.

Note: If the replica is part of a replica collection, see Deleting an Inbound Replica Collection on page 7-40.



3. Expand the replica set, and select the replica.

4. In the Activities panel, click Delete replica.

5. Click Yes.


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Deleting Inbound Collection Replicas

If the primary group is no longer available, then from the secondary group you can delete a replica collection set, a replica collection within a set, or a replica within a collection for a volume collection on the primary group. Caution: If possible, always delete collection replicas on the primary group, where the

volume collection is stored, unless the primary group is no longer available.• A replica collection set is the set of all replica collections for a volume collection on

the primary group. It is named for the volume collection on the primary group.• A replica collection is the set of replicas of the volumes in the volume collection on

the primary group. It is identified by a timestamp for the date and time of the replication.

• A replica is identified by the name of one of the volumes in the volume collection.

Deleting an Inbound Replica Collection Set

Deleting a replica collection set deletes all the replica collections and replicas in the collection set, and the collection set itself.


2. Click Collection replicas in the Local Replicas panel.

3. Select the replica collection set and click Delete replica collection set.

4. Click Yes.

Deleting an Inbound Replica Collection

Deleting an inbound replica collection also deletes all the replicas in the collection. Replication for the volume from the partner does not stop.


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Deleting a replica collection has no harmful effect on the replica collection set. If the replica collection set contains only one replica collection, you can delete the replica collection set. See Deleting an Inbound Replica Collection Set.

1. On the secondary group, click Replication partners > partner_name > Inbound tab.


3. Expand the replica collection set and select the replica collection.

4. In the Activities panel, click Delete replica collection.

5. Click Yes.

Deleting an Inbound Replica from a Replica Collection

You can delete one or more replicas from an inbound replica collection. However, you cannot delete the last complete replica of a volume. Caution: Deleting a replica from a replica collection defeats the purpose of replicating

a volume collection. If you delete a replica for one of the volumes in the collection, you no longer have a replica for that volume with the same timestamp as the other volume replicas.

If the replica collection contains only one replica, deleting the replica also deletes the replica collection.



3. Expand the replica collection set, and then expand the replica collection.

4. Select the replica and, in the Activities panel, click Delete replica.

5. Click Yes.

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8 Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas

Schedules create a snapshot or replica of a volume or a volume collection at a specific time or on a regular basis (for example, hourly or daily).

Using a schedule can cause a large number of snapshots or replicas, so make sure that you have sufficient space. In addition, you can set a limit on the maximum number of snapshots or replicas created from a schedule. See Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7 for information on snapshot space. See Replication Space Usage and Requirements on page 7-4 for information on replication space.

If a volume is part of a volume collection, configure a schedule on the collection, not on the individual volumes that belong to the collection.

Replication schedules apply only to network replications. If a volume is configured for manual transfer replication, do not create a schedule for it.

Schedule Attributes

All schedules have the following attributes. Table 8-1: Schedule Attributes


Name Name for the schedule, to help you identify it. For example, daily-snapshots or snaps-of-volcoll1.

Type What type of object the schedule will create (snapshots or replicas).

Frequency How often the schedule will run (once, hourly, or daily).

• For one-time schedules, specify the day and time at which the schedule will run.

• For hourly schedules, specify a start and end date, the time at which the schedule will run, and how often (range: 5 minutes to 12 hours apart).

• For daily schedules, specify start and end date, how often the schedule will run (range: every day to every 100 days), the time at which the schedule will run, and how often during any given day (range: 5 minutes to 12 hours apart).

Group Administration Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas

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Creating a Schedule


– For a volume, click Volumes > volume_name > Create schedule

– For a volume collection, click Volume Collections > collection_name > Create schedule

2. Enter a name for the schedule, select its type and frequency (Figure 8-1), and optionally enable it, then click Next.

Figure 8-1: Create Schedule - Schedule Type

3. Specify the schedule parameters.

Snapshot or replica properties

For all schedules, specify how many snapshots or replicas to keep of those created by the schedule (range: 1 to 512), and whether to make the snapshots writable (not applicable for replicas).

When the schedule creates the specified number of snapshots or replicas to keep, the oldest snapshots or replicas are automatically deleted before new ones are created. Active iSCSI connections to a snapshot are closed before the snapshot is deleted.

Table 8-1: Schedule Attributes (Continued)



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– For example, if you select Run once, the dialog box in Figure 8-2 is shown.

Figure 8-2: Create Schedule - Run Once

– If you select Hourly schedule, the dialog box in Figure 8-3 is shown.

Figure 8-3: Create Schedule - Hourly Schedule

– If you select Daily schedule, the dialog box in Figure 8-4 is shown.


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Figure 8-4: Create Schedule - Daily Schedule

4. Click Next.


Figure 8-5: Create Schedule - Summary


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Displaying a Schedule for a Volume

Click Volumes > volume_name > Schedules tab (Figure 8-6).

Figure 8-6: Volume Schedules

The Schedules Summary panel shows the status of the volume schedules and the creation time of the next scheduled snapshot or replica. A running schedule is a schedule that is set up to create snapshots or replicas.

In the Snapshot and Replication Schedules panel, select a schedule to see its details and tasks in the Activities panel. You can also display the schedules for volume collections that include the selected volume.


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Displaying Schedules for a Volume Collection

Click Volume Collections > collection_name > Schedules tab (Figure 8-7).

Figure 8-7: Volume Collection Schedules

Select a schedule to see its details and related tasks in the Activities panel.


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Modifying a Schedule

Table 8-2 identifies the schedule attributes you can and cannot change.

1. Click Group Monitoring > Schedules tab.

2. Select the schedule and click Modify ( ).

3. Change the schedule attributes and click OK.

The schedule attributes are changed.

Disabling a Schedule


2. Select the schedule and click Disable ( ).

3. Click Yes.

The schedule is disabled.

Table 8-2: Schedule Attributes

Editable Attributes Uneditable Attributes

Schedule name Type of object the schedule creates (snapshots or replicas)

Start or end date (unless date has passed)

Time of day or frequency

Number of snapshots or replicas to keep Schedule type (once, hourly, daily)

Whether snapshots are writable (applies only to future snapshots created by the schedule)


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Enabling a Schedule


2. Select the schedule and click Enable ( ).

3. Click Yes.

The schedule is enabled.

Deleting a Schedule


2. Select the schedule and click Delete ( ).

3. Click Yes.

The schedule is deleted. Deleting a schedule does not delete any snapshots or replicas created by the schedule.

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9 Recovering Replicated Data

To protect volume data from a complete failure, you can replicate a volume to a different group. If the volume becomes unavailable—either temporarily or permanently—you may be able to recover the data. The method for recovering data depends on the state of the groups and your specific data recovery requirements.

Introduction to Data RecoveryData protection in a PS Series group involves array hardware redundancy and RAID, in addition to snapshot and replication functionality. Recovering data can be a simple operation, or you may have to perform multiple steps. In all cases, it is important to resume data availability as soon as possible in order to prevent downtime.

Note: In all cases, effective data recovery depends on a well-planned disaster protection strategy and the regular creation of snapshots and replicas.

For example, if you accidentally delete a file from a volume for which you have a recent snapshot, you can use the Group Manager GUI or CLI to set the snapshot online and retrieve the file. Users can continue to access the base volume. When you are done, set the snapshot offline again. See Chapter 6, Managing Snapshots.

You can also quickly access volume data on the secondary group by using the GUI or CLI to clone a replica. This creates a new volume with the data from the date and time that the replica was created, with no impact on the current volume replication configuration.

However, in most situations in which you must recover data, the primary group is not available because of maintenance or a failure. In this case, you can temporarily make the volume data available from the secondary group (called a failover operation). Users can then resume access to the data. When the primary group becomes available again, you can replicate any volume changes to the primary group—synchronizing volume data across the groups—and then return to the original replication configuration (called a failback operation).

You implement the failover, replicate, and failback operations by using promote and demote functionality:• Promote functionality enables you to change the state and behavior of a replica set by

converting the replica set into a volume. For example, to fail over a volume, promote the inbound replica set on the secondary group to a recovery volume and snapshots. Users can then connect to the iSCSI target that represents the recovery volume. No

Group Administration Recovering Replicated Data

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additional space is required on the secondary group. Delegated space is reduced by the size of the replica reserve, which is based on the volume reserve.

Note: You cannot change the following attributes of a recovery volume:

– Volume size

– Volume name

– Public alias

– RAID preference

– Replication partner

• Demote functionality enables you to change the state and behavior of a volume by converting the volume into a replica set. For example, before you fail back to the primary group, demote the original volume on the primary group to a failback replica set and then replicate the recovery volume to the primary group. This protects the volume data from a failure in the secondary group.

To fail back to the primary group and return to the original volume replication configuration, you must reverse the replica set promotion and volume demotion. First, demote the recovery volume to the original inbound replica set, and then promote the failback replica set to the original volume.

Figure 9-1 shows the process for recovering data on the secondary group when the primary group is temporarily not available. The process uses volume failover, replication, and failback operations.


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Figure 9-1: Volume Failover, Replication, and Failback Operations

There are other scenarios in which you may want to recovery volume data on the secondary group:• You can make a copy of the volume temporarily available on the secondary group for

backup or some other operation. If you do not want to preserve writes to the copy, promote the inbound replica set to a recovery volume, perform the desired operation on the recovery volume, and then demote the recovery volume to the original inbound replica set.

• You can permanently switch roles in a volume’s replication configuration. Use promotion and demotion to convert the current secondary group into the primary group and to convert the current primary group into the secondary group.

• If the primary group is permanently destroyed, you can permanently promote the inbound replica set to a volume and then replicate the volume to a functioning partner.

In addition to the ability to promote replica sets and demote volumes, effective data recovery depends on the presence of the failback snapshot on the primary group. The failback snapshot represents the most recent complete replica and establishes the failback


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baseline, which is the point in time at which the volume on the primary group and the replica set on the secondary group contain the same data.

If the failback snapshot exists, replicating a recovery volume to the primary group requires copying only the data that changed since the last complete replica. If the failback snapshot does not exist, the first replication will be a complete copy of all the volume data, which can take a long time.

Common Data Recovery Scenarios

Table 9-1 describes some common data recovery scenarios.Table 9-1: Data Recovery Scenarios and Solutions

Scenario Solution Benefits Restrictions Reference

A replicated volume is temporarily not available due to a failure or due to maintenance in the primary group.

Fail over the volume to the secondary group, replicate changes to the primary group when it becomes available, and then failback to the primary group.

Users can quickly resume access to volume data.

Writes are tracked on the secondary group so they can be replicated to the primary group when it becomes available.

If you cannot recover the original volume and the failback snapshot on the primary group, failback will require replicating all the volume data to the primary group.

See Failing Over and Failing Back a Volume on page 9-8.

You want to backup a volume or perform some other operation, without disrupting user access to volume data.

Make a copy of the volume temporarily available on the secondary group. Then, perform the desired operation on the copy.

The original volume continues to be available on the primary group, while the secondary group operation is on-going.

You cannot replicate the original volume while a copy is available on the secondary group.

This process assumes you do not want to preserve writes made to the copy.

See Temporarily Making a Copy of a Volume Available on the Secondary Group on page 9-20.


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Example of Failover, Replication, and Failback Operations

An example of how to access volume data on the secondary group and then fail back to the primary group is shown in Figure 9-2 to Figure 9-6.

The ease of performing failback depends on maintaining the failback snapshot on the primary group (an option selected when configuring the volume for replication). When the primary group becomes available, the failback snapshot enables you to synchronize the volume data across both groups by replicating only the changes made to the recovery volume. If the failback snapshot is not available, you must replicate the entire volume.

You must permanently switch partner roles in a volume replication configuration.

Permanently convert the current secondary group into the new primary group and convert the current primary group into the new secondary group.


If the failback snapshot does not exist on the primary group, the first replication after the role switch will be a complete copy of the volume data.

See Permanently Switching Partner Roles on page 9-21.

The current primary group can no longer provide access to a replicated volume due to a catastrophic failure.

Permanently make the secondary group the new primary group, and then replicate the volume to a functioning partner.


The first replication will be a complete copy of the volume data.

See Permanently Promoting a Replica Set to a Volume on page 9-25.

You want a permanent copy of the volume on the secondary group, without disrupting access to the original volume.

Clone an inbound replica.

There is no disruption to users of the original volume.

At a minimum, space equal to the volume reserve will be consumed on the secondary group.

See Cloning an Inbound Replica on page 9-29.

Table 9-1: Data Recovery Scenarios and Solutions (Continued)

Scenario Solution Benefits Restrictions Reference


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Figure 9-2 shows the initial replication configuration for Volume1, which is replicating from Group1 to Group2.

Figure 9-2: No Failure

Figure 9-3 shows a failure in the primary group. At this point, replication stops and the volume is no longer available to users.

Figure 9-3: Primary Group Failure

Figure 9-4 shows the first step in recovering data, which is to fail over to the secondary group by promoting the inbound replica set to a recovery volume and snapshots. The


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recovery volume will contain the volume data represented by the most recent complete replica. Users can connect to the recovery volume to resume access to volume data.

Figure 9-4: Step 1: Failover to the Secondary Group

Figure 9-5 shows the second step in recovering data, which is to replicate the recovery volume to the primary group. When the primary group becomes available, the original volume no longer contains the latest data. The original volume is demoted to a failback replica set, and then the recovery volume is replicated to the primary group. This protects the volume data from a failure on the secondary group.

Figure 9-5: Step 2: Replicate to the Primary Group


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Figure 9-6 shows the final step in recovering data, which is to fail back to the primary group. After a final replication to synchronize the volume data across both groups, the recovery volume on the secondary group is set offline and demoted to the original inbound replica set. Then, the failback replica set on the primary group is promoted to the original volume. At this point, volume data is protected from failure on the primary group, and the volume replication configuration returns to its original state. Users can now reconnect to the original volume.

Figure 9-6: Step 3: Fail Back to the Primary Group

Failing Over and Failing Back a Volume

You can temporarily host a read-write copy of the volume on the secondary group and enable users to access and write to the volume for some period of time. When you want to return to the original replication configuration, you can fail back the volume to the primary group. You may want to do this if a failure or maintenance in the primary group makes the volume unavailable.

Follow these steps:

1. Promote the replica set to a recovery volume. You can choose to keep the same iSCSI target name. This will facilitate iSCSI initiator access to the recovery volume.

To connect a computer to the recovery volume, in the iSCSI initiator interface, specify the secondary group’s IP address as the discovery address and then log in to the iSCSI target that represents the recovery volume.


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See Promoting an Inbound Replica Set to a Recovery Volume on page 9-9.

2. When the primary group becomes available, use the Replicate to Partner operation to demote the original volume to a failback replica set and replicate the recovery volume to the primary group. This will update the original volume with any changes that were made to the recovery volume, and also protect the recovery volume from a failure in the secondary group.

See Replicating the Recovery Volume to the Primary Group on page 9-13.

You can skip this step if:- There were no changes to the recovery volume that you want to preserve. In this

case, you can immediately demote the recovery volume to an inbound replica set to return to the original volume replication configuration.

- Only a few writes were made to the volume. In this case, you can go immediately to Step 3. Be aware that volume data will not be available while Step 3 is in progress.

3. Use the Failback to Primary operation to set the recovery volume offline, perform a final replication to synchronize the volume data across both groups, demote the recovery volume to an inbound replica set, and promote the failback replica set to the original volume.

See Failing Back to the Primary Group on page 9-17.

At this point, the volume replication configuration is back to its original state. Users can access the original volume, and replication can continue as usual.

Promoting an Inbound Replica Set to a Recovery Volume

To temporarily fail over a volume to the secondary group, promote the inbound replica set on the secondary group to a recovery volume. Users can connect to the recovery volume and resume access the volume data.

Note: Because replicas are thinly provisioned, when you promote a replica set, the recovery volume will also be thinly provisioned. You can disable thin provisioning or modify the thin-provision settings on the new volume.

Before you begin:

• Make sure that you are logged in to the Group Manager GUI for the secondary group.


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Follow these steps:

1. Click Replication partners > partner_name > Inbound tab.

2. Select the replica set and click Promote to volume in the Activities panel.

3. Confirm that you want to pause inbound replication from the partner (Figure 9-7). Replication will resume automatically for all other volumes after the replica set is promoted, if possible.

Figure 9-7: Pause Inbound Replication Confirmation

4. Select the following recovery volume options (Figure 9-8), and then click Next:

• Set the volume online.

• Retain the iSCSI target name of the original volume if you want to facilitate iSCSI initiators discovering and connecting to the recovery volume.

• Keep the ability to demote to a replica set.

Figure 9-8: Promote Replica Set – Volume Options


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5. Specify the access controls and permissions (Figure 9-9):

• Access control credentials. Specify a CHAP user name, IP address, or iSCSI initiator name. A computer must match the access control credentials in order to access the recovery volume. Later, you can create additional (up to 16) access control records for the recovery volume.

• Permission, either read-only or read-write.

• Whether to allow shared access to the volume. It is recommended that you select this option only if you have an environment that can manage multiple connections to a single volume (for example, a cluster environment).

Then, click Next.

Figure 9-9: Promote Replica Set – iSCSI Access



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Figure 9-10: Promote Replica Set – Summary

After the promotion completes, the replica set is removed from the list of inbound replica sets, and the recovery volume is shown in the list of volumes. The recovery volume name is based on the name of the original volume, with a dot-number suffix; for example, vol01.1.

Where to go next:

• Users can connect to the recovery volume. Use a computer’s iSCSI initiator interface to specify the secondary group’s IP address as the discovery address and then log in to the iSCSI target that represents the recovery volume.

• Make the primary group functional. When the original volume on the primary group becomes available, go to the next step in the failover and failback process, Replicating the Recovery Volume to the Primary Group on page 9-13.

• To reverse the promotion and cancel the failover, demote the recovery volume to an inbound replica set. On the secondary group, click:

Volumes > recovery_volume > Demote to replica set

The recovery volume will be removed from the list of volumes and the replica set will be shown in the list of inbound replica sets.

• If the volume becomes permanently unavailable on the primary group, you can make the inbound replica set promotion permanent. See Making an Inbound Replica Set Promotion Permanent on page 9-22.


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Replicating the Recovery Volume to the Primary Group

When the primary group and the original volume become available, use the Replicate to Partner operation to update the original volume with any changes that were made to the recovery volume. This will also protect the recovery volume from a failure in the secondary group. Users can continue to access the recovery volume while the replication is ongoing.

It is recommended that you replicate the recovery volume before failing back to the primary group. As part of failback, the recovery volume is set offline, and a final replication occurs. The more data that must be transferred, the longer the time that the volume data will be unavailable.

However, in some cases, you may not have to replicate the volume:

• If there were no changes to the recovery volume that you want to preserve, you can demote the recovery volume to an inbound replica set to return to the original volume replication configuration.

• If you are sure that few writes were made to the volume, skip the replication step and go to the failback step.

Notes: You can only replicate a recovery volume to the primary group.

If the failback snapshot does not exist on the primary group, the first replication will be a complete transfer of volume data.

Dell recommends that you use the Replicate to Partner operation, which consolidates multiple tasks and performs them from the secondary group. If an individual task fails during the Replicate to Partner operation, you must correct the problem and then complete the operation, starting with the step that failed. See Handling a Failed Operation on page 9-33.

Note: Unless both the primary and secondary groups are running PS Series Firmware Version 4.0 or greater, you must replicate the recovery volume by using the manual steps. You cannot use the consolidated Replicate to Partner operation. See Manual Steps for the Replicate to Partner Operation on page 9-34.

Before you begin:

• Make sure that there are no online snapshots of the original volume on the primary group. Otherwise, the Replicate to Partner operation will fail.


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• Make sure that you are logged in to the secondary group.

• Make sure that you know the name and password for a primary group administrator account. This is required for security reasons because you will be performing operations on the primary group.

Follow these steps:

1. Click Volumes > recovery_volume.

2. In the Activities panel, click Replicate to partner.

3. Specify a valid primary group administrator account name and password (Figure 9-11).

Figure 9-11: Replicate Recovery Volume

Select the following options:

- Whether to perform the replication using manual transfer replication.

- Whether to save the primary group administrator account name and password for future use in the current GUI session.

Then, click OK.

When the original volume on the primary group is demoted, as part of the Replicate to Partner operation, the volume is removed from the list of volumes on the primary group,


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and the failback replica set is shown in the Local Replicas panel of the Replication Partner – Inbound window.

On the secondary group, make sure that the Replicate to Partner operation completes. The GUI automatically displays the Group Monitoring – Replication window (Figure 9-12). In the Disaster Recovery Operations panel, expand the recovery volume to display the status of each task in the Replicate to Partner operation.

If an individual task fails, see Handling a Failed Operation on page 9-33.

Figure 9-12: Group Monitoring – Replication – Replicate to Partner

Note: If you chose to use manual transfer replication, the Disaster Recovery Operations panel in the Group Monitoring – Replication window shows a status of in-progress for the create replica step. The Replicate to Partner operation will pause until you complete the manual transfer replication, as described in Appendix


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A, Replicating Data Manually. When the manual transfer replication is complete, the Replicate to Partner operation will continue automatically.

Where to go from here:

• You can create more replicas by selecting the recovery volume and clicking Create replica now. You can also configure replication schedules on the recovery volume. See Chapter 8, Scheduling Snapshots and Replicas.

• You can move a failback replica set to a different pool in the primary group. If you later promote the failback replica set to a volume, the volume will belong to the new pool.

1. On the primary group, click:

Replication Partners > partner_name > Inbound tab > failback_replica_set

2. Click Change storage pool in the Activities panel.

3. Select the new pool and click OK.

• When you are ready to fail back, see Failing Back to the Primary Group on page 9-17.

• If you do not want to return to the original replication configuration, you can make the inbound replica set promotion permanent. See Making an Inbound Replica Set Promotion Permanent on page 9-22. Then delete the failback replica set on the primary group.

To delete a failback replica set:

1. On the primary group, click:

Replication Partners > partner_name > Inbound tab > Volume replicas

2. Select the failback replica set and click Convert to replica set. The replica set will continue to be shown in the Replication Partner – Inbound window, but it will no longer be a failback replica set.

3. In the Activities panel, click Pause inbound.

4. Select the replica set and click Delete replica set.


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Failing Back to the Primary Group

When you want to return to the original volume replication configuration and no longer make a volume available on the secondary group, you can fail back to the primary group.

Dell recommends that you use the Failback to Primary operation, which consolidates multiple tasks and performs them from the secondary group. If an individual task fails during the Failback to Primary operation, you must correct the problem. Then, complete the operation, starting with the step that failed. See Handling a Failed Operation on page 9-33.

Notes: Unless both the primary and secondary groups are running PS Series Firmware Version 4.0 or greater, you must replicate the recovery volume by using the manual steps. You cannot use the consolidated Failback to Primary operation. See Manual Steps for the Failback to Primary Operation on page 9-35.

If you previously replicated the recovery volume before failing back, as recommended, the Failback to Primary operation will require minimal volume downtime. However, if a large amount of data must be replicated, the length of the downtime will increase. In addition, if the failback snapshot does not exist on the primary group, the first replication will be a complete transfer of volume data.

Before you begin:

• Because volume data will be unavailable for some time period, identify a time when the downtime will be least disruptive to users.

• Replicate the volume before beginning the Failback to Primary operation. The will decrease volume downtime. See Replicating the Recovery Volume to the Primary Group on page 9-13.

• Make sure that there are no online snapshots of the original volume on the primary group. Otherwise, the Failback to Primary operation will fail.

• Make sure that you are logged in to the secondary group.

• Make sure that you know the name and password for a primary group administrator account. This is required for security reasons because you will be performing operations on the primary group.

Follow these steps:

1. Click Volumes > recovery_volume > Failback to primary.


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2. Click Yes to confirm that you want to set the recovery volume offline (Figure 9-13).

Figure 9-13: Failback - Set Recovery Volume Offline

3. Specify a valid primary group administrator account name and password (Figure 9-14).

Select the following options:

• Whether to perform the replication using manual transfer replication.

• Whether to save the primary group administrator account name and password for future use in the current GUI session.

Then, click OK.

Figure 9-14: Failback Recovery Volume

When a recovery volume is demoted as part of the Failback to Primary operation, it is removed from the list of volumes on the secondary group, and the original replica set is shown in the list of inbound replica sets.


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When the failback replica set is promoted as part of the Failback to Primary operation, it is removed from the Replication Partner – Inbound window on the primary group, and the original volume is shown in the list of volumes. A replica is created immediately to reestablish the failback snapshot (and set the failback baseline). Because the volume data is already synchronized between the groups, no data will actually be transferred.

Make sure that the Failback to Primary operation completes. The GUI automatically displays the Group Monitoring – Replication window (Figure 9-15). In the Disaster Recovery Operations panel, expand the recovery volume to display the status of each task in the Failback to Primary operation.

If an individual task fails, see Handling a Failed Operation on page 9-33.

Figure 9-15: Group Monitoring – Replication – Failback to Primary


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Note: If you chose to use manual transfer replication, the Disaster Recovery Operations panel in the Group Monitoring – Replication window shows a status of in-progress for the Perform final replication of recovery volume step. The Failback to Primary operation will pause until you complete the manual transfer replication, as described in Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually. When the manual transfer replication is complete, the Failback to Primary operation will continue automatically.

Temporarily Making a Copy of a Volume Available on the Secondary Group

You can temporarily make a copy of a volume available on the secondary group, while still providing continuous access to the original volume on the primary group. You can then perform an operation, such as a backup operation, on the copy. When the operation completes, you can return to the original volume replication configuration with no disruption to users.

Notes: This procedure assumes that the volume will not change while available on the secondary group, or—if the volume changes—those changes will not be replicated to the primary group. If you want to replicate changes, follow the procedure described in Failing Over and Failing Back a Volume on page 9-8.

A volume cannot be replicated while a copy is available on the secondary group.

Before you begin:

• Make sure that you are logged in to the Group Manager GUI on the secondary group.

Follow these steps:

1. Promote the replica set to a recovery volume. See Promoting an Inbound Replica Set to a Recovery Volume on page 9-9.

The replica set is removed from the list of inbound replica sets, and the recovery volume is shown in the list of volumes. The recovery volume name is based on the name of the original volume, with a dot-number suffix; for example, vol01.1.

2. Perform the desired operation on the recovery volume. To connect to the recovery volume, use a computer’s iSCSI initiator interface to specify the secondary group’s IP address as the discovery address and then log in to the iSCSI target that represents the recovery volume.


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3. To demote the recovery volume to an inbound replica set, click:

Volumes > recovery_volume > Demote to replica set

The recovery volume is removed from the list of volumes, and the original replica set is shown in the list of inbound replica sets.

At this point, the volume replication configuration is back to its original state. Replication can continue as usual.

Permanently Switching Partner Roles

You can switch the partner roles in a volume replication configuration. The current secondary group will become the new primary group, and the current primary group will become the new secondary group.

Before you begin:

• On the primary group, make sure that the volume replication configuration includes keeping the failback snapshot. See Modifying the Replication Settings on a Volume on page 7-31.

• Because this procedure requires steps on both groups, make sure that you are logged in to the Group Manager GUI on the secondary group and the GUI on the primary group. Alternately, you can coordinate your actions with the administrator of the other group.

Follow these steps:

1. On the primary group, set the original volume offline and perform a final replication to the secondary group. This will synchronize volume data across both groups,

2. On the secondary group, promote the replica set to a recovery volume. See Promoting an Inbound Replica Set to a Recovery Volume on page 9-9. Keep the ability to demote the recovery volume, in case you decide to cancel the role switch.

Users can now resume access to the volume data through the recovery volume on the secondary group. In a computer’s iSCSI initiator interface, specify the secondary group’s IP address as the discovery address and then log in to the iSCSI target that represents the recovery volume.


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3. On the secondary group, replicate the recovery volume to the original primary group. Use the Replicate to Partner operation. See Replicating the Recovery Volume to the Primary Group on page 9-13.

4. On the secondary group, make the inbound replica set promotion permanent. See Making an Inbound Replica Set Promotion Permanent on page 9-22.

5. On the primary group, convert the failback replica set to an inbound replica set. See Converting a Failback Replica Set to an Inbound Replica Set on page 9-25.

The partner role switch is complete.

Making an Inbound Replica Set Promotion Permanent

As part of the procedure for switching roles in a volume replication configuration, after promoting an inbound replica set to a recovery volume, you can make the promotion permanent. The recovery volume restrictions will no longer apply. You may also have to perform this task if you are unable to fail back to the primary group.

Note: After making an inbound replica set promotion permanent, you can no longer demote the volume to the original inbound replica set.

Before you begin:


Follow these steps:

1. Click Volumes > recovery_volume > Make promote permanent.

2. Enter a new volume name, enter an optional description, and select the storage pool (Figure 9-16). Then, click Next.


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Figure 9-16: Convert Recovery Volume – Volume Settings

3. Specify the following (Figure 9-17):

• Access control credentials. Specify a CHAP user name, IP address, or iSCSI initiator name. A computer must match the access control credentials in order to access the recovery volume.




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Figure 9-17: Convert Recovery Volume - iSCSI Access


Figure 9-18: Convert Recovery Volume - Summary

When the operation completes, the recovery volume is converted to a regular volume, and the recovery volume icon is removed.


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• See Converting a Failback Replica Set to an Inbound Replica Set on page 9-25 for the next step in the procedure for permanently switching partner roles.

Converting a Failback Replica Set to an Inbound Replica Set

For the final step in the procedure for switching roles in a volume replication configuration, you must permanently convert the volume’s failback replica set to an inbound replica set.

Note: After you convert a failback replica set to an inbound replica set, you cannot promote the inbound replica set to the original volume.

Follow these steps:

1. On the primary group, click Replication Partners > partner_name > Inbound tab.


3. Select the failback replica set and click Convert to replica set.

4. Confirm that you want to convert the replica set (Figure 9-19).

Figure 9-19: Convert to Replica Set

When the conversion completes, the replica set will continue to be shown in the Replication Partner – Inbound window, but it will no longer be a failback replica set.

Permanently Promoting a Replica Set to a Volume

You can permanently promote a replica set to a volume, making the secondary group the new primary group. You may want to perform this task if the original primary group is destroyed and cannot be recovered.


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Before you begin:

• If the primary group is available, log in to the Group Manager GUI on the primary group and set the original volume offline. Then, perform a final replication and wait for it to complete. When the replication completes, the volume data is the same on both groups.


There are two methods you can use to permanently promote an inbound replica set to a volume. If the original volume replication configuration included keeping the failback snapshot, follow these steps:

1. On the secondary group, promote the inbound replica set to a recovery volume. See Promoting an Inbound Replica Set to a Recovery Volume on page 9-9.

2. Make the inbound replica set promotion permanent. See Making an Inbound Replica Set Promotion Permanent on page 9-22.

If the original volume replication did not include keeping the failback snapshot, follow these steps to permanently promote the inbound replica set to a volume:



3. Select the replica set and click Promote to volume in the Activities panel.

4. Confirm that you want to pause inbound replication from the partner.

5. Specify the volume options (Figure 9-20):

• Choose whether to set the volume online or offline.

• Choose whether to retain the iSCSI target name of the original volume. This can facilitate initiators discovering and connecting to the recovery volume.

• Disable the ability to demote to a replica set.

Then, click Next.


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Figure 9-20: Promote Replica Set – Volume Options

6. Enter a name for the volume, enter an optional description, and select the storage pool (Figure 9-21). The new volume name can be the same as the original. Then, click Next.

Figure 9-21: Promote Replica Set – Volume Settings


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• Access control credentials. Specify a CHAP user name, IP address, or iSCSI initiator name. A computer must match the access control credentials in order to access the recovery volume.



Then, click Next.

Figure 9-22: Promote Replica Set – iSCSI Access



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Figure 9-23: Promote Replica Set – Summary

The replica set is removed from the list of inbound replicas, and the new volume is shown in the list of volumes.


• To connect to the volume, in a computer’s iSCSI initiator interface, specify the group IP address as the discovery address and then log in to the iSCSI target that represents the volume.

• To protect the volume data from a complete group failure, configure the volume to replicate to a functioning partner. The first replication will be a complete transfer of volume data.

Cloning an Inbound Replica

You can clone an inbound replica to create a new volume on the secondary group. This lets you access the data in the replica with no effect on the replica set or the original volume and its replication configuration or schedules.

The new volume has a new name, but is the same size and contains the same data as the original volume at the time the replica was created.


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Note: Because replicas are thinly provisioned, when you clone a replica, the new volume will also be thinly provisioned. You can disable thin provisioning or modify the thin-provision settings on the new volume.

Cloning a replica uses additional space on the secondary group. The amount of space used is equal to the volume reserve at the time the replica was created, and will be taken from the pool containing the group’s delegated space. Snapshots or replicas of the new volume will also use additional space.

After cloning, the replica is still available and the replica set is complete. In addition, cloning has no effect on volume replication.

Before you begin:


• Make sure that the secondary group has enough free pool space to clone the replica (100% of the volume reserve at the time the replica was created).

To clone a replica:

1. Click Replication partners > partner_name > Inbound tab.

2. In the Local Replicas panel, do one of the following:

- If the replica is from a volume that is not part of a volume collection, click Volume replicas. Expand the volume and select the replica.

- If the replica is part of a replica collection, click Collection replicas. Expand the volume collection and the replica collection, then select the replica.

3. In the Activities panel, click Clone replica.

4. Specify the new volume name and (optional) description (Figure 9-24), then click Next.


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Figure 9-24: Clone Volume Replica – Volume Settings

5. (Optional) Change the amount of snapshot reserve (Figure 9-25), then click Next. (You cannot change the volume size or thin provisioning setting until the new volume is created.)

Figure 9-25: Clone Volume Replica – Space Reserve


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• Access control credentials. Specify a CHAP user name, IP address, or iSCSI initiator name. A computer must match the access control credentials in order to access the recovery volume. Later, you can create additional (up to 16) access control records for the new volume.


• Whether to allow shared access to the volume. Dell recommends that you select this option only if you have an environment that can manage multiple connections to a single volume (for example, a cluster environment).

Then, click Next.

Figure 9-26: Clone Volume Replica – iSCSI Access



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Figure 9-27: Clone Volume Replica – Summary

The new volume is shown in the list of volumes in the far left panel.

Handling a Failed Operation

The Replicate to Partner operation and the Failback to Primary operation consolidate multiple tasks, as documented in Manual Steps for the Replicate to Partner Operation on page 9-34 and Manual Steps for the Failback to Primary Operation on page 9-35.

To check the status of an operation, click Group Monitoring > Replication tab. In the Disaster Recovery Operations panel, expand the recovery volume to display the status of each task in the operation.

If an individual task fails during a Replicate to Partner or Failback to Primary operation, you must correct the problem. Then, in the Disaster Recovery Operations panel, right-click the failed task and select Retry task (Figure 9-28). The operation will continue automatically.


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Figure 9-28: Retry Disaster Recovery Operation

Manual Steps for the Replicate to Partner Operation

If the Replicate to Partner operation fails, you must identify the step that failed, correct the problem, and then resume the operation, starting with the step that failed.

To identify the step that failed, see Handling a Failed Operation on page 9-33.

The manual steps to perform the Replicate to Partner operation are as follows:

1. Set the original volume offline, unless it is already offline.

2. Cancel any in-progress replication.

3. Demote the original volume to a failback replica set. To perform this task, make sure that there are no online snapshots for the volume. Then, on the primary group, double


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click the volume name in the far-left panel and click Demote to replica set in the Activities panel.

4. Configure the recovery volume to replicate to the primary group.

5. Create a replica. You can use manual replication if a large amount of data must be transferred. See Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually.

Manual Steps for the Failback to Primary Operation

If the Failback to Primary operation fails, you must identify the step that failed, correct the problem, and then resume the operation, starting with the step that failed.

To identify the step that failed, see Handling a Failed Operation on page 9-33.

The manual steps to perform the Failback to Primary operation are as follows:

1. Disable any replication or snapshot schedules for the recovery volume.

2. Configure the recovery volume to replicate to the primary group, if not already configured.

3. Set the recovery volume offline. At this point, the recovery volume is unavailable.

4. Create a final replica. You can use manual replication if a large amount of data must be transferred. See Appendix A, Replicating Data Manually.

When the replication completes, volume data is now synchronized across the groups.

5. Demote the recovery volume to an inbound replica set, returning it to its original state. On the secondary group, double-click the recovery volume in the far left panel and click Demote to replica set in the activities panel.

6. Promote the failback replica set to a volume, returning it to its original state. Users can now reconnect to the volume. On the primary group, click:

Replication Partners > partner_name > Inbound tab > Volume replicas

Then, select the failback replica set in the Local Replicas panel and click Promote to volume.

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10 Managing Storage Pools

When you create a PS Series group or add a member to a group, the members are automatically put in the default pool (named default). In a multi-member group, you can create additional storage pools, which gives you more control over storage resources and can be useful in some environments. For example, you can divide storage by application, service level, disk drive type, cost, location, or department. Using pools is optional. Creating and modifying pools is an advanced functionality.

Only group administrators can create pools and move objects between pools. Both group and pool administrators can modify a pool’s properties. For more information, see Managing Group Administration Accounts on page 3-11.

For general information about the benefits of, and considerations for using storage pools, see the Technical Report Deploying Pools and Tiered Storage, which you can download from the customer support website.

Planning Storage Pools

When planning your storage pool configuration, identify which pool to use for which volumes based on the appropriate capacity and level of performance and service for your applications.

Members and volumes can belong only to one pool at a time. As your capacity requirements change, you can move members and volumes from one pool to another. The members and volumes remain online and usable while moving. When a member is moved to a different pool, all volume data on the member must be moved to the other pool members. Therefore, the other pool members must have enough space to store the volume data.

To create a successful storage configuration, identify the following:• Capacity and performance of each member. Think about the following factors:

– Disk type, either Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA)

– Disk size– Disk speed– Member RAID level

Group Administration Managing Storage Pools

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Within a pool, Dell recommends that members with the same disk spin rate have the same RAID level. For example, if a pool contains two members that have 7200 RPM disks installed, configure both members with the same RAID level. Try to identify future demands for capacity and performance when planning the storage pool configuration.

• Disk space and performance needs of each application. Identify which applications deserve priority and calculate their disk space and network bandwidth needs and performance characteristics. For example, some applications do many random data transfers, while others do a small number of large sequential data transfers. In addition, identify rarely-accessed volumes that are used only to archive data.

• How the pools will be organized. Identify the number of pools and the members that will belong to each pool, based on the member performance characteristics and capacities and the requirements of the volumes. For example, you can organize your pools according to disk speed. You could also organize pools according to member RAID level.

• Application volumes that will belong to each pool. Put volumes with the highest service level requirements in an appropriate pool. If an application uses multiple volumes, those volumes can be in different pools.

When deciding which volumes will belong to which pools, the RAID level of the pool members might be important. For a workload characterized by many small random transfers, RAID 10 might offer the highest throughput, while a workload characterized by many large sequential transfers might do equally well with either RAID 10 or RAID 50. If you do not know the optimal RAID level for a volume, make sure that the pool to which the volume belongs contains members with a variety of RAID levels, so automatic performance load balancing can occur.

In addition, monitor the group and applications to make sure that the storage configuration offers adequate service levels for various workloads.

Creating a Storage Pool

There are two ways to create a new storage pool: • Create an empty pool, and move another member into it later. You can use this method

if you are adding another member to the group, but want to create the storage pool for it first. (All members belong to the default pool initially.)

• Use an existing member to create a new storage pool, with that member in the new pool.


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Creating a Pool with No Members

1. Click Storage Pools > Create storage pool (Figure 10-1).

Figure 10-1: Create Storage Pool

2. Specify a pool name and optional description and click OK.

The pool is created, but does not yet contain a member. To move a member to the pool, see Moving a Member to a Different Pool on page 11-18.

Creating a Pool from a Current Group Member

You cannot use the only member of a storage pool to create a new pool. Before the member is moved into the new pool, any volumes stored on the member are moved to other members of the original pool, if space permits. If there is not enough space to move the volumes, the operation fails.

1. Click Members > member_name > Modify member settings.

2. Under Storage pool assignment, click Create new pool.

3. Enter a name and (optional) description for the new pool, and click OK.

4. Click OK.

5. Click Yes in the dialog box asking you to confirm the pool move operation.


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The new pool is created from the member. The member status is shown as moving until the move operation completes, which may take several minutes or longer.

Displaying Storage Pool Summary and Status

Click Storage Pools (Figure 10-2).

Figure 10-2: Storage Pool Summary

In the Group Disk Space panel, you can display the following: • Storage pool capacity — Percentage of group space in each pool and the

capacity of each pool.• Free storage pool space — Free space in each pool.

If a pool’s free space is low, you can increase free space by moving volumes from the low-space pool to a different pool. See Moving a Volume Between Pools on page 5-26. You can expand pool capacity by moving a member to the pool, or adding a new


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member to the group and the pool. See Moving a Member to a Different Pool on page 11-18.

• Group space utilization — Group space allocated to volumes, snapshots, local replication reserve, and delegated space and the percentage of free group space.

• RAID level space distribution — Group space configured with each RAID level (RAID 10, RAID 50, or RAID 5).

For each pool, the Storage Pools panel shows total pool capacity, free space, pool space configured for each RAID level, and the number of members, volumes, and snapshots. Select a pool to see related tasks in the Activities panel.

Displaying Storage Pool Details

Select the pool name in the far left panel or double-click the pool in the Storage Pools panel (Figure 10-3).

Figure 10-3: Storage Pool Details

The General Pool Information panel shows the status of the pool members and the number of volumes and snapshots in the pool, in addition to the number of volumes and snapshots that are online and in use (that is, have a current iSCSI connection).


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In the Pool Disk Space panel, you can display the following:• Pool space utilization — Pool space allocated to volumes, snapshots, local

replication reserve, and delegated space and the percentage of free pool space.• RAID level space distribution — Pool space configured with each RAID

level (RAID 10, RAID 5, and RAID 50). • Snapshot space utilization — Used and free pool space reserved for volume

snapshots.• Delegated space utilization — Used and free pool space delegated to all

replication partners.

If free delegated space is low, see Displaying Replication Activity Between Partners on page 7-25 to identify the partner that must increase its delegated space. See Modifying a Replication Partner on page 7-15 for information on increasing delegated space.

The Pool Members panel lists the members that belong to the pool. For each member, the panel shows the member’s name, capacity, free space, RAID level, number of disks and their type (SAS or SATA), status, firmware version, and iSCSI connections. Select a member to see related tasks in the Activities panel.


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Displaying the Volumes in a Pool

Click Storage Pools > pool_name > Volumes tab (Figure 10-4).

Figure 10-4: Storage Pool Volumes

For each volume, the Pool Volumes panel shows the volume name, reported size (seen by iSCSI initiators), volume reserve (allocated space), snapshot reserve, status, replication partner, number of snapshots, and iSCSI connections. Select a volume to see related tasks in the Activities panel.

A volume can be offline due to a failure or administrator action, or, if thin provisioning is enabled, because the volume has used all of its reserve space. See Displaying Volume Summary and Status on page 5-7 for information about monitoring volumes.

If a volume’s free snapshot reserve is low, you can increase the snapshot reserve. When all of the snapshot reserve is used, old snapshots will be deleted or the volume will be set offline, according to the snapshot reserve recovery policy. See Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7 for information about increasing snapshot reserve.


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Modifying a Storage Pool Name or Description

You can change the name or description of a storage pool. If you change the name of the default pool, it will still be the default pool (that is, members and volumes will belong to this pool by default).

1. Click Storage Pools > pool_name > Modify pool settings (Figure 10-5).

Figure 10-5: Modify Pool Settings

2. Modify the pool name, description, or both, and click OK.

Merging Storage Pools

You can merge any storage pool except the default pool into any other pool.

Merging a storage pool moves the pool members and all their volumes and snapshots into the destination pool. The empty pool is then deleted. You cannot create a new pool by merging pools.

1. Click Storage pools > pool_name > Merge storage pool (Figure 10-6).


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Figure 10-6: Merge Storage Pools

2. Select the destination pool and click OK.

Deleting a Storage Pool

If you delete a storage pool, all the members and volumes in the pool will be automatically and instantly moved to the default pool. You can then move the members and volumes to a different pool, if one is available. You cannot delete the default pool.

1. Click Storage pools > pool_name > Delete storage pool.

2. Click Yes.

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11 Monitoring and Managing Group Members

A PS Series group includes one or more PS Series storage arrays connected to an Ethernet network and configured as group members. PS Series groups typically do not require frequent monitoring or maintenance, but you can periodically examine the status of members and their components to be aware of current or pending problems.

Monitoring Group Members

You can display summary and status information for all the group members, and for individual members, with more detail about the members’ components.

Displaying All Group Members

Click Members in the far left panel (Figure 11-1).

Figure 11-1: Member Summary

Group Administration Monitoring and Managing Group Members

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The icon associated with a member indicates its status:• The icon for a member with a warning health condition is orange with a warning

symbol: . • The icon for a member with a critical health condition is red with an error symbol: • The icon for an offline member is gray.

The Group Disk Space panel shows a summary of the space in the group and how it is being used. You can show details about:• Group space utilization — Group space allocated to volumes, snapshots, local

replication reserve, delegated space, and the amount of free group space.

The group free space shown in the GUI might not be exact because the GUI uses a rounding algorithm to calculate free space. To see the actual free space in megabytes, use the Group Manager CLI command cli-settings displayinMB. Then, use the show command to see the free group space.

If free group space is low, you can add drives to members or add members to the group.

• RAID level space distribution — Group space configured with each RAID level (RAID 10, RAID 5, and RAID 50).

• Storage pool capacity — Percentage of group space in each storage pool and the capacity of each pool.

• Free storage pool space — Free space in each storage pool.

The group free space might not be exact because the GUI uses a rounding algorithm to calculate free space. To see the actual free space in megabytes, use the CLI command cli-settings displayinMB on. Then use the show command to see the free group space. See the CLI Reference for more information.

If a pool’s free space is low, you can increase free space by moving volumes to a different pool. See Moving a Volume Between Pools on page 5-26. You can expand pool capacity by moving a member to the pool. See Moving a Member to a Different Pool on page 11-18.

The Group Members panel shows the storage pool, capacity, free space, RAID policy, disk drive type, status, firmware version, and iSCSI connections. Select a member to see related tasks in the Activities panel.


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Displaying Status for a Specific Member

Double-click a member in the Group Members panel or click Members > member_name > Status tab.

In the Member Status panel:• Click Front view to see the front panel of the array. • Click Rear view to see the back panel of the array, including the control modules

and the power supply and cooling modules. The front and rear views shown in your GUI will depend on the array model of the group member.

• Click Inside view (not available on all array models) to see the disk drive tray.

The following figures show front and rear views for a PS3000 or PS5000 array, which are the same array model.

Figure 11-2: Member Status - Front View, PS3000 or PS5000


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Figure 11-3: Member Status - Rear View, PS3000 or PS5000

The following figures show front, rear, and inside views for a PS5500 array.

Figure 11-4: Member Status - Front View, PS5500


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Figure 11-5: Member Status - Rear View, PS5500

Figure 11-6: Member Status - Inside View, PS5500

An uninstalled or unconfigured hardware component is shown by a red X in the array graphic (Figure 11-3). A failed or failing component is shown in the array graphic with a


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warning or error status symbol. Move the mouse over a component to show status details, as shown in Figure 11-5 and Figure 11-6.

The General Member Information panel shows the following:• Member status• Control module model number• Product family and chassis type• Number and type of disk drives• Number of iSCSi connections.• Member name and pool• RAID policy and status

The Member Health Status panel shows the following:• Links to show the front, rear, and (on some models) inside views of the array• A table of alarm statuses for the array components

If the status is warning or critical, an alarm will occur in the Outstanding Alarms panel. See Monitoring Alarms and Action Items on page 12-4 for information about the health conditions that cause alarms.

If drives have failed, click the Disks tab to see the disk configuration. You must replace any failed drives as soon as possible.

The Member Space panel shows the following:• Total member capacity (does not include the space in spare disk drives because they

are used only if a failure occurs). • Utilization of group space, including space used by volumes, snapshots and replicas,

and free space.

If free member space is low, you can increase the member capacity by adding disk drives, if empty slots are available.


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To see more information about the member, click the other tabs:• Enclosure — Shows the array power supplies, cooling fans and temperature. See

Displaying Member Enclosure Status on page 11-7 for more information.• Controllers — Shows control module and battery status and lets you set the cache

mode. See Displaying Control Module Status on page 11-9 for more information.• Disks — Shows the disk drive configuration. See Managing the Disk Array on

page 11-23 for more information.• Network — Shows the network configuration and lets you configure network

interfaces. See Displaying Network Configuration Information on page 11-12 for more information.

• Connections — Shows the total number of iSCSI connections to the member. See Displaying Member Connections on page 11-15 for more information.

• Service — Shows array information intended for Dell EqualLogic Customer Support. See Displaying Member Service Information on page 11-15 for more information.

Displaying Member Enclosure Status

The member enclosure contains the power supplies, cooling modules or fans, and temperature sensors.

Click Members > member_name > Enclosure tab.

The number and type of hardware components shown will depend on your array model.

Figure 11-7 shows the enclosure information for a PS3000 or PS5000 array.


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Figure 11-7: Member Enclosure - PS3000 or PS5000

Figure 11-8 shows the enclosure information for a PS5500 array.

Figure 11-8: Member Enclosure - PS5500


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The Power Supplies panel shows the status of the array power supplies. Some power supplies have a fan (only in PS Series Model 50E to 400E storage arrays), but other array models have separate fans, shown in the Cooling Fans panel. If a power supply or power supply fan fails, replace the power supply as soon as possible. For proper cooling, do not remove a power supply until you have a replacement. For information about replacing a power supply, see the Hardware Maintenance manual for your array model or contact your PS Series support provider.

A member can still work if one fan fails. However, more than one fan failure will cause the member temperature to increase. If the temperature increases too much, an event message warns administrators of the potential problem. If the member temperature increases to its maximum limit, event and alarm messages occur.

Note: If a fan tray fails, or if the fan RPMs are outside the normal range, replace the failed component before the array becomes damaged. For proper cooling, do not remove a fan tray until you have a replacement. For information about replacing hardware see the Hardware Maintenance manual for your array model or contact your PS Series support provider.

The Temperature Sensors panel shows the temperature for the various array controllers and processors, in addition to the normal temperature range.

PS Series Model 50E to 400E storage arrays also show the ambient temperature, which is calculated in Celsius from the two sensor temperatures with the highest temperatures, using the following formula:

((Backplane Sensor 0 + Backplane Sensor 1) / 2) – 7

Some array models also have an Enclosure Interface Processor (EIP) card, shown in the EIP Card panel (Figure 11-8).

Displaying Control Module Status

Each array (group member) has one or two control modules installed. Only one functioning control module is required for operation.

In a dual control module array, one control module is designated as active (responsible for serving I/O to the member), while the other control module is secondary (mirrors cache data from the active control module). Upon startup, either control module can be designated active or secondary, regardless of its previous status. The active control module is designated by the green LED labeled ACT.


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Under normal operation, the status of a control module (active or secondary) will not change, unless the member is restarted. However, if the active control module fails, the secondary control module will accept control and serve I/O. This is called control module failover.

When a control module is removed or fails, the member can behave in different ways, based on the number and type of control modules, the network cabling configuration, and the cache mode settings. See the Hardware Maintenance manual for your array model for specific information about control module and network failover behavior.

To display control module information:

Click Members > member_name > Controllers tab (Figure 11-9).

Figure 11-9: Member Controllers


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Each Control Module Slot panel shows the following information:• Status• Boot time• Cache and NVRAM battery status, if applicable to the control module model• Model number• Boot ROM version• PS Series firmware version

An empty slot means that a control module is not installed or has failed.

If the NVRAM battery on the active control module fails, the active control module will fail over to the secondary. If the array has only one control module and the battery fails, the write cache will operate in write-through mode.

Note: For information on replacing a battery, contact your PS Series support provider.

The Memory Cache panel displays the current cache mode policy, and lets you change the policy.

For information about replacing a control module, see the Hardware Maintenance manual for your array model or contact your PS Series support provider. Do not remove a failed control module until you have a replacement.

Displaying the Disk Configuration

Click Members > member_name > Disks tab.

The Member Disks window shows the disk drives in the array (Figure 11-10). Depending on your array model and the number of installed drives, you might have more or fewer drives than shown in the figure.


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Figure 11-10: Member Disks

The Disk Array Summary panel shows the disk drives in the member.

The Installed Disks panel shows more information about each disk, including the slot, type, model and revision, size, status, and errors.

Select a drive to see the Disk Statistics link in the Activities panel. Click this link to see drive statistics.

Displaying Network Configuration Information

A storage array must have at least one functioning network interface connected to a network and configured with an IP address. Each control module has three Ethernet ports, labeled 0, 1, and 2, for a maximum of three active network connections.

Make sure you have at least one (and preferably three) network connections to both the active and the secondary control modules for control module failover.

Note: If you experience network problems, group members might lose the ability to communicate with each other over the network. In such a group, some


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management operations are not allowed. For example, you cannot change the IP addresses of an isolated member.If the members of a group cannot communicate, identify and correct the network problems. This will restore the group to normal full operation, including network communication.

Click Members > member_name > Network tab.

Figure 11-11: Member Network Interfaces

The Status of Network Interfaces panel (Figure 11-11) shows the following information:• Operational status. This is the current status of the network interface and can be:

- up – Operational, connected to a functioning network, configured with an IP address and subnet mask, and enabled.

- down – Not operational, not connected to a functioning network, not configured with an IP address or subnet mask, or disabled.

• Requested status. This is set by administrative action and can be enabled or disabled.


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If the operational status is down, but the requested status is enabled, identify and correct the error.

• Speed. Make sure that the interface speed is adequate.• MTU size. Each interface automatically sets the path MTU size. You can set the

Ethernet frame size on an iSCSI initiator. • Packet errors. A few packet errors are not usually a problem. A large number of packet

errors can suggest a network problem. If a port or network interface fails or if a large number of packet errors occur, you can try to regain network connectivity by moving the cable connection to a functioning network interface port on the active control module.

The IP Configuration panel shows each interface and its IP address, netmask, MAC address and description, if any.


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Displaying Member Connections

Click Members > member_name > Connections tab (Figure 11-12).

Figure 11-12: Member Connections

The iSCSI Connections panel shows information about the initiator address, which volume it is connected to (Target column), how long the connection has been active, and which Ethernet port the initiator is using.

Displaying Member Service Information

You can see specific information about member hardware (for example, a component model, revision, or serial number). You can also display the Dell service tag identification for each individual array.

Click Members > member_name > Service tab.

The component and disk information shown will depend on your array model, and might not look like the following figure.


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Figure 11-13: Member Service

Managing Members

Only group administrators can manage members. For more information, see Managing Group Administration Accounts on page 3-11.

Modifying the Group Membership Password

When you create a group with the setup utility, you are prompted for the password that will be required when you add a member to the group. You can change this password at any time.

1. Click Members > Set password.

2. Enter the new password twice (Figure 11-14), then click OK. The password can contain 3 to 16 alphanumeric characters and is case-sensitive.


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Figure 11-14: Change Group Membership Password

Modifying a Member’s Name and Description

You can modify a member name and description. The name is used only to identify the member for administrative purposes or replication.

1. Click Members > member_name > Modify member settings (Figure 11-15).

Figure 11-15: Modify Member Settings

2. Enter the new member name. The name must be unique in the group. Optionally, specify a description for the member.

3. Click OK to apply the changes.


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Moving a Member to a Different Pool

In a multi-member group, you can divide storage space into multiple storage pools. A member can belong to only one pool at a time. Volume data is stored only within a pool, not across different pools.

By default, all members added to a group belong to the default storage pool. If multiple pools are available, you can add a member to a different pool.

You can also move a member from one pool to another, or create a new pool for the member, with no effect on users and data availability.

Volume data stored on the member will be moved to the other pool members, because all volume data must remain within the same pool. If the other pool members do not have sufficient space to store the volume data from the member, the member will not be moved.

The space on a member will not be available in the new pool until the move operation completes.

To move a member to a different storage pool or to create a new pool with that member:

1. Click Members > member_name > Modify member settings (Figure 11-15).

The available pools and the capacity and free space in each pool are shown.

2. Select the pool for the member, or click Create new pool. – If you are moving the member to another, existing pool, the values in the storage

pool table will be updated. Make sure the pool has enough space for the member move operation, then click OK. This can take a long time, depending on the amount of data that must be moved to the other pool members.

– If you are creating a new pool, enter a name and (optional) description for the new pool, then click OK.

Cancelling a Member Move Operation

You can cancel a member move operation. The member will immediately move back to the original pool.

Click Members > member_name > Cancel member move.


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Changing the Member RAID Policy or Space Availability

In most cases, you can change a member’s RAID policy while the member remains active in the group.

Note: You can change the RAID policy for a member only if the new RAID policy uses less space than the current policy.

Table 11-1 shows the RAID policy changes you can make on an active member.

You can also specify that the member’s space become available immediately during the RAID reconfiguration, or to wait until the reconfiguration is complete before making the space available to create volumes. You can change the policy from waiting to immediate availability, but not from immediate to waiting.

1. Click Members > member_name > Modify RAID configuration (Figure 11-16).

2. Select the new RAID policy. The values in the table are updated, showing the new member capacity statistics.

Table 11-1: Supported RAID Policy Changes on Active Members

From To

RAID-10 RAID-5 or RAID-50

RAID-10 RAID-10 no spares (must use the CLI)

RAID-10 no spares RAID-50 no spares (must use the CLI)

RAID-50 RAID-5

RAID-50 RAID-50 no spares (must use the CLI)

RAID-5 Not supported.a

a. To change a RAID-5 policy to any other RAID policy, you must remove the member from the group, add it to the group again, then specify the new RAID policy. The other members must have enough free space to store the data from the member being removed. Removing a member resets it to factory defaults. If you do not have enough space on other members, you must do a full backup of the data on the member, remove the member, add it to the group again, and then restore its data.


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Figure 11-16: Modify RAID Configuration

3. (Optional) Under Expand group capacity, change the availability setting.

4. Click OK to complete the RAID policy change. While the RAID policy is changing, the member’s RAID status will be expanding.

Removing a Member from a Group

You can remove a member from a multi-member group while the group is online and data stays available. You cannot remove the only member from a group.

After a member is removed from the group, it is automatically reset to the factory defaults, which removes all group, member, and volume information and any volume data residing on the member.

Removing a member will decrease the overall storage capacity of the group and also the storage pool to which the member belongs. Any volume data stored on the removed member must be vacated and moved to the other pool members.

If the other pool members do not have enough space to store the data from the removed member, an error occurs. The operation will not start until enough pool space is available.


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This can be a long operation, based on the amount of data that must be moved to the other pool members. While data is being moved, the member status is vacating-in-progress.

To remove an online member from the group, click:

Members > member_name > Delete member (Figure 11-17).

Click Yes to delete the member.

Figure 11-17: Delete Member

In some cases (for example, if the member has experienced a catastrophic failure), you must remove a member that is offline. Follow the same procedure as for removing an online member. However, an error message shows that the vacate has failed, which means that the data could not be moved to the other pool members. When prompted, agree to remove the member.

Using LEDs to Identify a Member

In a lab environment, it might be necessary to identify a member for maintenance or service purposes. To help you locate a member, you can make the LEDs on a member chassis flash.

For example, on the back panel of any array model, the fan tray LED and the control module ERR LED will flash.

To flash a member’s LEDs, click:

Members > member_name > Start LEDs flashing

To stop flashing a member’s LEDs, click:

Members > member_name > Stop LEDs flashing


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Setting Memory Cache Modes

Each control module contains a battery-backed cache. The active control module operates in one of two modes:• Write-back. Data is stored in the cache until it is written to disk, which can increase

performance. The cache battery protects the data. In a dual control module configuration, when write-back mode is enabled, cache data is also mirrored across the two controllers, supplying additional data protection.

• Write-through. Data is written immediately to disk. This decreases the risk of data loss, but can decrease performance.

You can set policies that control whether a cache will operate in write-back or write-through mode when a cache battery voltage is low or when a control module fails in a dual control module configuration.

The policies and their behaviors are:• Use write-through mode if only one controller is functional (also called

single-controller-safe mode).

If enabled on a member with a single control module, the control module cache will always operate in write-through mode. If disabled (the default), under normal conditions, the cache will operate in write-back mode.

If enabled on a member with dual control modules, but only one module is functioning, the cache on the functional control module will operate in write-through mode. If disabled (the default), the cache on the functional control module will continue to operate in write-back mode. The default value is recommended.

• Use write-through mode if battery charge is below tolerance (also called low-battery-safe mode).

If enabled (the default) on a member with a single control module, and the charge on the cache battery is low, the cache will operate in write-through mode.

On a member with dual control modules, if the low-battery-safe policy is enabled (the default) and the single-controller-safe policy is disabled, the active control module cache will continue to operate in write-back mode if the cache battery has an adequate charge, even if the secondary control module’s cache battery has a low battery charge. If both the low-battery-safe and single-controller-safe policies are enabled, the active control module cache will operate in write-through mode if the cache battery charge on either control module is low. The default value is recommended.


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If the low-battery-safe policy is disabled, a cache will operate in write-back mode, regardless of cache battery charge. Disabling low-battery-safe mode is not recommended because of the risk of data loss.

To change the control module memory cache policy:

1. Click Members > member_name > Controllers tab.

2. In the Memory Cache panel, select the preferred cache mode policy.

3. Click Save ( ).

Managing the Disk Array

Each group member includes a highly-available, high-performance disk array. After an array is added to a group, the storage in the member will be available once you set the RAID policy. Most disk array management operations are performed automatically, including RAID configuration and data provisioning.

Although you can use drives of different sizes in an array, the smallest drive in the array controls how much space is available. For example, if an array has both 250 GB and 400 GB drives, only 250 GB of space will be available on each drive.

A member’s disk space is configured with a RAID level and one or two spare drives, except in the case of no-spare RAID policies.

If a member has experienced a drive failure, the Member Disks window (Figure 11-10) shows the failure, and the Alarms panel shows an alarm.

When a drive in a RAID set fails, a member behaves as follows:• If a spare disk drive is available: Data from the failed drive is reconstructed on the

spare. During the reconstruction, the RAID set that contains the failed drive will be temporarily degraded.

• If a spare disk drive is not available, but the RAID set is intact: The RAID set that contains the failed drive is degraded. For RAID 5, performance is decreased.

• If a spare disk drive is not available, and the RAID set is degraded: The member is set offline, and any volumes and snapshots that have data stored on the member are set offline. Data might be lost and must be recovered from a backup or replica.


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Note: Replace failed drives as soon as possible. Do not let the array run with a degraded RAID set. Disk drive failure in a RAID set that is already degraded will cause loss of data.

You can install disk drives in an array and replace failed drives without disrupting I/O operations. See the PS Series Hardware Maintenance manual for your array model for instructions for physically installing and removing drives.

After installing a disk, examine the status in the Member Disks window (Figure 11-10) to make sure that the drive is either online or a set as a spare.

When you replace a failed disk, a member behaves as follows:• If a spare disk drive was used: The new drive automatically becomes a spare, with

no effect on performance. • If a RAID set was degraded: Data is automatically reconstructed on the new drive

and performance goes back to normal after reconstruction.• If a member was offline because of multiple RAID set drive failures: Any volumes

and snapshots with data on the member will be offline and the data might be lost.

Enabling or Disabling a Network Interface

Disabling a member’s network interface makes it unable to service network I/O requests. Enabling an interface makes it operational if it is configured properly.

Note: Disabling a functional network interface will disconnect all iSCSI initiators that are connected to that interface.


2. In the IP Configuration panel, select the network interface.

3. Do either of the following:– In the Status of Network Interfaces panel, click the enabled or disabled link

for the appropriate interface to either disable or enable it.– In the IP Configuration panel, select the interface. Then, in the Activities panel,

click Enable interface to enable the interface or click Disable interface to disable the interface.


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Unconfiguring a Network Interface

You can unconfigure a network interface so that it is no longer used for I/O. Alternately, you can temporarily disable the interface. See Enabling or Disabling a Network Interface on page 11-24.


2. In the IP Configuration panel, select the network interface and then click Modify IP Settings in the Activities panel.

3. In the IP address field, delete the IP address.

4. Click OK.

Modifying the Default Gateway

When you add a member to a group, the setup utility prompts you for the default gateway that will be used for all the member’s network interfaces.

You must specify a default gateway for a member to let the IP addresses assigned to the member’s network interfaces communicate outside of the local network (for example, for access to volumes).


2. In the IP Configuration panel, click Modify next to the Default gateway field (Figure 11-18).

Figure 11-18: Set Default IP Gateway

3. Specify the default gateway in the dialog box or delete the IP address, then click OK.

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12 Diagnosing Problems

Regularly examining the PS Series group events will help make sure that you can correct any issues before they cause problems.Caution: If a problem occurs in a PS Series array, do not turn off power to the array

unless the array has been cleanly shut down. Use the shutdown command to cleanly shut down an array.

Monitoring EventsWhen any event occurs in a group (such as the creation of a volume or the removal of a power supply), a message occurs. These messages help you monitor normal operations and correct problems before they disrupt operations. Event messages can also help you identify problems.

Displaying Events

You can see event messages in the Group Manager GUI and CLI, and on the console. Each event has a priority. Table 12-1 lists event priorities in order from highest (most severe) to lowest (least severe).

Each event message includes the following information:• Event priority• Date and time that the event occurred• Member that had the event• Event text

Table 12-1: Event Priorities

Priority Description

FATAL Catastrophic failure. Identify and correct the problem immediately.ERROR Serious failure. Identify and correct the problem as soon as possible.WARNING Potential problem in the group. An event with this priority might become an error

event if you do not correct the problem.INFO Normal operational and transitional events that are of interest only.

Group Administration Diagnosing Problems

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You can see events by clicking Events in the far left panel of the GUI. Events are shown in the Group Events window (Figure 12-1).

To see additional information about events, move the cursor over the event message. More information is shown in a popup window. If the popup window does not open, see Setting General Policies on page 2-6.

Figure 12-1: Group Events


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From the Group Events window, you can:• See all events, or events of a specific priority. Pull down the View menu and select

the events to show all events, warnings and errors, or fatal (critical) errors.• Retrieve previous events. To retrieve the most recent 100 events, click the More

icon ( ). Click again to retrieve the next 100 events.• Acknowledge all events. Unacknowledged events are shown in bold. To

acknowledge the receipt of all event messages, click the Acknowledge all icon ( ). Acknowledging all events removes the bolding.

• Clear the event list. To erase all the events from the panel, click the Clear event list icon ( ). To show the events again, click the More icon.

• Show or hide details. Click the View details and Hide details icons ( ) to show or hide details about the selected event.

If the GUI is not available, you can use the Group Manager CLI to see events. Use telnet or SSH to connect to the group and log in to a group administration account. If you do not have a network connection, use a serial connection from an array to a console or computer running a terminal emulator. At the CLI prompt, enter the show recentevents command. See the CLI Reference for more information.

Event messages on the console or in the CLI look like the following:

INFO 4/11/06 11:02:23 mem2 Volume ‘dbvol’ has been successfully created

WARNING 4/11/06 14:19:43 mem1 There are outstanding warning health conditions

Accessing the Event Log File on a Remote Computer

If you configured syslog notification (see Configuring Event Notification on page 3-6), you can examine the file to which events are logged on the remote computer. To examine the file, log in to one of the remote computers. The location of the log file is controlled by the syslog configuration on the remote computer.

Accessing Events Sent to an E-Mail Address

If you configured e-mail notification of events (see Configuring Event Notification on page 3-6), you can receive event messages that are sent to the configured e-mail addresses.


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When an event occurs, a timer starts. If no other events occur within one minute, e-mail is sent to the addresses you configured for notification. If another event occurs within one minute, the timer starts again. If the timer keeps starting over, after 2 minutes, e-mail is sent.

Examining SNMP Traps

If you configured SNMP trap notification (see Configuring SNMP Access to a Group on page 3-26), you can examine any traps sent from the group. Use an SNMP console to examine traps.

Monitoring Alarms and Action ItemsThe Group Manager GUI notifies you when an alarm occurs in the group. An alarm is a persistent condition in an array (for example, high temperature). Alarms help you to find and correct problems before they disrupt operations. Each alarm has a priority level, either warning or critical, based on the severity of the problem.

The GUI also shows action items that an administrator must complete (for example, doing a manual transfer replication).

When a new alarm occurs, the Outstanding Alarms panel header, at the bottom of the main GUI window, will flash until you click the panel and open it (Figure 12-2).


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Figure 12-2: Outstanding Alarms

The Outstanding Alarms panel includes three tabs that show:• Errors. See Critical Errors on page 12-6.

• Warnings. See Warnings on page 12-7.• Actions. See Actions on page 12-7.

Each alarm entry includes the severity, the object that reported the alarm, and the message text. Move the mouse over the message text to see more information in a popup window. You can sort the information by clicking the table headers.

Alarms are shown until the condition is corrected or until you complete the task. However, the event message associated with the alarm will remain in the event log.

Click the Acknowledge all icon ( ) in the Outstanding Alarms panel to acknowledge all alarms and remove the text bolding of any outstanding alarm messages.

To close the Outstanding Alarms panel, click the header.


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Note: Alarms for member health conditions also cause LEDs on the array to light up.

Critical Errors

Critical errors are shown on the Errors tab. Critical errors describe serious problems that can cause damage to the array or data loss, and must be resolved immediately.

Critical errors indicate that one or more of the following has occurred:• RAID is not functioning.• Lost block table is full.• Array temperature exceeds upper or lower limit.• Control module cache has lost data.

• One or both fan trays are not installed.• Both fans on a fan tray or cooling module have failed.• Cache battery is not being charged because it exceeds the temperature limit.• NVRAM coin cell battery has failed.• Cache contains data that does not belong to any of the installed disks.• More than one valid RAID set found in the array.• Control modules are different models.• A critical hardware component has failed.• Operations panel failed or not installed (only PS3000 or PS5000 Series arrays).• Processor that monitors array has failed (only PS3000 or PS5000 Series arrays).


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Warnings

Warnings are shown on the Warnings tab. Warnings describe conditions that can become critical if not corrected, conditions that decrease performance, or low-space issues.

Warnings indicate that one or more of the following has occurred:• RAID set is degraded but still functioning.• RAID (volume-level) has lost blocks.• Component temperature is near upper or lower limit. • Fan RPMs exceed upper or lower limit.• Power supply fan has failed.• Power supply is not installed or has no power.• Only one control module installed or control module has failed over.• Control module has insufficient amount of RAM.• Lock on secondary control module is open (only PS50E to PS2400E arrays).• Active control module syncing with secondary.• No communication between control modules.• Installed spare does not have enough capacity to replace a RAID set disk.• A non-critical hardware component has failed.• Real-time-clock battery is low.• Cache battery has less than 72 hours of charge.

Actions

Actions describe operations that you must complete, such as performing manual transfer replication, or operations involved in failback between partner groups.

Actions indicate that one or more of the following has occurred:• Outbound manual replication is configured. Use the Manual Transfer Utility to

complete the replication.• To complete a failback operation, you must demote a volume or promote a replica set.


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Monitoring the GroupThe GUI includes windows that help you to monitor current group activity, including iSCSI connections to the group iSCSI targets, snapshot and replica schedules, replication activity, administrative login activity and history, and in-progress operations.

Displaying iSCSI Connections

Click Group Monitoring > iSCSI Connections tab (Figure 12-3).

Figure 12-3: Group Monitoring - iSCSI Connections

The iSCSI Connections tab shows the iSCSI connections to iSCSI targets (volumes and snapshots), including the initiator address and the megabytes read and written since the last iSCSI connection.


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Displaying Schedules

Click Group Monitoring > Schedules tab (Figure 12-4).

Figure 12-4: Group Monitoring - Schedules

The Schedules tab shows the volumes and their schedule configurations. In the Actions column, click the icons to modify, enable or disable, or delete a schedule.


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Displaying Replication Information

Click Group Monitoring > Replication tab (Figure 12-5).

Figure 12-5: Group Monitoring - Replication

The Configured Volume Replication panel shows the volumes currently configured for replication, the direction of replication, the status, the start time, and the amount of data transferred.

The Outbound Replication History panel shows the last 10 replication operations for each volume.

The Disaster Recovery Operations panel shows the progress of failback operations between the group and its replication partners.


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Displaying Login Information

Click Group Monitoring > Administrative Sessions tab (Figure 12-6).

Figure 12-6: Group Monitoring - Administrative Sessions

The Active Administrative Sessions panel shows the active GUI and CLI sessions and the login time. The Client IP column shows the IP address of the computer running the GUI. The Local IP column shows the IP address to which the computer is connected (usually the group IP address, or the management IP address if a management network is enabled).

The Administrative Login History panel shows the login history for the accounts that have logged in to the group, the account type and authentication, the pools for which they have management privilege, their current status, and the date and time of the last login.


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Displaying Group Operations

Click Group Monitoring > Operations tab (Figure 12-7).

Figure 12-7: Group Monitoring - Operations

The Operations tab includes the following panels:• Member Operations shows the progress of moving a member to a different pool or

removing a member from a group.• Partner Operations shows the progress of moving a partner’s delegated space to a

different pool.• Volume Operations shows the progress of moving a volume to a different pool.

To cancel an in-progress operation, select it and click Cancel.


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Monitoring SpaceBy monitoring the space usage on the group, you can make changes (such as increasing the amount of delegated space for a partner, or increasing the snapshot reserve for a volume) to prevent problems from occurring.

You can monitor usage of the following:• Group space. See Displaying All Group Members on page 11-1 for information about

monitoring group space. • Pool space. See Displaying Storage Pool Summary and Status on page 10-4 for

information about monitoring pool space.

To increase the amount of free space in a pool, you can move volumes from the low-space pool to a different pool. You can also add more members to the pool. See Moving a Member to a Different Pool on page 11-18.

• Snapshot reserve. See Displaying Snapshot Summary and Status on page 6-4 for information about monitoring the snapshot reserve.

To increase the snapshot reserve for a volume, see Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7.

• Delegated space. See Displaying Replication Activity Between Partners on page 7-25 for information about monitoring delegated space.

To increase delegated space for a partner, see Modifying a Replication Partner on page 7-15.

• Replica reserve. See Displaying Inbound Replication Status on page 7-29 for information about monitoring the replica reserve.

To increase the replica reserve for a volume, see Configuring a Volume or Volume Collection for Replication on page 7-16.

Monitoring ReplicationIf a replication operation makes no progress, a warning occurs. Make sure you have adequate network bandwidth between the groups, in addition to full IP routing. A slow network link between the partners can cause long replication times.


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Examine the status of the replication and see how much data is being moved. Make sure that the network link can send this much data. If necessary, increase the network bandwidth.

See Displaying the Replication Configuration for a Volume on page 7-22 and Displaying Inbound Replication Status on page 7-29 for information about monitoring replication duration.

Table 12-2 shows replica statuses.

Table 12-3 shows replication operation status values as seen from the primary group.

Table 12-2: Replica Status

Status Description

complete All volume data has been stored on the secondary partner.

incomplete or inprogress Replication is not complete. A replication operation cannot start if another replication for the same volume is still in progress.

Table 12-3: Replication Status – Primary Group

Status Description and Solution

authfailure Authentication between the partners failed.Solution: Make sure the passwords configured on the partners agree.

cancelling Administrator cancelled the replication operation.

completed The last replication completed successfully.

disabled Replication of the volume has been manually disabled.

failed Volume replication has failed.Solution: Examine the event log for information about the failure.

inprogress Volume is currently being replicated to the partner.

manual-transfer-in-progress Manual transfer is currently in progress.


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partner-down Volume replication cannot continue because the partner is unavailable.Solution: Make sure the network link between the partners is configured correctly.

partner-needs-upgrade Replication has been paused automatically because the partner is running incompatible firmware and must be upgraded to the same firmware as the group. Replication will continue automatically when the partner is upgraded.

partner-paused-outbound Partner administrator paused outbound replication.

partner-paused-inbound Partner administrator paused inbound replication.

paused Administrator paused replication to the partner.

pause-max-snaps-reached Volume replication paused because the partner (secondary group) contains the maximum number of replicas or snapshots for a group.Solution: To continue the replication, delete replicas or snapshots. If a schedule is creating replicas, decrease the maximum number of replicas to keep.

paused-remote-reserve-low Volume replication was paused because the administrator of the primary group must increase the replica reserve. An event message will show the amount to which the replica reserve must be increased in order for the replication to complete.See Configuring a Volume or Volume Collection for Replication on page 7-16 for information about increasing the replica reserve.

Table 12-3: Replication Status – Primary Group (Continued)



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Table 12-4 shows the replication operation status values as seen from the secondary group.

paused-remote-resize-failed Volume reserve was increased, but the replica reserve resize operation on the partner failed due to lack of delegated space.Replica reserve is based on a percentage of volume reserve. Therefore when the volume reserve increases either manually or automatically (for thin provisioned volumes), the replica reserve requirement also increases. Solution: To continue replication, increase the delegated space. See Modifying a Replication Partner on page 7-15.

remote-disallow-downgrade-not-set

Replication has been paused automatically because the partner group must disallow firmware downgrades before replication can continue.

waiting Volume replication data transfer has not yet started because no more iSCSI sessions can be created.

Table 12-4: Replication Status – Secondary Group

Status Description

authfailure Authentication between the partners failed.Solution: Make sure the passwords configured on the partners agree.

farenddown No communication with the primary group for 1 hour or more, possibly due to a network problem or a failure at the primary group.

inprogress Replication is currently in progress.

stopped Replication was paused.

waiting Volume replication data transfer has not yet started because no more iSCSI sessions can be created.

Table 12-3: Replication Status – Primary Group (Continued)



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Monitoring Volumes and SnapshotsA volume can be set offline if network problems occur or if a member that contains volume data is not available. If a volume is set offline because of a problem, all of its snapshots are also set offline.

See Displaying Volume Summary and Status on page 5-7 for information about monitoring volumes. See Displaying Snapshot Summary and Status on page 6-4 for information about monitoring snapshots.

Volume and Snapshot Status

A volume or snapshot has two status values: Current Status (Table 12-5), which indicates the actual status of the volume or snapshot, and Requested Status (Table 12-6), which is set by an administrator (such as online or offline). Normally, the current status and requested status are the same. If they are not, identify and correct any problems.

Table 12-5: Current Volume or Snapshot Status


online Administrator set the volume or snapshot online, and no failures have occurred. Authorized computers can access the volume or snapshot. Online volumes and snapshots are shown in the far left panel in black text.

offline Administrator set the volume or snapshot offline. Computers cannot access the volume or snapshot, but no failures have occurred. Offline volumes and snapshots are shown in the far left panel in gray text.

offline-snap-reserve-met Volume or snapshot was automatically set offline because the reserved snapshot space was exceeded and the snapshot recovery policy is to set the volume and its snapshots offline. Solution: Increase the amount of reserved snapshot space. See Modifying Snapshot Settings for a Volume on page 6-7.

offline-max-grow-met A thin-provisioned volume and its snapshots were automatically set offline because the volume used all of its reserved space.Solution: Increase the value of the maximum in-use space setting for the volume. See Increasing the Size of a Volume on page 5-15.


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offline-missing-pages A volume or snapshot was set offline because some volume data cannot be found. This is a serious condition.Solution:Contact your support provider immediately.

offline-nospace-auto-grow The thin provisioned volume and its snapshots were set offline because there was not enough free pool space for the volume reserve to increase.Solution: Add more space to the pool (such as by adding another member to the pool).

offline-member-down Volume or snapshot was automatically set offline because a member that contains volume or snapshot data is down or unavailable. Solution: Identify why the member is unavailable and correct the problem.

offline-lost-cached-blocks Volume or snapshot was automatically set offline because blocks were lost. Computers cannot access the volume or snapshot.Solution: Click the status link and select how to manage the lost blocks. See Managing a Volume with Lost Blocks on page 5-33 for more information.

Table 12-6: Requested Volume or Snapshot Status

Status Description

online Administrator set the volume or snapshot online. Authorized computers can access the volume or snapshot.

offline Administrator set the volume or snapshot offline. Computers cannot access the volume or snapshot.

online-lost-cached -blocks

Administrator chose to set the volume or snapshot online despite lost blocks. Authorized computers can access the volume or snapshot.If an application tries to read a lost block, an error will occur. If the block is re-written, no error will occur, and the block will no longer show a status of lost.

Table 12-5: Current Volume or Snapshot Status (Continued)



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Monitoring HardwareAlthough array hardware is redundant, failures can occur. Monitor the group members and replace any failed hardware. Hardware problems will cause alarms that also trigger array LEDs.

To display the member status, see Displaying All Group Members on page 11-1.

Table 12-7 shows member status.

Component failures appear in the Member Status windows.

You can monitor the following array components:• Disks and RAID status. Identify failed or failing disks and replace them as soon as

possible. Although spare disks and RAID protect data against disk failures, multiple disk failures might put data in jeopardy. If disk errors occur, replace the disk before it fails completely.

Table 12-7: Member Status

Status Description

unconfigured Member was added to the group but has no RAID policy configured yet.

initializing Member is initializing its storage according to the selected RAID policy. This status is shown until initialization is complete if you selected the option to wait before displaying the available storage on the member.

online Member is a functioning member of the group. However, a member can experience a failure but still function in the group. Examine the member health status for more information.

offline Member is unavailable, failed, or power was removed.If a member fails, identify and correct the problem.

vacating-in-progress

Member is moving data to the other group members before being removed from the group. This can be a long operation, based on the amount of data that must be moved to the other pool members.

vacated Member has successfully moved its data to the other pool members prior to being removed from the group. (This status is shown briefly, then changes to online.)


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See and Displaying the Disk Configuration on page 11-11 for more information.• Control modules and batteries. If the battery status stays at low voltage or low

voltage, charging status for an extended period of time, contact your PS Series service provider to replace the battery.

See Displaying Control Module Status on page 11-9 for information about monitoring control modules.

• Network interfaces. If a network interface shows errors, examine the group event log to identify the problem. If a port or network interface fails, you can often regain network connectivity by moving the cable connection to a functioning network interface port.

See Displaying Network Configuration Information on page 11-12 for information about monitoring network interfaces.

• Power. Make sure no LEDs on the power supplies are red, and, if applicable to the power supply, make sure no fan errors occurred.

See Displaying Member Enclosure Status on page 11-7 for information about monitoring power supplies.

• Cooling. Periodically, feel the room temperature where the hardware is located and make sure that the room is sufficiently cool and ventilated. Also make sure the fan trays and cooling modules have no red LEDs, and monitor the member temperature.

A member can still work if one fan fails. However, the failure of both fans can cause the member temperature to increase. If the temperature increases too much, an event message occurs. If the member temperature increases to its maximum limit, event and alarm messages occur. Replace the failed fan tray or cooling module as soon as possible.

See Displaying Member Enclosure Status on page 11-7 for information about monitoring cooling modules.


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Disk Status

Table 12-8 shows disk status.Table 12-8: Disk Status


too-small Disk drive is smaller than other drives in the array. The drive cannot be used in the array.Solution: Replace the drive with one of the same or larger size.

failed Disk drive has failed. Solution: If the drive status is failed, immediately replace it. Make sure that spare drives are installed in an array.

foreign Disk drive has a foreign label. The drive was probably removed from a different array and then installed in this array. Solution: To use the drive in the array, click the foreign disk link and clear the label.

history-of-failures Previously failed disk. Solution: Replace the drive soon. To use the drive anyway, click the history-of-failure link and agree to use the disk.

offline Used when a drive does not fall into the other status categories.

online Functioning as a data disk.

spare Functioning as a spare disk.

unsupported-version Disk drive cannot use the firmware version on the array.


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RAID Status

Table 12-9 shows RAID status for a member.Table 12-9: RAID Status


ok Disk array has successfully initialized and performance is normal.

expanding Disk array is expanding (for example, because additional disk drives have been installed or the RAID policy is changing from RAID-10 to RAID-50).

verifying Disk array is initializing (for example, when the member’s RAID policy is set).

degraded A RAID 1 set or a RAID 5 set is degraded (for example, because a drive has failed and no spares are available). If the RAID policy is RAID-5 or RAID-50, performance might be impaired.Solution: If the RAID status is degraded, immediately identify and replace any failed drives. Make sure that spare drives are installed and functioning in an array.

reconstructing Disk array is reconstructing data on a drive (for example, because a drive has failed and a spare is being used to replace it). During reconstruction, performance can decrease. After reconstruction, performance goes back to normal, unless a RAID set is degraded.Solution: If the RAID status is reconstructing, immediately identify and replace any failed drives. Make sure that spare drives are installed and functioning in an array.

failed Multiple drive failures in a RAID 1 set or a RAID 5 set have caused the disk array to fail. The member will be set offline.Solution: If the RAID status is failed, recover the data from a backup or replica.

catastrophicLoss Disk array has lost group metadata or user data. The array will not initialize and an error message is shown on the console at regular intervals. Solution: See the clearlostdata command in the CLI Reference manual for information about catastrophic data loss. If necessary, recover the data from a backup or replica.


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Battery Status

An array has two types of batteries: control module cache and NVRAM.

Table 12-10 shows NVRAM coin cell battery status.

Table 12-11 shows control module cache battery status. If the cache battery charge drops below acceptable limits and the low-battery-safe policy is enabled, the active cache will automatically use write-through mode, which can decrease performance.

Table 12-10: NVRAM Battery Status

Status Descriptiongood Battery is fully charged.bad Battery has failed.not-present Battery is not installed.unknown Battery status is not known.

Table 12-11: Cache Battery Status

Status Description

ok Battery is fully charged.

failed Battery has failed.Contact your PS Series service provider for more information.

missing battery Battery is missing. Contact your PS Series service provider for more information.

low voltage status Battery is below the limit for normal operation.If the battery displays this status for an extended period of time, contact your PS Series service provider.

low voltage, is charging

Battery is charging but is still below the limit for normal operation.If the battery displays this status for an extended period of time, contact your PS Series service provider.

good battery, is charging

Battery is charging but has enough charge for normal operation.


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Power Supply Status

Table 12-12 shows power supply status. These status values apply to all array models.

Table 12-13 shows power supply fan status. These status values apply to array models with a combination power supply/fan component.

Table 12-14 shows array temperature status. These values apply to all array models.

Table 12-12: Power Supply Status

Status Description

on Array is receiving power from the power supply.

no-power Power supply is not installed, not turned on, or not connected to a power source. Keep all power supplies installed and make sure the power switch is in the on position.

failed Power supply has failed.

Table 12-13: Power Supply Fan Status

Status Description

fan-present Fan is functioning.

fan-not-present Fan has failed, or the power supply is not installed, not turned on, or not connected to a power source.

Table 12-14: Array Temperature Status

Status Description

normal Temperature is within normal range.

warning Temperature is outside normal range, but within limits.


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Channel Card Status

Some array models include channel cards and an Enclosure Interface Processor (EIP) card.

Table 12-15 shows channel card status.

Table 12-16 shows EIP card status.

critical Temperature is outside operating limits.Note: Identify and correct the problem before the array becomes damaged. For

example, make sure the air conditioning system is working correctly, and make sure there is air flow around the array. If a processor temperature stays high, replace the control module.

For proper cooling, do not remove a control module until you have a replacement. For information about replacing a control module, see the Hardware Maintenance manual for your array model or contact your PS Series support provider.

Table 12-15: Channel Card Status

Status Description

good Channel card is functioning normally.

failed Channel card has failed.

not-present Channel card is missing or status is unavailable.

Table 12-16: EIP Card Status

Status Description

good EIP card is functioning normally.

failed EIP card has failed.

not-present EIP card is missing or status is unavailable.

Table 12-14: Array Temperature Status (Continued)

Status Description


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Monitoring Performance StatisticsUse the Performance Monitor to show performance statistics for a member. The Performance Monitor collects statistical data every second.

1. Start the Performance Monitor by doing one of the following:– Click Members > member_name. In the Activities panel, under the Statistics

heading, click a component. The Performance Monitor window opens. – In the Tools panel, click Performance monitor. In the Select statistics list,

select a management object.

2. In the far left panel of the Performance Monitor window, select whether to show rates or values (Figure 12-8).

Figure 12-8: Performance Monitor

3. Click to start polling the data.

4. Click to stop polling the data.


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5. Click to navigate through the data (first, previous, next, and last readings).

6. Click to show the data as a chart, histogram (bar graph), linear scale or logarithmic scale, or to resize the display (scale in, scale out, or scale to fit).

For example, if you click Disks in the Activities panel of the Member Status window and then show a histogram view, the Performance Monitor shows total megabytes transferred to the member and megabytes for each disk (Figure 12-9).

Figure 12-9: Performance Monitor - Disk Statistics Histogram

7. To change the displayed statistics, click Select Statistics (Figure 12-10).


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Figure 12-10: Select Statistics

8. Expand the member name and double-click a component.

9. To see more information about a disk, expand the disk and double-click Disk statistics. The Performance Monitor - Disk Statistics window (Figure 12-11) shows I/O transfers, megabytes transferred, and errors.


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Figure 12-11: Performance Monitor - Disk Statistics

Figure 12-12 shows an example of member network statistics in a chart view, including the bytes transferred and errors for each network interface.


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Figure 12-12: Performance Monitor - Network Statistics - Chart View

Collecting Diagnostic Information (Service Only)If an event occurs that only your support provider can correct, you can collect encrypted diagnostic information from the array and send that information to the support provider using the GUI. Do not use this feature unless instructed to do so by your support provider.

Note: The group must have an SMTP server configured. See Configuring Event Notification on page 3-6 for more information.

1. In the Tools menu, click Diagnostic reports.

2. From the drop-down list (Figure 12-13), select a specific member name or all members. Your support provider will help you decide.


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Figure 12-13: Generating Diagnostic Reports

3. By default, the diagnostic reports will be sent by e-mail to your support provider. Do not change this setting unless instructed to do so.

4. (Optional) Enter up to two additional e-mail addresses, separated by commas, to receive the diagnostic report.

5. Click OK.

Using MRTG to Monitor I/O and PerformanceAs a supplement to the Performance Monitor feature of the PS Series array, you can also use Multiple Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG) to monitor the I/O activity, latency, and throughput of volumes and members. For more information on using MRTG, see the CLI Reference.

Contacting SupportTo contact Dell EqualLogic customer support, see Technical Support and Customer Service on page xvi.

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Appendix A Replicating Data Manually

The first replication of a volume is a transfer of all the volume data from the primary group to the secondary group. In subsequent replications, only the data that changed since the last replication is transferred.

Normally, all replication occurs over the network. However, if you have a lot of data to transfer or a slow network link between the partners, you can use manual transfer replication. Manual transfer replication involves steps that must be performed at both replication locations, by the group administrator of each group.

To use manual transfer replication, the primary group administrator creates a replica as usual, but selects the manual transfer option. Instead of the data transfer occurring over the network, a temporary snapshot is created on the primary group, and a replica set and replica placeholder is created on the secondary group.

The administrator uses the Manual Transfer Utility to connect to the temporary snapshot and copy the volume data to one or more transfer files directly onto removable media or onto a computer for later copying to removable media. Then, the administrator sends the media (for example, tape, CD–ROM, or DVD), to the administrator of the secondary group, who uses the Manual Transfer Utility on a computer connected to the replication partner to load the data from the media into the replica set on the secondary group.

Any time you create a replica (except through a schedule), you can use manual transfer replication. Scheduled replications will not start until a pending or in-process manual transfer replication is complete.

Note: A computer running Windows XP cannot connect to both a volume and its snapshot at the same time. If you are running the Manual Transfer Utility on a Windows XP computer that is connected to the original volume, you must disconnect from the original volume to allow the Manual Transfer Utility to connect to the temporary snapshot on the primary group. To avoid this restriction, run the Manual Transfer Utility on a different computer.

The Manual Transfer Utility has two interfaces. Use the one appropriate to your environment:• Graphical user interface (GUI) that runs on Microsoft Windows through the Group

Manager GUI. On Windows computers, the GUI is the recommended method of doing manual transfer replication.

Group Administration Replicating Data Manually

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• Interactive command line interface (CLI) that runs on Windows, Linux, and UNIX operating systems. If you tried to use the GUI and received an error message, you must use the CLI. You can also use the CLI for scripting.

After you install the utility, see either Transferring Files Using the GUI on page A-6 or Transferring Files Using the CLI on page A-20.

Note: If you cannot use the Manual Transfer Utility, you must use a method that creates an image copy of the volume, such as raw data backup. You cannot use a file-based backup method. For UNIX operating systems, you can use a utility like dd. You can also use backup software that creates a mirror image of the volume. Multiple backup vendors supply software that can create image copies.When using a raw data backup method, follow the instructions for using the CLI version of the Manual Transfer Utility. For example, you must create the correct access controls and update the replication status when the transfer is complete.

Installing the Manual Transfer Utility

To do manual transfer replication, the Manual Transfer Utility (which includes both the GUI and CLI versions) must be installed on computers at both replication partner locations. The computers must have an iSCSI initiator and network access to the primary or secondary group, as applicable.

Installing the Utility on UNIX or Linux

Before you can install the Manual Transfer Utility on a computer running a UNIX or Linux operating system, you must install the following additional utilities:• Python 2.3 or later. You can download Python from the following website:

http://www.python.org/

• PySNMP V2 or later, but not PySNMP V4. You can download PySNMP from the following website:

http://pysnmp.sourceforge.net/

• To encrypt the volume data, both computers (at the primary and secondary group locations) also must have pyCrypto installed. You can download pyCrypto from the following website:


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http://www.amk.ca/python/code/crypto

To install the Manual Transfer Utility on a computer running UNIX or Linux:

1. Download the Manual Transfer Utility (called reptool.py) from the customer support website onto the computer you will use to do manual transfers.

2. Install the file in /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin, depending on your system setup.

3. Make sure your PATH variable contains the path to the file.

4. Examine the file permissions and, if necessary, make it executable.

On Linux computers, you must use the command line interface to the Manual Transfer Utility. You cannot run it through the Group Manager GUI. See Transferring Files Using the CLI on page A-20.

Installing the Utility on Windows

To install the Manual Transfer Utility on a computer running Windows:

1. Download the Manual Transfer Utility (called setup.exe) from the customer support website onto the computer you will use to do manual transfers. Follow the installation instructions on the website.

2. Double-click the setup.exe executable file to start the installation.

3. By default, the installer will create the following directory, and install the utility there:

C:\Program Files\Equallogic\reptool\

You can install the program in any location, but the default is recommended.

Planning the Transfer Files

Before you use the Manual Transfer Utility to create the transfer files, you must know:• Which type of media you will use• The file size or capacity limits of the media


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• Whether you can create the transfer files directly onto the media or must create the transfer files in temporary space on a computer, and then use a separate application to copy the data onto the media.

Planning the Number and Size of Transfer Files

The Manual Transfer Utility lets you control the number and size of transfer files for a specific volume replication. If writing directly onto removable media, by default the utility limits the transfer file size to 98% of the destination drive capacity.

If you limit the size of the individual transfer files, you can then also specify the number of files the utility will create in a single operation. Specify the number of files to create (1 to 100). The utility will create only as many files as necessary.

If the operation is interrupted (either by you or due to a network problem), when the utility resumes the operation, it will create the number of files specified, even if a previous attempt failed to create all the files in that operation. For example, if you specify to create 10 files at a time, and the utility stops for any reason after creating only 4 files, when it resumes it will create the next 10 files, not the remaining 6 from the previous attempt.

However, all the transfer files are valid, and can be sent to the replication partner administrator and used to complete the manual replication.

Planning Transfer File Compression

You can also optionally compress the volume data. However, do not use compression if any of the following is true:

• You are writing the transfer file to a medium that has its own compression algorithm (such as a tape)

• The data cannot be compressed (such as video or audio files)• The media has enough space for the transfer file without compression• The speed of the copy operation is more important than data compression

Planning Encryption

You can optionally supply a password to encrypt the transfer files. If you do supply a password, the administrator for the secondary group must enter that same password to unencrypt the files so they can be uploaded to the replica placeholder.


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Planning to Use Removable Media

If you can write data directly onto removable media, you can specify a file size limit based on the media capacity. Use the default value for the number of files to create (1). By default, the utility uses 98% of the media capacity, to leave room for operational overhead.

When the media is full and if more transfer files are needed, the utility shows a status of Need more files for that replication, and pauses until you remove the full media and mount blank media on the same drive letter that you started with. Repeat until all the transfer files for the volume data have been created, one at a time.

Planning to Use a Temporary Directory on the Computer

If you must use a separate application to write onto removable media (for example, when using tape, CD-ROMs or DVDs), you can specify a file size limit based on the media capacity or its file system requirements. Specify the number of files based on the file size and the amount of temporary space available on the computer.

For example, a DVD might have a capacity of 4 GB but the files are limited to 2 GB each. Therefore one DVD can contain 2 transfer files. If the temporary directory has 10 GB of space available, you can create 5 files of 2 GB. The utility pauses until you copy the files onto the DVDs and make the temporary space available again. When you resume the utility, it creates the next set of 5 files of 2 GB each. Repeat until all the transfer files have been created.

In another example, if you are using a large-capacity media with no file size limits, such as tape, you can specify a file size based on the tape capacity and create as many files as will fit in the temporary directory on the computer. Again, the utility pauses until you write the files onto the tape and make the temporary space available.

Finally, if the temporary directory has enough space for all the transfer files but you do not know how many must be created, you can specify a file size based on the media capacity and use the maximum value for the number of files to create (100). The utility creates only as many files as needed. If more than 100 files are needed, the utility shows a status of Need more files for that replication, and pauses until you resume the operation to create the next set of files.

Note: Be careful when creating transfer files in the same temporary space for several volumes at the same time. Calculate the size and number of transfer files for each volume, and the number of volumes for which you are creating transfer files, and make sure that the temporary space is large enough to contain all the files.


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Transferring Files Using the GUI

The Manual Transfer Utility GUI is the recommended method of doing manual transfer replication on a Windows computer.

Note: If you will be writing the transfer files to a directory on a computer that uses enhanced security (for example, the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration), make sure the directory has the appropriate permissions. The Manual Transfer Utility cannot change directory permissions.

The general steps for using the GUI to do manual transfer replication are as follows: Table A-1: Overview of Manual Transfer Replication Process

Step Description

A On a computer with the Manual Transfer Utility installed and access to the primary group, select a volume or volume collection and create a replica, and select the manual transfer option. (For more information, see Creating Replicas on page 7-21.)

This will create a temporary snapshot on the primary group and a replica set and replica placeholder on the secondary group. In addition, action items are shown in the Outstanding Alarms panel for both groups. The action items stay active until the manual replication is complete and committed.

The temporary snapshot will be automatically deleted after the manual transfer operation completes.

B Start the Manual Transfer Utility GUI and create the transfer files on the computer.

See Creating Transfer Files Using the GUI on page A-7.

C Copy the transfer files from the computer to external media.

For example, if you are using a CD–ROM, use your CD–ROM writer application to copy the files. If you created the transfer files directly on the external media, such as an external hard drive, skip this step.

If you divided the volume data among several transfer files, copy all the files for the volume onto the external media.

D Transport the media to a computer with access to the secondary group.

E On a computer with the Manual Transfer Utility installed and access to the secondary group, make the transfer file data on the external media accessible to the computer.

For example, insert the CD–ROM or copy the files from tape to a directory.


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The following sections describe these steps in detail.

Creating Transfer Files Using the GUI

If you are using a computer running Windows XP, disconnect the computer from the original volume. You can reconnect the volume after the transfer files are created.

1. From the computer with the Manual Transfer Utility installed, log in to the Group Manager GUI on the primary group.

2. Click Volumes > volume_name > Perform manual transfer.

The Manual Transfer Utility GUI opens automatically (Figure A-1).

Note: If you installed the utility in a location other than the default, an error dialog box opens. Enter the full path to the utility in the dialog box, then click OK to start the utility. This is a one-time step. From now on, the utility will start automatically when you click the link in the Tools menu.

F Log in to the Group Manager GUI on the secondary group.

G Start the Manual Transfer Utility GUI and load the data from the transfer files into the replica set.

See Loading Transfer Files Using the GUI on page A-11.

H Confirm the operation when complete.

See Displaying and Updating the Manual Transfer Status on page A-14.

Table A-1: Overview of Manual Transfer Replication Process (Continued)

Step Description


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Figure A-1: Manual Transfer Utility GUI – Primary Group

The top panel, entitled Manual Replications in Current Group, shows the manual transfer replication operations for the group to which the computer is currently connected, including the direction of data transfer (inbound or outbound), volume name, replication status, replica timestamp, amount of data being transferred, and the status of the data transfer. The Actions column contains a task link.

The bottom panel, entitled Data Transfers on Local Machine, shows the data transfer operations from the computer to the current group.

3. In the Manual Replications in Current Group panel, select the appropriate volume and click the Start data copy link in the Actions column (Figure A-1), then click Next.


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Figure A-2: Copy Data to Transfer File – Source

The utility will create temporary access control records for all the listed interfaces (Figure A-2). These records let the iSCSI initiator connect to the temporary snapshot, and are deleted automatically when the manual transfer operation is complete.

4. Specify either a drive letter (if you are writing the file directly to removable media) or the full path to the location where the transfer file will be created (Figure A-3).

Figure A-3: Copy Data to Transfer File – Destination


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If you have already performed a manual transfer operation, the field will default to the directory or drive letter used in the last operation.

The transfer file name is created automatically and uses the following syntax:

primary_name.volume_name.secondary_name.n.eqd

If multiple transfer files are created for the same volume, n specifies the order in which each was created, starting from 0. For a single transfer file, n will be 0.

In addition, select the appropriate copy operation options for the data transfer file, then click Next. For an explanation of these options, see Planning the Transfer Files on page A-3.

5. Review the information and click Finish (Figure A-4).

Figure A-4: Copy Data to Transfer File – Summary

6. When the data transfer starts, the Manual Transfer Start confirmation box is shown. Click OK.

You can monitor the status of the copy operation in the Manual Transfer Utility GUI window. The utility will show whether you have to create more transfer files for the replication. See Displaying and Updating the Manual Transfer Status on page A-14 for more information.


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Loading Transfer Files Using the GUI

To complete manual transfer replication, use the Manual Transfer Utility GUI to load the data from the transfer files into the replica set on the secondary group and then update the replication status.

1. From the computer with the Manual Transfer Utility installed, log into the Group Manager GUI on the secondary group.

2. Click Replication Partners > partner_name > Inbound tab > replica_set > Perform manual transfer.

Figure A-5: Manual Transfer Utility GUI – Secondary Group

The top panel of the Manual Transfer Utility GUI (Figure A-5), entitled Manual Replications in Current Group, shows the manual transfer replication operations for the group to which the computer is currently connected, including the direction of data transfer, volume name, replication status, replica timestamp, and the status of the data


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transfer. The Actions column contains a task link. The Data size column does not apply to the load operation and does not show any information.

The bottom panel, entitled Data Transfers on Local Machine, shows the data transfer operations from the computer to the current group. Click the checkbox to see all data transfer operations on all groups with connectivity to this computer.

3. In the top panel, select the volume and click Start data load. A series of dialog boxes opens.

4. In the Source dialog box (Figure A-6), enter the path to the transfer file. For mounted removable media (for example, a CD-ROM), specify the drive letter. If the data transfer file was encrypted, click Encryption password and enter the correct password. Then, click Next.

Figure A-6: Load Data from Transfer File - Source

5. The utility will create temporary access control records for all the listed interfaces (Figure A-7). These records let the iSCSI initiator connect to the placeholder replica, and are deleted automatically when the manual transfer operation is complete. Click Next.


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Figure A-7: Load Data from Transfer File – Destination

6. Review the information and click Finish (Figure A-8).

Figure A-8: Load Data from Transfer File – Summary

7. When the data load operation starts, a confirmation box is shown. Click OK.


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Displaying and Updating the Manual Transfer Status

For each volume using manual transfer replication, you can monitor the status of the copy operation status and the load operation. The status will indicate if more files must be created for a copy operation and if more files must be loaded for a load operation.

When the copy or load operation is complete, update the status. If you have many volumes using manual transfer replication that will be completed at different times, you can update the load status individually as you complete them.

Alternately, you can update the status for all volumes whose manual transfer replications are complete. • On the primary group, updating the copy status for a specific volume removes the

alarm for that volume from the Actions panel. The alarm on the secondary group remains active until you have finished loading the transfer files into the replica set and committed that operation.

• On the secondary group, updating the load status for a specific volume removes the alarm for that volume from the Actions panel on both groups, if applicable, and changes the replication status to complete on both groups.

• On the secondary group, updating the status for all complete data transfers removes the alarms from the Actions panel on both groups, and changes the replication status to complete, for all volumes whose manual transfer operations are complete.

Note: Future replications for a volume (including those run by a schedule) cannot start until the entire manual transfer replication is complete.


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Displaying Copy Status

Start the Manual Transfer Utility, if it is not already running.• In the top panel, the copy status (on the primary group) is shown in the Data

transfer status column for the appropriate volume. • In the bottom panel, the Status column shows that the Copy data to file operation is

done (Figure A-9).

Figure A-9: Manual Transfer Utility GUI – Primary Group Copy Status


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Displaying Load Status

Start the Manual Transfer Utility, if it is not already running.• In the top panel, the load status (on the secondary group) is shown in the Data

transfer status column for the appropriate volume. • In the bottom panel, the Status column shows that the Load data from file operation is

done (Figure A-10).

Figure A-10: Manual Transfer Utility GUI – Secondary Group Load Status


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Displaying Details for a Specific Transfer Operation

Select the operation in the bottom panel and click the Show details icon ( ) in the Actions column. The Data transfer details window opens (Figure A-11).

Figure A-11: Data Transfer Details for a Volume

Table A-2 describes the Data transfer status column. Table A-2: Data Transfer Status

Status Description

Not started Transfer has not started.

Running Transfer is in progress. In the bottom panel, the Progress column shows the current percentage of completion.

For a load operation, if all the transfer files are available to the computer, they are loaded automatically.


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Need more files Additional transfer files must be created (on the primary group) or loaded (on the secondary group).

To create more transfer files, load blank media onto the same drive letter you specified previously or make temporary space available in the same directory you specified previously and then click Resume ( ) in the Actions column.

To load more transfer files, make them available to the computer or mount the media onto the same drive letter you specified previously and then click Resume ( ) in the Actions column.

Interrupted Manual transfer replication was stopped by the user.

To continue creating or loading transfer files, click Resume ( ).

If you interrupt and then resume a copy operation, the utility creates the next file in the sequence. The interrupted transfer file might be smaller than the others, but is still valid. All the transfer files will be used during the data load operation on the secondary group.

If you interrupt and then resume a load operation, the operation continues loading data from the same transfer file that was in progress.

Transfer is complete

All necessary transfer files have been created for the volume, or loaded into the replica set.

To commit the copy status (which updates only the primary group), click Commit copy status.

To commit the load status (which updates the replication status on both partners), click Commit status to group.

If necessary, copy the files to external media. You might have to use another application, such as a CD-ROM writer. Send the media to the location of the replication partner.

You can then load the transfer files into the replica set on the secondary group. See Loading Transfer Files Using the GUI on page A-11.

Table A-2: Data Transfer Status (Continued)

Status Description


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Figure A-12 shows a completed manual transfer that is ready to be committed. The bottom panel shows the history of this transfer operation, including the copy step (on the primary group) and the load step (on the secondary group).

Figure A-12: Manual Transfer Utility GUI – Load Complete

Updating Status for Completed Operations

Click Commit status of complete data transfers at the top of the Manual Transfer Utility GUI.

Error An error occurred. To see details about the error, click Show Details ( ).

Table A-2: Data Transfer Status (Continued)

Status Description


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Deleting Completed Operations and Transfer Files

When a manual transfer replication for a volume is complete (all data has been loaded on the secondary group and status has been committed), you can optionally remove the operation from the Manual Transfer Utility GUI and delete the associated transfer files from the computer.

Note: The Manual Transfer Utility GUI does not display the status of manual transfer operations performed using the CLI.

1. Click Delete transfer task ( ) in the Actions column.

2. In the confirmation dialog box (Figure A-13), optionally click the checkbox next to Also delete related transfer files with volume data, then click Yes.

Figure A-13: Delete Task

3. When you are done performing manual transfer replication, exit the Manual Transfer Utility GUI.

Transferring Files Using the CLI

Some computers or operating systems do not support using the Manual Transfer Utility GUI. If you cannot or do not use the Manual Transfer Utility GUI, you can use the interactive command line interface (CLI) to the utility. This interface is also referred to as reptool.

You can use either interface on either replication partner. For example, you can use the Manual Transfer Utility GUI to do the data copy on the primary group, and then use the CLI to do the data load on the secondary group, or vice versa.

Note: The Manual Transfer Utility GUI does not display the status of manual transfer operations performed using the CLI.


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When you use the GUI, the transfer file name is created for you automatically. If you use the CLI to create transfer files, create their names in the following format:

primary_group.volume_name.secondary_group.n.eqd

The variable n is a sequence number, starting from 0 (zero), for multiple transfer files for the volume. Naming the files in this format allows both interfaces to correctly process the transfer files for the data load operation.

Preparing to Transfer Files Using the CLI

Before you can create transfer files, you must:• Configure an SNMP community string of public on the group. The Manual Transfer

Utility uses SNMP to collect information from the group about the volume and the replication. See Configuring SNMP Access to a Group on page 3-26.

• Install the Manual Transfer Utility on a computer with access to the primary group. See Installing the Manual Transfer Utility on page A-2.

• Create a replica of the volume, specifying the manual transfer option. This will create a temporary snapshot (called a replica snapshot in the CLI) in the primary group and a replica set and replica placeholder in the secondary group.

• Disconnect the computer from the original volume if you are running the utility on a computer running Windows XP and that computer is connected to the original volume. Windows XP does not support connecting to both a volume and its snapshot at the same time.

When you are done creating the transfer files, you can reconnect to the volume. To avoid this restriction, run the Manual Transfer Utility on a different computer.

Creating a Single Transfer File Using the CLI

The CLI creates only one transfer file at a time. Therefore, unless all the data will fit into one file, you must run the CLI several times to create all the transfer files needed for a volume. After creating the first transfer file, see Creating Multiple Transfer Files for Large Data Transfers on page A-25.

1. On the computer with the Manual Transfer Utility installed, use an iSCSI initiator to connect to the temporary snapshot (replica snapshot) on the primary group.


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A snapshot has an iSCSI target name based on the volume name and timestamp. For example:

iqn.2001-05.com.equallogic:0-8a0906-43cfc1902-0aeb2fb809c46168-vol5-2007-04-06-16:59:40.25

If the initiator cannot connect to the snapshot, create an access control record for the snapshot that lets the initiator connect. See Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots on page 5-2 for information on creating access control records for a snapshot.

2. Start the Manual Transfer Utility CLI one of the following ways:

– Open a command prompt and run the reptool executable, specifying the full path to the utility (by default, C:\Program Files\EqualLogic\reptool\)

– From the Windows Start menu, click All Programs > EqualLogic > Manual Transfer Utility

3. Follow these steps:

a. Select option 1 (create a transfer file).

b. Enter the number of the appropriate replica snapshot from the list. (On computers running operating systems other than Windows, specify the device name corresponding to the connected snapshot, such as /dev/sde.)

c. Enter a name for the transfer file, specifying the full path, or drive letter if you are writing directly to removable media. The file name will be automatically appended with the extension .eqd. Specify a file name in the following format:primary_group.volume_name.secondary_group.n.eqd

For example:C:\temp\group1.emailvol.group2.0.eqd

d. Optionally, specify a limit on the size of the transfer file.For example, you can divide the volume data into several files that span multiple media. The number shown in brackets at the prompt indicates the amount of free space on the drive or in the directory you entered.


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e. Optionally, enter an encryption password. The administrator of the secondary group must enter this password when loading the transfer files into the replica set.

f. Optionally, compress the volume data. Compression is enabled by default. You can disable compression if you are writing the transfer file to a medium that has its own compression algorithm (such as a tape), or if the speed of the copy operation is more important than data compression.

g. If prompted for an SNMP address:• Make sure that the group has SNMP access enabled for the community name

public. • Enter the group IP address, unless the group has a management network

configured. If so, enter the management IP address for the group.

The copy operation starts. When it completes, the CLI displays a message indicating whether or not more files are needed.

h. Exit the utility. Note: If you need to create more files, see Creating Multiple Transfer Files for Large Data Transfers on page A-25.

4. Copy the transfer file from the computer to external media. For example, if you are using a CD–ROM, use your CD–ROM writer application to copy the file. If you created the transfer file directly on the external media, such as an external hard drive, skip this step.

5. Send the media to the location of the secondary group.

You can then load the transfer file into the replica set on the secondary group, as described in Loading Transfer Files Using the CLI on page A-27.


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Example of Creating a Single Transfer File

The following example shows a complete operation that created a single transfer file for the volume contents.

C:\Program Files\EqualLogic\reptool>reptoolWelcome to the command line version of the Manual Transfer Utility.Manual Transfer Utility Version 1.1.0.70917

Copyright (C) 2006-2008 by Dell, Inc.

Only use the command line version of the Manual Transfer Utility ifyou attempted to use the Manual Transfer Utility GUI and received anerror message. See the Group Administration manual for informationabout manual transfer replication.

Enter the number associated with the operation you want to perform.

0. Exit reptool. 1. Copy data from a replica snapshot to a transfer file. 2. Load a transfer file into a replication placeholder. 3. Collect diagnostic information for your support provider.

Operation: 1

Enter the number associated with the replica snapshot.

1. vol1-2008-02-29-11:30:03.2

Replica snapshot: 1

Enter a name for the transfer file. You must specify the full pathname. It is recommended that you use the following file name format:

primary_group.volume_name.secondary_group.n.eqd

The variable n is a sequence number used if you will be creatingmultiple transfer files for the volume.

Transfer file name: e:\group1.vol1.beta.0.eqd


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Note: In the CLI output, the input and output values probably will not be the same as the volume size. The transfer files will generally add up to less than the volume size, because unwritten (unused) blocks of the volume are not copied. Even if every block of the volume contains data, if compression is used, the transfer files will add up to less than the volume size.

Creating Multiple Transfer Files for Large Data Transfers

If the volume data cannot fit into a single transfer file, you must create additional files. Repeat the following procedure until all the files have been created.

On the same computer on which you created the first transfer file, do the following:

1. If an initiator is not already connected to the temporary snapshot, connect it.

Optionally, enter the transfer file size limit in MB. The value inbrackets shows the available space on the transfer file device.

Transfer file size limit in MB [35]:

Enter the encryption password for the transfer file.Press the ENTER or RETURN key if you do not want encryption.

Password:

Do you want to compress the transfer file (y/n) [y]:

SNMP access via address <something> was unsuccessful. If a Management address is defined for the group, verify that SNMP access is enabled for community string 'public', and enter the Management address. Otherwise, verify that SNMP access to the group is enabled for community string 'public', and enter the group address.

Address:

10244 MB of 10244 MB in, 21 MB of 35 MB out, 19.7 MB/s

The copy operation is complete. No additional transfer files are needed.

Press the ENTER key to exit.


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2. Start the Manual Transfer Utility CLI by running the reptool executable or, from the Windows Start menu, click All Programs > EqualLogic > Manual Transfer Utility.


a. Enter y at the prompt informing you that an earlier operation is incomplete and needs more files.

b. Enter a name for the next transfer file. For each consecutive transfer file, you can specify a different drive or path name or mount empty media on the same drive letter you specified before. The commands support command-line editing. For example, you can enter the first few characters of the previous transfer file name and press Tab. The prompt displays a list of matching file names. You can then edit the name; for example, to increment its sequence number. For best results, use the same naming convention for all transfer files for a volume.

c. Specify a limit on the size of the transfer file, if applicable. The number in brackets in the prompt shows the amount of free space on the drive or in the directory you specified.

d. Optionally, enter an encryption password. Enter this password when loading the data into the replica set on the secondary group.

e. Optionally, compress the volume data. Compression is enabled by default. You can disable compression if you are writing the transfer file to a medium that has its own compression algorithm (such as a tape), or if the speed of the copy operation is more important than data compression.

4. Exit the program. To create more files, go back to step 2.

After creating all the transfer files, copy the files to external media (for example, a CD–ROM). You might need to use a separate application (such as a CD–ROM writer application) to copy the files to external media.

If you divided the volume data among several transfer files, be sure to copy all the files for the volume onto the external media.

You (or the administrator of the secondary group) can then load the transfer files into the replica set on the secondary group, as described in Loading Transfer Files Using the CLI on page A-27.


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Loading Transfer Files Using the CLI

Before you can load data, you must:• Install the Manual Transfer Utility on a computer with access to the secondary group.

See Installing the Manual Transfer Utility on page A-2. • Make the transfer files on the external media accessible to the computer. For example,

insert the CD–ROM or copy the files from tape to a directory.• Configure an SNMP community string of public on the group. The Manual Transfer

Utility uses SNMP to make sure that the transfer file is being loaded into the correct replica placeholder. See Configuring SNMP Access to a Group on page 3-26.

To complete the process of manual transfer replication, load the data from the transfer files into the replica set on the secondary group and then confirm that the process is complete.

1. From the computer with the Manual Transfer Utility installed, log into the Group Manager CLI on the secondary group and use the following command to identify the replica set and replica placeholder for the volume:

partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset show

The replication status will be in-progress. The replica set name is based on the volume name (for example, emailvol.1). The replica placeholder name is based on the replica set name and includes a timestamp.

For example:

beta> partner select group1 inbound-replicaset show

Name ReservedSpace FreeSpace Replicas Status

--------------- ------------- ------------ -------- ----------

vol2.1 2.61GB 1.3GB 1 ready

vol1.1 8.03GB 4.01GB 2 in-progress

2. Create an access control record that will allow the computer to connect to the replica placeholder. The following example uses the initiator name. For more information on creating access control records, see the CLI Reference.

partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select \ replicaset_name access create initiator init_name


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For example:

beta> partner select group1 inbound-replicaset select vol1.1 access create initiator iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:admin-pc.company.com

Created access entry with ID 3.

Make a note of the access control record number that is created, so you can delete it when the transfer is complete.

3. Connect the computer to the iSCSI target associated with the replica placeholder identified in Step 1.

4. Start the Manual Transfer Utility CLI by running the reptool executable or, from the Windows Start menu, click All Programs > EqualLogic > Manual Transfer Utility.


a. Select option 2 (load a transfer file).

b. On Windows computers, enter the number associated with the connected replica placeholder.

On other operating systems, specify the device name corresponding to the connected replica placeholder (for example, /dev/sde).

c. Enter the name of the transfer file to load, including the path or drive letter.

The commands support file name completion. For example, enter the first few characters of a directory or file name and press Tab. The prompt shows a list of matching names. You can then edit the name of the file to load.

d. If applicable, enter the password for the transfer file.The load operation starts. When the operation completes, a message is displayed indicating whether or not more transfer files are needed.

e. To load more transfer files for the same replica set, exit the utility and then restart it as described in Step 4. A message will say that the transfer is incomplete. Select the option to continue the transfer and follow the prompts.

f. When all the transfer files for a volume are loaded, exit the program.


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6. Disconnect the initiator from the replica set.

7. Use the Group Manager CLI to delete the access control record you created in Step 2.

To see the access control records for a replica set, enter the following command:

partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select replicaset_name access show

For example:

beta> partner select group1 inbound-replicaset select vol1.1 access showID Initiator Ipaddress AuthMethod UserName Apply-To--- --------------- ------------ ---------- ---------- --------1 *.*.*.* chap-local group1 both2 iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:adm *.*.*.* none snapshot

in-pc.equallogic.com

To delete a access control record for a replica set, enter the following command:

partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select replicaset_name access delete number

For example:

beta> partner select group1 inbound-replicaset select vol1.1 access del 2

Do you really want to delete? (y/n) [n]yAccess entry deletion succeeded.

Do not delete record number 1, with a user name that matches the primary group name, and an authentication method of chap-local. This record is used for network replication between the groups.

8. Update the replication status on both groups with the following command:

partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select replica_set_name manual-xfer done

For example:

beta> partner select group1 inbound-replicaset select vol1.1 manual-xfer done


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This command sends confirmation to the primary group that the manual transfer has been completed. On both groups, the replication status will change to ready (for the replica set) and complete (for the first replica). It can take several minutes or longer for the status on the primary group to update.

Example of Loading a Transfer File to the Replica Placeholder

The following example steps show a complete data load operation using the Manual Transfer Utility CLI (reptool).

Welcome to the command line version of the Manual Transfer Utility.Manual Transfer Utility Version 1.1.0.70917

Copyright (C) 2006-2008 by Dell, Inc.

Only use the command line version of the Manual Transfer Utility ifyou attempted to use the Manual Transfer Utility GUI and received anerror message. See the Group Administration manual for informationabout manual transfer replication.

Enter the number associated with the operation you want to perform.

0. Exit reptool. 1. Copy data from a replica snapshot to a transfer file. 2. Load a transfer file into a replication placeholder. 3. Collect diagnostic information for your support provider.

Operation:2

Enter the number associated with the replica placeholder.

1. vol1.1-2008-03-03-13:54:30.3

Replica placeholder: 1

Enter the name of the transfer file you want to load. You mustspecify the full path name.

Transfer file name: e:\group1.vol1.beta.0.eqd


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Note: In the CLI output, the input and output values might not match the size of the original volume. This can occur if unused volume blocks were skipped when creating the transfer files, or if the data size was reduced by compression. When the load operation is complete, all of the volume that was in use will have been copied to the replica set.

21 MB of 21 MB in, 3075 MB of 10244 MB out, 0.0 MB/s

The load operation is complete.

Press the ENTER key to exit.

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Appendix B SNMP Traps

PS Series array traps include the following:• linkUp• linkDown• authenticationFailure• coldStart• warmStart• iscsiTgtLoginFailure• iscsiIntrLoginFailure

• iscsiInstSessionFailure• eqlMemberHealthTempSensorHighThreshold• eqlMemberHealthTempSensorLowThreshold• eqlMemberHealthFanSpeedHighThreshold• eqlMemberHealthFanSpeedLowThreshold• eqlMemberHealthPowerSupplyFailure• eqlMemberHealthRAIDSetDoubleFaulted• eqlMemberHealthBothFanTraysRemoved• eqlMemberHealthRAIDLostCache• eqlMemberHealthFanTrayRemoved• eqlMemberHealthRAIDSetLostBlkTableFull• eqlMemberHealthBatteryLessThan72Hours• eqlMemberHealthRaidOrphanCache• eqlMemberHealthRaidMultipleRaidSets• eqlMemberHealthNVRAMBatteryFailed• eqlMemberHealthhwComponentFailedCrit• eqlMemberHealthincompatControlModule• eqlMemberHealthlowAmbientTemp

Group Administration SNMP Traps

B–2

• eqlMemberHealthopsPanelFailure• eqlMemberHealthemmLinkFailure• eqlMemberHealthhighBatteryTemperature• eqlDiskStatusChange• scsiTgtDevicesStatusChanged• scsiLuStatusChanged

C-1

Appendix C Glossary

A

access control recordControls host access to a volume and its snapshots. Access can be restricted through IP address, iSCSI initiator name, or CHAP user name.

active control moduleIn a dual control module array, the control module that is actively serving I/O. To physically identify the active control module, examine the array front panel. The LED labeled ACT will be green on the active control module.

arrayA PS Series storage array is a completely self-contained unit that includes disk drives configured in a highly-available RAID set with single or dual control modules and redundant power supplies and fan modules.

B

bandwidthRate at which an I/O subsystem or component can transfer bytes of data. Also called the transfer rate.

base volumeSee primary volume.

C

CHAPChallenge Handshake Authentication Protocol, a network login protocol that uses a challenge-response mechanism. Used with access control records to limit access to volumes and snapshots to computers that supply the correct account name and password.

Group Administration Glossary

C-2

CLICommand Line Interface, used to manage groups and arrays. CLI commands can be used in scripts.

cloneAn exact copy of a volume from either the original volume or from a snapshot or replica.

collectionSee volume collection.

custom snapshot collectionOne or more snapshots created at the same time through a multi-volume snapshot operation.

D

default gatewayLocal router that is used to forward network traffic beyond the local network.

delegated spaceSpace on a secondary group (replication partner) set aside to store replicas for all inbound replication partners.

demoteConverts a replicated volume to a failback set to fail back data from the secondary group to the primary group, or converts a recovery volume to an inbound replica set, returning it to its original state. See also

promote, failback.

discoveryDiscovery, or auto-discovery, involves an iSCSI initiator requesting from a target portal a list of valid iSCSI targets (for example, volumes or snapshots) and making those targets available for use by the initiator.

F

failbackMechanism for temporarily hosting a volume on a secondary group,


C-3

then replicating any changes to the primary group. Use failback if the primary group is unavailable due to failure or maintenance.

failback baselineThe point at which the primary and secondary groups are synchronized with respect to a specific volume. Relies on the presence of a failback snapshot. See also failback, failback snapshot.

failback replica setReplica set created by demoting a replicated volume. To return to the original volume, promote the failback replica set.

failback snapshotSnapshot that represents the most recent complete replica and sets the failback baseline. Supports failback to the primary group. See also failback baseline.

failoverThe process of one redundant component taking over for a failed component in a PS Series array, with no interruption of service.

G

Gigabit EthernetGroup of Ethernet standards in which data is transmitted at a rate of one Gigabit per second.

groupOne or more PS Series storage arrays (members) configured on a network, accessed through a single IP address, and managed as a single system.

group administratorUser with permission to manage all features and objects in a PS Series group, including configuring replication partners. Compare to pool administrator.

group IP addressHighly available IP address that is used by iSCSI initiators and, unless a management network is configured, by administrators to access a group.


C-4

group membersee member.

H

hostAny computer directly connected to a network that acts as a repository for services (such as e-mail or FTP) available to other computers on the network.

host bus adapterI/O adapter that connects an iSCSI initiator with target computers.

hot-swappingRemoving a redundant component from a PS Series array and installing a replacement while the power is on, the array is running, and without disrupting I/O.

I

IQNiSCSI Qualified Name. The name by which an initiator is recognized.

iSCSIInternet Small Computer Systems Interface. Standard protocol for transporting storage I/O block data over an IP network.

iSCSI initiatorHardware or software that starts the transfer of information to or from an iSCSI target (for example, a volume or snapshot).

iSCSI targetSCSI block storage device that is accessed through TCP/IP and iSCSI protocols. Each volume and snapshot is seen on the network as an iSCSI target.

iSNSInternet Storage Name Service. Facilitates the automated discovery,


C-5

management, and configuration of iSCSI and other devices on a TCP/IP network.

L

latencyAmount of time to complete a specific I/O operation. Also called delay.

local replication reserveSpace on a primary group to record changes to a volume while replication is in process, and optionally to store a failback snapshot for a volume.

M

management IP addressIn a group with a management network configured and enabled, the management IP address is the address used to perform group management operations, such as logging into the Group Manager GUI or CLI.

management networkA dedicated management network lets you separate iSCSI traffic (volume I/O) from management traffic (GUI and CLI sessions, and other group management communications), which offers increased security.

manual transfer replicationReplicating volume data using transportable media instead of sending data over the network between the partners. Use when the network link between replication partners is unsuitable for transferring large amounts of data.

Manual Transfer UtilityA stand-alone utility from Dell EqualLogic that lets you perform volume replication using external media, instead of the network. The utility has two versions, a graphical user interface and an interactive command line interface.


C-6

memberA PS Series array that is connected to the network and has been configured into a PS Series group. Groups can have several members, optionally configured into one or more storage pools.

mergesee pool merge.

MIBManagement Information Base (or Bases). A type of database used to manage the devices in a communications network. SNMP, a communication protocol between management stations and managed objects uses MIBs.

mirroringWriting and maintaining the same (redundant) data in two equal-sized segments on two physical devices to protect data against loss due to disk or device failure.

MRTGMulti Router Traffic Grapher, a third-party utility to monitor group performance.

N

netmaskNetwork address used to identify the network segment (subnet) on which an IP address (network interface) resides. Same as subnet mask.

notificationMethod a group uses to automatically inform users of significant events through e-mail, remote syslog files, and SNMP traps.

NTPNetwork Time Protocol. Defines a set of procedures for synchronizing clocks on computers connected to a network and having access to the Internet.


C-7

P

poolPortion of group disk space to which specific members and volumes belong. Pools give greater control of group storage space and help segregate users and applications, while giving you a single-system view of the storage. Also called storage pool.

pool administratorUser who has permission to manage objects only in a specific pool or set of pools for a group. Compare to group administrator.

pool mergeThe process of moving all the members and volumes from one storage pool in a PS Series group to another, existing pool on the same group. The original pool is deleted when the merge completes.

primary groupIn a replication operation, the group where the base (or primary) volume is stored.

R

RADIUSRemote Authentication Dial-in User Service. This service centralizes the authentication and management (and optionally accounting) of user accounts and login information for multiple network connections.

RAIDRedundant Array of Independent Disks. Disks are grouped and managed as a single element. RAID arrays store redundant information about the data stored on the array. If a disk fails, data can be reconstructed.

RAID 10RAID level that distributes (stripes) data evenly across multiple RAID 1 (mirrored) sets. Also called performance optimization.

RAID 5RAID level in which parity information is distributed across all drives in the array for redundancy and high availability.


C-8

RAID 50RAID level in which data is striped over two RAID 5 sets. Also called capacity optimization.

RAID policyThe combined RAID level and spare disk policy for a member.

recovery groupIn a replication operation, the group from which volume data can be recovered if the primary group (where the primary, or base volume is stored) is destroyed.

recovery volumeTemporary volume created by promoting an inbound replica set. To return to the original inbound replica set, demote the recovery volume.

replicaRepresents the contents of a volume at a specific point in time, located on the secondary group in a replication configuration. You can clone a replica or promote a replica set to recover volume data.

replica collectionOne or more replicas created at the same time from a volume collection, containing one replica for each volume in the collection.

replica collection setThe set of replica collections for a volume collection.

replica reservePortion of the delegated space on a partner that is set aside for the replica sets for a specific volume. You configure replica reserve on the volume on the primary group, but the actual replica reserve is on the secondary group.

replica setSet of complete replicas for a volume. You can promote a replica set to recover volume data.

replicationFunctionality that lets you copy volumes from the primary group, where


C-9

the volumes are stored, to the secondary group, where volume data can be recovered in the event of a disaster. The groups can be separated by an unlimited distance.

replication partnersTwo or more PS Series groups configured in a replication partnership. Each group can be configured to receive volume data from the other, send volume data to the other, or both. A volume can replicate to only one partner.

reported sizeVolume size as seen by iSCSI initiators. Volume reserve and reported size can be different, if thin-provisioning is enabled on the volume. In that case, only the volume reserve is allocated to the volume. See volume reserve.

S

SANStorage Area Network, a high-speed subnetwork of shared storage devices. SAN architecture consolidates storage and simplifies storage management. PS Series groups are iSCSI SANs. Their storage devices are accessible from an Ethernet network.

SASSerial Attached SCSI technology. SAS is a serial communication protocol for direct attached storage (DAS) devices.

SATASerial ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) technology. SATA is the successor to the legacy ATA standard.

SCSISmall Computer System Interface.

secondary control moduleIn a dual control module array, the control module that mirrors data from the active control module.


C-10

SMTPSimple Mail Transfer Protocol. SMTP is the protocol used for routing e-mail across the Internet.

snapshotRepresents the data in a volume at a specific point in time and is seen on the network as an iSCSI target. Can be used for backups, testing, and upgrades. To recover data, you can restore a volume from a snapshot or clone a snapshot.

snapshot collectionOne or more snapshots created at the same time from a volume collection or through a multi-volume snapshot operation. See also custom snapshot collection.

snapshot status values

SNMPSimple Network Management Protocol.

spare diskPS Series array disk used as a hot standby (redundant) component. A spare disk is powered on but does not operate until a data disk fails. Spare disks are configured and used automatically.

SSHSecure Shell, a program developed to log into another computer over a network, execute commands, and to move files from one computer to another. It provides strong authentication and secure communications over insecure channels.

statussnapshots volumes

storage poolSee pool.

subnet maskNetwork address used to identify the network segment (subnet) for an IP


C-11

address (network interface). Same as netmask.

T

target portalA target or iSCSI portal is the IP and TCP port number pair for a target. The default port number is 3260.

thin provisioningFeature that lets you use storage more efficiently by logically over-allocating SAN volumes.

throughputRate at which an I/O subsystem or component performs I/O operations.

V

vacateOperation in which all the volume data on a member is moved to a different member. For example, a member vacate operation occurs when you remove a member from a group or move a member to another storage pool.

volumeLogical device representing a portion of storage pool space and seen on the network as an iSCSI target. Volume data is divided among pool members. Volumes are protected by access control records.

volume collectionOne or more volumes grouped together for the purpose of creating snapshots or replicas at the same time.

volume reserveAmount of space allocated to a volume from free pool space. Without thin provisioning, volume reserve is the same as reported size. With thin-provisioning, volume reserve is less than reported size.

volume status values

D-1

Appendix D Legal Notices

This appendix lists the third-party copyrights for software used in the PS Series product.

This product contains portions of the NetBSD operating system:

For the most part, the software constituting the NetBSD operating system is not in the public domain; its authors retain their copyright.

Copyright © 1999-2001 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software must display the following acknowledgement:

This product includes software developed by the NetBSD Foundation, Inc. and its contributors.

4. Neither the name of the NetBSD Foundation nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE NETBSD FOUNDATION, INC. AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS”' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE FOUNDATION OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT

Group Administration Legal Notices

D-2

LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by Charles M. Hannum and by Jason R. Thorpe of the Numerical Aerospace Simulation Facility, NASA Ames Research Center.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by John T. Kohl and Charles M. Hannum.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by Kevin M. Lahey of the Numerical Aerospace Simulation Facility, NASA Ames Research Center.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by Jun-ichiro Hagino.

This product includes software developed by Christopher G. Demetriou for the NetBSD Project.

Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 Christopher G. Demetriou.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by Luke Mewburn.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by Klaus Klein.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by Jonathan Stone.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by Jason R. Thorpe.

This code is derived from software contributed to The NetBSD Foundation by UCHIYAMA Yasushi.

This product includes software developed for the NetBSD Project by Wasabi Systems, Inc.


D-3

Copyright © 2000-2001 Wasabi Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

This product includes software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its contributors. This product includes software developed by the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Copyright 1985-1995 The Regents of the University of California.

Copyright 1997-2000 Niels Provos.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Ralph Campbell.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Rick Macklem.

Copyright © 1989 Digital Equipment Corporation.

This product includes software developed by Manuel Bouyer.

Copyright © 1999 Manuel Bouyer.

This product includes software developed by Adam Glass.

Copyright © 1994 Adam Glass.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Paul Vixie.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Chris Torek.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Mike Hibler.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Paul Borman at Krystal Technologies.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Peter McIlroy.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Peter McIlroy and by Dan Bernstein at New York University.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Stephen Deering of Stanford University.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by Jeffrey Mogul.


D-4

Copyright 1996 The Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University.

This product includes software developed by the Computer Systems Laboratory at the University of Utah. Copyright © 1990,1994 The University of Utah and the Computer Systems Laboratory (CSL). All rights reserved.

This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by the Systems Programming Group of the University of Utah Computer Science Department.

Copyright (c) 2000 Soren S. Jorvang.

Copyright (c) 1993 John Brezak. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1995 - 2000 WIDE Project. All rights reserved.

© UNIX System Laboratories, Inc.

All or some portions of this file are derived from material licensed to the University of California by American Telephone and Telegraph Co. or Unix System Laboratories, Inc. and are reproduced herein with the permission of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 Shuichiro URATA.

This product includes software developed by Matthias Pfaller.

Copyright © 1996 Matthias Pfaller.

Copyright © 1993 Jan-Simon Pendry.

This product includes software developed by Gordon W. Ross.

Copyright © 1995 Gordon W. Ross.

This product includes software developed by Philip A. Nelson.

Copyright © 1993 Philip A. Nelson.

Copyright © 1999 Ross Harvey.

This product includes software developed by Christos Zoulas.

Copyright © 1996 Christos Zoulas.


D-5

Copyright © 1997 Zubin D. Dittia.

This product includes software developed by SiByte, Inc.

Copyright © 2000 SiByte, Inc.

Copyright © 1996, 2000 Intel Corporation.

Copyright 1996 - 1998 Microsoft Corporation.

Copyright © 1990,1994 The University of Utah and the Computer Systems Laboratory (CSL).

Copyright © 1991 Bell Communications Research, Inc. (Bellcore).

Copyright © 2000 Caldera Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1995 - 2000 Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan.

(Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden). All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1993-1995 HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY

Copyright © 1995-1997 Eric Young All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1992 Simmule Turner and Rich Salz. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1999 - 2001, PADL Software Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1985 - 1988 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Copyright © 1995 by Wietse Venema. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1999 The OpenSSL Project. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1992 – 1999 Theo de Raadt. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1999 Dug Song. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2000-2002 Markus Friedl. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2001 Per Allansson. All rights reserved.


D-6

Copyright © 1998 CORE SDI S.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Copyright © 2001-2002 Damien Miller. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2001 Kevin Steves. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1999 Aaron Campbell. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2002 Nils Nordman. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2000 Todd C. Miller. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1995, 1996 by David Mazieres.

Copyright © 2000 Zembu Labs, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2000 Takuya SHIOZAKI. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1992 Keith Muller.

Copyright © 1994, Jason Downs. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1997 Matthew R. Green. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1999 Citrus Project. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1990-2, RSA Data Security, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1995 by International Business Machines, Inc.

Copyright © 1996 by Internet Software Consortium.

Copyright © 1995, 1999 Berkeley Software Design, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1993 Carlos Leandro and Rui Salgueiro Dep. Matematica Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal, Europe.

Copyright © 1992, 1993, 1994 Henry Spencer.

Copyright © 1986-1991 by Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Copyright © 1993 Martin Birgmeier.


D-7

Copyright © 1991 by AT&T.

Copyright © 1997 Frank van der Linden. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1999 Michael Graff. All rights reserved.

This product includes software developed by Alistair G. Crooks.

Copyright © 1999 Alistair G. Crooks. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2001 Cerbero Associates Inc.

Copyright © 1995-1998 Mark Adler.

Copyright © 1995-1998 Jean-loup Gailly.

Copyright © 1998-1999 Brett Lymn. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1996-1999 SciTech Software, Inc.

Copyright © 2001, 2002 Brian Stafford.

Copyright © 1999-2001 Bruno Haible.

Copyright © 2001 Alex Rozin, Optical Access. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1989 TGV, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2000 Frank Strauss. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1997 Niels Baggesen. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2000 National Aeronautics & Space Administration. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1990-2000 Robin's Nest Software, Inc.

Copyright © 1989-1996 Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation, advertising materials, and other materials related to such distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed by Carnegie Mellon University. The


D-8

name of the University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Index-1

Index

Aaccess control records

asterisks in 5-13controlling access to volumes and

snapshots 5-2creating 5-6, 5-12, 5-21deleting 5-14displaying 5-13, 6-6manual replication requirements

A-9, A-12, A-22, A-27maximum for a volume 5-2modifying 5-13

accounts (administration)group administrator 3-11grpadmin 3-11managing 3-11pool administrator 3-11read-only 3-11setting up (local) 3-12supported operations 3-11types of 3-11unsupported operations 3-11using RADIUS accounting 3-15using RADIUS authentication 3-

15accounts (local CHAP)

deleting 3-23modifying 3-23restricting iSCSI access 3-20setting up 3-23

accounts (RADIUS CHAP)setting up 3-21specifying RADIUS servers 3-21

active control modulefailover behavior 11-10

identifying 11-9Activities panel 2-4alarms

displaying 12-4format of 12-5GUI notification 2-9priorities 12-4

arraysbattery status 12-23control module status 11-10cooling module status 11-7disk configuration 11-23displaying hardware information

11-3LEDs, flashing 11-21network configuration 11-12power supply status 11-7removing from group 11-20temperature status 11-7

authentication (administration ac-counts)

using local accounts 3-11, 3-12using RADIUS servers 3-11, 3-15

authentication (iSCSI)initiators 3-19, 3-21, 5-2mutual 3-20, 3-24targets 3-20, 3-24using local CHAP 3-23using RADIUS servers 3-20, 3-21

authentication (replication)between replication partners 7-2,

7-9mutual 7-2

Bbacking up data

Index

Index- 2

cloning replicas 9-29cloning volumes 5-30cloning, snapshots 6-12replication 7-1snapshots 6-1

batteriessetting cache policies 11-22status 12-23

binding a volume 5-29Ccache mode policies, setting

low-battery-safe 11-23single-controller-safe 11-23

cache modeswrite-back 11-22write-through 11-22

cancelling operationsmember move 11-18replication 7-33volume move 5-26

capacitydisks 11-23displaying group 2-1displaying member 11-1displaying pool 10-4increasing member 11-24increasing pool 11-18

CHAPauthenticating initiators and targets

3-19controlling iSCSI access 3-20creating local accounts 3-23initiator authentication 5-2password requirements 3-23restricting access to volumes and

snapshots 5-2target authentication 3-24using local accounts 3-20

using RADIUS servers 3-21CLI

access through SSH 3-10access through telnet 3-10displaying events 12-3

cloningreplicas 9-29snapshots 6-12space requirements 5-30volumes 5-30

collections, See volume collections, snapshot collections, and replica col-lectionsconnections (iSCSI)

displaying member 11-15displaying snapshot 6-4displaying volume 5-7

control modulesactive 11-9batteries 11-22cache modes 11-22failover 11-9handling failures 11-10managing 11-9secondary 11-9status 11-10

custom snapshot collectionscreating 6-14defined 6-1deleting 6-20displaying 6-18modifying 6-18naming 6-15

Ddata recovery 9-4date, setting in group 3-4default gateway 11-25delegated space

Index

Index-3

changing pool 7-15increasing 7-15modifying 7-15planning 7-5requirements 7-5sizing 7-5

deletingaccess control records 5-14failback replica sets 9-16local CHAP accounts 3-23outbound replica collection sets 7-

37outbound replica collections 7-37outbound replicas 7-38pools 10-9replication partners 7-15snapshot collections 6-20snapshots 6-12volume collections 5-39volumes 5-34

deleting members 11-20demote

defined 9-1recovery volume 9-12, 9-21, 9-35volume 9-9

disaster recoverycloning replicas 9-29failback 9-17methods 9-4using replication 7-1

disksadding to an array 11-24capacity 11-23failures 11-23installing 11-24replacing 11-24status 11-11, 11-12

displaying array service tag 11-15

displaying enclosure status 11-7displaying events 12-1EE-Mail Home notification, enabling 3-7e-mail notification, setting up 3-7enabling E-Mail Home 3-7events

displaying 12-1, 12-2, 12-4E-Mail Home notification 3-6e-mail notification 3-6, 3-7, 12-3GUI notification 2-9informational 3-7, 3-9message format 12-3monitoring 12-1notification methods 3-6priorities 3-6, 12-1syslog notification 3-6, 3-7, 12-3

Ffailback

recovering from disasters 9-17failback replica sets

converting to inbound replica sets 9-25

deleting 9-16pool change 9-16promoting 9-35

failback replica space, displaying 7-29failover, control module 11-10fans, monitoring 12-20firmware

displaying 11-11member 11-2requirement for latest features 7-7

Ggroup

access methods 3-10accounts (administration) 3-11

Index

Index- 4

accounts (CHAP) 3-23adding to trusted sites list 2-11CHAP authentication 3-19date 3-4description 3-3disk space 2-3event monitoring 12-1event notification 3-6events 12-1GUI management 2-1informational messages 3-9IP address 3-3iSCSI access 3-19iSNS servers 3-25load balancing 1-2, 4-8location 3-3members 11-1MIBs 3-27monitoring 12-8name 3-3network configuration 3-3NTP servers 3-4password for adding members 11-

16removing members 11-20replication 7-1SMTP servers 3-7, 3-8snapshots 6-1SNMP access 3-26SNMP traps 3-26status 2-1storage pools 10-1time 3-4time zone 3-4volume iSCSI settings, default 3-

17volume snapshot settings, default

3-17

volume thin-provisioning settings, default 3-17

volumes 5-1group defaults

iSCSI target alias 3-18snapshot reserve size 3-17snapshot space recovery 3-17thin-provisioning 3-17

Group Manageronline help 2-11running GUI as a standalone appli-

cation 2-12GUI

access through SSL 3-10access, enabling 3-10activities panel location 2-6alarm notification 2-9communication policies 2-7controlling operation 2-6data validation 2-10debug logging 2-10event log display 2-9font size, controlling 2-6help location 2-6, 2-11icons 2-4installing as a standalone applica-

tion 2-12Java requirements 2-12managing a group 2-1popups 2-6reconnecting 2-7refresh data interval 2-7requirements 2-1running as a standalone application

2-12tooltips 2-6uninstalling standalone application

2-13

Index

Index-5

uninstalling through Java Control Panel 2-13

user preferences 2-6window size recommendation 2-1

Hhardware

model information 11-15help, accessing 2-11hosts

accessing volumes and snapshots 3-19

authenticating 3-19displaying connections to mem-

bers 11-15displaying connections to volumes

and snapshots 5-10TCP/IP port access to volumes 5-3

Iicons in GUI 2-4identifying recovery volumes 9-12iSCSI access

controlling 3-19restricting target discovery 3-22

iSCSI initiatorsauthentication 3-19, 5-2connecting to replica placeholder

A-27connecting to replica snapshot A-

21iSNS discovery 3-25restricting volume access with 5-

13iSCSI target alias

changing 3-18, 5-14setting volume default 3-17

iSCSI target namecopying 5-10displaying for volumes 5-10

format for snapshots 6-2format for volumes 5-1

iSCSI targetsauthenticating 3-20restricting discovery 3-22

iSNS, using for discovery 3-25, 5-3JJava

adding group to trusted sites 2-11launching Group Manager GUI 2-

12logging group data to console 2-10supported version for running GUI

as an application 2-12uninstalling the Group Manager

GUI 2-13Web Start 2-12

Lload balancing

disabling 4-8enabling 4-8types of 1-2, 1-6

local replication reservemodifying 7-17recommended values 7-7specifying 7-17

lost blocks 5-33Mmanagement network

about 4-1and initiators 4-1and replication 4-1configuring 4-2disadvantages 4-1

manual transfer replicationdescription A-1enabling A-1installing Manual Transfer Utility

Index

Index- 6

A-2See also Manual Transfer Utilitytransfer file size A-31

Manual Transfer Utilitychecking transfer status A-14confirming completion A-29creating transfer files A-7

in a temporary directory A-5on removable media A-5

description A-1installing A-2loading transfer files A-11planning transfer files A-3steps for using the GUI A-6transfer file size A-25using the CLI (reptool) A-20

membersadding to a pool 10-1battery status 12-23binding a volume to 5-29cancelling move operation 11-18capacity, increasing 11-24connections, displaying 11-15control modules

batteries 11-22cache modes 11-22handling failures 11-10managing 11-9status 11-10

cooling module status 11-7default gateway 11-25delay using disk space setting 11-

20deleting 11-20determining physical location 11-

21disks

adding 11-24

capacity 11-23failures 11-23installing 11-24removing 11-24replacing 11-24spares 11-11status 11-11

hardware information, displaying 11-3

health indicators 11-2LEDs, flashing 11-21managing 11-1monitoring hardware 11-9moving to a different pool 11-18network connectivity 11-12network interfaces

configuring 3-1deconfiguring 11-25disabling 11-24enabling 11-24modifying 3-1status 11-13

password for adding 11-16pool, displaying 10-5power supply status 11-7RAID policy 11-19removing from group 11-20renaming 11-17service information 11-15status 11-1synchronizing time with NTP 3-4temperature status 11-7

memory cache policieslow-battery-safe 11-22single-controller-safe 11-22

MIBs 3-27modifying network interfaces 3-1modifying schedules 8-7

Index

Index-7

mutual authenticationbetween initiators and targets 3-24between replication partners 7-2,

7-9Nnetwork interfaces

configuring 3-1deconfiguring 11-25default gateway 11-25disabling 11-24enabling 11-24modifying 3-1requirements 11-12status 11-13

notificatione-mail 3-7E-Mail Home 3-6events 3-6informational messages 3-9syslog 3-7

NTP, setting group time 3-4Oonline help, accessing 2-11Ppasswords

CHAP 3-23target authentication 3-24

performing operations in GUIusing Activities panel 2-4using pop-up menus 2-4

poolsadministrator accounts 3-11and volumes 5-26characterizing application perfor-

mance 10-1characterizing member perfor-

mance 10-1creating 10-3

default 5-26definitiondeleting 10-9displaying 10-4displaying volumes 10-7failback replica set change 9-16members in 10-5merging 10-8modifying description 10-8modifying name 10-8moving members 11-18planning 10-1segregating workloads 10-1space utilization 10-4status 10-4

pop-up menus 2-4promote, defined 9-1promoting a replica set 9-9

permanently 9-22RRADIUS servers

accounting 3-15accounting for administration ac-

counts 3-15authenticating administration ac-

counts 3-15controlling iSCSI access 3-20initiator authentication 3-21

RAIDsetting volume preference 5-25

RAID policychanging 11-19

recovering data 9-4cloning a replica 9-29cloning a snapshot 6-12promoting a replica set permanent-

ly 9-22promoting a replica set temporarily

Index

Index- 8

9-9restoring a volume from a snapshot

6-11recovery volumes

creating 9-9demoting 9-12, 9-21, 9-35identifying 9-12naming convention 9-12promoting permanently 9-22restrictions 9-2, 9-12

replica collection setsdefined 7-21, 7-24displaying 7-24outbound, deleting 7-37

replica collectionscreating 7-20defined 7-21, 7-24displaying 7-24enabling volume collection for rep-

lication 7-20outbound, deleting 7-37status 7-24

replica reservedescription 7-17handling insufficient space 7-5modifying 7-17planning 7-5sizing 7-5specifying 7-17

replica setsdeleting inbound 7-38deleting outbound 7-33displaying inbound 7-29displaying outbound 7-27promoting permanently 9-22promoting temporarily 9-9

replicasaccessing data from 9-4

cancelling 7-33cloning 9-29creating from a schedule 7-21creating from a volume 7-21creating from a volume collection

7-21, 7-24deleting inbound 7-38deleting outbound 7-33, 7-38displaying inbound 7-29displaying outbound 7-27scheduling 7-21, 8-1status 7-22timestamp on each partner 7-22

replicationand increasing a volume 5-15authentication during 7-2cancelling 7-33communication between partners

7-8configuration types 7-2creating a replica 7-21delegated space sizing 7-5disabling 7-31, 7-32displaying partner activity 7-25enabling 7-17failback replica space 7-29failback steps 9-17introduction 7-1manual transfer A-1, A-2monitoring 7-22

delegated space 7-29local replication reserve 7-23operations 7-22partners 7-25replica collections 7-24replica reserve 7-29replicas 7-30

mutual authentication 7-9

Index

Index-9

partner space requirements 7-17passwords for authentication 7-12pausing 7-32recovering data 9-4replica reserve sizing 7-5resuming 7-32scheduling 7-21, 8-1space requirements 7-4, 7-17status 7-22, 12-14, 12-16

inbound 7-29outbound 7-27partners 7-25

stopping for a volume 7-31volume configuration 7-17

replication partnersdefinition 7-1deleting 7-15displaying 7-25displaying inbound replica sets 7-

29displaying outbound replica sets 7-

27firmware requirements 7-7modifying 7-15monitoring activity 7-25passwords for authentication 7-9,

7-15pausing replication between 7-32resuming replication between 7-32status 7-25

reptoolcreating transfer files A-21, A-25loading transfer files A-27using for manual transfer replica-

tion A-2Sschedules

attributes 8-1

attributes, changing 8-7disabling 8-7enabling 8-8modifying 8-7replicas 7-21, 8-1snapshots 6-11, 8-1types 8-1volume collections 8-1

secondary control modulefailover behavior 11-10identifying 11-9

secondary group, definition 7-1security

administration accounts 3-11controlling access to group 3-10controlling access to volumes and

snapshots 5-2encryption for GUI 3-10

service tag 11-15setup utility

password for adding members 11-16

shrinking a volume. See volumes, de-creasing size.SMTP 3-7, 3-8snapshot collections

creating 6-13definition 6-1deleting 6-20displaying 6-16incomplete 6-16modifying 6-18naming 6-13scheduling 6-13status 6-16

snapshotsaccess control records

creating 5-6, 5-12, 5-21

Index

Index- 10

deleting 5-14displaying 5-13, 6-6modifying 5-13

cloning 6-12controlling access to 5-2copy-on-write 6-2creating from a volume 6-3creating from a volume collection

6-13default settings 3-17definition 6-1deleting access control records 5-

14deleting manually 6-12displaying 6-4host connections 5-10iSCSI target alias 3-18, 6-9iSCSI target name 6-2low-space warning threshold 3-17,

6-7naming 6-2, 6-9preserving 6-3recovering space 6-7reserving space 3-17, 6-7restoring volumes from 6-11scheduling 6-11, 8-1setting offline 6-8setting online 6-8setting read-only 6-8setting read-write 6-8space recovery policy 3-17, 6-7status 6-4

SNMPcommunity name requirements for

traps 3-27group access 3-26trap destination 12-4traps 3-26, B-1

spare disks 11-11SSH

connecting to a group through CLI 1-5

enabling access to CLI 3-10status

batteries 12-23control modules 11-10custom snapshot collections 6-18disks 11-12free space 2-3group 2-1members 11-1pools 10-4replica collections 7-24replicas 7-22replication 7-22replication partners 7-25snapshot collections 6-16snapshots 6-4volume collections 5-37volumes 5-7

storage pools, See poolssyslog

event notification 3-6, 12-3logging events 3-7

Ttarget authentication

password requirements 3-24TCP/IP port

volume access 5-3telnet

enabling access to CLI 3-10thin provisioning

automatic volume reserve growth 5-18

controlling space usage 5-18creating volumes with 5-19

Index

Index-11

description 5-17disabling 5-23enabling 5-20, 5-22maximum in-use space 5-20minimum volume reserve 5-20restrictions 5-18space issues 5-22, 5-23warning setting 5-20

timesetting manually 3-4setting with NTP 3-4

time zone, setting 3-4transfer files

creating A-7creating with the Manual Transfer

Utility CLI A-21creating with the Manual Transfer

Utility GUI A-7file name format A-21loading with the Manual Transfer

Utility CLI A-27loading with the Manual Transfer

Utility GUI A-11VVDS, Windows access to group 3-28volume collections

creating 5-34creating a replica collection 7-21creating a snapshot collection 6-13defined 5-34deleting 5-39disabling replication 7-31, 7-32displaying 5-37enabling replication 7-20modifying 5-39scheduling replicas 8-1scheduling snapshots 8-1status 5-37

volumesaccess control records 5-2

creating 5-6, 5-12, 5-21deleting 5-14displaying 5-13modifying 5-13

and pools 5-26, 10-1backing up 6-1, 7-1binding to a member 5-29cancelling move operation 5-27cloning 5-30collections 5-34controlling access to 5-2controlling computer access to 5-6,

5-21creating 5-4creating with thin provisioning 5-

19decreasing size 5-17default iSCSI settings 3-17default snapshot settings 3-17default thin provisioning settings

3-17deleting 5-34deleting access control records 5-

14demoting to failback replica set 9-9disabling all computer access 5-2disabling replication 7-31, 7-32disabling thin provisioning 5-22displaying 5-7displaying pool 10-7enabling thin provisioning 5-20, 5-

22failback process 9-17host connections 5-10identifying problems 12-17increasing size 5-15

Index

Index- 12

increasing size and replication 5-15

iSCSI target alias 3-17, 3-18, 5-14iSCSI target name 5-1load balancing 4-8lost blocks 5-33naming 5-4, 5-14RAID preference 5-25recovering data 9-4replica reserve 7-5replication 7-1

configuring 7-17manual transfer A-1, A-2pausing 7-32resuming 7-32

reported size, description 5-17restoring from snapshot 6-11restricting access to 5-2restricting access with CHAP 3-19scheduling replication 8-1

scheduling snapshots 8-1setting offline 5-24setting online 5-24setting read-only 5-25setting read-write 5-25snapshot reserve size 5-5, 6-7snapshot reserve warning thresh-

old 3-17, 6-7snapshot space recovery 6-7snapshots 6-1status 5-7TCP/IP port 5-3thin provisioning 5-17thin provisioning settings 5-20, 5-

22, 5-23volume reserve, description 5-17

VSS, Windows access to group 3-28Wwrite-back mode 11-22write-through mode 11-22

Date post:	08-Apr-2015
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