Technical White Paper

Dell Unity: Replication Technologies

A Detailed Review

Abstract
This white paper explains the replication solutions for Dell Unity systems. This
paper outlines the native and non-native options available for replicating data. It
also includes information about managing replication, and the benefits that
replication provides. Native file synchronous replication is covered separately in
the Dell Unity: MetroSync white paper which can be found on Dell Technologies
Info Hub.

April 2022

Dell Unity: Replication Technologies | H15088.8

Revisions

Revisions
Date Description
May 2016 Initial release – Operating Environment version 4.0

December 2016 Updated for Operating Environment version 4.1

July 2017 Updated for Operating Environment version 4.2

March 2018 Updated for Operating Environment version 4.3

August 2018 Updated for Operating Environment version 4.4

January 2019 Updated for Operating Environment version 4.5

June 2019 Updated for Operating Environment version 5.0

January 2021 Metro node updates

June 2021 Template and format updates. Updated for Operating Environment version 5.1.

April 2022 Updated for Operating Environment version 5.2

Acknowledgments
Author: Ryan Poulin

Updated by: Kenneth Avilés Padilla

The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this
publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Use, copying, and distribution of any software described in this publication requires an applicable software license.

This document may contain certain words that are not consistent with Dell's current language guidelines. Dell plans to update the document over
subsequent future releases to revise these words accordingly.

This document may contain language from third party content that is not under Dell's control and is not consistent with Dell's current guidelines for Dell's
own content. When such third party content is updated by the relevant third parties, this document will be revised accordingly.

Copyright © 2016-2022 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell Technologies, Dell, EMC, Dell EMC and other trademarks are trademarks
of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners. [4/29/2022] [Technical White Paper] [H15088.8]

Dell Unity: Replication Technologies | H15088.8

Table of contents

Table of contents
Revisions.............................................................................................................................................................................2
Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................................................................2
Table of contents ................................................................................................................................................................3
Executive summary .............................................................................................................................................................6
Audience .............................................................................................................................................................................6
1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................7
1.1 Terminology ........................................................................................................................................................7
2 Native synchronous block replication .........................................................................................................................10
2.1 Licensing ...........................................................................................................................................................10
2.2 Theory of operation ..........................................................................................................................................10
2.2.1 Synchronous replication interfaces...................................................................................................................10
2.2.2 Synchronous Replication Management Ports ..................................................................................................11
2.2.3 Replication Connections ...................................................................................................................................12
2.2.4 Replication Sessions ........................................................................................................................................12
2.2.5 Storage Resources ...........................................................................................................................................13
2.2.6 Replication Roles ..............................................................................................................................................13
2.3 Replication Operations .....................................................................................................................................14
2.3.1 Pause and Resume ..........................................................................................................................................14
2.3.2 Failover and Failback .......................................................................................................................................14
2.3.3 Delete ...............................................................................................................................................................15
2.4 Data Protection Mechanisms ............................................................................................................................16
2.4.1 Fracture Log .....................................................................................................................................................16
2.4.2 Write Intent Log ................................................................................................................................................16
2.5 Supported Replication Configurations ..............................................................................................................17
2.6 Unisphere Management ...................................................................................................................................18
2.6.1 Configuring Replication ....................................................................................................................................18
2.6.2 Synchronous Replication Management Ports ..................................................................................................18
2.6.3 Creating a Replication Connection ...................................................................................................................20
2.6.4 Creating a Replication Session ........................................................................................................................21
2.6.5 Viewing the Replication Sessions .....................................................................................................................26
2.7 System Maximums ...........................................................................................................................................27
3 Native Asynchronous Replication...............................................................................................................................28
3.1 Licensing ...........................................................................................................................................................28
3.2 Theory of Operation ..........................................................................................................................................28
3.2.1 Replication Interfaces .......................................................................................................................................28

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3.2.2 Replication Connections ...................................................................................................................................30

3.2.3 Replication Sessions ........................................................................................................................................35
3.2.4 Asynchronous Replication Internal Snapshots .................................................................................................36
3.2.5 Storage Resources ...........................................................................................................................................37
3.2.6 Replication Roles ..............................................................................................................................................38
3.3 Replication Operations .....................................................................................................................................39
3.3.1 Pause and Resume ..........................................................................................................................................39
3.3.2 Sync ..................................................................................................................................................................40
3.3.3 Failover with Sync, Failover, and Failback .......................................................................................................40
3.3.4 Delete ...............................................................................................................................................................42
3.3.5 Group Operations .............................................................................................................................................42
3.4 Supported Replication Configurations ..............................................................................................................44
3.4.1 Local Replication ..............................................................................................................................................44
3.4.2 Remote Replication ..........................................................................................................................................45
3.4.3 MetroSync .........................................................................................................................................................46
3.4.4 Advanced File Remote Replication ..................................................................................................................46
3.5 Snapshot Replication ........................................................................................................................................53
3.6 Unisphere Management ...................................................................................................................................54
3.6.1 Configuring Replication ....................................................................................................................................54
3.6.2 Creating Replication Interfaces ........................................................................................................................55
3.6.3 Creating a Replication Connection ...................................................................................................................56
3.6.4 Creating a Replication Session ........................................................................................................................58
3.6.5 Restore from a replicated snapshot..................................................................................................................68
3.6.6 Override network address for file replication ....................................................................................................68
3.6.7 Enable NDMP on NAS Server ..........................................................................................................................69
3.6.8 Viewing the Replication Sessions .....................................................................................................................70
3.7 System Maximums ...........................................................................................................................................71
4 Proxy NAS Servers ....................................................................................................................................................72
5 Interoperability ............................................................................................................................................................73
5.1 Common Base Snapshots ................................................................................................................................73
5.1.1 Create replication session by reusing destination resource .............................................................................73
5.1.2 Accelerating Failback/Resume after unplanned failover with common base snapshots .................................77
5.2 File Import .........................................................................................................................................................78
5.3 Data Reduction .................................................................................................................................................78
5.4 Dynamic Pools ..................................................................................................................................................79
6 Upgrades ....................................................................................................................................................................81

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7 RecoverPoint with Dell Unity ......................................................................................................................................82

8 Metro node .................................................................................................................................................................83
9 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................................84
A Technical support and resources ...............................................................................................................................85
A.1 Related resources.............................................................................................................................................85
B Appendix: Replication Maximums ..............................................................................................................................86
C Appendix: Replication Support Across Platforms.......................................................................................................87

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Executive summary

Executive summary
Data is often one of the most valuable assets to an organization. It is being accessed constantly by the
various applications, users, and sometimes directly by customers of the organization. This makes data a
crucial part of the day-to-day operations of an organization. Outages can happen at any time, and can be
restricted to a single system, or an entire data center or location. Whether they are planned outages, such as
regular maintenance, or unplanned such as a power outage, ensuring that data critical to the organization is
available at all times is a top priority. A business continuity plan for critical data is suggested to prevent costly
outages. To protect against the different scenarios, an organization should plan and implement a data
protection strategy. A data replication solution can ensure business continuity, high availability, and data
protection. Dell Unity provides native and non-native solutions that will help you protect your data and meet
the goals of your business for both data availability and protection.

Dell Unity systems provide synchronous and asynchronous replication solutions which allow you to replicate
data locally within the same system, or to other systems, whether they are located at the same site or a
remote facility. Having remote replicas of data protects you against outages on the main system and allows
you to recover quickly and easily on a destination system with minimal to no data loss depending on the
replication method selected.

This white paper describes the following replication technologies for Dell Unity:

Native Synchronous Block Replication

Native Asynchronous Block and File Replication
Dell EMC® RecoverPoint®

Dell Unity also supports native file synchronous replication. For information about native file synchronous
replication and MetroSync Manager, reference the Dell Unity: MetroSync white paper on Dell Technologies
Info Hub.

Synchronous Block Replication, Asynchronous Block and File Replication, and Manual Replication can easily
be configured and managed in Unisphere, Unisphere CLI, or REST API. Unisphere is a simple and intuitive
HTML5 web-based interface which not only allows users to configure and manage their replication setup, but
also provides a visual representation of the configuration.

Dell EMC RecoverPoint is an appliance-based product providing an alternative solution for Block Replication
for Dell EMC Unity systems. Configuring RecoverPoint protection is done through the intuitive Unisphere for
RecoverPoint interface. RecoverPoint allows for the recovery of data for any point-in-time and replicate to
other supported Dell storage systems.

Audience
This white paper is intended for Dell customers, partners, and employees who are considering the use of
Native Synchronous Block Replication, Native Asynchronous Block and File Replication, or RecoverPoint for
the Dell Unity family of storage systems. It assumes familiarity with Dell Unity and Dell’s management
software.

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Introduction

1 Introduction
To protect against outages which can interrupt data availability, it is crucial to have a redundant copy of data.
To protect against a storage system outage, you can use replication to create a copy of data on a remote
system. Replication is a software feature which synchronizes data to a remote system within the same site or
a different location. Replicating data helps to provide data redundancy, and safeguards against storage
system failures at the main production site. Having a remote Disaster Recovery (DR) site protects against
system and site-wide outages and provides a remote location to resume production and minimize downtime
due to a disaster. For Dell Unity, the platform offers many replication solutions to easily meet disaster
recovery needs in customer environments.

Synchronous replication is a data protection solution which ensures each block of data written to a storage
resource is first saved locally and to a remote image before the write is acknowledged to the host. This
ensures that in the event of a disaster, there is zero data loss. In synchronous replication solutions, there are
also trade-offs. As each write needs to be saved locally and remotely, added response time occurs during
each transaction. This response time increases as distance increases between remote images. Synchronous
replication has a distance limitation based on latency between systems. This limitation is generally 60 miles or
100 km between sites. It is recommended to ensure the latency of the link between the local and remote
system is less than 10 milliseconds.

Asynchronous replication is primarily used to replicate data over long distances, but also can be used to
replicate storage resources between Pools within the same system. Asynchronous replication does not
impact host I/O latency as host writes are acknowledged once they are saved to the local storage resource.
Because write operations are not immediately replicated to a destination resource, all writes are tracked on
the source. This data will be replicated during the next synchronization. Asynchronous replication introduces
the concept of a Recovery Point Objective (RPO). RPO is the acceptable amount of data, measured in units
of time, which may be lost due to a failure. This delta of time also affects the amount of data which needs to
be replicated during the next synchronization, and the amount of potential data loss if a disaster scenario
were to occur.

Dell Unity’s synchronous and asynchronous replication features can easily be configured using Unisphere,
Unisphere CLI, or REST API. Dell Unity also supports manual replication, which does not automatically
update a destination image with changes on the source. Manual replication will be discussed with
asynchronous replication. RecoverPoint also supports block replication for Dell Unity and will be discussed
later in this paper. RecoverPoint uses physical or virtual appliances to replicate data between systems and is
configured using the Unisphere for RecoverPoint user interface.

The Dell Unity File synchronous replication feature and MetroSync Manager are covered in the Dell Unity:
MetroSync white paper, which can be found on Dell Technologies Info Hub.

1.1 Terminology
Asynchronous Replication: A replication method which allows you to replicate data over long distances and
maintain a replica at a destination site. Updates to the destination image can be issued manually, or
automatically based on a customizable Recovery Point Objective (RPO).

Bandwidth: The amount of data, represented in MB/s, which can be transferred in a given period of time.

Common Base: A pair of Unified Snapshots taken on a replication source and destination storage resource
which have the same point-in-time image.

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Introduction

Consistency Group (Dell Unity): A storage instance which contains one or more LUNs within a storage
system. Consistency groups help organize the storage allocated for a particular host or hosts.

Consistency Group (RecoverPoint): In RecoverPoint, a consistency group is a user-defined group of LUNs

to be replicated. A consistency group needs to be created in RecoverPoint as a part of the workflow to
configure replication. This consistency group containing Dell Unity LUNs can be replicated locally or remotely.
RecoverPoint consistency groups are synonymous with Dell Unity consistency groups.

Destination Storage Resource: A storage resource that is used for disaster recovery in a replication
session. This is also known as a target image.

Fracture Log: A bitmap held in persistent memory on each storage processor which indicates which physical
areas of a source resource participating in a synchronous replication session have been updated since
communication was interrupted (fracture).

Internal Snapshot (Replication Snapshot): Unified Snapshots created by the system which are part of an
asynchronous replication session. These snapshots can be viewed in Unisphere, but user operations are not
permitted. Each asynchronous replication session uses two internal snapshots taken on the source and
destination storage resources.

Journal Volume: In RecoverPoint, a journal volume is a LUN designated to hold data associated with
previous points-in-time. The journal is used to allow RecoverPoint to roll back data to any point-in-time.
Journal volumes must be configured for each copy of a consistency group, including the production copy.

LUN: A block-based storage resource which a user provisions. It represents a SCSI logical unit.

RecoverPoint: An appliance-based disaster recovery solution that replicates synchronously or

asynchronously and enables recovery to any point-in-time.

RecoverPoint Appliance (RPA): An industry-standard server platform that runs RecoverPoint software and
manages all aspects of data protection for a consistency group. RPAs are clustered at each site in a
RecoverPoint system for high availability and load balancing. Virtual machines running RecoverPoint
software, or vRPAs, are also supported as an alternative to physical appliances.

Recovery Point Objective (RPO): The acceptable amount of data, measured in units of time, which may be
lost due to a failure. For example, if a storage resource has an RPO of 1 hour, any data written to the storage
resource within the most recent hour may be lost when the replication session is failed over to the destination
storage resource.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO): The duration of time in which a business process must be restored after a
disaster. For example, an RTO of 1 hour requires access to the data be restored within 1 hour after a disaster
is encountered.

Replication Session: A relationship configured between two storage resources of the same type, on the
same or different systems, to automatically or manually synchronize the data from one resource to another.

Snapshot: A snapshot, also called a Unified Snapshot, is a point-in-time view of a storage resource. When a
snapshot is taken, the snapshot is an exact copy of the source storage resource and shares all blocks of data
with it. As data changes on the source, new blocks are allocated and written to. Unified Snapshot technology
can be used to take a snapshot of a Block or File storage resource.

Storage Resource: The top-level object a user can provision, associated with a specific quantity of storage.
All host access and data protection activities are performed at this level. In this document, storage resource

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Introduction

refers specifically to those which support replication: LUNs, consistency groups, NAS Servers, file systems,
and VMware VMFS and NFS Datastores.

Synchronous Replication: A replication mode in which the host initiates a write to the system at a local site
and the data must be successfully stored in both local and remote sites before an acknowledgment is sent
back to the host.

Thin Clone: A thin clone is a Read/Write copy of a Thin Block storage resource (LUN, consistency group, or
VMware VMFS datastore) that shares blocks with the parent resource.

Unisphere: A web-based Dell management interface for creating storage resources and configuring and
scheduling protection of stored data on a Dell Unity system. Unisphere can be used for all management of
Dell Unity native replication.

Unisphere for RecoverPoint: A web-based interface for managing RecoverPoint replication. It serves as a
single pane of glass for replicating storage resources of multiple storage systems configured to use
RecoverPoint. Consistency groups are created, replicated, and recovered through this interface.

User Snapshot: A snapshot created manually by the user or by a schedule. This is different than an internal
snapshot, which is taken automatically by the system with asynchronous replication.

Write Intent Log: A record stored in persistent memory on the Dell Unity storage system which tracks in-flight
writes between systems participating in synchronous replication.

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Native synchronous block replication

2 Native synchronous block replication

This section will discuss the native synchronous block replication feature found on Dell Unity systems. This
feature allows users to create synchronous replication sessions for Block storage resources between
supported systems. All configuration and management operations in this section will be demonstrated in
Unisphere, though Unisphere CLI and REST API may also be used. The following sections of this paper will
discuss:

The licensing requirements for the native synchronous block replication feature
How the native synchronous replication feature works
The configurations supported for synchronous replication
Unisphere configuration and management

Synchronous block replication using RecoverPoint will be discussed in the RecoverPoint with Dell Unity
section.

2.1 Licensing
For Dell Unity, synchronous block replication is only supported on physical deployments. The supported
systems include the All Flash models, and the Hybrid models. For Dell Unity All Flash and Hybrid systems,
Synchronous Block Replication license comes included at no additional cost.

2.2 Theory of operation

Native synchronous block replication is consisted of a number of physical and software components. Each of
these components will be discussed in the following sections. To fully configure synchronous replication, you
must complete each of following:

Configure FC connectivity for synchronous replication data transfer

Configure network interfaces on the synchronous replication management ports for replication command
communication
Configure a replication connection between systems
Configure replication sessions between systems

Also discussed in this section will be the various storage resources which support synchronous replication,
and the different replication modes and roles for synchronous replication. The following sections detail the
functions, requirements, and interactions of these components. The configuration and management of these
components in Unisphere will be discussed in the Unisphere Management subsection.

2.2.1 Synchronous replication interfaces

Native synchronous block replication is performed over the first Fibre Channel (FC) port configured on the
system. Older model Dell Unity physical systems include two onboard Converged Network Adapter (CNA)
ports which can be configured with either 16 Gb FC SFPs, 10 Gb Optical SFPs, or be used with Twinax
cables. When configured as Fibre Channel, the lowest numbered port will be used for the synchronous
replication interface on each SP. When the CNA is not configured for Fibre Channel, a 16 Gb Fibre Channel
I/O module must be purchased, installed, and persisted on each of the SPs of the system. Dell Unity XT
systems support both a 16 Gb and 32 Gb Fibre Channel I/O module. Support for the 32 Gb Fibre Channel I/O
module was added in Dell Unity OE version 5.1. In any model type, the lowest numbered FC port on the
system will be used as the synchronous block replication interface.

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Native synchronous block replication

Starting with Dell Unity OE version 4.1, the Replication Capability field is displayed for the Fibre Channel
ports. To view, go to Unisphere > System > System View > Enclosures, then select a Fibre Channel port to
review. Figure 1 an example of the Enclosures tab on a Dell Unity 480 system, with the SP A I/O Module 0 FC
Port 0 selected. The Replication Capability can be seen from the quick properties of the port.

Replication Capability

With Unisphere CLI, you can also easily locate the synchronous block replication port by running the
/net/port/fc show –detail command. This command will return information for Fibre Channel ports of
the system. A sample output of this command with only the relevant information displayed is shown below:

C:\>uemcli -d ip_address -u username -p password /net/port/fc show –detail

1: ID = spa_iom_0_fc0
Replication capability = Sync replication
4: ID = spb_iom_0_fc0
Replication capability = Sync replication

In the above example, the first Fibre Channel port on the system, labeled as I/O Module 0 FC Port 0 on both
Storage Processors (SP) are used for synchronous block replication. These ports can be directly connected
to the synchronous ports on the destination system or zoned to them using a switch. For zoning, the proper
configuration is to zone the SPA replication port for the local and remote systems together, and in a different
zone, zone the SPB replication ports together. It is recommended to dedicate the FC replication interfaces
strictly for replication purposes, but it is not required. Hosts can also use these ports if required. For
redundancy, it is best to configure SPA’s replication connection over one FC network, and SPB’s over another
where possible.

2.2.2 Synchronous Replication Management Ports

The synchronous replication management port is a virtual port used by synchronous replication to pass
management commands between systems. A synchronous replication management port is created on each
SP and is configured on the management port of a storage processor. This port must be able to communicate
with the destination system’s synchronous replication management port interfaces and does not support
VLAN tagging. This port only needs to be configured when the system will participate in synchronous
replication with a remote system. Synchronous replication management ports must be configured on the
source and destination systems participating in synchronous replication.

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Native synchronous block replication

2.2.3 Replication Connections

When configuring replication, a trusted link must be created between two systems before any replication
sessions can be made. A replication connection is a logical link that is created between systems that will
participate in remote replication. The replication connection establishes a link for management, and the data
path between a pair of systems. After the replication interfaces and the synchronous replication management
ports are configured, you must create the replication connection between the systems. Once configured, all
synchronous replication sessions will use the replication connections to transport data to the remote system.

Figure 2 below shows an example configuration of a replication connection between two systems. In this
example, the Dell Unity XT systems are labeled “Production System” and “DR System”. All synchronous
replication will occur between the Production System and the DR System. Each system is also configured
with 32 Gb FC I/O Modules in slot 0, so I/O Module 0 port 0 on each SP is the synchronous replication port.
After cabling each system to the network, configuring the synchronous replication management ports, and
zoning the FC ports together, the replication connection can be established. All management related traffic
will cross the LAN/WAN connections, and all data will be replicated across the FC Network synchronously.
Once a replication connection is configured on one of the systems participating in replication, it is
automatically created on the other system.

Verify and Update is a single operation that is used to update the replication connection information about the
system it is issued on. This operation is performed on the replication connection itself, as opposed to an
individual replication session. Verify and Update can be used to test a replication connection to a remote
system or update the replication information if changes to the system have been made. Verify and Update
should be issued to reestablish the replication connection to a remote system after an outage or when a
configuration change to a replication interface on the system has been made. Another use case for using
Verify and Update is if a Synchronous Replication Management Port IP Address has been changed on the
system.

Note: A system can only be synchronously connected to one remote system at a time. FC connections to
multiple Dell Unity systems will cause the remote connection verification to fail.

Native synchronous block replication connection example

2.2.4 Replication Sessions

A replication session uses a configured replication connection to transfer data from a source to a destination
storage resource. If a replication session is created using Unisphere, a storage resource of the same size and
type is created on the destination system and a full synchronization occurs between the source and
destination storage resource. If replication is configured when creating a new resource, the synchronization
operation is quick as no data needs to be copied across the link. When configuring synchronous block
replication, snapshots and snapshot schedules are not replicated to the DR system.

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Native synchronous block replication

The following steps outline a write operation to a storage resource with a synchronous replication session
configured. In this example, assume the initial synchronization is complete.

1. A write I/O is sent to a storage resource on the production system.

2. System cache on the production system accepts the write I/O.
3. The production system replicates the data to the DR System.
4. The DR system accepts the data into system cache.
5. The DR system responds to the production system and acknowledges the write has been saved.
6. The production system acknowledges the host that the data has been accepted and saved on the
system.

2.2.5 Storage Resources

When configuring replication, the source and destination storage resource must be of the same type. In Dell
Unity, native synchronous replication is supported on the following storage resources:

LUNs
Consistency groups
VMware VMFS datastores
Thin clones
File systems and VMware NFS datastores
Covered separately in the Dell Unity: MetroSync white paper on Dell Technologies Info Hub

On the system, replication for LUNs, thin clones, and VMware VMFS datastores function identically to each
other. When configuring replication on a LUN, a single replication session is created, and the source and
destination storage resources will be the same size and type. When configuring replication session on a thin
clone, the destination storage resource will be a regular storage resource and not a clone. While synchronous
replication is configured, you cannot extend the storage resource. Other options, such as the LUN’s name or
tiering policy may be configured differently between systems.

In Dell Unity, a consistency group is a storage instance which contains one or more LUNs within a storage
system. Consistency groups help organize the storage allocated for a particular host or hosts. consistency
groups are treated as a single entity when they are replicated, meaning that a single replication session is
created for the entire consistency group no matter how many LUNs it contains. When pausing or resuming
replication on a consistency group, the entire group is affected by the replication operation.

2.2.6 Replication Roles

Two storage resources are required for replication:
A source storage resource which will be replicated
A destination storage resource which is copied to from the source

When a replication session is created in Unisphere, the destination storage resource is automatically created
with the session. Upon creation, the destination resource is marked as a destination image. This restriction
blocks Read/Write access on the destination storage resource. To view the data contained in the destination
storage resource, you may take a snapshot of the resource and provide host access to it. Starting in OE
version 5.1, you may reuse a previously provisioned storage resource when reconfiguring a replication
session.

In Unisphere, you can easily determine which storage resources are replicated and which are destination
images from any of the storage resource pages, such as the LUNs tab on the Block page. While in this tab,
select the gear icon, and hover over the Columns option to view the available columns that can be viewed.

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Native synchronous block replication

Select the check boxes for “Replication Type” and “Restricted Replication Access”. Replication Type displays
what type of replication the storage resource is participating in, whether it is None, Remote, or Local. The
Restricted Replication Access column will display “Yes” if the storage resource is labeled as a replication
destination resource, or “No” if it is not. If a replication session is deleted, the destination storage resource will
still be labeled as a replication destination image. The replication destination label must be edited manually
over Unisphere CLI before the resource is allowed to receive I/O. For example, to remove the replication
destination setting from a LUN, use the uemcli /stor/prov/luns/lun -id <value> set -
replDest no command. For more information about removing the replication destination setting on other
storage resource types, consult the Dell Unity: Unisphere Command Line Interface User Guide on Dell Online
Support.

In Dell Unity OE versions 5.1 and later, Source, Destination, and All filtering buttons on the replication
sessions page and various storage resource pages help the user easily identify replication source and
destination resources/sessions without adding columns to the view. When All is selected, all
resources/sessions on the current page are displayed. When Source is selected on a resource page, all
resources that are the source of a replication session are displayed. Resources that are not replicated are
also shown when Source is selected. When Source is selected on the replication sessions page, only
replication session originating on the system are shown. When Destination is selected on a resource page,
only resources that are the destination images of a replication session are shown. While on the sessions
page, Destination will only the sessions replicating to the current system. Also, sessions that are part of local
replication are displayed regardless of which view is selected.

2.3 Replication Operations

Once a replication session has been created, several operations are available to manipulate the replication
session as needed. Not all operations are available at all times, as some depend on the session being in a
particular state. Also, certain operations will perform differently depending on which system they are issued
on, source or destination. Only one replication operation can be issued and running per session at a particular
point in time.

2.3.1 Pause and Resume

Pause and resume are used to stop and start replication between the systems for a particular replication
session. In Unisphere, the pause operation can only be issued from the source system. While a session is
paused, all write I/O to a storage resource is only saved on the source system before being acknowledged to
the host. All I/O is tracked when the replication session is paused, and when the session is resumed, all
blocks not already copied to the destination will be done at this time. During this time, the state of the
replication session will be “Syncing”. Once all I/O is copied to the destination, the state will change to “In
Sync”.

Pausing a replication session may be done for a number of reasons. Some reasons include the need to
power off the source or destination system for planned maintenance, a configuration change on the network
between systems, or interface changes on either system. Another reason may be to physically move a
system from one data center or site to another. In certain circumstances, configuring replication and
synchronizing the data between systems may be done within the same site, then the destination system is
later moved to its final destination.

2.3.2 Failover and Failback

When issuing the failover operation, the current destination storage resource becomes the production
resource. Before issuing the failover operation, it is highly suggested to quiesce I/O to the source image first.

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Once the failover operation is initiated the destination resource will be available for Read/Write operations and
the original source resource will no longer be available for reads or writes. If host access is configured on the
destination resource, hosts can access the data at this time. The effects of issuing the failover operation will
depend on which system the failover was initiated from.

A failover issued from the production system is also referred to as a planned failover. The destination
resource will become Read/Write available, and the direction for replicating data will switch. When this occurs,
the original destination system will start replicating all new writes it receives for the storage resource to the
original source system for the replication session. Issuing a failover from the source is suggested when
testing a site failover to ensure the DR configuration is working properly. To return the session to its original
state, first quiesce I/O to the original destination storage resource. Then, issue a failover from the original
destination system. This will make the original storage resource the production image and start replication in
the original direction.

If a failover operation is issued from a destination system, an unplanned failover or disaster situation is
initiated. An unplanned failover assumes a disaster has occurred on the production system, and the
destination image is made Read/Write available. The replication session will also pause and not automatically
switch the direction for replication. The replication session is left in this state until the user issues another
replication operation.

Starting with Dell Unity OE version 5.0, an unplanned failover operation can be initiated even when the
replication is in a “Paused’ state. Previously, unplanned failover operations were not allowed while the
session was in a “Paused” state. Any changes made on the source system while the session is paused are
not replicated to the destination.

When the original production system becomes available, the user has the option of issuing the Resume
operation on the session from the original destination to replicate data to the original source which will result
in a full sync. Then, at a later time, they can issue the Failover operation from the destination system to return
to the original state for replication, from the production system to the destination system. The user also has
the option of issuing the Failback operation from the destination system when the source becomes available.
The Failback operation will do a full synchronization of the storage resource on the source system with the
data on the destination resource, block access to the destination storage resource, and make the original
production resource Read/Write. Replication will also then be resumed from the production system to the
destination system for the replication session. It is suggested to quiesce all I/O before issuing the Failback
operation.

2.3.3 Delete
Deleting a replication session can be issued on the source system or destination system, but it is
recommended that the operation be issued on the source when the source is available. When there are no
issues in the configuration and a Delete operation is issued on the source system, the replication session will
be deleted from both the source and destination system. The destination storage resource is not automatically
deleted when the replication session is deleted. If the delete operation is issued while the destination system
cannot be reached, the session will need to be deleted from the destination system manually. If the delete
operation is issued from the destination system, the source session is left configured and must be deleted
manually. Once a replication session is deleted, a full sync will need to occur if replication is reconfigured.

A delete operation can also be issued for a replication connection. A replication connection can only be
deleted after all configured replication sessions using the connection have been deleted.

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2.4 Data Protection Mechanisms

Synchronous replication has mechanisms to resync data differences between the source and/or destination
resources in the event of replication disruption thereby preventing the need for full synchronization. The
fracture log protects primarily against loss of communication with the destination resource. The write intent log
protects primarily against interruptions to the source resource. Both of these structures exist to enable partial
synchronizations in the event of interruptions to the source or destination resources.

2.4.1 Fracture Log

The fracture log is a bitmap held in the memory of the storage processor that owns the source resource. It
indicates which physical areas of the source have been updated since communication was interrupted with
the destination.

The fracture log is automatically invoked when the destination resource of a replication session is lost for any
reason and becomes out of sync. The replication session is out of sync (no longer replicating) if the
destination is not available, or it can be administratively paused through Unisphere or UEMCLI. Dell Unity
sets a replication session as out of sync if an outstanding I/O to the destination is not acknowledged within 25
seconds. While in a state of out of sync, the source pings the destination every 20 seconds to determine if
communication has been restored.

The fracture log tracks changes on the source resource for as long as the destination resource is
unreachable. It is a bitmap that represents areas of the source resource with regions called extents. The
amount of data represented by an extent depends on the size of the data resource. Since the fracture log is a
bitmap and tracks changed areas of the source resource, it is not possible to run out of fracture log capacity.

When the destination resource returns to service, it must be synchronized with the source. This is
accomplished by reading those areas of the source addressed by the fracture log and writing them to the
destination resource. This activity occurs in parallel with any writes coming into the source and replicated to
the destination. Bits in the fracture log are cleared once the area of the source marked by an extent is copied
to the destination. This ability to perform a partial synchronization can result in significant time savings. It may
be necessary, depending on the length of the outage and the amount of write activity, to resynchronize the
entire dataset.

By default, the fracture log is stored in memory. Therefore, it would be possible for a full resynchronization to
be required if a destination resource is out of sync and an interruption in service occurs on the source SP. To
protect against such scenarios, the write intent log is used.

2.4.2 Write Intent Log

The write intent log is a record stored in persistent memory (disk) on the storage system on which the source
resource resides. During normal operation, the write intent log tracks in-flight writes to both the source and
destination resources in a sync replication relationship. Much like the fracture log, the write intent log is a
bitmap composed of extents indicating where data is written. The write intent log is always active, but the
fracture log is only enabled when the replication session is out of sync.

When in use, Dell Unity makes an entry in the write intent log of its intent to update the source and destination
resources at a particular location, then proceeds with the attempted update. After both images respond that
data has been written (that is written to write cache), the system clears previous write intent log entries. For
performance reasons, the write intent log is not cleared immediately following the acknowledgment from the
source and destination resources. It will be cleared while subsequent write intent log operations are
performed.

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In a recovery situation, the write intent log can be used to determine which extents must be synchronized
from the source storage system to the destination system. For instance, if a single SP becomes unavailable
(for example during a reboot or failure), there may be in-flight writes that were sent to the destination, but not
acknowledged before the outage. These writes will remain marked in the write intent log. Then server
software trespasses the resource to the peer SP. The remaining SP directly accesses the unavailable SP’s
write intent log and recovers the recent modification history. The SP then resends the data marked by the
extents in the write intent log. This allows for recovery using only a partial resynchronization, rather than a full
resynchronization because it ensures that any writes in process at the time of the failure are acknowledged by
the destination resource. If the entire array becomes unavailable, then the write intent log is used to facilitate
a partial resynchronization from source to destination once the source array is recovered.

2.5 Supported Replication Configurations

Dell Unity’s Native Synchronous Block Replication feature is supported in two different topologies, and
deployment models will vary depending on the requirements of the configuration. The following synchronous
replication topologies outline the system configuration options supported in Dell Unity.

One-Directional
A single source system replicating to a single destination system
Bi-Directional
A two-system topology in which each system acts as a replication destination for the peer’s
production data

The following figure, Figure 3, is a graphical view of the supported topologies listed above. Note the figure
uses LUNs as an example. For synchronous replication, the source and destination system must be a
physical system, but the models used can vary depending on the configuration requirements. Below are
examples of the two topologies that can be used, either One-Directional or Bi-Directional replication. The
source and destination system can either be the same model type, either All Flash or Hybrid, or the source
and destination can be a mix of different model All Flash and Hybrid systems.

Supported synchronous block replication topologies

One-Directional replication is typically deployed when only one of the systems will be used for production I/O.
The second system is a replication target for all production data and sits idle within the same data center or a
remote location. If the need arises, the DR system can be placed into production and host production I/O. In
this scenario, mirroring the production system’s configuration, including the number of drives and Pool layout,
on the DR system is suggested, as each system would then have the same performance potential.

The Bi-Directional replication topology is typically used when production I/O needs to be spread across
multiple systems or locations. The systems may exist within a single data center or in different, remote
locations. When using this replication topology, production I/O from each system is mirrored to the peer
system. If there is an outage, one of the systems can be promoted as the primary production system, and all

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production I/O can be sent to it. Once the outage is complete, the replication configuration can be changed
back to its original configuration. This replication topology ensures both systems are in use by production I/O
at all times.

On Dell Unity, a block resource can only be synchronously replicated to one single storage resource on a
remote system. This means that replicating a single storage resource to multiple destination resources is not
supported. Therefore, only one replication connection between a source and destination pair of Dell Unity
systems can be used for synchronous replication. Cascading replication, when a destination storage resource
is also replicated to another destination resource, is also not supported for synchronous block replication.

2.6 Unisphere Management

Creating and managing replication in Unisphere is easy and intuitive. All replication operations, including
configuring of synchronous replication network interfaces, replication connections, and replication sessions
can be performed in the Unisphere GUI. With the help of easy-to-follow wizards, replication can be configured
quickly by IT generalists or advanced users alike. Replication can also be configured using Unisphere CLI, or
REST API. For more information about configuring and managing replication using Unisphere CLI, refer to the
Unisphere Command Line Interface Guide found on Dell Online Support. For more information about REST
API, refer to the Unisphere Management REST API Programmer’s Guide found on Dell Online Support.

2.6.1 Configuring Replication

When configuring synchronous block replication, the following components need to be configured and were
previously discussed in this paper:

1. FC connectivity between the synchronous replication interfaces on the local and remote system
2. Synchronous Replication Management Port Interfaces
3. A Replication Connection
4. A Replication Session

The first step above is completed by directly connecting the synchronous replication FC ports of two systems
together or zoning the ports together over the fabric as outlined in the Synchronous Replication Interfaces
section.

The following sections will outline the remaining steps needed to configure remote replication in Unisphere.
Each of the following operations are completed from a particular page in Unisphere. Each page will be
discussed in detail below. For more information about using Unisphere to configure and manage replication,
refer to the Unisphere Online Help.

2.6.2 Synchronous Replication Management Ports

To create the synchronous replication management ports, you must first go to the Interfaces page, which is
found under Protection & Mobility in the left pane in Unisphere. For releases prior to Dell Unity OE version
4.1, the Interfaces can be found as a tab in the Replication page, under Data Protection. Figure 4 below
shows the Interfaces page. From this page, you have the option to create or delete mobility interfaces,
refresh the current page, or edit a configured mobility interface. In the example below, no mobility interfaces
have been created. Only one pair of synchronous replication management ports needs to be created on the
source and destination system. Mobility Interfaces may be shared network interfaces for import and
replication related data or management traffic using the virtual management port. In this section, the mobility
interfaces will be referenced as replication interfaces.

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Interfaces page

To create a replication interface, click the Create Interface button, shown as a + sign in the Interfaces page.
Once selected, the Create Interface wizard appears, which is shown in Figure 5. For synchronous block
replication, you must create the Synchronous Replication Management Ports on the system, which are used
for management connectivity between the source and destination system. In the Ethernet Port drop-down
list, select Sync Replication Management Port. The status of the ports will be shown in parentheses. Both
system management ports, also used for Unisphere management, will need to be cabled to the network for
these links to work properly.

Next, configure an IP address for SPA and SPB to be used for synchronous replication management. Note
that VLAN tagging is not supported on these interfaces. Once done, click OK.

Create Interface window

Once the synchronous replication management ports are created, they will be shown on the Interfaces page
as shown in Figure 6. From here the status of each port is shown, currently operating normally as denoted by
the green circle checkmark. To delete a synchronous replication management port, select the port and click
the Delete Interface icon, which is shown as a trash can on this tab. To edit a replication management port,
to change the IP address for example, select the Edit icon, which is shown as a pencil icon on this tab.

Synchronous replication management interfaces

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2.6.3 Creating a Replication Connection

The next step in configuring synchronous block replication is to create a Replication Connection with another
system. This configures a private replication connection for the pair of systems. To create the Replication
Connection, you must first go to the Replication page, which is found under Protection & Mobility in the left
navigation pane in Unisphere. The Replication page has the Sessions and Connections tabs. From the
Replication page, select the Connections tab. Figure 7 below shows an example of the Connections tab,
without any replication connections configured. From this tab, you have the option to create or delete a
replication connection, refresh the current page, or edit a configured replication connection. From this tab, you
can also select Verify and Update, which will verify the selected replication connection still exists with the
remote system and update the connection details if any changes were made.

Replication Connections page

To create a Replication Connection, select the Create Replication Connection icon, which is displayed as a
+ sign on this tab. The Create Replication Connection window appears, as shown in Figure 8. In this
window, you must specify the Remote System’s Management IP Address, which is the IP used to access
Unisphere, and the Unisphere User Name and Password. Also, in this window you must enter the Password
used to log in to Unisphere on the system you are configuring the replication connection on. Lastly, you must
select the Connection Mode that will be used between the systems. In the drop-down list, you have the
option to choose Asynchronous, Synchronous, or Both. When configuring synchronous replication
between two systems, select Synchronous. If asynchronous replication will also be used for replicating data
to other storage resources, select Both, as both synchronous and asynchronous replication will be used.
After entering the required information, click OK. Dell Unity Asynchronous and Manual Replication are
discussed in the Native Asynchronous Replication section.

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Create replication connection window

After selecting OK, a Job is generated to create the replication connection. The job has multiple steps, which
includes registering the remote and local system with its peer, refreshing the connection on both systems, and
validating the connections on the local system. Once the job completes, the replication connection will be
shown on the source and destination system.

Figure 9 shows the Replication page Connections tab once the replication connection is created. In this
example DRSystem is the name of the remote system the connection was configured with. The System
Type, replication Mode, Management IP Address, and Local and Remote replication Interfaces will also be
displayed. The Remote Interfaces displayed for synchronous block replication will be the IP Addresses
configured for the synchronous replication management ports on the remote system. The Verify and Update
button is also shown and is used to update the replication information for the selected connection.

Replication connection established

2.6.4 Creating a Replication Session

To create a replication session, you must enable replication on the storage resource you want to replicate.
This can be done at time of creation, or on an existing storage resource. Figure 10 shows an example of
creating a new LUN and enabling Synchronous remote replication on it. From the Replication step, check the
checkbox in front of Enable Replication to configure replication. For Synchronous replication, select
Synchronous from the Replication Mode drop-down box. When Synchronous is chosen as the Replication
Mode, the Replicate To box will automatically be populated with the name of the system with which a
synchronous Replication Connection has been configured. After completing this step, click Next and continue
with the LUN creation. For thin clones, consistency groups and VMware VMFS datastores, a Replication step

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exists in the creation wizards for each with the exact look and configuration options as the one shown in
Figure 10.

Create LUNs wizard – Replication step

When the Destination Configuration box is selected in the Replication step, the remote storage resource’s
configuration can be customized. The Reuse destination resource option allows for recreating a replication
session to an existing resource on the destination. Figure 11 below shows an example of this window.

Destination LUN Configuration window

After synchronous replication is configured on a new storage resource, you can view information about
replication from the resource’s properties window. From Unisphere, select the storage resource in question
and click Edit or double-click the name of the storage resource. From the properties window, view the
Replication tab. An example of this tab is shown in Figure 12. On this tab, you can view the following
information:

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The replication Session Name

The replication Mode
The Local Role of the storage resource, which can either be listed as the Source or Destination
The Sync State

Also shown is a pictorial representation of the replication session. The picture shows which storage resource
is available for I/O, which direction the data is replicating in and its current state, and the destination storage
resource and the system name, IP Address, and the destination LUN name. As the state of the replication
session changes, this figure will update to reflect the new state.

Also shown on the Replication tab are buttons for each Replication Operation. This tab is also used to display
asynchronous replication operations, so all replication operations for both synchronous and asynchronous
replication are displayed. Not all replication operations are supported on each mode of replication, so only
operations supported on the current replication mode will be selectable. Also, only certain operations are
available depending on what the current state of the replication session is in, so only these options are
available for selection. In Figure 12, the current session is Active and replicating for the Production System to
the DR System. Available replication operations include Delete, Pause, and Failover.

LUN properties – Replication tab

Replication can also be configured on an existing storage resource. When replication is not configured on the
storage resource, viewing the Replication tab in the storage resource’s properties window will show what is
displayed in Figure 13. To configure Replication on the storage resource, select Configure Replication.

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Replication not configured

After selecting Configure Replication, the Create a Session wizard is launched. An example of this wizard is
shown in Figure 14. On the Replication Settings step, you need to customize which Replication Mode
either Asynchronous, Manual, or Synchronous replication will be used. For Synchronous Replication, select
Synchronous. Next, select the destination system by selecting the correct system in the Replicate To drop
down box. The Reuse destination resource option allows for recreating a replication session to an existing
resource on the destination. After the previous selections have been made, click Next.

Create a Session

The Destination step of the Create a Session wizard is now shown. An example of this step is shown in
Figure 15. From here, you can customize the storage resource’s Name that will be displayed on the
destination system, the Pool it will use, and the Tiering Policy on the destination system’s Pool. For existing
storage resources, you can customize this exact same information. Similarly, when creating a replication
session on an existing consistency group, you can customize this same information for each LUN contained
within the consistency group. After editing the available information, click Next.

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Create a Session – Destination step

The Summary step is now shown, and an example of this screen is displayed in Figure 16. Here you can see
a summary of the settings that will be used to create replication. If anything is incorrect, you can select Back
to correct the wanted setting. To create the replication session, click Finish. A Summary step will also be
shown when creating a replication session on other supported storage resources.

Create a Session – Summary step

The Results step is the last step in the Create a Session wizard. This step shows the Overall Status of each
of the jobs to create the replication session. The steps to create the replication session include creating the
storage resource on the destination system, allowing the remote storage resource to finish the creation
process, and lastly creating the replication session. You can either wait for the Overall status to say 100%
Complete or close the window at any time by clicking Close. Closing this window will not impact the creation
process since it is a background job in Unisphere.

Figure 17 shows the Replication tab in the LUN properties window after enabling replication. After enabling
replication on an existing device, a full synchronization may need to be completed. If the Reuse destination
resource option was selected and a common base snapshot is found, a full synchronization can be avoided
and only the differences will be replicated. During this process, the Sync State shows Syncing. This
operation may take time and will be based on the amount of data that is needed to be copied to the remote
system, and the available bandwidth of the link between the systems.

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Sync State – Syncing

Figure 18 shows the Replication tab after the full synchronization. Notice that the Sync State now shows In
Sync.

Sync State – In Sync

2.6.5 Viewing the Replication Sessions

All replication sessions on the system can be viewed from the Sessions tab within the Replication page. This
includes synchronous, asynchronous, and manual replication sessions. To browse this page, click
Replication under Protection & Mobility in Unisphere. For releases prior to Dell Unity OE version 4.1, the

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Replication page can be found under Data Protection. Figure 19 shows an example of the Sessions tab
with multiple replication sessions created on the system. In this example, multiple LUNs, consistency groups,
NAS Servers, and file systems are all being replicated. From this window, you can easily see information
regarding each session. The following is a list of information displayed on this screen:

The Replication Session Name

The current State
The Source, which includes the source system and the source storage resource
The Resource Type
The Replication Mode
The Destination, which includes the destination system name and the destination storage resource
The Replication Session ID

Replication Sessions

From the Sessions tab, you can also issue replication operations on the sessions. After selecting the
checkbox for a replication session in the list, select More Actions to view the replication operations available
for that session in its current state. In Figure 20 below, you can see that only Pause and Failover are valid
options based on the selected resource’s replication session state.

Replication Actions

2.7 System Maximums

See Appendix B: Replication Maximums for information about Dell Unity replication maximums.

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3 Native Asynchronous Replication

This section will discuss the Native Asynchronous Replication feature found on Dell Unity systems. This
feature allows users to create replication sessions for block and file storage resources between Pools within a
system or between supported systems. All configuration and management operations in this section will be
illustrated in Unisphere, though Unisphere CLI and REST API may also be used. The following sections of
this paper will discuss:

The licensing requirements for native asynchronous replication feature

How native asynchronous replication feature works
The configurations supported for asynchronous replication
Unisphere configuration and management

3.1 Licensing
Asynchronous replication is supported on all Dell Unity systems. The supported systems include the All Flash
models, the Hybrid models, and the Dell UnityVSA. For all systems, Asynchronous Replication comes
included at no additional cost.

3.2 Theory of Operation

Native asynchronous replication is consisted of several physical and software components. Each of these
components will be discussed in the following sections. When creating asynchronous replication between
Pools within a system, only a replication session needs to be created. To fully configure asynchronous
replication between systems, you must do each of following:

Configure connectivity for the replication interfaces used by asynchronous replication

Configure the replication connection between systems
Configure replication sessions between systems

This section will also discuss the various block and file resources which support asynchronous replication.
The replication modes and roles will also be discussed. The sections below outline the different functions,
requirements, and how these components interact with each other. Configuration and management of these
components will be completed using Unisphere, which will be discussed in the Unisphere Management
section.

3.2.1 Replication Interfaces

Replication interfaces are used to transport data to a destination system for remote replication sessions and
must be defined for replication to work. Asynchronous replication between Pools within a system does not
require replication interfaces to be configured. Asynchronous remote replication requires a replication
interface be created on each SP on the system. For asynchronous replication, replication is performed over
ethernet interfaces configured on the system.

Any front-end ethernet port on Dell Unity physical systems can be used for replication, such as onboard 10
GbE BaseT ports, CNA ports with ethernet personality, or ethernet based I/O modules. Supported front-end
port configurations and capabilities varies by system model. Replication interfaces can also be created on link
aggregated ports for high availability, increased maximum throughput, and load balancing of replication traffic
across physical ports in the aggregation. It is suggested to only configure replication interfaces on ports of the
same type and speed. It is also recommended to dedicate the replication interfaces strictly for replication

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purposes, but it is not required and hosts can also use these ports. In Dell UnityVSA systems, any I/O port
can be used for asynchronous replication.

In OE versions prior to the 5.1 release, in order to have a successful asynchronous replication connection, all
asynchronous replication ports on a source system must be able to see and/or route to all asynchronous
replication ports on the destination system, and the other way around. This also means that if more than two
systems were part of the replication topology, all interfaces on all systems could communicate with each
other. This requirement limited the possible replication topologies that could be supported on the system.

In Dell Unity OE version 5.1 the asynchronous replication interface pairing requirement that all asynchronous
replication interfaces must be able to connect to each other has been removed. In OE 5.1 and later, the
replication connection requires that replication interfaces on each SP of the source system be able to see
and/or route to replication interfaces on both SPs of the destination system, and vice versa. When the remote
connection is being created, only valid paths between the systems will be used for the connection. This
feature allows for more advanced replication topologies to be created. Management connectivity is still
required between the local system and all remote systems.

With the change in the OE 5.1 release and later, replication connections to multiple remote systems can be
created over different physical networks. This allows a common system to remotely connect to peer systems
that are physically isolated from each other. In Figure 21 below, System 2 has replication interfaces created
on physical ports that spread across Network A and Network B. Interfaces connecting to Network A are
used to connect to System 1, while interfaces created on Network B ports only connect to System 3. In this
example, System 1 and System 3 are on different data networks and cannot reach each other. In this
topology, the management port on System 2 is still required to have access to both systems simultaneously.

Physical network isolation example

Another feature in OE version 5.1 and later is the ability to create replication interfaces on different VLANs.
Replication interfaces created with different VLAN IDs can be used for connectivity to different systems. As
shown in Figure 22, multiple replication interfaces can be created on the same physical port but can be
tagged with different VLAN IDs. In this example System 2 makes a remote connection with System 1 over
VLAN 1000, while System 2 is using VLAN 1100 to connect to System 3. In this configuration, System 1
and System 3 would not be able to connect to each other as they as tagged with different VLANs. Duplicate
IP addresses are not allowed in this configuration. Topologies including a mix of physical network isolation
and VLAN isolation is also supported. As mentioned previously, management connectivity is still required
between the local system and all remote systems.

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VLAN isolation example

To support the new replication interface topologies supported in the OE 5.1 release, all systems in the
configuration must be running Dell Unity OE version 5.1 or later. If a system is not running version 5.1 or later,
the remote connections within the topology cannot validate as the previous verification rules will apply. When
changes to the replication configuration occur, the remote connections need to be re-validated to pick up any
changes. Changes include adding or removing a replication interface or changing the settings within an
existing replication interface.

3.2.2 Replication Connections

Before a remote replication session can be created, a trusted link must be created between systems
participating in replication. A replication connection establishes this logical link between remote systems. This
trusted link is used for replication management operations and the data path between the pair of remote
systems. After the replication interfaces are created, you must create the replication connection between the
systems. Once created, all asynchronous remote replication sessions will use the replication connections to
transport data to the remote system.

Figure 23 below shows an example configuration of an asynchronous replication connection between two
physical systems. In the figure, the source of the replication session is labeled “Production System”, and the
destination is labeled “DR System”. For each of these example systems, the Dell Unity 480 system has 10
GbE ports configured as replication interfaces. The green lines in the figure show the connections for the
10GbE replication interfaces, and the orange lines are the system management connections. Once the
replication interfaces are created and cabled to the network on both systems, the replication connection
between the systems can be made. Once a replication connection is configured on one of the systems
participating in replication, it is automatically created on the peer system.

Verify and Update is a single operation that is used to update the replication connection information about the
system it is issued on. This operation is performed on the replication connection itself, as opposed to an
individual replication session. Verify and Update can be used to test a replication connection to a remote
system or update the replication information if changes to the system have been made. Verify and Update
should be issued to reestablish the replication connection to a remote system after an outage. A use case for
using Verify and Update is if an Asynchronous Replication Interface has been added or an IP Address has
been changed on the system.

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Native asynchronous replication example

3.2.2.1 Asynchronous replication throttling

In Dell Unity OE version 5.1 and later asynchronous replication traffic can be throttled to reduce the rate at
which data is replicated to a destination system. Asynchronous replication throttling is configured at the
replication connection level, which allows each remote system connection to be controlled independently of
each other. Also, only outbound replication traffic to a remote system is throttled. This not only allows different
throttles to and from a remote system over the replication connections, but also allows replication traffic to be
throttled from a system running OE 5.1 and later to a system running an earlier release. This feature can be
managed using Unisphere, Unisphere CLI, and REST API.

Asynchronous replication throttling is controlled by bandwidth schedules configured directly on a remote

system connection. Bandwidth schedules can be configured when creating a replication connection to a new
system or added and modified at any time on an existing connection. By default, no bandwidth schedules
exist. Figure 24 below shows the Bandwidth Schedules step within the Create Replication Connection
window. Here, one or more bandwidth schedules can be added when creating the replication connection.
Available options on this screen include Add, Delete, View/Edit, Move up, and Move down.

Create Replication Connection – Bandwidth Schedules step

When creating a bandwidth schedule, the following information can be customized:

Maximum Bandwidth: Sets the maximum bandwidth in KB/sec for the bandwidth schedule.
When this value is left blank (default), the replication connection will use the available bandwidth of
the connection for replication traffic.
When this value is set to 0 KB/sec, no replication traffic will be allowed to the destination system. This
may impact the RPO of the replication sessions if 0 KB/sec is defined for long periods of time.

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When the maximum bandwidth is set to a custom value, throttling based on the maximum bandwidth
value only occurs if the value of the throttle is configured lower than the speed of the network
between the systems.
Days of the Week: Sets the days of the week the bandwidth schedule will run.
When no checkboxes are selected (default), the bandwidth schedule will run on all days of the week.
Hours of the day: Sets the Start and End Hour for when the bandwidth schedule will run.
When the Start and End Hour values are left blank, the schedule will run for all hours of the day.

Figure 25 below shows an example of the Add Bandwidth Schedule window. In this window, the Maximum
Bandwidth and Hours of the day have been customized. As the Days of the Week checkboxes are not set,
this schedule will run on all days once created. When configuring the Start Hour and the End Hour, the
timing entered directly depends on the Schedule Time Zone set on the system. As shown in this example,
when the system’s Schedule Time Zone setting is configured as UTC Legacy (default), the drop-down options
must be configured with the UTC Legacy offset. Based on the selections, the timing is also displayed taking
into account the current time zone offset of the computer Unisphere is being accessed from. This schedule
will run as configured between 8:00 AM (UTC-04:00) and 5:00 PM (UTC-04:00). The Schedule Time Zone
setting is discussed later in this section.

Add Bandwidth Schedule

Multiple bandwidth schedules can be created and can overlap. This allows replication traffic to be controlled
differently depending on the day of the week and time of day. When multiple bandwidth schedules are present
on the connection, the first schedule matching the current day and time will be enforced. The Move up and
Move down arrows can be used to reorder the bandwidth schedules list as needed. If one schedule limits the
replication traffic during a specific time of the day, and another is a limit for all days and times, the specific
schedule should be listed first. Duplicate schedules can be created, but only the first occurrence of the
schedule will be enforced. If duplicate schedules exist on the connection, a warning is displayed and a
hyperlink to select the duplicates is presented so they can easily be deleted.

Figure 26 below shows an example configuration on the Bandwidth Schedules tab within the properties of
the replication connection. In this window all bandwidth schedules for the replication connection are shown,
along with the Current bandwidth limit, which lists the current limit in KB/sec. A note about the display times
for the window is also shown.

In this example, on Saturdays and Sundays the replication connection uses all available bandwidth of the link
as no limit is defined. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, limits are created for
various times during the day. In this example, the 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM schedules are

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listed and do not overlap. Both schedules will be enforced on the replication connection. The fourth schedule
on the list is configured for 0 KB/sec between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM. This the replication sessions from
running on the connection. As this schedule overlaps with day and times defined earlier in the list, this
schedule will only run during times that are not previously configured (9:00 AM to 4:00 PM). The last schedule
in this example is set to run at all times on all days and enforces a 204800 KB/sec limit. As this is the last
schedule in the list, all other schedules would run before this schedule is encountered. If this schedule was
listed first, then no other schedules would run for the remote connection.

Replication Connection properties – Bandwidth Schedules tab

When a bandwidth schedule with a KB/sec limit above zero is defined, all active replication sessions on the
replication connection will share the bandwidth allowance. Using the 102400 KB/sec limit as an example, all
sessions actively replicating to the remote system will share the 102400 KB/sec limit. As replication session
updates end and begin, the bandwidth allowance for each active session is adjusted. Bandwidth schedules
are enforced at the replication session level not at the replication interface level and are in no way impacted
by the number of replication interfaces used by the remote connection on the system.

3.2.2.2 Schedule Time Zone

Due to seasonal time changes in certain regions of the world, the bandwidth schedules can become out of
sync with the local time. For example, a schedule starting at 8:00AM local time in one part of the year may
start at 9:00AM in another part of the year. To avoid this issue, a user must manually validate and correct the
settings of the bandwidth schedules when a seasonal time change has occurred.

In Dell Unity OE version 5.1 and later the Schedule Time Zone option can be set to correct bandwidth
schedule timing. This feature automatically adjusts the timing of bandwidth schedules with the seasonal time
changes of the assigned time zone. The Schedule Time Zone option not only applies to asynchronous
replication throttling, but also snapshot schedules. This option can be found in Settings > Management >
Schedule Time Zone, as shown in Figure 27. A link to this page is also available within the Create Schedule
page, as shown in Figure 25.

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Configure Schedule Time Zone

After installing or upgrading to the 5.1 release or later, the system is set to UTC Legacy setting by default.
UTC Legacy keeps the default handling and does not adjust schedules due to seasonal time changes. The
user has the option to choose from over 100 times zones, covering over 300 cities around the world. The time
zone of a system can be changed at any time, which may be required if the system is relocated from one site
to another.

After changing the time zone, it is recommended to verify the timing is correct for bandwidth schedules that
are in use on the system. When the Schedule Time Zone option is changed, the timing of schedules is not
updated to reflect the new time zone. This may cause bandwidth throttle to run at the incorrect time. If the
timing is no longer correct for a bandwidth schedule, it should be modified to reflect the required timing.

In the following example, the Schedule Time Zone is set to (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada). The
Add Bandwidth Schedule window displays the time zone setting on the system. When configuring the Start
Hour and End Hour, the timing will be based on the time zone of the system. At the timing of this update,
daylight saving time / summer time is in effect. The Add Bandwidth Schedule window also displays the
schedule time based on the current time zone offset of the computer Unisphere is being accessed from. In
this case the current time is based on UTC-4:00. Both times are displayed to confirm proper timing.

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Add Bandwidth Schedule

3.2.3 Replication Sessions

A replication session is used as a logical link between storage resources participating in replication. When
using asynchronous remote replication, a configured replication connection is used to transfer data to the
remote system. A replication connection is not required when asynchronously replicating data between Pools
within a system. When a replication session is created in Unisphere, a storage resource of the same size and
type is created on the destination Pool, whether it is locally within the same system or on a destination
system. Snapshot schedules are not replicated on the destination storage resource.

Asynchronous replication image synchronizations are triggered by a user-defined Recovery Point Objective
(RPO) or at any time manually by the user. The following characteristics define asynchronous replication:

Writes to a storage resource are saved to the source storage resource and acknowledged to the host
before being replicated to the destination storage resource.
When a host writes to a storage resource, the write is saved and tracked by the replication session.
This data will be replicated at a later time.
A user defined RPO is utilized to define the maximum amount of time between scheduled
synchronizations.
During the time between synchronizations, new data is only saved on the source storage resource.
The RPO is the maximum amount of data the user is willing to lose in the event of a disaster,
measured in time. The RPO determines how often synchronizations occur at a minimum.

Manual replication operates the same as asynchronous replication, except all replication updates must be
started manually by the user as opposed to using an RPO. Updates occur when the sync operation is initiated
on the session, which is described later. When writing to a storage resource configured with a manual
replication session, the data is stored locally and acknowledged and only replicated when a sync is issued.

When an asynchronous replication session is created, a full synchronization of the source and destination
storage resource may be required. If replication is configured when a new resource is being created, the
synchronization for block resource is quick as no data needs to be copied to the destination storage resource.
For file resource, the synchronization copies, at minimum, 1.5 GB worth of meta data to the destination
storage resource. If replication is added to an existing storage resource, a full synchronization may be
required between the source and destination storage resource if no common base snapshot exists. In Dell
Unity OE 5.1 and later, a replicated snapshot may be used to avoid a full synchronization under certain
circumstances. This feature is discussed in the Common Base Snapshots section of this paper. Writes

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occurring during the initial synchronization period are not copied to the destination storage resource at this
time, but rather tracked for a later synchronization. Once the initial synchronization is complete, a common
base is established between the source storage resource and the destination. When creating a manual
replication session, an initial synchronization does not automatically start. To synchronize the local and
remote images, a manual sync needs to be initiated. Host write operations which occur after the initial
synchronization are acknowledged with the host normally, and no data is replicated to the destination until the
next sync. Manually at a later time, or at the RPO interval for asynchronous replication, all changes made to
the source storage resource since the last synchronization will be replicated to the destination. A new
common base is then established. If a failure is encountered on the source, all data not copied to the
destination will be lost as the changes have not been copied to the destination.

3.2.4 Asynchronous Replication Internal Snapshots

Asynchronous replication in Dell Unity leverages Unified Snapshots to maintain the common base images
explained in the previous section. Figure 29 below shows how Unified Snapshots are used with asynchronous
and manual replication. This section assumes no common base snapshots exist at time of session creation.

Asynchronous and Manual Replication Theory

Dell Unity Asynchronous Replication operates in the following way:

1. When a replication session is created on a storage resource, two internal Unified Snapshots are
created on the source and destination storage resources. At time of creation, Snapshot 1 and
Snapshot 2 on the source have the same content as the source storage resource.
2. Data is then replicated from Snapshot 1 to the newly created destination storage resource. This is the
initial synchronization of the source and destination storage resources and is a full copy of all the
data.
3. Once the initial synchronization is complete, Snapshot 1 is refreshed on the destination storage
resource. Snapshot 1 on the source and destination storage resource contains the same information
and represent the point-in-time in which the synchronization started. Snapshot 1 on each system is
now a common base for the replication session.
4. Over time the host application writes new data to the source storage resource.
5. During the next update, either manually started or by the RPO with asynchronous replication,
Snapshot 2 on the source storage resource is refreshed to reflect the current point-in-time view of the

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source storage resource. All changes since the last update of the destination are copied to the
destination storage resource.
6. After the incremental copy is complete, Snapshot 2 on the destination storage resource is refreshed
to reflect the current information located in the destination storage resource. Snapshot 2 on the
source and destination contains the latest information and are the latest common base image for the
replication session.

Each time the RPO is reached or a manual update is started, the common base image will alternate between
Snapshot 1 and Snapshot 2.

Snapshots used for asynchronous replication behave the same as user Unified Snapshots and are based on
redirect on write technology. Space needed to preserve the point-in-time snapshot is allocated from the same
Pool as the source storage resource. Although user snapshots and replication snapshots share the same
technology, replication snapshots have restrictions on their usage. Replication snapshots can be viewed in
Unisphere, but user operations, such as restore, or mount operations are not allowed. Snapshots allocated for
replication purposes do not count towards user snapshot maximums.

3.2.5 Storage Resources

When configuring asynchronous replication, the source and destination storage resource must be of the same
type. In Dell Unity, native asynchronous replication is supported on the following storage resources:

LUNs
Thin clones
Consistency groups
VMware VMFS Datastores
File systems
NAS Servers
VMware NFS Datastores

In Dell Unity, asynchronous replication for LUNs, thin clones, and VMware VMFS Datastores function the
same. When configuring asynchronous replication on a LUN in Unisphere, a single replication session is
created, and the destination storage resource will be created the same size and type as the source storage
resource. When configuring replication session on a thin clone, the destination storage resource will be a
regular storage resource and not a clone. While replication is configured, you can extend the size of LUNs,
thin clones, and VMware VMFS Datastores, and the changes will be reflected on the destination storage
resource after the next sync. Options such as the LUN’s, thin clone’s, or VMware VMFS Datastore’s name or
tiering policy may be configured differently between systems.

In Dell Unity, a consistency group is a storage resource which contains one or more LUNs within a storage
system. consistency groups help organize storage resources allocated for a particular host or hosts.
Consistency groups are treated as a single entity when they are replicated, meaning that a single replication
session is created for the entire consistency group no matter how many LUNs it contains. When replication is
configured in Unisphere for a consistency group, the destination storage resource and its contents are
created automatically. While a consistency group is part of an asynchronous replication session, LUNs within
the consistency group can be expanded. All changes to LUNs within a consistency group will be reflected on
the destination image after the next completed synchronization. LUNs cannot be added or removed while
replication is configured. When pausing or resuming replication on a consistency group, the entire group is
affected by the replication operation.

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When replicating existing file systems or VMware NFS Datastores with asynchronous replication, you must
first configure replication for the NAS Server it is mounted on. If replication is configured in Unisphere for the
NAS Server, all file systems and NFS Datastores on the NAS Server will also be replicated to the destination.
Replication sessions for resources which do not require replication can be deleted later. All replication
sessions automatically configured when the NAS Server is replicated will have the same RPO. The RPO for
the individual replication sessions can be changed later. While replicated, all size changes to the file systems
and NFS Datastores will be reflected on the destination after the next synchronization. If a different IP
address for NAS Server access needs to be specified on the destination NAS Server, you may specify an
Override Address by editing a NAS Server Network Interface.

3.2.6 Replication Roles

For asynchronous replication to operate, two storage resources are required for replication:
A source storage resource which will be replicated
A destination storage resource to which the source is copied

When a replication session is created in Unisphere, the destination storage resource is automatically created.
In code versions prior to the OE 5.1 release, you may not choose a previously provisioned storage resource
as a replication destination when configuring a session in Unisphere. In Dell Unity OE version 5.1 and later,
Unisphere includes an option to reuse a destination resource if one exists. This feature is discussed in detail
in the Common Base Snapshots section. Upon creation, the destination resource is marked as a destination
image. This restriction blocks Read/Write access on the destination storage resource. To view the data
contained in the destination storage resource, you may take a snapshot of the resource and provide host
access to the snapshot.

In Unisphere, you can easily determine which storage resources are replicated and which are destination
images from any of the storage resource pages, such as the LUNs tab on the Block page. While in this tab,
select the gear icon, and hover over the Columns option to view the available columns that can be viewed.
Select the check boxes for “Replication Type” and “Restricted Replication Access”. Replication Type displays
what type of replication the storage resource is participating in, whether it is None, Remote, or Local. The
Restricted Replication Access column will display “Yes” if the storage resource is labeled as a replication
destination resource, or “No” if it is not. If a replication session is deleted, the destination storage resource will
still be labeled as a replication destination image. The replication destination label must be edited manually
over Unisphere CLI before the resource is allowed to receive I/O. For example, to remove the replication
destination setting from a LUN, use the uemcli /stor/prov/luns/lun -id <value> set -
replDest no command. For more information about removing the replication destination setting on other
storage resource types, consult the Dell EMC Unity Unisphere Command Line Interface User Guide.

In Dell EMC Unity OE versions 5.1 and later, Source, Destination, and All filtering buttons on the replication
sessions page and various storage resource pages help the user easily identify replication source and
destination resources/sessions without adding columns to the view. When All is selected, all
resources/sessions on the current page are displayed. When Source is selected on a resource page, all
resources that are the source of a replication session are displayed. Resources that are not replicated are
also shown when Source is selected. When Source is selected on the replication sessions page, only
replication session originating on the system are shown. When Destination is selected on a resource page,
only resources that are the destination images of a replication session are shown. While on the sessions
page, Destination will only show the sessions replicating to the current system. Also, sessions that are part of
local replication are displayed regardless of which view is selected.

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3.3 Replication Operations

Several operations are available to manipulate replication sessions as needed. Not all operations are
available at all times, as some depend on the session being in a particular state. Also, certain operations will
perform differently depending on which system they are issued on, source or destination. Only one replication
operation can be issued and running at a particular point in time.

3.3.1 Pause and Resume

Pause and resume are used to stop and start replication between the resources for a particular replication
session. In Unisphere, the pause operation can only be issued from the source system. If the session is
paused while a sync is in progress, all incremental changes on the destination are discarded and the
destination is reverted back to the common base. All I/O is tracked when the replication session is paused.
When the session is resumed, replication will resume and synchronizations to the destination storage
resource will be based on the current RPO if asynchronous replication is being used. When a manual
replication session is resumed, no replication updates occur until a manual sync is issued. While an
asynchronous and manual replication session is paused, no sync updates can be performed on the session.

The resume option is also available after a failover operation. If a resume operation is initiated, replication
begins running in the reverse direction. After a failover, it is possible for changes to be made to the
destination resource. When running the resume operation, a checkbox is available to resync and overwrite
any data written to the remote system. This checkbox may be necessary in situations where there are
different changes on each system. The administrator must acknowledge they want replication to overwrite any
changes made to the other system before the resume operation can complete successfully, as shown in
Figure 30.

Resume with Resync

Pausing a replication session may be done for several reasons to stop updates from occurring to the
destination. Some reasons include the need to power off the source or destination system for planned
maintenance, a configuration change on the network between systems, or interface changes on either

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system. Another reason may be to physically move a system from one data center or site to another. In
certain circumstances, configuring replication and synchronizing the data between systems may be done
within the same site, then the destination system is later moved to its final destination. Depending on the
network speeds between sites, this may save time and avoid lengthy initial synchronizations.

3.3.2 Sync
With asynchronous replication, updates to a destination storage resource happen at a set interval based on
the defined RPO. At any point in time when replication is active, and an update is not already occurring, a
sync operation can be issued to synchronize the latest changes to the destination resource. The sync
operation is also used to update a remote image when manual replication is configured. After the sync
operation is selected, all data changed since the last update will be copied to the destination storage
resource. Issuing a manual sync operation also updates a destination image’s size when the source image
size has been changed.

3.3.3 Failover with Sync, Failover, and Failback

When using asynchronous replication, the failover with sync option allows you to failover the session after first
completing a last synchronization between the images. The failover with sync option is used in planned
failover events. The failover with sync option is only available on the source storage resource when the
replication session is operating normally and will result in a short period of data being unavailable during the
failover operation. Before issuing the failover with sync operation, we need to ensure that the RPO has not
surpassed the one-hour mark since last sync. In such scenario, we need to issue a manual sync first, wait
until it completes to then run a failover with sync. When issuing the failover with sync, it is highly suggested to
quiesce I/O to the source image first. After the synchronization completes, the destination storage resource is
available for production I/O and the original source will no longer allow Read/Write I/O. If host access is
configured on the destination resource, hosts can access the data at this time. Replication will not be
resumed in either direction when the failover with sync operation is used.

The failover option is only available on the destination of the replication session. When issuing a failover
operation on a replication session from the destination system, an unplanned failover is initiated, and a final
synchronization of the data from the source storage resource is not completed. An unplanned failover
assumes a disaster has occurred on the production system, and the destination image is made Read/Write
available. When failover is selected on a destination resource of a replication session, Read/Write access is
removed from the original source if the source is available to receive management commands. The replication
session will also pause and not automatically switch the direction for replication. The replication session is left
in this state until the user issues another replication operation. If I/O occurs to the original destination
resource while in this state, the data must be replicated to the original source when the source becomes
available.

Starting with Dell Unity OE version 5.0, an unplanned failover operation can be initiated even when the
replication is in a “Paused’ state. Previously, unplanned failover operations were not allowed while the
session was in a “Paused” state. Any changes made on the source system while the session is paused are
not replicated to the destination.

When the failover with sync or failover option is used, the failback option becomes available. Failback
restores the replication session to the state before failover with sync or failover was issued. After a failover, it
is possible for changes to be made to the destination resource. When running a failback operation, the
following options are available:

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Keep local data changes by updating the remote resource: Preserves the changes that were made
on the destination site by replicating them back to the original source
Keep remote data by discarding all local data changes: Discards any changes made on the
destination site after the failover by replicating in the original direction and overwriting any changed
data

These options may be necessary in situations where there are different changes on each system. The
administrator must acknowledge which changes they want to keep before the failback operation can complete
successfully.

Alternatively, running a resume, failover with sync, and another resume from the other system results in the
same behavior as the first option. Once the failover with sync operation completes, the original configuration
and replication direction is applied. Note that once a resume operation is initiated, the failback option is no
longer available since replication is already running in the reverse direction. The failback options are shown in
Figure 31.

Failback options

When the original source resource becomes available, the user has the option of issuing the Resume
operation to replicate data to the original source. Clicking resume will reverse the direction of replication and
resume updates based on the user RPO from the original destination resource to the original source. A
manual sync must be issued when using manual replication. To return replication to the original replication
configuration, the failover with sync operation can be issued on the original destination. A final
synchronization of the data is performed, and the replication will be failed over to the original source. It is
suggested to quiesce all I/O before issuing the failover with sync operation. The original source will become
Read/Write available and host access will be removed from the destination resource. You must issue Resume
on the source to resume replication from the source to destination.

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3.3.4 Delete
Deleting a replication session can be issued on the source system or destination system, but it is
recommended that the operation be issued on the source when the source is available. When there are no
issues in the configuration and a delete operation is issued on the source system, the replication session will
be deleted from both the source and destination system. The destination storage resource is not automatically
deleted when the replication session is deleted. If the delete operation is issued while the destination system
cannot be reached, the session will need to be deleted from the destination system manually. If the delete
operation is issued from the destination system, the source session is left configured and must be deleted
manually. Once a replication session is deleted, a full sync may need to occur if replication is reconfigured. In
Dell Unity OE 5.1 and later, a replicated snapshot may be used to avoid a full synchronization under certain
circumstances. This feature is discussed in the Common Base Snapshots section of this paper.

A delete operation can also be issued for a replication connection. A replication connection can only be
deleted after all configured replication sessions using the connection have been deleted.

3.3.5 Group Operations

Dell Unity OE version 4.2 introduces the feature group operations at a NAS Server level. Group operations
allow for the replication operation to be propagated from the NAS Server to the file systems automatically and
works with local and remote asynchronous replication. The group operations are available for the following
operations: Failover, Failover with Sync, Failback, Pause, and Resume. These operations remain available at
the file system level. All other operations (Create, Sync, Delete, and Modify) remain individual commands.
Before issuing a failover with sync operation, it is suggested to issue a manual sync first, to reduce the
amount of data to copy during the failover with sync.

Do not perform a group operation at both sides of a replication session simultaneously. This action is not
prohibited by the storage system, however, a group operation performed simultaneously at both sides of a
replication session can cause the group replication session to enter an unhealthy state. Although a group
asynchronous replication session looks like one operation, each file system is replicated individually. If any of
the individual file system replication sessions fail, you can resolve the issue and then select the individual file
system to replicate. Group operations skips file system replication sessions that are in a paused, error, or
non-replicated state. Figure 70 in the Viewing the Replication Sessions section provides an example for the
group Failover operation.

Dell Unity OE 5.2 expands the system level replication actions by including the pause and resume actions at
the replication connection level. As shown in Figure 32, the system level actions can be found from the
Protection & Mobility > Replication > Connections page. After selecting one of the connections, select the
More Actions dropdown and see the system level actions. The system level resume and pause actions will
impact the replication sessions for both file and block resources. When a replication connection is selected
and pause or resume is issued, all replication sessions replicating to and from the selected system are either
paused or resumed.

By default, selecting to pause or resume at the system level, would impact the replication sessions of the
same type. However, the user can select which replication session type (Asynchronous, Synchronous, or
Both) is intended to be paused or resumed, as shown in Figure 33.

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System level replication actions

If the remote Dell Unity system is running an OE version prior to 5.2, only sessions with source role on local
Unity system would be paused or resumed. If a system reboots during a pause or resume action, the
interconnection between the systems needs to be re-established before the action can succeed. While there
is no interconnection between the system, the pause and resume jobs would fail.

Pause at the system level

As seen in Figure 32, the failover can be run at the replication connection level. This action is only applicable
for the replication sessions for NAS Servers and its file systems and is equivalent to running a failover
operation on the destination resource. Figure 34 shows the confirmation window when a user selects to
failover action at the system level.

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Failover at the system level

3.4 Supported Replication Configurations

Dell Unity’s Native Asynchronous Replication features allow supported storage resources to be replicated
locally within the same system, or remotely between systems. The following sections outline the supported
configurations for asynchronous replication. For more information about which systems are supported for
asynchronous replication, please review Appendix C: Replication Support Across Platforms.

3.4.1 Local Replication

Dell Unity’s Native Asynchronous Replication feature allows Block and File resources to be replicated locally
within the same system. When replicating file systems or VMware NFS datastores, the NAS Server must also
be replicated. When configuring local replication, the source and destination storage resources cannot exist
within the same Pool. By replicating to a different Pool, a storage resource is protected against the unlikely
event the source Pool encounters a data unavailable situation. All asynchronous replication operations are
supported when local replication is configured. Replication Connections and Interfaces are not required when
local replication is configured. Figure 35 below shows an example of local replication.

Local asynchronous replication

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3.4.2 Remote Replication

Dell Unity’s Native Asynchronous Replication feature is supported in many different topologies, and
deployment models will vary depending on the requirements of the configuration. At a system level, the
following configurations are supported:

System Level

One-Directional
A single source system replicating to a single destination system
Bi-Directional
A two-system topology in which each system acts as a replication destination for the peer’s
production resources
One-to-Many
A system topology in which a single system replicates multiple resources, each to a different remote
system
Many-to-One
A system topology in which multiple systems replicate their respective resources to a single system

Figure 36 is a graphical view of the supported topologies listed above. Note the figure uses LUNs to represent
the storage resource, but file resources are also supported in these topologies. In all topologies mentioned, a
Dell Unity All Flash system, a Dell Unity Hybrid system, or a Dell UnityVSA system can be used for any
system in the configuration. For a list of other Dell storage systems supporting asynchronous replication to
and from Dell Unity, please see Appendix C. Replication Interfaces are required to be configured on each
system participating in remote replication. A Replication Connection also needs to be configured between
each system pair to allow replication sessions to be configured. Asynchronous replication allows for many
different deployment models to meet the needs of an organization.

System level asynchronous replication topologies

One-Directional replication is typically deployed when only one of the systems will be used for production I/O.
The second system is a replication target for all production data and sits idle within the same data center or a

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remote location. If the need arises, the DR system can be placed into production and host production I/O. In
this scenario, mirroring the production system’s configuration on the DR system is suggested, as each system
would then have the same performance potential. For physical systems this would mean mirroring the drive
configurations and Pool layout, while on Dell UnityVSA systems this would mean configuring similar Virtual
Drives and Pools.

The Bi-Directional replication topology is typically used when production I/O needs to be spread across
multiple systems or locations. The systems may exist within a single data center or in different, remote
locations. When using this replication topology, production I/O from each system is replicated to the peer
system. If there is an outage, one of the systems can be promoted as the primary production system, and all
production I/O can be sent to it. Once the outage is addressed, the replication configuration can be changed
back to its original configuration. This replication topology ensures both systems are in use by production I/O
at all times.

The One-to-Many replication topology is usually deployed when production exists on a single system, but
replication needs to occur to multiple remote systems. This replication topology can be used to replicate data
from a production system to a remote location to provide local data access to a remote team. At the remote
location, Dell Unity Snapshots can be used to provide host access to the local organization or test team. In
this topology, any combination of Dell Unity All Flash systems, Dell Unity Hybrid systems, and Dell UnityVSA
systems can be used. The production system may be an All Flash system replicating to multiple physical All-
Flash or Hybrid systems and/or Dell UnityVSA systems.

The Many-to-One replication topology is deployed when multiple production systems exist and replicating to a
single system to consolidate the data is required. This topology is useful when multiple production data sites
exist, and data must be replicated from these sites to a single DR data center. One example of this
configuration is Remote Office Branch Office (ROBO) locations. A Dell UnityVSA may be deployed at each
ROBO site, and all replicate back to a single All Flash or Hybrid Flash system. Utilizing Dell UnityVSA at
ROBO locations eliminates the need for a physical Dell Unity system at each site.

For the One-to-Many and Many-to-One replication topology examples in Figure 36, One-Directional
replication is depicted. One-Directional replication is not a requirement when configuring the One-to-Many
and Many-to-One replication topologies. Each individual Replication Connection can be used for bi-directional
replication between systems, which allows for more replication options than what is depicted.

3.4.3 MetroSync
In OE version 4.4, Dell Unity supports the ability to use the MetroSync feature, also known as native file
synchronous replication, which allows a file resource to be replicated synchronously to one destination
system and asynchronously to another destination system simultaneously. For more information, see the Dell
Unity: MetroSync white paper on Dell Technologies Info Hub.

3.4.4 Advanced File Remote Replication

Starting with Dell Unity OE version 5.0, asynchronously replicated file resources can also be configured in
advanced replication topologies. This allows for configurations such as fan-out and cascading replication at
the granularity of a NAS Server and its associated file resources. Prior to this, these configurations were not
supported since asynchronous replication was limited to a single destination. The ability to replicate and store
the same dataset on multiple systems provides additional data protection and enables use cases such as
content distribution. This feature does not support synchronous replication in versions prior to the 5.2 release
and is not available for block resources.

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To use this feature, all systems in the topology must be running Dell Unity OE version 5.0 or later. Replication
between Dell Unity OE 5.0 and 4.x is still supported in a one-directional configuration. This feature is available
on both physical and virtual Dell Unity systems. The following advanced topologies are supported:

File Resource Level

One-Directional
A single file resource replicating to a single destination resource
Example: A → B
Fan-Out
i. A single file resource replicating to up to four different destination systems

Example: A → B and A → C

ii. In Dell Unity OE versions prior to 5.2, a maximum of 4 asynchronous replication sessions are
supported

iii. In OE versions 5.2 and later, a single resource can be replicated synchronously to a second
system while also replicating asynchronously to up to 3 additional systems

Example:
A → B (Synchronous)
A → C (Asynchronous)
A → D (Asynchronous)
A → E (Local Asynchronous)

Cascade
A single file resource replicating to a second system and from there, replicating to a third system
Example: A → B → C
Mixed
Leveraging a combination of both cascade and fan-out, or vice versa
Example: A → B and B → C and B → D
Bridge mode (requires Dell Unity OE 5.2 or later)
A single file resource simultaneously replicating synchronously and asynchronously to two systems,
while the destination system for the synchronous replication is also asynchronously replicating to a
third system
Example:
> A → B (Synchronous)
> A → C (Asynchronous)
> B → D (Asynchronous)

Note: An inbound asynchronous replication session with an outbound synchronous replication

session topology is not recommended.
Example:
> A → B (Asynchronous)
> B → C (Synchronous

Such configuration should only exist after a certain disaster recovery case. It is recommended to
return to a normal topology after all systems are recovered. For example one synchronous replication
session to a second system with an asynchronous session to another system.

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Fan-out replication configurations allow a file resource to be replicated to up to four different destination
systems. Cascading replication configurations allow a destination file resource to be replicated again to
another system. When the RPO is reached from B → C, the data that is replicated is based on the last
completed sync from A. That means if there is an ongoing sync from A → B when the B → C RPO is reached,
the new changes from A are not replicated until the next RPO between B → C is reached.

With cascaded configurations, you can only failover to the directly adjacent site. For example, assume a
cascaded configuration from A → B → C. In this configuration, you cannot failover directly from A → C. To
accomplish this, you would need to failover from A → B and then failover from B → C.

A combination of fan-out and cascading can be configured if each resource does not exceed four total
replication sessions. When designing replication topologies, it is important to note that a maximum of four
total replication sessions can be created for each resource. For example, if you create a cascade from A → B
→ C, then C can only fan-out to three other systems due to the existing session from B → C. The tested limit
for the number of cascaded sessions is three, but there is no hard limit.

Figure 37 shows an example of a supported advanced replication topology. An example of a cascaded

topology is replicating from Hopkinton → Boston → London. An example of a fan-out topology is San
Francisco → Tokyo and Mexico City. Also shown in the figure is the ability for each session in the topology to
have its own custom RPO configured. The valid range for the RPO value is 5 minutes through 1440 minutes
(24 hours).

Advanced Replication Topologies

Advanced replication topologies can be used in conjunction with Proxy NAS Servers to enable access from
any one of the destination systems. This is useful for use cases such as DR testing, test/dev, and analytics.
Also, NDMP can be enabled on any one of the systems for backup operations.

Once a replication session is configured between two systems, a second replication session cannot be
configured using the same two systems. A fan-out configuration requires each destination system to be
unique physical or virtual systems. However, one of the sessions can be configured for local replication to a
different pool within the same system. The local replication session counts towards the maximum limit of four
sessions for that resource.

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It is prohibited to configure a replication session to a resource that is already a replication destination for
another resource. For example, assume a fan-out topology with A → B and A → C. In this configuration, you
cannot create a replication session from B → C as that results in multiple sessions writing to the same
destination. You also cannot replicate a resource back to its original source system.

It is also prohibited to create a configuration or run operations that result in multiple systems replicating to the
same destination resource. For example, assume a cascaded topology with A → B and B → C. If you initiate
a failover from B → C, you cannot initiate a resume operation to start replicating from C → B.

After advanced replication is configured, it is crucial to properly document the topology for future reference.
This is very valuable during disaster scenarios where failing over the correct session is necessary to restore
data access and minimize downtime. Each system is only aware of the systems that it is replicating to, so it is
unable to provide an end-to-end topology view. Remember to keep this updated if any systems are added,
removed, or has its role changed in the topology. For example, if you have a fan-out from A → B and A → C,
and a failover is initiated from A → B. Afterwards, if you resume the failed over session from B → A, this
becomes a cascaded configuration from B → A → C.

Management of advanced replication sessions is performed at the NAS Server level and are automatically
propagated to all associated file system sessions that are replicated to the same system. These operations
include pause, resume, sync, failover with sync, failover, and failback. When failing over sessions in an
advanced topology, it is also important to avoid failing over multiple sessions as that could result in a
duplicate IP scenario. For example, you can create a fan-out configuration from A → B and A → C. Initiating
failover operations on both B and C would result in both of those sites turning to production mode and cause
a duplicate IP conflict. This could also happen if you initiate a failover from B → C in a cascaded
configuration, since both A and C would be running in production mode.

After a failover, it is possible for changes to be made to the destination resource. For example, assume a
fanout configuration from A → B and A → C, and a failover from A to B has occurred. In this case, both A and
B could have different changes so a normal failback operation fails. The admin must check the box to either
preserve any changes made or discard them by overwriting the data to successfully failback. The available
options are:

Keep local data changes by updating the remote resource: Preserves the changes that were made
on B by replicating them back to A, which will also be replicated to C due to the fanout configuration
Keep remote data by discarding all local data changes: Discards any changes made on B after the
failover by replicating from A → B and overwriting any changed data

Using the same example as above, a normal resume operation also fails since both A and B could have
different changes. To successfully resume the session, the admin must check the box to resync and overwrite
any data written to the remote system. In this case, B starts replicating its changes to A and overwrites any
changes that were made to A. After the resume operation completes, the topology is transformed into a
cascaded configuration where B → A → C.

In each of these examples, the original configuration is restored after the failback or resume operation
completes. Prior to Dell Unity OE 5.1, all the replication updates leverage the internal replication common
base snapshots to replicate only the changed data. After Dell Unity OE 5.1, user snapshots are used as
common base when running a failback or resume action on a replication session.

3.4.4.1 Snapshot replication with OE versions prior to the 5.1 release

With advanced replication configured, snapshot replication is also supported. For a single storage object,
snapshot replication can only be enabled on one session at a time when using advanced replication. For

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example, if you create a cascade from A → B → C, then either the A → B or B → C session can have
snapshot replication enabled, but not both at the same time, as shown in Figure 38.

Snapshot Replication – Pre-OE 5.1 Configurations

In this configuration, it is still possible to replicate a snapshot from A → C, but a workaround is required. To
accomplish this, follow the procedure below:

1. Enable snapshot replication from A → B

2. Replicate the snapshot from A → B
3. Disable snapshot replication between A → B
4. Enable snapshot replication between B → C
5. Replicate the snapshot from B → C

To enable or disable the snapshot replication feature, the replication session must first be paused and then
the operation must be performed on the source system. This operation can be scripted using UEMCLI or
REST API if this needs to be done often.

When configuring a cascaded replication topology that includes four or more systems, it may be possible to
enable snapshot replication on multiple sessions simultaneously. This can be accomplished by enabling
snapshot replication between A → B, leaving snapshot replication disabled between B → C, and also
enabling snapshot replication between C → D. In this configuration, the replicated snapshots for the separate
sessions are not consistent with each other.

With a mixed topology, it may be possible to have snapshot replication enabled on multiple sessions. For
example, you can create a fan-out from A → B and A → C along with a cascade from C → D. With this
configuration, you can enable snapshot replication on both A → B and from C → D. These configurations are
allowed because from each site’s point of view, there is still only one session that has snapshot replication
enabled. An example of this configuration is shown in Figure 39.

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Dual snapshot replication configuration – Pre-5.1 OE versions

3.4.4.2 Snapshot replication with OE versions 5.1 and later

In Dell Unity OE version 5.1 and later, snapshot replication is supported on all replication sessions within an
advanced File replication environment. Advanced File replication topologies include fan-out and cascade
topologies. To support snapshot replication, all systems within the advanced File replication topology must be
running OE version 5.1 or later. By default, snapshot replication is not enabled on a replication session, but
can be enable at time of session creation or modified at any time using Unisphere, Unisphere CLI, or REST
API.

In Unisphere, the Cascade replicated snapshots option has been added to allow for snapshot replication
across all replication session in an advanced File remote replication topology. This setting allows for
snapshots to be replication from site A → B and the same snapshots replicated from site B → C. Using Figure
37 as an example, enabling the Cascade replicated snapshots option on replication sessions from Boston to
London allows snapshots created and replicated from Hopkinton to Boston to also replicate to London. This
setting is enabled and disabled on a per replication session basis.

3.4.4.3 Advanced File Remote Replication and MetroSync

Advanced replication configurations are also supported with MetroSync’s ability to asynchronously replicate to
a third site. From the third site, cascaded and fan-out topologies can be configured. Prior to OE 5.2, this
feature is not supported for synchronous replication, you cannot cascade or fan-out from the synchronously
replicated systems. Figure 40 shows a supported advanced replication topology with MetroSync.

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MetroSync with advanced replication

Dell Unity OE 5.2 removes the previous limitation by allowing to cascade from the destination resource of a
synchronous replication session. The configuration can be referenced as bridge mode, as shown in Figure 41.
By using a bridge mode configuration, the main site is replicated synchronously to a near site, then replicated
to an additional site using asynchronous replication. The production resource can also be replicated
asynchronously to an additional site. By doing this, we can have additional copies of the same data while
expanding the fault domains.

Bridge mode

Additionally, with OE 5.2 we can have a star mode configuration, as shown in Figure 42. With the main site
being replicated synchronously to one site, and asynchronously replicated up to three additional sites.

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Star mode

As a recommendation to ensure no issues are seen, all the systems should be running the same OE version.
But as bare minimum requirement, to use the star and bridge modes we need to ensure that the systems
participating in the synchronous replication session need to be running OE version 5.2 or greater. The
systems participating in the asynchronous replication sessions could potentially be running older OE versions.

3.5 Snapshot Replication

With Dell Unity OE version 4.2, Asynchronous Replication supports the replication of Read-Only file and block
snapshots locally or to a remote site along with the storage resource’s data. Both scheduled snapshots and
user created snapshots can be replicated. Snapshot Replication can be enabled on all resources that support
Asynchronous Replication, including LUNs, thin clones, consistency groups, file systems, and VMware NFS
and VMFS datastores. Snapshot Replication for scheduled snapshots can be enabled or disabled at any time
in the lifetime of the replication session. The scheduled and user snapshots can be replicated with a remote
retention policy that is longer than that of the source resource. For example, the retention policy for the source
snapshots might be set for 2 hours while the retention policy for the replicated snapshot might be set for 1
week.

Dell Unity OE version 4.2 introduced the Replicated attribute for all snapshots. This attribute states the
replication state for the snapshot. A snapshot can be in one of the following states:

Yes: The snapshot has successfully transferred to the destination

No: The snapshot is not marked for replication
Pending: The snapshot is marked for replication but is awaiting transfer
In progress: The snapshot is being transferred to the destination when using asynchronous replication
Failed: The snapshot failed to replicate

In Dell Unity OE version 4.4 and later, the Replicated attribute was replaced by two separate attributes to
account for the introduction of snapshot replication for file synchronous replication resources. In OE 4.4 and

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later, these two attributes for snapshots are called “Async Replicated” and “Sync Replicated”. The states
referenced above are not affected by the introduction of the two new attributes.

Replicating a manually created snapshot from a system running Dell Unity OE version 4.2 through 4.4 to a
destination system running Dell Unity OE version 5.x is not supported. To support this, the source system
must be upgraded to Dell Unity OE version 4.5 or later. Upgrading to Dell Unity OE version 4.5 or later is
recommended, but not required, if you want to leverage replication without snapshot replication.

For more details in regards operation that can be completed on snapshots, please review the white paper
titled Dell Unity: Snapshots and Thin Clones on Dell Technologies Info Hub.

To support snapshot replication, both the source and destination systems must be running Dell Unity OE
version 4.2 or later. Snapshots that existed prior to the creation of the replication session can be selected for
replication during replication session creation. Snapshots that are older than the last sync (RPO) time can be
manually selected for replication and included in the next RPO sync. The Unisphere Management section
provides more information regarding the configuration and management of snapshot replication.

Also, with Dell Unity OE 4.2 and Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA) version 12, the block snapshots can be
archived to and restored from the cloud. For more information about Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA) and how
it works with Dell Unity, please review the white paper titled Dell Unity: Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA) on Dell
Technologies Info Hub.

In Dell Unity OE version 5.1 and later, snapshots created on a resource contain a new internal system ID for
tracking purposes. This ID is not visible to a user. When a snapshot is replicated, the ID will also be replicated
with the snapshot to all destinations, including across all replication sessions within an advanced File remote
replication topology. To support this feature both the source and destination systems must be running OE
version 5.1 or later. For local replication, the ID is supported if the system is running OE version 5.1 or later.

In OE version 5.1 and later, replicated snapshots can be used to avoid full synchronization of data in certain
situations. The snapshot ID allows the system to easily determine if a snapshot on the source and destination
are exactly the same. This feature is explained in more detail in section 5.1 Common Base Snapshots.

3.6 Unisphere Management

Creating and managing Replication in Unisphere is easy and intuitive. All replication operations, including
configuring of replication network interfaces, replication connections, and replication sessions can be
performed in the Unisphere GUI. With the help of easy to follow wizards, replication can be configured quickly
by IT generalists or advanced users alike. Replication can also be configured using Unisphere CLI, or REST
API. For more information about configuring and managing replication using Unisphere CLI, refer to the
Unisphere Command Line Interface Guide found on Dell Online Support. For more information about REST
API, refer to the Unisphere Management REST API Programmer’s Guide found on Dell Online Support.

3.6.1 Configuring Replication

When configuring remote asynchronous replication, the following components need to be configured and
were previously discussed in the paper:

1. Replication Interfaces
2. A Replication Connection
3. A Replication Session

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Note: When configuring local replication between Pools on a system, Replication Interfaces and a Replication
Connection do not need to be configured on the system.

The following sections will outline the remaining steps needed to configure remote replication in Unisphere.
Each of the following operations is completed from a particular page in Unisphere. Each page will be
discussed in detail below. For more information about using Unisphere to configure and manage replication,
refer to Unisphere Online Help.

3.6.2 Creating Replication Interfaces

Mobility Interfaces may be shared network interfaces for import and replication-related data or management
traffic using the virtual management port. In this section, the mobility interfaces will be referenced as
replication interfaces. To create replication interfaces, you must first go to the Interfaces page, which is found
under Protection & Mobility in the left pane in Unisphere. Creating replication interfaces is completed on the
Interfaces page. For releases prior to Dell Unity OE version 4.1, the Interfaces can be found as a tab in the
Replication page, under Data Protection in the left pane.

Figure 43 below shows the Unisphere Interfaces page. From this page, you have the option to create or
delete replication interfaces, refresh the current page, or edit a configured replication interface. In the example
below, no replication interfaces have been created. One or more pairs of replication interfaces need to be
created on the source and destination system to configure remote replication.

Interfaces page

To create a replication interface for remote replication, click the Create Interface button, shown as a + sign in
the Interfaces page. Once selected, the Create Interface wizard appears, which is shown on the left in Figure
44. For remote replication, you must create replication interfaces on the system, which are used for
connectivity between the source and destination system. In the Ethernet Port drop down list, select an
available port. The status of the ports will be shown in parentheses. Both ports on each SP will need to be
cabled to the network for these links to work properly. Figure 44 also shows an example of the Ethernet Port
drop down choices on a physical system. All Ethernet ports are available to create a network interface. Also
shown are Link Aggregation ports previously created on the system.

Next, configure an IP address for SPA and SPB to be used for the replication interfaces. Once done, click
OK.

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Create Interface window

Once the replication interfaces are created, they will be shown on the Interfaces page as shown in Figure 45.
From here the status of each port is shown, currently operating normally as denoted by the green circle
checkmark. To delete a replication interface, select the port and click the Delete Interface icon, which is
shown as a trash can on this tab. To edit a replication interface, to change the IP address for example, select
the Edit icon, which is shown as a pencil icon on this tab.

Configured replication interfaces

Figure 45 above is also an example of a replication configuration leveraging the asynchronous replication
interface pairing enhancements introduced in Dell Unity OE version 5.1. This feature is described in detail in
section 3.2.1 Replication Interfaces. In this example, multiple replication interfaces using different VLAN IDs
have been created on the same front-end ports. A pair of these ports on VLAN 1001 will connect to one
remote system, while the ports configured with VLAN 1002 will connect to a different system. The interfaces
created on 4-Port Card Ethernet Port 1 on both SPs will be used to connect to a third system over a different
physical port and network.

3.6.3 Creating a Replication Connection

The next step in configuring remote replication is to create a Replication Connection with another system.
This configures a private replication connection for the pair of systems. On the Replication page, multiple tabs
exist, including Sessions and Connections. From the Replication page, select the Connections tab. Figure
46 below shows an example of the Connections tab without any replication connections configured. From
this tab, you have the option to create or delete a replication connection, refresh the current page, or edit a
configured replication connection. From this tab, you can also select Verify and Update, which will verify the

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selected replication connection still exists with the remote system and update the connection details if any
changes were made.

Replication Connections

To create a Replication Connection for remote replication, select the Create Replication Connection icon,
which is displayed as a + sign on this tab. The Create Replication Connection window appears, as shown in
Figure 47. On the System Settings step, you must specify the Remote System’s Management IP Address,
which is the IP used to access Unisphere, and the Unisphere User Name and Password. Also, in this
window you must enter the Password used to log in to Unisphere on the system you are configuring the
replication connection in. Lastly, you must select the Connection Mode that will be used between the
systems. In the drop-down list, you have the option to choose Asynchronous, Synchronous, or Both. When
configuring asynchronous replication between two systems, select Asynchronous. If synchronous and
asynchronous replication will be used, select Both. After entering the required information, click Next. The
Bandwidth Schedules step is then shown. This feature was discussed in section 3.2.2.1 Asynchronous
replication throttling.

Create Replication Connection window

After completing the System Settings and Bandwidth Schedules steps and clicking OK on the Summary step,
a Job is created to create the replication connection. The job has multiple steps, which include registering the
remote and local system with its peer, refreshing the connection on both systems, and validating the
connections on the local system. Once the job completes, the replication connection will be shown on the
source and destination system.

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Figure 48 shows the Replication page Connections tab once the replication connection is created. In this
example, the name of the remote system is displayed. The System Type, Management IP Address,
Replication Mode, and Remote Interfaces are also displayed. The Remote Interfaces displayed will be the IPs
for the synchronous replication management ports and asynchronous replication interfaces on the remote
system.

Replication Connections

3.6.4 Creating a Replication Session

To create a replication session, you must enable replication on the storage resource you want to replicate.
This can be done at time of creation, or on an existing storage resource. Figure 49 shows an example of
creating a new LUN and enabling asynchronous remote replication on it. From the Replication step, check
the checkbox in front of Enable Replication to configure replication. For asynchronous replication, select
Asynchronous from the Replication Mode drop-down box and customize the RPO as needed. Choose
Manual to create a manual replication session. When asynchronous is chosen as the Replication Mode, the
Replicate To box will automatically be populated with a remote system name asynchronous replication can
be configured with. If you want to replicate locally with asynchronous or manual replication, choose Local
found under Replicate To. The Replicate scheduled snapshots option is also shown and allows the
replication of scheduled snapshots. The retention policy for snapshots on the destination can also be
customized. After completing this step, click Next and continue with the creation. For LUNs, consistency
groups, VMware VMFS datastores, thin clones, file systems, and VMware NFS datastores, a Replication step
exists in the creation wizards for each with the similar look and configuration options as the one shown in
Figure 49.

Enable Asynchronous Replication

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When the Destination Configuration box is selected in the Replication step, information about the remote
storage resource’s configuration will be displayed. Depending on the capabilities of the remote system, the
destination Pool, and the resource type, options for Thin and Data Reduction will be displayed. The Reuse
destination resource option allows for recreating a replication session to an existing resource on the
destination. Figure 50 below shows an example of this window.

Destination LUN Configuration window

After asynchronous replication is configured on a new storage resource, you can view information about
replication from the resource’s properties window. From Unisphere, select the storage resource in question
and click Edit or double-click the name of the storage resource. From the properties window, view the
Replication tab. An example of this tab for a LUN is shown in Figure 51. On this tab, you can view the
following information:

The replication Session Name

The replication Mode
The Local Role of the storage resource, which can either be listed as the Source or Destination
The Time of Last Sync
The Replicate Scheduled Snapshots option

Also shown is a pictorial representation of the replication session. The figure shows which storage resource is
available for I/O, which direction the data is replicating in and its current state, and the destination storage
resource and the system name, IP Address, and the destination LUN name. As the state of the replication
session changes, this figure will update to reflect the new state.

Also shown on the Replication tab are buttons for each Replication Operation. This tab is also used to display
synchronous replication operations, so all replication operations for synchronous and asynchronous
replication are displayed. Not all replication operations are supported on each mode of replication, so only
operations supported on the current replication mode will be selectable. Also, only certain operations are
available depending on what the current state of the replication session is in, so only these options are
available for selection. In Figure 51, the current session is Auto Sync Configured and replicating from the
Production System (Local System) to the DRSystem. Available replication operations for the asynchronously
replicated LUN include Delete, Pause, Sync, and Failover with Sync.

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LUN replication configured

Replication can also be configured on an existing storage resource. When replication is not configured on the
storage resource, viewing the Replication tab in the storage resource’s properties window will show what is
displayed in Figure 52. The Replication tab for a consistency group, VMware VMFS datastore, thin clone, file
system, and VMware NFS datastore displays the same information below. To configure Replication on the
storage resource, select Configure Replication.

Replication not configured

After selecting Configure Replication, the Create a Session wizard is launched. An example of this wizard is
shown in Figure 53. On the Replication Settings step, you need to customize which Replication Mode
either Asynchronous, Manual, or Synchronous replication will be used. For Asynchronous Replication, select
Asynchronous. Next, customize the wanted RPO if needed. When manual replication is selected, RPO will
not be an option. Then, select the destination system by selecting the correct system in the Replicate To
drop down box, either Local for local replication, or a listed remote system. As mentioned previously, Dell
Unity OE version 4.2 supports the replication of scheduled and user snapshots. The Replicate all existing
snapshots is a one-time option, given at creation time of the replication session, that can be used to replicate
all existing snapshots. The Replicate scheduled snapshots option can be used to replicate the scheduled
snapshots of a storage resource, this option can be modified after the replication session creation. Figure 53

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shows both options already selected. The Reuse destination resource, Automatically search user snap
as common base, and Overwrite Destination options will be discussed in detail in section 5.1 Common
Base Snapshots.

Create a Session wizard – Replication Settings step

In the example in Figure 53, the LUN has both Hourly and Daily/Weekly snapshot schedules. To customize
the remote retention policy for the snapshots that will be replicated, click the Customize button, which opens
the Customize Remote Retention window. An example of this window is shown in Figure 54. This provides
the options to either keep the same retention policy as the source, follow the Pool Automatic Deletion Policy,
or retain the snapshots for a custom number of hours, days, or weeks. The retention policy can go up to 255
weeks. In this example, Hourly Snapshots are retained for seven Hours while the Daily/Weekly Snapshots are
retained for four Weeks. After selecting the retention policy, click OK, and then Next.

Customize Remote Retention

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The Destination step of the Create a Session wizard is now shown. An example of this step for a LUN is
shown in Figure 55. From here, you can customize the storage resource’s Name that will be displayed on the
destination Pool or system, the Pool it will use, the Storage Processor if applicable, the Tiering Policy if
applicable on the destination’s Pool, and enable Data Reduction/Advanced Deduplication if supported on
the resource and the destination. For other existing storage resources being replicated, you can customize
this exact same information. When creating a replication session on an existing consistency group, you can
customize this same information for each LUN contained within the consistency group. After editing the
available information, click Next.

Create a Session wizard – Destination step

The Summary step is next in the Create a Session wizard. Here you can see a summary of the settings that
will be used to create replication. If anything is incorrect, you can select Back to correct the wanted setting.
To create the replication session, click Finish. A Summary step will also be shown when creating a replication
session on other storage resources.

The Results step is the last step in the wizard. This step shows the Overall Status of each of the jobs to
create the replication session. The steps to create the replication session include creating the storage
resource on the destination system, allowing the remote storage resource to finish the creation process, and
lastly creating the replication session. You can either wait for the Overall status to say 100% Complete or
close the window at any time by clicking Close. Closing this window will not impact the creation process since
it is a background job in Unisphere.

3.6.4.1 Advanced File Remote Replication

As mentioned previously, advanced File replication topologies allows File resources to be replicated
asynchronously or synchronously in fan-out and cascade topologies, as discussed in section 3.4.4. Each
replication session within an advanced replication topology is created separately. Before file systems or
VMware NFS datastores can be replicated, the NAS Server must first be replicated to the desired destination
Pool or remote system. The replication session for the NAS Server can be established when the NAS Server
is created, or on an existing resource. Figure 56 shows an example of creating a new NAS Server and
enabling Asynchronous remote replication on it.

From the Replication step, check the checkbox in front of Enable Asynchronous Replication to configure
replication. For asynchronous replication, select asynchronous from the Replication Mode drop-down box
and customize the RPO as needed. Choose Manual to create a manual replication session. When
asynchronous is chosen as the Replication Mode, the Replicate To box will automatically be populated with a

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remote system name asynchronous replication can be configured with. If you want to replicate locally with
asynchronous or manual replication, choose Local found under Replicate To.

Enable Asynchronous Replication

When the Destination Configuration link is selected in the Replication step, information about the remote
storage resource’s configuration will be displayed. The Reuse destination resource option allows for
recreating a replication session to an existing resource on the destination. Figure 57 below shows an example
of this window. After updating this window as needed, click OK and then Next to continue with the NAS
Server creation.

Destination NAS Server Configuration window

After asynchronous replication is configured on the NAS Server, you can view information about replication
from the resource’s properties window. From Unisphere, select the storage resource in question and click Edit
or double-click the name of the storage resource. From the properties window, view the Replication tab. An
example of this tab for a NAS Server is shown in Figure 58. As File resources can have multiple replication
session, they are all shown on this tab. In this example the NAS Server has been replicated in a fan-out
configuration to three destination systems. On this tab, you can view the following information:

The replication session Name

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The Replication Mode

The Destination, including the remote System and NAS Server
The State

NAS Server replication configured

Replication actions, such as Pause, Resume, and Failover, can be issued from the Replication tab. After
selecting a replication session in the list, click More Actions. The options available depends directly on the
replication state of the resource. The properties of each replication session provides more information to the
user. To view information about a replication session, double click the session name or select the session and
click the View/Edit icon.

A pictorial representation of the replication session is shown in the properties of the session, as seen in
Figure 59. On this screen the Session Name, Mode, and Time of Last Sync is displayed. The figure also
shows which storage resource is available for I/O, which direction the data is replicating in and its current
state, and the destination storage resource and the system name, IP Address, and the destination LUN name.
As the state of the replication session changes, this figure will update to reflect the new state.

Replication session properties

When replication is configured on an existing NAS Server, all resources on that NAS Server are also
replicated. A replication session can be deleted from a resource that should not be replicated at any time.

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When a new resource is added to a replicated NAS Server, the Replication step allows the new resource to
be created with the same replication topology as the NAS Server. Figure 60 shows the Create a File System
wizard. In this example, the parent NAS Server is replicated to three remote systems. On the Replication
step, replication on the new file system can also be configured. A checkbox, disabled by default, is specified
for each destination. When a checkbox is selected, the replication session will be created with the same
attributed as the associated NAS Server session.

Replication not configured

To customize a replication session to a specific destination, select the Destination Configuration link for the
corresponding session. In the Replication details Configuration screen, as seen in Figure 61, many options
can be customized. These options include the Replication Mode, either Asynchronous or Manual, the
RPO, the destination Pool, the Tiering Policy, and the Snapshot Replication Configuration. These options
can be independently configured on each replication session. The Reuse destination resource option will be
discussed in detail in section 5.1 Common Base Snapshots.

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Create a Session

On the Summary step of the Create a File System wizard, all configuration information for the resource is
displayed. As with other resources, if a correction needs to be made, the Back button can be used. Each
replication session being created is shown on the Summary screen, as seen in Figure 62. The Replication
Mode, RPO, and Destination System are shown. To view more information about a specific session, click
the More Info link under Session Details.

Create a File System – Summary step

When More Info is selected, the Replication details Configuration window is shown. If any settings for the
replication session need to be changed, simply close this window and click the Back button.

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Replication details Configuration window

Once the resource is created, replication information can be seen on the Replication tab within the properties
of the resource. As with NAS Servers, the replication tab for file systems and NFS datastores will display all
replication sessions currently configured on the resource. An example of this screen can be seen below.
Replication operations, such as Pause, Resume, and Failover can be found under More Actions. To view
more information about a specific replication session, simply select the session and click the View/Edit icon.

File system properties – Replication tab

A pictorial representation of the replication session is shown in the properties of the session, as seen in
Figure 65. On this screen the Session Name, Mode, and Time of Last Sync is displayed. The snapshot
replication settings are also displayed. The figure also shows which storage resource is available for I/O,
which direction the data is replicating in and its current state, and the destination storage resource and the

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system name, IP Address, and the destination LUN name. As the state of the replication session changes,
this figure will update to reflect the new state.

Replication session properties screen

3.6.5 Restore from a replicated snapshot

Once the source snapshots have been replicated to the destination, the source snapshot can be deleted from
the source system to free up space. If there is ever a need to recover data that is in a replicated snapshot, the
replicated data can be manually restored to the source storage resource. Taking a backup of the source
resource is suggested, as this process will overwrite data within the source resource. To manually restore
from a replicated snapshot, once the snapshot has been replicated, failover the storage resource’s replication
session, and on the destination system, restore the storage resource to the snapshot that has the data you
are interested in. Once the restore is complete, failback the replication session. As result, the source storage
resource will contain the data that was on the snapshot.

3.6.6 Override network address for file replication

If you have file replication configured with a destination site on a different physical network, to ensure minimal
downtime during a failover, ensure that you modify the destination NAS Server properties to include an
override address for the network interface. Figure 66 shows an example of the destination NAS Server with
the Production Interface being overridden to a different IP Address. A different Ethernet Port can also be
selected in this process.

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Override address

3.6.7 Enable NDMP on NAS Server

Dell Unity supports 3-way NDMP (Network Data Management Protocol) backup over Ethernet. Also, as of
Dell Unity OE version 4.4, 2-way NDMP backup over Fibre Channel is also supported. This support allows for
data backup to NDMP backup clients which could be a tape library or virtual tape appliance. NDMP can also
work in cohesion with replication for additional data protection. If replication is enabled on a NAS Server and
additional data protection is needed, NDMP can be enabled through the Protection & Events tab in the
properties page of a NAS Server, as seen in Figure 67. NDMP can be enabled either on the source or
destination NAS Server giving configuration flexibility in running incremental NDMP backups of file systems. If
you enable NDMP on a destination NAS Server, you will first need to create a Backup & DR testing network
interface to be able to connect to destination file resources. Also note that enabling NDMP for the destination
NAS Server is not supported in the initial OE 4.0 release but is supported in OE 4.1 and later.

Enable NDMP

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3.6.8 Viewing the Replication Sessions

All replication sessions on the system can be viewed from the Sessions tab within the Replication page. This
includes synchronous and asynchronous replication sessions. To go to this page, click Replication under
Protection & Mobility in Unisphere. For releases prior to Dell Unity OE version 4.1, the Replication page can
be found under Data Protection. Figure 68 shows an example of the Sessions tab with multiple replication
sessions created on the system. In this example, you can see replication sessions for the TEST NAS Server
and TESTFS file system created in the Advanced File Remote Replication section. In this example, the NAS
Server and file system are configured in an asynchronous replication fan-out topology, replicating to three
destination systems. From this page, you can easily see information regarding each session. The following is
a list of information displayed on this screen. More columns can be added to the view if needed.

The Source, which includes the source system and the source storage resource
The Resource Type
The Replication Mode, either Synchronous, Asynchronous, or Manual
The Destination, which includes the destination system name and the destination storage resource
The current State
The current Transfer Rate (MB/Sec)
The Replication Session Name

Replication Sessions

From the Sessions tab, you can also issue replication operations on the sessions. After selecting the
checkbox for a replication session in the list, select More Actions to view the replication operations available
for that session in its current state. In Figure 69 below, you can see that only Pause, Sync, and Failover with
Sync are valid options based on the current replication session state of the selected storage resource.

Replication Sessions – More Actions

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Dell Unity OE version 4.2 also includes the group operations feature at a NAS Server level. The group
operations are available for the following operations: Failover, Failover with Sync, Failback, Pause, and
Resume. Figure 70 gives an example of performing a group Failover for a NAS Server.

Failover with sync

3.7 System Maximums

See Appendix B: Replication Maximums for information about Dell Unity replication maximums.

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4 Proxy NAS Servers

Dell Unity OE version 4.3 introduces Proxy NAS Servers, providing the ability to access files on the
destination side of a replicated File resource. This feature provides Read-Only access to file system and
snapshot data through SMB and NFS. There is no ability to write to the file systems or snapshots using the
proxy NAS server, even if the snapshot is Read/Write.

All the NAS Servers’ file systems and their snapshots are displayed when connecting to the proxy NAS
Server. Due to this, the user must be part of the Local Administrators group for SMB or root for NFS. You can
add users and groups to the local Administrators group of the proxy NAS server through MMC, just like a
regular SMB server.

Dell Unity OE version 4.5 introduces the ability to create SMB shares for writeable and Read-Only snapshots
on the destination NAS Server. This feature is designed to enable DR testing without any impact to the
ongoing replication session. It allows customers to confirm that an application can be brought online and write
to a share hosted on the destination system. This feature works with both asynchronous and synchronous
replication. This feature leverages a Proxy NAS Server and Proxy share created on the destination system to
provide access to the snapshot.

In contrast to the Read-Only Proxy NAS Server feature, this feature allows any domain user to access the
share and is not limited to Administrators or root. This is because each share points to a specific snapshot, as
opposed to the entire contents of the NAS Server. The proxy share can be configured to point to either a
Read-Only or Read/Write snapshot that exists on the destination file system. If a Read/Write snapshot is
selected, then the client can write to the share.

For more information about Proxy NAS Server, please review the Dell Unity: DR Access and Testing white
paper found on Dell Technologies Info Hub.

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5 Interoperability
Native Synchronous and Asynchronous Replication is supported between Dell Unity OE versions 4.0 and
later systems in either direction. If there is a specific feature related to Dell Unity OE version 4.1 or later that is
in use in the source system, then the replication session may not be supported and may fail to setup. In some
cases, the replication session may succeed, and ignore the newer capability on the target system.

For File Replication, some features that should be considered when configuring replication include Common
Event Enabler (CEE), IP Multi-Tenancy, Advanced Static Routing (ASR), Packet Reflect, and Folder Rename
and Locking policies. The Advanced Static Routing (ASR) and Packet Reflect features will not prevent
replication to Dell Unity OE version 4.0, but the settings for ASR and Packet Reflect will not be replicated.
Similarly, if remote replication is already configured for a NAS Server and the destination system is running a
previous version of Dell Unity OE, and the source system is upgraded to the latest Dell Unity OE, new
features in the NAS Server cannot be enabled on the source system. To enable new features in the NAS
Server on the source system, also upgrade the destination system to the latest version of Dell Unity OE. If
replication between Dell Unity systems is critical, consider upgrading all systems participating in the
replication to the latest Dell Unity OE version.

For more information about NAS Capabilities in the Dell Unity systems, please review the white paper titled
Dell Unity: NAS Capabilities on Dell Technologies Info Hub.

5.1 Common Base Snapshots

In Dell Unity OE version 5.1 and later, Read-Only snapshots created on a resource contain a new internal
system ID for tracking purposes. This ID is not visible to a user. When a snapshot is replicated, the ID will
also be replicated with the snapshot to all destinations, including across all replication sessions within an
advanced File remote replication topology. To support this feature both the source and destination systems
must be running OE version 5.1 or later. For local replication, the ID is supported if the system is running OE
version 5.1 or later.

In certain circumstances, a full synchronization of data is needed to restart or continue replication. In OE

version 5.1 and later, replicated snapshots can be used to avoid full synchronization of data in certain
situations. The snapshot ID allows the system to easily determine if a snapshot on the source and destination
are exactly the same. If the systems confirm the IDs of a pair of snapshots are the same, the snapshots can
be used as a common base to start or continue replication. This can help reduce the amount of time it takes
to return replication to a good state. The amount of data to be copied directly depends on the amount of data
that has changed since the creation of the common base snapshots. This feature is supported on LUNs, thin
clones, consistency group, file systems, and VMFS and NFS datastores for specific replication modes
described below.

5.1.1 Create replication session by reusing destination resource

In situations where a replication session must be deleted and recreated, a full synchronization of data is
required in OE versions prior to the 5.1 release. This is true even if no data has changed between the source
and destination. If a snapshot has been created on a system running 5.1 or later and replicated to the
destination running 5.1 or later, the replication session can leverage the replicated snapshot as a common
base. Full copy avoidance is supported for file synchronous replication, and block and file asynchronous
replication. It is highly suggested to create a new snapshot and replicate it to the destination just before
deleting the replication session. Creating the snapshot with No Automatic Deletion policy is also suggested.
For synchronous replication, only the latest 21 snapshots on a resource are searched for a common base,

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Interoperability

therefore it is also suggested to delete and recreate the sessions as soon as possible. Once the replication
session has been recreated and is active, the snapshot can be deleted.

In the following example, an asynchronously replicated NAS Server and file system are being transitioned to a
synchronous replication configuration. Full copy avoidance can occur as long as a common base snapshot is
available. When creating the replication session on the NAS Server, the Reuse destination resource and
Automatically search user snap as common base options are available. Figure 71 below shows an
example of these options on the Replication Settings step within the Create a Session wizard.

Create a Session wizard – NAS Server example

In Figure 72 below the Destination step is shown. Enabling the Reuse destination resource option will
automatically search the destination system and establish replication to an existing resource if the Name
entered on this step matches one on the destination. In this example, the system will search for existing NAS
Servers on the destination with the name TEST. If a NAS Server named TEST exists on any Pool within the
destination system, replication will be established to the resource. If a resource with the same name is not
found, the resource will be created based on the configuration on the Destination step. This is also true for
file systems and NFS datastore on the NAS Server, and other resource types.

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Create a Session wizard – NAS Server example

When replication is configured on a NAS Server, replication is automatically configured for file systems and
NFS datastores on the NAS Server. When the Automatically search user snap as common base option is
enabled, snapshots on the source and destination file resources will be searched for a snapshot with a
matching ID. If a match is found that resource will use the latest matched snapshot as a common base. Only
data that has changed on the source since the snapshot was created will be copied to the destination. This
comparison will occur for each file system or NFS datastore on the NAS Server. For tracking purposes, the
Logs page in Unisphere will have an entry for each storage resource if a common base snapshot was found
or not.

If replication needs to be deleted and recreated on a file system or NFS datastore, similar options on the
Replication Settings page for the NAS Server are available. Figure 73 below shows the Replication
Settings step within the Create a Session wizard for a file system. Here the Reuse destination resource
and Automatically search user snap as common base options are available directly on the resource.

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Interoperability

Create a Session wizard – Replication Settings step – file system example

For Block resources the Reuse destination resource and Automatically search user snap as common
base options are available. The Overwrite Destination option is also available. If this checkbox is selected
the entire contents of the destination resource are overwritten with data from the source. This option can be
used when the source resource has been restored to a previous point in time, and the destination must be
completely replaced. Figure 74 below shows an example of this window.

Create a Session wizard – Replication Settings step – LUN example

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With the enhancements in the 5.1 release, changing File replication topologies with advanced File replication
is possible. One example is if replication is configured in an A→ B → C cascade configuration. If snapshots
are created on System A and replicated to System B and System C, they can be used as common base when
recreating replication sessions if required. As shown in the figure below, System B can easily be removed
from the configuration as common base snapshots can be leveraged to create replication directly from
System A to System C. These snapshots would reduce the amount of data that needs to synchronize
between the source and destination.

Create a Session wizard – Replication Settings step – file system example

5.1.2 Accelerating Failback/Resume after unplanned failover with common base

snapshots
Common base snapshots can also be used to recover from an unplanned failover event. Using common base
snapshots may help reduce the amount of data that needs to be synchronized between the source and
destination after the Failback or Resume option is initiated. An unplanned failover occurs when the Failover
option is issued on the replication session for a destination resource. When this occurs, a disaster situation is
assumed, and the destination resource becomes Read/Write. If management connectivity is still available
between the source and destination systems, the source will automatically be made unavailable or Read-Only
depending on the resource type. Common base snapshots and full copy avoidance is not available for block
synchronous replication sessions.

Some customers require regular failover testing to ensure their disaster recovery operations are functional.
When Failover is issued from the destination of a file synchronous replication session, a full synchronization
of data is required when re-establishing the replication session. With the enhancements in OE version 5.1 and
later, common base snapshots can help reduce the overall recovery time. It is highly suggested to create a
new snapshot and replicate it to the destination on all resources involved just before issuing Failover on the
replication session. As mentioned previously, only the latest 21 snapshots on a file synchronous replication
session are searched for a common base.

To confirm a common base snapshot is present on a file synchronous replication session, the uemcli
/prot/rep/session/commonbase command can be utilized. This command will search the source and
destination resources and determine if a common base snapshot is present. This command should be run on
the active replication session before issuing the Failover operation. If the command is run on a NAS Server,
the outputs for all file systems and NFS datastores will be displayed. This command can also be run directly
on a file system or NFS datastore replication session.

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As shown below, common base snapshots were found for the first replication session, but not the second.
The Session ID shown can be used to locate the resource if required. If the Failover operation was issued
while in this state, the first session would use snapshots to establish a common base, while the second
session would require a full synchronization of data.

uemcli /prot/rep/session/commonbase -sessionName

rep_sess_nas_2_nas_9_APM01204908035_APM00211114469 show

1: Session ID =
171798691855_APM01204908035_0000_171798692131_APM00211114469_0000
Source common base snapshot ID = 171798691873
Destination common base snapshot ID = 171798692191

2: Session ID =
171798691889_APM01204908035_0000_171798692338_APM00211114469_0000
Source common base snapshot ID = (No common base snapshot)
Destination common base snapshot ID = (No common base snapshot)

For asynchronous block and file replication sessions, the internal system snapshots created by asynchronous
replication can be used to recover after an unplanned failover event. In Dell Unity OE version 5.1 and later,
replicated user snapshots can also be utilized. If for any reason the asynchronous replication snapshots are
unavailable, the user created and replicated snapshots can be used to establish common base and avoid a
full copy of data. This is also true for asynchronous replication sessions that are part of a MetroSync (file
synchronous replication) solution.

5.2 File Import

Once a VNX VDM is imported as a NAS Server into a Dell Unity system, the destination NAS Server and the
file systems under it can participate in a replication session. Once the destination NAS Server and file
systems are created on Unity system as part of the file import session, the destination NAS Server can be
replicated to a system running Dell Unity OE version 4.0 and later. For more information about File Import,
please review the white paper titled Dell Unity: Migration Technologies on Dell Technologies Info Hub.

5.3 Data Reduction

The following section gives information about Data Reduction on Dell Unity systems. Systems with data
efficiency technologies enabled running versions prior to Dell Unity OE version 4.3 will see Compression
instead of Data Reduction.

Storage Resources using data reduction can be replicated using any supported replication software, such as
Native Synchronous Block Replication or Native Asynchronous Replication to any supported destination
system. All data that is replicated, regardless if it is local replication or to a remote system, is first rehydrated,
and then replicated to the destination. This method of replication ensures that all replication topologies are
supported, including mixed configurations where data reduction is enabled only on one side. Replicating to
systems which do not support data reduction is also supported, such as replicating to Dell UnityVSA or a
physical Dell Unity system not running a code version which supports data reduction.

Dell Unity Data Reduction can also be enabled on only the source, only the destination, or both the source
and destination storage resources, depending on if the system and Pool configuration support Dell Unity Data
Reduction. This allows the user to fully control where to implement data reduction. One example of a

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supported replication configuration is when using Asynchronous Local Replication. The source storage
resource may reside on an All-Flash Pool and have data reduction enabled, but the destination may be on a
large capacity Hybrid Pool which does not support data reduction. Another example of a supported
configuration is when replicating a storage resource from a Dell UnityVSA system or a production system not
using data reduction, to a storage resource with data reduction enabled on a remote system.

From Unisphere to enable data reduction on the destination resource, in the Create a Session wizard for the
Destination step, select the checkbox in front of the Data Reduction option. Figure 76 gives an example on
enabling data reduction on the destination for a LUN storage resource. The Create a Session wizard for thin
clones, consistency groups, VMware VMFS datastores, file systems, and VMware NFS datastores will have
the same Data Reduction option in the Replication step.

In Dell Unity OE version 4.5, Advanced Deduplication was introduced for Dell Unity 450F, 550F, and 650F
systems and can be enabled once Data Reduction is enabled. In Dell Unity OE version 5.0, Advanced
Deduplication is also available on Dell Unity 380(F), 480(F), 680(F), and 880(F). This additional data
efficiency technology has the same restrictions as noted above in relation to replication.

For more information about Data Reduction and Advanced Deduplication, please review the white paper titled
Dell Unity: Data Reduction on Dell Technologies Info Hub.

Data Reduction and Advanced Deduplication

5.4 Dynamic Pools

Dell Unity Native Synchronous and Asynchronous Replication is fully supported with Traditional and Dynamic
Pools. When configuring local or remote replication, the source or destination Pool can be either type of Pool,
either Traditional or Dynamic. This flexibility in configuration options allows systems which do not support
Dynamic Pools, such as a Dell UnityVSA. When configuring replication, a Type field has been added to easily
determine the type of Pool that was selected as the destination. This Type field is only present on systems
running Dell Unity OE version 4.2 or later.

For more information about Dell Unity Dynamic Pools, please review the white paper titled Dell Unity:
Dynamic Pools on Dell Technologies Info Hub.

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For more details regarding the Interoperability of the features released in Dell Unity OE version 4.1 or later,
search for Interoperability for the Dell Unity Family on Dell Online Support.

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6 Upgrades
Prior to initiating an upgrade of the Dell Unity OE, it is recommended to pause all ongoing replication
sessions, but it is not required. The Pre-Upgrade Health Check (PUHC) checks for any active replication
sessions and generates a warning if any are found. Once the upgrade completes, you can resume each
replication session. The pause and resume operations should be initiated from the source system for each
replication session. If you are running Dell Unity OE version 4.2 or later, pausing and resuming the NAS
server replication session also pauses and resumes all its associated file system replication sessions
automatically.

For more information on upgrading system to Dell EMC Unity OE 5.2, see the Upgrade a system that has an
advanced replication topology in the Dell Unity Family Configuring Replication guide on Dell Support.

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RecoverPoint with Dell Unity

7 RecoverPoint with Dell Unity

Along with the native replication options provided with physical Dell Unity systems, RecoverPoint is also
supported. RecoverPoint is used for disaster recovery and data loss protection, protecting organizations from
site outages due to unforeseen circumstances and data loss due to corruption or human error. RecoverPoint
also helps in data migration solutions, providing the ability to move data between data centers and supported
systems. RecoverPoint provides a DVR-like roll back function which allows data recovery to any point-in-time.
RecoverPoint uses physical or virtual RecoverPoint appliances to replicate data locally within the same Dell
Unity system, or to remote systems. Replication solutions are designed to ensure the integrity of the
replicated data at local and remote sites. Performance is also not compromised when using RecoverPoint
with Dell Unity. By using proprietary software called the RecoverPoint Splitter, incoming write operations are
split and sent to the local and remote storage system. This ensures there is minimal performance impact on
the storage system when replicating data.

RecoverPoint can be configured to replicate Dell Unity LUNs, VMware VMFS Datastores, and thin clones.
Destination storage resources can be created locally within the same system, or on a remote system
supported with RecoverPoint. Dell Unity includes the RecoverPoint Basic license for free, allowing replication
between Dell Unity, VNX, and VNXe systems. Through RecoverPoint’s own user interface, replication can be
configured quickly and easily. For more information about which systems are supported, please view
Appendix: Replication Maximums.

When configuring RecoverPoint, LUNs, VMware VMFS Datastores, and thin clones already replicated with
Dell Unity native replication software are not supported. Also, RecoverPoint should not be configured to use
the Dell Unity Synchronous Replication Port on either storage processor. The Synchronous Replication Port is
discussed in the Synchronous Replication Interfaces section of this paper.

For more information about RecoverPoint, including RecoverPoint specific concepts and management, refer
to the RecoverPoint Administrator’s Guide found on Dell Online Support.

Dell Unity: Replication Technologies | H15088.8

Metro node

8 Metro node
Metro node is an external hardware and software add-on feature for Unity XT for which it provides
active/active synchronous replication and standard local use cases. Additionally, it also provides a solution
locally with the Local mirror feature to protect data from a potential array failure. Both of these use cases
provide solutions for true continuous availability with zero downtime.

Unity XT is viewed by metro node as ALUA array based on SCSI response data and therefore is required to
follow the four active, four passive path connectivity rules. This rule states that both nodes of the metro node
must each have four active and four passive paths to all volumes provisioned from the array. For additional
information about Metro node, go to Dell Support and reference the Metro node best practices white paper.

Dell Unity: Replication Technologies | H15088.8

Conclusion

9 Conclusion
In this paper, the various native replication solutions provided in Dell Unity were discussed. Configuring a data
protection solution helps guard against unforeseen situations, such as data loss or site-wide outages if they
are encountered. Dell Unity provides local and remote data protection solutions to help minimize the cost
associated with downtime and provides easy recovery in the event of a disaster. Through the use of
synchronous and asynchronous replication solutions, data protection can be configured to meet the needs of
the application and organization.

Native Synchronous Block Replication is a data protection solution which replicates each write to a storage
resource remotely to a peer system before the write is acknowledged with the host. In the event of a disaster,
Synchronous Block Replication provides maximum protection and ensures that there is zero data loss. Dell
Unity Synchronous Block Replication is supported on LUNs, thin clones, consistency groups, and VMware
VMFS datastores configured on Dell Unity All Flash and Hybrid Flash systems. Starting in Dell Unity OE
version 4.4, native file synchronous replication is also supported on Dell Unity. See the Dell Unity: MetroSync
white paper on Dell Technologies Info Hub for more information.

Native Asynchronous Block and File Replication is a data protection solution which replicates storage
resources locally within the same Dell Unity system, or remotely to other Dell Unity systems. Asynchronous
replication leverages Dell Unity’s Unified Snapshot technology to provide consistent point-in-time replicas
which can be used in the event of a disaster. Asynchronous replication is not only supported on Dell Unity All
Flash and Hybrid Flash systems, but also on Dell UnityVSA. When using asynchronous replication, no impact
to host I/O is seen as data is not replicated as it enters the system. Asynchronous replication uses a
customizable Recovery Point Objective, which automatically replicates changes in data at consistent
intervals. When data needs to be replicated over long distances, asynchronous replication can meet the
needs of an organization.

RecoverPoint support allows Dell Unity to leverage the advanced replication features it provides. With
RecoverPoint, Dell Unity LUNs and VMware VMFS Datastores can be replicated locally or remotely to
another supported system. With RecoverPoint’s advanced functionality, such as point-in-time data recovery,
Dell Unity can be protected from disaster scenarios.

Dell Unity: Replication Technologies | H15088.8

Conclusion

A Technical support and resources

Dell.com/support is focused on meeting customer needs with proven services and support.

Storage technical documents and videos provide expertise that helps to ensure customer success on Dell
storage platforms.

A.1 Related resources

The following references can be found on Dell Technologies Info Hub:
• Dell EMC Unity: Best Practices Guide
• Dell EMC Unity: Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA)
• Dell EMC Unity: Compression for File
• Dell EMC Unity: Data at Rest Encryption
• Dell EMC Unity: Data Integrity
• Dell Unity: Data Reduction
• Dell EMC Unity: DR Access and Testing
• Dell Unity: Dynamic Pools
• Dell EMC Unity: FAST Technology Overview
• Dell EMC Unity: File-Level Retention (FLR)
• Dell EMC Unity: Introduction to the Platform
• Dell Unity XT: Introduction to the Platform
• Dell Unity: NAS Capabilities
• Dell Unity: MetroSync
• Dell EMC Unity: MetroSync and Home Directories
• Dell EMC Unity: MetroSync and VMware vSphere NFS Datastores
• Dell EMC Unity: Migration Technologies
• Dell EMC Unity: OpenStack Best Practices for Ocata Release
• Dell EMC Unity: Performance Metrics
• Dell Unity: Replication Technologies
• Dell EMC Unity: Snapshots and Thin Clones
• Dell EMC Unity: Operating Environment (OE) Overview
• Dell EMC Unity: Unisphere Overview
• Dell EMC Unity: Virtualization Integration
• Dell EMC UnityVSA
• Dell EMC Unity Cloud Edition with VMware Cloud on AWS
• Dell EMC Unity Data Reduction Analysis
• Dell EMC Unity: Migrating to Dell EMC Unity with SAN Copy
• Dell EMC Unity Storage with Microsoft Hyper-V
• Dell EMC Unity Storage with Microsoft SQL Server
• Dell EMC Unity Storage with Microsoft Exchange Server
• Dell EMC Unity Storage with VMware vSphere
• Dell EMC Unity Storage with Oracle Databases
• Dell EMC Unity 350F Storage with VMware Horizon View VDI
• Dell EMC Unity: 3,000 VMware Horizon Linked Clone VDI Users
• Dell EMC Storage with VMware Cloud Foundation
• Metro node best practices

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Conclusion

B Appendix: Replication Maximums

The following table outlines the Dell Unity replication system maximums.

Dell Unity Dell Unity Dell Unity Dell Unity

600/600F/650F 500/500F/550F 400/400F/450F 300/300F/350F Dell UnityVSA
680/680F 580/580F 480/480F 380/380F

Max Replication Sessions

(Synchronous + 2000 1500 1000 1000 16
Asynchronous)

Max Replication Sessions 2000 1000 750 500 N/A

(Synchronous Replication)

Max Consistency Group

Replication Sessions 128 64 64 64 N/A
(Synchronous Replication)

Max LUNs per Replicated

Consistency Group 32 32 32 32 N/A
(Synchronous Replication)

Max Target Systems 1 1 1 1 N/A

(Synchronous Replication)

Max Concurrent Replication

Sessions 256 256 256 256 8
(Asynchronous Replication)

Max Concurrent Initial Syncs 32 32 32 32 4

(Asynchronous Replication)

Max LUNs per Replicated

Consistency Group 75 75 75 75 50
(Asynchronous Replication)

Max replicated NAS Servers 256 128 128 90 4

(Asynchronous Replication)

Max Target Systems 16 16 16 16 16

(Asynchronous Replication)

The table above outlines several system maximums when using synchronous and asynchronous replication.
The maximum replication sessions include all replication sessions on the system, which includes both
synchronous and asynchronous replication sessions, local or remote. The replication destination storage
resources count towards the system maximums, even though they are not host accessible when currently a
destination image. In Dell Unity, only one replication connection used for synchronous replication, or
synchronous and asynchronous replication, can be created. This also means that only one pair of systems
can replicate synchronously to each other.

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Conclusion

C Appendix: Replication Support Across Platforms

The following table outlines replication support across the various Dell midrange platforms.

Block File
Replication Replication RecoverPoint
Source Destination
(Block)
Sync Async Sync** Async

Dell Unity Dell Unity ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Dell Unity Dell UnityVSA  ✓  ✓ 
Dell Unity VNXe3200*  ✓   ✓
Dell Unity VNX1/VNX2     ✓
Dell Unity VNXe1600  ✓   
Dell UnityVSA Dell UnityVSA  ✓  ✓ 
Dell UnityVSA Dell Unity  ✓  ✓ 
Dell UnityVSA VNXe3200*  ✓   
Dell UnityVSA VNX1/VNX2     
Dell UnityVSA VNXe1600  ✓   
VNX1/VNX2 Dell Unity     ✓

*Min VNXe3200 OE v3.1.5.6801782

**Min Dell Unity OE version 4.4

Footnote:

✓– Supported

– Not Supported

Dell Unity: Replication Technologies | H15088.8