RecoverPoint SolVe Generator

Version: 6.1.0.29 Generated on September 24 2024 08:22 AM

Topic
Replacement Procedure

Selections
Select the component to replace: RPA Gen 6(Components and Chassis)
Select Software Version: 4.1 SP3 and 4.4.1.x
Select the Procedure: FAQ

If you find any errors in this procedure or have comments regarding this application, send
email to [email protected]

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 Contents
Preliminary Activity Tasks .......................................................................................................3
Read, understand, and perform these tasks.................................................................................................3

Frequently Asked Questions: Gen6 ........................................................................................4

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Preliminary Activity Tasks
This section may contain tasks that you must complete before performing this procedure.

Read, understand, and perform these tasks

1. Table 1 lists tasks, cautions, warnings, notes, and/or knowledgebase (KB) solutions that you need to
be aware of before performing this activity. Read, understand, and when necessary perform any
tasks contained in this table and any tasks contained in any associated knowledgebase solution.

Table 1 List of cautions, warnings, notes, and/or KB solutions related to this activity

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Frequently Asked Questions: Gen6
Question: What are the main differences between Gen6 and the previous Gen5?
Answer: Apart from having a better and stronger HW with more CPUs, memory and disk
space, Gen6 also allows flexible networking configuration by providing replaceable
I/O modules (SLICs) including 4 port 16 Gb FC module and 4 port 10 GbE module.
This enables customers to purchase the HW that best fits their networking
environment. Gen6 modularity also enables enhanced serviceability by providing
more FRUs and CRUs.

Question: Is it possible to buy Gen6 without FC I/O module?

Answer: EMC No. The possible SLICs configurations are as follows:

Option SLIC Slot 0 SLIC Slot 1

1 VortexQ Empty

2 VortexQ RockSlide

3 VortexQ LandSlide

• VortexQ - 4 port 16Gb FC module populated with 4 16Gb FC SFPs

• LandSlide - 4 port 10GbE SFP+ module populated with 4 10GbE SFPs
• RockSlide - 4 port 10GbE BaseT module.
All supported options include the FC module. In the base configuration SLIC slot 1
is empty and customers can decide if they want to have 10GbE support or not.

Question: Do I have to decide on the networking configuration when I purchase the HW or

can I upgrade afterwards?
Answer: Customers can purchase the 10GbE I/O module on day 1 or they can buy the
basic configuration and upgrade at a later phase. In the first case, the 10GbE card
will be installed in the factory before the RPA is shipped to the customer.

Question: If I buy the 10GbE SLIC, can I still use the 1GbE ports?
Answer: Yes The Gen6 has 4 on-board 1GbE ports and RecoverPoint will automatically
discover which ports are connected upon reboot. Of course in most cases 10GbE
connectivity will provide better performance but if you want to you can still use the
on-board 1GbE ports. Both the 10GbE ports and the 1GbE can be used for both
LAN or WAN and it is also possible to have a mixed configuration (e.g. use 1GbE
for LAN and 10GbE for WAN or vice versa).

Question: What happens in case of simultaneous 1GbE and 10GbE LAN/WAN connectivity?
Answer: In case WAN or LAN are connected both to 1GbE and 10GbE ports the 10GbE
port will be used

Question: How can I know the speed of each interface (LAN/WAN)?

Answer: The speed of each interface will be displayed in RP GUI and CLI

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Question: Can I use Gen6 together with Gen5 or Gen4 in the same cluster/system?
Answer: Yes. Mixed environments are supported. The recommendation is to use the new
Gen6 model for RPA1 & RPA2. In case of remote replication it is also preferable
that RPAs replicating to each other will be of the same HW generation.

Question: Can I buy Gen6 without having to upgrade to 4.4.x release?

Yes. Release 4.1.3 that is planned for June 2016 will also support Gen6.

Question: Can I still buy Gen5 HW?

Answer: It is highly recommended to purchase the new Gen6 HW. If, for any reason you
must buy Gen5 (e.g. if you have an old version that does not support Gen6 and
you cannot upgrade) you can still buy Gen5 HW until end of September. After this
date Gen5 will be EOL and will be used only for repair.

Question: What field and customer replacements are available with Gen6?
Answer: The following field replacements (FRUs) are available with Gen6:
• Chassis (including all parts except SLICs)
• Power supplies
• Fans
• Disks
• Memory DIMMs
• SLICs Ethernet/FC cards.
• SFPs (FC and Ethernet)
The following customer replacements (CRUs) will be available:
• Power supplies
• Disks

Question: How can I detect faulty parts in Gen6 HW?

Answer: Faulty parts can be identified via the LEDs system of Gen6 or through the
events/warnings issued by RecoverPoint. Please refer to RecoverPoint Gen6 HW
guide for more details.

Question: For parts that are customer replaceable (CRUs) can I still call customer support to
perform the replacement?
Answer: Yes. CRUs are optional and customers may still call Customer Support to perform
the replacement

Question: What is the timeline for ordering CRUs and upgrade options?
Answer: Upgrade to 10GbE will be available to manual ordering on May 9th 2016 and will
be available in the systems by July.
Customer replacement options will be available through a service request on GA
time and will be available in the system by May 9th 2016.

Question: Gen5 was usually installed by booting up from DVD. In Gen6, however, there is no
DVD drive so how can I boot up?

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Answer: Gen6 boot up should be performed through USB drive or external DVD. Please
refer to RecoverPoint Gen6 HW guide for more details on this.

Question: Which documents can I use to get information about the new Gen6 HW and when
will the documents be available?
Answer: The most important documents related to Gen6 are:
• RecoverPoint Gen6 Hardware Guide - Available at 4/25 on EMC Online Support
• RecoverPoint Gen6 Hardware Field Services Guide - Available at 4/25 on SolVe
Desktop
• RecoverPoint 4.4.1 Performance Guide - Available at 4/25 on EMC Online Support
• RecoverPoint Ordering & Licensing Guide - Available at 4/11 on EMC Online
Support

Question: Do I need to perform WWN spoofing after replacing the FC SLICs or the Chassis?
Answer: When replacing the FC card there is no need to perform WWN spoofing. WWN
spoofing might still be needed in cases of Chassis replacements and when
replacing an RPA. Spoofing is also possible from Gen4 /Gen5 to Gen6.

Question: Is physical KVM supported with Gen6?

Answer: No. Due to the lack of VGA port, physical KVM is not supported. Customers can
still use KVM over IP using the dedicated BMC port.

Question: Are the dimensions of Gen6 the same as Gen5?

Answer: The dimensions of Gen6 are different than Gen5. Specifically the chassis length is
bigger. Please refer to RecoverPoint Gne6 HW guide for the exact dimensions.

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