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PowerStore supports two types of back-end connectivity for the data transfer from the source system to PowerStore.
PowerStore uses the replication tagged ports for the import traffic over iSCSI. One storage network can be leveraged for replication and import. Import requires the storage network to have both the ‘Replication’ and ‘Storage (iSCSI)’ purposes. The associated ports of the storage network must also have current usage matching the purposes. By looking at the Current Usages column, we can see which ports will be used for replication and import, as shown in the following figure.
In PowerStoreOS 4.0, an enhancement to storage networks allows users to create multiple storage networks with defined purposes. These purposes include Storage (iSCSI), Storage (NVMe/TCP), and Replication. This feature allows storage networks for host connectivity, and dedicated networks for replication. When configuring a network for replication, PowerProtect DD integration, and import, consult the Import, Protecting Your Data, and Best Practices guides for specific guidance.
With PowerStoreOS 3.0 and higher, every Fibre Channel (FC) port now has SCSI Mode (See Figure 2) and Import Capable (See Figure 3) attributes.
• SCSI Modes:
– Dual: A port in dual mode can be used as both initiator (for front-end traffic) and target (for import traffic). See Figure 2 for an example.
– Target: A port as target can be used for front-end traffic only.
• Import capable:
– Yes: This port can be used to import data. A PowerStore system has two ports per node, for a total of four ports that can be used for importing data over FC, as shown in the following figure.
– No: This port does not support import data
• The dual mode is only supported on the Fibre Channel (FC) IO Module 0 Port 0 and Port 1. The FC IO Module must reside in Slot 0.
– These ports can have both front-end and back-end (import) traffic.
– There is no support for direct connect.
– If you plan to use FC as the back-end connectivity for the import, ensure that the zoning between the source storage system and these two ports, IO Module 0 Port 0 and Port 1, is established before starting the import.