Before SRDF can be managed by SRM a few steps must first be completed. The following list can be a guide to what needs to be performed prior to use. For further details on each step refer to the referenced page in this book.
- Download VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager software and release notes from VMware.
- Download the appropriate SRDF SRA (from VMware or Dell) and Solutions Enabler (from Dell) software and release notes.
- Install VMware SRM at both sites and pair them with each other.
- Configure two Solutions Enabler servers. One for the “protected” site and one for the “recovery” site. If using a 3-site solution, the recovery site will be the third array. Enable the storsrvd (server) daemon and storrdfd (RDF) daemon on both.
See section Configuring a Solutions Enabler server
Note: While it is possible to use the embedded Solutions Enabler server on each array for the array managers, it is not recommended. The embedded implementation cannot be scaled like an external deployment and has limited user access. In addition, since the Solutions Enabler version is tied directly to the array code, SRDF SRA upgrades are dependent on array code upgrades.
- Install the SRDF SRA on both SRM servers.
See section Installing the SRDF SRA
- Configure VMware SRM array managers on both SRM servers. The protected SRM server’s array manager should point to the protected site Solutions Enabler server as the local server and the recovery site Solutions Enabler server as the remote. The remote SRM server should be configured in the exact opposite way. Note duplicate SE array pairs cannot be configured in SRM (e.g., for HA); however, backup SE servers with the same IP and hostname could be configured in the event of a failure and simply remain powered off until needed.
See section Array Manager configuration
- If using a 3-site solution where the third site is the recovery site, change the parameter FailoverToAsyncSite to Yes in the EmcSrdfSraGlobalOptions.xml file at both the protected and recovery sites. Device discovery cannot succeed without this change.
- Enable array pairs.
See section Array Manager configuration
- Discover devices and create device/composite (consistency) groups. Group creation is mandatory in order to use testfailover functionality.
See section Device discovery
- Create Protection Groups and Recovery Plans.
See section Configuring VMware SRM protection groups
See section Configuring VMware SRM recovery plans
- Configure SRDF SRA global options.
See section Configuring SRDF SRA behavior
- OPTIONAL: Update test failover XML file EmcSrdfSraTestFailoverConfig.xml.
See section Configuring SRDF SRA behavior
- OPTIONAL: Update test masking XML file EmcSrdfSraDeviceMaskingControl.xml if using the feature.
See section Configuring SRDF SRA behavior