Hitachi NAS Platform

Replication and Disaster Recovery

Administration Guide
Release 12.1

MK-92HNAS009-03
 © 2011-2014 Hitachi, Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
Hitachi Data Systems products and services can be ordered only under the terms and
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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 Contents

Preface................................................................................................. 6
Document Revision Level .........................................................................................6
Contacting Hitachi Data Systems...............................................................................6
Related Documentation............................................................................................ 6

1 Hitachi NAS File & Object Replicator data replication.............................. 10

File replication and object replication....................................................................... 11
Policy-based replication.......................................................................................... 12
Replication schedules........................................................................................ 13
Incremental replication........................................................................................... 13
Incremental data (file-level) replication.............................................................. 14
Incremental block-level replication..................................................................... 14
Multiple stream replication...................................................................................... 15
Relocating file systems........................................................................................... 16
Supported replication applications........................................................................... 17
TrueCopy and ShadowImage considerations....................................................... 17
Replication and disaster recovery............................................................................ 18
Replication process for planned promotions........................................................ 20
Recovering a file system....................................................................................20
Recovering and promoting a file system........................................................22
Recovering and demoting a file system......................................................... 24
Recovering multiple file systems........................................................................ 28

2 Using file replication.............................................................................32

Configuring policy-based file replication................................................................... 33
Connection errors............................................................................................. 36
Understanding snapshot rules................................................................................. 37
Understanding custom replication scripts................................................................. 39
Using file replication rules....................................................................................... 39
Displaying file replication rules...........................................................................40
Adding a file replication rule.............................................................................. 40

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 Modifying a file replication rule.......................................................................... 47
Understanding files-to-exclude statements............................................................... 47
Using file replication schedules................................................................................47
Displaying scheduled file replications..................................................................48
Adding a file replication schedule....................................................................... 49
Modifying a file replication policy........................................................................51
Understanding incremental replications....................................................................53
Displaying file replication status and reports.............................................................54
Enabling multiple replication streams.......................................................................56
Configuring NDMP performance options...................................................................56
Troubleshooting replication failures..........................................................................59
Manually restarting a failed replication............................................................... 59
Rolling back an incomplete replication................................................................ 59

3 Using object replication........................................................................ 62

Configuring object-based replication........................................................................ 63
Using object replication policies...............................................................................63
Adding object replication policies....................................................................... 64
Correcting access point problems in an object replication policy........................... 68
Using object replication schedules........................................................................... 69
Adding an object replication schedule.................................................................69
Modifying an object replication schedule.............................................................71
Displaying object replication policies ....................................................................... 72
Displaying object replication status and reports........................................................ 74

4 Transferring primary access.................................................................. 76

How a transfer of primary access moves CNS links................................................... 77
Process of transferring primary access..................................................................... 78
Handling a failure during a transfer of primary access......................................... 81

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 Preface
In PDF format, this guide provides information about replicating data using
file-based replication and object-based replication, provides information on
setting up replication policies and schedules, and using replication features
for disaster recovery purposes.

Document Revision Level

Revision Date Description

MK-92HNAS009-00 August 2012 First publication

MK-92HNAS009-01 June 2013 Revision 1, replaces and supersedes

MK-92HNAS009-00.

MK-92HNAS009-02 April 2014 Revision 2, replaces and supersedes

MK-92HNAS009-01.

MK-92HNAS009-03 September 2014 Revision 3, replaces and supersedes

MK-92HNAS009-02.

Contacting Hitachi Data Systems

2845 Lafayette Street
Santa Clara, California 95050-2627
U.S.A.
https://portal.hds.com
North America: 1-800-446-0744

Related Documentation
Release Notes provide the most up-to-date information about the system,
including new feature summaries, upgrade instructions, and fixed and known
defects.

Administration Guides
• System Access Guide (MK-92HNAS014)—In PDF format, this guide
explains how to log in to the system, provides information about accessing
the NAS server/cluster CLI and the SMU CLI, and provides information
about the documentation, help, and search capabilities available in the
system.

6 Preface
Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
• Server and Cluster Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS010)—In PDF format,
this guide provides information about administering servers, clusters, and
server farms. Includes information about licensing, name spaces,
upgrading firmware, monitoring servers and clusters, the backing up and
restoring configurations.
• Storage System User Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS013)—In PDF
format, this guide explains user management, including the different types
of system administrator, their roles, and how to create and manage these
users.
• Network Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS008)—In PDF format, this
guide provides information about the server's network usage, and explains
how to configure network interfaces, IP addressing, name and directory
services.
• File Services Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS006)—In PDF format, this
guide explains about file system formats, and provides information about
creating and managing file systems, and enabling and configuring file
services (file service protocols).
• Data Migrator Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS005)—In PDF format, this
guide provides information about the Data Migrator feature, including how
to set up migration policies and schedules.
• Snapshot Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS011)—In PDF format, this
guide provides information about configuring the server to take and
manage snapshots.
• Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS009)
—In PDF format, this guide provides information about replicating data
using file-based replication and object-based replication, provides
information on setting up replication policies and schedules, and using
replication features for disaster recovery purposes.
• Antivirus Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS004)—In PDF format, this
guide describes the supported antivirus engines, provides information
about how to enable them, and how to configure the system to use them.
• Backup Administration Guide (MK-92HNAS007)—In PDF format, this guide
provides information about configuring the server to work with NDMP, and
making and managing NDMP backups. Also includes information about
Hitachi NAS Synchronous Image Backup.
• Command Line Reference—Opens in a browser, and describes the
commands used to administer the system.

Note: For a complete list of Hitachi NAS open source software copyrights and
licenses, see the System Access Guide.

Hardware References
• Hitachi NAS Platform 3080 and 3090 G1 Hardware Reference
(MK-92HNAS016)—Provides an overview of the second-generation server
hardware, describes how to resolve any problems, and replace potentially
faulty parts.

Preface 7
Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 • Hitachi NAS Platform 3080 and 3090 G2 Hardware Reference
(MK-92HNAS017)—Provides an overview of the first-generation server
hardware, describes how to resolve any problems, and replace potentially
faulty parts.
• Hitachi NAS Platform Series 4000 Hardware Reference (MK-92HNAS030)—
Provides an overview of the Hitachi NAS Platform Series 4000 server
hardware, describes how to resolve any problems, and how to replace
potentially faulty components.
• Hitachi High-performance NAS Platform (MK-99BA012-13)—Provides an
overview of the NAS Platform 3100/NAS Platform 3200 server hardware,
and describes how to resolve any problems, and replace potentially faulty
parts.

Best Practices
• Hitachi USP-V/VSP Best Practice Guide for HNAS Solutions
(MK-92HNAS025)—The HNAS practices outlined in this document describe
how to configure the HNAS system to achieve the best results.
• Hitachi Unified Storage VM Best Practices Guide for HNAS Solutions
(MK-92HNAS026)—The HNAS system is capable of heavily driving a
storage array and disks. The HNAS practices outlined in this document
describe how to configure the HNAS system to achieve the best results.
• Hitachi NAS Platform Best Practices Guide for NFS with VMware vSphere
(MK-92HNAS028)—This document covers VMware best practices specific to
HDS HNAS storage.
• Hitachi NAS Platform Deduplication Best Practice (MK-92HNAS031) —This
document provides best practices and guidelines for using HNAS
Deduplication.
• Hitachi NAS Platform Best Practices for Tiered File Systems
(MK-92HNAS038) —This document describes the Hitachi NAS Platform
feature that automatically and intelligently separates data and metadata
onto different Tiers of storage called Tiered File Systems (TFS).
• Hitachi NAS Platform Data Migrator to Cloud Best Practices Guide
(MK-92HNAS045)—Data Migrator to Cloud allows files hosted on the HNAS
server to be transparently migrated to cloud storage, providing the
benefits associated with both local and cloud storage.
• Brocade VDX 6730 Switch Configuration for use in an HNAS Cluster
Configuration Guide (MK-92HNAS046)—This document describes how to
configure a Brocade VDX 6730 switch for use as an ISL (inter-switch link)
or an ICC (inter-cluster communication) switch.
• Best Practices for Hitachi NAS Universal Migrator (MK-92HNAS047)—The
Hitachi NAS Universal Migrator (UM) feature provides customers with a
convenient and minimally disruptive method to migrate from their existing
NAS system to the Hitachi NAS Platform. The practices and
recommendations outlined in this document describe how to best use this
feature.

8 Preface
Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
• Hitachi NAS Platform Storage Pool and HDP Best Practices
(MK-92HNAS048)—This document details the best practices for configuring
and using HNAS storage pools, related features, and Hitachi Dynamic
Provisioning (HDP).

Preface 9
Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 1
Hitachi NAS File & Object Replicator
data replication
Hitachi NAS File & Object Replicator data replication allows you to copy or
relocate both file data and file system metadata. Storage servers provide
manual and automatic mechanisms for data replication, supporting the
replication of data and, when using the transfer of primary access feature,
also supporting the replication of file system settings. When using replication
with the transfer of primary access feature, you can relocate file system data
and CNS links, CIFS shares, permissions and all other file-level metadata.
Administrators can use Web Manager to configure policy-based replication
jobs independently from other backup strategies.

Replication is a licensed feature, and the Replication license must be installed

before replications can be performed. Refer to the Storage Subsystem
Administration Guide for more information about licenses.

□ File replication and object replication

□ Policy-based replication

□ Incremental replication

□ Multiple stream replication

□ Relocating file systems

□ Supported replication applications

□ Replication and disaster recovery

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File replication and object replication
There are two basic methods used to replicate file system contents (data and
metadata): file-level replication and object-level replication.
• File-level replication operates by copying file system structures, such as
files, directories, and the metadata for those structures.
In file-based replication operations, to determine which files or directories
to replicate, the metadata for the files and directories must be retrieved
(often from disk) and examined, a process that is resource intensive. After
the replication, the file-level replication can operate on file systems
formatted using WFS-1 or WFS-2.
• Object-level replication operates by copying the objects that make up the
files, directories, and metadata for the files and directories in the file
system. Files and directories are made up of objects, such as files,
directories, security descriptors, snapshot lists, root directory, and many
others. Object replication replicates these objects natively, regardless of
which file or directory that they may belong to, negating the need to
assemble all of the objects associated with a file or directory before
transfer, making the overall transfer more efficient.

Note: Object replication operates only on file systems, not on individual

directories or files.

Object-based replication operations are based on snapshots. The first time a

replication is performed, a snapshot is taken (the initial snapshot), and the
first replication operation replicates all objects on the source to the target. All
following (incremental) replications take a snapshot of the changes to the file
system and replicate only the objects that have changed.

Detecting and copying objects from a source to a target requires fewer

system resources than detecting files and directories (which include directory
structures and metadata). Object-level replications detect and replicate only
those objects that have changed on the source file system, thereby using
minimal system resources. Object replication is the fastest method for
performing replications using the Hitachi NAS Platform storage system.

In an object replication, a snapshot of a file system is replicated to another

server, typically remote, to provide backup and recovery of the source data.
The replicated files are immediately available for use in a disaster recovery
situation. Additionally, the roles of the source and target servers can be
reversed, allowing the target server to quickly take over the responsibilities
of the source server.

Object-level replication can operate only on file systems formatted using

WFS-2.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 Object-level replication has the following benefits:
• Higher performance than file-based replication. The greatest performance
improvements are seen with incremental replication, especially dense file
systems (many small files) or those file systems with a high rate of
change. Larger file systems will achieve even greater improvements in
incremental replication performance than smaller file systems.
• Object replication enables the ability to quickly failover in the event of a
disaster.
• Object replication maintains the replication status on both the source and
target file systems. If the replication relationship is broken, such as during
a system shut-down or move, when the relationship is re-established,
incremental replication can continue, rather than requiring a full re-sync of
the file system.

Object-level replication has the following limitations:

• Object replication is only available for use with WFS-2 file systems. WFS-1
formatted file systems can not be configured for object replication.
• Object replication works at the file system level only; entire file systems
may be replicated using object replication, but individual files or directories
cannot.
• During disaster recovery failover, target file systems are not accessible
until promoted to primary. As the file system is being replicated as its
constituent objects, the file system is in an inconsistent state until all
objects have been replicated.
• CNS tree structures are not replicated; they must be manually replicated
on the target file system if CNS is used with object replication.

Both replication methods can be used with policies and schedules to

automate data replication based on criteria you specify, and both replication
methods can be initiated and managed manually, through Web Manager or
the CLI.

A Replication license is required to use either file replication or object

replication, and a single Replication license enables both features.

Policy-based replication
Policies can be used for both file replications and object replications. Policy-
based replication comprises:
• Replication Policy: A replication policy identifies the data source, the
replication target, and optionally a replication rule. Pre-replication and
post-replication scripts can also be set up in the Policy page.
• Replication Rules: Optional configuration parameters that allow tuning of
replications to enable and disable specific functions or to optimize
performance.
• Replication Schedule: Defines all aspects of automated timing.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
Replication schedules
After a replication policy has been defined, it must be scheduled to run.
Replications can be scheduled and rescheduled at any time and with any of
the available scheduling options.

Replication schedules overview:

• Periodic replication: Replications occur at preset times. Periodic
replications can be set up to run daily, weekly, monthly or at intervals
specified in numbers of hours or days.
• Continuous replication: When a replication policy specifies continuous
replication, as soon as the replication job completes, the same replication
job starts again.
• One time replication: A new replication job starts after the previous job
has ended. The new replication job can start immediately or after a
specified number of hours.

When planning replication schedules, Hitachi Data Systems Support Center

recommends scheduling during off-peak times such as nights or weekends.
After a replication has started, additional replications for the same policy
cannot start until the current replication has completed; however, multiple
concurrent replications are allowed for replications by different policies.

Note: When the replication operation begins, the destination file system
should be placed into syslock mode. If the destination file system is not in
syslock mode during a replication operation, clients may write to the file
system, creating inconsistencies between the source and target of the
replication. When scheduling replications, you should consider this limitation.

Incremental replication
Storage servers can also perform incremental data replication, which works
as follows:
• Upon establishing a replication policy, the SMU performs an initial copy of
the source file system (or directory) to a destination / replication target
file system.
• Once a successful initial copy has occurred, the system performs
incremental copies (replications) at scheduled intervals. During an
incremental data replication, the system copies to the target, in full, those
files that have been changed since the last scheduled replication.
• To replicate large files more efficiently, the server also supports
incremental block level replication. With incremental block-level
replication, only the changes in files are replicated and not the whole file,
thus reducing the amount of data replicated and the overall replication
time. Note that, in order to use block-level replication, a Replication license
is required.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 A replication policy defines the properties of a replication, including a
replication rule (source and target), and a replication schedule. Replication
rules can be expanded to include optional settings. Pre-replication and post-
replication scripts can also be configured.

Incremental data (file-level) replication

The server supports incremental data replication, performed under control of
the System Management Unit (SMU). Incremental replication means that,
after the initial copy, only changes in the source volume or directory are
actually replicated on the target. Snapshots ensure the consistency of the
replication.

Note: If the snapshot that was copied by the last successful replication copy
is deleted, an incremental copy cannot be performed, so the full data set is
replicated.

Incremental data replication uses the same data management engine as

NDMP to copy:
• The contents of an entire file system,
• A virtual volume, or
• An individual directory tree to a replication target.

Upon configuration of a replication policy and schedule, the incremental data

replication process takes place automatically at the specified interval. The
replicated data can be left in place (and used as a standby data repository).
In addition, the replicated file system or directory can be backed up through
NDMP to a tape library system for long-term storage (which can also be
automated).

Incremental data replication supports the following targets for replication:

• A file system or directory within the same server.
Tiered storage technology ensures that replications taking place within a
server are performed efficiently, without tying up network resources.
• A file system, virtual volume, or directory on another server.
• A file system, virtual volume, or directory on another Server model.

Although the SMU schedules and starts all replications, replicated data flows
directly from source to target without passing through the SMU.

Incremental block-level replication

By default, incremental data replication copies files that have changed since
the last replication. With the Block-Level Replication feature enabled, only
data blocks in large files that have been written since the last replication are
copied. Depending on the use of files within the source volume, this could
substantially reduce the amount of data copied.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 Note: Block-level replication copies the entire file if the file has multiple hard
links.

Note: The Block-Level Replication feature is automatically enabled if the

Replication license is present.

Multiple stream replication

Multiple replication streams are created by adding TCP connections between
the source and target systems of a replication or ADC copy operation. Each
additional connection is used for an additional data stream by the replication
application.

Multi-stream replication helps to alleviate some latency problems found with

single-stream replication by running multiple independent streams in parallel.
When latency from sequentially executed functions limits performance,
multiple independent streams can produce a significant performance
improvement.

Multi-stream replication should also alleviate performance problems caused

by high speed WAN connections with high latencies. Connections with high
latencies limit the throughput of a single TCP connection, because no data is
sent during the time spent waiting for acknowledgments. These pauses in the
sending of data result in an under-utilization of high speed WAN links. By
using multiple TCP connections (one per stream), multi-stream replication
addresses the problem of under utilization of the high speed WAN
connections.

Multi-stream replication is only supported if both the source and destination

systems are using software release 6.1 or later.

For policy-based replication operations, multi-stream replication is controlled

using the replication Add Rule or Modify Rule pages of Web Manager.

For ADC copies, multi-stream support is enabled by setting the number of

additional connections requested as the value of the environment variable
NDMP_BLUEARC_MULTI_CONNECTION (refer to the Backup Administration Guide
for more information).

Note the following:

• When using software release 6.1 or later, and using multi-stream
replication or embedded inline hard linked files, if a replication fails part
way through, it will not be possible to restart replication if the server is
downgraded to an earlier release. Refer to the Backup Administration
Guide for more information about NDMP support for embedded hard links.
• Multi-stream replication features are not enabled using the ndmp-option
CLI command; instead, the invoking NDMP command must request
multiple streams.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 For policy based replications the multi-stream feature is configured using
replication rules.
For individual ADC copies, multiple streams are specified by adding the
NDMP_BLUEARC_MULTI_CONNECTION environment variable to the ADC script
(refer to the Backup Administration Guide for more information).
• NDMP has two ways of copying data from files with hard links. The
NDMP_BLUEARC_EMBEDDED_HARDLINKS environment variable controls this
behavior (refer to the Backup Administration Guide) for more information
on this variable.

Note: When multiple connections/streams are used, the data from files with
hard links is embedded within the hierarchical path data, regardless of the
setting of the NDMP_BLUEARC_EMBEDDED_HARDLINKS variable.

Relocating file systems

Storage servers support relocation of file systems, or parts of file systems,
including both file system data and file system metadata from one server to
another. Metadata refers, for example, to CNS links, CIFS shares, NFS mount
points, FTP users, Snapshot rules, backup files, and other file system-level
settings.

Note: Unlike other file system metadata, iSCSI configuration settings remain
with the original EVS, as an iSCSI target may contain Logical Units (LUs)
from multiple file systems. In this instance, the Relocation page displays a
message, reminding the Administrator to properly configure iSCSI Domains,
Targets, iSNS, and Initiator Authentications on the new EVS.

Allowable destinations for a relocation may be:

• Another EVS on the same cluster node,
• Another node in the cluster, or
• An EVS on another server or cluster.

The following list includes some examples of file system relocations:

• Moving data to a new storage system.
• Dividing a single large file system into several smaller file systems within a
storage pool.
• Load balancing, by moving data from one file system to another, or by
moving a file system from one EVS to another.
• Moving an EVS (and all its file systems) to another server to gain access to
other storage devices or to change the structure of the data.

From a high level, relocating file systems requires two steps:

1. Replicate online data while the system is live and in normal use. This
may require several incremental replications, to synchronize the data on

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 the source and the target as much as possible. Synchronizing the data
shortens the amount of time required for the next step.
2. Perform a final replication with source data (file system) in Syslocked
mode. When in Syslocked mode, the data is write-protected, so the data
can be accessed and read, but data cannot be changed or added. At the
end of this stage, the target is brought online in place of the source. For
more information on Syslock mode, refer to the File Services
Administration Guide.

Supported replication applications

In addition to the built-in replication tools, Hitachi NAS Platforms and High-
performance NAS Platforms support Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) replication
applications (when used with HDS storage subsystems).
• TrueCopy Synchronous provides synchronous data replication for
disaster recovery or data migration. TrueCopy Synchronous software is a
continuous, nondisruptive, host independent remote data replication
solution for use between HDS storage subsystems within a data center or
within the same metropolitan area.
• ShadowImage provides a nondisruptive, host-independent data
replication solution for copying data within a single HDS storage
subsystem. The original data, and each copy of the data, remain RAID-
protected by the storage subsystem to ensure the availability of the data.

TrueCopy and ShadowImage considerations

When using TrueCopy and ShadowImage, keep the following in mind:
• TrueCopy and ShadowImage functionality are managed using the HDS
software interfaces, because the replication occurs between or within the
HDS storage subsystems. Contact your HDS technical representative for
assistance configuring these HDS features. For more information about
these applications, contact Hitachi Data Systems Support Center or your
HDS technical representative.
• Storage servers rely on SCSI commands to determine that a system drive
is simplex, primary mirror, secondary mirror, TrueCopy, or ShadowImage.
The information is obtained using a proprietary extension that Hitachi Data
Systems has added to the standard SCSI inquiry.
• Hitachi Data Systems storage subsystems support the following volume
states:
Unmirrored (simplex)
Mirrored primary (p-vol)
Mirrored primary (p-vol)
Unknown
• Neither the storage server nor the TrueCopy application can automatically
cause failover to secondary storage. An external agent (a person or
application) must make the decision on the failover and execute the

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 required commands. Once the storage failover is initiated, the storage
server automatically starts accessing the new primary storage.
An external utility controls TrueCopy can be used to issue commands to
the storage server. This functionality must be provided by an external
utility that checks the health of the system and makes appropriate
decisions. This same utility can be used to initiate an EVS migration in
conjunction with the storage failover.
Switching mirror roles involves a brief changeover period when the system
drives do not have a normal primary/secondary relationship. During that
period, I/O is impossible. Therefore, the storage server unmounts the file
systems on the storage pool. Changing mirror roles always involves
unmounting and remounting file systems, and, if possible, users should
unmount the file systems before the change and remount after the
changeover is complete.
Note that, in the case of automated storage failover, steps must be taken
to ensure that the original primary volume does not come back online after
a failover, because the storage server would then see two different primary
volumes for the same data.
• Hitachi Data Systems requires the usage of ShadowImage for synchronous
TrueCopy configurations to help recover in the case of data corruption in
the file system. With this configuration, the storage server does not have
to be configured to see the ShadowImage volume (in other words, the
ShadowImage volumes should remain unlicensed). For recovery, data can
be copied back to the TrueCopy primary mirror, leaving the ShadowImage
copy intact until it is determined that the file system is back up and
running.
• Hitachi NAS Platforms and High-performance NAS Platforms support only
the “Never” mirror fence level of TrueCopy.
• Data Migrator can be used with TrueCopy, as the FS IDs in the mirrored file
systems are identical.
• Whenever a storage server (or cluster) shares an HDS storage subsystem
with another storage server (or another cluster), the system configuration
must use HDS host groups to prevent the storage servers from seeing
system drives that they are not intended to use. Host groups are a LUN-
mapping mechanism that controls which servers see the different system
drives and LUNs. This type of configuration prevents potential problems
caused by the storage server periodically sending commands to unlicensed
HDS storage systems to determine their status.

Replication and disaster recovery

Object-based replication provides replication of file systems, including the
replication of related access points, such as CIFS shares and NFS exports, as
well as tools to automate disaster recovery.

File system replication has several important concepts:

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• Primary file system: The "primary file system" is the file system that
network clients access. The primary file system is the "live" file system
and the source of the replication.
• Direction of replication: When the primary file system from site "A" is
replicated to another server at site "B," the direction of the replication
determines which file system is designated the "source" and the "target."
The primary file system from site "A" is always the replication source. The
target file system is the replica on the server at site "B" (which may
located at the same physical site as "A" or at a remote location). Note that
the target file system at site "B" may also be used as a replication source
to a third site (site "C").
• Swapping roles: Moving the network client access from the file system at
site "A" to the replicated file system at site "B." Roles are swapped when
the replication either stops (for example, if site "A" goes offline for some
reason) or the direction of the replication is intentionally reversed (a
planned role swap).
• During the role swap, the file system at site "B" is promoted to primary,
and the file system at site "A" is demoted. (If site "A" is accessible, the file
system at site "A" typically becomes the target file system.)
• As a part of the role swap, access point (CIFS share or NFS export)
settings are deleted from the server at site "A" and, along with other
configuration settings, are applied to the server at site "B" so that network
clients now access the primary file system, which is now physically located
at site "B." Clients accessing the file system now communicate with the
server at site "B" and read from and write to the file system at that site,
which has become the primary file system.
• Note that a single server can host many file systems, and could be
providing "primary" access to several file systems while other file systems
hosted by the same server could be target file systems. Primary access for
any file system can be moved independently of any other file system on
the same server.

File system replication is most often used in the following situations:

• A planned promotion of the file system at site "B" to primary. In this case,
it is possible to ensure that the file systems at sites "A" and "B" are exact
replicas (though this would require a period of read-only access at site
"A"). If both sites are functional, it may be possible for the server at site
"B" to access the server at site "A" to retrieve information such as
configuration settings.
In the case of a planned promotion, the administrator puts the primary file
system into syslocked-mode, then schedules an incremental replication to
the target to ensure both file systems are synchronized. Once the
replication is complete, the promotion can proceed, and after the transfer
of primary access, the clients access the newly promoted primary file
system.
• An unplanned promotion of the file system at site "B" to primary (also
known as "disaster recovery". If, for any reason, the primary file system at

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 site "A" becomes inaccessible, the file system at site "B" is promoted
(becomes primary). In this case it is unlikely that the file system at site
"B" will be an exact copy of the file system at A at the time of the outage
(because the replication is asynchronous). Server B must already have
access to all the information necessary to function as the primary.

Replication process for planned promotions

In general, the process followed for planned promotions is:

Procedure

1. On the primary file system, create a replication policy to synchronize the

primary and target file systems.
2. Create and enable a replication schedule to perform the replication.
3. Synchronize the source and target file systems.
4. Syslock the primary (source) file system and perform the final
synchronization.
5. Swap roles, which promotes the target file system to become the
primary file system.
6. Verify that all access points have been created.
7. Redirect network clients to the new primary file system.
8. Verify that clients can access the newly promoted primary file system.
9. Demote the original source file system to become a replication target.
10. If the replication policy schedule was disabled, reactivate it (to maintain
the replication, which will now go in the opposite direction).
11. Verify that the replication runs successfully.
12. Allow user access to the new primary file system.

Recovering a file system

To recover a file system from a snapshot:

Procedure

1. Navigate to Data Protection > File System Versions to display the

File System Versions page.

The following table describes the fields in this page:

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 Field/Item Description

File System Details This section displays the name of the EVS hosting the file system, and
the currently selected file system that can be recovered from the
snapshots listed in the Versions section.

EVS/File System Displays the name of the currently selected EVS and file system. Click
change to select a different file system.

Status Displays the current mount status of the file system. The file system
status may be unmounted, mounted, or mounted as a replication
target.

Object Replication If the file system is a replication target, this section displays the status
Details of the most recent replication and information about the replication
source. If the currently selected file system is not a replication target,
or the replication information cannot be retrieved (if the source server
is not known to the SMU), the Source File System, Source Server, and
Source Server fields are not displayed.

Object Replication If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
Status displays a status indicator and a message about the most recent
replication. If the file system is not a replication target, the status
indicator is greyed out and the message "Not an object replication
target" is displayed.
The status indicator is green if a replication is currently running, or if
the most recent object replication completed successfully.

If a replication associated with this file system has not yet run, the
light is grayed out, and the message reads, "Not an object replication
target".

Source File System If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
displays the name of the source EVS and file system.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this field
is not displayed.

Source Server If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
displays the name of the server hosting the EVS/replication source file
system.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this field
is not displayed.

Source File System If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
Status displays the current mount status of the replication source file system.
The file system status may be unmounted or mounted.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this field
is not displayed.

Versions This section lists versions of this file system that are in available
snapshots, and identifies the snapshot copied to the replication target
and the replication source snapshot.

Time of Version The date and time the object replication policy last ran. "Time" refers
to when the snapshot was taken.

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 Field/Item Description

Version Identifies the specific snapshot copied to the replication target.

Replicated From Identifies the replication's source snapshot.

Snapshot

Recover File Opens the File System Versions page, on which you choose the type
System To Version of file system recovery you want.

Recover Multiple Opens the Recover File Systems page, on which you choose options
File Systems To for recovering multiple file systems.
Version

File System Opens the file system Recovery Progress page.

Recovery Progress

Object Replication Opens the main object replication page.

Policies &
Schedules

2. Click Recover File System to Version.

3. Use this page to begin the recovery process and either:
• Promote the file system to a normal file system (and optionally, mount
it as read-write or read-only).
• Demote the file system to an object replication target (and mount it as
an object replication target).

In order to promote or demote a file system, roll back the file system to
the last successful replication snapshot. You must check the available
snapshots so that you can choose the most recent (in order to reduce the
amount of data lost by promoting the file system). Using your browser,
go back to the File System Versions page and note the time and
version of the snapshots, so you can choose the most recent successful
replication snapshot.

In a disaster recovery scenario, your primary system will probably be

unavailable, so you must access the file system version using the File
System Versions page of the backup system at the recovery site. Note
the time of the replication snapshot and the versions of the source and
destination. You will use the latest version when promoting the file
system to a normal file system.

Recovering and promoting a file system

Procedure

1. From the File System Versions page in which you select a recovery
method, click "Promote the file system to a normal file system
(and, optionally, mount as read-write or read-only)" to display the
Recovery File System page.

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2. In step 2, Recover file system(s) version created at, on the
Recover File System page, verify that the file system version, the
snapshot name, and the snapshot source are correct
3. In step 3, Promote the file system name and, select one of the
following mount options for the recovered file system:
• mount read write
• mount read only
• not mounted
4. In step 4, Recover access points, fill in the check boxes to specify
which types of file system access points to recover. Leave the check
boxes empty to specify not to recover CIFS shares or NFS exports for the
recovered file system.
• CIFS shares
• NFS exports
For NFS exports, there are two additional options to determine which
file system the NFS clients will access after the recovery process:
• Clients will continue to access source file system
Enable this option so that the exports that are recovered on the
target file system are named <export name>_<task id> to avoid
any conflicts with <export name> on the source. Both file systems
will have their own set of exports.
• Clients will access target file system without interruption
Enable this option so that exports are moved from the source file
system to the target without the need to remount NFS v2/3 clients.
The source file system will no longer have the recovered exports
assigned to it.
5. Click next to display the Recover File System Confirmation page.
6. Verify the file system recovery settings, and click OK to proceed with the
file system recovery, and display the File System Recovery Progress
page.
7. Monitor the file system recovery.

The following table describes the fields in this page:

Field/Item Description

EVS/File System Displays the name of the currently selected EVS and file system.
Click change to select a different file system.

Time Started Displays the date and time of the file system recovery operation.

File System Displays the name of the file system being recovered.

Recovered to The snapshot to which the file system was recovered.

Snapshot

Recovery Option Displays how the recovered file system will be mounted. One of the
following messages is displayed:

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 Field/Item Description

• Mounting file system in read write

• Mounting file system in read only
• File system not mounted

Status Displays the current status of the recovery operation.

details Displays the recovery progress in more detail.

delete Removes the selected progress report.

File System Versions Opens the File System Versions page.

For more information about the recovery, click details to display the
next File System Recovery Progress details page.

This page displays much more detailed information, and you can display
recovery details about:
• The overall recovery status
• Mount request status
• CIFS Shares recovered, failed, and skipped
• NFS Exports recovered, failed, and skipped

This page also allows you to display the file system recovery log.

Use your browser’s back button to return to the previous page, or click
abort to abort an active recovery operation, or click delete to delete this
report.

Result
After the file system has been recovered, and is "live," you may want to
create a replication policy and schedule to replicate the new primary file
system and use the old primary file system as the replication target.

Recovering and demoting a file system

Procedure

1. From the File System Versions page in which you select a recovery
method, click "Demote the file system to an Object Replication
Target (and mount as an Object Replication Target)" to display the
Demote File System To Object Replication Target page.
2. Specify recovery options.

Note: Syslock the file system as soon as the file system is recovered.
After you have selected all the options on this page, it will take a few
minutes for the server to roll back the file system and remove all the
access points. You can monitor the server's progress on the File System
Recovery Progress" page.

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 Field/Item Description

File System Details Displays the name of the EVS hosting the file system, and the
currently selected file system that can be recovered from the
snapshots listed in the Versions section.

EVS/File System Displays the name of the currently selected EVS and file system.

Status Displays the current mount status of the file system. The file system
status might be unmounted, mounted, or mounted as a replication
target.

Object Replication If the file system is a replication target, this section displays the
Details status of the most recent replication and information about the
replication source. If the currently selected file system is not a
replication target, or the replication information cannot be retrieved
(if the source server is not known to the SMU), the Source File
System, Source Server, and Source Server fields are not
displayed.

Object Replication If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
Status displays a status indicator and a message about the most recent
replication. If the file system is not a replication target, the status
indicator is greyed out and the message "Not an object replication
target" is displayed.
The status indicator is green if a replication is currently running, or if
the most recent object replication completed successfully.

If a replication associated with this file system has not yet run, the
light is grayed out, and the message reads, "Not an object
replication target".

Source File System If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
displays the name of the source EVS and file system.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this
field is not displayed.

Source Server If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
displays the name of the server hosting the EVS/replication source
file system.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this
field is not displayed.

Source File System If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
Status displays the current mount status of the replication source file
system. The file system status might be unmounted or mounted.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this
field is not displayed.

The following steps will This section lists the recovery steps, and allows you to specify
be taken recovery options.
1. Displays the file system to be recovered.
2. Displays the date and time the snapshot to be used to recover
the file system was taken. You can use the drop-down list to

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 Field/Item Description

select a different snapshot by the date and time the snapshot

was taken.
For the selected snapshot, the name of the corresponding
snapshot on the target file system and the name of the
snapshot on the source file system are also displayed.
3. Displays the recovery goal to confirm that the file system you
have chosen will be demoted to an object replication target.
4. Check boxes allow you to specify if you want the access points
(CIFS shares and NFS exports) of the demoted file system to
be removed. Fill the check boxes of the access points you want
to remove. Leave the check boxes empty to keep the access
points for the demoted file system.

Note: In general, when demoting a file system as a

part of disaster recovery, you should remove both
CIFS shares and NFS exports.

3. Click next to display the Demote File System to Object Replication

Target Confirmation page.
4. Verify the file system recovery settings and proceed with the file system
recovery.
• Click back to return to the Demote File System To Object
Replication Target page.
• Click OK to begin the recovery, and display the File System
Recovery Progress page.
• Click cancel to return to the File Versions page.
5. Monitor the file system recovery.

Field/Item Description

EVS/File System Displays the name of the currently selected EVS and file system.
Click change to select a different file system.

Time Started Displays the date and time of the file system recovery operation.

File System Displays the name of the file system being recovered.

Recovered to The snapshot to which the file system was recovered.

Snapshot

Recovery Option Displays how the recovered file system will be mounted. One of the
following messages is displayed:
• Mounting file system in read write
• Mounting file system in read only
• File system not mounted

Status Displays the current status of the recovery operation.

details Displays the recovery progress in more detail.

delete Removes the selected progress report.

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 Field/Item Description

File System Versions Opens the File System Versions page.

For more information about the recovery, click details to display the
next File System Recovery Progress page.

This page displays much more detailed information, and you can display
recovery details about:
• The overall recovery status
• Mount request status
• CIFS Shares deleted or that failed to delete
• NFS Exports deleted or that failed to delete

This page also allows you to display the file system recovery log.

Use your browser’s back button to return to the previous page, or click
abort to abort an active recovery operation, or click delete to delete this
report.
6. Put the recovered file system into Syslock as soon as the file system is
recovered.
When Syslock is enabled for a file system, NDMP has full access to the
file system and can write to it during a backup or replication, but the file
system remains in read-only mode to clients using the file service
protocols (NFS, CIFS, FTP, and iSCSI).

Refer to the File Services Administration Guide for information on how to

put the file system into Syslock mode.

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 Recovering multiple file systems

Note: Each of the file systems will be recovered to its most recent version,
and each recovered file system will be promoted to a normal file system.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File System Versions to

display the File System Versions page.

The following table describes the fields in this page:

Field/Item Description

File System Details This section displays the name of the EVS hosting the file system, and
the currently selected file system that can be recovered from the
snapshots listed in the Versions section.

EVS/File System Displays the name of the currently selected EVS and file system. Click
change to select a different file system.

Status Displays the current mount status of the file system. The file system
status may be unmounted, mounted, or mounted as a replication
target.

Object Replication If the file system is a replication target, this section displays the status
Details of the most recent replication and information about the replication
source. If the currently selected file system is not a replication target,
or the replication information cannot be retrieved (if the source server
is not known to the SMU), the Source File System, Source Server, and
Source Server fields are not displayed.

Object Replication If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
Status displays a status indicator and a message about the most recent
replication. If the file system is not a replication target, the status
indicator is greyed out and the message "Not an object replication
target" is displayed.
The status indicator is green if a replication is currently running, or if
the most recent object replication completed successfully.

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 Field/Item Description

If a replication associated with this file system has not yet run, the
light is grayed out, and the message reads, "Not an object replication
target".

Source File System If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
displays the name of the source EVS and file system.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this field
is not displayed.

Source Server If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
displays the name of the server hosting the EVS/replication source file
system.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this field
is not displayed.

Source File System If the currently selected file system is a replication target, this field
Status displays the current mount status of the replication source file system.
The file system status may be unmounted or mounted.
If the currently selected file system is not a replication target, this field
is not displayed.

Versions This section lists versions of this file system that are in available
snapshots, and identifies the snapshot copied to the replication target
and the replication source snapshot.

Time of Version The date and time the object replication policy last ran. "Time" refers
to when the snapshot was taken.

Version Identifies the specific snapshot copied to the replication target.

Replicated From Identifies the replication's source snapshot.

Snapshot

Recover File Opens the File System Versions page, on which you choose the type
System To Version of file system recovery you want.

Recover Multiple Opens the Recover File Systems page, on which you choose options
File Systems To for recovering multiple file systems.
Version

File System Opens the file system Recovery Progress page.

Recovery Progress

Object Replication Opens the main object replication page.

Policies &
Schedules

2. Click Recover Multiple File System to Version to display the File

System Versions page.
3. Select the file systems to recover from the Available File Systems list,
and click the right arrow to the add the file systems to the Selected File
Systems list.
4. Specify how the recovered file system is to be mounted.
• read write

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 • read only
• not mounted
5. In step 4, Recover access points, fill in the check boxes to specify
which types of file system access points to recover. Leave the check
boxes empty to specify not to recover CIFS shares or NFS exports for the
recovered file system.
• CIFS shares
• NFS exports
6. Click next to display the Recover File System Confirmation page.
7. Verify the file system recovery settings, and click OK to proceed with the
file system recovery, and display the File System Recovery Progress
page.
8. Monitor the file system recovery.

The following table describes the fields in this page:

Field/Item Description

EVS/File System Displays the name of the currently selected EVS and file system.
Click change to select a different file system.

Time Started Displays the date and time of the file system recovery operation.

File System Displays the name of the file system being recovered.

Recovered to The snapshot to which the file system was recovered.

Snapshot

Recovery Option Displays how the recovered file system will be mounted. One of the
following messages is displayed:
• Mounting file system in read write
• Mounting file system in read only
• File system not mounted

Status Displays the current status of the recovery operation.

details Displays the recovery progress in more detail.

delete Removes the selected progress report.

File System Versions Opens the File System Versions page.

For more information about the recovery, click details to display the
next File System Recovery Progress details page.

This page displays much more detailed information, and you can display
recovery details about:
• The overall recovery status
• Mount request status
• CIFS Shares recovered, failed, and skipped
• NFS Exports recovered, failed, and skipped

This page also allows you to display the file system recovery log.

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 Use your browser’s back button to return to the previous page, or click
abort to abort an active recovery operation, or click delete to delete this
report.

Result
After the file system has been recovered, and is "live," you may want to
create a replication policy and schedule to replicate the new primary file
system and use the old primary file system as the replication target.

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 2
Using file replication
File replication provides a mechanism, manual or automatic, for copying or
relocating both file data and file system metadata. Hitachi NAS Platforms
support replication of data and, when using the transfer of primary access
feature, of file system settings. When using replication with the transfer of
primary access feature, you can relocate file system data and CNS links, CIFS
shares, permissions and all other file-level metadata. Administrators can use
Web Manager to configure policy-based replication jobs independently from
other backup strategies.

This section provides a deeper conceptual understanding of the components

of data replication and instructions for configuring and implementing
replication.

□ Configuring policy-based file replication

□ Understanding snapshot rules

□ Understanding custom replication scripts

□ Using file replication rules

□ Understanding files-to-exclude statements

□ Using file replication schedules

□ Understanding incremental replications

□ Displaying file replication status and reports

□ Enabling multiple replication streams

□ Configuring NDMP performance options

□ Troubleshooting replication failures

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Configuring policy-based file replication
Prerequisites
Before administrators can add a replication policy, the type of server that will
be used for storing the replicated data must be determined. You can choose
from one of the following policy destination types:
• Managed Server: For a server to be considered as managed server, it
needs to be entered in the SMU configuration.
• Not a Managed Server: A non-managed server is one where the IP
Address and user name/password of the server is not known by the SMU.
Administrators can still select a non-managed server as the target by
specifying the IP address along with the user name and password

To configure policy-based data replication:

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication, and click add
to display the Policy Destination Type page.

2. Select the policy destination type:

• Select Managed Server to create a policy to replicate to a server that
is managed by the SMU.
• Select Not a Managed Server to create a policy to replicate to a
server that is not managed by the SMU.
3. Click next to display a destination type-specific Add Policy page.
The Add Policy page for a managed server replication destination
displays as:

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 The Add Policy page for an unmanaged server replication destination is
similar, with only the fields in the Destination section being different:

Note: Administrators should be authorized to use the external server to

access and store replication data.

4. Enter the requested information.

Field/Item Description

Identification Name: Allows you to specify the name of the replication policy.
The name may not contain spaces or any of the following
characters: \/<>”'!@#£$%^%&*(){}[] +=?:;,~`|.'

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 Field/Item Description

Source Source of the replication. Set this field only if you want to make a
simple copy of a specific snapshot. Do not set this field if you are
intending to run incremental replications. The source is identified
using the following fields:
• Server: Name of the server/cluster that has the source file
system for this replication policy.
• EVS/file system: Name of the EVS and file system to which
the replication source is mapped. Click change to change the
EVS or file system.
• Path: Select a virtual volume from the drop-down list. Or
select Directory and enter the path.
• Snapshot: Select a snapshot to migrate a file system from a
snapshot taken at a specific point in time. Using a snapshot as
a source allows you to replicate the snapshot rather than the
live file system, eliminating the possibility of file changes
during the replication.

Destination (for managed Destination of the replication (managed server):

replication destinations) • Server: Name of the server/cluster that hosts the destination
file system for this replication policy.
• EVS/file system: Name of the virtual server and file system
to which the replication is mapped. Click change to change
the EVS/file system.
• Path: Specify the directory path. Note that you may not
specify a virtual volume as a path.
• Current Syslock status: Indicates if the file system is in
Syslocked mode. When System Lock is enabled for the
destination file system, a warning icon is displayed. NDMP has
full access to the file system and can write to the syslocked file
system during a backup or replication, but the file system
remains in read-only mode to clients using the file service
protocols (NFS, CIFS, FTP, and iSCSI).
If the destination file system is not in syslock mode during a
replication operation, clients may write to the file system,
creating inconsistencies between the source and target of the
replication.
During transfer of primary access operations, both the source
file system and the destination file system are put into System
Lock mode.
To manually enable or disable the Syslock mode for a file
system, you must navigate to the File System Details page
for the file system. For more information on Syslocked mode,
see the File Services Administration Guide.

Destination (for Destination of the replication (non-managed server):

unmanaged replication • File Serving IP Address / Host Name: Name of the server
containing the target EVS/ file system. Click change to change
destinations)
the destination to a different server.
• File System: Name of the file system to which the replication
is mapped. Click change to change the file system.
• Path: Specify the directory path. Note that you may not
specify a virtual volume as a path.
• NDMP User Name: Name of the NDMP user for which the
replication target was created.
• NDMP User Password: Password for the selected NDMP user.

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 Field/Item Description

Processing Options • Source Snapshot Rule Name: The snapshot rule for
replication of the source file system.
• Destination Snapshot Rule Name: The snapshot rule to use
for the snapshot of the destination file system following a
successful replication.
• Pre-/Post-Replication Script: A user-defined script to run
before or after each replication. Scripts must be located
in /opt/smu/adc_replic/final_scripts. The permissions of
the scripts must be set to “executable”.

Replication Rule Optional configuration parameters that allow tuning of replications

to enable and disable specific functions or to optimize
performance.

5. Verify your settings, and click OK to save, or cancel to decline.

Connection errors
When attempting to add a new replication policy, a connection error may be
indicated by “Unable to connect to <IP address>“ or “Error accessing
<source/destination> server".

The “Unable to connect to“ message means one of the following:

• The server is not currently powered up or is temporarily disconnected from
the network. The server must be available and properly connected when
creating a replication policy.
• The NDMP service may be disabled. The replication uses the NDMP service
which must be enabled when adding or running replications. Please use
the NDMP configuration page (or the ndmp-status command) to enable
and start the NDMP service.
• The gigabit Ethernet port providing access to the EVS which hosts the file
system is not accessible from the SMU. This may be the case if the
network is set up with private subnetworks as commonly used with VLANs.
In this case, the server may have been configured so that SMU access is
through the management ports instead of the ports set using the ndmp-
management-ports-set command.

The "Error accessing server" message may occur as a result of restricting

NDMP access using the ndmp-option command. The allowip and blockip
options can be set such that the SMU is not allowed to access the NDMP
services using the standard routes. If the NDMP connection restrictions are
definitely required, change the configuration of the server to allow SMU
access by way of the management ports using the ndmp-management-ports-
set command. The SMU connections then bypass the allowip/blockip checks.

The SMU replication and data migration features use the NDMP service on the
NAS server. The NDMP service is usually accessed by way of the IP address of
the EVS which hosts the file system, this access usually happens through a
gigabit Ethernet port. In some cases, the IP address is within a private

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 subnetwork and is not accessible from the SMU. When this is the case, the
ndmp-management-ports-set command can be used to request that the SMU
access goes through the management ports and is then relayed to the NDMP
service.

The ndmp-management-ports-set command takes two parameters which are

the TCP ports. One is used to accept the incoming connection on the
management port and one to pass the requests to the NDMP code. These
must be ports that are not in use by any other service. In particular, these
ports must not be the standard NDMP service port. The port numbers 10001
and 10002 usually work and, being next to the standard NDMP port 10000,
can be useful in identifying the port usage.

Having set up the NDMP management ports this way, all SMU replication and
data migration NDMP accesses will be routed by way of the management
port. Note that the actual data transfer connections involved are between the
NAS server EVSs and do not run over the management connections. In
particular, a replication between two NAS servers passes the data over a TCP
connection between EVS IP addresses through the gigabit Ethernet ports.
Therefore, the two EVSs must have IP addresses that can communicate with
each other.

Understanding snapshot rules

By default, replications automatically create and delete the snapshots they
require to complete consistent copies. That being the case, snapshot rules
are not usually required. However, there are cases where the snapshots must
be taken or used by external software. In these cases, snapshot rules are
used so that the external software and the replication can be sure they are
using the same snapshot.

Note: Snapshot creation is normally synchronized with a specific event. The

snapshot is explicitly created at this time, so the snapshot rule should not
have an associated snapshot schedule.

Specific instances where snapshot rules may be used include:

• Replications which copy databases or iSCSI LUNs. A snapshot taken
automatically at the start of a replication will not capture a consistent
image of a database or an iSCSI LUN that is actively in use. In order to
capture a consistent image, the database/iSCSI LUN needs to be brought
into a quiescent state before the snapshot is taken. These actions are
normally be executed by a script, which then takes a snapshot within the
snapshot rule so that the replication can identify which snapshot to copy.
The script could be invoked as part of a pre-replication script. Alternatively
the script could be independently scheduled. If scheduled independently,
however, the schedule must allow the script to complete before the
replication starts.

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 • Linked, two-stage replications, which copy a file system from server A to
server B and then copy on from server B to server C. These types of
replications can use snapshot rules to synchronize the copies.
The replication from server B to server C may start while a copy from
server A to server B is running. If a snapshot was taken at this point, an
inconsistent file system state would be captured. One way to avoid this is
to use a specific snapshot rule as both the destination snapshot rule of the
server A to server B copy and the source snapshot rule of the copy from B
to C. Then the B to C copy will always copy a snapshot taken at the end of
the last complete copy from A to B.

Two kinds of rules define snapshot use during replication:

• Source Snapshot Rules determine which snapshot to use as the
replication source.
For Replication Policies configured to use a source snapshot rule, the most
recent snapshot associated with the rule becomes the replication source.
Source snapshot rules are particularly useful when the replication includes
a database or other system that must be stopped in order to capture a
consistent copy. Based on an external command (perhaps issued by a pre-
replication script), the data management engine expects that a snapshot
will be taken.
To perform incremental replications, the data management engine requires
that the snapshot used during the previous successful replication still exist
when a new replication is made. If you are using the snapshot rule queue
length to control the deletion of snapshots, you must take this requirement
into account and set the queue length long enough to allow for keeping the
snapshot used during the previous successful replication. Also, you must
take into account the possibility of intermediate failed replications, which
may also create snapshots.
The following actions are taken if the required snapshots do not exist:
○ If no snapshot exists in the rule, then the data management engine
issues a warning message and performs a full replication, using an
automatically created snapshot that it deletes immediately after the
copy.
○ If the snapshot taken during the previous replication has been deleted,
the data management engine cannot take an incremental snapshot and
therefore performs a full copy.
• Destination Snapshot Rules govern the snapshot taken after a
successful replication operation.

Note: Disabling snapshot usage will affect the ability to run incremental
replications. Snapshots must be enabled in order to make incremental
replication copies, and snapshots should only be disabled if the rule is for a
one-time, full replication.

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Understanding custom replication scripts
Under normal conditions, pre- and post-replication scripts are not required.
Where required to perform specific functions (for example, to stop an
application to facilitate a snapshot of its files in a quiescent, consistent state),
these custom scripts can be run before or after each instance of a replication.

In the case of databases or other applications that require a consistent state

at the time of a snapshot, best practices indicate using scripts and snapshot
rules together:
• Pre-replication scripts are executed to completion before the replication
is started.
• Post-replication scripts are executed after a successful replication.

Potential uses of scripts are illustrated in the following examples:

• Database replication. A pre-replication script can be used to enable the
replication of a consistent copy of the database. Typically, this pre-
replication script will need to:
1. Shut down the database to bring it into a consistent or quiescent
state.
2. Take a snapshot of the file system using a snapshot rule.
3. Restart the database.
• Backing Up Data from the Replication Target. A post-replication script
can initiate incremental (or full) backups from a replication target after
each incremental replication has completed. Backing up from the
replication target (rather than the original volume or directory) minimizes
the performance impact on network users.

Using file replication rules

The File Replication Rules page displays all existing file replication rules
and allows creation of new rules. Replication rules comprise optional
configuration parameters that allow replications to be tuned to enable/disable
specific functions or to optimize performance.

Replication Rules control values like the number of read-ahead processes,

minimum file size used in block replication, when snapshots are deleted and
whether replications will include migrated files. The server’s default values
should be optimal in most cases; however, these values can be changed to
customize replication performance characteristics based on the data set.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 Displaying file replication rules

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication Rules to

display the File Replication Rules page.

Field/Item Description

Rule Name Displays the name given to the rule when created, and
referenced when creating or configuring replication policies.

In Use by Policies Select to indicate that the rule is being used by one or more
policies.

Details Click details for a rule to display its complete details. Select
a rule, and click remove to delete it.

Actions

add Adds a new rule.

remove Deletes a selected rule.

details Displays the properties for a selected rule.

Shortcut

Policies and Schedules Displays the Policies and Schedules page.

Adding a file replication rule

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication Rules, and
then click add to display the Add Rule page.

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2. Enter the requested information.

Important: In general, the system default settings for this page are
correct for handling most replication policies; however, in specific cases,
the default values for some of the fields on this page are set when
configuring the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP). In these
cases, the value might be specified by an ndmp-option setting on the
server that overrides the system default. The ndmp-option command
sets global system default values for certain NDMP options. These
options apply to NDMP operations unless they are overridden by explicit
settings sent by the NDMP client, including settings in the Replication
Rule page.

When applicable, exceptions to the system defaults are noted in the

following table.

Caution: Particular caution should be exercised when setting snapshot

options (if the intent is to use the replication for incremental copies).

Field/Item Description Default

Name Name of replication rule. The rule name is may

include only alphanumeric characters, hyphens,
and underscores.

Description Free-form description of what the replication rule

does.

Files to Exclude Specifies files or directories to exclude from a None are excluded.
replication. When specifying a file or directory,
enter either:
• A full path name, relative to the top-level
directory specified in the replication path.
The path name must begin with a forward
slash (/); at the end, an asterisk (*) can be
entered as a wildcard character.

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 Field/Item Description Default

• A terminal file or directory name, which is

simply the last element in the path. The
name may not contain a character, but it
may start or end with a wildcard character *.
• A list of files or directories to exclude from a
replication. When listing files or directories to
exclude from a replication, all items in the
list must be separated by a comma.

Block Block replication minimum file size controls the Minimum file size used for
Replication minimum file size that is used for block block replication is 32
Minimum File replication. The list options available are: 256 or MB.
Size 512 K, and 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 MB. For
instance, if this option is set to 64 MB:
• For a source data file of 63 MB, for which the
system determines that only 1 MB has
changed, the entire source file (63 MB) will
be replicated.
• For a source data file of 65 MB, for which the
system determines that only 1 MB has
changed, only the delta will be replicated.

Note: Requires a Replication

license to function.

Use Changed Indicates if incremental replications will search Use Changed Directory
Directory List for changed files in directories that only contain List is disabled.
changed files. Processes not using the changed
directory list must search the entire directory
tree looking for changed files. When using the
changed directory list, however, the search only
is limited to those directories that contain
changed files.
Options:
• system default: uses the currently specified
system default.
• Enabled: uses the changed directory list.
• Disabled: always searches the entire
directory tree for changed files (a full
hierarchical search).

Note: Using the change object list is

likely to improve performance in some
cases; for example, where there are
sparse changes. However, it can
degrade performance where there are
many changes throughout the directory
structure. The calculation of the change
list might take a long time as there can
be a long delay between replications.
Use Changed Directory List should

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 Field/Item Description Default

only be selected if a large part of the

directory tree will be unchanged
between replication copies. Also, the list
can include up to one million directories
that contain changed files. If this limit is
exceeded the replication reverts to a full
hierarchical scan.

Number of Controls the number of additional server Number of additional

Additional connections that are established during a server connections that
Server replication operation. Ranges from 0 to 30. are established during a
Connections Increasing the number of additional server replication operation is
connections might improve performance by four.
allowing multiple transfers in parallel.

Note: Each additional server

connection consumes system resources,
and best practices indicate limiting the
number of additional server connections
to situations in which they improve
performance. Also, as the number of
additional server connections is
increased, more read-ahead processes
are required.

See Configuring NDMP performance options on

page 56 for more information on server
connections.

Number of Controls the number of read-ahead processes If a value is not set, the
Read Ahead used when reading directory entries during a default value is set by the
Processes replication. application (depending on
Each additional read-ahead process uses system the number of read‐ahead
resources, so it is best to limit the number of
processes set in Number
additional processes unless it makes a significant
difference in performance. of Additional Server
Connections).
While the default number of read‐ahead
processes is suitable for most replications, file
systems made up of many small files increase
the amount of time spent reading directory
entries proportionately. In such cases, adding
additional read‐ahead processes may speed up
the replication operation.

Pause While By default, the data management engine Set to no.

Replication(s) imposes an interlock to stop NDMP backups and
Finish Writing accelerated data copies (ADCs) from the
destination of a replication during active
replication writes. This function supports
installations that replicate to a particular

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 Field/Item Description Default

volume, then back up from that volume.

However, as the lock is held at the volume level,
it may be useful to override this action in the
case of directory-level replication.
To make use of this replication interlock, specify
this rule option on both the replication that waits
and the replication that is waited upon. As a best
practice:
• Create one rule with this option enabled and
have each participating replication policy
enable the same rule.
• Then, schedule the replication policy that
waits to run after the replication policy that
is waited upon.

Take a Overrides the Backup configuration option Snapshots are taken and
Snapshot Automatic Snapshot Creation. The setting for backed up automatically.
this option should be left as the system default
in almost all cases. The only case in which it
might be useful is when taking a single, non-
incremental copy of a file system or a directory.
If there is insufficient space on the file system to
take a snapshot, the copy may be taken from
the live file system by selecting Disable.
However, it should be noted that copying the live
file system while it is changing may give an
inconsistent copy.

Disabling snapshot usage will affect the ability to

run incremental replications. This option should
only be set to No if the rule is going to be used
for a one-off full replication.
• Enable this option to support incremental
replication copies.
• Disable only for full replication copies or
when making a complete copy of a directory.

Different files will be copied at different times,

so if the source file system is changing and there
are dependencies between different files on the
system, then inconsistencies may be introduced.

Note: Snapshots are an integral part

of the algorithm for incremental
replication, and disabling snapshot
usage will affect the ability to run
incremental replications. This option
must be enabled in order to make
incremental replication copies.

Delete the Determines when snapshots are deleted. The If the replication is an
Snapshot setting for this option should be left as the incremental replication,
the application

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 Field/Item Description Default

system default in almost all cases. The only case automatically selects the
in which it might be useful is when taking a correct setting.
single, non-incremental copy of a file system or
directory. If the file system is short on space, it
may be useful to request the immediate deletion
of the snapshot taken for the replication. The
deletion options are:
• IMMEDIATELY gives the same effect as
Delete snapshot after replication is
done.
• LAST preserves snapshot for use with
incremental replications.
• OBSOLETE deletes an automatically created
snapshot when the next backup of the same
level is taken.

Caution: As changing these settings

can adversely effect the replication
process, Hitachi Data Systems Support
Center recommends that this option be
changed only at the direction of your
Hitachi Data Systems representative.

Migrated File Indicates if the replications will include files Disabled

Exclusion whose data has been migrated to secondary
storage.
• Enabled: the replication will not include files
whose data has been migrated to another
volume using the Data Migrator facility.
• Disabled: migrated files and their data are
replicated as normal files.

Migrated File Controls the action at the destination when the Remigration of the files is
Remigration source file had been migrated. attempted.
• Enabled: the file will be remigrated on
recovery provided the volume or virtual
volume has a Data Migrator path to indicate
the target volume.
• Disabled: all the files and their data will be
written directly to the recovery or replication
destination volume.

External Controls when a replication operation encounters Remigrate and re-

Migration Links a cross volume link (a link to a file that has been create link are enabled.
migrated to an external server).
• If set to system default, the replication
operation uses the default setting, which is
remigrate.
• If set to remigrate, the replication operation
copies the file contents but marks the file as
having been externally migrated. The
destination remigrates to secondary storage

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 Field/Item Description Default

if there is an existing data migration path.

This is the default behavior. Use this setting
when the replication is between a main site
and a disaster recovery site, in which the
disaster recovery site includes a similar data
migration configuration.
• If set to ignore, the replication operation
copies only the files on the primary
(migrated files are not copied). Use this
setting when files have been migrated
because they are less useful, so they are not
replicated in order to save time.
• If set to re-create link, the replication
operation copies only the details of the cross
volume link. The cross volume link is
recreated on the destination if the relevant
external migration data path is in place and
the migrated file is accessible. Use this
setting when the replication is between
storage servers or clusters on the same site,
and there is a single external migration
target server.

Note: For externally migrated files, to

make sure that the file or link is
replicated properly, you should either:
• Specify that the replication operation
should remigrate files and the
destination should test before
recreating links (using the
migration-recreate-links-mode
command).
• Specify that the replication operation
should re‐create links and the
destination should always recreate
links (using the migration-
recreate-links-mode command).

Ignore File Specifies that files in which the only change is an Disabled
Attribute attribute change, are not included in a
Changes replication. Only enable this option if you are
certain that you do not want to replicate files
with only attribute changes.

OK Configures the rule as defined, and returns to

the Replication Rules page.

cancel Discards the entered values, and returns to the

Replication Rules page.

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Modifying a file replication rule

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication Rules, select
the rule you want to modify, and click details to display the Modify
Rules page.
2. Enter the requested information.
The fields on this page are the same as those on the Add Rule page.
3. After you complete making changes, click OK.

Understanding files-to-exclude statements

Files-to-exclude statements contain expressions identifying directories or files
to exclude from the replication. They can be written using the following
guidelines:
• The asterisk “*” can be used as a wildcard character to qualify path and
file name values.
In a path, “*” is only treated as a wildcard if it appears at the end of a
value, for example: /path*.
In a file name, a single * can appear at the beginning and or at the end of
the value; for example, *song.mp*, *blue.doc, file*.
• Parentheses (), spaces, greater than (>),and quotation marks (“) are
allowed around a file name or path list, but they will be treated as literal
characters.
• Path and file name can be defined together but must be separated by a
comma (,); for example, subdir/path*,*song.doc,newfile*,/subdir2
• The forward slash (/) is used as a path separator. As such, it must not be
used in a file name list.

Note: Hitachi Data Systems Support Center recommends creating the files-
to-exclude list before the initial replication copy, and not changing it unless
necessary. When running incremental updates, changes in the list do not act
retroactively. For example, if a list initially excludes *.mp3 files, and the list is
changed to remove this exclusion, new or changed mp3 files will now be
replicated; however, any .mp3 files than have not changed since the previous
replication copy will not be replicated.

Using file replication schedules

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 Displaying scheduled file replications

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication to display the
File Replication page.

Field/Item Description

Policies

Name Identifies the replication policy.

Source Source of the replication. The source is identified using the

following fields:
• Server: Name of the server/cluster that has the source file
system for this replication policy.
• EVS: Name of the EVS to which the replication source is
mapped.
• File System/Path: Name of the file system and the path to
which the replication source is mapped.

Destination Destination of the replication (managed server):

• Server: Name of the server/cluster that hosts the destination
file system for this replication policy
• EVS: Name of the virtual server hosting the file system to
which the replication is mapped.
• File System/Path: Name of the file system and the path to
which the replication is mapped.

Actions

add Creates a new policy.

remove Deletes a policy that is selected by filling it check box.

Schedules

ID ID assigned to the replication policy.

Policies Name of the replication policy.

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 Field/Item Description

Next Run Year, month, day, and time for the next scheduled replication run
for this policy.

Interval Frequency at which the replication has been scheduled to run.

Last Status • Green indicates that a successful replication job has completed.
• Red indicates a failed replication job and lists the reason for
failure.

Note: In case of a replication failure, the next time a

replication starts, the data management engine attempts
to restart the failed replication instead of starting a new
replication.

Actions

add Creates a new schedule.

remove Deletes one or more schedules that are selected by filling the
check box next to the schedules.

Abort Replication(s) Aborts one or more running replication operations by filling the
check box next to the policy you want to abort.

Transfer Primary After one full replication and at least one incremental replication
Access have succeeded, this starts the transfer of primary access.

Adding a file replication schedule

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication, in the

Schedules area, click add to display the Add Schedules page.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 2. Enter the requested information.

Note: After a data replication job has begun, additional replications for
the same policy cannot be started until the current job has completed.
However, it is possible to start multiple concurrent replications, each for
its own policy.

Field/Item Description

Policy Allows you to identify the policy to which this schedule will apply.

Replication Policy Selects a replication policy.

Timing Allows you to specify when the policy should run.

Immediately: Start Runs the associated policy as soon as the schedule is successfully
as soon as the created.
schedule is created

Scheduled • Time of Initial Run: Specify the time, using the 24-hour format
(such that 11:59 PM will be entered as 23:59).
• Date of Initial Run: Specify the date for the first run of the policy.
Use the format MM/DD/YYYY (month/day/year), or select the date by
clicking the calendar icon to display the calendar.
When using the calendar control, select the desired day by clicking
the link on the day in the calendar. You can change the month and
year displayed by clicking the next button or the previous button to
move forward or back in one month increments.

Current SMU Date Provided for reference.

and Time

Date of Final Run If you do not specify a Date of Final Run, the policy will run at the
interval you specify in the Schedule section.

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 Field/Item Description

Schedule Select one of the options:

• Daily/Weekly/Monthly - based on the scheduled date and
time.: From the list, select daily, monthly, or weekly based on the
scheduled date and time.
• Every X hours/days - based on the scheduled date and time.:
Enter a quantity, then from the list, select hours or days based on
the scheduled date and time.
• Continuous. Pause X hours between runs.: Starts a new
replication job X hours after the previous job ends. The new
replication job can start immediately (0 hours), or after pausing a
specified number of hours.
• Once, at the scheduled date and time.: Schedules the policy to
run only once, at the scheduled Time and Date of Initial Run
• Inactive: Pauses the replication schedule.

Note: If an excess amount of time elapses between

replication runs, snapshots may take up a larger amount of
space. By default, replication-defined snapshots are purged
after 7 days (configurable to 40 days). Waiting 8 or more days
between replication runs could result in a full replication.

OK Saves the configuration, and returns the File Replication page.

cancel Closes the page without saving configuration changes.

3. Verify your settings, and click OK to save, or cancel to decline.

Modifying a file replication policy

After defined, schedules can be easily modified to meet the changing
requirements of the replication policies. When modifying a schedule, the
scheduled date and time, as well as the interval in which the schedule will
run, can be changed.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication, select a

schedule, and click details to display its properties in the Modify
Schedule page.
2. Enter the requested information.

Note: After a data replication job has begun, additional replications for
the same policy cannot be started until the current job has completed.
However, it is possible to start multiple concurrent replications, each for
its own policy.

Field/Item Description

Policy Displays information about the replication policy being scheduled.

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 Field/Item Description

Replication Policy Displays the name of the replication policy being scheduled.

Next Run Displays the date and time of the next replication run specified by
this schedule.

Last Status Displays the status of the last run of this schedule. Click the View
Latest Report to display the replication report for the last
replication run according to this schedule.

Immediate Actions Click Run now to run the replication policy immediately, regardless
of schedule.

Note: A replication job cannot be started if a previous

instance of the same policy is still in progress. In this case,
the replication is skipped, and an error is logged.

Click Abort to stop an in-progress replication.

Recovery Actions Click restart to restart the replication if the previous replication
attempt failed.

Click rollback to roll back a failed or aborted replication. The target

file system is rolled back to the last good snapshot. Note that a
snapshot is taken after every successful replication.

Note: Rollback should only be used when the target will

be used as the live file system. If the replication’s source
file system cannot be used as the live file system (either
permanently or temporarily), users can access the latest
available data on the replication target (the file system
created by the last successful replication).

If the target file system will be used as the live file system
permanently, delete the replication policy and all related schedules
(since the source will not be used for this replication again). You can
then create new replication policies and schedules.

If the target file system will be used as the live file system
temporarily, contact Hitachi Data Systems Support Center for
assistance in synchronizing the “old” (source) and the “new”
(target) file systems before transferring access and resuming
replication operations as implemented prior to the “rollback.”

Timing This section displays information about the execution timing for the
replication policy, and it allows you to reschedule the next (or final)
execution of the replication policy.

Schedule Time Time of the next replication specified by this schedule.

Schedule Date Date of the next replication specified by this schedule.

Date of Final Run Date of the final replication specified by this schedule.

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 Field/Item Description

Reschedule This section allows changing the schedule of the next or final
replication specified by this schedule:
• To change the schedule of the next replication, fill the
Reschedule box, then enter the new values for the Time and/or
Date.
• To change the schedule of the final replication, fill the
Reschedule box, and enter the new value for the Final Run in
the appropriate fields.

Current SMU Date and Current date and time as set on the SMU.
Time

Schedule This section allows you to specify how often the replication policy is
to be executed. Select one of the radio buttons:
• From the list, select daily, monthly, or weekly based on the
scheduled date and time.
• Enter a quantity, and from the list select hours or days based on
the scheduled date and time.
• Enter a quantity to complete the label: Continuous. Pause
quantity hours between runs. The new replication job can
start immediately or after a specified number of hours.
• Selecting Once, at the scheduled date and time guarantees
that the policy is scheduled to run only once.
• Selecting Inactive causes the replication schedule to be placed
on pause.

Actions

OK Saves changes to the replication policy schedule, and returns to the

File Replication page.

cancel Returns to the File Replication page without saving changes to the
replication policy schedule.

3. Verify your settings, and click OK to save, or cancel to decline.

Understanding incremental replications

Incremental replications rely on the existence of the snapshot taken during
the previous replication. If this snapshot no longer exists, the data
management engine performs a full replication. The data management
engine automatically preserves the snapshots it needs for replication.
However, there is an age limit applied to snapshots that are automatically
taken by the NDMP system (including during a replication).

Snapshots older than the age limit are automatically purged from the system.
The default limit is 7 days, but the limit can be configured through the NDMP
History and Snapshots page. If the replication copy time is very long, or
the interval between replications is long, then the default age limit must be
extended.

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 Displaying file replication status and reports
The Replication Status & Reports page displays a list of replication jobs in
progress or completed. It also includes reporting details on files replicated,
amount of data replicated, and success or failure status. If a schedule is
deleted, the reports associated with it are also deleted.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication Status &
Reports to display the File Replication Status & Reports page.

The replication report Status column displays results of a replication job

(green for OK, red for failed). Reports can also be beneficial for analyzing
the effects of a particular incremental replication policy. The information
in the Report Summary page provides a detailed view of the replication
job results. This information can be used to make performance
adjustments to the replication policy and schedule.

Field/Item Description

Schedule ID ID number for the completed replication.

Policy Policy name.

Completed Month, date, year and time when the replication was completed.

Duration Duration of a replication schedule run.

Bytes Transferred Volume of replicated data in bytes.

Status Status of replication completion.

2. Click details for a selected replication to display its properties.

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 Field/Item Description

Replication Policy Completed replication policy name.

Schedule ID Completed replication schedule ID.

Status Indicates whether the replication was successfully completed.

Frequency How often the Policy is scheduled to run.

Start Time Date and time when the replication began.

End Time Date and time when the replication ended.

Duration Duration of replication.

Bytes Transferred Volume of data replicated, in bytes.

Copy Type Type of replication performed. May be any of the following:

• Full Copy: A complete initial replication of the entire source to the
target.
• Incomplete Copy: The replication did not complete.
• Incremental Copy: A replication of the changes on the source file
system to the target.
• Restart Copy: The replication started from the point of failure of the
previous replication.
• Rollback Copy: After a failed replication run, the target file system
was rolled back to its state following the last successful replication.

Server/EVS EVS on which the source and destination file systems reside.

Rule The name of the rule used by the policy.

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 Field/Item Description

Transfer Primary This section appears in the replication report only after a transfer of
Access Summary primary access.

Status Indicates whether the transfer of primary access was successfully

completed, and indicates any actions that should now be taken.

CIFS Number of CIFS shares that were successfully transferred to the new
location.

NFS Number of NFS exports that were successfully transferred to the new
location.

FTP Number of FTP initial directories that were successfully transferred to the
new location.

FTP Users Number of FTP users that were successfully transferred to the new
location.

Snapshot Rules Number of snapshot rules successfully transferred to the new location.

CNS Links Number of CNS links successfully transferred to the new location.

Backup Files List of CIFS shares backup files and NFS exports backup files that were
successfully transferred to the new location.

View Failures Click View Failures to display a list of items not transferred during the
transfer of primary access.

Enabling multiple replication streams

You can add additional server connections to a replication rule using the
Number of Additional Server Connections field of the replication Add Rule
page or the Modify Rule page.

Select the number of additional connections to add for use by the replication/
accelerated data copy (ADC) utility operation. You can specify between 0 and
30 additional server connections. Note that these are additional server
connections; if the number of additional connections is set to 0, the
replication operation will have a single connection. The default is 4 additional
connections, along with 12 read-ahead processes.

If the number of additional server connections has been set to non-default

and more than zero, then the number of read-ahead processes must also be
set to a non-zero value that is appropriate for the specified number of
additional server connections.

Configuring NDMP performance options

NDMP Performance options are set using the Add Rule or Modify Rule page
of Web Manager. On these pages, you can set the number of additional server

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connections and the number of read-ahead processes (which are the options
with the biggest effects on replication performance), as well as other
replication options.

Note: The readahead_procs setting of the ndmp-option command is no

longer used for replications.

The number of additional server connections and the number of read-ahead

processes should be coordinated to get the best performance. Each additional
connection causes the creation of a separate process at the source and one
at the destination, and these processes are connected by their own separate
TCP connection. These two processes work together as an independent
replication stream which can process subdirectories in parallel with other
replication processes. Read-ahead processes are used only at the replication
source; these processes pre-read directory entries and file details from the
storage media (typically disks) so that the main replication processes can use
them immediately without being delayed by disk read latencies.

Although allocating more processes to a replication can improve its

performance, the extra processes take up system resources. Using these
resources for replication operations may negatively impact the performance
of other processes for protocols (such as NFS or CIFS), features, or even
other replications. Also, the performance improvement per additional process
reduces as the number of processes increases, and at some point there will
be no further improvement (there may be a reduction in performance if too
many processes are used). With these points in mind, you should not request
a very high number of processes, except in very special cases.

The optimal settings for these values depend on many factors, including:
• File system size and layout of files. Typically, to get best performance
when replicating file systems with smaller files and fewer files per
directory, you should dedicate more read-ahead processes and connections
to the replication.
• The number of replications that will run simultaneously. When running
many replications simultaneously, each replication should be allocated
fewer read-ahead processes so that the overall load from replication
processes is not too high.
• The relative priority of the replication and other uses of the system (such
as NFS and CIFS access). If replications appear to be adversely affecting
the performance of system functions or user access, then reducing the
number of read-ahead processes and connections used by replications
should alleviate the problem.
• The number of physical disks containing data for the file system (which
can be found by looking at the number of physical disks in the system
drives used by the file system). If the data of the file systems being
replicated is stored on relatively few physical disks, then increasing the
number of connections (data streams) used in the replication operation will

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 not improve performance. Refer to the Storage Subsystem Administration
Guide for information on system drives.
• The properties of the network route between the source and destination
machines. When the connection between source and destination machines
has high bandwidth available, long latency connections (high speed cross-
continental or intercontinental links), then the long latency may impose an
artificially low data rate over a single TCP connection. Using parallel
connections (data streams) for the replication operation can improve
performance in this case.

The following notes give more specific indications of how to choose settings.
However, because of the many factors involved these recommendations may
not be absolutely optimal. If it is vital to get the very highest performance
from your system, some experimentation will be needed to find the most
suitable values for the installation.
• The default settings are 4 additional connections and 12 read-ahead
processes. These settings should be adequate for a wide range of
applications, including files systems with mixed small and medium size
files (average file size 250 KB), up to file systems containing very large
files. Also, these settings are appropriate for file systems with data on a
relatively small number of physical disks (such as 32). A single replication
operation with these settings should not severely impact other system
users.
• If many replication operations are running simultaneously, you may want
to reduce the number of read-ahead processes and connections each
replication uses.
For example, if you are running eight simultaneous replications, the
settings might be one additional connection and six read-ahead processes.
• Where the files in the file systems being replicated are mostly small,
increasing the number of connections and read-ahead processes used will
usually produce better performance.
For example:
○ For a file system with an average file size of less than 64 KB, you may
want to set 8 additional connections and 20 read-ahead processes.
○ For a file system with an average file size of 32KB, you may want to set
12 additional connections and 24 read-ahead processes.

If the number of files per directory is also very low (less than 4 or 5 files
per directory), even more connections and read-ahead processes might
improve performance.
• If you are using a high speed cross-continental or inter-continental link,
then using multiple connections may help utilize more of the bandwidth of
the connection. In cases where latency is high due to the connection in
use, it might be useful to increase the number of connections used, even
when the average file size is large.

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 The default TCP window size used by the server is 256 KB. If the latency
(round trip time) of the link is 70ms, then the maximum realistic
throughput on a single TCP connection is about 3 MB per second.
For instance, to get TCP connections capable of delivering 30 MB/sec from
a file system containing mostly large files, 10 additional connections and
12 read-ahead processes might be suitable settings. Note that, in this
case, it is not necessary to increase the number of read-ahead processes,
because reading from the source file system will not be a limiting factor.
• If the file systems involved have relatively few physical disks, increasing
the number of connections and read-ahead processes will gain relatively
little performance improvement.
For instance, for a small source file system with data on only 32 physical
disks, there will not be much to gain by increasing the values above the
defaults.

Troubleshooting replication failures

The following are some scenarios in which a replication job can fail:
• The destination volume is offline.
• The destination volume was full.
• One of the volumes involved may have been unmounted.
• SMU was rebooted while a replication job was in progress.

Note: Without any further action upon a replication failure, the replication
will continue as expected on its next scheduled run. However, this will recopy
any changes already copied during the failed replication attempt. Clicking
Restart will cause the failed replication to be restarted immediately and will
avoid recopying most of the data.

Manually restarting a failed replication

If a replication has failed, the replication will be started normally at its next
scheduled run time, rather than "picking up where it left off." To restart the
replication from the point of failure (before its next scheduled time), you
must restart it manually:

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication to display the
File Replication page.
2. Click details for the failed replication to display its Replication
Schedule page, and click restart.

Rolling back an incomplete replication

Upon successful completion of a replication, the system takes a snapshot to
preserve the state of the target file system. With this snapshot, if an offline

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 source leads to failure of a subsequent replication, the target file system can
be rolled back to the state of the last successful replication.
To rollback the target file system to the state of the last successful
replication:

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > File Replication to display the
File Replication page.
2. Click details for the failed replication to display its File Replication
Schedule page, and click rollback.

Note: Rollback should only be used when the target will be used as the
live file system. If the replication’s source file system cannot be used as
the live file system (either permanently or temporarily), users can access
the latest available data on the replication target (the file system created
by the last successful replication). There are two possible approaches:
• If the target file system will be used as the live file system
permanently, delete the replication policy and all related schedules
(since the source will not be used for this replication again). You can
then create new replication policies and schedules.
• If the target file system will be used as the live file system
temporarily, contact Hitachi Data Systems Support Center for
assistance in synchronizing the “old” (source) and the “new” (target)
file systems before transferring access and resuming replication
operations as implemented prior to the “rollback”.

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 Using file replication 61
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 3
Using object replication
Object based file system replication provides a mechanism, manual or
automatic, for copying or relocating both file systems and the metadata
associated with those file systems (such as access points, security
descriptors, and other file system related data). The source file system may
be replicated to one or more target file systems. When configured correctly,
object replication can mirror file systems at different physical locations, which
can be used as a disaster recovery configuration. Object-based replication
operates on the entire file system, not at the individual file or directory level.
Hitachi NAS Platform supports object-based file system replication.

When using object-based file system replication and the transfer of primary
access feature, you can replicate the file system, and the associated CNS
links, CIFS shares, permissions and all other file-level metadata.
Administrators can use Web Manager to configure policy-based object
replication jobs independently from other replication strategies.

Object replication, like file replication, uses policies and schedules to

determine which file systems get replicated, where they are replicated, and
when replication operations are run. Policies specify the replication source
and the target, and schedules specify the timing and the interval of
repetition, if any.

□ Configuring object-based replication

□ Using object replication policies

□ Using object replication schedules

□ Displaying object replication policies

□ Displaying object replication status and reports

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Configuring object-based replication
Replication (file or object) is a licensed feature, and the Replication license
must be installed before replications can be performed. Refer to the Server
and Cluster Administration Guide for more information about licenses.

After the replication license is installed, and the listening port is specified,
you can create file systems to serve as replication targets, and then create
the policies and schedules to control the replication of your file systems.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > Object Replication

Configuration to display the Object Replication Configuration page.

Field/Item Description

Object Replication Listening Specify the port on which a cluster is to listen for object
Port replication connections from other servers/clusters.

Note: When you change the port, the object

replication service is restarted. Under some
circumstances the service cannot be restarted at a
specific time. For example, when the port is in use
because it has been randomly allocated to another
service, or when the service is handling an active object
replication process. If the service cannot be restarted at
that time, manually restart file serving on that node
after changing the port.

apply Applies the configuration changes, and closes the page.

restore default Restores the default configuration values.

2. Enter the listening port.

If you need to restore the default port, click restore default.
3. Click apply.
After the configuration has been successfully saved, a confirmation
message is displayed on the Object Replication Configuration page.

Using object replication policies

In the same way that file replication policies specify the details about file
replication operations, object replication policies specify the details about
object replication operations.

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 Adding object replication policies
The Add Object Replication Policy pages allow you to define the properties
of a new object replication policy, including its source file system and its
replication target (server/cluster, EVS, and file system).

If this is the first policy to be created, and if the file system is not configured
to transfer access points with a replication, then the option to manually
configure the file system to transfer access points will be given. You are
provided with more resolution options on the second Add Object
Replication Policy page.

Note: Selecting a source or target file system that already has an object
replication policy defined will not cause the old policy (or policies) to be
overwritten. You can have multiple replication policies on a source file
system, each pointing to a different target file system. You could also have
multiple policies with a single source/target pair; however, it is not
recommended.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Object Replication to display the Object

Replication page.
2. Click add to display the Add Object Replication Policy page.

Caution: If the file system is not configured to transfer access points

with replications, and if the target file system must later be recovered as
a read-write file system (for example, to replace the source file system in
a disaster recovery situation), the shares and exports configured on the
source file system are not copied to the target file system. Network
clients that relied on those shares and exports to access their data on the
source file system are longer able to access the recovered data on the
target file system. The shares and exports must be individually
configured to be transferred with replications, via their respective share
and export details pages, in order to allow network clients to access their
data on the source file system. You are provided with more resolution
options on the next page, after clicking next.

Note: It is recommended that the replication target is at least as big as

the source file system, to ensure that all data can be replicated on the
target. This is especially important if you intend to keep multiple
snapshots on the target, as they require more storage space.

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 Field/Item Description

Identification

Name The name of the object replication policy.

Source

EVS/file system The name of the source EVS and file system that is replicated on the
object replication target. To change the source EVS/file system, click
change….

If you viewed the object replication policy information by clicking the

details button, the change... does not appear because the source file
system cannot be altered.

EVS IP Address Select the IP address for the source EVS from the list.

Target

Server Select a server from the list as the target of the object replication policy.
After selecting a server, click select a target... to select an EVS and file
system. The EVS Name and File System fields are automatically
populated when you select a file system using select a target... Or,
alternatively, type the EVS IP/host name and file system name in the
corresponding fields.

EVS Select the EVS IP/host name in this field.

EVS IP Address Enter the EVS IP address in this field.

File System Enter the name of the target file system of the object replication policy. If
the SMU is not managing the server on which the target file system is
hosted, or if the destination file system does not yet exist, select Specify
EVS IP/host name and file system from the list and type the details in the
appropriate fields.

Note: The replication target file system should be at least as

large as the source file system to ensure that all data can be
replicated on the target. If you intend to keep multiple snapshots
on the target, it is especially important that the target be larger
than the source, because the additional snapshots on the target
file system will require storage space.

Note: The tiering of both the replication source and target file
systems must agree; you cannot have a tiered source file system
replicated to an untiered file system, and you cannot have an
untiered source file system replicated to a tiered file system.

Object Replication The port on which the destination server is listening. The port on which
Port the destination server listens is configured on the Object Replication
Configuration page of Web Manager, or through the appropriate CLI
command.

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 Field/Item Description

Note: To change the listening port for the target server, you
must make that server the currently managed server of the
SMU, then use the Object Replication Configuration page of
Web Manager to change the listening port.

next Advances to the next page to continue the policy configuration.

cancel Closes the page without saving configuration changes.

3. Specify the details for the policy identification, replication source and the
replication target.
4. Click next to continue with the policy configuration.
The SMU checks if the source file system is configured to allow the
access points (CIFS shares and NFS exports) on it to transfer with the
object replication. If it is not, a GUI page is displayed that gives you the
option of configuring the source file system so it can transfer shares and
exports with the replication. If another policy already exists for this file
system, the check for access point transferability is skipped, and the
second part of the Add Object Replication Policy page is displayed:

The policy depends on two types of replications of the source file system:
an initial replication, and an incremental replication. A replication of an
initial snapshot results in a full copy of the source file system being
replicated on the target, while subsequent replications use an
incremental snapshot that only copies objects that have changed since
the initial snapshot was taken.

When setting snapshot rules, you can choose either an automatic

snapshot rule or an existing, named rule.

In order to avoid snapshots being taken of inconsistent data, please

carefully note the following recommendations:
• If you choose the automatic snapshot rule option, the snapshot is
taken whenever the replication first runs. In order for the replication
engine to take a snapshot with consistent data (that is, data that is
not actively being modified on the source file system), it is
recommended that the replication be run when the file system is not
being actively accessed. For example, the replication can be run
manually, when the source file system is inactive, to obtain a snapshot
with consistent data. Or, the replication policy should be scheduled to
run when the file system is not being accessed.
• If you choose a named snapshot rule, the snapshot is taken when
specified by the rule; however, it is recommended that the snapshot is
taken manually, when the file system is not being actively accessed, or
scheduled to be taken when such a time is anticipated. Then the
replication should be scheduled at a time when the server is minimally
active, or run manually at such a time.

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 The following table describes the fields on the second Add Object
Replication Policy page:

Note: If a database application is writing to its database when a

snapshot is taken, the snapshot can contain only some of the writes to
the database, rather than all of them. In such a case, the database might
contain only partially written records and is therefore not consistent.

Caution: Setting the snapshot options for the source and target file
systems must be done very carefully, to ensure that replications provide
a good copy of the data on the target. It is recommended that you
consult with support representative if you are unsure of how to correctly
set snapshot options for an object replication.

Field/Item Description

Source File Options for taking snapshots of the source file system:
System • Snapshot source file system using automatic snapshot rule, which
allows the replication to use its default snapshot rule to take and
manage snapshots.

Note: If you choose this option, each incremental snapshot is

deleted when the next replication runs. Therefore, because the
snapshot queue only contains one snapshot, it is recommended
that replications are not scheduled too closely together in order
to prevent an existing snapshot from being removed before the
next replication starts.

• Use snapshot rule, which means that the source snapshot retention
policy can be customized to retain a different number of snapshots on
the source file system.

Note: If you choose this option, set the schedule for the
snapshot rule so a snapshot is created before the replication
runs, to ensure that a new snapshot is available for the
replication. A snapshot of the source file system is only taken if
the replication policy is configured to use an automatic snapshot
rule. If it is using a named rule, the replication will use the
latest snapshot created by that rule; it does not take one
automatically.

Target File Options for taking snapshots of the target file system:
System • Snapshot target file system using automatic snapshot rule, which
allows the replication to use its default snapshot rule to take and
manage snapshots on the object replication target.
• Use snapshot rule, which allows the snapshot retention policy to be
customized to retain a different number of snapshots on the source and
destination.

next Advances to the confirmation page.

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 Field/Item Description

back Returns to the previous page.

cancel Closes the page without saving configuration changes.

5. Enter the processing options.

6. Click next to advance to the Add Object Replication Policy page.

Note: The source and target file systems are evaluated and, if any issues
are detected, a page appears listing them and offering options to help
you either correct the issue or to go back to the previous page.

7. Review policy settings, and then click create.

8. To add a schedule for this policy, click yes to display the Add Object
Replication Schedule page.

Correcting access point problems in an object replication policy

Before a new object replication policy is created, it is evaluated for potential
problems, such as the source not being configured to allow the transfer of
access points (CIFS shares or NFS exports). If an issue is discovered, a page
appears, offering options to correct the issue or to go back to a previous
page where you can make changes to resolve the issue.

An object replication policy requires the WFS-2 file system format for both
the source and target file systems. If you selected a WFS-1 file system
format as the source, this page is also displayed.

Typically, when this page appears, the following links are displayed:
• Configure: Click configure to automatically configure the selected source
file system and continue creating the policy.
Clicking this link configures the selected file system to allow the access
points on it to be transferred with an object replication. After clicking this
link, you are returned to the previous page to continue the configuration.

Note: An object replication policy requires the WFS-2 file system format
for both the source and target file systems. If you selected a WFS-1 file
system format as the source, and you click this link, you are returned to
the previous page, which now displays the error message Failed to set
the file system to transfer access points to an object
replication target : The format on the file system is
unsupported.

• Change: Click change to return to the previous page, in which you can
select another file system as the source of the object replication.
• Continue: Click continue to continue configuring the object replication
policy using the selected file system, even though that file system is not
configured to allow the access points to be transferred with an object

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 replication. You must later explicitly set the shares and exports to be
transferred with the object replication at a later time.

To manually override the default, you must manually reset the shares and
exports from the File Services link on the SMU Home Page. As there may be
many individual settings for shares and exports on that page, it is
recommended that you choose the Configure link on this page instead, which
automatically configures the file system to allow shares and exports without
further steps.

Note: An object replication policy requires the WFS-2 file system format for
both the source and target file systems. If you selected a WFS-1 file system
format as the source, this page is displayed. If you click this link, you may
continue with the configuration; however, an error is generated and displayed
when you run a test of the object replication policy.

Using object replication schedules

Adding an object replication schedule
Schedules when an object replication runs.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > Object Replication to display

the Object Replication page.
2. Under the Schedules section, click add to display the Add Object
Replication Schedule page.

Field/Item Description

Policy Allows you to identify the policy to which this schedule will
apply.

Replication Policy Selects the object replication policy to which this schedule
will apply.

Initial Run Allows you to specify when the policy should run for the first
time.

Immediately: Start as soon as Runs the associated policy as soon as the schedule is
the schedule is created successfully created.

Scheduled Runs the associated policy at the date and time specified in
this section.
• Time of Initial Run: Specify the time, using the 24-hour
format (such that 11:59 PM will be entered as 23:59).
• Date of Initial Run: Specify the date for the first run of
the policy. Click the calendar next to the field, then select
the start date for the policy’s initial run.

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 Field/Item Description

Current SMU Date and Time Provided for reference.

Run Until (Optional) Allows you to specify a date and time after which the policy
should no longer run.

Run Until Time In this edit box, specify the last time (in 24-hour format)
that the policy should be run. If you specify a time, you must
also specify a Run Until Date.

Run Until Date The date (year, month, and day) the replication runs for the
last time. Click the calendar next to the field, then select the
end date for the policy’s final run. The selected date appears
on the field. This is an optional setting.

Schedule Type Allows you to specify the interval, if any, between the
repeated execution of the policy to which this schedule will
apply.
You can select any one of the following options:
• Every X minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months:
Schedules the replication to run at the specified interval.
For example, if you set it to every 4 days, the policy will
run again automatically 4 days after it completes.
• Continuous. Pause X minutes, hours, days, weeks,
or months between runs: Schedules the replication to
run continuously, but the replication will pause between
runs for the specified duration. For example, if you set it
to pause for 1 day between runs, after the policy
completes one cycle, it will pause for 1 day.
• Once, at the scheduled date and time: The policy is
scheduled to run only once, at the date and time
specified in the Initial Run settings.
• Test Only - at the scheduled date and time causes
the replication policy to be tested: The object
replication policy runs once, as a test only, at the time
scheduled in the Initial Run field. During a test run, the
system assesses if the object replication policy will run
successfully as currently configured. The test also
calculates the amount of data to be replicated. The
results should be checked in the object replication Status
& Reports page before scheduling an actual run.

Note: A test may take a long time to run,

depending on the size of the files system being
replicated. Additionally, the results of a test run
are not displays on the Status page. Only actual
replication results are shown on the Status
page; however, if you schedule and run the
policy as a test only, error messages appear if
the test fails.

OK Saves configuration changes, and closes the page.

cancel Closes the page without saving configuration changes.

3. Enter the requested information.

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 4. Click OK.

Modifying an object replication schedule

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > Object Replication to display

the Object Replication page.
2. Fill the check box next to the schedule to modify to display the Modify
Object Replication Schedule page.

Field/Item Description

Details

Policy Displays the name of the replication policy with the schedule that is
being modified.

Policy Status Displays the status of the last run of this policy.

Schedule Enabled Indicates if the policy schedule is currently enabled or disabled. If

the schedule is disabled, the policy will not be run automatically. If
the schedule is disabled, click enable to reactivate (enable) the
policy. If the schedule is enabled, click disable to deactivate (but not
delete) the policy.

Next Run

Reschedule Fill this check box to change the schedule of the next replication
specified by this schedule:
• Immediately: Start as soon as the schedule is created runs
the associated policy as soon as the schedule is successfully
created.
• Scheduled schedules the next run of the associated policy for
the date and time specified in this section. Specify the time,
using the 24 hour format (such that 11:59 PM will be entered as
23:59). Specify the date for the first run of the policy. Click the
calendar next to the field, then select the start date for the
policy’s initial run.

The current SMU date and time are provided at the bottom of the
section for reference.

Run Until This optional section allows you to specify a date and time after
which the policy should no longer run.

Run Until Time Specifies the last time (in 24‐hour format) that the policy should be
run. If you specify a time, you must also specify a Run Until Date.

Run Until Date The date (day and month) the replication runs for the last time. Click
the calendar next to the field, then select the end date for the
policy’s final run. The selected date appears on the field. This is an
optional setting.

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 Field/Item Description

Schedule Type Specifies the interval, if any, between the repeated execution of the
policy to which this schedule will apply.
• Every X minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months schedules
the replication to run at the specified interval. For example, if you
set it to every 4 days, the policy will run again automatically 4
days after it completes.
• Continuous. Pause X minutes, hours, days, weeks, or
months between runs schedules the replication to run
continuously, but the replication will pause between runs for the
specified duration. For example, if you set it to pause for 1 day
between runs, after the policy completes one cycle, it will pause
for 1 day.
• Once, at the scheduled date and time schedules the policy to
run only once, at the date and time specified by the Initial Run
settings.
• Test Only ‐ at the scheduled date and time causes the
replication policy to be tested runs the policy once, as a test
only, at the time scheduled in the Initial Run field. During a
test run, the system assesses if the object replication policy will
run successfully as currently configured. The test also calculates
the amount of data to be replicated. The results should be
checked in the Object Replication Status & Reports page
before scheduling an actual run.

Note: A test can take a long time to run, depending on

the size of the files system being replicated. Additionally,
the results of a test run are not displays on the status
page. Only actual replication results are shown on the
status page; however, if you schedule and run the policy
as a test only, error messages appear if the test fails.

OK Saves configuration changes, and closes the page.

cancel Closes the page without saving configuration changes.

3. Modify the schedule as necessary.

4. Click OK.

Displaying object replication policies

Displays the replication policies and schedules you have created, and allows
you manage those policies and schedules.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Data Protection > Object Replication to display

the Object Replication page.

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 Field/Item Description

Policies

Name Identifies the replication policy.

Source Source of the replication, identified using:

• EVS: Name of the EVS on the source server that the replication
source file system is owned by.
• File System: Name of the replication source file system.

Target Destination of the replication:

• EVS: Name of the EVS on the target server that the replication
target file system is bound to.
• File System: Name of the target (destination) file system.

Status Light indicator and short status message for successful and failed
replication jobs. For the indicators:
• Green indicates that a successful replication job has completed.
• Red indicates a failed replication job and lists the reason for failure.
• Gray indicates replication job for which no status information could
be found. Either the replication has never been run, or status
information is not available.

Note: In the case of a replication failure, the next time a

replication starts, the data management engine attempts to
restart the failed replication instead of starting a new
replication.

details Displays the details of the selected policy.

add Advances to Add Object Replication Policy page.

delete Fill the check box next to each policy you want to remove, and then click
delete.

run now Fill the check box next to each policy you want to run, and then click
run now.

abort To abort one or more running replication operations, fill the check box
next to the policy or policies you want to abort, and then click abort.

Object Advances to the Object Replication Status & Reports page.

Replication
Status & Reports

Schedules

ID ID assigned to the replication policy.

Policy Name of the replication policy.

Next Run Month, date, year and time for the next scheduled replication run for
this policy.

Interval Frequency at which the replication has been scheduled to run.

details Displays the details of the selected schedule.

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 Field/Item Description

add Advances to the Add an Object Replication Schedule page.

remove Fill the check box next to the schedule you want to remove, and then
click remove.

Displaying object replication status and reports

This page displays detailed information about the status of object replication
operations. This page displays a list of reports for all policies for the selected
file system. You may view reports for policies in all file systems on that EVS,
or you can select one source file system to see all policy details associated
with that file system only. Additionally, this page displays the status of each
run of a policy, and whether the run was full or incremental.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Home > Object Replication Status & Reports to display

the Object Replication Status & Reports page.

Field/Item Description

Policy Displays the name of the replication policy for which the report was
created.

Policy The list of all object replication policies associated with the EVS and file
systems shown in the EVS/file system field. Or, the list all instances of
one policy, selected in the Policy list.

Source The source file system and its associated snapshot rule.

Target The target file system and its associated snapshot rule.
You can sort and reverse the order of the snapshot list by clicking
snapshot. Start The time that the object replication policy ran. You can
sort and reverse the order of the list by clicking Time.

Start Time Displays the time that the object replication policy was started.

Status Displays the status of a run of the policy, showing whether an

incremental or full replication has completed.

details Displays a detailed log of all status and data for a particular replication
policy that is running or has completed running.

delete reports Selects the reports to delete. A dialog box displays with a list of all
object replication policies associated with the EVS. You may select All
policies, or one specific policy. All reports in the selected policy's history
are deleted.

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 Field/Item Description

download all Downloads a .csv file containing data and status of all the object
reports replication policies on the server. The downloaded file is displayed as a
spreadsheet.

2. Click details to display the details of a report.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 4
Transferring primary access
A transfer of primary access copies data from a portion of a file system and
relocates the access points for that data, or relocates an entire file system
and its access points (copying the data and metadata), with very little down
time, while the file system is live and servicing file read requests. For a short
period, access is limited to read-only.

A transfer of primary access cannot move all attributes/relationships for a file

system, but it can move most of them. For example:
• The following can be moved:
○ CIFS Shares (if within replicated path)
○ NFS Exports (if within replicated path)
○ FTP Initial Directories/Users (if within replicated path)
○ Snapshot Rules
○ CNS Links
• The following cannot be moved:
○ iSCSI Targets
○ Global Symlinks

A transfer of primary access can be performed on any replication policy as

long as the following conditions are met:
1. A full replication has completed. Preferably an incremental replication
should also have completed.
2. The snapshot required to support another incremental replication must
still be available.

Note: For any given replication policy, only one transfer of primary access
operation may be in progress at any time.

□ How a transfer of primary access moves CNS links

□ Process of transferring primary access

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How a transfer of primary access moves CNS links
Using the diagram below as a sample file system:

When replicating the file system path beginning at “D,” CNS links are
transferred as follows:
• If the file system is linked to the CNS tree at “A” or “B,” the CNS link is not
moved and is listed in the replication report as an error. The CNS link is
not moved because doing so would deny access to the file system at point
“E.”

Note: In this situation, users will be able to access the “old” data after the
replication and transfer of primary access are complete. After a successful
transfer of primary access, the original source data should either be
removed or made inaccessible by network clients (permissions should be
changed).

• If the replication is within the cluster, and the file system is linked to the
CNS tree at “D” or below, then the CNS link is moved and is listed in the
replication report as having been successfully moved.
• If the file system is linked to the CNS tree at “C” or “E,” the CNS link is not
moved and it is not listed in the replication report, because it is not
relevant to the path being replicated.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 Process of transferring primary access
A single transfer of primary access operation may be in progress at any time
for any given replication policy, and the process for the transfer of primary
access is as follows:

Procedure

1. Put the source and destination (target) file systems into “syslock” mode.

When a file system is in Syslock mode, the storage server allows read-
only access to the file system, but not write access.

The storage server ensures that the target file system data is consistent
with the source file system data before primary access is transferred.
This involves making the source and destination file systems read-only
for a short time. Although any arbitrary directory can be relocated, the
entire source file system is set to syslocked mode while the final
replication operation is in progress. For more information on syslock
mode, refer to the File Services Administration Guide.
2. Notify clients that a short period of read-only access will be necessary
while data and file system settings are relocated.
3. Replicate the data and file system settings to the new location.
After a transfer of primary access has been started, the SMU monitors
the replication to determine when it is complete. When the replication is
complete, the SMU starts moving configuration information automatically.
The following table describes how network access points on the source
file system are moved or deleted:

Source File System Destination

Setting/Network
Access Point Being Another EVS in the An EVS on Another
Within the EVS
Moved Same Cluster Server or Cluster

CIFS Shares (if within Moved (path is Moved (deleted from Moved (added to
replicated path) modified). source EVS then target EVS then
added on target EVS). deleted from source
Clients that had the EVS).
share mounted before Clients that had the
the transfer of share mounted before Clients that had the
primary access do not the transfer of share mounted before
have to remount the primary access must the transfer of
share after the remount the share primary access must
transfer. after the transfer only remount the share
if the share was not after the transfer.
to a directory in the
CNS.
NFS Exports (if within Moved (path is Moved (deleted from Moved (added to
replicated path) modified). source EVS then target EVS then
added on target EVS). deleted from source
EVS).

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 Source File System Destination
Setting/Network
Access Point Being Another EVS in the An EVS on Another
Within the EVS
Moved Same Cluster Server or Cluster

Note:
Clients that
had the
export
mounted
before the
transfer of
primary
access must
mount the
export again
after the
transfer (the
NFS mount
becomes
stale after
the transfer).

FTP Initial If all users within an If all users within an initial directory can be
Directories/Users (if initial directory can be moved, the initial directory is also moved.
within replicated moved, the initial
path) directory is also If all users within an initial directory cannot
moved. be moved, users are moved where possible,
and the initial directory is duplicated.
If all users within an
initial directory cannot
be moved, no users
are moved and the
initial directory is not
moved.
Snapshot Rules Not moved if replicating only part of a file system.

Moved only if file system will be a standalone file system when

replicating data and access points to root (/), meaning that the target
file system will be a standalone file system when the transfer of
primary access is complete.
CNS Links If CNS entries already point to the replication If CNS links exist, the
source, then the CNS link is removed and a relocation is not
link to the new file system is added at the allowed to proceed,
corresponding path. Note, however, that if the and a message
file system is linked to the cluster name space advises the
at a point higher in the directory structure administrator to
than the root directory for the file system remove the links
path being replicated, moving the CNS link is before proceeding.
not possible. In such cases, the CNS link is
reported as an error in the list of successful/
failed transfers, and the administrator must
manually create a CNS link to the file system
in the new location.

After a transfer of primary access, network

clients will not be able to access the file

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 Source File System Destination
Setting/Network
Access Point Being Another EVS in the An EVS on Another
Within the EVS
Moved Same Cluster Server or Cluster

system through the a CNS name space if any

of the following are true:
• The file system did not have CNS links.
• The file system’s CNS links were not
moved.
• The file system was replicated to another
server or cluster.

To access the file system in its new location,

network clients must reconnect through CIFS
shares or NFS exports pointing to the
relocated file system or to a CNS name space
into which the file system is linked. NFS
clients pointing to a CNS name space will not
experience any interruption.

Note: If clients will not access the

relocated file system using CNS links,
they must access it using new IP
addresses.

iSCSI Targets Not moved.

Global Symlinks Not moved.

Note: For CIFS shares and NFS exports: if possible, a text file backup of
the moved shares and export will be left on the SMU.

4. Bring the target file system online.

The system administrator receives instructions to bring the target file

system on-line, by allowing read/write access. Read/write access is re-
enabled on the entire source file system unless it was syslocked
originally).

The SMU tracks/records the progress of the final replication. Status of

the network access point relocation is available through the Status and
Reports page; replication failures are logged and can be viewed by
following a link from the replication report.
5. Begin servicing file service requests from the relocated file system.
6. If the source file system was online when the transfer of primary access
was started, put it back online by taking it out of syslocked mode.

Note: If the SMU is rebooted during a transfer of primary access, the

source file system may not be returned to its original online state. If the
SMU is rebooted during a transfer of primary access, you may have to

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
 take the file system out of syslock manually, from the File System
Details page. For more information on syslock mode, refer to the File
Services Administration Guide.

After the final replication has completed, the original source data is still
present on the source. This data can be accessed (and modified) through
access points configured higher up in the directory tree, and should be
deleted manually.

Note: After the successful completion of a transfer of primary access,

the original server data should be removed or made inaccessible.

All replication schedules configured for the replication policy are set to
inactive once the transfer of primary access is completed, and these
inactive policies should then be deleted manually.

Handling a failure during a transfer of primary access

Ifa failure occurs during a transfer of primary access:
• The target file system is not brought online in place of the source.
• The source remains accessible and usable to network clients.
• There is no attempt to rollback after a failure.
• The SMU performs as many actions as possible but leaves the replication
policy in place.
• A partially failed final replication does not remove the replication policy/
schedule.
• The system administrator can usually resolve the issue that caused the
failure, then run transfer primary access again.

For example, when replicating several CIFS shares, one share fails to be
replicated, but the others are replicated successfully:
• The share that failed is logged to a simple text file (which is viewable from
the File Replication Report page).
• All other shares that were successfully recreated are brought online, and
deleted from the source.
• When complete, the system administrator sees the error message and
then views the text file using the File Replication Report page).
• Viewing the text file, the administrator sees that the share could not be
created on the target, perhaps because the name is already in use. The
system administrator can delete the named share either from the source
or the target, and then transfer primary access again, this time
successfully.

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Hitachi NAS Platform Replication and Disaster Recovery Administration Guide
Hitachi Data Systems

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