TECHNICAL GUIDE DataStream Coho Data SRM Integration Guide Version 2.9.0.1 February 2017 www.cohodata.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 3 Intended Audience 3 Key Components 3 Disaster Recovery Objectives 4 Disaster Recovery Challenges 4 SRM Topologies 5 Active/Passive 5 Active/Active 5 Full Bidirectional Failover 6 Deploying SRM 7 SRM Plugin 8 Site Pairing 8 Inventory mappings 9 IP customization 9 PlaceHolder Datastores 10 Placeholder VMs 10 Configuring SRM Array-based Replication 11 SiteProtect 11 SiteProtect operation 12 SiteProtect requirements 12 Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) 13 Array Managers 14 Protection Groups 15 Protection Group setup procedure 15 Scheduling Replication 16 Creating replication schedules 16 Recovery Plans 18 Customizing Recovery Plans 18 Coho Data Support Services 19 Service Information 19 Document Feedback 19 Resources 20 VMware 20 Coho Data 20 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 2
Introduction VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) provides a disaster recovery orchestration tool used to automate disaster recovery tasks. SRM is an extension of the VMware vcenter server. SRM also integrates with DataStream SiteProtect via the SRM Storage Replication Adapter (SRA). This white paper provides an overview of how to configure array-based replication integrating SRM/SRA with DataStream SiteProtect. Intended Audience This paper is intended for Business Continuity decision makers, Storage Administrators, IT Administrators, and Architects who are responsible for architecting and implementing Disaster Recovery (DR) solutions. Key Components VMware vcenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) aides in planning, testing, and executing disaster recovery, and business continuity plans. SRM automates the manual steps associated with vsphere configuration when bringing a DR site online and when failing back to the production site. SRM can also be used for planned site migrations outside of a disaster scenario. Coho Data SiteProtect provides bi-directional snapshot based replication of virtual machines between two sites. The baseline transfer involves replicating the entire VM snapshot to the DR site. Subsequent transfers replicate granular per-vm changes are then asynchronously replicated using array based snapshots. SRA (Storage Replication Adapter) is a Coho Data in-house developed SRM add-on to integrate DataStream SiteProtect replication with SRM s disaster recovery orchestration tools. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 3
Disaster Recovery Objectives The point of implementing a disaster recovery solution is to ensure business continuity in event of the unexpected site failure as well as planned site maintenance. Two metrics to use as requirements when implementing a DR solution are: Recovery Time Objective (RTO) RTO (in the SRM context) is the amount of time it takes to execute a DR plan. It is effectively the amount of time a business can tolerate downtime, after a disaster occurs. Recovery Point Objective (RPO) RPO is the maximum age of the recovered data. For example, if the last sync to a DR site was five hours before the disaster occurred, then the recovery point will be a minimum of five hours old. More frequent replication points, with a DR site, reduces this RPO value. Ideally a DR plan will have both a low RTO and RPO value measured in hours or even minutes, rather than days or weeks. Two key factors in achieving low RTO and RPO values is testing the DR plan and its ability to scale as the environment growths. Disaster Recovery Challenges The replication of virtual machines to recovery site is just the first step in the complex and challenging task of restarting business operations at a remote site, after a disaster. The following scenario is an outline of manual disaster recovery steps: 1. Data is replicated to recovery site, as per normal operation. 2. Disaster occurs, business operations have stopped. 3. DR team activates DR plan to bring critical services back online by: a. Mounting replicated volume with ESXi hosts at the DR site; b. Adding VMs back into vcenter inventory (assuming vcenter is deployed at DR site); c. Configuring/verifying networking; d. Bringing core services back online (AD, DNS, DHCP, Email); e. Bringing applications back online. 4. Business operations resume on DR site. 5. Primary site becomes available again. 6. Failback planning starts. 7. Above steps are repeated and failback to primary site is completed. 8. DR planning starts over again. 9. Recovery site is brought back online and replication begins. Without an orchestration tool to provide a level of automation, bringing a DR site online in event of a disaster can be time consuming and error prone, resulting in missed RPO and RTO objectives. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 4
SRM Topologies Active/Passive This is a popular topology for deployments where a subset of VMs that are mission critical are replicated to a DR site with limited hardware resources. Both sites have: SRM Server SRM Server Database DataStream cluster vcenter Server vcenter Database ESXi hosts Production workloads are only being run on production site. Directional (Production site -> DR site) replication is ongoing. In the event of a failure the replicated VMs are powered on a disaster recovery site. This approach has the disadvantage of idle resources that are not utilized outside of a disaster scenario. Active/Active In this topology production workloads are being run at both sites during normal business operations. SRM Server SRM Server Database DataStream cluster vcenter Server vcenter Database ESXi hosts Production workloads are being run at production site. Test and development workloads run at recovery site. Directional or bidirectional sync replication of mission critical VMs is ongoing. During a failure at the production site, non-critical VMs running at the DR site are powered down to free up resources. Replicated VMs from the production site are then powered on and utilize these same resources. The advantage of this approach is cost, there is no idle hardware. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 5
Full Bidirectional Failover Similar to the active/active topology. Production workloads are being run at both sites during normal business operations. SRM Server SRM Server Database DataStream cluster vcenter Server vcenter Database ESXi hosts Production workloads are being run at both sites during normal business operations. Bidirectional replication between both sites is ongoing. During a failure at the production site at one site, replicated VMs are powered on at the other site. Each site acts as a DR site for the other. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 6
Deploying SRM SRM implementations require the following components at both the production and protected site: vcenter Instance ESXi Hosts DataBase Instance SRM Server Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) SRM Plugin Network Ports for Site Recovery Manager 5.8 (2081159) Network Ports for Site Recovery Manager 6.0 (2103394) SRM/SRM Architecture For detailed SRM installation instructions, system requirements, compatibility matrix, and known issues and limitations see the Resources section. Operational Limits for Site Recovery Manager 5.8 (2081158) Operational Limits for Site Recovery Manager 6.0 (2105500) 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 7
SRM Plugin The installation process involves registering the SRM server with a local vcenter server. After registering the SRM server with the vcenter server and completing the installation, the SRM plugin becomes available, as a download, from the vcenter Server instance that the Site Recovery Manager Server installation extends. The SRM plugin provides a central administration point for both SRM instances (local and remote). Site Pairing After installing SRM at both sites the next step is to configure site pairing. Site pairing establishes a connection from the local site to the remote site s platform services controller (PSC). SRM 6.0 supports the following multiple PSC topologies: Two site topology with one vcenter server per PSC with or without federation. Two site topology with multiple vcenter servers per PSC with or without federation. Single site topology with a shared PSC. See vsphere 6.0 PSC frequently asked questions KB 2113115, on the Resources page. Site pairing procedure: 1. Select the Site Recovery menu. 2. From the Objects tab, right click the local site and select Pair Site 3. Enter PSC FQN, or vcenter server address if PSC and vcenter are on the same instance. 4. Select associated vcenter server instance and enter SSO credentials. The remote site should now be listed under Sites in the Site Recovery Manager Interface. The last step is to connect the client to the remote site. Remote site client connection procedure: 1. Right click remote site and select Login Site. 2. Enter remote site SSO credentials. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 8
Inventory mappings Mappings provide the default vsphere configuration settings for recovered virtual machines. Inventory mappings are available for: Networks Resources Pools Folders PlaceHolder Datastores Inventory mappings are needed by SRM to create Placeholder VMs when protection groups are configured (see Protection Groups section). Inventory mappings can be configured per VM or site wide. Network inventory mappings In addition to mapping a protect virtual machine to a network at the recovery site, IP customization rules can also be applied to VMs associated with a network mapping. IP customization This is one of the most useful features in SRM. IP customization allows you to overwrite the IP settings of a virtual machine before the VM is started at the DR site. See the VMware IP customization OS compatibility matrix, on the Resources page. Site Recovery Manager supports the following types of IP customization: Use IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. Configure different IP customizations for each site. Use DHCP, Static IPv4, or Static IPv6 addresses. Customize addresses of Windows and Linux virtual machines. Customize multiple NICs for each virtual machine. IP customization requires VMware tools on the guest OS. Basic IP customization facilitates changing: Subnet Subnet Mask Gateway DNS DNS suffixes Wins Server The dr-ip-customizer tool may be used to edit the host bits of the VM s IP address; see the link on the Resources page. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 9
PlaceHolder Datastores When array-based protection groups are used, a placeholder datastore must be specified. The placeholder datastore stores the configuration files for the placeholder VMs and must be: Visible to all host in the cluster Cannot be a replicated datastore Placeholder VMs Placeholder VMs are automatically added to the remotes sites vcenter inventory. They are a visual representation of virtual machines that are part of a protection group. When a recovery plan is run these placeholder VMs are deleted by SRM and are replaced with the recovered virtual machine. The recovered virtual machine is then powered on according to its associated recovery plan 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 10
Configuring SRM Array-based Replication With SRM array-based replication DataStream SiteProtect can be integrated into SRM. The actual replication of virtual machines will still be handled by the DataStream MicroArrays using the DataStream SiteProtect feature set. The integration of SiteProtect into SRM is accomplished by the SRA adapter. After the SRA adapter has been installed, array-managers can be configured in SRM to discover replicated devices, compute datastore groups, and initiate storage operations. SiteProtect Coho Data s SiteProtect offers bi-directional asynchronous snapshot-based replication of virtual machines between two sites. DataStream Remote Replication via SiteProtect. The key advantages are: VM-centric replication Compressed and encrypted replication No extra licensing required, supported by all controller models Everything is thin-provisioned Bi-directional replication SRM integration Supports quiescing to ensure VM, OS and application consistency Failback supported 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 11
SiteProtect operation Initial Baseline replication of entire VM. Subsequent replication is based on storage level snapshots of VM. Delta based failback. Snapshot and replication schedules can be applied at either cluster level or the virtual machine level. SiteProtect requirements It is important to understand and prepare the following before enabling DataStream SiteProtect: Replication VLAN ID (separate from NFS). Replication IP, Subnet Mask, and Gateway. DataStream management IP addresses. Layer 3 access between sites on port 443 (controls) and 8443 (data). Available bandwidth, 24 Mbps to 1024 Mbps, or unlimited. Granular per-vm snapshot delta based replication. VAAI clone space savings leveraged. Delta based failback. The default NFS Export is at the root. For replicated VMs, create a non-root export. Also, ensure that replication is enabled for snapshot schedules. See the DataStream SRA Plug-in Deployment Guide for more information. For SiteProtect release notes and SiteProtect setup instructions, see Resources section. The DataStream SiteProtect feature provides an intuitive setup wizard to aid in this task. The installation wizard verifies management connectivity between the two sites and connectivity of the replication interfaces. SiteProtect Connectivity. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 12
Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) The Storage Replication Adapter integrates SRM with DataStream SiteProtect. The SRA must be installed on both SRM instances (local and remote). See Resources section for DataStream SRA plugin download, release notes, and installation instructions. VMware Storage Replication Adapter Status. After installing the SRA at both sites, array managers can be added to the SRM sites. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 13
Array Managers After pairing the two sites and installing the SRA at both sites, the next step is to configure the array managers so that Site Recovery Manager can discover replicated devices, compute datastore groups, and initiate storage operations. Array Manager setup procedure: 1. In the Sites Recovery menu, right click one of the sites and select Add array-manager. 2. Select Add a single array manager in the options menu. 3. In the locations menu select the appropriate site 4. Next, select the SRA type. The DataStream SRA previously installed in the SRA section of this document should be listed.. 5. In the configure array manager menu enter: a. Display name. b. Management FQN of the previously selected DataStream cluster. c. DataStream cluster management IP. If SiteProtect is not configured, this step will return the error Remote replication is not configured on storage array. See the SiteProtect section for configuration instructions. 6. In the enable array pairs menu. before a peer can be selected, both sites will need to have a configured array manager. When repeating steps 1-5 at the other site, select the array pair. 7. Click Finish. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 14
Protection Groups Protection groups are collections of VMs that SRM protects as a single unit. There are functional differences between vsphere replication protection groups and array-based protection groups. Protection groups can be linked to inventory mappings and recovery plans. When a protection group for array-based replication is created, SRM links the virtual machines in the export to the datastore group. Any virtual machines migrated into the export in the datastore will automatically be added to the protection group. When protection groups are created, SRM creates placeholder virtual machines in the recovery site vcenter inventory and applies the configured inventory mappings to the placeholder VM. If SRM cannot complete the inventory mappings the VM will be marked missing and a placeholder VM will not be created. Protection Group setup procedure In the Inventory Trees menu, click on Protection Groups. From this menu, folders to categorize protection groups can be created or protection groups can be created without a folder: 1. Right click the SRM site and select Create Protection Group. 2. Enter a name and description. 3. Next, select which site is the projected site and Array Based Replication. 4. Next, select the Datastore groups. Datastore groups are datastores that must be recovered together. VMs in the selected datastores will automatically add to this protection group. 500 VMs per protection group 250 protection groups supported Protect up to 5,000 virtual machines Execute up to 10 simultaneous recovery plans contain up to 2000 VMs 5. Click Finish. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 15
Scheduling Replication The frequency at which a virtual machine is replicated depends on the RPO (recovery point object) of the applications hosted on the VM. If the RPO (max age of the data) is two hours, a snapshot of the VM should be replicated to the DR site every two hours. Because the replication schedule can be configured on a per-virtual machine basis in the DataStream UI, it is possible to group virtual machines with different RPOs in the same array-based protection group. The DataStream automation module provides commandlets to create replication schedules and apply these schedules to virtual machines. For information on the DataStream Powershell module and user guide, see the Resources section. Creating replication schedules Variable containing custom hourly replication schedule to replicate a non quiesced snapshot every thirty minutes with a retention time of one day. $HourlySchedule = New-CohoVMHourlySnapShotSchedule -Time (New-TimeSpan -minute 30) -Keep (New-TimeSpan -days 1) -Replicate Hourly Replication Schedule. Variable containing custom daily replication schedule to replicate a quiesced snapshot Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at 22:30 with retention schedule of seven days. $DailySchedule = New-CohoVMDailySnapshotSchedule -DayOfWeek (@("Mon", "Tue", "Wed")) -Time (New-TimeSpan -hour 22 -minute 30) -Keep (New-TimeSpan -Days 7) -Quiesce -Replicate Daily Replication Schedule. Variable containing custom monthly replication schedule to replicate a quiesced snapshot on the 12th day of the month at 22:00 with retention schedule of sixty days. $MonthlySchedule = New-CohoVMMonthlySnapshotSchedule -DayOfMonth 12 -Keep (New-TimeSpan -Days 60) -Time (New-TimeSpan -Hours 22) -Quiesce -Replicate Monthly Replication Schedule. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 16
Applying replication schedules to a group of virtual machines The next step is to apply a previously defined replication schedule to a virtual machine or a group of virtual machines. The best way to create filtered collections of virtual is to user VMware s PowerCli. VMware PowerCLI download link is available on the Resources page. In the example: Retrieve all the VMs hosted in datastore SRM-1, pipe these into the DataStream automation module using ConvertTo-CohoVM and then apply a previously defined hourly schedule (or daily or monthly). Get-Datastore -Name SMR-1 Get-VM ConvertTo-CohoVM Set-CohoVMSnapshotSchedule -Hourly $HourlySchedule Hourly Replication Schedule. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 17
Recovery Plans Recovery plans define a list of operations that will performed on a protect VM at the recovery site in the event of a failure or planned migration. The order in which recovery steps are performed is completely customizable. Recovery plans are: Recovery plans are created at the remote site to ensure their availability in the event the production site becomes unavailable. Recovery plans can be associated with more than one protection group. Only one recovery plan can execute on a protection group a time. SRM recovery plans include: List of virtual machines in the recovery plan associated protection group. Any custom step to be performed on a VM before or after the VM is started. Which virtual machines at the recovery site should be suspended. The startup priority of those virtual machines. Prompts that require user input before moving onto the next step. Creating recovery plans: Select the site The protection group that will be associated with the recovery plan Network selection (network mappings) Add recovery plan name and description Two network are selected, the Recovery Network and the Test Network. The recovery network is used when doing a planned migration or failover, the recovery network is used when testing the recovery plan. Customizing Recovery Plans After the recovery plan is created, the next steps is to configure the recovery plan parameters; for example: Synchronization. Actions to perform on hosts (restore host from standby). Prompts (admin prompts that require feedback from the administrator executing the recovery plan). Any custom steps. VM start priorities. VMs to be suspended. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 18
Coho Data Support Services Service Information Every effort was made to ensure a trouble-free experience. Should you experience any difficulty with 1 your Coho Data products, please contact Coho Data Technical Support. The Coho Data support center can be reached in the following ways: North America 855-786-2646 Email support@cohodata.com Web www.cohodata.com/support Document Feedback We appreciate any feedback about this document. Whenever possible or applicable, please include the document number (on front page), the title, version number, and the specific chapters or paragraphs. Send your comments to: documentation@cohodata.com. Note: All comments become the property of Coho Data. 1 Please consult your technical support agreement for more information about your support tier. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 19
Resources For additional information, we recommend the following sources: VMware VMware SRM Documentation. https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/srm_pubs.html Release Notes Installation Instructions Documentation Center Version 5.8 version 5.8 version 5.8 Version 6 version 6 version 6.0 vsphere 6.0 PSC frequently asked questions KB ( 2113115 ) VMware IP customization OS compatibility matrix. Customizing IP Properties for Multiple Virtual Machines By Using the DR IP Customizer Tool. VMware PowerCLI information and download, here. For more information on creating, testing, running, and failing back recovery plans with SRM 6.0 see the following VMware resources: Creating/executing/testing recovery plan How SRM handles failback Coho Data Coho Data Resources are available on the Coho Data Customer Portal. Please contact Coho Data customer support if you are unable to locate a required resource. DataStream Remote Replication Configuration Guide DataStream User Guide DataStream SRA Plug-in Deployment Guide Coho Data Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) Plugin 2017 Coho Data. All rights reserved. The Coho Data logo, DataStream, and MicroArray are trademarks of Coho Data in Canada, United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks, service marks, and trade names referenced in this document are those of their respective owners. No part of this document or other Coho Data document assets may be reproduced without the express written consent of Coho Data. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this document is accurate; however, errors and/or omissions in content are possible. In no event shall Coho Data be liable for incidental or consequential damages arising from use of this document or the software and hardware described in this document. Content is subject to change without prior notice. 204-0029NA DataStream SRM Integration Guide 2.9.0.1 20