Author: @Sourav Jagati @Ajinkya Nanavati
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Disaster recovery for IBM storage systems leveraging VMware vVols technology via PowerCLI offers robust capabilities for ensuring data integrity and continuity in virtualized environments. This guide outlines the essential steps and considerations necessary to implement a disaster recovery strategy using IBM's VASA Provider and VMware's PowerCLI automation framework.
Introduction
VMware Virtual Volumes (vVols) revolutionize storage management by enabling finer control and automation at the virtual machine level. IBM's VASA Provider enhances this capability by integrating IBM storage systems seamlessly into VMware environments, allowing for efficient disaster recovery operations.
Prerequisites
Before proceeding, ensure the following prerequisites are met:
- VMware vSphere environment with VMware VASA Provider configured for IBM storage systems.
- PowerCLI installed and configured on a workstation or server.
- Access credentials for VMware vCenter Server and IBM storage management interface.
Steps to Implement Disaster Recovery
1. Connect to Source (Protected) and Target (Recovery) VMware vCenter Server
Use PowerCLI to establish a connection to your VMware vCenter Server.
Connect-VIServer -Server <vCenter_Server> -User <Username> -Password <Password>
Replace <vCenter_Server>, <Username>, and <Password> with your vCenter server details.
e.g.:
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Connect-VIServer -Server source1.vc.domain.com -Protocol https -User administrator@vsphere.local -Password sourcePw12!
Name Port User
---- ---- ----
source1.vc.domain.com 443 VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Connect-VIServer -Server target1.vc.domain.com -Protocol https -User administrator@vsphere.local -Password targetPw12!
Name Port User
---- ---- ----
target1.vc.domain.com 443 VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator
2. Retrieve IBM vVol SPBM Replication Group
Fetch details about the Storage Policy-Based Management (SPBM) replication group configured for IBM VVol.
This cmdlet retrieves replication groups. The replication groups can be of type source or target.
Get-SpbmReplicationGroup [[-Name] <String[]>] [-Datastore <Datastore[]>] [-Server <VIServer[]>] -StoragePolicy <SpbmStoragePolicy> [<CommonParameters>]
e.g.
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... Target
3. Retrieve SPBM Replication Pair
Retrieve details of the replication pair within the specified replication group.
This cmdlet retrieves the relation of replication groups in a pair of source and target replication group.
Get-SpbmReplicationPair [-Server <VIServer[]>] [-Source <SpbmReplicationGroup[]>] [-SourceFaultDomain <SpbmFaultDomain[]>] [-Target <SpbmReplicationGroup[]>] [-TargetFaultDomain <SpbmFaultDomain[]>] [<CommonParameters>]
e.g.
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Get-SpbmReplicationPair
Source Group Target Group
------------ ------------
myvVolVG-60-001 rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-425e-...
4. Prepare Failover Replication Group
Prepare the IBM VVol replication group for failover if required by your disaster recovery plan.
Start-SpbmReplicationPrepareFailover [-ReplicationGroup] <SpbmReplicationGroup[]> [-RunAsync ] [-Server <VIServer[]>] [-Confirm ] [-WhatIf ] [<CommonParameters>]
e.g.
Start-SpbmReplicationPrepareFailover -ReplicationGroup $sourceRg
Performs the preparation of a planned failover on the $sourceRg source replication group.
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Start-SpbmReplicationPrepareFailover -ReplicationGroup $replicationGroup[0]
5. Synchronize Replication Group
Initiate synchronization of the IBM VVol replication group to ensure data consistency.
This cmdlet synchronizes the data between source and replica for the specified replication group. The replicas of the devices in the replication group are updated and a new point in time replica is created. This function should be called at the replication target location.
Sync-SpbmReplicationGroup [-ReplicationGroup] <SpbmReplicationGroup[]> -PointInTimeReplicaName <String> [-RunAsync ] [-Server <VIServer[]>] [-Confirm ] [-WhatIf ] [<CommonParameters>]
eg.
Sync-SpbmReplicationGroup -ReplicationGroup $targetRg -PointInTimeReplicaName 'MyReplica'
Synchronizes the devices in the source replication group that corresponds to the $targetRg target replication group, creates a point in time replica of the devices at the target site, and names the replica 'MyReplica'.
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Sync-SpbmReplicationGroup -PointInTimeReplicaName $replicationGroup[1] -ReplicationGroup $replicationGroup[1]
Name CreationTime ReplicationGroup
---- ------------ ----------------
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... 05-07-2024 15:43:52 rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-...
6. Perform Failover Replication Group
Execute failover in the event of a disaster, specifying whether it's forced (immediate) or planned (scheduled).
This cmdlet performs a failover of the devices in the specified replication groups. This cmdlet should be called at the replication target location. After the operation succeeds, the devices will be ready to be registered by using the virtual machine file path.
Start-SpbmReplicationFailover [-ReplicationGroup] <SpbmReplicationGroup[]> [-CheckOnly ] [-PointInTimeReplica <SpbmPointInTimeReplica[]>] [-RunAsync ] [-Server <VIServer[]>] [-SourceVvolIdMap <Hashtable>] [-Unplanned ] [-Confirm ] [-WhatIf ] [<CommonParameters>]
e.g.
Start-SpbmReplicationFailover -ReplicationGroup $targetRg -Unplanned
Performs an unplanned failover on the $targetRg target replication group.
# Replication State Before Failover Replication Group
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... Target
#Run Failover Replication Group
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Start-SpbmReplicationFailover -ReplicationGroup $replicationGroup[1] -Unplanned
[vVolCP1-evp-fs5200-4-cl] rfc4122.b0f545c2-e866-4400-a5c9-7200f445c9a0/RepVM-StorPol-60-myvVolVG-60-004-001.vmx
# Replication State After Failover Replication Group
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... FAILEDOVER
7. Reverse Replication Group (Reprotect)
Reverse replication to protect the environment again after failover.
This cmdlet initiates reverse replication, by making the currently failed over replication group the source and its peer replication group the target. The devices in the replication group will start getting replicated to this new target site, which was the source before the failover.
Start-SpbmReplicationReverse [-ReplicationGroup] <SpbmReplicationGroup[]> [-RunAsync ] [-Server <VIServer[]>] [-Confirm ] [-WhatIf ] [<CommonParameters>]
e.g.
Start-SpbmReplicationReverse -ReplicationGroup $targetRg
Reverses the direction of replication for $targetRg target replication group. The $targetRg replication group becomes the source replication group and the corresponding source replication group becomes the target replication group.
# Replication State after Failover Replication Group
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... FAILEDOVER
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
# Run Reverse Replication Group
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Start-SpbmReplicationReverse -ReplicationGroup $replicationGroup[7]
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
# Replication State after Reverse Replication Group
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... Target
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
8. Test Failover Replication Group
Conduct a test failover to validate the disaster recovery plan without impacting production.
This cmdlet performs a test failover of a target replication group. If the operation succeeds, the replication state of the replication group becomes InTest.
Start-SpbmReplicationTestFailover [-ReplicationGroup] <SpbmReplicationGroup[]> [-CheckOnly ] [-PointInTimeReplica <SpbmPointInTimeReplica[]>] [-RunAsync ] [-Server <VIServer[]>] [-SourceVvolIdMap <Hashtable>] [-Unplanned ] [-Confirm ] [-WhatIf ] [<CommonParameters>]
e.g.
Start-SpbmReplicationTestFailover -ReplicationGroup $targetRg
Performs a test failover of an unplanned type on the $targetRg target replication group,
# Replication State Before Start Test Failover
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... Target
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
#Perform Start Test Failover
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Start-SpbmReplicationTestFailover -ReplicationGroup $replicationGroup[0]
[vVolCP1-evp-fs5200-3-cl] rfc4122.bc190d31-f918-42d9-b336-04848d5a676c/RepVM-StorPol-60-myvVolVG-60-004-001.vmx
# Replication State After Start Test Failover
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... InTest
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
9. Stop Test Failover Replication (Clean UP)
Terminate the test failover process once validation is complete.
This cmdlet stops the test failover on the specified replication groups and tries to perform a cleanup on the target site. After successful completion the replication group state returns to Target.
Stop-SpbmReplicationTestFailover [-ReplicationGroup] <SpbmReplicationGroup[]> [-Force ] [-RunAsync ] [-Server <VIServer[]>] [-Confirm ] [-WhatIf ] [<CommonParameters>]
e.g.
Stop-SpbmReplicationTestFailover -ReplicationGroup $targetRg
Performs the cleanup of a test failover done on the $targetRg target replication group.
# Replication State After Test Failover Start
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... InTest
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
# Stop Test Failover
PS C:\Users\MYPC> Stop-SpbmReplicationTestFailover -ReplicationGroup $replicationGroup[0]
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
rfc4122.0ec71f33-189e-... Target
# Replication State After Test Failover Stop
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup = Get-SpbmReplicationGroup
PS C:\Users\MYPC> $replicationGroup
Name ReplicationState
---- ----------------
rfc4122.e3aebd3b-367c-... Target
myvVolVG-60-001 Source
Conclusion
Implementing VMware vVol based disaster recovery for IBM storage systems using PowerCLI and IBM VASA Provider enhances data protection and business continuity capabilities. By leveraging these technologies, organizations can achieve efficient management and automation of disaster recovery processes, ensuring minimal downtime and maximum data integrity in virtualized environments.
This blog provides a comprehensive overview of the steps involved in setting up and executing VMware vVol based disaster recovery for IBM storage systems, empowering IT teams to enhance their disaster recovery strategies effectively