VMware SRM 6.1 with 3PAR replication

VMware’s Site Recovery Manager is your automated disaster recovery run book. You can replicate your virtual machines using vSphere replication, or you can let your storage arrays do the heavy lifting. In this demonstration we’ll configure SRM 6.1 with 3PAR replication.

Prerequisites:

1. Protected and recovery SRM sites are paired. Refer to VMware’s documentation for instructions.
2. Remote copy is configured between two 3PAR arrays. This can be over ethernet or fibre channel.
3. SRM user accounts are configured on each array.

Instructions:

1. Download the SRA (storage replication adapter) from HP and install the .msi on each SRM node.
2. RDP to each SRM node and execute the following for all local 3PAR arrays

   TPDSrm.exe validatecert -sys 3PAR_Name -user Username -pass Password
   
   

   (TPDSrm is located in x:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\storage\sra\3PARInServ)

3. Answer Yes when prompted
4. Launch your vSphere Web Client
5. Click on Site Recovery
   
6. Click on Array Based Replication
7. Click on the Add Array Manager button
8. Select Add a pair of array managers (default option) and click next
9. Select the site where the secondary array lives and click Next
10. Select the HP 3PAR SRA Software as the SRA type and click Next
11. Enter the array information for the primary site including the credentials for the SRM account you created on the 3PAR
12. Enter the array information for the DR site including the credentials for the SRM account you created on the 3PAR
13. Enable the Array Pair and click Next
    
14. Review your settings and click Finish

You might see errors on the newly added arrays…

You can view the details of the error under the array’s manage tab

“SRA command ‘discoverDevices’ failed. Error. Remote Copy group is not available. Create and configure Remote Copy group in your Storage System.” This is pretty straight forward, we need to create a remote copy group in our 3PARs.

1. Log in to the 3PAR Management Console
2. Select remote copy
3. Right click on your periodic copy folder and click create remote copy group
4. Select your source and destination targets and name the group then click next
5. Select your source and destination volumes
6. Click add and then next
7. Click finish
8. Log into the vSphere Web Client and click on discover devices in the array pairs management tab
9. Click yes
10. After a few moments, SRM has discovered our replicated volume! Note that we are looking at this from the DR site and that’s why the status says incoming replication. The main site will show outgoing replication
11. All statuses are clear!