Configuring replication

Configure a source and target server pair to replicate client data.

Before you begin

Restriction: You can use the following procedure to configure replication only if both servers are running IBM Spectrum Protect 8.1.12 or earlier. If you are running version 8.1.13 or later, you can configure replication by defining replication storage rules.
Consider using replication storage rules: The following information applies to command-initiated replication, which was the only way to configure and start replication in versions earlier than IBM Spectrum Protect 8.1.13. With command-initiated replication, you define a replication server pair by using the SET REPLSERVER command, and create administrative schedules for the REPLICATE NODE and PROTECT STGPOOL commands. Although you do not issue these commands directly in the Operations Center, certain actions and wizards in the Operations Center issue the commands in the background or define administrative schedules for the commands.

Starting in version 8.1.13, you can use storage-rule initiated replication. With storage-rule-initiated replication, you configure and schedule replication by defining replication storage rules. You can define replication storage rules from the Storage Rules page of the Operations Center. To open the Storage Rules page, on the Operations Center menu bar, click Storage > Storage Rules.

Storage-rule-initiated replication has the following advantages over the earlier approach:

  • By using replication storage rules, you can configure replication of client data from a source replication server to multiple target replication servers. For example, you might want to replicate data to an additional target server for disaster recovery preparedness or to transition to a new server or to a new cloud service provider. You also might want to distribute data across different target replication servers to balance the load or for faster recovery based on the location of the servers and clients.
  • If a storage rule replicates data from a container storage pool on the source replication server to a container pool on a target replication server, you can later use the REPAIR STGPOOL command to repair damaged extents on the source replication server. The damaged extents can be repaired by using undamaged copies from the target replication server. Unlike command-initiated replication, you do not have to schedule the PROTECT STGPOOL command to run protection processing separately. Unlike the PROTECT STGPOOL command, which enables only directory-container storage pools to be repaired, replication storage rules also enable cloud-container storage pools to be repaired.

If you are currently using command-initiated replication, consider storage-rule initiated replication instead. To review the high-level steps for moving to replication storage rules, see Transitioning from command-initiated replication to storage-rule-initiated replication.

Ensure that the following requirements are met before you configure replication:

  • The storage capacity and processing capability of the target server must be at least equivalent to the source server.
  • The source and target servers must be managed by the same Operations Center instance.
  • The source and target servers must be defined to one another, which requires that you set a password for each server. You can set the passwords by using the SET SERVERPASSWORD command, or you can use the Add Server Pair wizard to set a password for both servers.
  • Communication between the source and target servers must be secured by using the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol. If either the source or the target replication server is also the Operations Center hub server, secure communication was configured when the other server was connected as a spoke server. If you are configuring replication between two spoke servers that are running IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.5 or later, the wizard determines whether the necessary certificates were already exchanged between the servers. If the certificates were not already exchanged, the wizard can transfer the certificates automatically. If you are configuring replication between two spoke servers and either server is running a version of IBM Spectrum Protect that is earlier than version 8.1.5, you can manually exchange certificates between the servers. For more information about manually exchanging certificates, see the IBM Spectrum Protect documentation.
If either of the following conditions exist in your storage environment, consider using Aspera FASP technology to improve network throughput:
  • Average delays for data-transfer operations exceed 50 milliseconds.
  • Packet loss is greater than 0.05%.

Aspera FASP technology is available when you purchase the IBM Spectrum Protect High Speed Data Transfer product. An evaluation license is available by request.

To use Aspera FASP, the source and target servers must be running on a Linux x86_64 operating system.

For information about obtaining licenses and configuring Aspera FASP, see the IBM Spectrum Protect documentation.

Tips:
  • Ensure that at least one directory-container storage pool exists on the target replication server. With this configuration, you can schedule storage pool protection, which improves replication performance and enables the automatic repair of damaged files.
  • Use container storage pools to deduplicate client data before it is replicated.
  • The network connection between the source and target servers might require more bandwidth to support the replication workload.
  • Depending on the amount of data to be replicated and the network speed, the initial synchronization process can take a significant amount of time to complete. Consider using one of the following methods to accelerate the process:
    • Use the IBM Spectrum Protect export feature to copy client data to the target server. You can transfer the data over a network connection or move it physically by exporting to tape or other storage media.
    • To transfer larger amounts of data, you can copy the entire storage array or subsystem of the source server and move it to the target server. Another option is to run replication locally over a high-speed connection and then ship the target server to the replication site.

Procedure

  1. On the Operations Center menu bar, hover over Storage and click Replication.
  2. On the Replication page, click + Server Pair.
  3. Complete the steps in the Add Server Pair wizard.

What to do next

All the clients that are registered to the source server are enabled for replication. You can disable replication for one or more clients by using the Set Replication action on the Clients page.

If data on the source server is lost, you can recover the data from the target server. For more information about recovering lost data after a disaster, see the IBM Spectrum Protect documentation.