Configuring for remote mirroring on XIV

When you configure IBM® Storage Protect Snapshot, you can set the configuration parameters to create snapshots by using target volumes of remote mirroring relationships. These target volumes are used to create application consistent snapshot backups.

About this task

To configure IBM Storage Protect Snapshot with XIV Synchronous Remote Mirroring and Asynchronous Remote Mirroring, complete the following steps:

Procedure

  1. On the SAN Volume Controller or Storwize® family system, create a partnership between the primary and secondary clusters.
    For example, you can run the following commands from the command-line interface:
    ssh -i/dir/ssh-identity username@hostname or ip_primary_cluster 
    	svctask mkpartnership -bandwidth bandwidth_in_mbps remote_cluster_name 
    	or remote_cluster_id
  2. Start the Global Mirror and Metro Mirror relationship by using either the graphical user interface or command-line interface.
    If you use the command-line interface, the following commands are provided as an example:
    ssh -i/dir/ssh-identity username@hostname or ip_primary_cluster 
    	svctask chpartnership -start remote_cluster_name or remote_cluster_id
  3. Verify that the following information is true for the environment:
    • The production volumes are on the primary storage system.
    • The production volumes are in a remote mirror relationship with the remote volumes that are either in the secondary cluster, or in the same cluster.
    • All the remote mirror relationships are defined in a consistency group.
  4. Run the Configuration Wizard to configure a dedicated device class for snapshot backups on the remote cluster.
    Select yes for COPYSERVICES_REMOTE_SERVERNAME. COPYSERVICES_REMOTE_USERNAME, and TAKEOVER_HOST_NAME parameters are also required for remote mirroring.
  5. The SSH parameter SVC_SSHKEY_FULLPATH specifies the path and the file name to the private SSH key file required for SAN Volume Controller. For remote mirroring, SVC_REMOTE_SSHKEY_FULLPATH specifies the second SSH key file to be used for authentication on the remote site storage device. The key file is used to authenticate to the storage system with the user name specified for the COPYSERVICES_REMOTE_USERNAME parameter. If you do not want to create a new key pair for the remote site, one key can be shared for both storage sites.
  6. If you are using SAN Volume Controller with static target allocation, you must allocate target volumes. On the remote cluster of the SAN Volume Controller or Storwize family, specify the corresponding snapshot target volumes for each source.
    To specify the snapshot target volumes, use one of the following options:
    • Parameter TARGET_SETS with VOLUMES_FILE. For example:
      TARGET_SETS VOLUMES_FILE
      VOLUMES_FILE /<component database>/DS0/acs/volumes/STANDARD_gm.fct
    • Parameter TARGET_SETS with TARGET_NAMING. For example:
      TARGET_SETS dc2 dc3 dc4 dc5
      TARGET_NAMING %SOURCEx%TARGETSET
  7. Verify the username and password before saving and exiting the Configuration Wizard.

Example

The following information is provided as an example of how a team can complete asynchronous remote mirror configuration across two sites:
To configure IBM Storage Protect Snapshot with IBM XIV® Storage System with Asynchronous Remote Mirroring at both sites, certain ports must be open within the firewalls:
  • On the production system, the production host, backup host, and primary XIV system must have ports open within the firewall.
  • On the takeover system, the takeover host, backup host, and secondary XIV system must have ports open within the firewall.
For both the primary and secondary sites, the following ports must be open within the firewall:
  • TCP port 3260 (iSCSI) open within firewalls for iSCSI replication
  • Ports: http, https, ssh, and telnet
  • TCP/IP ports: 55697, 5997, 5998, and 7778
All ports must be bidirectional.