Configuring LAN-free data movement

Edit online

You can configure the client and server so that the client, through a storage agent, can move data directly to storage on a SAN.

About this task

LAN-free data movement is provided by the IBM Storage Protect for SAN product. For more information, see the documentation for IBM Storage Protect for SAN.

Procedure

To configure LAN-free data movement, complete the following steps.

  1. Verify the network connection.
  2. Establish communications among the client, storage agent, and the server.
  3. Install and configure software on client systems.
  4. Configure devices on the server for the storage agent to access.
  5. Configure IBM Storage Protect policies for LAN-free data movement for the client.
  6. If you are using shared FILE storage, install and configure IBM Storage Scale.
    Windows operating systemsRestriction: If an IBM Storage Scale volume is formatted by an AIX® server, the Windows system uses TCP/IP to transfer data and not the storage area network.
  7. Define paths from the storage agent to drives.
  8. Start the storage agent and verify the LAN-free configuration.

What to do next

To help you tune the use of your LAN and SAN resources, you can control the path that data transfers take for clients with the capability of LAN-free data movement. To control the path, run the following command: UPDATE NODE

For each client, you can select one of the following settings for data read and write operations. Specify data read operations by using the DATAREADPATH parameter and data write operations by using the DATAWRITEPATH parameter. The parameter is optional. The default value is ANY.
LAN (LAN path only)
If either of the following conditions is true, specify the LAN value:
  • You want to back up or restore a small amount of data.
  • The client does not have SAN connectivity.
LANFREE (LAN-free path only)
If the client and server are on the same SAN and any of the following conditions are true, specify the LANFREE value:
  • You want to back up or restore a large amount of data.
  • You want to offload the server processing load to the client.
  • You want to relieve LAN congestion.
ANY (Any available path)
If a LAN-free path is available that path is used. If a LAN-free path is not available, the data is moved by using the LAN.