To create a new VMFS datastore from an ActiveDR enabled pod, login to the vSphere Client. In general, Everpure recommends the use of vSphere clusters to manage hosts. In order to provision to a host or a cluster, the hosts must be configured for connectivity. On a FlashArray there is an object called a host (a collection of initiators that represent a physical host) and a host group (a collection of hosts). Everpure recommends a 1:1 correlation between a host group and a cluster.
For the cluster you would like to provision to, ensure that a host group has been created. If it has not, right-click on a ESXi cluster object and choose Everpure > Add Host Group. If this is already completed, you can skip this step and go to creating a new datastore.
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1) Right-click on a cluster |
2) Click Everpure, then Add Host Group |
3) Choose FlashArray, FC/iSCSI, and click Create. |
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Right-click on a ESXi cluster object and choose Everpure > Create Datastore. Choose VMFS as the option.
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1) Right-click on a cluster |
2) Click Everpure, then Create Datastore |
3) Choose VMFS |
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Choose a name, size and confirm the hosts to provision to (you can only choose one cluster upon initial provisioning, but you can add it to additional ones later).
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1) Choose a name and size |
2) Confirm the host or cluster to provision to |
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On the storage page, you can choose what FlashArray and optionally what pod to put the new datastore in.
If you do not see the FlashArray listed (and the desired pod) it means that the FlashArray is not yet registered with the plugin or there is no correct host group created on the FlashArray. Verify both configurations and retry.
There are three tabs; Local, Clustered, and Continuous. Local means a volume not in a pod, or a pod that has no ActiveCluster or ActiveDR relationship. Clustered refers to pods that are enabled for ActiveCluster, and Continuous refers to pods that are enabled for ActiveDR. Click Continuous and choose your desired pod.
If you do not see Continuous as an option it means that you are not using vSphere Plugin version 4.4.0 or later. Upgrade and retry.
The table will show the local pod, the remote pod (and their respective FlashArrays), the current replication direction and the current replication lag. There will be a small note if the remote pod is currently in the promoted status--this is informational only and is not a cause for concern.
Click Next. If there are any protection groups in the pod you may also choose to place that new volume in one or more protection groups to provide scheduled snapshot protection.
As of Purity 6.0.0 protection groups in an ActiveDR pod only support local snapshots--they do not also support traditional snapshot replication. But it is important to remember that standard volume snapshots and protection group snapshots do get replicated by ActiveDR to the remote pod anyway--as ActiveDR not only replicates writes but also your snapshots and their configuration.
Click Next. You may optionally also assign a bandwidth or IOPS limit. Click Next again review your choices and then click Finish.
Viewing VMFS ActiveDR status
To identify what pod a VMFS datastore is in, as well as the replication configuration/direction, click on the datastore and then the summary tab. There is a panel called FlashArray that shows the pod information, as well as direction and the hosting and target FlashArrays.
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1) Click on datastore and then Summary tab. |
2) Find FlashArray panel to see ActiveDR information |
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