EMC D-RP-OE-A-24 - Dell RecoverPoint Operate Achievement

The priority level of a Consistency Group in Dell RecoverPoint is used to manage bandwidth allocation among multiple CGs that share the same primary RecoverPoint Appliance (RPA). Here’s how it works:

Priority Level Setting: The priority level is set within the CG’s settings, indicating its importance relative to other CGs.

Bandwidth Allocation: The higher the priority level, the more bandwidth is allocated to that CG when bandwidth is limited.

Resource Management: This setting helps ensure that critical CGs receive the necessary resources for replication, especially during peak times or when system resources are constrained.

Replication Efficiency: By managing bandwidth allocation through priority levels, RecoverPoint can maintain efficient replication and meet Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) for all CGs1.

This feature is particularly important in environments with multiple CGs and limited bandwidth, as it allows administrators to ensure that the most critical data is replicated first1.

In a Distributed Consistency Group (DCG) configuration, the primary RPA and secondary RPAs work together to manage a larger data throughput than a single RPA can handle. This is achieved by dividing the workload among multiple RPAs. As a result, there is an increase in traffic observed on the WAN network between the RPAs.This is because the data that is being replicated needs to be transferred over the WAN to ensure that all RPAs have the necessary information to maintain consistency and data protection1.

The process involves:

The primary RPA receives write I/Os from the production environment.

The primary RPA then distributes the data to the secondary RPAs over the WAN.

The secondary RPAs process the data and replicate it to their respective Journal volumes.

This distribution of workload allows the DCG to handle higher throughput and IOPS rates than a single RPA could manage1.

It’s important to note that while there is additional traffic on the WAN, this does not necessarily mean that the FC (Fibre Channel) links or management network are unaffected.However, the most significant increase in traffic is observed on the WAN network, which is the communication link between the RPAs in a DCG configuration1.

To meet the requirement of keeping a local copy of the production data in a RecoverPoint environment with VNX(SE) clusters, the administrator can add a local copy into the existing Consistency Group. This action does not require deleting and reconfiguring the existing Consistency Group or upgrading the license. Here are the steps:

Access Unisphere for RecoverPoint: Log into the Unisphere interface for RecoverPoint management.

Navigate to the Consistency Group: Find the Consistency Group that needs the local copy.

Add a Local Copy: Use the option to add a copy into the selected Consistency Group.

Configure the Local Copy: Specify the settings for the local copy, such as the Journal volume and RPO settings.

Apply Changes: Save the changes to implement the local replication.

This process allows the administrator to enhance the data protection strategy by adding a local copy for operational recovery or other business needs without disrupting the existing remote replication setup1.

In a Dell RecoverPoint system, there is a limit to the number of volumes that can be managed within a cluster.If an administrator attempts to add local copies to existing Consistency Groups and the system already contains a significant number of Consistency Groups and replication sets, it is possible that adding more local volumes would exceed the system’s volume limit, which is 16,000 volumes per cluster1.

Here’s how the volume count could exceed the limit:

Each of the 100 Consistency Groups has 80 replication sets.

Assuming each replication set consists of at least one volume, this would already account for 8,000 volumes (100 CGs x 80 volumes each).

Adding a local copy for each Consistency Group would double the number of volumes, potentially exceeding the 16K volume limit per cluster.

This limitation is in place to ensure system stability and performance.If the limit is exceeded, the administrator will not be able to add additional local copies until the volume count is reduced or the system is reconfigured to stay within the limit1.

The Dell RecoverPoint documentation recommends a wait period of 7 days before running the Balance Load tool. This period allows for the system to stabilize and for any anomalies in the load distribution to become apparent, ensuring that the Balance Load tool can operate effectively. It’s important to note that this information is based on the best practices outlined in the Dell RecoverPoint documentation and may be subject to change with different versions or specific system configurations.For the most accurate and up-to-date information, it is always best to consult the latest official Dell RecoverPoint documentation or contact Dell EMC support directly1.

When initializing a Consistency Group with a local copy in a RecoverPoint environment, several factors can affect the duration of the process. One possible reason for a longer than expected initialization time is slow performing storage on the production array.If the production storage is not able to handle the I/O operations efficiently, it can lead to delays in the initialization process1.

Another factor to consider is the available bandwidth to the RecoverPoint Appliances (RPAs).Limited WAN bandwidth can also cause delays, but since the scenario mentions a local copy, WAN bandwidth is less likely to be the issue unless the RPAs are also handling remote replication1.

Size mismatch between the production and copy volumes or the copy not being attached to the same splitter as production could also be potential issues, but these would typically prevent initialization from proceeding rather than causing a delay1.

For a detailed diagnosis and resolution, it is recommended to review the system’s performance metrics and logs, and consult the official Dell RecoverPoint documentation or contact Dell EMC support directly1.

In Dell RecoverPoint, a Consistency Group is built from one or more replication sets.Each replication set consists of a production volume plus any local or remote copy volumes to which it is replicating1. Since the mission-critical application is stored on three volumes, and each volume will be part of a replication set, the Consistency Group for the application will contain three replication sets.This ensures that all three volumes are protected and replicated as part of the RecoverPoint protection strategy1.

It’s important to note that the number of replication sets in a Consistency Group is equal to the number of production volumes being replicated.Therefore, if an application spans multiple volumes, each volume will be part of its own replication set within the Consistency Group1.

In a Dell EMC RecoverPoint environment, Snap-based replication is supported by the Unity array. This feature leverages the intelligent array-based snapshot capability available in Dell EMC Unity platforms.It enhances asynchronous replication by allowing a user-defined interval for replication, which is particularly useful for environments where minimizing the replication window is critical1.

The Snap and Replicate feature is enabled by leveraging the intelligent array-based snapshot capability available in Dell EMC VNX, XtremIO, and VMAX3/AF platforms as well1.However, for the specific context of the question, which focuses on the EMC array that supports Snap-based replication in a RecoverPoint environment, the correct answer is Unity2.

For the most accurate and up-to-date information, it is always best to consult the latest official Dell RecoverPoint documentation or contact Dell EMC support directly3.