When you use storage solutions with mirror technologies and Tivoli® Storage FlashCopy® Manager, there are steps to complete for integrating backup and restore operations. For IBM® System Storage® SAN Volume Controller, mirror technologies are labeled Global Mirror and Metro Mirror. For IBM XIV® Storage System, mirror technologies are labeled Synchronous Remote Mirroring and Asynchronous Remote Mirroring.
- SAN Volume Controller
- Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager can back up application data consistently on SAN Volume Controller storage solutions with volumes that are simultaneously used as Metro Mirror or Global Mirror sources. You can configure either the sources or the targets of the Remote Mirror to be selected as the sources for the FlashCopy backup. For environments with a SAN Volume Controller version 6.1 and earlier, Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager must stop and deactivate the Global Mirror or Metro Mirror before you run a restore operation. In addition, do not use FlashCopy targets as Global Mirror or Metro Mirror sources.
- IBM System Storage DS8000®
- Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager can back up DS8000 storage solutions with volumes that are simultaneously used as Global Mirror or Metro Mirror sources. In contrast to SAN Volume Controller, you can configure only the sources of the Global Mirror or Metro Mirror to be selected as the sources of the FlashCopy backup. When you use Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager in this environment, do not use FlashCopy targets as Global Mirror and Metro Mirror sources.
- IBM XIV Storage System
- Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager can back up application data consistently on XIV storage solutions with volumes that are simultaneously used as Synchronous Remote Mirroring or Asynchronous Remote Mirroring sources. You can configure either the sources or the targets of the Remote Mirror to be selected as the sources for the FlashCopy backup.
For all storage solutions that use mirror technologies, when you
use Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager,
the following list describes the environment. If the environment setup
differs from this description, Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager might
not work as expected.
- The connectivity state must be online.
- The cluster partnership between the primary and secondary clusters
must be configured before you use Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager.
The following list identifies what you must configure when you are
setting up the cluster partnership:
- Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager is installed on the production and backup host on the local site (primary cluster).
- Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager is installed on all systems, including the takeover and standby servers, running at the remote site (secondary cluster).
- The local site contains the primary storage cluster for the production hosts. The primary cluster has data that is replicated to a secondary cluster on the remote site or to the same cluster.
- For intersystem copying, the remote site contains the mirror volumes in another storage cluster. In addition, the remote site also hosts the takeover and standby servers.
- SAN Volume Controller supports both intrasystem and intersystem Metro and Global Mirror.
- For XIV Synchronous Remote Mirroring and Asynchronous Remote Mirroring, configure either the source or the targets as a source for the snapshot backup.
- Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager uses
a consistency group on the SAN Volume Controller and XIV storage
solutions for the FlashCopy or
snapshot. A consistency group is a group of volumes that are associated
with a FlashCopy pair.
A FlashCopy pair is a
group of two corresponding instant copies of data, that is, point-in-time
copies of a volume. For the FlashCopy pair,
the logically related data must be kept consistent across the volumes.
The FlashCopy consistency
group can be used for a consistent point-in-time copy for an application
or database that spans multiple volumes. The following list identifies
more information about using consistency groups with Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager:
- SAN Volume Controller
- A consistency group contains a list of FlashCopy or Remote Copy relationships.
- The Tivoli Storage FlashCopy Manager software creates a FlashCopy consistency group on the secondary site to build a consistency unit between the source and target of the FlashCopy.
- You must define the consistency group for the mirror relationships between the master and auxiliary virtual disks.
- For Metro and Global Mirror, the state of the consistency group must be consistently synchronized.
- XIV
- The operational state of mirror must be operational.
- A consistency group contains a list of volumes.
- A consistency group that contains all of the remote copy target volumes must exist before starting the snapshot on the remote system. Apply the storage commands to the consistency group to simplify management.
- The mirror relationship between the master and slave volumes must
be defined in the consistency group.
The master is where source volumes are located for the remote replication. The slave is where target volumes are located.
- For XIV synchronous mirroring, the state of the consistency group must be consistently synchronized.
- For XIV® asynchronous mirroring, the state of the consistency group must be RPO_OK.
- For Metro Mirror and Synchronous Remote Mirroring, the write operation is committed to the host after the data is written to both the source and target volumes.
- For Global Mirror and Asynchronous Remote Mirroring, the write operation is committed to the host immediately after the data is written to the source volume.
- In terms of master and slave sites, the master site is where source volumes are located for the remote replication. The slave site is where target volumes are located. When a disaster occurs or when maintenance is necessary, the roles of master site and slave site can be changed.
The following figure illustrates the hosts and volumes that are involved in remote mirroring that uses Metro and Global mirrors.
Figure 1. Remote mirroring
using Metro Mirror and Global Mirror sources 