Back in March we offered customers a way to generate the EmcSrdfSraTestFailoverConfig.xml file for the SRDF SRA test failover functionality when using the vCenter Appliance (VCSA). You can read all about that here. Recently we had a customer request to enhance the script to add the ability to create the EmcSrdfSraDeviceMaskingControl.xml file and our developer Sam went…
One of the great features of VMware SRM is the ability to run a test failover without impacting either the protection or recovery site. When using the SRDF SRA this means the replication between the R1 and the R2, whether asynchronous or synchronous, will not be broken. The SRA uses TimeFinder technology to accomplish this,…
Can the SRDF SRA use an older snapshot/clone/etc. rather than taking a fresh copy each time? Very occasionally I get this question from customers, particularly those who have seen the RecoverPoint functionality. For those who are not familiar with RecoverPoint (RP), it is another replication technology that we have that permits both local and remote…
VMware just released Update 1 for vSphere 6.5 (ESXi, vCenter). You can search for it on the VMware website. Now normally I don’t bother putting up posts about updates or patches. The way VMware certification is passed is at the base release (e.g. 6.5) so if they release an update or patch it is supported…
VSI 7.2 is available today for download here. This is quite a minor release, though not unimportant because it adds support for vSphere 6.5. Now you might say, wait I thought you introduced vSphere 6.5 support In VSI 7.1. Yeah, well we did kind of, but it was only support for the 6.5 Web Client…
EMC Storage Analytics 4.3 is now available for download. You can find the documentation and binary here. Probably the most important aspect of this release, putting my bias aside, is that it supports vRealize Operations version 6.6. Before I talk about that, here is the full list of changes, courtesy of an RN screenshot. If…
I’ve just completed the latest update to the VMAX/VMware TechBook, a tome (I can be derogatory since it’s mine) of some 400 plus pages that explains how best to use VMware on the various VMAX/VMAX3/VMAX AFA arrays. You can find it here. When customers ask me about best practices, a link to this doc is…
The previously announced version 5.1 of RecoverPoint that supports VMAX3/VMAX All Flash is now available for download here. I covered the RP capability with VMAX3/AFA in this post in May. Just a quick reminder that this is an asynchronous solution for local and/or remote replication, protects at the storage group level, and works with the current RP…
Containers have been around for years at this point, but honestly it wasn’t until Dell EMC World this year that someone asked us if we were doing anything with them on VMAX. Cue the new project, or investigation anyway. I’ve probably mentioned I tend to have my hands full with normal VMAX/VMware stuff but when…
Customers will be happy to learn that the SRDF SRA which supports VMware SRM 6.5 is now GA. SRDF SRA 6.3 is released in conjunction with our newest HYPERMAX OS Q2 2017 release which was announced at Dell EMC World. You can get the SRA here. As I’ve noted in other posts, our SRA is tied to our VMAX…
About a year ago I published a post on integrating vRealize Automation 7 (vRA) with VVols. At that time the implementation was really a manual process because VMware had not created a Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM) package for vRA 7, only version 6. In September of last year VMware finally updated the SPBM package…
The SRDF Adapter Utilities (SRDF-AU) is a free, optional plug-in that provides a GUI interface to modify the XML files that are part of the SRDF SRA for VMware SRM and used primarily in testing. The SRDF-AU only runs on Windows and therefore requires that one of the vCenters in an SRM configuration is running on Windows.…
