Creating a Remote Copy partnership over an IP connection

How to create a Metro Mirror or Global Mirror partnership over Ethernet ports using IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, how to create a Remote Copy port group, and best practices.

Creating the partnership

To create a remote-copy partnership over an IP connection, complete these steps:
  1. Configure VLAN tagging by completing these steps:
    1. In the management GUI, select Settings > Network > Ethernet Ports.
    2. Right-click the port on which to configure the VLAN and select Actions > Modify VLAN.
    3. On the Modify VLAN page, select to enable VLAN for either IPv4 or IPv6 connections that are part of the remote-copy group.
    4. Enter the VLAN tag and select whether to use the same VLAN tag for the failover port.
    5. Click Modify.
  2. Define the remote-copy groups on both the local and partner systems.
    1. On the primary system, select Settings > Network > Ethernet Ports.
    2. Right-click the port on which you configured the VLAN tag, and select Modify Remote Copy.
    3. Depending on the type of IP connection you are using, select the remote-copy group to associate with the port.
    4. Click Modify.
    5. Repeat these steps on the remote system, ensuring that you use the same remote-copy group to ensure connectivity between the two systems.
  3. Configure IP partnerships on the local system in the management GUI by completing these steps:
    1. Select Copy Services > Partnerships and select Create Partnership.
    2. On the Create Partnership panel, select IP.
    3. Enter the following information to configure the partnership:
      Partner System IP Address
      Enter the IP address of the other system within the remote-copy partnership.
      Link Bandwidth
      Enter the amount of bandwidth that can be used for the IP connection between the systems within the partnership.
      Background Copy Rate
      Enter the maximum percentage of the link bandwidth that can be used for background copy operations.
      Partner System's CHAP Secret (Optional):
      Specify the CHAP secret for the partner system if you plan to use Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) to authenticate connections between the systems in the partnership.
      Compression enabled
      Select this option if data on the local system is compressed before it is sent to the partner system. To fully enable compression in an IP partnership, each system must enable compression.
  4. Configure IP partnership on the partner system in the management GUI by completing these steps:
    1. Select Copy Services > Partnerships and select Create Partnership.
    2. On the Create Partnership panel, select IP.
    3. Enter the following information to configure the partnership:
      Partner System IP Address
      Enter the IP address of the other system within the remote-copy partnership.
      Note: This is the system that you configured in step 2.
      Link Bandwidth
      Enter the amount of bandwidth that can be used for the IP connection between the systems within the partnership. Use the same value that you specified in step 2.
      Background Copy Rate
      Enter the maximum percentage of the link bandwidth that can be used for background copy operations. Use the same value that you specified in step 2.
      Partner System's CHAP Secret (Optional):
      Specify the CHAP secret for the partner system if you plan to use Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) to authenticate connections between the systems in the partnership. Use the same value that you specified in step 2.
      Compression
      Select this option if data on the local system is compressed before it is sent to the partner system. To fully enable compression in an IP partnership, each system must enable compression.

Best practices for creating a remote-copy group

  • If you have one inter-site link, configure one remote-copy port group.
  • If you have two inter-site links, configure two remote-copy port groups.
    Note: No more than two inter-site links or remote-copy port groups are supported.
  • If you have one remote-copy group, then configure at least one port from each node in one I/O group in that remote-copy port group. For systems with more than one I/O group, add ports from a second I/O group to the remote-copy group.
  • If you have two remote-copy groups and one I/O group, configure one port on each system from one node in the first remote-copy group. Then configure a port from the other node in the second remote-copy port group. For systems with more than one I/O group, add ports from a second I/O group to each of the two remote-copy groups.