Creating an Asynchronous Remote Replication Pair

Creating an asynchronous remote replication pair enables you to synchronize data between the primary and secondary sites at a regular interval. Asynchronous remote replication is used in DR scenarios where the distance between the local and remote storage devices is long or the network bandwidth is low.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Choose Data Protection > Protection Entity > Volume > Remote Replication Pair.
  2. Click Create.

    The Create Remote Replication Pair dialog box is displayed on the right.

  3. Configure basic information about the remote replication pair. Table 1 describes related parameters.

    Table 1 Remote replication pair parameters

    Parameter

    Description

    Replication Mode

    Set Replication Mode to Asynchronous.

    Sync Method

    Determines how data is synchronized between primary and secondary resources. Possible values are:

    • Manual: Data must be manually synchronized between primary and secondary resources.
    • Timed wait after synchronization begins: The system starts timing as soon as the latest synchronization begins. When the time specified in Interval has elapsed, the system automatically starts to synchronize data between primary and secondary resources again.
      NOTE:

      If the last synchronization has not finished after the time specified in Interval is reached, the system performs the next synchronization after the last synchronization finishes.

    • Timed wait after synchronization ends: The system starts timing after the last synchronization finishes. After the time specified in Interval is reached, the system automatically starts data synchronization between primary and secondary resources again.
    • Specific time policy: The system automatically synchronizes data between primary and secondary resources based on a specific time policy.

    Interval

    Indicates the synchronization interval for Timed wait after synchronization begins and Timed wait after synchronization ends.

    [Value range]

    • The interval is an integer ranging from 1 to 1440 when minutes is used as the unit.
    • The interval is an integer ranging from 10 to 86400 when seconds is used as the unit.
    NOTE:

    This parameter is available only when Sync Method is set to Timed wait after synchronization begins or Timed wait after synchronization ends.

    Time Policy

    Specific time policy: The system automatically synchronizes data between primary and secondary resources based on a specific time policy.

    [Value range]

    • Daily: Data synchronization begins on every day. Its value ranges from 00:00 to 23:59.
    • Hourly: Data synchronization begins in every hour. Its value is an integer ranging from 0 to 59.
    NOTE:

    This parameter is available only when Sync Method is set to Specific time policy.

    Initial Sync

    Indicates the mode of initial data synchronization between the primary and secondary resources. Possible values are:

    • Inconsistent primary and secondary resource data. Data is automatically synchronized after pair creation: After a remote replication pair is created, data on the secondary resource is overwritten immediately. Ensure that the data on the secondary resource is no longer necessary or has been backed up.
    • Inconsistent primary and secondary resource data. Manually synchronize data after pair creation: After a remote replication pair is created, manually synchronize data between the primary and secondary resources in a timely manner to ensure data consistency.
    • Consistent primary and secondary resource data. Data synchronization is not required: Ensure that the data on the primary and secondary resources is consistent. If the data is inconsistent, the secondary resource cannot be used to recover data or take over services from the primary resource when the primary resource fails. As a result, data loss and service interruption may occur. This option is not displayed when the resource type is namespace.

    Remote Replication Consistency Group

    Indicates the consistency group to which the newly created remote replication pair belongs.

    NOTE:

    If no remote replication consistency group is available, you can click Create to create a remote replication consistency group and add the remote replication pair to the consistency group.

  4. Select the local and remote resources of the remote replication pair.

    1. Select a replication cluster in Local Device and Remote Device respectively.
    2. In the local resource list, select the desired local resource and enter the remote resource ID.

      To query the remote resource ID, log in to the remote device, choose Resources > Volume, click and select ID, and then view the desired remote resource ID.

    3. Click Sync Parameters and set advanced properties of the remote replication pair. Table 2 describes related parameters. Then click OK.
      Table 2 Remote replication synchronization parameters

      Parameter

      Description

      Speed

      Indicates the data synchronization speed of a remote replication pair. The value ranges from 1 MB/s to 1024 MB/s (or 1024 KB/s to 1,048,576 KB/s).

      • During initial synchronization, the recommended rate is 100 MB/s or higher.
      • During incremental synchronization, if the service is busy, the recommended rate is 0 MB/s to 20 MB/s.
      • During incremental synchronization, if the service load is heavy, the recommended rate is 20 MB/s to 70 MB/s.
      • During incremental synchronization, if the service is idle, the recommended rate is 100 MB/s or higher.
      • The default value is 32 MB/s.

      Recovery Policy

      Indicates whether the system automatically synchronizes data after a remote replication fault is rectified. The default value is Automatic.

      [Value range]

      • Automatic: The previous ongoing tasks automatically resume immediately after the remote replication fault is rectified.
      • Manual: The value of Running Status changes to To be recovered after the remote replication fault is rectified. In this case, you can check the system and then determine whether to resume the previous ongoing tasks manually.

  5. Click OK.