replication in vsphere 6 - rainfocus · pdf filedesign partnership between hpe and vmware...

Claudio Calisto – Storage Solutions ArchitectNick Dyer – Principal SE, Nimble

STO3305BES

#VMworld #STO3305BES

Replicating VMware VVols: A technical deep dive into VVol array based replication in vSphere 6.5

VMworld 2017 Content: Not fo

r publication or distri

bution



bution

A Brief History of VMware VVol, Nimble & 3PARDesign partnership between HPE and VMware Virtual Volumes

VMworldVVol introduced with

HPE as 1 of 5 original design partners

3PAR Reference Platform

3PAR selected as the FC reference platform

Aug2011

May2012

Jul2014

VVol Beta3PAR 1 of 3 partners ready on Beta Day 1

Mar2015

VVol GA with vSphere 6.0

3PAR 1 of 4 partners ready

Nov2016

VVol 2.0 GA with vSphere 6.5

3PAR & Nimble ready on Day 1

Today

Continued development3PAR, Nimble and VMware continue

working to develop and refine VVols

Jun2015

Mar2016

Nimble Tech PreviewNimble tech

preview released

Nimble GANimble releases VVol

support



bution

Why did VMware create a new storage architecture?

Key take-away: There are many hidden challenges with traditional external storage

architectures in vSphere which decrease efficiency and increase management

▪ LUN Centric – storage pre-allocated into silos

▪ No Visibility – cannot see inside VMFS volume

▪ Poor Efficiency – typically over-provisioning LUNs

▪ Increased Administration –must always go to storage admin

Todays exercise: Challenges in external storage architectures

▪ Difficult Reclamation – space reclamation is a manual process

▪ Hardware Centric – must use vendor tools & plug-ins

▪ Long Provisioning – time consuming manual requests

▪ Data Services – array data services not aligned with VMs



bution

Over Half of Problems Happen Outside Storage

Top problems contributing

to the App-Data Gap

Storage Related1

2 Configuration Issues

3 Interoperability Issues

4Non-storage best

practices impacting

performance

5 Host, compute, VM

46%

7%

28%

8%

11%

*Source: InfoSight analysis across more than 7,500 customers



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What are VMware VVols?

– New vSphere storage architecture to replace VMFS/NFS

– Standard (VASA) for all storage vendors to adhere to

– Enables vSphere to write VMs natively to storage arrays

– Common storage management tasks are automated

– Designed to be dynamic, eliminates LUN provisioning

– Storage array features can be applied to individual VMs

Key take-away: VVols provides automated and dynamic management of storage

resources and enables storage arrays to interact directly with VMs



bution

How VVols transforms storage in vSphere

LUN-Centric

Siloed storage pools,

array services aligned

to LUNs

VM-Centric

No siloed storage

pools, array services

aligned to VMs

VM

FS

VV

ols

Static

Pre-allocated storage,

over- provisioned

resources

Complex

Complicated

management using

vendor specific tools

Time-consuming

Longer provisioning,

manual space

reclamation

Dynamic

Dynamically allocated

storage, using only

what is needed

Simple

Simplified

management using

vSphere interfaces

Effortless

Instant provisioning,

automatic space

reclamation



bution

What changes between file and block protocols with VVols

vSphere managed (VMFS)

File

Blo

ck

Filesystem

Storage visibility

Data store Level

Network or fabric

LUNs VMDK files

iSCSI initiator

(sw/hw) or HBA

I/O transport

Host present

VM storage

Array managed

(NFS)

Host adapter

VMlevel

Network Mount point VMDK filesNFS Client

vSphere native

VVols

VM levelStorage

containerVVols

vSphere native

Storage container



bution

Overview of VVols Storage Architecture

– Protocol Endpoint: Logical I/O proxy that servesas the data path between ESXi hosts to VMs and their respective VVols

– VASA Provider: Software component that mediates out-of-band communication for VVols traffic between vCenter Server, ESXi hosts & storage array

– Storage Container: Pool of raw storage capacity that becomes a logical grouping of VVols, seen as a virtual datastore by ESXi hosts

– Virtual Volume (VVol): Container that encapsulates VM files, virtual disks and their derivatives

– Storage Profile: Set of rules that define storage requirements for VMs based on capabilities provided by storage array (same as VSAN)

Protocol

EndpointVASA

Provider

SPBM

ESXi hosts vCenter Server

Control PathData

Path

VM VM VM VM VM

Storage Container

VV

OL

s

Storage Array



bution

2. Storage Policies created in vSphere

and assigned array capabilitiesStorage Policy-Based Management

Policy 1

3. VMs assigned a Storage Policy

based on requirements and SLAs

1. Storage Array advertises capabilitiesvia VASA Provider

4. SPBM provisions VM on appropriate storage

as defined by policy and maintains compliance

Policy 2 Policy 3



bution

Top Reasons Customers will want to Start Using VVols Now

1. Don’t have to go all in

2. Get early experience

3. Get your disk space back

4. Available in all vSphere editions

5. Let the array do the heavy lifting

6. Start using SPBM now

7. Snapshots don’t suck anymore

8. Easier for IT Generalists

9. One architecture to rule them all

1. You don’t to go all in with VVols

You can use VVols alongside of VMFS, easy migration using Storage vMotion, take your time with it

2. Get early VVol experience

Don’t wait until the last minute. How long did you wait to switch from ESX to ESXi or from vSphere Client to Web Client?

3. Get your disk space back

No more over-provisioning or manual space reclamation, keep your array thin as possibly automatically

4. Available in all vSphere editions

It’s an architecture not a feature, nothing to license, will replace VMFS one day

5. Let the array do the heavy lifting

An array is a purpose built I/O engine, array features are more powerful and has better visibility into storage resources than vSphere has

6. Start using SPBM now

Don’t get left out, get started using the same SPBM that VSAN users have been enjoying

7. Snapshots don’t suck anymore

No longer have to wait hours for I/O intensive snapshot deletions to commit, plus your backups will complete faster

8. Easier for IT Generalists

Don’t need to be a storage admin, fully manage storage from within vSphere

9. One architecture to rule them all

…and in the darkness bind them - NFS, iSCSI, Fiber Channel, who cares? VVols provides a unified storage architecture across protocols

10. The VM is now a unit of storage

Because it’s all about the VM, no more LUNs – the VM is now a first class citizen and array has VM-level visibilityVMworld 2017 Content: N

ot for publicatio

n or distribution

VVol Replication Deep Dive



bution

Introduction

– Array replication support via SPBM introduced in vSphere 6.5 (VASA 3.0)

– Nimble supported replication in vSphere 6.0

– Nimble and 3PAR first to complete VVol replication implementations (before merger)

– Replication done at the VVol level (VM) not the datastore level like SRM (LUN)

– Replication Groups automatically created on array contain VVol objects

– Designed to be managed in vSphere, not on array side

Nimble and 3PAR were both VMware design

partners on VVols 2.0



bution

Components of VVol Replication

Fault Domains [new]

– Something that fails as a whole (3PAR = storage array, Nimble = Nimble group)

Replication Groups [new]

– Replicate VVol-based VMs between fault domains

– Groups maintain consistent point[s]-in-time

– 3PAR - Only maintains most recent point in time, which is no older than the most recent RPO

– Nimble – Uses Volume Collections [most recent point for RGs] - plugin (workflows for replication)

– RPOs can be “stretched” when adding VMs or VVols to a replication group

– Groups are in a Source, Target, InTest or FailedOver state

– Terms Source/Primary/Protected are interchangeable

– Terms Target/Secondary/Recovery are interchangeable



bution

VVol Replication diagramVVols Storage

Container

Replication Group

“Remote” Array (Fault Domain)“Local” Array (Fault Domain)

vSphereStorage Policy

(SPBM)



bution

Preparing for VVol Replication

• 3PAR OS 3.3.1 required

• Remote Copy license

• Connect arrays via FC or iSCSI

• Define remote targets for Remote Copy

• Create Storage Containers on primary and secondary arrays

• vSphere 6.5 required

• Register VASA Provider

• Mount Storage Containers (VVol datastores) at primary and secondary sites

• Define Storage Policy with replication rules (Components)

vSphere 3PAR Nimble

• vSphere 6.0 or 6.5

• NimbleOS 3.6.0 required for VASA 3.0

• No licenses required

• Configure source and destination as replication partners

• Create Folders (storage containers) on source and destination



bution

Creating Nimble Folder / Storage Container

– Nimble folders are used for general organization

– Setting VVol management type makes it a Storage Container

– Must set a capacity limit

– Can optionally set a folder-level performance limit



bution

Replication Storage Policies Summary

– Granular (per VM/Virtual Disk)

– Empowers vSphere admin

– No need to coordinate with Storage admin

– No need to involve Storage admin during disaster recovery

– Storage admin may need to do some clean-up after a true disaster

– New Component feature for SPBM allows Components to be defined once and re-used

– Replication Components contain rules and constraints related to array replication

– Components are attached to policies which are attached to VMs

– SPBM maintains compliance to ensure VM resides on storage that can meet policy definition



bution

Example Storage Policy [3PAR]

Need only specify one replication

constraint to enable VVol replication

Where possible, other VVol capabilities (i.e. deduplication) are mirrored at remote site if

remote array/CPG allows for it

Target array & Storage Container

Target & Snapshot CPG drive tiers

Remote Copy mode (Periodic only)

Desired RPO Minutes (5 min)



bution

Example Storage Policy [Nimble]

Protection schedule by minute, hour, daily or weekly

Can set local and remote snapshot retention policies

Choose replication partner and frequency

Option to delete replicas from partner when source deleted



bution

Creating a new VM with replication

Choose an existing Replication Group or

Automatic



bution

Changing a VM’s Replication Policy

Select VM Policies, Edit VM Storage

Policies



bution


Selecting a Storage Policy with Replication Constraints



bution


Selecting either a common or per storage object

Replication GroupVMworld 2017 Content: N

ot for publicatio

n or distribution

Replication Groups on the Array

s932 cli% showvvolvm -sc SanJoseContainer -rcopy

------(MB)------

VM_Name GuestOS VM_State Num_vv Physical Logical

VMSanJose other26xLinux64Guest Unbound 2 10290 5120

TinyVM2 other26xLinux64Guest Unbound 2 9522 5120



VMFremont other26xLinux64Guest Unbound 2 8754 5120

---------------------------------------------------------------

5 total 11 46842 26624

RcopyStatus RcopyGroup RcopyRole RcopyLastSyncTime

Synced VMSanJosgrp_3c12e41 Primary 2017-07-06 16:20:00 PDT

Synced TinyVM2grp_80ed051 Primary 2017-07-06 16:22:00 PDT

None NA

Synced TinyVM3grp_1a3d5ba.r99931 Secondary 2017-07-06 16:20:10 PDT

Synced VMFremongrp_ca4027f.r99931 Secondary 2017-07-06 16:21:10 PDT

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Output continued

below



bution

3PAR SSMC User InterfaceVVol replication info

- Remote Copy Group- Remote Copy Role- Remote Copy Status



bution

Nimble Replication Groups



bution

Disaster Recovery with Vvols

(With Demos!)

28



bution

vSphere Replication Components

Protected Site

DR Orchestrator(PowerCLI)

ESXi

vCenter

ESXi

VASA Provider

Protocol Endpoint

Remote Copy

Recovery Site

ESXi

vCenter

ESXi

VASA Provider

Protocol Endpoint

VVol Storage Container



bution

Types of Disaster Recovery operations

• Uncontrolled

• Typically loss of power or hardware failure

• Not usually a per VM event, all VMs recovered

• Primary and recovery site reverse roles

• Controlled

• Typically used for disaster avoidance, planned maintenance or relocating VMs

• Can be per VM or all VMs

• Primary and recovery site reverse roles

Planned Failover Unplanned Failover Test Failover

• Controlled

• Typically used to validate VM recoverability

• Non-impactful

• Replica VMs cloned and made visible to vSphere at recovery site



bution

Recovery and Cloning – Nimble vCenter Plugin

– Snapshot based recovery– Choose from all available snapshots

– Local VM Recovery– In-place restore of VM

– Cloned as a new VM

– Local Virtual Disk Recovery– In-place restore of virtual disk

– Cloned as a new disk to same VM

– Cloned as a new disk to different VM

– Remote VM Recovery– Cloned as new VM at remote site

– No need to stop replication



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsBefore Failover

Array

Local Site

vCenter

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

Sw1

C2

D2

Sw2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Source

VVol

Source

Replication

Group

Storage

Container

Remote Site

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

Target

Replication

Group

VM2VM1 VM3

Replica

VVol

Storage

Container

Array

vCenter

ESXi

vSphere API vSphere API



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsDiscover VM-to-group relationship (Get-SpbmReplicationGroup/Pair)

C1

D1

Sn1

Sw1

C2

D2

Sw2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

VM2VM1 VM3


Array

Local Site

ESXi

Remote Site

Array

ESXi

vCenter vCenter



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsPower down source VMs (stop-VM)

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

Sw1

C2

D2

Sw2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

VM2VM1 VM3

Array

ESXi

vSphere API vSphere APIvCenter vCenter



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsPerform final sync (Sync-SpbmReplicationGroup)

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

VM2VM1 VM3

Array

ESXi

vSphere API vSphere APIvCenter vCenter



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsIssue a planned failover (Start-SpbmReplicationFailover)

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

VM2VM1 VM3

Array

ESXi


C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

vCenter vCenter

Source

Replication

GroupTarget

Replication

Group

Failed-over

Replication

Group



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsRegister newly-failed-over VMs (New-VM)

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C3 D3

VM2VM1

Array

ESXi


C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

VM2VM1 VM3

vCenter vCenter

Source

Replication

GroupFailed-over

Replication

Group



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsApply an SPBM replication Policy to the VMs (Set-SpbmEntityConfiguration)

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C3 D3

VM2VM1

Array

ESXi


C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

VM2VM1 VM3

Replication PolicyvCenter vCenter

Source

Replication

GroupFailed-over

Replication

Group



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsUnregister VMs at primary site (remove-VM)

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C3 D3

VM2VM1

Array

ESXi


C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

VM2VM1 VM3

vCenter vCenter

Source

Replication

GroupFailed-over

Replication

Group



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsPower up VMs at Failed-Over site (start-VM)

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C3 D3

Array

ESXi


C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

VM2VM1 VM3

vCenter vCenter

Source

Replication

GroupFailed-over

Replication

Group

Sw1 Sw2



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsPower up VMs at Failed-Over site (Start-SpbmReplicationReverse)

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C3 D3

Array

ESXi


C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

VM2VM1 VM3

vCenter vCenter

Source

Replication

GroupFailed-over

Replication

Group

Target

Replication

GroupSource

Replication

Group

Sw1 Sw2



bution

Demo time!

42



bution

Switch to 3PAR Replication unplanned failover demo

43

Play STO3305BUS_Dyer_UnplannedFailover.mp4 (5:11)



bution

Demo time!

44



bution

Switch to Nimble Replication demo

45

Play STO3305BUS_Dyer_NimbleDemo.mp4 (2:30)



bution

Closing

46



bution

The HPE 3PAR & Nimble advantage with VVOLs

Solid and mature

6+ years of development

VMware design partner

Fibre Channel reference platform

Simple and reliable

Internal VASA Provider

No external failure points

Zero step installation

Innovative and efficient

Snapshots on different tiers

Smallest capacity VM footprint

Manage VVols folder by folder

Rich and powerful

App level optimized storage policies

Architectures optimized for VVols

VM Recovery directly from vCenter



bution

Call To Action – Find out more

While at VMworld:

– Visit HPE Booth #D301 to talk to our experts

– Check out VMware Hands On Labs for some hands-on with Nimble VVols and replication

Anytime:

– Stalk us on Twitter

– @nick_dyer_

– @ericsiebert

– @julian_cates

– Download DR scripts from github

– Bookmark Around The Storage Block blog

– 3PAR VVol Key docs:

– 3PAR VMware VVol Implementation Guide

– 3PAR VMware VVol Replication Guide

– Nimble VVol Key docs:

– VMware Integration Guide

– VMware vSphere 6 Deployment Considerations



bution



bution

Backup slides

52



bution

Two Primaries Window

During Planned and Unplanned failover a window exists when you have two source/primary replication groups

– During this time window, VMs changed as well as added/removed from replication groups, will require resolution when the groups are reversed.

– With traditional storage, any changes at the original source datastore are completely wiped out

– With VVols, it’s possible to reverse some of the actions taken at the original source site. For example:

– A VM deleted at the primary is kept alive until the reverse-replication operation is performed. At which point, the VM is recovered, assuming it still exists at the new source site.

– Adding a new VM to the original source replication group will not be lost, but instead, auto-dismissed from the group when the reverse operation occurs.

– VM snapshots taken at the source replication group will be lost upon reversal.

53

Summarize and simplify this



bution

Handling Conflicts with Two Primary Replication GroupsDeleting a VM at the original source

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

C3 D3

VM2VM1


C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

VM2VM1 VM3

Array

Local Site

ESXi

Remote Site

Array

ESXi

vCenter vCenter

Source

Replication

GroupFailed-over

Replication

Group



bution

Handling Conflicts with Two Primary Replication GroupsAdding a VM to the original source after fail-over

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C3 D3

VM2VM1

Array

ESXi


Source

Replication

Group

Failed-

over

Replication

Group

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

VM2VM1 VM3

vCenter vCenter

VM4

C4

D4



bution

Planned Failover Workflow with VVolsIn-conflict VVols are automatically removed from the group, but not destroyed

Array

Local Site

ESXi

C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

C3 D3

PowerCLI

Remote Site

C3 D3

Array

ESXi


C1

D1

Sn1

C2

D2

VM2VM1 VM3

vCenter vCenter

VM4

C4

D4

C4

D4

Source

Replication

GroupFailed-over

Replication

Group

Target

Replication

GroupSource

Replication

Group



bution

Nimble VVol Implementation

• New policy-based framework from VMware

• Foundation of VMware’ Software Defined Datacenter control pane

• Based on the VASA management protocol

Storage Policy Based Management

• Built-in application abstractions

• Pick from drop-down list - Exchange, SQL, VDI, Splunk, ESX etc.

• Auto-selects optimal storage settings

Nimble Policy Based Management

• Makes Nimble storage natively VM aware

• Enables virtual disk level offload of data services

• Snapshots, replication, encryption

Virtual Volumes



bution

Registering Nimble VASA Provider

– Done through Nimble Web UI

– Simply check the box

58



bution

Additional SPBM Policy Options

– Application Policy

– Protection Schedule

– QoS / Performance

– Deduplication

– Data Encryption

– All-Flash



bution

replication in vsphere 6 - rainfocus · pdf filedesign partnership between hpe and vmware...

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