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EMC RecoverPoint/SE for the CLARiiON CX4

Applied Technology

Abstract

This white paper covers how EMCRecoverPoint/SE can be can be used to protect application data residing onthe EMC CLARiiONCX4 series, including the CX4-120, CX4-240, CX4-480, and CX4-960, from site

disasters, logical corruption, and human errors. This paper lists the software capabilities and business benefits

of RecoverPoint/SE and covers some application and disaster recovery scenarios.

February 2010


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Copyright 2008, 2009, 2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is

subject to change without notice.

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED AS IS. EMC CORPORATION

MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE

INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIEDWARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable

software license.

For the most up-to-date listing of EMC product names, see EMC Corporation Trademarks on EMC.com

All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

Part Number H5703.5

Applied Technology 2


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Table of Contents

Executive summary ............................................................................................4

Introduction.........................................................................................................4

Audience ...................................................................................................................................... 4

Overview..............................................................................................................4Protecting data with EMC RecoverPoint/SE.....................................................5

RecoverPoint/Cluster Enabler...................................................................................................... 6

RecoverPoint/SE CDP................................................................................................................. 6

RecoverPoint/SE CRR................................................................................................................. 6

RecoverPoint/SE and EMC replication solutions.............................................7

Positioning RecoverPoint/SE....................................................................................................... 7

Concurrent local and remote data protection............................................................................... 8

CLARiiON support ....................................................................................................................... 8

Point-in-time data recovery.......................................................................................................... 9

Guaranteed data consistency and write-order fidelity ................................................................. 9Bandwidth reduction and replication data compression .............................................................. 9

Consistent write-order protection over long distances................................................................. 9

Read/write processing on replica volumes .................................................................................. 9

Application integration capability ............................................................................................... 10

Integration with backup and archiving systems ......................................................................... 10

Using SnapView with RecoverPoint/SE..........................................................10

Using EMC CLARiiON array features with RecoverPoint/SE.................................................... 10

Performing operations on RecoverPoint/SE production volumes.............................................. 10

Performing operations on RecoverPoint/SE replica volumes.................................................... 11

Intelligent replication and recovery options................................................................................ 11

Integration with EMC Replication Manager............................................................................ 11Application-aware bookmarks improve recovery options....................................................... 12Instant recovery...................................................................................................................... 13Recovery from array and complete site failure....................................................................... 13Protection from data corruption.............................................................................................. 13

Protecting Microsoft Exchange with RecoverPoint/SE.............................................................. 13

Protecting Microsoft SQL Server with RecoverPoint/SE ........................................................... 14

Protecting Microsoft SQL Server with RecoverPoint/SE CDP............................................... 15Protecting Microsoft SQL Server with RecoverPoint/SE CRR............................................... 15

Protecting virtualized environments........................................................................................... 15

Protecting Hyper-V environments .......................................................................................... 16Protecting VMware environments .......................................................................................... 16

Using VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager.................................................................... 17Conclusion ........................................................................................................18

RecoverPoint/SE benefits.......................................................................................................... 18

References ........................................................................................................19



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Executive summaryEMCRecoverPoint/SE delivers industry-leading replication designed for CLARiiONplatforms. EMC

RecoverPoint and RecoverPoint/SE are based on the same platform technology, and both incorporate

innovative continuous protection technology that enables any-point-in-time local and significant point-in-

time remote recovery of application data. The current version of RecoverPoint is the fifth-generationproduct and continues EMCs commitment to maximizing customers' investments in their replication andstorage technology by ensuring that existing resources and capital assets are optimally utilized by

RecoverPoint.

The EMC RecoverPoint family provides cost-effective, local continuous data protection (CDP), continuousremote replication (CRR), and concurrent local and remote (CLR) data protection solutions that allow for

any-point-in-time data recovery. With RecoverPoint, customers get a single product solution for both local

data protection and replication to ensure operational recovery and for remote replication to implement

disaster recovery plans. In addition, RecoverPoint provides bandwidth reduction to reduce ongoing network

costs. Finally, RecoverPoint is tightly integrated with CLARiiON CX3 and CX4 platforms for optimal co-

existence in the customers storage network.

IntroductionThis white paper describes and illustrates the key features and functions of RecoverPoint/SE for the

CLARiiON series of arrays. This paper also provides an overview of the software capabilities of the

RecoverPoint version 3 family, including RecoverPoint/SE and RecoverPoint.

RecoverPoint/SE is the CLARiiON-specific offering designed for continuous data protection and

replication for the CLARiiONAX4-5, CX, CX3, and CX4 series of arrays. RecoverPoint is the full-featured offering that adds support for write splitting using intelligent fabric APIs, multiple/heterogeneous

storage platforms (EMC and non-EMC), and larger data protection capacities. Both products are appliance-

based, out-of-band data protection solutions designed to ensure the integrity of production data at localand/or remote sites. These products enable customers to centralize and simplify their data protection

management while reducing their TCO and allowing for the recovery of data to any point in time. The

RecoverPoint features and functions are fully covered in the other EMC documents listed in the

References section on page 19.RecoverPoint/SE CDP provides block-level local replication between LUNs in the same CLARiiON arrayusing true-CDP technology that journals every write for later recovery to any point in time.

RecoverPoint/SE CRR provides block-level remote replication between LUNs in two CLARiiON arrays in

two different sites using near-CDP technology that journals groups of writes for later recovery to

significant points in time. RecoverPoint/SE utilizes policies that enable the customer to map their recoverytime objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO) into RecoverPoint consistency groups,

allowing for flexibility in protecting multiple applications.

Concurrent local and remote (CLR) data protection is possible when RecoverPoint/SE CDP and

RecoverPoint/SE CRR are both utilized for the same LUNs. CLR provides simultaneous block-level local

and remote replication for the same application LUNs. Recovery of one copy can occur without affectingthe other copy.

AudienceThis white paper is intended for EMC employees, partners, IT planners, storage architects, administrators,

and any others involved in evaluating, acquiring, managing, operating, or designing an EMC networked

storage environment based on a CLARiiON CX3 or CX4.

OverviewRecoverPoint/SE systems are made up of the following modular components:



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A RecoverPoint appliance (RPA) A 1U server that runs the RecoverPoint software and includes four8 Gb FC connections and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet connections. For RecoverPoint/SE CDP, a minimum

of two RPAs are installed in the production site. For RecoverPoint/SE CRR, a minimum of four RPAs

are installed, two in the production site and two in the remote site.

RecoverPoint software This software is installed on the RPA by EMC or an EMC VelocityAuthorized Service Network partner and controls all of the local and remote replication and recovery

processes.

RecoverPoint enabler for the CLARiiON CX3 and CX4 array-based write splitter The write-splittingsoftware is providedfreewith FLARE26, 28,or 29. An EMC customer engineer or certified partnerwill install any FLARE upgrades required and will install the RecoverPoint enabler onto a CLARiiON

CX3 or CX4.

RecoverPoint host agent software This software can be installed on one or more host servers, andincludes agents that integrate with MicrosoftExchange Server and Microsoft SQL Server and also

includes other host utilities that are used when creating scripts to automate the RecoverPoint/SE data

protection and recovery process.

RecoverPoint Storage Replication Adapter for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager Thissoftware is downloaded from the VMware website and enables the integration of RecoverPoint with

VMware Site Recovery Manager.

EMC licensing controls the RecoverPoint and RecoverPoint/SE configurations, features, and functions.RecoverPoint/SE systems can be non-disruptively upgraded to equivalent RecoverPoint systems without

the loss of configuration or replication data.

The following table summarizes the differences between RecoverPoint/SE and RecoverPoint.

Table 1. Differences between RecoverPoint/SE and RecoverPoint

Feature RecoverPoint/SE RecoverPoint

Host platforms* Windows host and all opensystems hosts qualified withCLARiiON CX4 and CX3

All open systems hosts

Write-splitting technologies* Windows host, CLARiiONCX3/CX4

AIX, Sun, Windows host,CLARiiON CX3/CX4, fabric

Array models supported* EMC CLARiiON CX4, CX3,and legacy CX; CLARiiON

AX4-5; Celerra

NS20,NS40 and NS80, NS-120,NS-480 SAN volumes only

All EMC SAN storage volumesand third-party storage*

Maximum number of arrays One for RecoverPoint/SECDP; two forRecoverPoint/SE CRR

Not limited by license

Maximum protected capacity 150 TB 600 TB

Journal compression None Included

Maximum number of RPAs 8 per site 8 per site

Intelligent fabric support None Brocade and Cisco

RecoverPoint/CE supported Yes Yes

Synchronous replication Included Included

* Consult the EMC Support Matrixon EMC.com

Protecting data with EMC RecoverPoint/SEEMC RecoverPoint/SE is a comprehensive replication and data protection solution designed and built from

scalable and highly available hardware appliances and software modules. As shown in Figure 1,

RecoverPoint/SE provides continuous remote replication, continuous data protection, and concurrent local

and remote data protection for block-based SAN volumes residing in a CLARiiON array. When the



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CLARiiON array-based splitter is used, RecoverPoint/SE also supports iSCSI volumes for local and remotereplication. In the event of a local data corruption or a regional disaster, customers can, depending on the

nature of the crisis, recover data either at the local or remote site.

RecoverPoint/Cluster EnablerEMC RecoverPoint/Cluster Enabler (CE) is separately priced software that enables geographically

dispersed Microsoft Failover Clusters to replicate their data using RecoverPoint/SE CRR or RecoverPoint

CRR. Geographically dispersed clusters offer increased levels of high availability, disaster recovery, andautomation over nonclustered solutions. RecoverPoint/CE works seamlessly with applications designed totake advantage of Failover Clusters, such as Exchange and SQL Server, in Microsoft Windows 2003 and

2008 environments.

RecoverPoint/SE CDPThe RecoverPoint/SE CDP technology protects volumes residing in a local CLARiiON array bysynchronously replicating the production volume to a local copy as well as journaling all data changes to a

local journal volume. RecoverPoint/SE is designed to synchronously replicate FC SAN volumes and is

configurable to replicate up to 150 TB of production volumes regardless of the CLARiiON model used.

When RecoverPoint/SE is used with the CLARiiON array-based splitter, iSCSI volumes can also be

supported with RecoverPoint/SE. CDP is ideal for application or operational recovery and protects critical

data from physical or logical failures such as server outages, data corruption, software errors, viruses, andcommon user errors. Advanced data reduction technologies for the journal volume and any-point-in-time

recovery make this solution superior to traditional data mirroring and snapshot techniques previously used

to provide this sort of protection.

Database

Servers

VMwareMessaging

Servers

RecoverPointSAN

Application

Servers

iSCSI

IP

VMware

CLARiiON Splitter

Database

Servers

Database

Servers

VMwareMessaging

Servers

Messaging

Servers

RecoverPointSAN

Application

Servers

Application

Servers

iSCSI

IPIP

VMware

CLARiiON Splitter

Figure 1. RecoverPoint/SE CDP architecture showing Fibre Channel and iSCSI

RecoverPoint/SE CRRThe RecoverPoint/SE CRR product provides remote replication between volumes in two CLARiiON arrays

in two sites. RecoverPoint/SE CRR enables protection from site disasters and provides volume recovery tosignificant or application-consistent points in time with no data loss. RecoverPoint/SE CRR provides

bidirectional replication with no distance limitation, guaranteed data consistency, and advanced bandwidth

reduction technology, which reduces the IP network utilized for replication and improves TCO.

Application integration, intelligent bookmarks, and data change journaling enable customers to supportRTO service level agreements measured in seconds or minutes instead of hours or days.



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SANSANRecoverPoint

RecoverPoint/SE and EMC replication solutionsRecoverPoint/SE provides replication inside and between CLARiiON CX, CX3, and CX4 arrays. It offers

a single product solution for local and remote data protection along with excellent price/performance and isavailable in capacities up to 150 TB of production data. RecoverPoint/SE can be upgraded to RecoverPoint

for greater capacity and heterogeneous storage support, with no data loss. Table 2 summarizes the

differences between the various replication solutions supported by the CLARiiON array family.

Positioning RecoverPoint/SEIt is important to position RecoverPoint/SE with the CLARiiON array-based local and remote replication

technologies. Table 2 summarizes the differences in replication technologies and the following gives someadditional guidance between the technologies. RecoverPoint/SE should be used for remote replication

unless the same volume must be replicated to more than two sites. If the same volume must be replicated

to more than two sites then MirrorView should be utilized. If continuous data protection is required forlocal replication, then RecoverPoint/SE CDP should be utilized. If continuous data protection is not

required for local replication, then SnapView should be utilized. If synchronous replication over IP isrequired then MirrorView should be utilized.

Table 2. Replication technology comparisons

Solution Recovery

point

objectives

Maximum

volumes

Consistency

groups

Compression Replication

technology

SnapView (clones orsnaps)

N/A 512 to2,048

N/A N/A Inside thearray

RecoverPoint/SE CDP Zero RPO 2,048 localcopies

128 acrossmultiple hostservers

N/A Local FConly

RecoverPoint/SE CRR

(synchronous)

Zero RPO

limiteddistances

2,048

remotecopies

128 across

multiple hostservers

Bandwidth reduction

2.5-10x, bandwidthoptimization

FC only

RecoverPoint/SE CRR RPO -Seconds tohours,unlimited

distance

2,048remotecopies

128 acrossmultiple hostservers

Bandwidth reduction2.5-10x, bandwidthoptimization

TCP overshared ordedicated IPor FC

WAN SAN

RecoverPoint

iSCSIiSCSI

CLARiiON Splitter CLARiiON Splitter IP IP

CDP

CRR

CDP

CRR

Prod

Prod

CDP

CRR

Prod Production Volumes

Local (CDP) Copy

Remote (CRR) Copy

History Journals

SANSANRecoverPoint

WAN SAN

RecoverPoint

iSCSIiSCSI

CLARiiON Splitter CLARiiON Splitter IP IP

WAN/FC

Prod CDP

Prod CDP

CRR

CRR

CDP

CRR

Prod Production Volumes

Local (CDP) Copy

Remote (CRR) Copy

History Journals

Figure 2. RecoverPoint/SE CRR architecture showing Fibre Channel and iSCSI



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MirrorView/Synchronous Zero RPO limiteddistances

512 64 None Dedicated IPor FC

MirrorView/Asynchronous RPO 30minutes orgreater,

unlimiteddistance

256 641

None Dedicated IPor FC

Concurrent local and remote data protectionCustomers need to protect their application data locally from data corruption, as well as remotely to protect

from a local or regional disaster. These customers can implement both RecoverPoint/SE CDP and CRR to

protect the same data volume both locally and remotely. The volume will be protected locally byreplicating all changes to a copy in the local CLARiiON array as well as replicating significant changes to a

copy in a remote CLARiiON array. Recovery and use of the local and remote copies can be performed

independent of each other without affecting the ongoing local and remote replication of production data.

CLARiiON supportCLARiiON CX4 Virtual ProvisioningCLARiiON Virtual Provisioning allows users to present an application with more capacity than is

physically allocated to it in the storage array. CLARiiON Virtual Provisioning simplifies and accelerates

processes and delivers just-in-time capacity allocation and improved utilization. Virtual pools are easy to

create whereby you simply assign a name, select the drive types and capacity amounts, and choose the

appropriate RAID level for protection. To quickly allocate capacity, the user simply selects a pool, chooses

the host, and specifies the virtual capacity amount to allocate. Once capacity is allocated, CLARiiONVirtual Provisioning has the capabilities to monitor the usage versus preset thresholds and automated alerts

so that pools can be expanded non-disruptively.

RecoverPoint/SE has technology that recognizes when thin volumes are used as a replication source and it

will not cause additional capacity to be allocated to the virtually provisioned volume, even if that volume is

replicated to a non-virtually provisioned (or thick) volume. You can use RecoverPoint/SE to locally orremotely replicate a virtually provisioned (or thin) volume. RecoverPoint/SE is fully supported for

replicating between thin volumes, between thick volumes, and between thin and thick volumes.

CLARiiON-based write splitterRecoverPoint/SE replicates data by intercepting the application writes through the use of intelligent write-splitting modules. For RecoverPoint/SE the RecoverPoint write-splitting module can be installed on the

Microsoft Windows Server host, or it can reside on a CLARiiON CX3 or CX4 array. The CLARiiON

array-based splitter runs in each storage processor of a CLARiiON CX3 and CX4 array and will split (thatis, mirror) all writes to a CLARiiON SAN or iSCSI volume, sending one copy to the original target and the

other copy to the RecoverPoint appliance. Both RecoverPoint and RecoverPoint/SE version 3.0 and later

support the CLARiiON array-based splitter. This splitter is only provided for CLARiiON CX3 and CX4

arrays. For supported CLARiiON arrays the splitter is provided with FLARE 26, 28, and 29.

The CLARiiON-based RecoverPoint splitter supports all FC SAN and iSCSI LUNs on the CX4-120,

CX4-240, CX4-480, CX4-960, CX3-10, CX3-20, and CX3-40, and all SAN LUNs on the CX3-80 arrays.

The splitter is also supported for SAN LUNs presented from the CLARiiON CX3 backing a CelerraNS20FC, NS40FC, or NS80FC, and the CLARiiON CX4 backing a Celerra NS-120, NS-480, and NS-960.The CLARiiON splitter is not supported on the AX4-5 or on CX arrays (CX300, CX400, CX500, CX600,

or CX700); RecoverPoint/SE supports the Windows host splitter for these arrays. The CLARiiON-based

RecoverPoint splitter supports all operating systems that are qualified for attachment to the CLARiiONCX3 or CX4 array and are also supported by RecoverPoint/SE. Refer to theEMC Support Matrix for all

supported configurations

1There are a total of 64 groups available that must be shared between MirrorView/Synchronous and

MirrorView/Asynchronous.



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live application testing, on-demand recovery, data migration, and many other valuable data processingapplications. When accessing a replica volume in logical mode, the user will be limited to write changes

for all the LUNs that do not exceed 20 percent of the journal size (or the limit the user set for the

consistency group) or 40 GB, whichever number is smaller. For significant changes, or changes larger than

this amount, EMC recommends the use of physical mode and/or using SnapView to perform a snap or

clone operation on the LUN(s).

Application integration capabilityRecoverPoint/SE provides a scripting interface that enables business applications to integrate

RecoverPoint/SE into their existing application protection and recovery processes, dramatically reducing

recovery time and eliminating potential data loss. The user can create RecoverPoint/SE scripts to createapplication-specific bookmarks that represent transaction and event boundaries. Without these bookmarks,

the application would need to perform crash-recover on the image, which will increase the RTO, and

may result is some data loss. Using these bookmarks to select the recovery image ensures that the

applications can be restarted from an application-consistent point-in-time image, minimizing RTO and data

loss.

RecoverPoint/SE also ships with application agents for Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SQL

Server. These agents utilize the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS) and Virtual Device

Interface (VDI) APIs to ensure the applications are in a consistent state before creating an application

bookmark. Selecting a recovery image using one of these bookmarks facilitates easy recovery with minimalRTO and no data loss.

Integration with backup and archiving systemsRecoverPoint/SE CDP is integrated with EMC NetWorkerfor enhanced backup and recovery.

Additionally, RecoverPoint supports third-party backup and archiving tools such as IBM Tivoli StorageManager and Symantecs Veritas Backup Exec, providing continuous protection from disk to tape.

Continuous protection means that protection gaps are eliminated, compliance to guidelines and regulatory

requirement is facilitated, and the data protection lifecycle is considerably simplified. Furthermore, backup

windows are no longer needed, since with RecoverPoint archiving is performed on the local and/or remotereplica volumes and their associated journals, without impact to production servers.

Using SnapView with RecoverPoint/SEThe CLARiiON CX3 and CX4 provide array-based full or differential volume copies using SnapView. If

continuous data protection is not required, then SnapView should be utilized. RecoverPoint/SE productionor replica volumes can be the source for CLARiiON array snapshot operations with a few considerations

detailed in the following sections. In addition, the RecoverPoint/SE local and/or remote replica copies can

be the source for array-based clones or snapshots performed by SnapView. Typical applications for using

SnapView clones with RecoverPoint/SE would be data warehousing or other applications that require a

full, fractured replica. Examples include using RecoverPoint/SE to replicate an Oracle database remotely

and then using SnapView at the remote site to create a fully writeable replica for use in a SQL Serverdatabase. RecoverPoint/SEs continuous local and remote data protection with CDP-based rollback

capabilities are very complementary to array-based snapshot and replication facilities.

Using EMC CLARiiON array features with RecoverPoint/SESnapView fully coexists with RecoverPoint/SE and may use the same production volumes as long as care

is taken to ensure that only one product is active at a single time. The following two examples show howSnapView can be used on the RecoverPoint/SE production and replica volumes.

Performing operations on RecoverPoint/SE production volumesThere are many ways that RecoverPoint/SE can be combined with native array capabilities. A common

request from customers is to combine array-based snapshots with CRR replication using RecoverPoint/SE

CRR. For example, the production volumes for an Oracle application can be protected locally usingSnapView and replicated using RecoverPoint/SE. The RecoverPoint splitter will intercept all writes by the



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Oracle application to the protected volumes and a copy will be sent to the RecoverPoint appliance.Additionally, the write will be intercepted by SnapView and used to maintain the snapshot as required.

If the production volume needs to be re-synchronized by SnapView it is necessary to disable the specific

RecoverPoint consistency group that contains the affected volumes before re-creating those volumes. For

example, if the Oracle production volume needs to be resynchronized by SnapView, it will be necessary todisable the specific RecoverPoint/SE consistency group that contains the affected volumes before re-

creating those volumes. When this is completed and SnapView resumes normal operations the user enables

the RecoverPoint/SE consistency group. At this point RecoverPoint/SE will perform a full sweep of theproduction and replica copies to bring them back into sync.

Performing operations on RecoverPoint/SE replica volumesRecoverPoint/SE supports the use of SnapView on local and remote replica copies. To use one of these

layered array operations, it is first necessary to access the point-in-time image as a physical volume hosted

by the appropriate array. The user accomplishes this by selecting enable image access for the specificconsistency group copy that contains the selected volumes. The user then selects an appropriate point-in-

time image or consistent bookmark from the RecoverPoint/SE journal requesting logged access as the

image access mode. This causes RecoverPoint/SE to re-create the physical volumes as they exited at the

requested point in time.

Once the volume is rolled back to the point in time and is visible in the SAN, it becomes possible forSnapView to fracture a clone. Once the clone is fractured, the RecoverPoint image is no longer needed. At

this point the user may select disable image access for the consistency group copy, which causesRecoverPoint to resynchronize the replica copies. The SnapView clone LUNs can now be used for any

purpose without any impact to RecoverPoint. If the clone LUNs need to be resynchronized, the user

repeats the image access steps, selecting a different point-in-time copy. Once the image is available, the

user can resynchronize the clone and then fracture it off again.

Intelligent replication and recovery optionsRecoverPoint/SE supports synchronous replication inside one CLARiiON array and synchronous or

asynchronous replication between two CLARiiON arrays. This replication is performed over the

customers existing IP infrastructure or Fibre Channel network and benefits from intelligent data

compression and IP-bandwidth optimization. Additionally the source and target arrays do not need to be

identical, or even of the same CLARiiON family. This enables the use of storage tiers at the remotelocation. It also simplifies the resource requirements necessary when performing DR fire drills.

Integration with EMC Replication Manager

Replication Manager, when utilized with RecoverPoint/SE, provides a unified, automated solution that

eliminates backup windows without impacting production. This integration helps customers create

application-consistent copies of business-critical data locally with RecoverPoint/SE CDP or remotely withRecoverPoint/SE CRR or both local and remote with RecoverPoint/SE CLR. Customers can safeguard

their business-critical applications, such as Oracle, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and

VMware-based virtual machines, using local and/or remote RecoverPoint/SE replicas that can be restored

to any significant point in time that falls within their protection window.



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Figure 3. Replication Manager software architecture

Replication Manager manages RecoverPoint/SE through a centralized management console. Replication

Manager coordinates the entire data replication processfrom discovery and configuration to themanagement of multiple application-consistent disk-based replicas. Auto-discover your RecoverPoint/SE

environment and enable streamlined management by scheduling, recording, and cataloging replica

information including auto-expiration.

RecoverPoint/SE enables local operational recovery and remote disaster recovery, while Replication

Manager streamlines the process by coordinating with the host/application to create the replica, managing

the copy process, and handling all of the steps required in the event of a recovery. Replication Managerhandles backup and recovery in such a way that the data that has been backed up/recovered is application-

consistent.

Replication Manager creates RecoverPoint/SE replica bookmarks simply, quickly, and automatically in

physical and VMware environments. In fact, it automates all the important procedures like replication,

mount, unmount, and restore related to data replication as well as expiring old replicas based on the definedretention policy.

Application-aware bookmarks improve recovery options

EMC RecoverPoint/SE offers seamless integration with business applications that facilitate intelligent

protection and recovery. Application, environmental, and user-created bookmarks are created during the

CDP and replication process. These bookmarks can be used during recovery to dramatically reduce

application recovery time and help eliminate data loss.

Microsoft Exchange Server supports an application programming interface called Volume Shadow CopyServices (VSS) that helps independent software vendors to integrate Exchange into their products by

providing support for backup and restore operations. The VSS APIs are engineered to provide maximumreliability and performance, and support the full range of Exchange Server backup and restore

functionality, including the full range of hot and snapshot backup capabilities.

Using VSS, RecoverPoint/SE will put Exchange Server briefly into a quiescent state, committing in-

memory transactions and then halting all I/O to the storage groups and log files, allowing RecoverPoint to

create a bookmark to this consistent state. A recovery using this bookmark ensures that Exchange Server



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can be restarted without needing to go through any Exchange Server crash-recovery processing. This willdramatically improve recovery time and enable a quick return to production.

Microsoft states2that in order to be compliant with Exchange Server, VSS-based backup applications must

follow a set of basic requirements to ensure the integrity and recoverability of shadow copy backups.

RecoverPoints VSS support follows these requirements. As such, EMC or its authorized representative isthe primary support provider for RecoverPoint/SEs support of Microsoft Exchange; however, Microsoft

Product Support Services (PSS) will support the customer in diagnosing issues with the available Exchange

database and transaction log file sets.

Instant recovery

Continuous data protection gives administrators significant flexibility for Exchange recovery. An

Exchange image protected by RecoverPoint/SE can be instantly recovered from any point in time and

mounted in read/write mode on a recovery server. This image can be used for any purpose, such as

Exchange single mailbox recovery or full storage group recovery. Application-aware bookmarks, such as

the VSS bookmarks mentioned previously, give the administrator the flexibility to select the mostappropriate image for recovery processing.

In the event of an Exchange server failure, the most current image can be quickly mounted by a standbyExchange server for operational recovery from server failure. Alternatively, a standby Exchange server for

such uses as individual mailbox recovery can import the storage groups and log files from theRecoverPoint/SE image.

Recovery from array and complete site failure

With RecoverPoint/SE, every time that Exchange writes to the local storage subsystem, the write is

intercepted and copied in parallel to the local RecoverPoint appliance. In the event of an array or site

failure, the appliance flushes its buffer to the secondary site, ensuring that write order is preserved. Usingthe RecoverPoint management GUI, it is simple to bring up a consistent replica image for Exchange

recovery processing. This enables quick recovery from the array and/or complete recovery from a site

failure.

Protection from data corruption

RecoverPoint efficiently maintains a transactional-consistent snapshot history at the remote site, allowingconvenient rollback to any point in time, enabling quick recovery. This continuous protection eliminates

the backup-window and the data-loss vulnerability inherent in traditional backup and snapshot systems.

RecoverPoint supports multiple volumes in an Exchange Server configuration. Every single write to the

Exchange storage groups and logs is replicated, preserving the write order. Using the timestamped andapplication-aware bookmarks, the administrator can recover the appropriate image just prior to the data

corruption. This gives the administrator a powerful tool that minimizes the data loss and data-recreation

necessary to recovery from data corruption.

Protecting Microsoft Exchange with RecoverPoint/SEEMC RecoverPoint/SE provides full-featured local operational recovery and remote disaster recoverysolutions for Microsoft Exchange Server. The References section on page 19lists both a white paper and

technical note for using RecoverPoint with Microsoft Exchange. The innovative technology of

RecoverPoint/SE supports flexible levels of protection, without distance limitations or performancedegradation. Local protection is provided with RecoverPoint/SE CDP, which synchronously mirrors theExchange database between two sets of volumes in the same CLARiiON array. Remote protection is

provided with RecoverPoint/SE CRR, which replicates the Exchange database between two sets of volumes

on two different CLARiiON arrays.

2Microsoft Knowledge Base article 822896, Exchange Server 2003 data backup and Volume Shadow

Copy services



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RecoverPoint/SE supports Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Exchange Server 2007, and Exchange Server2010. Out of the box, it provides continuous protection for Microsoft Exchanges log and database. In

addition, RecoverPoint protects across multiple hosts running Exchange, as well as other applications,

protecting them consistently. This enables RecoverPoint/SE to roll back the target volumes for all hosts

back to the same point in time.

Both RecoverPoint/SE CDP and RecoverPoint/SE CRR can roll back the target volumes to a consistent

image at any point in time. RecoverPoint/SE CDP has the capability to roll back individual write

operations, while RecoverPoint/SE CRR can roll back to images that may be seconds or minutes apart.Additionally, RecoverPoint/SE offers advanced integration capabilities for Exchange data protection,

including support of the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Services framework. With its unique

architecture, powerful data recovery features, and business-driven approach, RecoverPoint/SE offers

advanced levels of data protection and enables business continuity to organizations running Microsoft

Exchange applications.

To support a highly scalable, highly available Exchange Server, administrators must implement a highly

available storage infrastructure. By utilizing RecoverPoint/SE, server administrators will be able toimprove the data recovery and availability of their Exchange server and dramatically improve their

recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO).

Protecting Microsoft SQL Server with RecoverPoint/SEDatabase recovery is a major requirement that all database management systems must address andMicrosoft SQL Server is no exception. Microsoft SQL Server supports crash recovery, as well as database

backup and restore through a Virtual Device Interface (VDI). The References section on page 19lists

both a white paper and technical note for using RecoverPoint with Microsoft SQL Server.

In most cases, recovering from a local or remote RecoverPoint image at an arbitrary point in time is a

simple and straightforward process. Nevertheless, Microsoft will not support the recovery of SQL Server

from arbitrary images that were not created though a supported Microsoft API. When RecoverPoint

utilizes the VDI APIs to protect the SQL Server environment, Microsoft will guarantee that SQL Server

will be able to recover from an application-consistent VDI image.

Using the VDI APIs, RecoverPoint/SE will put SQL Server briefly into a quiescent state, which will

commit in-memory transactions and then halt all writes to the database and log files. This allowsRecoverPoint/SE to create a bookmark that records this image as an application-consistent VDI image.

RecoverPoint/SE also captures the metadata information provided by the VDI API, which can be used later

when restoring the SQL Server database.

The built-in crash recovery mechanism of SQL Server allows it to recover from a power outage, hardware

crash, or software crash. During crash recovery, SQL Server recovers all completed transactions while

removing all incomplete transactions, thereby maintaining transactional consistency. As a result, crash

recovery allows SQL Server to recover from a point-in-time image.

Microsoft SQL Server manages one or more user databases. Additionally, special system databases are

also used for systems configuration information. A database is composed of multiple files such as data

files and log files. These files usually reside on several different volumes, all of which must be protectedand restored as a single group.

Protection by EMC RecoverPoint/SE is based on a logical entity called a consistency group. A consistency

group is a collection of volumes managed by RecoverPoint/SE for local protection or remote replication toa target group of volumes. Within a consistency group, RecoverPoint/SE enforces write-order fidelity for

the local and remote replication processes and ensures that replica volumes remain in a consistent state with

respect to each other.

For Microsoft SQL Server, all of the volumes for a database to be protected with RecoverPoint/SE must

reside in the same consistency group. If multiple databases are to be protected, these can either reside in

the same consistency group, or can be placed into a different consistency group.



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vCenter to utilize RecoverPoint/SE as an external replication provider for VMware vCenter Site RecoveryManager. VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager will automate the scanning and registration process of

the replicated volumes for the virtual machines and their data as part of the disaster recovery failover

process.

VMware affinityIn the RecoverPoint Management Application GUI the user can view ESX servers and all their virtual

machines, datastores, and RDM drives. This view also displays the replication status of each volume.

The user will see each vCenter monitored by RecoverPoint/SE. Under each vCenter object the user willsee data extracted from the VMware vCenter, including its site name and username, its IP address and the

RecoverPoint/SE replication state for each virtual machine managed by that vCenter. The following

information is displayed for an individual vCenter:

Each ESX server in the vCenter and its IP address

Each virtual machine configured and powered by ESX Server

The replication status of each virtual machine showing if the VM is fully configured for replication,partially configured for replication, or not configured for replication

The primary IP address of each virtual machine

The replication status of each LUN and raw device attached to each virtual machine showing if the

volume is configured for replication or not configured for replicationIf the volume is configured for replication by RecoverPoint/SE, then the RecoverPoint Management

Application GUI displays the RecoverPoint consistency group, copy type (production, local, or remote),

replication set that contains the LUN, and which ESX datastore contains the LUN

Using VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager

VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager uses knowledge about the virtualized infrastructure along with an

external replication solution (such as EMC RecoverPoint/SE) to provide disaster recovery management and

automation for the virtual data center. What VMotion provides for movement of virtual machines withinthe same SAN, Site Recovery Manager can provide across two SANs separated by an arbitrary distance.

Figure 4. VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager at a glance

Automated Site Recovery Manager failoverVMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager makes disaster recovery rapid, reliable, manageable, and

affordable. VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager supports ESX Sever 3.5 and ESX Server 4.0 by

leveraging the VMware Infrastructure and external storage replication software to deliver centralizedmanagement of recovery plans, automate the recovery process, and enable dramatically improved testing of

recovery plans. It turns the complex processes associated with traditional disaster recovery into an

integrated element of virtual infrastructure management. Site Recovery Manager enables organizations to

take risk and worry out of disaster recoveryyet another reason that the VMware virtualization platform is

the safest platform for data center applications.



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Automated Site Recovery Manager failbackFinally, the user can use the EMC RecoverPoint Site Recovery Manager Failback tool to automate the

failback. This tool is a plug-in to VMware vCenter Server Virtual Center, just like Site Recovery Manager.

Once installed, users have access to the features and steps necessary to automate the failback process after

VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager has been used to mitigate a disaster. Similar to VMware vCenter

Site Recovery Manager, users configure the relationship between the disaster recovery site and theproduction site. The user identifies the LUNs that have been failed over, and simply presses the failback

button RecoverPoint handles the rest.

Figure 5. RecoverPoint vCenter Site Recovery Manager failback tool

Note the following about the EMC RecoverPoint Site Recovery Manager failback tool:

It is not a replacement for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager. It should be used with SiteRecovery Manager.

It does not provide users with a mechanism to execute custom script or business logic that is specific totheir organization.

It does not provide an ordering mechanism for virtual machine dependencies.

It does not reset the IP addresses on each virtual machine.

It does not support a complete data center loss.

It requires access to the original RecoverPoint configuration to resolve replication configuration andsettings to automate failback.

ConclusionRecoverPoint/SE is an outstanding choice for local and remote replication for the CLARiiON CX4 series.

The unique combination of an out-of-band architecture design and utilization of integrated write splitting in

the CLARiiON CX3 and CX4 series arrays enables RecoverPoint/SE to meet the growing IT challenges of

todays midsize and large enterprisesscaling system capacity and performance, and simplifying

management in complex environments while providing protection for critical applications and data.

RecoverPoint/SE benefitsCustomers implementing a RecoverPoint/SE solution should see some or all of these benefits:

Can replace multiple existing data protection, replication, and recovery solutions with a single solutionand single point of management, therefore reducing cost and management complexity



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Bandwidth reduction that compresses data across the WAN infrastructure, lowering recurring networkbandwidth costs and reducing TCO

Quick recovery from data corruption or from a complete server or site failure, which reduces RTO andhelps eliminate the cost associated with lost transactions and downtime

Up-to-date consistent copies of data at local and/or remote sites to ensure business continuity in theevent of a disaster

Synchronous and asynchronous replication between any CLARiiON array, including the CLARiiONCX4, CX3, legacy CX, and AX4-5 arrays

Replication between thin volumes, between thick volumes, and between thin and thick volumes

Replication of data between one tier of storage to a higher or lower tier within or between twoCLARiiON arrays

Integration with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager, providing nondisruptive automatedtesting and failover of replicated virtual machines

Automatic failback of virtual machines that were failed over with VMware Site Recovery Manager

Bidirectional replication and recovery between sites regardless of distance, allowing the use of existingdata centers as DR sites, lessening infrastructure and operational cost

Leverages the complete capabilities of EMC E-Lab for testing, certification, and interoperability

ReferencesMore information on EMC RecoverPoint/SE can be found at the RecoverPoint page on EMC.com. The

following RecoverPoint information on EMC.com is recommended:

Disaster Recovery in a Geographically Dispersed Cross-Site Virtual Environment: Enabled by the EMCCLARiiON CX4 Platform, EMC RecoverPoint and Microsoft Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008

The following RecoverPoint information can also be found on EMC.com and Powerlink, EMCs

customer- and partner-only extranet:

EMC RecoverPoint Administrators Guide(Powerlink only)

EMC RecoverPoint Family Overview white paper

Using EMC RecoverPoint Concurrent Local and Remote for Operational and Disaster Recoverywhitepaper

Improving Microsoft SQL Server Recovery with EMC NetWorker and EMC RecoverPointwhite paper

Replicating Microsoft SQL Server with RecoverPoint technical notes (Powerlink only)

Improving Microsoft Exchange Server Recovery with EMC RecoverPointwhite paper

Replicating Microsoft Exchange Server with RecoverPointtechnical notes (Powerlink only)

EMC Replication Manager and EMC RecoverPointwhite paper

Improving VMware Disaster Recovery with EMC RecoverPointwhite paper

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http://www.emc.com/products/family/recoverpoint-family.htmhttp://www.emc.com/collateral/software/white-papers/h6346-disaster-recovery-geographically-dispersed-cross-site-virtual-environment-wp.pdfhttp://www.emc.com/collateral/software/white-papers/h6346-disaster-recovery-geographically-dispersed-cross-site-virtual-environment-wp.pdfhttp://www.emc.com/collateral/software/white-papers/h6346-disaster-recovery-geographically-dispersed-cross-site-virtual-environment-wp.pdfhttp://www.emc.com/collateral/software/white-papers/h6346-disaster-recovery-geographically-dispersed-cross-site-virtual-environment-wp.pdfhttp://www.emc.com/products/family/recoverpoint-family.htm

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