SRM Upgrades from v1 to v4 --- what about the SRA itself?

[jftwp]

Currently, we have a very solid/reliable SRM implementation consisting of VirtualCenter 2.5, SRM 1.0.1, and 3par SRA v1.x). We are looking to upgrade our current implementation, and not install new since our various protection groups and recovery plans, test results, etc. need to remain intact if at all possible.

I've read pretty much all the SRM 4.0.1 materials/docs/release notes, etc. and was wondering-in a SRM upgrade/update scenario-at what point in the upgrade process does one remove the old SRA and install the new one?

None of the VMware documentation makes mention of the old vs new SRA's (regardless of storage vendor) and their place in upgrade scenarios. Perhaps this is because various storage vendors write their own SRA's, some of provide single SRA's that are compatible with SRM 1.x or 4.x and some of which are not, but regardless, VMware's documentation (at least what I've scrounged up to date) makes zero mention of SRA's in upgrade scenarios. In our case (3par), the existing SRA is not at all compatible with SRM 4.0.1, hence we must upgrade the SRA when we upgrade SRM and I'm trying to draft up the steps before attempting any upgrade even in our lab. Compatibility is not an issue per the SRM Storage Partners pdf.

Thanks for any light anyone might be able to shed on the SRA upgrade factor where an upgrade of SRM itself is concerned (if your vendor requires you to install a new SRA for use with SRM 4.0.1.

[Michelle_Laveri]

I don't recall covering SRM as part of my upgrade chapter for the vSphere4 book.

Nor do I sadly cover upgrade of SRM 1.0 to 4.0 in the new SRM book... I hope to address those limitations in the next edition i.e the SRM 5.0 book.

It seems to me the order would be...

Upgrade VC

Upgrade ESX hosts

Upgrade VUM

Upgrade SRM

Uninstall/Upgrade SRA

Upgrade Tools/Virtual Machine HW level

Like you say the SRA are vendors specific and come in my flavours and requiresment - .net here, java there, solutions enabler there. I've no experience of 3PAR. But I wouldn't be suprised it is a de-install routine, followed by the re-install routine... consult with 3par... The next thing I would be checking is whether my array configuration in SRM was intact, or whether it had been poached or damaged by the SRA upgrade...

Regards

Mike Laverick

RTFM Education

http://www.rtfm-ed.co.uk

Author of the SRM Book:http://www.rtfm-ed.co.uk/2010/03/22/new-administrating-vmware-site-recovery-manager-4-0/

Free PDF or at-cost Hard Copy

[TimOudin]

I did a similar upgrade though I also split off SRM and VUM to dedicated servers in the process, meaning that I did not do the SRM or VUM upgrades though I did retain and upgrade the database which is the only important part. Essentially, I'd say Mike's process is spot on though I would consider stopping SRM processes, removing the SRA then upgrading SRM just to insure SRM services don't startup with the old SRA in place.

Cheers

Tim Oudin

[admin]

SRAs documentation (3 examples below) only explain how to remove the SRA itself but don't provide instructions for SRM.

However, the SRM Release notes in http://www.vmware.com/support/srm/srm_releasenotes_4_0.html clearly specify the process.

--- SRM Service Fails to Start if SRA is Corrupted or Not Found

The SRM service will fail to start if an SRA it has been configured to use is uninstalled, becomes corrupted, or is reinstalled in a different directory.

Workaround: Before you uninstall an SRA, remove any Array Managers that use it. (This may require deleting Recovery Plans, Protection Groups, or both). If you have uninstalled an SRA without following this procedure, you must reinstall it, restart SRM, and then use the correct procedure to uninstall it.

Note that you must restart SRM service after installing the new SRA (if it was running).

Note that you have to do the same steps on both sites.

=== SRAs uninstalling documentation examples =========

Removing HP EVA Virtualization Adapter

To remove HP EVA Virtualization Adapter:

1. In Windows, select Start > Settings > Control Panel.

2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs.

3. Select HP StorageWorks EVA Virtualization Adapter.

4. Click Change/Remove. Windows removes the program.

NOTE:

After removing HP EVA Virtualization Adapter, restart SRM service so it can be reflect that EVA

Virtualization Adapter is no longer available.

-

---

Uninstalling IBM System Storage DS8000 Storage Replication

Adapter Software

You must use the Storage Replication Adapter installation executable to uninstall the IBM

System Storage DS8000 Storage Replication Adapter software from the Windows server.

Perform the following steps to uninstall the software:

1. Log on to the Windows server as the local administrator.

2. Double-click on the IBMDS8KSRA.exe and select Remove.

3. Click Finish on the final screen to complete the uninstall. If necessary, InstallShield will

prompt the user to re-start the system.

-

---

Sun Storage 7000 Storage Replication Adapter for

VMware Site Recovery Manager 4.0

7. Installing and uninstalling the SRA

The Sun Storage 7000 SRA installer requires VMware SRM 4.0 to already be installed. The installation

will otherwise be aborted. The SRA installation is a self contained procedure and does not require the

administrator to perform any post installation actions. The SRA is shipped as a self extracting and self

installing file.

The SRA installer will install all its files under the VMware vCenter Site Recovery

Manager\scripts\SAN\SS7000 directory.

Uninstalling the SRA from either the Add/Remove Program facility or via the SRA installer executable

will only remove the SRA. This form of uninstallation will not delete the files and directories

associated with the Crypt SSleay Perl module.

-

---

[jftwp]

Hmmm... I still have issues... and completely disagree that it 'clearly specifies the process' --- at least where the sequence of SRA removal/reinstallation, relative to SRM upgrading is concerned.

SRM is entirely dependent on a valid, compatible SRA being installed, and it's a glaring omission on VMware's part that the 'Updating from a Previous Release' section of the release notes says nothing at all about SRA's. Nothing. Instead, SRA-related info can be found as an after-thought / "Known Issue" where the startup of the SRM service is concerned. Short of opening a ticket with VMware (since my company's not quite big enough to have a 'dev' VC/SRM/replication environment handy), the upgrade steps could conceivably be re-written as follows(?). Feedback is most welcome.

But I'm going to open a ticket just for kicks, so I can hear it direct from an SRM engineer, one way or the other.

*************

FIRST, make a note of your protection groups and recovery plans. Print out, document, etc. since you 'may' lose this information as part of the upgrade process, requiring you to recreate them after the upgrade is completed. Once that information is documented, proceed...

1. At the protected site's SRM server:

a) Open SRM and remove any and all Site Array Managers you see listed. According to VMware's release notes on SRM 4, doing this is absolutely necessary before uninstalling the SRA, yet 'may require deleting Recovery Plans, Protection Groups, or both'. What 'may' truly means is anybody's guess and, if true, it almost sounds as if a new installation of SRM (and new database, sine RP's and RG's are in the database) would be less hassle, but I digress.

b) Now uninstall the existing SRA (typically via Add/Remove programs).

2. At the protected site's vCenter server, upgrade to vCenter 4.0.

3. At the protected site's SRM server:

a) Upgrade to SRM 4 and install the new SRM vCenter plugin on any clients administering SRM.

b) Install the new SRA and restart the SRM service to confirm it's using the new SRA, no problems, etc.

c) Open the new SRM plugin and reconfigure the Site Array Manager as done originally when you first setup SRM 1.x.

4. At the recovery site's vCenter server, upgrade to vCenter 4.0.

5. At the recovery site's SRM server:

a) IF you are using a bidirectional configuration of SRM, then follow both 1a and 1b above, else just 1b.

b) Upgrade to SRM 4 and install the new SRM vCenter plugin on any clients administering SRM.

c) Install the new SRA and restart the SRM service to confirm it's using the new SRA, no problems, etc.

6. Pair the protected and recovery sites. After pairing is complete, the protection groups and recovery plans that you had created with the previous installation of SRM and vCenter should be available, but they 'may' not be, per Step 1, VMware's own release notes, etc. IF they're gone, you will obviously need to recreate those as well---which is why you have your PG's and RP's well documented.

7. Install your new SRM 4 licenses.

8. Verify that both the protected and recovery sites have the PG's and RP's that you want/expect, and continue running recovery tests as usual. DONE.