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packetboy
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Read only Datastore with HP SAN Replication? (CA)

Hi

Not sure if this should be in the ESX or VC forum... We use EVA and XP SAN's with the CA (Continuous Access) SAN based replication. We have some VM's on a source LUN (Read write) replicated to a destination LUN for DR when using HP CA it marks the destination LUN as read only..

We want to import the destination LUN into our DR esx cluster however when we add the disk it formats it.. We tried to trick esx by adding the datastore as read write which works then setting up CA again which then marks it as read only however then the datastore disappears out of the host storage page..

Does anyone know if this will work or how to get it to work? Maybe an advanced setting on the disk part to let ESX import the read only LUN which we can then turn to read write if we have to evoke DR

Any ideas would be great thanks

Packetboy.

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marcelo_soares
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On the ESXs of the second site, enter at advanced settings and go to LVM > DissalowSnapshotLun and set it to 0. Perform a rescan and the datastores SHOULD appear available. You can back to read/write mode.

I only didn't understand why the ESX added your luns as datastores again formatting it. This behavior should not happen. Maybe something are not being replicated.

Don't forget that, by adding a VM, you will need to keep/change the uuid as the datastore changed of LUN (in fact).

Marcelo Soares

VMWare Certified Professional 310

Technical Support Engineer

Linux Server Senior Administrator

Marcelo Soares

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marcelo_soares
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On the ESXs of the second site, enter at advanced settings and go to LVM > DissalowSnapshotLun and set it to 0. Perform a rescan and the datastores SHOULD appear available. You can back to read/write mode.

I only didn't understand why the ESX added your luns as datastores again formatting it. This behavior should not happen. Maybe something are not being replicated.

Don't forget that, by adding a VM, you will need to keep/change the uuid as the datastore changed of LUN (in fact).

Marcelo Soares

VMWare Certified Professional 310

Technical Support Engineer

Linux Server Senior Administrator

Marcelo Soares
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packetboy
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Hi thanks for your quick answer! We just tried to set the Dissallowsnapshotlun to 0 on one of the hosts. We imported the LUN as read/write (replication off) we then got our SAN guy to reenable replication which then puts the LUN in read only mode and when we refreshed the storage on the host the LUN still dissappears...

Do we need to reboot the esx box when we change the advanced setting? Any other ideas?

Cheers!

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packetboy
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hey it works!!! thanks I miss understood you... so while the LUN is replicating and in read only mode it disappears from the esx host.. when we evoke DR we get him to break the link (lun read write) then we do a rescan and hey presto we can see the LUN with the replicated data!!

Excellent

cheers mate

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marcelo_soares
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Good to know. I was typing that maybe something was locking the luns.

Good day for some of us Smiley Happy

Marcelo Soares

VMWare Certified Professional 310

Technical Support Engineer

Linux Server Senior Administrator

Marcelo Soares
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