HPE Storage Users Group

Greetings all,

We have a 12 node Hyper-V BL460c G7 cluster where the underlying host hardware is coming to the end of its life.

The cluster configured with 3PAR CLX on a FibreChannel SAN. It provides for live migration & replication between data centres, and has performed admirably. There is one SAN per site, with no inter-SAN links.

We're replacing with Gen10 blades, but we have been asked to look at using VMware instead of Hyper-V as it's the strategic product for our business. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that VMware doesn't work with 3PAR CLX, and no-one else in our business is using 3PAR CLX anyway.

I'm unsure whether VMware can do both replication AND live migration between DC's natively. I have no experience in VMware but from what I can find out, it can do replication, but a replicated VM cannot be live migrated to the same remote host that holds the replica.

I suspect that 3PAR Peer Persistence & vSphere Metro Storage Cluster may be the answer, but I have two questions... in principle... before we go any further:

1. Would this provide both live migration AND replication between DC's
2. Would we require a stretched FC SAN as well as a stretched LAN (with CLX we only require a LAN)

Many thanks

Steven

1. Yes
2. Yes

Things that PP doesn't nativly help you with is ensuring that a VM is running in DC1 from storage in DC2. PP would also require the cluster to span both sites.

Vmware with SRM is probably the closest you will get to HPV with CLX, but there will be $$$ in licensing anyways.

have a look at vSphere metro cluster and peer persistance.
Gives you HA for all your applications.

Most undervalued feature of 3PAR IMHO.

Requires you to connect the fabrics though.

- Anders

Thanks for the replies, I do appreciate them.

I've looked more into the stretched SAN / peer persistence options and it seems only synchronous replication is supported in a 1-to-1 setup, with a maximum latency of around 2ms - not possible with the distances between our DCs.

Thinking aloud...

vSphere SRM is an available option for us; we're fortunate enough to be able to call upon an enterprise-wide license.

I suspect that vSphere SRM + 3PAR Storage Replication Adapter + Async Streaming might now be the only option that doesn't require a stretched SAN in a 1-to-1 RCIP setup with a pair of 7200s, but we still loose the ability to live migrate.

Please feel free to correct me if my architectural musings are wildly incorrect!

I guess we've become too used to Hyper-V+CLX and all it offers. It'll be a judgement call for those higher up to see whether we accept some loss of functionality, or completely re-work our DC locations - if they decide to move to the strategic hypervisor product.

Regards

Steven

Async Streaming isn't supported on the 7200 it doesn't have enough control memory, so if using RCIP then it'd be sync or more likely Async periodic.

Peer Persistence max RTT is 5ms or 10ms depending on the 3PAR OS release, although the longer the RTT the worse the performance from an application response time perspective. However if you have the infrastructure it's a very good solution requiring no middleware or licensing as per CLX or SRM.

CLX is supported under vSphere using raw device mapping, might be worth looking at?

- Anders