Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

Transcription

1 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays May 2018 H Abstract This deployment guide describes how to deploy an infrastructure solution for SAP landscapes. The solution incorporates Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, VMAX 250F All Flash storage arrays, and Data Domain storage protection with Connectrix Fibre Channel SAN switches. Dell EMC Solutions

2 Copyright The information in this publication is provided as is. Dell Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Use, copying, and distribution of any software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. Copyright 2018 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell, EMC, Dell EMC and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Intel, the Intel logo, the Intel Inside logo, and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks may be the property of their respective owners. Published in the USA 05/18 H Dell Inc. believes the information in this document is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice. 2 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

3 Contents Contents Introduction... 4 Before you start... 6 Solution overview... 7 Solution implementation... 8 Solution verification methodology References Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 3

4 Introduction Introduction Executive summary Modern companies are looking for technologies that transform their IT departments into agile business units capable of delivering continuous application availability through updates and upgrades. Well-managed change can enable greater efficiencies along with more reliable and secure delivery of services. Performance is central to delivering an excellent user application experience. Maintaining performance while scaling an application ecosystem is critical to ensuring that response times meet service-level agreements (SLAs) for financial and supply chain management, among other functions. Application administration teams must have the confidence to deploy copies of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems while providing a highly responsive experience for end users, developers, and other teams. The automation of routine tasks such as provisioning ERP systems means a faster time-to-value, an increase in operational efficiencies, and delivery of a more reliable product. Application resiliency is the ability of all layers in the application stack to react to unplanned problems and still provide the best possible service. The modern application system must include a broad range of resiliency capabilities, high availability (HA), and protection solutions that provide optimal application uptime. Traditionally, IT teams have selected the components of an application infrastructure separately. Because the approach does not always deliver the expected results, many IT teams now look for integrated solutions that have been pretested and precertified and can be accurately sized to meet their business requirements. Dell EMC TM Ready Solutions such as the Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes deliver integrated compute, networking, and storage in one system. Solution overview Key benefits This Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes solution incorporates Dell EMC PowerEdge TM R940 and R740/R740xd servers, Dell EMC Connectrix TM Fibre Channel (FC) switches, Dell EMC VMAX TM 250F All Flash arrays, and Dell EMC Data Domain TM storage protection systems. The solution encompasses a variety of design configurations and deployment options. Customers use sizing tools for SAP systems on Dell EMC infrastructure to determine the requirements of the deployment and work with Dell EMC representatives to configure and deploy the solution. PowerEdge servers that are paired with the VMAX All Flash array storage system power the Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes. Customers implementing the solution can expect the following benefits: Agility A modern SAP landscape management experience that delivers automated provisioning capabilities for SAP applications provides faster time to value. Engineering Compute, networking, and storage are integrated with the required prerequisites, and dependencies have been tested to deliver a seamless solution experience. Optimization Design and deployment guides highlight proven performance, automation, and resiliency best practices for SAP Landscapes. 4 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

5 Introduction Document purpose Audience Terminology This deployment guide describes how to deploy an IT infrastructure consisting of Dell EMC components for your SAP landscape. It provides detailed configuration steps for an SAP landscape using PowerEdge servers and Connectrix switches with VMAX storage. The guide also describes how to configure and deploy Dell EMC Data Domain and Data Domain Boost TM software for back up and restore of SAP systems as well as how to configure SRDF/Metro storage replication for high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR). This guide does not address the installation of SAP and VMware software components. The scenario described in this guide is an example of a possible design outcome. Deviations from the configuration described may be necessary to meet unique customer requirements. This deployment guide is for database administrators, system administrators, storage administrators, and architects who deploy and maintain database infrastructures. Readers should have some knowledge of Dell EMC PowerEdge servers, storage, and networking products as well as SAP NetWeaver and VMware virtualization technologies. Dell EMC Professional Services can assist you with deploying the Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes solution. Contact your Dell EMC representative for more information. The following table defines Data Domain terminology that is used in this guide: Term Global compression factor Local compression factor Definition Global compression, a form of data deduplication, compares incoming data to data that is already stored on disk and stores only the unique data segments. Local compression reduces the size of a piece of incoming data by using compression algorithms. For more information, see Understanding Data Domain Compression. We value your feedback Dell EMC and the authors of this document welcome your feedback on the solution and the solution documentation. Contact EMC.Solution.Feedback@emc.com with your comments. Authors: Donagh Keeshan, Fergal Murphy, Pete Shi, Jarvis Zhu, Tony Fong, Aighne Kearney Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 5

6 Before you start Before you start Predeployment tasks This guide assumes that: Your on-site Dell EMC infrastructure is cabled and powered up. You have determined a detailed design for your implementation of the Ready Bundle following a sizing and scoping exercise with Dell EMC representatives. You have completed the relevant SAP Quick Sizer projects and shared the outputs with Dell EMC representatives. Note: For more information about sizing tools for SAP systems, see the documentation under SAP Quick Sizer on the SAP Service Marketplace website (SAP Marketplace access is required). Essential reading This deployment guide is a companion to the Dell EMC Ready Bundles for SAP Landscapes with VMAX All FLash Arrays Design Guide. The design guide provides information about how to design and size the infrastructure components of the Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes solution. 6 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

7 Solution overview Solution overview Architecture overview Figure 1 provides an overview of the architecture of the Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes solution. Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes solution architecture The Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes is optimized as a single system incorporating the following components: Servers PowerEdge R940 and PowerEdge R740/R740xd Storage VMAX All Flash 250F arrays Networking Connectrix (Brocade) 32 Gb/s-capable FC switches Data Protection Services Data Domain storage protection VMware Hypervisor ESXi 6.5 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 7

8 Solution implementation Solution implementation Overview Configuring the PowerEdge servers This guide describes how to install and configure the compute, network, storage, and availability components of the Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes: PowerEdge R940 and R740/R740xd servers Connectrix FC storage attached network (SAN) VMAX storage arrays Data Domain protection The integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (idrac) settings utility is a mangement platform for Dell EMC servers. The idrac utility enables you to configure your R940 and R740/R740xd servers. Set up the idrac IP address using the idrac settings utility To set up your idrac IP address: 1. Power on the PowerEdge Server. 2. Press F2 during Power-on Self-test (POST). 3. In the System Setup Main Menu page, select idrac Settings > Network. 4. In the Network page, specify the following: Network Settings Common Settings IPv4 Settings or IPv6 Settings IPMI Settings VLAN Settings 5. Select Back > Finish, and then click Yes. After the system reboots, access the idrac login screen through any web browser using the configured idrac IP, as shown in Figure 1. idrac login screen 6. Type your user credentials to log in. The default login is root/calvin. 8 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

9 Configure memory in the BIOS Solution implementation Use the BIOS Settings screen to view the system memory settings and enable or disable memory functions such as system memory testing and node interleaving. To complete the required memory configuration: 1. Select Configuration > BIOS Settings > Memory Settings. 2. Specify the Memory Operating Mode. The available options are: Optimizer Mode Mirror Mode Single-Rank Spare Mode Multi-Rank Spare Mode Fault Resilient Mode The default setting is Optimizer Mode. Create virtual disks using the web interface To create a virtual disk: 1. In the idrac Web interface, select Configuration > Storage Configuration. 2. In the Controller list box, select the controller for which you want to create a virtual disk. 3. In the Virtual Disk Configuration area: a. Click Create Virtual Disk. b. Type a name for the virtual disk. c. In the Layout list box, select the RAID level you want for the Virtual Disk. Only the RAID levels that are supported by the controller appear in the list. These RAID levels are based on the total number of physical disks available. d. Specify the following: Media Type Stripe Size Read Policy Write Policy Disk Cache Policy Only the values that the controller supports appear in the list boxes for these properties. e. In the Capacity field, enter the size of the virtual disk. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 9

10 Solution implementation The maximum size is displayed and then updated as disks are selected. The Span Count field is displayed based on your selection in step 3. For example, if you selected RAID 10 and the controller supports uneven RAID 10, the span count value is not displayed. The controller sets the appropriate value automatically, as shown in Figure 3. Create Virtual Disk screen 4. In the Select Physical Disks area, specify the number of physical disks you require. 5. Click Add to Pending Operations. 6. Select Maintenance > Job Queue to apply the change. The settings are applied based on the Apply Operation Mode you selected. For more information, see the idrac Online Help that is accessible from the idrac dashboard. Note: In our test environment, we choose to boot from internal storage. The option to boot ESXi servers from SAN is also available. For more information, see the VMware document Booting ESXi from Fibre Channel SAN. Enable hyperthreading Hyperthreading technology enables SAP applications to make best use of compute resources and deliver better performance by allowing a single CPU to behave like two logical processors. To enable hyperthreading: 1. In the idrac web interface, select Configuration > BIOS Settings > Processor Settings > Logical Processor, and then click Enabled. 2. Configure the power plan as follows: a. In the BIOS: i Select Configuration > BIOS Settings > System Profile Setting > System Profile, and then select Performance Per Watt (DAPC) in the list box. 10 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

11 ii b. In the OS: Solution implementation Select Configuration > BIOS Settings > Processor Settings > Dell Controlled Turbo, and then click Enabled. Select Control Panel > Power Plans Scheme, and then click High Performance Plan. Install an operating system on a PowerEdge server Certain PowerEdge server models require the use of the Dell EMC-customized ESXi image for the easiest and most reliable deployment of a fully managed server. For more information, see VMware vsphere ESXi 6.x on Dell EMC Power Edge Systems: Image Customization Information. To download the Dell EMC-customized ESXi ISO image: 1. Go to Dell EMC Support and click the Drivers icon. 2. On the Drivers & Downloads page, select your product from the list and then select the version of ESXi you have installed as your operating system (OS). 3. Locate the Dell EMC customized ISO images under Enterprise Solutions, and then download the latest image. 4. From the idrac web interface, open the Virtual Console. 5. Click Virtual Media and select Connect Virtual Media. 6. When the function is enabled, click Virtual Media, and then select the passthrough device you want. We chose Map CD/DVD to use an ISO image file, as shown in Figure 4. Selecting the pass-through device 7. Browse to and locate the image file you want to pass through, as shown in Figure 5. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 11

12 Solution implementation Selecting the installation media 8. Click Open, and then click Map Device to complete the source selection. The selected device is now visible in the OS and can be used as a boot source (if it is supported), as shown in Figure 6. Next Boot options 9. To boot from the selected device, click Next Boot and select Virtual CD/DVD/ISO. After a restart, the server starts from this source automatically 10. Follow the OS installation wizard to complete the installation. 12 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

13 Solution implementation Configuring Connectrix Fibre Channel SAN This section shows how to create and configure zoning and monitoring for the Connectrix FC SAN storage network for an SAP environment. Zones enable you to partition your fabric into logical groups of devices that can access one another. These are "regular" or "standard" zones that is, single initiator to single target. For more information, see the Brocade Fabric OS Administrator s Guide. Note: All switches in the fabric must be running the same default zone policy and configuration. Switches with different zone configurations are not merged. If the two switches cannot join, the inter-switch link (ISL) between the switches segments. Create a zone To create a zone: 1. Log in to the Connectrix Manager graphical user interface (CMCNE). 2. Select Configure > Zoning > Fabric. The screen shown in Figure 7 appears. Connectrix Manager zoning screen 3. Select New Zone for standard zone. All potential zone members are in the left area and can be expanded. 4. Move members from left to right into the newly created zone. 5. Move the newly created zones, which have a green label in front of the zone name, from the middle area to the Configuration Area on the right. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 13

14 Solution implementation The zone configuration expands to enable you to view added members and confirm added zones. Note: Zone names with green labels are active members in the configuration. Zone names without green labels are inactive members. 6. Click Activate. A screen displaying your zoning changes appears, as shown in Figure 8. Activate Zone Configuration 7. Click OK to confirm your changes. The active zone configuration now includes the new zone members. Fabric Vision features: MAPS and FPI The Connectrix B Series products offer features for validating, monitoring, alerting, and remediating the storage network infrastructure. These features are collectively referred to as Fabric Vision. For more information, see the Brocade Fabric OS Administration Guide. This section describes how to configure the following Fabric Vision features for this SAP deployment: Monitoring and Alerting Policy Suite (MAPS) Fabric Performance Impact (FPI) 14 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

15 Solution implementation Note: All Connectrix directors and departmental fixed port switches with enterprise bundles include the Fabric Vision license. MAPS is an optional (licensed) feature that monitors various Connectrix Fabric OS metrics, statistics, and switch component states. MAPS also provides proactive error mitigation when threshold conditions are exceeded. Default policies include defined groups for server ports, storage ports, and switch-toswitch (ISL) ports. Additional default groups are created for other monitored elements, including fans, power supplies, and WAN ports. You can apply default policies to each group using one of four predefined policies: Base Aggressive Moderate Conservative Configure a MAPS policy The Moderate policy is the recommended starting point for new SAN deployments for SAP landscapes. To enable the Moderate policy: 1. In CMCNE, select Switch > Moderate policy, and then click Activate. The MAPS Configuration screen appears, as shown in Figure 9. MAPS Configuration screen The following options are available in the MAPS Configuration screen: View Quickly view MAPS elements, including rules, thresholds, and actions. Actions Enable or disable desired MAPS actions. Compare Compare MAPS policy thresholds to better suit your environment if you choose to modify a policy or enable a different default policy. For more Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 15

16 Solution implementation information, see the Brocade Monitoring and Alerting Policy Suite Configuration Guide. View MAPS Violations View all threshold alert violations. 2. Click the Dashboard tab at the top of the screen to perform MAPS monitoring, as shown in Figure 10. MAPS monitoring screen Figure 11 shows the MAPS violation widgets that you can view in the MAPS dashboard. Dashboard showing MAPS violations Configure FPI monitoring FPI offers advanced device latency detection and mitigation capabilities that are easy to deploy and use. The detection offers a clear indication that the fabric might be experiencing a performance impact because of a slow-draining device or another device that is not behaving as expected. 16 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

17 Solution implementation FPI monitoring is enabled by default in FOS 8.x and actions are available with either the Fabric Watch/Advanced Performance Monitor (FW/APM) or Fabric Vision license. Note: FPI monitoring requires a Fabric Vision license and is supported on 8-Gbps and 16-Gbps platforms with Fabric OS 7.3 and Fabric OS 7.4. Starting with Fabric OS 8.0, FPI monitoring does not require a license on 16-Gbps and 32-Gbps platforms. To enable FPI action options in your system: 1. In Connection Manager, open the MAPS Policy Actions screen. The MAPS Policy Actions screen appears, as shown in Figure 12. MAPS Policy Actions screen 2. Select the FPI Actions (SAN only) box and then: Disable legacy bottleneck monitoring if it is currently enabled. Enable FPI. Configure and confirm FPI actions. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 17

18 Solution implementation Configuring the VMAX storage This section shows how to create and configure the storage on a VMAX 250F All Flash array for an SAP environment. In our laboratory, we used the Dell EMC Unisphere TM for VMAX dashboard to configure the storage devices, storage groups, port groups, and host groups as well as the masking view for the SAP landscape. Figure 13 shows the interface in which you can perform these tasks. Unisphere Storage Dashboard Create a storage group To create a storage group: 1. In the Unisphere Storage Group dashboard., click Provision Storage to Host and create an empty storage group, as shown in Figure 14. Provision Storage screen 18 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

19 Solution implementation 2. Click the down arrow on Add to Job List at the bottom of the screen and select Run Now. Your storage group is created. 3. To create the required volumes, select Storage > Volumes > Create Volumes, as shown in Figure 15. Create Volume screen 4. Click the down arrow on Add to Job List and select Run Now. 5. Click the Total tile to view the existing storage groups, and then select the storage group to view more details. 6. Click Volumes in the RELATED OBJECTS area to view the list of volumes. Figure 16 shows a sample list. List of volumes Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 19

20 Solution implementation Create a host To create a host: 1. In the Unisphere dashboard, select Host > Create Host. 2. Enter a name for the host and select the initiators for that host from the list, as shown in Figure 17. Create Host screen 3. Click the down arrow on Add to Job List and select Run Now. 20 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

21 Create a host group To create a host group: 1. In the Unisphere dashboard, select Host > Create Host Group. The Create Host Group screen appears, as shown in Figure 18. Solution implementation Create Host Group screen 2. Enter a name for the host group, select the hosts that belong to the SAP Landscape cluster, and click Add. 3. Click the down arrow on Add to Job List and select Run Now. Your host group is created, as shown in Figure 19. Host Group Dashboard Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 21

22 Solution implementation Create a port group To create a port group: 1. In the Unisphere dashboard, select Hosts > Port Groups > Create Port Group. The Create Port Group screen appears, as shown in Figure 20. Create Port Group screen 2. Enter a name for the port group and hold down the Ctrl key to mark the ports your initiators are logged into. Click OK. Awarning message might appear. 3. Click OK to create the port group. Create a masking view A VMAX masking view combines the storage group, port group, and host group, and enables access from the SAP Landscape servers to the storage volumes. To create a masking view: 1. Select Hosts > Masking View > Create Masking View. 2. Enter a masking view name and select the host group, port group, and storage group you created. 22 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

23 Solution implementation The Create Masking View screen appears, as shown in Figure Click OK. Create Masking View screen The Masking View is created. The SAP landscape servers now have access to the created storage volumes. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 23

24 Solution implementation Configuring SRDF/Metro To provide HA for your system, you can configure SRDF/Metro using either Solutions Enabler or Unisphere for VMAX. Dell EMC recommends Unisphere for ease of use. Note: An SRDF group is required on each VMAX3 array. Create an SRDF group To create an SRDF group: 1. In Unisphere, select Data Protection > Replication Groups and Pools > SRDF Groups, and then click Create Group. The Create SRDF Group screen appears, as shown in Figure 22. Create SRDF Group screen 2. Enter the information required to create an SRDF group on each array. 3. Leave the SRDF/Metro Witness Group option unselected, and then click OK. An SRDF group is created. Add a virtual witness Beginning with HYPERMAX OS 5977 Q SR, you can use a virtual witness, or vwitness, instead of a physical witness. The vwitness is a virtual appliance that runs a special daemon called the Witness Lock Service. This daemon communicates with the Witness Manager daemon, which runs on each SRDF/Metro array within the emanagement guests. To enable a vwitness on your system: 1. In Unisphere, select Data Protection > Replication Groups and Pools > SRDF Virtual Witness, and then click Add. 24 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

25 Solution implementation The Add Virtual Witness screen appears, as shown in Figure 23. Add Virtual Witness screen 2. Enter the required information, and then click Run Now. The vwitness is created. Note: For more information, see the SRDF/Metro vwitness Configuration Guide. Enable SRDF/Metro on a storage group The Protection Dashboard in Unisphere provides an easy-to-use wizard to enable SRDF/Metro on a storage group. Before starting the wizard, remember that the R2 device must not be presented to the hosts until the devices are fully synchronized, even though this is an active-active device configuration. For more information, see the Dell EMC Ready Bundles for SAP Landscapes with VMAX All FLash Arrays Design Guide 1. In the Protection Dashboard, select Total to view all the storage groups that are available for protection, as shown in Figure 24. Unisphere Protection Dashboard 2. Select the storage group that you bookmarked for protection and click Protect at the bottom of the screen. 3. Select High Availability Using SRDF/Metro as the protection type, and then click Next. 4. By default, Auto is selected for the SRDF Group. Because we created the group in a previous step, the SRDF Group changed to Manual in this example and the required SRDF group was selected. Click Next. 5. You can modify the Remote Storage Group Name as required. In our laboratory, we changed the name to SAPReadyBundle_Tgt_SG. 6. Review the proposed changes, and then run the task. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 25

26 Solution implementation 7. When the task is running, select Data Protection > SRDF > SRDF/Metro and review the storage group state, as shown in Figure 25. In this example, it is SyncInProg. Storage group states: SyncInProg 8. Select the storage group and click View details to view additional synchronization details. Note that the remote target volume ID state is SyncInProg and the Remote Volume state is Write Disabled, as shown in Figure 26. Storage Group Details view After the synchronization is complete, the storage group state changes to ActiveActive, indicating that the synchronization is complete. Dell EMC recommends waiting until the device pair reaches the ActiveActive state before creating a masking view for the R2 devices. 9. Select the storage group and click View details. 26 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

27 Solution implementation The state of each device pair is ActiveActive and the remote volume state is Ready, as shown in Figure 27 and Figure 28. Storage Group details Create a masking view Storage Group details (continued) After the active state is reached, you can present the R2 devices to the hosts using the masking view wizard. 1. In Unisphere, select Hosts > Masking view > Create Masking View. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 27

28 Solution implementation The Create Masking View screen appears, as shown in Figure 29. Create Masking View screen 2. Select the required initiator group, port group, and storage group, give the masking view a name, and then click OK.After the masking view is created, the R2 devices are visible to the hosts, and the hosts can read and write to those devices. Configuring Data Domain data protection The Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes solution uses the Dell EMC Data Domain storage system to protect your business-critical SAP data. Data Domain deduplication storage systems enable fast, reliable disk backup, archiving, and disaster recovery (DR) with highspeed, inline deduplication. By consolidating backup and archive data on a Data Domain system, you can reduce storage requirements by 10 to 55 times. For configuration, management, and monitoring operations, Data Domain systems run the Data Domain System Manager (DD System Manager) GUI and the Data Domain Operating System (DD OS) CLI. Used with Data Domain storage systems, Dell EMC DD Boost TM software provides advanced integration with backup and enterprise applications. DD Boost enables faster and more efficient backup and recovery as follows: DD Boost distributes parts of the deduplication process to the database server or application clients, enabling client-side deduplication. Distributed segment processing (DSP) enables deduplication of the backup data on the database or application host to reduce the amount of data that is transferred over the network. 28 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

29 Enabling DD Boost on a Data Domain system Solution implementation You can enable DD Boost software at the DD OS CLI or in the DD System Manager. To enable DD Boost at the DD OS CLI, run the ddboost enable command. To enable DD Boost in the DD System Manager, follow these steps: a. Select Data Management > File System > Enable to enable the file system. Note: DD Boost is an optional product. A separate license is required to operate DD Boost software on the Data Domain system. b. Select Administration > Licenses > Update Licenses to upload the DD Boost license. The Update Licenses screen appears, as shown in Figure 30. Uploading ELMS licenses c. Browse to the DD boost license and select it. Click Apply. d. Select Protocols > DD Boost. The screen shown in Figure 31 appears. Enabling DD Boost Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 29

30 Solution implementation Setting up the Data Domain storage units Each Data Domain system that is to be used with the database application agent requires one or more storage units, and each storage unit name must be unique on a single Data Domain system. To set up the storage units: 1. In DD System Manager, select Protocols > DD Boost > Storage Units. The screen shown in Figure 32 appears. Setting up storage units on your Data Domain system 2. Click the green plus (+) icon. The Create Storage Unit screen appears, as shown in Figure 33. Creating a storage unit 3. Enter the name of the storage unit, select one of the authorized users, and click Create. 30 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

31 Solution implementation Optionally, create a new local user by selecting Protocols > DD Boost > Settings. The storage unit is created, as shown in Figure 34. Data Domain storage units list 4. Select Users with DD Boost Access. Enabling distributed segment processing You can choose to enable or disable DSP when you send backup data to a Data Domain system using DD Boost software. DSP distributes the deduplication process between the DD Boost library and the Data Domain system. Parts of the deduplication process run on the database or application host so that the DD Boost library sends only unique data over the network. The mode of operation is set on the Data Domain system. DSP is enabled by default on systems initially installed with DD OS release 5.2 or higher. On system upgrades from DD OS release 5.0.x/5.1.x up to DD OS release 5.2, DSP remains in its previous state. To configure DSP on your Data Domain system: 1. In DD System Manager, select Protocols > DD Boost > More Tasks > Set Options. The screen shown in Figure 35 appears. Configuring distributed processing 2. Select Distributed Segment Processing and click OK. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 31

32 Solution implementation Note: Enabling or disabling DSP does not require a restart of the Data Domain file system. Enabling advanced load balancing and link failover With the advanced load-balancing and link failover feature, you can combine multiple Ethernet links into a group and register only one interface with the database application agent on the Data Domain system. Setting up an interface group creates a private network within the Data Domain system, consisting of the IP addresses that are designated as belonging to a group. Clients are assigned to a single group, and the group interface uses load balancing to improve data transfer performance and increased reliability. If an interface group is configured when the Data Domain system receives data from the DD Boost client, the data transfer is load-balanced and distributed as separate jobs on the private network. This load balancing increases throughput, especially for customers who use multiple 1 GbE connections. To enable load balancing on your Data Domain system: 1. In DD System Manager, select Protocols > DD Boost > Settings > Allowed Clients and click the green plus (+) icon. The Modify Allowed Client screen appears, as shown in Figure 36. Modify Allowed Client screen 2. Enter the FQDN of the database or application host to back up, and then click OK. 3. Select Protocols > DD Boost > Settings > IP Network > Interface Groups and click the green plus (+) icon. 32 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

33 Solution implementation The Modify Interface Group screen appears, as shown in Figure 37. Creating an interface group 4. Enter a name for the interface group, select the interfaces to add to the group, and click OK. 5. Select Protocols > DD Boost > Settings > IP Network > Configured Clients and click the green plus (+) icon. The Add Client screen appears, as shown in Figure 38. Adding a client 6. Enter the name of the client, select the interface group you previously created, and click OK. Installing DD Boost for Enterprise Applications Use the DD Boost for Enterprise Applications (DDBEA) software to integrate the Data Domain system with your SAP landscape. 1. Download the DDBEA database application agent software from the Customer Support website and extract the installation package from the file on the database or application host. 2. Install the software on Linux by running the rpm command, as shown in Figure 39. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 33

34 Solution implementation Installing the database application agent 3. In a supported cluster environment, install the software on each node that performs backup and recovery operations. Setting up the SAP with Oracle configuration file For an SAP with Oracle environment, the software installation provides the sap_oracle_ddbda.utl template for the configuration file. Customize this template to set up a configuration file to use for backups and restores with the DDBEA database application agent. The configuration file templates are installed on UNIX and Linux in the /opt/dpsapps/dbappagent/config/ directory: The following common parameters, found under the [PRIMARY_SYSTEM] settings on your Data Domain system, are mandatory for all operations with the database application agent: DDBOOST_USER Specifies the username of the DD Boost user that is configured on the primary Data Domain system DEVICE_HOST Specifies the hostname of the primary Data Domain system where the backup is stored DEVICE_PATH Specifies the name of the storage unit or a top-level directory within the storage unit on the primary Data Domain system To customize the configuration file, follow these steps: 1. Go to /opt/dpsapps/dbappagent/config/, copy the sap_oracle_ddbda.utl configuration file, and rename it init<dbsid>.utl. 2. Modify the parameter settings in the configuration file, as shown in Figure 40. SAP with Oracle configuration file 34 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

35 Configuring the DD Boost operations with Oracle RMAN Solution implementation The database application agent is integrated with the SAP BR*Tools backing interface and the BR*Tools Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) interface to enable DD Boost backups, restores, and transaction log archiving in an SAP with Oracle environment. Enable the SAP BR*Tools operations to use the RMAN program for the DD Boost backups and restores. To do this, provide the required settings in the BR*Tools configuration file init<dbsid>.sap, which is located in /oracle/<sid>/sapprof, as follows: 1. Set the backup medium to use the RMAN program, as shown in Figure 41. Setting the backup medium 2. Set the following values in the rman_parms parameter: Set SBT_LIBRARY to the complete pathname of the database application agent library that is used with RMAN. Set CONFIG_FILE to the complete pathname of the configuration file init<dbsid>.utl. Figure 42 shows the values we provided. Setting the rman parameters 3. Set the following parameters to configure the RMAN operations according to your requirements: rman_channels: Set the number of concurrent data streams. As a best practice, set the channel numbers equal to the number of CPUs in the system. rman_filesperset: Set a number to improve the deduplication ratio, as shown in Figure 43. Setting the channel numbers util_par_file: Set the parameter to the complete pathname of the SAP for Oracle configuration file, as shown in Figure 44. Setting the util_par_file location Enabling the Oracle optimized deduplication feature The Oracle optimized deduplication feature can provide improved deduplication, resulting in greater storage protection, efficiency, and value. Optimized deduplication is supported at the MTree level in Data Domain OS and higher. To enable optimized deduplication on your Data Domain system: 1. Log in to the system through SSH. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 35

36 Solution implementation 2. Run the following command to enable the optimized compression algorithm: mtree option set app-optimized-compression < algo_name > mtree < mtree_path > For example: mtree option set app-optimized-compression oracle1 mtree /data/col1/rb_sap_bm1 3. Run the mtree option show command to display the MTree values, as shown in Figure 45. Setting MTree values Configuring the lockbox A lockbox is an encrypted file that the database application agent uses to protect confidential information from unauthorized access. The lockbox stores your Data Domain system information, including user credentials for your DD Boost software. Before you can enable backups and restores on a Data Domain system, you must ensure that the configuration file is created and contains the mandatory parameter settings. For example, the parameters shown in Figure 46 are set in the [PRIMARY_SYSTEM] section of the configuration file. Parameter settings in the initbm1.utl 1. Run the following command to register the Data Domain system to the host: ddbmadmin -P -z <configuration_file> 2. Create a lockbox, as shown in Figure Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

37 Solution implementation Creating a lockbox with Data Domain 3. After the configuration is complete, start the backup and restore operation to the Data Domain system. Note: You can also use a backing backup for the database backup. For more information, see Dell EMC Data Domain Boost for Enterprise Applications and ProtectPoint Database Application Agent, which is available for download from Dell EMC Online Support. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 37

38 Solution verification methodology Solution verification methodology Overview We validated the configuration best practices described in this guide by using SAP ERP 6.0 EHP7 on the NetWeaver 740 technology platform with the Oracle Database 12c release. We installed the distributed SAP system on SUSE SLES hosts in a virtual environment. In our use case, the ERP system with a BM1 database represents a production system running with a database of approximately 2.7 TB. The ERP system s Oracle database was fully backed up five times to the Data Domain appliance. After each backup, we added unique data to the database, using SAP benchmark tools to simulate data growth. The DD Boost software we installed integrates with SAP-supported databases to perform host-based deduplication to Data Domain, sending only unique blocks of data over the network. DD Boost saves bandwidth and lowers network use, a significant benefit when backups occur in parallel in the data center. The goal of these tests is to show how the Dell EMC Ready Solution for SAP Landscapes with Data Domain can quickly back up a production database system and offer consolidation savings to businesses. Backup metrics and screen shots show how we achieved our goals. SAP Power Benchmark tools SAP Power Benchmark (PBM), which is based on the standard Sales and Distribution (SD) benchmark, is a collection of Perl scripts and SAP configuration transports. PBM allows simulation of a large number of SAP user logins and performs a wide range of order-to-cash transactions. For more information, see the SAP Power Benchmarks documentation. We ran the PBM to create workloads and to generate data growth between backups. 38 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

39 Solution verification methodology Backup testing Data Domain deduplication storage systems reduce the amount of data to process by only backing up data that has not previously been processed. The first full backup of a database requires sending all the data to the Data Domain system because that data is considered unique. With subsequent full backups, DD Boost software performs deduplication on the database server, sending only unique blocks for the network and skipping data that has already been backed up. Another DD Boost benefit is that full backups consume only a fraction of space on the Data Domain appliance and network use is minimized. In our laboratory backup test, the initial SAP database size was TB, as shown in Figure 48. The size consisted of approximately TB of data and 464 GB of free space. Backup steps Initial SAP database size At a high level, the backup procedure consisted of the following steps: 1. Perform a full initial backup of the SAP database to the Data Domain system using the DDBEA software, and collect performance and data reduction statistics. 2. Using the PBM, generate small and large application data deltas (changed data) as follows: Second backup with a large data change (6.1 percent) Third backup with a large data change (4.5 percent) Fourth backup with a small data change (0.12 percent) Final backup with a small data change (0.05 percent) 3. Run the full backup again and collect performance and data reduction statistics. Detailed backup steps For our backup procedure, we performed the following steps: 1. Locate the SAP database SLES host to back up and log in as the ora <SID> user. 2. Back up the SAP database from the OS level by running the following BRtools command: brbackup -t online -d rman_util -m all -u / Figure 49 shows the results we obtained. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 39

40 Solution verification methodology First backup results The first backup provided the following results: Consumption of 835 GiB of physical storage within the Data Domain system A global compression factor of 1.0x, indicating that all the data written was unique A local compression factor of 2.8x Storage savings of approximately 64 percent compared to the initial backup Note: A high deduplication ratio (global compression factor) is rare in the initial backup of a dataset because the data reduction in initial backups comes predominantly from local compression. With subsequent data transfers to the Data Domain system, deduplication (or global compression) is the dominant compression factor. 3. After the initial backup, expand the database base and generate approximately 142 GB of new data, creating a change (delta) of approximately six percent. 40 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

41 Solution verification methodology The new database size is TB, as shown in Figure 50, with TB of data and 480 GB of free space. Data generation after the initial backup 4. Create the second backup of the SAP system by running the following BRtools command: brbackup -t online -d rman_util -m all -u / Figure 51 shows the results we obtained after the five percent change. Second backup results The second backup provided the following results: Consumption of only 269 GiB of physical storage A global compression factor of 4.0x, indicating the presence of data previously backed up to the Data Domain system A local compression factor of 2.3x Storage savings of approximately 89 percent on the second backup and a total storage savings of approximately 76 percent over the two backups 5. Expand the database and generate 110 GB of new data, creating a change of approximately 4.5 percent. The new database size is approximately TB with TB of data and 565 GB of free space, as Figure 52 shows. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 41

42 Solution verification methodology Data generation after the second backup 6. Create the third backup of the SAP system by running the following BRtools command: brbackup -t online -d rman_util -m all -u / Figure 53 shows the results we obtained. Third backup results The third backup provided the following results: Consumption of only 269 GiB of physical storage A global compression factor of 4.3x, again indicating the presence of data previously backed up to the Data Domain system A local compression factor of 2.2x Storage savings of approximately 89 percent on the third backup and a total storage savings of approximately 80 percent for all three backups 7. Generate 3GB of new data, creating a small change (delta) of approximately 0.12 percent. The new database size was approximately TB, with TB of data and approximately 562 GB of free space, as shown in Figure Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

43 Solution verification methodology Data generation after the third backup 8. Create a fourth backup of the SAP system by running the following BRtools command: brbackup -t online -d rman_util -m all -u / Figure 55 shows the results we obtained. Fourth backup results The fourth backup provided the following results: Consumption of only 52 GiB of physical storage A global compression factor of 30.9x, indicating a large amount of deduplication A local compression factor of 1.6x Savings of approximately 98 percent for the fourth backup and a total savings of approximately 85 percent over all four backups. 9. Next, generate 1.4 GB of new data, creating a very small delta of approximately 0.05 percent. The new database size, as shown in Figure 56, is approximately TB, with TB of data and 560 GB of free space. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 43

44 Solution verification methodology Data generation after the fourth backup 10. Create a final backup of the SAP system by running the following BRtools command: brbackup -t online -d rman_util -m all -u / Figure 57 shows the results we obtained. Final backup test results The final backup test provided the following results: Consumption of only 40.6 GiB of physical storage A global compression factor of 44x, indicating a large amount of deduplication A local compression factor of 1.4x Storage savings of approximately 98 percent for the final backup and a total storage savings of approximately 87 percent for all five backups Note: We conducted all our testing in a laboratory environment with a generated test dataset, using the SAP SD and PBM. Your results might be different depending on the infrastructure configuration and dataset used. 44 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

45 Solution verification methodology Findings Our test results show that the integration of the Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes solution with Data Domain storage protection systems can effectively and quickly protect SAP databases while offering space savings that enable the business to protect more data. We obtained test results under the following categories: Backup times Backup times CPU usage Network usage Pre- and post-compression Deduplication and compression savings Figure 58 shows the duration times of the five backup procedures. The initial backup of our SAP Netweaver 2.7 TB database took only 44 minutes to complete. The subsequent backups included a data change in a range from 5.75 percent to 0.03 percent. Full backups require RMAN to read the entire database for every backup. Because we performed a full backup operation each time, the backup duration time remained more or less constant. A full backup operation is the best way to represent the effects of deduplication and compression. With incremental backup operations, second and subsequent backups complete faster than the initial backup. Backup Time and Database Size Initial Backup Second Backup Third Backup Fourth Backup Final Backup Data Size (TB) Freespace (TB) Backup Duration (mins) 0 Test results: Backup time and database size test CPU usage Moving some of the deduplication work from the Data Domain system to the database server did not negatively impact the server workload. Because sending data is resourceintensive for the database server, sending less data significantly reduces the load and it takes fewer CPU cycles to perform the deduplication process than to push full backups. As Figure 59 shows, the initial full backup of our SAP database used, on average, 26 percent of the database server s CPU. The first full back is the most resource-intensive because the entire database is transferred and protected on the Data Domain system. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 45

46 Solution verification methodology The database server s CPU usage fell in all subsequent backups, to a range between 17 percent and 13 percent. This change occurs because the database server processes only the unique data in each additional backup, freeing up CPU cycles for other operations. The test results appear to show the following relationship between the amount of unique data and CPU utilization for DD Boost: the greater the amount of unique data, the higher the CPU utilization. CPU Usage and Database Size Initial Backup Second Backup Third Backup Fourth Backup Final Backup Data Size (TB) Freespace (TB) Avg Database Server CPU Usage (%) 0 Database server: CPU usage and database size Network usage DD Boost software sends only unique data from the database server or client to the Data Domain system, enabling more efficient use of the network. Up to 99 percent less data is moved across the network, even in full backups. As Figure 60 shows, the initial full backup network usage was, on average, 380 Mbps. Because all of the data had to be sent to the Data Domain system, the entire database was considered as unique data and must be protected on Data Domain. The second full backup network usage drops significantly, by almost 300 Mbps, because most of the database was protected already and only the unique data must be transferred. Network usage drops more with the fourth and final backups because the unique data sets were smaller. 46 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

47 Solution verification methodology Network usage and database size High network utilization is a significant concern because most applications and databases are backed up during the same off-business hours. Minimizing network utilization makes it possible to efficiently protect more databases that share the same network. The larger the data center and the greater number of applications, the more important it is to have lower network utilization usage during backup periods. Pre- and post-compression The Data Domain system performs inline deduplication and local compression as the backup data enters the system and stores only unique elements on disk, leading to lower storage consumption and costs and a smaller footprint in your data center. The initial size of our data backup on Data Domain was 2,335 GiB. After the data transfer to the Data Domain system and application of deduplication and compression algorithms, physical storage consumption fell to 835 GiB. The second backup increased the database by five percent. After the data transfer to the Data Domain system, physical storage consumption fell to 269 GiB. The amount was significantly lower than the initial backup because deduplication became the dominant factor for the fourth and final backups, as Figure 61 shows. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 47

48 Solution verification methodology Data Domain Pre and Post Compression Pre Compression (GiB) Post Compression (GiB) Initial Backup Second Backup Third Backup Fourth Backup Final Backup Data Domain pre- and post-compression values Deduplication and compression savings Data Domain compresses data at two levels: global and local. Global compression, or deduplication, is used to identify redundant data segments and store only the unique data segments by comparing received data to data already stored on disk, while local compression compresses the unique data segments. Certain compression algorithms give a total compression effect of global compression combined with local compression. Global compression factor Figure 62 shows a global compression factor of 1.0x, indicating that all the data written from the first full backup was unique. The second and third backups had large unique deltas, ranging from 140 GB to 110 GB, giving global compression factors of 4x and 4.3x respectively. The fourth backup of 3 GB and the final backup of 1 GB included significantly less unique data. Therefore, the global compression factor for these backups was much higher. Local compression factor The local compression factor is 2.8x, indicating that the 2,335 GiB database size was compressed to 835 GiB, an overall reduction of 64 percent. As Figure 62 shows, there is a relationship between the amount of unique data and the local compression factor: the greater the amount of unique data, the greater the compression opportunity and the higher the compression factor. In our tests, the first backup consisted of entirely unique data and had the largest compression factor, while the fourth backup had the least amount of unique data and the lowest compression factor. Total compression factor Figure 62 also shows the total amount of compression the Data Domain system performed with the data it received. The first backup consisted of unique data and had the lowest total compression factor 2.8x. The second and third backups were similar in the amount of unique data they included and their total compression factors were 9.2x and 9.6x respectively. The fourth and final backups had the smallest amount of unique data and therefore the highest total compression factors. 48 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

49 Solution verification methodology There is a relationship between the compression factor and space usage on a Data Domain appliance: the higher the total compression factor for a backup, the greater the space savings for that backup. Data Reductions Global Compression Factor Local Compression Factor Total Comp Factor Reduction (%) Initial Backup Second Backup Third Backup Fourth Backup Final Backup Test results: Deduplication and compression savings Data reduction percentage The data reduction percentage represents the total compression savings to show the consolidation we achieved: the higher the reduction percentage, the greater the space savings on the Data Domain appliance. In our test, the first backup had unique data and yielded the lowest reduction percentage, namely 64 percent. This percentage was substantial because of the amount of unique data that was transferred. The second and third backups were similar in the amount of unique data transferred and their reduction percentages were 89 percent respectively. The fourth and final backups had the smallest amount of unique data and the highest reduction percentages. After application of the deduplication and compression algorithms, we achieved a total savings of 87 percent after five full backups totaling 12.6 Tib, with a physical storage consumption of approximately 1.5 Tib on the Data Domain system. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 49

50 Solution verification methodology Recovery procedure Recovery of an SAP system to its most recent state is required when the database becomes unusable because of a hardware failure or other issue. This section shows how to recover the SAP system using BRtools. 1. Shut down the SAP system and database. 2. Run BRtools and select Restore and recovery > Database point-in-time recovery. 3. Choose the file that was backed up in the previous backup procedure, as shown Figure 63. Backup files for recovery 4. Enter c to continue the recovery, and then wait until the restore operation finishes, as shown in Figure 64. Database restore success message 50 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

51 Solution verification methodology 3. To reset the password for database user SAPSR3, run the following command: brconnect u system/passwrod f chpass o SAPSR3 p PASSWORD 4. Start the database and SAP application and check the SAP status by issuing the sick transaction code, as shown in Figure 65. SAP status check Note: SAP Initial Consistency Check (SICK) is a transaction code used to determine inconsistencies in the SAP system Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 51

52 Solution verification methodology SRDF/Metro failure scenarios Many failures can be introduced in clustered systems, although failures are rare in correctly designed systems. This section addresses the more common failure scenarios that can occur. The following table shows the hardware resources used in this solution and the data center in which they are deployed. Data center ESXi Host Storage SAP virtual machines A D940-9px2xk2 D940-9pxwwk2 D940-9pxxwk2 D940-9py0xk2 HK BM1aas1 to BM1aas8 BM1ci BM1db B D940-9pxywk2 D940-9pxzwk2 D940-9py1xk2 D940-9py2xk2 HK DM1ci, DM1db QM1ci, QM1db SBXci, SBXdb Single host failure at Data Center A This scenario describes the complete failure of an ESXi host at Data Center A. Single host failure at Data Center A 52 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

53 Solution verification methodology Figure 67 shows that in our Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes solution laboratory environment, the ESXi host d940-9px2xk2 is online and the BM1aas2, BM1aas5 and BM1ci VMs are powered on. ESXi host d940-9px2xk2 online In this scenario, the ESXi host fails. The cluster s vsphere HA master node detects the failure because it is no longer receiving network heartbeats from the ESXi host. The master mode starts monitoring for data store heartbeats. Because the host has failed completely, it cannot generate data store heartbeats and these too are detected as missing by the vsphere HA master node. Pinging the management addresses of the failed ESXi host is the third availability check. If all of these checks are unsuccessful, the master node declares the missing host as dead, as shown in Figure 68. ESXi host d940-9px2xk2 - Dead The master node now attempts to restart all the protected VMs that had been running on the ESXi host before the master node lost contact with the host. As Figure 69 shows, the BM1ci VM has migrated and is now running on ESXi host d940-9pxwwk2. ESXi host d940-9pxwwk2 In addition, the BM1aas2 VM and the BM1aas5 VM have migrated and are also running on ESXi host d940-9pxwwk2, as shown in Figure 70. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 53

54 Solution verification methodology ESXi host d940-9pxwwk2 All these VMs were restarted within Data Center A. Because the vsphere VM-to-host affinity rules defined on a cluster level are should rules, the vsphere HA VM-to-host affinity rules are respected. If the hosts in Data Center A were without resources or unavailable for restarts for any other reason, vsphere HA would disregard the rules and restart the VMs within Data Center B, regardless of VM-to-host affinity rules. From a storage perspective, the loss of an ESXi host had no impact. Volumes in both the source and target array remained Ready at all times, accepting I/Os. The SRDF session remained in an ActiveActive state, as shown in Figure 71. Source array at Data Center A Single host isolation at Data Center B This scenario describes the response to the isolation of a single host in Data Center B from the rest of the network. 54 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

55 Solution verification methodology Single host isolation at Data Center B Figure 73 shows ESXi host d940-9pxywk2 at Data Center B with two VMs running: sbxci and sbxdb. ESXi Host d940-9pxywk2 at Data Center B A network failure occurs on this ESXi host. The vsphere HA master node detects the isolation because it is no longer receiving network heartbeats from the host. The master node starts monitoring for datastore heartbeats. Because the host is isolated, it generates datastore heartbeats for the secondary vsphere HA detection mechanism. Detection of valid host heartbeats enables the vsphere HA master node to determine that the host is running but is isolated from the network. As Figure 74 shows, the VMs have entered a disconnected state. The vcenter server has lost communication with the ESXi host where the VM is running and the host is marked as not responding. This usually happens because a host has failed or encountered network issues. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 55

56 Solution verification methodology ESXi Host d940-9pxywk2 - Isolated VMware recommends aligning the isolation response to business requirements and physical constraints. Leaving the system powered on is the recommended isolation response setting for the majority of environments. Isolated hosts are rare in a correctly designed environment because of the built-in redundancy of most modern designs. As Figure 75 shows, the sbci and sbcdb VMs remained powered on even though the ESXi host was isolated from the network. Source array at Data Center B From a storage perspective, there is no impact when an ESXi host is isolated from the network. Volumes in both the source and target array remained Ready at all times accepting I/Os, and the SRDF session remained in an ActiveActive state. Full compute failure at Data Center A This scenario describes a full compute failure in Data Center A. 56 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

57 Solution verification methodology Full compute failure at Data Center A A complete compute failure has occurred at Data Center A. The cluster s vsphere HA master node, which is located at Data Center B, detects the failure because it is no longer receiving network heartbeats and data store heartbeats from the ESXi hosts at Data Center A. Because all hosts at Data Center A have failed and all VMs residing on them have been impacted, vsphere HA initiates the restart of all of these VMs. Note: If the vsphere HA master node was located at Data Center A, within approximately 20 seconds of failure, a new vsphere HA master would be selected from the remaining ESXi hosts at Data Center B. In the SAP Ready Bundle laboratory environment, all VMs from the SAP Landscape (BM1, QM1, DM1, SBX) are now running on one site, Data Center B. Figure 77 shows that VMs bm1aas3 and bm1ci, which previously resided in Data Center A, have migrated to ESXi host d940-9pxywk2 in Data Center B. ESXi Host d940-9pxywk2 Figure 78 shows that VMs bm1aas2, bm1aas4, bm1aa5, and bm1aas8 have migrated from Data Center A to ESXi host d940-9pxzwk2 in Data Center B. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 57

58 Solution verification methodology ESXi Host d940-9pxzwk2 Figure 79 shows that VM bm1aas7 has migrated from Data Center A to ESXi host d940-9py1xk2 in Data Center B. ESXi Host d940-9py1xk2 Figure 80 shows that VM bm1aas1 and bm1aas6 have migrated from Data Center A to ESXi host d940-9py1xk2 in Data Center B. ESXi Host d940-9py2xk2 From a storage perspective, a complete compute failure at one site had no impact. Volumes in both the source and target array remained Ready at all times, accepting I/Os. The SRDF session remained in an ActiveActive state, as shown in Figure Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

59 Solution verification methodology Source array at Data Center A Communications failure at Data Center A This scenario describes a connectivity failure between the ESXi hosts and the storage array. Communication failure at Data Center A In this scenario, a complete communication failure between the ESXi hosts and the storage array has occurred at Data Center A. As a result, all the VMs residing on ESXi host d940-9px2xk2 within Data Center A are marked as inaccessible, as shown in Figure 83. This inaccessibility occurs because the ESXi host can no longer access the VM Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 59

60 Solution verification methodology configuration (.vmx) file because of either a communications problem between the host and the storage or a problem with the storage array. ESXi host D940-9px2xk2 - inaccessible All VMs from Data Center A are powered off and restarted on Data Center B because the ESXi hosts within Data Center A believe they have encountered an All Paths Down (APD) event and do not know how long the loss of device access will last. Therefore, the VMs are powered off and restarted within Data Center B in accordance with the VM restart policies. As Figure 84 shows, the benchmark driver VM has restarted on d940-9py2xk2 within Data Center B. For more information about APD events, see the Dell EMC Ready Bundles for SAP Landscapes with VMAX All FLash Arrays Design Guide ESXi host D940-9py2xk2 As Figure 85 shows, bm1aas1 has restarted on d940-9py1xk2 within Data Center B. ESXi host d940-9py1xk2 Additionally, bm1db restarted on d940-9pxywk2 within Data Center B in accordance with the affinity rule we specified. 60 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

61 Solution verification methodology ESXi host d940-9pxywk2 From a storage perspective, a complete communication failure between the ESXi host and storage array had no impact. Volumes in both the source and target array remained Ready at all times, accepting I/Os. The SRDF session remained in an ActiveActive state. Communications failure on the replication link This scenario describes a connectivity failure of the SRDF/Metro replication link between storage arrays at Data Center A and Data Center B. Communication failure on replication link Before the failure of the replication link, the state of all SRDF/Metro device pairs in the SRDF group was ActiveActive and the devices of both VMAX arrays at Data Center A and Data Center B were accessible to their respective ESXi hosts. When the link failure occurred between the two sides, the device pairs changed from the ActiveActive SRDF pair state into a Partitioned SRDF pair state, indicating a loss of communication through the SRDF link to the storage array located in Data Center B. Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 61

62 Solution verification methodology When a loss of connectivity occurs between arrays, SRDF/Metro through the vwitness elects one side of the SRDF device pair to remain accessible to the hosts, while making the other side of the SRDF device pair inaccessible. For more information, see the Dell EMC Ready Bundles for SAP Landscapes with VMAX All Flash Arrays Design Guide. As Figure 88 shows, the vwitness elected the source side as the winner because bias is assigned to the R1 site during initial synchronization, making the target side inaccessible to the ESXi hosts. This action prevents any data inconsistencies resulting from the two arrays being unable to communicate. Source side remains accessible Figure 89 shows that after the R1 side is elected the winner, the R2 side devices go to a Write Disabled state and no longer accept I/Os from the ESXi host in Data Center B. Target side write disabled 62 Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays

63 Solution verification methodology As a result, the VMs running within Data Center B are migrated to Data Center A. As Figure 90 shows, all VMs in Datacenter B (dm1ci, qm1db, and sbxci) have migrated over to ESXi host d940-9pxxwk2 within Data Center A. ESXi Host D940-9px2xk2 Figure 91 shows that VMx dm1db qm1ci and sbxdb have migrated from Data Center B to ESXi host d940-9py0xk2 within Data Center A. ESXi Host D940-9pxwwk2 After the replication link between the two arrays is resumed, the SRDF pair moves to a Suspended state, as shown in Figure 92. This means that if the R1 is ready while the links are suspended, any I/O accumulates as invalid tracks owed to the R2. SRDF Metro Storage Group - Suspended To resume ActiveActive SRDF, perform an Establish operation to copy the modified R1 tracks to the R2 side, as follows: Dell EMC Ready Bundle for SAP Landscapes with Dell EMC VMAX All Flash Arrays 63