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Replicate snapshots to a remote cluster from ASA r2 storage systems

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Snapshot replication is a process in which consistency groups on your ASA r2 system are copied to a geographically remote location. After the initial replication, changes to consistency groups are copied to the remote location based upon a replication policy. Replicated consistency groups can be used for disaster recovery or data migration.

Note Snapshot replication for an ASA r2 storage system is only supported to and from another ASA r2 storage system. You cannot replicate snapshots from an ASA r2 system to a current ASA, AFF or FAS system or from a current ASA, AFF or FAS system to an ASA r2 system.

To set up Snapshot replication, you need to establish a replication relationship between your ASA r2 system and the remote location. The replication relationship is governed by a replication policy. A default policy to replicate all snapshots is created during cluster set up. You can use the default policy or optionally, create a new policy.

Step 1: Create a cluster peer relationship

Before you can protect your data by replicating it to a remote cluster, you need to create a cluster peer relationship between the local and remote cluster.

Steps

  1. On the local cluster, in System Manager, select Cluster > Settings.

  2. Under Intercluster Settings next to Cluster peers select three vertical blue dots, then select Add a cluster peer.

  3. Select Lauch remote cluster; this generates a passphrase you'll use to authenticate with the remote cluster.

  4. After the passphrase for the remote cluster is generated, paste it under Passphrase on the local cluster.

  5. Select blue plus sign followed by the word add in blue letters; then enter the intercluster network interface IP address.

  6. Select Initiate cluster peering.

What's next?

You have peered for local ASA r2 cluster with a remote cluster. You can now create a replication relationship.

Step 2: Optionally, create a replication policy

The snapshot replication policy defines when updates performed on the ASA r2 cluster are replicated to the remote site.

Steps

  1. In System Manager, select Protection > Policies; then select Replication policies.

  2. Select blue rectangle containing a plus sign followed by the word add in white letters.

  3. Enter a name for the replication policy or accept the default name; then enter a description.

  4. Select the Policy scope.

    If you want to apply the replication policy to the entire cluster, select Cluster. If you want the replication policy applied only to the storage units in a specific storage VM, select Storage VM.

  5. Select the Policy type.

    Option Steps

    Copy data to the remote site after it is written to the source.

    1. Select Asynchronous.

    2. Under Transfer snapshots from source, accept the default transfer schedule or select a different one.

    3. Select to transfer all snapshots or to create rules to determine which snapshots to transfer.

    4. Optionally, enable network compression.

    Write data to the source and remote sites simultaneously.

    1. Select Synchronous.

  6. Select Save.

What's next?

You have created a replication policy and are now ready to create a replication relationship between your ASA r2 system and your remote location.

For more information

Learn more about storage VMs for client access.

Step 3: Create a replication relationship

A snapshot replication relationship establishes a connection between your ASA r2 system and a remote location so that you can replicate consistency groups to a remote cluster. Replicated consistency groups can be used for disaster recovery or for data migration.

For protection against ransomware attacks, when you set up your replication relationship, you can select to lock the destination snapshots. Locked snapshots cannot be deleted accidentally or maliciously. You can use locked snapshots to recover data if a storage unit is compromised by a ransomware attack.

Before you begin

If you want to lock your destination snapshots, you must initialize the Snapshot compliance clock before you create the replication relationship.

Create a replication relationship with or without locked destination snapshots.

With locked snapshots
Steps

  1. In System Manager, select Protection > Consistency groups.

  2. Select a consistency group.

  3. Select three vertical blue dots; then select Protect.

  4. Under Remote protection, select Replicate to a remote cluster.

  5. Select the Replication policy.

    You must select a vault replication policy.

  6. Select Destination settings.

  7. Select Lock destination snapshots to prevent deletion

  8. Enter the maximum and minimum data retention period.

  9. To delay the start of the data transfer, deselect Start transfer immediately.

    The initial data transfer begins immediately by default.

  10. Optionally, to override the default transfer schedule, select Destination settings, then select Override transfer schedule.

    Your transfer schedule must be a minimum of 30 minutes to be supported.

  11. Select Save.

Without locked snapshots
Steps

  1. In System Manager, select Protection > Replication.

  2. Select to create the replication relationship with local destination or local source.

    Option Steps

    Local destinations

    1. Select Local destinations, then select rectangle with blue background and the word replicate in white letters.

    2. Search for and select the source consistency group.

      The source consistency group refers to the consistency group on your local cluster that you want to replicate.

    Local sources

    1. Select Local sources, then select rectangle with blue background and the word replicate in white letters .

    2. Search for and select the source consistency group.

      The source consistency group refers to the consistency group on your local cluster that you want to replicate.

    3. Under Replication destination, select the cluster to replicate to; then select the storage VM.

  3. Select a replication policy.

  4. To delay the start of the data transfer, select Destination settings; then deselect Start transfer immediately.

    The initial data transfer begins immediately by default.

  5. Optionally, to override the default transfer schedule, select Destination settings, then select Override transfer schedule.

    Your transfer schedule must be a minimum of 30 minutes to be supported.

  6. Select Save.

What's next?

Now that you have created a replication policy and relationship, your initial data transfer begins as defined in your replication policy. You can optionally test your replication failover to verify that successful failover can occur if your ASA r2 system goes offline.

Step 4: Test replication failover

Optionally, validate that you can successfully serve data from replicated storage units on a remote cluster if the source cluster is offline.

Steps

  1. In System Manager, select Protection > Replication.

  2. Hover over the replication relationship you want to test, then select three vertical blue dots.

  3. Select Test failover.

  4. Enter the failover information, then select Test failover.

What's next?

Now that your data is protected with snapshot replication for disaster recovery, you should encrypt your data at rest so that it can't be read if a disk in your ASA r2 system is repurposed, returned, misplaced or stolen.