HPE Primera
HPE Primera
HPE Primera
1.3 21st January 2020 Add Primera OS 4.1 and RCFC for
Primera to Primera support
Contents
Document Revision History ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Support Notes ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3
HPE Active Peer Persistence for AIX and IBM VIO Server .................................................................................................... 4
HPE Peer Persistence for AIX and IBM VIO Server ............................................................................................................... 4
HPE Active Peer Persistence for HP-UX ................................................................................................................................ 5
HPE Peer Persistence for HP-UX ........................................................................................................................................... 5
HPE Active Peer Persistence for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) ...................................................................................... 6
HPE Peer Persistence for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) ................................................................................................. 6
HPE Active Peer Persistence for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)............................................................................... 7
HPE Peer Persistence for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) ......................................................................................... 7
HPE Active Peer Persistence for VMware vSphere and ESXi ............................................................................................... 8
HPE Peer Persistence for VMware vSphere and ESXi .......................................................................................................... 8
HPE Active Peer Persistence for Microsoft Windows Server ............................................................................................... 10
HPE Peer Persistence for Microsoft Windows Server .......................................................................................................... 10
Support Matrix Page 3
Introduction
Active Peer Persistence versus Peer Persistence - Active Peer Persistence is a Remote Copy feature enhancement of classic Peer
Persistence and defined by RC groups in the replication relationship having the active_active RC group policy enabled. RC groups with
the active_active policy enabled are in an Active Peer Persistence relationship. Active Peer Persistence can only be supported if both
storage arrays in the array pair support the active_active RC group policy.
Further information and deployment recommendations regarding Active Peer Persistence may be found in the publication:
HPE ACTIVE PEER PERSISTENCE
Host ecosystem interoperability support with HPE Peer Persistence/Active Peer Persistence is a subset of the HPE Primera
Interoperability listings of HPE Storage SPOCK (see “Explore Primera Storage interoperability”)
https://www.hpe.com/Storage/Spock/. The subset of supported host ecosystems (host OS’s) for HPE Peer Persistence/Active Peer
Persistence for Primera are enumerated in this matrix.
Hosts in a Peer Persistence/Active Peer Persistence configuration must be set up in accordance with the recommendations found in
the associated HPE Primera Host OS Implementation Guides and conform to supported configurations per the HPE Primera
Interoperability listings in HPE Storage SPOCK https://www.hpe.com/Storage/Spock/
Supplemental host support information for Peer Persistence/Active Peer Persistence, and exceptions to the support listed in the HPE
Primera Interoperability listings in HPE Storage SPOCK, are also enumerated in this matrix.
Support Notes
• Support includes array combinations of both Primera to Primera and Primera to 3PAR array pairs. Host OS
configuration support for both Primera to Primera and Primera to 3PAR array pairs are restricted to the host OS
configurations depicted in this matrix. There is no support for Active Peer Persistence between Primera and 3PAR
pairs.
• Any combination of host configurations represented in this matrix can be supported concurrently on a single HPE
Primera-Primera or Primera-3PAR storage array pair.
• Active Peer Persistence RC groups, where supported, can coexist with Peer Persistence RC groups in the same array
pair and for the same host configuration.
• All volumes within an RC group must be exported to the same OS type.
• All host configurations must use an ALUA capable host persona/host mode.
• Non-uniform host connectivity configurations, i.e., host configurations without cross-connected host I/O path
connectivity between array pairs, are not supported with Peer Persistence/Active Peer Persistence.
• Host boot from SAN (BFS) is supported in accordance with the HPE Primera Interoperability listings in HPE Storage
SPOCK unless otherwise noted as an exception in this support matrix.
• Support of cluster management and high availability solutions includes support of “stretched cluster” (aka, “metro
cluster”) configurations as supported by the cluster solution vendor.
• As Peer Persistence/Active Peer Persistence volumes are accessed by applications as regular multi-pathed volumes,
Peer Persistence/Active Peer Persistence operations are transparent to application software. Any application software,
including application level clustered databases (e.g. Oracle RAC), can be deployed to use Peer Persistence/Active Peer
Persistence volumes as long as the host OS vendor supports the application and Peer Persistence/Active Peer
Persistence supports the host OS version.
• Refer to the HPE Primera Support Matrix in SPOCK [Other Hardware > HPE Primera Support Matrices] for storage
array combinations in support of HPE Three Data Center (3DC) configurations for Peer Persistence.
– HPE Three Data Center (3DC) configurations are not currently supported with Active Peer Persistence.
• It is recommended for Linux LVM users to modify the host lvm.conf file to filter out scans of ghost/standby device
paths. Such scanning results in innocuous read error process sequences that slow response to LVM commands. The
following filter limits scans to only device mapper paths along with cciss paths being used with LVM commands.
filter = [ "a/dev/mapper/.*/", "a/dev/cciss/.*/", "r/.*/" ]
Support Matrix Page 4
HPE Active Peer Persistence for AIX and IBM VIO Server
Table 1: HPE Primera Active Peer Persistence support matrix for IBM AIX and VIOS
HPE Primera OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
Table 2: Compatible 3PAR OS for Primera to 3PAR Peer Persistence array pairs
HPE 3PAR OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
Table 2: Compatible 3PAR OS for Primera to 3PAR Peer Persistence array pairs
HPE 3PAR OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
HPE Active Peer Persistence for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Table 1: HPE Primera Active Peer Persistence support matrix for RHEL
HPE Primera OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
Table 2: Compatible 3PAR OS for Primera to 3PAR Peer Persistence array pairs
HPE 3PAR OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
HPE Active Peer Persistence for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)
Table 1: HPE Primera Active Peer Persistence support matrix for SLES
HPE Primera OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
Table 2: Compatible 3PAR OS for Primera to 3PAR Peer Persistence array pairs
HPE 3PAR OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
HPE Primera OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
HPE Primera OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
Table 2: Compatible 3PAR OS for Primera to 3PAR Peer Persistence array pairs
HPE 3PAR OS Version Host OS and Version Host Access Protocol Replication Connectivity
– Configuration of VMware physical compatibility mode (pass-thru / pMode) RDMs with Linux 7.x or 8.x VMs requires
setting of the “perennially reserved” flag for the storage devices used as physical mode RDMs, and enabling “ignore
Device Inquiry Cache” for the scsi controller for each RDM for each VM in the VM’s vmx file.
NOTE: The RDMs with Linux 7.x or 8.x VMs may become unavailable to the VM at the hypervisor level upon VM
reset/reboot after failover or switchover without this configuration.
• Procedures for setting the perennially reserved flag can be found in VMware KB 1016106
• Procedures for setting “ignore Device Inquiry Cache” can be found in the VMware vSphere documentation for a
given vSphere version under “Virtual Machines with RDMs Need to Ignore SCSI INQUIRY Cache”
• VMware vVols cannot be configured in Remote Copy groups for Peer Persistence and therefore are not supported with
Peer Persistence.
– VMware vVols can coexist in an array with non-VMware vVol volumes that are in RC groups configured for Peer
Persistence.
Support Matrix Page 10
4.4 Windows Server 2016 (Standalone, Cluster1, Hyper-V1), FC, iSCSI RCIP, RCFC
Windows Server 2019 (Standalone, Cluster1, Hyper-V1)
4.4 Windows Server 2016 (Standalone, Cluster1, Hyper-V1), FC, iSCSI RCIP, RCFC
Windows Server 2019 (Standalone, Cluster1, Hyper-V1)
Table 2: Compatible 3PAR OS for Primera to 3PAR Peer Persistence array pairs
1. Customers are advised to deploy or migrate to quorum witness solutions other than disk witness when configuring a
stretched Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) with Peer Persistence/Active Peer Persistence with Primera OS
version 4.3 or later 4.x. Microsoft alternatives include file share witness and cloud witness.
a. An instance of data site failure with a Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) stretched configuration,
using disk witness for quorum within a Peer Persistence or Active Peer Persistence configuration, may
experience a temporary offline of cluster resources on the surviving site. The issue is specific to a failover
with the combination of a data site failure and the use of disk quorum with Primera OS 4.3 or later 4.x.
• Host persona WindowsServer (host mode/persona 15) is required.
• Includes support of all Windows Server minor updates.
• Windows Nano Server is not supported.
Support Matrix Page 11
• Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) is supported in physical hosts and well as in Windows guest VMs.
• Veritas Storage Foundation, including Veritas Cluster Server (VCS), VxVM/VxDMP, is not supported.
• Path Verify Enabled needs to be set in the MPIO settings on Windows Server hosts (PathVerificationState
parameter Get-MPIOSetting).
• Because of Windows multipath behavior, in the configuration of a Windows Server with Peer Persistence/Active Peer
Persistence set up for unidirectional replication and all volumes presented to the server in Remote Copy groups, i.e., all
volumes replicated and with all primary groups on one array in the pair, it is advisable to present at least one non-
replicated LUN to each host, from each array. This helps facilitate automatic recovery of all Windows host IO paths to
an array that is recovering from powerfail. The non-replicated LUN can be a small (8Gb-16Gb) “dummy” LUN
configured as read only, and shared by each attached Windows Server host.
– For the configuration with Windows noted above, and without the “dummy” LUN configuration, a manual rescan will
likely be necessary to reacquire all host IO paths to an array recovered from powerfail [Disk Management > Actions >
Rescan].
Support Matrix
© Copyright 2018 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP. The information contained herein is subject to change
without notice. The only warranties for Hewlett Packard Enterprise products and services are set forth in the express
warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an
additional warranty. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions
contained herein.
This document contains confidential and/or legally privileged information. It is intended for Hewlett Packard Enterprise
and Channel Partner Internal Use only. If you are not an intended recipient as identified on the front cover of this
document, you are strictly prohibited from reviewing, redistributing, disseminating, or in any other way using or relying
on the contents of this document.
September 2019