EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix

White Paper

Platform-Independent Replication for Data Mobility, Remote Vaulting,
and Data Migration


































Published J anuary 2005

























Copyright 2005 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
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2
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Part Number H1459
EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 2



Table of Contents

Intended Audience ............................................................................................. 4
Executive Summary ........................................................................................... 4
Open Replicator Modes of Operation ............................................................... 4
BCV Mode.................................................................................................................................... 5
Live Mode..................................................................................................................................... 5
Applications for Open Replicator ..................................................................... 6
Data Mobility................................................................................................................................ 6
Data Vaulting................................................................................................................................ 6
Migration...................................................................................................................................... 7
Open Replicator Architecture............................................................................ 7
Change Tracking, Protection, and Update................................................................................... 8
The Track Change Process BCV Mode Operations................................................................. 8
Incremental Updates for Push Operations................................................................................... 8
Live Push Operations................................................................................................................... 8
Live Pull Mode (Data Migration)................................................................................................... 9
Pull Mode Deferred Copy Quality of Service Parameter.................................................... 9
Pace (Throttle) Control Quality of Service Control Parameter.............................................. 9
Open Replicator Data Movement............................................................................................... 10
Scaling, Management, and Platform Support............................................................................ 10
Open Replicator and Data Consistency..................................................................................... 11
Similarities and Differences with SRDF Family Replication....................................................... 11
Summary.................................................................................................................................... 12

EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 3



Intended Audience
This white paper is intended for EMC customers, systems integrators, systems administrators, and the members of the
EMC and partners professional services community, as well as anyone interested in learning more about EMC

Open
Replicator for Symmetrix. It is assumed that the audience is familiar with Symmetrix

DMX storage systems and

existing platform software products such as the SRDF

and TimeFinder

families of remote and local replication

products. Open Replicator is software for Symmetrix DMX systems running Enginuity 5x71 and beyond. Open
Replicator is supported in open systems environments, supporting fixed block architecture (FBA) devices. Mainframe
or CKD devices are not supported at this time.
Executive Summary
EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix enables remote point-in-time copies to be used for high-speed data mobility,
remote vaulting, migration, and distribution between EMC Symmetrix DMX and qualified storage systems such as the
CLARiiON

CX series offeringwith full or incremental copy capabilities. And because it leverages the high-end
Symmetrix storage architecture, Open Replicator offers unmatched deployment flexibility and massive scalabilityso
users can meet mixed service-level requirements with minimal operational impact.
Rapidly copy data between Symmetrix, CLARiiON, and third-party arrays
Perform online migrations from qualified storage to Symmetrix DMX with minimal disruption to host
applications
Push any live source Symmetrix DMX volume to a target volume on qualified storage with incremental
updates
Copy from source volumes on qualified remote arrays to a Symmetrix DMX volume
Organizations are under pressure to protect critical data beyond simply creating backup tapes. This includes creating
more-frequent local replicas, such as full-volume copies and snapshots, as well as making sure data is available at
remote locations for a variety of uses. In most cases the operational requirements of the business will dictate the type of
remote replication required. These operational requirements may consist of recovery point objectives (amount of data
exposure), recovery time objective (how long it takes to restart), bandwidth (what type is available, how much is
required, and at what cost), distance between sites (speed of light delays), and impact on production applications.

Open Replicator is tightly integrated with the EMC TimeFinder and SRDF families of local and remote replication
solutions, providing enterprises with highly flexible and lower-cost options for remote protection and migration. Its
ideal for applications and environments where economics and infrastructure flexibility outweigh RPO and RTO
requirements.
Protect lower-tier applications at remote locations more cost effectively and flexibly
Reduce TCO by pushing or pulling data from Symmetrix DMX systems to other qualified storage arrays in
conventional SAN/WAN environments
Create remote point-in-time copies of local production volumes for many purposesfrom data vaulting to
remote testing and development
Get cost-effective application restore capabilities with minimal RPO/RTO impact
Enable compliance with industry policies and government mandates through efficient data replication
Open Replicator Modes of Operation
Open Replicator is designed as a data mobility product to copy point-in-time images between a Symmetrix DMX
platform and any qualified storage platform over traditional SAN infrastructures and protocols. While the software runs
on a Symmetrix DMX platform, it can copy data from, and send data to, other supported storage systems on the SAN.
Open Replicator can push copies out to other arrays or it can pull copies in from other arrays. It is important to
remember that unlike continuously updated remote replication technologies such as the SRDF family, Open Replicator
replicas are always point-in-time copies, representing the data state at a particular instance.
EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 4



BCV Mode
Open Replicator pushes and pulls volume copies in two different modes. First, it can run in BCV, or static mode.
This means that the DMX resident volume continues to service host application I/Os while a split TimeFinder/Mirror or
TimeFinder/Clone BCV is used as the source. If it is known that a particular volume will not be accessed by a host
application, it can also be used as the source, without a BCV.



Point-in-Time Volume Pull

Target
Target
Target
STD
STD
STD

Point-in-Time BCV Push
STD
BCV
Target
Target
Target


When pushing a static volume to another array, Open Replicator can support moving/copying up to 16 remote
copies of the local static volume
In BCV pull mode, a full copy of the remote volume is copied to a static DMX volume
Live Mode
Open Replicator also supports a live mode for both push and pull operations. In live mode, host I/O to and from the
DMX volume is permitted while the copy process continues in the background. The copy is still at a point in time,
representing the data state when the copy command was issued, but
production I/O can continue and no BCV is required.

In live push mode, the background copy to the remote array begins
when the session is activated. If a local write comes in from a host
before a specific track has been copied off to a remote system, the
target track is immediately copied to the remote system before the
local write is permitted. Once a track has been copied and the track
protection cleared, no further write delays would occur.

The I/O completion delay can result in a slight latency for the local
I/O until the track has been copied to the remote array so the physical
distance between arrays is limited to synchronous replication lengths.
Also with live push, a point-in-time copy of one source volume can
be created to one target location, with the ability to incrementally update it at any time. So the benefit of live push
mode versus BCV push mode is the economics of not requiring disk
space for a local copy, but latency, distance, and copy quantity
requirements must be within the limitations before deploying.

Point-in-Time Live Push
STD
Target
Start: 6:00 am


End: 6:02 am
Image: 6:00 am

Live Data Migration Pull
STD
STD
Old
Old

In both BCV and live push modes the remote storage volumes must
be kept offline to host access so no remote volume changes occur if it
is desired to maintain the ability to perform incremental updates
during future push operations on the same volume. If host access to
remote data is required, EMC recommends using local point-in-time
copies (or a second copy created using Open Replicator).
EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 5



Open Replicator can also pull volumes from other arrays in live mode. This can be extremely useful for migrations and
when restoring vaulted data from a remote location. For live pulls, host I/O can begin against the empty volume in
the Symmetrix DMX as soon as the copy process is started. If the host requests data which has not yet been copied
from the remote array, Open Replicator will immediately prioritize and copy the requested information to fulfill the host
request. While there will be a minimal time delay to get the data from the remote storage platform if it has not already
been copied over, this feature allows you to immediately begin to use the DMX volumes without having to wait for the
copy process to complete.

All pull operations must be full volume copies because Open Replicator cannot track changes to related volumes located
on other storage systems.
Applications for Open Replicator
Open Replicator is extremely well suited to a number
of applications where requirements exist to move and
copy point-in-time copies between a Symmetrix
DMX system and other EMC and non-EMC storage
platforms. In particular, Open Replicator meets
customer demands for data mobility, remote vaulting
and data migration.
Data Mobility
Data mobility is greatly enhanced through the use of
Open Replicator. By using a local point-in-time
copy on the Symmetrix, such as a TimeFinder/Mirror
or TimeFinder/Clone BCV, customers have the
option of pushing up to 16 copies of a source volume
out to supported storage arrays.

This is useful for content distribution such as
pushing file systems out to additional or multiple
mirror sites, or updating remote offices. Because
Open Replicator supports data mobility from Symmetrix to other qualified arrays, customers can better match their cost
to the required service level. For instance, if it is necessary to push an application volume to many remote offices for
concurrent use, those offices may be able to use a CLARiiON CX300 array versus a Symmetrix DMX in each location
to more appropriately balance their service level requirements.
SAN
STD
BCV
Open Replicator for Symmetrix
High-Speed Data Mobility
SAN SAN
STD
BCV
Open Replicator for Symmetrix
High-Speed Data Mobility
Data Vaulting
Data vaulting, the practice of storing a
set of point-in-time copies at a remote
location in the event of primary site
data loss, is extremely well suited to
Open Replicator. Copies of production
volumes can be copied back to either
the primary site or to an alternative site
for business continuity purposes as
required by the response to a particular
disruption.

Here, volumes are copied to a tier 2
storage device at either a local or a
remote location. In the event of a
primary site failure, the volumes could
be copied back to the primary array
using live pull mode (outlined in the next section), which would allow immediate host access even while the copy is
Open Replicator for Symmetrix
Using Tier storage for vaulting
Create a BCV from the
standard
Production never stops on the
standard
Push initial copy to remote
location at 12PM
Update changes and Push
incremental updates offsite to
vault at 6AM
Point i n Time Remote Vaulting
BCV STD
6:00 Tier-2
Storage
Extended
SAN
Open Replicator for Symmetrix
Using Tier storage for vaulting
Create a BCV from the
standard
Production never stops on the
standard
Push initial copy to remote
location at 12PM
Update changes and Push
incremental updates offsite to
vault at 6AM
Point i n Time Remote Vaulting
BCV STD
6:00 Tier-2
Storage
Extended
SAN
EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 6



completing, or the data could be copied back to a replacement DMX array in another facility if necessary, again using
live migration or even BCV copy modes.

Tier 2 storage typically has lower functionality and lower performance than tier 1, and the layout of the data is
optimized for high-density storage rather than high-performance application access. So while the benefit versus using
traditional high end replication between like arrays is cost savings, data vaults are usually not well suited to use for
hosting application restart or for subsequent rapid fail back. Rather, the data volumes would be copied to another
storage system in order to resume production operations.
Migration
One of the most painful parts of
implementing new storage
technologies can be migrating data
from existing storage systems to
new storage systems. Typically
this can be a very disruptive
process requiring a considerable
amount of application downtime.
First, applications need to be
brought down, then backups made,
then the backups would be
restored to the new storage,
verified, tested, and finally the
applications could be restarted on
the new storage platform.
Open Replicator for Symmetrix
Symmetrix DMX installed between
hosts and original storage
Data migration occurs while
application remain online
Host I/Os pass through Symmetrix
When all data is migrated, unplug and
remove original storage
High-Speed Online Data Migrati on
Open Replicator for Symmetrix
Symmetrix DMX installed between
hosts and original storage
Data migration occurs while
application remain online
Host I/Os pass through Symmetrix
When all data is migrated, unplug and
remove original storage
High-Speed Online Data Migrati on

If the migration were between Symmetrix systems which support SRDF/S, then the issues become much simpler. The
new storage can be installed and configured to support the new volumes, SRDF/S can be brought up to mirror the data
in real time, and the hosts could be cut over to the new storage at any point in time that is convenient for the
applications.

If however, the donor systems are non-Symmetrix storage arrays, then Open Replicator can be used to achieve much the
same effect. To migrate to a DMX system using Open Replicator, first the new DMX system would be installed and
configured to support the host applications. Open Replicator would then be configured to establish a live pull of all of
the remote volumes to the new DMX system. At this point the hosts would be reconfigured to read and write to the
DMX system. Once Open Replicator begins the copy sessions, host applications could be brought back up and operate
normally, albeit at a degraded rate, until all of the data was copied over to the Symmetrix. Once the data copy is
complete, merely disconnect the donor storage and roll it out the door.

While Open Replicator could be configured to move point-in-time copies from one non-DMX platform to another, this
would not be the optimal use for this product since local storage must be configured to stage the copies between the pull
and push operations. There are other configurations for Open Replicator, such as single and multi-hop repetitive
replication solutions, which are possible but which arent covered in this paper.
Open Replicator Architecture
Open Replicator runs as part of the Enginuity operating environment (5x71 or later) on the Symmetrix DMX storage
platform. Specifically, Open Replicator is implemented on the front-end FA directors of the Symmetrix system.
(SRDF family products run on back-end directors.)

This means that Open Replicator I/O is handled through the same types of FA ports that hosts will use to connect to the
DMX array. Any Fibre Channel SAN infrastructure components approved for DMX connectivity will be supported
with Open Replicator. No unique protocols or protocol extensions are required by Open Replicator. To remote storage
arrays, Open Replicator ports will appear to be generic host connections. From a protocol perspective, Open Replicator
enables the FA ports to act as initiators as well as targets on the SAN.
EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 7



Change Tracking, Protection, and Update
Internally on the DMX platform, changes to DMX devices are tracked in much the same manner as they are for
TimeFinder and SRDF family replication operations, using Symmetrix Differential Data Facility (SDDF) track tables.
By using track tables, minimal cache is required to track changes and keep volumes in synch with each other; no side
files or temporary storage is required.

A primary difference between Open Replicator and SRDF family operations is that Open Replicator only keeps track of
which tracks on the local DMX volume have changed, and which are owed to the remote storage volumes while SRDF
family products maintain this relationship on all storage systems and volumes participating in the replication
relationship. Open Replicator always assumes that no changes have been made to the remote volume.

These track tables partition a Symmetrix device into uniformly sized segments, each represented by a bit in a bitmap.
Each time a change is made to a source volume, the volumes track tables would be updated to indicate in which track
the change occurred.
The Track Change Process BCV Mode Operations
In the case of BCV mode, separate SDDF sessions track the changes between the production volume and the BCV
volume (normal TimeFinder Family change tracking), and between the BCV volume and the remote array volume.
Upon creation of an Open Replicator operation, two bitmaps get set up for the DMX BCV (the Open Replicator
controlling volume) and remote volume relationship. Of course, the BCV will also have a track table relationship with
its source (the production volume) that is handled in much the same way. The Protection Bitmap indicates whether or
not a track is owed to the remote copy.

At initial activation, all tracks need to be copied to or from the remote volume, so all tracks would still be protected. As
each track gets copied the protection bit is cleared and the track becomes unprotected. (It is no longer owed to the
copy, so normal I/O can proceed.)

Upon completion of the track copy process, the copy is complete, and the BCV can be re-established and split from its
source. If, while this is occurring, the host writes to a track on the Symmetrix device, the corresponding bit in the
SDDF bitmap is changed to indicate which tracks need to be updated in order to perform an incremental update.
Incremental Updates for Push Operations
When the recreate / activate commands are issued the SDDF bitmap gets copied to the protection bitmap and the SDDF
bits are zeroed out. With a new protection bitmap in place, those tracks which are protected (i.e., the changes since last
time) can now be sent to the target volumes. Again, as in the case of the original copy process, once a protected track is
copied to the target volume, the protection bitmap is cleared. When all protection bits have been cleared, the
incremental update process is complete and the BCV is ready for another re-establish and split from its source; enabling
yet another set of incremental updates.
Live Push Operations
In Live Push mode, no separate BCV is involved in the replication process. All operations are executed against the
source volume as live I/O is performed against the source volume. To make this possible, a special mechanism must be
employed to ensure that the existing point in time data is copied to the remote array prior to a new write being allowed
to that track. A Copy on First Write function will ensure that a protected track is cleared and copied to the remote
array before a local write to that track is permitted and the protection bit is cleared.

At the point of activation, the SDDF bitmap for the source session is zeroed out, and the protection bitmap is all 1s.
Unlike the case of BCV mode, however, the protection bitmap has extra significance in that a new write will not be
permitted to disk until the protection bit is cleared. As the copy process proceeds, protection bits are cleared. If a new
write arrives for an unprotected track (that data has already been copied), then the write proceeds normally. If the
protection bit is still set, the write is held until the track is copied and the bit is cleared.

EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 8



This can result in a slight latency for writes to a protected track during Live Push mode operations. Once the protection
bit is cleared, either through the copy on first write operation or the normal background copy operation, no further
delays would be encountered. This is not an issue during a BCV mode push since the BCV would be separated from
the production application and would not be receiving any local writes.
Live Pull Mode (Data Migration)
For Live Pull operations, the local DMX volumes can be accessed by the hosts as soon as the process is activated, even
though there may be no data in much of the DMX volume at the time of activation. A process called Copy on First
Access is employed to make sure that data is available to a host operation when it is needed.

First, the DMX will create protection and SDDF bitmap sessions for the copy process. All bits in the protection bitmap
are marked 1. As the background copy process proceeds, the protection bits get cleared when the data for that track
has been received by the DMX system. If the host requests access (read or write) to data that has had its protection bit
cleared, it will receive the data contained in the DMX volume.

If the host attempts to access a track that is still protected, the Open Replicator process will prioritize the fetch of that
track from the donor volume, so it is the next track copied. Once it is received, the protection bit is cleared and the host
operation is serviced. As in the case of writing to a protected track on a live push, accessing a protected track during a
live pull will impose a small amount of latency as the data is fetched from the remote array. The amount of latency will
be directly related to the circuit distance between the source and target as well as the availability of bandwidth to service
the copy traffic.
Pull Mode Deferred Copy Quality of Service Parameter
Within the Pull mode process are two modes, deferred copy mode and copy mode; dynamic switching between the two
modes is a key feature of Open Replicator

Deferred copy mode is a state during which all background copy activity from the remote array is suspended; only
tracks accessed from the local hosts are copied over to the local DMX volumes. In deferred copy mode for example, a
local read or write could still be executed against a track on the DMX which is still protected since the copy on first
access process will still perform the read from the remote volume to satisfy the local I/O. What wont be occurring is
the background tasks of copying tracks and clearing protection bits.

Copy mode engages the background copy and is the normal mode of operation to complete the copy process.

Deferred mode has several advantages. For example, there is far less demand on DMX and SAN resources, so
switching into deferred mode during periods of peak activity can help reduce any performance impacts which may be
felt during copy operations. Also, it allows the copy session to be configured, activiated, and tested at any time without
having to worry about when the bulk of the copy is to be scheduled.

Pace (Throttle) Control Quality of Service Control Parameter
Open Replicator supports an optional parameter, called Pace a value between 0 and 9, which will impose an artificial
latency between each Open Replicator I/O. The latency imposed can be set between 0 (Pace=0) and 600 ms (Pace=9).
Setting a higher Pace parameter will lower the resource utilization rate for Open Replicator processes and extend the
time it takes to complete a copy operation.

Adjusting the Pace parameter can help balance out the port utilization between Open Replicator and other application
I/O that may be using the same ports. In cases where application performance is a higher priority than the speed at
which Open Replicator completes its copy assignments, setting the Pace parameter higher can help application response
times during periods of heavy use. Please refer to the Open Replicator CLI Command Reference manual for
information on setting the Pace parameter.
EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 9



Open Replicator Data Movement
Open Replicator uses standard Symmetrix devices and remote storage array devices presented on Fibre Channel ports,
as identified in most cases by WWNs, as the objects of the data movement. (On Symmetrix systems, Symmetrix device
IDs may be used in place of WWNs.) It creates a full, track by track copy of the source device to the destination
device. Incremental updates are also handles at the Symmetrix track level.

The following conditions apply in all cases:
Target devices should be at least as large, or larger, as source devices. When copying to larger devices, LUN
expansion is left to native host utilities. Open Replicator does not provide file system or volume management
extension capabilities.
o For operations where return copy to the original source device is an important requirement, care must
be taken to assure that the source and target volumes are the exact same size since it will not be
possible to copy to a smaller volume, even if it is only 1 KB different. It will always be possible to
copy back to a different device than the source however.

o It may not be possible to exactly match the device sizes between arrays. In this case, the target device
may be configured slightly larger than the source device. In order to subsequently pull data back to
the orginal source device, the -force_copy option has been provided to allow Open Replicator to pull
data from the larger device. You should never use this option if the target device has been
reconfigured on the host to use more storage than the original source device. Expanding a LUN with
the diskpart utility on Windows hosts would be an example of such a reconfiguration. Data loss and
corruption will occur if actual data is truncated as a result of copy from a larger device to a smaller
one.
For BCV mode push, the primary DMX volume can be the standard device (if all host I/O is quiesced). If host
I/O will not be suspended, then either a TimeFinder/Mirror BCV or a TimeFinder/Clone BCV may be used as
the Open Replicator source volume. TimeFinder/Snap BCVs are not supported at this time.
All pull operations must be full copy. No incremental pull capability is currently supported.
In all cases, the target devices represent a single discreet point-in-time copy of the source. Although recurring
cycles can be scripted at set time intervals, no continuous updates in any mode are supported.
Live Pull operations do not mirror any host writes back to the donor array devices. The remote donor volumes
exist as gold copies at all times (assuming no local host access).
Copies are at the binary level and cannot transcend host operating system incompatibilities or file system and
volume manager issues. Compatibility is assured only in cases where like O/S, file systems, and volume
mangers are used to access the target volumes.
Best practices should include maintaining point-in-time copies of remote volumes where local host access is
necessary. This will maintain the ability to continue to push incrementally, as well as maintain a good copy of
data during push operations.
Scaling, Management, and Platform Support
Open Replicator supports up to 128 concurrent push or pull sessions at any one time. Each Open Replicator source
volume is counted as a session. In the case of a BCV mode push, up to 16 copies of the source volume can be pushed
out to remote storage platforms in a single session. Therefore, a single Symmetrix DMX can theoretically push
volumes to up to 2048 remote systems. And as long as the 128 concurrent session limit is not exceeded, sessions can be
serialized in order to copy more than 128 DMX volumes to or from remote arrays. Further, all modes of Open
Replicator can be used concurrently as long as the 128 session limit is not exceeded.

Open Replicator is supported at both the SymmAPI and SymCLI levels. Full CLI command support is provided
through Solutions Enabler 6.0 and higher. Open Replicator requires SAN connectivity from selected DMX FA ports to
ports on the remote storage array. SAN configuration and LUN masking is not managed by Open Replicator.
EMC Open Replicator for Symmetrix 10



Open Replicator runs on Symmetrix DMX platforms running Enginuity 5671 or later with Solutions Enabler 6.0 or
later. The current list of platforms that Open Replicator can copy to and from can be found on the EMC Support
Matrix. (See EMC.com.) At GA, Open Replicator will support all Symmetrix systems with Fibre Channel directors and
all CLARiiON systems with Fibre Channel front-end ports. Non-EMC storage arrays will be supported as E-Lab
qualifications complete; check the EMC Support Matrix for the latest list.
Open Replicator and Data Consistency
Localized data consistency across a group of Symmetrix DMX source volumes can be achieved in two ways with Open
Replicator.

First, when using TimeFinder/Mirror or TimeFinder/Clone BCVs as the source volumes, TimeFinder/CG can be used to
create a consistent set of point-in-time images across any number of source volumes. Secondly, it is possible to use
Enginuity Consistency Assist (ECA) when creating a set of live push images; all volumes in the set would be created at
the same logical point in time assuring restartability of the remote data sets.

While TimeFinder-style consistency groups are supported, there is no analogous support for SRDF-style consistency
groups. This means that Open Replicator, unlike the SRDF product set, cannot guarantee consistency at the target. For
example, if a live push command was issued against 25 volumes in a set, and some of those could not reach their
destination because of SAN connectivity issues, there is no means of stopping the replication of the other volumes at the
exact same time. The result could be an incomplete set of volumes at on remote storage systems. If this were a critical
component to the application environment, EMC recommends creating point-in-time copies on the remote arrays until
the all of the volumes in the Open Replicator set are copied or updated.
Similarities and Differences with SRDF Family Replication
It is easy to see some similarities between the Open Replicator capabilities and those of SRDF/S and SRDF/A,
especially when you want to copy data to a remote storage system for the purposes of data protection.

Open Replicator for Symmetrix
Replicate between Symmetrix DMX
and other EMC/non-EMC systems
Provides point-in-time remote
vaulting
Applications can be restored to an
alternate systems and restarted
Consistency created on source
Symmetrix DMX, no guaranteed
groupdelivery when copied to
target
Symmetrix Remote Data Facility
Replicate between Symmetrix
source and target systems
Provides continuous remote data
protection
Applications can be restarted from
target system
Full Consistency Group support
across multiple volumes and across
multiple Symmetrix systems
Comparing Open Replicator to Symmetrix Remote Data Facility
Open Replicator for Symmetrix
Replicate between Symmetrix DMX
and other EMC/non-EMC systems
Provides point-in-time remote
vaulting
Applications can be restored to an
alternate systems and restarted
Consistency created on source
Symmetrix DMX, no guaranteed
groupdelivery when copied to
target
Symmetrix Remote Data Facility
Replicate between Symmetrix
source and target systems
Provides continuous remote data
protection
Applications can be restarted from
target system
Full Consistency Group support
across multiple volumes and across
multiple Symmetrix systems
Comparing Open Replicator to Symmetrix Remote Data Facility
There are key differences however. The SRDF family of remote replication solutions provides the most advanced and
resilient continuous remote replication capabilities on the market. In addition, SRDF/S and SRDF/A (with or without
the added benefit of SRDF/Consistency Groups) provide the key ability to restart applications at the remote recovery
site, and then incrementally fail back when the primary site returns to product state. Open Replicator, on the other hand,
enables the creation of remote point-in-time copies, typically on second tier storage optimized for storage density over
performance considerations. . These second tier storage platforms are typically configured for low access storage and
not application execution,
making them unsuitable to
the task.

When to use each should be a
decision based upon an
evaluation of service levels
(performance, availability,
functionality, and economics)
required for each application
or business. That said, a key
benefit to Symmetrix DMX is
that all of the solutions can be
running in parallel, with each
application getting the
solution that best fits its
service level requirements.
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Summary
In todays ever-changing business environment, it is imperative to be able to copy and move data to where it will
provide the most value to your organization. In fact, the more flexibly and efficiently data can be moved, the more
adaptable an IT infrastructure can become, enabling organizations to better match the cost of their environment to the
value of their various information sets.

Consolidation and distribution of data can be slow and inconsistent, dependent on hosts, and disruptive to existing
networks and applications. Centralizing data for maintenance or critical business processes can be challenging,
especially in an environment with multiple distributed locations that have different vendors storage arrays. Or consider
an organization with software developers in multiple locations or even departments. It is extremely resource and
time-intensive to supply the freshest production data for the software developers testing efforts.

Now EMC makes consolidation and distribution easier for organizations by enabling data mobility, vaulting, and
migration solutions with Open Replicator. Imagine being able to move terabytes-per-hour safely within a SAN,
between Symmetrix and CLARiiON storage systems, and even between EMC and other vendors storage arrays. Open
Replicator for Symmetrix delivers on this need.

Visit www.emc.com or contact your local EMC sales representative for more information.

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