NetApp SnapMirror Review

It's a simple and efficient tool to build a disaster recovery solution that involves many applications such as Oracle, SQL, VMware, and Hyper-V.

We have a VMware environment and many NFS exports to Linux servers which are easy to replicate. If we lose the main environment, we can restore all the applications to the recovery site to the appointed LUNs, and then the NFS servers to another server using storage from the DR site.

With VMware, this is very simple because you replicate the identical volume where it is stored in your datastore. I think that recovery for VMware is too simple and you don't need any tool to support this procedure, only directing the LUNs to another ESXi and executing the procedure inside VMware to mount datastore.

In the Oracle environment, the procedure to restore the database on the recovery site is simple as well.

I think that NetApp needs to improve the performance of SnapMirror with controller volume access. This is because when you have many SnapMirror jobs running, the controllers give priority to accessing volumes and transfers remain slow. It is very difficult to understand how to change this in 7-Mode.

I have used this solution by more than 8 years.

If you have to replicate a database environment, you have to put your database into backup mode before starting the replication. If you don't do this step the data will stay corrupted when you need to use replica on site the DR.

No issue if you follow best practices and understant your replicated application/solution...

10

10

Yes i have used solution from HDS and Fujitsu and the company accquire Netapp and so their dont back more .

The initial setup is too simple because Netapp integrated the configuration snapmirror on the oncommand system manager.

I have implemented this solution since i started my working with Netapp solutions

You must understand your environment to implement any replicated solution, talk to business area before implemented and design your Disastery Recovery .