1 ECCSymmStorageConceptGuideRevA01V5

EMC ControlCenter
Version 5.0
SYMMETRIX STORAGE CONCEPTS GUIDE

P/N 300-000-306
REV A01
EMC Corporation
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Copyright © 2001 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Printed December, 2001
EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is
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EMC2, EMC, MOSAIC:2000, CLARiiON, Navisphere, and Symmetrix are registered trademarks and EMC Enterprise Storage, The Enterprise Storage
Company, The EMC Effect, Connectrix, EDM, SDMS, SRDF, TimeFinder, PowerPath, InfoMover, FarPoint, EMC Enterprise Storage Network, EMC
Enterprise Storage Specialist, EMC Storage Logic, Universal Data Tone, E-Infostructure, and Celerra are trademarks of EMC Corporation.
AIX, DB2, ESCON, IBM, and NetView are registered trademarks, and MVS is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
Compaq and the names of Compaq products referenced herein are either trademarks and/or service marks or registered trademarks and/or service
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Unicenter TNG is a registered trademark of Computer Associates International, Inc.
All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.
ii EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Contents
Preface.......................................................................................................................... xiii
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Symmetrix System

Enginuity Operating Environment ............................................... 1-2
Hardware Components................................................................... 1-3
Component Overview.............................................................. 1-5
Symmetrix Block Diagram ...................................................... 1-7
Channel Director Operator Panel .................................................. 1-8
Disk Devices ................................................................................... 1-10
Symmetrix Disk Device Emulations .................................... 1-10
Open Systems SCSI Disk Emulation.................................... 1-10
IBM DASD Disk Emulation .................................................. 1-11
Directors and Cache Cards ........................................................... 1-14
Symmetrix Channel Configurations .................................... 1-14
Channel Director Descriptions ............................................. 1-15
Disk Directors.......................................................................... 1-18
Cache Memory ........................................................................ 1-18
Chapter 2 Symmetrix Input/Output Operations

ICDA Operation ............................................................................... 2-2
Symmetrix Cache Management.............................................. 2-3
Symmetrix I/O Performance Enhancements ....................... 2-5
Elements of a Symmetrix I/O Operation ..................................... 2-6
I/O Response Time - Mainframe Environment ................... 2-6
I/O Response Time – Open Systems Environment ............. 2-7
Symmetrix I/O Operations ..................................................... 2-7
Destaging Operation ................................................................ 2-9
Read Operations ..................................................................... 2-10
Write Operations..................................................................... 2-12
Dynamic Path Reconnection (Mainframe Systems).................. 2-14
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Chapter 3 Symmetrix Performance Features

Symmetrix Performance Features ................................................. 3-2
Cache Memory ......................................................................... 3-2
Fast Write Capabilities ............................................................. 3-2
Multiple Channel Directors..................................................... 3-2
Symmetrix Host Connectivity ................................................ 3-3
Parallel Processing.................................................................... 3-3
Dynamic Mirror Service Policy .............................................. 3-3
RPS Miss Elimination............................................................... 3-4
Channel Speeds and Cable Lengths ...................................... 3-4
PermaCache Option ................................................................. 3-5
Symmetrix Hyper-Volumes............................................................ 3-6
Logical Volume Mapping ........................................................ 3-6
Symmetrix Meta Volumes .............................................................. 3-7
Meta Volume Size Requirements............................................ 3-7
Meta Volume Performance...................................................... 3-7
Accessing Data in a Meta Volume.......................................... 3-7
Chapter 4 Data Management

Symmetrix Reliability and Availability Features ........................ 4-2
Symmetrix Data Integrity Protection Features..................... 4-3
Disk Error Correction and Error Verification ....................... 4-3
Cache Error Correction and Error Verification..................... 4-4
Data Protection Options ................................................................. 4-5
Mirroring (RAID 1) Option (Mission Critical/Business
Critical)....................................................................................... 4-5
Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF).............................. 4-6
Symmetrix Remote Data Facility/Data Mobility................. 4-6
Dynamic Sparing ...................................................................... 4-6
RAID-S Option (Business Online).......................................... 4-7
RAID-S Components.............................................................. 4-10
Chapter 5 Introduction to SRDF

What Is SRDF?.................................................................................. 5-2
SRDF/Data Mobility................................................................ 5-2
Local Versus Remote Mirroring.............................................. 5-2
Basic SRDF Configuration....................................................... 5-3
SRDF Configuration Using Switched Fibre Channel .......... 5-4
SRDF Connectivity ................................................................... 5-4
Monitoring and Controlling SRDF ........................................ 5-5
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SRDF Volume Types........................................................................ 5-6

Primary (Source) Volumes ...................................................... 5-6
Secondary (Target) Volumes................................................... 5-7
Local Volumes........................................................................... 5-7
Dynamic Spares........................................................................ 5-7
Meta Devices............................................................................. 5-8
Logical Volume States..................................................................... 5-9
Internal State Layer................................................................ 5-10
External State Layer............................................................... 5-11
Host Accessibility................................................................... 5-12
Logical Volume Attributes ........................................................... 5-13
SRDF Director Hardware ............................................................. 5-16
ESCON Remote Adapters..................................................... 5-16
Fibre Channel Remote Adapter ........................................... 5-16
SRDF Configurations.................................................................... 5-17
SRDF Campus Solution......................................................... 5-19
Extended Distance Solution ................................................. 5-21
SRDF Over IP.......................................................................... 5-22
SRDF Link Protocols ..................................................................... 5-26
SRDF Unidirectional Link Protocol ..................................... 5-26
SRDF Bidirectional Link Protocol ........................................ 5-26
SRDF Dual-Directional Link Protocol................................. 5-26
SRDF Link States ........................................................................... 5-27
Primary Modes of Operation....................................................... 5-28
Synchronous Mode (Real-Time or Journal 0 Mode) ......... 5-28
Semi-Synchronous Mode (Journal 1 Mode) ....................... 5-28
Secondary Modes of Operation................................................... 5-30
Adaptive Copying Modes .................................................... 5-30
Invalid Tracks Warning ......................................................... 5-32
SRDF System-Level Attributes............................................. 5-32
Concurrent RDF ............................................................................ 5-33
Consistency Groups ...................................................................... 5-34
How a Consistency Group Works ....................................... 5-34
Continuous Processing.......................................................... 5-36
MVS Technical Considerations ............................................ 5-36
Write Operations ........................................................................... 5-37
Write Operations in a Unidirectional or Dual-Directional Pro-
tocol.......................................................................................... 5-37
Write Operations in a Bidirectional Protocol..................... 5-37
Read Operations ............................................................................ 5-38
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Recovery Operations ..................................................................... 5-39

Failover (formerly known as Target Takeover) .................. 5-39
Returning Control to the Local Host ................................... 5-39
Recovery for a Large Number of Invalid Tracks (Open
Systems Sites Only) ................................................................ 5-40
Business Continuance Using SRDF............................................. 5-41
Business Continuance Using SRDF and TimeFinder ............... 5-43
Using a BCV as a Primary (Source) Device ........................ 5-43
Performing Remote Backups Without a Remote Host...... 5-44
SRDF Multihop ....................................................................... 5-45
Chapter 6 EMC TimeFinder Operations

Overview........................................................................................... 6-2
Business Continuance .............................................................. 6-2
System Setup ............................................................................. 6-2
Components ..................................................................................... 6-3
Standard Devices ...................................................................... 6-3
BCV Devices .............................................................................. 6-3
Subcomponents......................................................................... 6-3
Operations Overview...................................................................... 6-4
Establish ............................................................................................ 6-6
Split .................................................................................................... 6-9
Differential Split............................................................................. 6-11
Reestablish ...................................................................................... 6-13
Restore ............................................................................................. 6-15
Incremental Restore....................................................................... 6-17
Chapter 7 ESN Management

Introduction ...................................................................................... 7-2
Enterprise Storage Network Management .................................. 7-3
Elements of ESN Management ...................................................... 7-4
Security Best Practices: ESN Environments................................. 7-6
Security Best Practices: Physical Topology .................................. 7-8
Security Best Practices: Zoning.................................................... 7-11
Hard Zoning............................................................................ 7-11
Soft Zoning .............................................................................. 7-12
Smart Zoning........................................................................... 7-13
Single HBA Zoning ................................................................ 7-13
Zoning Example...................................................................... 7-14
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Security Best Practices: Volume Access Control ....................... 7-16

Volume Access Control Example......................................... 7-16
VCMDB Access Feature ........................................................ 7-18
SID Lock Down Feature ........................................................ 7-19
Security Best Practices: Management Controls......................... 7-22
Symmetrix Access Controls.................................................. 7-22
Conclusion...................................................................................... 7-24
Appendix A Customer Support
Glossary ........................................................................................................................ g-1
Index ............................................................................................................................... i-1
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viii EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Figures
Figures
1-1 Enginuity and Symmetrix Software Relationships ................................. 1-2
1-2 Symmetrix 8230 (Interior View) ................................................................. 1-3
1-3 Symmetrix 8530 (Interior View) ................................................................. 1-4
1-4 Symmetrix 8830 With 384 Disk Devices (Interior View) ........................ 1-5
1-5 Symmetrix 8530 Block Diagram ................................................................. 1-7
1-6 Symmetrix 8530 Channel Director Operator Panel ................................. 1-9
1-7 Track Format for 3390 and 3380 DASD ................................................... 1-12
2-1 Host Cache Use ............................................................................................. 2-2
2-2 Symmetrix Cache Management and Data Flow ...................................... 2-3
2-3 LRU and Age Link Chain Data Flow ......................................................... 2-4
2-4 I/O Response Time (Mainframe Environment) ....................................... 2-6
2-5 I/O Response Time (Open Systems Environment) ................................. 2-7
2-6 Symmetrix I/O Operations ......................................................................... 2-8
2-7 Destaging Operation .................................................................................... 2-9
2-8 Read Operations ......................................................................................... 2-10
2-9 Read Hit ....................................................................................................... 2-11
2-10 Read Miss ..................................................................................................... 2-11
2-11 Write Operations ........................................................................................ 2-12
2-12 Fast Write ..................................................................................................... 2-13
2-13 Delayed Fast Write ..................................................................................... 2-13
3-1 Logical Volume Mapping (8:1) ................................................................... 3-6
3-2 Concatenated Volumes ................................................................................ 3-8
3-3 Striped Data ................................................................................................... 3-8
4-1 Dynamic Sparing Process ............................................................................ 4-7
4-2 Parity Protection Logic ................................................................................ 4-9
5-1 Basic SRDF Configuration ........................................................................... 5-3
5-2 Switched SRDF With Multiple Primary and Secondary Devices .......... 5-4
5-3 Two Production Sites and One Recovery Site ........................................ 5-17
5-4 Data Vaulting Solution .............................................................................. 5-18
EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide ix

Figures
5-5 Sites Containing Both Primary and Secondary Devices ........................ 5-19
5-6 SRDF Campus Solution .............................................................................. 5-19
5-7 SRDF Campus Connectivity ...................................................................... 5-20
5-8 Switched SRDF Configurations ................................................................ 5-21
5-9 SRDF Extended Distance Solutions .......................................................... 5-22
5-10 SRDF With and Without FarPoint ............................................................ 5-23
5-11 Concurrent RDF Configuration ................................................................ 5-33
5-12 Primary (Source) and Secondary (Target) Relationships ...................... 5-34
5-13 Failed Link Between Source 2 and Target 1 ............................................ 5-35
5-14 Sources 1, 2, and 3 in a Consistency Group ............................................. 5-35
5-15 Failed Link Between Source 2 and Target 1 ............................................ 5-36
5-16 SRDF Business Continuance ...................................................................... 5-41
5-17 Establish Operation ..................................................................................... 5-42
5-18 Restore Operation ....................................................................................... 5-42
5-19 BCV Functioning As a Primary (Source) SRDF Device ......................... 5-44
5-20 SRDF Multihop ............................................................................................ 5-45
6-1 Initial Configuration ..................................................................................... 6-6
6-2 Establishing a BCV Pair ................................................................................ 6-7
6-3 Splitting a BCV Pair ...................................................................................... 6-9
6-4 Differential Split .......................................................................................... 6-11
6-5 Reestablishing a BCV Pair ......................................................................... 6-13
6-6 Restoring a BCV Device ............................................................................. 6-15
6-7 Incrementally Restoring a BCV Device .................................................... 6-17
7-1 ESN Management Levels of Trust .............................................................. 7-6
7-2 Basic ESN Environment ............................................................................... 7-9
7-3 Fibre Channel Zoning ................................................................................. 7-14
7-4 Volume Access Control .............................................................................. 7-17
7-5 VCMBD Volume ......................................................................................... 7-18
7-6 SID Lock Down Feature ............................................................................. 7-19
7-7 SID Values .................................................................................................... 7-20
A-1 Problem Detection and Resolution Process .............................................. A-2
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Tables
Tables
1-1 IBM DASD Emulation Characteristics .................................................... 1-11
1-2 4x2 Remote Link Channel Director Sample Configurations ................ 1-17
1-3 4x4 Remote Link Channel Director Sample Configurations ................ 1-18
5-1 SRDF Connectivity Types and Distance Limitations .............................. 5-5
5-2 Source (R1) Volume Accessibility ............................................................ 5-12
5-3 Target (R2) Volume Accessibility ............................................................ 5-12
5-4 Logical Volume Attributes ........................................................................ 5-13
EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide xi

Tables
xii EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Preface
As part of its effort to continuously improve and enhance the performance

and capabilities of the EMC product line, EMC periodically releases new
versions of both the EMC Enginuity Operating Environment and EMC
ControlCenter. Therefore, some functions described in this guide may not be
supported by all versions of Enginuity currently in use. For the most
up-to-date information on product features, see your product release notes.
If an EMC ControlCenter feature does not function properly or does not
function as described in this guide, please contact the EMC Customer
Support Center for assistance.
Audience This guide is part of the EMC ControlCenter v5.0 documentation set,
and is intended for use by system and data storage administrators.
Readers of this guide are expected to be familiar with the following
topics:
◆ Symmetrix Operation
◆ Host Operating Environments
The companion volume to this guide, EMC ControlCenter User Guide,
provides procedures for implementing many of the concepts covered in this
manual.
EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide xiii

Preface
Organization This guide is organized as follows:

Chapter 1, Introduction to the Symmetrix System, introduces the
Symmetrix hardware platform.
Chapter 2, Symmetrix Input/Output Operations, describes input and
output operations between the Symmetrix ICDA and a host system.
Chapter 3, Symmetrix Performance Features, describes the performance
features of Symmetrix systems and explains how to optimize these
features.
Chapter 4, Data Management, discusses the Symmetrix features and
options that affect data availability and reliability.
Chapter 5, Introduction to SRDF, instructs you in ways to protect your
data using EMC SRDF and TimeFinder facilities.
Chapter 6, EMC TimeFinder Operations, provides the common tasks
involved in backing up or restoring a filesystem or database.
Chapter 7, ESN Management, provides a “best practices” overview for
managing an Enterprise Storage Network (ESN) using EMC
ControlCenter tools.
Appendix A, Customer Support reviews the process for detecting and
resolving EMC ControlCenter software problems.
A Glossary of useful terms and an Index are located at the back of this
document.
xiv EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Preface
Related Other guides in the EMC ControlCenter documentation set include:

Documentation
◆ EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Introduction
A product overview guide designed to be read first. It describes
the purpose of ControlCenter, its architecture, and provides a
guided tour of the Console user interface.
◆ EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Installation and Configuration Guide
A guide giving comprehensive procedures for installing and
configuring ControlCenter components.
◆ EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Installation Map
A high-level list of installation steps; a companion to the EMC
ControlCenter Version 5.0 Installation and Configuration Guide
◆ EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 User Guide
A task-based guide showing how to perform data center tasks
using ControlCenter functions.
◆ EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Quick Reference Guide
A set of short commonly-used procedures; a companion to the
EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 User Guide
◆ Online Help
A comprehensive help system accessed from the Console
providing detailed procedure and reference documentation for
all ControlCenter features. A standalone version of the help
system is provided on the ControlCenter Documentation CD.
◆ EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Integration Packages Product Guide
A guide describing how to integrate ControlCenter into
third-party framework applications.
◆ EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Migration Guidelines
A paper giving guidelines for migrating from ControlCenter 4.x
to ControlCenter 5.0.
◆ EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Troubleshooting Guidelines
A paper presenting descriptions and remedies to problems you
may encounter, together with a reference section with pointers to
logs and other diagnostic tools.
EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide xv

Preface
Conventions Used in EMC uses the following conventions for notes, cautions, warnings,
This Guide and danger notices.
A note presents information that is important, but not hazard-related.
! CAUTION
A caution contains information essential to avoid data loss or
damage to the system or equipment. The caution may apply to
hardware or software.
Typographical Conventions
EMC uses the following type style conventions in this guide:
AVANT GARDE Keystrokes
Palatino, bold ◆ Dialog box, button, icon, and menu items in text
◆ Selections you can make from the user interface, including
buttons, icons, options, and field names
Palatino, italic ◆ New terms or unique word usage in text

◆ Command line arguments when used in text
◆ Book titles
Courier, italic Arguments used in examples of command line syntax.
Courier System prompts and displays and specific filenames or
complete paths. For example:
working root directory [/user/emc]:
c:\Program Files\EMC\Symapi\db
Courier, bold ◆ User entry. For example:

symmpoll -p
◆ Options in command line syntax
xvi EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Preface
Where to Get Help Obtain technical support by calling your local sales office.
For service, call:
United States: (800) 782-4362 (SVC-4EMC)
Canada: (800) 543-4782 (543-4SVC)
Worldwide: (508) 497-7901
and ask for Customer Support.
Sales and Customer For the list of EMC sales locations, please access the EMC home page
Service Contacts at:
http://www.emc.com/contact/
For additional information on the EMC products and services
available to customers and partners, refer to the EMC Powerlink Web
site at:
http://powerlink.emc.com
Your Comments Your suggestions will help us continue to improve the accuracy,
organization, and overall quality of the user publications. Please send
a message to techpub_comments@emc.com with your opinions of
this guide.
EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide xvii

Preface
xviii EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Invisible Body Tag
1
Introduction to the
Symmetrix System
This chapter provides an overview of the Enginuity operating system

and describes the main hardware components of the Symmetrix
Integrated Cache Disk Array (ICDA) including:
◆ Enginuity Operating Environment..................................................1-2
◆ Hardware Components.....................................................................1-3
◆ Channel Director Operator Panel ....................................................1-8
◆ Disk Devices .....................................................................................1-10
◆ Directors and Cache Cards .............................................................1-14
Introduction to the Symmetrix System 1-1

Introduction to the Symmetrix System
1
Enginuity Operating Environment

Enginuity™ is the sophisticated operating environment for EMC
Enterprise Storage platforms. Enginuity provides functional services
for both its host Symmetrix® systems and for a large suite of EMC
storage application software.
EMC Solutions Enabler and EMC ResourcePak for OS/390 are
Enginuity software options that provide customers access to the
range of Enginuity Operating Environment functional services that
support the interface among:
◆ EMC hardware
◆ Enginuity operating functions
◆ EMC application software
◆ Independent Software Vendor (ISV) applications software
The relationships between each of these software layers (and
Symmetrix hardware) are illustrated in Figure 1-1.
Information Information Information Enterprise Data Independent

Management Protection Sharing Management Software Vendor
Software Software Software Software Applications
Software
EMC ResourcePAK
EMC Solutions Enabler
for OS/390
Enginuity Operating Functions
Symmetrix Hardware
Figure 1-1 Enginuity and Symmetrix Software Relationships
1-2 EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

1
Hardware Components
EMC provides a variety of hardware and software solutions to meet
your business demands. The current Symmetrix hardware platforms
are represented by the half-bay Symmetrix 8230 shown in Figure 1-2,
the single bay Symmetrix 8530 shown in Figure 1-3, and the 3-bay
Symmetrix 8830 shown in Figure 1-4.
This section provides:
◆ Component Overview
◆ Symmetrix Block Diagram
Fans
Disk Devices
(Rear)
Disk Devices
(Front)
Adapter Cards
(Rear)
Service
Power Supplies
Processor
Director and Cache Cards

(Front)
Anti-Tip Bracket
Battery
Figure 1-2 Symmetrix 8230 (Interior View)
Hardware Components 1-3

1
Fans
Disk Devices, Operator Panel

Front And Rear (Controls on Outside)
Ethernet
Hub
Adapter Cards,
Rear
Service
Processor
Power Supplies
Battery
Service
Processor
Power Supply
EPO Assembly
Director And
Cache Cards,
Front
Figure 1-3 Symmetrix 8530 (Interior View)

1
Figure 1-4 Symmetrix 8830 With 384 Disk Devices (Interior View)
Component The Symmetrix system components have the following functions:

Overview Cooling Fan Modules — Maintain air circulation and cooling the
unit internally.
Card Cage and Backplane — The card cage contains director, cache
memory, and adapter cards. The director and cache memory cards
connect to the front of the backplane. Adapter cards connect to the
rear of the backplane.

1
◆ The Symmetrix 8230 accommodates up to 6 directors (4 channel

directors and 2 disk directors), 2 cache memory cards, and 4
adapter cards.
◆ The Symmetrix 8530 accommodates up to 10 directors (4 or 6
channel directors and 4 disk directors), 2 cache memory cards
(standard) and 8 or 10 adapter cards.
◆ The Symmetrix 8830 accommodates up to 16 director cards (up to
8 channel directors and 8 disk directors), 4 cache cards and 16
adapter cards.
Disk Devices — The Symmtrix 8230 contains 48 3.5-inch low profile
disk devices; the Symmetrix 8530 contains up to 96 3.5-inch disk
devices; and the Symmetrix 8830 contains up to 384 3.5-inch disk
devices for data storage. Disk size currently ranges from 36 GB to
181 GB.
Battery Subsystem — Maintains power for three minutes to the
entire subsystem if AC power fails.
Power Subsystem — Provides a redundant source of +5V, +12V, and
+24V power to the Symmetrix components.
Ethernet Hub — The Ethernet hub allows the Symmetrix system to
communicate with each disk director or channel director.
Integrated Service Processor — Downloads the Symmetrix system
configuration to the directors and provides diagnostic and
maintenance utilities for the Symmetrix system. The service processor
connects to the Symmetrix subsystem via an Ethernet hub or an
RS-232 interface. The service processor uses an external modem for
communicating with the EMC Customer Support Center when the
Symmetrix system detects an error condition.

1
Symmetrix Block Figure 1-5 illustrates the interconnection of the major components of
Diagram the Symmetrix 8530 system.
The Symmetrix 8230, 8530, and 8830 systems use the same basic architecture
but provide different numbers of host connections and disk drives, cache
capacities, and so on.
Host Channels Host Channels

ABAB ABAB ABAB ABAB
Channel b a b a b a b a
Directors
High High
(Front End)
Memory Memory
Memory Buses: Top High
Top Low
Bottom High
Bottom Low
Modem Service Low Low

Disk a b a b a b a b
Processor Memory Memory
Directors P S P S S P S P P S P S S P S P
Cache
Buses per 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Buses per
Processor Processor
Operator
Panel Disks Disks Disks Disks
Primary AC Redundant
Power
Auxiliary AC Subsystem
Backup
Battery
Disk Array
Redundant (Back End)
Fan
Subsystem
Disks Disks Disks Disks
Figure 1-5 Symmetrix 8530 Block Diagram

1
Channel Director Operator Panel

Each Symmetrix unit has a channel director operator panel that
shows the status of each director. This section describes the function
of the various operator panel components.
The channel director operator panel is mounted on the outside of the
front door. Each internal channel director connects to its respective
display on the front panel (Figure 1-6).
The channel director operator panel components function as follows:
◆ POWER — LED indicating that the operator panel is receiving
power.
◆ ACTIVE — LED indicating channel activity. When the LED is lit,
I/O operations are in progress.
◆ ENABLE/DISABLE — Switch for placing a channel interface in
the on-line or off-line state to the host system. When the switch is
in the ENABLE position, that channel interface is on-line to the
host system. When the switch is in the DISABLE position, that
channel interface is off-line to the host system.
◆ PC Reset Button — Switch for resetting the Symmetrix service
processor. To reset the service processor, the switch must be
pressed for 10 seconds.
! CAUTION
Do NOT reset the service processor unless under the
supervison of an EMC Customer Engineer.

1
a b DIR 3 Enable/Disable Switch

A B A B
ENABLE
DISABLE
a b DIR 4
A B A B
ENABLE
DISABLE
a b DIR 5
A B A B
ENABLE
DISABLE
POWER PC RESET
Power LED PC Reset Button
a b DIR 12
A B A B
ENABLE
DISABLE
a b DIR 13
A B A B
Active LED
ENABLE
DISABLE
a b DIR 14
A B A B
ENABLE
DISABLE
Figure 1-6 Symmetrix 8530 Channel Director Operator Panel
Channel Director Operator Panel 1-9

1
Disk Devices
Symmetrix systems use industry-standard SCSI Disk Drive
Assemblies (DDAs) for physical disks. Each DDA is configured with
its own controller consisting of control logic, a microprocessor, and a
device-level buffer.
Symmetrix Disk Symmetrix systems support connectivity to either mainframe

Device Emulations systems or open systems hosts. When the Symmetrix system is
configured to open UNIX®, Windows NT®, and AS/400® systems
hosts, the Symmetrix disk devices emulate standard SCSI disk
devices. When the Symmetrix system is configured to IBM®/PCM
system hosts, the Symmetrix disk devices emulate IBM DASD.
The Symmetrix Enterprise Storage Platform (ESP) software enabler, a

software option, is required if you plan to store and access mainframe and
open systems data on the same Symmetrix system.
Open Systems SCSI On open systems hosts, the Symmetrix system logical disk volumes
Disk Emulation appear to the host as physical disk devices at SCSI target ID/Logical
Unit Number (LUN) addresses. All host logical volume manager
software can be used with Symmetrix disk volumes. When using a
SCSI interface to an open systems processor, the Symmetrix system
appears as standard SCSI disk devices with data stored in fixed-block
architecture (FBA) format.
The following paragraphs describe the SCSI disk format and logical
volume structure.
FBA Data and FBA disk devices store data in fixed sized blocks (typically 512 bytes).
Command Format
Disk devices in Symmetrix systems attached to AS/400 hosts are configured
in 520-byte blocks.
A disk device using FBA format is viewed as a large array of blocks.

The physical position of each block (cylinder and track) is usually not
significant to the host. When requesting disk access for read or write,
the host addresses a file by the logical block address (LBA) of the
starting block and a count of the total blocks used by the file.
Symmetrix SCSI channel directors and disk directors control access to

1
cache memory and disk devices, responding to host requests as a

standard SCSI disk device.
Logical Volume The channel directors interact with cache memory. Therefore, there is
Structure (Open no physical meaning to cylinders, tracks, and heads on the
Systems) Symmetrix logical volume from the front end point of view. However,
Symmetrix uses a logical geometry definition for its logical volume
structure. This geometry is reflected in the SCSI mode sense data
available to the host.
Symmetrix uses the following logical volume structure:
◆ Each logical volume has n cylinders
◆ Each cylinder has 15 tracks (heads)
◆ Each track has 64 blocks of 512 bytes
Therefore, a Symmetrix logical volume with n cylinders has a usable
block capacity of:
n * 15 * 64
n for each volume is defined during Symmetrix configuration.
To calculate the size of the logical volume:
Number of cylinders * heads * blocks * 512
(n * 15 * 64 * 512)
IBM DASD Disk The Symmetrix system appears to mainframe operating systems as a
Emulation 3990-6, 3990-3, 3990-2 or 2105 controller. The physical disk devices
can appear to the mainframe operating system as a mix of multiple
3390 and 3380 device types. All models of the 3380 or 3390 volumes
can be emulated up to the physical volume sizes installed. A single
Symmetrix system can simultaneously support both 3380 and 3390
device emulations. Table 1-1 lists the Symmetrix characteristics for
some standard IBM device emulation modes. Symmetrix systems
also support nonstandard device sizes, as long as the cylinder count
does not exceed that of the equivalent IBM device type.
Table 1-1 IBM DASD Emulation Characteristics
IBM DASD Model MB/Volume Bytes/Track Bytes/Cylinder Cylinders/Volume
3390-9 8,514 56,664 849,960 10,017
3390-3 2,838 56,664 849,960 3,339
3390-2 1,892 56,664 849,960 2,226
Disk Devices 1-11

1
Table 1-1 IBM DASD Emulation Characteristics (continued)
3390-1 946 56,664 849,960 1,113
3380K 1,891 47,476 712,140 2,655
3380K+ 2,378 47,476 712,140 3,339
3380K++a 2,843 47,476 712,140 3,993
a. Not supported by VM/ESA® 1.2.1 (and 1.2.2). Support of this emulation type depends on the operating
system in use.
Mixed Track You can configure a Symmetrix system with both 3380 and 3390 track
Geometries geometries on the same disk device. A single disk device may contain
up to 128 logical volumes totalling a maximum of 8,000 logical
volumes per Symmetrix system.
IBM/PCM Data and All Symmetrix models support the count-key-data (CKD) and
Command Formats extended count-key-data (ECKD™) format used by IBM 3390 and
3380 DASD. For a full description of the channel command words
(CCW) supported, refer to the IBM 3990 Storage Control Reference or
the IBM 3880 Storage Control Model 13 Description.
Figure 1-7 shows the CKD track format emulated for 3390 and 3380
DASD.
Index Index
Marker Marker
R0 R1
Magnetic HA C K D C K D
Disk
Figure 1-7 Track Format for 3390 and 3380 DASD
Track Format
All tracks are written with formatted records. The start and end of
each track are defined by the index marker. Each track has the same
basic format as that shown in Figure 1-7. That is, it has an index
marker, home address (HA), record zero (R0), and one or more data
records (R1 through Rn). These track formats are discussed in the
following sections.

1
Information is recorded on all Symmetrix disk devices in an

emulation format chosen at configuration. Each track contains certain
“nondata” information (such as the address of the track, the address
of each record, the length of each record, and the gaps between each
area), and data information.
Index Marker — An index marker indicates the physical beginning
and end of each track for each disk device (Figure 1-7).
Home Address (HA) — There is one home address on each track that
defines the physical location of the track by specifying the track
address (cylinder and head location) and the condition of the track
(flag byte). The flag byte indicates whether the track is usable,
defective, or an alternate track.
Record Zero - R0 (Track Descriptor Record) — This is the first
record after the home address. The Count field indicates its physical
location (cylinder and head), record number, key length, and data
length. In general, the Key length is 0 bytes and the data length is 8.
Data Records (R1 through Rn) — All remaining records on a track
are data records. The Count field indicates the data record’s physical
location (cylinder and head), record number, key length, and data
length. The key is optional and when used contains information used
by an application. The data area contains the user data. To determine
the number of records a track can hold, refer to the IBM 3390 Direct
Access Storage Introduction or IBM 3380 Direct Access Storage
Introduction for the equations for calculating this number.
Track Capacity Track capacity is the maximum capacity achievable when there is one
physical data record per track formatted without a key. Because the
track can contain multiple data records, additional Address Markers,
Count Areas, and gaps reduce the number of bytes available for data.
The track capacity is the number of bytes left for data records after
subtracting the bytes needed for the home address, record zero,
address marker, count area, cyclic check (for error correction), and the
gaps for one data record.
For 3390 emulations, the track capacity is 56,664 bytes. For 3380
emulations, the track capacity is 47,476 bytes.
Disk Devices 1-13

1
Directors and Cache Cards

This section describes the channel directors, disk directors and cache
memory cards in the Symmetrix systems. The channel directors and
cache memory manage the storage control functions. The disk
directors handle the data storage functions.
The Symmetrix 8730 can be integrated with all major enterprise hosts
and servers. This section outlines the emulations and hosts that the
Symmetrix supports through serial channels, Fast-Wide-Differential
(FWD) SCSI or Ultra FWD SCSI, Ultra2 FWD SCSI, and Fibre Channel
interfaces.
The Symmetrix Enterprise Storage Platform (ESP) software enabler, a

software option, is required if you plan to store and access mainframe and
open systems data on the same Symmetrix. Contact your EMC Sales
Representative for more information on the ESP option.
Open Systems Symmetrix systems connect to UNIX®, Windows NT®, Linux, and
Connectivity AS/400® systems, with connectivity to these open systems host
interfaces:
◆ FWD SCSI channels
◆ Ultra FWD SCSI channels
◆ Ultra2 FWD SCSI channels
◆ Fibre Channels ( 2-port and 8-port)
At this time, Symmetrix systems do not support Fibre Channel connectivity

to AS/400 hosts.
Mainframe Systems The Symmetrix systems support connectivity to mainframe systems

Connectivity through 4-port ESCON™ channels.
Symmetrix Channel Symmetrix systems provide connectivity through channel directors

Configurations available with the following ports:
◆ 4-port, 2-processor (4x2) serial channel directors
◆ 4-port, 4-processor (4x4) serial channel directors
◆ 4-port FWD SCSI directors
◆ 4-port Ultra FWD SCSI directors
◆ 4-port Ultra2 FWD SCSI directors
◆ 2-port Fibre Channel directors
◆ 8-port Fibre Channel directors

1
Channel Director Symmetrix channel directors are single cards that occupy one slot on
Descriptions the Symmetrix backplane. All channel directors interface to host
channels through interface adapter cards connected to the opposite
side of the backplane.
All channel directors contain two PowerPC 750™ microprocessors,
except the 4-port, 4-processor mainframe serial channel director,
which contains four microprocessors. The channel directors process
data from the host and manage access to cache memory over a 4-bus
memory architecture (Figure 1-5 on page 1-7). Each 4-port,
4-processor, mainframe serial channel director supports 4 concurrent
operations. Each 4-port, 2-processor, mainframe serial channel
director supports 2 concurrent operations, as does each Fibre Channel
director. Ultra SCSI channel directors support 4 concurrent
operations.
The following sections describe the Symmetrix channel directors.
Ultra FWD SCSI High The Ultra SCSI High Voltage Differential (HVD) director has four
Voltage Differential differential-wide interfaces for connection to host systems and one
Directors high-speed path to cache memory.
Ultra SCSI channel directors support data transfer rates up to
40 MB/s when connected to Ultra SCSI channels and 20 MB/s when
connected to FWD channels. Each Ultra SCSI director can support up
to 960 logical volumes (with a maximum of 3,072 logical volumes per
Symmetrix system).
Ultra2 SCSI Low The Ultra2 SCSI Low Voltage Differential (LVD) director has four
Voltage Differential differential-wide interfaces for connection to host systems and one
Directors high-speed path to cache memory.
Ultra2 SCSI channel directors support data transfer rates up to
80 MB/s when connected to Ultra2 SCSI channels. Each Ultra2 SCSI
director can support up to 960 logical volumes with a maximum of
4,096 logical volumes per Symmetrix system. This board has a 4K
CRC capability that boosts performance on writes to cache memory.
This board requires a special back adapter and disk midplane.
Fibre Channel The Fibre Channel director has two FC ANSI compliant, 1 Gigabit
Directors Fibre Channel interfaces for connection to host systems and one
high-speed path to cache memory. The Fibre Channel director
interfaces to the host channels through 2-port, 4-port, 8-port, and
12-port Fibre Channel interface adapters. The Fibre Channel SCSI
Directors and Cache Cards 1-15

1
protocol mapping and upper level protocol layers are both

implemented within the director.
The Fibre Channel Director supports data transfer rates up to
100 MB/s over each channel interface simultaneously. Data transfers
between host and cache memory can execute concurrently across all
Fibre Channel ports on a director.
Symmetrix Fibre Channel directors currently support connections to a

number of hosts supporting Fibre Channel connectivity. For a current list of
supported hosts, refer to the ESN Topology Design Guide on the EMC
Powerlink web site or contact your EMC sales representative.
ESCON Mainframe The Symmetrix mainframe serial channel director processes frames
Serial Channel from the mainframe host and manages access to cache memory. EMC
Directors offers a 4-port, 2-processor (4x2) serial channel director and a 4-port,
4-processor (4x4) serial channel director. Both serial channel directors
support data transfer rates up to 17 MB/s with the host.
4-Port, 2-Processor Serial Channel Director — The 4x2 serial
channel director contains two processors (CPUs) and four interfaces
to host mainframe systems. For example, with six 4x2 serial channel
directors installed, the Symmetrix system could logically have 12
serial channel engines and therefore support 12 concurrent operations.
4-Port, 4-Processor Serial Channel Director — The 4x4 serial
channel director contains four processors (CPUs) and four interfaces
to host mainframe systems. For example, with six 4x4 serial channel
directors installed, the Symmetrix system could logically have 24
serial channel engines and therefore support 24 concurrent operations.
Remote Link Directors The Remote Link Director (RLD) is an ESCON serial channel director
microcode-configured as the link between Symmetrix units in a
Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) or SDMS (Symmetrix Data
Migration Services) configuration. EMC offers the RLD in two
models:
◆ Four-port, 2-processor model
◆ Four-port, 4-processor model
The RLD interfaces to Symmetrix channels via a serial channel
interface adapter. The Remote Link Director supports data transfer
rates up to 17 MB/s. The Symmetrix system requires a minimum of
two and supports up to four RLDs in each Symmetrix unit used in an
SRDF or SDMS configuration.

1
The Remote Link Director can have some of its four ports configured
for remote link connections and some for serial channel connections
with some restrictions as described in the next paragraphs. Table 1-2
and Table 1-3 on page 1-18 show how each of the RLD models can be
configured.
Four-Port, Two-Processor Configuration — When one of the
processors of a four-port, two-processor (4x2) RLD (two ports on each
processor) is configured as an RLD, only one of the ports on that
processor can be configured as a remote link, while the remaining
port is not used. The second processor can be configured as a serial
director, with both ports being used for serial channels.
If two ports of the four-port, two-processor RLD are needed as
remote links to other Symmetrix units, only one port from each
processor can be used. Table 1-2 shows 3 possible configurations for
the 4x2 RLD model.
Table 1-2 4x2 Remote Link Channel Director Sample Configurations
Processor a Processor b
Possible
Configurations Port A Port B Port A Port B
First Configuration RLD - RLD -
Second Configuration RLD - Serial Channel Director Serial Channel Director
Third Configuration RLD - RLD -
Four-Port, Four-Processor Configuration — When one of the

processors of a four-port, four-processor RLD (one port on each
processor) is configured as an RLD, the ports of the three remaining
processors can also be configured as remote link channels or as serial
channels. Table 1-3 shows 5 possible configurations for the 4x4 RLD
model.

1
Table 1-3 4x4 Remote Link Channel Director Sample Configurations
Processor a Processor b Processor c Processor d

Possible
Configurations Port A Port B Port C Port D
First Configuration RLD RLD RLD RLD
Second Configuration Serial Channel Director Serial Channel Director Serial Channel Director RLD
Third Configuration Serial Channel Director Serial Channel Director RLD RLD
Fourth Configuration Serial Channel Director RLD RLD RLD
Fifth Configuration Serial Channel Director Serial Channel Director Serial Channel Director Serial Channel Director
Remote Fibre Channel The Remote Fibre Director (also called the Fibre RA or RAF) is a
Directors 2-port or 8-port Fibre Channel director microcode-configured as the
link between Symmetrix units in a Symmetrix Remote Data Facility
(SRDF) configuration. The RAF interfaces to Symmetrix channels
through either a 2-port or 8-port Fibre Channel interface adapter. The
RAF Director supports data transfer rates up to 100 MB/s.
The Symmetrix system requires a minimum of two and supports up
to four RAFs in each Symmetrix unit used in an SRDF configuration.
When one of the processors of a RAF is configured as an RAF, the
second processor can be configured as a Fibre Channel director.
Disk Directors Symmetrix system disk directors manage the interface to the disk
drive assemblies (DDAs), and are responsible for data movement
between the DDAs and cache memory over a 4-bus memory
architecture (Figure 1-5). The DDAs are connected to disk directors
through industry-standard SCSI interfaces with two PowerPC 750
microprocessors per disk director.
Each disk director provides an alternate path to the disk devices of its
dual-initiator disk director pair. That is, if the primary path through a
disk director to a disk device fail, the Symmetrix system accesses that
device through the other disk director in the disk director pair
Cache Memory Memory is one of the most crucial components of a Symmetrix

system. All read and write operations transfer data to or from cache
memory. Any transfers between the host processor, channel directors
and cache memory are achieved at much greater electronic speeds

1
than transfers involving disks. The Symmetrix system optimizes data

movement between disk and cache memory, resulting in the highest
performance possible.
Cache memory has four cache buses, Top High and Bottom Low, and
Top Low and Bottom High. Each director connects to two of the
memory buses (high and low). Each memory card also connects to
two memory buses (top/bottom high or top/bottom low).
Symmetrix systems have from two to four slots in the backplane
dedicated to cache memory. Individual memory cards are available in
1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB sizes.

1

Invisible Body Tag
2
Symmetrix
Input/Output
Operations
This chapter describes input and output operations between the

Symmetrix ICDA and a host system.
◆ ICDA Operation .................................................................................2-2
◆ Elements of a Symmetrix I/O Operation .......................................2-6
◆ Dynamic Path Reconnection (Mainframe Systems)....................2-14
Symmetrix Input/Output Operations 2-1

Symmetrix Input/Output Operations
2
ICDA Operation
Intelligent cache configurations allow Symmetrix systems to transfer
data at electronic memory speeds that are much faster than physical
disk speeds. Symmetrix products are based on the principle that the
working set of data at any given time is relatively small when
compared to the total subsystem storage capacity. When this working
set of data is in cache, there is a significant improvement in
performance. The performance improvement achieved depends on
both of the following principles:
Locality of Reference — If a given piece of information is used, there
is a high probability that a nearby piece of information will be used
shortly thereafter.
Data Reuse — If a given piece of information is used, there is a high
probability that it will be reused shortly thereafter.
These cache principles have been used for years on host systems
(CPU and storage devices). Figure 2-1 illustrates this type of host
cache memory use. The cache memory used in this manner is often a
high-speed, high-cost storage unit that functions as an intermediary
between the CPU and main storage.
Host
CPU Cache Memory
Figure 2-1 Host Cache Use

2
Symmetrix Cache Symmetrix systems use the same cache memory principle as host
Management systems, but with enhanced caching techniques. Figure 2-2 illustrates
cache use in Symmetrix systems.
Directory
Cache
Memory
Host Channel Disk
System Director Director
Disk
Symmetrix
Figure 2-2 Symmetrix Cache Management and Data Flow
In Symmetrix systems, the channel directors and disk directors share

cache. Symmetrix channel directors attach to the CPU channels as
well as to cache memory. Symmetrix disk directors attach to cache as
well as the disk drives. The Symmetrix directors perform the
following functions:
◆ The channel director handles I/O requests from the host. It
accesses the directory in cache (Figure 2-2) to determine if the
request can be satisfied within the cache. The directory contains
information on each cache page and blocks within each page.
◆ The directors manage cache using various methods that generally
result in the implementation of a Least Recently Used (LRU)
algorithm. This usage model ensures that only pages of data that
have been recently accessed remain in cache.
◆ Using the prefetch algorithm, the disk director dynamically
detects sequential data access patterns to the disk devices. The
directors improve the hit ratio of these accesses by promoting
blocks from the disk devices to cache slots before that data has
been requested.
◆ The disk director manages access to the disk drives. When a read
miss occurs, the disk director also stages tracks into cache. It also
performs a background operation that destages written-to blocks
to disk.
ICDA Operation 2-3

2
LRU Algorithm Figure 2-3 illustrates the data flow with the LRU algorithm. Each time
a read hit or write hit occurs, the Symmetrix system marks that cache
slot as most recently used and promotes it to the top of the LRU list.
For each write, a written-to flag is set on the initial write to each cache
block and is cleared when the cache block is destaged. The LRU cache
slot appears at the bottom of the LRU list. Symmetrix cache can be
subdivided into multiple LRU lists.
Newly Staged
Cache Slot
Promoted
To Top
Read or Write Hit
Oldest Slot
Figure 2-3 LRU and Age Link Chain Data Flow
Prefetch Algorithm Symmetrix systems continually monitor I/O activity and look for
access patterns. When the second sequential I/O to a track occurs, the
sequential prefetch process is invoked and the next track of data is
read into cache. The intent of this process is to avoid a read miss.
When the host processor returns to a random I/O pattern, the
Symmetrix system discontinues the sequential process.

2
Symmetrix I/O Symmetrix systems use these techniques to enhance I/O

Performance performance:
Enhancements ◆ Split Director Functions — The director operations are split into
two functional parts, the channel director and disk director. The
channel director services requests from the host.
The disk director services requests between cache and disk.
Splitting the director functions eliminates the processing
overhead and cache locking associated with Control Units that
perform both functions.
◆ High Speed Cache Memory — Cache memory speed is greater
than the total speed of all components (for example, the directors)
that access it.
◆ Disk Microprocessor and Buffer — Each disk device has its own
microprocessor and buffer that is brought to the actuator level
providing parallel processing of data. These features add another
level of caching and improve overall performance.
◆ Multiple Disk Directors — A maximum of 48 disks (384 disk
device system) attach to each Symmetrix disk director.
◆ Sequential Access Patterns — Access patterns can be sequential,
random, or a combination of both. When a miss occurs on a
sequential access pattern, the number of blocks brought into
cache increases, thus improving the hit rate (requested data is in
cache).
ICDA Operation 2-5

2
Elements of a Symmetrix I/O Operation

All I/O operations require a certain response time. An I/O request
begins when the application issues an I/O command and ends when
the data transfer completes. The time interval from I/O request to
transfer completion is the I/O response time.
I/O Response Time - In the mainframe environment, I/O response time can be divided
Mainframe into a queuing time, a pend time, a connect time, and a disconnect
Environment time, as shown in Figure 2-4.
Queuing Pend Connect Disconnect

Time Time Time Time
Device Service Time
I/O Response Time
Figure 2-4 I/O Response Time (Mainframe Environment)
The Queuing Time is the I/O Supervisor (IOS) queue for next event.
The Pend Time consists of:
◆ Control Unit Busy (CUB)
◆ Device Busy (DB)
◆ Director Port Busy
The Connect Time is the length of time the channel processes
commands and transfers data.
The Disconnect Time is:
◆ The length of time it takes to retrieve data from the physical disk
(device seek and latency)
◆ The length of time it takes to reconnect to the host
◆ SRDF write overhead (protocol, line latency, and so on)

2
I/O Response Time – In the open systems environment, I/O response time can be divided
Open Systems into a host queuing time, a command connect time, a disconnect time,
Environment and a data connect time, as shown in Figure 2-5.
Host Command Disconnect Data

Queuing Connect Time Connect
Time Time Time
Device Service Time

I/O Response Time
Figure 2-5 I/O Response Time (Open Systems Environment)
The Host Queuing Time is the time the request is in the host queue
before it is dispatched on the SCSI bus.
The Command Connect Time is the length of time the channel is
transferring a SCSI command.
The Disconnect Time is the length of time involving device seek and
latency. During this time the SCSI bus can be used by other devices.
In case of a cache hit in an I/O request, the Disconnect Time requirement is

eliminated.
The Data Connect Time is the length of time the channel is

transferring data.
Symmetrix I/O There are four basic types of Symmetrix I/O operations (Figure 2-6
Operations on page 2-8):
◆ Read hit
◆ Read miss
◆ Fast write
◆ Delayed fast write
The Symmetrix system performs read operations from cache and
always caches write operations. This cache operation is transparent to
the host operating system. A read operation causes the channel
director to scan the cache directory for the requested data. If the
requested data is in cache, the channel director transfers this data
immediately to the channel with a channel end and device end (or a
SCSI good ending status). If the requested data is not in cache, the
disk director transfers the data from the disk device to cache, and the
channel director transfers the data from cache to the channel.
Elements of a Symmetrix I/O Operation 2-7

2
1 Search-hit cache directory 1 Search-miss cache directory

2 Transfer to host 2 Position R/W head, stage data
Channel 3 Update directory Channel 3 Transfer to the host
4 Update directory
2 1 3 1
3 Directory 4 Directory
Channel Cache Channel Cache

Director Director
Disk Disk
Disk Disk 2
Director Director
Read Hit Read Miss
1 Search cache directory

1 Search-hit cache directory (cache is full)
2 Transfer to cache 2 Destage page
Channel 3 Update directory Channel 3 Update cache directory
4 Destage asynchronously 4 Transfer to cache
5 Update directory
2 1 4 1 6 Destage asynchronously
3 Directory 5 Directory
Channel Cache Channel Cache

Director Director
Disk Disk
3
Disk
4 Disk 2, 6
Director
Director
Fast Write Delayed Fast Write

Figure 2-6 Symmetrix I/O Operations

2
Destaging In addition to the four types of I/O operations explained earlier,

Operation Symmetrix systems perform a background operation that destages
blocks back to disk. This allows any written-to or changed data to be
maintained in two locations: in cache for performance in the
occurrence of reuse of that data; and on disk to maintain the highest
levels of data integrity. Any pending writes are assured of arrival to
the intended disk even in the event of power failure. Figure 2-7
illustrates this destaging operation.
1 Destage blocks
2 Update directory
Channel
Directory
Channel
Director
Cache
Disk Disk
Director
Figure 2-7 Destaging Operation

2
Read Operations There are two types of read operations: read hit and read miss.
Figure 2-8 illustrates the data flow for read operations.
Channel Channel
Channel Channel
Director Director
Cache Cache
Read Hit
Disk
Read Miss
Figure 2-8 Read Operations

2
Read Hit In a read hit operation (Figure 2-8), the requested data resides in
cache. The channel director transfers the requested data through the
channel interface to the host and updates the cache directory. Since
the data is in cache, there are no mechanical delays due to seek,
latency, and Rotational Position Sensing (RPS) miss (Figure 2-9).
For more information on RPS, refer to Disk Devices on page 1-10.
Connect Time
Overhead
Total Service Time
Figure 2-9 Read Hit
Read Miss In a read miss operation (Figure 2-8), the requested data is not in
cache and must be retrieved from a disk device. While the channel
director creates space in the cache, the disk director reads the data
from the disk device. The disk director stores the data in cache and
updates the directory table. The channel director then reconnects
with the host and transfers the data. If the requested data is in the
process of being prefetched (sequential read ahead), the miss is
considered to be a short miss. If the requested data is not in the
process of being read into cache, the disk director requests the data
from the drive. This miss is considered to be a long miss. Because the
data is not in cache, the Symmetrix system must search for the data
on disk and then transfer it to the channel. This adds seek and latency
times to the operation (Figure 2-10). During the disconnect time,
other commands can be executed on other devices on the bus, or
commands can queue to the same device.
Connect Time
Overhead
Disconnect Time
Total Service Time
Figure 2-10 Read Miss

2
Write Operations Symmetrix systems write operations occur as either fast write or
delayed fast write operations (Figure 2-6 on page 2-8).
Fast Write A fast write occurs when the percentage of modified data in cache is
less than the fast write threshold. On a host write command, the
channel director places the incoming block(s) directly into cache.
For fast write operations (Figure 2-11), the channel director stores the
data in cache and sends a channel end and device end (or a SCSI
good ending status) to the host computer. The disk director then
asynchronously destages the data from cache to the disk device.
Channel
Channel
Director
Cache
Asynchronous
Destage
Disk
Fast Write
Figure 2-11 Write Operations
Because Symmetrix systems write the data directly to cache and not
to disk, there are no mechanical delays due to seek, latency, and RPS
miss (Figure 2-12).

2
Connect Time
Cache
Total Service Time
Figure 2-12 Fast Write
Delayed Fast Write A delayed fast write occurs only when the fast write threshold has
been exceeded. That is, the percentage of cache containing modified
data is higher than the fast write threshold. If this situation occurs,
the Symmetrix system disconnects the channel directors from the
channels.
The disk directors then destage the Least Recently Used data to disk.
When sufficient cache space is available, the channel directors
reconnect to their channels and process the host I/O request as a fast
write (Figure 2-13). The Symmetrix system continues to process read
operations during delayed fast writes. With sufficient cache present,
this type of cache operation rarely occurs.
Connect Time
Overhead
Disconnect Time
Total Service Time
Delay Normal
Fast Write
Figure 2-13 Delayed Fast Write

2
Dynamic Path Reconnection (Mainframe Systems)

Dynamic Path Reconnection (DPR) permits the Storage Control Unit
(SCU) to reconnect to the host on any available channel path between
the device and the host system if the original channel is busy with
other operations. Without DPR, the SCU waits for the original
channel path to become available again. Refer to the IBM 3390 Direct
Access Storage Introduction or the IBM 3380 Direct Access Storage
Introduction for more information on this function.
The DPR option must be invoked in an ESCON environment to
facilitate reduction of director port busy conditions. DPR must also be
enabled when using extended platform functions, such as IBM’s
Concurrent Copy.
DPR support is enabled by the EMC Customer Engineer at installation or

service time. Consult your EMC Systems Engineer to determine if DPR is
appropriate for your operating environment.

Invisible Body Tag
3
Symmetrix
Performance Features
This chapter describes the performance features of Symmetrix

systems and explains how to optimize these features.
◆ Symmetrix Performance Features....................................................3-2
◆ Symmetrix Hyper-Volumes ..............................................................3-6
◆ Symmetrix Meta Volumes.................................................................3-7
Symmetrix Performance Features 3-1

Symmetrix Performance Features
3

A Symmetrix system offers improved performance over conventional
SCUs and DASD designs. The Symmetrix features described in this
section allow high cache hit ratios and less processing overhead, thus
reducing response time and improving throughput.
Cache Memory A large cache memory size up to 64 GB and intelligent caching

algorithms greatly improve hit ratios and overall subsystem response
time. Symmetrix systems cache all read and write operations, making
them transparent to the host operating system.
Caching Algorithms Symmetrix systems proprietary caching algorithms search quickly

and efficiently to determine whether the requested data is in cache.
These algorithms also understand how the application accesses the
data and tune themselves accordingly in real time. The cache
management algorithms respond to channel requests to manage the
cache through the host processor software, when appropriate, and
perform the management functions independently when the host
processor does not make requests.
Fast Write Symmetrix systems cache write operations, eliminating the need to
Capabilities write data to the disk immediately. This capability results in faster
response times and improved overall subsystem performance.
Channel directors and disk directors dynamically allocate cache
space between reads and writes, depending on I/O activity.
Multiple Channel The Symmetrix system contains multiple channel directors, each
Directors supplying an independent path to cache from the host system. The
channel directors support connectivity to either mainframe systems
or open systems hosts. Following is a list of the Symmetrix channel
directors:
◆ Serial channel directors (mainframe hosts)
◆ Ultra SCSI or Ultra2 SCSI channel directors (open systems hosts)
◆ Fibre Channel directors (open systems hosts)
◆ Remote link channel directors used with SRDF and SDMS
For detailed information on each Symmetrix channel director, refer to
Directors and Cache Cards on page 1-14.

3
Symmetrix Host Symmetrix systems support open systems host connectivity to open
Connectivity UNIX, Windows NT and Windows 2000 systems, and AS/400
through FWD SCSI, Ultra SCSI, Ultra2 SCSI, and Fibre Channels.
Symmetrix systems support mainframe systems host connectivity
through ESCON channels.
Symmetrix systems support simultaneous connections to mainframe systems,

UNIX, and Windows NT and Windows 2000 when the required Symmetrix
ESP software is installed on the Symmetrix system.
Currently, Symmetrix systems do not support Fibre Channel connectivity to

AS/400 hosts.
Parallel Processing Each channel director and disk director contains two resident
microprocessors, and each disk device contains one resident
microprocessor. These microprocessors use advanced parallel
processing to reduce processing time and improve throughput.
Dynamic Mirror The Symmetrix Dynamic Mirror Service Policy (DMSP) is an

Service Policy enhancement to the adaptive algorithms in the Symmetrix
architecture that improves the performance of read operations in
mirrored, and Business Continuance Volume (BCV) environments.
The improved system performance is a result of the Symmetrix
system balancing the load between physical disk drives and disk
directors and minimizing actuator movement.
To achieve this improved performance, the Symmetrix system
measures and tracks I/O activities of logical volumes (including
business continuous volumes), physical volumes and disk directors.
Then, based on these measurements, Symmetrix directs read
operations for mirrored data to the appropriate mirror resulting in
the best overall performance of the Symmetrix system. As the access
patterns and workloads change, the dynamic algorithm analyzes the
new workloads and adjusts the service policies as needed.
For information about the Mirroring option, refer to Mirroring (RAID 1)

Option (Mission Critical/Business Critical) on page 4-5.

3
RPS Miss Elimination In Symmetrix systems, each disk device contains a dedicated
microprocessor and segmented data buffer that can temporarily store
data until the disk director is ready to read or write data. This
eliminates rotational position sensing (RPS) misses that occur in
conventional DASD when the heads are positioned over the desired
sector, but the channel path is not ready for read or write operations.
The segmented data buffer of the disk device allows multiple
operations to occur to the head/disk assemblies.
Channel Speeds Symmetrix system channel speeds (data transfer rate) and cable
and Cable Lengths lengths vary according to the type of channel director. This section
describes the data transfer rates and supported cable lengths for the
different channel directors.
Ultra SCSI and Ultra2 Ultra SCSI and Ultra2 SCSI channel directors support the following
SCSI Channels data transfer data rates:
◆ Ultra SCSI channel directors — up to 40 MB/s when connected to
Ultra SCSI channels
◆ Ultra2 SCSI channel directors — up to 80 MB/s when connected
to Ultra2 SCSI channels
◆ Ultra2 SCSI channel directors — 20 MB/s when connected to
FWD SCSI channels.
The data transfer rate is host dependent.
Cable Lengths
Symmetrix supports cable lengths of up to 82 feet (25 meters) to
connect to most SCSI host systems, up to 62 feet (19 meters) when
attaching to most Ultra SCSI host systems, and up to 39.37 feet
(12 meters) when attaching to most Ultra2 SCSI host systems.
For information on SCSI host adapters and cable requirements for your
Symmetrix system, consult your EMC sales representative.
Fibre Channels Fibre Channels transfer data at speeds to 100 MB/s. Symmetrix units
support cable lengths from 16 feet (5 meters) to 1,640 feet
(500 meters).
Serial Channels Symmetrix serial channels transfer data at speeds to 17 MB/s

depending on the host. Symmetrix systems support serial (ESCON)
fiber cable connections to 26.7 miles (43 km) using repeaters in
combination with multi-mode and single-mode connections.

3
PermaCache The PermaCache option allows you to permanently assign

Option mission-critical data requiring very high performance to cache
memory. A variable number of contiguous cylinders on the disk
devices can be reserved for PermaCache backup.
PermaCache is best used for infrequently accessed data that needs

instantaneous response because this data is normally not in cache
when it is requested. The Symmetrix large cache and intelligent
caching algorithms try to keep frequently accessed data in cache,
making its assignment to PermaCache unnecessary.
Other Symmetrix options that require cache area affect the amount of
cache memory available for PermaCache. For example, enabling the
RAID-S option (36 GB drives only) may require you to adjust
memory assignments by reducing the existing PermaCache area,
lowering the write pending ceiling of the system, or reducing the
number of Symmetrix RAID-S groups defined.
Memory Your system must be configured with more than the minimum (base)
Requirements amount of memory for it to use part of that memory as PermaCache.
To determine the minimum amount of memory for your Symmetrix
configuration, consult your EMC sales representative.
Power Failures If a power failure occurs, records that have been updated in
PermaCache will be destaged to disk.
Memory Board If a cache memory board requires on-line replacement, PermaCache

Replacement is unaffected, provided that the replacement board contains the same
amount of cache. Replacement with a smaller capacity cache requires
that the system be brought off line and reinitialized before
PermaCache will function.

3
Symmetrix Hyper-Volumes
Symmetrix Hyper-Volumes provide configuration flexibility by
allowing one physical device to be split into two or more logical
volumes. When splitting a single physical device into multiple logical
volumes, Symmetrix systems allow up to 128 logical volumes to
reside on one physical volume.
Configuration requirements for Symmetrix systems vary according to
the applications used. To configure logical volumes for optimum
Symmetrix system performance, consult your EMC Systems
Engineer.
Logical Volume The Symmetrix systems support a maximum of 8,000 logical

Mapping volumes. The supported number of logical volumes varies according
to the Symmetrix model and number of devices in the system.
The logical-to-physical relationship that you choose can
automatically apply to all devices in the unit. You can also customize
the logical-to-physical relationship on each device as well as the size
of each logical volume.
Example For example, if the logical-to-physical ratio chosen is 8:1, the logical
volume mapping that occurs is similar to that shown in Figure 3-1.
Although a Symmetrix system can support up to 8,000 logical volumes, the

allocation per SCSI director is limited to 960 logical volumes.
Volume 00 Volume 01 Volume 02 Volume 03

Volume 08 Volume 09 Volume 0A Volume 0B
Volume 0C Volume 0D Volume 0E Volume 0F

Volume 28 Volume 29 Volume 2A Volume 2B
Volume 2C Volume 2D Volume 2E Volume 2F
Disk 0 Disk 1 Disk 2 Disk 3
Figure 3-1 Logical Volume Mapping (8:1)

3
Symmetrix Meta Volumes

Several operating systems, such as Windows NT, some applications
software, and some open systems environments, require larger
volumes than are provided by standard Symmetrix physical disk
devices.
A meta volume is a logical volume set created from individual
physical disks to define volumes larger than the current Symmetrix
maximum Hyper-Volume size of approximately 16 GB. Meta
volumes are functionally the same as logical volume sets
implemented with host volume manager software.
Physically, a meta volume is two or more Symmetrix hyper-volumes
presented to a host as a single addressable device. The meta volume
consists of a “head device,” some number of “member devices”
(optional), and a “tail device.”
Meta Volume Size Symmetrix meta volumes can contain up to 255 devices and up to
Requirements 3.825 terabytes in size. Meta volumes can be composed of
non-sequential and non-adjacent volumes.
Meta Volume By allowing individual physical disk devices to be grouped together

Performance into a meta volume, and the capability of meta volume addressing,
Symmetrix enhances disk system functionality. To increase
throughput and further improve performance, Symmetrix provides
multiple I/O drive queues for meta volumes.
Accessing Data in a You can address data contained in a meta volume in two different
Meta Volume ways:
◆ Concatenated volumes
◆ Striped data
Concatenated Concatenated volumes are volume sets that are organized with the
Volumes first byte of data at the beginning of the first volume (Figure 3-2).
Addressing continues to the end of the first volume before any data
on the next volume is referenced. When writing to a concatenated
volume, the first slice of a physical disk device is filled, then the
second and so on, to subsequent physical disk devices.
Symmetrix Meta Volumes 3-7

3
Head Member Member Tail

Device Device Device Device
Figure 3-2 Concatenated Volumes
Striped Data Meta volume addressing by striping also joins multiple slices to form
a single volume. However, instead of using sequential address space,
striped volumes use addresses that are interleaved between slices
(Figure 3-3). In data striping, equal size stripes of data from each
participating drive are written alternately to each member of the set.
Head Member Member Tail

Device Device Device Device
Figure 3-3 Striped Data

Invisible Body Tag
4
Data Management
This chapter discusses the Symmetrix features and options that affect
data availability and reliability.
The Symmetrix system has many features and options to ensure a
high degree of system and data availability. Many of these features
and options are built into the Symmetrix design. Other availability
options may be purchased separately and implemented into the
Symmetrix system operation.
◆ Symmetrix Reliability and Availability Features...........................4-2
◆ Data Protection Options....................................................................4-5
Data Management 4-1

Data Management
4
Symmetrix Reliability and Availability Features

The Symmetrix system design offers the following reliability and
availability features:
◆ High reliability components
◆ Redundant power subsystem
◆ System battery backup
◆ Dual-Initiator feature
◆ Nondisruptive maintenance and microcode upgrades and loads
These basic Symmetrix features provide protection against loss of
system and data availability due to a power loss or failed component.
A redundant design allows the Symmetrix system to remain online
and operational during component repair. For example, if a power
supply fails, the remaining power supplies share the load until the
failed component is replaced. The system battery backup prevents
any loss of data due to a power failure.
Dynamic Symmetrix systems support dynamic reconfiguration activity

Reconfigurations without disruption to on line applications, such as:
◆ Establish/de-establish mirrored pairs
◆ Add/reallocate hyper-volumes
◆ Modify channel assignments or change emulation modes
Modification to channel assignments without disruption to on-line

applications can occur only if the application has an alternate path to the
data.
On-line SCSI-to-Fibre Symmetrix systems configured with SCSI channel directors can be
Channel Migration upgraded to Fibre Channel directors without taking non-SCSI
channels off line and without requiring a backup and restore of data.
This capability allows customers with SCSI channels to take
advantage of the connectivity and distance features offered with
Fibre Channel directors. EMC Customer Engineers use a utility to
perform the migration.
For more information on Fibre Channel migration, consult your EMC sales
representative.

Data Management
4
Symmetrix Data The Symmetrix system is designed with these data integrity features:
Integrity Protection ◆ Error checking, correction, and data integrity protection
Features ◆ Disk error correction and error verification
◆ Cache error correction and error verification
◆ Periodic system checks
Error verification prevents temporary errors from accumulating and
resulting in permanent data loss. Symmetrix systems also evaluate
the error verification frequency as a signal of a potentially failing
component.
The periodic system check tests all components as well as microcode
integrity. Symmetrix systems report errors and environmental
conditions to the host system as well as the EMC Customer Support
Center.
Disk Error Correction The disk directors use idle time to read data and check the
and Error polynomial correction bits for validity. If a disk read error occurs, the
Verification disk director reads all data on that track to Symmetrix cache memory.
The disk director writes several worst-case patterns to that track,
searching for media errors.
When the test completes, the disk director rewrites the data from
cache memory to the disk device, verifying the write operation. The
disk microprocessor maps around any bad block (or blocks) detected
during the worst-case write operation, thus skipping defects in the
media. If necessary, the disk microprocessor can reallocate up to 32
blocks of data on that track. To further safeguard the data, each disk
device has several spare cylinders available. If the number of bad
blocks per track exceeds 32 blocks, the disk director rewrites the data
to an available spare cylinder. This entire process is called error
verification.
The disk director increments a soft error counter with each bad block
detected. When the internal soft error threshold is reached, the
Symmetrix service processor automatically dials the EMC Customer
Support Center and notifies the host system of errors through sense
data. The Symmetrix system also invokes Dynamic Sparing (if the
Dynamic Sparing option is enabled). This feature maximizes data
availability by diagnosing marginal media errors before data
becomes unreadable.
Symmetrix Reliability and Availability Features 4-3

Data Management
4
Cache Error The disk directors use idle time to periodically read cache memory,
Correction and Error correct single-bit errors (one hard and one soft), and write the
Verification corrected data back to cache memory. This process is called “error
verification.” When the directors detect an uncorrectable error in
cache memory, Symmetrix reads the data from disk and takes the
defective cache memory block offline until an EMC Customer
Engineer can repair it.
Error verification maximizes data availability by significantly
reducing the probability of encountering an uncorrectable error by
preventing bit errors from accumulating in cache memory.
In the mainframe host environment, Symmetrix reports uncorrectable
bit errors as Equipment Checks to the CPU. These errors appear in
the IBM EREP file.

Data Management
4
Data Protection Options

Although the Symmetrix system has standard features that provide a
higher level of data availability than conventional DASD, the options
described in this section ensure an even greater level of data
recoverability and availability. These data protection options are
configurable at the physical volume level so that different levels of
protection can be applied to different datasets within the same
Symmetrix system.
You can choose from the following Symmetrix data protection
options to match your critical data requirements:
◆ Mirroring
◆ Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF)
◆ Symmetrix Remote Data Facility/Data Mobility (SRDF/DM)
◆ Dynamic Sparing
◆ RAID-S (36 GB drives only)
Mirroring (RAID 1) Mirroring (RAID 1) provides the highest performance, availability,

Option (Mission and functionality for all mission critical and business critical
Critical/Business applications. With the Mirroring option, Symmetrix systems maintain
Critical) two identical copies of a logical volume on separate disk devices.
Should the Symmetrix system be unable to read data from one of a
mirrored pair, it immediately retrieves the data from the other logical
volume.
The mirroring feature designates from two to four logical volumes
residing on different physical devices as a mirrored volume, one
volume being mirror-1 and the other volumes being mirror-2, mirror-3,
and mirror-4. The host views the mirrored volumes as the same logical
volume because each has the same unit address.
Advantages of Mirroring offers the following advantages:

Mirroring
◆ Improved performance over traditional mirroring (RAID 1) by
supporting 100 percent fast write and two simultaneous internal
data transfer paths
◆ Protection of mission critical data from any single point of failure
◆ Continuous business operation by switching to the alternate disk
device of a mirrored pair without interruption to data availability,
if loss of access occurs to one of the disk devices in a mirrored pair
Data Protection Options 4-5

Data Management
4
◆ Assurance that the second copy of data is identical to the first

copy
◆ Automatic resynchronization of the mirrored pair after repairing
the defective volume
For information about the mirroring and BCV devices, refer to Chapter 6,
EMC TimeFinder Operations.
Symmetrix Remote The Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) provides an automatic
Data Facility (SRDF) information protection and business continuance solution for
mainframe and open systems hosts. SRDF offers host-independent
data storage that duplicates production (source) site data at a logical
volume level to a recovery (target) site transparently to users,
applications, databases, and host processors.
When a primary (source) device is down, SRDF enables fast
switchover to the secondary (target) copy data so that critical
information is again available in minutes. SRDF provides complete
business continuance capability during the unlikely event of a data
center disaster or during planned events such as daily backups,
scheduled maintenance, and data center migrations or
consolidations. With SRDF, the Symmetrix systems can be as near as
adjacent to one another or hundreds of miles apart.
In either case, the same information protection capabilities are
provided. After a system event, SRDF can resynchronize data to the
source or to the target system at the user’s discretion, thereby
ensuring information and database consistency.
For more information about SRDF, refer to Chapter 5, Introduction to SRDF.
Symmetrix Remote The Symmetrix Remote Data Facility/Data Mobility (SRDF/DM) is a

Data Facility/Data special form of SRDF that permits operation in SRDF Adaptive Copy
Mobility mode only. Data can only be moved when the data is offline to its
application.
Dynamic Sparing Dynamic Sparing is another data protection option that you can use
in conjunction with mirroring, RAID-S (36 GB drives only), or SRDF.
Dynamic Sparing limits the exposure after drive failure and before
drive replacement.

Data Management
4
With Dynamic Sparing, the Symmetrix system maintains a small pool

of spare volumes that are used only when the system detects a
potentially failing device. These volumes are not user-addressable.
The Dynamic Sparing feature performs a fast copy of the data and
uses the spare until the original device can be replaced (Figure 4-1).
Data volume D1
protected by D1 DS
dynamic spare DS
D1 failing, dynamic
spare invoked
D1(M1) D1(M2)
DS mirrors D1
COPY DS
Failed disk
replaced and new D1(M1) D1(M2)
disk restored as D1
COPY DS
DS returns to
spares pool D1 DS
Figure 4-1 Dynamic Sparing Process
RAID-S Option The RAID-S option (available on 36 GB disk devices only) provides
(Business Online) high availability data with good performance and higher usable
storage capacity. The data protection feature is based on a 3+1 volume
configuration (3 data volumes to 1 parity volume).
RAID-S Advantages RAID-S offers the following advantages:

◆ High performance, even in the event of a disk failure within a
RAID-S group. When a disk fails, all logical volumes that were
not physically stored on the failed disk device perform at the level
typical of standard Symmetrix devices.
◆ Regardless of a disk failure within a RAID-S group, including
multiple disk failures, as long as the physical disk device is
operational, some of the data remains accessible.

Data Management
4
◆ Protects a volume requiring high availability from being a single

point of failure.
◆ Reduced front-end I/O operations for write operations improves
system performance.
◆ Automatically restores parity protection on the cache-level to the
RAID-S group after repair of a defective device.
RAID-S Technology RAID-S employs the same technique for generating parity
information as many other commercially available RAID solutions,
that is, the Boolean operation EXCLUSIVE OR (XOR). However,
Symmetrix RAID-S reduces the overhead associated with parity
computation by moving the operation from controller microcode to
the hardware on the XOR-capable disk drives. Additional XOR
hardware assist built into the Symmetrix cache memory boards
further distributes the XOR function throughout the system to
improve performance in the regeneration mode of operation
(Figure 4-2 on page 4-9).
The RAID-S data protection feature for all Symmetrix systems
achieved the RAID Advisory Board’s (RAB) second highest data
availability and protection classification — Failure Tolerant Disk
System Plus (FTDS+). All Symmetrix systems with SRDF and RAID-S
achieved the RAID Advisory Board’s highest availability and
protection classification — Disaster Tolerant Disk Systems Plus
(DTDS+).

Data Management
4
Generate A⊕B⊕C Parity
A B C ABC Parity
1111 1001 1100 1010
0110
Regenerate A data from B⊕ C⊕ Parity
A B C ABC Parity
1111 1001 1100 1010
0110
Regenerate B data from A⊕ C ⊕ Parity
A B C ABC Parity
1111 1001 1100 1010
0110
Figure 4-2 Parity Protection Logic
Data Protection RAID-S offers more usable capacity than a mirrored system
Flexibility containing the same number of disk drives. Like the mirroring or
Dynamic Sparing options, RAID-S parity protection can be
dynamically added or removed. For example, for higher performance
requirements and high availability, parity protection on a RAID-S
group can be turned off and the volumes in the RAID-S group
mirrored. Within the same Symmetrix system, data can be protected
through RAID-S, mirroring, and SRDF. Dynamic Sparing can be
added to any of these data protection options.

Data Management
4
RAID-S Components A RAID-S group consists of the physical disk devices within the
Symmetrix unit that are related to one another for common parity
protection. The RAID-S group is defined by the EMC Customer
Engineer at the time Symmetrix is installed, and includes disk
volumes that are designated as either data volumes or parity
volumes.

5
Introduction to SRDF
This chapter provides a description of SRDF configurations,

Symmetrix volume configuration and attributes, and SRDF modes of
operation.
◆ What Is SRDF? ....................................................................................5-2
◆ SRDF Volume Types ..........................................................................5-6
◆ Logical Volume States........................................................................5-9
◆ Logical Volume Attributes..............................................................5-13
◆ SRDF Director Hardware................................................................5-16
◆ SRDF Configurations.......................................................................5-17
◆ SRDF Link Protocols........................................................................5-26
◆ SRDF Link States ..............................................................................5-27
◆ Primary Modes of Operation .........................................................5-28
◆ Secondary Modes of Operation .....................................................5-30
◆ Concurrent RDF ...............................................................................5-33
◆ Consistency Groups.........................................................................5-34
◆ Write Operations ..............................................................................5-37
◆ Read Operations...............................................................................5-38
◆ Recovery Operations .......................................................................5-39
◆ Business Continuance Using SRDF ...............................................5-41
◆ Business Continuance Using SRDF and TimeFinder..................5-43
Introduction to SRDF 5-1

5
What Is SRDF?
Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF™) is a Symmetrix-based
business continuance and disaster recovery solution sold as a
separate license by EMC.
In simplest terms, SRDF is a configuration of Symmetrix units, the
purpose of which is to maintain multiple, real-time copies of logical
volume data in more than one location. The Symmetrix units can be
in the same room, in different buildings within the same campus, or
hundreds of kilometers apart.
By maintaining real-time copies of data in different physical
locations, SRDF enables you to perform the following operations
with minimal impact on normal business processing:
◆ Disaster recovery
◆ Recovery from planned outages
◆ Remote backup
◆ Data center migration
◆ Data Replication and Mobility
SRDF/Data Mobility SRDF/Data Mobility (SRDF/DM) is a special form of SRDF that

permits operation in SRDF Adaptive Copy mode only and is designed
for movement of offline data. This low-cost SRDF solution permits
data to be mirrored from one Symmetrix system to another, but
because the data arrives at the remote Symmetrix system
asynchronously, SRDF/DM is not recommended for operations that
require real-time mirroring such as disaster recovery.
SRDF/DM is sold as a separate license by EMC.
Local Versus Local mirroring, or RAID 1, is a method of protecting data by

Remote Mirroring maintaining data on both a production volume and a mirror volume
within the same storage unit. SRDF uses a method of data protection
known as remote mirroring. Remote mirroring is similar to local
mirroring, except that the production volume resides in one storage
unit while its remote mirrors (up to two remote mirrors are
supported with Concurrent SRDF) reside in a different storage unit.

5
Basic SRDF Figure 5-1 shows a basic SRDF configuration consisting of a

Configuration production site and a recovery site. At the production site, a local host
connects to Symmetrix A. The device containing the production data
to be remotely mirrored is called the primary (source) or R1 volume.
At the recovery site, a second host connects to Symmetrix B with the
secondary (target) or R2 volume containing the remotely mirrored
data. The Symmetrix units communicate through SRDF links.
Site A Site B
(Production) (Backup)
Local Remote
Host Host
Active Host Backup

Path Path
Symmetrix Symmetrix
A B
SRDF Links
R1 R2
Local Primary Local Secondary

Volume (Source) Volume Volume (Target) Volume
Figure 5-1 Basic SRDF Configuration
For an explanation of local, primary (source), and secondary (target)

volumes, refer to SRDF Volume Types on page 5-6.
What Is SRDF? 5-3

5
SRDF Configuration Figure 5-2 shows a more complex switched SRDF configuration using
Using Switched Fibre Fibre Channel switches connected through E-Ports. Note that in this
Channel configuration, multiple primary (source) R1 devices are remotely
connected through a storage area network (SAN) to multiple
secondary (target) R2 devices.
R2
R2
Switch Switch Switch
E_Port E_Port E_Port E_Port
R1
R1 R2
R1 = Primary (Source) Devices

R2 = Secondary (Target) Devices
Figure 5-2 Switched SRDF With Multiple Primary and Secondary Devices
SRDF Connectivity Symmetrix systems using SRDF communicate over a variety of

connectivity types using the following protocols:
◆ Fibre Channel — provides multimode or single-mode fiber
connections between the primary (source) and secondary (target)
devices on Symmetrix systems either through a point-to-point or
a switched fabric network.
◆ ESCON® — provides SRDF campus and extended distance
solutions using either straight multimode fiber or a combination
of fiber and other media types for:
• SRDF Campus — uses multimode fiber for direct connections
between the local and remote Symmetrix systems, or a
combination of multimode and single-mode through
converters.
• SRDF Extended Distance — uses multimode fiber connected
through local converters to leased T1, E1, T3, E3, or ATM
high-speed data lines.

5
• SRDF Over IP — encapsulates SRDF data frames in IP packets

and uses multimode fiber connected through local converters
to the customer’s IP network (100BASE-T).
Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) allows multiple channels of

data to be transmitted over the same fiber links. Both ESCON and Fibre
Channel SRDF support DWDM. However, EMC Fibre Channel SRDF
support for DWDM is limited to ISL (inter switch link).
The approximate distance limitations associated with each media

type are shown in Table 5-1.
Table 5-1 SRDF Connectivity Types and Distance Limitations
Primary SRDF Link Connectivity Type Distance Limitations
SRDF over ESCON Direct Fiber, Multimode (62.5/125 µm cable) 3 km/cable segment
(50/125 µm cable) 2 km/cable segment
Fiber Repeaters/Converters* using 9µm cable 20 - 30 km/cable segment

based on manufacturer
*3 converter/repeater maximum
DWDM, WDM, (MAN) 60+ km
LAN/WAN - T1/E1,T3/E3, ATM, IP Unlimited
SRDF over Fibre Channel Direct Fiber, Multimode(50/125 µm cable) 500 m/cable segment
(62.5/125 µm cable) 300 m/cable segment
Direct Fiber, Single-Mode using 9 µm cable 10 km/cable segment
Fibre Channel Switch to Fibre Channel Switch 20 km total
DWDM (using Fibre Channel switches) 60+ km
Monitoring and An EMC representative installs and initially configures SRDF at your
Controlling SRDF site using the Symmetrix service processor.
After SDRF is up and running, you can monitor and control its
operation by purchasing the appropriate EMC ControlCenter Base
Component software and the appropriate SRDF or TimeFinder™
Control Option software from EMC.
For information about EMC ControlCenter software, contact your
EMC representative.
What Is SRDF? 5-5

5
SRDF Volume Types

SRDF refers to Symmetrix volumes as:
◆ Primary or source volumes (R1)
◆ Secondary or target volumes (R2)
◆ Local volumes
In the context of this discussion, volumes are synonymous with devices.
In Symmetrix Enginuity microcode version 5x64 and later, you can

assign additional primary (source) and secondary (target) volume
pairs without halting SRDF operations. This eliminates the need to
perform an initial Enginuity microcode program load (IMPL) when
you add new data volumes.
Primary (Source) Primary (source) volumes contain production data that is mirrored in
Volumes a different Symmetrix unit. Primary or source volumes are also
referred to as R1 volumes. Updates to a primary volume are
automatically copied to a secondary (target) volume in the other
Symmetrix unit.
Primary volumes can be locally protected by:
◆ A dynamic spare (refer to Dynamic Spares on page 5-7 for more
information)
◆ Conventional mirroring (the primary volume is then referred to
as a mirrored pair)
◆ RAID-S protection (the primary volume is a RAID-S data volume
array)
In addition, a primary volume can be paired with a Business
Continuance Volume (BCV) to provide an additional working copy of
the data at the same location.

5
Secondary (Target) Secondary (target) volumes contain a mirrored copy of data from a
Volumes primary volume. Secondary (target) volumes are also referred to as
R2 volumes.
As with primary volumes, secondary volumes can be locally
protected by:
◆ A dynamic spare
◆ Conventional mirroring (the secondary volume is then referred to
as a mirrored pair)
◆ RAID-S protection (the secondary volume is actually a RAID-S
data volume array)
A secondary volume can also be paired with a BCV to provide an
additional working copy of the data at the same location.
Local Volumes Local volumes can reside on an SRDF-enabled Symmetrix system,

but they do not participate in SRDF activity. Local volumes are
typically protected either by local mirroring, RAID-S, or a dynamic
spare.
Dynamic Spares Typically, when a disk drive fails, it does not fail suddenly — it fails
over a period of time during which it gives clues that it is failing. The
Symmetrix system monitors the performance of all its disk drives and
can detect when a disk is failing.
A Symmetrix unit can be configured with physical disk devices
known as dynamic spares, or hot spares. As the name suggests, the
purpose of a dynamic spare is to take the place of a failed or failing
disk device. If a disk drive begins to fail, the Symmetrix system
automatically invokes the dynamic spare.
When a dynamic spare is invoked, it contains no data; the data from
the failed disk must be transferred to the dynamic spare. To do this, a
mirror disk (a disk containing a copy of the data on the failed disk) is
used. The Symmetrix system copies the data from the next available
mirror — in other words, if there is a local mirror (a mirror disk within
the same Symmetrix unit), the Symmetrix system uses the local
mirror. If there is only a remote mirror, the Symmetrix system uses
the remote mirror.
SRDF Volume Types 5-7

5
If a disk fails completely and has no mirror, a dynamic spare cannot

be invoked because there is no way to copy the data from the failed
disk. If a disk is failing but has not failed completely, a dynamic spare
can be invoked. However, if the failing disk corrupted its data, the
dynamic spare will receive the corrupted data. Therefore, it is always
best to invoke a dynamic spare using a fully functioning mirror of the
failed or failing disk.
In an SRDF configuration, if the failed device has a corresponding
device on the other side of the SRDF link, the Symmetrix system
containing the failed device automatically informs the other
Symmetrix system that a dynamic spare was invoked.
Meta Devices In Enginuity microcode version 5265 and later, you can create a
logical device that spans multiple physical devices. This device is
known as a meta device.
Windows NT® supports only logical drives A through Z. If you have
more than 23 physical devices (drives A and B are typically reserved
and C is the boot drive), you can create logical drives that span
multiple physical devices to take advantage of all potential storage.
For example, you could create a drive F that spans two or more
physical devices.
In an SRDF configuration, you can create meta devices for both
primary and secondary volumes.

5
Logical Volume States

This section describes the device states that an SRDF logical volume
(source (R1) or target (R2)) reflects to the host connected to that
Symmetrix unit. These device states can be:
◆ Not Ready (NR)
◆ Write-Disabled (read-only) (RO)
◆ Write-Enabled (RW)
Understanding how the three device states of an SRDF logical
volume are achieved is fundamental to grasping the concepts of
SRDF operation.
! CAUTION
Make sure you fully comprehend this section before attempting
any SRDF operations.
These device states are determined by a combination of two

substates:
◆ The device SRDF substate (SRDF view)
◆ The device channel interface substate (host view)
In general, you can look at the two substates as two layers:
◆ An internal layer — the SRDF state
◆ An external layer — the device channel interface state
These two layers are configured by different sets of internal
Symmetrix parameters. The state ultimately seen by the host is
determined by the combination of the two device states. Table 5-2 on
page 5-12 and Table 5-3 on page 5-12 summarize the device states
seen by the host as determined by the individual substates. For
example, only when a device is write-enabled for both the channel
state and the SRDF state, can the host write to the device.
The following sections describe these two substates and how the
various device substate combinations determine the actual overall
device state reflected to the host.
Logical Volume States 5-9

5
Internal State Layer This section lists the substates in which a source (R1) or target (R2)
volume can be for SRDF operations.
Source (R1) Volume A source (R1) volume can be in one of the states listed below for
States SRDF operations:
◆ Read/Write (RW)
In this state, the source (R1) volume is available for read/write
operations. This is the default source (R1) volume state.
◆ Not Ready (NR)
If the source (R1) volume fails, the host continues to see that
volume as available for read/write operations as all reads and/or
writes continue uninterrupted with the target (R2) volume in that
remotely mirrored pair.
Target (R2) Volume A target (R2) volume can be in one of the three states listed below for
States SRDF operations:
◆ Not Ready (NR)
In this state, the target (R2) volume responds intervention
required/unit not ready to the host for all read and write
operations to that volume. The target (R2) volume is unable to
perform any SRDF operations when in this state.
◆ Write-Disabled (RO)
In this state, the target (R2) volume is available for read-only
operations. This is the default target (R2) volume state.
◆ Read/Write (RW)
In this state, the target (R2) volume is available for read/write
operations.
In normal SRDF operation, a target (R2) volume should only change state
between read-only and read/write.

5
External State Layer This section lists the substates in which a source (R1) or target (R2)
volume can be for host operations. This represents the channel
interface states.
Source (R1) Volume A source (R1) volume can be in one of the three states listed below.
States This state is seen by the host connected to the Symmetrix unit in
which that volume resides.
In this state, the source (R1) volume is online to the host and
available for read/write operations. This is the default source
(R1) volume state.
In this state, the source (R1) volume responds device
write-protected to the host for all write operations to that
volume.
◆ Not Ready (NR)
In this state, the source (R1) volume responds intervention
required/unit not ready to the host for all host accesses to that
volume.
Target (R2) Volume A target (R2) volume can be in one of the following three states. This
States state is seen by the host connected to the Symmetrix unit in which
that volume resides.
In this state, the target (R2) volume is available for read/write
operations. This is the default target (R2) volume state.
Note that since the default SRDF substate is read-only (RO), the overall
default target (R2) volume device state is read-only (RO).
In this state, the target (R2) volume is not available for write
operations from any host that can access that volume.
◆ Not Ready (NR)
In this state, the target (R2) volume responds intervention
required/unit not ready to the host for all host accesses to that
volume.
Logical Volume States 5-11

5
Host Accessibility The tables in this section describe the accessibility state of the source
(R1) and target (R2) volumes to the host connected to the Symmetrix
system containing the source (R1) volumes.
Host access to a particular Symmetrix volume depends on both the
host and SRDF view of that volume’s state. Table 5-2 lists the
accessibility for a source (R1) volume. Table 5-3 lists the accessibility
for a target (R2) volume.
Table 5-2 Source (R1) Volume Accessibility
Channel Interface State SRDF View State Accessibility
Write-Enabled (RW) Read/Write (RW) Read/Write (RW)
Write-Enabled (RW) Not Ready (NR) depends on target (R2) volume

availability
Write-Disabled (RO) Read/Write (RW) Read-Only (RO)
Write-Disabled (RO) Not Ready (NR) depends on target (R2) volume

availability
Not Ready (NR) Read/Write (RW) unavailable
Not Ready (NR) Not Ready (NR) unavailable
Table 5-3 Target (R2) Volume Accessibility
Channel Interface State SRDF View State Accessibility
Write-Enabled (RW) Not Ready (NR) Unavailable
Write-Enabled (RW) Read Only (RO) Read Only (RO)
Write-Enabled (RW) Read/Write (RW) Read/Write (RW)
Write-Disabled (RO) Not Ready (NR) Unavailable
Write-Disabled (RO) Read Only (RO) Read Only (RO)
Write-Disabled (RO) Read/Write (RW) Read Only (RO)
Not Ready (NR) Not Ready (NR) Unavailable
Not Ready (NR) Read Only (RO) Unavailable
Not Ready (NR) Read/Write (WR) Unavailable
Refer to SRDF Link Protocols on page 5-26 for more in-depth

information about device states in each phase of SRDF operation.

5
Logical Volume Attributes

This section describes attributes that can be assigned to the source
(R1) volumes in a Symmetrix unit. These attributes are set at the
logical volume level.
A source (R1) volume can have one or more attributes assigned to it.
Table 5-4 lists the possible combinations of attributes that can
describe an SRDF volume at any one time.
Table 5-4 Logical Volume Attributes
Adap Copy Adap Copy Domino

SRDF Volume SYNC SEMI-SYNC Write-Pending Disk Mode Effect
Source (R1) X – – – –
Source (R1) X – X – –
Source (R1) X – – X –
Source (R1) X – – – X
Source (R1) – X – – –
Source (R1) – X X – –
Source (R1) – X – X –
SYNC This attribute sets the remotely mirrored pair to the synchronous state.
In this state, the Symmetrix unit informs the host with access to that
volume that an I/O sequence has successfully completed only after
the Symmetrix unit containing the target (R2) volume acknowledges
that it has received and checked the data.
In an open systems environment, the Symmetrix unit containing the
source (R1) volume handles each I/O command separately and
informs the host of successful completion when the Symmetrix unit
containing the target (R2) volume checks and acknowledges the
receipt of the data.
This state ensures full synchronization between the source (R1) and
target (R2) volumes prior to the start of a new I/O sequence.
SEMI-SYNC This attribute sets the remotely mirrored pair to the semi-synchronous
state. In this state, the Symmetrix unit containing the source (R1)
volume informs the host of successful completion of the I/O
operation when it receives the data. The remote link director (RLD)
Logical Volume Attributes 5-13

5
transfers each write to the target (R2) volume as the link path
becomes available. The Symmetrix unit containing the target (R2)
volume checks and acknowledges the receipt of each write. If a new
write is started for a source (R1) volume before the previous write has
completed to the target (R2) volume, the Symmetrix unit containing
the source (R1) volume temporarily disconnects from the host. Once
the previous write operation is completed and acknowledged from
the other Symmetrix unit, it then reconnects to the host and continues
processing.
This state is typically used in Extended Distance configurations to
minimize the impact on performance. It is also used in situations
where the Symmetrix unit containing the source (R1) volume needs
high performance but can tolerate a one I/O gap in data
synchronization.
Adaptive Copy - Write This attribute, when set, affects the synchronized state of the remotely
Pending (AW) mirrored pair. When this attribute is enabled, the Symmetrix unit
acknowledges all writes to the source (R1) volume as if it was a local
volume. The new data accumulates in cache until it is successfully
written to the source (R1) volume and the RLD has transferred the
write to the target (R2) volume. This attribute also has a
user-configurable skew (write-pending) threshold, that, when
exceeded, causes the remotely mirrored pair to operate in the
predetermined SRDF state (synchronous or semi-synchronous) when
this mode is in effect. As soon as the number of write pendings drops
below this value, the remotely mirrored pair reverts back to the AW
state. The skew is configured at the volume level and may be set to a
value between 1 and 65,535.
Adaptive Copy - Disk This attribute when set, affects the synchronized state of the remotely
(AD) mirrored pair. When this attribute is enabled, the Symmetrix unit
acknowledges all writes to source (R1) volumes as if they were local
volumes. New data accumulates as invalid tracks on the source (R1)
volume for subsequent transfer to the target (R2) volume. The RLD
transfers each write to the target (R2) volume whenever a link path
becomes available. This attribute also has a user-configurable skew
(maximum number of invalid tracks threshold) that, when exceeded,
causes the remotely mirrored volume to operate in the predetermined
SRDF state (synchronous or semi-synchronous) when this mode is in
effect. As soon as the number of invalid tracks drops for a volume
below this value, the remotely mirrored pair reverts back to the AD
mode. The skew is configured at the Symmetrix level and may be set
to a value between 1 and 9,999.

5
Domino Effect This attribute, when set along with the SYNC attribute, ensures that
the data on the source (R1) and target (R2) volumes are fully
synchronized. When this attribute is enabled, the Symmetrix unit
forces the other SRDF (source (R1) or target (R2)) volume to the not
ready state and responds intervention required/unit not ready
to the host whenever it detects that one volume in a remotely
mirrored pair is unavailable or a link failure has occurred. After the
problem has been corrected, the not ready volume must be made
ready again to the host using the SRDF utilities. If the failed volume
or link is still not available when the SRDF volume is made ready, the
volume remains not ready.
Under normal operating conditions (domino effect not enabled), a
remotely mirrored volume continues processing I/Os with its host
even when an SRDF volume or link failure occurs. New data written
to the source (R1) or target (R2) volume while its pair is unavailable
or link paths are out of service are marked for later transfer. When a
link path is re-established or the volume becomes available,
resynchronization begins between the source (R1) and target (R2)
volumes. Each source (R1) volume notifies the host when
synchronization completes on that volume.
Logical Volume Attributes 5-15

5
SRDF Director Hardware

SRDF director hardware provides the communications transport
layer for SRDF data and information exchanges between Symmetrix
units.
SRDF director hardware consists of two types of adapters:
◆ ESCON remote adapters (RAs)
◆ Fibre Channel remote adapters (RAFs or RFs)
ESCON Remote ESCON remote adapters, known as RAs, are board sets that can
Adapters provide the link connections, fiber optic protocol support, and
communications control between two Symmetrix units in an SRDF
configuration.
The RA board set that sends data across an SRDF link is known as an
RA-1. An RA-1 functions like an IBM ESCON host channel interface.
The RA board set that receives data sent across an SRDF link is
known as an RA-2. An RA-2 functions like an IBM ESCON storage
director interface.
An ESCON SRDF link consists of an RA-1 board set in one Symmetrix
unit, an RA-2 board set in another Symmetrix unit, and a fiber cable
connecting them.
An RA-1 and its corresponding RA-2 are known as an RA pair. With
Symmetrix 4.x models, there can be multiple RA pairs in an SRDF
configuration, up to a maximum of 16 pairs. With Symmetrix 5
models, an optional four-processor ESCON board can be used for
SRDF, providing a maximum of 32 pairs.
Fibre Channel Enginuity microcode versions 5x66 and later support SRDF Fibre
Remote Adapter Channel emulation. The Remote Adapter for Fibre (RAF or RF) is a
two-port Fibre Channel board set that is Enginuity-configured as the
link between Symmetrix units in an SRDF or Open Systems SDMS
configuration.

5
SRDF Configurations
This section provides examples of typical SRDF configurations.
In Figure 5-3, two production sites (A and C) send data across SRDF
links to one recovery site (B).
Site A Site B Site C

(Production) (Recovery) (Production)
Local Remote Local

Host Host Host
Active Host Recovery Active Host

Path Path Path
Symmetrix A Symmetrix B Symmetrix C
SRDF Link SRDF Link
R1 R2 R2 R1
Local Volume R1 Source Volume R2 Target Volume
Figure 5-3 Two Production Sites and One Recovery Site
In Figure 5-4, one recovery site (G) provides a data vaulting solution
for six production sites (A through F).
SRDF Configurations 5-17

5
Site G acts as a Data Vaulting

Site G site for Sites A, B, C, D, E, and F
Site D Site E Site F
Figure 5-4 Data Vaulting Solution
Figure 5-5 illustrates the versatility of SRDF — some sites have either
primary (R1) or secondary (R2) devices, while other sites have both
primary (R1) and secondary (R2) devices.

5
Symmetrix D
Symmetrix E Symmetrix C
R2 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
R1 R1 R2 R1
Symmetrix F Symmetrix B
R1 = Source Volumes
R2 R1
R2 = Target Volumes
Symmetrix G Symmetrix A
Figure 5-5 Sites Containing Both Primary and Secondary Devices
SRDF Campus The SRDF campus solution enables Symmetrix units to be up to 66

Solution kilometers apart. The campus solution uses multimode or
single-mode private or leased common carrier IBM ESCON fiber
cable, link extenders, Fibre Channel, and/or dynamic switches.
Figure 5-6 illustrates one example of the SRDF campus solution.
Local Symmetrix Remote Symmetrix
ESCON Multimode Jumper Cable

Link extender Link extender Link extender
30k 30k
RA Single-Mode Fiber Cable RA
Figure 5-6 SRDF Campus Solution

5
Figure 5-7 provides examples of host channel and SRDF connections

available through either point-to-point (ESCON or Fibre Channel) or
switched (Fibre Channel) SRDF networks. Many other combinations
of the number of host and SRDF connections are available. Your EMC
Systems Engineer can assist you in determining the best combination
for your site.
Two Concurrent I/O ESCON Two Concurrent I/O Fibre Channel (FC)
Point-to-Point Connections Point-to-Point Connections
14 Host Connections and 2 SRDF Connections 14 Host Connections and 2 SRDF Connections
Hosts Hosts
R1 R1 R1 R1 R2 R2
R2 R2
R1 R1 R1 R1 R2 R2
R2 R2
Switched Fibre Channel (FC) Connections

8, 16, or 32 Host Channel or SRDF Connections
Four Concurrent I/O ESCON
Point-to-Point Connections
28 Host Connections and 4 SRDF Connections
R2
Hosts
R2
R2
R2
R1 R1
R1 R1 R2 R1 R1
R1 R1 R2
R2
Fibre Channel
Switch
R1 = Primary (Source) Volumes
R2
R2 = Secondary (Target) Volumes
Figure 5-7 SRDF Campus Connectivity
Figure 5-8 shows switched SRDF (using Fibre Channel) in either a

fan-out (a single Symmetrix unit to multiple Symmetrix units) or
fan-in (multiple Symmetrix units to a single Symmetrix unit)
configuration.

5
Switched SRDF Fan-Out Configuration Switched SRDF Fan-In Configuration
R2 R1
Switch
R2 R1 Switch
R1 R1
R2 R2
R1 R1
R2 R2
Symmetrix 8430/8730 R2 R1 Symmetrix 8430/8730
R2
R1
R1 = Primary (Source) Volumes
R2 = Secondary (Target) Volumes
Figure 5-8 Switched SRDF Configurations
Extended Distance The extended distance solution is used most often for distances over
Solution 60 km, but it can also be used for distances under 60 km if private or
leased ESCON fiber cable is too expensive or not available.
Figure 5-9 illustrates non-networked and networked extended
distance solutions.
Extended Distance The ESCON SRDF extended distance solution uses leased T1, E1, T3,
Solution Over ESCON E3, or ATM high-speed data lines instead of ESCON fiber cables. An
architectural converter (ESCON multimode-to-network converter)
delivers all data frames. Two architectural extender units, one local
and one remote, can support multiple SRDF links based on the type
of extended distance equipment. Consult with your extended
distance vendor or EMC Systems Engineer for details.
Extended Distance Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) is supported by EMC

Solution Using DWDM for both SRDF over ESCON and SRDF over Fibre Channel. DWDM
allows multiple data formats transmitted at different rates to be
carried at different wavelengths over the same fiber links. Fibre
Channel support is limited to DWDM use in ISL (inter switch link)
connections.

5
SRDF Over IP EMC provides SRDF over IP (Internet Protocol) networks as a

business continuity and data replication solution. Where remote
mirroring was previously done over dedicated T1, T3 or ATM lines,
SRDF over IP allows much more flexibility in physical locations of the
local and remote Symmetrix systems, and provides a more
cost-effective solution.
SRDF over IP technology encapsulates SRDF data frames in standard
IP packets. These IP packets are sent over a high-speed IP network to
the remote Symmetrix unit and converted back to SRDF data frames.
The SRDF-to-IP converters (called SRDF gateways) connect to the RA
ports on the local and remote Symmetrix systems, and transfer data
through an IP connection consisting of two Fast Ethernet
(100BASE-T) links.
The SRDF gateways use data compression over a routed,
connectionless network to ensure high throughput and efficient data
transmission. Figure 5-9 illustrates SRDF over IP using the
customer’s WAN.
3
Campus A Campus B
ESCON
Channel
R1
Extension
R2 1 R1
R2
R1 SRDF over IP R2
R1 ED-1032
FC Switch
WAN/ATM
DS-16
R1 FC Switch
R1 - or - R2
R2
R2 R2 BCV
2
R1
DWDM - Fibre Channel R2
R2 Extended Distance
R2
BCV
Multi-Hop Extended Distance Solutions
1. SRDF Over IP
2. DWDM (ESCON or Fibre Channel - ISL only)
R2 3. ESCON Channel Extension
Figure 5-9 SRDF Extended Distance Solutions

5
SRDF FarPoint SRDF FarPoint™ is an SRDF feature used with ESCON extended
distance solutions (and ESCON campus solutions with links greater
than 15 km) to optimize the performance of the SRDF links. This
feature works by allowing each RA to transmit multiple I/Os, in
series, over each SRDF link.
Standard SRDF Without FarPoint

The standard ESCON SRDF protocol (without SRDF FarPoint) allows
only one write I/O to occupy a communication link at a given time.
The next write I/O occurs only after the remote Symmetrix unit has
acknowledged receipt of the previous I/O from the local Symmetrix
unit and an ending status is presented to the local Symmetrix unit
as shown in the top half of Figure 5-10.
Symmetrix SRDF without FarPoint Symmetrix
Data
Response
Symmetrix Symmetrix
SRDF with FarPoint
Data Data Data
Response Response Response
Figure 5-10 SRDF With and Without FarPoint
SRDF With FarPoint

With SRDF FarPoint, a single remote adapter can serially transmit
more than one write I/O over the SRDF link (with up to one
outstanding I/O per logical volume). This method (referred to as
pipelining) enables the SRDF communication link to be more fully

5
utilized, depending on the distribution of application I/O write

activity across multiple logical volumes. The number of write I/Os
that can be placed on the link at one time is determined by the
capacity of the type of SRDF link being used. With Enginuity level
5x67 or later, multiple copy tasks can be placed on the SRDF link for a
single logical volume.
Preserving Synchronization
From the point of view of the host, FarPoint does not change the
SRDF protocol — the Symmetrix system still returns a completion
status to the host only after the write operation is performed on the
remote machine. Without FarPoint, the Symmetrix unit waits for one
write operation to complete before sending the next one. With
FarPoint, the Symmetrix unit, while waiting for the status of the first
write operation, uses the free link bandwidth to send the next write
operation. Interaction with the host remains unchanged, so the
Journal Zero condition is fully preserved, and the data on the
remote RDF device is 100 percent consistent from the host's point of
view.
Servicing Remote Reads

Remote read operations (mainly used for recovery purposes), as well
as other special I/Os, are serviced using the standard SRDF protocol
(without FarPoint). This solution is slower but safer, which is a
priority when dealing with data recovery. In this situation, the write
pipeline is cleared before any read operations are performed.
Handling I/O Failures

In a system failure, the host's point of view is always the most
important consideration. If failover is necessary, a consistent view of
the data exists on the secondary Symmetrix unit except for the open
write tasks that have not yet been acknowledged to the host. These
open write operations may or may not be written on the remote
Symmetrix unit.
This situation can also occur without FarPoint, except that more
tracks may be involved because of the pipelining. The solution to this
problem is identical to the solution without FarPoint: the application
must keep enough tracking information (such as log files) to allow it
to resolve any inconsistencies in the data. Any application that uses
logging (such as a database application) should bring the secondary
Symmetrix unit to a consistent state reflecting the moment of failure.

5
Performance Impact of FarPoint

A system using FarPoint can improve performance substantially
depending on the length of the T3 link. Even on a short link, the
FarPoint solution may provide some benefits.
Following are a few notes regarding performance improvements:
◆ The service time for each write operation cannot be reduced
below twice the propagation time across the link. On very long
links you should still expect long response times in Journal
Zero mode. In Journal One mode, where a write operation may
be acknowledged to the host without waiting for the status, the
response times may still be short.
◆ Write operations to a single device are still serialized by the host,
so in the case of a journal zero device, a new write operation does
not start until the previous write operation to that device receives
a status from the remote system. This means that the maximum
number of write operations per device is still low, and using
FarPoint in this situation does not improve system performance.

5
SRDF Link Protocols

The links between a given pair of Symmetrix units in an SRDF
configuration can use one of the following protocols for transmitting
data:
◆ Unidirectional
◆ Bidirectional
◆ Dual-Directional
SRDF Unidirectional If all primary volumes reside in one Symmetrix unit and all
Link Protocol secondary (secondary) volumes reside in another Symmetrix unit,
write operations move in one direction, from primary to secondary. A
unidirectional link protocol, in which data moves in the same direction
over every link in the link group, satisfies this scenario.
SRDF Bidirectional If each Symmetrix unit contains both primary and secondary
Link Protocol volumes, write operations move in both directions over the SRDF
link group. For an SRDF configuration in which the Symmetrix units
are relatively close together (less than 60 km apart), a bidirectional link
protocol can be used. With a bidirectional protocol, data moves in
two directions over the same link.
SRDF For extended-distance SRDF configurations (using E1, E3, T1, T3, and
Dual-Directional ATM links and/or network connections) that require data to move in
Link Protocol two directions, a dual-directional link protocol is required. With a
dual-directional protocol, multiple links are used; some links send
data in one direction, while other links send data in the opposite
direction.

5
SRDF Link States

There are four possible states for SRDF links:
The link is enabled only when the Symmetrix remote adapter is online and
the link is operational.
◆ Remote adapter is in IMPL (initial microprogram load) monitor

mode — link disabled
◆ Remote adapter is offline (the operator panel switch on the
Remote adapter is off) — link disabled
◆ Remote adapter is online but the link is offline (damaged or
disconnected cable) — link disabled
◆ Remote adapter is online and the link is online (operational) —
link enabled
If any link in a group is operational, the primary (source) and
secondary (target) devices in the group can communicate. Primary
and secondary devices may be placed in Ready or Not Ready states
on the links. If a link fails, the Symmetrix unit retains the last known
logical states for the affected devices. In other words, if a device is in a
ready state before a link failure, it is restored to a Ready state. If a
device is in a Not Ready state before a link failure, it is restored in a
Not Ready state.
SRDF Link States 5-27

5
Primary Modes of Operation

You select modes of operation for individual devices and manage
these modes at the logical volume level.
SRDF/Data Mobility is not available in synchronous or semi-synchronous

modes, but is supported in Adaptive Copy mode only. Refer to Adaptive
Copying Modes on page 5-30 for more information.
Synchronous Mode Used mainly for the campus solution, synchronous mode maintains a
(Real-Time or real-time mirror image of data between the primary and secondary
Journal 0 Mode) volumes. Data must be successfully stored in both the local and
remote Symmetrix units before an acknowledgment is sent to the
local host.
Synchronous mode provides real-time mirroring of data between the
local Symmetrix system and the remote Symmetrix system. Data is
written simultaneously to the cache of both systems — in real time —
before the application I/O is completed, ensuring the highest
possible data availability as shown in the following steps:
1. The local Symmetrix system containing the primary or source
volume receives a write operation from the user application.
2. The write operation immediately moves to the remote Symmetrix
system (containing the secondary or target volume); the local
Symmetrix system does not accept additional write operations to
the primary volume.
3. The remote Symmetrix system sends an acknowledgment to the
local Symmetrix system.
4. The local Symmetrix system sends an I/O complete message to
the local host; the local Symmetrix system now accepts additional
write operations to the primary volume.
Semi-Synchronous Used mainly for the extended distance solution, semi-synchronous

Mode (Journal 1 mode allows the primary and secondary volumes to be out of
Mode) synchronization by one write I/O operation. Data must be
successfully stored in the Symmetrix unit containing the primary
volume before an acknowledgment is sent to the local host.
Semi-synchronous mode will not allow the next write operation to be
made to the local Symmetrix system until a positive

5
acknowledgement is received from the remote Symmetrix system

that the first write operation was received in the remote Symmetrix
cache. However, any number of read operations can be performed
while awaiting acknowledgement of the first write operation.
Semi-synchronous mode writes data to the local system, completes
the I/O, and then synchronizes the data with the remote system as
shown in the following steps:
Because the I/O is completed before synchronizing data with the remote
system, the semi-synchronous mode provides an added performance
advantage.
1. The local Symmetrix system containing the primary volume

receives a write operation from the user application.
2. The local Symmetrix system sends an I/O complete message to
the local host. The user application now considers the I/O to be
complete.
3. Read operations continue normally. A second write I/O will not
be accepted.
4. Data moves to the remote Symmetrix system containing the
secondary volume.
5. The remote Symmetrix system sends an acknowledgement to the
local Symmetrix system.
6. When the acknowledgement is received, another write I/O can be
accepted.
Primary Modes of Operation 5-29

5
Secondary Modes of Operation

Secondary modes are used in conjunction with the primary
operational modes described in Primary Modes of Operation on
page 5-28.
SRDF/Data Mobility is available in Adaptive Copy mode only. EMC further

recommends that you use SRDF/Data Mobility in Adaptive Copy-Disk mode
for best performance.
Secondary modes include:

◆ Adaptive Copying modes
• Adaptive Copy-Write Pending mode
• Adaptive Copy-Disk mode
◆ Domino modes
• Device Domino mode
• Link Domino mode
Adaptive Copying Adaptive copying modes facilitate data sharing and migration. These
Modes modes allow the primary and secondary volumes to be more than
one I/O out of synchronization. The maximum number of I/Os that
can be out of synchronization is known as the maximum skew value.
The default value is equal to the entire logical volume. The maximum
skew value for a volume can be set using the SRDF monitoring and
control software.
There are two adaptive copying modes: Adaptive Copy-Write
Pending (AW) mode and Adaptive Copy-Disk (AD) mode. Both
modes allow write tasks to accumulate on the local system before
being sent to the remote system.
Adaptive Copy-Write With Adaptive Copy-Write Pending mode, write tasks accumulate in
Pending Mode local cache. A background process moves, or destages, the
write-pending tasks to the primary volume and its corresponding
secondary volume on the other side of the SRDF link. When the
maximum skew value is reached, the source volume reverts to its
primary mode of operation, either synchronous or semi-synchronous,
whichever is currently specified. The device remains in the primary
mode until the number of tracks to remotely copy becomes less than
the maximum skew value.

5
Adaptive Copy-Write Pending mode reverts to the currently specified

primary mode (synchronous or semi-synchronous) if 75% of the
write-pending limit for the system is reached, regardless of whether the
maximum skew value is reached.
The advantage to this mode is that it is typically faster to read data

from cache than from disk. The disadvantage is that cache is
temporarily consumed by the data until it moves to disk.
Adaptive Copy Disk Adaptive Copy-Disk mode is similar to Adaptive Copy-Write

Mode Pending mode, except that write tasks accumulate on the primary
volume rather than in local cache. A background process destages the
write tasks to the corresponding secondary volume. When the skew
value is reached, the source volume reverts to its primary mode of
operation, either synchronous or semi-synchronous, whichever is
currently specified.
The advantages and disadvantages of this mode are opposite from
those of the Adaptive Copy-Write Pending mode; that is, while less
cache is consumed, it is typically slower to read data from disk than
from cache.
! CAUTION
Adaptive Copy Disk mode should not be used if the source
volumes are not protected by local mirroring or RAID-S.
Domino Modes Domino modes effectively stop all write operations to both primary
and secondary volumes if all mirrors in a primary or secondary
mirror group fail, or if all SRDF links in a link group become
unavailable. While such a shutdown temporarily halts production
processing, domino modes can prevent so-called rolling disasters.
There are two types of domino modes: device domino mode and link
domino mode.
Device Domino Mode You set Device Domino mode at the device level. If this mode is set to
Yes for a secondary (target) volume, and the secondary volume
becomes unavailable to its primary volume for any reason, the
primary volume becomes unavailable to its host.
Link Domino Mode You set Link Domino mode at the link group level. If this mode is set
to Yes for an SRDF link group, and the last remaining link in the link
Secondary Modes of Operation 5-31

5
group fails, all primary (source) volumes in the link group become
unavailable to their host.
After the problem is corrected, you must reenable the volumes using
one of the SRDF control utilities (the Symmetrix service processor or
EMC ControlCenter software).
With either domino mode, the appropriate primary (source) volumes are
forced off line and all related applications stop. This is an extreme measure. A
more moderate measure (if you are using SRDF in a mainframe environment,
or an Open Systems environment with EMC PowerPath software) is to
implement consistency groups (refer to Write Operations on page 5-37 for
more information).
Invalid Tracks When enabled for a secondary (target) volume, SRDF issues a
Warning warning if you attempt to recover data from that secondary volume
when it is not synchronized with its primary (source) volume. In such
cases, another form of data recovery (for example, a tape restore) is
more appropriate.
SRDF System-Level You can set system-level attributes to do the following:

Attributes ◆ Force links to go offline after a powerup. This prevents the
possibility of a rolling disaster following a power outage.
◆ Prevent automatic link recovery after an all-link failure. This
feature is useful if you are using Business Continuance Volumes
(BCVs) in conjunction with secondary devices. In such cases,
EMC recommends that you split the BCVs before reactivating the
links to ensure a stable database on the BCVs.

5
Concurrent RDF
Enginuity 5567 and later supports the ability for a single primary
volume to be remotely mirrored to two secondary volumes
concurrently. This feature is called Concurrent RDF and is supported
in both ESCON and Fibre Channel RDF configurations.
Concurrent RDF requires that each secondary volume operate in the
same primary mode, either both synchronous or both
semi-synchronous, but allows either (or both) volumes to be placed
into Adaptive Copy mode.
Figure 5-11 shows a concurrent RDF configuration in which one
secondary volume is in synchronous mode, while the other is in
Adaptive Copy. Any combination of synchronous/semi-synchronous
and Adaptive Copy is allowed with the exception of one volume
operating in synchronous mode and the other operating in
semi-synchronous mode.
Symmetrix
R2
Secondary
Symmetrix 8430/8730 Synchronous
R1
Primary
Symmetrix
Adaptive Copy
R2
Secondary
Figure 5-11 Concurrent RDF Configuration
Normal operating rules for SRDF also apply to concurrent

configurations. When operating in synchronous mode, ending status
for an I/O is not presented until the remote Symmetrix unit
acknowledges receipt of the I/O to the primary Symmetrix unit. If
both secondary volumes are operating in synchronous mode, ending
status is not presented until both volumes acknowledge receipt of the
I/O. If one is in synchronous mode and one is in Adaptive Copy
mode, ending status is presented to the host when the synchronous
volume acknowledges receipt of the I/O.
Concurrent RDF 5-33

5
Consistency Groups
A consistency group is a group of Symmetrix devices specially
configured to act in unison to maintain the integrity of a database
distributed across multiple SRDF units controlled by a mainframe
host computer or open systems host computer using EMC PowerPath
software.
Another way to ensure the integrity of a remote database is to use domino

mode (refer to Domino Modes on page 5-31).
How a Consistency Assume that you have an SRDF configuration in which three
Group Works Symmetrix units contain primary (source) devices, and two
additional Symmetrix units contain secondary (target) devices. The
units with primary devices send data to the units with secondary
devices as shown in Figure 5-12.
Source 1 Source 2 Source 3
Target 1 Target 2
Figure 5-12 Primary (Source) and Secondary (Target) Relationships
Next, assume that the links between Source 2 and Target 1 fail.
Without a consistency group, Sources 1 and 3 continue to copy data
to the target devices while Source 2 does not (refer to Figure 5-13).

5
Target 1 Target 2
Figure 5-13 Failed Link Between Source 2 and Target 1
The result is that the copy of the database spread across Targets 1
and 2 becomes inconsistent.
However, if Sources 1, 2, and 3, belong to a consistency group, as
shown in Figure 5-14, and the link between Source 2 and secondary
Target 1 fails, the consistency group automatically stops Sources 1
and 3 from sending data to Targets 1 and 2, as shown in Figure 5-15.
Thus, the consistency of the database copy (spanning Targets 1 and 2)
remains intact.
Consistency Group
Target 1 Target 2
Figure 5-14 Sources 1, 2, and 3 in a Consistency Group
Consistency Groups 5-35

5
Consistency Group
Target 1 Target 2
Figure 5-15 Failed Link Between Source 2 and Target 1
Continuous I/O to the primary (source) devices in the consistency group can still
Processing occur even when the devices are suspended on the links. Such
updates are not immediately sent to the remote side. However, they
are propagated after the affected links are again operational, and data
transfer resumes from the primary devices to the secondary devices.
MVS Technical You use host-based EMC software (the CGroup utility) to manage
Considerations and monitor consistency groups within an MVS® environment. The
host software identifies the consistency group devices by VOLSER,
CUU, or SMS storage group. When the devices are initialized, all
related volumes and controllers for the database are grouped to form
the consistency group. If a write operation on a primary volume fails
to reach the corresponding secondary volume, the Symmetrix system
performs a unit check and returns the results to the controlling host
computer.
A suspend channel program must be prebuilt for each controller in a
consistency group. The host software runs the suspend channel
program for each controller in the group, and SRDF suspends the
links for all devices in the group.
For more information about consistency groups and the CGroup utility, refer
to the EMC Symmetrix Consistency Group for MVS Product Guide.

5
Write Operations
The write task is the most common SRDF operation. This section
describes the write operations for unidirectional, dual-directional,
and bidirectional protocol.
Write Operations in a Unidirectional or Dual-Directional Protocol

This process applies to write operations over links that use a
unidirectional or dual-directional protocol, in which data moves in
only one direction over a given link.
In synchronous or semi-synchronous mode, the local host sends an
update to the host adapter which, in turn, sends the I/O to the SRDF
queue. The I/O then moves across the SRDF links to the remote
Symmetrix system. When it receives the I/O, the remote Symmetrix
system returns an acknowledgement to the local Symmetrix system,
which relays a message to the host adapter.
A copy task, rather than a write task, is used for updates to volumes running
in an Adaptive Copy mode.
Write Operations in a Bidirectional Protocol

In a bidirectional protocol, data flows in two directions over the same
SRDF link. When an RA-2 (normally the receiving end of the SRDF
link) must write data to its corresponding RA-1 (normally the
sending end of the SRDF link), the RA-2 cannot simply transmit the
data over the SRDF link to the RA-1 because of an ESCON protocol
limitation. Instead, the RA-2 must ask the RA-1 to read the data from
the RA-2 (actually, from a volume serviced by the RA-2). When the
RA-1 reads the data from the RA-2 volume, the write operation from
RA-2 to RA-1 is effectively accomplished.
Write Operations 5-37

5
Read Operations
Read operations, in which the local host reads data from the remote
Symmetrix unit, are performed only to recover from a local data
availability problem. Several events can cause a read operation to
take place:
◆ If data is not in local cache and all of the primary (source) devices
are in a Not Ready state.
◆ If a primary device is in a Ready state but the requested track is
invalid.
◆ If a disk adapter has a problem accessing a primary device, as in
the case of a drive timeout or cyclic redundancy check (CRC)
error. In these cases, the local Symmetrix unit requests the data
from the remote Symmetrix unit.
◆ If a track on a primary device is currently available only from a
RAID rebuild, the local Symmetrix unit requests the track data
from the remote Symmetrix unit. This method is faster than
accessing the data from the RAID rebuild. The Symmetrix system
always performs a full-track read for count-key-data (CKD) and
at least a contiguous-block read for fixed block architecture (FBA)
data.
In a read operation, the remote Symmetrix unit reads data from the
secondary device and sends the data across the link to the local
Symmetrix unit.
In addition to the requested data, the remote Symmetrix unit sends
the corresponding track ID from the secondary device to describe the
transferred data accurately. The remote Symmetrix unit uses the CRC
byte to ensure data integrity.
If a data availability problem is caused by a CRC error, an invalid track, or a

RAID rebuild, data can be destaged (moved from cache to disk) within the
local Symmetrix unit if it is in cache. This process can eliminate the need to
read the data from the remote Symmetrix unit.

5
Recovery Operations
! CAUTION
This section explains recovery in the context of hardware failure.
For adequate protection against data corruption, EMC recommends
that you back up your data regularly.
If the local host or local Symmetrix unit fails, and the primary
volumes are operating in synchronous mode, the remote Symmetrix
unit can be ready for operations in minutes. When the failure occurs,
the primary and secondary volumes are synchronized within one
I/O and there are no invalid tracks on either the primary or
secondary side.
If the remote host has read-only access to the secondary device, it does not
interfere with SRDF operations. SRDF uses cache slot locks on the secondary
side to ensure that data reaches the cache on the secondary side.
Failover (formerly If the remote host is to be activated to continue production

known as Target processing, you must initiate a failover process. You can use EMC
Takeover) ControlCenter to control the failover process.
Initiating a failover involves changing the states of the secondary
volumes to read/write and transferring production processing to the
remote host. Updates made to the secondary volumes appear to the
secondary volume group as invalid tracks owed to the primary
volumes. Processing continues on the remote host until the local host
and local Symmetrix unit are operational again.
Returning Control to After the local host and the Symmetrix unit containing the primary
the Local Host volumes are restored, production processing can resume on the local
host. Several steps are required to transfer processing from the
remote host back to the local host:
1. Halt processing on the remote host and change the states of the
secondary devices to read only.
2. Bring to a Ready state the Symmetrix unit on which the primary
volumes reside. Make sure that the SRDF links are suspended so
that data movement across the links does not occur.
Recovery Operations 5-39

5
3. Use the service processor, an automated script, or EMC

ControlCenter software to send invalid track identification
information from the secondary volumes to the primary volumes.
4. Enable the SRDF links and restart the local host. The primary
volumes automatically receive the appropriate data from the
secondary volumes, effectively resynchronizing the primary and
secondary volumes.
You can use EMC ControlCenter software to automate or semiautomate this

process.
Recovery for a If the recovery site (the remote host and the Symmetrix unit
Large Number of containing the secondary volumes) has handled production
Invalid Tracks (Open processing for a long period of time, there might be a large number of
Systems Sites Only) invalid tracks (for example, 500 GB) on the primary volumes. In this
case, you can resynchronize the primary and secondary volumes
while the remote host continues production processing. Then, when
there is a relatively small number of invalid tracks on the primary
volumes (for example, 50 GB), you can shut down the remote host
and restart the local host.

5
Business Continuance Using SRDF

Business continuance refers to practices that enable you to achieve
nearly non-stop, 24 x 7 business operations.
SRDF enables business continuance by allowing you to suspend
remote mirroring and temporarily enable the secondary volumes for
read/write activity, effectively creating two separate host/storage
systems (Figure 5-16).
Symmetrix 1 Symmetrix 2
Business
Production
Continuance
Host SRDF LInk
R1 R2 Host
Remote Mirroring Temporarily Suspended and

Target Volume (R2) Enabled for Read/Write Activities
Figure 5-16 SRDF Business Continuance
The following business continuance practices are possible with SRDF:

◆ Backups — Avoid taking systems offline while nightly backups
run.
◆ Remote processing — For example, some systems must produce
daily billing statements. These statements can be produced at a
remote site without interrupting normal processing.
◆ Decision support system (DSS) operations.
◆ Application testing — Euro-Currency, new applications.
Concurrent You can temporarily suspend the SRDF links so that you can read and
Operations write data on both the primary and secondary volumes concurrently.
This enables you, for example, to run backups on the secondary
volumes while production processing continues on the primary
volumes (a business continuance practice).
You can then resume the links and copy data from the primary
volumes to the secondary volumes.
This last operation, known as an establish, propagates any updates
made to the primary volumes while the links were suspended,
bringing the secondary volumes current with the most recent data
Business Continuance Using SRDF 5-41

5
and resynchronizing the secondary volumes with the primary

volumes (Figure 5-17).
R1
Source
Data
After completion of concurrent operations, the
links between source and target are reestablished,
Updates and updates are propagated from the source volumes
to the target volumes.
R2
Target
Data
Figure 5-17 Establish Operation
Alternatively, you can perform a Restore operation to copy data in

the opposite direction, from secondary to primary. This operation is
useful if, for example, you performed application testing on the
secondary volumes, production processing was halted on the
primary volumes, the testing was successful, and you want to keep
the updates.
R1
Source
Data
During a restore operation, data

Updates is copied from the target volumes
to the source volumes.
R2
Target
Data
Figure 5-18 Restore Operation

5
Business Continuance Using SRDF and TimeFinder

SRDF, when used with EMC TimeFinder software, allows you to
perform business continuance operations without temporarily
suspending remote mirroring. The sections that follow describe how
SRDF can be used with TimeFinder for business continuance
operations.
If a BCV is paired with a secondary device, and you want to copy
(restore) data from the BCV to the secondary device but you do not
want to propagate the data across the SRDF links to the primary
device, you should make sure that the secondary device is suspended
on the SRDF link. You also should use the appropriate TimeFinder
software restore command options to restrict the restore operation to
the desired secondary volumes. If, on the other hand, you want the
restored data to move across the SRDF links to the primary device
automatically, you should make sure that the secondary device is
active (not suspended) on the SRDF links.
Using a BCV as a A BCV device may also function as an SRDF primary device if the
Primary (Source) BCV is not locally mirrored (a BCV R1 device). The SRDF remote
Device mirror connection for the BCV R1 device is suspended while the BCV
is paired with a local device.
When a BCV is paired with a primary device, the corresponding
secondary device is disabled. When the BCV is split, the secondary
device is reenabled and resynchronized with the primary device
(Figure 5-19).
Using a BCV as a primary device is useful if you want to duplicate a
system remotely.
You can use a BCV as a primary device in Enginuity microcode version 5x64
and later.
Business Continuance Using SRDF and TimeFinder 5-43

5
Hop 1 Hop 2
R1 R2
SRDF
X Link
Host
2
SRDF
Link
3 4
R1 R2
BCV
Symmetrix Symmetrix Symmetrix

1. Data is remotely mirrored to the R2 and R1 BCV devices on the Symmetrix unit at Site
2. The BCV device pair (R2 and R1 BCV) is split.
3. The R2 on the Symmetrix unit at Site C is resynchronized with the R1 BCV at Site B.
4. Data is mirrored to the R2 device on the Symmetrix unit at Site C.
Figure 5-19 BCV Functioning As a Primary (Source) SRDF Device
Performing Remote You can issue SRDF and BCV control commands from a host or server
Backups Without a connected to the local Symmetrix unit. The commands move across
Remote Host the SRDF link to the secondary Symmetrix unit. A host or server does
not have to be located at the secondary location, allowing you to
create a point-in-time copy of your data at the remote site without
needing a host computer or server at the remote site.
This functionality is available in Enginuity microcode version 5265.

5
SRDF Multihop SRDF multihop enables a BCV on the local side of an SRDF
configuration to perform an incremental synchronization with a
secondary volume on the remote side, copying only changed tracks
from the primary BCV to the secondary volume. This process
eliminates the performance lag caused by a full synchronization
across great distances, making a multitiered SRDF configuration
feasible.
Although the local side of an SRDF multihop configuration requires an SRDF

license with the ability to do synchronous or semi-synchronous operations,
you can use SRDF/Data Mobility (in Adaptive Copy mode) on Symmetrix
systems connected to SRDF extended distance configuration.
Figure 5-20 illustrates SRDF multihop.
SRDF multihop is available in Enginuity microcode version 5265 or later.
Production Site Recovery Site
Synchronous SRDF Extended Distance

Campus Fiber
RA-1 RA-2 RA-1 ESCON/T3 ESCON/T3 RA-2

Converter Converter
SDDF
Session
Production Data Mirrored
to Remote Symmetrix BCV Differential Synchronization Copy
Production Production
R2 Data Production Production
R1 Data Data Data
BCV/R1 R2
Reestablish/Differential Split
Figure 5-20 SRDF Multihop
Business Continuance Using SRDF and TimeFinder 5-45

5

6
EMC TimeFinder
Operations
This chapter contains an overview of EMC TimeFinder, a description

of its key components, and a high level discussion of how to use these
components in operations for business continuance.
◆ Overview .............................................................................................6-2
◆ Components........................................................................................6-3
◆ Operations Overview ........................................................................6-4
◆ Establish ..............................................................................................6-6
◆ Split ......................................................................................................6-9
◆ Differential Split ............................................................................... 6-11
◆ Reestablish ........................................................................................6-13
◆ Restore ...............................................................................................6-15
◆ Incremental Restore .........................................................................6-17
EMC TimeFinder Operations 6-1

EMC TimeFinder Operations
6
Overview
EMC TimeFinder is a business continuance solution that allows
customers to use special devices that contain a copy of Symmetrix
units from one or more attached hosts while the standard Symmetrix
units are online for regular I/O operation from their host(s). Uses for
these copies can include backup, restore, decision support, and
applications testing.
Business TimeFinder business continuance is possible due to Business

Continuance Continuance Volume (BCV) devices. These BCV devices are standard
Symmetrix devices that are specially configured to be dynamic
mirrors. Each BCV device has its own host address, and is configured
as a stand-alone device.
EMC ControlCenter provides an interface to control the use of BCV devices

that already exist in the Symmetrix configuration. Configuring Symmetrix
units as BCV devices is done by your EMC Customer Service Engineer
during installation or service of your Symmetrix unit.
A business continuance sequence first involves setting, or

establishing, the BCV device as an additional mirror of a standard
device. Once the BCV is established as a mirror of the standard
device, it is not accessible through its original device address. The
BCV device may later be separated, or split, from the standard device
with which it was previously paired. After a split, the BCV device has
valid data and is available for backup or other host processes through
its original device address. Once host processes on the BCV device
are complete, the BCV may again be mirrored to a standard device
(either the same device to which it was previously attached or a
different device). It can then acquire new data for other business
continuance processes or update the standard device with any new
data from the completed business continuance processes.
System Setup One or more hosts can be attached to a Symmetrix unit containing the
BCV devices. Any Symmetrix system, including one configured for
RAID 1 or RAID-S protection mode, sparing, or SRDF, supports the
TimeFinder option.

6
Components
The main components of TimeFinder are:
◆ Standard devices
◆ BCV devices
BCV devices and standard devices both reside in the same cabinet.
Standard Devices Standard Symmetrix units are configured for normal Symmetrix
operation under a desired protection method (such as RAID 1,
RAID-S, SRDF).
The standard device can have any mirror structure (normal, RAID,
RAID with SRDF), as long as the number of mirrors does not exceed
three. This constraint is in place because establishing a BCV pair
requires assigning the BCV device as the next available mirror of the
standard device. Since there is a maximum of four mirrors allowed
per device in a Symmetrix unit, a device already having four mirrors
is not able to accommodate another one.
BCV Devices A BCV device is a standard device used for dynamic mirroring. It has
additional attributes that allow it to independently support host
applications and processes. It may be configured as a single mirror, a
locally mirrored device (requires at least microcode level 5264), or an
SRDF source (R1) device (requires at least microcode level 5264). A
BCV device can be RAID 1 or RDF protected, but it cannot be RAID-S
protected.
Subcomponents Once a BCV device is established as a mirror of a standard device,

those two devices together are referred to as a BCV pair. The pair is
comprised of two types of mirrors: the standard device mirror(s) and
the BCV mirror.
Standard Device Each standard device mirror contains a copy of the data contained in
Mirrors the standard device. There can be up to three standard device
mirrors.
BCV Mirror A BCV mirror is a standard device mirror that is assigned upon
creation of the BCV pair.
Components 6-3
6
Operations Overview
Business continuance operations make use of the components
described in the previous section to provide a foundation for various
host business continuance processes.
TimeFinder offers the following business continuance operations,
which are available through host commands:
◆ Establish a BCV pair
TimeFinder assigns the BCV as the next available mirror of a
standard Symmetrix unit and copies the entire contents of the
standard device to the BCV.
◆ Split a BCV pair
TimeFinder splits the BCV mirror from the standard Symmetrix
unit and makes it available (with the data from the standard
device with which it was paired) to hosts through its separate
device address.
◆ Perform a Differential Split
This variation on the split process is available for locally or
remotely mirrored BCVs with microcode level 5265 or higher.
TimeFinder enables only the updated tracks to be copied to a
BCV’s local or remote mirror on second and subsequent
differential splits.
All mirrors of the BCV are rapidly synchronized to the associated
standard device to the point in time that the differential split
command was issued.
The differential split can significantly reduce the time required for
the split process because only changed tracks need to be
synchronized.
◆ Reestablish a BCV device
TimeFinder reassigns the BCV as the next available mirror of the
standard device to which it was assigned before it was split. Any
data written to the BCV while it was split from the standard
device is replaced on the BCV. The BCV receives its updates from
the standard device.

6
◆ Restore from a BCV device

TimeFinder assigns the BCV as the next available mirror of a
standard device and copies the entire contents of the BCV to the
standard device. The standard device does not need to be the
same device originally established with the BCV.
◆ Incrementally restore from a BCV device
TimeFinder reassigns the BCV as the next available mirror of the
standard device to which it was assigned before it was split. Any
data written to the BCV while it was split from the standard
device is replaced on the standard device. Any updates made to
the standard device while the BCV pair was split are discarded.
The sections that follow describe each of these operations in greater
detail.
Operations Overview 6-5

6
Establish
After configuration and initialization of a Symmetrix unit, BCV
devices contain no data. The BCV devices, like the standard devices,
have unique host addresses and are online and ready to the host(s) to
which they are attached. Figure 6-1 illustrates the initial Symmetrix
configuration prior to performing any TimeFinder operations. In this
figure the host views the Symmetrix M1/M2 mirrored pair as a single
device (Vol A). The host views the BCV device as Vol B.
Host
Vol A Vol B
M1 M2 BCV
Symmetrix
Figure 6-1 Initial Configuration
To obtain a copy of the data on a standard device, a BCV pair must be

established. A BCV pair consists of a BCV device and a standard
device. The standard device can have any mirror structure (normal,
RAID 1, or RAID-S with SRDF), as long as the number of mirrors
does not exceed three. This constraint is in place because establishing
a BCV pair requires assigning the BCV device as the next available
mirror of the standard device. Since there is a maximum of four
mirrors allowed per device in the Symmetrix unit, a device with four
mirrors cannot accommodate another one.

6
Figure 6-2 shows a BCV pair being established.
Host
Vol A Vol B
Establish
BCV
Not Ready
M1 M2 M3
Copy
Symmetrix
Figure 6-2 Establishing a BCV Pair
When the Symmetrix unit receives an establish command from the

host, it must do the following:
◆ Check command validity. For example, the Symmetrix unit
makes sure that both the standard device and the BCV device are
the same size, the device specified as the BCV has the BCV
attribute, the standard device does not already have a BCV device
assigned to it, and so on.
◆ Set the BCV device Not Ready to the host.
◆ Assign the BCV device as the next available mirror of the
standard device. A BCV may be any mirror of the standard
device. For example, in Figure 6-2, the third mirror (M3) is the
BCV.
◆ Copy the contents of the standard device to the BCV. For
example, in Figure 6-2, the BCV device (M3) receives its data from
both the M1 and M2 devices.
The BCV pair is synchronized when the standard device mirrors and
the BCV mirror contain identical data.
The BCV device is not available for host use when it is assigned as a BCV
mirror on a standard device. However, any new data written to the standard
device is copied to the BCV device while the BCV pair exists.
Establish 6-7
6
To use a BCV device for business continuance procedures, you must

split the BCV pair to make the BCV device available to the host. To
use a fully synchronized copy of the data, do the following before the
split operation:
◆ Suspend all applications that are using the standard device.
◆ Make sure that all host buffering and intermediate caching is
flushed to the appropriate logical device on the Symmetrix unit; if
you do not require a coherent copy of the data for running a
business continuance process, this step is unnecessary.

6
Split
After an establish operation and after the standard device mirrors are
synchronized (Figure 6-2 on page 6-7), the BCV device contains a
copy of the data from the standard device. The BCV copy remains
valid until the point in time when a split command is issued. After a
split operation, business continuance processes can be executed with
the BCV device. Figure 6-3 below shows the result of the split
operation.
Host
Vol A Vol B
Split
M1 M2 BCV
Symmetrix
Figure 6-3 Splitting a BCV Pair
When the Symmetrix unit receives a split command from the host, it
does the following:
◆ Checks command validity. For example, the Symmetrix unit
makes sure that the standard device has an active BCV mirror, the
standard and BCV devices comprise a BCV pair, and the BCV
device is fully synchronized with the standard device.
◆ Suspends I/O to the standard device until the split operation
completes.
◆ Destages any write pendings to the standard device and the BCV
device.
◆ Splits the BCV device from the BCV pair.
◆ Changes the BCV device state to ready, enabling host access
through its separate address (Vol B).
Split 6-9
6
◆ Resumes operation with the standard device and flags any new
writes to the standard device. (This is necessary for updating the
BCV device if it is re-established with the same standard device at
a later time.)
Once you finish running any business continuance processes on the
BCV device, the following options are available:
◆ Reestablish the BCV pair
◆ Restore data from the BCV device to its standard device
◆ Incrementally restore data from the BCV device to its standard
device
◆ Establish a new BCV pair (consisting of the same BCV device but
with a different standard device)
These TimeFinder operations are described in this chapter.

6
Differential Split
After an establish operation and after the standard device mirrors are
synchronized (Figure 6-2 on page 6-7), the BCV device contains a
copy of the data from the standard device. This copy is valid until the
point in time when a split or differential split command is
issued. Figure 6-4 shows the result of the differential split operation.
Host System View of Volumes
Data Data
Volume Volume
00 01
Split
Internal SDDF
Session
Standard Standard BCV BCV

Device 00 Device 00 Device 01 Device 01
M1 M2 M1/R1 M2/R2
First differential split — copy all tracks

Second etc. — copy only updated tracks
Symmetrix
Figure 6-4 Differential Split
When the Symmetrix unit receives a differential split command

from the host, it does the following:
makes sure that the standard device has an active BCV mirror, the
standard and BCV devices comprise a BCV pair, and the BCV
device is fully synchronized with the standard device.
◆ Suspends I/O to the standard device until the split operation
completes.
◆ Destages any write pendings to the standard device and the BCV
device.
Differential Split 6-11

6
◆ Splits the BCV device from the BCV pair. In the case of a
differential split, this automatically opens an internal Symmetrix
differential data facility (SDDF) session on the standard device.
The SDDF session begins to log track changes on the standard
device once the standard and BCV devices are again paired.
Second and subsequent differential splits benefit from the SDDF
session because it enables only those changed tracks to be copied
to the BCV local or remote mirrors (differential split).
The SDDF session is removed on the first nondifferential split
operation.
◆ Changes the BCV device state to Ready, enabling host access
through its separate address (Vol B).
◆ Resumes operation with the standard device, and flags any new
writes to the standard device. (This is necessary for updating the
BCV device if it is reestablished with the same standard device at
a later time.)
Once you finish running any business continuance processes on the
BCV device, the following options are available:
◆ Reestablish the BCV pair
◆ Restore data from the BCV device to its standard device
◆ Incrementally restore data from the BCV device to its standard
device
◆ Establish a new BCV pair (consisting of the same BCV device but
with a different standard device)
Each of these TimeFinder operations are described in the following
sections.

6
Reestablish
Reestablishing a BCV pair (Figure 6-5) accomplishes the same thing
as the establish process, with one time-saving exception: the standard
device (Vol A) copies to the BCV device only the new data that was
updated on the standard device while the BCV pair was split. Any
changed tracks on the BCV are also overwritten by the data on the
corresponding track on the standard device. This process maximizes
the efficiency of the synchronization.
The information necessary for a reestablish is lost (necessitating a full copy to

the BCV mirror) if a spare is invoked against a standard device and then
removed while the standard device is split from the BCV device.
This process is useful if the data yielded from running an application

on the BCV device is not needed or if a fresh copy of current data is
needed.
Host
Vol A Vol B
Re-establish
BCV
Not Ready
M1 M2 M3
Sync
Symmetrix
Figure 6-5 Reestablishing a BCV Pair
Reestablish 6-13
6
When the Symmetrix unit receives a reestablish command from

the host, it performs the following functions on the standard and
BCV devices specified by the command:
rejects the command if the BCV device and the standard device
are not the same size or they were not previously established.
◆ Sets the BCV device Not Ready to the host.
◆ Assigns the BCV device as the next available mirror of the
standard device.
◆ Copies the tracks from the standard device to the BCV. Any new
data written to the standard device while the BCV pair was split
are written to the BCV device. Any new data written to the BCV
device while the BCV pair was split are overwritten by the data
on the corresponding track on the standard device.
The BCV pair is synchronized when the standard device and the BCV
device contain identical data.

split operation:

6
Restore
The restore operation differs from the establish or reestablish
operation in that the entire contents of the BCV device are copied to
the standard device.
The Symmetrix unit performs the following functions when it
receives a restore command from the host:
◆ Checks command validity. For example, reject the command if the
BCV device and the standard device are not the same size.
◆ Sets the BCV device not ready to the host.
◆ Assigns the BCV as the next available mirror of the standard
device.
◆ Copies the contents of the BCV device to the standard device and
all its mirrors. For example, in Figure 6-6 the Symmetrix unit
copies the contents of M3 to both M1 and M2, overwriting the
data present on those devices.
The restoration process (Figure 6-6) is complete when the standard
device and the BCV device contain identical data.
Host
Vol A Vol B
Restore
BCV
Not Ready
M1 M2 M3
Copy
Symmetrix
Figure 6-6 Restoring a BCV Device
Restore 6-15
6

split operation:

6
Incremental Restore
The incremental restore process (Figure 6-7) accomplishes the same
thing as the restore process with one time-saving exception: the BCV
(Vol B) copies to the standard device (Vol A) only the new data that
was updated on the BCV device while the BCV pair was split. Any
changed tracks on the standard device are also overwritten by the
data on the corresponding track on the BCV device. This maximizes
the efficiency of the synchronization process.
The information necessary for an incremental restore is lost (necessitating a

full copy from the BCV mirror) if a spare is invoked against a standard device
and then removed while the standard device is split from the BCV device.
This process is useful if the results from running a new application on

the BCV device were desirable, and the user wants to port the data
and the new application to the standard device.
Host
Vol A Vol B
Incr Restore
BCV
Not Ready
M1 M2 M3
Sync
Symmetrix
Figure 6-7 Incrementally Restoring a BCV Device
When the Symmetrix unit receives an incremental restore

command from the host, it performs the following functions on the
standard and BCV devices specified by the command:
◆ Checks command validity. For example, reject the command if the
BCV device and the standard device are not the same size or were
not previously paired.
◆ Sets the BCV device not ready to the host.
Incremental Restore 6-17

6
◆ Assigns the BCV device as the next available mirror of the

standard device.
◆ Copies tracks from the BCV device to the standard device. Any
new data written to the BCV device while the BCV pair was split
are written to the standard device. Any new data written to the
standard device while the BCV pair was split are overwritten by
the data on the corresponding track on the BCV device.
The BCV pair is synchronized when the standard device and the BCV
device contain identical data.

split operation:

Invisible Body Tag
7
ESN Management
This chapter provides a “best practices” overview for managing an

Enterprise Storage Network (ESN). This chapter contains the
following:
◆ Introduction ........................................................................................7-2
◆ Enterprise Storage Network Management.....................................7-3
◆ Elements of ESN Management ........................................................7-4
◆ Security Best Practices: ESN Environments ...................................7-6
◆ Security Best Practices: Physical Topology.....................................7-8
◆ Security Best Practices: Zoning ...................................................... 7-11
◆ Security Best Practices: Volume Access Control ..........................7-16
◆ Security Best Practices: Management Controls ...........................7-22
◆ Conclusion ........................................................................................7-24
ESN Management 7-1

ESN Management
7
Introduction
Enterprise Storage Networks (ESNs) provide a flexible, scalable
infrastructure for managing, sharing, and protecting information.
These networks eliminate connectivity and distance limitations and
allow businesses to consolidate their servers and storage. In order to
cope with today’s explosion of information, Enterprise Storage
Networks have had to dramatically increase in size and complexity.
Without proper storage network management and access control
strategies in place, maintaining the security and integrity of
Enterprise Storage Networks is a difficult task.
Information has become a valuable strategic corporate asset, and IT
administrators need to ensure that it is protected. Businesses must be
able to manage and control access to their data, especially when it is
connected to a network environment. The ability to control access at
the storage subsystem, as well as the storage network, is critical to
creating a secure ESN. EMC understands the importance of ESN
security and has developed products and techniques to facilitate this
level of integrity. This chapter provides an overview of ESN
management and best practices for managing a secure ESN
environment.
The purpose of this chapter is to:
◆ Present a brief overview of ESN management components and
techniques
◆ List and describe the current ESN management tools available
today
◆ Provide some best practices for managing a secure ESN
environment
◆ Demonstrate how to manage a secure Enterprise Storage
Network using access control methods such as zoning and
volume access control
◆ Describe methods for controlling management functions
◆ Provide a list of reference materials for more detailed information

ESN Management
7
Enterprise Storage Network Management

Enterprise Storage Networks are complex environments consisting of
various hardware and software components. These networks may
consist of heterogeneous server platforms, operating systems, host
bus adapters (HBAs), cables, hubs, switches, and storage devices. In
addition, different management applications are usually necessary to
manage these components, adding to the complexity of the ESN
environment.
The majority of ESN management tools available today are used to
control certain aspects of the storage network or the storage
subsystem. Since Enterprise Storage Networks are typically
composed of components from different vendors, IT administrators
often find themselves using several tools that manage only part of the
network or the storage array. This lack of an end-to-end management
application has contributed to the complexity of deploying and
maintaining Enterprise Storage Networks.
To build large, secure storage networks, administrators must be able
to control and monitor the activity of every component that is a
member of the ESN. EMC provides the tools and techniques
necessary to achieve this level of manageability. Using EMC software,
administrators are able to simplify the management process and plan,
configure, analyze, and monitor their storage network from a central
location. More importantly, centralizing management tasks across
multiple devices allows customers to deploy an ESN in an organized
and efficient manner, which is essential to creating a secure
environment.
Enterprise Storage Network Management 7-3

ESN Management
7
Elements of ESN Management

ESN management consists of several elements that allow storage
network resources to be monitored, controlled, and serviced. These
elements are:
Discovery — Asset discovery and topology discovery are important
parts of ESN management. Asset discovery is the ability to locate
devices that are members of the storage network, while topology
discovery allows those devices to be associated and mapped. Both are
vital to generating an accurate view of the ESN topology. Discovery is
particularly important for maintaining the topology view as devices
are added and removed from the network.
Access Control — Provide the ability to permit or deny a managed
resource access to other components of the storage network. Access
control must be implemented on all levels of the storage network to
ensure security; this includes physically restricting access to the
management station, partitioning the fabric into logical zones,
managing volume access on the storage array, and implementing
management controls.
Path Management — Defining virtual data paths from servers to
storage is an important part of a storage network’s integrity. Path
management uses zoning tools and multipathing software to
maximize the stability and performance of the Fibre Channel
switched fabric.
Fault Management — Includes the detection and processing of errors
associated with storage network devices. When a problem occurs,
fault management functions such as notification, reporting, problem
isolation, and, ultimately, self-correction of faults are performed.
Performance Monitoring — Provides the ability to measure
resources and determine their availability, utilization, and overall
behavior in the ESN.
Health Monitoring — Involves self-diagnosis and examination of the
state of the storage network.
The first three elements — Discovery, Access Control, and Path
Management — are the fundamental building blocks of secure
storage networking. However, most of the management tools
available today are capable of performing only some of these
functions. For example, suppose a customer has deployed a storage
network consisting of a storage subsystem, several Fibre Channel

ESN Management
7
switches, and multiple servers. In order to discover the topology,

create zones, set up volume access, and monitor this environment, an
administrator would need to use several management products. Each
individual product would perform one of those management
functions, requiring administrators to use multiple management
applications. However, if the customer deployed the same
configuration with Symmetrix, they could perform all of these
management functions using EMC ControlCenter.
EMC ControlCenter provides a single storage management
framework for ESN management — not only to the storage devices,
but also to the storage network. ESN Manager, a component of
ControlCenter, provides volume access control and zoning of
heterogeneous Fibre Channel switches. With ControlCenter,
customers streamline management tasks by eliminating the need for
multiple applications.
The remainder of this chapter discusses best practices for creating
and managing a secure ESN environment.
Elements of ESN Management 7-5

ESN Management
7
Security Best Practices: ESN Environments

To create a secure Enterprise Storage Network, IT administrators
must be able to manage access and maintain data integrity
throughout the environment. One of the fundamental principles for
establishing control in an ESN is determining the level of trust for
every system that is a member of the network. From a management
perspective, this translates into separating standard data access from
management functions within the storage network.
Figure 7-1 represents the levels of trust associated with every system
that is part of a storage network. There are three basic levels: Access,
Monitor, and Manage. As the ability to perform management tasks in
a secure fashion increases, so does the level of trust required.
Manage
Can manage all
aspects of the storage
network.
Granted full
read/Write access to
Monitor the Volume Configuration
Management Database.
Can monitor and
discover some aspects
Ability to create and
Access of the storage network,
modify zones and
but cannot make
Only sees volumes volume access
configuration changes.
that have been privileges for all
assigned to it. members of the
Granted "read-only"
storage network.
access to SAN
Can only
management repositories.
communicate with Can be designated as
members assigned to the Control Station.
Can only communicate
its zones.
with members
Hardware and software
assigned to its zones.
No monitor or should be physically
manage capabilities. secure.
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Figure 7-1 ESN Management Levels of Trust
Access — Characterizes the majority of the systems that exist within

an ESN. These systems have standard access to the network and are
typically servers running business applications (e-mail, database
administration, Web applications, file-print services, and so on.).

ESN Management
7
Although they are members of the ESN, they do not have any
monitoring or management capabilities. These systems are
configured by management to access a subset of the storage
network’s devices; they are unable to communicate with members
outside of their virtual domain.
Monitor — Represents systems that can discover and examine certain
aspects of the storage network environment, but are unable to modify
it. This level of manageability is similar to read-only permission. In
addition to basic access, these systems are able to collect information
about other elements within the ESN topology.
Manage — Represents systems with the highest level of
manageability. These systems are under the full control of IT
management, which means that their hardware and software
components are physically secure and user access is restricted.
Similar to read/write permission, they have the ability to manage
and control access to any device that is a member of the storage
network. They also have the highest trust rating within the
environment, and are typically designated as Control Stations.
Control Stations, also known as Administrator Hosts, are the most
secure systems in an ESN environment. For this reason, ESN
management functions should be performed from these systems. To
further limit accessibility to critical management applications, EMC
recommends installing the management and control software only on
one or two Control Stations.
Security Best Practices: ESN Environments 7-7

ESN Management
7
Security Best Practices: Physical Topology

The foundation of a secure ESN environment is the physical layout of
the storage network. To design and deploy a physical topology that is
secure, administrators must initially determine the level of
manageability each system will be granted. Once this is
accomplished, they can implement a physical layout that controls
user access to the critical hardware and software components that
manage the storage network.
Figure 7-2 represents a basic ESN environment. It consists of a
Symmetrix system, a small fabric comprised of Connectrix switches,
and several servers. Each server is designated as A, B, or C and has a
corresponding set of volumes within the Symmetrix unit. Server C is
designated as the Control Station and performs all storage
management functions.

ESN Management
7
Corporate LAN
Secure VPN
or Firewall
Control
Station
Servers
A
B C
Connectrix Management LAN

Connectrix Switches (Private)
Switches
In-band (FC)
Out-band (IP)
Symmetrix
Storage
A B C VCM
Figure 7-2 Basic ESN Environment
The management software on the Control Station manages the

storage subsystem and the storage network, so it requires a path to
both. Two types of pathways are necessary to perform these tasks:
in-band and out-of-band pathways. in-band pathways are Fibre
Channel connections, while out-of-band pathways are IP (usually
Ethernet) connections directly to the switches or to the management
LAN.
Security Best Practices: Physical Topology 7-9

ESN Management
7
In Figure 7-2, the Control Station has an in-band connection to the

Symmetrix unit through the fabric, represented by the solid lines. It
also has an out-of-band connection to a management LAN,
represented by the dashed lines, that extends to the Symmetrix and
Connectrix systems. The management LAN is a private network and
is not directly accessible by Servers A or B. However, Servers A and B
may need to request storage management functions from the Control
Station, such as zoning changes for backup. For example, a backup
server may need zoning reconfigured to access the tape library.
Therefore, the backup server requires a way to communicate with the
Control Station without creating a security risk. A VPN or firewall
permits a secure path for communication to pass between the
corporate LAN and the management LAN.
Once the ESN topology has been designed, the physical installation
of the storage network begins. At this stage, the logical parameters
for secure data flow and communication have been defined, but the
physical location of the actual hardware and software has yet to be
determined. Planning the physical layout of all the components is an
essential part of storage network security. Building a physically
secure data center is only half the challenge; deciding which
hardware and software components need to reside there is the other
half. Critical components such as storage subsystems, switches,
Control Stations, and management applications should reside within
the data center. then, only authorized users have the ability to make
physical or logical changes to the topology (for example, move fiber
cables from one port to another, reconfigure zones, add/remove
access to specific volumes, install new hardware, and so on).

ESN Management
7
Security Best Practices: Zoning

After installing all the hardware and software components of a
storage network, administrators need to apply access control
strategies to the environment. One method for controlling access to
network devices is zoning.
Zoning is used to partition a Fibre Channel switched fabric into
subsets of logical devices. Each zone contains a set of members that
are permitted to access each other. Members can be switch ports,
HBAs, or storage ports. When zoning is enabled, members in the
same zone can see and communicate with each other, but members in
separate zones cannot. Ports and devices distributed across multiple
switches in a fabric may be grouped into the same zone.
A zone member can be identified by its Source ID (SID), its World
Wide Name (WWN), or a combination of both. Zones can be created
using each of these forms of member identification. Thus, there are
essentially three types of zoning: hard zoning, soft zoning, and smart
zoning.
Hard Zoning Hard zoning creates zones by using the Source ID of the switch. A
SID, otherwise known as a port number or Port ID (PID), is a
combination of the unique domain identifier of a switch and the
physical port number. Although somewhat limited in terms of
flexibility, there are several benefits to using hard zoning:
Security — Hard zoning is sometimes considered more secure than
soft zoning because zoning configuration changes must be performed
at the switch. To modify an existing zone, a user has to physically
move fiber cables from one port on the switch to another. If physical
access to the switch is restricted (for example, the switch is located in
a secure data center), the potential for unauthorized configuration
changes is greatly reduced.
HBA Replacement — In some situations, hard zoning can also
simplify the process of replacing HBAs. When zones are created
using SIDs, HBAs can be replaced without having to modify zone
configurations.
Security Best Practices: Zoning 7-11

ESN Management
7
Although hard zoning does have some positive attributes, EMC does
not recommend creating zones based solely on port numbers for the
following reasons:
◆ Switch port replacement and the use of spare ports require
manual changes to the zone configuration.
◆ If the domain ID changes (for example when you reconfigure a set
of independent switches to form a fabric), the zone configuration
will be invalid, increasing the chance of data corruption.
◆ Replacing an HBA also requires reconfiguration of the volume
access control settings on the storage subsystem. This minimizes
the benefit of hard zoning because manual configuration changes
will still be necessary.
◆ Managing ISL congestion by relocating high-traffic port pairs to a
common switch is not handled automatically.
Soft Zoning Soft zoning creates zones by using the WWNs of HBAs and storage
subsystems. A WWN is a unique 64-bit identifier that is factory-set on
HBAs and generated on the FA directors in the Symmetrix system. A
list of all WWNs is maintained by the switch’s Name Server, which is
a database service provided for every switch in the fabric. Two main
advantages to using soft zoning are:
Flexibility — The zone member identification will not change if the
fiber cable connections to ports are rearranged. Flexibility is increased
because devices can be moved from port to port without affecting
zoning configurations.
Fabric Reconfiguration — One of the strategies for correcting ISL
congestion in fabrics includes moving pairs of high-traffic ports into a
common domain (typically a switch). When soft zoning is used, these
connections can be moved to a common domain without effecting
device driver configurations, switch-zoning configurations, or
Symmetrix configurations.
Soft zoning increases the flexibility of the ESN environment and
allows zoning management tasks to be handled at the software level.
However, there are some disadvantages to identifying zone members
exclusively by their WWNs:
◆ Zoning is not enforced at the hardware level. If an unauthorized
user has access to the zoning management software, that user can
change existing zone configurations even without physical access
to ESN hardware components.

ESN Management
7
◆ It is possible to change an HBA’s WWN to match the current

WWN of another HBA. Commonly referred to as spoofing,
changing the WWN of an HBA may allow an unauthorized user
access to a restricted zone.
◆ Zone members must communicate with other zone members and
listen for all registered state change notifications (RSCNs).
Smart Zoning Smart zoning combines hard and soft zoning techniques to identify
zone members by their Source ID and WWN. Smart zoning offers a
secure method for partitioning a fabric without completely sacrificing
flexibility. Every HBA that is a member of a smart zone has a SID, or
switch port number, associated with its WWN. Once an association
between the SID and WWN is created, it is stored in a database. The
database prevents users with a spoofed WWN from gaining access to
the original member’s devices. Smart zoning offers the following
advantages over conventional hard zoning or soft zoning techniques:
Security — Zoning is enforced at both the hardware and software
levels, eliminating the potential for WWN spoofing.
Zone Flexibility — Smart zoning allows administrators to create and
modify zones at the hardware level using management software.
Smart zoning requires a feature called SID Lock Down to be enabled on the
Symmetrix system. Details regarding the SID Lock Down feature are
included later in this chapter.
Single HBA Zoning Another zoning technique that increases the stability and reliability of
the ESN environment is single-HBA zoning. Single-HBA zoning
specifies that in each individual zone there should be one and only
one initiator (HBA) participating in that zone. Initiators as well as
target devices (storage ports) can be members of more than one zone.
While it is possible to create zones with more that one initiator,
single-HBA zoning is preferred because it helps isolate
communications and interaction between initiators. This is
particularly useful for reducing the impact of state changes to the
fabric, such as the HBA discovery/login process. EMC recommends
using single-HBA zoning to maximize the performance, efficiency,
and dependability of the Enterprise Storage Network.

ESN Management
7
Zoning Example Figure 7-3 shows the basic ESN environment from Figure 7-2 on
page 7-9 separated into zones. Two zones have been created, one for
Server A and one for Server B, preventing both hosts from accessing
any of the devices outside of their respective zones. Each zone has a
single HBA that is allowed to access one port on the Symmetrix unit.
Zone A is unable to access any of the ports in Zone B, and vice versa.
Both zones are smart zones that were created using the WWN of the
HBA in each server, the WWN of the Symmetrix Fibre Channel
adapter port, and the SID of the switch.
Corporate LAN
Secure VPN
or Firewall
Control
Station
A
Servers B C
WWN
WWN
SID
SID
Management LAN
Connectrix (Private)
Connectrix
Switch Switch
WWN
In-band (FC)
Out-band (IP)
Symmetrix
Storage
A B C VCM
Figure 7-3 Fibre Channel Zoning

ESN Management
7
EMC recommends using ESN Manager instead of native switch

zoning tools to partition fabrics. ESN Manager provides
heterogeneous access control, configuration, and monitoring
capabilities for the entire storage network. Unlike vendor-specific
zoning applications that can only configure zones, ESN Manager can
also manage access to the logical volumes in the storage subsystem.
In the example shown in Figure 7-3, ESN Manager is installed on the
Control Station. Once the installation and discovery process is
completed, the administrator performs the following steps to create
zones:
1. Select the HBA and FA ports on the Symmetrix unit that will be
members of each zone.
2. Using ESN Manager’s GUI or CLI, create two zones based on the
WWNs of each zone member and the SIDs of the switches.
3. Assign the zones to the fabric, and then execute the Refresh
Zoning command to synchronize the switch hardware with the
new configuration.
ESN Manager can also import zoning configurations. If ESN Manager
is installed into an existing ESN environment, the administrator can
import the current zoning information from the switches and write it
to ESN Manager’s zoning repository, known as the FibreZone
database. For an administrator, this means that previously configured
zones and zone sets do not have to be re-created with ESN Manager.
Importing streamlines the setup process and reduces the time and
resources associated with new software installations and upgrades.

ESN Management
7
Security Best Practices: Volume Access Control

Zoning allows administrators to manage and control access to
devices in the storage network. However, when more than one HBA
is zoned to the same target controller on the storage subsystem, it is
still possible for servers in different zones to access the same volumes
of data. To eliminate the potential for device contention, volume
access control software is needed to manage access to storage
volumes.
Volume access control can be implemented at the host level or at the
storage level. Storage-based access control mechanisms monitor
access directly at the storage subsystem. Managing volume access at
the storage level is more reliable than host-based management
because the potential for conflict between multiple systems is
eliminated. By placing volume access control at the host level, each
server is required to maintain tight security to prevent users from
unauthorized volume access. Close coordination between all servers
is necessary to effectively control access, so any errors or
communication disruptions among servers can compromise access to
data volumes. In addition, most host-based, LUN-masking products
are exclusive to specific servers and operating systems, whereas
storage-based volume access control supports any platform
connected to the storage subsystem.
Volume Access Figure 7-4 illustrates how volume access control provides another
Control Example layer of security to storage networks. EMC manages access control at
the storage level using ESN Manager. When Server A and Server B
log in to the storage network, the WWNs of their HBAs are passed to
the Symmetrix FA ports that are in their respective zones. The
Symmetrix unit records the connection, stores the WWNs in a Login
History table, and builds a filter. This filter, known as the volume
configuration management database (VCMDB), contains records that
specify which volumes may be accessed by an HBA through a
particular FA port (Figure 7-5 on page 7-18). Using the ESN Manager
GUI or CLI, administrators can configure and manage the VCMDB
from the Control Station.

ESN Management
7
Corporate LAN
Secure VPN
or Firewall
Control
Station
A
Servers B C
Management LAN
Connectrix (Private)
Connectrix
Switch Switch
In-band (FC)
Out-band (IP)
VCMDB
Symmetrix
Storage
A B ...
Figure 7-4 Volume Access Control
When Server A sends an I/O request to the Symmetrix unit, the

request includes the WWN of the HBA and the target (for example,
the FA port) and logical unit number (LUN) of the requested volume.
The VCMDB processes the I/O request to verify that Server A is
allowed to access that volume on that specific FA port. If a request
contradicts the records in the VCMDB, an error message is returned
to the host. For example, if an unauthorized user reconfigured the
zones so Server B could access the same FA port as Server A, the
VCMDB would prevent Server B from accessing Server A’s volumes.
By combining volume access control and zoning, ESN Manager
Security Best Practices: Volume Access Control 7-17

ESN Management
7
allows administrators to define virtual data paths in their ESN

environment, connecting each host with a group of storage volumes
and enabling multiple hosts to share the same Symmetrix port.
VCMDB Access Since the VCMDB manages all access to volumes in the Symmetrix
Feature unit, user access to the database must be controlled. Installing ESN
Manager on only one or two secure Control Stations helps restrict
user access to the VCMDB by limiting the accessibility of the
management software. However, if an unauthorized user was able to
obtain a copy of the ESN Manager software or the Volume Logix
Administrator CLI, the user could potentially gain access to the
VCMDB from another host on the storage network.
VCMDB
WWN FA Port SID Volumes
10:00:00:00:c9:21:69:67 2a 2206:13 00
VCMDB
10:00:00:00:c9:25:24:70 3b 29, 2a, 2b
Volume
50:06:04:82:bc:61:22:8 4a 31, 32, 33
Figure 7-5 VCMBD Volume
The VCMDB Access feature allows only authorized HBAs with valid
records in the database to access and manage the VCMDB. This is
particularly important in an xSP environment where there may be
multiple customers storing data on the same Symmetrix unit.
The VCMDB contains records specifying which devices may be
accessed by a particular HBA through a Symmetrix FA port. By
default, access to the VCMDB is granted to all HBAs that log in to an
FA port. As a result, any host with access to the FA port can alter the
configuration of the database if it has the ESN Manager management
software.
By enabling the VCMDB Access feature, access to the database can be
restricted to the host designated as the Control Station. Only HBAs
with valid records in the database (indicating they have permission to
access the VCMDB) will be given management privileges.

ESN Management
7
Three issues to consider before enabling the VCMDB Access feature:

◆ The VCMDB Access feature is enabled or disabled for the entire
Symmetrix array, not on a port-by-port basis.
◆ At least one HBA in the server acting as the ESN Manager
Control Station must be granted access to the VCMDB. Failure to
do so prior to enabling the feature will prevent administrators
from modifying the database.
◆ Failure of the Control Station or its connection to the Symmetrix
unit would not prevent ESN Manager from performing volume
access control functions. All I/O requests from hosts in the
storage network will still be processed by the VCMDB.
Administrators will simply lose the ability to change the
environment because they will not be able to access the VCMDB.
SID Lock Down The VCMDB Access feature checks the WWNs of HBAs to confirm
Feature that the requesting host has management privileges. However, a
WWN can be spoofed to match the current WWN of another HBA,
thus gaining access to that HBA’s volumes (which may include the
VCMDB). The SID Lock Down feature shown in Figure 7-6 prevents
an unauthorized user from spoofing the WWN of an HBA.
VCMDB
WWN FA Port SID Volumes
10:00:00:00:c9:21:69:67 2a 2206:13 00
VCMDB
10:00:00:00:c9:25:24:70 3b 29, 2a, 2b Volume
50:06:04:82:bc:61:22:8d 4a 31, 32, 33
Switch - SID
Figure 7-6 SID Lock Down Feature
When the SID Lock Down feature is enabled, the Source ID (SID) of
the switch port that the protected HBA is connected to is added to the
VCMDB record. Once an association between the HBA’s WWN, the
SID, and the FA port is created, the HBA is considered locked.
When a SID is locked, no user with a spoofed WWN can log in. If a
user with a spoofed WWN is already logged in, that user loses all
access through that HBA.

ESN Management
7
Explanation of the SID As mentioned previously, the SID value is a combination of the
Value unique domain identifier of a switch and the physical port number.
Figure 7-7 provides examples of the SID value.
Connectrix ED-1032 and Brocade 1000 series

220613
Domain Port
Note: For McData switches, the port number representing

the SID is offset by four because the number is in hexadecimal.
In this example, Port 06 actually represents physical Port 2 on the switch.
Connectrix DS-16B and Brocade 2000 series
021300
Domain Port
Figure 7-7 SID Values
Obtaining the SID To find the SID value, run the fpath lshosts command, which
Value displays the contents of the Login History table. The table lists all the
hosts and HBAs that are logged in to Symmetrix FA ports. If the
VCMDB Access feature is enabled, this command must be run from
the ESN Manager Control Station.
If administrators no longer have a path from the locked HBA, they
cannot use ESN Manager to find the SID value. Instead, the SID value
must be obtained from the switch:
McDATA switches — Through the hardware view of EFC Manager
(for example, Connectrix Manager), select a board and then one of the
switch ports. After selecting a port, right-click to display the port
properties window. The SID value is the Fibre Channel ID.
Brocade switches — Telnet to the switch and run nsShow. Look for
the PID value (address ID of the port in hexadecimal) of the WWN of
the locked HBA. The PID value is the SID value.

ESN Management
7
Enabling both VCMDB Access and SID Lock Down allows access
control to be administered at the hardware and software level. While
enabling both features provides the highest level of security, it may
also increase the number of steps required when making
configuration changes to the environment. For example, if a fiber
cable is moved one port on a switch to another, the SID value
associated with the HBA changes. If SID Lock Down is enabled, the
administrator must manually reset the SID value. If the feature is
disabled, this extra step is not required.
Security requirements are different for every customer. For some
environments, completely restricting access to management functions
is unnecessary. However, some customers, such as a service provider,
may need the highest level of access control available, even if it
means decreasing the flexibility of the storage network. IT
administrators should determine the appropriate security levels for
their operational needs before activating features such as VCMDB
Access and SID Lock Down.

ESN Management
7
Security Best Practices: Management Controls

Managing user access to data is the primary goal of storage
administrators. To protect the information on the storage subsystem,
administrators control and monitor the activity of all the hardware
and software components of the storage network. They design a
physically secure topology, divide the network into subsets of
devices, and implement volume access controls to manage the ESN
environment. However, applying these management techniques to
large storage networks can be challenging, especially if multiple
groups are sharing or managing ESN resources. Consider xSP
environments, which typically have several customers storing data
on the same storage subsystem. Customers want to manage their
own pool of information, but providing them all with management
privileges jeopardizes the security of the entire environment. To
provide management capabilities in these situations, EMC has
created Symmetrix Access Controls.
Symmetrix Access Symmetrix Access Controls provide security controls that limit
Controls configuration and management of Symmetrix resources in an ESN
environment. Symmetrix Access Controls allow a storage
administrator to restrict management control to specific device pools
for various systems. When enabled, they limit functions such as
SRDF, TimeFinder, SDR, and Optimizer. Independent of the physical
array, they can be established for an entire Symmetrix unit or a subset
of Symmetrix devices.
Creating Symmetrix Access Controls is a three-step process. The
configuration operations are available through the Symmetrix
command line interface (SYMCLI) and included as part of Symmetrix
Manager, which is a component of ECC. All security definitions are
stored internal to the Symmetrix system, so enforcement is
independent of any single host.
Creating Device Pools — The first step to creating Symmetrix Access
Controls is to define device pools. Device pools represent the lowest
level of granularity for which management security is established.
Device pools contain one or more Symmetrix volumes, located in a
single Symmetrix array. These pools can be defined by specifying
each of the Symmetrix logical volumes or an existing SYMCLI device
group.

ESN Management
7
Creating Access Groups — The next step is to establish access

groups. Access groups consist of one or more host systems. Each host
is defined by a unique host ID, which is calculated by Symmetrix
Access Control. Access groups are used to define which hosts are
allowed to perform specific management operations against explicit
device pools. In situations where a host system contains an ECC or
SYMAPI agent, all clients performing management operations
through that agent inherit the security defined for the host where the
agent resides.
Assigning Actions — The final step is to define what actions each
access group can perform on specific device pools. Actions include
active management functions such as disk reallocation, volume
configuration, Optimizer, and SRDF and TimeFinder controls. Any
hosts that have not been granted privileges have no management
control, even though they may have read-write access to the volumes.
Security Best Practices: Management Controls 7-23

ESN Management
7
Conclusion
Access control strategies are essential to creating secure ESN
environments. Not only do IT administrators have to manage access
to ESN hardware and software components, but they must also
control the management privileges of individual user groups.
Protecting the environment from internal misuse is as important as
protecting it from external hackers. The best practices described in
this chapter represent the principal methods for building and
managing a secure storage network. When applied, these methods
provide the discovery, access control, and path management
capabilities necessary to effectively perform management functions.
EMC provides a single storage management framework for
efficiently managing and sharing storage resources. The EMC
ControlCenter suite of products allows administrators to implement
access control strategies in an organized, efficient manner. ECC
eliminates the need for individual management tools from different
vendors by providing an end-to-end management application for
storage networks. From a central location, administrators can plan,
configure, control, tune, and monitor storage resources in the ESN
environment. Reducing complex management tasks allows
administrators to focus IT resources on implementing access control
strategies and creating a secure storage network.

nvisible Body Tag
A
Customer Support
This appendix reviews the EMC process for detecting and resolving
software problems, and provides essential questions that you should
answer before contacting the EMC Customer Support Center.
This appendix covers the following topics:
◆ Overview of Detecting and Resolving Problems .........................A-2
◆ Troubleshooting the Problem ..........................................................A-3
◆ Before Calling the Customer Support Center ...............................A-4
◆ Documenting the Problem...............................................................A-5
◆ Reporting a New Problem ...............................................................A-6
◆ Sending Problem Documentation...................................................A-7
Customer Support A-1

Customer Support
A
Overview of Detecting and Resolving Problems

EMC software products are supported directly by the EMC Customer
Support Center in the United States.
EMC uses the following process to resolve customer problems with
its software products (Figure A-1).
Problem
Detection
Refer to
Technical Support
Appendix in this Manual
Collect Problem
Information as
Directed
Contact the EMC Customer

Support Center:
U.S.: (800) SVC-4EMC
Canada: (800) 543-4SVC
Worldwide: (508) 497-7901
Confirm that the

Problem is Software
Related
Call will be Directed

to an EMC Software
Support Engineer
Problem is
Tracked and
Managed to
Resolution
Figure A-1 Problem Detection and Resolution Process
A-2 EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Customer Support
A
Troubleshooting the Problem

Please perform the relevant diagnostic steps before you contact the
EMC Customer Support Center:
1. Read the documentation carefully.
2. Reconstruct the events leading up to the problem and describe
them in writing.
3. Run some test cases to reproduce the problem.
If you encounter a problem that requires technical programming or
analysis, call the nearest EMC office or contact the EMC Customer
Support Center at one of the following numbers:
United States: (800) 782-4362 (SVC-4EMC)
Canada: (800) 543-4782 (543-4SVC)
Worldwide: (508) 497-7901
Please do not request a specific support representative unless one has already
been assigned to your particular system problem.
Troubleshooting the Problem A-3

Customer Support
A
Before Calling the Customer Support Center

Have the following information available before calling the Customer
Support Center or your support representative (if one has been
assigned to you):
❑ Your company name
❑ Your name
❑ Your phone number
❑ For an existing problem, the problem tracking system ID, if one
was previously assigned to the problem by a support
representative
❑ For an MVS problem, the JESLOG, SYSPRINT, all STDOUT DD
members of the server job output and similar output for the
client, and the relevant portion of the SYSLOG

Customer Support
A
Documenting the Problem

If the EMC Customer Support Center requests information regarding
the problem, please document it completely, making sure to include
the following information:
❑ Your company name and address
❑ Your name
❑ Your telephone number
❑ The importance of the problem, so that it can be assigned a
priority level
To expedite the processing of your support request, you can
photocopy this list and include it with the package.
Documenting the Problem A-5

Customer Support
A
Reporting a New Problem

For a new problem, please provide the following information:
❑ Release level of the software that you are running
❑ Software installation parameters
❑ Host type on which you are running
❑ Operating system you are running and its release number
❑ Functions of the software that you are running
❑ Whether you can reproduce the problem
❑ Previous occurrences of the problem
❑ Whether the software has ever worked correctly
❑ Time period that the software did work properly
❑ Conditions under which the software worked properly
❑ Changes to your system between the time the software worked
properly and the problem began
❑ Exact sequence of events that led to the system error
❑ Message numbers and complete text of any messages that the
system produced
❑ Log file dated near the time the error occurred
❑ Results from tests that you have run
❑ Other related system output
❑ Other information that may help solve the problem

Customer Support
A
Sending Problem Documentation

Use one of the following methods to send documentation of the
problem to the EMC Customer Support Center:
◆ E-mail
◆ FTP
◆ U.S. mail to the following address:
EMC Customer Support Center
45 South Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748-9103
If the problem was assigned a number or a specific support

representative, please include that information in the address as
well.
Sending Problem Documentation A-7

Customer Support
A

Glossary
This glossary contains terms related to EMC ControlCenter. Many of

these terms are used in this manual.
A
active alert An alert for which one or more trigger values have been met. Active
alerts display in the Active Alerts view in the Console. Respond to an
active alert by right-clicking it and selecting from a list of available
commands. An active alert displays until you remove or reset it or the
conditions that caused the alert to trigger are alleviated.
Administration folder A folder in the tree panel that contains a hierarchical tree of ECC
administration objects, organized by task: alert management, data
collection policies, security management, and so on. Drilling down
through the hierarchy displays increasing levels of detail, such as
specific definitions and templates.
agent A program, running on a system, that takes action on behalf of an

administrator or user. A ControlCenter agent typically acts on
policies, monitors, collects data, and executes commands initiated at
the Console.
alert An expression, based on a metric, that triggers notification when it is

observed. For example, an alert could be triggered when 95% or
greater storage utilization occurs for a particular device.
EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide g-1

Glossary
alert definition An alert for which keys, trigger values, and a schedule have been
defined, and optionally autofixes and a management policy. You
create alert definitions using the alert templates or by copying
existing alerts. See also management policy.
alert schedule Defines when ControlCenter should evaluate an alert. In a schedule,

you can define the interval at which the evaluation occurs (every 10
seconds, minutes, hours, and so on), the days of the week, and the
days of the year. ControlCenter provides several predefined
schedules, and you can define additional ones. One predefined
schedule is Agent Controlled. You cannot edit this schedule. It is used
in cases where ControlCenter uses intercepts or drivers that rely on
an event occurring (for example, a message being written to a log file
or ControlCenter itself completing a task).
alert type - count A count alert monitors values that can be calculated, such as the
percentage of free space in a file system or the size of a file. Count
alerts have numeric values for the triggers.
alert type - state A state alert evaluates whether a condition is true or false, such as
whether a subsystem or database is active or whether an important
file was backed up. State alerts have TRUE or FALSE as the trigger
value.
allocated capacity The amount of storage made available to hosts connected to a

Symmetrix system. In a direct-connect (SCSI or ESCON)
environment, Symmetrix devices are considered allocated as soon as
they are mapped to a front-end port. In a SAN (Fibre Channel)
environment, Symmetrix devices are considered allocated when
Volume Logix allows access from a specific host to those devices.
authentication agent A process that maintains user IDs and passwords.
authorization A mechanism within ControlCenter allowing you (the ControlCenter

administrator) to control user access to hosts, Symmetrix systems,
and the ControlCenter security management system. You create
authorization rules for users or user groups. Although you can only
create one authorization rule per user or user group, the security
management system provides endless flexibility by allowing you to
include users in multiple groups and to nest groups within other
groups. Users inherit the authorization rules of the groups to which
they belong and, similarly, groups inherit the authorization rules of
the groups in which they are nested.
g-2 EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Glossary
authorization rules A set of permissions assigned to ControlCenter users and user

groups. For example, you might create an authorization rule that
grants the user group SymmetrixAdmins permissions to use the
TimeFinder and SRDF applications for managing Symmetrix
systems. Unless the users are granted these permissions by some
other rule, ControlCenter would prevent users not in the
SymmetrixAdmins group from making changes to Symmetrix
devices.
autofix An action that ControlCenter can perform automatically when an

alert triggers, such as backing up or clearing a log file. ControlCenter
provides some autofixes; you can also create your own using existing
scripts, batch files, and executables, or by writing new ones.
B
back-end The configuration of disk directors and physical disk devices in a
configuration Symmetrix system. Back-end components are responsible for staging
data from the physical disk devices to cache and the subsequent
destaging of data from cache back to the physical devices.
Backup Agent for TSM A ControlCenter agent that allows you to monitor your TSM backup
(Tivoli Storage systems, looking for events that you define, such as failed backups
Manager) and increasing space utilization. TSM is a storage management
system to manage business information in an enterprise-wide Storage
Area Network (SAN) and traditional network environment.
Business Continuance A Symmetrix device that represents an additional mirror image of a

Volume (BCV) standard device. The BCV can be dynamically synchronized, and
split at any time, to create point-in-time copies of data. While a BCV is
split from the device, it can be allocated to a host. BCVs are located in
the same Symmetrix system as the devices they are mirroring.
C
Celerra File Server An EMC high-end network file server composed of two cabinets--
one cabinet contains the Symmetrix system, and the other cabinet
contains the Celerra File Server components.
CLARiiON An EMC midrange, scalable, full Fibre Channel storage array.
client A host that runs the ControlCenter management applications.

Glossary
Command History A function within the ControlCenter Console monitoring group that
provides a tabular view of the ControlCenter active commands
associated with managed objects. It shows who executed which
command on which object when.
Common Array The ControlCenter product that encompasses support for storage
Manager systems from other manufacturers such as Compaq StorageWorks,
HDS/HP, RVA/SVA, and IBM ESS.
configured capacity The amount of storage capacity configured into Symmetrix devices. It
is the usable capacity (the amount of storage a host can use to build a
file system or database). See also unconfigured capacity.
connected In regard to fabrics, a state where all the units comprising the fabric
have physically intact links between them to conduct I/O
transactions from any unit to any other unit in the fabric. A fabric
could have some physical links down and still be connected if there
are sufficient physical links to allow I/O to and from all of the units.
Connectivity Agent for A ControlCenter agent that monitors the VCM database on each
SDM Symmetrix system for storage access control configuration changes.
The SDM (storage device masking) Agent discovers volume access
control information for each Symmetrix system in a storage network
and updates the Repository with configuration changes.
Connectivity Agent for A ControlCenter agent that manages information gathered by generic
SNMP SNMP agents in the storage network, updates the Console with
current connectivity settings, executes data collection policies, and
generates alerts. It is generally installed on the same host as the ECC
Server.
Connectivity Agent for A ControlCenter agent that monitors switch status through
Switches vendor-supplied software. The Connectivity Agent for Switches
discovers topology and fabric information for switches, runs data
collection policies to monitor topology and fabric status, and updates
the Repository with switch connection data. Typically, a single
instance of the Switch Agent is installed.
connectivity device Any device that indirectly connects hosts with storage arrays. They
may also be devices that allow connections to other connectivity
devices, but with the ultimate purpose of connecting hosts to storage
arrays. Examples include: switches, hubs, bridges, and patch panels.

Glossary
Connectivity folder A folder in the tree panel that contains a hierarchical tree of
connectivity objects, organized by connectivity device, links, or
unknown ports. Drilling down through the hierarchy displays
increasing levels of detail, such as specific switches and ports.
Console The user interface to ControlCenter. It provides the core functionality;

other applications are built into the Console as plug-ins. The Console
allows the user to manage objects, views, and actions together in an
intuitive flow, to achieve a particular task.
D
database agents A collective term for the ControlCenter agents that monitor or
manage host databases. Database agents are provided for Oracle and
MVS DB2. The agent typically gathers configuration, status, and
performance data from the database and may support control actions.
Database Tuner An EMC application that analyzes database and storage objects (for
(Symmetrix) example, an Oracle database and Symmetrix system) from a single
location. It monitors and tunes the database object for improved
database performance, optimizes it for the storage object, and
identifies storage devices that are causing bottlenecks for database
access.
data collection policy A formal set of statements used to manage the data collected by
ControlCenter agents. A policy specifies the data to collect and the
collection frequency. Most agents have associated predefined
collection policies and collection policy templates that can be
configured through the ECC Administration task.
data collection policy A template that provides default values for the creation of new
template collection policies. ControlCenter provides one or more policy
template for each agent. You can configure your own policies by
modifying the collection policy templates.
device group A group of devices that can be managed using a single device group
name. ControlCenter allows you to view, create, and modify SYMCLI
device groups and to perform operations on the device group. Device
groups (unlike ControlCenter) are associated with a particular host
and Symmetrix. For example, you might set up a group of all devices
used by a particular host. Another group might be all devices used in
a particular database. See also group.

Glossary
device reallocation A non-user-addressable device within the Symmetrix that is

volume (DRV) designated to act as the temporary staging area while a pair of
Symmetrix devices are swapped by the Optimizer product.
discoverable object A connectivity device in the storage network that can be identified by
an agent. The following attributes of the object must be identified: IP
address, world wide name (WWN), ports, neighboring switches,
type, management information base (MIB), Fibre Channel adapter
(FA) port, director, and serial number.
discovery The process of identifying storage systems, hosts, ports, links,

switches, and other objects in the storage network. Discovery is
performed by the Storage Agent for Symmetrix and Host Agent once
they are installed, according to a predefined discovery policy. The
user initiates discovery of other objects in the topology using the
SNMP Collector, ESN Switch Agent, ESN SDM Agent, Oracle Agent,
other ControlCenter agents, and various vendor agents. The agents
collect data from the objects in the storage network and correlate it in
the Repository. Once the discovered data is in the Repository, it
remains persistent and adheres to normal update, delete, and
rediscovery constraints.
E
ECC Server The primary interface between the Console(s), Repository, and
agents. It also provides many of the common services to the
ControlCenter infrastructure.
EMC ControlCenter A family of products that enables you to discover, monitor, automate,
provision, and report on host storage resources, networks, and
storage across your entire information environment from a single
Console.
Enterprise Storage A storage network implementation that integrates products,

Network (ESN) technology, and services offering universal data access for every
major computing platform, operating system, and application across
any combination of SCSI, Ultra SCSI, Fibre Channel, and ESCON
technologies.
Enterprise System A set of IBM and vendor products that interconnect S/390 computers
Connection (ESCON) with each other, with attached storage, and with other devices using
optical fiber technology and dynamically modifiable ESCON
directors.

Glossary
F
Framework ControlCenter software that consists of a component that integrates
Integration package ControlCenter into various third-party framework applications such
(ControlCenter) as HP OpenView or CA Unicenter, and an agent (the Integration
Gateway) that uses SNMP to monitor events and interface to the
third-party application.
front-end The configuration of host channels, SCSI, ESCON, and Fibre Channel
configuration directors, ports, and Symmetrix logical devices. Front-end
components are responsible for handling I/O requests from hosts and
serving the data from cache.
functional device A unique ID that the RVA or SVA uses for an MVS device.
identifier (FDID)
G
gatekeeper A Symmetrix device accessible by the host through which the
ControlCenter agent communicates with the Symmetrix. The
gatekeeper routes low-level SYMAPI commands to the Symmetrix.
group A group of objects that allows you to logically group hosts,

Symmetrix systems, and other objects that ControlCenter manages.
Creating object groups simplifies how you manage object
permissions. For example, you can create an object group that
includes all your UNIX hosts and then grant your UNIX
administrators permissions to perform actions on those hosts.
H
host agents A group of ControlCenter agents that monitor or manage the host
environment. Host agents are provided for AIX, HP-UX, Novell,
Solaris, Windows, and various MVS subsystems. The agent typically
gathers configuration, status, and performance data from the host on
which it is running and may support control actions.
host bus adapter An I/O adapter that sits between the host computer’s bus and the
(HBA) Fibre Channel loop, and manages the transfer of information between
the two channels.
Hosts folder A folder in the tree panel that contains a hierarchical tree of host
objects, organized by operating system: Solaris, Windows, MVS, and
so on. Drilling down through the hierarchy displays increasing levels
of detail, such as specific hosts, databases, and tablespaces.

Glossary
hot spare device A powered up physical disk drive that a Symmetrix system can use in
situations such as the failure of a standard (STD), R1, or R2 device.
hyper device The splitting of a physical disk into two or more devices. The host
views hyper volumes as individual physical devices. Also called
Symmetrix device (logical device).
infrastructure A collective term that describes the base ControlCenter components:

ECC Server, Store, and Repository.
Integration Gateway A ControlCenter agent that provides an interface from the ECC
Server to management framework applications such as HP
OpenView Network Node Manager, Tivoli NetView, or the CA
Unicenter TNG Framework, enabling those applications to display
ControlCenter information. See also Framework Integration package.
L
login history table A table residing on Symmetrix systems that contains the current and
(LHT) historical login information of host HBAs logging into each FA in a
Symmetrix system. The information in the table can be used to track
changes in a configuration.
log file A file (one for each ControlCenter component) that contains output
messages from component execution. Log files contain messages
with different levels of output that indicate message severity. When a
log file reaches a maximum size, a new log is created. The number of
log files per component is configurable; the default is five. Once the
maximum number of logs are created, the first log is reused.
logical device The process of defining additional storage capacity from

configuration unconfigured space within a Symmetrix system.
logical unit number An addressing model for devices in which each separately
(LUN) addressable logical unit in a storage system has a unique LUN ID,
which is a hexadecimal number. The default ID for the first new LUN
is the smallest available one; for the next new LUN, it is the next
smallest available, and so on.
M
managed object Hosts, databases, file systems, storage systems, switches, and other
connectivity devices in the storage network that can be managed by
ControlCenter.

Glossary
management A formal description of each network object and storage component,

information base organized in a hierarchical tree structure. The information for each
(MIB) object is addressed using an object identifier (OID). An application
typically reads or writes the information for each object using a
network management protocol like SNMP. A basic MIB is defined as
part of SNMP. All other MIBs are extensions of this basic MIB.
Therefore MIBs (or more accurately, MIB extensions) exist for each set
of related network entities that can be managed.
management policy A formal set of statements that defines the users (scripts, SNMP trap,
and so on) that ControlCenter should notify when an alert triggers,
and how those users should be notified. Notification options include:
a message through the Console, an e-mail, and a message to a
management framework such as Hewlett Packard’s OpenView.
mapped capacity Devices that are mapped to front-end ports on a Symmetrix system.
Host systems cannot access device unless they are mapped to
front-end ports. See also unmapped capacity.
Master Agent A ControlCenter agent that manages the installation, starting, and
stopping of other agents on the host. Required on every host running
an agent (except for the Connectivity Agent for SNMP).
media repository An area on the ECC Server to which ControlCenter components are
downloaded before they are installed. Installation and licensing
information is captured and shared through the media repository
tables.
meta device Meta devices are Symmetrix devices concatenated together to form a
larger device. The Symmetrix devices forming the meta device are all
accessed through the same target/LUN value. The SDR component
reports the Symmetrix meta device number as the device number of
the first device in the group, which is also known as the meta head.
The remaining members of the group are known as meta members.
mirroring The concept of maintaining data on both a production volume and a

mirror volume. RAID technology (for example RAID Level 1)
provides various levels of mirroring at the physical disk level.
TimeFinder uses local mirroring to protect data at the logical volume
level by maintaining data on both a production volume and a mirror
volume within the same storage unit. SRDF uses remote mirroring,
which is similar to local mirroring except that the production volume
resides in one storage unit while its mirror resides in a different
storage unit.

Glossary
MVS (OS/390) An operating system from IBM that is installed on most of its
mainframe and large server computers. Payroll, accounts receivable,
transaction processing, database management, and other programs
critical to large businesses typically run on an MVS system.
N
Navisphere An EMC application that manages storage for CLARiiON storage
systems. It configures, monitors, and tunes CLARiiON disk arrays,
provides the Console with the status of CLARiiON systems, and
indicates when an alert occurs by changing the color of the
CLARiiON icon.
net capacity load In an RVA/SVA storage array, a statistic measuring the percentage of
(NCL) actual total physical capacity of the subsystem or one of its partitions
(test or production). A value of 70 to 80 is considered normal for
NCL.
O
OnAlert An EMC application that provides remote support functionality and,
optionally, dial-home capability to Symmetrix systems.
Open Integration The ControlCenter product encompassing the set of common services
Components available to all EMC ControlCenter/Open Edition products,
including centralized install, agents for all managed entities, login
and access control administration, a Repository, and so on.
Optimizer A separate product that automatically collects, analyzes, and

dynamically balances physical drive I/O load by swapping
Symmetrix devices.
P
Performance view A view displaying Symmetrix performance statistics about various
objects available within ControlCenter. For each object, ongoing
real-time data can be displayed in chart form, or point-in-time data
can be displayed in table form.
permissions A set of permissions granted to a ControlCenter user that grant

permission to perform specific actions on specific objects. A user’s
permissions are controlled by an authorization rule applied directly
to the user, plus those permissions the user inherits from the user

Glossary
groups to which they belong. ControlCenter provides several default

permission sets. The ECCAdministrators Rule is a set of permissions
created by default when you first start the ECC Server. It grants to
members of the ECCAdminstrators user group all permissions on all
objects. The rule is intended for initial set up of your ControlCenter
groups and permissions.
point/record In Workload Analyzer, a point or a record represents the value of data

collected by an agent at a specific time. For example, if the agent
collects statistical data every 15 minutes, the data collected at 8:15 is
represented by one point or one record. When looking at a WLA
Performance view graph, each value is represented by one point on
the graph. However, when talking about Performance Archives,
Revolving data, and Analyst data, you can use the terms record and
point interchangeably.
port flags Settings assigned to front-end ports that tell a Symmetrix system how
to communicate with different host types and how to behave in
certain situations.
production partition In the RVA or SVA subsystem, a classification assigned to drives in

use (or available) for data storage. The production partition has no
functional difference from the test partition.
proxy agent A Symmetrix agent that provides indirect access to a host running the
SYMAPI Server and directly connected to a Symmetrix system. The
SYMAPI Server host receives requests for data or commands from the
Symmetrix Agent, acts upon the data request or command, and
replies to the Symmetrix Agent. A proxy host is typically used in a
situation where the SYMAPI Server host is running on a platform not
supported for the Symmetrix Agent, such as MVS.
Q
quality of service A function within the ControlCenter Console that reduces the
(QoS) resources allocated for Business Continuance Volumes (BCVs) or
SRDF copy operations on selected devices. QoS allows you to control
the balance between standard and BCV/SRDF operations.

Glossary
R
RA group A logical grouping of source (R1) or target (R2) devices associated
with a remote link director. Up to 16 RA groups may exist in an SRDF
configuration.
rediscover A process that refreshes ControlCenter by retrieving the latest

topology connection settings from the Repository.
Relationship view A function within the ControlCenter Console that provides a

complete mapping of host objects to Symmetrix devices, with
physical, logical, and line-of-business views.
remote link director A two-port serial channel or Fibre Channel director

(RLD) microcode-configured as the link between the two Symmetrix
systems in a Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) configuration.
Reports folder A folder in the tree panel that contains a hierarchical tree of
ControlCenter and user-defined reports, organized by type. Drilling
down through the hierarchy displays specific reports.
Repository A central, relational database that contains the aggregation of all the
data about your installation’s managed environment.
Resource Availability A ControlCenter application that allows platform-independent

management of logical storage resources. Resource Availability:
• Automates event response to storage resource issues, such as
backup status and capacity utilization
• Contains established business policies designed to improve
service levels and availability
• Eliminates the need for host-specific configuration and
monitoring commands
rules See authorization rules.
S
schedule A set of instructions that defines when ControlCenter events should
occur, such as the evaluation of an alert or the collection of statistics.
In a schedule, you can define the interval at which an event occurs
(every 10 seconds, minutes, hours, and so on), the days of the week,
and the days of the year. ControlCenter provides several predefined
schedules, and you can define additional ones.

Glossary
Server See ECC Server.
SNMP Agent Vendor software installed on connectivity devices that responds to

management requests through the SNMP protocol. SNMP agents
detect changes in the physical connectivity of devices in the SAN.
Data generated by SNMP agents is used by the Connectivity Agent
for SNMP to update the Console and generate alerts. One SNMP
Agent can manage multiple devices.
Solutions Enabler An EMC product included with ControlCenter that can manage and
retrieve configuration, status, and performance information from
Symmetrix systems. The Solutions Enabler components include
SYMCLI, SYMAPI, and SYMAPI Server.
spares partition In the RVA or SVA subsystem, the classification assigned to drives
that have passed media acceptance testing but are currently unused
for data storage. Such drives are called spares.
SRDF (Symmetrix A ControlCenter plug-in (optional application) that manages

Remote Data Facility) business continuance and disaster recovery operations using remote
mirroring.
Status Acknowledged A folder in the tree panel in which you can store managed objects that
folder have a warning or error status. If you drag an object that has a
warning or error status on it (yellow caution or red X) into this folder,
then the object’s status will not propagate up the tree causing a parent
icon to show the warning or error icon when that parent is collapsed.
The purpose is to acknowledge that you saw the status condition
without being reminded of it through the parent object.
storage agents A group of ControlCenter agents that monitor or manage storage

arrays. Storage agents are provided for Symmetrix, CLARiiON,
Celerra, Compaq StorageWorks, HDS, RVA/SVA, and IBM ESS
storage arrays. The agent runs on a host connected to the storage
array and typically gathers configuration, status, and performance
data and may support control actions.
storage allocation The process of finding and configuring suitable storage space for use
by a host.

Glossary
storage area network A special-purpose network (or sub network) that interconnects
(SAN) different kinds of data storage devices with associated data servers
on behalf of a larger network of users. Typically, a SAN is part of the
overall network of computing resources for an enterprise. A SAN is
usually clustered in close proximity to other computing resources,
but may also extend to remote locations for backup and archival
storage, using wide area network carrier technologies such as
asynchronous transfer mode or synchronous optical networks.
storage device An access control mechanism for Symmetrix systems that regulates
masking (SDM) which host bus adapters in a Fibre Channel environment can access
specific Symmetrix volumes. Synonymous with LUN masking.
Storage folder A folder in the tree panel that contains a hierarchical tree of storage
system objects, organized by type: Celerra, CLARiiON, HDS,
StorageWorks, Symmetrix, and so on. Drilling down through the
hierarchy displays increasing levels of detail, such as specific storage
systems, host directors, and individual storage devices.
StorageScope A ControlCenter optional application that addresses the storage

metering and capacity planning requirements of organizations
interested in consolidating their storage, and improving their storage
utilization and asset management.
Store A ControlCenter infrastructure component that populates the

Repository with data from the agents, and controls the sending and
receiving of data between the agents and the Repository.
Symmetrix An integrated cache disk array (ICDA) storage array that provides
centralized, sharable enterprise storage. It helps create an information
infrastructure capable of managing large, complex ultra-dynamic
storage area network (SAN) environments by consolidating storage
from multiple heterogeneous hosts onto a single system.
Symmetrix Data An EMC application that allows you to configure, monitor, and
Mobility Manager manage the replication of data between Symmetrix devices.
(SDMM)
Symmetrix Device A function within the ControlCenter Console storage allocation task
Reallocation (SDR) that allows you to map Symmetrix devices to the front-end director
ports of the Symmetrix system. You must map a device to one or
more front-end ports to make it available to a host.

Glossary
Symmetrix Manager A set of functions accessed from within the ControlCenter Console
that allows the user to monitor the status, performance, and
configuration of Symmetrix systems and to perform active
Symmetrix commands such as TimeFinder, SRDF and configuration
changes. The Symmetrix Manager also allows you to modify the
configuration of a Symmetrix system. The controllable areas include
logical device allocation, device type definition, meta device
configuration, SDR, and port flag settings.
T
tape agent A ControlCenter agent for MVS that manages tape systems. It has
functions for a Virtual Tape Server (VTS) tape system, a CA-1 tape
software package by CA, a StorageTek tape silo environment, and
RMM (Removable Media Manager—a software product by IBM).
target panel The right panel in the Console, displaying one or more views of task
data for the managed object(s) currently selected in the tree panel.
taskbar A blue bar, located by default below the menu bar, providing access
to five task buttons: Storage Allocation, Monitoring, Performance
Mgt, ECC Administration, and Data Protection. Clicking a task
button opens a drop-down menu offering a selection of views.
template A set of default values for the creation of new alerts. ControlCenter
provides templates for every alert. You can specify your own default
settings by modifying the alert templates.
test partition In the RVA or SVA subsystem, a classification assigned to drives in

use (or available) for data storage. The test partition has no functional
difference from the production partition.
TimeFinder A ControlCenter plug-in that allows customers to use Business

Continuance Volumes (BCVs) to provide a local mirror of Symmetrix
devices, while the standard devices are online for regular host
operations.
time window In the context of Optimizer, a period in time during which an aspect
of Optimizer’s behavior is controlled. Performance time windows
allow you to specify which samples (past or future) Symmetrix
Optimizer should consider when running its swap generation
algorithm. Swap time windows allow you to specify when
Symmetrix Optimizer should or should not perform swap activity.

Glossary
topology A description of the physical and logical configuration of the storage

network, including storage systems, hosts, ports, connectivity
devices, and connecting links.
topology discovery A ControlCenter core function that automatically identifies storage,

hosts, ports, links, switches, and other objects in a storage network.
See also discovery.
topology editing A ControlCenter feature that allows display in the topology map of
objects that the Console cannot discover automatically. For example,
some elements do not have software-based management interfaces
(they are entirely hardware entities). Topology editing can depict
those elements by providing the desired placement in the map and
some basic properties of the object. The Topology Editing feature
allows you to display this object in the map, and manually supply
missing connectivity information. In addition to properties, user
editing allows you to manually define an object’s relationship to
other entities in the topology map.
topology map A ControlCenter core function that provides a picture of elements in

the storage network. It depicts those objects selected in the tree panel
and the connectivity relationships between them in a graphical
display. For example, if you select a host, the topology map displays
all children of the host and all connections for the host, such as HBAs,
connections, switches, and storage. The topology map reflects the
state of elements that are discoverable through the Connectivity
Agent for SNMP.
tree panel The left panel in the Console, displaying all the objects in the storage
environment, organized by type.
trigger The logical operator that evaluates an alert condition (for example,
>90% storage utilization).
U
unallocated capacity The amount of storage formatted into Symmetrix devices but not yet
allocated to a host. Unallocated capacity includes both mapped and
unmapped devices but does not include unconfigured capacity. See
also allocated capacity.
unconfigured The amount of storage capacity that remains unconfigured (often

capacity expressed in terms of the raw size of the physical drive, such as 36
GB). See also configured capacity.

Glossary
uncollected free The space for deleted data that the RVA or SVA has been informed of
space (by Deleted Data Space Release (DDSR) processes) but has not yet
freed.
undiscoverable An object in the storage network that cannot be identified by an

object agent. An object may remain undiscovered if an agent cannot identify
any of the following attributes: IP address, world wide name (WWN),
ports, neighboring switch, type, management information base
(MIB), Fibre Channel adapter (FA) port, director or serial number.
unmapped capacity Devices or capacity that have been configured, but not mapped to
front-end ports on a Symmetrix system. Host systems cannot access
volumes unless they are mapped to front-end ports. See also mapped
capacity.
user groups User groups simplify the management of ControlCenter user

permissions. You can create authorization rules for user groups and
grant permissions to users by including them in specific user groups.
For example, you might create a WindowsAdmin user group that has
full permissions on all Windows hosts. You would include all of your
Windows administrators in that user group.
V
VCM database A database, residing on a Symmetrix system, that contains host access
information for Symmetrix volumes. Each Symmetrix system has its
own VCM database.
Visual Storage A function in Symmetrix Manager that shows the configuration of a

Symmetrix system. The view can include all directors, channels,
cache, ports, and devices, as well as the links between them. You can
configure Visual Symmetrix to your specific needs, such as to display
disk devices that are serviced by any disk assembly, or to display
which volumes are in RAID-S groups.
volume A general term referring to a logical storage device. Synonymous

with Symmetrix device.
Volume Logix An EMC application that controls access to Symmetrix volumes. It

avoids conflict, between host-based access control mechanisms, by
using a single, centralized monitoring function. Using Volume Logix,
you can define a virtual channel connecting each host with its storage
volumes in a Symmetrix system, even though there may be many
hosts sharing the same Symmetrix port.

Glossary
W
WLA Archiver A ControlCenter agent that retrieves and archives collections of data
from individual agents, and organizes (rolls up) collected data into
summaries for the reports. The summarized data is saved to a data
archive, separate from the Repository.
WLA Performance An optional ControlCenter application that is used for viewing

View historical and revolving performance and configuration data of
Symmetrix systems, hosts, and Oracle databases. WLA Archiver
manages the statistical data collected for historical analysis through
WLA Performance View.
world wide name A unique 48- or 64-bit number assigned by a recognized naming
(WWN) authority (often via block assignment to a manufacturer) that
identifies a connection or set of connections to a network. A WWN is
assigned for the life of the connection or device.

Index
Symbols Attributes
3-5 adaptive copy disk mode 5-14
adaptive copy write pending 5-14
domino effect 5-15
Numerics SEMI-SYNC 5-13
3390 DASD track format 1-12 SYNC 5-13
4-port, 2-processor serial channel director 1-16 system-level 5-32
4-port, 4-processor serial channel director 1-16 Availability features 4-2
cache error correction and verification 4-4
A disk error correction and verification 4-3
Access control Availability guidelines
assigning actions 7-23 dynamic sparing 4-6
creating access groups 7-23 mirroring 4-5
creating device pools 7-22 SRDF option 4-6
of volumes 7-16
within ESN 7-4 B
Access groups Backplane 1-5
for access control 7-23 Backups without a remote host 5-44
Active LED Battery backup 1-6
channel director operator panel 1-8 BCV
Adaptive copy as a primary (source) device 5-43
disk mode 5-14 concurrent operations 5-41
disk mode attribute 5-14 mirror 6-3
write pending attribute 5-14 pairs 6-3
Adaptive copying mode 5-30 performing remote backups 5-44
copy disk mode 5-31 SRDF multi-hop 5-45
write-pending mode 5-30 Bidirectional link protocol 5-26
Administrator hosts Block capacity 1-11
within ESN 7-7 Block format sizes 1-10
Asset discovery Brocade switches 7-20
within ESN 7-4 Business continuance operations 5-41 to 6-18
Assigning actions differential split 6-11
for access control 7-23 establish 6-6
EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide i-1

Index
incremental restore 6-17 Control stations

reestablish 6-13 within ESN 7-7
restore 6-15 Cooling module 1-5
split 6-9 Count-key-data (CKD) format 1-12
system setup 6-2 Creating device pools
Business Continuance Volume 6-2 for access control 7-22
Customer support xvii, A-3
Customer Support Center A-7
C
problem resolution process A-2
Cache
algorithms 3-2
basic operation 2-10 D
error correction and verification 4-4 Data
host cache use 2-2 availability features 4-2
management 2-3 to 2-4 delayed fast write 2-13
prefetch algorithm 2-4 fast write 2-12
requirements for PermaCache 3-5 integrity protection 4-4
sizes 1-18 read hit 2-11
Caching techniques 2-5 read miss 2-11
disk microprocessor and buffer 2-5 transfer rates 1-16
high speed cache 2-5 Data and command formats 1-12 to 1-13
multiple disk directors 2-5 data records 1-13
sequential access patterns 2-5 home address (HA) 1-13
split director functions 2-5 index marker 1-13
Campus connectivity 5-20 record zero (RO) 1-13
Channel track capacity 1-13
cable length 3-4 track format 1-12
interfaces 1-16 Data integrity protection
speed 3-4 error verification 4-3
Channel director periodic system check tests 4-3
configurations 1-18 Data Mobility 5-2
serial 1-16 Data protection options
SRDF Remote Link 1-16 Dynamic Sparing 4-6
Commands, TimeFinder mirroring 4-5
differential split 6-11 SRDF 4-6
establish 6-6 Data records
incremental restore 6-17 track format 1-13
reestablish 6-13 Data Vaulting 5-18
restore 6-15 Delayed fast write operation 2-13
split 6-9 Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) 5-5
Comments Destaging operation 2-12
where to send xvii Device
Concurrent RDF 5-33 domino mode 5-31
Connect time 2-6, 2-7 Device states 5-9
Connectivity Differential split 6-11
with SRDF 5-4 Directors 1-14
Consistency groups 5-34 to 5-36 disk 1-18
i-2 EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Index
SRDF Remote Link 1-16 performance monitoring 7-4

Disconnect time 2-6, 2-7 physical topology of security 7-8
Disk devices 1-6, 1-10 sample environment 7-9
DASD emulation 1-10 security best practices 7-4, 7-6
emulation types 1-11 zoning security 7-11
error correction and verification 4-3 Enterprise Storage Platform (ESP)
FBA data and command format 1-10 when to use 1-10
logical-to-physical volume relationships 3-6 Error checking and correction
number of per director 1-18 cache 4-4
RPS miss elimination 2-11 disk 4-3
SCSI emulation 1-10 ESCON
software requirement for mixed system 1-10 Remote Adapter 5-16
track capacity for 1-13 SRDF distance limitations 5-5
Disk director 1-18 ESN Manager
cache error verification 4-4 creating zones with 7-14, 7-15
Disk Drive Assemblies (DDAs) 1-10 importing zoning configurations 7-15
Documentation, related xv VCMDB 7-18
Domino effect attribute 5-15 volume access control 7-16
Domino mode Establish
device 5-31 commands 6-6
link 5-31 Ethernet Hub 1-6
Dual-directional link protocol 5-26 Extended count-key-data (ECKD) 1-12
DWDM 5-5 Extended distance 5-21
Dynamic Mirror Service Policy (DMSP) 3-3 DWDM 5-21
Dynamic Path Reconnection (DPR) 2-14 ESCON 5-21
Dynamic spares 5-7 External modem 1-6
Dynamic sparing
availability guidelines 4-6
F
Failover (target takeover) 5-39
E FarPoint 5-23
EMC ControlCenter software 5-5 performance impact 5-25
EMC Customer Support Center A-2 preserving synchronization 5-24
Enable/Disable switch Fast write ceiling 3-2
channel director operator panel 1-8 Fast write operation 2-12, 3-2
Enginuity xiii Fast-Wide SCSI director
Enginuity operating environment 1-2 operator panel 1-8 to 1-9
Enterprise Storage Network (ESN) Fault management
access control 7-2, 7-4 within ESN 7-4
asset discovery 7-2, 7-4 Fibre Channel
fault management 7-4 Remote Adapter 5-16
health monitoring 7-4 SRDF distance limitations 5-5
manage systems 7-7
management controls 7-22
H
monitor systems 7-7
Hard zoning
overview of 7-2
benefits of 7-11
path management 7-4
drawbacks of 7-12

Index
HBA replacement L
benefit of hard zoning 7-11 LAN/WAN distance limitations 5-5
Health monitoring Laptop PC 1-6
within ESN 7-4 Link domino mode 5-31
Help xvii Link protocols
Home Address (HA) bidirectional 5-26
track format 1-13 dual-directional 5-26
Host accessibility unidirectional 5-26
source volumes 5-12 Links
target volumes 5-12 possible states 5-27
Hosts channels 1-14 Local mirroring 5-2
Hyper-volumes Local volumes 5-7
open systems 3-6 Logical volume attributes 5-13 to 5-15
per physical device 3-6 adaptive copy 5-14
domino effect 5-15
I source volumes 5-13 to 5-15
I/O operations Logical volume states 5-9 to 5-12
delayed fast write 2-13 host accessibility 5-12
fast write 2-12 host view 5-11
overview 2-6 to 2-9 source volume 5-10, 5-11
read hit 2-11 SRDF view 5-10
read miss 2-11 target volume 5-10, 5-11
I/O response time Logical volumes
connect time 2-7 capacity calculation 1-11
connect time (mainframe) 2-6 Logical-to-physical volume relationships 3-6
disconnect time 2-6, 2-7
pend time (mainframe) 2-6 M
queuing time 2-7 Main components 1-3 to 1-7
queuing time (mainframe) 2-6 backplane 1-5
ICDA operation 2-2 to 2-5 battery subsystem 1-6
Incremental restore 6-17 card cage 1-5
Index marker cooling modules 1-5
track format 1-13 disk devices 1-6
Integrated cached disk array (ICDA) 2-2 Ethernet Hub 1-6
Invalid tracks power subsystem 1-6
threshold 5-14 service processor 1-6
warning 5-32 Manage systems
ISL congestion within ESN 7-7
correcting 7-12 Management controls
within ESN 7-22
J McData switches 7-20
Journal 0 mode 5-28 Media Types
Journal 1 mode 5-28 ESCON 5-4
SRDF campus 5-4
SRDF extended distance 5-4
SRDF over IP 5-5

Index
Fibre Channel 5-4 PermaCache 3-5

Meta devices 5-8 and power failures 3-5
Mirroring 4-6 Port ID (PID)
advantages 4-5 and zoning 7-11
availability guidelines 4-5 Power LED
local vs. remote 5-2 channel director operator panel 1-8
Mixed track geometries 1-12 Power subsystem 1-6
Modes of operation Prefetch algorithm 2-4
primary 5-28 to 5-29 Primary volumes 5-6
real-time 5-28
secondary 5-30 to 5-32
Q
Monitor systems
Queuing time 2-6, 2-7
within ESN 7-6, 7-7
Multimode fiber
distance limitations 5-5 R
Multiple LRU lists 2-4 RA 5-16
RAF 5-16
N RAID-1 5-2, 6-3
RAID-S 4-8, 6-3
Not ready state
disk devices 4-10
source volumes 5-10, 5-11
Read operations 2-10 to 2-11, 5-38
target volumes 5-10, 5-11
long miss 2-11
read hit 2-11
O read miss 2-11
Operational modes short miss 2-11
adaptive copy-disk mode 5-26 Read/write state
Operator panel source volumes 5-10
channel director display 1-8 to 1-9 target volumes 5-10
functions 1-8 Read-only state
source volumes 5-11
target volumes 5-10
P
Record Zero (R0)
Parallel processing 3-3
track format 1-13
Path management
Recovery operations 5-39 to 5-40
within ESN 7-4
Reestablish 6-13
PC Reset Button
Reliability features
channel director operator panel 1-8
cache error correction and verification 4-4
Pend time 2-6
disk error correction and verification 4-3
Performance features
dynamic sparing 4-7
cache 3-2
Remote Fibre Channel Directors 1-18
channel speed 3-4
Remote link directors 1-16
fast write capabilities 3-2
Remote mirroring 5-2
multiple channel directors 3-2
Restore 6-15
parallel processing 3-3
RF 5-16
Performance monitoring
RPS Miss Elimination 3-4
within ESN 7-4

Index
S Suspend channel program 5-36

Secondary volumes 5-7 Switches
Security Brocade 7-20
within ESN 7-4, 7-6 McData 7-20
Segmented data buffer(ing) 3-4 Symmetrix
SEMI-SYNC attribute 5-13 access controls 7-22
Semi-synchronous mode 5-28 cache 1-18
Sequential data access patterns 2-4 channel interfaces 1-16
Serial channel director 1-16 data availability features 4-2
Service xvii data integrity 4-4
Short miss 2-11 I/O operations 2-6 to 2-13
SID Lock Down internal components 1-5
smart zoning 7-13 mirroring 4-6
Single HBA zoning 7-13 operator panel 1-8 to 1-9
Skew parameter 5-14 PermaCache 3-5
Smart zoning service processor 1-6
advantages of 7-13 Symmetrix Remote Data Facility
Soft zoning Refer to SRDF
advantages of 7-12 SYNC attribute 5-13
drawbacks of 7-12 Synchronous mode 5-28
Source ID (SID) System check tests 4-3
and zoning 7-11 System-level attributes 5-32
lock down feature 7-19
Source volumes 5-6 T
attributes 5-13 to 5-15 Target takeover 5-39
host accessibility 5-12 Target volumes 5-7
host view 5-11 host accessibility 5-12
not ready state 5-10, 5-11 host view 5-11
read/write state 5-10 not ready state 5-11
write-disabled state 5-11 read/write state 5-10
write-enabled state 5-11 read-only state 5-10
Split 6-9 write-disabled state 5-11
SRDF write-enabled state 5-11
adaptive copy function 5-26 Technical support xvii, A-3
campus solution 5-19 TimeFinder components 6-3
configurations 5-17 to 5-25 BCV mirror 6-3
FarPoint 5-23 BCV pair 6-3
hardware 5-16 standard device mirrors 6-3
over IP 5-22 TimeFinder Manager
overview 5-2 overview 6-2
SRDF FarPoint TimeFinder operations 6-4 to 6-18
performance impact 5-25 differential split 6-11
SRDF/ Data Mobility (SRDF/DM) 5-2 establish 6-6
Standard device mirrors 6-3 incremental restore 6-17
Standard devices 6-3 reestablish 6-13
Storage directors 3-2 restore 6-15

Index
split 6-9 World Wide Name (WWW)

Track capacity 1-13 and zoning 7-11
Track format Write operations 5-37
3390 and 3380 DASD 1-12 delayed fast write 2-13
fast write 2-12
Write-disabled state
U
source volumes 5-11
Ultra2 SCSI 1-15
target volumes 5-11
Unidirectional link protocol 5-26
Write-enabled state
source volumes 5-11
V target volumes 5-11
VCMDB
considerations before enabling 7-19 Z
volume access control 7-18
Zone
Volume access control 7-16
creating with ESN Manager 7-14, 7-15
sample of 7-17
example of 7-14
VCMDB
hard zoning 7-11
features of 7-18
identifying a 7-11
Volume types 5-6 to 5-8
importing configurations 7-15
security, within ESN 7-11
W single HBA 7-13
Windows NT meta devices 5-8 smart zoning 7-13
World Wide Name (WWN) soft zoning 7-12
where to find list 7-12

Index

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EMC ControlCenter

SYMMETRIX STORAGE CONCEPTS GUIDE

ii EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Symmetrix System

Chapter 2 Symmetrix Input/Output Operations

EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide iii

Chapter 3 Symmetrix Performance Features

Chapter 4 Data Management

Chapter 5 Introduction to SRDF

iv EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

SRDF Volume Types........................................................................ 5-6

EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide v

Recovery Operations ..................................................................... 5-39

Chapter 6 EMC TimeFinder Operations

Chapter 7 ESN Management

vi EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Security Best Practices: Volume Access Control ....................... 7-16

Appendix A Customer Support

Glossary ........................................................................................................................ g-1

Index ............................................................................................................................... i-1

EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide vii

viii EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide ix

x EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide xi

xii EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

As part of its effort to continuously improve and enhance the performance

EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide xiii

Organization This guide is organized as follows:

xiv EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Related Other guides in the EMC ControlCenter documentation set include:

EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide xv

A note presents information that is important, but not hazard-related.

AVANT GARDE Keystrokes

Palatino, italic ◆ New terms or unique word usage in text

Courier, bold ◆ User entry. For example:

◆ Options in command line syntax

xvi EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

and ask for Customer Support.

EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide xvii

xviii EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

This chapter provides an overview of the Enginuity operating system

Introduction to the Symmetrix System 1-1

Enginuity Operating Environment

Information Information Information Enterprise Data Independent

Enginuity Operating Functions

Figure 1-1 Enginuity and Symmetrix Software Relationships

1-2 EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Director and Cache Cards

Figure 1-2 Symmetrix 8230 (Interior View)

Hardware Components 1-3

Disk Devices, Operator Panel

Figure 1-3 Symmetrix 8530 (Interior View)

1-4 EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Component The Symmetrix system components have the following functions:

Hardware Components 1-5

◆ The Symmetrix 8230 accommodates up to 6 directors (4 channel

1-6 EMC ControlCenter Version 5.0 Symmetrix Storage Concepts Guide

Host Channels Host Channels

Memory Buses: Top High

Modem Service Low Low

Figure 1-5 Symmetrix 8530 Block Diagram