40 Preparing Your Systems for Clustering
Advanced Storage Features (Optional)
Your Dell|EMC AX4-5i storage array may be configured to provide advanced
features that can be used with your cluster. These features include Snapshot
Management, SANCopy, Navisphere Manager, and MirrorView. The following
sections describe these features.
Snapshot Management
Snapshot Management captures images of a virtual disk and retains the image
independently of subsequent changes to the files. The images can be used to
share virtual disks with another system without affecting the contents of the
source virtual disk. Snapshot Management creates copies of either virtual
disks or snapshots. Snapshots are virtual copies that create an image of the
source virtual disk at the time the snapshot was created. This snapshot is
retained independently of subsequent changes to the source virtual disk.
You can use snapshots to facilitate backups or to allow multiple hosts to
access data without affecting the contents of the source virtual disk.
NOTICE: To avoid data corruption, do not access a snapshot from the same node
from where you are accessing the source.
SAN Copy
SAN Copy allows you to move data between storage systems without using
host processor cycles or LAN bandwidth. It can be used in conjunction with
SnapView or MirrorView and is managed from within Navisphere Manager.
Navisphere Manager
Optionally, you can also upgrade Navisphere Express to EMC Navisphere
®
Manager—a centralized storage management application used to configure
Dell|EMC storage systems.
EMC Navisphere Manager adds the support for EMC MirrorView™—an
optional software that enables synchronous or asynchronous mirroring
between two storage systems.
MirrorView
MirrorView automatically duplicates primary storage system data from a
cluster or stand-alone system to a secondary storage system. It can be used in
conjunction with SnapView and is managed from within Navisphere Manager.