Transferring primary access

Virtual Storage Platform One File Administrator User Guide

Version

1.7.x

Audience

anonymous

Part Number

MK-24VSP1F003-10

ft:lastEdition

2026-07-13

A transfer of primary access uses file replication to copy the data from a section of a file system and relocates its access points, or transfers an entire file system along with its access points (including data and metadata), with minimal downtime. This process occurs while the file system remains live and continues to handle read-only requests.

A transfer of primary access can move attributes and relationships for the following items:

SMB shares if the shares are in the replicated path.
NFS exports if the exports are in the replicated path.
FTP users, if they are in the replicated path.
Snapshot rules.
CNS links.
File system.
File system quota defaults.

A transfer of primary access cannot move the following items:

iSCSI targets.
Global symlinks.

A transfer of primary access can be performed on any replication policy if the following conditions are met:

A full replication has been completed. Preferably, an incremental replication should also be completed.
The snapshot required to support another incremental replication must remain available.
The target file systems must be in the syslocked mode.
When a file system is in syslocked mode, the storage server allows only read-only access to the file system.

The storage server ensures that the target file system data is consistent with the source file system data before transferring primary access. This requires temporarily setting both the source and target file systems to read-only. While any directory can be relocated, the entire source file system is placed in syslocked mode during the final replication operation.

Note: Only one primary access transfer can be in progress at any time.

CAUTION:

Use caution when configuring systems with a single migration destination for the replication source and target (known as a triangular arrangement). This arrangement is not a valid solution in a disaster recovery (DR) or backup scenario, as there is only a single copy of the user data pointed to by XVLs at each end of the replication policy.

In File Administrator, navigate to Data Management > Protection > Replication > Policies and Schedules.
In the Replication Policies and Schedules pane, locate the replication policy you want to transfer primary access to, and then click View.
Click Transfer Primary Access, and select the appropriate Syslock option.
Click Start.
After a primary access transfer starts, the replication process monitors its progress until completion. When replication is complete, the process automatically begins transferring configuration information.
Click the Transfer Primary Access tab to view the status and next steps.
Check the syslocked mode on both the source and target file systems. If the target is still syslocked, verify if there is an active replication with the same target file system, as the syslock cannot be disabled if the target is used by another replication. The syslock on the target should be disabled.
The replication process tracks and records the progress of the final replication. The status of the network access point relocation is available through the Data Management > Protection > Replication > Reports page.