System requirements and specifications

TrueCopy® User Guide
Version
9.8.7
Audience
anonymous
Part Number
MK-98RD9022-18

You should review and understand the general system requirements before configuring and using TrueCopy.

Item

Requirement

Control unit (CU)

VSP 5000 series
  • Number of CUs: 255
  • Range of CUs: 0x00 to 0xfe

    A pair with CU numbers 0x80 to 0xfe cannot be created by TrueCopy, when the PPRC multi-target function of TrueCopy for Mainframe is used. For details, see the Hitachi TrueCopy® for Mainframe User Guide

VSP G350, VSP F350
  • Number of CUs: 64
  • Range of CUs: 0x00 to 0x3F
VSP G370, VSP F370, VSP E590
  • Number of CUs: 128
  • Range of CUs: 0x00 to 0x7F
VSP G700, VSP F700, VSP E790
  • Number of CUs: 192
  • Range of CUs: 0x00 to 0xBF
VSP G900, VSP F900, VSP E990
  • Number of CUs: 255
  • Range of CUs: 0x00 to 0xFE

Supported emulation types

VSP 5000 series
  • OPEN-3, OPEN-8, OPEN-9, OPEN-K, OPEN-E, OPEN-L, and OPEN-V

VSP G/F350, G/F370, G/F700, G/F900 , VSP E series

  • Only OPEN-V

RAID levels supported

RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 6 configurations.

Supported storage systems

VSP 5100, VSP 5500 can be connected to:
  • VSP 5100, VSP 5500: 90-01-00-xx/xx or later
  • VSP E590, VSP E790: 93-03-22-xx/xx or later
  • VSP E990: 93-02-01-xx/xx or later
  • VSP G1x00 and VSP F1500: 80-06-70-00/00 or later
  • VSP G350, G370, G700, G900, VSP F350, F370, F700, F900: 88-03-26-xx/xx or later
  • VSP: 70-06-63-00/00 or later
In addition, VSP 5100 and VSP 5500 with DKCMAIN microcode version 90-08-01-00/00 or later can be connected to:
  • VSP 5200 and VSP 5600: All microcode versions
In addition, VSP 5100 and VSP 5500 with DKCMAIN microcode version 90-08-22-00/00 or later can be connected to:
  • VSP E1090: 93-06-22-x0/00 or later
VSP 5200 and VSP 5600 can be connected to:
  • VSP 5000 series: 90-08-01-00/00 or later
  • VSP G1x00 and VSP F1500: 80-06-87-00/00 or later
  • VSP E590, VSP E790, VSP E990: 93-05-03-xx/xx or later
In addition, VSP 5200 and VSP 5600 with DKCMAIN microcode version 90-08-22-00/00 or later can be connected to:
  • VSP E1090: 93-06-22-x0/00 or later
In addition, VSP 5200 and VSP 5600 with DKCMAIN microcode version 90-08-61-xx/xx or later can be connected to:
  • VSP G/F700, VSP G/F900: 88-08-08-xx/xx or later

If you are using a Dynamic Provisioning virtual volume (DP-VOL) with the data direct mapping attribute, you can only connect to VSP G1000 with microcode 80-06-66-00/00 or later, or VSP G1500 and VSP F1500 with microcode 80-06-66-00/00 or later.

Use VSP 5000 series at both the primary site and the secondary site so that you can perform operations at the secondary site during a disaster recovery.

For details, see Requirements for pairing VSP 5000 series with other storage systems.

VSP E590 and VSP E790 can be connected to:
  • VSP E590, VSP E790, VSP E990: 93-03-22-x0/00 or later
  • VSP G350, G370, G700, G900 and VSP F350, F370, F700, F900: 88-07-01-x0/00 or later
  • VSP G200, G400, G600, G800, VSP F400, F600, F800: 83-05-38-x0/00 or later
  • VSP 5100 and VSP 5500: 90-05-01-00/00 or later.

In addition, VSP E590 and VSP E790 with DKCMAIN microcode version 93-05-03-xx/xx or later can be connected to:

  • VSP 5200 and VSP 5600: all microcode versions
  • VSP E1090: all microcode versions
VSP E990 can be connected to:
  • VSP E590, VSP E790, VSP E990: all versions
  • VSP G350, G370, G700, G900 and VSP F350, F370, F700, F900: 88-04-03-x0/00 or later
  • VSP G200, G400, G600, G800, VSP F400, F600, F800: 83-05-36-x0/00 or later
  • VSP 5100 and VSP 5500: 90-02-01-00/00 or later.

In addition, VSP E990 with DKCMAIN microcode version 93-05-03-xx/xx or later can be connected to:

  • VSP 5200 and VSP 5600: all microcode versions
  • VSP E1090: all microcode versions

For disaster recovery, operation is done by the storage system at the secondary site, so it is recommended to use the same storage system model for both primary and secondary sites (for example, use VSP E990 for both sites).

VSP E1090 can be connected to:

  • VSP E series: 93-06-01-XX/XX or later
  • VSP 5000 series: 90-08-02-XX/XX or later

In addition, VSP E1090 with DKCMAIN microcode version 93-06-61-xx/xx or later can be connected to:

  • VSP G/F700, VSP G/F900: 88-08-08-xx/xx or later

For disaster recovery, operation is done by the storage system at the secondary site, so it is recommended to use the same storage system model for both primary and secondary sites (for example, use VSP E1090 for both sites).

TrueCopy
  • Must be installed on the primary and secondary systems.
  • Separate license codes are required for each storage system.
  • For VSP 5000 series, TrueCopy can co-exist with TrueCopy for Mainframe.
  • The pair with the available licensed capacity exceeded cannot be created.

For information about exceeding licensed capacity and license expiration, see the System Administrator Guide for your storage system.

When combining TrueCopy and Dynamic Provisioning, the following licensed capacity limitations apply:

  • If using a DP-VOL for the TrueCopy P-VOL or S-VOL, the capacity of the allocated pages for the DP-VOL will be counted as the licensed capacity of TrueCopy. However, for the volume with capacity saving enabled, the TrueCopy licensed capacity is the capacity before saving.
  • If the actual licensed capacity exceeds the available licensed capacity, the pair creation cannot be performed, regardless of whether a normal volume or a DP-VOL is used. In addition, 30 days after the licensed capacity is exceeded, only split or release operations will be allowed, regardless of whether a normal volume or a DP-VOL is used.

Other required licenses

None

Additional shared memory for VSP E series, VSP G/F350, G/F370, G/F700, G/F900

You can use TrueCopy only with shared memory in the basic part. Adding shared memory expands the capacity of the pairs being created.

Supported host platforms (when Fibre Channel or iSCSI is used for connection between the host and storage system)

For the supported version, refer to the Hitachi Vantara interoperability matrix at https://compatibility.hitachivantara.com.

  • AIX
  • HP-UX
  • OpenVMS
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Solaris
  • SuSE Linux
  • VMware ESM
  • Windows Server

Supported host platforms (when NVMe-oF is used for connection between the host and storage system)

A TC pair that uses a volume connected to a host using NVMe-oF is supported when the VSP 5000 series DKCMAIN microcode version is 90-08-21-XX or later, or when the VSP E1090 DKCMAIN microcode version is 93-06-61-XX/XX or later.

VSP 5000 series and VSP E1090 can be connected with each other when their DKCMAIN microcode versions are as follows:

  • VSP 5000 series: 90-09-21-xx/xx or later
  • VSP E1090: 93-07-21-xx/xx or later

For details about the supported host platforms, contact customer support.

Data path

Physical paths connecting the primary and secondary storage systems are required.

The following interfaces with direct, switch, or channel extenders are available:

  • iSCSI
  • Fibre Channel

For details, see Data path requirements and configurations.

Note that a data path of the NVMe-oF interface is not supported.

Remote paths

Remote paths are established for each path group of primary and secondary storage systems. A maximum of 8 remote paths are supported for each path group, and a maximum of 64 path groups are supported. Multiple path groups can be used in the same combination of primary and secondary storage systems.

Path groups

A path group is a group of remote paths. You can use path groups to configure or change the configuration of multiple paths at the same time.

  • A maximum of 64 path groups can be set in a storage system.
  • The following values can be set as the path group ID:
    • 0-255 (0 to FF in hexadecimal) when connected to VSP 5000 series, VSP G/F350, G/F370, G/F700, G/F900, VSP E series, or VSP. By default, 0 is set.
    • 0 when connected to or HUS VM.
  • If iSCSI is used in a remote path, the Blocked Path Monitoring remote replica option must be set to at least 40 seconds (default). If Blocked Path Monitoring is less than 40 seconds, the path might be blocked due to a delay in the network such as many switches in a spanning tree protocol (STP) network or a long-distance connection.
  • The path group is specified during the create pair operation and cannot be changed by the resync pair operation.
  • Path groups can be created and specified using CCI. For details, see the configuration setting commands in the Command Control Interface Command Reference and the sample configuration definition files in Command Control Interface Installation and Configuration Guide.
  • When using CU Free, specify different paths and path groups for UR and URz secondary systems.

Maximum number of secondary systems

  • A maximum of 64 secondary storage systems can be set for a storage system. This number includes the number of secondary storage systems specified by Universal Replicator or Universal Replicator for Mainframe.
  • To register secondary storage system for each system, specify the path group ID (0 to 255). By default, 0 is set.

    If you set the same path group ID as the secondary site storage system used by Universal Replicator or Universal Replicator for Mainframe, the same path as the secondary site storage system for Universal Replicator or Universal Replicator for Mainframe is used. If you assign different data paths and specify different path group IDs to register secondary site storage systems, you can use separate paths.

  • You can use CCI to specify path groups when you create path groups or pairs. For details, see description on configuration definition commands in the Command Control Interface Command Reference, and the configuration definition file in the Command Control Interface User and Reference Guide.

Pair volumes

  • The P-VOL and S-VOL must be equal in size.
  • The maximum size of the P-VOL and S-VOL are:
    • If DP-VOL, the same as the maximum size of the DP-VOL. For details, see the Provisioning Guide for your storage system.
    • If internal VOL, 3,145,663 MB (6,442,317,824 blocks) each.
    • If external VOL, 4,194,304 MB (8,589,934,592 blocks) each.
  • The minimum size for OPEN-V P-VOLs and S-VOLs is 46.875 MB (96,000 blocks). For all other emulation types, minimum size is 35.156 MB (72,000 blocks).
  • A P-VOL can be copied to only one S-VOL.
  • You need to set the same value for the T10 PI attribute of both P-VOL and S-VOL.
  • P-VOLs and S-VOLs can be shared with other Hitachi software product volumes.
  • The LUN paths must be defined for both P-VOL and S-VOL, or both P-VOL and S-VOL must be defined as namespaces on the NVM subsystems to which NVM subsystem ports have been added.
  • A volume (LDEV) from a parity group with accelerated compression enabled cannot be used directly as a pair volume. Such volumes must be used as pool volumes for an HDP or HDT pool.
  • The following storage systems support TrueCopy configurations that use, as pair volumes, the volumes (namespaces) connected to hosts using the NVMe-oF interface.
    • VSP E1090: 93-06-61-XX/XX or later
    • VSP 5000 series: 90-08-21-XX/XX or later

    VSP 5000 series and VSP E1090 can be connected with each other when their DKCMAIN microcode versions are as follows:

    • VSP 5000 series: 90-09-21-xx/xx or later
    • VSP E1090: 93-07-21-xx/xx or later

    In other cases, VSP E1090 supports such TrueCopy configurations only when both the primary and secondary sites consist only of VSP E1090 storage systems.

  • (VSP E series) In a TrueCopy configuration, if a volume connected to a host by using a port on the 25-Gbps iSCSI channel board is used as a pair volume, the DKCMAIN microcode version 93-07-01-XX/XX or later is required.

For more information, see Pair and pair volumes planning.

Number of pairs

  • VSP F350, VSP G350: 16,384
  • VSP 5000 series , VSP E990, VSP E1090, VSP G900, VSP F900: 65,280
  • VSP G370, VSP F370: 32,768
  • VSP G700, VSP F700: 49,152
  • VSP E590: 32,768
  • VSP E790: 49,152

When CCI is used, a command device must be defined. In this case, the maximum number of pairs is calculated by subtracting 1 from the above number.

Number of consistency groups

  • VSP G350, VSP G370, VSP G700, VSP F350, VSP F370, VSP F700: Maximum: 128 (0 to 127)
  • VSP E590, VSP E790: Maximum: 128 (0 to 127)
  • VSP 5000 series, VSP E990, VSP E1090, VSP G900, and VSP F900: Maximum: 256 (0 to 255)

Host failover software

  • Required for disaster recovery.
  • Recommended for data migration.

For details, see Host failover software.

Interfaces

  • Device Manager - Storage Navigator is required.
    • The following HDvM - SN roles are required to operate:

      - Storage Administrator (Remote Copy)

      - Storage Administrator (System Resource Management)

      - Storage Administrator (Provisioning)

    • The primary system must be LAN-attached to a Device Manager - Storage Navigator computer.
    • The secondary system must be attached using a separate LAN at the secondary site.
  • CCI is optional.
    • When using virtual storage machine volumes, specify the logical device (LDEV) ID, serial number, and virtual information in the configuration definition file.
    • For information about setting up and using CCI, see the Command Control Interface User and Reference Guide.
LU number, namespace ID LU number: 0 to 4095.
  • The number of LU paths that can be created can be up to 4096 for VSP 5000 series whose DKCMAIN program version is 90-02-0x-xx/xx or later.
  • The number of LU paths that can be created when connecting a VSP 5000 series with an earlier DKCMAIN program version is limited to 2048.
  • The number of LU paths that can be created when connecting a different source storage system is limited to 2048.

For details about an LU number, see Restrictions when creating an LU whose LU number is 2048 or greater. For details about a namespace ID and LU number, see the Provisioning Guide for Open Systems.