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Regular managers and specialized managers
Regular managers run on storage systems in a management group. The SAN/iQ software has two
types of specialized managers, Failover Managers and virtual managers. You can only use one
type of specialized manager in a management group. The Failover Manager is recommended for
management groups with a single, two-system cluster, and in Multi-Site cluster configurations with
two clusters. When using the Management Group wizard, the virtual manager is automatically
added to two-system configurations if a Failover Manager is not added. However, the Failover
Manager is the recommended solution for maintaining fault-tolerance on the SAN.
Failover Managers
The Failover Manager is a specialized version of the SAN/iQ software designed to operate as a
manager and provide automated failover capability. It runs as a virtual appliance in either a
VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V Server environment, and must be installed on network
hardware other than the storage systems in the SAN. The Failover Manager participates in the
management group as a manager; however, it performs quorum operations only, not data movement
operations. It is especially useful in a Multi-Site SAN configuration to manage quorum for the
multi-site configuration without requiring additional storage systems to act as managers in the sites.
Figure 49 (page 120)
shows the Failover Manager installed, configured, and appearing in the
CMC.
Figure 49 Failover Manager in the available systems pool
Virtual Managers
A virtual manager is added to a management group, as shown in
Figure 50 (page 121)
, but is not
started on a storage system until a failure in the system causes a loss of quorum. Unlike the Failover
Manager, which is always running, the virtual manager must be started manually on a storage
system after quorum is lost. It is designed to be used in two-system or two-site system configurations
which are at risk for a loss of quorum.
120 Working with managers and quorum