IBM N Series, Hardware Manual

Page: 124 / 368

104
IBM System Storage N series Hardware Guide
8.1 Overview of MetroCluster
IBM N series MetroCluster, as shown in Figure 8-1, is a solution that combines N series local
clustering with synchronous mirroring to deliver continuous availability. MetroCluster expands
the capabilities of the N series portfolio. It works seamlessly with your host and storage
environment to provide continuous data availability between two sites while eliminating the
need to create and maintain complicated failover scripts. You can serve data even if there is a
complete site failure.
Figure 8-1 MetroCluster
As a self-contained solution at the N series storage controller level, MetroCluster can
transparently recover from failures, so business-critical applications continue uninterrupted.
MetroCluster is a fully integrated solution that is easy to administer and is built on proven
technology. It provides automatic failover to remote data center to achieve the following goals:
򐂰 Helps protect business continuity if the primary data center fails
򐂰 Helps reduce dependency on IT staff for manual actions
򐂰 Provides synchronous mirroring up to 100 km
Its data replication capabilities are designed to perform the following functions:
򐂰 Maintain a current copy of data at a remote data center
򐂰 Support replication of data from a primary to a remote site to maintain data currency
MetroCluster software provides an enterprise solution for high availability over wide area
networks (WANs). MetroCluster deployments of N series storage systems are used for the
following functions:
򐂰 Business continuance.
򐂰 Disaster recovery.
򐂰 Achieving recovery point and recovery time objectives (instant failover). You also have
more options regarding recovery point/time objectives with other features.