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Configuring a replication relationship one step at a time

For each type of data protection relationship, you need to create a destination volume, configure a job schedule, specify a policy, and create and initialize the relationship. You can use a default or custom policy.

  1. Creating a destination volume
    You can use the volume create command on the destination to create a destination volume. The destination volume should be the same or greater in size than the source volume.
  2. Creating a replication job schedule
    You can use the job schedule cron create command to create a replication job schedule. The job schedule determines when SnapMirror automatically updates the data protection relationship to which the schedule is assigned.
  3. Customizing a replication policy
    You can use a default or custom policy when you create a replication relationship. For a custom SnapVault or unified replication policy, you must define one or more rules that determine which Snapshot copies are transferred during initialization and update. You might also want to define a schedule for creating local Snapshot copies on the destination.
  4. Creating a replication relationship
    The relationship between the source volume in primary storage and the destination volume in secondary storage is called a data protection relationship. You can use the snapmirror create command to create SnapMirror DR, SnapVault, or unified replication data protection relationships.
  5. Initializing a replication relationship
    For all relationship types, initialization performs a baseline transfer: it makes a Snapshot copy of the source volume, then transfers that copy and all the data blocks it references to the destination volume. Otherwise, the contents of the transfer depend on the policy.
  6. Example: Configuring a vault-vault cascade
    An example will show in concrete terms how you can configure replication relationships one step at a time. You can use the vault-vault cascade deployment configured in the example to retain more than 251 Snapshot copies labeled my-weekly.