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MetroCluster switchover and switchback

Starting with Storage Manager 9.6, you can use MetroCluster switchover and switchback operations to allow one cluster site to take over the tasks of another cluster site. This capability allows you to facilitate maintenance or recovery from disasters.

A switchover operation allows one cluster (Site A) to take over the tasks that another cluster (Site B) usually performs. After the switchover, the cluster that has been taken over (Site B) can be brought down for maintenance and repairs. After the maintenance is completed, Site B can come up and healing tasks are completed, then you can initiate a switchback operation that allows the repaired cluster (Site B) to resume the tasks it usually performs.

Storage Manager supports two kinds of switchover operations, based on the status of the remote cluster site:

  • A negotiated (planned) switchover: You initiate this operation when you need to do planned maintenance on a cluster or test your disaster recovery procedures.

  • An unplanned switchover: You initiate this operation when a disaster has occurred on a cluster (Site B) and you want another site or cluster (Site A) to take over the tasks of the cluster affected by the disaster (Site B) while you perform repairs and maintenance.

You perform the same steps in Storage Manager for both switchover operations. When you initiate a switchover, Storage Manager determines whether the operation is feasible and aligns the workload accordingly.

  • MetroCluster switchover and switchback workflow
    Starting with Storage Manager 9.6, you can use MetroCluster switchover and switchback operations after a disaster that renders all the nodes in the source cluster unreachable and powered off. You can also use the switchover workflow for a negotiated (planned) switchover in cases such as disaster recovery testing or a site going offline for maintenance.
  • Preparing for switchover and switchback operations
    Before you perform switchover operations using Storage Manager 9.6, you should verify that the necessary steps have been performed on the affected site.
  • Performing a negotiated switchover
    Starting with Storage Manager 9.6, you can initiate a negotiated (planned) switchover of a MetroCluster site. This operation is useful when you want to perform disaster recovery testing or planned maintenance on the site.
  • Performing a unplanned switchover
    Starting with Storage Manager 9.6, you can initiate an unplanned switchover of a MetroCluster site. This operation is useful after an outage event or disaster event.
  • Performing a switchback
    Starting with Storage Manager 9.6, you can perform a switchback operation that restores control to the original MetroCluster site (Site B) after the system has completed a successful switchover operation.
  • MetroCluster Switchover and Switchback Operations window
    Starting with Storage Manager 9.6, you can use the MetroCluster Switchover and Switchback Operations window to initiate a negotiated (planned) switchover or an unplanned switchover from one site or cluster (Site B) to another site or cluster (Site A). After you perform maintenance or repairs on Site B, you can initiate a switchback from Site A to Site B and view the status of the operation in this window.