What do I need to know before starting a remote storage import?

If you have the Remote Storage feature, be aware that the remote storage import allows you to copy data from a volume on a remote storage system to a local destination volume on a local DE Series storage system.

• Ensure that each controller of the local DE Series storage system has an iSCSI connection to the remote storage system. With this feature, the local DE Series storage system acts as an iSCSI initiator that can be set up as a host on the remote storage system.
• On your local DE Series storage system, create a volume to be the destination volume for the import operation. Ensure that the volume has a capacity that is equal to or greater than the volume on the remote storage system, has a block size that matches the volume on the remote storage system, and is not mapped. See Create volumes.
  Note

  If the local destination volume has a capacity that is larger than the volume on the remote storage system, then the additional capacity is not reported to the host. To use the new capacity, a file system expansion operation is required on the host after the import operation completes and is disconnected.
• Set up the local DE Series storage system as a host on the remote array using the following DE Series storage system information:
  • iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN) under Settings > System > iSCSI settings > Target IQN.
    Note

    Set the appropriate host type based on the system being used.
• Stop all I/Os, unmount any file systems, and remove any assignments to hosts/applications for the selected volume on the remote storage system.
• Assign the volume to the remote storage system to the newly created local DE Series storage system host.
• Gather the following information from the remote storage array so that the import can be created:
  • iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN)
  • iSCSI IP address
  • The LUN number of the volume on the remote storage system that the data will be copied from

Proceed to the Remote Storage tile and select Import to start a new import creation.

Once the import has started, the local destination volume is then available for use.

The time required to complete the import operation depends on the size of the remote storage system, the priority setting for the import, and the amount of I/O load on both storage systems and their associated volumes.

Once the import is complete, the local destination volume is a duplicate of the volume on the remote storage system. When you are ready to break the relationship between the two volumes, perform a Disconnect on the import from the Operations In Progress view.