XtremIO: How to move an XtremIO cluster with Native Replication to a different XMS

Summary: Sometimes it is necessary to move an XtremIO cluster from one XMS to the other. Usually this operation is simple and is accomplished by removing the cluster from the current XMS and adding it to a new XMS using XMCLI commands. However, in the case where XtremIO cluster is involved in native remote replication, there are a few additional steps necessary to preserve cluster replication status. ...

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Instructions

  1. Sample Configuration
To help with the procedure, we are using the following example:
  • Initial XtremIO Native Replication source XMS and cluster: vxms-xbrickdrm918/xbrickdrm918
  • Initial XtremIO Native Replication target XMS and cluster: vxms-xbrickdrm919/xbrickdrm919
  • New XMS system: vxms-xbrickdrm912
  1. Goal of Procedure
The goal in our example is to move the source xbrickdrm918 XtremIO cluster from vxms-xbrickdrm918 to vxms-xbrickdrm912.
  1. Procedure

The following is the process to follow to move XtremIO cluster with Native Replication to a different XMS.

  1. Check the existing replication configuration and status.
xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-sessions
Name Index Replication-State Replication-Mode Source-Cluster-ID Source-CG-Id Target-Cluster-ID Target-CG-Id Lag RPO Target-Policy-ID Cycle-Percent-Remaining(Ratio)
REP1 1     active            async            xbrickdrm919 [1]  CG1 [1]      xbrickdrm918 [1]  CG1 [1]      8   60  [0]              0

xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-peer-xms
XMS-Alias         Index SW-Version IP-Address    XMS-Connectivity-State
vxms-xbrickdrm919 0     6.3.0-60   10.225.65.xxx connected
vxms-xbrickdrm918 0     6.3.1-5    10.225.65.yyy  connected

xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-ip-links
Name                        Index A-End-XMS-ID          A-End-Cluster-ID A-End-IP-Addr     A-End-Port-ID      Z-End-XMS-ID          Z-End-Cluster-ID Z-End-IP-Addr     Z-End-Port-ID      IP-Link-State IP-Link-Consistency-State Certainty
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_1 1     vxms-xbrickdrm918 [0] xbrickdrm918 [1] 192.168.33.bbb/16 X1-SC2-target1 [6] vxms-xbrickdrm919 [1] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.33.aaa/16 X1-SC2-target1 [6] Up            consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_2 2     vxms-xbrickdrm918 [0] xbrickdrm918 [1] 192.168.23.bbb/16 X1-SC1-target2 [2] vxms-xbrickdrm919 [1] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.23.aaa/16 X1-SC1-target2 [2] Down          consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_3 3     vxms-xbrickdrm918 [0] xbrickdrm918 [1] 192.168.34.bbb/16 X1-SC2-target2 [7] vxms-xbrickdrm919 [1] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.34.aaa/16 X1-SC2-target2 [7] Down          consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_4 4     vxms-xbrickdrm918 [0] xbrickdrm918 [1] 192.168.22.bbb/16 X1-SC1-target1 [1] vxms-xbrickdrm919 [1] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.22.aaa/16 X1-SC1-target1 [1] Up            consistent                ok
  1. Add the new XMS.

Add the new XMS to the remote protection domain of the local XMS. In this example, we are adding vxms-xbrickdrm912 to vxms-xbrickdrm919.

xmcli (admin)> add-remote-protection-peer-xms remote-ip-addr="10.225.65.zzz" remote-user-password="xxxxxxxx" remote-xms-user="admin" remote-xms-alias-name="xbrickdrm912"
New Remote Protection peer XMS added successfully

xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-peer-xms
XMS-Alias         Index SW-Version IP-Address    XMS-Connectivity-State
vxms-xbrickdrm919 0     6.3.0-60   10.225.65.xxx connected
vxms-xbrickdrm918 0     6.3.1-5    10.225.65.yyy  connected
xbrickdrm912      1     6.3.1-5    10.225.65.zzz connected
  1. Remove the cluster from the existing XMS.
In this case, we are removing cluster xbrickdrm918 from vxms-xbrickdrm918 XMS.
xmcli (admin)> remove-cluster cluster-id=1 cluster-psnt="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" 
Are you sure you want to remove cluster xbrickdrm918 [1]? (Yes/No): Please enter either Yes or No: yes [###################################################] 100%        (elapsed time 00:00:15) Cluster xbrickdrm918 [1] removed successfully
  1. Remove the original XMS from the replication domain. 

In this example, we remove the original vxms-xbrickdrm918 XMS from XMS on vxms-xbrickdrm919 remote protection domain.

xmcli (admin)> remove-remote-protection-peer-xms xms-alias-name="vxms-xbrickdrm918"
XMS was removed from RM Domain
  1. Add cluster to new XMS.

We use the following command to add xbrickdrm918 cluster to vxms-xbrickdrm912 XMS.

xmcli (admin)> add-cluster sc-mgr-host="10.139.88.ccc"
20:26:23 - Collecting cluster information
20:26:38 - Loading data from cluster
Clusters added successfully
  1. Confirm that the move has completed successfully.
    1. Wait for 5 minutes and then check replication sessions and IP links states from both XMS. 
    2. Check status from vxms-xbrickdrm919.
xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-session protection-session-id=1
Name: REP1
Index: 1
Replication-State: active
Replication-Mode: async
Replication-State-Details:
Replication-Direction: failover
Block-Access-Type: read_only
Source-XMS-Id:
                Name: xbrickdrm912
                Index: 1
Source-Cluster-ID:
                Name: xbrickdrm918
                Index: 2
Source-CG-Id:
                Name: CG1
                Index: 1
Target-XMS-Id:
                Name: vxms-xbrickdrm919
                Index: 0
Target-Cluster-ID:
                Name: xbrickdrm919
                Index: 1
Target-CG-Id:
                Name: CG1
                Index: 1
Num-Of-Vols: 2
RPO: 60
Max-BW(MB/s): 0
Protection-Window-Num-Copies: 0
Protection-Window-Duration-in-Days: 0.000
Current-Protection-Window-Copies: 1
Source-Retention-Policy-ID:
                Name:
                Index: 0
Target-Retention-Policy-ID:
                Name:
                Index: 0
Number-Of-Target-PITs: 1
Target-Pit-Num-Copies-Status: ok
Target-Pit-Window-Size-Status: ok
Number-Of-Source-PITs: 2
Next-Scheduled-Cycle: 2020-09-16 20:41:06
Lag: 16
BW(KB/s): 0
Transfer-Efficiency-Ratio(Ratio): 1
Cycle-Start-Time(Timestamp): Wed Sep 16 20:40:20 2020
Last-Cycle-Start-Time(Timestamp): Wed Sep 16 20:40:20 2020
Last-Cycle-Completed-Snapshot-Set: be8cf226e64046c3a3092ef3a4ae0689
Last-Cycle-Duration: 1
Last-Cycle-Link-BW(KB/s): 0
Last-Cycle-Effective-Bandwidth(KB/s): 0
Last-Cycle-Transfer-Efficiency-Ratio: 1
Cycle-Number(Count): 76
Num-Missing-Short-Period-Snapshot-Sets: 0
Num-Missing-Middle-Period-Snapshot-Sets: 0
Num-Missing-Long-Period-Snapshot-Sets: 0
Target-Missing-Pits-Alert: enabled
Test-Copy-Mode: False
Snapset-Backup-Snapset-Index: []
Current-Command-Name: start
Current-Command-Status: success
Replication-Session-Consistency-State: consistent
Obj-Severity: information
Verification-Schedule: adaptive
xmcli (admin)>

xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-sessions
Name Index Replication-State Replication-Mode Source-Cluster-ID Source-CG-Id Target-Cluster-ID Target-CG-Id Lag RPO Target-Policy-ID Cycle-Percent-Remaining(Ratio)
REP1 1     active            async            xbrickdrm918 [2]  CG1 [1]      xbrickdrm919 [1]  CG1 [1]      23  60  [0]              0
xmcli (admin)>

xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-ip-links
Name                        Index A-End-XMS-ID     A-End-Cluster-ID A-End-IP-Addr     A-End-Port-ID      Z-End-XMS-ID          Z-End-Cluster-ID Z-End-IP-Addr     Z-End-Port-ID      IP-Link-State IP-Link-Consistency-State Certainty
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_1 1     xbrickdrm912 [1] xbrickdrm918 [2] 192.168.33.bbb/16 X1-SC2-target1 [6] vxms-xbrickdrm919 [0] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.33.aaa/16 X1-SC2-target1 [6] Up            consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_2 2     xbrickdrm912 [1] xbrickdrm918 [2] 192.168.23.bbb/16 X1-SC1-target2 [2] vxms-xbrickdrm919 [0] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.23.aaa/16 X1-SC1-target2 [2] Down          consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_3 3     xbrickdrm912 [1] xbrickdrm918 [2] 192.168.34.bbb/16 X1-SC2-target2 [7] vxms-xbrickdrm919 [0] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.34.aaa/16 X1-SC2-target2 [7] Down          consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_4 4     xbrickdrm912 [1] xbrickdrm918 [2] 192.168.22.bbb/16 X1-SC1-target1 [1] vxms-xbrickdrm919 [0] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.22.aaa/16 X1-SC1-target1 [1] Up            consistent                ok
  1. Check status from vxms-xbrickdrm912.
xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-sessions
Name Index Replication-State Replication-Mode Source-Cluster-ID Source-CG-Id Target-Cluster-ID Target-CG-Id Lag RPO Target-Policy-ID Cycle-Percent-Remaining(Ratio)
REP1 1     active            async            xbrickdrm918 [2]  CG1 [1]      xbrickdrm919 [1]  CG1 [1]      30  60  [0]              0
xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-ip-links
Name                        Index A-End-XMS-ID                             A-End-Cluster-ID A-End-IP-Addr     A-End-Port-ID      Z-End-XMS-ID                             Z-End-Cluster-ID Z-End-IP-Addr     Z-End-Port-ID      IP-Link-State IP-Link-Consistency-State Certainty
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_1 1     vxms-xbrickdrm912.xiodrm.lab.emc.com [0] xbrickdrm918 [2] 192.168.33.bbb/16 X1-SC2-target1 [6] vxms-xbrickdrm919.xiodrm.lab.emc.com [0] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.33.aaa/16 X1-SC2-target1 [6] Up            consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_2 2     vxms-xbrickdrm912.xiodrm.lab.emc.com [0] xbrickdrm918 [2] 192.168.23.bbb/16 X1-SC1-target2 [2] vxms-xbrickdrm919.xiodrm.lab.emc.com [0] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.23.aaa/16 X1-SC1-target2 [2] Down          consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_3 3     vxms-xbrickdrm912.xiodrm.lab.emc.com [0] xbrickdrm918 [2] 192.168.34.bbb/16 X1-SC2-target2 [7] vxms-xbrickdrm919.xiodrm.lab.emc.com [0] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.34.aaa/16 X1-SC2-target2 [7] Down          consistent                ok
xbrickdrm918-xbrickdrm919_4 4     vxms-xbrickdrm912.xiodrm.lab.emc.com [0] xbrickdrm918 [2] 192.168.22.bbb/16 X1-SC1-target1 [1] vxms-xbrickdrm919.xiodrm.lab.emc.com [0] xbrickdrm919 [1] 192.168.22.aaa/16 X1-SC1-target1 [1] Up            consistent                ok
xmcli (admin)>

xmcli (admin)> show-remote-protection-session protection-session-id=1
Name: REP1
Index: 1
Replication-State: active
Replication-Mode: async
Replication-State-Details:
Replication-Direction: failover
Block-Access-Type: read_only
Source-XMS-Id:
                Name: vxms-xbrickdrm912.xiodrm.lab.emc.com
                Index: 0
Source-Cluster-ID:
                Name: xbrickdrm918
                Index: 2
Source-CG-Id:
                Name: CG1
                Index: 1
Target-XMS-Id:
                Name: vxms-xbrickdrm919.xiodrm.lab.emc.com
                Index: 0
Target-Cluster-ID:
                Name: xbrickdrm919
                Index: 1
Target-CG-Id:
                Name: CG1
                Index: 1
Num-Of-Vols: 2
RPO: 60
Max-BW(MB/s): 0
Protection-Window-Num-Copies: 0
Protection-Window-Duration-in-Days: 0.000
Current-Protection-Window-Copies: 2
Source-Retention-Policy-ID:
                Name:
                Index: 0
Target-Retention-Policy-ID:
                Name:
                Index: 0
Number-Of-Target-PITs: 2
Target-Pit-Num-Copies-Status: ok
Target-Pit-Window-Size-Status: ok
Number-Of-Source-PITs: 2
Next-Scheduled-Cycle: 2020-09-16 20:43:16
Lag: 19
BW(KB/s): 0
Transfer-Efficiency-Ratio(Ratio): 1
Cycle-Start-Time(Timestamp): Wed Sep 16 20:42:27 2020
Last-Cycle-Start-Time(Timestamp): Wed Sep 16 20:42:27 2020
Last-Cycle-Completed-Snapshot-Set: 6ad2dece48c24402b2551dd532a1eadf
Last-Cycle-Duration: 1
Last-Cycle-Link-BW(KB/s): 0
Last-Cycle-Effective-Bandwidth(KB/s): 0
Last-Cycle-Transfer-Efficiency-Ratio: 1
Cycle-Number(Count): 80
Num-Missing-Short-Period-Snapshot-Sets: 0
Num-Missing-Middle-Period-Snapshot-Sets: 0
Num-Missing-Long-Period-Snapshot-Sets: 0
Target-Missing-Pits-Alert: enabled
Test-Copy-Mode: False
Snapset-Backup-Snapset-Index: []
Current-Command-Name: start
Current-Command-Status: success
Replication-Session-Consistency-State: consistent
Obj-Severity: information
Verification-Schedule: adaptive
xmcli (admin)>
  1. Run HCS script to confirm the health status of both clusters.

NOTE: As always, run HCS script on both XMS systems to confirm.

Affected Products

XtremIO, XtremIO Family, XtremIO X2
Article Properties
Article Number: 000185755
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 09 May 2026
Version:  12
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