Dell PowerStore Importing External Storage to PowerStore Guide

Configure an agentless import for a Universal type remote system

1. Log in to PowerStore Manager.
2. If the intended hosts that are associated with the import do not appear under Compute > Host Information > Hosts & Host Groups, select Add Host as needed and specify the relevant information for the hosts. Otherwise, go to the next step.
3. Under Migration, select Import External Storage.
   The Import External Storage page appears.
4. If the intended source system does not appear in the list of Remote Systems, select Add Remote System and specify the relevant information for the remote system. Otherwise, go to the next step.

   Verify that the IP address is correct and reachable.

   NOTE:While adding a remote system to PowerStore, you must provide the iSCSI IP address of the remote system along with other details. As part of the operation, PowerStore discovers the iSCSI portal of the remote system and tries to log in to all the targets listed in that portal. If anyone of those targets is unreachable, the associated Data Connection status appears as Partial Data Connections Loss in PowerStore Manager.
5. Create PowerStore as a host on the remote system and do one of the following:
   NOTE: When adding PowerStore as a host on the remote system, specify the PowerStore cluster name.
   • For iSCSI, specify the HBAs that PowerStore will use to send I/O requests to the remote system.
     NOTE:To view a list of the IQNs on the PowerStore appliance in PowerStore Manager, select the appliance under Hardware, and then select Ethernet on the Ports card. If the column IQN is not visible, select the IQN column to be visible. Also only the IQNs that are related to the storage network (with Replication purpose) that is used for import traffic must be added to the created host in the source system.
   • For FC, specify the WWNs that PowerStore will use to send I/O requests to the remote system.
     NOTE: Only the WWNs of FC ports that have Import Capable as Yes must be added to the created host in the source system. To view the list of the FC import capable ports on a PowerStore appliance in PowerStore Manager, select the appliance under Hardware, and then select Fibre Channel on the Ports card.
   NOTE: IQNs or WWNs from all the appliances of the PowerStore cluster must be added to the created host in the source system. Ensure that all the PowerStore initiators have an active connection or initiator path to the source system. The host setting in the source system must ensure that the volume or CG that is mapped to it is visible to all the initiators in the host.
6. Select the newly created PowerStore host on the remote system and ensure that it is configured correctly.
   NOTE:The host setting in the source system must ensure that the volume or CG that is mapped to it is visible to all the initiators in the host.
7. On the Universal remote system, map the volume or volumes to be imported to the PowerStore appliance.
   NOTE:Up to 128 volumes can be mapped to import to a PowerStore cluster at one time. More or remaining volumes can be mapped and imported to PowerStore after the current set of volumes are imported.
8. To configure an import session, select a source system from the list of remote systems on your network that you have previously entered manually in to PowerStore Manager.
9. Select Import Volume.
   The Import Volumes from Source Array wizard appears.
10. Select Refresh Volumes to discover the volumes that have been mapped on the Universal remote system to the PowerStore appliance.
11. Step through the wizard and specify the relevant information.
    NOTE:Only source volumes that have a status of Ready for Agentless Import can be imported.

    NOTE:For a Universal source system, the name of the volumes appears as a dash (–) the first time after discovery. You must provide a name for the volumes before they can be selected for import. Select the applicable volumes, then select Name Volume to update the name of the volumes. Up to 10 volumes at a time can be selected for naming. Click Apply to update the list of volumes. The name should appear in place of the dash (–). After all the applicable volumes have been named, select those volumes again and click Next to continue.

    NOTE:Only volumes are discovered for a Universal type remote system. Consistency groups are not discovered. If a consistency group exists on the source system and should also exist on the destination, PowerStore Manager provides options to create it and to add the applicable volumes to it. When a consistency group is created in this manner, a volume group is automatically created in place of the consistency group on PowerStore during import. If you would like to group discovered individual volumes as a volume group when they are imported, PowerStore Manager provides options to create the volume group and to add the applicable volumes to it.
    Once you have specified the necessary information, the system generates a summary of the import session information.
12. Verify that the import session information in the summary is accurate and complete.
13. Click Begin Import to create and start the import session.
    The Import External Storage page appears and shows the Block Imports information once the operation is started.
14. After the destination volume reaches the Ready To Enable Destination Volume state, shut down the host application accessing the source volume.
15. When the volume in the import session is in the Ready To Enable Destination Volume state, select the volume and then select Import Actions > Enable Destination Volume.
    The Enable Destination Volume dialog box appears.
16. Select the checkbox to confirm that you have shut down or taken offline the host application that is using the source volume.
    NOTE:It is recommended to manually remove the host mapping of the source volume during the enable destination volume process to prevent the host from accidentally accessing the source volume. If the host mappings of the source volume are not removed manually, those mappings remain even after cutover of the import session. Also, if import fails or is cancelled, those host mappings must be restored to the source volume manually. They are not restored automatically.
17. Select Enable Destination Volume.
    The volume should progress to the Ready to start copy state.
18. When the import session changes to the Ready to start copy state, rescan the volumes at the host.
    NOTE:The rescan at the host may take up to approximately 3 minutes to complete depending on the size of the volumes.
    The destination volumes should be visible to the host after the rescan and those volumes can be mounted immediately.
19. Ensure that the host application has been reconfigured to access the applicable destination PowerStore volumes, then bring up the host application.
20. When the volume in the import session is in the Ready to start copy state, select the volume and then select Import Actions > Start Copy.
    The volume should progress to the Copy in progress state.
21. To view the progress of ongoing import sessions, under Migration, select Imports.
22. To view the progress details of a specific ongoing import session, click the state of that import session.
    The Import Session Progress Details slide out for that import session appears.
23. Do one of the following to continue to manage the agentless import session:
    • Select an import session and under Import Actions, click Cutover to commit the import session.
      NOTE:You can cut over an import session that is in the Ready For Cutover state.
    • Cancel the import operation.
    NOTE:See Manage agentless import sessions for more information.