ActiveCluster vVols: How to Stretch a Stretchable Storage Container

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The workflow for stretching a stretchable container is straightforward. The array pod needs to have the 2nd array added to it, wait for the sync process to complete and then connect the PE on the peer array to the host group. This enables a uniform configuration on the data path and management path.

The steps would be:

  1. Add another array to the stretchable container (stretch the storage container)

  2. Wait for the sync to complete

  3. Connect the PE to the host group on the peer array

Stretch the stretchable container

The stretchable container can be stretched from either the CLI or the GUI.

From the FlashArray GUI:

Storage => Pods => select Pod => Arrays => + => Select Remote Array => Add

Storage => Pods => select Pod => Arrays => + => Select Remote Array => Add
From the FlashArray CLI:
pureuser@sn1-xl130-c12-17> purepod add --array sn1-x90r2-c11-18 activecluster-vvols-ds-02
Name                       Source  Array             Status   Frozen At  Promotion Status  Link Count  Quota Limit
activecluster-vvols-ds-02  -       sn1-x90r2-c11-18  offline  -          promoted          0           -
                                   sn1-xl130-c12-17  online   -
Depending on the size of the container, replication link, and array models, the time it takes for the container to be in sync can vary. The next step will be waiting for the pod to be in sync.

Wait for the storage container to be in sync

This can be checked in the FA GUI or from the FA CLI. In this example we will show the CLI

From the FlashArray CLI:
pureuser@sn1-xl130-c12-17> purepod list activecluster-vvols-ds-02
Name                       Source  Array             Status             Frozen At  Promotion Status  Link Count  Quota Limit
activecluster-vvols-ds-02  -       sn1-x90r2-c11-18  resyncing (3.96%)  -          promoted          0           -
                                   sn1-xl130-c12-17  online             -
pureuser@sn1-xl130-c12-17> purepod list activecluster-vvols-ds-02
Name                       Source  Array             Status             Frozen At  Promotion Status  Link Count  Quota Limit
activecluster-vvols-ds-02  -       sn1-x90r2-c11-18  resyncing (8.84%)  -          promoted          0           -
                                   sn1-xl130-c12-17  online             -
pureuser@sn1-xl130-c12-17> purepod list activecluster-vvols-ds-02
Name                       Source  Array             Status  Frozen At  Promotion Status  Link Count  Quota Limit
activecluster-vvols-ds-02  -       sn1-x90r2-c11-18  online  -          promoted          0           -
                                   sn1-xl130-c12-17  online  -
Once the pod is in sync and online on both sides, the stretched PE can be connected to the host group on the peer array.

Connect the PE to the host group on the peer array

From the Peer array, connect the stretched PE to the host group to complete the uniform connection and configuration. This can be done in the GUI or in the CLI.

For the sake of this example, we’ll show the FlashArray CLI example:
pureuser@sn1-x90r2-c11-18> purevol connect --hgroup AC-vVols-Cluster-scsi-fc activecluster-vvols-ds-02::pure-protocol-endpoint
Name                                               Host Group                Host                  LUN  NSID
activecluster-vvols-ds-02::pure-protocol-endpoint  AC-vVols-Cluster-scsi-fc  cert-esxi-01-scsi-fc  250  -
activecluster-vvols-ds-02::pure-protocol-endpoint  AC-vVols-Cluster-scsi-fc  cert-esxi-04-scsi-fc  250  -
activecluster-vvols-ds-02::pure-protocol-endpoint  AC-vVols-Cluster-scsi-fc  cert-esxi-03-scsi-fc  250  -
activecluster-vvols-ds-02::pure-protocol-endpoint  AC-vVols-Cluster-scsi-fc  cert-esxi-02-scsi-fc  250  -
Once the stretched PE has been connected on the peer array, the VASA Provider will automatically mirror the bindings from the leader array on the peer array. There is nothing else that needs to be done by the user after the PE is connected on the peer array.