Comprehensive data protection for all workloads
Post Reply
cag
Enthusiast
Posts: 74
Liked: never
Joined: Mar 26, 2011 4:02 am
Full Name: Conrad Gotzmann
Contact:

Repository for Replica metadata.

Post by cag »

What happens if I need to change or have lost the location of the respository metadata. Can I restart a replication by mapping source to target. Will this rebuild the data ??
Is this location important enough to backup ?
Sethbartlett
Veteran
Posts: 282
Liked: 26 times
Joined: Nov 10, 2010 6:51 pm
Full Name: Seth Bartlett
Contact:

Re: Repository for Replica metadata.

Post by Sethbartlett »

The data should be rebuilt, it is not THAT important to replication. It weighs about nothing and the VM disk digests would just need re-calculated if it was to disappear. Just make sure you put the metadata on the source side, not target side.
Skype: Sethbartlett88 - Make sure to label who you are and why you want to add me ;)
Twitter: @sethbartlett
If my post was helpful, please like it. Sometimes twitter is quicker to hit me up if you need me.
cmdrriker
Enthusiast
Posts: 28
Liked: never
Joined: May 06, 2010 11:59 am
Full Name: Will Smith
Contact:

Re: Repository for Replica metadata.

Post by cmdrriker »

Does this mean if I am using a proxy on the source side, that I should add the source proxy as a backup repository and store the metadata there?
Vitaliy S.
VP, Product Management
Posts: 27055
Liked: 2710 times
Joined: Mar 30, 2009 9:13 am
Full Name: Vitaliy Safarov
Contact:

Re: Repository for Replica metadata.

Post by Vitaliy S. »

Any backup repository located in the source side will work.
davidb1234
Expert
Posts: 162
Liked: 15 times
Joined: Nov 15, 2011 8:47 pm
Full Name: David Borden
Contact:

Question about location of metadata repository for replicate

Post by davidb1234 »

[merged]

Prod Site
-Physical Veeam Server direct SAN attached to ESXi Cluster. Also direct attached storage for backups
This server runs backups at the Prod Site for all VMs and uses the physical Veeam Server as the proxy because of direct SAN mode
-Virtual Veeam Proxy used for Source Replication at DR Site

WAN LINK 100MB

DR Site
-Physical Veeam Server, Direct San attached to ESXi Cluster, used for Replica Seeding and DR backups if necessary
This server runs the replications jobs and PULLs them from the Prod site.
-Virtual Veeam Proxy used for Target Replication at DR Site

Would it be best to create a repository at the DR Site(target) for replication metadata or to create a repository that links to a storage location in the Prod Site(Source)?

I read conflicting things on where to store this metadata for performance. If the DR site is running the jobs and pulling the data should it have the metadata closest to DR site or should it be at the Prod site proxy closest to the actual data being pulled?

If creating a repository for replication metadata from the DR Site Veeam server pointing to a storage location at the Prod Site across the WAN link is the best way what happens if the Prod Site is completely unavailable and you need to fail over? Will I be able to Fail over and ReIP properly without access to this metadata?
Gostev
Chief Product Officer
Posts: 31455
Liked: 6646 times
Joined: Jan 01, 2006 1:01 am
Location: Baar, Switzerland
Contact:

Re: Question about location of metadata repository for repli

Post by Gostev »

Actually, the replication wizard itself tells you what site to put metadata in - just read the labels on that step carefully ;) no conflicting statements there...
Metadata is not used for failover or Re-IP, so don't worry about that part.
davidb1234
Expert
Posts: 162
Liked: 15 times
Joined: Nov 15, 2011 8:47 pm
Full Name: David Borden
Contact:

Re: Repository for Replica metadata.

Post by davidb1234 »

I am not sure what you mean Gostev by replication wizard tells you. I created a replication job and there is nothing that would indicate where to put the repository it just has a dropdown list of repositories to choose from on the JOB SETTINGS step of creating the replication job.

So my question remains. Should I create a repository in the DR site veeam installation pointed to a storage location across the WAN link on the PROD site or leave the metadata repository in the DR site?

my confusion is based on what is source and what is destination. Is the DR site considered source since that is where the replication job is running from or is it talking about source of where the replicated data is in which case I should create a repository across the WAN link from my DR site veeam installation.

Currently the replication metadata is stored on the DR Site Physical Veeam server where the replication job runs but I was wondering if this was a mistake and I should create a new metadata repository across the WAN link at the Prod Site and then change the setting in the job. I am also wondering what impact this will have on the replication job by changing the metadata location.
Gostev
Chief Product Officer
Posts: 31455
Liked: 6646 times
Joined: Jan 01, 2006 1:01 am
Location: Baar, Switzerland
Contact:

Re: Repository for Replica metadata.

Post by Gostev » 1 person likes this post

davidb1234 wrote:I am not sure what you mean Gostev by replication wizard tells you. I created a replication job and there is nothing that would indicate where to put the repository it just has a dropdown list of repositories to choose from on the JOB SETTINGS step of creating the replication job.
That's right. Now, read the two lines description label on top of this dropdown list, and you will see the repository placement recommendation right there :D
Source site is obviously the one you are replicating VMs from (in other words, production site where virtual machines you are protecting with replication reside).
davidb1234
Expert
Posts: 162
Liked: 15 times
Joined: Nov 15, 2011 8:47 pm
Full Name: David Borden
Contact:

Re: Repository for Replica metadata.

Post by davidb1234 »

I must be blind. I see it now.. haha. Thanks again Gostev. I will create a new repository and just switch it in the job for the next run. It sounds like it should not impact anything by changing the location.

I created a metadata repository on the C:\ of the virtual source proxy in the Prod Site.
Gostev
Chief Product Officer
Posts: 31455
Liked: 6646 times
Joined: Jan 01, 2006 1:01 am
Location: Baar, Switzerland
Contact:

Re: Repository for Replica metadata.

Post by Gostev » 1 person likes this post

Yep, don't worry about that. If this data is ever lost, corrupted or not found in the specified location, the replication job will re-create it automatically by having target proxy scan through the replica VM disks in the DR site, create the new metadata file, and send it the specified backup repository.

Essentially, replica metadata files represent actual state of all replica disks blocks, and this information is used by the source proxy for incremental replication - thus the placement recommendation.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: bct44, Bing [Bot] and 192 guests