Migrating data from a Dell EqualLogic storage system

You can use an iSCSI attachment to migrate data from a Dell EqualLogic external storage system to a Storwize® V3700 system.

Before you begin

  1. Ensure that the iSCSI initiator system is running a level of software that can support iSCSI migration. For Storwize V3700 systems, software version 7.7.0 is required.
  2. Ensure that the firmware that is installed on the iSCSI target storage system is at the level recommended by the manufacturer. Refer to the product documentation supplied with the storage system for information.
  3. Verify that Ethernet ports are available and supported on each system.
    • You can use any available Ethernet port to establish iSCSI connectivity between the Storwize V3700 system and the iSCSI target storage controller.
    • To avoid performance bottlenecks, the iSCSI initiator and target systems must use Ethernet ports at the same speed. Do not use a combination of Ethernet links that run at different speeds.
  4. Ensure that you have the appropriate number of Ethernet cables and switches to connect to the Ethernet ports on each system.
  5. Ensure that the appropriate Ethernet ports on each system are connected to the appropriate Ethernet switches. For full redundancy and increased throughput, use two or more Ethernet switches. Similarly-numbered Ethernet ports on each node of each system must be connected to the same switch. They must also be configured on the same subnet or VLAN.

    For example, Figure 1 shows iSCSI connections between a Storwize V3700 system (iSCSI initiator) and a Dell EqualLogic system (iSCSI target). The Storwize V3700 system consists of two I/O groups. Because the Dell system supports a limited number of iSCSI sessions, only two nodes in a single I/O group can connect to the Dell EqualLogic storage system. A 4-port Ethernet card is installed in each initiator node in the Storwize V3700 system. However, only two ports on initiator node 1 and initiator node 2 are connected to the switches. The first Ethernet port on each node (IPA and IPE) must be connected to Ethernet switch 1. The second Ethernet port on each node (IPB and IPF) must be connected to Ethernet switch 2.

    Figure 1. Example of an iSCSI connection to a Dell EqualLogic iSCSI target
    Example of an iSCSI connection to a Dell EqualLogic system

For more details about configuring support for Dell EqualLogic systems, see Configuring Dell EqualLogic storage systems.

Procedure

Configure the cabling and systems

  1. Connect the Ethernet cables from the ports on the Storwize V3700 system (iSCSI initiator) to the appropriate Ethernet switches. Use any available Ethernet port.
  2. Connect the Ethernet cables from the ports on the Dell EqualLogic system (iSCSI target) to the appropriate Ethernet switches. Use any available Ethernet port.
  3. Stop all host I/O operations.
  4. On the Dell EqualLogic system, unmap the logical drives that contain the data to be migrated from the hosts.
  5. On the Dell EqualLogic system, obtain the size of the volume that you want to migrate to the Storwize V3700 iSCSI initiator system. To do so, enter the following command, where volume_name is the name of the specific volume.
    volume show volume_name 
  6. Verify that the Storwize V3700 system is configured as a replication layer. To do so, enter the following command.
    svcinfo lssystem
    1. If the Storwize V3700 system is not configured correctly, enter the following command.
      svctask chsystem -layer replication

Establish the iSCSI connections

  1. On the Storwize V3700 iSCSI initiator system, enter the following commands to obtain the system's IP address or iSCSI qualified name (IQN).
    • To display the IP address, enter the following command.
      svcinfo lsportip
    • To display the IQN name, enter the following command.
      svcinfo lsnodecanister
  2. On the Storwize V3700 system, enter the following cfgportip command to configure one or more ports to be used for iSCSI attachment to the target storage system.
    svctask cfgportip –node nodename -storage yes port_id
    Note: If the ports are configured with IPv6 addresses, specify the -storage-6 parameter on the command.
  3. On the Dell EqualLogic system, map the volume that contains the data that you want to migrate to the Storwize V3700 system. To do so, enter one of the following commands.
    • To use the IPv4 address of the iSCSI initiator system to map the volume, enter the following command.
      select volume_name access create ipaddress ip_address
    • To use the iSCSI qualified name (IQN) of the iSCSI initiator system to map the volume, enter the following command.
      select volume_name access create initiator iqn_name
    volume_name
    Name of the volume from which you want to migrate data (see step 4).
    ip_address
    IPv4 address of the Storwize V3700 iSCSI initiator system, as displayed in step 7.
    iqn_name
    IQN of the Storwize V3700 iSCSI initiator system, as displayed in step 7.
  4. On the Storwize V3700 system, enter the following command to discover the available ports on the iSCSI target system. The source_port_id is the Ethernet port on the Storwize V3700 iSCSI initiator system through which the discovery is made. The dell_group_ip is the group IP address of the Dell EqualLogic iSCSI target system.
    svctask detectiscsistorageportcandidate –srcportid source_port_id -targetip dell_group_ip
    Notes:
    • If the ports on the iSCSI target system are configured with IPv6 addresses, specify the -targetip6 parameter on the command.
    • The iSCSI target system might also require a user name and CHAP information to authenticate the request. Ensure that you specify the correct tgt_user_name and target_chap values on the command, as shown in the following example.
      svctask detectiscsistorageportcandidate –srcportid source_port_id -targetip dell_group_ip -username tgt_user_name -chapsecret target_chap
  5. Display information about the iSCSI ports that were discovered on the Storwize V3700 iSCSI initiator system. The following command returns information about the unique iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN) and Internet Protocol (IP) combination.
    svcinfo lsiscsistorageportcandidate
  6. Select one or more port candidates to configure. You can specify up to 64 candidate IDs, each separated by a colon. The candidate_id is the value in the ID column of the output displayed by the lsiscsistorageportcandidate command.
    svctask addiscsistorageport candidate_id
    Note: If you entered authentication information on the detectiscsistorageportcandidate command in step 10, you must also specify that information on this command. Ensure that you specify the correct tgt_user_name and target_chap values on the command, as shown in the following example.
    svctask addiscsistorageport candidate_id -username tgt_user_name -chapsecret target_chap

Migrate the data

  1. On the Storwize V3700 system, complete the following steps to manage the logical unit.
    1. To create one empty storage pool, enter the following command. The extent_size is the size of the volume that you are migrating from the iSCSI target system (as displayed in step 5).
      svctask mkmdiskgrp -ext extent_size
      The logical unit that is mapped from the iSCSI target system appears as an unmanaged-mode MDisk to the Storwize V3700 system.
    2. To list the unmanaged-mode MDisks, enter the following command.
      svcinfo lsmdisk
    3. If the new unmanaged-mode MDisk is not listed, perform a fabric-level discovery. Enter the following to command to scan the network for the unmanaged-mode MDisks.
      svctask detectmdisk
    4. To convert the unmanaged-mode MDisk to an image mode volume disk, enter the following command.
      svctask mkvdisk -vtype image -iogrp iogrp_name -mdiskgrp mdiskgrp_name -mdisk mdisk_name -mirrorwritepriority redundancy
      iogrp_name
      Name or ID of the I/O group.
      mdiskgrp_name
      Name or ID of the storage pool that you created in step 13.a.
      mdisk_name
      Name or ID of the unmanaged-mode MDisk.
    5. To list the hosts that were previously using the data that the MDisk now contains, enter the following command.
      svcinfo lssasportcandidate
    6. If the host does not exist on the Storwize V3700 system, you can create a new iSCSI or Fibre Channel (or Fibre Channel over Ethernet) host.
      • To create a new iSCSI host, enter the following command.
        svctask mkhost -iscsiname host_iqn
      • To create a new Fibre Channel or FCoE host, enter the following command.
        svctask mkhost -fcwwpn host_wwpn
    7. Enter the following command to map the new volume to the host. When the image mode volume is mapped, it becomes accessible for I/O operations to the host.
      svctask mkvdiskhostmap -host hostname diskname
      hostname
      Name or ID of the host you created in step 13.f.
      diskname
      Name or ID of the virtual disk you created in step 13.d.
  2. Enter the following command to display information about the storage pools that are visible to the Storwize V3700 system.
    svcinfo lsmdiskgrp
    1. If no storage pools are available on the Storwize V3700 system to migrate the storage pool that you created in step 13.a, enter the following command to create a new storage pool. The extent_size is the size of the volume that you are migrating from the iSCSI target system (as displayed in step 5).
      svctask mkmdiskgrp -ext extent_size -name pool_name
  3. Migrate the data from the Dell EqualLogic iSCSI target system to the storage pool on Storwize V3700 system. For information about migrating data to volumes, see Managing volumes.
    • To migrate data from the entire volume, enter the following command.
      svctask migratevdisk -mdiskgrp mdisk_group -vdisk vdisk_id
    • To migrate data from selected extents, enter the following command.
      svctask migrateexts -source mdisk_name -exts num_extents -target new_mdisk -threads 4 -vdisk vdisk_id
  4. To monitor the progress of the data migration, enter the following command.
    svcinfo lsmigrate

Results

The data on the logical drives from the Dell EqualLogic iSCSI target system is migrated to the Storwize V3700 system. Host I/O operations are also switched to the Storwize V3700 system.

What to do next

  1. On the Storwize V3700 system, enter the following command to display the configured ports on the iSCSI target system.
    svcinfo lsiscsistorageport
  2. Delete the configured iSCSI target ports. Specify the row number from the lsiscsistorageport output to identify the sessions to delete.
    svctask rmiscsistorageport lsiscsistorageport_row_id
  3. On the Dell EqualLogic iSCSI target system, enter the following command to delete the volume that you migrated to the Storwize V3700 iSCSI initiator system.
    delete volume_name
  4. Disconnect the Ethernet cables that connect each system to the Ethernet switches.