Administrator Guide
2. If you did not select a peer connection from the Peer Connections table, enter the remote host port address to query in the text box.
3. Click OK. A processing dialog box appears while the remote port address is queried. If successful, detailed information about the
remote system and controllers is displayed. An error message appears if the operation is unsuccessful.
Creating a peer connection
A peer connection enables bi-directional communication between a local system and a remote system to transfer data between the two
systems. Creating a peer connection requires a name for the peer connection and either an IP address of a single available iSCSI host port
on the remote system, or a WWN of a single available FC host port on the remote system. Only iSCSI and FC host ports are used for the
peer connection.
The peer connection is defined by the ports that connect the two peer systems, as well as the name of the peer connection. The local
system uses the remote address to internally run the query peer-connection CLI command. The results of the query are used to
configure the peer connection.
The prerequisites to create a peer connection are:
• Both systems must have iSCSI or FC host ports. Ports at both ends of the connection must use the same protocol.
• Both systems must be connected to the same fabric or network. For FC, at least one FC switch is required between systems (no
direct attach).
• All host port addresses in both systems must be unique, even for ports not in use.
• Each system must have a virtual pool.
• If iSCSI CHAP is configured for the peer connection, the authentication must be valid.
• You must specify the username and password of a user with the manage role on the remote system.
You can create a maximum of four peer connections per storage system. However, only one peer connection is allowed to a particular
remote system. Attempting to create a second peer connection to the same system will fail.
While creating the peer connection, the local system receives information about all host ports and IPs on the remote system as well as the
remote system's licensing and host port health. It also links host ports of the select host port type on the local system to those on the
remote system, so all ports of that type are available as part of the peer connection. Once created, the peer connection exists on both the
local and remote systems.
Replications use the bi-directional communication path between the systems when exchanging information and transferring replicated
data. Once you create a peer connection, you can use it when creating any replication set. Because the peer connection is bi-directional,
replication sets can be created from both systems with replication occurring from either direction.
NOTE:
You can use the query peer-connection CLI command to determine if the remote system is compatible with
your system. This command provides information about the remote system, such as host ports, licensing, and pools.
You can run it before creating the peer connection to determine if either system needs to be reconfigured first. You can
also run it to diagnose problems if creating a peer connection fails.
To create a peer connection
1. In the Replications topic, select Action > Create Peer Connection. The Create Peer Connection panel opens.
2. Enter a name for the peer connection. The name is case sensitive and can have a maximum of 32 bytes. It cannot already exist in the
system or include the following: " , < \
3. Enter the destination port address for the remote system.
4. Enter the name and password of a user with the manage role on the remote system.
5. Click OK.
6. If the task succeeds, click OK in the confirmation dialog. The peer connection is created and the Peer Connections table is updated.
If the task does not succeed, the Create Peer Connection panel appears with errors in red text. Correct the errors, then click OK.
CHAP and replication
If you want to use Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) for the iSCSI connection between peer systems, see the
procedure below to set up CHAP. Make sure that you configure both systems in this way. In a peer connection, both systems will
alternately act as an originator (initiator) and recipient (target) of a login request. Peer connections support one-way CHAP only.
If only one system has CHAP enabled and the two systems do not have CHAP records for each other, or the CHAP records have different
secrets, the system with CHAP enabled will be able to modify the peer connection. However, it will be unable to perform any other
Working in the Replications topic
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