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10 Dell EMC SC Series: Disaster Recovery for Microsoft SQL Server Using VMware Site Recovery Manager | CML1018
2 Solution components
The solutions described in this document incorporate various components from SC Series, array-based
replication, and VMware Site Recovery Manager. A combination of these components can be leveraged to
provide a purpose-built solution meeting the data protection and disaster recovery requirements of the
environment.
2.1 SC Series
Dell EMC SC Series storage is a multiprotocol shared storage area network (SAN) designed to provide high
availability, performance, automated tiering, and scalability for VMware vSphere virtualized and consolidated
environments.
2.2 Snapshots
SC Series storage has the ability to create space-efficient, hardware-based snapshots (replays) of volumes.
Blocks of data which are frozen in a snapshot form the basis of data protection mechanisms and cannot be
modified. Snapshots can be replicated to remote SC Series arrays through asynchronous or synchronous
replication.
2.3 Snapshot profiles
Snapshot profiles (replay profiles) define a schedule by which snapshots will automatically be created
throughout a period of time. Snapshot profiles are assigned to each volume which is presented as a VMFS
datastore or raw device mapping (RDM) in a vSphere environment. Snapshot profiles have no integration with
the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).
2.4 Active snapshot
An active snapshot (active replay) contains newly written data or data that has been changed on a volume
since the last frozen snapshot was created.
2.5 Consistency groups
A consistency group ties snapshots of multiple volumes together and provides a method of capturing a
precise date and time consistent snapshot across all volumes in the group. Snapshot consistency groups
have no integration with the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) or SC Series array-based
replication.
2.6 Replay Manager
Replay Manager creates SC Series snapshots on a scheduled basis with application consistency across
volumes. Replay Manager integrates with operating system and application-specific VSS components to
provide that application consistency.
2.7 Array-based replication
Array-based replication, licensed as Remote Instant Replay with SC Series, is a common storage feature in
which a volume replica is maintained on a remote array. The replica is typically instantiated and kept in sync