Storage Mirroring Evaluation Guide
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1.2.2 Replication
Replication is the real-time transmission of file changes. Unlike other related technologies, which
are based on a disk driver or a specific application, HP OpenView Storage Mirroring’s replication
process operates at the file system level and is able to track file changes independently from the
file’s related application. In terms of network resources and time, replicating changes is a more
efficient method of maintaining a real-time copy of data than copying an entire file that has
changed.
After a source and target have been connected through HP OpenView Storage Mirroring, file
system changes from the user-defined mission-critical data are tracked. HP OpenView Storage
Mirroring immediately transmits these file changes to the target machine. This real-time
replication keeps the data on the target machine up-to-date with the source machine and
provides high availability and disaster recovery with minimal data loss.
Unlike mirroring which is complete when all of the files have been transmitted to the target,
replication captures the changes as they are written to the source and sends them to the target
continuously. Replication keeps the target up-to-date and synchronized with the source.
Source
Target
User/Application
updates
part of a file
Only the changed
portion of the file
is replicated
Up-to-date
copy maintained
on the target