DELL EMC UNITY: MIGRATION TECHNOLOGIES

A Detailed Review

ABSTRACT
This white paper reviews moving data within a Dell EMC™ Unity system and the
options available for migrating data from a Dell EMC CLARiiON, Celerra, VNX, VNXe,
VMAX, SC/Compellent, PS/EqualLogic, and some 3rd party systems to the Dell EMC
Unity platform. An overview of each solution is provided, followed by a discussion of the
solution’s merits and applications. This paper serves as a centralized resource for
migration options and contributes to the overall decision making process of arriving at
Dell EMC Unity.

July, 2019
The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the
information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Use, copying, and distribution of any software described in this publication requires an applicable software license.

Copyright © 2018 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its
subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be the property of their respective owners. Published in the USA [07/19] [White Paper] [H15163.7]

Dell EMC believes the information in this document is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without
notice.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................5

Audience ........................................................................................................................................... 5

TERMINOLOGY .........................................................................................................................5
DELL EMC UNITY FAMILY .......................................................................................................6
MIGRATION OVERVIEW BY PLATFORM ...............................................................................6
Moving Within Dell EMC Unity........................................................................................................... 6
Migration From Dell EMC VNX1 and VNX2 ...................................................................................... 6
Migration From Dell EMC VNXe1600/VNXe3200.............................................................................. 7
Migration From Dell EMC VNXe3100/VNXe3300.............................................................................. 7
Migration From Dell EMC CLARiiON ................................................................................................. 8
Migration From Dell EMC Celerra ..................................................................................................... 8
Migration From Other Storage Systems ............................................................................................ 8

MIGRATION SOLUTIONS REVIEW (BLOCK) .........................................................................8

Local LUN Move ................................................................................................................................ 8
Dell EMC Unity Asynchronous Block Replication ............................................................................ 10
Dell EMC SAN Copy Incremental Push (VNX/CLARIION) .............................................................. 11
Dell EMC Unity SAN Copy PULL .................................................................................................... 11
Dell EMC Unity Native Block Import ................................................................................................ 13
Dell EMC PowerPath Migration Enabler .......................................................................................... 15
Dell EMC RecoverPoint ................................................................................................................... 15
Dell EMC VPLEX............................................................................................................................. 15
Host-Based LVM Migration ............................................................................................................. 16

MIGRATION SOLUTIONS REVIEW (FILE) ........................................................................... 16

Dell EMC Unity Native File Import ................................................................................................... 16
When to Use Native File Import....................................................................................................... 17
Native File Import Recommendations ............................................................................................. 18
Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................... 21
Dell EMC Unity Native File Import (NFS) ........................................................................................ 21
Dell EMC Unity Native File Import (CIFS) ....................................................................................... 25
DELL EMC UNITY NATIVE FILE IMPORT – FLR support .............................................................. 30
Dell EMC Select Datadobi DobiMigrate ........................................................................................... 30
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 EMCopy .......................................................................................................................................... 31
Robocopy ........................................................................................................................................ 31
Rsync .............................................................................................................................................. 32
Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA) File Migration ................................................................................. 32

MIGRATION SOLUTIONS REVIEW (OTHER) ...................................................................... 33

Dell EMC RecoverPoint for VMs ..................................................................................................... 33
VMware Storage vMotion ................................................................................................................ 33

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 34
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 35
APPENDIX A: BLOCK MIGRATION OPTIONS .................................................................... 36
APPENDIX B: FILE MIGRATION OPTIONS ......................................................................... 36

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Choosing a Dell EMC Unity system for its truly Unified platform and management operations has never been easier. With a series of
flexible deployment options, from purpose-built All Flash and Hybrid configurations, to the software defined Dell EMC UnityVSA and the
converged offering within VCE Vblock, the Dell EMC Unity series can fit the needs of a small to medium business and enterprise class
business alike. Whether chosen as part of a tech refresh or to operate alongside existing Dell EMC hardware, it is important for Dell
EMC Unity to support a broad set of options for performing migration.

Data migration involves the transferal of data and host connectivity from one storage device to another. When considering which
form(s) of migration to utilize, many factors are considered. The type of data: block, file, or both, influences which tools can be used.
The amount of data and its scale (number of block devices, file systems, etc.) also are important considerations. The means of
migration can be a factor, whether it is done natively or through a host based solution. Tolerance to downtime is another major concern
– can the migrated data be held inaccessible for a period of time or is absolute or near-absolute cutover a necessity? Finally, cost will
often lead the decision making process to a conclusion.

The intention of this paper is to provide a single resource which lists the supported migration options for each platform and help guide
the decision making process. It should not however be the only resource consulted for making this decision and following through with
the migration itself. To this end, links and references to supporting material will be provided at the end of each sub-section, with Dell
EMC Unity-specific documentation included at the end of this document, under References.

This white paper reviews the various options available for performing migration to Dell EMC Unity. The first portion of the paper outlines
the options available for a specific platform: Dell EMC CLARiiON, Dell EMC Celerra, the Dell EMC VNX family, and the Dell EMC VNXe
series. The second half of the paper discusses each solution and reviews the various focus areas of consideration. It is recommended
to use the first section to identify the specific solutions for your particular hardware, then investigate those solutions via the second
section.

AUDIENCE
This white paper is intended for IT administrators, storage architects, partners, Dell EMC employees and any other individuals involved
in the evaluation, acquisition, management, operation, or design of an Dell EMC networked storage environment utilizing the Dell EMC
Unity family of storage systems. It is written with the assumption that the reader is planning to perform a migration to Dell EMC Unity
themselves or for an end-user, and assumes a basic understanding of migration concepts and workflow.

TERMINOLOGY
• Commit – A part of the migration process used by some migration solutions. After a migration session is cutover and access
is provided from the destination system, a commit removes any existing migration connections and ends any data transfer
between systems. For some migration solutions, the cutover operation includes the commit process.

• Cutover – The process of changing the primary storage node from the source system in a migration session to the destination
system. During this process, host access to the device on the source is removed and presented from the destination.

• Disruption – A period of downtime associated with the cutover process during a migration session. With some migration
solutions, a disruption period is necessary in order to begin hosting resources from the destination system.

• Migration or Tech-refresh – A term used to describe the process of changing an existing production storage system with
another storage system. Migrations are often necessary when a company installs replacement storage hardware as part of a
tech refresh or to replace systems going end of life.

• Rollback – The act of returning the state of systems in a migration session to their pre-migration status. For example, if a
migration is cutover and hosts are accessing data from the new storage system, but it is desired to return storage
responsibility to the source system, a rollback can be performed.

• SAN Copy Checkpoint – A block address that is tracked during the migration session in case of a failure. A SAN Copy
Checkpoint is taken every 10 minutes during the migration.

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DELL EMC UNITY FAMILY

Figure 1. Dell EMC Unity Family

Dell EMC Unity sets the new standards for midrange storage with a powerful combination of simplicity, modern design, affordable price
point, and deployment flexibility – perfect for resource-constrained IT professionals in large or small companies. Dell EMC Unity is
perfect for midsized deployments, Remote Office/Branch Office locations, and cost-sensitive mixed workload environments. It is
designed for all-flash, delivers the best value, and is available in purpose-built (all flash or hybrid flash), converged deployment (through
VCE), and as a software-defined virtual edition. With all-inclusive software, new differentiated features, internet-enabled management,
and a modern design, Dell EMC Unity is where powerful meets simplicity.

MIGRATION OVERVIEW BY PLATFORM

The following section presents a Dell EMC storage product and reviews the available migration solutions to perform migration to a Dell
EMC Unity system. The following products are discussed: Dell EMC VNX, Dell EMC VNXe, Dell EMC CLARiiON, and Dell EMC
Celerra. While the focus of this paper will be on this discreet set of Dell EMC products, the Migration Solutions Review sections will
mention a specific solution’s support for other Dell EMC storage systems and third-party arrays when applicable.

MOVING WITHIN DELL EMC UNITY

The Dell EMC Unity series allows for the relocation of storage resources on the system through the Local LUN Move feature. This
feature is available for VMFS Datastores and Block LUNs, including LUNs within a Consistency Group. The ability to relocate data
between pools or within the same pool at the LUN level allows for manual control over data distribution and load balancing.

MIGRATION FROM DELL EMC VNX1 AND VNX2

The Dell EMC VNX series provides effective block, file, and Unified storage for the midrange market and has been a cornerstone of the
Dell EMC portfolio for a number of years. With the introduction of Dell EMC Unity many customers seek a migration path from
VNX1/VNX2, and as a result there are a large number of solutions available for both block and file migration.

For the migration of block resources from the Dell EMC VNX1 and VNX2 platforms, the following solutions are available:

• Dell EMC Unity Native Block Import (Block LUNs/CGs)

• Dell EMC RecoverPoint
• Dell EMC PowerPath Migration Enabler
• Dell EMC VPLEX
• Host-Based LVM Migration

For file migration from the Dell EMC VNX1 and VNX2 platforms, the following solutions are:

• Dell EMC Unity Native File Import

• Dell EMC Select Datadobi DobiMigrate

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 • EMCopy
• Robocopy
• rsync

In virtualized environments leveraging VMware ESXi and vCenter Server, the following solutions are available:

• Dell EMC RecoverPoint for VMs

• Dell EMC VPLEX
• VMware Storage vMotion

MIGRATION FROM DELL EMC VNXe1600/VNXe3200

The Dell EMC VNXe1600 and VNXe3200 deliver a cost-efficient, easy to deploy block or Unified environment for small business and
ROBO use cases. With systems starting at only 2U in size, the VNXe1600 and VNXe3200 offer enterprise-level functionality and data
services within a small footprint for maximum efficiency.

For the migration of block resources from the Dell EMC VNXe1600 and VNXe3200 platforms, the following solutions are available:

• Dell EMC Unity Asynchronous Block Replication

• Dell EMC RecoverPoint (3200 only)
• Dell EMC PowerPath Migration Enabler
• Dell EMC VPLEX
• Host-Based LVM Migration

For file migration solutions from the Dell EMC VNXe3200 platform, the following solutions are:

• Dell EMC Select Datadobi DobiMigrate

• EMCopy
• Robocopy
• rsync

In virtualized environments leveraging VMware vSphere ESXi and vCenter Server, the following solutions are available:

• Dell EMC RecoverPoint for VMs

• Dell EMC VPLEX
• VMware Storage vMotion

MIGRATION FROM DELL EMC VNXe3100/VNXe3300

The Dell EMC VNXe3100 and VNXe3300 offer unified storage capabilities with easy to provision storage resources that can offer
integrated application awareness. The VNXe3100 and VNXe3300 were designed with the IT generalist in mind, such as someone
operating an environment with fewer users or performance requirements than an enterprise level deployment.

For the migration of block resources from the Dell EMC VNXe3100 and VNXe3300 platforms, the following solutions are available:

• Host-Based LVM Migration

For file migration solutions from the Dell EMC VNXe3100 and VNXe3300 platforms, the following solutions are:

• Dell EMC Select Datadobi DobiMigrate

• EMCopy
• Robocopy
• rsync

In virtualized environments leveraging VMware ESXi and vCenter Server, the following solutions are available:

• Dell EMC RecoverPoint for VMs

• VMware Storage vMotion

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MIGRATION FROM DELL EMC CLARiiON
With the Dell EMC CLARiiON, block storage capabilities are offered and enhanced by a robust feature set which includes storage
tiering between drive types and virtual provisioning. While the Dell EMC CLARiiON series is no longer sold, the product continues to
see use in the industry. Migration to the Dell EMC Unity platform will enable additional feature functionality offered by the Dell EMC
Unity series.

For the migration of block resources from the Dell EMC CLARiiON platform, the following solutions are available:

• SAN Copy Incremental Push (From CLARiiON)

• Dell EMC RecoverPoint
• Dell EMC PowerPath Migration Enabler
• Dell EMC VPLEX
• Host-Based LVM Migration

In virtualized environments leveraging VMware ESXi and vCenter Server, the following solutions are available:

• Dell EMC RecoverPoint for VMs

• VMware Storage vMotion

MIGRATION FROM DELL EMC CELERRA

The Dell EMC Celerra family provides file based provisioning in a standalone format or in conjunction with a Dell EMC CLARiiON array.
Support for multiprotocol file systems and quotas made Dell EMC Celerra a top choice for the small to medium business market when it
was introduced. While the product is no longer sold, customers are actively using Dell EMC Celerra and seek out ways to move their
data to a Dell EMC Unity product.

For file migration solutions from the Dell EMC Celerra platform, the following solutions are:

• Dell EMC Select Datadobi DobiMigrate (OE version 6.0.364 and later)
• EMCopy
• Robocopy
• rsync

In virtualized environments leveraging VMware ESXi and vCenter Server, the following solutions are available:
• Dell EMC RecoverPoint for VMs
• Dell EMC VPLEX
• VMware Storage vMotion

MIGRATION FROM OTHER STORAGE SYSTEMS

In some instances, a user may want to migrate block data from a system not mentioned in the sections above to a Dell EMC Unity
system. While many host-based options are available and documented in this guide, Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.4 includes SAN
Copy Pull, which migrates block resources from a number of supported systems to a storage resource on a Dell EMC Unity system.
More information about this feature and the supported source systems can be seen later in this guide.

MIGRATION SOLUTIONS REVIEW (BLOCK)

In this section, the set of migration solutions available for performing block migrations are reviewed. Considerations will be made for the
supported configurations, execution process, and cost. Additional references to supporting material will also be covered. For a full
listing of block migration solutions alongside the various platforms, refer to Appendix A.

LOCAL LUN MOVE

With the Local LUN Move feature, available starting in Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.1, Dell EMC Unity provides native support for
moving LUNs and VMFS Datastores online between pools or within the same pool. This ability allows for manual control over load
balancing and rebalancing of data between pools. Local LUN Move leverages Transparent Data Transfer (TDX) technology, a multi-
threaded, data copy engine. TDX is designed to help ensure a low impact on host access during a move session.

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With the Local LUN Move feature, you can perform and administer LUN moves by using the Unisphere HTML5 GUI, the UEMCLI, or
the REST API. The following examples focus on administering and monitoring move sessions on LUNs through Unisphere, although
this is fully supported for VMFS Datastores with the same workflow. For more information about UMECLI and REST API commands,
see the CLI and REST API guides located at Dell EMC support. When a move is initiated on a LUN, the session starts automatically
and transparently handles the cutover to the destination pool. You can monitor the progress of the move by viewing the session details,
the average transfer rate, the current transfer rate, and the estimated time remaining through the GUI or the CLI. To move a LUN, from
the Block Storage page, you can select the LUN and click More Actions > Move (Figure 2).

The Move LUN dialog box appears, where you can select the destination pool. You will have the option to enable Data Reduction if the
destination pool is all flash (this option may appear as Compression in older version of Dell EMC Unity OE). If you select the Data
Reduction option, the data within the LUN is processed by the data reduction algorithm as the data is moved to the destination pool.
While a move is in progress, you can monitor the session by viewing the side bar when the LUN is selected or by opening the LUN
Properties window. Information such as the move progress percent, the time remaining, the transfer rate, and the session priority are
displayed. After the session is completed, and for 3 days following the move, the Move Session State field displays “Completed”.

Figure 2. More Actions - Move

LUN properties such as snapshot schedules, LUN metrics, and LUN attributes are moved with the LUN. LUN properties such as
replication sessions and snapshots are not moved with the LUN. If a replication session is configured on a LUN or its Consistency
Group, the session must be deleted before the move can begin, and then configured again when the move is completed. If snapshots
are associated with the LUN, or the Consistency Group that the LUN is contained in, they will be deleted once the move has completed.
If the LUN has any Thin Clones, then a move operation cannot be performed. If the move session is cancelled, the snapshots will
remain. Snapshot schedules for a LUN or its Consistency Group persist throughout the move and continue to take snapshots of the
LUN after the move is completed.

To be eligible for the Local LUN Move feature, the LUN or its Consistency Group cannot be participating in a replication session,
expanding or shrinking, restoring from a snapshot, participating in a VNX Import Session, or offline. The LUN cannot be a source for
any Thin Clones. Sufficient space must be available in the destination pool or the move will fail. Space requirements ignore the potential
data reduction savings if you plan to apply data reduction when it is moved.

While a LUN is being moved, it cannot be deleted, modified in size, restored from a snapshot, configured in a replication session, used
by an Import Session, added or removed from a Consistency Group, or have snapshots taken. The system cannot initiate a software
upgrade while any move sessions are in progress.

There are limits of 100 move sessions and 16 active sessions for Dell EMC Unity systems. The TDX engine has resources for a limited
number of concurrent sessions. Only 2 for 300(f)/350F, 4 for 400(F)/450F, and 5 concurrent sessions for 500(F)/550F/600(F)/650F. If
there are more active sessions then concurrent sessions, they will be multiplexed across the TDX resources based on their priority.

Local LUN Move with Data Reduction

The Local LUN Move feature includes a data reduction option if the destination pool is All Flash. The data in the LUN can be reduced
by bringing a LUN from another pool (Hybrid or Flash) into an All Flash pool, or by moving a LUN within an All Flash pool. For Dell EMC
Unity 300(F), 400(F), 500(F), and 600(F) systems running a version of code prior to Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.3, if a LUN in an All
Flash pool has compression enabled, the “Compress Now” option is available from the “More Actions” dropdown. With this option you
can initiate a LUN Move on the selected LUN within the same All Flash Pool, and the data is compressed when the LUN is moved. The
“Compress Now” option has been deprecated in OE version 4.3, but Local LUN Move can be utilized in its place.

If a LUN does not have data reduction enabled and the LUN is moved into an all Flash Pool, a checkbox is available to enable data
reduction. If the LUN does not have data reduction enabled and already exists in an all Flash Pool, the move operation can be used to
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enable data reduction by following the above procedure and moving within the same Pool. The Local LUN Move can be also leveraged
to apply Advanced Deduplication to existing LUNs.

In Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.5, Data Reduction includes an optional feature called Advanced Deduplication, which expands the
deduplication capabilities of the Data Reduction algorithm. Advanced Deduplication is included as an optional feature to Data Reduction
algorithm for the Dell EMC Unity 450F, 550F, and 650F systems. This feature is only aviable on Dynamic Pools.

For more information about data reduction as it relates to Dell EMC Unity, see the Dell EMC Unity: Data Reduction white paper on Dell
EMC Online Support.

DELL EMC UNITY ASYNCHRONOUS BLOCK REPLICATION

Dell EMC Unity offers native support for asynchronous block replication and this can be used for cross replication to VNXe3200 and
VNXe1600 platforms. Asynchronous block replication leverages the iSCSI protocol and is supported over both copper and optical
connections. Replication sessions can be configured in a one-way or bi-directional configuration between systems, allowing for
migration operations and backups to the source VNXe1600 or VNXe3200 to coexist (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Dell EMC Unity Asynchronous Block Replication

From the source VNXe3200 or VNXe1600, configure a block replication session on LUNs, Consistency Groups, or VMFS Datastores to
the Dell EMC Unity system (Figure 4). After data has been synchronized between the source system and the destination Dell EMC
Unity system, the replication session may be failed over. Before doing so, verify host connectivity and access to the destination Dell
EMC Unity system will ensure continued access after the failover is conducted. After performing the failover, block resources are then
made available from the Dell EMC Unity system. If desired, the replication session may be maintained after migration in reverse
direction (Dell EMC Unity as the source system, and the VNXe3200/VNXe1600 serving as the destination) to fulfill data protection
requirements on the block resources.

Figure 4. Dell EMC Unity Unisphere – VNXe3200 to Dell EMC Unity Migration

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Dell EMC Unity asynchronous block replication is included with the Dell EMC Unity product license. For more information on Dell EMC
Unity’s replication offerings, please see the Dell EMC Unity: Replication Technologies white paper available on Dell EMC Online
Support.

DELL EMC SAN COPY INCREMENTAL PUSH (VNX/CLARIION)

Migration of block resources from the Dell EMC VNX and CLARiiON platforms is achievable through the use of SAN Copy in a push
operation. SAN Copy is available for free and is found pre-installed on newer VNX2 systems. For systems that do not have SAN Copy
licensed, the license is obtained from Dell EMC Online Support and is enabled via an NDU. For more information on the storage arrays
supported by SAN Copy, refer to the Dell EMC E-Lab Navigator. Dell EMC Unity Native Block Import leverages SAN Copy Incremental
Push on VNX systems and automates the migration process from the Dell EMC Unity system. Native Block Import should be used in
place of manually migrating data using SAN Copy Push from VNX systems to Dell EMC Unity.

SAN Copy is capable of migrating Pool LUNs, Classic LUNs, MetaLUNs, and Consistency Groups to a Dell EMC Unity system over
Fibre Channel or iSCSI protocols. A SAN Copy migration session may be conducted in one of two modes: full copy or incremental
copy. A full copy session is useful when a planned extended outage window is possible, as host access will be disabled while an entire
copy of the block device occurs to the Dell EMC Unity system. Any changes to the source device will require a completely new full copy
to be made. Choosing to use an incremental copy session retains host access to the device until the time of cutover, as changes to the
block device will be updated at the destination site periodically. In order to utilize an incremental copy session, a Reserved LUN Pool is
required. More information on Dell EMC SAN Copy can be found on Dell EMC Online Support. Documents are available from Dell
EMC Online Support to review SAN Copy’s various modes and options in more detail, as well as a step-by-step guide to configuring
and executing SAN Copy migration to a Dell EMC Unity system.

DELL EMC UNITY SAN COPY PULL

Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.4 includes SAN Copy Pull as a part of the code. SAN Copy Pull is a migration tool which migrates data
from block storage resources, either standalone LUNs/Volumes or VMFS Datastores, found on supported systems to Dell EMC Unity.
SAN Copy Pull works with all Dell EMC Unity models, including UnityVSA. All configuration, creation, and management of the SAN
Copy Pull sessions is only available through UEMCLI or REST API. Figure 5 below outlines an example of SAN Copy Pull.

Figure 5. SAN Copy Pull

The list below includes the systems supported by SAN Copy Pull, which includes a number of Dell EMC and 3rd party storage systems.
For migrations from Dell EMC VNX systems, Dell EMC Unity Native Block Import should be used. For CLARiiON systems, Dell EMC
SAN Copy Push on the CLARiiON system should be leveraged.

Systems supported by Dell EMC Unity SAN Copy Pull:

• Dell EMC SC / Compellent

• Dell EMC PS / EqualLogic
• Dell EMC VMAX
• HP EVA
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 • HPE 3PAR
• Hitachi HDS
• NetApp

Migrations utilizing Dell EMC Unity SAN Copy Pull to migrate from a source system to the target Dell EMC Unity system happen offline
from a host accessibility perspective, and therefore should be completed during a maintenance window. All I/Os must be suspended on
the source storage resource and host access should be removed for the entire duration of the migration as data changed during the
migration is not tracked and does not propagate to the destination resource. Once the migration is complete, host access can be
applied to the target LUNs and I/O can resume.

A SAN Copy Pull migration session can be configured over Fibre Channel (FC) or iSCSI to migrate the data. Choosing which
technology to use entirely depends on the connectivity options supported for the source and destination system and the speed of the
connections. For instance, if both systems support 1Gb iSCSI and 8Gb FC, choosing FC may be a better option due to the speed of the
link that can be configured. To successfully start a migration session, both Dell EMC Unity Storage Processors (SP) must be able to
access the source resource. If the source system has a top and bottom controller and you wish to migrate resources from both
controllers, both SPA and SPB of the Unity system need to have access to both controllers. If FC is selected, note that the Sync
Replication ports cannot be used for the migration. More information on configuring connectivity between the systems can be found in
the Dell EMC Unity: Third-Party System Migration using SAN Copy Pull guide found on Dell EMC Online Support.

Once connectivity is established between the source system and the Dell EMC Unity system, the target LUN(s) or VMFS Datastore(s)
on the Dell EMC Unity can be configured. As the Dell EMC Unity system has no information about the source storage resource, the
person completing the migration must configure the destination storage resource manually. The destination resource can be the same
size as the source or larger, be Thin or Thick, and can support Data Reduction if the system and Pool configuration support it. In some
instances, the destination must be slightly larger than the source due to the difference in block sizes between the products. When
configuring the resources, advanced data features such as snapshot schedules, replication, and being a member of a Consistency
Group are not supported. The resource also cannot have any snapshots or thin clones created on it. All of these configurations and
options can be customized after the migration has completed.

Before starting the migration, it is suggested to configure host connectivity to the Dell EMC Unity system. Having the host configured to
the Dell EMC Unity system before the migration helps decrease the amount of downtime seen, as those steps are not required after the
migration completes. The host can either be the existing host on the source system, or a new host that will be used in its place. Consult
the Dell EMC Unity Simple Support Matrix for supported host configurations, which can be found on Dell EMC Online Support.

Once connectivity is established and the destination resource is configured, the user needs to stop all I/O on the source resource,
remove all host access, and add the Dell EMC Unity system as a host to access the source storage resource. Depending on the source
system, the Dell EMC Unity system may need to be first registered as a host. If necessary, manually create a new host using the WWN
of the Fibre Channel ports or the IQNs of the iSCSI ports used for the migration. Once the Dell EMC Unity system is registered as a
host, provide it access to the source volume. In some case you may need to ensure that mappings are allowed to paths that are
currently down, and not logged in.

Next the session can be created using either UEMCLI or REST API. The usage and an example of the /import/session/generic
create UEMCLI command is shown below. Once the session starts, the SAN Copy Pull software reads the data from the source
system and writes it to the destination resource on the Dell EMC Unity system. The SAN Copy Pull software does not know how much
data is actually allocated on the source resource, so it reads all blocks on the source volume, even if it is all zeroes. SAN Copy Pull has
a built in zero detect mechanism which avoids writing zeroes to the destination. These zeros do not count towards the Data Reduction
savings value if Data Reduction is enabled. Once the migration is completed, access can be provided from the Dell EMC Unity system
to the host and host I/Os can resume. For more information on the command below, consult the Dell EMC Unity: Third-Party System
Migration using SAN Copy Pull guide found on Dell EMC Online Support.

uemcli /import/session/generic create [ -async ] [ -name <value> ] [ -descr <value> ] [ -srcSystemName

<value> ] -srcLUNWWN <value> { -targetRes <value> | -targetResName <value> } [ -throttle { Low | Medium |
High } ]

An example:
uemcli –d SystemIP -u Username –p Password /import/session/generic create -name migration-1 -srcLUNWWN
6000d310056392000000000000000005 -targetResName LUN_Migration-00 -throttle Medium

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The default throttle value is High, which allows the session to run as fast as possible. The user can specify a different throttle when
creating the session, or while the session is running.

Once a migration session is created, there are a few operations that can be run on the session using the
/import/session/generic command:
• Show – Displays the details of the migration session. For example, the source LUN WWN, the target resource, what the
estimated time to complete the migration is, etc.

• Set – Modifies some of the migration session’s values. For example, the name of the migration session, throttle, etc.

• Pause – Pauses the migration session.

• Resume – Resumes the migration session when the session was paused previously.

• Restart – Restarts the session if the session is in a failed state. The session will restart from the last SAN Copy Checkpoint.

• Delete – Deletes a canceled or completed session.

While the session is running, SAN Copy Pull keeps track of the current logical block addresses that each session is currently reading
from. Every 10 minutes, a SAN Copy Checkpoint is taken, which marks a block address starting point to continue a migration in case an
issue is encountered. In the event of a planned or unplanned SP reboot, the session is paused until the SP fully boots. The session is
restarted automatically from the latest SAN Copy Checkpoint for that session once the SP is booted. The session also has a throttle
which is used to control the bandwidth of the session.

The maximum number of the SAN Copy sessions running in parallel is limited on the system. The maximum number of sessions
allowed depends on the model and on the OE version of the Dell EMC Unity system. See Table 1 for the specific limits. When the
number of sessions hits the system limit, the additional sessions will queue. Once one of the sessions has completed, another session
from the queue is started automatically. Each session only runs on the SP Owner for the destination storage resource. To find the SP
Owner of a particular resource, review the properties of the resource. You can also change the SP Owner of a resource before starting
a session to control which SP the SAN Copy Pull session runs on. The user cannot change the LUN ownership if the session has
already started.

Table 1. SAN Copy Pull Sessions Limit

System Model Dell EMC Unity OE 4.4* Dell EMC Unity OE 4.5*
Dell EMC UnityVSA 1 1

Dell EMC Unity 300(F) 2 2

Dell EMC Unity 350F 2 4

Dell EMC Unity 400(F)/450F 2 8

Dell EMC Unity 500(F)/550F 2 8

Dell EMC Unity 600(F)/650F 2 8

*Limit Per SP

For more information about how to set up a connection between the two systems using iSCSI or Fibre Channel and how other operations
work with the migration session, please check the Dell EMC Unity: Third-Party System Migration using SAN Copy Pull guide on Dell EMC
support website.

DELL EMC UNITY NATIVE BLOCK IMPORT

With the Dell EMC Unity Native Block Import feature, in Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.1, Dell EMC Unity provides native support for the
migration of block resources from Dell EMC VNX Systems. This feature allows you to import Block LUNs and Consistency Groups
through the Unisphere GUI, or through the UEMCLI or the REST API. Native Block Import leverages a SAN Copy Incremental Push
operation on the source VNX system, which is a mature program with run time and documentation associated with it. To use the Native
Block Import feature, the VNX system must have a licensed and installed instance of SAN Copy. SAN Copy is available for free and is
pre-installed on many VNX systems.

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This feature integrates the configuration and execution aspects of the SAN Copy operations into the Dell EMC Unity migration workflow
for increased ease-of-use and simplicity. Only one remote system connection is required to import block resources. The following
information describes the migration of block resources by using the Native Block Import feature, including the preparation of the VNX,
the creation, monitoring, and cutover on Dell EMC Unity, and the requirements for using the Native Block Import feature.

To prepare the Dell EMC Unity system for the block import, iSCSI or Fibre Channel interfaces must be configured on the system. If you
are importing through iSCSI, on the VNX system create an iSCSI connection to the Dell EMC Unity iSCSI interfaces. If you are
importing over Fibre Channel, configure Fibre Channel port zoning between the VNX and Dell EMC Unity Systems. Avoid using the
MirrorView Ports on VNX and the Synchronous Replication Ports on the Dell EMC Unity system. If possible, avoid using Fibre Channel
or iSCSI ports that are being used for host traffic. On the VNX system, you must configure a Reserved LUN Pool that is based on the
LUNs that are planned for block import. This configuration requires 1 thick LUN for each LUN that is planned for import, sized at 20% of
the provisioned size of the import LUN. For more information about VNX pre-configuration for SAN Copy, see the Migrating to Dell EMC
Unity with SAN Copy white paper.

When the pre-configuration is completed, an Import Connection can be created from the Dell EMC Unity system to the source VNX
system. Import Connections are created under the Import tab under Protection & Mobility, and require the VNX SPA or SPB IP and
administrator credentials. After the Import Connection is established, the block resources that are eligible for migration are discovered.
The block resources can include Pool LUNs, Meta LUNs, Consistency Groups, and Classic LUNs that are not: RLP LUNs, file storage
LUNs, or System LUNs. A best practice is to register the associated hosts of the VNX Block resources to the Dell EMC Unity System,
which allows you to assign host access to the destination resource when you create the Import Session.

Figure 6. Unisphere – Create Import Connection

After an Import Connection is successfully established to the source VNX, Import Sessions can be created to migrate Block resources
from the VNX system to the Dell EMC Unity system by using the Import Session wizard. You can specify the Block LUNs or
Consistency Groups to be migrated. The attribute values of the destination resource, such as the resource name and the destination
pool, are automatically populated, and these values can be modified. By default, the name is the source resource name, and if naming
conflicts occur on the Dell EMC Unity system the imported resource name is automatically appended with the next available number,
such as “01”. At this point there is an option to enable data reduction if the destination pool is all flash. For multiple Import Sessions, the
Dell EMC Unity system will round robin the primary SP to ensure that the destination LUNs are evenly distributed across the SP
resources.

You can specify the host access and Import Session priority in the Import Session wizard. If the appropriate host was not registered
with Dell EMC Unity you can create a new host within the Import Session wizard and assign access. By default, the highest SAN Copy
priority is assigned to the session. To lower the SAN Copy priority for the Import Session, you can select the Throttle Session option.
The final step of the Import Session wizard is a summary page. After you verify the information and click Finish, the destination LUN or
Consistency Group is created and the syncing phase beings. Incremental copies will begin from the source resource to the destination.
The Import Session page displays the active Import Sessions and their respective states. Upon completion of incremental copy, the
status of the session is Ready to Cutover. The Cutover Threshold can be modified after the session has been created; the lower this
threshold is, the faster the cutover will be. At this point a cutover can be performed. The cutover disables the host access from the
source VNX, a final sync is performed, the SAN Copy session is deleted, and host access to the destination Dell EMC Unity system is
enabled. The Cutover is a disruptive transition and the hosts will lose access during the Cutover process. You will need to rescan on
the host once the cutover has been completed, ensure that host access has been provided from the Dell EMC Unity system.

Table 2 below displays many of the limits SAN Copy enforces on different VNX models. For a more extensive list of information, limits,
and best practices as it relates to SAN Copy and Dell EMC Unity see the Migrating to Dell EMC Unity with SAN Copy white paper on
Dell EMC Online Support.
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 Table 2. SAN Copy Limits
VNX5600, VNX5400,
VNX8000, VNX7600 VNX5800
VNX5300
VNX7500, VNX5700 VNX5500
VNX5200, VNX5100

Concurrent executing sessions 32 16 8

Destinations per session 100 50 50

Incremental source LUNs 512 256 256

Defined incremental sessions 512 512 512

Incremental sessions per source LUN 8 8 8

DELL EMC POWERPATH MIGRATION ENABLER

PowerPath Migration Enabler (PPME) is a migration tool packaged with Dell EMC’s PowerPath software that provides migration
capabilities from a Dell EMC VNX series, VNXe1600/VNXe3200, and CLARiiON series system to a Dell EMC Unity system. It is also
compatible with certain third-party storage arrays. While PPME is installed alongside PowerPath multipathing, it is not a requirement
that multipathing is running on the host machine in order to take advantage of PPME. PPME requires a license, which is tied to the
overall PowerPath license.

PPME offers a set of different migration options that enables compatibility between a large number of storage systems. For Dell EMC
Unity, PPME Host Copy is utilized. PPME Host Copy is a host-based migration operation and will use host based resources to copy
data from the source system to the destination system. A direct connection between the source storage system and destination Dell
EMC Unity system is not required. Host access to the block resource is maintained during the migration’s initial copy and can be
configured to be non-disruptive during cutover to the Dell EMC Unity system.

For more information on the supported systems with PowerPath Migration Enabler, refer to Dell EMC’s E-Lab Navigator. For more
information on using PowerPath Migration Enabler, refer to Dell EMC Online Support.

DELL EMC RECOVERPOINT

Dell EMC RecoverPoint is an appliance based solution that can be used for migrating block data from VNX, VNXe3200, VMAX,
XtremIO and CLARiiON to Dell EMC Unity. RecoverPoint is a Dell EMC product that provides a seamless replication solution between
disparate storage systems and supports Dell EMC storage products and third-party arrays.

Dell EMC Unity supports RecoverPoint through the use of a RecoverPoint splitter, which sends host writes to the storage system and
RecoverPoint appliances to be replicated to the destination system. This enables replication to be handled by the RecoverPoint
appliances, saving the Dell EMC Unity systems from the compute effort. RecoverPoint performs data transfer over the Fibre Channel
protocol, thus FC is required in either a switched configuration or using direct attach. RecoverPoint is also offered as a virtual appliance.
A virtual RecoverPoint Appliance (vRPA) cluster can be deployed and will function equivalently to a migration setup using physical
RecoverPoint Appliances. A vRPA configuration does not require FC switching and could result in lower overall costs to the migration
setup.

With the purchase of a Dell EMC Unity system, a license for RecoverPoint Basic is included. This license can be used to perform
RecoverPoint replication and migration between a single VNX or VNXe system and the Dell EMC Unity system. To support additional
systems, as well as other Dell EMC storage arrays, a separate RecoverPoint Advanced license is required.

Since RecoverPoint is a replication solution, it may be used to perform a migration to a Dell EMC Unity system and may be maintained
after cutover to provide availability and data protection for the block resource by using the original source system. For more information
on RecoverPoint, refer to Dell EMC Online Support.

DELL EMC VPLEX

Migration over Dell EMC VPLEX is part of the expanded use case that VPLEX addresses – continuous availability and geographical
distribution of storage systems across data centers (Figure 7). For Fibre Channel environments, VPLEX can be employed to deliver
distributed storage and enable hosts in different locations to access the same data. VPLEX is supported on the Dell EMC VNX series,
CLARiiON, VNXe3200 and VNXe1600 platforms.

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Because VPLEX is a continuous availability solution, migrations are performed non-disruptively. A Dell EMC Unity system is added to a
VPLEX cluster containing one of the supported Dell EMC storage systems listed above. Data will be copied to the Dell EMC Unity
system in a transparent manner. Once migration has completed, the source storage system can remain in the cluster (to maintain
continuous availability and provide archiving benefits) or be decommissioned. Figure 7 is an example of a VMware stretched cluster in
an active-active configuration with VPLEX and Dell EMC Unity.

Figure 7. VPLEX Configuration

In a customer environment already leveraging a VPLEX cluster, integrating the Dell EMC Unity system into the cluster is an extremely
attractive solution for migration. VPLEX is an appliance based solution and requires a license. For more information about Dell EMC
VPLEX, refer to Dell EMC Online Support.

HOST-BASED LVM MIGRATION

Logical Volume Management (LVM) Migration is performed on a Linux host and supports block devices that have been presented to the
Linux host as a logical device. For this reason, LVM Migration may be performed from any of the Dell EMC products considered by this
paper as well as 3rd party storage arrays. LVM Migration can be performed over iSCSI or Fibre Channel and is an included service with
most standard Linux distributions.

Depending on the method of LVM Migration used, host access to the block devices can continue while the migration transfer takes
place. Once complete, the migration session can be cutover so that host access can resume from the LUNs presented by the Dell EMC
Unity system. At this point, the source LUNs may be decommissioned or remain, in case a rollback operation is needed.

As LVM Migration is a host-based operation, supporting material for LVM Migration can be found on the associated Linux distribution of
the Linux host used for LVM Migration. Process and step-by-step guides are also available online.

MIGRATION SOLUTIONS REVIEW (FILE)

In this section, the set of migration solutions available for performing file migrations are reviewed. Considerations will be made for the
supported configurations, execution process, and cost. Additional references to supporting material will also be covered. For a full
listing of file migration solutions alongside the various platforms, refer to Appendix B.

DELL EMC UNITY NATIVE FILE IMPORT

The Dell EMC Unity Native File Import feature is available for NFS in Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.1 and extended for CIFS in Dell
EMC Unity OE version 4.2, provides a native option for file migration to Dell EMC Unity from a VNX1 or VNX2 system. Leveraging a
new Inband Migration Tool (IMT) software, this feature allows for VNX VDM migration to a Dell EMC Unity NAS Server. The Inband
Migration Tool was developed to handle the communication and data transfer between VNX and Dell EMC Unity. This migration is

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either transparent or minimally disruptive to the host IO for NFS or CIFS respectively and allows for a full rollback to the VNX VDM at
any time before the migration is committed.

Figure 8. Import Session Lifecycle

Some preparatory work is required on the VNX system, but the creation, monitoring, and cutover operations are managed in Dell EMC
Unity. This feature is fully supported through Unisphere, UEMCLI, and the REST API. Native File Import requires mobility interfaces to
be configured on the Dell EMC Unity system for data transfer and an Import Connection established to the VNX to allow for
communication. The mobility interfaces can be utilized for both NFS and CIFS import, and the Import Connection can be used for all
Native Imports (File and Block).

Once mobility interfaces have been created on the Dell EMC Unity system, and an Import Connection established from the Dell EMC
Unity system to the source VNX, Import Sessions can be created to import VNX VDMs and their file systems. Figure 8 above shows the
typical lifecycle of a file Import Session, including the state of the session, the background process during this state, where hosts are
accessing their information, and any user actions required to advance the session.

While there are some differences between NFS and CIFS Import Sessions, both will progress through the same lifecycle shown above.
For more information on performing a Native File Import, please see the Native File Import (NFS) and Native File Import (CIFS)
sections below.

WHEN TO USE NATIVE FILE IMPORT

It is recommended to use Native File Import if the source VNX is in a supported configuration since this feature automates most of the
migration process and helps alleviate common overhead with migrations. The following requirements must be met in order to use
Native File Import:

• VNX1 or VNX2

o VNX1 Models – VNX5100, VNX5300, VNX5500, VNX5700, VNX7500

o VNX2 Models – VNX5200, VNX5400, VNX5600, VNX5800, VNX7600, VNX8000

• VNX Code – 7.1.x or later

• Dell EMC Unity OE – Introduced 4.1 (NFS) and 4.2 (SMB)

o Dell EMC recommends running the latest OE if possible

o Reference the latest Release Notes for new features and fixed issues

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• VDM – File systems to be migrated must reside on a VDM

• Single Protocol – Exports on the VDM must only contain shares or exports of a single protocol, either SMB or NFSv3

• Single CIFS Server – If using SMB, the VDM must contain only a single CIFS Server

If any of these requirements are not met, they must be addressed prior to starting a Native File Import session. For example, if there are
multiple CIFS Servers on the VDM to be migrated, all but one must be removed.

There are also times where Native File Import should not be used, even if the source VNX is in a supported configuration. Some
examples include:

• Cloud Tiering – If Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA) is used to tier data to a cloud repository, CTA File Migration should be leveraged
to perform the migration instead. This enables the ability to preserve the stub files without rehydrating the data. Native File
Migration causes the stubbed files to be rehydrated and full copies of those files are stored on the destination. For more
information on CTA File Migration, refer to the Dell EMC Unity: Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA) white paper on Dell EMC Online
Support.

• Virtual Environments – Leveraging host-based migration utilities such as VMware Storage vMotion to migrate VMs from the old
datastore to the new datastore that resides on the Dell EMC Unity system. This provides more granular controls, allowing the
administrator to precisely control when and which VMs are migrated. Native File Import migrates all of the data on the file system at
the same time.

For unsupported configurations, Native File Import cannot be used. In these cases, the system must be reconfigured to a supported
configuration or alternative migration methods should be explored. Some examples of unsupported configurations include:

• Multi-Protocol – Exports on the VDM that contains both SMB shares and NFS exports cannot be imported

• Multiple CIFS Servers – If using SMB, VDMs that contain multiple CIFS Servers cannot be imported

• Nested Mounted File Systems (NMFS) – Nested mounted file systems are not supported on Dell EMC Unity

• pNFS, NFSv4, or Secure NFS – VDMs that contain file systems using pNFS, NFSv4, or Secure NFS cannot be imported

• Models – Celerra, VNX gateways, and eNAS (VMAX) systems cannot be a source for import

NATIVE FILE IMPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

BEFORE THE MIGRATION

Before migrating data using Native File Import, is it recommended to:

• Test the import procedure on a non-production VDM in the customer environment before migrating a production VDM

o If possible, create a non-production VDM with a matching configuration to the production VDM to test the migration
procedure and ensure the test data is available before, during, and after the migration

• Create a migration schedule and plan outlining when and which VDMs will be migrated

o Ensure the plan also takes into account the systems limits for import

• Document all customized VNX Data Mover parameters that will be made on the Dell EMC Unity NAS Servers

• Verify that the VNX Data Mover and Dell EMC Unity system have the same time

o Times must be within 5 seconds of each other

o It is recommended to use the same NTP server if possible

• Ensure network connectivity, stability, and low latency is available between the VNX and Dell EMC Unity

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 o Configure FSN/LACP, MTU, VLANs, and VLAN tagging on the switch ports on Dell EMC Unity to match the VNX
configuration

o Confirm connectivity from Dell EMC Unity to DNS, NIS, LDAP, AD servers, clients, and so on.

o Ensure migration interfaces are created and connectivity exists between the interfaces on Dell EMC Unity and VNX

o On Dell EMC Unity, navigate to Settings → Access → Routing → Ping/Trace to test interface connectivity

o On VNX, run a server_ping <movername> -i <interface> command to test interface connectivity

o Ensure ports 22 (SSH), 443 (HTTPS), and 5989 (WBEM-HTTPS) are open on the firewall

• Confirm the health of the VNX and Dell EMC Unity systems

o Ensure everything is in a healthy state before starting a migration

• Unmount any file systems and checkpoints off of the VDM that should not be migrated

• If possible, remove features that won’t be migrated from the VNX

o E.g., FTP, CAVA, CEPA, and so on

• Generate a data collect from the Dell EMC Unity system and Support Materials and SPCollects from the VNX system

• Review the following documentation:

o Dell EMC Unity Native File Import sections – See Below

o VNX Series Data Import to Dell EMC Unity – Available on Dell EMC Online Support

o Dell EMC Unity Release Notes – Available on Dell EMC Online Support

SMB

Before starting an SMB migration, it is recommended to:

• Ensure the following parameters are configured on the source VNX Data Mover:

o cifs.acl.mappingErorrAction – 11

o cifs.extacl - 28

• Ensure the physical Data Mover has an interface that can access the DNS server after the migration

o This interface cannot be attached to a VDM that is being migrated

o This enables DNS connectivity on the VNX to persist during and after the migration

• Set the default Administrator account’s password on the VNX CIFS Server. This can be done by connecting to the CIFS Server
using Computer Management

o Alternatively, create a new user and add that user to the Local Administrators group by connecting to the CIFS Server
using Computer Management

• Confirm the production IP address and computer name are allowed on the network that it is being migrated to

o If not, the migration will not be able to successfully complete the Cutover step

NFS

• Before starting an NFS migration, it is recommended to:

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• Verify pNFS, NFSv4, or Secure are disabled on source VDM

• Verify the NFS export names do not contain any unsupported characters

o E.g., Commas (,) or double quotes (“)

DURING THE MIGRATION

During the migration, is it recommended to:

• Ensure network connectivity between the VNX and Dell EMC Unity system remain up until the migration is committed

• Once the migration starts, do not change any properties, settings, or configuration on the VDM or NAS Server that is being
migrated. Also, do not change any global or system-level settings on the Data Mover or Storage Processor that may impact the
VDM or NAS Server. Examples of settings that should not be changed until the migration is committed include:

o Quota settings

o NIS, LDAP, DNS, gateway, and routing configurations

o Create / delete file systems on the VDM

o Mount / unmount file systems on the VDM

o NFS exports, CIFS shares, or user privileges on the CIFS shares

o CIFS server local users or local groups

o DFS configurations

o NAS replication

o VNX VDM or Dell EMC Unity NAS server configurations

• Monitor the migration process

o Monitor a migration operation progress

o On Dell EMC Unity, navigate to Jobs, select the operation, and click Details

o Monitor a migration session’s overall progress

o On Dell EMC Unity, navigate to Import, select the session, and click View/Edit

o View the migration session’s Summary Report

o On Dell EMC Unity, navigate to Import, select the session, click More Actions, and click Download Summary
Report

o The Summary Report includes details such as time duration, state change history, user operation history,
warnings and errors, migrated bytes, and files/quotas that failed to migrate for each file system

• Most migration issues happen after the ‘cutover’ and before the ‘commit’. Before initiating a cutover:

o Apply the applicable customized parameters to the Dell EMC Unity system using the svc_nas command

o Test connectivity by creating a new non-production NAS Server on the Dell EMC Unity system with a matching
configuration prior to cutover

o Use the same ports, subnet, mask, VLAN, gateways, DNS, NIS, LDAP, AD servers, clients, and so on.

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 o Confirm connectivity from the NAS Server interfaces to, DNS, NIS, LDAP, AD servers, clients, and so on.

▪ On Dell EMC Unity, navigate to Settings → Access → Routing → Ping/Trace to test interface
connectivity

▪ On VNX, run a server_ping <movername> -i <interface> command to test interface

connectivity

o Confirm the health of the VNX and Dell EMC Unity systems

o Ensure everything is in a healthy state before issuing a cutover or commit

CANCELLING THE MIGRATION

• Do not cancel an import session unless the problem cannot be resolved (see Troubleshooting section)

• Ensure network connectivity between the VNX and Dell EMC Unity system exists prior to initiating a cancel operation

o The cancel operation fails if it is unable to communicate with the VNX Control Station and Data Mover

TROUBLESHOOTING
If an issue is encountered with Native File Import, review the error messages, job details, and health status and determine if the issue
can be easily resolved. The most common issues encountered are configuration related issues and are documented above. You can
also attempt to retry the failed operation. If more information is required to resolve the issue, consider searching for the error code on
Dell EMC Online Support.

If an issue cannot be resolved and further assistance is needed, please open a case with Dell EMC Support. Having the following
information available will help speed up the troubleshooting effort:

• Name of the resource being migrated

• Date/time of the issue

• Error encountered

• Logs collected from before the migration was started and also after the error was encountered

o VNX SPCollects and Support Materials

o Unity Data Collect

• Migration Summary Report

• Screenshots of the issue, if applicable

DELL EMC UNITY NATIVE FILE IMPORT (NFS)

The Dell EMC Unity Native File Import (NFS) feature, available starting in Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.1, provides a native option for
file migration to Dell EMC Unity from a VNX1 or VNX2 system. This feature supports NFSv3 and allows for VNX VDM transparent
migration to a Dell EMC Unity NAS Server. The following information describes the file migration through Native File Import (NFS),
including the preparation of the VNX, the creation, monitoring, and cutover on Dell EMC Unity, and the requirements and details of the
file migration.

To prepare the VNX system for the file migration, the source VNX VDM must have at least one client network interface, and exactly one
attached network interface named “nas_migration_<name>”, where <name> is a unique name provided to the interface, such as
nas_migration_vdm2. The IMT uses this interface throughout the migration. To prepare to import VDMs, you must ensure that the
associated Data Mover has DNS connectivity through an interface that is not attached to the VDM that you want to import. If the Data
Mover can access its DNS server only through the interfaces attached on the VDM, you must create a dedicated interface to persist the
DNS connectivity for the Data Mover throughout and after the VDM migration.

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All file systems on the VDM must be mounted and exported. If any file systems do not satisfy this requirement, the Import Session will
fail. NFSv4 and Secure NFS must be disabled on the source VDM. A VDM with a Nested Mount File System (NMFS) cannot be
imported. A VDM with a Parallel NFS (pNFS) can be imported. However, the pNFS configuration is not migrated to the destination NAS
Server. The time difference on the VDM and the Dell EMC Unity system must be within 5 seconds of each other. A best practice is to
sync both systems to the same NTP server to ensure time consistency.

After the VNX system is prepared, the network interfaces must be configured on the Dell EMC Unity system. The IMT uses the
interfaces to connect to the nas_migration interface on the VNX to ensure data transfer between systems. You can create the network
interfaces on the Dell EMC Unity system in the Interfaces page under Protection & Mobility. Two interfaces must be created, one for
each SP, and an Import Session is performed over only one interface. The Import Interfaces which are created must be in the same
VLAN as the nas_migration interface on the VNX. When the Mobility Interfaces are created and the VNX pre-configuration is
completed, you can create an Import Connection from the Dell EMC Unity System to the source VNX system. Import Connections are
created under the Import tab under Protection & Mobility, and require the VNX SPA or SPB IP and Unisphere administrator
credentials. When the Import Connection is successfully established, all the VDMs that are eligible for migration are discovered.

Figure 9. Dell EMC Unity Configuration Steps Shown in Unisphere

Please note that existing Import Interfaces and Import Connections can be leveraged by Native File Import (NFS), it is not required to
create a separate connection or separate set of interfaces. Native File Import (NFS), Native File Import (CIFS), and Native Block Import
can all share the same Import Connection and Import Interfaces.

Figure 10. Create Import Session Wizard

After an Import Connection is successfully established, the Import Sessions can be created by using the Create Import Session
wizard. This will launch a wizard which allows you to select the type of resource to import. For Native File Import (NFS) select NAS
Server under Resource Type as the resource and then select the source VNX VDM for migration within the Resource drop-down
menu. On the Target step options are presented to select destination pools for the NAS Server and associated NFS file systems, a
Unix Directory Service to import (NIS/LDAP), and the Dell EMC Unity ports for network interfaces. The name of the imported file

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systems will be the same as their mount point on the source VNX. The network interface chosen in this step will dictate which SP the
NAS Server is associated with, it will be the same SP as the interface.

Figure 11. Configure Target File System

Due to the nature of 64 bit file system architecture, the source 32 bit file systems are inflated during migration, this results in a larger
destination file system. If the source file system has compression or deduplication savings, these savings are not transferred to Dell
EMC Unity and can result in a substantial increase in size on the destination. However, depending on the Dell EMC Unity OE version
and capabilities of the Pool, if the destination Pool supports either Compression or Data Reduction there is an option to apply the space
saving technology, as shown in Figure 11. If enabled, the Compression and Data Reduction algorithm reviews the contents of the data
as it imports to the Dell EMC Unity system and achieves space savings before data is written to the Pool. As a rule of thumb, the
destination size (Dst. File System Size) can be calculated using the formulas shown in Table 3. Please ensure that the destination pool
or pools have enough free space to accommodate the new file systems, otherwise the import will fail.

Table 3. Destination File System Size

Parameter Calculation

Dst. File System Size Max(3GB, Src. FS Total Size, Dst. FS Used Size) + Migration Size

Dst. File System Used Size 1.5GB + (Src. FS Used Size + Src. FS Dedupe Size) * Ratio

Migration Size 1GB + 8 Bytes * ((Src. FS Total Size < 2T ? Src. FS Total Size: 2T) / 8525)

Ratio = 1.5 For (Src. FS Used Size + Src. FS Dedupe Size) <= 10GB

Ratio = 1.2 For (Src. FS Used Size + Src. FS Dedupe Size) > 10GB

Once the wizard is completed the Import Session automatically creates the destination file systems and the NAS Server and begins a
baseline copy. Please reference the graphic below (Figure 12) to see which configuration properties are transferred from the VNX VDM
and the Data Mover to the destination Dell EMC Unity NAS Server.

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 Figure 12. VDM and File System Configuration Data

The baseline copy consists of the NAS Server and file system attributes and the cold data on the file system. Cold data is data that has
not been updated in the last 60 minutes. During the baseline copy, host access is routed through the original VNX interface until the
session is cutover. After the baseline copy is completed, the session is eligible for cutover. In Dell EMC Unity Unisphere the cutover can
be performed by selecting an Import Session and clicking More Actions > Cutover. The host access is cutover from the VNX to the Dell
EMC Unity system. The cutover is targeted at less than 30 seconds to ensure that application timeouts do not occur and the process
appears transparent to hosts. After cutover, the Import Session begins the delta copy. Any new writes to the file systems are mirrored
by the Inband Migration Tool to ensure consistency on the source VNX incase a rollback is required. Data continues to be transferred
from the source VNX file system to the Dell EMC Unity file system. If data is referenced or updated that is not yet migrated to the Dell
EMC Unity system, the IMT pulls the data from VNX into Dell EMC Unity. Due to the write mirroring and transfer of data, hosts might
experience increased response times from the file systems during the delta copy process.

Figure 13 below shows the general architecture of the Native File Import (NFS) feature and how the Inband Migration Tool functions.
This figure represents an Import Session that has already been cutover. The production IP port has been brought up on the Dell EMC
Unity side and hosts are now accessing the file systems through the Dell EMC Unity interface. IMT leverages the Dell EMC Unity
mobility interface and the VNX nas_migration interface to transfer file system data. New writes are mirrored to the VNX and source
information continues to be transferred to the destination through this channel. A communication link exists between the Dell EMC Unity
SP and VNX control station, this is used to query the VNX and make configuration changes, such as turning off a network interface
during cutover.

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 Figure 13. Inband Migration Tool Diagram

During the migration some operations are discouraged on the source VNX. These operations include changes to Quota settings,
NIS/LDAP configuration changes, DNS/Gateway/Routing changes, and creating/deleting file systems. Dell EMC Unity cannot prevent
these operations from being performed on the source system. However, if these operations happen it could result in potential DU/DL
(data unavailable / data loss) or even a failed Import Session. When the Dell EMC Unity file systems are completely synced with the
source VNX file systems, the Import Session is ready to commit. Up until this point the Import Session can be cancelled and host
access is transferred back to the VNX. All writes made after cutover are mirrored to both the source and the destination file systems to
ensure that there is no loss of data when cancelling an Import Session.

When you commit the Import Session, data transfer procedures are stopped and removed. The source file system data will need to be
manually cleaned up on the VNX in order to return that space back to the Pool. The Dell EMC Unity system is the primary node for
client access for all imported NAS Servers and file systems from that Import Session. The Native File Import (NFS) feature is supported
across all Dell EMC Unity models, both physical and VSA. This feature supports one VDM Import Session for each SP, for a total of two
simultaneous VDM Import Sessions on physical systems. Each VDM import session can support a maximum of 500 file systems, this
allows for a potential 1000 simultaneous file system imports (500 file systems for each VDM).

In the event of an SP reboot, the affected Import Session will failover to the peer SP. If a system reboot occurs, the Import Sessions are
paused and will automatically resume when the system returns. If any error is encountered, such as loss of connection or VNX reboot,
the session will automatically pause. You can resume the session again to retry the operation. You can generate and download a
summary report through Unisphere, the UEMCLI, or the REST API that includes information on the time duration, changes in session
state, user operation, progress, warnings, and errors. A report is automatically generated when a session is committed, cancelled, and
included in data collects.

DELL EMC UNITY NATIVE FILE IMPORT (CIFS)

Since the release of Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.2, the Dell EMC Unity Native File Import feature now provides a native option for
CIFS file migration to Dell EMC Unity from a VNX1 or VNX2 system. This feature allows for a VNX VDM with a single CIFS Server to be
migrated to a Dell EMC Unity NAS Server. This transfer is a minimally-disruptive migration to the host IO and allows for a full rollback to
the VNX VDM at any time before the migration is committed. The following information describes the file migration through Native File
Import (CIFS), including the preparation of the VNX, the creation, monitoring, and cutover on Dell EMC Unity, and the requirements and
details of the file migration.

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To prepare the VNX system for the file migration, the source VNX VDM must have at least one client network interface, and exactly one
attached network interface named “nas_migration_<name>”, where <name> is a unique name provided to the interface, such as
nas_migration_vdm2. The IMT uses this interface throughout the migration. The VDM must contain only a single CIFS Server and no
NFS exports. This interface must be added to the CIFS Server in a separate subdomain, this ensures that any hosts querying the DNS
will not be directed to the migration interface. There can be no host access on the NAS migration interface. The CLI command to add
the interface to a CIFS Server is shown below, you can see the new migration domain is bolded.

› server_cifs vdm_fro2 –add compname=vnx2compnamefro,domain=windows.dellemc-

fr,interface=nas_migration_vdmfro2,dns=migration.windows.dellemc-fr

To prepare to import VDMs, you must ensure that the associated Data Mover has DNS connectivity through an interface that is not
attached to the VDM that you want to import. If the Data Mover can access its DNS server only through the interfaces attached on the
VDM, you must create a dedicated interface to persist the DNS connectivity for the Data Mover throughout and after the VDM
migration. The CIFS Server must have local users enabled. If it is not enabled, it can be enabled through either the GUI or through CLI.
Once enabled, an account with administrator rights is required and will be used when creating the Import Session on the Dell EMC
Unity side. It is required to set the default Administrator account’s password, either by accessing the CIFS Server through Computer
Management, or creating a new user and adding that user to the Administrator group.

All file systems on the VDM must be mounted. If any file systems do not satisfy this requirement, the Import Session will fail. There
must be no NFS exports on the source VDM. The extended ACL feature and the unknown SID feature must be set appropriately on the
source Data Mover. The CLI command to set the features and their respective values are listed below.

› server_param <source_datamover> -facility cifs –modify acl.extacl –value 28

› server_param <source_datamover> -facility cifs –modify acl.mappingErrorAction –value 11

The source VDM cannot be utf8-based and the source CIFS Server cannot be a Windows NT 4.0 like CIFS Server. In the case of a
domain joined CIFS Server, DNS must be configured for the associated domain. The time difference on the VDM and the Dell EMC
Unity system must be within 5 seconds of each other. A best practice is to sync both systems to the same NTP server to ensure time
consistency.

Figure 14. Dell EMC Unity Configuration Steps Shown in Unisphere

After the VNX system is prepared, the network interfaces must be configured on the Dell EMC Unity system. The IMT uses the
interfaces to connect to the nas_migration interface on the VNX to ensure data transfer between systems. You can create the network
interfaces on the Dell EMC Unity system in the Interfaces page under Protection & Mobility. Two interfaces must be created, one for
each SP, and an Import Session is performed over only one interface. The Import Interfaces which are created must be in the same
VLAN as the nas_migration interface on the VNX. When the Mobility Interfaces are created and the VNX pre-configuration is
completed, you can create an Import Connection from the Dell EMC Unity System to the source VNX system. Import Connections are
created under the Import tab under Protection & Mobility, and require the VNX SPA or SPB IP and administrator credentials. When
the Import Connection is successfully established, all the VDMs that are eligible for migration are discovered.

Please note that existing Import Interfaces and Import Connections can be leveraged by Native File Import (CIFS), it is not required to
create a separate connection or separate set of interfaces. Native File Import (CIFS), Native File Import (NFS), and Native Block Import
can all share the same Import Connection and Import Interfaces.

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 Figure 15. Create Import Session Wizard

After an Import Connection is successfully established, the Import Sessions can be created by using the Create Import Session
wizard. This will launch a wizard which allows you to select the type of resource to import. For Native File Import (CIFS) select NAS
Server under Resource Type as the resource and then select the source VNX VDM for migration within the Resource drop-down
menu. For Native File Import (CIFS), you must select a CIFS VDM. On the Target step options are presented to select destination
pools for the NAS Server and associated CIFS file systems and the Dell EMC Unity ports for network interfaces. The name of the
imported file systems will be the same as their mount point on the source VNX. The network interface chosen in this step will dictate
which SP the NAS server is associated with, it will be the same SP as the interface.

Figure 16. Configure Target File System

Due to the nature of 64-bit file system architecture, the source 32-bit file systems are inflated during migration, this results in a larger
destination file system. If the source file system has compression or deduplication savings, these savings are not transferred to Dell
EMC Unity and can result in a substantial increase in size on the destination. However, depending on the Dell EMC Unity OE version
and capabilities of the Pool, if the destination Pool supports either compression or data reduction there is an option to apply the space
saving technology, as shown in Figure 16. If enabled, the compression or data reduction algorithm reviews the contents of the data as it
imports to the Dell EMC Unity system and achieves space savings before data is written to the Pool. As a rule of thumb, the destination
size (Dst. File System Size) can be calculated using the formulas shown in Table 4 Please ensure that the destination pool or pools
have enough free space to accommodate the new file systems.

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 Table 4 Destination File System Size
Parameter Calculation

Dst. File System Size Max(3GB, Src. FS Total Size, Dst. FS Used Size) + Migration Size

Dst. File System Used Size 1.5GB + (Src. FS Used Size + Src. FS Dedupe Size) * Ratio

Migration Size 1GB + 8 Bytes * ((Src. FS Total Size < 2T ? Src. FS Total Size: 2T) / 8525)

Ratio = 1.5 For (Src. FS Used Size + Src. FS Dedupe Size) <= 10GB

Ratio = 1.2 For (Src. FS Used Size + Src. FS Dedupe Size) > 10GB

Finally, credentials of a local user from the CIFS Server belonging to the Administrator group is required. Since the CIFS protocol does
not have a root user, this is required to provide the Inband Migration Tool administrator privileges.

Once the wizard is completed the Import Session automatically creates the destination file systems and the NAS Server and begins a
baseline copy. Please reference the graphic below (Figure 17) to see which configuration properties are transferred from the VNX VDM
and the DM to the destination Dell EMC Unity NAS Server.

Figure 17. VDM and File System Configuration Data

The baseline copy consists of the NAS Server and file system attributes and the cold data on the file system. Cold data is data that has
not been updated in the last 60 minutes. During the baseline copy, host access is routed through the original VNX. After the baseline
copy is completed, the session is eligible for cutover. In Dell EMC Unity Unisphere the cutover can be performed by selecting an Import
Session and clicking More Actions > Cutover. For cutover to succeed, the source CIFS Server must be renamed, and the Dell EMC
Unity SMB Server will inherit the original CIFS server named. Unisphere will prompt the user for AD credentials in order to successfully
rename the source CIFS Server. By default, an underscore is appended to the original name, however the user can change the name
of the source CIFS Server during this step.

When the rename operation succeeds, the host access is cutover from the VNX to the Dell EMC Unity system. The cutover is targeted
at less than 30 seconds to ensure that application timeouts do not occur and the process appears transparent to hosts. Since SMB 3.0
is a stateful protocol, and Continuous Availability for SMB is not supported by Native File Migration (CIFS), the cutover will be a
minimally disruptive procedure. After cutover, the Import Session begins the delta copy. Any new writes to the file systems are mirrored
by the Inband Migration Tool to ensure consistency on the source VNX incase a rollback is required. Data continues to be transferred
from the source VNX file systems to the Dell EMC Unity file system. If data is referenced or updated that is not yet migrated to the Dell

28
EMC Unity system, the IMT pulls the data from VNX into Dell EMC Unity. Due to the write mirroring and transfer of data, hosts might
experience increased response times from the file systems during the delta copy process.

Figure 18. Inband Migration Tool Diagram

The figure above shows the general architecture of the Native File Import (CIFS) feature and how the Inband Migration Tool functions.
This figure represents an Import Session that has already been cutover. The production IP port has been brought up on the Dell EMC
Unity side and hosts are now accessing the file systems through the Dell EMC Unity interface. IMT leverages the Dell EMC Unity
mobility interface and the VNX nas_migration interface to transfer file system data. New writes are mirrored to the VNX and source
information continues to be transferred to the destination through this channel. A communication link exists between the Dell EMC Unity
SP and VNX control station, this is used to query the VNX and make configuration changes, such as turning off a network interface
during cutover.

During the migration only a limited number of configuration changes are supported. These include changes to shares, local groups,
local users, privileges, home directory, and distributed file system (DFS). These are also the only configuration changes that are
synchronized with the source if the migration is cancelled. When the Dell EMC Unity file systems are completely synced with the source
VNX file systems, the Import Session is ready to commit. Up until this point the Import Session can be cancelled and host access is
transferred back to the VNX. All writes made after cutover are mirrored to both the source and the destination file system to ensure that
there is no loss of data when cancelling an Import Session.

When you commit the Import Session, data transfer procedures are stopped and removed. The source file system data will need to be
manually cleaned up on the VNX in order to return that space back to the Pool. The Dell EMC Unity system is the primary node for
client access for all imported NAS Servers and file systems from that Import Session. The Native File Import (CIFS) feature is
supported across all Dell EMC Unity models, both physical and VSA. This feature supports one VDM Import Session for each SP, for a
total of two simultaneous VDM Import Sessions on physical systems. Each VDM import session on a physical Dell EMC Unity system
can support a maximum of 500 file systems, this allows for a potential 1000 simultaneous file system imports (500 file systems for each
VDM). There is a limit of 32 file systems for a Dell EMC UnityVSA Import Session.

In the event of an SP reboot, the affected Import Session will failover to the peer SP. If a system reboot occurs, the Import Sessions are
paused and will automatically resume when the system returns. If any error is encountered, such as loss of connection or VNX reboot,
the session will automatically pause. You can resume the session again to retry the operation. You can generate and download a
summary report through Unisphere, the UEMCLI, or the REST API that includes information on the time duration, changes in session

29
state, user operation, progress, warnings, and errors. A report is automatically generated when a session is committed, cancelled, and
included in data collects.

DELL EMC UNITY NATIVE FILE IMPORT – FLR SUPPORT

FLR (File-Level Retention) is supported when using Native File Import to migrate from VNX to Unity.
• If the source file system is FLR-enabled, the destination is provisioned with the same FLR settings
• No ability to reconfigure FLR settings during import
Retention periods and lock status are migrated.
If an FLR file system is being imported, DHSM must be configured on the VNX. Enter the DHSM credentials in the Import wizard, as
shown in Figure 19.

Figure 19. DHSM Credentials in the Import Session wizard

For more information on FLR, refer to the Dell EMC Unity: File-Level Retention (FLR) white paper on Dell EMC Online Support.

DELL EMC SELECT DATADOBI DOBIMIGRATE

Datadobi, a Dell EMC Select partner, offers the migration software DobiMigrate to perform file system migrations to the Dell EMC Unity
platform. DobiMigrate is compatible with many different source storage systems, including the Dell EMC storage systems considered by
this white paper. It is also compatible with a set of third-party storage arrays, for more details please look at the DobiMigrate support
matrix.

DobiMigrate is run atop a hypervisor supporting OVA deployment (ex. VMware ESXi) or installed on a Red Hat or CentOS Linux host
via an RPM. It supports NFS, SMB and basic multi-protocol migration, with host machines known as “proxies” running DobiMigrate
software to handle the data transfer of the migration (0). Management of migration sessions using DobiMigrate is performed through an
intuitive GUI that provides status and reporting options through each step of the migration operation.

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 Figure 20. DobiMigrate Configuration

More information about Datadobi DobiMigrate can be found on Datadobi’s website. Additionally, information about Datadobi and its
integration points with Dell EMC can be found on Dell EMC Online Support.

EMCOPY
EMCOPY is a command-line Windows tool developed by Dell EMC to facilitate the migration of data between file systems. It is
available for free download from Dell EMC Online Support and can be used to migrate data from any of the Dell EMC storage systems
considered by this paper and other third-party storage arrays to Dell EMC Unity.

EMCOPY supports the SMB protocol and has awareness for a file system’s access control settings, so that this information can be
migrated along with the files themselves. Furthermore, EMCOPY can be configured to run regularly on the same file system(s), in order
to establish an asynchronous host-based replication session. Only modified file system data is transferred when EMCOPY is run on the
same file system multiple times. While it functions and is used very similarly to Robocopy, EMCOPY is supported by Dell EMC and can
complete an entire environment running on Dell EMC storage.

For more information, including download and execution details, please refer to Dell EMC Online Support.

ROBOCOPY
Robocopy is a Microsoft published tool for performing Windows host based file system replication. It is free to use and can serve as a
migration tool for environments with SMB file systems. All Dell EMC storage systems considered by this paper are supported, including
Dell EMC Unity. In addition, third-party storage arrays may also be supported.

Most modern Windows operating systems are pre-loaded with Robocopy, but it may also be downloaded from Microsoft. Robocopy is
published as a command-line tool, but alternative versions exist which offer a graphical user interface. The GUI-driven Robocopy
variants may be easier to configure and manage for newer users.

For more information on Robocopy, including download links and documentation, refer to Microsoft TechNet.

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RSYNC
Linux users interested in pursuing a host-based migration solution to Dell EMC Unity can leverage rsync. Rsync is a free command-line
tool packaged in the majority of major Linux distributions. It can be used to transfer data from NFS file systems that exist on any of the
Dell EMC storage systems considered by this paper to a Dell EMC Unity system, as well as from other third-party storage arrays to Dell
EMC Unity.

Rsync’s place in the Linux command shell makes it easy to work with when writing scripts or cronjobs to automate the migration
process, or perform regular rsync operations over time to create a host-based asynchronous file system replication session. File system
metadata, user permissions, and timestamps are preserved when rsync is used to transfer file system data.

For more information on rsync, refer to your Linux distribution’s manual. Additional documentation on configuring and using rsync can
be found online.

CLOUD TIERING APPLIANCE (CTA) FILE MIGRATION

With Dell EMC Unity OE version 4.2 and later, and CTA version 12 SP1 and later, the CTA file migration feature is supported with Dell
EMC Unity systems. File migration moves files from one location to another while preserving stubs and without needing to re-hydrate
the data. File migration is a task in CTA to move data from a source File System to a target File System. The target File System needs
to be large enough to hold the data being moved, but it does not need to be of the same size as the source File System. Administrators
can use CTA to move data from a legacy array to Dell EMC Unity with minimal disruption to the clients. CTA can perform multi-protocol,
incremental, stub-aware, cross-vendor migrations that can greatly reduce the effort and complexity when replacing legacy arrays and
implementing their NAS environment on a Dell EMC Unity.

CTA supports SMB (CIFS), NFS, and multi-protocol source File Systems. When having a Dell EMC Unity as a target, the supported
source platforms are VNX and NetApp. Figure 21 provides a graphical representation for file migration. File Migration requires both
source and destination file systems to be shared as well as exported. Hence when migrating to Dell EMC Unity, the NAS Server on
which the destination file system will reside needs to be Multiprotocol Enabled.

For source SMB (CIFS) servers, CTA needs access permissions of a domain user that is part of the Backup Operators and the Local
Administrators group on the source and target File Systems. For NFS servers, the NFS exports need to have root and read/write
permissions for the CTA IPs.

Figure 21. CTA File Migration with Dell EMC Unity

For more information on CTA’s File Migration, refer to the Dell EMC Unity: Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA) white paper on Dell EMC
Online Support.

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MIGRATION SOLUTIONS REVIEW (OTHER)
This section covers migration solutions for virtualized environments leveraging VMware ESXi and VMware vCenter Server. The
following solutions are relevant options for partial or complete migration to Dell EMC Unity, depending on the level of virtualization in the
environment.

DELL EMC RECOVERPOINT FOR VMS

Dell EMC RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines is a part of the RecoverPoint family and offers strong integration with VMware virtualized
environments. Replication of data with VM granularity is achievable between ESXi servers and the underlying storage for the VMs’
datastores. Utilize RecoverPoint for VMs to migrate the storage for your virtualized environment to Dell EMC Unity. Because migration
occurs at the VM level, migration is storage agnostic and supports the Dell EMC storage arrays considered by this paper as well as
other third-party arrays.

RecoverPoint for VMs is a virtual appliance deployed on a VMware ESXi server. A VMware vCenter plug-in adds management
capabilities directly into vCenter, enabling setup and monitoring of migration sessions from a familiar interface. RecoverPoint for VMs is
fully supported by Dell EMC and requires a license for use.

Deploy the virtual appliance for RecoverPoint for VMs in a clustered configuration. Depending on the size of the virtual environment and
data to transfer, hardware requirements for the cluster will vary and should be taken into consideration. For more information on sizing
as well as information on using RecoverPoint for VMs, refer to Dell EMC Online Support.

VMWARE STORAGE vMOTION

VMware Storage vMotion is an included feature with VMware vCenter Server that provides the capability to migrate a Virtual Machine’s
computing power to a different ESXi host, or its backing storage to a different datastore. This functionality can be used to migrate a
VM’s storage to a datastore hosted by a Dell EMC Unity system. VMware Storage vMotion is packaged with VMware vCenter Server,
which requires a license for use.

Migration using VMware Storage vMotion is a simple operation in vCenter Server. Ensuring that a VMware datastore has been
presented from a Dell EMC Unity system to the vCenter environment, selecting a VM and choosing to migrate the VM’s storage to that
datastore will start a migration session (0). Migration is performed with the VM remaining online during the course of the data transfer,
with a short (sometimes imperceptible) cutover to complete the operation.

Because migration is occurring at the datastore level, there are fewer restrictions for supported storage systems. All the Dell EMC
storage arrays considered by this paper are supported as migration sources, as well as other third-party arrays. For more information
about VMware Storage vMotion, refer to VMware Support.

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 Figure 22. VMware Storage vMotion – Configuring Migration

CONCLUSION
Migration to a new storage platform has always been a daunting task. In most environments there are many layers of technology to
have to consider and interrelate in order to construct a migration proposal. Beyond this, working with different departments and groups
to schedule for data transfer and cutover can be a painstaking ordeal. To top things off, there are many potential vulnerabilities and
issues that can occur during the migration process itself. This can often lead migration operations to take longer than expected or never
get started.

With Dell EMC Unity, Dell EMC aims to address some of these pain points. Multiple areas of integration with other Dell EMC and non-
Dell EMC products produce a complete set of solutions for migration to Dell EMC Unity. With some offerings providing offloading
capabilities via purpose-built appliances and others supporting non-disruptive migrations, Dell EMC Unity’s migration technologies
provide ways to work around the traditional sources of overhead and uncertainty. Finally, many of the addressed migration solutions are
built and supported by Dell EMC, offering the same level of quality and support as with Dell EMC Unity in addition to guaranteed
familiarity with the Dell EMC Unity storage system and how it interacts with the chosen migration solution.

A full discussion and selection of the right migration technology for a customer’s needs will vary by use case and environment. It is
important to consider the factors directly relevant to the migration product, such as supported storage systems, limits, and ease-of-use.
It is also necessary to consider external factors, such as price, networking protocols used, and availability requirements. Armed with
this resource, additional investigation into the presented solutions and discussion with a Dell EMC representative or authorized reseller
will lead to arriving at the appropriate migration process to the Dell EMC Unity system.

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REFERENCES
The following documents can be found on Dell EMC Online Support:

• Dell EMC Unity: Introduction to the Platform

• Dell EMC Unity XT: Introduction to the Platform

• Dell EMC Unity: Replication Technologies

• Dell EMC Unity: Data Reduction

• Dell EMC Unity: Cloud Tiering Appliance (CTA)

• Migrating to Dell EMC Unity with SAN Copy: A “How-To” Guide

• Dell EMC Unity: Third-Party System Migration using SAN Copy Pull

• Dell EMC Unity: File-Level Retention (FLR)

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APPENDIX A: BLOCK MIGRATION OPTIONS
Supported Source System (to Dell EMC Unity)
SC / Compellent
PS / EqualLogic
VMAX
VNX1/ VNXe1600/ VNX3100/
CLARiiON HP EVA
VNX2 VNXe3200 VNXe3300
HPE 3PAR
Hitachi HDS
NetApp
Dell EMC Unity
Asynchronous X ✓ X X X
Block Replication
Migration Solution

Dell EMC SAN Copy

✓ X X ✓ X
(Push)
Native SAN Copy
✓ X X X X
Import
Dell EMC
Reference the
PowerPath ✓ ✓ X ✓
Support Matrix
Migration Enabler
Dell EMC Reference the
✓ ✓ X ✓
RecoverPoint Support Matrix
Reference the
Dell EMC VPLEX ✓ ✓ X ✓
Support Matrix
Host-Based LVM
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Migration
Dell EMC Unity SAN
X X X X ✓
Copy Pull

APPENDIX B: FILE MIGRATION OPTIONS

Supported Source System (to Dell EMC Unity)

VNX1/VNX2 VNXe1600/VNXe3200 VNX3100/VNXe3300 Celerra NetApp

Dell EMC Unity
✓ X X X X
Migration Solution

Native File Import

Dell EMC Select
Datadobi ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
DobiMigrate
EMCopy ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Robocopy ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
rsync ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
CTA File Migration ✓ X X X ✓

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