Using the Manual Transfer Utility CLI

If you attempt to perform manual transfer replication using the Manual Transfer Utility GUI and receive an error message that you cannot use the GUI, you can use the interactive command line interface (CLI) to the utility. The CLI is also referred to as reptool.

See Installing the Manual Transfer Utility for installation information.

Note: Even if you use the CLI to create transfer files, you may be able to use the GUI to load the transfer files, as described in Loading Transfer Files Using the GUI.

If you plan to use the GUI to load the data on the secondary group, the transfer files must be named using the following format:

primary_group.volume_name.secondary_group.n.eqd

The variable n is a sequence number, starting from 0 (zero), for multiple transfer files for the volume.

General steps for using the CLI to perform manual transfer replication are as follows:

1. On a system with the Manual Transfer Utility installed and access to the primary group, perform the following steps:
1. Log in to the primary group and use the Group Manager GUI or CLI to configure the volume for replication. Be sure to choose the manual transfer option for the first replication. See Configuring a Volume or Volume Collection for Replication.
2. Use the Group Manager GUI or CLI to create a replica, as described in Creating Replicas.
3. Start the Manual Transfer Utility CLI and create the transfer files on the system.
   
   The CLI creates only one transfer file at a time. Therefore, unless all the data will fit into one file, you must run the CLI several times to create all the transfer files needed for a volume.
   
   See Creating Transfer Files Using the CLI and Creating Additional Transfer Files Using the CLI.
4. Copy the transfer files from the system to external media. For example, if you are using a CD–ROM, use your CD–ROM writer application to copy the files. If you created the transfer files directly on the external media, such as an external hard drive, skip this step.
   
   If you divided the volume data among several transfer files, be sure to copy all the files for the volume onto the external media.
2. Transport the media to a system with access to the secondary group.
3. On a system with the Manual Transfer Utility installed and access to the secondary group, perform the following steps:
1. Make the transfer file data on the external media accessible to the system. For example, insert the CD–ROM or copy the files from tape to a directory.
2. Log in to secondary group and use the Group Manager CLI to create an access control record that will allow the system access to the replica set. You cannot use the Group Manager GUI to perform this task.
3. Connect the system to the replica set.
4. Start the Manual Transfer Utility CLI, load the data from the transfer files into the replica set, and confirm when you are done. This will update the replication status on both groups. See Loading Transfer Files Using the CLI.

Subsequent replication operations will proceed as usual over the network.

The following sections describe some of these steps in detail.

Creating Transfer Files Using the CLI

Before you can create transfer files, you must install the Manual Transfer Utility on a system with access to the primary group, as described in Installing the Manual Transfer Utility . In addition, you must create the first replica. This will create a temporary snapshot (called a replica snapshot in the CLI) in the primary group and a replica set and replica placeholder in the secondary group.

Follow these steps to use the Manual Transfer Utility CLI to create transfer files:

1. On the system with the Manual Transfer Utility installed, use an iSCSI initiator to connect to the temporary snapshot (replica snapshot) on the primary group.
   
   A snapshot has an iSCSI target name based on the volume name and timestamp. For example:
   
   iqn.2001-05.com.equallogic:0-8a0906-43cfc1902-0aeb2fb809c46168-
   vol5-2007-04-06-16:59:40.25

Note: If the initiator cannot connect to the snapshot, check the snapshot’s access control records and create one that allows the initiator to connect. See Managing Access Controls for Volumes and Snapshots for information on creating access control records for a snapshot.

2. Start the Manual Transfer Utility CLI by running the reptool executable or, from the Windows Start menu, click:
   
   All Programs > EqualLogic > Manual Transfer Utility
   
   An example of running the CLI is shown after these steps.
3. When prompted by the CLI for the operation to perform, choose to create a transfer file (enter 1).
4. When prompted, specify information about the create transfer file operation:

If you plan to use the GUI on the secondary group to load the transfer file data to the replica set, you must use the following naming syntax:

primary_group.volume_name.secondary_group.n.eqd

For example (including the full path name):

C:\temp\group1.emailvol.group2.0.eqd

5. When the transfer file is finished, the CLI displays a message indicating whether or not more files are needed.
   
   If you need to create more files, see Creating Additional Transfer Files Using the CLI.
   
   If you are done creating files, exit the utility.

The following example shows a complete operation that created a single transfer file for the volume contents.

Note: In the CLI output, the input and output values probably will not be the same as the volume size. The transfer files will generally add up to less than the volume size, because unwritten (unused) blocks of the volume are not copied. Even if every block of the volume contains data, if compression is used, the transfer files will add up to less than the volume size.

After creating all the transfer files, the next step is to copy the files to external media (for example, a CD–ROM) and then transport the media to the system with access to the secondary group. You might need to use a separate application (such as a CD–ROM writer application) to copy the files to external media.

You can then load the transfer files into the replica set on the secondary group, as described in Loading Transfer Files Using the CLI.

Creating Additional Transfer Files Using the CLI

If volume data cannot fit into a single transfer file, you must create additional files. To create additional transfer files using the Manual Transfer Utility CLI, follow these steps on the same system on which you create the first transfer file:

1. Use an iSCSI initiator to connect the temporary snapshot (replica snapshot) on the primary group.
2. Start the Manual Transfer Utility CLI by running the reptool executable or, from the Windows Start menu, click:
   
   All Programs > EqualLogic > Manual Transfer Utility
3. A message is displayed informing you that an earlier operation is incomplete and needs more files. Enter y at the prompt.
4. You will be prompted for information about the additional transfer file operation:

• Enter a name for the next transfer file. For each consecutive transfer file, you can specify a different drive or path name or mount empty media on the same drive letter you specified before. If desired, you can use command line editing. For example, you can enter the first few characters of the previous transfer file name and press Tab. The prompt displays a list of matching file names. You can then edit the name; for example, to increment its sequence number. It is strongly recommended to use the same naming convention for all transfer files for a volume.
• Specify a limit on the size of the transfer file, if applicable. The number shown in brackets in the prompt indicates the amount of free space on the drive or in the directory you specified.
• Optionally, enter an encryption password. You will need to supply this password when loading the data into the replica set on the secondary group.
• Choose whether or not to compress the volume data. Compression is enabled by default. You can disable compression if you are writing the transfer file to a medium that has its own compression algorithm (such as a tape), or if the speed of the copy operation is more important than data compression.

5. When the transfer file creation is finished, exit the program.
6. If the transfer needs still more files, return to step 2.

After creating all the transfer files, the next step is to copy the files to external media (for example, a CD–ROM) and then transport the media to the system with access to the secondary group. You might need to use a separate application (such as a CD–ROM writer application) to copy the files to external media.

You can then load the transfer files into the replica set on the secondary group, as described in Loading Transfer Files Using the CLI.

Loading Transfer Files Using the CLI

To complete the process of manual transfer replication, use the Manual Transfer Utility CLI to load the data from the transfer files into the replica set on the secondary group and then confirm that the process is complete.

Before you can load data, you must install the Manual Transfer Utility on a system with access to the secondary group, as described in Installing the Manual Transfer Utility . In addition, make the transfer files on the external media accessible to the system. For example, insert the CD–ROM or copy the files from tape to a directory.

Follow these steps to use the Manual Transfer Utility CLI to load data into a replica set:

1. From the system with the Manual Transfer Utility installed, log into the Group Manager CLI on the secondary group and use the following command to identify the replica set and replica placeholder for the volume:
   
   partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select replicaset_name show
   
   The replication status will be in-progress. The replica set name is based on the volume name (for example, emailvol.1). The replica placeholder name is based on the replica set name and includes a timestamp.
2. Use the following Group Manager CLI command syntax to create an access control record that will allow the system to connect to the replica placeholder:
   
   partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select replicaset_name
   access create initiator init_name | ipaddress address
   
   Specify the initiator’s IP address or name. You can specify 0.0.0.0 for unrestricted access, although this is not recommended.
   
   Note the access control record number that is created, so you can delete it when the transfer is complete.
3. Connect the system to the iSCSI target associated with the replica placeholder identified in Step 1.
4. Start the Manual Transfer Utility CLI by running the reptool executable or, from the Windows Start menu, click:
   
   All Programs > EqualLogic > Manual Transfer Utility
5. When prompted by the CLI for the operation to perform, choose to load a transfer file (enter 2).
6. When prompted, specify information about the load transfer file operation:
1. On Windows systems, enter the number associated with the connected replica placeholder.
   
   On other operating systems, specify the device name corresponding to the connected replica placeholder (for example, /dev/sde).
2. Enter the name of the transfer file to load, including the path or drive letter.
   
   You can use file name completion. For example, enter the first few characters of a directory or file name and press Tab. The prompt displays a list of matching names. You can then finish typing the name of the file you want to load.
7. When the load operation for the file completes, a message is displayed indicating if more transfer files are needed.
   
   To load more transfer files for the same replica set, exit the utility and then restart it as described in Step 4. You will get a message saying that the transfer is incomplete. Specify that you want to continue the transfer and follow the prompts.
   
   When all the transfer files for a volume are loaded, exit the program.
8. Disconnect the initiator from the replica set.
9. Use the Group Manager CLI to delete the access control record you created in Step 2.
   
   To display the access control records for a replica set, enter the following command:

partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select replicaset_name
access show

To delete a access control record for a replica set, enter the following command:

partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select replicaset_name
access delete number

Do not delete the record that will support normal replication between the partners after the first manual transfer is finished (typically, record number 1, with a user name that matches the primary group name, and an authentication method of chap-local).

10. Confirm that the manual transfer replication is complete by using the following Group Manager CLI command format:
    
    partner select partner_name inbound-replicaset select rs_name first-manual-xfer done
    
    This command sends confirmation to the primary group that the manual transfer has been completed. On both groups, the replication status will change to ready (for the replica set) and complete (for the first replica).

The following example shows a complete data load operation using the CLI.

Note: In the CLI output, the input and output values may not match the size of the original volume. This can occur if unused volume blocks were skipped when creating the transfer files, or if the data size was reduced by compression. When the load operation is complete, all of the volume that was in use will have been copied to the replica set.