ActiveCluster: How To Replace A Permanently Lost Or Destroyed FlashArray
Problem
Following the permanent loss or destruction of one of the two FlashArrays supporting stretched pods there are a few cleanup steps that will need to be run on the surviving FlashArray.
Note: This procedure only applies to pods with an online status on the winning FlashArray (mediation winner) for each stretched pod. The procedure will not work for pods that show offline at the surviving FlashArray. For pods that have an offline status on the surviving FlashArray, please work with Pure Support and follow the standard pod clone procedure for offline pod data (as needed).
Impact
While the destroyed FlashArray shows a 'Connected' status on the surviving FlashArray it will not be possible to establish a second synchronous connection to a (new) replacement FA in order to rebuild ActiveCluster.
Solution
The following steps must be performed:
Step 1. Determine the status and remote host connectivity for each pod on the surviving array.
From the CLI:
Use purevol list --remote --connect
pureuser@tmefa04> purevol list --remote --connect Name Size LUN Host Group Host Pod1::Vol1 444G 1 - tmeesx40 Pod1::Vol1 444G 1 - tmeesx50 Vol2 777G 2 - tmeesx40 Vol2 777G 2 - tmeesx50 Pod1::Vol1 444G 1 - tmefa05:tmeesx40 Pod1::Vol1 444G 1 - tmefa05:tmeesx50
From the FlashArray GUI:
Navigate to Storage > Volumes > <Volume Name>. From the options button at the top right of the Connected Hosts pane, select Show Remote Connections.
Step 2. Disconnect all remote host and/or remote host group connections to the stretched pod volumes.
From the CLI:
Use purevol disconnect <destroyed-array-name>:<remote-hostname> <pod-name>::<vol-name>
pureuser@tmefa04> purevol disconnect --host tmefa05:tmeesx40 Pod1::Vol1 Name Host Group Host Pod1::Vol1 - tmefa05:tmeesx40 pureuser@tmefa04> purevol disconnect --host tmefa05:tmeesx50 Pod1::Vol1 Name Host Group Host Pod1::Vol1 - tmefa05:tmeesx50
From the GUI:
From the Connected Hosts pane that was opened in Step 1, click on the x at the right of each remote host or remote host group connection. Repeat for all remote host / remote host group connections to volumes within the pod.
Step 3. Unstretch the pods from the destroyed FlashArray back to the surviving FlashArray.
From the CLI:
Use purepod remove --array <destroyed-array-name> <pod name>
pureuser@tmefa04> purepod remove --array tmefa05 Pod1 Name Source Array Status Frozen At Pod1 - tmefa04 online -
From the GUI:
Navigate to Storage > Pods > < Pod Name>. From the Arrays pane, click on the Trash Can icon next to the name of the destroyed FlashArray and then confirm the removal of the array. Repeat for all stretched pods.
Step 4. Disconnect destroyed FA
From the CLI:
Use purearray disconnect --local-only <destroyed-FA-name> to complete the removal. This command can only be run by Pure Support.
root@tmefa04-ct0:~# purearray disconnect --local-only tmefa05 Name tmefa05