Configuring PowerHA with IBM Power Virtual Server (7.4)

IBM Power Virtual Server enables the deployment of a IBM i virtual server, also known as a logical partition (LPAR) in IBM’s data centers via the IBM Cloud Platform.

PowerHA is fully integrated with IBM Power Virtual Server, offering comparable technologies to the technologies available on-premise with PowerHA including:

Geographic Mirror which provides IASP replication via IBM i networking and works with any storage on-premise, and in hybrid cloud and cloud environments.
IBM Power Virtual Server Global Replication Services (GRS). GRS provides asynchronous volume-level replication between two IBM Power Virtual Server locations. PowerHA fully integrates and automates IASP-based replication.
IBM Power Virtual Server Volume (LUN-Level) Switching. Volume switching provides the capability to switch a set of volumes between systems. This technology is used between two IBM i cluster nodes that reside within the same Power Virtual Server workspace (data center) and is often combined with technologies such as GRS to enable local HA within a data center along with replication to a remote location with GRS to provide protection against outages of a data center.
IBM Power Virtual Server IASP FlashCopy. FlashCopy provides point-in-time snapshots of data that can be mounted. Common use cases for FlashCopy include offloading backups to a secondary partition to reduce backup windows (offline backups), and test environments.

While geographic mirroring provides flexibility, the replication is performed by the IBM i. This means that extra resources are needed on the IBM i to perform the replication. In addition, an unplanned failure of the IBM i with geographic mirroring requires a full resynchronization of data. Global Replication Services offloads this replication to the external storage eliminating these trade-offs. In addition, SAN-based replication, such as Global Replication Services protects your recovery point, even if the target system is offline for maintenance (such as when upgrading the operating system, or applying PTFs).

Example Scenarios for Configuring PowerHA in IBM Power Virtual Server