Determine site configuration

For PowerHA technologies, which involve two copies of the data, such as Geographic mirroring, Metro Mirror, Global Mirror and HyperSwap®, there are considerations for planning the sites where the data will reside. One site is typically considered the production or source site. This site contains your production data, which is mirrored or copied to the remote site. The remote site, sometime referred to as a backup or target site, contains the mirrored copy of the production data. When a site-wide disaster occurs at the production site, the backup site resumes your business with the mirrored data. Before you configure one of these technologies, consider the following regarding your site plans.

Determine which sites will be production and backup sites

Assess the current hardware and software resources that are in place at each site to determine if there are any missing components that will be necessary for a cross-site mirroring solution.

Determine the distance between production and backup sites

Depending on your communication bandwidth and other factors, distance between sites can affect performance and latency in the mirroring technology you choose. Some cross-site mirroring technologies are better suited for sites that are at great distances, while others may have performance degradation.