3PAR Online Import for EMC Storage


Here is a guide for 3PAR Online Imports from EMC Storage. This guide is based on the HP documentation for version 1.3.0 (Data Migration Guide). The procedure has many pieces to it. Pay close attention to the zoning requirements otherwise the migration will not work. Also be aware you cannot have PowerPath installed on any host you plan to migrate with this tool. I have used this process many times now for clients and always had success. Wonderful program for migrating to 3PAR from either CX4, VNX, or VMAX. After the jump enjoy the full guide!


This following steps are for migrating a Windows 2008 R2 box from an EMC VNX to HP 3PAR. The tool offers migration for Oracle (RAC included), Windows (clusters included), Linux, and Hyper-V. You also have 3 migrations types: online, minimally disruptive migration (MDM), and offline. I will be using the minimally disruptive migration (MDM). Please review the official HP documentation before attempting as I will not be covering every single pre and post item in this guide.


1.      Build/select a machine to install the 3PAR Online Import Utility.

a.      Must be Windows based machine.

2.       Install EMC SMI-S Provider (Solutions Enabler).

a.      Install version 4.6.2.9

b.      Use Default destination folder for install location.

c.      Select Array Provider under the Provider List.

d.      Leave defaults for daemon list.

3.      Configure EMC SMI-S Provider

a.      Open a Windows command prompt on the server where the EMC SMI-S Provider software was installed.

b.      Change the directory to the location of the EMC SMI-S Provider installation. The default is: C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\bin

c.      Start the testsmiprovider program.

d.      Accept all default settings when prompted.

e.      Attach the VNX storage system to the EMC SMI-S Provider.

                                                    i.     Use the addsys command.

                                                   ii.     Pick #1 for Clar (Array Type)

                                                  iii.     Enter in IP address for SPA then SPB.

1.      You don’t need anything for array id 2 as you only have 2 SP IP’s.

                                                  iv.     For Address types pick default of 2.

                                                   v.     Type in user name and password

1.      This needs to be an EMC VNX global administrator account.

                                                  vi.     If the Output reads as 0 you have established communication.

                                                vii.     You can also run the dv command to verify the communication to the VNX.

                                               viii.     If SMI-S has client IP filtering enabled you will need to add the 3PAR Online Import Utility servers IP to the trust listed.

1.      Please refer to the HP documentation for further instructions.

4.      Install 3PAR Online Import Utility.

a.      Install the 1.3.0 version of the online utility.

b.      Choose the default settings.

                                                    i.     Pick the client and server for install.

1.      This guide covers the online utility install on a single server. Refer to the HP documentation if you wish to split up the roles.

                                                   ii.     This guide does not cover the CA certificate section of the installer. If you require this please refer to the HP documentation for further instructions.

5.      Configure 3PAR Online Import Utility.

a.      Once installation is complete you will need to add an account with local machine administrative privileges as a member of the HP Storage Migration Admins group.

                                                    i.     This group was created, on the local machine, during the installation process.

                                                   ii.     The account added here will be used to run the migration utility.

                                                  iii.     You will also see an HP Storage Migration Users group. This group will not be needed for the purposes of this guide.

b.      Launch the tool.

                                                    i.     You can use LOCALHOST for the IP address if the client and server portions were installed on the same machine (both were installed on same machine for this guide).

                                                   ii.     Enter in credentials from the account above added into the local group the HP Storage Migration Admins.

6.      Migration types and pre-planning.

a.      Please refer to the HP documentation for migration types and pre-planning steps.

b.      This guide will use minimally disruptive migration (MDM for the migration type).

7.      Zoning requirements

a.      Two unique paths (only 2 paths) must be zoned between the source and destination storage systems. To create two paths, two controller ports on the source EMC Storage system must be connected to two peer ports on the destination HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage system.

b.      The peer ports on the destination HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage system must be on adjacent nodes: 0/1, 2/3, 4/5, or 6/7.

c.      Zone the source and destination systems together and make sure they are visible to each other before zoning hosts to the destination system.

d.      Do not unzone the source and destination systems from each other until the data migration is complete.

8.      Zoning creation

a.      On the destination HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage system, configure two free ports as peer ports using adjacent nodes: 0/1, 2/3, 4/5, or 6/7.

                                                    i.     Set the port connection type to point.

                                                   ii.     Set the port connection mode to peer.

                                                  iii.     The WWN of a host port changes when it is set to become a peer port. Use the new WWN of the peer port in the zoning.

b.      Create two zones between the source EMC Storage system and the destination HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage system, ensuring that one EMC host port is in the same zone with one HP 3PAR peer port.

c.      Each zone should contain only two ports: one from each storage system. Adjacent HP 3PAR peer nodes should be zoned to separate EMC controllers in a one-to-one mapping. For example, zone the peer port on node 0 on the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage system to controller A on the EMC Storage system, and zone the peer port on node 1 on the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage system to controller B on the EMC Storage system.

d.      Verify that the EMC Storage system is shown as a connected device on both peer ports of the destination HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage system.

                                                    i.     To check peer port connections from the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage, issue the showtarget command with the -rescan option, and then issue the showtarget command.

9.      Add the Source Storage System

a.      From the HP 3PAR Online Import Utility, issue the addsource command.

                                                    i.     addsource -type VNX -mgmtip XX.XX.XX.XX -user admin -password adminpw —uid xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

1.      XX.XX.XX.XX is the IP address of the EMC SMI-S Provider server.

2.      xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is the WWN of the EMC Storage system.

3.      –user and –password is the account used on the EMC SMI-S provider.

b.      Issue the showsource command to verify the source storage system information.

                                                    i.     showsource –type VNX

10.   Add the Destination Storage System

a.      From the HP 3PAR Online Import Utility, issue the adddestination command.

                                                    i.     adddestination –mgmtip XX.XX.XX.XX –user 3paradm –password 2Password

1.      XX.XX.XX.XX is the HP 3PAR management port IP address.

2.      Use a 3PAR super user account for –user and –password.

b.      If a certificate validation error occurs on the adddestination command, first run the installcertificate command, then run the adddestination command again.

                                                    i.     installcertificate –mgmtip xx.xx.xx.xx

c.      Issue the showdestination command to verify the destination storage system information.

11.   Preparing the Host for Data Migration

a.      Stop all applications on the host that may be accessing the LUNs to be migrated. This also includes any replication and backup applications on the LUNs.

b.      Set the LUNs to be migrated to an offline/unmounted state.

c.      Modify the startup scripts for all applications and services that are using the migrating LUNs to prevent them from starting at the next reboot. They should remain disabled until after the migration has started and documentation instructs you to bring your host back online.

12.   Creating the Data Migration Task

a.      Host and volumes must be in supported storage group configuration on the source EMC Storage system.

b.      On a VNX source storage system, two HP 3PAR initiators are added to the storage group that contains the hosts or volumes being migrated. The host name of the HP 3PAR initiators is unknown. The initiator name appears as the WWN of the peer port on the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage.

c.      For MDM migration, the host or hosts that are being migrated are created on the destination storage system. A host set is also created on the destination storage system.

d.      The createmigration command performs the following checks before creating the migration:

                                                    i.     No migration task for the specified source storage system exists. Only one migration at a time can be provisioned for a given source EMC Storage system.

                                                   ii.     The source storage system group configuration is valid.

1.      The volumes or hosts specified in the createmigration command are mapped to a storage group on the associated source EMC Storage system. All LUNs and all hosts in the mapped storage group will be migrated even if only a subset are entered in the createmigration command.

                                                  iii.     EMC SMI-S Provider version.

                                                  iv.     Source storage system model number.

                                                   v.     LUN migration eligibility:

1.      Protocol must be Fibre Channel.

2.      A LUN under replication cannot be migrated.

e.      Using the HP 3PAR Online Import Utility, issue the createmigration command with the -migtype MDM option.

                                                    i.     createmigration -sourceuid 50067890C6E059EE -srchost "HPDL585-01" -destcpg FC_r5 -destprov thin –migtype MDM —persona “WINDOWS_2008_R2”

1.      For supported persona types and syntax please refer to HP documentation.

2.      Make a note of the migration ID, as it will be used in commands to track migration progress.

f.       Issue the showmigration command to verify that the data migration task preparation has completed successfully.

                                                    i.     This may take some time. Upon successful creation of the createmigration task, the STATUS column in the showmigration command output will indicate preparationcomplete(100%). When this status is indicated, continue to the next step.

13.   Updating Host Multipath Software and Unzoning from the Source EMC Storage System

a.      Windows 2008 R2 requires Windows native MPIO to manage the paths.

b.      EMC PowerPath must not be installed during the migration process.

                                                    i.     Stop all applications before removing EMC PowerPath.

                                                   ii.     Uninstall EMC PowerPath.

1.      If you are uninstalling EMC PowerPath from a Windows host where the host is booting over SAN from the source system, you will be prompted to restart before removal is completed. This restart is required and must be completed.

                                                  iii.     After removal, you will be prompted to restart the host in order for the changes to take effect. Do not restart at this point.

                                                  iv.     The removal of EMC PowerPath Multipath software may have also disabled the MPIO installation without removing it. Manually check to see whether the native Microsoft MPIO is still loaded, and if it is, fully remove it at this time. Now restart the host.

c.      Zone the host to the destination HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage system to establish communication.

                                                    i.     Using the HP 3PAR Management Console, verify that the host whose LUNs are under migration has paths to as many HP 3PAR controller nodes as are zoned in the SAN.

d.      Configure MPIO multipath software on the host.

                                                    i.     Enable the Windows native multipath MPIO (if it is not already not enabled).

                                                   ii.     Register HP 3PAR LUN types with MPIO by configuring MPIO to use 3PARdataVV (case sensitive) as the device hardware ID.

1.      You will be prompted to reboot the host in order for the change to take effect. Do not reboot at this point, since the MDM procedure will require stopping the Windows host.

e.      Shut down the Windows host. Leave the host offline until the migration is started.

f.       Unzone the source EMC Storage system from the host.

14.   Starting the Data Migration from Source EMC Storage System to Destination HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage System

a.      From the HP 3PAR Online Import Utility, issue the startmigration command.

                                                    i.     startmigration -migrationid 1395864499741

                                                   ii.     The -migrationid (in the example above, 1411673030253) will have been assigned by the createmigration command.

b.      To view the status of the migration, issue the showmigration command.

                                                    i.     showmigration -migrationid 1395864499741 

c.      Issue the showmigrationdetails command to verify the volumes being migrated.

                                                    i.     showmigrationdetails -migrationid 1395864499741

                                                   ii.     In the preparation stage, PROGRESS for each volume will be 0% and the TASK_ID will be unknown.

                                                  iii.     A task ID will be assigned and percentage of progress will be shown while the task is being executed.

d.      The STATUS column in the showmigration command output will indicate success when all volumes have been migrated successfully.

15.   Bringing the Windows Host Back Online

a.      Verify that the import has started and confirm that a TASK_ID is available for each volume by issuing the showmigrationdetails command.

                                                    i.     It is unsafe to bring the hosts back online if the TASK_ID number is not yet available in the output of showmigrationdetails.

b.      After the import has started for the volumes, bring the Windows host that was shut down back online.

                                                    i.     For a Windows host that is booting over SAN from the source system, the HBA BIOS must be reconfigured during host startup to select the HP 3PAR boot device. If this is not done, the host will not start up.

c.      Check the disk status by pointing to diskpart.exe or by opening Disk Manager.

                                                    i.     Depending on the Windows SAN Policy, the disks that were migrated are offline or online. If offline, use diskpart or the disk manager to bring them online.

d.      You can now restart the host and restart all applications and services. The host may resume normal operations.