Using the Content Distribution Solution › Creating a Content Distribution Scenario

Creating a Content Distribution Scenario

The creation of a CD scenario is similar to the creation of a Replication scenario for application and database servers. In both you are using the same step-by-step Scenario Creation wizard. The only major difference between them is that when you select the replication mode of a CD scenario, you have an additional replication mode. This replication mode, On File Close, is available only for Content Distribution purposes.

Note: This section demonstrates the configuration of a generic File Server Content Distribution scenario. For more detailed instructions involving scenarios tailored to specific applications, see the appropriate Operation Guide.

To create a Content Distribution scenario

1. Open the Arcserve RHA Manager. Then, select from the Scenario menu the New option, or click the New button on the Standard toolbar.

   The Scenario Creation Wizard opens.

2. Select the required scenario options, as follows:
   • Select the Create a New Scenario option button.
   • From the Group drop-down list, select the group to which you want to assign the new scenario, or enter a name for a new scenario group.
3. Click Next. The Select Server and Product Type page is displayed.

   A list of available applications and scenario types is presented.

   Note: The list of available applications depends on the licenses applied.

4. Select the required scenario options, as follows:
   • From the Select Server Type list, select the type of server for which you want to create the scenario.
   • From the Select Product Type options, select Content Distribution Scenario.

   Note: The Tasks on Replica options are not available for the CD solution.

5. Click Next. The Master and Replica Hosts page is displayed.
6. Enter the following information:
   • In the Scenario Name box - accept the default name or enter a new name for the scenario. When entering a name, choose a unique name, since you cannot use the same name for more than one scenario.
   • In the Master and Replica Hostname/IP boxes - enter the hostname or IP address of the Master (source) and Replica (target) servers, or use the Browse buttons to find them.
   • In the Port boxes: accept the default port no. (25000) or enter new port numbers for the Master and Replica.

   Note: If you want to include more than one Replica in the scenario, enter here the details of the first or most upstream Replica. After you finished the scenario creation, manually enter the other Replicas, as described in Add Additional Replica Servers.

7. [Optional] Select the Assessment Mode check box, if you want to gather statistics about the accurate bandwidth usage and compression ratio benchmarking without actually replicating data. If you select this option, no replication occurs, but a report is provided once the assessment process is completed.
8. [Optional] Select the Verify Arcserve RHA Engine on Hosts check box, if you want the system to verify whether Engines are installed and running on the Master and Replica hosts you specified in this page. If Engines are not installed on the selected hosts, you can use this option to remotely install the Engines on one or both hosts. For more information about the Host Verification page, see Creating a Scenario.
9. After you selected the desired options, click Next. The Master Root Directories page opens.

   Arcserve RHA displays the directories and files that are on the Master server. These directories and files are the data that can be replicated, protected and distributed. Arcserve RHA automatically aggregates data that has a common path into one directory.

10. Choose the directories and files you want to replicate from the Master to the Replica by selecting their check boxes. You can exclude folders and files from replication by clearing their check boxes.

    Notes:

    • For more information about selecting and filtering root directories, refer to Creating a Replication Scenario.
    • After you finish creating the scenario through the wizard, you can also select registry keys for synchronization, as described in Synchronize Registry Keys.
11. After defining the data to be replicated, click Next.

    The Replica Root Directories page is displayed.

    In this page you select the directories on the Replica where the replicated data will be stored.

    Important! The Scenario Creation Wizard automatically configures the Replica root directories to be the same as the Master root directories. If you want to keep this configuration, ensure that your Replica server has the same drive letters as the Master server, and that the selected directories on the Replica do not contain data you want to save. You can change the default configuration at a later stage, as described on Select Replica Root Directories.

12. To change the Replica root directories, double-click the specified directories path. The Browse and Select Replica Directory dialog appears.
13. Select the directory on the Replica in which the replicated data will be stored, and click OK.

    You return to the Replica Root Directories page.

    Note: You can manually change the directory you selected for storing the replicated data, by clicking the selected directory name and entering a new directory. If you are entering a directory name that does not exist on the Replica, Arcserve RHA creates it automatically.

14. After defining the storage location of the replicated data, click Next.

    The Scenario Properties page opens.

    The Scenario Properties page enables you to configure the scenario properties that affect the entire scenario. Typically, the default values are sufficient.

    If you want to configure the scenario properties at this stage, refer to Understanding Scenario Properties. To configure the scenario properties at a later stage, refer to Configuring Scenario Properties.

15. In the Scenario Properties page you can set the replication mode of the scenario. In addition to the two standard replication modes, Online and Scheduling, Arcserve RHA provides you with another replication mode that is especially designed for the CD scenario, the On File Close mode. The On File Close mode is similar to the Online replication mode with one difference: while in the Online mode data changes that are transferred from the Master to the Replica immediately overwrite the existing Replica data, in the On File Close mode changes to individual files will appear on the Replica only after the original file on the Master is closed. This way, if users are working directly with data that is stored on the Replica, their work will not be interrupted by constant updates.

    Note: The default replication mode is Online.

    To set the replication mode, open the Replication group and select the Mode property. Then, select the required replication mode from the drop-down list:

16. Once you set the scenario properties, click Next. The Master and Replica Properties page opens.

    The Master and Replica Properties page enables you to configure the properties that are related to either the Master or Replica host. Typically, the default values are sufficient.

    If you want to configure the Master and Replica properties at this stage, refer to Setting Master and Replica Properties. To configure the Master and Replica properties at a later stage, refer to Configuring Master or Replica Server Properties.

    Note: You can modify all the settings in this pane after the scenario is created. However, before changing any Spool properties (which can be configured here), review the Spool information for configuration details.

17. After you set the Master and Replica properties, click Next.

    Arcserve RHA verifies the validity of the new scenario and checks many different parameters between the Master and Replica servers to ensure a successful replication, distribution, and data recovery processes. Once the verification is completed, the Scenario Verification page opens.

    Note: Although Arcserve RHA allows you to continue with warnings, it is not recommended to do so. Resolve any warning situations before continuing to ensure proper operation of the application.

18. If the scenario is verified successfully, click Next.

    The Scenario Run page opens.

19. After the scenario is verified, you are prompted to run it. Running the scenario starts the data synchronization process.
    • To add more Replica hosts to the scenario and to run it later, select Finish.

      Note: Arcserve RHA offers you two methods for adding Replica hosts to the scenario:

      • Through Arcserve RHA Manager, by manually adding each host to the scenario, as described in Add Additional Replica Servers.
      • Through Arcserve RHA PowerShell, by using the Add-Replica and Add-Replicas commands. For more information about using Arcserve RHA PowerShell commands, refer to Arcserve RHA PowerShell Guide.
    • To run the scenario now, click Run Now.

      The synchronization process starts.

20. Synchronization may take a while depending on the data size and network bandwidth between the Master and the Replica hosts. You will receive the following message in the Event pane once the synchronization is complete: All modifications during synchronization period are replicated. At this point, real-time replication is operational and the Content Distribution solution is installed and active.

    Note: When the scenario has more than one Replica host, the Scenario Statistics tab does not display a graphic overview of the scenario state but scenario statistics organized in tables.

21. By default, once a synchronization occurs, a synchronization report is generated. For each Replica host that participates in the scenario, a separate Synchronization report is generated. For more information about opening reports, see Viewing a Report.