RepliStor cannot replicate whole folder to UNC target

All,

RepliStor can replicate local Windows files and folders to a UNC path.  Replistor can also replicate files from a UNC path mapped to the Source node to the Target node or even a UNC path on a Target node.  The rules that govern what RepliStor can mirror however are more difficult to understand.

In order for RS to mirror file operations to another node, whether it is a Windows machine running RS or a UNC path, it must be able to see the file operations as they occur.  If you try to mirror a file that is in a mapped (UNC share) drive to another location, the file operations cannot be seen by RS.  Since the file operations did not come through the Source nodes file system RS has no knowledge of the ongoing file operations.  RS can Sync these files but since the ongoing changes take place on another physical node (for example a Celerra) RS cannot see the changes as they occur.  For RS to be able to mirror in real tim,e the drive must be a locally attached drive on the Source node.

Now that we understand the Source side limitations lets look at the Target side.  Remember that RS can be a Source and a Target node at the same time.

If RS is mirrroring and/or sync'ing to a UNC path on the Target node, all it can do is sync the file.  No real time mirroring is possible.  That is because RS is just another user of that UNC path.  RS cannot lock the files on the Target UNC path and therefore cannot prevent other applications from changing the file even though it still appears to be in-sync in the RS console.  That is because RS is not running directly on the OS that is hosting the UNC path, again an example would be a Celerra CIFS Share.

Now to address the issue of replicating the entire Windows system,which is what this questions seems to be about.  Under certain circumstances RepliStor can replicate an entire Windows system.  However it is not as simple as just replicating the entire C:\ drive to another node.  There are many reasons for this but to name just a couple, the Target node may use different hardware and therefore different drivers.  Another reason is that the OS protects many file from being replicated.  These files taken out of context of their original server would not be usable.  Not only that, if you try to overwrite the C:\ drive of the Target node you are replicating to, the OS of that node will block access.  There certainly is a document on Powerlink that discusses one method for replicating an entire OS.  If that document is understood and followed it does work.  There are other un-documented methods for doing the same thing but use a very different approach.  Both methods rely on very specific steps being taken and the recommendations in the documents must be followed closely.

At this point I would be remiss if I didn't point out that there are other tools that may be better suited for DR recovery or exact upgrading an entire server to newer/better H/W.  I mention HomeBase combined with either Avamar or NetWorker as one approach.

Also, RepliStor has been removed from the EMC price book during the first quarter of 2011.  This means there are to be no new sales of RepliStor by EMC or its partners.  Those who use RepliStor will now will continue to receive support until September of 2012 but there are no new features to be added to the current version.  Other options may be considered along with choosing how to configure RS to perform the actual requirements you need for this project.  I recommend you open a dialog with an EMC Support person who can answer your specific questions, as this forum may not cover all the details that you may encounter if you really need to use RS to migrate to a different platform.