This chapter explains the important concepts of Volume Replicator, the most important one being able to transfer the Primary role and failing back. Veritas recommends that you read this chapter before setting up replication. The term RLINK has been used to explain important Volume Replicator concepts.

For detailed information about configuring DR solutions, refer to the Storage Foundation and High Availability Solutions HA and Disaster Recovery solutions guides.

One of the key advantages of Volume Replicator is its capability to provide a disaster recovery solution. In the case of a Primary host failure or a disaster at the Primary site, it may become necessary to transfer the role of the Primary to the Secondary. At times, it may be necessary to bring down the Primary host for maintenance purposes. This can be achieved by transferring the Primary role to any Secondary having up-to-date data.

Volume Replicator enables you to transfer the Primary role from a healthy or failed Primary using the Graphical User Interface (GUI) or the command line options. It also enables you to failback to the original Primary using a simple set of operations.