SRM 5.0, VNX SRA 5.x, and cx3-10 support

I know that it is bad form to duplicate posts, but I know that many of the vSpecialists and the Engineers/Management for the VMware tools are monitoring this forum.  A question came up about VNX SRA 5.x/SRM 5.x and CX3-10 support.  I think by stepping through the layers of compatibility/support guides, in regards to VNX SRA v5.x and CX3-10 array based replication support is only v4.1 U1+ (not including ESXi v5.x per ESM) supported?  Question is how to interpret the comments in the release notes, all else seems clear.  Can someone verify?

https://community.emc.com/thread/133643?tstart=0

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The way it is meant to be read is that once you verify that the EMC SRA VNX adapter v5.x (because you intend to run SRM v5.x) is supported with the array-based replication of the CX3-10, now it is simply a matter of verifying host connectivity with the array.

Therefore, compatibility should be verified as follows:

1) http://www.vmware.com/support/srm/srm-storage-partners.html

a) Select "VNX SRA"

b) Depending on version of SRM you plan to run, check either:

- SRA 5.0.x if planning to run SRM 5.x

- SRA 4.0.x if planning to run SRM 4.x

c) Confirm array model is supported

2) http://www.vmware.com/support/srm/srm-compat-matrix-5-0.html

a) Then verify the version of ESX/ESXi you plan to connect is supported with vCenter Server 5.x (as is required with SRM 5.x)

b) As of this writing, the ESX/ESXi hosts that vCenter Server 5.x currently ranges from:

- ESX 3.5 Update 5 to 4.1u2 (but not including 4.0u2)

- ESXi 3.5 Update 5 to 5.0 (but not including 4.0u2)

3) Once you verify the version of ESX/ESXi is supported, then check EMC E-Lab Interoperability Navigator for the compatibility between host and array

a) As you'll see, with the CX3-10, only ESX/ESXi 3.5 to 4.1 are supported (but of course exclude the versions identified above in regards to connectivity to vCenter Server 5.x)

b) This does NOT include ESXi v5.0 (but of course doesn't prevent you from running SRM 5.x)

c) Then depending on the version of ESX/ESXi you are running verify any specifics for version of FLARE per the generated matrix (and footnotes)

Also as with all EMC (software) products, always check the Release Notes for the product in question for any known issues which relevant to this conversation may have comments about specific FLARE versions which it does not. However, continuing with the steps above:

4) Check the VNX SRA (Adapter) release notes:

For the VNX SRA (Adapter), it is available on PowerLink via the following breadcrumb trail:

Home > Support > Technical Documentation and Advisories > Software ~ A-B ~ Documentation > Adapters for Third-Party Applications > Release Notes

Current document is titled: "VNX SRA for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5, 5.0 Release Notes" and it does mention:

"The server can be a vCenter Server or a Windows host, and it must have one or more ESX 4.1 U1 and ESXi 5.0 servers connected to an EMC platform."

SUMMARY

Therefore, even though SRM 5.x (and vCenter Server 5.x) supports a wider range as identified in steps 1 through 3, because of the requirements for VNX SRA 5.x, and the limit of host connectivity to a CX3-10 (not supporting ESXi 5.x), you are actually limited to ESX 4.1 U1?

I'd like a second opinion on how to interpret the release notes, but steps 1 through 3 should be clear. Let us also post to EV@EMC.

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