Dell EMC PowerVault MD 34XX/38XX Series Storage Arrays Administrator's Guide

Copying the virtual disk

You can create a virtual disk copy by using the Create Copy Wizard. A virtual disk copy automatically makes the target virtual disk read-only to hosts. You might want to keep this attribute enabled to preserve the data on the target virtual disk. To prevent write-protected error messages from appearing, do not try to access a source virtual disk that is participating in a virtual disk copy while the virtual disk copy has a status of In Progress. Also, make sure that the Read-Only attribute for the target virtual disk is disabled after the virtual disk copy has completed to prevent error messages from appearing.

1. Stop all I/O activity to the source virtual disk and the target virtual disk.
2. Unmount any file systems on the source virtual disk and the target virtual disk.
3. In the AMW, select the Storage & Copy Services tab.
4. Under Virtual Disks area, select the source virtual disk that you want to use for the online copy.
5. Right click on the selected source virtual disk and select Create > Virtual Disk Copy in the pop-up menu.
   The Select Copy Type wizard is displayed.
6. Select a copy type and click Next.
   NOTE: If you select Offline, the source virtual disk is not available for any I/O when the copy operation is in progress.
   The Select Target Virtual Disk window is displayed.
7. Select the appropriate target virtual disk and click Next.
   The Confirmation window is displayed.
8. In the Copy Priority area, select the relevant copy priority and type yes to confirm.
9. Click Finish.
   The Preview window displays the summary of your selections.

   NOTE: Operation in Progress icons appear on the source virtual disk and the target virtual disk while the virtual disk copy has a status of In Progress or Pending.