HP Storage Mirroring V5.1 Software - Manual (Page 13)

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Finding a Compatible
Target
In a high availability protection solution, the target you select must be suitable for becoming the
source, in the event the source fails. Full-Server Failover will validate the target you select and
identify any incompatibilities. Errors will disqualify the target as a suitable server. To find a
compatible target, check the table below for each of the requirements.
Target Compatibility
Requirement Configuration
Operating system
version
The source and the target must have the same operating system. For
example, you cannot have Windows 2003 on the source and Windows 2008
on the target. The two servers do not have to have the same level of service
pack or hotfix.
Domain The domain of the source should be the same as the domain of the target.
Server role The target cannot be a domain controller. Ideally, the target should not host
any functionality (file server, application server, and so on) because the
functionality will be removed when failover occurs.
If your source is a domain controller, it will start in a non-authoritative restore
mode after failover. This means that if the source was communicating with
other domain controllers before failover, it will require one of those domain
controllers to be reachable after failover so it can request updates. If this
communication is not available, the domain controller will not function after
failover. If the source is the only domain controller, this is not an issue.
Architecture The source and the target must have the same architecture. For example, you
cannot failover a 32-bit server to a 64-bit server.
Processors There are no limits on the number or speed of the processors, but the source
and the target should have at least the same number of processors. If the
target has fewer processors or slower speeds than the source, there will be
performance impacts for the users after failover.
Memory The target memory should be within 25% (plus or minus) of the source. If the
target has much less memory than the source, there will be performance
impacts for the users after failover.
Network adapters You must map at least one NIC from the source to one NIC on the target. If
the source has more NICs than the target, some of the source NICs will not
be mapped to the target. Therefore, the IP addresses associated with those
NICs will not be available after failover, unless you configure the advanced
options. If there are more NICs on the target than the source, the additional
NICs will still be available after failover.
File system format The source and the target must have the same file system format. For
example, an NTFS volume cannot be sent to a FAT volume.
HAL type and
version
The Windows hardware abstraction layer (HAL) refers to a layer of software
that deals directly with your computer hardware. The HAL type and version do
not have to be identical, but they must be compatible between the source and
the target. If the two are incompatible, Full-Server Failover will warn you. In
that case, you must upgrade or downgrade the target.
Administrative
shares
The Full-Server Failover Manager must be able to access administrative
shares on the source and the target.