For engineers deploying Dell RecoverPoint continuous data protection — covering RPA installation, write splitter configuration for VNX/VPLEX/Unity/VMAX, Consistency Group management, MetroPoint, XtremIO integration, and cluster maintenance with Deployment Manager.
Master RecoverPoint architecture, RPA cluster installation, storage array write splitter configuration, Consistency Group management, MetroPoint, XtremIO, system analysis, and cluster maintenance.
Module 01
RecoverPoint Concepts
›RecoverPoint features and use cases — continuous data protection (CDP), continuous remote replication (CRR), and concurrent local and remote (CLR) protection modes
›RecoverPoint functional components — RPA (RecoverPoint Appliance) hardware and virtual (vRPA); repository volume; journal volume; data flow from splitter through RPA to journal
›RecoverPoint architecture — primary site RPA cluster; remote site RPA cluster; Consistency Groups; splitter integration with FC and IP SANs
›RecoverPoint data flow — write splitting path: production volume write → splitter → RPA intercepts and journals a copy → replicates to remote RPA journal → target volume update
›RecoverPoint capabilities — any-point-in-time recovery; RPO near-zero for CDP; multiple bookmarks; application-consistent recovery for VMware vSphere and Exchange
Module 02
Cluster Installation
›Physical RPA installation — rack mounting RPA hardware; cabling to FC fabric; management network configuration; initial IP assignment
›VNX-based deployment — install Solutions Enabler; configure FC gatekeeper; run RecoverPoint Deployment Manager from VNX ControlStation
›EX cluster and CL cluster — EX (exchange) cluster for local and remote replication; CL (consolidation) cluster for multi-copy remote replication; choose cluster type based on topology
›VNX write splitter — configure RecoverPoint Splitter on VNX via Solutions Enabler; create splitter LUNs; add production volumes to splitter
›VPLEX write splitter — distributed splitter within VPLEX virtual volumes; VPLEX Metro RecoverPoint integration; consistency across VPLEX clusters
›Unity write splitter — configure RecoverPoint Splitter for Unity array; Unity-based CG creation; verify splitter health in Unisphere for RecoverPoint
›VMAX write splitter — VMAX hardware splitter configuration; SRDF and RecoverPoint co-existence; add VMAX volumes to CG
›XtremIO snap replication — XtremIO native snapshot integration with RecoverPoint; configure XtremIO snap-based CG; XtremIO consistency group management and failover
›Array connectivity validation — verify RPA to array splitter communication; splitter health status; troubleshoot splitter-to-RPA path failures
Module 04
RecoverPoint Management
›Unisphere for RecoverPoint administration — system dashboard; RPA cluster health; journal capacity monitoring; alert management and notification policy
›Consistency Group planning — CG design for application consistency: group multiple volumes (log + data) into one CG; CG naming conventions; RPO policy assignment
›XtremIO integration — XtremIO native snapshot CG management; bookmark creation on XtremIO; integrate XtremIO snapshots with application recovery workflows
›CG policy settings — enable image access for test access to replica without disrupting replication; set image retention policy; bookmark creation (tagged and auto) for application-aware recovery
›WAN optimization — compression and deduplication for WAN link; bandwidth throttling; WAN journal sizing guidelines
Module 05
RecoverPoint Operations
›Recovery tasks with Unisphere for RecoverPoint — access image at bookmark; fail over to latest image; initiate full sweep after failover recovery
›Snapshot and bookmark recovery — recover to a specific bookmark; compare bookmarks to identify pre-corruption point; enable image access for DR testing without disrupting production
›Modify existing protection — add volumes to a CG; change RPO policy; update journal volume capacity; expand CG to include new application volumes
›Failover and failback procedures — declare disaster in Unisphere; activate DR image; restore production replication after site recovery; re-sync from DR to production
›CDP vs CRR operations — single-site CDP: test access without WAN; CRR remote failover; CLR concurrent local and remote for maximum protection
Module 06
System Analysis
›Analysis tools — Unisphere for RecoverPoint system health collection; RPO trending graph; journal space utilization dashboard; WAN link throughput monitor
›CLI troubleshooting commands — ssh to RPA; use get_network_config, get_system_settings, diagnose_rpa_system; interpret diagnostic output for splitter, journal, and WAN issues
›Log collection — collect RPA system logs for Dell support; use Unisphere collect support material wizard; understand RPA log file structure
›Performance baselines — measure RPO at steady state; identify RPO spike causes (burst I/O, WAN congestion, journal full); capacity impact of enabling image access
›Splitter diagnostics — verify splitter-to-RPA connectivity; troubleshoot lost splitter communication; re-attach splitter after array maintenance
Module 07
Cluster Maintenance
›Deployment Manager add RPAs — scale-out existing cluster with additional RPA nodes; add virtual RPAs to vSphere-based cluster; load balance CGs across new RPAs
›Convert EX to CL cluster — change cluster type when topology evolves; impact of conversion on existing CGs; migration steps for CL cluster
Earn the D-RP-DY-A-24 Dell Proven Professional certification and prove your skills deploying RecoverPoint clusters, configuring write splitters, and managing Consistency Groups across enterprise storage environments.