A protection group in a stretched pod should be used for integrating ActiveCluster with asynchronous snapshot replication. This combination allows for synchronous replication within the stretched pod (using ActiveCluster) while also enabling asynchronous replication to a third site for additional disaster recovery protection.
Why This Matters:
ActiveCluster: Provides synchronous replication between two sites within a stretched pod, ensuring zero RPO and near-zero RTO for high availability.
Async Snapshot Replication: Extends the disaster recovery strategy by replicating snapshots asynchronously to a third site, providing an additional layer of protection against regional failures.
Combining these features ensures both local high availability and remote disaster recovery.
Why Not the Other Options?
B). Using CloudSnap to offload to a third-site target:
CloudSnap is used to offload snapshots to cloud storage (e.g., AWS S3 or Azure Blob). While it is useful for backup purposes, it does not integrate with ActiveCluster for synchronous replication.
C). Initiating ActiveDR failover/failback in a test scenario:
ActiveDR is designed for asynchronous replication and failover/failback scenarios but does not integrate with ActiveCluster in a stretched pod configuration.
D). Configuring fan-out async snapshot replication:
Fan-out replication involves sending snapshots to multiple targets asynchronously. However, this does not align with the use case of integrating ActiveCluster with async replication for a stretched pod.
Key Points:
Stretched Pod: Enables synchronous replication across two sites using ActiveCluster. Async Replication: Adds a third-site replication target for comprehensive disaster recovery. Integrated Protection: Combines high availability and disaster recovery into a single solution.
Reference: Pure Storage FlashArray Documentation: "ActiveCluster with Async Replication" Pure Storage Whitepaper: "Disaster Recovery Strategies with FlashArray" Pure Storage Knowledge Base: "Using Protection Groups in Stretched Pods"