# Prerequisites for Air Gap Replication

Before you perform air gap replication, ensure the following requirements are met:

1. A dedicated VLAN must be available for Air Gap replication traffic. This VLAN is used exclusively for communication between:

   - Source storage MediaAgent nodes
   - Air Gap MediaAgent nodes

   Replication traffic must flow only through this dedicated VLAN. This VLAN must not be accessible to any other data traffic or control traffic, except Air Gap replication data and control traffic.

   If the source storage system resides in a different VLAN than the Air Gap storage pool VLAN, ensure that:

   - Proper routing is configured between the two VLANs.
   - The routing allows only Air Gap replication traffic.
   - No other application, management, or production traffic is permitted over this path.

   This network isolation requirement is critical to maintaining the integrity and security of the Air Gap design.

2. Ensure that sufficient network ports are available on both the production and Air Gap HyperScale X clusters to support replication and recovery operations, including the Isolated Recovery Environment (IRE).

   1. Network card/port requirements at the source

   - Non-HyperScale X source

     For non-HyperScale X source environments, provision additional network ports or network interfaces dedicated to Vault (Air Gap) replication.

     - Do not use the same network ports for both production traffic and Vault replication traffic.
     - Ensure that Vault replication traffic is separated from production traffic.

   - HyperScale X source

     For HyperScale X source clusters, three sets of network interfaces are required:

     - Production (data protection) network
     - Intra-cluster (storage pool) network
     - Vault replication network

     The Vault replication network must use a dedicated set of ports separate from production and storage pool networks.

   2. Network card/port requirements at the Air Gap cluster

   On the Air Gap HyperScale X cluster, ensure that separate network interfaces are configured for:

   - CommServe registration and Vault replication
   - Storage pool (intra-cluster communication)
   - Isolated Recovery Environment (IRE) network

   Separate network ports must be provisioned to support recovery operations in the IRE environment. These ports must be dedicated to recovery traffic and must not overlap with production or replication networks.

3. Ensure that the latest HyperScale X ISO is downloaded and accessible.

   Air Gap is supported on HyperScale X 3.x and later versions. For more information, see Platform Versions for HyperScale X.

4. Verify that DNS connectivity is available in the air-gapped environment. DNS is required only during initial setup and when adding nodes in the future.

5. Verify that direct CommServe connectivity is available from the air-gapped environment for initial HyperScale node registration. Direct connectivity to the CommServe is required and connectivity through a network proxy is not supported.

   Direct CommServe connectivity is also required when adding nodes in the future.

6. Verify that a Recovery Groups (TB) license is available.

7. Verify that you have access to:

   - Command Center
   - IPMI console of HyperScale nodes in Airgap environment
   - SSH access, if you use HyperScale nodes in source environment

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