A customer has ordered several FlashArrays and wants to have ActiveCluster configured.

ActiveCluster, Pure Storage's synchronous replication solution for zero RPO/RTO, currently supports a maximum of2 arraysin a single active-active relationship (often referred to as a "Pod").

Architecture:The ActiveCluster architecture is strictly designed as a 1:1 synchronous pairing between two FlashArrays. This allows both arrays to serve reads and writes for the same volumes simultaneously.

Stretched Clustering:The limit of two arrays ensures that the synchronous acknowledgement (ACK) process for writes remains performant and manageable over the inter-site link. Adding a third array to the synchronous loop would exponentially increase write latency and complexity.

3-Data Center Configurations:While you can configure a "3DC" architecture, this involves one ActiveCluster pair (2 arrays) replicating asynchronously to a third, standalone array (ActiveCluster + ActiveDR or Async). However, the synchronous ActiveCluster domain itself never exceeds 2 arrays.