Dell MD Storage Array VMware vStorage APIs For Storage Awareness (VASA) Provider (Client) User's Guide Regulatory Model: E16S Series Regulatory Type: E16S001
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Contents 1 Overview.................................................................................................................4 VASA storage capabilities...................................................................................................................... 5 Profile-driven and policy-based storage..............................................................................................6 Storage service-level agreements.................................................................
Overview 1 VMware vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) is a set of application program interfaces (APIs) that support Dell PowerVault MD Series iSCSI and Fibre Channel storage arrays. VASA enables vSphere vCenter to recognize MD storage array features and corresponding datastores, which allows storage administrators to easily set virtualization and maintenance policies.
VASA storage capabilities Storage provisioning operations in vSphere enable VASA to monitor whether a storage array's physical components meet VM requirements according to defined capabilities. Available capabilities and their common performance ranges are listed in the Table 1. Table 1.
Storage capabilities Replicated 10K/15K Drives Replicated NLSAS Drives Common use/Performance range Storage Type Virtual disks containing high-performance physical disks Performance Level High (used in most standard replicated environments) Storage Type Replicated virtual disks containing Near-Line SAS (NLSAS) physical disks 10K RPM or less Performance Level Intermediate performance, good for bulk storage requirements For assigning these capabilities in vSphere, see Using the VASA provider.
VASA session communications All communications between the vCenter Server and the VASA provider is through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates. The VASA provider can use a self-signed certificate or a certificate issued by a certificate authority (CA).
Installing the VASA provider 2 This section describes prerequisites and installation steps for the VASA provider. Before you install Before installing the VASA provider, read through the information in this section. Supported operating systems and platforms The VASA provider depends on specific operating system (OS) and application platform requirements. Before installing and configuring VASA, ensure that your environment meets the requirements described in this section.
Downloading the VASA provider The VASA provider is a self-extracting, self-installing file available on the Drivers and Download page at www.dell.com/support/home. To download the VASA provider: 1. Go to Dell.com/support/home, and then click the Drivers and Download link. 2. Select your MD Series storage array model, and then click Select Model → Servers, Storage, Networking → PowerVault Storage. 3. Select your model, and then click Confirm to view available downloads. 4.
Using the VASA provider After installing the VASA provider, configure VASA provider for use in your environment: 1. From the installation directory, double-click the VASAPConfigUI.exe file. The application server starts and the Configuration Manager page is displayed.
Figure 2. VASA Provider Configuration Manager Window 2. On the Configuration Manager page, type data such as user IDs, passwords, and then select port settings for the host server. NOTE: The default admin user password is password. Type SSL settings, including key store/ trust store file names, and passwords. Passwords are verified dynamically and displayed in a red colored text field background, if they do not match existing values. 3.
NOTE: Any time you change passwords, stop, and then restart the VASA service before the password change takes effect. Use the Stop Service and Start Service options in the Configuration Manager window. 5. When you register the VASA provider with the vSphere Client in the next section, you will need the URL of the server containing VASA. To copy the server URL to your clipboard and paste it into a text file, click Copy Provider URL to Clipboard.
4. In the Add Storage Device window, enter the IP addresses for the RAID controllers module in the storage arrays that you want to add to VASA. 5. Enter the RAID controller module password, if necessary. 6. Repeat step 2 through 5 to add more storage arrays. 7. Close the Array Manager window. Registering the VASA provider in your vSphere Client 1. Start the vSphere Client and connect to your vCenter Server. Figure 4. vSphere Client Login Screen 2.
Figure 5. vSphere Client Home Screen 3. In the Vendor Providers window, click Add. Figure 6. vSphere Add Vendor Provider Menu 4. In the Add Vendor Provider window, type the name, URL, and login credentials to the server containing the VASA provider that you installed earlier. Before you begin: In the URL field, paste the URL you copied when you clicked Copy Provider URL to Clipboard in VASA Configuration Manager.
When entering a login ID and password, ensure that they match what you used in the VASA Configuration Manager window. 5. If you require a vendor-signed security certificate, select the Use Vendor Provider Certificate check box and type the location of the certificate. Else, do not select the check box. 6. When complete, click OK to register the VASA provider with your vCenter Server.
Figure 8. Create VM Storage Profile 5. In the Select Storage Capabilities window, select the storage capability that you want to associate with the profile, and then click Next. Figure 9. Select Storage Capabilities 6. 16 Review the summary information, and then click Finish.
Assigning VM storage profiles to existing VMs After creating the storage profile, assign the profile to an existing VM: 1. From the vSphere Hosts and Clusters view, select the virtual machine. 2. Right-click the VM and click VM Storage Profile → Manage Profiles. 3. From the Home VM Storage Profile drop-down menu, select the VM storage profile that you want to use, and then click Propagate to Disks. 4. Click OK to apply changes. 5. On the Summary tab of the VM Storage Profiles window, click Refresh.
Checking storage profile compliance After assigning a storage profile to a VM, you can verify its compliance by selecting the VM from the Host and Clusters view and selecting the Summary tab. The VM Storage Profiles section displays compliance details. Figure 12. vSphere Storage Profile Summary Storage array events and alerts The VASA provider propagates storage array alerts to the vCenter Server Event Monitor.
Table 2. Issues and corrective steps Issue Possible Resolution Unable to connect to the provider • host • • No datastore capabilities being displayed • • • Unable to access the Array Manager • • • Event messages do not display description information Ensure that the URL used for storage provider is registered. Ensure that firewall settings allow for configured ports (default values: 8080 and 8443). Ensure that the VASA provider service is started on provider host.
Getting help 4 Documentation matrix The documentation matrix provides information about documents that you can refer to for setting up and managing your system. Dell documentation • For all PowerEdge and PowerVault documentation, go to Dell.com/support and enter the system Service Tag to get your system documentation. • For all Virtualization documents, go to Dell.com/virtualizationsolutions. • For all operating system documents, go to Dell.com/operatingsystemmanuals.
Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or customer service issues: 1. Go to dell.com/support. 2. Select your support category. 3. Verify your country or region in the Choose a Country/Region drop-down list at the bottom of the page. 4. Select the appropriate service or support link based on your need.
