HP StoreVirtual DSM for Microsoft MPIO Deployment Guide HP Part Number: AX696-96344 Published: December 2013 Edition: 5
© Copyright 2011, 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Revision History Revision 1 September 2011 First edition as stand-alone document. Previously published as part of the Windows Solution Pack documentation. Added the Best Practices section. Revision 2 November 2012 Updated versions supported and branding. Revision 3 March 2013 Updated versions supported and branding. Revision 4 September 2013 Updated troubleshooting information.
1 Using MPIO Description of the HP StoreVirtual DSM for Microsoft MPIO The HP StoreVirtual DSM for Microsoft MPIO provides enhanced MPIO functionality as follows: • Automatic creation of an I/O path to each storage system in the cluster on which the volume resides, plus a path for the administrative connection. • Improved performance architecture over native MPIO solutions: • ◦ Read I/Os are always serviced by a storage system that holds a copy of the data being requested.
Best Practices If MPIO is not required, then do not install the DSM for MPIO or do not enable the Microsoft MPIO service. If currently using the DSM for MPIO, then upgrade to the latest version. Recommended uses for the DSM for MPIO: • For maximum possible performance for specified configurations. • With Multi-Site SAN storage clusters, the DSM for MPIO with site preference is recommended, particularly if the inter-site link is significantly slower than local access.
Prerequisites • Supported version of Windows Server • Microsoft iSCSI Initiator (integrated in Windows Server) • Windows feature “Multipath I/O” is enabled If installing the DSM for MPIO into an existing Microsoft cluster 1. 2. Move all cluster resources and related file shares to one system that will stay active. Pause the system that holds no resources and install the DSM for MPIO.
Perform a silent install for Windows Server 2008 Server Core option 1. 2. Open a command prompt and use the cd command to navigate to setup.exe in the installation media. Type the following command: setup /s /f1".\setup.iss" The setup begins. You will see nothing until after a minute or two, when the server reboots. 3. When the server is back up, check \Windows\dsminstall.log for errors.
Figure 2 Configuring advanced settings for multiple NICs 9. Click OK to close the Advanced Settings dialog. 10. Click OK again to finish logging on. 11. If you want to set the MPIO load balancing policy, see “Setting the Microsoft DSM MPIO load balancing policy” (page 8). 12. If you have multiple NICs, repeat steps 3 through 11 for the additional storage NICs.
Figure 3 Multi-site SAN VIPs with MPIO Setting the Microsoft DSM MPIO load balancing policy When you connect application servers to volumes, you can also set the MPIO load balancing policy in the iSCSI Initiator. Supported load balancing options Only two load balancing options are supported, Fail Over and Round Robin. • Fail Over Only – Also called active/passive MPIO. Two (or more) I/O paths are built between the server and the storage. One path is actively used for I/O to the storage.
Figure 5 DSM for MPIO with two NICs in the server and Round Robin MPIO load balancing Figure 6 Microsoft DSM with two NICs in the server and Fail Over MPIO load balancing Figure 7 Microsoft DSM with two NICs in the server and Round Robin MPIO load balancing NOTE: Be sure to follow the steps below to set the MPIO load balancing policy. Similar options are available for Multiple Connected Session (Windows 2008). These session load balancing policies will have no effect.
4. Click the MPIO button or tab. If the MPIO button or tab is not available, MPIO is not installed and enabled. 5. 6. 7. From the Load balancing policy drop-down list, select either Fail Over Only or Round Robin. Click OK. Click OK. Troubleshooting MPIO Verifying DSM for MPIO operations After logging on to a volume via iSCSI, the DSM for MPIO automatically builds a data path to each storage system in the cluster and one administrative path.
Figure 9 Multiple paths ensure continued I/O in event of path failure When the problem with the I/O path is repaired, the DSM for MPIO reconnects an I/O path to the storage system, thus restoring optimized performance and fault tolerance. Verifying Microsoft DSM operations If you see two devices that are exactly the same listed in the Disk Manager or My Computer, you may not have MPIO installed or you may not have logged using MPIO.
Table 1 Additional troubleshooting for the DSM for MPIO (continued) Issue Description Manager, right-click the offline disk and select Online. Repeat for each offline disk. Microsoft Windows Server 2012 NIC teaming is not supported for use with iSCSI To use multiple interfaces for iSCSI, remove iSCSI-designated interfaces from NIC teams and use supported MPIO configurations instead. Uninstalling the DSM for MPIO IMPORTANT: 1. 2. 3. 4. Uninstalling the DSM for MPIO requires a reboot of the system.
2 Support and other resources Contacting HP For worldwide technical support information, see the HP support website: http://www.hp.com/support Before contacting HP, collect the following information: • Product model names and numbers • Technical support registration number (if applicable) • Product serial numbers • Error messages • Operating system type and revision level • Detailed questions Subscription service HP recommends that you register your product for HP Support Alerts at: http://www.
HP websites For additional information, see the following HP websites: 14 • http://www.hp.com • http://www.hp.com/go/storage • http://www.hp.com/service_locator • http://www.hp.com/go/StoreVirtualDownloads • http://www.hp.com/go/storevirtualcompatibility • http://www.hp.
3 Documentation feedback HP is committed to providing documentation that meets your needs. To help us improve the documentation, send any errors, suggestions, or comments to Documentation Feedback (docsfeedback@hp.com). Include the document title and part number, version number, or the URL when submitting your feedback.
