Dell PowerVault MD Series VMware vStorage APIs For Storage Awareness (VASA) Provider User's Guide (Web Client) Regulatory Model: E16S Series Regulatory Type: E16S001
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Contents 1 Overview......................................................................................................................... 4 VASA storage capabilities................................................................................................................................................... 4 Profile-driven and policy-based storage..............................................................................................................................
1 Overview 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.
Table 1.
Storage service-level agreements The VASA provider replaces the requirement to maintain storage capability spreadsheets for each LUN. Instead, you can deliver the best-matched resources to any service-level agreement (SLA) required by the VM. The VASA provider enables you to discover and monitor storage array SLA properties based on availability, security, and performance. You can then use VASA to enforce storage VM SLAs and create end-to-end storage SLA guarantees for each VM.
2 Installing the VASA provider 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.
3. Select your model, and then click Confirm to view available downloads. 4. Select the VASA provider download link, and then download the executable to your host server. Installing the VASA provider 1. Open the VASA installation wizard. 2. Accept the license agreement and follow the installation prompts. The default installation path on a 32-bit Windows OS is: C:\Program Files\Dell\Modular Disk Storage VASA Provider. The default installation path on a 64-bit Windows OS is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Del
3 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.
5. When you register the VASA provider with the vSphere Web 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. Bringing storage arrays under VASA management Before you can use the capabilities of the VASA provider to manage your MD storage arrays, do the following: 1. Add your storage arrays to VASA control (by using VASA's Array Manager). 2.
Figure 4. vSphere Web Client Login 2. In the vSphere Web Client window, in the Navigator panel, click vCenter Inventory Lists. Figure 5. vSphere Web Client Home Screen 3. Under Resources, select vCenter Servers. 4. In the Navigator panel, select the specific name for the vCenter Servers you want to register. 5. In the Storage Providers window, click the plus (+) icon.
Figure 6. vSphere New Storage Provider Screen 6. In the New Storage Provider window, type the name, URL, and login credentials to the server containing the VASA provider that you installed earlier. NOTE: You can paste the URL that you copied when you clicked Copy Provider URL to Clipboard in VASA Configuration Manager.
Working with storage profiles To recognize and report the storage capabilities, create a profile, and assign the capability to said profile by using the check box provided with the corresponding system-defined capability. This change enables the System Defined capabilities to be associated with the datastore and then displayed properly. Using the VASA provider, you can create storage profiles that use datastores based on user-selected criteria. To enable VM Storage Profiles: 1.
Figure 9. Select Storage Capabilities 6. On the Rule-Set 1 screen, from the Rules based data services list, select Dell.VASA10. 7. From the drop-down menu, select SystemLabel.label and NLSAS-thin, and then click Next. 8. On the Storage compatibility screen, select Incompatible, and then click Next. 9. 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.
Figure 10. vSphere Storage Profile Summary Storage array events and alerts The VASA provider propagates storage array alerts to the vCenter Server Event Monitor. Alerts are displayed in the Alarms view. Events are viewed by clicking the Events icon on the vSphere Web Client Home view. Figure 11. Triggered Alarms View Troubleshooting tips The Table 2 lists some common issues and possible steps for resolution. Table 2.
Issue Possible Resolution Unable to access the Array Manager • • • Event messages do not display description information Ensure that the URL for the Storage Array Manager is correct. (The default provider host URL is http://localhost:8080/arraytree/) Ensure that firewall settings allow configured ports. Ensure that the VASA provider service is running on the provider host. This is a known issue with the VASA APIs and will be resolved in a future release.
4 Getting help 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.
The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed. 4. For general support: a. Select your product category. b. Select your product segment. c. Select your product. The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed. Locating your system Service Tag Your system is identified by a unique Express Service Code and Service Tag number. The Express Service Code and Service Tag are found on the front of the system by pulling out the information tag.
