X-Series Hyperconverged Nodes Powered by Acuity 2.3 Setup & User Guide
Document Version 1.0
January 15, 2018
X-Series Hyperconverged Nodes Powered by Acuity Setup & User Guide, v1.0
Purpose This edition applies to Pivot3’s X-Series Hyperconverged Nodes powered by the Acuity software platform (Version 2.3.1 and above) and to any subsequent releases until otherwise indicated in new editions. Specific documentation on other Pivot3 offerings are available in the Pivot3 documentation repository. This document contains information proprietary to Pivot3, Inc. and shall not be reproduced or transferred to other documents or used for any purpose other than that for which it was obtained without the express written consent of Pivot3, Inc. How to Contact Pivot3
Pivot3, Inc. General Information: [email protected] 221 West 6th St., Suite 750 Sales: [email protected] Austin, TX 78701 Tech Support: [email protected] Tel: +1 512-807-2666 Website: www.pivot3.com Fax: +1 512-807-2669 Online Support: support.pivot3.com About This Guide This document provides procedures for: • Connecting X-Series Hyperconverged Nodes powered by Acuity to the VMware and ESXi management networks • Combining nodes to create an Acuity vPG This guide is written for Service Engineers and System Administrators configuring a Pivot3 X-Series Solution. The Pivot3 nodes should be set up as described in the appropriate hardware setup guide, and the procedures in this document require an understanding of the following: • The operating systems installed on the application servers connected to the Acuity vPG • Communication protocols installed on local application servers • vSphere Client for access to VMware ESXi hosts or vCenter
© Copyright 2018 Pivot3, Inc.
All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Pivot3, Acuity, RAIGE, Pivot3 vSTAC, Pivot3 vSTAC OS, Pivot3 vSTAC Enterprise HCI, Pivot3 vSTAC P Cubed, Pivot3 vSTAC R2S, Pivot3 vSTAC Edge, Pivot3 vSTAC Manager, Pivot3 vSTAC Watch, Pivot3 Virtual Security Server (VSS), Pivot3 Enterprise HCI, and High-Definition Storage are trademarks or registered trademarks of Pivot3. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such. Pivot3 reserves the right to make changes or corrections to this document as needed without notification.
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Table of Contents
SECTION 1 INSTALL ACUITY-BASED PIVOT3 NODES ...... 7
INSTALL PIVOT3 NODES...... 7
SECTION 2 ACUITY NODES: DISKS & NETWORK PORTS ...... 8
X5-6500 (D1) FLASH ACCELERATOR NODE ...... 8
X5-6500 (L1) FLASH ACCELERATOR NODE ...... 8
X5-6000 (D1) FLASH STANDARD NODE ...... 9
X5-6000 (L1) FLASH STANDARD NODE ...... 9
X5-2500 (D1) HYBRID ACCELERATOR NODE ...... 10
X5-2500 (L1) HYBRID ACCELERATOR NODE ...... 10
X5-2000 (D1) HYBRID STANDARD NODE ...... 11
X5-2000 (L1) HYBRID STANDARD NODE ...... 11
NVME PCIE FLASH LED STATUS DEFINITIONS ...... 12
SECTION 3 CONFIGURE ESXI FOR VMWARE ACCESS ...... 13
CONFIGURE THE IP ADDRESSES FOR THE VMWARE MANAGEMENT NETWORK ...... 13
CONFIGURE SSH ...... 17
SECTION 4 INSTALL PLUGIN FOR WINDOWS ...... 18
DOWNLOAD AND OPEN PLUGIN EXECUTABLE ...... 18
FOLLOW INSTALLATION WIZARD ...... 18
SECTION 5 INSTALL PLUGIN FOR LINUX ...... 26
BEFORE YOU START ...... 26
DOWNLOAD AND OPEN PLUGIN PACKAGE ...... 26
PREPARE ENVIRONMENT ...... 26
SECTION 6 NETWORK FINE TUNING ...... 32
TIME SYNCHRONIZATION ...... 32
SECTION 7 NAVIGATING THE PLUGIN ...... 38
LOG IN TO VSPHERE WEB CLIENT ...... 38
DASHBOARD OVERVIEW - HOME ...... 38
DASHBOARD OVERVIEW – VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE GROUP ...... 41
PROVISIONING OVERVIEW: STORAGE PROVISIONING ...... 43
CONFIGURE TAB: OVERVIEW ...... 47
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ACUITY SOFTWARE PLATFORM: NODE ICONS EXPLAINED ...... 49
TOOLBOX: OVERVIEW & REPORTING ...... 50
VCENTER ALARMS & NOTIFICATIONS ...... 56
TASKS...... 56
WEB PLUGIN ALARMS AND LOGS ...... 57
CHANGING VMWARE VCENTER CREDENTIALS ...... 58
PLUGIN TROUBLESHOOTING ...... 58
SECTION 8 CONFIGURE NIC PORTS FOR PIVOT3 FEATURES ...... 60
CONFIGURE MANAGEMENT NIC IN PIVOT3 VCENTER PLUGIN ...... 60
SECTION 9 CREATE A PIVOT3 VPG ...... 61
DISCOVER NODES ...... 61
CREATE AN ACUITY VPG ...... 62
ADD AN N5 STORAGE NODE...... 63
ASSIGN IP ADDRESSES FOR ISCSI CONNECTIVITY ...... 64
SECTION 10 HOST ACCESS GROUPS ...... 66
HOST ACCESS GROUP BASICS ...... 66
CREATE A HOST ACCESS GROUP ...... 67
SECTION 11 CREATE VOLUMES & ASSOCIATED DATASTORES ...... 69
CREATING AN ACUITY VOLUME ...... 70
CREATING A VSTAC VOLUME ...... 71
CREATE AN N5 STORAGE VOLUME ...... 73
PERFORMANCE POLICIES ...... 75
SERVICE LEVELS – BEST PRACTICES & BEHAVIOR ...... 76
ACUITY ESXI HOSTS AND MAINTENANCE MODE ...... 78
ADDING ESXI HOSTS & DATASTORES ...... 78
SECTION 12 SNAPSHOT MANAGEMENT ...... 81
SNAPSHOTS OVERVIEW ...... 81
PROTECTED HOSTS ...... 82
SCHEDULES ON A VOLUME OR AN APPLICATION GROUP ...... 87
PROTECTION POLICIES EXPLAINED ...... 88
WORKING WITH PROTECTION POLICIES ...... 88
RECOVERING A SNAPSHOT ...... 92
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3RD PARTY BACKUP APPLICATIONS ...... 96
SECTION 13 REPLICATION ...... 97
ASYNCHRONOUS REPLICATION OVERVIEW ...... 97
TAKING A MANUAL SNAPSHOT WITH REPLICATION ...... 102
SCHEDULING REPLICATION ON A VOLUME ...... 103
SECTION 14 USING PIVOT3 ACUITY SOFTWARE ...... 105
BEST PRACTICES ...... 105
SET HYPERVISOR CREDENTIALS ...... 105
SSO USER MANAGEMENT ...... 106
SSO GROUP MANAGEMENT ...... 110
ASSIGNING ADMINISTRATOR ROLES FOR THE AD USER ...... 112
PROACTIVE DIAGNOSTICS & PHONE HOME ...... 114
SECTION 15 UPGRADE ACUITY SOFTWARE ON VPGS ...... 117
DETERMINE UPGRADE REQUIRED ...... 117
SECTION 16 MANAGEMENT THROUGH SNMP ...... 120
MANAGED DEVICES ...... 120
NETWORK-MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NMS) ...... 121
COMMUNITY STRINGS ...... 121
PIVOT3 MIB...... 121
SECTION 17 SHUTDOWN PROCEDURE ...... 123
APPLICATION SERVER VM ...... 123
PIVOT3 VCENTER PLUGIN ...... 123
ACUITY ESXI HOST ...... 124
PROCEDURE VERIFICATION AFTER POWER UP ...... 124
STATUS ICONS & DEFINITIONS ...... 125
MIGRATING TO SINGLE SIGN-ON ...... 127
ABOUT THIS FEATURE ...... 127
CONFIGURING PPD FOR SSO USERS ...... 128
CONFIGURING PIVOT3 FOR IPV4 ...... 129
PIVOT3 VCENTER PLUGIN ...... 129
RESOLVE HOST IDENTIFIERS & ISCSI ALIASES ...... 131
IN VSPHERE WEB CLIENT ...... 131
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UNINSTALL OR UPGRADE THE VCENTER PLUGIN ...... 132
UNREGISTER PLUGIN USING INSTALLER FILE FOR WINDOWS ...... 132
UNREGISTER PLUGIN USING INSTALLER FILE FOR LINUX ...... 134
UPGRADING PIVOT3 VCENTER PLUGIN ...... 135
ACUITY DATA USAGE REPORTING ...... 135
SNAPSHOTS & REPLICATIONS: REPORTING DISCREPANCIES EXPLAINED ...... 135
ADD UPGRADE PACKAGE TO VCSA-BASED VCENTER ...... 137
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Section 1 Install Acuity-Based Pivot3 Nodes This section describes how to: • Connect Pivot3 X-Series Nodes and Ethernet switches to create an iSCSI SAN • Connect Pivot3 X-Series Nodes to the management network Ethernet switch Required items for this section: • Pivot3 X5 Nodes and latest Pivot3 Bare-Metal Installation • An industry standard 19” data center rack • Two 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches for the Storage Area Networks • An Ethernet switch for the management network, or if connecting to an existing management network, an open switch port on the management network Ethernet switch for each node NOTE: Pivot3 X-Series Nodes have two Network Interface Card (NIC) ports dedicated for iSCSI SAN connectivity. Each SAN NIC port must be on a different subnet (no routers). NOTE: 10GbE is required for SAN switch connections. NOTE: Pivot3’s system architecture calls for using two physically separate switches for the SAN Networks, each dedicated to a different subnet. This protects the Acuity vPG from a single switch failure and provides the performance as stated in any Pivot3 testing results. Not following this guideline may result in less-than- optimal system operation in regard to performance and system fault tolerance.
Install Pivot3 Nodes 1. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to install hardware in a standard 19” server rack. CRITICAL: Use two separate power circuits. Each node has two power supplies, and each power supply for each node should be connected to a different power circuit. 2. Follow the switch vendor’s instructions to install the Ethernet switches in the rack. 3. Connect the nodes to the Ethernet switches: a. Connect the NIC ports labeled “SAN Network 0” of all nodes to the Ethernet switch for SAN Network 0. b. Connect the NIC ports labeled “SAN Network 1” of all nodes to the Ethernet switch for SAN Network 1. c. Connect the NIC ports labeled “Management Network” of all nodes to the Ethernet switch for the Management Network. The Management Network is used to manage Acuity OS on all nodes and ESXi if applicable. d. Application Network ports are for use with the local application network if applicable. Connect as needed. e. Connect the interlink NIC ports on each Accelerated node to each other (direct NIC to NIC, not connected through a switch). NOTE: For simplicity, this guide refers to “SAN Network 0” and “SAN Network 1” throughout. Local network naming conventions may vary.
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Section 2 Acuity Nodes: Disks & Network Ports This section describes some of the current Pivot3 hardware configurations, and more items are being added regularly. For specific information on hardware not listed here, contact Pivot3.
X5-6500 (D1) Flash Accelerator Node
X5-6500 (L1) Flash Accelerator Node
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X5-6000 (D1) Flash Standard Node
X5-6000 (L1) Flash Standard Node
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X5-2500 (D1) Hybrid Accelerator Node
X5-2500 (L1) Hybrid Accelerator Node
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X5-2000 (D1) Hybrid Standard Node
X5-2000 (L1) Hybrid Standard Node
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NVMe PCIe Flash LED Status Definitions On-board LED are provided to indicate the status of the drive.
LED Description Blink Behavior LED 1 – Activity (Green) Shows I/O activity for ASIC1 – Solid GREEN: No read/write activity. Blinking, Controlled by Firmware Blinking GREEN: read/write activity.
LED2 – Activity (Green) Shows I/O activity for ASCI2 – Solid GREEN – No read/write activity Blinking, controlled by Firmware Blinking GREEN: read/write activity
LED 3 – Link Behavior Shows link behavior for both Solid GREEN: Link is established and Physical drive controllers GEN3 on all 8 lanes OFF: Link is established, but Gen 1/2 not using all 8 lanes.
LED 4 – Fault (Yellow) Fault Solid YELLOW: Critical warning or fault condition.
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Section 3 Configure ESXi for VMware Access VMware ESXi is the hypervisor for the Acuity software platforms. As ESXi patches and updates become available, functionalities may change; patching or updating ESXi past the level recommended for the currently released Acuity software platform version is a calculated risk. Pivot3 recommends using only the version of ESXi supported by the current Acuity software platform version.
This section describes how to: • Configure the Management Network settings for ESXi on new Pivot3 X-Series Nodes • Allow X-Series nodes to be accessed by VMware management tools VMware documentation: More information on getting started with ESXi is available from VMware. Required items for this section: • Pivot3 Nodes that have been installed as detailed in Section 1 and are powered on • A keyboard and monitor or KVM connection to each node
Configure the IP Addresses for the VMware Management Network The Management Network must be configured before VMware management tools can manage the nodes. NOTE: When using DHCP, the IP address is automatically determined and displayed on the console. Make a note of the IP address assigned and skip to Section 4. Connect the node to a KVM or connect a keyboard and monitor. The monitor shows the VMware ESXi direct console. Press
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ESXi displays the System Customization screen. (Password can be configured whenever it is convenient. Remember to make a note of Administrator credentials when set. User name and password can be reset, but credentials will not be recoverable if lost or forgotten.)
Use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight Configure Management Network. Press
NOTE: To configure the host using SSH, enable SSH in this menu from Troubleshooting Options. On the Configure Management Network screen, use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight IPv4 Configuration. Press
CRITICAL: Ensure that the chosen Network Adapter is the correct one. Default is Adapter 2, but may vary in the local environment setup.
NOTE: Ensure that, if the management port is a trunk port, the management VLAN has been entered and tagged on the menu. Trunk ports cannot accept a native VLAN that is identical to the management VLAN.
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If there is a DHCP server on the VMware Management Network, select the top option in the display dialog, Use dynamic IP address & network configuration. The values for IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway will be set dynamically by the DHCP server. Make a note of the IP address for this host. NOTE: If using Use dynamic IP address & network configuration, ensure that the IP address of the ESXi host does not change on reboot. If the host IP changes on reboot, VMware management tools will not be able to auto-connect to the ESXi host.
If there is not a DHCP server on the VMware Management Network, the values for IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway must all be manually entered. Select the second option on the display console, Set static IP address and network configuration, and complete the manual entry of values for IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway. Make a note of this host’s IP address. Once completed, press
NOTE: If the VMware Management Network is using DNS, on the Configure Management Network screen, select DNS Configuration. Press
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With a choice of Obtain DNS server addresses and a hostname automatically, the selection task will be completed automatically. Simply press the Enter key to move through this screen. The other available option, Use the following DNS server addresses and hostname, requires that the information be entered manually and connected to host name that is unique on the network. Once complete, press
Press
Repeat Steps 1-8 for each node.
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Configure SSH To Enable or Disable SSH, log in to the main ESXi screen and use the arrow keys to navigate to Troubleshooting Options. Press Enter to select.
The SSH option provided will differ depending on whether SSH has already been enabled on this machine. Press Enter to activate the desired state and press Esc to exit the dialog.
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Section 4 Install Plugin for Windows Before the installation procedure begins, ensure the following items are easily accessible: • vCenter Server IP address • Plugin installation package from Pivot3 • Administrator credentials for each host • Email addresses of all known administrators NOTE: The Pivot3 vCenter Plugin is only compatible with the vSphere Web Client. It is not compatible with the installable VMware vSphere software client.
CRITICAL: For full functionality, ensure all Pivot3 nodes managed by the Plugin are included in the vCenter inventory.
Download and Open Plugin Executable Download the file Pivot3_vCenter_Plugin_10.3.x.xxx.exe received from Pivot3 Support to the Management Station. Double-click the .exe file to open the file and begin the process. NOTE: To request a Pivot3 vCenter Plugin installation file, send a request through the Support Portal.
Follow Installation Wizard The Installation Wizard for the vCenter plugin is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly. This section will explain the steps, though most of the installation process will seem familiar. When the splash screen appears, click Next. (Pivot3 Acuity version may differ.)
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Read and accept the End User License Agreement. Click Next.
Read the information about Pivot3 Proactive Diagnostics and the Pivot3 Plugin Deployment Service, then press Next. Select the components to be installed. Configure Plugin, if checked, will take steps to register the plugin without further intervention. It is recommended to install all components as shown.
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Select the directory to install the web server. If the default location is not preferred, use the Browse function to navigate to a desired location.
Choose the desired authentication type between vCenter Single Sign-On or Pivot3 Authentication.
NOTE: vCenter Single Sign-On will allow the user to access the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin with vCenter credentials only; Pivot3 Authentication requires Pivot3 credentials to also be entered for each login. For more information on the vCenter Single Sign-On feature, consult the Pivot3 Support Portal.
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Enter the Administrator credentials to be used on the web server determined in Step 6. Even for Single Sign- On setup, Pivot3 credentials still need to be entered here. The default username for Single Sign-On is pivot3ssouser, and the password can be custom-set. The default Single Sign-On username cannot be changed; only the password can be modified. NOTE: For this step, the password will not be obscured, so ensure all credentials are accurate before clicking Next.
Enter the local IP address and port for the vSMS Web Server to listen on. NOTE: The address and port must be accessible from the vCenter Server.
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Select the folder that the plugin should use as a local data storage repository for temporary files. If the default location is acceptable, make a note of this location for future reference.
Select the file folder to host the Acuity software files. This will also be the folder that will hold upgrade files once they are received from Support, so keep a record of this location.
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Click the check box or verify that the box is checked to Create a Windows Firewall rule.
Enter the vCenter server contact IP address and the vCenter credentials to be used for that IP.
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For the contact IP address and vCenter credentials set up in the previous step, enter a comma-separated list of email addresses for the vCenter administrators who are authorized to receive emails from Pivot3 and the Pivot3 plugin. NOTE: The email addresses provided here will also control who receives alarm notifications.
Choose the appropriate radio button for the local setup and click Next. CRITICAL: If the option This computer is NOT the vCenter Server is chosen, the plugin’s deployment service will not install. A successful deployment installation will require setup beginning at Step 2 of this section on the vCenter server’s Management Station.
CRITICAL: For full Pivot3 functionality, a fresh login to vSphere Web Client is required after each vCenter server reboot.
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After upgrading, it will be necessary to clear browser cache before logging back in to the vSphere Web Client.
Confirm the settings in the final setup box. When ready, click Install to complete setup and install plugin. CRITICAL: This will require the web portion of the vCenter server to be restarted.
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Section 5 Install Plugin for Linux Before You Start Before the installation procedure begins, ensure the following items are easily accessible: • vCenter Server IP address • Plugin installation package from Pivot3 • Administrator credentials for each host • Email addresses of all known administrators NOTE: The Pivot3 vCenter Plugin is only compatible with the vSphere Web Client. It is not compatible with the installable VMware vSphere software client.
Download and Open Plugin Package Download the file Pivot3_vCenter_Plugin_10.3.1.[####].tar.gz received from Pivot3 Support to the Management Station. (For the purposes of this document, [####] stands for the build number and may vary.) CRITICAL: For full functionality, ensure all Pivot3 nodes managed by the Plugin are included in the vCenter inventory. NOTE: To obtain a Pivot3 vCenter Plugin installation file, send a request through the Support Portal. CRITICAL: To install the plugin on a Linux vCenter from a Windows client, WinSCP and PuTTY clients will be required.
Prepare Environment Enable bash and SSH on Linux vCenter (https://vCenterIP:5480).
NOTE: For any issues opening the connection to Linux vCenter using WinSCP, consult VMware KB 2107727.
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Using PuTTY, open an SSH session to Linux vCenter. After the connection is completed, enable shell by using the following commands: Command> shell.set --enabled True Command> shell
Then use the command # chsh -s /bin/bash root
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Open WinSCP and connect to Linux vCenter. Drag the Pivot3_vCenter_Plugin_10.3.1.[####].tar.gz file to the default directory of vCenter as shown below.
Return to the Appliance Shell by running the following command: # chsh -s /bin/appliancesh root
Format and extract the .tar file and list directory contents at the command prompt as follows: Localhost:~ # ls Multiple files will be listed. Ensure Pivot3_vCenter_Plugin_10.3.1.[####].tar.gz is one of them.
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CRITICAL: If Pivot3_vCenter_Plugin_10.3.0.####.tar.gz does not show up in this list command, begin the process again from Step 4 of this section. Create a new directory so that the file has a fresh location to extract to: Localhost:~# mkdir plugin10.3.1.xx Navigate to the new directory created for file extraction: Localhost:~# cd tmp/ Now that the Plugin installer file has been correctly placed and identified, open the .tar.gz file as follows: localhost:~# tar xvf Pivot3_vCenter_Plugin_10.3.1.[####].tar.gz List directory contents once more to ensure the files p3vcenterplugin-installer.sh and P3VMwarePlugin- 10.3.1.xx.zip have been extracted. Change the permissions for the installation file to make it executable: localhost:~# chmod 777 p3vcenterplugin-installer.sh Run the installation file and answer the wizard’s questions as prompted with desired information: Localhost:~# ./p3vcenterplugin-installer.sh At this point, the Linux CLI installation aligns closely with the Windows installation options. For each question, choose the desired variables to enter for each of the information requests: a. Read the License Agreement file Pivot3_EULA.txt that was sent with the installation package. To accept the License Agreement, press 1.
b. Read the Pivot3 Proactive Diagnostics blurb, and press 1 to install vSMS Web Server and Register Pivot3 vCenter Plugin. c. Press Y to install PPD Service.
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d. Choose an authentication type between vCenter Single Sign-On and Pivot3 Authentication.
NOTE: vCenter Single Sign-On will allow the user to access the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin with vCenter credentials only; Pivot3 Authentication requires Pivot3 credentials to also be entered for each login. For more information on the vCenter Single Sign-On feature, consult the Pivot3 Support Portal. e. Continue following the wizard prompts, entering the desired strings to answer each question. For many questions, the default values are listed; to accept the default values, simply press Enter.
CRITICAL: The vSMS IP and the vCenter Server IP will most likely be the IP of the currently connected vCenter Virtual Appliance, unless vCenter services have been split between separate servers. f. For the contact IP address and vCenter credentials set up in the previous step, enter a comma-separated list of email addresses for the vCenter administrators who are authorized to receive emails from Pivot3 and the Pivot3 plugin. CRITICAL: The vCenter credentials will either be [email protected] or a service account set up in vCenter with an Administrator Role.
NOTE: The email addresses provided here will also control who receives alarm notifications.
CRITICAL: If SSO Authentication has been chosen, the Pivot3 username entered must be pivot3ssouser. This is hard- coded and cannot be changed.
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At the final question, enter Y to allow the installer to create a rule in iptables for Pivot3 vSMS Web Service.
If upgrading, it will be necessary to restart the vSphere Web Client Service or reboot the vCenter. For more information on this procedure, consult VMware Knowledge Base Article 2109887. After upgrading, it will be necessary to clear browser cache before logging back in to the vSphere Web Client. CRITICAL: For full Pivot3 functionality, a fresh login to vSphere Web Client is required after each vCenter server reboot. To reset the vCenter after installing the Linux plugin for Linux vCSA 6.0, use service vsphere-client restart. For Linux vCSA 6.5, use the commands service-control --stop vsphere-client and then service-control --start vsphere client. At this point, installation is complete. Log in to the vSphere Web Client and continue to Section 6.
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Section 6 Network Fine Tuning There are a few procedures that need to be performed before the Acuity software platform can be considered optimally configured. These represent best practices for any X-Series Acuity environment.
Time Synchronization With the Acuity software platform, time synchronization between vCenter nodes, Host Servers, and VMs is critical for proper functionality of features such as scheduled tasks. NTP should be configured for the vCenter Server Appliance, the ESXi Nodes, external host servers, and VMs to ensure that all are synchronized. CRITICAL: Ensure all ESXi hosts are configured to sync via NTP. vCenter Server & External Host Servers in Windows
Configuration Process
# Configuration Task Procedure Details / Expected Results
1 Change date and time settings on Click on the time at the bottom right corner of the vCenter Server Server Windows UI.
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Configuration Process
# Configuration Task Procedure Details / Expected Results
2 Sync with NTP Internet Time > Change Settings > Synchronize with an Internet time server > pool.ntp.org
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vCenter Server & External Host Servers in Linux
Configuration Process
# Configuration Task Procedure Details / Expected Results
1 Edit time synchronization settings. In a web browser, connect to the IP address of the (i.e., [vCenterIP]:5480) Linux vCenter on port 5480. Log in with an account that has administrative privileges. Navigate to the Time settings page. In the Time Synchronization box, click Edit.
2 Set Mode. Select NTP from the Mode pulldown and enter pool.ntp.org in the Time Servers box. Click OK.
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ESXi Nodes
Configuration Process
# Configuration Task Procedure Details / Expected Results
1 Set up Time Configuration in Acuity ESXi Host > Settings tab > Time Configuration > Edit nodes
2 Enable NTP NTP Client Enabled > Options
NOTE: This must be done on each ESXi node.
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Sync VMs with Host Upon Creation (Recommended)
Configuration Process
# Configuration Task Procedure Details / Expected Results
1 Synchronize guest time with host Create VM > Ensure VMware Tools are Installed > Right-click VM > Edit Settings…
NOTE: VMware tools are not installable on the Pivot3 VM directly. This is expected behavior; any error messages noting that “VMware Tools are not installed on this virtual machine” can be disregarded.
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Configuration Process
# Configuration Task Procedure Details / Expected Results
2 Activate synchronization option VM Options tab > Synchronize guest time with host > OK
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Section 7 Navigating the Plugin Log In to vSphere Web Client In a preferred web browser, navigate to the IP address of the server hosting vCenter and log in to the vSphere Web Client. NOTE: Microsoft Internet Explorer is not recommended; Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox seem to offer a smoother plugin experience. NOTE: To prevent sync issues, Pivot3 recommends only using a single management utility (one vSMS or one Pivot3 Plugin) to configure the domain. Multiple users can be logged in simultaneously, but only one plugin or client should manage the entire domain. Click the Pivot3 icon located in the Inventories section of the Home tab as shown below.
Log in with the same Pivot3 credentials entered in Section 3, Step 8. NOTE: If Single Sign-On was configured during installation, Pivot3 credentials will not be required at this step and users will be taken directly to the plugin home page.
Dashboard Overview - Home The Dashboard section of the plugin is designed to show a quick overview of the domain from two perspectives: Home, an overall perspective; and virtual Performance Group, information which is broken down as it relates to each vPG available on the domain
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The Home view includes total storage details such as types of drives used (e.g., SATA, SSD) and available capacity, all Acuity vPG utilization based on available storage, node States, active and inactive iSCSI Host connections, all logical volumes within the domain, and summary of critical devices within the nodes. NOTE: Linux-based Dashboards will not populate with nodes & vPGs until Discover Nodes has been performed.
1. Logical Domain Health Summary The Logical Domain component shows a summary of the health states for all discovered vPGs in the domain and Volumes in separate tabs.
2. Storage Utilization The Storage Utilization component shows a summary of all used and available storage in the domain.
3. Virtual Performance Group Utilization The Virtual Performance Group Utilization component shows a list of vPGs along with their total and available capacities. This data can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the desired column header.
4. Physical Domain Health Summary The Physical Domain component shows a health summary of all nodes. The node can be in any status among Normal, Degraded, Not Connected, Maintenance Mode, or Failed. This section breaks down into four categories: Assigned, Unassigned, N5 Storage, and Unlicensed. NOTE: The Unlicensed view will only show up if an unlicensed vSTAC node has been discovered in the domain.
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5. Volume – Host Connection This component shows details about the volumes, the hosts and vPGs they belong to, and all iSCSI Connection statuses to them. A refresh icon ( ) is available at the top right of the component to update the displayed information whenever necessary. When populated, the columns for Volume Name, Host IP, and vPG Name have a filter function ( ) for limiting the amount of information displayed. The numbers shown in the iSCSI Connection column represent the number of connection paths between the ESXi Server iSCSI initiator and the volume, and whether the connections are active or inactive.
6. Device Health State This component lists the summary of devices that are failed or rebuilding or otherwise need administrative attention. This component will only be populated if there are errors on any assigned/unassigned nodes. In the case of assigned nodes, vPG name will be listed.
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Dashboard Overview – Virtual Performance Group The Virtual Performance Group Dashboard will not populate until a vPG is populated in the upper right drop- down box. Ensure the desired vPG has been selected.
After the desired vPG has been selected, the components will populate with detailed information about that vPG. Dashboard Tab
1. vPG - Summary This component shows the properties summary of the vPG selected.
2. Storage Details This component shows a summary of the storage in the selected vPG, including used and available capacity. The Volumes section displays a summary count of the states of the volumes in the vPG.
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3. VM’s CPU & Memory Utilization This component shows a list of VMs, the vCenter datastore volume that the VMs reside on, and the maximum CPU and Memory Utilization they were configured with. Click the refresh icon ( ) at the top right of the component to populate this data.
4. Nodes & Devices This component shows a list of nodes in the vPG as well as a detailed summary of the devices inside the selected node. Selecting a node displays a graphical representation of the devices in the node with details on the device’s state, tier type, model name, capacity, and location. It will also show the NVMe details once the NVMe icon is clicked (this is only applicable to accelerated nodes). A colored status dot provides a quick indication of device status with the following color code:
Normal (Green) Failed (Red) Rebuilding (Blue)
NOTE: The position of the drive in the graphical representation does not represent the physical location of the drive in the node. Drive placement information is provided at the bottom of the window when the drive is selected in the Nodes & Devices component.
5. View Performance Graph This component shows a graph of select details for the currently selected vPG. Choose which data to display from the drop-down box at the top right of the component. Data choices are Throughput, IOPS, or Response Time. The chart will then populate with a line graph displaying the selected data for the last 10 minutes.
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vSTAC vPGs will have different options. For these environments, choose between IOPS and Throughput View. There is also the opportunity to customize the line graph for the previous Hour, Day, or Week.
Provisioning Overview: Storage Provisioning The Provisioning tab provides a view of Acuity Storage, Hyperconverged Storage, and N5 Storage, depending on environment setup. There are two views on this tab: Storage Provisioning and Data Services.
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Storage Provisioning Storage Provisioning provides for the creation of Acuity Storage volumes in the same window as vSTAC and N5 volumes. The volume creation procedures differ in presentation from creating volumes in the Configure tab, but the result remains the same. There are view options on the right side of this tab when selected: Grid view and Tab view. Grid view provides an overview of all storage available, whether set up in Acuity or vSTAC environments; Tab view provides the opportunity to get a more focused view in either environment. N5 Storage, if applicable, is also visible here. NOTE: If only one platform solution has been connected, that will be all that is visible. NOTE: Acuity vPGs will not be visible in the Hyperconverged Storage tab, and vSTAC vPGs will not be visible in the Acuity Storage section.
From here, an administrator can also set up schedules to take snapshots and change the performance policies on individual volumes. NOTE: For more information on Volumes, Snapshots, and how to protect them, see Section 12.
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Data Services CRITICAL: This view is only available on the Acuity software platform. From the Data Services view, tabs provide access to the following information about the platform: Performance QoS: Volumes are assigned to one of the five performance policies when created. Volumes can be migrated between policies on the fly even while application servers are actively using the volumes. The Performance QoS tab provides the ability to Create Volume or View Metrics on each Policy level.
Protection QoS: Volumes may have been assigned a protection policy when created. From this screen, administrators can perform the following actions: • Add Protection Policy • Run Selected Now • Modify Selected • Delete Selected • Toggle Activation
Protected Host: Protected hosts are servers that utilize the application-consistent snapshot capability. From this menu, users can add, modify, or delete protected hosts or refresh associations with the protected hosts. NOTE: If new volumes are added to an existing protected host, Refresh Associations must be used for the new volumes to be discovered and protected by that host.
Host Access Group: For servers to access volumes, the volumes must be assigned to a host access group that the servers are also associated with. Host access groups are logical representations of the servers that may have iSCSI initiators that will connect to the volumes in the group. ESXi hosts need to be assigned to a Host Access Group to allow the servers to connect to the datastores. By controlling the connection of server to volume, host access groups promote data integrity and security. For more information on Host Access Groups, consult Section 10.
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NOTE: Three Host Access Groups are set up by default: Allow Access, Chap Only Access, and Deny Access. Chap Only Access is limited to volumes or Host Access Groups that have been set up with CHAP Authentication.
NOTE: CHAP Authentication must be set up at the Volume level for vSTAC vPGs and at the Host Access Group level for Acuity vPGs. Allow Access Host Access Group will provide access to any user with credentials for this Plugin and is not recommended. Scheduler Events: The Scheduler Events tab lists upcoming scheduled tasks. Policies are described more thoroughly in Protection Policies Explained.
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Configure Tab: Overview The Configure tab allows the user to view the Logical and Physical layouts of the storage and vPGs in the Acuity software platform. The Logical, Physical, and Unlicensed views are available, and Acuity vPGs as well as N5 arrays and vSTAC vPGs are supported in this section. NOTE: The Unlicensed view will not be a common utility on Acuity configurations.
Logical Tree View The Logical tree view covers vSTAC vPGs as well as Acuity-based vPGs. vSTAC-based vPGs do not contain the same Quality of Service options as Acuity vPGs do, and therefore are not displayed in the same structure. Logical Structure – vSTAC vPGs
Domain Level vPG Level Tier Level Volume Level Logical Structure – Acuity vPGs
Domain Level vPG Level Tier Level Volume Level Criticality Level Policy Level
Logical Structure – N5 Storage Arrays
Domain Level Node Level Criticality Level Policy Level
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Physical Tree View Physical Structure: vSTAC vPGs
Domain Level
vPG Level
Node Level Physical Structure: Acuity vPGs
Domain Level vPG Level Node Level
Physical Structure: N5 Storage
Domain Level Node Level
Smart Clean Smart Clean is a new option that cleans up old data that may accumulate during Performance Diagnostics data collection and log pulls. This feature also provides an option to clean up any outdated OS Packages. On the Configure tab, navigate to Help > Smart Clean. Click the boxes next to the desired option(s) and click Clean.
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a. Performance Diagnostics removes old data that was generated during previous log pulls and is no longer being used. b. Upgrade Package(s) removes outdated Upgrade files and frees up disk space on the Upgrade Package repository.
Acuity Software Platform: Node Icons Explained Status flags that show up next to these icons in the Plugin are explained in Appendix A.
Small Icon Large Icon Represents
A Healthy vSTAC node capable of being in a vSTAC vPG
NOTE: Any node running vSTAC OS version 7.x will have normal functionality in the Acuity version of the plugin. Only vSTAC nodes running 2.2 or later will be eligible for Acuity vPG membership.
A Healthy vSTAC vPG
NOTE: Any node running vSTAC OS version 7.x will have normal functionality in the Acuity version of the plugin. Only vSTAC nodes running 2.2 or later will be eligible for Acuity vPG membership.
A Healthy X-Series Accelerator (2500 or 6500) node capable of being one of two accelerator nodes in an Acuity vPG
A Healthy X-Series Standard (2000 or 6000) node capable of being one of the non-accelerator nodes in an Acuity vPG
A Healthy Acuity vPG with exactly two Accelerator nodes and up to 10
(Hybrid) or 14 (Flash) non-accelerator nodes
A Healthy N5 node capable of being a part of an N5 Storage Array
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Toolbox: Overview & Reporting The Toolbox tab has been provided as a central location for tools that are useful for diagnosing potential issues on managed vPGs. There are three categories for the Toolbox view: Performance Monitor, Performance Diagnostics, and Connection Map. CRITICAL: The Toolbox tab will not populate until a vPG is chosen in the dropdown box in the top right of the screen. Performance Monitor The Performance Monitor view provides a view of the activity within the domain and each volume within an Acuity vPG. These charts update continuously for the most up-to-date information. NOTE: Only Acuity vPGs will be visible in this section. vSTAC vPGs will be greyed out and not selectable. Begin by choosing a vPG to monitor in the top right drop-down box.
For the selected vPG, make selections from the drop-down boxes at the top of the graph. Up to 12 graphs may be displayed simultaneously for comparison viewing.
NOTE: To switch the graph from one view to another, make different selections in the drop-down boxes and click Update. To add a new live monitor, click the Add Graph feature under the vPG dropdown box. NOTE: Maximum of 12 graphs are available at one time.
The options are broken out in the table below:
Type of Monitor Category Metrics I/O Type Interval System Contingent on Throughput Read Last 10 Minutes Monitor Selection Service Level IOPS Write Last Hour Policy Queue Depth Read + Write Last Day Volume Block Size Last Week Storage Processor Response Time Last Month Network Port IOPS Histogram Last Year Access Group Response Time Histogram Host Connection Tier
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Performance Diagnostics NOTE: This section is available for both Acuity and vSTAC vPGs. Performance Diagnostics provides an in-depth look into the performance of network connections and disk usage for the selected Acuity vPG. This view provides Network information from a node perspective and is updated when the dropdown menu is changed. Performance Diagnostics does not update continuously like Performance Monitor, and the view will remain static until a variable is changed; however, multiple entities can be selected for viewing. For the selected vPG, there are two main views: Global View and Node View. Global View separates Networks and Storage (as well as Volumes, as applicable) into relevant sub-categories, and shows this data as pulled from the vPG. Node View provides information on those same sub-categories specific to the chosen node. These options all have the same basic drop-down menu at the top that allow for the selection of Time, Entities, Metrics, Chart Type, and Scale Type. • Time selections are contingent on vPG type and offer: 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month. • Entities dropdown provides different options depending on the view chosen in the navigation tree. Global View Entities will be a list of the available nodes on which to pull this data, and Node View Entities are the same Networks listed above in Global View. Choose one, multiple, or Select All. • Metrics options will vary depending on the option chosen in the navigation tree. The same data sets are available two different ways: from the Global View or Node View.
View Level Tier Category Available Metrics
Global View Networks Dednet Receive bytes SAN0 Receive packets SAN1 Transmit bytes
Node View Networks Transmit packets Receive multicast
Global View Storage Cache Maximum Latency (ms) SATA Write IOPS Write MBPS Total IOPS Total MBPS Queue Write Avg Queue Depth Queue Write Max Queue Depth Queue Write Percent Busy Queue Write Avg Latency (ms) Queue Total Avg Queue Depth Queue Total Max Queue Depth
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View Level Tier Category Available Metrics
Node View Storage Queue Total Percent Busy Queue Total Avg Latency Device Write Avg Queue Depth Device Write Max Queue Depth Device Write Percent Busy Device Write Avg Latency (ms) Device Total Avg Queue Depth Device Total Max Queue Depth Device Total Percent Busy Device Total Avg Latency (ms) Read IOPS Read MBPS Queue Read Avg Queue Depth Queue Read Max Queue Depth Queue Read Percent Busy Queue Read Avg Latency (ms) Device Read Avg Queue Depth Device Read Max Queue Depth Device Read Percent Busy Device Read Avg Latency (ms)
• Line Chart or Bar Chart: Choose view between these. Line Chart is chosen as default. • Linear Scale or a Log Scale.: Choose view between these. Linear Scale is chosen as default.
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Connection Map The Connection Map provides an interactive, high-level mapping diagram of the local environment. Click on the Connection Map view of the Toolbox tab, then choose the desired vPG from the drop-down box in the top right corner.
NOTE: The entities shown here may be moved around to improve visibility or double-clicked to drill down further into the domain structure. Hover over each icon for more information. After selecting a vPG, the screen will display a summary diagram that allows the user to drill down for additional details on several aspects of the vPG. At this highest level, the map has icons that represent the nodes in the vPG, the volumes in the vPG, the ESXi hosts associated with the vPG, and the VMs hosted by these ESXi hosts.
Icon Double-Click for Details On vPG
Host
Volume
VMs
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Connection Map – Node Map View Double-clicking on the vPG icon will provide the Node Map View with color-coded connectivity displayed. This view shows the nodes that make up the selected vPG. Hovering over one of the node icons will provide a popup with additional details about the node (e.g., node name, model, current physical state); hovering over the colored line will display data round trip times. Lines will not be colored for vPGs running a vSTAC OS version lower than 7.3.0. NOTE: Double-clicking on any of the nodes displayed will navigate to the Configure tab view for that node.
To return to the vPG view, click on the leftmost entity in the top left of the window.
Connection Map – Volume Details Double-clicking on the Volumes icon will navigate to a Volumes Map View. In this view, each volume may be double- clicked to navigate to the Volume Details Map view for that specific volume.
Volumes Available Volume Details Map View
The combination of the icons here represents, for the selected volume: • Hosts connected to the volume • Number of connections from each host to the volume To return to the vPG view, click on the leftmost entity in the top left of the window.
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Connection Map – Host Details Double-clicking on any of the Hosts icon in the Connection Map will navigate to the Hosts Map View.
Hover over any Host icon to see more granular information about that specific host. To return to the main vPG view, click on the leftmost entity in the top left of the window or double-click on the vPG icon.
Connection Map – VM Details Double-clicking the VMs icon will navigate to the VM Map View.
This view shows VMs and hosts associated with the selected vPG as well as the connection details of the host and VMs (powered on shows a green arrow icon, and powered off shows a red square icon). To return to the main vPG view, either double-click on the vPG icon in this screen or click the click on the leftmost entity in the top left of the window. To return to the Hosts Map View, double-click on the Hosts icon.
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vCenter Alarms & Notifications The Alarms section of the plugin notifies the administrator of active issues requiring attention. The audible alarm has been disabled in the plugin’s functionality, but the plugin provides additional tabs for more detail. If the Alarms panel is not visible, enable it by navigating to Layout Settings from the drop-down arrow next to the domain username at the top of the browser window and outside of the plugin (for this example, [email protected] is used). Then check the box next to Alarms, click OK, and a vCenter Alarms panel will appear next to the plugin.
Username > Layout Settings Check Box Next To “Alarms” vCenter Alarms Panel
Tasks The vSphere Web Client has two task windows to monitor: Tasks and Recent Tasks. Recent Tasks is an optional window at the bottom of the vSphere Web Client that reports every task performed on the vCenter host by anyone with access.
If this window disappears, it can be reactivated by clicking the credentials at the top of the plugin and choosing Layout Settings. A dialog box will pop up with two checkboxes; select Recent Tasks and click OK.
Username > Layout Settings Check Box Next To “Recent Tasks”
There are two ways to access the Task Console. Click the Tasks menu item on the left pane of the vSphere Web Client as shown, or click More Tasks at the bottom right corner of the Recent Tasks Window when visible. These tasks are different from the tasks accessible through the Pivot3 Plugin via the Alarms and Logs menu.
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Tasks Menu Item in Left Pane “More Tasks” Hyperlink on Recent Tasks Window
Task Console Window
NOTE: To return to the Main Screen views of the vCenter Plugin, click Home at the top of the left menu pane.
Web Plugin Alarms and Logs The Alarms and Logs menu provides a quick shortcut to Alarms that are active, a list of the most recent tasks performed by the Plugin, OS version running on each node in the vPG, and a list of upcoming scheduled tasks.
NOTE: The Alarms/Tasks listed here are Plugin-specific and differ from the Alarms/Recent Tasks window generated by the vSphere Web Client.
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Changing VMware vCenter Credentials If the user credentials used for the VMware login needs to be changed for any reason, the credentials in the vCenter Plugin must be changed first to retain functionality once the VMware credentials are altered. From the Domain level on the Configure tab, select Configuration > vCenter Credentials.
Enter the new username and password expected to be used for the VMware Administrator login. CRITICAL: The credentials in the vCenter Plugin must be changed before the credentials in vCenter are altered, or access to the plugin will not be possible. If this order is not adhered to during credential changes, an error message will appear:
Plugin Troubleshooting Flash Storage Limitation When the plugin uses its available storage space, it will provide a popup that prompts the user to increase storage space or block the write operation. If this popup is not attended to, it can consume all available memory and cause the browser to terminate the plugin. This can be avoided a couple ways: Refresh the browser page occasionally (approximately once an hour) to free up the browser memory Alter the browser’s Global Storage Settings to Unlimited or check the box labeled Never Ask Again.
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Default Settings Suggested Settings
NOTE: If error message [1] Error creating firewall rule incorrect function displays, that means that the Windows Firewall Service has been stopped but not disabled. Either restart or disable the firewall service.
Mutual CHAP To ensure a Mutual CHAP handshake between volumes and a Host Access Group, a manual procedure must be followed. This issue should be resolved in future releases of the Pivot3 Acuity software platform. Use the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin to Create a Host Access Group with Mutual CHAP configured. Use the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin to create a Volume and assign the Host Access Group with Mutual CHAP configured to the volume. More information on this procedure is found in Section 11. Rescan for new storage devices on all ESXi hosts. Disable CHAP on all ESXi hosts. Re-enable CHAP on all ESXi hosts. Rescan for new storage devices on all ESXi hosts. The ESXi hosts will now see the new volume with Mutual CHAP properly configured, and can be formatted as a datastore.
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Section 8 Configure NIC Ports for Pivot3 Features The SAN Networks managed through the Acuity software platform operate as an isolated network, processing storage data through physical switches. Isolating the SAN Networks provides greater security by leaving the Management and Application networks available to run virtual machines and support an application-specific configured environment. CRITICAL: If IPv6 has not yet been enabled on the network, follow the procedure in Configuring Pivot3 for IPv4 before beginning this section’s procedure.
This section describes how to: • Configure the Management NIC settings in the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin for direct control over the Management Network.
Required items for this section: • Pivot3 X-Series Node with Acuity software installed that has been powered on and is visible by the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin. • Access to desired static IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway settings • Each node will need 1× static MGMT IP and 2× Static Storage IPs. CRITICAL: Pivot3 features will not function correctly without a Management NIC defined.
Configure Management NIC in Pivot3 vCenter Plugin The vCenter Server / Client for the Plugin must be on the same network as the vPG. In Physical view, select a node (either within a vPG or Unassigned) and click Configuration > Management NIC. For DHCP, choose the radio button next to Obtain DHCP IP Address and click Apply. For Static IP, choose the Specify Static IP Address radio button.
Enter Subnet Mask, IP Address, and Default Gateway. Click Apply. It may be necessary to rediscover the Pivot3 domain to gain access to the Plugin. CRITICAL: If the IP address that the Plugin connects to is changed on an unassigned node, the node may not be accessible. This applies to changing any IP address in a vPG. CRITICAL: Do not configure the Gateway on the SAN NICs.
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Section 9 Create a Pivot3 vPG Creating a Pivot3 vPG involves assigning Pivot3 Nodes to a new Pivot3 vPG, naming the vPG, and setting up IP addresses for the nodes in the vPG.
In this section: • Discover Pivot3 Nodes in the Acuity Domain • Create a vPG
Required items for this section: • The user name and password for the vPG Administrator • The name to be assigned to the Acuity vPG • The IP addressing information (IP addresses, subnet masks, and any applicable default gateways) for the SAN Networks
Discover Nodes To discover vSTAC, N5, and Acuity X-Series nodes available to the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin, select the Configure tab and click Configuration > Discover Pivot3 Domain. Alternatively, this can be done by clicking on the magnifying glass at the upper right corner of the Configure tab underneath the Alarms and Logs dropdown.
Click the radio button next to the desired Discovery Method (Enter an IP Address of a Pivot3 Product recommended) and click Next. Follow the wizard as prompted until the desired IP addresses are chosen.
If the information entered is accurate, the node will now be visible in the Physical view of the Configure tab. NOTE: If the vSMS Web Service is installed directly on the vCenter Server Appliance, perform a targeted IP discovery or IP range discovery each time the vCSA is restarted.
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Create an Acuity vPG Pivot3 X-Series nodes are combined into a vPG, allowing them to be viewed and managed as a single, unified storage system. A node can only be a member of one vPG, and Acuity vPGs must begin with an unassigned Accelerator node. NOTE: Acuity vPGs must have two accelerated nodes and at least one non-accelerated node minimum. A hybrid vPG can have a maximum of 12 X5 nodes (including two Accelerator nodes) and a flash Acuity vPG can have a maximum of 16 X5 nodes (including two Accelerator nodes). While still in the Physical tree view at the node level, click on any desired unassigned accelerator node. CRITICAL: Acuity vPGs must be created by starting with an unassigned accelerator node. Click File > Create virtual Performance Group from the main menu. (Alternatively, this can be done by selecting an available node and clicking on on the upper right of the dialog.)
Choose a partner node. This node must also be an unassigned accelerator node. No other type of node will be visible during this step. To include an unassigned accelerator node, ensure it is highlighted in the Compatible Nodes list and click up. Then click Next.
NOTE: No more than 2 accelerated nodes may be added to the vPG.
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Next, choose an unaccelerated node to add to the vPG. Compatible, unaccelerated X-Series nodes that have been discovered in the Domain will be visible. Choose the node to add to the vPG and click Up. When all desired nodes have been added, click Next.
Name the vPG. The vPG name must be between 1-15 alphanumeric characters.
Add an N5 Storage Node Adding an N5 Storage Node is similar to configuring vSTAC and X-series nodes. From the Configure tab, click to highlight the Pivot3 domain level and navigate to Configuration > Add N5 Storage.
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Enter the IP Address, Username, and Password for the desired node and click Submit. If the information entered is accurate, the N5 Node will now be visible in the Physical view of the Configure tab.
Assign IP Addresses for iSCSI Connectivity At this point, static IP addresses must be assigned to the nodes so that the iSCSI initiator can connect to Pivot3 logical volumes and send I/O. Each storage NIC on every member node must be assigned a unique static IP address. If the static IP addresses have been preconfigured, this step is used to validate the IP addresses of all nodes in the expected subnets. This requires each IP address to be manually assigned to each NIC in every node (preferred). Values must be entered in the subnet information table for each SAN Network. The Pivot3 Acuity Plugin will automatically fill in the following values if any node has a static or DHCP address: • Subnet Mask –by default is assigned the common Class C value of 255.255.255.0 for each subnet. This value may be changed based on the IP address requirements of the local SAN Networks. • Network Address – enter a unique value for each subnet. This is the value of the Network Portion of a full IP address after applying the Subnet Mask value. • Default Gateway – set only if a SAN Network is routable to another IP subnet. In most configurations, this field will be left blank. For IP address manual entry, click to activate the field, then enter the desired (and verified available) IP addresses into each NIC for every node until all IP addresses have been entered. Ensure that the IP addresses are valid and available on the network.
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NOTE: The IP Addresses for NIC 0 must all be on the subnet defined by Subnet 0; the IP Addresses for NIC 1 must all be on the subnet defined by Subnet 1.
Once all IP addresses have been entered or discovered, click Finish. Verify Administrator credentials (user name and password) if applicable. The vPG creation process will begin. This may take several minutes to complete; the time to completion varies depending on the number of nodes.
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Section 10 Host Access Groups Host Access Group Basics For application servers to access volumes, the volumes must be assigned to a host access group that the servers are also associated with. Host access groups are logical representations of the servers that have iSCSI initiators that will connect to the volumes in the group. By controlling the connection of server to volume, host access groups promote data integrity and security.
Default Host Access Groups There are three default host access groups to which servers and volumes may be assigned:
Default Groups Purpose Chap Only Access Group for aggregating hosts that use CHAP.
Allow Access Group that allows all hosts to write to any associated volume.
Deny Access Group that prevents write access to associated volumes. New volumes are placed in this group by default.
Acuity volumes must be assigned a Host Access Group upon creation. When vSTAC volumes are created, they are put into the Deny Access group by default. This prevents any unintended I/O from getting to the volume until a valid access group is set up. BEST PRACTICE: Set up and use a custom Host Access Group instead of using any of the default groups.
Servers A host access group can represent a single iSCSI initiator or multiple iSCSI initiators. Host access groups act as a filter to restrict access to a volume to a given set of servers. CRITICAL: When assigning multiple application servers for read/write access to the same volumes, the servers must be aware via application/hypervisor clustering and/or a clustered file system that they are concurrently accessing the same volumes. Assigning the same volumes for concurrent read/write access to multiple application servers that are not cluster-aware will result in data inconsistencies or data-integrity issues on the volume. IQNs are used to attach iSCSI initiators to the node. Host access groups limit access to volumes to the iSCSI initiators that are specifically included in a group. Each iSCSI initiator should have a unique IQN on the IP SAN network. NOTE: A storage volume cannot be deleted until its associated Host Access Group is changed to Deny Access. The most common use cases for host access groups are as follows:
Host Access Group Use Case Description Single application server host One or more iSCSI initiators in a single application server are access group assigned to the host access group. Each iSCSI initiator is identified by an IQN (iSCSI qualified name) that is unique within the IP SAN.
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Host Access Group Use Case Description Cluster of application servers Multiple iSCSI initiators in multiple application servers are assigned host access group to the host access group. Typically, multiple-server host access groups are used for application/hypervisor server clusters that must have shared access to volumes. Each iSCSI initiator is identified by an IQN that is unique within the IP SAN.
NOTE: Changes to the host access group (e.g., changing IQNs, names, enabling, or changing CHAP) requires user to disconnect and re-establish iSCSI sessions on the application server. Changes on the application server require the changes to be mimicked on the plugin as well.
Volumes A volume can only be assigned to a single host access group at a time. Assigning volumes to the Allow Access group is the equivalent to the volume being accessible to all application servers that connect to the Acuity vPG. Assigning the same volumes for concurrent read/write access to multiple servers that are not cluster aware will likely result in data inconsistencies or data integrity issues on the volume. Although a volume’s host access group can be changed, if the new host access group does not include the application server IQNs that are already connected to the volumes, the volumes will be forcibly disconnected from those servers/initiators. Similarly, re-assigning volumes to the Deny Access group will forcibly disconnect the volume from application server(s) connected to the volume. NOTE: When creating a volume + datastore with the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin, Mutual CHAP between the Host Access Group and the volume will not succeed. For more information on this issue, consult Plugin Troubleshooting.
Create a Host Access Group Log in to vSphere Web Client and locate the IQN of the node to connect the volume’s datastore to. a. Click on the node level and navigate to Manage > Storage > Storage Adapters. Choose the iSCSI Software Adapter. The IQN is located on the Properties tab of this screen. In the Plugin, Provisioning tab > Data Services view > Host Access Group tab > Create Host Access Group. Enter the IQNs in the Initiator List fields, then click the + to add another node to the Host Access Group.
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IQNs can be found in vCenter, here:
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Section 11 Create Volumes & Associated Datastores This section explains how to use the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin to create Acuity, vSTAC, and N5 logical volumes and add them as VMware Datastores. It describes the available Erasure Coding protection levels and setting rebuild priority, capacity, and iSCSI Initiator access to the volume. BEST PRACTICE: Provide a custom Access Group instead of the default. Allow Access is strongly discouraged. The administrator can allocate available capacity into logical volumes on the Provisioning tab of the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin. A logical volume is physically distributed across all devices of the selected storage type on all physical nodes in an vPG. This approach utilizes the I/O potential from every node and allows the I/O potential for logical volumes containing frequently accessed data to be increased by adding additional nodes to the host vPG. At the time of volume creation, the Administrator can name the logical volume, define its capacity, set its protection level (Erasure Coding, vSTAC only) or Performance Policy (Acuity and N5), and select Protection Policy options (Acuity only). NOTE: To create Volumes and Datastores simultaneously, all nodes to be used will need to be already set up and managed through vCenter.
This section describes how to: • Create a logical volume and associated datastore using the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin • Configure access to the datastore by multiple ESXi hosts
Required items for this section: • Volume name to be assigned • Erasure Coding level of protection desired (vSTAC volumes only) • Usable capacity in gibibytes (GiB) which is defined as 230 = 1073741824 bytes • Host identifier value to be used to grant access (must be identical to iSCSI Alias – vSTAC volumes only) • CHAP secret requirements (if applicable) • Determine which kind of volume to create. In vCenter Plugin 10.x, three types of volumes are available, depending on the version and Pivot3 software installed on each node: — Acuity volumes — vSTAC volumes — N5 volumes NOTE: A storage volume cannot be deleted until its associated Host Access Group is changed to Deny Access.
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Creating an Acuity Volume If a Host Access Group has not been created, create one. Consult Section 10 for more information. There are two ways to initiate the creation of an Acuity volume. The first is through the Provisioning tab. a. On the Provisioning tab, go to the Storage Provisioning view. Under the Acuity Storage section, choose Create Volume or the Performance QoS tab of the Data Services view.
b. This popup provides a dialog where details such as the Volume Name, associated vPG, Access Group, Performance Policy, Protection Policy, and Volume Owner are required. The size of the volume is also determined in this dialog. If the volume is intended to be used as a datastore, ensure Create Datastore has been checked and Datastore Name has been entered. Click Next. NOTE: The Check Availability option will check all ESXi hosts to ensure a unique datastore name.
c. Confirm the details in the dialog and click Create to finalize the volume. Once the procedure is complete, the new volume will be visible in the Acuity Storage list and can be modified. NOTE: Volume and datastore names must be fewer than 40 characters and cannot contain any of the following characters: \ ' ; / { * } " : ~ % & @ + = < > ? ` _ ^ # NOTE: This process can take a significant amount of time, depending on the number and configuration of ESXi hosts, network connectivity, etc.
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The second way to create a volume is through the Configure tab’s Logical view. a. On the Configure tab, click on the Policy level desired for the volume (as explained on p.47). Either choose Configuration > Create Volume or click the in the top right of the menu bar.
Regardless of how the procedure is initiated, the same dialog box will pop up asking for volume details. Populate these fields with the preferred settings. NOTE: If volume creation has been initiated from the Policy level of the Configure tab, Performance Policy and vPG name will already be chosen and cannot be altered. NOTE: Volume names must be fewer than 40 characters, and cannot contain any of the following characters: \ ' ; / { * } " : ~ % & @ + = < > ? ` _ ^ # NOTE: This process can take a significant amount of time, depending on the number and configuration of ESXi hosts, network connectivity, etc.
Creating a vSTAC Volume vSTAC volumes are also supported in Pivot3’s Acuity software platform. In the Logical tree view of the Configure tab, highlight the tier level and click Configuration > Create Logical Volume or click the in the top right of the menu bar.
Alternatively, click Create Volume in the Hyperconverged Storage section of the Provisioning tab’s Storage Provisioning view.
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a. First, create the logical volume name (called Pivot3 in the example below). NOTE: Volume names must be fewer than 40 characters, and cannot contain any of the following characters: \ ' ; / { * } " : ~ % & @ + = < > ? ` _ ^ # NOTE: Datastores will be created using the default VMware configuration, datastore type VMFS5, utilizing all available partitions as well as the entire Pivot3 volume capacity.
b. If desired, enable CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) authentication. CHAP is an optional security mechanism that allows network entities to perform additional authentication. If this box is checked, iSCSI initiators must provide the correct CHAP secret when accessing the logical volume. If this box is not checked, no CHAP secret will be required. Click Next on the Create New Volume dialog box, review the information displayed, then click Create to complete the volume creation process. Assign the settings to the logical volume according to definitions below. • Tier – Choose from the available SATA/SAS Tiers in the drop-down menu. • Erasure Coding Level – Erasure Coding levels are unique to Pivot3 in that they are one step more efficient than enhanced RAID, which are provided to meet the data protection goals of each application. Not all supported Erasure Coding levels may be available due to node or drive failures, or available capacity constraints. Only the Erasure Coding levels compatible with the current tier and volume will be displayed in the drop-down menu. Acuity vPGs are supported by EC Level 3, which is enhanced striping with disk parity and protects up to 3 simultaneous disk failures or 1 disk and 1 node failure. • CHAP Secret - If CHAP Authentication was selected in the previous screen, define or auto-generate it here. • Usable Capacity – the amount of usable storage for the logical volume. Pivot3 Acuity solutions use “GB” and “TB” to mean standards based on binary multiples of the byte. For example, 1GB is 230 bytes. 1TB is 240 bytes. The minimum capacity for a logical volume is 1GB. Capacity must be specified in 1GB increments. The maximum usable capacity is displayed under the Capacity text field and is updated when the EC Level is changed. Changing the EC level updates the maximum usable capacity. The Next button will be enabled or disabled based on remaining capacity. NOTE: To dynamically expand capacity or change the EC level of a logical volume, these options are available in the Configuration menu. Access Control for a volume may also be modified in this menu.
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At this time, both the volume and the datastore are created and configured based on the settings entered. Once the process is complete, the dialog box will disappear.
Create an N5 Storage Volume CRITICAL: An N5 Storage node must be added to the domain for this procedure to be possible. N5 Storage volumes and Hyperconverged volumes differ in that they have been configured to run on different types of hardware for separate purposes. Begin this procedure from the Dashboard tab, Storage Provisioning section. Click the Create Volume option at the top left of the N5 Storage section.
N5 Storage Volume Creation can also be commenced from the Configure tab. With the Policy level selected, navigate to Configuration > Create Volume or click the in the top right of the menu bar.
NOTE: For N5 Storage volumes created from the Configure tab, the N5 Storage and Performance Policy settings will be greyed out and not customizable. Follow the instructions in the Create Volume dialog.
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a. First, create the logical volume name (called Pivot3N5Volume in the example below). The name must be unique and comprised of 1-15 alphanumeric characters.
b. Choose the N5 Storage node to host this volume by IP. Only N5 nodes that have been properly added to the domain will be available. c. Assign the Performance Policy based on the definitions below. If the wizard was initiated from the Configure tab, the Performance Policy will already be set and cannot be changed on this menu.
Performance Policy Service Levels Available Policy Number Service Level IOPS Target Latency Target
Policy 1 Mission Critical 100,000 5ms
Policy 2 Business Critical 50,000 10ms
Policy 3 Business Critical 20,000 25ms
Policy 4 Non-Critical 10,000 50ms
Policy 5 Non-Critical 2,000 100ms
NOTE: Prioritization of each policy may impact service levels below that policy. If more than ½ of the available performance is provisioned to Mission Critical, the benefits of this feature may not be realized. d. Next, choose a Storage Processor (A or B) to own the volume. Once a Storage Processor is selected, the available capacity will automatically display. Enter the desired volume capacity in the text field. e. To simultaneously create a Datastore during volume creation, click the checkbox next to Create Datastore and choose the vPG for the Datastore from the drop-down, then enter a name in the field provided. Click Next to continue.
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Review the summary page and click Create to complete volume creation. To change any of the input, click Back to edit settings.
Performance Policies Performance policies are a way of associating specific performance parameters with volumes. There are five performance policies. The table below summarizes the performance targets.
Service Level Policy Name IOPS Min Target Throughput Min Latency Max (IO/s) Target (MB/s) Target (ms)
Mission Critical Policy 1 100,000 750 5
Business Critical Policy 2 50,000 375 10
Business Critical Policy 3 20,000 150 25
Non-Critical Policy 4 10,000 75 50
Non-Critical Policy 5 2,000 38 100 To view the attributes of a specific performance policy, navigate to the Provisioning tab’s Data Services View and click on the Performance QoS tab and choose the vPG in the upper-right corner of the screen. This view also shows the number of volumes available for each Policy within the selected vPG.
BEST PRACTICE: Carefully consider distributing volumes evenly across policies rather than assigning all of them to a single policy. Configuring all volumes to the same policy negates Acuity’s ability to provide targeted performance to a volume. This is especially important when volumes are provisioned by application in a mixed workload environment.
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Service Levels – Best Practices & Behavior Service levels are a way to categorize the priority of applications. There are three service levels defined for Acuity and N5 volumes. Policies are assigned to the Mission Critical, Business Critical, and Non-Critical service levels in order of performance priority.
Volumes assigned to the different service levels will have different behavior based on the current load and state of the Acuity and N5 platforms. The enforcement of the performance policy targets is based on how the system responds in different situations. Service levels guarantee performance to each application by isolating workloads from one another.
Service Steady-state Behavior Degraded Behavior Level
Mission • Volumes in the Mission Critical service • If the system is in a degraded state, Critical level receive the highest priority in the performance of Non-Critical and then system. Business Critical volumes may be • If there is contention for performance impacted to meet the Mission Critical resources in the system, Mission Critical service level. volumes will receive a higher priority for I/O processing. • Performance of Non-Critical and then Business Critical volumes may be impacted to meet the Mission Critical service level. • If there are available resources in the system, Mission Critical volumes may spike above the service level targets.
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Service Steady-state Behavior Degraded Behavior Level
Business • Volumes in the Business Critical service • During a degraded state, Business Critical level receive the 2nd highest priority in Critical volumes may take some of the the system. performance impact as required for • If there is contention for performance the system to continue to meet the resources in the system, Business Mission Critical service level. Critical volume I/O will fall behind • Performance of Business Critical Mission Critical volumes in priority. volumes is “best-effort.” • Performance of Non-Critical and then • The system will impact the Non- Business Critical volumes may be Critical volumes the most to attempt impacted to meet the Mission Critical to continue to meet the minimum service level. performance policy targets for • If there are available resources in the Business Critical volumes. system, Business Critical volumes may spike above the service level targets. Non- • Volumes in the Non-Critical service • During a degraded system, Non- Critical level receive the lowest priority in the Critical volumes will take most of the system. performance impact as required for • If there is contention for performance the system to continue to meet the resources in the system, Non-Critical Mission Critical and Business Critical volume I/O will fall behind Mission service levels. Critical and Business Critical volumes • Performance of Non-Critical volumes in priority. is “best-effort”. • Performance of Non-Critical and then • The system will impact the Non- Business Critical volumes may be Critical volumes the most to attempt impacted to meet the Mission Critical to continue to meet the steady-state service level. performance policy targets for Mission • If there are available resources in the Critical volumes and the minimum system, Non-Critical volumes may performance policy targets for spike above the service level targets. Business Critical volumes. BEST PRACTICE: Recommendations for assigning volumes to policies: • Choose the highest priority applications and place the application volumes in Policy 1, Mission Critical service level. • Do not assign all the volumes to Policy 1 as this will simply mean that all I/O is treated equally by the system. There will be no real prioritization of I/O through the system. • Typically, most customers have 20% of their volumes in the Mission Critical service level, 30-40% of their volumes in Business Critical and the remaining volumes in Non-Critical. • Applications that require low latency I/Os should be in either Policies 1 or 2. Applications that require low latency are transaction based, like OLTP (online transaction processing) databases. • Applications that are not as latency-sensitive should be placed in Polices 3, 4 or 5. Applications that fall into this category are collaboration / file share type applications.
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Acuity ESXi Hosts and Maintenance Mode Before an ESXi host goes into Maintenance Mode, its guest VMs must be migrated to a different host. The cluster type where the host resides can affect the procedure this follows. The table below explains the configurations and their migration processes, as well as specific user actions if applicable.
ESXi Host’s Cluster Type Host Migration Procedure vSphere DRS-protected cluster vCenter will automatically use vMotion to migrate all guest VMs on the Acuity ESXi host to another member of the cluster.
Cluster without vSphere DRS User must manually shut down all guest VMs on the Acuity ESXi host or protection migrate them to another member of the cluster.
Not a member of a cluster User must manually shut down all guest VMs on the Acuity ESXi host or migrate them to another Acuity ESXi host.
To enable DRS protection, select the ESXi cluster and navigate to Configure tab > Services > vSphere DRS. NOTE: If the Power Management’s Automation Level is set to Automatic in vCenter, the hosts may enter Standby Mode and Power off if the vPG is shut down from the Plugin. Pivot3 recommends leaving the Power Management Automation Level setting to Off.
CRITICAL: Never move a Pivot3_VM. It is tied to the host and must not be migrated.
Adding ESXi Hosts & Datastores CRITICAL: When adding a new host to a vPG, configure the iSCSI adapter with the new alias before adding the host to the vPG. If the iSCSI alias or name is configured after the node has been added to the vPG, a manual rescan will be required to see the new datastore from the new host.
For vPGs With vSTAC Storage CRITICAL: When adding a new host to a vPG, configure the iSCSI adapter with the new alias before adding the host to the vPG. If the iSCSI Alias is configured after the node has been added to the vPG, a manual rescan will be required to see the new datastore from the new host. Log in to vCenter Web Client on the new host and update the host’s iSCSI Alias.
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a. Navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters. b. Select the new ESXi host in the Navigator panel and navigate to Manage > Storage > Storage Adapters. c. Locate the iSCSI software adapter section and click on the vmhba. d. The web client lists the ESXi host’s iSCSI Alias in the General section within the vmhba’s Properties panel.
e. To modify or add the iSCSI Alias, click on the Edit button on the General header row and enter the desired Alias name in the popup. Log in to the vCenter Web Client Pivot3 Plugin and use the Modify Membership wizard to add the new vSTAC node to the vPG. a. If the new ESXi host already has an iSCSI Alias, the vPG modification process will automatically add the necessary iSCSI addresses to the host’s Dynamic Discovery list, and the software will automatically start a storage rescan on the ESXi host. b. If the iSCSI Alias is added before the host is added to the vPG, the datastore will show up automatically without further user intervention. c. If the iSCSI Alias is added after the host is added to the vPG, a manual storage rescan on the ESXi will be required after the new ESXi host is added to the vPG.
For vPGs with Acuity Storage Log in to the vCenter Web Client on the new host and locate the host’s iSCSI Name. a. Navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters. b. Select the new ESXi host in the Navigator panel and navigate to Manage > Storage > Storage Adapters. c. Locate the iSCSI software adapter section and click on the vmhba. d. The web client lists the ESXi host’s iSCSI name in the details within the vmhba’s Properties panel.
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Log in to the vSphere Web Client Pivot3 Plugin. a. Navigate to Provisioning > Data Services > Host Access Group. b. Select the Host Access Group associated with the volume(s) backing the applicable datastore(s) for the vPG. c. Modify the selected Host Access Group and add the iSCSI Name found in step 1d. Use the Plugin’s Modify Membership wizard to add the new Acuity-based X5 node to the vPG. The vPG modification process will automatically add the necessary iSCSI addresses to the host’s iSCSI software adapter, and the software will automatically start a storage rescan on the ESXi host.
For vPGs with N5 Storage Log in to vCenter Web Client on the new host and locate the host’s iSCSI Name. a. Navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters. b. Select the new ESXi host in the Navigator panel and navigate to Manage > Storage > Storage Adapters. c. Locate the iSCSI software adapter section and click on the vmhba. d. The web client lists the ESXi host’s iSCSI Name in the details within the vmhba’s Properties panel. In the vCenter Web Client, add the N5 SAN addresses to the host’s Dynamic Discovery list. a. Navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters. b. Select the new ESXi host in the Navigator panel and navigate to Manage > Storage > Storage Adapters. c. Locate the iSCSI software adapter section and click on the vmhba. d. Select the Targets tab. e. Select the Dynamic Discovery tab and press Add. f. One at a time, enter all SAN addresses for the N5 node in the box labeled iSCSI Server. Log in to the N5 Web Application. a. Navigate to Provision > Host Access Groups. b. Select the Host Access Group associated with the volume(s) backing the applicable datastore(s) for the vPG. c. Modify the selected Host Access Group and add the iSCSI name found in step 1d. In the vSphere Web Client Pivot3 plugin, use the Modify Membership wizard to add the new Acuity-based node to the vPG. Perform a manual rescan of the ESXi hosts, and the new datastore should be visible. BEST PRACTICE: To remove a ghosted datastore, shut down all associated VMs and reboot the affected host.
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Section 12 Snapshot Management This chapter describes how to protect data using snapshots of volumes to create recovery points. This can be done on an individual-volume level (manually or using schedules) or with policies to protect groups of volumes. The Data Protection Quality of Service feature uses policies − named collections of up to three scheduled tasks − to easily apply sets of tasks to multiple volumes. CRITICAL: Servers that are not added to the Protected Host list, with refreshed associations run, will not be configured to take host-consistent snapshots.
Snapshots Overview A SAN-based snapshot is an image of a disk at a specific point in time. Snapshots allow for basic recovery functions and can be converted into new volumes as needed. The Protected Hosts feature allows for host consistent snapshots of volumes on ESXI and Microsoft Windows using the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Provider. Snapshots are thin provisioned, and as the active volume changes, previously unreferenced blocks will be kept as part of the last snapshot. Over time, the oldest snapshot will take up additional space, with a maximum equivalent to the size of the volume at the time the snapshot was taken. BEST PRACTICE: Use ESXi iSCSI storage instead of guest-mounted storage. Datastore snapshots on guest-mounted iSCSI sessions will occasionally lose connectivity while VMware pauses the VM.
NOTE: Snapshots are not meant to replace primary backup methods. SAN-based snapshots can be useful in the following situations: • Snapshots can be created right before the upgrade of a system to provide an additional backup mechanism for the environment. • Cloned snapshots provide a mechanism to perform development or testing scenarios on an exact copy of data without affecting production data. Types of Snapshots • Host Consistent: These snapshots are coordinated with the protected host to quiesce I/O before taking a snapshot, and there is a much better chance of recovering from this type of snapshot. The Pivot3 vCenter Plugin defaults to this type of snapshot whenever possible; if not, it relegates to Crash Consistent. • Crash Consistent: These snapshots are not negotiated but taken at the exact moment of request, without quiescing I/O. NOTE: If there is not enough space on the vPG to generate a snapshot, the schedule or task returns an error: Detected an invalid snapshot configuration. Configure datastores and virtual disks as thin provisioned to help avoid this issue. CRITICAL: Snapshots of datastore volumes that contain a VM using Raw Device Mapping will not be host-consistent.
Before Creating a Snapshot on Other Operating Systems To take a restorable, host-consistent snapshot of other operating systems, the file system must be quiesced and then synchronized before the snapshot is taken. No I/O can be running during this procedure.
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Protected Hosts Protected Hosts are ESXi Servers and Windows Servers hosting volumes on Acuity. The implementation of Protected Hosts allows customers to create snapshots that are properly quiesced from the perspective of the operating system and applications running on Acuity volumes. CRITICAL: Protected Hosts attempt to generate host consistent snapshots. If the host can’t quiesce IO, it will retry three times, then take a crash consistent snapshot. The ESXi Servers hosting Data Stores and VMFS volumes on Acuity are eligible for host consistent snapshots. Pivot3 works with the ESXi API to accomplish the task. Windows servers are eligible for host consistent snapshots if the Pivot3 VSS provider is installed. The Provider works with Windows VSS Providers and Windows Writers to quiesce I/O on the server to accomplish the task. NOTE: Servers should have volumes configured for use before adding the Protected Host. Windows servers must have the Pivot3 VSS Provider installed and authenticated. To Add a Protected Host, click Add Protected Host and provide the following details:
Name Enter a descriptive name for the host. Username Enter a username for a user on the host. Password Enter a password for the user. Retype Password Re-enter the password for the user. Address Enter an IP address for the host. Port (optional) Enter a specific port, if necessary.
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), introduced in Windows Server 2003, is a set of COM interfaces that implements a framework to allow volume snapshots to be performed while applications on a system continue to write to the volumes. NOTE: Certain types of 3rd party backups, when using the VSS provider, may fail if one of the Accelerated nodes is failed out of the vPG. Once the failed node is restored, the 3rd party backups will complete successfully. VSS allows applications to quiesce data prior to creating a snapshot. This framework allows for backup application to utilize the ioControl feature of storage-based snapshots. A high-level overview of the steps in the VSS process is described below: The requestor creates a backup. The writer quiesces the application to the volume. The provider takes the snapshot. Install the VSS Provider Download and install the Pivot3 VSS provider install package. Execute the install package on the Windows Client Servers.
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Follow the wizard to the Install step. After clicking Install, run the Authentication Console by clicking the Run Authentication Console button. Provide the Pivot3 Management IPs and Administrative user authentication for both accelerated nodes and click OK.
Validate the Authentication Settings.
Select OK to exit the Authentication Console and Finish to close the wizard. To open the VSS Provider Authentication Console after the installation has completed, navigate to C:\ProgramFiles\Pivot3\VSS Provider\AuthConsole.exe. Execute the file to set and validate the Management Credentials as needed.
Add a Protected Host - Pivot3 vCenter Plugin Log in to the plugin. Navigate to Provisioning tab > Data Services view > Protected Host tab. Select a vPG and click Add Protected Host.
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Add a Server as a Protected Host, providing its Management IPs and Administrative credentials. Provide the Server’s Management IP and Administrative credentials. NOTE: When the server is added, authentication will complete and the host will be added.
To add the Pivot3 vCenter Server / Client, provide its Management IPs and the Administrative user credentials. NOTE: When the client is added, users may access the VMs hosted on the Pivot3 node.
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Click Refresh Association. Volume-to-Server associations are discovered and the association is persisted. This generates a Long-Running Task to Discover Managed Volumes. NOTE: When Protected Hosts are added, Refresh Association runs automatically. If changes are made to volume assignments, this needs to be run manually to update the Volume-to-Server associations.
To view Long Running Tasks, drop down the Alarms and Logs tab and select Scheduler Logs.
Select vPG and select Long Running Tasks to see the various scheduled tasks that have been attempted and/or completed. More information on this is available in sub-section
Creating a Manual Snapshot To create a snapshot of a volume, navigate to the Provisioning tab’s Storage Provisioning view. Click the radio button next to the volume to receive a snapshot and click Snapshot Volume.
NOTE: Retention on a schedule does not apply to manual snapshots. If a snapshot is taken manually, it must be deleted manually. Manual snapshots are not included in the retention count.
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The dialog expands to include snapshot parameters. If there are any existing snapshots, they will show up here and can be cloned or deleted when selected. To create a new manual snapshot, simply click Take Snapshot at the bottom of the dialog box.
Rename the snapshot if desired, and ensure Host Consistent (if possible) is Enabled. Click Take Snapshot.
A popup will confirm if the snapshot is successful. Note that the snapshot may not immediately show up in the list; this is expected behavior.
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Schedules on a Volume or an Application Group Schedules are set on a volume and only apply to that volume, unless there is an application with a writer to define the volume association between multiple volumes on the Server. Snapshots, Replications, and Performance Policy changes can be scheduled and monitored in Long Running Tasks. Log in to the Web plugin and open the Provisioning tab, Storage Provisioning view. Select the radio button next to the desired volume and click Schedules.
Select Add Unique Schedule – Basic to create a basic schedule to run at a time interval chosen by the administrator. In this example, a Snapshot will be performed every 3 hours and the system will retain 16 copies before removing the oldest snapshot.
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The Advanced schedule mode provides more options to allow users to refine schedules.
Click Create Schedule. The schedule will be created and can be viewed on the Schedules tab. Retention is set on a scheduled task. If there are multiple schedules on a volume, each schedule can have its own retention setting and more snapshots may be maintained than originally perceived. CRITICAL: The retention setting only applies to snapshots from that schedule.
Other options: Modify Selected Modification changes will be persisted and will run as scheduled. Toggle Activation Toggle allows users to pause and resume schedule execution without making other changes. Run Selected Now This command will execute the schedule now, then will continue to execute at the scheduled time. Delete Selected Delete will remove the schedule, but not the snapshots it created. Protection Policies Explained The Acuity Data Protection Policy feature uses policies to protect multiple volumes systematically. A policy is a named collection of up to three scheduled tasks that can be applied to multiple volumes (without having to enter all the details for each volume).
Schedule tasks within the policies carefully. Throughput and time spent completing the tasks are optimized by sequencing a few jobs at a time and not scheduling them to kick off all at the same time.
To view, add, or change policies, navigate to the Provisioning tab > Data Services View > Protection QoS tab.
Working with Protection Policies The Actions menu on the Protection QoS tab allows for policies to be added, modified, activated or deactivated, run, or deleted. Each policy can have up to three tasks, which can be either snapshots or replications. Each task has a basic and an advanced mode. For more information on configuring tasks, see Snapshots Overview.
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Protection Policy Best Practices Summary
Item Best Practice Load balancing Create multiple policies, carving our smaller sections of work, so that the work can be spread out. Tasks should be balanced across the day, factoring in IO load, number of volumes processed, how much data is to be processed, etc.
Creating snapshots • Exchange does not identify DAGs as an application group. To approximate of Exchange Data host-consistent snapshots of DAGs, use a protection policy: Access Groups — Verify that the VSS provider is installed on the Exchange servers (DAGs) — Create a policy to snapshot or replicate as needed — Assign the policy to the DAG volumes • Best practice is to set individual policies for each DAG. This allows quiescing of a single database at a time, rather than all volumes.
Creating a Custom Policy From Provisioning tab > Data Services view > Protection QoS tab, click Add Protection Policy.
The Add Protection Policy dialog opens. Within this dialog, there are two views: Basic and Advanced.
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a. The Basic view provides options regarding Type of task (Take Snapshot), Time Period (Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months), Increment (Changes based on Period of Time selected), and Retention instructions (how many copies to retain of this snapshot; the options are 1-50 and Unlimited).
b. The Advanced view provides similar options but with much more granular variables so that administrators may have more control over the scheduled tasks.
In either view, simply choose the preferred variables and then click Create. NOTE: The Create option will be disabled until all required variables have been defined. A pop-up dialog will confirm the creation of the new Protection Policy, and it will now show up in the list in Provisioning tab > Data Services > Protection QoS tab.
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Clone a Snapshot Navigate through the same Provisioning > Storage Provisioning View > Select Volume > Take Snapshot route used to create a snapshot, select the snapshot to be deleted or cloned from the options available, and the screen will change to provide these options.
The Clone Snapshot option will provide an opportunity to modify the clone volume’s name, Performance Policy, and Access Group.
BEST PRACTICE: Provide a custom Access Group instead of the default. Allow Access is strongly discouraged.
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Once the clone has been created, a new volume will be visible in the Storage volume list.
Recovering a Snapshot ESXi Select a snapshot to clone from Provisioning > [Select a volume] > Snapshot Volume > [Select a Snapshot] > Clone Snapshot.
Rescan storage from the vSphere Web Client. a. Navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters. b. Select the new ESXi host in the Navigator panel and navigate to Manage > Storage > Host Cache Configuration. Click the Rescan icon.
Add the new Datastore. a. Navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters.
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b. Select the ESXi host in the Navigator panel and navigate to Related Objects > Datastores. Click the New Datastore icon.
c. For Type, select the radio button next to VMFS. Click Next. d. VMware will automatically name the new Datastore; change this name as desired and click Next. e. Choose Assign a new signature (recommended) or Format the disk if desired. More information on the different mount options are available from VMware. Click Next. CRITICAL: Using option Keep existing signature can occasionally cause unpredictable results and is not recommended. f. Review the details on the summary page and click Finish to complete. g. The volume clone will now be visible in the Related Objects > Datastores view. VMware will provide a default string; rename the clone to something more meaningful. Right-click on the volume clone and click Browse Files.
This will change the view to a screen with the contents of the restored snapshot. The recovered data can now be deleted, moved, copied, or cloned repeatedly.
Windows Select a snapshot to clone from Provisioning > [Select a volume] > Snapshot Volume > [Select a Snapshot] > Clone Snapshot. Edit the clone’s Name, Performance Policy, and Access Group if desired.
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The clone is created and will now show up as a new volume. Discover the new volume and log in via iSCSI Initiator. The new volume will initially show up as Inactive.
Open Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management and bring the new disk online. The disk will be recognized as it is formatted; it may be necessary to assign a drive letter.
Open a command prompt and run diskpart to select the correct disk.
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Get details on the disk and identify the volume associated with the clone.
Clear hidden, readonly, and shadowcopy attributes on the volume with the command att vol clear hidden readonly shadowcopy. Then run details on the volume to verify this has been done. NOTE: When a Windows snapshot is cloned, these cloned attributes must be removed before the clone is fully functional. Use diskpart to remove those attributes.
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Change the disk ID to ensure a unique disk ID for the new clone. Run detail on the disk to ensure the ID has been changed successfully. BEST PRACTICE: If this is not done, duplicate disk IDs will exist in the partition and can cause issues with Windows.
The volume can now be accessed for data recovery.
3rd Party Backup Applications Snapshots should not be a replacement for a disaster recovery strategy; administrators should always have access to a full backup. Pivot3 Acuity Software Platform supports 3rd party backup applications interfacing with ESX and the VSS provider, and can interact with applications such as: • Veeam • Backup Exec • CommVault • NetBackup
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Section 13 Replication Asynchronous Replication Overview Asynchronous replication creates a copy of a source volume on a target Acuity vPG. When a snapshot is taken of a source volume, the source data is copied to an inbound replication volume on the target vPG. Only data that has changed from the previous snapshot is sent, so replication is faster and impact on system performance is minimized. Asynchronous replication allows multiple source volumes on a vPG to be replicated in parallel, up to four source jobs per accelerated node for a total of eight jobs per vPG. When multiple simultaneous jobs are started, they run in parallel on the two accelerated nodes of the source vPG. Replication will automatically select the pool with the most available space to host the inbound replication target. If there are multiple jobs with the same performance policy, they run in the order that the snapshots were taken. The snapshots inherit a performance policy one less than the source volumes being copied. It’s important to remember that while there is a limit of eight asynchronous replication jobs that run in parallel on a source vPG, a target vPG may be the target for any number of asynchronous replication jobs – and the target system is limited to, at most, 20 simultaneous replications. Schedule asynchronous replication jobs carefully to avoid reaching this limit or saturating the links. Throughput and time spent replicating are optimized by sequencing a few jobs at a time and not scheduling them to kick off all at the same time. To verify that the scheduling of replication jobs is optimized to produce minimal system impact, monitor the Long Running Tasks list. If needed, immediate corrections can be made by canceling tasks. If replication tasks are continuously being superseded, this is an indication that the replication interval is set too low and should be increased. The longer- term solution is to change the replication schedules to minimize accumulated jobs. Snapshots can be retained or deleted based on a schedule or policy. If the retention is set to 10, replicated snapshots will accumulate until there are 10 successful replications on the target; when the 11th replica is completed, the oldest is deleted from both the source and the target vPGs. The retention count for a protection policy or schedule only applies to that protection policy or schedule. For example, if a volume has retention set as follows: • Daily schedule with retention count of 7 • Weekly schedule with retention count of 4 • Monthly schedule with retention count of 12 The retention for each unique schedule or protection policy is tracked separately, so that for the above volume the volume would have 7 + 4 + 12 = 23 replication snapshots. NOTE: Retention on a schedule does not apply to manual snapshots. If a snapshot is taken manually, it must be deleted manually. Manual snapshots are not included in the retention count. The size of the snapshot on the source may be different from the size on the target. This is normal and expected behavior. There are a variety of factors that can cause this to happen: partially filled write blocks, data reduction on the target, snapshot frequency on the source being different from replication frequency to the target, for example. More information on this issue is provided in Acuity Data Usage Reporting. Replication jobs are prioritized by the QoS level of the source volume. If multiple replication jobs are queued, Mission- Critical jobs will be run before Business-Critical jobs, which are run before Non-Critical jobs. However, if lower priority jobs are skipped, their priority is gradually boosted so that they will eventually run and not be queued indefinitely.
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A replication job will run at the QoS level of its source volume minus one level. This will prioritize I/O to a volume above the replication activity for that volume. Replication will fail if the source or target systems become non-Active-Active (caused by failure or explicit activity such as Maintenance Mode). If the replication job was scheduled, then the next time that schedule fires, the replication will be re- tried. If the source and target systems are now Active-Active, then the replication will proceed.
Configuring Replication Target IPs A replication target is another Acuity vPG to which replicas of local volumes can be written. Targets must be configured before volumes can be configured for replication. NOTE: Both Management and SAN NICs support replication tasks. Whichever network is initially specified will be used by Acuity; replication will not run across different networks unless routing is specifically set up. To configure replication targets, navigate to the Provisioning tab > Data Services view > Replication Target tab. Select the desired vPG from the drop-down menu in the top right of the window. Adding a Replication Target Choose Add Replication Target from the tab menu options.
Fill out the fields as shown in the pop-up dialog.
Target Name Enter a descriptive name for the target. Primary Address Enter an IP address for the target accelerated node; the address of any port – data or management -- can be used on the target node.
Username Enter the username for the target vPG. Password Enter the password for the target vPG. Confirm Password Re-enter the password for the target vPG.
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Optionally, select the Test button to verify that the target system is accessible and that the username and password are correct; if the test fails, confirm and re-enter the field values. Once all fields are filled out and accepted, click Apply. NOTE: The target and originating nodes must be on the same subnet, unless the subnets allow routing.
Managing Replication Targets Once a replication target has been successfully created, it can be accessed from the Provisioning tab > Data Services view > Replication Target tab.
The Connected column provides a quick view of the connection status for that replication target. The following status icons are possible:
Green Check Successful connection with replication peer Red X Replication target is not accessible Modify Selected Choose Modify Selected from the Replications Target tab. Change the values as necessary. Optionally, press Test to test the connection using the new values. Press Apply to save changes or Close to dismiss the pop-up with saving any modifications. Delete Selected Choose Delete Selected from the Replications Target tab. Press Delete to confirm the deletion or Cancel to dismiss the pop-up without deleting the replication target. NOTE: If there is an attempt to delete a replication target that is in use in schedules or policies, the delete will fail and identify a schedule that uses the replication target.
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Replication Icons Associated with Volumes When configuring replication, it is critical to configure servers as Protected Hosts. Protected Hosts are ESXi Servers and Windows Servers hosting volumes on the Acuity platform, allowing customers to create snapshots that are properly quiesced from the perspective of the operating system and applications running on Acuity volumes. For more information about configuring Protected Hosts, consult sub-section Protected Hosts.
Managed Volume Managed Volume Icon Replication Type Replication Icon Combined Icon
VM ESXi Inbound / Target
VM ESXi Outbound / Source
Windows Inbound / Target
Windows Outbound / Source
VM Inbound / Target
VM Outbound / Source
Non-Managed Volume No Icon Inbound / Target
Outbound / Source
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Long Running Tasks To verify that the scheduling of replication jobs is optimized to produce minimal system impact, monitor the Long Running Tasks list. The Progress, Status, State, and Description of each task is listed. This list is displayed on the Long Running Tasks tab of the Scheduler Logs window, available through Alarms and Logs > Scheduler Logs in the top right of the plugin.
Icon Meaning Definition
Status: Completed Successfully The task listed in Description has completed with no errors.
Status: Failed Recheck the environment with this task to ensure connections are secure and credentials are correct.
Status: Warning Something has stopped the completion of this task.
State: Queued This task is currently queued.
State: In Progress This task is in progress.
State: Superseded This task has been superseded by another replication.
NOTE: To understand more about a task, hover the mouse over the description for more details.
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Taking a Manual Snapshot with Replication As with Creating a Manual Snapshot, navigate to the Provisioning tab’s Storage Provisioning view. Click the radio button next to the volume to receive a snapshot with replication and click Snapshot Volume.
If there are any existing snapshots, they will show up here and can be cloned or deleted when selected. To create a new manual snapshot, simply click Take Snapshot at the bottom of the dialog box.
The Take Snapshot dialog box pops up. Initially, the Replication Target will read Disabled; click the drop-down box to select a replication target.
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Rename the snapshot if desired, choose a Replication Target from the drop-down list, and ensure Host Consistent (if possible) is Enabled. Click Take Snapshot and Replicate.
NOTE: Retention on a schedule does not apply to manual snapshots. If a snapshot is taken manually, it must be deleted manually. Manual snapshots are not included in the retention count. Scheduling Replication on a Volume Schedules are set on a volume and only apply to that volume. More information available in sub-section Schedules on a Volume or an Application Group in Section 12. Log in to the vCenter plugin and open the Provisioning tab, Storage Provisioning view. Select the radio button next to the volume to be altered and click Schedules.
Select Add Unique Schedule to create a schedule to run at a time interval chosen by the administrator.
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Users can Schedule a New Task in Basic or Advanced modes. Regardless of mode, choose Start Replication from the drop-down menu.
NOTE: For more information on Basic and Advanced mode options, consult subsection Schedules on a Volume or an Application Group in Section 12. Choose a Replication Target from the available drop-down. Choose a repetition interval from the options (Run Once, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months) and then define the more granular details regarding that interval from the options given. Once all fields have been satisfactorily populated, click Create Schedule.
Retention is set on a scheduled task. If there are multiple schedules on a volume, each schedule can have its own retention setting and more snapshots and replications may be maintained than originally perceived. NOTE: Protection Policies can also be created to replicate snapshots to a target vPG. For more information, consult sub- section Creating a Custom Policy in Section 12.
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Section 14 Using Pivot3 Acuity Software Best Practices Configure a second vPG Administrator as a backup. After a vPG is created, on the Configure tab of the plugin in the Physical view at vPG level, navigate to Configuration > Administrators to set up an additional vPG Administrator. Simply choose Add and fill out the dialog box as shown below.
When finished, click Apply, then Close on the Manage Administrators dialog box. BEST PRACTICE: Restarting the web browser can solve many vSphere Web Client Plugin errors, especially if left open overnight or for an extended period.
NOTE: Connecting to the vSphere Web Client via multiple tabs with the same browser can result in undesirable behavior with the browser’s Shockwave Flash plugin. Users have reported screen refresh issues, sluggish behavior with the browser window, and missing or malfunctioning menu selection items when multiple tabs are logged in to the same Pivot3 plugin.
Set Hypervisor Credentials In order to provide support for all features, the vCenter Plugin as well as Acuity OS require administrator-level access to each ESXi hypervisor in the domain. NOTE: All ESXi hypervisors on the Acuity vPG member nodes must accept the same login credentials to perform VM configuration operations. Highlight the desired vPG from the Physical tree view at the vPG level. NOTE: If the login credentials for any ESXi hypervisor are invalid, the plugin will report this as “Invalid Hypervisor Credentials.”
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In the Physical view at the vPG level, select Configuration > Hypervisor Login Credentials.
Enter the credentials as requested for both ESXi and vCenter. NOTE: Specifying the ESXi hypervisor login credentials does not set or change the credentials on the individual hypervisors. It simply tells the plugin and Acuity software which credentials are required for ESXi hypervisor access.
SSO User Management During Installation, the following folder and roles are created: NOTE: Role names are case-sensitive. • Pivot3 Permissions (folder) • pivot3.superuser (role): Pivot3 Administrator level; this level can see and manage all vPGs in the domain. • Pivot3.ReadOnly (role, case-sensitive): Can see all vPGs in the domain but cannot make changes. Other, Non-Administrative roles can be defined with limited accessibility; these are configured individually during Permissions allocation.
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Creating Roles In the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin, roles and users are set up separately. They must be connected to each other using the vCenter native UI. CRITICAL: The role must be created before it can be assigned to a user or a group. At the vCenter Home page, click Administration on the left pane.
Click the green + to add a role to the list. In the Role name box, enter the name of the role to be created. CRITICAL: The role name must begin with pivot3, followed by a dot, followed by chosen descriptor, i.e., pivot3.[role]. Otherwise, role assignments will not function correctly.
Go down the list and check each privilege to be assigned to users operating under this role. When all applicable privileges have been checked, click
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Now the new roles created need to have Users assigned to them. Navigate back to vCenter Home to continue role and user setup. CRITICAL: When an Active Directory (AD) group is added to the vSphere SSO Administrators group, the Plugin will treat all members of the AD group as Pivot3 Administrators regardless of the role applied to the AD group.
Managing Users CRITICAL: When adding a user to a custom role, ensure this is done directly on the Pivot3 permissions folder. Propagation from a parent object may not provide expected results. Assigning users to roles on a parent level is not supported and may not behave as expected. After roles have been defined through the vCenter Web Client, users must be created and paired into the newly created roles as necessary. NOTE: These changes can only be made while logged in as Administrator at the Administrator level. On the Home screen of the vSphere Web Client, select Hosts and Clusters on the left pane.
On the next screen: a. Select the Pivot3 Permissions Folder on the left pane. b. Click the Manage tab c. Click the Permissions category d. Click the green + to add a user.
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Click Add… to add a new user. To verify validity of the User information entered, click Check Names and a dialog box will convey success or failure of this step.
NOTE: Multiple users can be entered here, but ensure the users are separated by semicolons (;).
Click
Click OK and verify that the new User/Role pairing is listed.
Associate a vPG with an SSO User The SSO Administrator is able to create vPGs and associate them with Non-Administrative users for management if necessary. vPGs cannot be associated with groups. Log in to the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin with credentials assigned to an administrator role. Select the Configure tab and click Settings.
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Select the desired role from the drop-down menu and check or uncheck the vPGs to be assigned or unassigned. This will provide or remove access to the associated vPGs by any user in that role. NOTE: If an administrator-level role is chosen from the drop-down, the plugin will automatically select all vPGs and disable the Apply button.
Click Apply to commit changes.
SSO Group Management SSO users can be set up individually, as part of a group, or both. Groups can be created from any level, and are not restricted to the Pivot3 Permissions folder. Groups must be initially created outside of the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin environment, such as in Active Directory or vSphere Web Client Administrative tasks. There are two levels of access available to groups: Pivot3 Administrator and Pivot3 Read-Only. If there is a conflict in permissions between a group and a user in that group, the user permissions will take precedence. The vCenter Plugin does not consider groups by role, but instead by vSphere permissions set up during Group creation. When creating a group, the permissions level cannot exceed that of the account creating it.
Adding a Group Groups must be added through Active Directory before they can be managed in vSphere Web Client. Once the group is created, the procedure to add it is similar to adding a User. From the vSphere Web Client Home menu, click Hosts and Clusters.
On the next screen: a. Highlight any line item on the left pane.
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b. Click the Manage tab. c. Click the Permissions category.
d. Click the green + to add a user. Click Add… to add a new Group. To verify validity of the Group information entered, click Check Names and a dialog box will convey success or failure of this step.
NOTE: Multiple groups can be entered here, but ensure the users are separated by semicolons (;).
Click
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Assigning Administrator Roles for the AD User 1. At the vCenter Home page, click Administration on the left pane.
2. Select Global Permissions > Manage > + icon and click Add.
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3. Select the AD Domain Server from the Domain dropdown in the Select Users/Groups wizard. Select the desired user or group from the list and click OK.
4. Confirm the selected User or Group is listed in the Global Permissions Root > Add Permission wizard and select the Administrator role from the Assigned Role dropdown. Click OK.
5. Confirm the AD user is assigned with Administrator role under Global Permissions.
6. Now the AD user can be installed or registered within the plugin with Single Sign-On mode.
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Proactive Diagnostics & Phone Home Two health monitoring features are available through the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin: Pivot3 Proactive Diagnostics (PPD), which was installed with the Acuity software platform, and Phone Home, which sends system metadata to pre-defined contacts for analysis and Support assistance if necessary. While both are diagnostic utilities, they function at different system levels.
Diagnostic Utility Diagnostic Level Notifications Pivot3 Proactive Diagnostics (PPD) Domain Enable/Disable, Scheduled
Phone Home vPG Enable/Disable, Send Now
Pivot3 Proactive Diagnostics Pivot3 Proactive Diagnostics (PPD) is an optional proactive diagnostic component installed in step 4 of the Follow Installation Wizard for Windows or step 14b in Prepare Environment for Linux. Customers may initiate a Support agreement that will allow Pivot3 visibility into system functionality for proactive monitoring. Reported information includes node health, vPG performance, logical volume operational errors, and vSMS reported error diagnostics. No confidential or secure data is conveyed through this feature, and using it is optional. When the PPD service is enabled, the status of the current domain will be uploaded to Pivot3 Support approximately once every 24 hours. Pivot3 will notify the registered contact when there are conditions that may lead to potential data loss or reduced performance. The PPD service must be enabled on a computer that will have continuous access to both the domain and the Internet. NOTE: PPD is disabled by default and must be enabled before monitoring can begin. To access the Proactive Diagnostics menu, highlight the Domain level on either the Logical or Physical file tree view and navigate to Configuration > Proactive Diagnostics.
If an administrator has not been set, a dialog box will pop up asking to set the PPD Pivot3 Domain Administrator to match the currently logged in Administrator. Click Yes to continue. NOTE: If the current Administrator is not the Domain administrator, click No to log out of this session and log in with a different Administrator account. There are four tabs to populate in the Proactive Diagnostics dialog. On the Enable Proactive Diagnostics tab, check the box next to Enable Proactive Diagnostics. Enter the Proactive Diagnostics ID sent from Pivot3 Support with the PPD Support agreement and define the Domain administrator.
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The Contact Information tab is where the information about the company contact is provided. Boxes outlined in red are required and the Apply button will not activate until all required fields are populated.
The Status Notifications tab provides options regarding notifications from Pivot3 regarding the status of a domain. When Enable Status Reports is checked, choose between Daily Status Notification and Status Notifications only when Domain State not Normal. To add more notification recipients, insert an email address in the field on the left and click Add Email Address. To remove a recipient, select the address to be removed and click Remove Email Address.
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The Monitored Paths tab is where an administrator can define which subnets containing vPGs that need to be covered by Pivot3 Proactive Diagnostics. To add a path, type the IP address into the field on the left. To remove a path, highlight the IP address to be removed and click Remove Path.
Phone Home The Phone Home feature collects a variety of information about the operation and performance of the system and sends it to Pivot3. Once all information has been populated, click Apply. Administrators can return to this dialog box to perform Phone Home Now, and the fields will be populated with previously entered data.
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Section 15 Upgrade Acuity Software on vPGs This section explains the upgrade procedure for the Acuity software on Pivot3 vPGs.
This section describes how to: • Upgrade the Acuity software on Pivot3 vPGs
Prerequisites before performing an upgrade: • Upgrade vCenter. For Windows, use 6.5U1b; for Linux, use 6.5U1c. Refer to vmware.com for additional details. • Upgrade Pivot3 Web Plugin from version 2.1.1 or 2.2 to version 2.3.2. Refer to Section 4 or Section 5 for this procedure, depending on environment. • Ensure the vCenter credentials are set for the vPG. Refer to Section 13 in Set Hypervisor Credentials, step 3. • Ensure there is access to the Internet or the latest Acuity software platform package from Pivot3.
Determine Upgrade Required NOTE: Depending on environment, an online upgrade may take significantly longer than upgrading between previous versions of vSTAC OS (anywhere from 6 hours or above depending on I/O load for a 3-node vPG; may be higher for vPGs with more nodes), and ESXi will reboot itself several times.
BEST PRACTICE: To prevent vCenter Web Client from timing out during an Online upgrade, administrators may increase the timeout value from the default 120 minutes to 10,000 minutes via Navigator > Host > Configure tab > General > Timeout settings > Edit. Ensure all new configuration files have been received and placed in the folder defined during installation. These files will provide the data for the drop-down box shown below. — For Windows vCenter, place files in C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Pivot3\vSMS Web Service\DataDir\InstallationFiles. — For vCSA (Linux), place files in /var/pivot3. For more information on this subject, refer to Appendix F.
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Ensure NIC Ports have been configured as defined in Section 8. With the vPG highlighted in the Physical tab view of the plugin, navigate to Configuration > Update OS. Click the drop-down box next to Select Upgrade Package.
Once the upgrade package has been chosen, click Next. If no options are given in the drop-down, ensure that all of the files received from Pivot3 have been unzipped and placed in the folder set up in Step 11 of Section 4 for Windows environments or Step 14e of Section 5 for Linux setups. A verification process will occur to check the file. After successful verification, click Next.
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Acuity Software Platform provides Online and Offline upgrade options, and unavailable choices will be disabled. Choose the preferred method and click Start Upgrade. NOTE: Online upgrades also provide the option to upgrade ESXi if available. This is not optional for upgrades to Acuity 2.3.1; ESXi 6.5 is required for this version.
CRITICAL: For all upgrades, ensure the vSMS Web Service and vCenter are not running on the vPG. If the vPG is brought down for maintenance while hosting either vCenter or the vSMS Web Service, the domain will be unmanageable until the vPG is brought back online.
Online Upgrades will sequentially upgrade each member node within the vPG. Each node will be placed into Maintenance Mode, and the Acuity software or the hypervisor and supporting VIBs will be upgraded if required. Client I/O can continue during the upgrade. The level of client I/O affects the time Online Upgrade requires to complete. CRITICAL: For data protection purposes, upgrades should not be interrupted once started. Offline Upgrades typically require less overall time to complete, but are disruptive. Offline Upgrades will result in all members being rebooted. If the hypervisor credentials have been configured, all guest virtual machines will be shut down as a result of this operation. NOTE: Offline upgrades result in all data being inaccessible until the upgrade has completed. To prevent application failure, ensure that all I/O has stopped before beginning upgrade. Once the upgrade has completed, click Close. CRITICAL: ESXi hosts may not automatically rejoin the managing vCenter after being upgraded to ESXi 6.5 and will have a status of DISCONNECTED. If this is the case, reconnect manually to each host.
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Section 16 Management through SNMP The Acuity OS supports SNMP v2c. An SNMP-managed network consists of three key components: • Managed devices • Agents • Network-management systems (NMS) In Pivot3 architecture, the managed devices are nodes, the agents are inside each node, and the NMS is third-party software.
Managed Devices
Running SNMP in a Pivot3 Scale-out Application Array
Agents SNMP is configured at the vPG level. All agents are affected by the vPG settings, so there is no need to do anything independently to each agent. Since nodes (managed devices) cooperate within a vPG, the agents can provide information and traps for events on all nodes within a vPG. vPG-wide events like node failures can be reported from the agent in any available node. To launch the SNMP dialog, highlight the desired vPG in the Logical or Physical tree view and then select Configuration > SNMP Settings.
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Network-Management System (NMS) Third-party management software using SNMP can be found from many sources. Some are simple trap catchers that route traps to email. Others involve more sophisticated polling mechanisms. Some examples of third-party management software packages include HP OpenView product family, IBM Tivoli products, Solarwinds Orion Network Performance Monitor, Trap Receiver, and WhatsUp Gold. When the network-management application uses SNMP for polling, be sure to set up polls for both static IP addresses of each node. Otherwise a failed switch may not be reported. The vPG agents use default SNMP ports. The NMS must allow access to UDP port 162 to receive traps and UDP port 161 to poll for information. Each of these ports may have to be opened on the NMS if a firewall is enabled. Many network-management applications use SMTP to forward traps as email. The network-management application will push an SMTP message to the corporate email server, which will forward the message as an email to a specified email address. The default SMTP port is TCP port 25. This port must be exempted from a firewall at the corporate email server. Ports for SNMP network management
Port Transport Used For Must be open at
25 TCP SMTP email Email server receiving SMTP messages
161 UDP SNMP requests Acuity Management Station
162 UDP SNMP traps Acuity Management Station
Community Strings Community Strings are configured through vSMS for an Acuity vPG. There are separate Community Strings for SNMP Clients and Trap Targets. The common default value for both community strings is “public.” The Community String for SNMP Clients is used to allow the agents to be in a group polled by an NMS. Specifically, this is the Community String for SNMP GETs. SNMP SETs are not supported. The agents will only answer an NMS retrieval request if the NMS knows the Community String. The Community String for Trap Targets allows an NMS functioning as a trap receiver to filter for desired traps. Trap receivers receive all traps sent and it is up to this NMS to filter on the Community String. A trap receiver may choose to ignore the Community String.
Pivot3 MIB SNMP uses management information bases (MIBs) to define the variables an SNMP managed system offers. A Pivot3 MIB has been defined to describe each object identifier used for alerts and status for Pivot3 storage. The Pivot3 MIB is contained within the file PIVOT3SYS-MIB.txt which may be found on the “Pivot3 Software & Documentation Disc” in the SNMP Support folder. The SNMP MIB hierarchy is a tree with levels defined by different organizations. When importing a MIB file into a management software application, the MIB details will exist within that hierarchy. The Pivot3 MIB will be imported into the enterprises class of the MIB tree. MIB-II is also supported. For accelerated nodes, two more MIB files are used: UCD-SNMP-MIB.txt and UCD-DISKIO-MIB.txt. These usually already exist in a standard MIB set of files and, if not, can be found by searching for those file names on the Internet.
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Pivot3 MIB in MIB Tree
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Section 17 Shutdown Procedure The best way to shut down a vPG safely is to first ensure all I/O has stopped, shut down all guest VMs or Application Server VMs, and then shut down the vPG. This prevents data loss and inaccurate failure status readings. NOTE: If the Power Management’s Automation Level is set to Automatic in vCenter, the hosts may enter Standby Mode and Power off if the vPG is shut down from the Plugin. Pivot3 recommends leaving the Power Management Automation Level setting to Off.
Application Server VM Stop all I/O. Shut down the virtual machine using the operating system method of performing a system shutdown. Repeat the previous steps on all Application Server VMs.
Pivot3 vCenter Plugin Log in using the proper credentials for the Acuity vPG to be shut down. Select the Physical view tab and select the vPG to shut down. Navigate to File > Shut Down. A dialog box will require confirmation.
Click Yes. Navigate to File > Exit to exit the plugin.
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Verify the VMs have been shut down by connecting to VMware vSphere Client and logging in to all Acuity ESXi Hosts in the vPG. Verify all relevant VMs are powered off.
Acuity ESXi Host Launch the VMware vSphere Client and log in to the Acuity ESXi host in the chosen Acuity vPG. Select the IP address in the left pane, then right-click the IP address and select Shut Down from the menu displayed. Follow the instructions in the dialogs displayed to shut down the ESXi host. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for all other Acuity ESXi hosts in the Acuity vPG if applicable. Ensure all Acuity ESXi hosts have been shut down.
Procedure Verification After Power Up If desired, power on the nodes via physical power button or remote access (iDRAC for Dell, IMM for Lenovo). Using VMware vSphere client, connect to and log in to all Acuity ESXi Hosts in the vPG and verify the VM has started back up. Log in to the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin and ensure vPG is up and health is normal.
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Status Icons & Definitions The Pivot3 vCenter Plugin shows both the Logical and Physical statuses of Pivot3 network setups. Each status state is identified by a relevant icon and a brief description. Below are expanded explanations of possible vPG statuses.
Icon Status Description Next Step Upgrade Required A critical upgrade is required to Upgrade immediately.
maintain vPG functionality and availability.
Incomplete Nodes in the vPG are running Finish upgrading vPG.
Upgrade different versions of Acuity OS.
Upgrade An upgrade is available with minor Upgrade as soon as possible.
Recommended bug fixes or enhancements.
Upgrade Available An upgrade is available, but it does Upgrade when and if desired.
not have critical bug fixes or enhancements.
Access Denied The current Administrator is not If using SSO User credentials,
authorized to access the vPG. switch to Classic User credentials and set a valid administrator for this vPG. If using vSMS Web Service, change the vSMS Web Service Credentials to match the valid Administrator for this vPG.
Maintenance This vPG has been put in During an online upgrade, the
Mode Maintenance Mode. main next step is to wait for completion. Ensure that this status is not allowed to persist indefinitely.
Rebuilding A degraded volume is being rebuilt. Wait for process to complete. I/O
may be negatively impacted during rebuild.
Offline / There is an interruption in power Check physical network to ensure
Not Connected throughput or an issue on the all nodes are powered on and network that is preventing correctly connected. If status communication. persists after a Domain Refresh, contact Pivot3 Support for assistance.
Degraded A component is failed and the vPG is Repair or replace failed
degraded. component. Contact Pivot3 Support for diagnostic assistance.
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Icon Status Description Next Step Failed A disk, drive, volume, or node has If the reason for the failure is
failed. known, power off and replace the failed component. If the cause of the failure is unknown, contact Pivot3 Support for assistance. Not Ready The vPG is waiting for other nodes to Power on more nodes and wait or
come online or recover from address process that is holding up shutdown. the vPG.
Not Booted There is at least one node on the vPG Power on more nodes if
that has failed to boot. applicable. NOTE: If the “Continue Boot” dialog comes up, contact Pivot3 Support immediately. Optimizing Improving the data layout to enhance Wait for process to complete.
performance and availability.
Re-Synchronizing vPG is re-synchronizing changes that Wait for process to complete.
were made in Maintenance Mode.
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Migrating to Single Sign-On About This Feature CRITICAL: SSO Users will have difficulty saving some settings with the web browser set to Incognito Mode. Pivot3 does not recommend using Incognito Mode in the web browser used to access the vCenter Plugin. Single Sign-On (SSO) is a feature that allows the end user to bypass a second set of credentials (at the Pivot3 layer) required to access all of the nodes, vPGs, and volumes without compromising data security. CRITICAL: If the pivot3ssouser password was established and forgotten or lost, contact Support to re-establish SSO and Administrator credentials. SSO can be enabled one of two ways: From a Clean Installation As shown in Step 7 of Section 4, there is an authentication choice made between Pivot3 Authentication and vCenter Single Sign-On. If vCenter Single Sign-On is chosen during installation, then SSO will be automatically activated for use. During setup, it is imperative that pivot3ssouser is provided as an administrator credential set. Password is customizable by the end user. Retroactively from the vCenter Plugin NOTE: When migrating to SSO, each step must be performed for all relevant vPGs in the domain that are to be accessed in SSO mode. First, set up a role as described in Section 13. • On the Configure tab, from either the Physical or the Logical view, click on the vPG to receive the new role. • Navigate to Configuration > Administrators and click Add. NOTE: Only two administrator accounts can be associated with a vPG at any one time. If there are already two sets listed, delete the set not currently being used and add the pivot3ssouser credential set. • Enter Administrator Name pivot3ssouser (required) and choose a password that will not be forgotten. (If the password has already been decided, enter that information into these fields.) Click Apply to continue.
CRITICAL: This role MUST have the username pivot3ssouser, or switching to SSO mode will not provide access to the desired vPGs.
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To activate Single Sign-On, click on the Configure tab and navigate to Configuration > Switch to SSO User. This can be done from any screen under the Configure tab. The Pivot3 vCenter Plugin will request a password update to be entered and confirmed. Check the box next to Show Password to verify accuracy; when finished, click Update. To access the domain through these new SSO credentials, simply navigate to Configuration > Switch to SSO User. If the same SSO user switches multiple times to SSO mode, they will not be prompted for a password. Confirm the switch to SSO Mode by clicking Yes. Log in again to the vCenter plugin. This time, there should not be a Pivot3 credentials request; only the vPGs given the pivot3ssouser role credentials will now be visible in the Logical tab. In the Physical tab, only the vPGs given the pivot3ssouser role credentials will be accessible; the other vPGs will be greyed out and inaccessible. To return to Classic User, navigate to Configuration > Switch to Classic User. NOTE: Occasionally when switching user modes between SSO mode and Classic mode, a dialog box will pop up with a message about vSMS Rest Service. Simply click
Configuring PPD for SSO Users Pivot3 Proactive Diagnostics, or PPD, must be activated from the SSO User mode to monitor those credential sets. NOTE: PPD can only interact with one set of credentials at a time. If PPD is currently running in one user mode and needs to be running in the other user mode, the settings will need to be updated from the desired user mode. To enable PPD for SSO User credentials: While on the Configure tab, highlight the Domain and navigate to Configuration > Proactive Diagnostics. Fill out all information in all four tabs (this order is recommended): • Contact Information — Contact Name — Email Address — Phone Number • Status Reporting — Check Enable Status Reports — Enter email address where Status Reports are to be sent — Click Add Email Address • Monitored Discovery Paths — Add discovery path — Click Add Path • Enable Proactive Diagnostics — Check box next to Enable Proactive Diagnostics — Enter Proactive Diagnostics ID sent from Support — Click Apply. Click Accept to Accept License Agreement.
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Configuring Pivot3 for IPv4 Pivot3 vCenter Plugin If the Management Station is not configured for IP version 6 (IPv6), follow the procedure outlined below to pre-configure the IP addresses on the SAN Network interfaces of the nodes. Once completed, this procedure will enable the Management Station to discover the nodes using IPv4. Otherwise, skip these steps and proceed to the next section. Repeat this procedure for each new X-Series Node: From the Management Station, launch VMware vSphere Client. In the IP address / Name: field, enter the VMware Management Network IP address of the node to be configured. These are the ESXi host IP addresses configured in Discover Nodes. The default user name is root and the default password is vSphereP3. After vSphere Client has connected, select the IP address in the left pane and press the plus (+) key to display the virtual machines. Select the Pivot3_VM and then select the Console tab. Click in the console display area to enable keyboard input. Press
At the ipset> prompt, type nics to determine all available NICS visible to the network. Each of these NICs will require IP addresses. A typical setup will include san0, san1, and mgmt0. At the ipset> prompt, type nic san0 to begin the IP address configuration for the first SAN NIC port. Example: ipset>nic san0
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Next, type ip and the IP address to be assigned to the SAN NIC port. Example: ipset>ip 10.3.15.145 Next, type netmask followed by the subnet mask value. Example: ipset>netmask 255.255.255.0 Optionally, to set a gateway, type gateway and the gateway IP address. Example: ipset>gateway 10.3.15.1 NOTE: Do not set default gateway on SAN or Management NICs. Repeat Steps 6 – 11 to set the static IP address configuration for the second SAN NIC port, replacing 0 with 1 in Step 8. Repeat Steps 6 – 11 to prepare the IP address configuration for the Management NIC port, replacing san0 with mgmt0 in Step 8. If there is a DHCP server on the network, the IP address for the Management NIC can be quickly set by typing ip dhcp. The Management NIC is the only port that can be set this way. Type print at the ipset> prompt to review the values entered for all available NIC ports. If all the information is correct, type set to retain all the information input in previous steps. NOTE: The setip function cannot be performed on nodes in vPGs. The IP address can be modified later. Exit the utility by typing quit at the ipset> prompt. Press
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Resolve Host Identifiers & iSCSI Aliases In vSphere Web Client Resolution of Host Identifiers and iSCSI Aliases must be done through vSphere Web Client’s UI. In the Navigator Panel, select Hosts & Clusters.
This will display a tree with the domain’s data down to ESXi host. Click to expand the datacenter and/or cluster level(s) to find the ESXi host’s IP address.
In the panel to the right, ensure the Manage tab is selected and click Storage as shown below. Then click to highlight Storage Adapters.
In the Adapter Details area, ensure Properties tab is selected. On the far right of the General line item, click the Edit button.
A pop-up box will provide an opportunity to edit the iSCSI Alias. Enter the desired information in the second line and click OK.
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Uninstall or Upgrade the vCenter Plugin Unregister Plugin Using Installer File for Windows To uninstall the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin, first the Plugin must be unregistered and then the files deleted. This must be done via the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin Installer .exe file. Follow Steps 3 and 4 of sub-section Follow Installation Wizard in Section 4, then continue as instructed below. NOTE: To upgrade the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin, skip to sub-section Upgrading Pivot3 vCenter Plugin. In the Select Components wizard screen, select the radio button next to Unregister Pivot3 vCenter Plugin and click Next.
At the next screen, enter the vCenter IP address along with credentials to unregister. Click Next and then OK.
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Uninstall Plugin In the Control Panel of the host, uninstall the Pivot3 vSMS Web Services.
Stop the vSphere Web Client service.
Delete the Pivot3 Web Service Program Files directory. By default, the folder is available at C:\Program Files\Pivot3. Delete the entire folder. NOTE: Folder location is selected during installation; locations may differ.
NOTE: This step is optional and contingent on whether the administrator wants the previous configuration to carry over to potential future reinstalls. If this directory is deleted, all information entered during installation must be re-entered during the next reinstall (if applicable).
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Restart vSphere Web Client service. Log in to vCenter using the vSphere Web Client and navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters. Right-click on the Pivot3 Permissions folder and select Remove from Inventory. Click Yes to confirm in the pop-up dialog.
Unregister Plugin Using Installer File for Linux Perform step 4, then steps 12-14a in Section 5. Then choose option 3 to Unregister vSMS Web Server. Follow the prompts to enter credentials for this action.
Uninstall Plugin Choose option 4 to Uninstall vSMS Web Server. The default installation is cd /opt/pivot3/, but this can be chosen by the Administrator during installation and locations may vary. NOTE: This step is optional and contingent on whether the administrator wants the previous configuration to carry over to potential future reinstalls. If this directory is deleted, all information entered during installation must be re-entered during the next reinstall (if applicable).
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Restart vSphere Web Client service. Log in to vCenter using the vSphere Web Client and navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters. Right-click on the Pivot3 Permissions folder and select Remove from Inventory. Click Yes to confirm in the pop-up dialog.
Upgrading Pivot3 vCenter Plugin To upgrade the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin, follow the installation instructions covered in Follow Installation Wizard. Complete these steps with the latest .exe Plugin installer to upgrade the Pivot3 vCenter Plugin. In Step 7 for Windows or Step 14d for Linux, the choice This computer is the vCenter Server must be true and selected. NOTE: If this is not the case, begin the procedure again on the vCenter Server.
Acuity Data Usage Reporting The Acuity software platform will report data usage on several different screens including volume sizes, snapshot sizes, and data transferred for replication. A small amount of space is also consumed for Pivot3’s patented Erasure Coding. This appendix addresses volume, snapshot, and replication data reporting, but not Erasure Coding.
Snapshots & Replications: Reporting Discrepancies Explained Data sizes reported may differ from expected sizes, depending on block sizes of data written, its alignment, whether the data is written sequentially or randomly, and its sparseness quality. The Acuity software platform uses several different internal mechanisms to allocate and store data. In particular, data space is allocated and reported on 256K chunk or 1MB page-size boundaries. If data is written sequentially, the amount of customer data will translate directly to the amount of data reported in a volume, and if a snapshot is taken of this volume, it will also have the same size. However, if small blocks of data are written randomly or sparsely to the volume, the amount of data reported to the user may not be the same as the amount of data written. For example, if data is written in 4K writes randomly to the volume, each 4K write will allocate a 256K chunk of data. Then the amount of data reported in the volume may be much greater than the amount of data written from the host. When a snapshot is taken, the snapshot infrastructure will record meta-information about each 1MB page of the volume. When the snapshots are viewed through the UI, the snapshot information is reported in units of 1MB. If data was written sequentially to the volume, then the volume size and the snapshot size will be very similar. However, if the data was written as 4K random writes, then each 4K random write could potentially be reported as 1MB of space consumed by the snapshot.
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Replication reports its data transfer amounts based on the number of 256K chunks of data it needs to copy. For a first replication of a volume, for data written sequentially, the size of the volume will match the size of the replication source snapshot, which will match the amount of data transferred. However, if the data is written in small blocks sparsely to the volume, the source snapshot size may not match the number of bytes transferred by the replication. An example below illustrates these space reporting concepts using two example volumes, both 500GB. The first is written sequentially with about 259GB of data. The second is written with about 10GB of 4K random data. Then a first replication is performed for the volume, creating a source snapshot, a target volume, and a target snapshot.
Parameter Vol-1-Seq Vol-2-Rand Comment Iometer write type 256K seq 4K rand
Amount written ~259GB ~10GB
Source Volume Size (MB) 258,656 306,396 HighWaterMark from volume
Source Snapshot Size (MB) 258,805 498,833 SizeUsed from snapshot
Target Volume Size (MB) 258,656 306,392 HighWaterMark from volume
Target Snapshot Size (MB) 258,805 498,832 SizeUsed from snapshot
Replicate transferred (MB) 258,794 306,396 From replication statistics
For sequential written volume, the amount of data originally written is about 259 GB. The reported volume size, snapshot sizes, and replication size all report approximately the same 259 GB size. There are very slight differences due to data alignment factors and the methods used to report the sizes. These numbers all are intuitive – Pivot3 has written a fixed amount of data and then replicated it to an identical target volume; all the sizes match. For small block random data, the numbers are wildly different. The customer written data (~10 GB), randomly sprinkles its 4K writes throughout the volume address space. Internally, the Acuity manages the volume address space in 256K chunks, so each 4K write will cause a 256K chunk to be reported as In Use. This is why the Source Volume size is reported as 306,396 MB. So, a small amount of sparsely/randomly written customer data can expand to a much bigger size of used space reported for the volume, as the used space is computed in units of 256K chunks. Then take a snapshot of the data. The snapshot only retains information on the snapshot in 1MB page units. Even though only about 60% of the 256K chunks was written to, almost every 1MB page was involved, making the SizeUsed for the Snapshot show 498,832 MB consumed (out of 500,000). So while only 60 percent of the chunks were consumed, 99% of the pages were consumed. In cases of replication, snapshots are examined based on 256K chunks, and every 256K chunk that has been written to is sent - this equates to 306,396 MBs. This disagrees with the snapshot size because the snapshot size is computed based on pages. In conclusion, the way data usage is reported for volumes, snapshots, and replication will vary depending on the nature in which the data is written. Sequential data writes result in a good match between the data usage reports and the actual amount of data written. Small random or sparse block writes can result in data usage reports that exceed the expected size because of the way the internal Acuity mechanisms report the size based on number of 256K chunks or 1MB pages.
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Add Upgrade Package to vCSA-Based vCenter Unzip the super package to a folder bearing the same name as the super package minus the “.zip.” Enable SSH on the vCenter server. SSH into the vCenter server. For vCenter 6.5 environments, type the following commands: shell chsh -s /bin/bash root For vCenter 6.0 environments, type the following commands: shell.set –enable true root shell chsh -s /bin/bash Open WinSCP and connect to the vCenter server. Copy the unzipped directory to the /var/pivot3 directory of the vCenter server. Open the vCenter plugin in a web browser and log in as Administrator. Navigate to the Configure tab in the Pivot3 plugin. Discover the vPG if necessary. Select the vPG to be upgraded. Select Configuration > Update OS.
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