install

NetApp® Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1for VMware® vSphere™Installation and Administration Guide

NetApp, Inc.495 East Java DriveSunnyvale, CA 94089 USATelephone: +1 (408) 822-6000Fax: +1 (408) 822-4501Support telephone: +1 (888) 4-NETAPPDocumentation comments: [email protected] Web: http://www.netapp.com

Part number: 215-05581_A0October 2010

Contents

Copyright information ................................................................................. 5Trademark information ............................................................................... 7About this guide ............................................................................................ 9

Audience ...................................................................................................................... 9

Keyboard and formatting conventions ...................................................................... 10

Special messages ....................................................................................................... 11

How to send your comments ..................................................................................... 11

Virtual Storage Console overview ............................................................. 13About Virtual Storage Console ................................................................................. 13

About Provisioning and Cloning ............................................................................... 14

About Backup and Recovery ..................................................................................... 16

Online help .................................................................................................. 19Installing Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1 for VMware vSphere ............. 21

Virtual Storage Console supported configurations ................................................... 22

Installing Virtual Storage Console ............................................................................ 22

Registering Virtual Storage Console with vCenter Server ........................................ 23

Performing a software upgrade ................................................................................. 24

Performing software maintenance ............................................................................. 25

Uninstalling Virtual Storage Console ....................................................................... 26

Virtual Storage Console configuration ..................................................... 27Storage system discovery and credentials overview ................................................. 27

Enabling discovery and management of vFiler units by VSC .................................. 28

Discovering and adding storage resources to Virtual Storage Console .................... 29

Removing skipped or unmanaged controllers from VSC ......................................... 30

Adding storage systems to Backup and Recovery .................................................... 30

Configuring Role Based Access Control (RBAC) on storage controllers and

VMware vCenter servers for VSC capabilities ................................................... 31

Administering the Virtual Storage Console capability ........................... 33Configuring ESX server multipathing and timeout settings ..................................... 33

ESX host settings set by Virtual Storage Console ........................................ 34

Launching FilerView from VSC ............................................................................... 35

VSC displays configuration details ........................................................................... 35

Table of Contents | 3

MultiStore vFiler units are displayed differently ...................................................... 36

Collecting diagnostic information ............................................................................. 36

Changing the VSC service account for data collection on Windows

Server 2008 .............................................................................................. 37

Downloading and running tools ................................................................................ 38

Downloading MBR tools .............................................................................. 38

Installing GOS scripts ................................................................................... 39

Troubleshooting .......................................................................................... 41Getting information about storage controllers with an Alert status .......................... 41

Getting information about ESX hosts with an Alert status ....................................... 41

Collecting the VSC log files ...................................................................................... 42

Troubleshooting error message "Unable to communicate with the server" .............. 43

Using ESX hosts with NetApp storage ..................................................... 45LUN type guidelines ................................................................................................. 45

Provisioning storage .................................................................................................. 45

How to set up VMware ESX ..................................................................................... 46

Configuring the VMware ESX host .............................................................. 47

Manually setting the path selection policy for Microsoft cluster

configurations .......................................................................................... 47

Setting timeout values for guest operating systems .................................................. 48

Running the GOS timeout scripts for Linux ................................................. 48

Running the GOS timeout scripts for Solaris ................................................ 49

Running the GOS timeout script for Windows ............................................. 50

How to identify and fix VMDK partition alignment issues ...................................... 50

Checking VMDK partition alignment with mbrscan .................................... 51

VMDK partition alignment with mbralign overview .................................... 52

Fixing VMDK partition alignment using mbralign ....................................... 53

Reinstalling GRUB for Linux guests after running mbralign ....................... 54

Reinstalling GRUB for Solaris guests after running mbralign ..................... 55

Index ............................................................................................................. 59

4 | Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1 for VMware vSphere Installation and Administration Guide

Copyright information

Copyright © 1994–2010 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

No part of this document covered by copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or storage in anelectronic retrieval system—without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Software derived from copyrighted NetApp material is subject to the following license anddisclaimer:

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY NETAPP "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS ORIMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIEDWARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,WHICH ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL NETAPP BE LIABLE FOR ANYDIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIALDAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTEGOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESSINTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHERIN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OROTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IFADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

NetApp reserves the right to change any products described herein at any time, and without notice.NetApp assumes no responsibility or liability arising from the use of products described herein,except as expressly agreed to in writing by NetApp. The use or purchase of this product does notconvey a license under any patent rights, trademark rights, or any other intellectual property rights ofNetApp.

The product described in this manual may be protected by one or more U.S.A. patents, foreignpatents, or pending applications.

RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the government is subject torestrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and ComputerSoftware clause at DFARS 252.277-7103 (October 1988) and FAR 52-227-19 (June 1987).

Copyright information | 5

Trademark information

NetApp; the NetApp logo; the Network Appliance logo; Bycast; Cryptainer; Cryptoshred;DataFabric; Data ONTAP; Decru; Decru DataFort; FAServer; FilerView; FlexCache; FlexClone;FlexShare; FlexVol; FPolicy; gFiler; Go further, faster; Manage ONTAP; MultiStore; NearStore;NetCache; NOW (NetApp on the Web); ONTAPI; RAID-DP; SANscreen; SecureShare; SimulateONTAP; SnapCopy; SnapDrive; SnapLock; SnapManager; SnapMirror; SnapMover; SnapRestore;SnapValidator; SnapVault; Spinnaker Networks; Spinnaker Networks logo; SpinAccess;SpinCluster; SpinFlex; SpinFS; SpinHA; SpinMove; SpinServer; SpinStor; StorageGRID;StoreVault; SyncMirror; Topio; vFiler; VFM; and WAFL are registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc.in the U.S.A. and/or other countries. Network Appliance, Snapshot, and The evolution of storage aretrademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the U.S.A. and/or other countries and registered trademarks in someother countries. The StoreVault logo, ApplianceWatch, ApplianceWatch PRO, ASUP, AutoSupport,ComplianceClock, DataFort, Data Motion, FlexScale, FlexSuite, Lifetime Key Management,LockVault, NOW, MetroCluster, OpenKey, ReplicatorX, SecureAdmin, Shadow Tape,SnapDirector, SnapFilter, SnapMigrator, SnapSuite, Tech OnTap, Virtual File Manager, VPolicy,and Web Filer are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries. Get Successful andSelect are service marks of NetApp, Inc. in the U.S.A.

IBM, the IBM logo, and ibm.com are trademarks or registered trademarks of International BusinessMachines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. A complete and current list ofother IBM trademarks is available on the Web at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.

Apple is a registered trademark and QuickTime is a trademark of Apple, Inc. in the U.S.A. and/orother countries. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows Media is a trademark of MicrosoftCorporation in the U.S.A. and/or other countries. RealAudio, RealNetworks, RealPlayer,RealSystem, RealText, and RealVideo are registered trademarks and RealMedia, RealProxy, andSureStream are trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. in the U.S.A. and/or other countries.

All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders andshould be treated as such.

NetApp, Inc. is a licensee of the CompactFlash and CF Logo trademarks.

NetApp, Inc. NetCache is certified RealSystem compatible.

Trademark information | 7

http://www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml

About this guide

You can use your product more effectively when you understand this document's intended audienceand the conventions that this document uses to present information.

This guide describes how to install, configure, and use the Virtual Storage Console for VMware®

vSphere™ software. The Virtual Storage Console is a plug-in to the VMware® vCenter™ Server thatenables you to manage storage resources for ESX hosts.

Next topics

Audience on page 9

Keyboard and formatting conventions on page 10

Special messages on page 11

How to send your comments on page 11

AudienceThis document is written with certain assumptions about your technical knowledge and experience.

This guide is for administrators of ESX host computers and NetApp storage systems.

It also assumes that you are familiar with the following topics:

• Knowledge of VMware virtual infrastructure products• Knowledge of how Hypertext Transport Protocol over Secure Sockets Layer (HTTPS) is used for

file sharing or transfers• Knowledge of how block storage protocols, such as FC and iSCSI, work with SAN storage• Knowledge of how to perform a backup and restore a file on virtual machines• Knowledge of how to provision storage on virtual machines• ESX hosts• vSphere Client• FC host bus adapters (HBAs) and iSCSI initiators (software or HBA)

About this guide | 9

Keyboard and formatting conventionsYou can use your product more effectively when you understand how this document uses keyboardand formatting conventions to present information.

Keyboard conventions

Convention What it means

The NOW site Refers to the NetApp Support site at now.netapp.com.

Enter, enter • Used to refer to the key that generates a carriage return; the key is namedReturn on some keyboards.

• Used to mean pressing one or more keys on the keyboard and then pressing theEnter key, or clicking in a field in a graphical interface and then typinginformation into the field.

hyphen (-) Used to separate individual keys. For example, Ctrl-D means holding down theCtrl key while pressing the D key.

type Used to mean pressing one or more keys on the keyboard.

Formatting conventions

Convention What it means

Italic font • Words or characters that require special attention.• Placeholders for information that you must supply.

For example, if the guide says to enter the arp -d hostname command,you enter the characters "arp -d" followed by the actual name of the host.

• Book titles in cross-references.

Monospaced font • Command names, option names, keywords, and daemon names.• Information displayed on the system console or other computer monitors.• Contents of files.• File, path, and directory names.

Bold monospaced

fontWords or characters you type. What you type is always shown in lowercaseletters, unless your program is case-sensitive and uppercase letters arenecessary for it to work properly.


http://now.netapp.com/

Special messagesThis document might contain the following types of messages to alert you to conditions that youneed to be aware of.

Note: A note contains important information that helps you install or operate the systemefficiently.

Attention: An attention notice contains instructions that you must follow to avoid a system crash,loss of data, or damage to the equipment.

How to send your commentsYou can help us to improve the quality of our documentation by sending us your feedback.

Your feedback is important in helping us to provide the most accurate and high-quality information.If you have suggestions for improving this document, send us your comments by e-mail to [email protected]. To help us direct your comments to the correct division, include in thesubject line the name of your product and the applicable operating system. For example, FAS6070—Data ONTAP 7.3, or Host Utilities—Solaris, or Operations Manager 3.8—Windows.

About this guide | 11

mailto:[email protected]

Virtual Storage Console overview

The Virtual Storage Console software provides storage configuration and monitoring using VirtualStorage Console capability, datastore provisioning and virtual machine cloning using theProvisioning and Cloning capability, and backup and recovery of virtual machines and datastoresusing Backup and Recovery capability.

The Rapid Cloning Utility and the SnapManager for Virtual Infrastructure applications have beenrenamed and integrated into Virtual Storage Console as the Provisioning and Cloning and Backupand Recovery capabilities in order to provide a single vSphere Client plug-in that provides end-to-end virtual machine lifecycle management for VMware environments running NetApp storage.

Because Virtual Storage Console is a vCenter Server plug-in, it is available to all vSphere Clientsthat connect to the vCenter Server. This is different than a client-side plug-in that must be installedon every vSphere Client. You can install the Virtual Storage Console software on either the vCenterServer or on another Windows server in your data center; do not install it on a client computer.

The Virtual Storage Console software adds a NetApp icon to the Solutions and Applications panel ofthe vSphere Client home page.

When you select the About panel, Virtual Storage Console displays version information for each ofthe installed capabilities and Virtual Storage Console version information.

Lock management

Some provisioning, cloning, and recovery features become unavailable when the Backup andRecovery capability or the Provisioning and Cloning capability attempt to use the target datastores orvirtual machines at the same time. See the Virtual Storage Console Provisioning and CloningAdministration Guide and the Virtual Storage Console Backup and Recovery Administration Guidefor details.

Next topics

About Virtual Storage Console on page 13

About Provisioning and Cloning on page 14

About Backup and Recovery on page 16

About Virtual Storage ConsoleThe Virtual Storage Console capability enables you to manage ESX and ESXi servers connected toNetApp storage systems. You can set host timeout, NAS, and multipathing values, view storagedetails, and collect diagnostic data.

You can use this capability to:

Virtual Storage Console overview | 13

• View the status of storage controllers from a SAN (FC, FCoE, and iSCSI) perspective• View the status of storage controllers from a NAS (NFS) perspective• View SAN and NAS datastore capacity utilization• View the status of VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) support in the storage

controller• View the status of ESX hosts, including ESX version and overall status• Check at a glance whether the following are configured correctly, and if not, automatically set the

correct values

• Storage adapter timeouts• Multipathing settings• NFS settings

• Set credentials to access storage controllers• Launch the FilerView GUI to create LUNs and manage storage controllers• Collect diagnostic information from the ESX hosts, storage controllers, and Fibre Channel

switches• Access tools to set guest operating system timeouts and to identify and correct misaligned disk

partitions

When you click the NetApp icon in the vCenter Server and click Virtual Storage Console in thenavigation pane, the Overview panel appears. It is similar to the following:

About Provisioning and CloningThe Provisioning and Cloning capability of Virtual Storage Console helps you to provision datastoresand quickly create multiple clones of virtual machines in the VMware environment. Using FlexClonetechnology, the Provisioning and Cloning capability allows you to efficiently create, deploy and


manage the lifecycle of virtual machines from an easy-to-use interface integrated into the VMwareenvironment. It is ideal for virtual server, desktop, and cloud environments.


• Clone individual virtual machines and place in new or existing datastores• Create, resize, or delete datastores• Apply guest customization specifications and power up new virtual machines• Run deduplication operations• Monitor storage savings• Re-deploy virtual machines from a baseline image• Import virtual machines into virtual desktop infrastructure connection brokers and management

tools

You can access the various Provisioning and Cloning features using the following methods.

Managing datastores and cloning virtual machines

To manage datastores and clone virtual machines, right-click an object in the Inventory panel of thevSphere Client and select NetApp > Provisioning and Cloning.

• Right-click a powered-down virtual machine or template to create clones• Right-click a datacenter, cluster, or host to provision datastores

Managing controllers and redeploying clones

To manage storage controllers or re-deploy clones, click the Inventory button in the navigation bar,and then select Solutions and Applications > NetApp.

• Select the Storage controllers link to add, remove, or modify properties of storage controllers


• Select the Re-deploy link to redeploy virtual machines

About Backup and RecoveryThe Backup and Recovery capability of Virtual Storage Console provides rapid backup and recoveryof multihost configurations running on NetApp storage systems.


• Perform on-demand backups of individual virtual machines, datastores, or a datacenter• Schedule automated backups of individual virtual machines, datastores, or a datacenter• Support virtual machines and datastores that are located on either NFS directories or VMFS file

systems• Mount a backup to verify its content prior to restoration• Restore datastores or virtual machines to the original location• Restore virtual machine disks (VMDKs) to the original or an alternate location• Restore one or more files to a guest VMDK without having to restore the entire virtual machine

or VMDK using single file restore feature

To configure your storage systems, click the NetApp icon in the vCenter Server and click Setupunder Backup and Recovery in the navigation pane. The Setup panel appears. It is similar to thefollowing:



Online help

The Virtual Storage Console GUI has online help that describes the fields and commands in the GUI.

Online help is available from the vSphere Client Help menu for the Virtual Storage Console andBackup and Recovery capabilities of VSC. When you select Help > NetApp > Virtual StorageConsole > Storage Console Help or Help > NetApp > Backup and Recovery > Backup andRecovery Help, the information is displayed in a Web browser.

Online help is not currently available for the Provisioning and Cloning capability.

Online help | 19

Installing Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1 forVMware vSphere

You can install Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1 for VMware vSphere on the same system as thevCenter Server or on another 32-bit or 64-bit Windows computer, as both platforms are supported.

To install the Virtual Storage Console software, follow these guidelines:

• Installation of Virtual Storage Console must be on a local disk of the Windows computer. Do notattempt to install Virtual Storage Console on a network share

• Network connection between the Windows computer running Virtual Storage Console and themanagement ports of the storage controllers, the ESX hosts, and the vCenter Server

• A reboot is not required to complete the installation. However, vSphere Clients must be closedand restarted to be able to display the Virtual Storage Console plugin

• Use a minimum display setting of 1280 by 1024 pixels to view Virtual Storage Console pagescorrectly

Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1 includes the following installation options:

• Virtual Storage Console and Provisioning and Cloning• Virtual Storage Console and Backup and Recovery

If you choose the Backup and Recovery capability, you must purchase a license.• Virtual Storage Console and Provisioning and Cloning and Backup and Recovery

If you choose the Backup and Recovery capability, you must purchase a license.

The following Data ONTAP software licenses are required to support all VSC features:

• SnapRestore• The required protocol license (NFS, FCP, iSCSI)• SnapMirror (if required)• FlexClone

Note: The FlexClone license is required for the following operations in NFS environments:datastore mount, VMDK recovery to an alternate datastore, and Single File Restore (SFR).

Next topics

Virtual Storage Console supported configurations on page 22

Installing Virtual Storage Console on page 22

Registering Virtual Storage Console with vCenter Server on page 23

Performing a software upgrade on page 24

Performing software maintenance on page 25

Uninstalling Virtual Storage Console on page 26

Installing Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1 for VMware vSphere | 21

Virtual Storage Console supported configurationsVIrtual Storage Console 2.0.1 is supported on specific releases of ESX and Data ONTAP software.

Before you install the Virtual Storage Console software, you should be aware of the followingrequirements:

• Supported Microsoft Windows software• vCenter Server requirements• ESX host software requirements• Data ONTAP requirements

See the Interoperability Matrix for details.

Note: Virtual Storage Console and Restore Agent do not support IPv6. If the server on which youare installing Virtual Storage Console has IPv6 enabled, IPv6 should be disabled before installingVirtual Storage Console.

If you are using the single file restore (SFR) feature, you might also have to change aconfiguration setting to prevent the SFR restore session email from sending an IPv6 address. Seethe Known issues: Backup and Recovery section of the Virtual Storage Console Release Notes forthe configuration workaround.

Related information

NetApp Interoperability Matrix - http://now.netapp.com/NOW/products/interoperability/

Installing Virtual Storage ConsoleDuring installation of the Virtual Storage Console software, you can select whether to install theProvisioning and Cloning or the Backup and Recovery capabilities. If you choose to not install them,only the Virtual Storage Console capability is installed.

Before you begin

Before running the installer for Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1, uninstall any previous versions ofRapid Cloning Utility (RCU) or SnapManager for Virtual Infrastructure (SMVI) that exist on theserver on which you want to install Virtual Storage Console. If previous versions of RCU or SMVIare found by the Virtual Storage Console installer, you are prompted to uninstall these previousversions and the installer aborts.

Note: Ensure that you are using the correct 32-bit or 64-bit installer package corresponding to thatparticular platform on the host machine. You cannot run the 32-bit installer on a 64-bit hostmachine and vice versa.


http://now.netapp.com/NOW/products/interoperability/

Steps

1. Download the installer for Virtual Storage Console 2.0.1.

2. Double-click the installer icon, and click Run to start the installation wizard.

3. Follow the instructions in the installation wizard to install the software.

Note: You must agree to purchase a license for the Backup and Recovery capability in order toinstall it during the installation of Virtual Storage Console.

4. Click Finish to complete the installation.

A Web page displays when the installation is complete. You must register Virtual StorageConsole with the vCenter Server. You must provide the vCenter Server host name or IP addressand the administrative credentials.

After you finish

When you uninstall a previous version of SnapManager for Virtual Infrastructure (SMVI) prior toinstalling Virtual Storage Console, you have to save the backup metadata prior to migrating thebackup metadata by copying the contents installed in the C:\Program Files\NetApp\SMVI\server\repository folder into the C:\Program Files\NetApp\Virtual Storage Console\smvi\server\repositoryfolder.

After you finish copying the backup metadata, you must copy the contents of the credential file fromthe C:\Program Files\NetApp\SMVI\server\etc\cred folder into the C:\Program Files\NetApp\VirtualStorage Console\smvi\server\etc\cred folder.

Registering Virtual Storage Console with vCenter ServerAfter installing the Virtual Storage Console software, you must register it with the vCenter Server.By default, the registration Web page opens when the installation of Virtual Storage Console iscomplete.

Steps

1. If the registration Web page does not open automatically, point a Web browser to the followingURL:

https://localhost:8143/Register.html

If you use a different computer from the one where Virtual Storage Console is installed, replacelocalhost with the hostname or IP address of the computer where you installed Virtual StorageConsole.

If a security certificate warning is displayed, choose the option to ignore it or to continue to theWeb site.


2. In the Plugin service information section, select the IP address the vCenter Server uses to accessVirtual Storage Console.

This IP address must be accessible from the vCenter Server. If you installed Virtual StorageConsole on the vCenter Server computer, this might be the same address as you use to access thevCenter Server. IPv6 addresses are not currently supported.

3. Type the host name or IP address of the vCenter Server, and the administrative credentials for thevCenter Server.

4. Click Register to complete the registration.

Note: A registration failed error message displays if you type the incorrect user credentials forthe vCenter Server.

Note: You should close the registration page after you complete the registration processbecause the Web page is not automatically refreshed.

After you finish

If Virtual Storage Console is registered with an incorrect vCenter Server, you can register VirtualStorage Console with the new vCenter Server.

Performing a software upgradeIf you have installed a previous version of Virtual Storage Console, you can upgrade to VirtualStorage Console 2.0.1 or later. If the current version number of any of the capabilities is greater thanthe installed version number of that capability, you can choose to upgrade that capability.

About this task

You can use the Virtual Storage Console to upgrade the following:

• Provisioning and Cloning capability only• Backup and Recovery capability only• Virtual Storage Console and the Provisioning and Cloning capability• Virtual Storage Console and the Backup and Recovery capability

Steps

1. Download the installer for Virtual Storage Console.

2. Double-click the installer icon, and click Run to start the installation wizard.

3. Click Yes on the confirmation prompt.

4. In the installation wizard, select the capabilities that you want to upgrade and click Next to startthe installation.


Installation might take several minutes.


A Web page displays when the installation is complete. You must register Virtual StorageConsole with the vCenter Server. You must provide the vCenter Server host name or IP addressand the administrative credentials.

After you finish

You must close the vSphere Client and restart it to display newly installed capabilities.

Performing software maintenanceAfter you install Virtual Storage Console, you might decide to add or remove some of thecapabilities. You can use the installation wizard to add or remove capabilities.

Steps

1. On the Windows server where you installed the Virtual Storage Console software, select ControlPanel > Add/Remove Programs (Windows Server 2003) or Control Panel > Programs andFeatures (Windows Server 2008).

2. Select Virtual Storage Console and click Change to start the installation wizard.

3. In the installation wizard, select the Modify option and click Next.

4. Select the check box for the capability that you want to add or clear the check box for thecapability that you want to remove and click Next.

5. Click Install to start the installation.

Installation might take several minutes.


After you finish

You must close the vSphere Client and restart it to display newly installed capabilities.


Uninstalling Virtual Storage ConsoleYou can uninstall the Virtual Storage Console software from your system using the Windows Add orRemove Programs list.

About this task

During uninstallation, you cannot select which capabilities you want to uninstall because the entireapplication is removed.

Steps

1. On the Windows server where you installed the Virtual Storage Console software, select ControlPanel > Add/Remove Programs (Windows Server 2003) or Control Panel > Programs andFeatures (Windows Server 2008).

2. Select Virtual Storage Console and click Remove to immediately remove the program or clickChange to start the installation wizard.

3. If you select Change, then click Yes to confirm that you want to remove the program.

4. In the installation wizard, select the Remove option and click Next.

5. Click Remove to uninstall the Virtual Storage Console software.

After the Virtual Storage Console uninstallation is complete, a comfirmation prompt appears.

Note: Click Yes on the confirmation prompt to completely remove all the metadata files fromthe installation directory or click No to manually delete the files in the directory.

After you finish

In order to completely remove the 64-bit installer of Virtual Storage Console, you must delete theHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{F99DCB65-4B83-4C27-A8BC-45227B90A410} registry key.

If the 32-bit installer does not remove the registry key, you must delete theHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{F99DCB65-4B83-4C27-A8BC-45227B90A410} registry key.


Virtual Storage Console configuration

You can configure and manage your ESX hosts and virtual machines (VMs) by first specifying thephysical storage systems on which the active images of the datastores and VMs that are managed bythat vCenter Server reside.

Next topics

Storage system discovery and credentials overview on page 27

Enabling discovery and management of vFiler units by VSC on page 28

Discovering and adding storage resources to Virtual Storage Console on page 29

Removing skipped or unmanaged controllers from VSC on page 30

Adding storage systems to Backup and Recovery on page 30

Configuring Role Based Access Control (RBAC) on storage controllers and VMware vCenterservers for VSC capabilities on page 31

Storage system discovery and credentials overviewVirtual Storage Console (VSC) has separate mechanisms to discover storage systems for its differentcapabilities. Each VSC capability requires certain Data ONTAP capabilities (permissions) to performits operations.

Before VSC can display and manage storage resources, it must discover the storage controllers thatprovide the storage. As part of the discovery process, you must supply storage controller credentials.

Discovery happens one of four ways in VSC. In each case, you must enter credentials for any newly-discovered storage controller.

• When you first run VSC (by selecting the NetApp tab or icon), Virtual Storage Console starts itsautomatic discovery process.

• You click Update on the Virtual Storage Console Overview panel.This runs another automatic discovery.

• You open the Add Storage System dialog box in Backup and Recovery and enter the address ofthe storage controller and its credentials.This discovery is not automatic.

• You open the Add Storage Controller dialog box in Provisioning and Cloning and enter theaddress of the storage controller and its credentials and properties.This discovery is not automatic.

Note: Discovery of vFiler units on storage controllers running Data ONTAP 8.x software requiressetting the httpd.admin.enable for the vFiler unit.

Note: IPv6 addresses are not currently supported by VSC.

Virtual Storage Console configuration | 27

Storage controller credentials are the user name and password of an account on the storage controller.This can be the root account, or a custom account that uses role-based access control (RBAC).

The Backup and Recovery capability of VSC discovers its own set of storage controllers andmaintains its own list of storage controller credentials. The automatic discovery process of theVirtual Storage Console capability does not affect the list or credentials maintained by Backup andRecovery. You can specify the same or different credentials for a given storage controller used byboth VSC capabilities.

The Virtual Storage Console and Provisioning and Cloning capabilities do share the list ofdiscovered storage controllers. However, you can specify different credentials for a given storagecontroller.

The Provisioning and Cloning capability requires different permissions to perform certain operations.You can limit what users can do in Provisioning and Cloning based on the credentials associated withtheir vSphere Client account. All users of Backup and Recovery share the same set of storage systemcredentials and can all perform the same operations. The same is true of Virtual Storage Console; allusers share one set of storage system credentials.

For more information on storage controller discovery, see the Virtual Storage Console 2.0 Backupand Recovery Administration Guide and the Virtual Storage Console 2.0 Provisioning and CloningAdministration Guide.

Related tasks

Discovering and adding storage resources to Virtual Storage Console on page 29

Enabling discovery and management of vFiler units by VSCSet the httpd.admin.enable option for vFiler units in Data ONTAP 8 to enable discovery andmanagement with Virtual Storage Console.

About this task

This task is not required for vFiler units created with Data ONTAP 7.x.

Steps

1. Enter the following command to switch to a particular vFiler context:

vfiler context vfiler_name

2. Enter the following command in the vFiler context to set the required option that enablesdiscovery in VSC:

options httpd.admin.enable on

3. Repeat for each vFiler unit you want to manage using VSC.


Discovering and adding storage resources to VirtualStorage Console

When you first run VSC in a vSphere Client, the Virtual Storage Console capability discovers ESXhosts, their LUNs and NFS exports, and the NetApp storage systems that own those LUNs andexports. You must provide the storage system credentials when prompted.

Before you begin

You can discover new resources and get the latest capacity and configuration information at any timeby clicking Update on the NetApp tab in the vSphere Client.

The discovery process collects information from the ESX hosts managed by the vCenter Server.Make sure all ESX hosts are shown as powered on and connected.

The discovery process might take a long time depending on your configuration and system load.

This discovery process is for the Virtual Storage Console and Provisioning and Cloning capabilitiesonly. You must add storage controllers to the Backup and Recovery capability manually.

Steps

1. Open the vSphere Client and log into your vCenter Server.

2. Select a Datacenter in the Inventory Panel, and then select the NetApp tab.

3. If the discovery process does not start automatically, or if you want to discover new resources andupdate information, click Update.

4. When the Controller Credential wizard starts, enter the credentials for the requested systems.

You are prompted for credentials for each new storage controller that owns LUNs or NFS exportsused by your ESX hosts.

If VSC is unable to connect to a storage controller with the credentials you provide, VSC displaysan appropriate error message. Correct the problem and continue with that controller, or skip thatcontroller and discover it again later.

After you finish

After discovery is complete, use VSC to configure ESX host settings for any hosts displaying anAlert icon.

Related concepts

Storage system discovery and credentials overview on page 27


Removing skipped or unmanaged controllers from VSCYou can remove a skipped or unmanaged storage controller so it no longer appears in the VSCdisplay.

About this task

If the controller has storage mapped to an ESX host managed by VSC, the controller is discoveredand added back if you select the Update button.

Steps


2. Select a Datacenter in the Inventory panel, and then select the NetApp tab.

3. If necessary, select Virtual Storage Console, and then select the Overview panel.

4. Right-click the storage controller and select Remove Controller.

This command is available only for controllers with the Skipped or Unmanaged status.

Adding storage systems to Backup and RecoveryFor the Virtual Storage Console Backup and Recovery capability, you must add the physical storagesystems on which the active images of the datastores and virtual machines to be backed up reside.

About this task

The Virtual Storage Console discovery process does not add storage systems to the Backup andRecovery capability but it does use the Virtual Storage Console storage system discoveryinformation. You can add a new storage system to the Backup and Recovery capability by selectingthe system from a drop-down list or you can type the DNS name or IP address of the storage system.The Backup and Recovery capability does not use the user credentials from Virtual Storage Console.

You must delete and re-add a storage system if its IP address changes.

Steps

1. Click the Inventory button in the navigation bar, and then select Solutions and Applications >NetApp.

2. Click Setup under Backup and Recovery in the navigation pane.

3. Click Add.

The Add Storage System dialog box appears.


4. Type the DNS name or IP address and the user credentials of the storage system on which theactive images of the datastore or virtual machine entities managed by the current vCenter Serverreside.

5. Click Add to add the storage system.

After you finish

If you intend to initiate a SnapMirror update during a backup procedure, you must also add adestination storage system at this time.

Configuring Role Based Access Control (RBAC) on storagecontrollers and VMware vCenter servers for VSC capabilities

Virtual Storage Console needs a user account on each storage controller it manages. Although youcan simply use the root account, it is better to create a custom account with limited capabilities usingthe role-based access control (RBAC) feature of the Data ONTAP software. You can also createcustom vCenter roles specific to VSC features like provisioning and cloning or backup and recovery.

For more information about NetApp controller or vCenter based RBAC for VSC, see Knowledgebase article kb59040 How to configure VMware vCenter Role Based Access Control (RBAC) inVSC 2.0.

Related information

How to configure VMware vCenter Role Based Access Control (RBAC) in VSC 2.0 -now.netapp.com/Knowledgebase/solutionarea.asp?id=kb59040


https://now.netapp.com/Knowledgebase/solutionarea.asp?id=kb59040

https://now.netapp.com/Knowledgebase/solutionarea.asp?id=kb59040

Administering the Virtual Storage Consolecapability

This guide describes how to use the base Virtual Storage Console capability of VSC.

For information about administering the optional capabilities of VSC, see the Virtual StorageConsole 2.0 Backup and Recovery Administration Guide and the Virtual Storage Console 2.0Provisioning and Cloning Administration Guide.

Next topics

Configuring ESX server multipathing and timeout settings on page 33

Launching FilerView from VSC on page 35

VSC displays configuration details on page 35

MultiStore vFiler units are displayed differently on page 36

Collecting diagnostic information on page 36

Downloading and running tools on page 38

Configuring ESX server multipathing and timeout settingsVSC checks and sets the ESX host multipathing and HBA timeout settings that ensure properbehavior with NetApp storage systems.

Before you begin

This process might take a long time, depending on your configuration and system load. The taskprogress is displayed in the Recent Tasks panel. As tasks complete, the host status Alert icons arereplaced by Normal icons.

Steps



3. Select the Overview panel.

4. Select one or more ESX hosts that have an Alert icon in the Adapter Settings, MPIO Settings,or NFS Settings columns.

Use Ctrl-click or Shift-click to select multiple hosts.

5. Right-click the selected hosts and select Set Recommended Values.

6. Select the types of settings you want to update and then click OK.

Administering the Virtual Storage Console capability | 33

ESX host settings set by Virtual Storage ConsoleVirtual Storage Console sets ESX host timeouts and other settings to ensure best performance andsuccessful failover.

Virtual Storage Console sets the following values on an ESX host.

NFS Settings

Net.TcpipHeapSize Set to 30 for all NFS configurations.

Net.TcpipHeapMax Set to 120 for all NFS configurations.

NFS.MaxVolumes Set to 64 for all NFS configurations.

NFS.HeartbeatMaxFailures Set to 10 for all NFS configurations.

NFS.HeartbeatFrequency Set to 12 for all NFS configurations.

NFS.HeartbeatTimeout Set to 5 for all NFS configurations.

FC/FCoE Settings

Path selection policy Set to RR (round robin) for ESX 4.0 and 4.1 FC paths with ALUAenabled. Set to FIXED for all other configurations.

Disk.QFullSampleSize Set to 32 for all configurations.

Disk.QFullThreshold Set to 8 for all configurations.

Emulex FC HBA timeouts For ESX 4.0 or 4.1, uses the default value.

QLogic FC HBA timeouts For ESX 4.0 or 4.1, uses the default value.

iSCSI Settings

Path selection policy Set to RR (round robin) for all iSCSI paths.

Disk.QFullSampleSize Set to 32 for all configurations.

Disk.QFullThreshold Set to 8 for all configurations.

QLogic iSCSI HBAIP_ARP_Redirect

Set to ON for all configurations.

QLogic iSCSI HBA timeouts ql4xportdownretrycount (qla4022 driver), ka_timeout (qla4xxx

driver), and KeepAliveTO timeout settings are set to 14 foriSCSI SAN booted ESX hosts, and set to 60 for non-SAN-bootconfigurations.


Launching FilerView from VSCYou can launch the FilerView GUI from VSC to create LUNs and manage storage systems.

Before you begin

Your client computer must have network connectivity to the management port of a storage controllerto be able to run the FilerView GUI for that controller.

Note: FilerView is not available for vFiler units.

Steps



3. Select the Overview panel.

4. Right click the storage controller you want to manage and select Open FilerView.

5. If the storage controller requires a password, enter the User name and Password when prompted.

Result

The FilerView GUI for the storage controller opens in a new browser window.

VSC displays configuration detailsYou can display details of your storage configuration using the Virtual Storage Console capability ofVSC.

The NetApp tab displays four pages of configuration information. See the online help for anexplanation of the fields displayed and available commands.

Overview Displays the status of storage controllers and ESX hosts. You can right-click ahost to get detailed configuration information.

Storage Details -SAN

Displays a list of all LUNs mapped to managed ESX hosts. When you select aLUN, the LUN details are displayed.

Storage Details -NAS

Displays a list of all NFS exports mounted on managed ESX hosts. Eachexport corresponds to an ESX datastore. When you select a datastore, thedetails are displayed.

Discovery Status Displays details of VSC itself and the storage resources discovered by theVirtual Storage Console capability.


Related concepts

Online help on page 19

MultiStore vFiler units are displayed differentlyThe Virtual Storage Console capability of VSC displays vFiler units differently than physical storagecontrollers.

VSC displays some information about vFiler units created with the optional MultiStore feature ofData ONTAP software differently than for physical storage controllers.

• The hostname displays a "MultiStore" prefix to identify vFiler units.• The Supported Protocols column reports the storage protocols actually in use by ESX hosts

instead of the protocols licensed for the storage controller.• The Alert icon in the Status column means that the vFiler unit does not respond to VSC. The

Normal icon means that VSC is able to communicate with the vFiler unit.• No detailed status is returned for vFiler units. The Status Reason column contains This

controller is a MultiStore vFiler unit. You can connect to the physical controllerthat owns the vFiler unit to get more status information.

• FilerView is not available for vFiler units. The Open FilerView menu item is not shown whenyou right click a vFiler unit.

Collecting diagnostic informationYou can use VSC to collect diagnostic information about storage controllers, ESX and ESXi hosts,and Fibre Channel switches. This is the equivalent of the *_info scripts previously provided by ESXHost Utilities.

Before you begin

If VSC is running on a Windows Server 2008 or Server 2008 SP1 system, you must change the VSCservice to run on an Administrator account to enable the data collection programs to run correctly.This change is not required for Windows Server 2008 SP2 or later, or any version of Server 2003.

Steps



3. Click Data Collection.

4. Select the component you want to collect data from.

5. Select or enter the hostname or IP address of the component, and enter a User name and Passwordwith root or administrator rights.


6. Clear the Save File Locally check box if you do not want the file copied to your localworkstation.

7. Click Submit.

The diagnostic data is collected in a .tar.gz file.

8. When the Download file dialog box is displayed, select a location to save the file and the clickSave.

This dialog box is displayed only if the Save File Locally check box is selected.

Result

The .tar.gz file is stored on the Windows server running VSC, and optionally copied to your localworkstation. On the VSC server, the file is saved to the C:\Program Files\NetApp\Virtual Storage Console\etc\vsc\web\support\support.

After you finish

Send the file to Technical Support for analysis.

Related tasks

Changing the VSC service account for data collection on Windows Server 2008 on page 37

Changing the VSC service account for data collection on Windows Server2008

To enable running the data collection programs on Windows Server 2008 or Server 2008 SP1, youmust change the account used by the VSC service to an Administrator account.

About this task

The VSC service normally runs under the Local System account. For Windows 2008 Server and2008 Server SP1, the Windows security features prevent the data collection programs from runningcorrectly under the Local System account. This procedure is not required for Windows Server 2008SP2 or later.

Steps

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 system on which you installed VSC.

2. Open the Services application by selecting Start > Administrative Tools > Services

3. Right-click the NetApp vSphere Plugin Framework service and select Properties.

4. On the Log On tab, select This account.

5. Enter the credentials for a Administrator account on the Windows system and then click OK.


After you finish

Switch back to the Local System account if desired after running the data collection programs.

Downloading and running toolsVSC includes tools for setting virtual machine timeouts and for detecting and correcting misaligneddisk partitions.

The guest operating system (GOS) scripts set the required storage timeouts for virtual machines.They can be run on the guest operating system console using the vSphere Client.

The MBR (master boot record) tools detect and correct misaligned disk partitions. The MBR toolsmust be downloaded to the ESX host before use.

Next topics

Downloading MBR tools on page 38

Installing GOS scripts on page 39

Downloading MBR toolsThe MBR (master boot record) tools enable you to detect and correct misaligned disk partitions forguest operating systems. The tools must be installed and run directly on the ESX host. They cannotrun from the vSphere Client, vCenter Server, or VSC server.

Before you begin

You must be able to open a console connection to the ESX host. The MBR tools cannot run on ESXihosts.

Steps



3. Click Tools.

4. Under MBR Tools, click Download.

The file is approximately 17 MB.

5. When the File Download dialog is displayed, click Save.

6. Copy the MBR tools file to the root (/) directory of the ESX host computer.

You might need to open ESX firewall ports to enable copying the tools to the ESX host.


Note: The MBR tools libraries must be located in specific directories on the ESX host. Be sureto download the file to the root directory, or use the -P option of the tar command whenextracting the files.

7. Extract the files on the ESX host using the following command:

tar -Pzxf filename

The -P option places the files in the required directories. You can move the mbrscan andmbralign binary files to any location, but the library files must be located in the specificdirectories to which they are originally extracted.

After you finish

Run the mbrscan and mbralign tools to check and fix the partition alignment.

Related concepts

How to identify and fix VMDK partition alignment issues on page 50

Installing GOS scriptsThe ISO images of the guest operating system (GOS) scripts are loaded on the VSC server. Mountand run them from the vSphere Client to set the storage timeouts for virtual machines.

Before you begin

The virtual machine must be running.

If the CD-ROM does not exist in the virtual machine, you must add it.

The script must be installed from the copy of VSC registered to the vCenter Server that manages theVM.

Steps



3. Click Tools.

4. Under Guest OS Tools, right-click the link to the ISO image for your guest operating systemversion and select Copy to clipboard.

5. In the vSphere Client, select the desired VM and click the CD/DVD Connections icon.

6. Select CD/DVD Drive 1 > Connect to ISO image on local disk .

7. Paste the link you copied into the File Name field and then click Open.

If you receive an authorization error, be sure you have selected the NetApp tab and clicked Yes toproceed if a security certificate warning is displayed.


Also, be sure the link you are using is from the copy of VSC running on the vCenter Server thatmanages the VM.

After you finish

Log on to the VM and run the script to set the storage timeout values.

Related tasks

Running the GOS timeout scripts for Linux on page 48

Running the GOS timeout scripts for Solaris on page 49

Running the GOS timeout script for Windows on page 50

Adding the CD-ROM to a VM

Add the CD-ROM to a virtual machine if it does not exist to enable installing the guest operatingsystem scripts.

Steps

1. In the vSphere Client, select the desired VM and power it off.

2. Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.

3. On the Hardware tab, click Add.

4. Select CD/DVD Drive and then click Next.

5. Click Use physical drive.

6. Click Next several times to accept the default values.

7. Click OK to finish adding the CD-ROM.

8. Power on the VM.


Troubleshooting

This section describes how to troubleshoot general Virtual Storage Console installation and usageissues. You can find additional troubleshooting information for specific VSC capabilities in theadministration guide for the capability.

Next topics

Getting information about storage controllers with an Alert status on page 41

Getting information about ESX hosts with an Alert status on page 41

Collecting the VSC log files on page 42

Troubleshooting error message "Unable to communicate with the server" on page 43

Getting information about storage controllers with an Alertstatus

Display the Status Reason column or open FilerView to get an explanation of why a storagecontroller displays the Alert status on the VSC Overview panel. By default, the Status Reasoncolumn is hidden.

Steps

1. On the Overview panel, click the arrow in the column header and select Columns.

2. Select Status Reason.

Note that vFiler units do not return a detailed status reason; This controller is aMultiStore vFiler unit is displayed for vFiler units. The displayed text is truncated if thestatus reason is too long, and ellipses (...) are appended to the displayed text.

3. To get more information, right-click the storage controller and select Open FilerView.

The FilerView GUI for the controller opens in your web browser.

Getting information about ESX hosts with an Alert statusSelect Show Details to get an explanation of why an ESX host displays the Alert status on the VSCOverview panel.

About this task

The Alert icon is display if a current host setting is different than the value set by VSC.

Troubleshooting | 41

Steps

1. On the Overview panel, right click the ESX host and select Show Details.

2. Compare the host settings with the values set by VSC.

For NFS settings, the current value is shown in red if it does not match the recommended value,and the recommended value is displayed.

For some settings, the default is used and no explicit value is set. These default values are shownas empty strings ("").

After you finish

Select Set Recommended Values from the right-click menu to have VSC update the desired ESXhost settings.

Related references

ESX host settings set by Virtual Storage Console on page 34

Collecting the VSC log filesYou can collect the log files from all installed VSC components and capabilities using the DataCollection panel in Virtual Storage Console. Technical support might ask you to collect the log filesto help troubleshoot a problem.

Steps



3. If necessary, select Virtual Storage Console, and then select the Data Collection panel.

4. Select Export VSC Logs and click Submit.

5. When prompted, save the file to your local computer.

After you finish

Send the .zip file to technical support.


Troubleshooting error message "Unable to communicatewith the server"

If the VSC server is unable to communicate with the vCenter server, the vSphere Client displays themessage "Unable to communicate with the server ". Correct any connectivity problems, and ifnecessary restart the affected servers.

Steps

1. If the VSC and vCenter servers run on separate systems, verify that the two systems have basicnetwork connectivity between them.

2. Verify that any firewalls on the server allow communication on TCP port 443 (HTTPS/SSL).

3. Log into the Windows server or servers verify that the NetApp vSphere Plugin Frameworkservice is running and the VMware vCenter services are running.

4. If a service is not running, restart the service.

5. If none of the previous steps solved the problem, reboot the Windows server or servers runningVSC and vCenter Server.

Troubleshooting | 43

Using ESX hosts with NetApp storage

To use ESX hosts with NetApp storage systems, you need to correctly provision storage andconfigure ESX hosts.

The following topics include general storage system and ESX host information.

Next topics

LUN type guidelines on page 45

Provisioning storage on page 45

How to set up VMware ESX on page 46

Setting timeout values for guest operating systems on page 48


LUN type guidelinesLUNs must be created with the correct LUN type.

If the LUN will be configured with VMFS, then use the LUN type vmware for Data ONTAP 7.1.x orlater. Use the LUN type linux for Data ONTAP 7.0.x and earlier.

If the LUN will be configured with RDM, then use the guest OS for the LUN type. For example, ifthe RDM LUN will have NTFS, use the windows LUN type. If the RDM LUN will have EXT2/EXT3, use the linux LUN type.

Provisioning storageTo configure your storage systems to connect to virtual machines (VMs) running on VMware ESX,you must create new volumes, LUNs, and igroups and then map the LUNs to the igroups.

Before you begin

You need the FC or iSCSI identifiers of the ESX host.

For detailed instructions on the following steps, see the Data ONTAP Block Access ManagementGuide for iSCSI and FC for your version of Data ONTAP software.

Steps

1. Create an initiator group (igroup) for each VMware ESX server using the vmware igroup type.

Use the WWPNs for all FC HBAs in the ESX host, or the iSCSI initiator node name of the ESXhost when creating the igroup.

Using ESX hosts with NetApp storage | 45

For ESX 4.0 and 4.1 configurations that support ALUA, enable the ALUA option on the igroup.

Note: Do not enable ALUA for LUNs used by guest operating systems in a Microsoft cluster(Windows Server 2003 MSCS or Server 2008 failover cluster) configuration. If ALUA isenabled, the cluster loses its persistent reservations during storage faults, causing the clusterservice to be unavailable.

2. Create the storage for each virtual machine.

a. Create one or more volumes to contain the LUNs.

FlexVol volumes are recommended in general, and are required if you are using Snapshotcopies.

b. Create a LUN for the VM's root disk.

c. Create any additional LUNs needed for the VM's application data.

d. Map all of the LUNs to the igroup for the ESX host.

If you plan to use VMotion to move your guest operating systems from one VMware ESXhost to another, map the LUN to all hosts in the cluster. The LUN IDs must be identical.

After you finish

Optionally, verify and if necessary correct the alignment of the VMDK partitions.

Sometimes partition misalignment problems can arise, which can lead to performance degradationunder very heavy I/O. Depending on your configuration, you might need to align your VMDKpartitions to avoid subsequent performance problems.

Note that if you use RDM, and you use the correct guest OS for the LUN type, you should notexperience alignment problems.

Related concepts

LUN type guidelines on page 45


How to set up VMware ESXAfter creating the necessary LUNs and igroups, and after mapping the LUNs to the igroups, youmust configure your host.

For guests in a Microsoft Windows cluster (MSCS) configuration only, you also need to change thepath selection policy.

For more information about setting up ESX, see the following documents for your version of ESX:

• ESX Server Configuration Guide• iSCSI SAN Configuration Guide


• Fibre Channel SAN Configuration Guide

Next topics

Configuring the VMware ESX host on page 47

Manually setting the path selection policy for Microsoft cluster configurations on page 47

Related information

VMware product documentation - www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vi_pubs.html

Configuring the VMware ESX hostConfiguring the VMware ESX host requires rescanning the bus, creating a datastore, and creating anew VM.

Before you begin

You need to create the required LUNs before starting this task.

Detailed task information is available in the ESX Server Configuration Guide.

Steps

1. Rescan the SCSI bus to discover the new LUNs.

a. Open the VMware vSphere Client and connect to your ESX host.

b. On the Configuration tab, select Hardware > Storage Adapters

c. Click Rescan.

2. Create a VMFS datastore on the LUN.

3. Create a new VM or add a new disk to an existing VM.

Manually setting the path selection policy for Microsoft clusterconfigurations

For guest operating systems in a Microsoft cluster (MSCS for Windows Server 2003 or failovercluster for Server 2008) configuration, disable ALUA on the igroup and change the path selectionpolicy to FIXED.

About this task

For Microsoft Windows guest operating systems in a cluster configuration, always use the FIXEDpath selection policy and disable ALUA on the igroup for the LUNs. This might require you tomanually set the path selection policy.

If ALUA is enabled, the Windows cluster loses its persistent reservations during storage faults,causing the cluster service to be unavailable. When ALUA is disabled, the FIXED path selectionpolicy is required to avoid sending I/O over proxy paths.


http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vi_pubs.html

The default path selection policy set byVirtual Storage Console should be used if the ESX host doesNOT have guest operating systems in a Windows cluster (MSCS or failover cluster) configuration.For ESX 4.0 and 4.1 systems, the path selection policy is set to round robin (RR) for ALUA FCconfigurations and all iSCSI configurations, and set to FIXED for non-ALUA configurations. ForESX 3.5, the default policy is FIXED.

Steps

1. To manually change the path selection policy, enter the following command on the ESX host:

esxcli conn_options nmp device setpolicy --device device_name --pspVMW_PSP_FIXED

For more information about the esxcli command, see the vSphere Command-Line InterfaceInstallation and Reference Guide.

2. To disable ALUA for an igroup, enter the following command at a Data ONTAP commandprompt:

igroup set igroup_name alua no

Related information

vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Reference Guide - www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_vcli.pdf

Setting timeout values for guest operating systemsUse the Guest OS (GOS) timeout scripts to set the SCSI I/O timeout values for supported Linux,Solaris, and Windows guest operating systems. The timeout values ensure correct failover behavior.

Next topics

Running the GOS timeout scripts for Linux on page 48

Running the GOS timeout scripts for Solaris on page 49

Running the GOS timeout script for Windows on page 50

Running the GOS timeout scripts for LinuxRun the timeout script to set the SCSI I/O timeout settings for RHEL4, RHEL5, SLES9, SLES10, orSLES11. After upgrading to a new version of Linux, be sure to run the script again.

Before you begin

You must mount the ISO image containing the Linux script before you can run it in the virtualmachine.


http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_vcli.pdf

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_vcli.pdf

Steps

1. Open the console of the Linux virtual machine and log in to an account with root privileges.

2. Run the linux_gos_timeout-install.sh script.

Result

For RHEL4 or SLES9, a message similar to the following is displayed:Restarting udev... this may take a few seconds.Setting I/O Timeout (190s) for /dev/sda - SUCCESS!

For RHEL5, a message similar to the following is displayed:patching file /etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev.rulesHunk #1 succeeded at 333 (offset 13 lines).Restarting udev... this may take a few seconds.Starting udev: [ OK ]Setting I/O Timeout (190s) for /dev/sda - SUCCESS!

For SLES10 or SLES11, a message similar to the following is displayed:patching file /etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev-default.rulesHunk #1 succeeded at 114 (offset 1 line).Restarting udev ...this may take a few seconds.Updating all available device nodes in /dev: done

After you finish

Unmount the ISO image by clicking the CD/DVD Connections icon in the vSphere Client andselecting CD/DVD Drive 1 > Disconnect from filename.iso.

Running the GOS timeout scripts for SolarisThis script sets the SCSI I/O timeout settings for Solaris 10.

Before you begin

You must mount the ISO image containing the Solaris script before you can run it in the virtualmachine.

Steps

1. Open the console of the Solaris virtual machine and log in to an account with root privileges.

2. Run the solaris_gos_timeout-install.sh script.

Result

For Solaris 10, a message similar to the following is displayed:Setting I/O Timeout for /dev/s–a - SUCCESS!


After you finish


Running the GOS timeout script for WindowsRun the Windows GOS timeout script to set the SCSI I/O timeout settings for Windows guestoperating systems. You must reboot the Windows guest OS for the settings to take effect.

Before you begin

You must mount the ISO image containing the Windows script before you can run it in the virtualmachine.

Steps

1. Open the console of the Windows virtual machine and log in to an account with Administratorprivileges.

2. If the script does not automatically start, open the CD drive and runwindows_gos_timeout.reg.

The Registry Editor dialog is displayed.

3. Click Yes to continue.

The following message is displayed: The keys and values contained in D:\windows_gos_timeout.reg have been successfully added to the registry.

4. Reboot the Windows guest OS.

After you finish


How to identify and fix VMDK partition alignment issuesIn some cases, VMDK partitions can become misaligned, leading to performance degradation.

Note: This issue may be serious enough to warrant action, but the performance degradationdepends on your I/O load and configuration. In many cases, the decrease in performance will benegligible.

Also note that this problem is not unique to NetApp storage platforms.

VMDK partitions need to be aligned at both the VMFS and guest OS levels. For example, you canalign the partitions at the VMFS level by selecting the vmware LUN type when creating your LUNs.By doing so, the partitions are aligned to sector 128 or sector 0, depending on whether you use


vCenter or vmkfstools to create the VMFS. Regardless, the partitions will be aligned as both aremultiples of 4 KB, thereby fulfilling the WAFL read/write requirements.

However, because some operating systems implement sector offsets that are not aligned to 4 KBboundaries, the partitions might still not be aligned at the guest OS level. Therefore, you mustmanually align the .vmdk files at the guest OS level for VMFS and NFS datastores.

Note: If you use RDM and create the LUN with the correct guest OS for the LUN type, then youshould not experience alignment issues with the RDM LUNs. The base VMDK might still have analignment issue.

Next topicsChecking VMDK partition alignment with mbrscan on page 51VMDK partition alignment with mbralign overview on page 52Fixing VMDK partition alignment using mbralign on page 53Reinstalling GRUB for Linux guests after running mbralign on page 54Reinstalling GRUB for Solaris guests after running mbralign on page 55

Checking VMDK partition alignment with mbrscanYou can use the mbrscan tool included with Virtual Storage Console to check VMDK partitionalignment.

About this task

The mbrscan tool is effective on -flat.vmdk and fixed .vhd files that are partitioned using a masterboot record (MBR) partition table.

Steps

1. Shut down the virtual machine.

If you do not want to shut down the VM, take either a Data ONTAP Snapshot copy of the volumecontaining the Datastore LUN or NFS Datastore, or take a VMware snapshot of the VM inquestion, and then run mbrscan against the copy.

2. On the ESX host console, change to the directory where mbrscan is installed.

3. Enter the following command on the ESX host console:

./mbrscan { --all | filename }

The --all option scans all -flat.vmdk files.

filename specifies the name of a single file to scan.

The command displays whether the VMDK partition is correctly aligned.

[root@esxhost1 santools]# ./mbrscan --allBuilding file list...


...--------------------/vmfs/volumes/49f8b1df-c1472860-5366-00145e18254a/Virtual Machine 2/Virtual Machine 2-flat.vmdk p1 (Linux) lba:63 offset:32256 aligned:No/vmfs/volumes/49f8b1df-c1472860-5366-00145e18254a/Virtual Machine 2/Virtual Machine 2-flat.vmdk p2 (LLVM) lba:208845 offset:106928640 aligned:No--------------------...

VMDK partition alignment with mbralign overviewThe mbralign tool enables you to correct misaligned VMDK partitions.

The mbralign tool works on primary VMDK partitions with a master boot record (MBR) partitiontable. If there are multiple partitions, the partitions must be in order on the disk.

The mbralign tool has the following requirements:

• The destination datastore must have enough free space for a full copy of the -flat.vmdk file.• GRUB-booted Linux and Solaris guest operating systems need to have GRUB reinstalled after

aligning the boot partition.• The virtual machine using the VMDK must be shut down when running mbralign.

The mbralign tool has the following limitations:

• VMDKs containing Windows dynamic disks or GPT partitions are not supported. The Windowsoperating system disk must be disk C.

• VMDKs containing Linux LVM are not supported.• All VMware snapshots and linked clones must be removed from the VM using the disk being

aligned.• The alignment process consumes snap reserve. Snapshot copies can grow very large if taken

during the alignment process.• SLES 11 guests are not currently supported. See the Virtual Storage Console Release Notes for

possible updates.

The performance of VMFS datastores can be improved by increasing the default 8 KB block size to alarger value (16, 32, 64, 128, or 1024) using the --bs option of the mbralign command.

To see all of the command options, you can use mbralign --help command, or you can refer tothe mbralign man page.


Fixing VMDK partition alignment using mbralignIf a VMDK partition is misaligned, you can align the partition using the mbralign tool includedwith VSC.

Before you begin

Expect mbralign to run for 1 to 2 minutes per gigabyte of storage in the affected files.

Steps

1. Remove any VMware snapshots from the VM that is to be realigned.

2. Shut down the VM.

3. On the ESX host console, change to the directory containing the .vmdk file for the VM.

4. Enter the following command:

path/mbralign name.vmdk

path is the path where the mbralign program is installed.

name is the name of the VMDK file being aligned.

5. When prompted Are you sure that no snapshots/linked clones exist for thisvmdk? Enter y.

Attention: The use of mbralign on a VMDK file that has a snapshot or linked clone associatedwith it can result in unrecoverable data loss or data corruption.

6. For Windows guest operating systems, restart the VM and verify that the guest operating systemboots successfully.

7. For Linux and Solaris guest operating systems using the GRUB boot loader, reinstall GRUBbefore restarting the VM.

8. After verifying the VM has booted and is operating correctly, delete the backup files created bymbralign.

These files are saved in the same directory as the .vmdk file and have names ending in -mbralign-backup.

In the following example, some output has been deleted for clarity and the lines have beentruncated to fit the page.

[root@esxhost1 V_M_2]# /opt/netapp/santools/mbralign V_M_2.vmdk Part Type old LBA New Start LBA New End LBA Length in KB P1 83 63 64 208846 104391 P2 8e 208845 208856 16771871 8281507

NOTICE:


This tool does not check for the existence of Virtual Machine snapshots or linked clones.The use of this tool on a vmdk file that has a snapshot or linked clone associated with itcan result in unrecoverable data loss and/or data corruption.Are you sure that no snapshots/linked clones exist for this vmdk? (y/n)y

Creating a backup of V_M_2.vmdkCreating a backup of ./V_M_2-flat.vmdkCreating a copy the Master Boot RecordWorking on partition P1 (2): Starting to migrate blocks from 32256 to 32768....

Related tasks

Reinstalling GRUB for Linux guests after running mbralign on page 54

Reinstalling GRUB for Solaris guests after running mbralign on page 55

Reinstalling GRUB for Linux guests after running mbralignAfter running mbralign on disks for Linux guest operating systems using the GRUB boot loader,you must reinstall GRUB to ensure the guest operating system boots correctly.

Before you begin

The mbralign program has completed on the on the .vmdk file for the virtual machine.

About this task

This topic applies only to Linux guest operating systems using the GRUB boot loader.

Steps

1. Mount the ISO image of Disk 1 of the installation CDs for the correct version of Linux for thevirtual machine.

2. Check the box for Connected (if the VM is running) or Connect at power on (if the VM is notrunning).

3. Open the vSphere Client remote console for the VM.

4. If the VM is running and hung at the GRUB screen, click in the display area to make sure it isactive, then press Ctrl-Alt-Insert to reboot the VM. If the VM is not running, start it, and thenimmediately click in the display area to make sure it is active.

5. As soon as you see the VMware BIOS splash hit escape once.

The boot menu is displayed.

6. At the boot menu, select CD-ROM.


7. At the Linux boot screen, enter

:linux rescue

8. Take the defaults for Anaconda (the blue/red configuration screens). Networking is optional.

9. Launch GRUB by entering:

grub

10. If there is only one virtual disk in this VM, or if there are multiple disks, but the first is the bootdisk, then run the following GRUB commands:

root (hd0,0)

setup (hd0)

quit

If you have multiple virtual disks in the VM, and the boot disk is not the first disk, or you arefixing GRUB by booting from the misaligned backup VMDK, enter the following command toidentify the boot disk:

find /boot/grub/stage1

Run the following commands:

root (boot_disk,0)

setup (boot_disk)

quit

boot_disk is the disk identifier of the boot disk.

11. Press Ctrl-D to log out.

Linux rescue shuts down and then reboots.

Related tasks

Fixing VMDK partition alignment using mbralign on page 53

Reinstalling GRUB for Solaris guests after running mbralignAfter running mbralign on disks for Solaris guest operating systems using the GRUB boot loader,you must reinstall GRUB to ensure the guest operating system boots correctly.

Before you begin

The mbralign program has completed on the .vmdk file for the virtual machine.

About this task

This topic applies only to Solaris guest operating systems using the GRUB boot loader.


Steps

1. Mount the ISO image of Disk 1 of the installation CDs for the correct version of Solaris for thevirtual machine.

2. Check the box for Connected (if the VM is running) or Connect at power on (if the VM is notrunning).

3. Open the vSphere Client remote console for the VM.

4. If the VM is running and hung at the GRUB screen, click in the display area to make sure it isactive, then press Ctrl-Alt-Insert to reboot the VM. If the VM is not running, start it, and thenimmediately click in the display area to make sure it is active.

5. As soon as you see the VMware BIOS splash screen, hit escape once.

The boot menu is displayed.

6. At the boot menu, select CD-ROM.

7. At the first menu prompt, select Solaris.

8. Select option 6, Single user shell.

9. At the prompt to mount the disk, enter y.

The system displays Starting shell.

10. Enter the following commands at the prompt:

/sbin/installgrub /boot/grub/stage1 /boot/grub/stage2 /dev/rdsk/boot_disk

bootadm update-archive -f -R /a

boot_disk is the identifier of the guest OS boot disk, for example c1t0d0s0

11. Reboot the VM.

3. Solaris Interactive Text (Desktop session)4. Solaris Interactive Text (Console session)5. Apply driver updates6. Single user shell

Enter the number of your choice.Selected: 6

Single user shell

Searching for installed OS instances...

Solaris 10 5/09 s10x_u7wos_08 X86 was found on /dev/dsk/c1t0d0s0Do you wish to have it mounted read-write on /a [y,n,?] ymounting /dev/dsk/c1t0d0s0 on /a

Starting shell.# /sbin/installgrub /boot/grub/stage1 /boot/grub/stage2 /dev/rdsk/


c1t0d0s0stage1 written to partition 0 sector 0 (abs 64)stage2 written to partition 0, 265 sectors starting at 50 (abs 114)# bootadm update-archive -f -R /aCreating boot_archive for /aupdating /a/platform/i86pc/boot_archive# reboot

Related tasks

Fixing VMDK partition alignment using mbralign on page 53


IndexA

Add Storage System dialog box 30alert status 41

getting more information 41alignment 50

identifying and fixing partition 50ALUA 45

enabling 45

B

Backup and Recovery 13, 16, 30about 16adding storage systems 30lock management 13

boot loader 54, 55reinstalling for Linux after running mbralign 54reinstalling for Solaris after running mbralign 55

C

communication 43troubleshooting 43

config_mpath 47setting path selection policy for MSCS guests 47

configuration 27connectivity 43

troubleshooting 43controller 30

removing skipped or unmanaged 30credentials 31

for storage controllers 31

D

data collection 42VSC log files 42

Data Collection panel 36collecting diagnostic data 36

data collection programs 37changing VSC service credentials 37

datastore 47creating 47

diagnostic data 36

collecting 36discovery 27, 28

enabling for vFiler units 28disk partitions 38

checking and fixing alignment 38Disk.QFullSampleSize 34Disk.QFullThreshold 34DNS name 30

E

Emulex FC HBA timeouts 34ESX host 33, 41, 46

displaying settings 41multipathing and timeout settings 33setting up 46

ESX host settings 34

F

failover cluster 47setting path selection policy for 47

FilerView 35, 41launching 35opening 41

fixed 47path selection policy 47

G

GRUB 54, 55reinstalling for Linux after running mbralign 54reinstalling for Solaris after running mbralign 55

guest operating system (GOS) scripts 39installing 39

guest OS 48–50setting timeouts for Linux 48setting timeouts for Solaris 49setting timeouts for Windows 50

H

help, online 19host 33

multipathing and timeout settings 33httpd.admin.enable option 28

Index | 59

I

igroup 45creating 45

installing 22, 38, 39guest operating system (GOS) scripts 39mbralign 38Virtual Storage Console 22

IP address 30

L

Linux 48, 54reinstalling GRUB after running mbralign 54setting timeouts for guest OS 48

linux_gos_timeout-install.iso 48guest OS tool 48

lock management 13log files 42

collecting 42LUN 45

creating 45type 45

M

MBR tools 38mbralign 38, 52, 53

fixing partition alignment 53installing 38overview 52

mbrscan 51checking partition alignment 51

MSCS 47setting path selection policy for 47

multipathing 33configuring ESX host 33

MultiStore display differences 36

N

Net.TcpipHeapMax 34Net.TcpipHeapSize 34NetApp vSphere Plugin Framework service 37

changing credentials 37NFS.HeartbeatFrequency 34NFS.HeartbeatMaxFailures 34NFS.HeartbeatTimeout 34NFS.MaxVolumes 34

O

online help 19

P

parameters 34ESX host 34

partition alignment 50, 51, 53checking with mbrscan 51fixing with mbralign 53identifying and fixing 50

partitions 38checking and fixing alignment 38

path selection policy 34, 47setting for MSCS and failover cluster 47

Provisioning and Cloning 14about 14

provisioning storage 45

Q

QLogic 34FC HBA timeouts 34iSCSI HBA IP_ARP_Redirect 34iSCSI HBA timeouts 34

R

RBAC 31creating custom accounts 31

registering 23Virtual Storage Console 23

Remove Controller command 30rescan SCSI bus 47resources 29

discovering and adding 29

S

scripts, guest operating system (GOS) 39installing 39

SCSI bus 47rescan 47

service account 37changing credentials 37

settings 34ESX host 34


show details 41displaying ESX host settings 41

skipped controller 30removing 30

Solaris 49, 55reinstalling GRUB after running mbralign 55setting timeouts for guest OS 49

solaris_gos_timeout-install.iso 49guest OS tool 49

status 41getting more information for alert 41

status reason 41displaying column 41

storage controller 27, 30discovery 27removing skipped or unmanaged 30

storage resources 29discovering and adding 29

storage system 35managing with FilerView 35

storage systems 30adding 30

supported configurations 22

T

timeout settings 33configuring ESX host 33

timeouts 34ESX host 34

tools 38, 48–50partition alignment 38setting Linux guest OS timeouts 48setting Solaris guest OS timeouts 49setting Windows guest OS timeouts 50

troubleshooting 36, 41–43, 50collecting diagnostic data 36collecting VSC log files 42partition alignment 50unable to communicate with the server 43

U

unable to communicate with the server 43troubleshooting 43

uninstalling 26Virtual Storage Console 26

unmanaged controller 30

removing 30update command 27updating 29

VSC resource information 29user accounts 31

for storage controllers 31

V

vCenter Server 23registering Virtual Storage Console 23

vFiler unit 28enabling discovery 28

vFiler unit display differences 36Virtual Storage Console 13, 14, 16, 21–27

about 13about installing 21adding or removing capabilities 25Backup and Recovery capability 16configuration 27installing 22lock management 13Provisioning and Cloning capability 14registering 23supported configurations 22uninstalling 26upgrading the software 24Virtual Storage Console capability 13

VMDK partition alignment 50, 51, 53checking with mbrscan 51fixing with mbralign 53identifying and fixing 50

volume 45creating 45

VSC logs 42collecting 42

VSC service account 37changing credentials 37

W

Windows 50setting timeouts for guest OS 50

Windows failover cluster 47setting path selection policy for 47

windows_gos_timeout.iso 50guest OS tool 50

Index | 61

install

Documents

netapp virtual storage

netapp storage

storage controllers

storage resources

storage systems

storage system discovery

vsc capabilities

information web