Dell Storage vSphere Client Plugin Version 6.0 Administrator’s Guide June 2020 Rev.
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Preface About this Guide The Dell Storage vSphere Client Plugin Administrator’s Guide provides instructions for installing, configuring, and using the Dell Storage vSphere Client Plugin. The plugin provides management of Dell storage with the VMware vSphere Client.
Contents 1 Getting Started............................................................................................................................ 6 Key Features.......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Requirements for the vSphere Client Plugin......................................................................................................................
Viewing Volume Snapshots.......................................................................................................................................... 33 Viewing Protocol Endpoints......................................................................................................................................... 34 Viewing Replications and Live Volumes......................................................................................................................
1 Getting Started The Dell Storage vSphere Client Plugin provides management of Dell Storage NOTE: Use the VMware vSphere Client to perform all procedures in this guide, unless instructed otherwise.
• QoS Definition: A Quality of Service (QoS) definition must be set up on the source Storage Center for replication. See the Dell Storage Manager Administrator’s Guide for instructions on creating QoS definitions. If you are using iSCSI connections for replications: • • The destination Storage Center must be defined as an iSCSI Remote System on the source Storage Center. The source Storage Center must be defined as an iSCSI Remote Connection on the destination Storage Center.
• If the credentials are correct, the vSphere Client Plugin retrieves Storage Center information from the Dell Storage Manager server. NOTE: The more Storage Centers and volumes that are managed by the Dell Storage Manager user, the longer it takes to display the Dell Storage page. If the credentials are incorrect, a Connection Manager error dialog box opens.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. In the vSphere Client window, select Menu and click In the Administration pane, click Dell Storage. Click the Manage tab. Click Update. The Connection Manager dialog box opens. Administration. Figure 3. Connection Manager Dialog Box In vCenter Password, type the password of the vCenter user. In Dell Storage Manager Password, type the password of a Storage Manager user with administrator privileges. Click Save. In the Manage tab, clear the Register VASA Provider setting.
Figure 4. Connection Manager Dialog Box 6. Modify the vCenter and Dell Storage Manager credentials as needed and click Save. Displaying Storage Center Information The Summary tab on the Dell Storage page displays summary information for Storage Center. The Monitor tab displays performance and usage charts for Storage Center. Display Storage Center Information The Summary tab displays Storage Center controller information and storage type information. Steps 1. Log in to the vSphere Client. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Label/Option Description Write KB/sec —Transfer rate of write operations in kilobytes per second IO/sec Chart Read IO/sec — Transfer rate of read operations in I/O operations per second Total IO/sec — Combined transfer rate of read and write operations in I/O operations per second Write IO/sec —Transfer rate of write operations in I/O operations per second Enables you to download an image of the chart in .
2 Working With Dell Storage The Dell Storage vSphere Client Plugin communicates with Dell Storage Manager and enables the management of Dell Storage. Topics: • • • • Introduction to Dell Storage Creating and Managing VMFS Datastores on Storage Centers Configuring, Creating, and Recovering Snapshots Create and Manage Replications and Live Volumes Introduction to Dell Storage An administrator can use the Dell Storage vSphere Client Plugin to manage Dell storage on a Storage Center.
Storage Term Description • • • progress data between storage types and across all storage tiers based on data type and usage. High Priority: Use the High Priority profile only for volumes that contain data you want to keep in tier 1 storage. That is, applying the High Priority profile to a volume prevents the volume data from migrating to another tier. Medium Priority: Use the Medium Priority profile only for volumes that contain data you want to keep in tier 2 storage.
• On the Volumes page, the values for Storage Profile and Disk Folder can be modified only if the preferences for the Storage Center have been set to Allow. For information about managing the preferences, see the Dell Storage Manager Administrator’s Guide or Unisphere for SC Series Administrator's Guide. Steps 1. Select an object in inventory that can be a parent of a datastore: • • • Datacenter Host Cluster 2. Select Actions > All Dell Storage Actions > Add Datastore. The Add Datastore wizard opens. 3.
Map an Existing Dell Volume as a Datastore An existing Dell volume can be mapped as a datastore using the vSphere Client Plugin. Prerequisites • • The SAS mapping protocol selection is available only on Storage Centers that support Front-end SAS: SCv2000 series and SC4020 Storage Centers. The volume must be formatted with VMFS file system. Steps 1. Select an object in inventory that can be a parent of a datastore: • • • Datacenter Host Cluster 2.
• Storage Profile—A Storage Profile controls how the Storage Center manages volume data. ○ Recommended (All Tiers)—Select this option for most volumes. The Recommended profile allows the system to automatically progress data between and across all storage tiers based on the type of data and usage. ○ High Priority (Tier 1)—Select this option to force volume data to remain in tier 1 storage. ○ Medium Priority (Tier 2)—Select this option to force volume data to remain in tier 2 storage.
Applying a Snapshot Profile for a Datastore Apply a Snapshot Profile to a datastore (Dell volume) or to all volumes associated with a virtual machine to establish a schedule for automatically taking snapshots. Only Snapshot Profiles already defined on the Storage Center are available for selection. Steps 1. Select a datastore in inventory. 2. Select Actions > All Dell Storage Actions > Snapshot > Set Snapshot Profile. The Set Snapshot Profile wizard starts. 3.
The Storage Center Snapshot Recovery wizard starts. 3. Select a snapshot from which to recover data. NOTE: Only one snapshot per volume can be selected. 4. Click Next. The Host Selection page opens. 5. Select the host for accessing the recovered datastore. 6. Click Next. The Datastore Name page opens. 7. Specify a name and location for the recovered datastore. 8. Click Next. The Mapping LUN page opens. 9. Select the LUN for mapping the recovered datastore. 10. Click Next. The Ready to Complete page opens.
Steps 1. Select a datastore to replicate. 2. Select Actions > Dell Storage Actions > Replications/Live Volume > Add. The Add Replica/Live Volume wizard starts. 3. Select the target (destination) Storage Center. 4. Click Next. The Volume Settings page opens. 5. Select the volume settings: • • Storage Type—A Storage Type is a pool of storage with a single datapage size. The Storage Type is set at the disk folder level, and once set it cannot be changed without assistance from technical support.
○ Recommended (All Tiers)—Select this option for most volumes. The Recommended profile allows the system to automatically progress data between and across all storage tiers based on the type of data and usage. ○ High Priority (Tier 1)—Select this option to force volume data to remain in tier 1 storage. ○ Medium Priority (Tier 2)—Select this option to force volume data to remain in tier 2 storage. ○ Low Priority (Tier 3)—Select this option to force volume data to remain in tier 3 storage.
• • Delete Restore Point—Select this option if you want to delete the restore point for the replication. Recycle Destination Volume—Select this option if you want to move the destination volume to the Recycle Bin on the destination Storage Center. • Delete Destination Volume—Select this option if you do not want to retain the deleted destination volume in the Recycle Bin— not recommended.
8. Click Next. The Live Volume Settings page opens. 9. Set the Live Volume options: • Select a Secondary QoS Definition from the drop-down list. • Select or clear the Storage Center swap options. If you choose to Automatically Swap Primary Storage Center, click Show advanced settings for more options for determining when to swap: ○ Min. data written to secondary before swap ○ Min. % of I/O on secondary before swap ○ Min.
• Deduplication—Select this option to copy only the changed portions of the snapshot history on the source volume, rather than all data captured in each snapshot. Deduplication saves bandwidth but is more resource intensive for the Storage Center. • Select the Replication Target Location. 9. Click Next. If you did not choose to convert from a Live Volume to a replication, the Live Volumes Options page opens. 10. Set the Live Volume options: • Select a Secondary QoS Definition from the drop-down list.
The vSphere Client Plugin wizard loads information for the selected datastore. 2. Select Actions > All Dell Storage Actions > Replication/Live Volume > Edit Settings/Convert. The Modify Replication or Live Volume wizard starts. 3. Make sure the replication to modify is selected and click Next. The Volume Settings page opens. 4. Verify that the volume settings are correct and click Next. The Snapshot Profile page opens. 5. Verify that the correct Snapshot profile is selected and click Next.
3 Working With Virtual Machines The Dell Storage vSphere Client Plugin provides the ability to provision virtual machines and recover virtual machine data from a snapshot. You can provision (create) virtual machines and deploy them to an existing VMS datastore or to a new VMFS datastore.
Deploy Virtual Machines to a New VMFS Datastore Use the Create Virtual Machines wizard to deploy one or more virtual machines to a new datastore. Prerequisites A virtual machine template must be created from which new virtual machines can be deployed. For information about creating or updating a virtual machine template, see the vSphere help topics on virtual machine templates.
17. Confirm the Datastore Properties, or change the datastore name, and click Next. 18. (Optional) Select Create Replication/Live Volume if you want to replicate the volume data to a second Storage Center and allow both Storage Centers to process I/O requests for the volume. For more information, see Create and Manage Replications and Live Volumes on page 18. a. Select a Target Storage Center, and click Next. b. Select the Target Volume Settings and click Next. c.
4 Viewing Dell Storage Information Use the Dell Storage vSphere Client Plugin to display information about Dell Storage including HBA to Storage Center connectivity, datastore information, and performance charts.
Table 2. Description of Reported Adapter Information(continued) Label Description WWN World Wide Name (WWN) for Fibre Channel and the iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN) for iSCSI Device Name of the adapter Type Storage adapter type (FC or iSCSI) Node Name Fibre Channel node name Alias iSCSI alias name Status Status of the adapter Storage Details Table 3.
Using Dell Storage Views Use Dell Storage views to display information about a Dell datastore or RDM. The Dell Storage view is accessible from the Monitor tab of a host, cluster, datastore, datastore cluster, virtual machine, or datacenter. Viewing General Information The General tab in the Dell Storage Monitor view displays information about a Storage Center object and the Storage Center to which it is connected. Steps 1.
Label Description Storage Center Storage Center on which the volume resides Dell SN Dell serial number of the volume Dell Index Object index for the volume Size Size of the volume Disk Folder Storage Center disk folder location Volume Folder Folder location of the volume Storage Type Storage type of the volume Status Current status for the volume, as well as the controller on which the volume is active Snapshot Profiles Snapshot Profiles applied to the volume Storage Profiles Storage pr
Dell Storage Usage Statistics Tab The following figure shows an example of usage statistics for the selected datastore: Figure 6. Usage Statics for a Datastore Label Description Total volume space consumed Total space used on the volume Total disk space consumed Total disk space consumed by the volume Savings vs.
Viewing Connectivity Information The Connectivity Info tab in the Dell Storage Monitor view displays connectivity information about the selected Dell volume. Steps 1. In the left navigation pane, select a Storage Center object such as one of the following: 2. 3. 4. 5. • Host • Datacenter • Datastore • Datastore cluster • Virtual machine Click the Monitor tab. In the middle navigation pane, scroll down and select Dell Storage. In the top pane of the view, select a datastore.
2. 3. 4. 5. • Datastore • Datastore cluster • Virtual machine Click the Monitor tab. In the middle navigation pane, scroll down and select Dell Storage. In the top pane of the view, select a datastore. In the lower pane of the view, click the Volume Snapshots tab. Volume Snapshots Tab The Volume Snapshots tab displays information about the snapshsots for the selected Dell volume. The following figure shows an example of information that is shown on the Volume Snapshots tab: Figure 8.
Protocol Endpoint Tab The following figure shows an example of the information that is displayed about a VVol protocol endpoint Figure 9.
Label Description Replication Type Type of replication State Current state of the replication Destination Storage Center Destination (target) Storage Center for the replication Synced Percentage of data currently in sync Remaining Amount of data that is not yet synced For each replication: General Options Settings that are configured for the replication Live Volume Options Settings that are configured for the Live Volume, if the selected volume is a Live Volume Source Details Information ab
Label Description Destination Snapshots Current snapshots for the destination volume Viewing Dell Storage Charts Use Dell Storage-Charts to display Storage Center performance information for an ESXi host. The Dell Storag- Charts view is accessible from the Monitor tab of a host, cluster, datastore, datastore cluster, virtual machine, or datacenter. Steps 1.
Figure 11. IO Size and Latency Charts Charts The following table describes the type of Storage Center performance data displayed in charts.
