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Copyright 2015 CloudByte Inc.. All rights reserved.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. The software described in
this document is furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of those agreements. No part of
this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording for any purpose
other than the purchaser's personal use without the written permission of CloudByte Inc..
CloudByte Inc.
20863 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 530
Cupertino, CA 95014
USA
1-(408)-604-9401
engage@cloudbyte.com
www.cloudbyte.com

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I About the Guide

Intended audience

Who you are

Knowledge prerequisites

How the training is organized

CHAPTER II Introduction

12

What is CloudByte ElastiStor

12

CloudByte ElastiStor features

12

Licensing policy

16

CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

17

Installation

17

Network configuration details

18

Installation options

18

Installing ElastiCenter and Node

20

Installing ElastiCenter HA

27

CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

33

ElastiCenter, ElastiStor's management console

33

ElastiCenter User Interface

34

Launching CloudByte ElastiCenter

38

Authentication

38

Reset password and configure auto-alert options

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

Setting up your storage

40

Creating a Site

44

Creating an HA Group

44

Adding a Node

46

Configuring Disk Array enclosure

47

Creating a Pool

52

Creating an Account

55

Delete account user

56

Provisioning a VSM

56

Modifying QoS after provisioning VSM

61

Modifying QoS after provisioning Storage Volume

62

Modifying storage capacity

63

Configuring VSM migration

64

Migrant VSM activation

67

Provisioning storage

68

Choosing a Pool to provision VSM

71

CHAPTER V Data Access Protocols


Data access using iSCSI

78

Installing MPIO on Windows Server

89

Configuring Multipath on ElastiCenter

92

Configuring MPIO on Windows Server for a LUN in ElastiStor

94

Data access using CIFS

102

Data access using NFS

107

CHAPTER VI Managing | Monitoring | Reporting


Delegated administration

78

109
109

Monitoring

114

CloudByte ElastiStor reporting

118

CHAPTER VII REST APIs | Quality of Service

121

Introduction to RESTAPIs

121

How to use CloudByte ElastiStor REST APIs

121

Obtaining the REST API key

121

Assuring Quality of Service

126

Monitoring QoS

129

QoStips

130

IOPS conversion matrix

131

CHAPTER VIII High Availability | Backup | Recovery

138

Configuring High Availability

138

Disaster recovery and backup

144

Configuring remote disaster recovery

149

Upgrading a High Availability DR setup

152

Promoting secondary ElastiCenter and backing up configurations

153

CHAPTER IX Advanced settings | Implementation

157

VLAN interface

157

SASmultipathing

159

CHAPTER X Going Forward

162

CHAPTER XI Glossary

163

CHAPTER I About the Guide

CHAPTER I

About the Guide

In this chapter
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Who this guide is for

Whats desirable before you start

Intended audience
This guide is designed to be a study resource for ElastiStor Certified Professionals. It is a step-by-step training manual to learn and
start using CloudByte ElastiStor.
However,
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If you are already an ElastiStor user, we recommend you to follow the CloudByte ElastiStor Installation and Administration
Guide.

If you are searching for information on CloudByte and its product line, follow the resources available on the CloudByte Website.

Who you are


You are a Miriam, storage administrator with a fictitious Cloud Service Provider named WhollyCloud. WhollyCloud is a Cloud Service Provider. Also, WhollyCloud uses CloudByte as an enterprise solution for its own private cloud. Your manager is Benjamin.
The activities provided at the end of each chapter may be considered as Miriams assignments in WhollyCloud.

Knowledge prerequisites
You can perform almost all the tasks, while working with CloudByte ElastiStor, using the simple and intuitive management console
CloudByte ElastiCenter. So if you are conversant with the storage concepts, working with ElastiStor is a cakewalk.
As far as the technology is concerned, CloudByte expects the users to have prior knowledge in the following areas of technology:

CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

Basic concepts
Basic storage concepts which include
DAS, NAS, and SAN. That is, you have
good understanding of the underlying storage protocols such as iSCSI, NFS, and
CIFS

Deployment of Storage which includes


usage of LUN

Consuming Storage from initiators

Basic knowledge in hardware which


includes configurations in BIOS, connection of SAS cables, SAS switches, Ethernet, and VLAN configuration

Advanced concepts
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SAN boot

Port aggregation of switch

Creation and management of VLANs and native multipathing

REST API usage

Don't worry if you are not familiar with any of the areas mentioned here. Use the following links to familiarize yourself with the technologies or reaffirm your knowledge.
Section
DAS

NAS

SAN

Resource
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-attached_storage

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/direct-attached-storage

http://www.dellstorage.com/data-consolidation/storage-architecture/direct-attached-storage.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/itinformationtechnology/l/aa070101a.htm

http://www.techopedia.com/definition/26197/network-attached-storage-nas

http://www.thinkmate.com/storage/reference/what-is-nas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_unit_number

RAID

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/essentialguide/LUN-storage-Working-with-a-SANs-logical-unit-numbers

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/logical-unit-number

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_RAID_levels

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RAID.html

RAIDCard

http://www.netdevgroup.com/support/documentation/NETLAB_Remote_PC_Guide_Vol_2b_Dell_
R720.pdf

Link Aggregation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_aggregation

http://www.thomas-krenn.com/en/wiki/Link_Aggregation_and_LACP_basics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_LAN

http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-LAN

http://www.techopedia.com/definition/4804/virtual-local-area-network-vlan

VLAN

CHAPTER I About the Guide

Section

Resource

SANBoot

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305547

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--afdH7kIfk

SASSwitch

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Multipathing

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REST API

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg247958.pdf
http://www.lsi.com/products/pages/lsi-sas-6160-switch.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_%28software%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multipath_I/O
http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vsphere.storage.doc%2FGUIDDD2FFAA7-796E-414C-84CE-1FCC14474D5B.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_state_transfer

http://www.restapitutorial.com/

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2217758/what-is-a-rest-api

How the training is organized


Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do I need to learn CloudByte ElastiStor?
The time you need to learn CloudByte ElastiStor depends on your background and expertise in the storage domain. The following table provides the approximate number of days you might require to master CloudByte ElastiStor.
The product is designed to be simple. Also, the management console CloudByte ElastiCenter is very intuitive. So learning
CloudByte ElastiStor is neither painstaking nor time-consuming.
Expertise

Days

Advanced user

One

Intermediate user

Three

Entry level user

Five

Since CloudByte wants to include all catagories of trainees, the courseware is designed as a five day long training program.
Only entry level trainees need adhere to the schedule.

At the end of the training


You would be
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Conversant with all ElastiStor-related concepts

Familiar with all features in ElastiStor

Able to setup and run a storage infrastructure end-to-end.

CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

Courseware
Schedule
Chapter 1

Course Description
What is ElastiStor
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What is ElastiStor

Features

How ElastiStor fits in to the data center

Licensing policy

Chapter 2

Installing ElastiStor

Chapter 3

Understanding the concepts

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

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Accessing ElastiCenter

ElastiCenter UI orientation

Setting up Storage

ElastiStor infrastructure
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Physical infrastructure

Pools and RAID

Virtual infrastructure

Setting up the protocols


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Setting up protocols

Connecting to ElastiStor

Management and Administration


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Delegated administration

Management

Alerts and Events

Global Settings

Monitoring

Reporting

Using REST APIs and setting up QoS


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Provisioning using REST APIs

QoS and penalty enforcement factors

Backup, Disaster Recovery, and High Availability


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HA

Backup and DR

CHAPTER I About the Guide

Schedule
Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Course Description
Advanced settings and Implementation
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VLANs and Multipathing

End-to-End implementation workflow

CloudByte Plug-ins

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CHAPTER II Introduction

CHAPTER II

Introduction

Agenda
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Introduction to the product and the features

How to install ElastiStor

What is CloudByte ElastiStor


CloudByte ElastiStor is a full-featured enterprise storage solution for virtualized environments. Its patented technology empowers
organizations to spin out Virtual Storage Machines (VSMs) and to scale storage performance higher or lower instantly.ElastiStor
makes storage predictable, affordable and easy, even as you scale to thousands of applications.
Installable on a wide range of industry-standard servers, ElastiStor frees enterprises and service providers from vendor lock-ins.
ElastiStor lets you custom-build storage infrastructure based on your requirements, with support for SATA, SAS, and SSD hardware
as well as NFS, CIFS, and iSCSI protocols.

CloudByte ElastiStor features


Guaranteed Storage QoS within Shared Storage
Share your storage and deliver predictable performance to every application. For the first time ever, ElastiStor allows storage endpoints to be defined beyond capacity, in terms of IOPS, throughput and latency. This allows applications with diverse workloads to
be guaranteed QoS from a shared storage platform. Together with linear scaling, a single extensible shared storage platform from
ElastiStor can now replace legacy solutions dedicated storage silos. By fully sharing storage and optimally utilizing resources,
ElastiStor steeply cuts down your storage footprint, leading to 80-90% cost savings over 3-5 years.

On-Demand Performance Provisioning


Do you still manually configure hardware to provision performance for any new application? Break the need for hardwiring storage
with ElastiStors on-demand provisioning. Just enter the required SLA/QoS parameters and let ElastiStor automate node selection
and resource allocation for you. ElastiStor includes an intelligent heuristics daemon which continuously learns the quantity of various controller resources needed to deliver the required QoS.

vCenter-like Administration Console


ElastiStor makes managing storage as easy as managing VMs, even as you scale to hundreds of applications. Storage admins can
now comprehensively manage the entire storage cluster, spanning across multiple sites, from a single web-based console. Further,
ElastiStor gives you unprecedented access and control over resource usage within shared storage, right down to the applicationlevel granularity.

REST APIs and Plug-ins for Easy Integration


Every action performed at ElastiStor admin console translates into a REST based API call in the backend. Using these REST APIs,
admins can comprehensively provision and manage ElastiStor volumes from VMware vCenter, Citrix XenCenter, OpenStack Horizon, or any other admin portal. Our plugin for VMware vCenter allows admins to create and manage QoS-aware VMs right from
vCenter console.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

N-way High Availability


ElastiStor enables N-way High Availability, exponentially increasing reliability (mean time to failure), compared to the standard 2way HA provided by existing solutions. CloudBytes storage un-fragmentation and its patented TSM architecture make N-way HA
affordable and feasible.

Delegated Administration
A much requested feature from the cloud service providers, delegated administration empowers both CSPs and its customers to
monitor and control storage volumes. Management privileges vary based on the admin functionality for example, a super admin can
manage the entire storage cluster, where as a customer admin can manage just the storage resources allotted to that particular customer.

References

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CloudByte ElastiStor

ElastiStor resources

CHAPTER II Introduction

Frequently Asked Questions


Is it possible to scale-out using CloudByte ElastiStor?
Each CloudByte ElastiStor Node can be scaled to 1 PB of raw storage capacity. You can linearly increase capacity and performance by adding additional ElastiStor Nodes.
Can I use ElastiStor to improve the performance of storage solutions such as EMC Symmetrix or Hitachi Unified
Storage?
Like other storage systems, CloudByte ElastiStor is an independent storage system with distinct architecture.
ElastiStor does not improve performance but shares the performance between competing applications granularly in a desired
way. However, CloudByte recommends you to use raw disk for storage media rather than storage from other vendors.
How many flavors and versions of CloudByte ElastiStor are available in the market?
CloudByte ElastiStor 1.0 was the pioneering release of the product. The ongoing release is CloudByte ElastiStor 1.4.x.
Are there any CloudByte ElastiStor management plug-ins available?
Yes. The plug-ins for VMWare vCenter, Apache CloudStack, and OpenStack Cinder are available off-the-shelf.
Does ElastiStor support iPV6?
Current version of CloudByte ElastiStor does not have built in support for iPV6.
What is the skill set required to manage and configure ElastiStor?
Basic storage administration (SAN and NAS) and networking skills.

How CloudByte ElastiStor fits into data center


Take some time to inspect the following diagram:

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

ElastiStor supports both NAS and SAN protocols. It is intended for use wherever applications need storage in the form of NAS and
SAN. Also, it is apt to use ElastiStor if the environment is shared in the form of server virtualization and applications that run on the
VMs compete for storage resources.
ElastiStor is a new class of storage, built ground up, to meet the requirements of shared environments such as public or private
Cloud. Multi-tenancy and secure isolation between tenants are part of the architecture and not just add-on features.

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CHAPTER II Introduction

Licensing policy
You need to install a license file to use CloudByte ElastiStor.
When you install the community edition of ElastiStor, license file is already
uploaded to ElastiCenter. You can use the product till you exceed the Storage
limit of 25TB.
Perpetual

licenses can be used


without additional charge and without
expiration and includes 90 days of warThe license file has relevant details that implement license to use various fea- ranty support.
tures that you have purchased. CloudByte provides license file in the format
L4J.
Should you have further questions, please contact either your Reseller or the
CloudByte worldwide sales department at engage@cloudbyte.com.

Subscription licenses are typically


billed on a monthly basis.
Capacity-based pricing is based on
the total storage allocated to ElastiStor/actual data managed by ElastiStor
Support terms vary based on the pricing model selected.

Frequently Asked Questions


I want to evaluate CloudByte ElastiStor. How will the trial license be enforced?
When you install a the Community Edition of CloudByte ElastiStor, the free perpetual license file is, by default, uploaded.
You need not do any licensing tasks.
Can I check the past licensing activities?
In the License page, click View History. The details of the license are listed.
Can I get support from CloudByte for the Community Edition of the product?
For Community Edition, support is limited to basic setup. Contact CloudByte technical support at support@cloudbyte.com.

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CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor


Installation
It is easy to install CloudByte ElastiStor. Though it is not a desktop product, you still have an intuitive installation wizard that walks
you through the entire installation process and you may not need any assistance.
Firstly, go through the following illustration. It is a quick-start representation of ElastiStor installation:

CloudByte ElastiStor installation comprises the following:


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Installing ElastiCenter: Install the administrative infrastructure used to manage the Nodes.

Installing Nodes: A Node is the storage infrastructure that is managed by ElastiCenter. You can install only one Node per
machine. An HA Group can have up to four Nodes.

Installing on production environments


CloudByte recommends you to install ElastiCenter and Nodes on separate machines.

Installing on development environments


You can install both ElastiCenter and Nodes together on the same machine. This is the typical installation used for development and
test setups. Here you play around with test data for evaluation, rather than production where you have business critical data.
The following topics explain the system requirements for installing CloudByte ElastiStor.
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CloudByte Storage Controller node is built on commodity servers.

The connectivity between Controller and Storage is either on Ethernet (iSCSI) or on SFF-8088 SAS cables.

ElastiStor OS is built using FreeBSD 9 as the base platform and therefore CloudByte ElastiStors Hardware Supported List is
similar to that of FreeBSD 9 Release version.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

Minimum hardware requirements to build CloudByte ElastiStor Node


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Supported AMD64, Intel 64 (x86-64), or i386 Processor and System Board (with Dual Core Processor and 8GB of RAM)

Four 1 Gigabit Ethernet Controller Cards

One or more SAS HBAs, depending on the number of disk arrays connected

OS boot disk drive size of 20 GB. However, the recommended size is 2.4 * RAM size + 33GB

Minimum hardware requirements for CloudByte ElastiCenter


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Supported AMD64, Intel 64 (x86-64), or i386 Processor and System Board (with Dual Core Processor and 8GB of RAM)

OS boot disk drive size of 20 GB. However, the recommended size is 2.4 * RAM size + 33GB

1 Gigabit Ethernet Controller Cards

For supported list of


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AMD64 Processors, see FreeBSD 9.0 supported list of AMD64 processors

i386 Processors and System Boards of CloudByte ElastiStor, see FreeBSD 9.0 supported list of i386 Processors

Disk Controllers of CloudByte ElastiStor, see FreeBSD 9.0 supported list of Disk Controllers

Ethernet Interfaces of CloudByte ElastiStor, see FreeBSD 9.0 supported list of Ethernet Interfaces

Hardware Compatibility List


For the complete list of compatible hardware, see Hardware Compatibility List .

Network configuration details


You need the following network configuration details to proceed. CloudByte provides a set of values by default.
Option

Description

Host

Name of the host, for example CloudByte.

Root Password

The password assigned to the root account. When you are in single-user mode, the system lets you log in
using this password.

IP address

The standard IPv4 addresses that you want to access.

Net Mask

The standard IPv4 subnet mask, for example 255.255.255.0.

Gateway

The IPv4 gateway IP address, for example 10.0.0.1.

DNS

The standard IPv4 address of the DNS server, for example 8.8.8.8.

Search

Domain search, for example lab.engineering.cloudbyte.com.

Installation options
The installation wizard provides the following installation options.
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Only ElastiCenter: Installs only ElastiCenter, which is the central administrative console to manage your Nodes. Choose if
you prefer to install Node later. For procedures, see Installing CloudByte ElastiCenter.

CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

Only Node: Installs only the Node, which is managed using ElastiCenter. Choose if you prefer to install ElastiCenter later.
For procedures, see Installing Node.

Both ElastiCenter and Node: Installs both ElastiCenter and Node. This installation is not recommended for production
deployments. For procedures, see Installing both ElastiCenter and Node.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

Installing ElastiCenter and Node


Since Miriam is evaluating ElastiStor, she has chosen the installation option Both ElastiCenter and Node.Let us see how she proceeds.
1. Insert the CloudByte ElastiStor installation disk into your computer's DVD or CD drive and boot up your Node (ensure that
the disk drive is set as your system's primary boot device). The installation starts up and the following screen with the boot
options appear:

By default, the boot option Boot CloudByte ElastiStor is selected. So you need not interfere. To select a different boot option,
see "Boot options".
The Welcome screen appears.

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CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

2. In the following screen, accept the license agreement.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

3. Select Both ElastiCenter and Node option. For details, see "Installation options"

The following screen appears:

Note: If you want to install ElastiCenter HA, follow the procedures in "Installing ElastiCenter HA", else select Standalone
ElastiCenter.

4. (If you have multiple disks) At prompt, select the disk where you want to install CloudByte ElastiStor.

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CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

5. (If you have multiple Ethernet Interfaces) At prompt, select the Ethernet Interface and click OK.

The following screen appears:

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

6. Specify the "Network configuration details".


7. Click OK. The following screen appears:

8. Select Continue to confirm the settings so that the installation can start up. To modify any of the values, select Back. Installation starts and the wizard shows the progsress.

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CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

9. In the following screen, specify the region you belong to:

10. Confirm the country and then confirm the time zone.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

The installation completes and the following screen appears:

After installing the packages, CloudByte ElastiStor reboots (indicated by the following screen).

Wait till the system automatically reboots. The following screen welcomes you after the reboot:

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CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

The following screen with a login prompt indicates that installation is successful. You can proceed to configure CloudByte
ElastiStor.

Installing ElastiCenter HA
1. Follow the procedures in the section "Installing ElastiCenter" till step 3.
2. Select ElastiCenter HA.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

3. Do either of the following:

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Select primary ElastiCenter and then in the following screen, specify the ElastiCenter Management IP address.

Select Secondary ElastiCenter and then in the following screen, specify the primary ElastiCenter IP address.

CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

4. Click OK.
5. Follow the procedures from step 4 in the section "Installing ElastiCenter" and complete the ElastiCenter installation process.

Help Miriam install ElastiCenter and Node separately


Miriam has successfully installed Both ElastiCenter and Node on the same machine. Now let us provide pointers for her to
installinstall ElastiCenter and Node separately.
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Installing ElastiCenter

Installing Node

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

Frequently Asked Questions


I cannot access CloudByte ElastiCenter after successful installation. Why?
This might be because of one of the following reasons:
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Java Service is not running

Database is not up and running

To resolve this issue, do either or both of the following:


1. In the ElastiCenter server, at command prompt, run the following command: pgrep mysql.
If you do not get the MySql process ID, run the following command to bring up the database service: service
mysql-server onerestart
2. In the ElastiCenter server, at command prompt, run the following: pgrep java.
If you don't get the Java process ID, run the following command to bring up the Java service: service cbdevman
onerestart
3. Try accessing ElastiCenter.
Can you explain the memory requirements for installing CloudByte ElastiStor?
The following table provides the details. The values are same for installing both Node and ElastiCenter. Also, the same values apply if you install both Node and ElastiCenter on the same machine:
Memory

Minimum

Recommended

RAM

1 GB

8 GB or higher

Hard Disk

20 GB

(2.4 X RAM size + 32 GB) or higher. For example, if the RAM is 8 GB, for better performance, 52 GB
or higher is recommended

If you do not comply with the recommended hard disk memory, you might encounter a message that prompts correction (for
better performance). However, if you meet the minimum memory requirements, even if you ignore the message, installation
will be successful.
I get the message 'Installation cannot proceed as no NIC is present'. What will I do?
You encounter this issue because the NIC that you use is not supported. For a list of supported NICs and other hardware,
see the Hardware Compatibility List .

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CHAPTER III Installing CloudByte ElastiStor

I get the message 'Installation cannot proceed as no disk is present'. What will I do?
This is because the internal RAID/SAS card in the server is not supported. For a list of supported disks and other hardware,
see the Hardware Compatibility List .
Why am I not able to access the system after the first reboot post installation?
Verify the following:
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ElastiStor has correctly rebooted. This is indicated by the root login prompt when the installation concludes.

Network port connectivity

Network details are correctly added

Will the installation rollback on failure?


Yes
Explain the upgrade options for ElastiStor?
You can upgrade based on the option that you have selected in the existing installation. That is, if you have opted to install
both Node and ElastiCenter, then you have the option to upgrade both.
What happens to the installation when there is a hard disk failure?
Installation may or may not be successful, but the product is unlikely to function.
What happens if the CD ROM gets disconnected while installing?
When you reconnect, installation proceeds from the point where it stopped. But if you reboot the machine, then you have to
start the installation from the beginning.
Do I need an internet connection for installing CloudByte?
No. But it is recommended because it facilitates time synchronization with NTP.
What happens if the network connection is lost and system boots after installing?
It waits for the connectivity to be restored and then boots up.
Is it mandatory to do a disk mirror while installing?
Recommended for production environments.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

What happens to the installation during a power loss?


You have to reinstall.
Can I install ElastiStor my laptop?
Yes. If you meet the minimum hardware requirements, the installation is not device dependent.
Can I install ElastiCenter on a virtual machine?
Yes. CloudByte recommends that you have a minimum RAM of 8 GB on your VM.
Is ElastiStor installation possible over SAN boot?
Yes.
Can I downgrade my ElastiStor installation?
Not currently supported.

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

CHAPTER IV

ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

In this chapter
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Understanding ElastiCenter, user-interface orientation, and how to access

Understanding ElastiStor storage and setting up

ElastiCenter, ElastiStor's management console


Using ElastiCenter, the entire ElastiStor deployment, consisting of multiple geographical sites spanning clusters and servers, can be managed from a single browser
session.
Storage management tasks such as High Availability and disaster recovery can be
done from the same session. Use the Graphical User Interface to manage the storage
environment

The administrator has to


1. Manually recover the file from the DR storage
system

Delegate administration tasks


Track events

To illustrate, let us examine the processing of a file recovery request for a particular
storage tenant using a legacy solution and CloudByte ElastiStor:

Legacy solution

Generate statistical and configuration reports to help


troubleshoot

Globally control various settings

CloudByte ElastiStor
In CloudByte ElastiStor, using ElastiCenter, the administrators can perform
actions remotely from the management portal. The administrator can, from the
same browser session,
1. Log in to the primary site.

2. Manually transfer to the primary site


2. Identify the storage file system that needs to be recovered.
3. Merge with the primary site.
3. Browse for the corresponding backup copies on the remote DR site.
4. Recover data with a single click.

The following illustration shows the workflow to setup a storage environment using CloudByte ElastiCenter:

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

ElastiCenter User Interface


The following topics orient you with the ElastiCenter User Interface.

Navigation pane
The navigation pane in the left-hand side of ElastiCenter provides a list of options.
When you select an option, you are taken to a specific component page. Use the component pages to perform various configuration
and management tasks.

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

Note:The options displayed in the navigation pane depend on the administrative privileges you have. If you are a super administrator, you have all the options. For further details, see"Managing | Monitoring | Reporting".

Content pane
The content pane displays the component pages that provide options and data to configure CloudByte ElastiStor. For example, if
you select Sites in the navigation pane, the Sites page appears.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

Summary pane
Summary pane sums up the number of storage components, such as Sites or Pools, in the storage infrastructure.

Actions pane
Action pane, in the right-hand side of the content pane, provides a list of configuration options. For example, in the HA Groups page,
go the Actions pane and add Node.

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

Notification menu
The information menu in the top right-hand side of ElastiCenter lets you access Alerts, Events, Reports, and Administrator data.
You also have the option to go back to the Home page.

See Also:"Monitoring" on page 1 and "CloudByte ElastiStor reporting" on page 1

Admin options
The Admin options help you with various administrative tasks.

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CloudByte ElastiStor CertifiedProfessional Study Guide

See Also:CloudByte ElastiStor API Reference, "Licensing" on page 1, and "Delegated administration" on page 1

Launching CloudByte ElastiCenter


CloudByte ElastiCenter is a browser based console which you can launch using one of the popular browsers such as Mozilla Firefox
or Google Chrome.

Note:Ensure that you have updated Adobe Flash Player to the most recent version.

To access ElastiCenter,
1. Launch Mozilla Firefox Web browser.
2. Specify the URL in the following format: https://IP Address
Note:The IP Address you specify is the one that you configured in the installation screen. See Installing CloudByte
ElastiCenter for details.

Authentication
You need credentials (username and password) to log in to CloudByte ElastiCenter.
1. After installation is completed, launch ElastiCenter using the URL in the following format: https://IP Address.

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

2. Specify the following default credentials :


Credentials

Value

Username

admin

Password

password

After you log in, you can change the password.

Reset password and configure auto-alert options


After you log in, you are prompted to:
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Change your password

Update your profile. CloudByte Technical Support might use this information to contact you when your storage infrastructure
encounters any issues.

Review the auto-alert details that CloudByte Technical Support collects automatically. Technical Support might use the
information to resolve potential problems that your storage infrastructure encounters. You have the option not to share particular information.

To reset password and configure auto-alert options,

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1. Login to ElastiCenter using the default credentials (admin|password). The following screen appears:

2. Specify a new password and then confirm.


3. Update your profile.
4. Review the auto-alert information, and uncheck the options that you do not want to share.
5. Click Update.

Setting up your storage


In CloudByte ElastiStor, the set of configurations that you perform can be divided in to tasks related to
n

Infrastructure, the base structure of your storage service

Accounts, that you create for storage specific needs

The following illustration shows how your infrastructure and account are organized in CloudByte ElastiStor:

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

The following sections explain the concepts in detail:

Site
Building your storage infrastructure starts with the creation of a Site, the fundamental infrastructure unit where your Node and storage and network infrastructure reside.
The following figure depicts the structure of a Site:

The following figure explains each component of the Site:

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Accounts
After you set up the storage infrastructure, build the account infrastructure. That is, you set up the client/customer for using your storage infrastructure.
The following figure explains how an account is constituted in CloudByte ElastiStor:

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

The following figure explains each component associated with an account:

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Creating a Site
Use the Sites page (ElastiCenter > Sites) to create a Site.
The Sites page provides a graphical representation of the Sites that you have created. It provides the Site details such as HA
Groups, Pools, Provisioned Storage, and VSMs that you have set up.
Click any of the Site details link for specific review and configuration. For example, click HA Groups to access details of the HA
Groups associated with the Site.

To create a Site
1. In the Sites page, click Add Site in the actions pane.
The Add Site page appears.

2. Specify the following details:


Field

Description

Name

Unique name for the site.

Location

Where the site is located.

Description

A meaningful description for the Site.

3. Click Add.

Creating an HA Group
Use the HA Groups page (ElastiCenter > HA Groups) to create an HA Group.
All Nodes in the HA group you create must be on the same

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

Public network: used for management of Nodes.

Private network: used with VSMs for data transfer.

Creation of HA Groups leads to the formation of High availability Clusters. For details, see "High Availability | Backup | Recovery"
1. In the HA Groups page, click Add HA Group.
The Add HA Group page appears.

2. Specify the following options and then click Add.


Field
Site
Name
Description
IP Address Range

Description
The Site to which you add the HA Group.
Unique name for the HA Group.
Meaningful description for the HA Group.
Provide a range of dedicated IP addresses in the management network. For instance, ensure
that you do not specify the IP address used for Node, ElastiCenter, VSM, or client. Provide the
first and last IP address in the range, for example 1.1.1.100 and 1.1.1.104. The IP addresses
you specify are used to check the heartbeat between nodes.

Changing CARP IP address range


1. Bring Node1 to maintenance mode.
2. Bring Node2 to maintenance mode.
3. In the HA Groups page, select the HA Group for which you want to change the CARP IP range.
4. Click Settings in the actions pane.

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5. In the following page, click edit and then change the details.

6. Click Save.

Adding a Node
1. In the ElastiCenter navigation pane, click Nodes.
2. In the actions pane, Click Add Node.

3. In the Add Node page, specify the following details:


Field
Site

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Description
Select a Site.

CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

HA Group
Name
IP Address

Select the HA Group to which the Node has to be added.


Unique name for the Node.
IP address of the Node.

4. Click Add Node.

Deleting a Node from an HAGroup


Follow the procedures to delete a Node from a single Node HA Group:
1. Delete all the Storage Volumes on the Node.
2. Delete all the VSMs on the Node.
3. Delete all the Pools on the Node.
4. Bring down the Node to maintenance mode.
5. Click the delete icon to remove the Node from HA Group.
Follow the procedures to delete a Node from an HA Group with more than one Node:
1. Bring down the Node to maintenance mode.
2. Click the delete icon to remove the node from HA Group.

Configuring Disk Array enclosure


After you add Node, you are redirected to the Node page.
When there is no Disk Array attached to the Node, the following page appears. Ensure that you attach a Disk Array to the Node and
then click Refresh Hardware.

Note: When you attach a new Disk Array to a Node, click Refresh Storage/Refresh Hardware to make the Disk Array visible
on the ElastiCenter.

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To configure a newly attached Disk Array enclosure, follow the procedures:


1. In the Node page, click the image in the section Shared Storage.

The following screen appears:

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

2. Click Configure A New Disk Array. The Disk Array Configuration page appears:

3. Specify the Name, Bay Alignment, Number of columns and Number of Rows. For details, see "Configuring Disk Array
enclosure"
4. Click Next and then do the following:
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Click the option under the column Blink. For details, see "SCSI Enclosure Service"

Specify the bay location for the disks from the drop down list under the column Bay.

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5. Click Apply. On successful configuration, the Node page appears with a representation of the shared storage:

Note:You can also partially configure a Disk Array Enclosure. Suppose you have 12 disks, you can initially configure around
8 disks and other 4 disks can be configured as per the requirement.

Configuration details
Horizontal and vertical alignments

The Disk Arrays can be idealized either in terms of horizontal or vertical alignments.
The following figure represents a vertical alignment:

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

The following figure represents a horizontal alignment:

Slots per row

Slots per row is the number of disks each row can accommodate. For example, three slots per row implies that a single row can
accommodate three disks.

SCSI Enclosure Service


SCSI Enclosure Service (SES) helps monitor the status of each device in a disk array enclosure such as disk slots, fans, heat
sinks, or power supplies.
The service helps you

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Identify a disk or verify the slot in which the disk is located.

Locate and disable a faulty disk.

With specific and general alerts on enclosure components.

Blink identification
Blink identification LED on the disk slot of a disk array. When you click Blink, at the physical location of the disks, the identification
LED in the specified disk slot blinks. If the disk is not in the SCSI enclosure, the LED blink does not occur.
If the disk is in the SCSI enclosure and still if the blink does not occur, verify the health of the disk.

Enclosure component alerts


CloudByte ElastiStor provides common and specific alerts for the enclosure components such as disk slots, power supplies,
voltage sensors, current sensors, temperature sensors, fans, and audible alarm.
The common alerts which apply to all components include the ones related to
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Removal and installation of the component

State in which the component is, such as critical, non-critical, OK, or unrecoverable

Specific alerts are generated for the following enclosure components: power supply, voltage sensor, current sensor, and temperature sensor.
By default, CloudByte sends alerts over mail to the email you specified when you updated your profile the first time you logged in to
CloudByte ElastiCenter. To expand the mailing list, add the IDs separated by comma in the Global settings (Information Pane >
Admin > Global Settings > alert.email.addresses).
To view alerts in CloudByte ElastiCenter, click Alerts in the information pane.

Deleting a Disk Array


1. Delete all Pools in the Disk Array.
2. In the HA Groups page, select the HA group from which Disk Array has to be deleted.
3. For the Disk Array to be deleted, click Manage Disk Array and then click the delete icon.

Creating a Pool
1. Go to the Node page (ElastiCenter > Nodes).
2. From the list of Nodes, select the one for which you create the storage Pool.
3. In the actions pane, go to the section Tasks and then click Add Pool.

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The Add Pool page appears.

4. Select the Site, HAGroup, and CBNode to which the Pool belongs.
5. Specify a name for the Pool and then click Next.
6. In the following screen, specify the RAID storage type and then choose one or more of the available disks.
7. (Optional) Enable Sector Size.
Note: For optimal performance, ensure that the disks in the same Pool belong to the same disk array.

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8. Click Next. The QoS settings page appears.

9. Specify the following details:


Field

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Description

CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

Total IOPS The maximum per second I/O limit for a Pool.
Average
Latency

The desired average latency in milliseconds per I/O. Latency is the round-trip time per I/O request-response as measured
by the client.

10. Click Add Pool.


Note:The number of disks required to create a Pool depends on the RAID type and protection/performance you look for. For
example, for a high performance application, you can create RAID 10 Pool. Similarly, for a high capacity application, you can
set up RAID z1 with 8 disks.

Configuring Spare
1. Go to the Pools page (Navigation pane > Pools).
2. In the Actions pane, click Manage RAIDConfiguration. The Disk Group page appears.
3. In the Actions pane, select Add Spare.
4. In the Add Spare page, select a disk from the drop-down list.
5. Click Add.

Migrating a Pool
You cannot migrate a pool. Only a VSM can be migrated.

Creating an Account
Use the Account page (ElastiCenter > Accounts) to create an Account.
1. Click Add Account. The Add Account page appears.

2. Specify the following details:


Field

Description

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Name

Unique name for the account.

Description

Meaningful description of the account.

Assign Admin

Select the type of administrator that you want to create. When you select an administrator type, the
username and password fields appear. For details, see s

3. Click Add Account. The Account is created. The wizard prompts you to continue and provision VSM.
4. Click Provision VSM to continue.

Delete account user


1. In ElastiCenter, select Accounts in the navigation pane.
2. From the list of Accounts, select the Account from which you want to delete a user.
3. Go to the Tasks section of the actions pane and then select Account Users.
4. Click the delete icon for the account user that you want to delete.
5. At prompt, click Yes.

Provisioning a VSM
Use either the Create Account wizard or Virtual Storage Machines page (ElastiCenter > Virtual Storage Machines) to provision
VSM.
1. Click Provision VSM.

The Provision VSM page appears.

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2. Specify the following details:


Field

Description

Account

The Account for which you create the VSM.

Name

A unique name for the VSM.

Capacity

The amount of disk space to be allotted for the VSM.

Total IOPS

The maximum per second I/O limit for the VSM.

Total
Throughput

When you specify the Total IOPS, CloudByte calculates the Total Throughput and is automatically added. You cannot edit
this field.

3. Click Next and then specify the provisioning details by selecting a Pool from the list.

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4. Click Next.
5. Select the network interface details. For details, see "Advanced settings | Implementation ".
6. Specify the tenant IP address and default gateway.

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7. Click Provision.

Multipathing
Multipathing is the ability to configure a server with multiple paths to the storage for take over on network failure. CloudByte
ElastiStor supports multipathing for iSCSI. When network failure occurs, redundant network takes over and ensures that the iSCSI
LUN is available.

Note: SATA disks or any disk with SATA interface is not supported for HA and multipathing configuration.

The details of the supported Maximum Multiple Connections (MCS) per LUN are as follows:
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8 connections per LUN

16 sessions per LUN

To enable multipathing,
1. In ElastiCenter, select Virtual Storage Machine.
2. In the VSM page, select the VSM for which you want to enable multipathing.
3. In the action pane, select Advanced Settings.
4. Click Edit.

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5. Specify the required details.

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

Field

Description

Secondary IP address

Provide secondary IP address to enable multipathing.

Secondary Interface

Select an interface from the list.

6. If partial failover of Pool is enabled (which is enabled by default), click yes at the prompt to disable it.

Modifying QoS after provisioning VSM


Assume that you have provisioned storage for a VSM and now you want to change the QoS settings. For example, your pool has an
IOPS limit of 100. You have provisioned VSM with 50 IOPS. You can modify the values.

Note: In the example, you can increase the value up to 100 (which means, the entire IOPS is consumed).

To modify the QoS settings,


1. In ElastiCenter, select Virtual Storage Machines.
2. Select the VSM for which you want to modify the QoS settings.
3. In the QoS settings section of the actions pane, click Basic Settings. The highlighted section displays the QoS-related settings.

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4. Click the Edit icon and then modify the editable fields.
5. Click Apply.

Modifying QoS after provisioning Storage Volume


1. In ElastiCenter, select Storage Volumes.
2. Select the Storage Volume for which you want to modify the QoS settings.
3. In the Storage Volume page, click Settings.
4. Click the edit icon and then modify the QoS details.

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5. Click Save.

Modifying storage capacity


1. In ElastiCenter, select Storage Volumes.
2. Select the Storage Volume for which you want to modify the storage capacity.
3. In the following page, click Settings.
4. In the following screen, click Edit and then modify the quota.

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Note:The quota of the Storage Volume cannot exceed the VSM size.

Configuring VSM migration


The objective of VSM migration is to optimize QoS. VSM migration helps to control the QoS parameters within a Pool and to move
data.
You can migrate a VSM
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From a Pool to another within the same Node or to a different Node.

Across Sites.

Note:When you migrate a VSM across Nodes, ensure that the Node to which the migrating VSMbelongs to is not down.
1. In the VSM page, select a VSM from the list.
2. In the Actions pane, go to Migrate and then click Schedule.

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3. In the following page, specify the required details:

Field

Description

Site

Select a Site to migrate the VSM.

IOPS

The IOPS of the primary VSM is populated by default. You can modify the
value to provision IOPS required for migration.

Throughput

The throughput of the primary VSM is populated by default. You cannot


modify this value as it is depends on the values of IOPS and Block SIze.

4. Click Next.
5. Select the Pool to migrate VSM and then click Next.

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6. Select the Backup interface, IP Address, and schedule of migration (in the format minutes/hours/days/month/year).

7. Click Add to create migrant VSM.

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Migrant VSM activation


Activation consideration
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The backup interface and IP address range of the native and the migrant VSMs must be same.

Note:After activation, this backup IP address will not be active and therefore need to be removed at the Pool level.
1. In the migrant VSM page, click Settings in the Actions pane.

2. In the Settings page, click Edit and then select an interface from the drop-down list.

3. Click Save.

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4. Click the VSM, the Migrant VSM, and then click Activate.

5. At prompt, click Yes.


After the VSM migration is active, the re-mount prompt appears. Ensure that you re-mount the Storage Volumes before you proceed.

Provisioning storage
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Before you provision a Storage Volume, you must create a VSM.

The maximum supported size of the Storage Volume depends on the available capacity of VSM.

There is no limit to the number of Storage Volumes that you can create. But the composite capacity of the created Storage
Volumes must be less than or equal to the capacity of the VSM they belong to. For example, if the total capacity of the VSM
is 1 TB, then you can create a Storage Volume with the capacity of 1 TB or multiple storage volumes where the total capacity
of all volumes is less than or equal to 1 TB.

You can enable both compression and deduplication on the same Storage Volume.

File system storage (NFS and CIFS) works together on the same Storage Volume, but block level storage (iSCSI) does not.

You can back up Storage Volume by creating snapshots and then rolling back when required.

Note:By default, ElastiStor Storage Volume is thin provisioned. You can expand the Storage Volume up to the size of the
Pool, provided the Pool has available storage.

Use the Storage Volumes page (ElastiCenter > Storage Volumes) to provision storage.

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1. Click Provision Storage.

2. The Add Storage Volume page appears.

3. Specify the following details:


Field

Description

Account

Account for which you provision the storage.

Name

Unique name for the storage.

Capacity

Amount of disk space to be allocated.

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Provision
Mode

Shared or Dedicated. For details, see the section Difference between Shared and Dedicated in "Frequently Asked
Questions".

Block Size

Block size of the volume.

Average
Latency

Desired average latency in milliseconds per I/O. Latency is the round trip time per I/O request-response.

Control IOPS

Select the required IOPS using the slider. Qos can be enforced either throughonly IOPS or only Throughput.

Control
Throughput

Select the required throughput using the slider. Qos can be enforced either throughonly IOPS or only Throughput.

4. Click Next and then select the VSM on which you want to provision the Storage Volume.

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5. Click Next. The screen to specify the advanced settings appears.

6. Specify the following details:


Field

Description

Volume Hierarchy
Parent Dataset

The VSM on which the Storage Volume is mounted.

Record Size

The block size to which data has to be divided.

Synchronization

Leave the default settings as it is.

Deduplication

If ON, new data is deduplicated.

Compression

If ON, new data is compressed.

Mount Point

(Applies only for NFS and CIFS) Specify the Storage Volume mount point for the client to use the storage.

Enable NFS

Select to access the Storage Volume using NFS protocol.

Enable CIFS

Select to access the Storage Volume using CIFS protocol.

Enable iSCSI

Select to access the Storage Volume using iSCSI protocol.

7. Click Provision.

Choosing a Pool to provision VSM


CloudByte ElastiStor follows a QOS-centric approach to provisioning. When you provision a VSM, your choice of the Pool depends
on the availability of Pools that satisfy the required throughput and IOPS.

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Selecting the Pool


1. In the ElastiCenter navigation pane, click Virtual Storage Machine.
2. Click Add VSM.
3. After you specify the VSM details such as Name and the QoS details, click Next.
4. In the following screen, select the Pool after evaluating the IOPS.

5. Click Next to specify the Network details.

Choosing a VSM to provision Storage Volume


When you provision storage, your choice depends on the availability of TSMs that satisfy the required throughput and IOPS.
To provision storage,
1. In ElastiCenter, click Storage Volumes in the navigation pane.
2. Click Provision Storage.
3. In the following screen, specify the basic storage details and then click Next.
4. Select a TSM that satisfies the QoS requirements. The graphical representation helps you with the IOPS data.
5. Click Next and then proceed to complete the provisioning.

Auto-Provisioning
Auto-provisioning is particularly helpful when you have innumerable Pools/TSMs. CloudByte ElastiStor chooses the appropriate
Pool/TSM for provisioning automatically.
To auto-provision a VSM/Storage Volume,
1. In ElastiCenter, select Global Settings.

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2. Click the Edit icon for provisioning.sb.auto and provisioning.tsm.auto.


3. In the Value column, specify yes(instead of the default nowhich implies provisioning is manual) as shown in the following
screen:

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CHAPTER IV ElastiCenter | Setting up Storage

Frequently Asked Questions


Can I migrate a Storage Volume?
No. You can migrate only VSMs.
Can I keepStorage Volume in a sleep state?
No
Can a Storage Volume span multiple pools?
No
Will enabling compression and deduplication impact performance?
Yes, they can significantly impact. Compression and deduplication are CPU and memory intensive processes.
What is the right latency for Storage Volume?
Depends on the disk from which the Pool is created. For example, SSDs are of lower latency when compared to SATA.
Can I have Storage Volumes with same names under different accounts?
Yes
Can the storage capacity be changed after configuring a Storage Volume?
Yes

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Frequently Asked Questions


What is the recommended storage pool RAID configuration?
If you need high performance, mirroring is recommended. For larger SATA drives (for example 4TB), CloudByte recommends
RAIDz2.
Can I create a mixed disk pool, for example with SATA and SSD disks?
Yes. But CloudByte does not recommend this because you get only the performance of the lowest disk; in this case SATA.
How many log devices can I attach to a Pool?
Depends on the workload. For instance, in a WRITE intense scenario, a higher ZIL improves your WRITE performance.
How much L2ARC should I add to the Pool?
Depends on the workload. For instance, in a READ intense scenario, a higher L2ARC improves READ performance.
How to improve the performance of L2ARC and the log device?
L2ARC and log device are intended to improve the READ and WRITE respectively. Therefore, high performance SSD storage is recommended for an L2ARC or ZIL
What Pool do you recommend for a data protection use case?
A large RAIDz Group with high performance data disks and one or two parity disks are ideal.
What is the recommended RAID-Z configuration?
For RAID-Z1, RAID-Z2, and RAID-Z3 CloudByte recommends a 2^n + p configuration.
Parameter

Description

RAID-Z 1, RAID-Z 2, and RAID-Z 3.

Parity: p=1 for RAID-Z1, p=2 for RAID-Z2 and p=3 for RAID-Z3 where RAID-Z1 = 3, 5, 9, 17, , RAID-Z2 = 4, 6,
10, 18, , RAID-Z3 = 5, 7, 11, 19,

Is single parity RAID equivalent to well known RAID 5?


Almost similar but RAIDZ1 uses the features of ZFS. Also it eliminates the WRITE HOLE problem in RAID 5.

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Is double parity RAID equivalent to well known RAID 6?


Almost similar but RAIDZ2 uses the features of ZFS. Also, it eliminates the WRITE HOLE problem in RAID 5.
What is RAID triple parity and when should I use it?
RAID triple parity tolerates failure of three disks in a RAID group. Use it when you handle critical data and want to evade
chances of disk failure.
Do you recommend NFS/CIFS/ISCSI setup on the same Pool or should I have the access protocols set up on different Pools?
It doesn't matter. Configure based on the usage and requirement.
Can a VSM span multiple Pools?
Not in the current release.
Is Pool IOPS derived from the disk?
Disk plays a role in deriving IOPS, but is also based on RAM and L2ARC.

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CHAPTER V Data Access Protocols

CHAPTER V Data Access Protocols


Agenda
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Set up the access protocols

Connect to ElastiStor

CloudByte ElastiStor provides LUN access using the following protocols:


l

iSCSI

CIFS

NFS

When you create a Storage Volume, you are provided with an option to select the access protocols that you want to enable.
Deleting a Storage Volume disables the protocol access services automatically.
The following sections help you configure data access protocols supported by CloudByte ElastiStor.

Data access using iSCSI


iSCSI is Internet SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for linking
data storage connections. By offering SCSI commands over IP networks, iSCSI is used to transmit data over intranets. For further
details, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISCSI.

iSCSI concepts
Authentication Group: A grouping of multiple iSCSI users.
Use this option if you use CHAP or mutual CHAP. You can configure Authentication group at both VSM and Storage Volume levels.
CHAP: An authentication method which uses a user/secret or IQNs for outgoing authentication. The Storage Volumes on
CloudByte ElastiStor authenticate the initiator.
Mutual CHAP: A super set of CHAP which uses peer user/peer secret for outgoing/incoming authentication between Storage
Volumes and initiator.
Initiator group: Defines who can initiate the LUN.
It is a combination of multiple IQNs. By default, CloudByte ElastiStor creates two initiator groups (all where everyone can initiate the
LUN and none where no one can). After you create the Storage Volume, when you manage the iSCSI options, you are prompted to
choose an initiator group. You can either select the default one or the ones that you create. You configure initiator group in the Storage Volume.

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iSCSI configuration workflow


You configure iSCSI at the following levels:
n

Account

VSM

Storage Volume

The following figure illustrates the work flow for configuring the iSCSI protocol options:

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CHAPTER V Data Access Protocols

Account iSCSI options


Configuring iSCSI at account level involves the following tasks:
1. In ElastiCenter, select Accounts.
2. In the Accounts page, select the account for which you want to specify the protocol options.
3. In the action pane, select the protocol option and then specify the details.

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The following options are available:


Manage iSCSI Authentication Groups

In the Add Authentication Group dialog box, specify the following details:
Field

Description

Name

A unique name for the authentication group.

Description

A meaningful description for the authentication group.

CHAP Username

Username for CHAP authentication. For uniqueness, specify the initiator IQN name as username.

CHAP Secret

Password for CHAP authentication in alpha-numeric format. The password must have 12 to 16 characters.

Mutual CHAP Username

Username for mutual CHAP authentication. For uniqueness, specify the initiator IQN name as username. The
value must be same as that of the CHAP user.

Mutual CHAP Secret

Password for mutual CHAP authentication (should be different from CHAP secret). The password must have
12 to 16 characters.

Initiator Groups

In the Add Intiator Group dialog box, specify the following details:
Field

Description

Name

Unique name of the initiator group.

Allowed Intiator

List of allowed initiators, separated by comma.

Authorized Networks

List of allowed networks followed by subnet mask in the format 10.0.0.0/8, separated by comma.

VSM iSCSI Options


This is the set of iSCSI options specific to a VSM. By default, CloudByte ElastiStor creates a default VSM iSCSI options group
defaultwhich contains industry standard options.
After you create the VSM, when you manage the iSCSI options, you are prompted to choose the VSM iSCSI options group. You can
either select the default one or the ones that you create.
Field

Description

IQN Name

Specify a unique IQN.

Number of
worker threads

Select the number of worker threads.

Discovery Auth
Method

Specify the authentication method.

Discovery Auth
Group

Specify the authentication group.

Timeout

Sets the limit on how long an I/O can be outstanding before an error occurs. Values range from 0 to 300. The default
value is 30.

NOPIN Interval

The frequency of sending a NOP-IN packet in seconds. The values range from 0 to 300. The default value is 20.

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MAX R2T

Specify a value between 1 and 255. The default value is 32.

Max Sessions

Specify a value between 1 and 64. The default value is 8.

Max Connections

Specify a value between 1 and 64. The default value is 16.

First Burst
Length

Maximum data in bytes that an iSCSI initiator may send to the target during the execution of a single iSCSI command
unsolicited. Values range from 1 to 2^32 with a default of 65,536.

Max Burst
Length

Maximum WRITE size in bytes the target is willing to receive between R2Ts. Values range from 1-2^32. The default
value is 262,144.

Max Receive
Data Segment
length

In bytes. Values range from 1 to 2^32. The default value is 262,144.

Max Outstanding R2T

Maximum number of ready to receive packets (R2Ts) the target can have as outstanding. This is for a single iSCSI
command,where larger values should yield performance increases until MaxOutstandingR2T exceeds the size of the
largest Write I/O divided by MaxBurstLength. Values range from 1 to 255. The default value is 16.

Default time to
wait

Minimum time in seconds to wait before attempting a logout or an active task reassignment after an unexpected connection termination/reset. Values range from 1 to 300. The default value is 2.

Default time to
retain

Maximum time in seconds after Time2Wait before which an active task reassignment is still possible after an unexpected connection termination/reset. Values range from 1 to 300. The default value is 60.

Volume iSCSI Options


This is the set of iSCSI options specific to a Storage Volume. By default, CloudByte ElastiStor creates a default Volume iSCSI
options group default which contains industry standard options. After you create the VSM, when you manage the iSCSI options,
you are prompted to choose the Volume iSCSI options group. You can either select the default one or the ones that you create.
Field

Description

Status

Select either Enabled or Disabled.

IQN Name

Specify the unique IQN.

Authentication
Method

Specify the authentication method.

Authentication
Group

Specify the authentication group.

Initiator Group

Specify the initiator group.

Initial Digest

Select one of the advanced data integrity options.

iSCSI Block Length

Select the block length.

Queue Depth

Pending I/O requests for the Volume. The values range from 0-255. 0 implies that the status disabled. The default
value is 32.

Configuration scenarios
The following scenarios explain iSCSI configuration in detail:

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Scenario 1: Assigning the same iSCSI initiator groups to two Storage Volumes under a VSM

iSCSI initiator groups can be configured for only Storage Volumes based on initiator groups in the account. For example, Storage
Volumes under the VSM can have different iSCSI initiator groups.
For procedures, see "Configuring initiator group and restricting access"

Scenario 2: Assigning different authentication groups to multiple Storage Volumes under a VSM

You can have different authentication groups for VSMs and Storage Volumes.
For procedures, see "iSCSI authentication workflow"

iSCSI access control workflow


An initiator groupdefines who can initiate the LUN. After you create the Storage Volume, when you manage the iSCSI options, you
are prompted to choose an initiator group.

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Data access to the iSCSI Storage Volume can be restricted to either a single machine or to multiple machines in a Subnet.

Configuring initiator group and restricting access


1. In the ElastiCenter, select Accounts.
2. In the Accounts page, select the account for which you want to specify the protocol options.
3. Select Manage iSCSI Initiator Groups in the Actions pane.

4. Select Add Initiator Group in the Tasks menu.


5. Provide the required details.

Field
Name

Description
Unique name of the initiator group.

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Allowed Intiator

List of IQNs, separated by comma for restricting the access to iSCSI Storage Volume from multiple machines
in a Subnet.

Authorized Networks

List of allowed networks, followed by subnet mask in the format 10.0.0.0/8, separated by comma.

6. Click OK.
7. In the Storage Volumes page, select the Storage Volume to which you want to assign the initiator.
8. Select Manage iSCSI Configuration (Actions pane > Tasks).

9. Click Edit, enter the required details, and then save the changes.
10. In the Confirmation dialog box, click Modify.

iSCSI authentication workflow


An iSCSI Authentication Group is a grouping of multiple iSCSI users. You can select the users who can access the iSCSI target.
After you create users, you can group them as iSCSI users for authentication.
1. In the ElastiCenter, select Accounts.
2. In the Accounts page, select the account for which you want to specify the protocol options.

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3. Select Manage iSCSI Authentication Groups in the Actions pane.

4. Click Add Authentication Group in the following page:

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5. Enter the required details and then click OK.

Field
Name
Description

Description
A unique name for the authentication group.
A meaningful description for the authentication group.

CHAP Username

Username for CHAP authentication. For uniqueness, specify the initiator IQN name as username. CHAPis
an authentication method which uses a user/secret or IQNs for outgoing authentication. The Storage
Volumes on CloudByte ElastiStor authenticate the initiator.

CHAP Secret

Password for CHAP authentication in alpha-numeric format.The password must have 12 to 16 characters.

Mutual CHAP
Username

Username for mutual CHAP authentication. For uniqueness, specify the initiator IQN name as username.
The value must be same as that of the CHAP user. Mutual CHAP is a super set of CHAP which uses peer
user/peer secret for outgoing/incoming authentication between Storage Volumes and initiator.

Mutual CHAP
Secret

Password for mutual CHAP authentication (should be different from CHAP secret).

Description

The password must have 12 to 16 characters.

6. In the Storage Volumes page, select the Storage Volume for which you want to assign the authentication group.

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7. Select Manage iSCSI Configuration (Actions pane > Tasks).

8. Click Edit, enter the required details, and then click Save. In the following screen, you have selected CHAPas the authentication method.

9. In the Confirmation dialog box, click Modify.

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Restricting access to iSCSI VSM by managing Authentication Groups


The procedures are same as in the section Restricting access to iSCSI Storage Volume by managing Authentication Groupsexcept
that, instead of Storage Volume, you have to select VSM from step 7 onward.

Installing MPIO on Windows Server


Multipath I/O (MPIO) is a Microsoft-provided framework that allows storage providers to develop Multipath solutions that contain
hardware-specific information required to optimize connectivity with storage arrays.
MPIO provides an alternate data path between storage devices and Windows operating system. MPIO is protocol-independent and
can be used with Internet SCSI (iSCSI) and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interfaces.
Installing MPIO functionality involves the following procedures:

Note: The following documentation is for Windows Server 2008. The procedures are similar for other versions of Windows
Server. However, there might be minor variations owing to the differences in UI strings and navigation.
1. On Windows Server, select Multipath I/O and then click Install (Server Manager Console > Add Features Wizard).
Note: This step can be skipped if Multipath I/O is already installed.

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2. Restart the Windows Server after you complete the installation.


3. After reboot, configure Multipath as follows:
1. Open MPIO application (Start > Administrative Tools > MPIO).
2. Click Discover Multi-paths tab.
3. Enable Add support for iSCSI devices.

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4. Click Add.

4. In the Reboot required dialog box click Yes.


After reboot, a new device called "MSFT2005IBusType 0x9" (or similar ID) appears in the MPIO Properties.

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Configuring Multipath on ElastiCenter


Prerequisites:
l

In the Network Interface Cards page (Nodes> Network Interface Cards), configure static IP addresses for each interface to configure multipath as shown in the following screen:

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Procedures
1. In the VSMs page, click Provision VSM and then complete the procedures to create a VSM.
2. Select the provisioned VSM and then in the VSM page select Advanced Settings.
3. In the Advanced Settings page, click Edit.
4. In the following screen, provide the required details and then click Save.

Field
Secondary IP Address

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Description
Alternate IP Address to configure multipath for a single LUN.

CHAPTER V Data Access Protocols

Secondary Subnet
Secondary Interface

Subnet address for multipath configuration.


Alternate Interface to configure multipath.

5. Provision a Storage Volume in the VSM on which Multipath I/O is configured.


6. (In the following page) Enter the required details and complete the procedures.

Configuring MPIO on Windows Server for a LUN in ElastiStor


Adding the first path to the iSCSI target
1. Add two target portal IP addresses of the Disk Station (iSCSI Initiator Properties > Discovery).

2. Select a target that uses MPIO and then click Log On (iSCSI Initiator Properties page > Target).
1. Select the option Automatically restore this connection when the computer starts.
2. Select the option Enable multi-path.
3. Click Advanced.

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3. In the Advanced Settings page, check the following options:


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Microsoft iSCSI Initiator.

First Subnet of the Initiator Computer

First Subnet of the DiskStation (both the IP addresses of the initiator and the target are within the same Subnet)

4. Click OK and ensure that the target has been connected.

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5. Close the iSCSI Initiator Application.

Adding the second path to the iSCSI target


1. In the iSCSI initiator properties page:
1. Select the Target to use MPIO (ensure that it is connected).
2. Click Log on.

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2. In the Advanced Settings page, check the following and then click OK.

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Microsoft iSCSIinititator

Second Subnet of the Initiator Computer

Second Subnet of the DiskStation (both the IP addresses of the Initiator and the Target are within the same Subnet)

CHAPTER V Data Access Protocols

3. Select Details in the iSCSI Initiator Properties page.

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4. In the Target Properties page, click Devices tab.

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5. Select a device name and then click Advanced

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6. Select a load balance policy and then click OK. The following screenshot shows Round Robin with Subset as the Load balance policy.

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Data access using CIFS


The Common Internet File System (CIFS), is a network protocol whose most common use is sharing files on a Local Area Network
(LAN).
The following workflow explains how to configure CIFS options:

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Configure VSM CIFS options at the VSM level. File system CIFS options can be configured at the Storage Volume level (if you have
enabled the protocol option).

VSM CIFS options


By default, CloudByte ElastiStor creates a default VSM CIFS options group with industry standard options.
After you create the VSM, Manage CIFS Configuration option can be used to manage CIFS options at VSM level. You can either
select the default one or select options from the drop down menu.
Field

Description

Authentication Model

By default the Authentication Model is user.

NetBios Name

A unique name for the VSM CIFS options template.

Server Description

A meaningful description of the VSM CIFS options template.

Workgroup

The workgroup that the server will appear to be in.

DOS Charset

The character set that is used while communicating with the Windows clients. The default is CP437

UNIX Charset

The character set that is internally used. The default is UTF-8.

Log Level

Sets the amount of log/debug messages that are sent to the log file. Default is Minimum. Keep it this
way for best performance unless more information is needed for troubleshooting.

Time Server

Determines whether or not ElastiStor advertises itself as a time server to Windows clients.

File system CIFS options


By default, CloudByte ElastiStor creates a default file system CIFS options group with industry standard options. After you create
the Storage Volume, Manage CIFS Configuration option can be used to manage CIFS options at Storage Volume level.
Option

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Description

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Status

If Enabled, CIFS Share can be accessed. If NFS is enabled on a Storage Volume, you can access CIFS share by setting
Status to enable.

Name

A unique name for the file system CIFS options template.

Description

A meaningful description of the CIFS options template.

Read Only

If checked, prohibits write access to the share.


If selected, clients when they browse the shared directory using Windows Explorer can see the list of shares. If unse-

Browseable lected, client has to explicitly specify the full server path in Windows Explorer.
Inherit Permissions

If selected, permissions on new files and directories are inherited from parent directory.This option is (particularly) helpful
in scenarios where there are large systems with many users involved. Inheriting permissions let a single home share to
be used flexibly by each user. Leave this unselected if Type of ACL is set to Windows in the Volume's permissions.

Recycle Bin

If selected, instead of purging the files, they are moved to recycle bin of CIFS share on deletion.

Hide Dot
Files

Dot files (unlike on UNIX) appear on Windows. Select the option to hide the Dot files.

Hosts Allow

Host-based protection feature. Comma-separated or space separated list of IP addresses that are allowed to access the
shares. If nothing is specified, the default value ALL applies.

Hosts Deny

Host-based protection feature. Comma-separated or space separated list of IP addresses that are denied access to the
file system. If you specify ALL, IP Addresses that are not listed in the Host Allow field are denied permission.

CIFSauthentication workflow
A CIFS Authentication Group is a grouping of multiple CIFS users. You can select the users who can access the CIFS share.
1. In the ElastiCenter, select Accounts.
2. In the Accounts page, select the account for which you want to specify the protocol options.
3. Select Manage CIFS Authentication Groups in the Actions pane.

4. Click Add Authentication Group in the following page:

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5. Specify the required details and then click OK.

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Field

Description

Name

A unique name for the authentication group.

Description

A meaningful description for the authentication group.

CHAPTER V Data Access Protocols

User name

Specify a name for the user.

Password

Specify a password for the user.

Full name

Specify the full name of the user.

6. In the VSM page, select the VSM for which you want to assign the authentication group.
7. Select Manage CIFS Configuration (Actions pane > Tasks).

8. Click Edit, select a Discovery Authentication Group from the drop-down list and then click Save.

9. In the confirmation prompt, click Modify.

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Data access using NFS


Network File System (NFS) allows a server to share directories and files with clients over a network.
The following section details the setup:

VSM NFS options


1. In the VSM Page, click Manage NFS Configuration (Actions > Tasks).
2. (In the following page) Click Edit, change the Number of NFS Worker Threads, and then save the settings.

File system NFS options


1. In the navigation pane, select Storage Volumes.
2. In the Storage Volume page, select the Storage Volume for which you want to specify the NFS options.
3. In the following page, select Manage NFS Configuration in the Tasks section of the actions pane.

4. In the Authorized NFS clients page, click Add NFS Clients.

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5. Specify the following NFS details:


Option
Network/IP
addresses

Description
Single Network ID with subnet mask (for example,10.10.1.100/8). You can also provide a comma-separated
list of IP addresses for which access has to be provided (for example,10.20.10.120, 10.20.10.121) instead.

All Directories Yes the client can mount any sub directory within the Path.
Map as Root
Users
Read-only

Yesrestricts all users to root.

No restricts write or delete accesses to other users' files.

Yes prohibits writing to the share.

6. Click Add.

Frequently Asked Questions


Can I use the same secret key for mutual authentication in the case of LUN export?
The key must be unique.
What is the maximum number of NFS or iSCSI LUNs that you can have on ElastiStor?
You can create N number of NFS or iSCSI LUNs, based on your requirement.

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CHAPTER VI Managing | Monitoring | Reporting

CHAPTER VI Managing | Monitoring | Reporting


Agenda
l

Delegate your administrative tasks

Monitor your storage infrastructure

Generate reports

The following sections explain the management features in CloudByte ElastiStor.

Delegated administration
Administration in CloudByte can be categorized based on services. You can have administration at the Site level or at the Account
level. Your Site can have multiple Site administrators.

Note: Currently, CloudByte ElastiStor supports only role-based administration. Future releases will have delegated administration fully implemented.

As the root administrator, you can distribute the tasks to administrators. Delegated administration is an act of providing and restricting privileges by establishing access control based on the responsibility of each individual administrator.
n

Delegated administration lets you determine the actions that each administrator can take using administrative tools on different resources.

Delegated administration roles are mapped to administrative functions using security policies. You can create and maintain
separate administration capabilities, depending on your needs.

You establish delegated administration by creating role hierarchy.

Role hierarchy enables you to keep a tight control on how delegation happens and who can delegate what to whom. One
administrator can create sub-roles for other administrators with limited administrative privileges.

Role hierarchy
The following is a pictorial representation of how role-hierarchy functions in CloudByte ElastiStor administration:

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Administrator
Super administrator
Site administrator

Account super
dministrator

Account administrator

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Can
Perform all possible actions across Sites, Accounts, and VSMs

Cannot
Not applicable
Delete/Modify/Create another Site administrator

Manage permissible actions within the permitted Sites

Manage more than one Site

Have only read-only access

Create/Delete/Modify Accounts (if permitted by super


administrator)

Manage only that Account

Manage anything outside the Account

Do everything permissible for an Account administrator

Manage anything with respect to the


infrastructure

Manage what is permitted within the Account

Manage other account admins within the


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CHAPTER VI Managing | Monitoring | Reporting

View administrator

View all the permitted Sites and underlying infrastructure

Have only read-only access

View all the permitted Accounts

View Cluster administrators and Account administrators

Generate reports

Delete/Modify/Create another View


administrator

View Site administrators

Note: You can only have one super administrator. Only the super administrator can change his/her password. Administrators
can change their password and passwords of administrators under them.

Adding delegated administrators


Create Site administrators or view administrators
Note: You can create Site administrators or view administrators only if you are a super administrator.
1. Log in as a super administrator.
2. In the navigation pane, select Delegated Administrator. The Delegated Administrators page appears.

3. Click Add Delegated Admin.


4. In the Add Delegated Admin Details page, specify the following details:

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Email: Specify a unique email address for the Site administrator or View administrator

Password: Administrator password

Delegated Admin Type:Select the type of Delegated Administrator from the drop-down menu

5. Click Next and then drag and drop one or more Sites for which you want to delegate administration as seen in the following
screen:

6. Click Add.

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CHAPTER VI Managing | Monitoring | Reporting

Create Account administrators


You can create Account administrators for either existing or new accounts.

Create Account administrators for a new account


Note: The type of administrator that you can assign tasks to depends on the privileges you have.
1. In ElastiCenter, select Accounts in the navigation pane.
2. In the Accounts page, click Add Account.
3. In the Account Details page, when you specify the account details, choose the type of administrator that you want to create
(Account Super Admin or Account Admin).

4. Specify the credentials for the administrator and then click Add Account.

Create Account administrators for an existing account


Note:The type of administrator that you can assign task to depends on the privileges you have.
1. In ElastiCenter, select Accounts in the navigation pane.
2. In the Accounts page, select the account for which you want to add new administrators.
3. In the following page, click Add Administrator in the Delegated Administration section of the tasks pane.

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4. In the Add Account dialog box, specify the details and then click OK.

Global Settings
Global settings let the administrator configure various options used to control CloudByte ElastiStor. For example, email configuration. To configure global settings,
1. In ElastiCenter, select Global Settings.
2. Select a target category. A list of settings is provided by default.
3. Edit the relevant settings.
Note: You cannot add new settings.

Monitoring
Monitoring provides an intuitive visualization of storage statistics.
Monitoring foregrounds relevant backend activities in an easy user interface for administrators. It provides a generic outlook of the
components such as storage, input/output, throughput, latest data, status, alerts, and system configuration.
Various dashboards dynamically represent disk utilization, storage utilization, throughput, input/output, and status of network interface cards attached to the system.
Alerts and Events feature keeps a regular check on what is happening with the product. All events - even adding an additional IP
address or modifying an existing one - get registered and monitored.
The feature also provides a notification system where the administrator is informed through email/text messages when an alert is
generated in the system.
Continuous monitoring of your network

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Helps you discover problems long before they become critical

Enables you to take proactive measures

Ensures that performance is always at expected levels

Ensures that resources are effectively utilized

Monitoring in CloudByte ElastiStor


Monitoring in CloudByte ElastiStor can be classified as follows:
n

Node level alerts: The alert information specific to the Node.

Dashboard alerts: Graphical representation of monitoring statistics at granular levels.

Events: A snapshot of all ElastiCenter-specific events.

Node level alerts


Node level alerts provide a list of alerts specific to the Nodes.
1. In ElastiCenter, click Alerts. All alerts associated with the Node are displayed.
2. Click the Acknowledge icon to acknowledge the alert and it disappears from the list. To acknowledge all the alerts, click Bulk
Acknowledge in the Actions pane.

Emailing alerts
The following settings in Global Settings let you email alerts:
l

By default , alerts are not emailed. To receive alerts over email, set alert.email.enable to true . The alerts are mailed
to the email that you specified when you updated your profile. For details, see "Reset password and configure auto-alert
options". To add multiple users, add the email IDs separated by comma in alert.email.addresses.

You can set a filter to the alerts mailed based on severity using the option alert.email.severity. By default, all alerts
are mailed (as the value set is 4).

To specify the sender email ID, use the option alert.email.sender. If you do not specify an ID, the ElastiCenter domain
name is displayed along with IP address of ElastiCenter.

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Events
To get a list of ElastiCenter events,
1. In ElastiCenter, click Events.
2. Select Events in the Select View. All events are listed.
To get a list of specific events, go to the component page and then click Events. For example, for events related to only Storage
Volumes:
1. In the Storage Volumes page, select a Storage Volume for which you want to generate events.
2. In the following page, click Events in the actions pane.

Dashboard Alerts
Dashboard provides a visual representation of monitoring statistics such as performance, usage, capacity, and availability.
To see the details, select the component and then make a specific selection.
The following figure is a dashboard representation of the alerts

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CHAPTER VI Managing | Monitoring | Reporting

Advanced debugging options


The Troubleshooting option provided in the Node page, Pool page, and VSM page provides a set of information that help you with
advanced debugging. The options provide information such as the following:
l

For Pools: Pool I/O Status and Pool Properties

For VSMs: NIC and Netstat information

For Nodes: I/O Status of various disks, GMultipath status, and Camcontrol device list for all available disks

When you select an option, details are provided in a tabular format. To access the Troubleshooting option,
1. In the Node/Pool/VSM page, click a specific Node/Pool/VSM.
2. In the Actions pane, click Troubleshooting under Tasks.

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3. Select the action and then click Update.

CloudByte ElastiStor reporting


CloudByte ElastiStor provides detailed reports that you can save or print. The reports can be generated in the formats PDF, HTML,
and CSV. You can schedule reports and email the generated reports.
You can generate reports at granular levels, for instance at Account level or Pool level. Reports help you with various statistics such
as QoS data.
CloudByte provides the following reports, which you can generate, print, and circulate:
l

Account IOPS Provisioning

Pool IOPS Provisioning

Account Storage Provisioning

Pool Storage Provisioning

Account QoS

Pool QoS

Account Storage

Pool Storage

Volume Usage

HA Group Info

Global Accounts IOPS Storage Provisioning

Note: In future releases, you can define your own reports and add new report types.

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Accessing the reports


1. In ElastiCenter, select Reports.

2. Click the respective icon to generate or schedule a report.


3. In the dialog box that appears, specify the relevant details and then click OK.

Configuring email for reports


To send the generated reports over mail, Click Generate new Report icon in the Actions pane and then specify the address to which
the report has to be mailed.

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To change the default settings for configuring email for reports, select Global Settings and then specify the details for the highlighted
options:

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CHAPTER VII REST APIs | Quality of Service

CHAPTER VII REST APIs | Quality of Service


Agenda
l

Managing ElastiStor with RESTAPIs

How to assure Quality of Service

Introduction to RESTAPIs
CloudByte ElastiStor REST APIs provide a bundle of functions that encompasses all the features in the CloudByte ElastiStor
Administrator Console (CloudByte ElastiCenter). You do not need ElastiCenter to configure and manage CloudByte ElastiStor.
Rather you can use your own portal.
The CloudByte ElastiStor REST APIs provide powerful, convenient, and simple REST-based APIs which can interact with
CloudByte ElastiStor.
Click one of the following links to get a complete list of CloudByte ElastiStor REST APIs and documentation relevant to your administrative privileges:
l

Super administrator APIs

Site administrator APIs

Account super administrator APIs

How to use CloudByte ElastiStor REST APIs


1. Install CloudByte ElastiCenter. For details, see Installing CloudByte ElastiCenter.
2. Authenticate as Administrator. For details, see Accessing CloudByte ElastiCenter.
3. Obtain the CloudByte REST API authorization token. This token is passed in each request using the API Key request parameter. For details, see "Obtaining the REST API key".
4. Form the request URL. For details, see "Forming the API request".

Obtaining the REST API key


1. Log in to ElastiCenter as Super Admin.
2. In the navigation pane, select Delegated Administrator. The list of administrators appears.

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3. From the list of Accounts, click the specific account for which you want to generate the API key.
4. In the following page, click Generate Keys.

5. Click Yes to confirm. The API key is generated and displayed as shown in the following screen:

Forming the API request


The following is a sample GET request:
https://<ElastiCenterIPaddress>/client/apicommand=listSite&apiKey=Xxj48vo357IsQ5H5KOPQksMzFBGYgTJNqgItBAulgu5YeOkwT4L8DAWUb_
p43Nlv23e4eBeuN3Ts8_0-m3AyQA&response=json

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Interpreting the URL


URL Component

Description

https://<ElastiCenter IP address>/client/api?

Base URL which includes the IP address to access


CloudByte ElastiCenter; the web service API entry point.

command=listSite

The web service command you execute. For the complete


list of commands, see ElastiStor APIs.

apiKey=UjGmN7gGwzMhFsSese3TNNOWiXHGn53eon_7sHx3aL-9_
t3sHAOV_rNqVzwTnrJyCaTAg9FucSBvMp49nbnfEQ

The API key that you generated.

response=json

Response format. This can be XML or JSON. To get an


XML response, replace json with xml in the URL.

Apart from these, the URL also has the additional parameters (required or optional) for the command.

Sample response in JSON


{ listSiteResponse : { count:2 ,site : [

id: 66291daa-4c40-4462-8747-926ebc488963,
name: Bangalore,
location: India,
managedstate: Available,
currentUsedSpace: 29,
currentAvailableSpace: 9943,
currentTotalSpace: 9972,
currentThroughput: 605,
currentIOPS: 151,
currentLatency: 163,
currentThrottle: 20,
controllers: [
{
nodePools: 4,
id: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
clusterid: 88bf812b-5142-4780-8ad3-13178bbf30a1,
name: host1,
hostname: Both,
nodeTsms: 4,
ipaddress: 10.36.36.50
}
],
haclusters: [
{
id: 88bf812b-5142-4780-8ad3-13178bbf30a1,
haClusterPools: 4,

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haClusterNodes: 1,
name: Cluster1,
haClusterTsms: 4
}
],
hapools: [
{
controllerId: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
id: 38e66579-bb91-3de3-815a-48c35e2c5943,
availiops: 50,
totalthroughput: 102400,
name: Pool1,
poolTsms: 1,
availthroughput: 51200,
totaliops: 100
},
{
controllerId: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
id: 226e2e02-a3e5-3609-b70d-aea8ef655f74,
availiops: 75,
totalthroughput: 153600,
name: Pool2,
poolTsms: 1,
availthroughput: 76800,
totaliops: 150
},
{
controllerId: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
id: 810f428d-9c26-3d91-8675-62cc3ca56da0,
availiops: 100,
totalthroughput: 153600,
name: pool3,
poolTsms: 1,
availthroughput: 102400,
totaliops: 150
},
{
controllerId: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
id: 11d6fd85-5782-39fe-b85d-079d73742757,
availiops: 175,
totalthroughput: 384000,
name: P4,
poolTsms: 1,
availthroughput: 179200,

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totaliops: 375
}
],
tsms: [
{
controllerId: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
id: 1cb805fe-dd22-357e-b198-121fa08d0971,
availiops: 25,
totalthroughput: 51200,
name: T1,
ipaddress: 10.37.37.51,
availthroughput: 25600,
totaliops: 50
},
{
controllerId: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
id: 90a4e6f8-cb3c-317f-8cdf-3986e8759747,
availiops: 50,
totalthroughput: 76800,
name: T2,
ipaddress: 10.37.37.52,
availthroughput: 51200,
totaliops: 75
},
{
controllerId: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
id: cab14af0-84b6-3761-900b-9675b32b6ba5,
availiops: 25,
totalthroughput: 51200,
name: T3,
ipaddress: 10.37.37.53,
availthroughput: 25600,
totaliops: 50
},
{
controllerId: 4c6e2246-52c1-3227-b51a-9928cf3b675a,
id: 17b17719-137d-3f95-9f4f-468a17a45957,
availiops: 100,
totalthroughput: 204800,
name: T4,
ipaddress: 10.37.37.54,
availthroughput: 102400,
totaliops: 200
}

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]
}, {
id: 74692191-75a9-4294-9b1e-402127c9e327,
name: test,
managedstate: Available,
revisionnumber: 0,
currentUsedSpace: 0,
currentAvailableSpace: 0,
currentTotalSpace: 0,
currentThroughput: 0,
currentIOPS: 0,
currentLatency: 0,
currentThrottle: 0
} ] } }

Sample response in XML


<listSiteResponse cloud-stack-version=1.1.0.4.2013-02-06T10:19:20Z>
<count>1</count>
<site>
<id>ad63d28a-9de9-443f-8260-4309337f40c3</id>
<name>site</name>
<managedstate>Available</managedstate>
<revisionnumber>0</revisionnumber>
<currentUsedSpace>0</currentUsedSpace>
<currentAvailableSpace>1996</currentAvailableSpace>
<currentTotalSpace>1996</currentTotalSpace>
<currentThroughput>0</currentThroughput>
<currentIOPS>0</currentIOPS>
<currentLatency>0</currentLatency>
<currentThrottle>0</currentThrottle>
</site>
</listSiteResponse>

Assuring Quality of Service


Introduction
Assuring quality of service makes your storage performance predictable. CloudByte ElastiStor is unique in its QoS offering as it lets
you

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Easily commission storage with guaranteed IOPS at various levels. You can decide to configure QoS at a Pool level, VSM
level, or Storage Volume level.

Configure multidimensional QoS involving IOPS, throughput, latency, and capacity.

Utilize untapped system resources. For example, assume that you have three VSMs but only one is active. In this case, the
active VSM can use the entire systems capability.

On-demand modification of settings without system restarts.

Choosing your QoS


The following points help you choose an appropriate QoS:
Endpoint: Decide at what level you want to implement QoS.
Select a capable pool: Based on VSMs requirements, you provision it on a capable Pool that can meet the requirements. Define
the pool level QoS, based on Pool configuration and the controller level. QoS is determined based on the Pool capacity, which is the
underlying storage capability.
QoS provisioning: Understand your VSMs QoS requirements across the data access and data protection needs. Based on the
requirement of the VSM, you can either choose QoS automatically or manually. Ensure that you are aware of the Pool settings and
how effectively you want to use it at the VSM level.
Sub-divide QoS: Within a VSM, based on varying needs, further sub-divide QoS across Storage Volume, based on the guarantee
that the administrator wants to set. For example, when a VSM is used to store logs in the database, since logs need higher IOPS
and lower throughput and latency, set it accordingly. Whereas a database requires low IOPS, high throughput, and high latency.

Configuration
Use ElastiCenter to configure QoS settings. The configuration can be at the following levels:
n

Pool: For details, see Creating a Storage pool.

Account: For details, see Creating an Account.

VSM: For details, see Provisioning VSM.

Configuring Grace
What is Grace
Grace is the provisioning of unused IOPS/throughput of Pools to Storage Volumes based on the performance requirements. You can
configure Grace at Pool level and Storage Volume level.
For example, assume that you have a Pool with the capacity of 100 IOPS and Grace enabled. Two VSMs named VSM A and VSM
B, with a capacity of 30 IOPS and 60 IOPS respectively are created under the Pool.

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Under VSM A (with 30 IOPS capacity), Storage Volumes named E and F are created, and assigned 10 IOPS and 15 IOPS
respectively.

Under VSM B (with 60 IOPS capacity), Storage Volume G is created and assigned 35 IOPS.

The grace available in this scenario is 40 IOPS.

Configuring Grace at the Pool level


Grace is enabled by default at the Pool level. You can edit Grace after creating the Pool.
To edit,
1. Go to the Pool page and then in the actions pane, click Settings.
2. Click Edit and then choose to enable/disable Grace.

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Configuring Grace at the Storage Volume level


To enable Grace at the Storage Volume level, ensure that Grace is enabled at the respective Pool level.
To edit,
1. Go to the Storage Volume page and then in the actions pane, click Settings.
2. Click Edit and then choose to enable/disable Grace.

3. Click Save.

Monitoring QoS
In the Storage Volume page, select the Volume for which you want to monitor QoS. The page that appears displays the monitoring
data.

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QoStips
Storage capacity
Discs, storage connectivity, and type
Capability: Ensure that you are well aware of the capabilities of your storage subsystem. For example, the right interconnection
between the controller and storage, the type of disks on the disk array, and the ability to expand the capacity.
Limitations: Ensure that you have assessed the limitations. For example, increasing storage capacity does not make any sense if
the network does not support.

Controller characteristics
RAM, CPU, and network:

CPU: If the storage is more I/O bound than CPU bound, it is more effective. CPU load should not be more than 60-70 percent, or you
add more cores.
RAM: RAM determines the ability to cache. Larger RAM means more filesystem caches. In a READ-centric scenario, larger RAM
helps generate better QOS. That is, more I/O and throughput but lesser latency.
Network: Network capacity decides data access and data protection. Assure adequate network bandwidth to export performance to
clients. Network should do justice to the storage system.
Segregation: Segregate data access and data protection so that protection workloads do not interfere with data access workloads.

Pool creation
Storage group tips
As a best practice, create storage with 8 to 10 disks.
When you add storage groups, keep them identical. For example, do not add disparate groups to the same Pool. For example, if one
group has SATA disks and another group has SAS disks, then do not assign both to the same Pool. That is, do not create hybrid
Pools.

Multiple Pools within a Controller


Tips to avoid contention points: Be judicious when you add multiple Pools to a controller. For example, it does not make sense if
network bandwidth is already utilized to the maximum with the existing Pools, or CPUs are already busy serving the existing Pools.
QoS also suffers because of over provisioning.
When to combine multiple pools: When no conflict pertaining to bandwidth, CPU, or Memory exist, you can combine Pools.

Optimizing QoS
Disk characteristics: Better the disk characteristics, better the QOS. For example, the IOPS, throughput, and latency of SATA
disks are not as good as that of SS disks.
Disk layout: Better the disk layout, better the QoS. For example, keep the disk layout to 8 to 10 disks.

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Improving WRITE performance: If the application requires synchronous WRITES, associate high performing disk to the Pool to
speed up the WRITEs. This guarantees better QOS.
Improving READ performance: To improve the READ performance or increase the filesystem cache hit rate, add high performing
disks as cache devices to the Pool.

IOPS conversion matrix


The following sections provide details of the IOPS conversion matrix as implemented in CloudByte ElastiStor. The conversion matrix helps you understand the penalty enforcement factors associated with the QoS.
Assume that, as a service provider, you have assigned a client a specific number of IOPS. Depending on the work load pattern, to
maintain guaranteed QoS, you might have to increase or decrease the IOPS. Based on the standard QoScharacteristics CloudByte
automatically calculates the equivalent of your load.
For example, in a 100 % READ scenario, there is a surplus IOPS owing to the 0% WRITE. Similarly in a 100 percent
WRITEscenario, there is a deficit of IOPS. This demands a check and balance in the IOPSprovisioning which is taken care of by
CloudByte.
Since it is imperative that IOPS provisioning conform to a specific matrix, you are provided with a set of Global Settings options
which you can tweak to maintain and optimize the performance. Note that you can also optimize the performance at per Pool level
also.

Measuring storage performance


Prior to reading the following sections, CloudByte recommends you to read the following white paper that provides an introduction to
Measuring Storage Performance.

Concepts
IOPS

Description

Standard IOPS

This is the benchmarked IOPS. The details are as follows: 80 READ/20 WRITE, and 4K block size. This acts
as the frame of reference for QoS in CloudByte ElastiStor.

Operating IOPS

IOPS under a given workload that can be measured against the standard IOPS.

Pool IOPS

The standard IOPS that can be delivered by a given pool.

Provisioned IOPS

. The standard IOPS provisioned to a volume

Illustration
Consider a Pool assigned with 1300 Standard IOPS. There are three Storage Volumes with the following conditions:
Storage Volume

Provisioned IOPS

Block Size

Workload (READ/WRITE)

Operational IOPS

Volume 1

500

4K

80% /20%

500

Volume 2

200

4K

100% /0%

170

Volume 3

400

4K

0% /100%

600

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In the case of TSM 3 where WRITEs are more, operational IOPS exceeds the standard IOPS which demands the implementation of
penalty enforcement.

Penalty enforcement options


The following options in the Global Settings are used to enforce IOPS penalty:
Settings

Description

qos.penalty.factor

If Yes, penalty is applied based on the criteria explained above.

qos.penalty.enforcement.timeinterval

Seconds after which penalty enforcement should refresh.

read.multiplication.factor

For details, see the following sections

cache.multiplication.factor

For details, see the following sections.

Deciding the penalty


The following workflow helps you understand the penalty factors:

Calculating the operating IOPS


Standard IOPS

1000 @80%Read, 80% Write, 4K block size

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Read/write variation

CloudByte equates one WRITE to four READS. You can tune this on per pool basis if required.
Calculation

If standard IOPS are 100 at 80 READS/20 WRITES, the following is the formula to convert the operating IOPS into standard IOPS:
Operating
IOPS

At
READ/WRITE

Equivalent Standard IOPS

Throttle at
(IOPS)

100

100/0

80 READS +20 READS (as READs occur in place of WRITEs). Here you convert 20 WRITEs
to READS. That is, 20x4=80 READs. The total standard IOPS that can be consumed is 80 +
80 = 160 IOPS.

160

100

80/20

80 READS + 20 READS

100

100

60/40

60 READs + 40 READs (as WRITES occur in place of READs). Here you convert 20 READs 85
to WRITEs. 20 READs are equal to 20/4=5 WRITEs. The total standard IOPS that can be consumed is 80+5 = 85 IOPS.

100

40/20

40 READs + 60WRITEs (as WRITEs occur in place of READs). Here you convert 40 READs
to WRITES. 40 READs are equal to 40/4=10 WRITEs. The total standard IOPS that can be
consumed is 40+10 = 50 IOPS.

50

100

20/80

20 READs + 80 WRITEs (as WRITEs occur in place of READs). Here you convert 60 READs
to WRITEs. 60 READs are equal to 60/4=15 WRITEs. The total standard IOPS that can be
consumed is 20+15 = 35 IOPS.

35

100

0/100

0 READs + 100 WRITEs (as WRITEs occur in place of READs). Here you convert 80 READs
to WRITEs. 80 READs are equal to 80/4=20 WRITEs. The total standard IOPS that can be
consumed is 0+20 = 20 IOPS.

20

READ/WRITEvariation and block size variation


The calculation considers the following assumptions:
l

X operating IOPS are converted to X1 after considering the block size variation

X1 IOPS are converted to X2 after considering READ/WRITEvariation

Throttling happens at X2 IOPS

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Frequently Asked Questions


What is QoS?
Assuring your client/application the promised IOPS, throughput, and latency.
Is QoS applicable only to Cloud Service Providers?
No. QoS is applicable to enterprise scenarios as well.
What is the maximum IOPS I can set?
The maximum IOPS directly depends on the underlying storage. SSD is the best choice followed by SAS and SATA.
Is QoS disk dependent?
Yes
Is QoS a licensed option?
No
What is the difference between dedicated and shared options?
Dedicated: If the Storage Volume needs exclusive QoS configuration.
Shared: If the Storage Volume can share the QoS configuration with another Storage Volume.
The following figure explains the concepts:

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For example, if both Storage Volume 1 and Storage Volume 2 are committed to busy service round the clock, Dedicated
would be your choice. Whereas, if Storage Volume 1 and Storage Volume 2 represent services in a cross-geographical setup
where activities related to Storage Volume 1 end toward the time activities related to Storage Volume 2 start, Shared would
be your choice.
Do I have to set all the QoS parameters (IOPS, Latency, and Throughput)?
No. IOPS is a must. Depending on requirement, you can choose to configure Latency and Throughput.
What is the difference between IOPS, Latency, and Throughput?
l

IOPS: The READ/WRITE capability.

Latency: Time that ElastiStor takes to acknowledge a READ/WRITE back to the client.

Throughput: Data that can be transferred as part of READ/WRITE operations.

Is it a must to set QoS?


Yes
Can I increase/decrease QoS on the fly?
Yes
Is QoS guarantied in an HA environment?
Yes
What at the recommend QoS setting in an HA environment?
Same as standalone.
Can I set QoS for my backups?
Yes
Can I set QoS for my DR operations?
Yes
Can I get the same QoS on the secondary node in the case of a disaster?
Yes, provided you have the same or better infrastructure quality.

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How do you calculate IOPS, latency, and throughput?


Throughput = IOPS * Block Size.
Latency depends on the following factors:
l

Workload characteristics such as L2ARC Size and ZIL size.

Seek time on the disk

Workload access patterns such as sequential, random, read only, read write, write only.

Speed of the underlying disks, that is, if spinning disks such as SAS or SATA or faster ones such as SSDs

Dataset cached in the ZFS L1ARC caches and ZFS L2ARC caches.

Presence of Intent log ZIL to log the writes and respond quickly.

How the ZIL is configured, that is if it is on spinning disks or SSD disks.

Underlying RAID configuration, for example striped or mirrored.

System load in terms of CPU cycles available.

What at the recommended QoS setting in an HA environment?


In multiway HA, for example in a two-way HA, each node should be provisioned a maximum of upto to 50 percent of the capacity.
Can I set QoS for my backups?
Not for the current release.
Can I set QoS for my DR operations?
Not for the current release.
Can I get the same QoS on the secondary node in the case of a disaster?
Yes, provided the secondary node has same system configuration as the primary.

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When do you use Grace?


Particularly useful when you check if the IOPS and throughput set for a particular Storage Volume are correct. If a particular
Storage Volume is continuously eating up grace, it is an indication that it is over-provisioned and deserves more IOPS/throughput.
How can Icompare the QoS values of selected Volumes?
1. In CloudByte ElastiCenter, click Pools in the left pane.
2. In the Pools page, select the Pool for which you want to compare the QoS values of the selected Storage Volumes.
3. Select the Storage Volumes.
4. Select the QoSparameter (IOPS, throughput, or latency) that you want to compare.
5. Click Update.
The chart on top of the page displays the comparison with time stamp as the reference.

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CHAPTER VIII High Availability | Backup | Recovery


Agenda
l

How to build a High Availability setup

Handling disasters

How to backup your storage

Recovering your data

Configuring High Availability


CloudByte ElastiStor supports High Availability in two-way, three-way, and four-way configurations.

Note: SATA disks or any disk with SATA interface is not supported for HA and multipathing configuration.

Before you proceed


Ensure the following on all Nodes in the HA Group:
l

Same NIC (for example, if em0 is the interface used on one Node, the same should apply for all Nodes) and same capacity
Disks are shared (across the Nodes)

Same system hardware configuration

Identical SAS HBA (identical firmware and driver)

Procedures
The following procedures explain how to configure a two-way High Availability setup:
1. Set up your hardware. For details see "High Availability | Backup | Recovery"
2. Create a Site. For details, see "Creating a Site ".
3. Create an HA Group. For details, see "Creating an HA Group ".
When you specify the IP address range while adding the HAGroup, ensure that you specify a range that matches the number
of nodes you add.
4. Add a Node (Node1). For details, see "Adding a Node".
5. Label shared disks. For details, see "Configuring Disk Array enclosure"
Note: You can perform this step later, after you add all other Nodes. In that case, you have to refresh the hardware
(Nodes > select specific Node > select Refresh Hardware in the Tasks section of the action pane) for labeling to take
effect.
6. Add Node 2. For details, see "Adding a Node".
Now you have established a two-way HA. The following screen provides a visual representation of the configuration.

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Proceed to create Pools, VSMs, and Storage Volumes.

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Hardware setup diagram for High Availability

Bringing Node to maintenance mode


When you want to service your Node, change its status to maintenance mode. In this mode, the Node is up and controlled by the
administrator, but is not an active part of the High Availability Group.
To bring a Node to maintenance mode,

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1. Select the Node that you want to bring to maintenance mode (ElastiCenter > Nodes).
2. In the Node Page, go to the actions pane and then click Move to maintenance icon.

The Change State of Node dialog box appears.


3. Select Maintenance as the state.
4. Optionally specify a reason for changing the state and then click OK.

Take Over
When Node failure occurs, takeover happens as illustrated in the following screens:
n

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The following screen depicts the Node Page that lists a two-way HA. Here, Node2 is in maintenance mode.

CHAPTER VIII High Availability | Backup | Recovery

In the following screen, Node1 has taken over.

Note: In ElastiStor, every Node has a designated partner. If the Node goes down, the resources of that Node are failed over
to the partner Node.

Making a Node available


After a downtime, when you bring up the Node, you have to manually change the status to Available.
1. Select the Node that you want to bring up (ElastiCenter > Node).
2. In the Node page, go to the actions pane and then click Move to available icon.

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3. Select Available as the state.


4. Optionally specify a reason for changing the state and then click OK.

HA Jobs
To view the details of the past High Availability events, perform the following procedures;
1. (In ElastiCenter)In the HA Groups page, select an HA Group for which you want to view event details.
2. In the Actions pane, click View Jobs.

You can view the details of the past HA events and the time taken to perform these events as shown in the following screen:

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Frequently Asked Questions


The Node fails to move back to available mode. Why?
In the case of failure, verify the storage connectivity and check for any error messages in the View Jobs (HAGroup > select
the specific HAGroup > actions pane > Tasks). If you cannot resolve, contact Technical Support.

Disaster recovery and backup


Disaster implies an unplanned outage. The consequences can be costly to your business. Whether it be because of a severe natural
calamity, network failure, site damage, or disk failure, data storage without backup is a great risk which might cause loss of data. It
is always important that your storage system is capable of being effectively backed up and recovered with no damage to the data
that is being handled. CloudByte has a robust disaster recovery mechanism.
The CloudByte ElastiStor features such as Backup and Restore and Disaster Recovery lets you restore older point in time copy of
data, while meeting compliance requirements. Industry surveys indicate large amount of operational expenses to reconstruct lost
data. Business critical data needs to be online as fast as possible while meeting stringent RPO and RTO. ElastiStor provides local
backup as well as disaster recovery solutions. The following diagram depicts (at a high level) the backup solution with CloudByte
ElastiStor.

Configure remotely or locally

Data protection can be configured either locally or remotely.


Remote backup

Particularly helpful in scenarios such as site damage caused due to natural disasters.

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Local backup

Backup your data by scheduling snapshots.


Backup Options

Disaster recovery is possible by either backing up at tenant level or dataset level in the case of remote replication.
Optimizing Disaster Recovery Point and Time Objectives
l

RPO depends on the scheduling done for Data Replication in remote tenants backup. In the best case, where it is scheduled
for every minute, RPO could be 1 minute of data.

RTO depends on how fast the administrator on the other site gets the information that he needs to activate the backup tenant.

Disaster recovery with high availability

Supports hybrid configurations involving data replication in high availability scenarios.Configuring local backup
Backup refers to copying and archiving of data. In the event of data loss, you can use the backup to restore the original data.
You can create a
n

Snapshot, which is a read-only virtual copy of your Storage Volume and VSM.

Clone, which is a real copy of your Storage Volume

In CloudByte ElastiStor, backup operates as follows:


n

The first backup is a full backup.

The first backup is followed by incremental backups based on snapshot technology.

ElastiStor supports continuous production during snapshot recovery of a Storage Volume.

Backing up VSM
1. In ElastiCenter, select Virtual Storage Machines in the navigation pane.
2. From the list, select the VSM to create local backup.
3. In the following page, go to the Local Backup section of the Actions pane and then select either of the following options:
n

Schedule: Schedule your backup by choosing a frequency.

Snapshot: Manually create a snapshot on demand.

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Add snapshot
1. In the Local Backup section, click Create Snapshot.
2. In the Create Snapshot dialog box, specify a unique name.
3. Click OK.

Add schedule
1. In the Local Backup section, click Add Snapshot Schedule. The Add Snapshot Schedule page appears.
2. Specify the following details and then click Add.
Field

Description

Name

A unique name for the backup schedule.

Retention Copies
Schedule

Specify the number of backup copies that you want to create.


Select the frequency.

Backup best practice

As a best practice, CloudByte recommends a multiple backup schedule.


For example, you can configure a multiple backup schedule comprising
Frequency

Retentioncopies

Every 15 minutes

Every hour

24

Every day

30

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Manage snapshots and schedules


To view the snapshots and schedules that you have created, click Manage Snapshots/Manage Snapshot Schedules in the local
backup section. You have options to rollback and disable the schedules/snapshots.

Backing up Storage Volume


1. In ElastiCenter, select Storage Volume in the Navigation pane.
2. From the list, select the Storage Volume to create snapshot.
3. In the following page, go to the Local Backup section of the actions pane and then click Create Snapshot.

4. In the Create Snapshot dialog box, specify a unique name for the snapshot and then click OK.

Restoring Snapshots
1. In ElastiCenter, select Storage Volumes in the Navigation pane.
2. From the list, select the Storage Volume to restore data.
3. In the following page, go to the Local Backup section of the actions pane and then click Manage Snapshots.

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4. From the list of snapshots, select the one that you want to restore, click the restore icon, and then confirm at prompt.

Add schedule
1. In the Local Backup section, click Add Snapshot Schedule. The Add Snapshot Schedule page appears.
2. Specify the following details and then click Add.
Field

Description

Name

A unique name for the backup schedule.

Retention Copies
Schedule

Specify the number of backup copies that you want to create.


Select the frequency.

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Manage snapshots and schedules


To view the snapshots and schedules that you have created, click Manage Snapshots/Manage Snapshot Schedules in the local
backup section. You have options to rollback and disable the schedules/snapshots.

Cloning the Storage Volume


You can create a READ/WRITE copy of your Storage Volume using the clone option. Unlike Snapshot which is a read-only virtual
copy, clone is a real copy of your Storage Volume. It consumes the same disk space as the parent Storage Volume.
ElastiStor uses snapshot as the point of reference for your clone. The workflow is as follows:
1. Create a Storage Volume.
2. Create a snapshot.
3. Create a Clone of the Storage Volume using Snapshot as the point of reference.

Creating a clone
1. In ElastiCenter, select Storage Volume in the navigation pane.
2. From the list, select the Storage Volume to create a clone.
3. In the following page, go to the actions pane and then select Local Backup > Create Snapshot.
4. In the Create Snapshot dialog box, specify a name and then click OK.
5. Click Manage Snapshot (actions pane > Local Backup).
6. From the list of snapshots, go to the one which you want to use as reference for creating the snapshot and then click the
Clone icon (highlighted in the circle).

7. Specify a unique clone name, where to mount the clone, and then click OK.

Configuring remote disaster recovery


The disaster recovery mechanism in CloudByte ElastiStor helps you effectively retrieve data in disaster situations.

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Currently, ElastiStor supports disaster recovery for a single Site. You can rebuild a primary Site using the disaster recovery copy.
ElastiStor provides disaster recovery across Sites over WANs.

Setting up remote disaster recovery


1. In the ElastiCenter navigation pane, click Virtual Storage Machine.
2. From the list of VSMs, select the one for which remote disaster recovery has to be configured.
3. In the actions pane, click Create DR VSM in Remote Backup.
Note: You have this option only if you have not created a DRVSM. If a DRVSM is created, you can modify the settings.

4. In the Add DRVSM page, select a Site on which you want to configure the DR VSM and also specify the name of DR VSM.
5. In the following page, select a Pool and then click Next.
6. Select the Backup interface, IP Address, and specify a schedule for the DR VSM (in the format minutes/hours/days/month/year).
7. Click Add.

Managing remote disaster recovery


For a specific VSM, use the Remote Backup section in the actions pane to configure remote disaster recovery.
1. In the ElastiCenter navigation pane, click Virtual Storage Machine.
2. From the list, select the VSM to manage remote disaster recovery.
3. In the actions pane, use the options in the section Remote Backup.

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Disaster recovery options


n

Name: Provides details of DRVSM and displays the transfer details.

Disable Transfer: Select and confirm to disable disaster recovery.

Edit Schedule: Edit the disaster recovery schedule.

Delete DRVSM: Remove a disaster recovery setup that you have configured.

Recovering data
1. In the ElastiCenter navigation pane, click Virtual Storage Machine.
2. From the list of VSMs, select the DR VSM that is associated with the Primary VSM where the disaster occurred.
3. In the DR VSM page, go to actions pane and then click Tasks > Activate.

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4. In the following page, specify the network settings and then click OK.
5. At confirmation prompt, click Yes.

Upgrading a High Availability DR setup


Follow the procedures to seamlessly upgrade a High Availability disaster recovery environment. Node 1 and Node 2 imply the nodes
on primary cluster. Similarly, DR Node 1 and DR Node 2 imply the nodes on the secondary cluster:
1. Upgrade ElastiCenter. For details, see Upgrading to CloudByte ElastiStor.
2. Move the Node 1 to maintenance mode. For details, see "High Availability | Backup | Recovery".
3. Upgrade Node 1. For details, see Upgrading to CloudByte ElastiStor .
4. Bring the Node 1 to Available mode. For details, see "High Availability | Backup | Recovery".
5. Move the Node 2 to Maintenance mode.
6. Upgrade Node 2.
7. Bring the Node 2 to Available mode.
8. Move the DR Node 1 to Maintenance mode.
9. Upgrade DR Node 1.
10. Bring the DR Node 1 to Available mode.
11. Move the DR Node 2 to Maintenance mode.
12. Upgrade DR Node 2.
13. Bring the DR Node 2 to Available mode.

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Confirm if the DR Transfer occurs after the upgrade as scheduled. In the case of any exceptions, contact CloudByte Technical Support.

Promoting secondary ElastiCenter and backing up configurations


Setting up and promoting secondary ElastiCenter
The following sections explain how to setup a secondary ElastiCenter (secondary setup) to ensure backup in the case your primary
ElastiCenter (primary setup) fails. If a failure occurs, you can promote your secondary setup.

Important:The primary and secondary setups cannot be used at the same time. Ensure that only the database service is
operational on the secondary setup. Promote the secondary setup only when the primary setup is down.

Prerequisites
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The primary and secondary setups are on same subnet

ElastiCenter and Node are installed separately

Setting up the secondary ElastiCenter


The procedures involve action at both the primary and secondary setups.

Note: If you copy and paste the commands in the section, ensure that they appear correctly on the CLI.
1. (On both the setups) Log in as root and access (over SSH or directly) the command prompt on the machine where the
ElastiCenters are installed.
2. (On the secondary setup) Run the following command: service rabbitmq onestop
3. (On the secondary setup) Run the following command to ensure that the RabbitMQ service is stopped: service rabbitmq onestatus
4. (On secondary setup) Run the following command to ensure that no Java process is running:
ps eaf | grep java

5. If any of the Java processes or RabbitMQ service is running, kill it using the following command: kill -9 PID_of_process
6. Else, ensure the following:
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Size of/tpoolfolder is same on both primary ElastiCenter and secondary ElastiCenter using the following command:
zpool list

/folder in secondary ElastiCenter database has enough space for backup. This means the available space in / directory on the secondary ElastiCenter must be greater than the used space in /tpool directory on the primary
ElastiCenter.

7. (Optional) On the secondary setup, start the mysql service using the command: service mysql -server onestart .
8. (On the secondary setup) Run the script /usr/local/cb/bin/cb_config_slave.sh .
9. Perform the steps as shown in the following command line :
Select your choice:
1) Configure secondary ElastiCenter.
2) Promote secondary to primary ElastiCenter.
3) Exit
1
Here, you have to select 1 as highlighted.

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You have selected to configure secondary ElastiCenter.


Do you want to continue? (Yes/No) Yes
Here, you have to select Yes as highlighted.
Specify primary ElastiCenter's IP address:
20.10.97.1
Wait for the script to execute.
Stopping Tomcat and RabbitMQ services...
Tomcat and RabbitMQ services stopped.
Restarting MySql service...
MySql service started.
Starting backup of primary ElastiCenter...
Primary Elasticenter backup completed.
Starting the setting up of secondary ElastiCenter...
Setting up the secondary ElastiCenter completed.
Syncing reports...

Promoting the secondary setup


Before you proceed

If the primary setup is down, try the following before promoting the secondary setup:
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Verify the error logs in java/Rabbitmq/Mysql or the service status. For example, service mysql-server
onestatus.

Restart the service that is not running.

If downtime prevails despite the service restart, promote the secondary setup.
Procedures

Note: If you copy and paste the commands in the section, ensure that they appear correctly on the CLI.
1. Bring down the primary ElastiCenter by stopping rabbitmq services and Java processes.
2. (On the secondary ElastiCenter console) Run the script /usr/local/cb/bin/cb_config_slave.sh .
3. Perform the steps as shown in the following command line :
Select your choice:
1) Configure secondary ElastiCenter.
2) Promote secondary to primary Elasticenter.
3) Exit
2
Here, you have to select 2 as highlighted.
You have selected to promote secondary Elasticenter to primary Elasticenter.
Do you want to continue ? (Yes/No)Yes
Here, you have to select Yes as highlighted.
Dropped secondary ElastiCenter.
Starting RabbitMQ and Tomcat services..
Promoted secondary Elasticenter to primary Elasticenter. Check catalina logs for errors(if any).

4. (On all the ElastiStor consoles) Modify the /usr/local/agent/listener/cbc_conf file by changing the IP address of
ElastiCenter. Specify the IP address of secondary ElastiCenter.
5. (On the ElastiStor console) Run the following command to restart all the python/cbc services on the Node: service -l
| grep cbc | xargs -L 1 -I {} service {} onerestart
Also, ensure that the ElastiCenter is accessible to the Nodes with same status as prior to the promotion.

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Note: During the promotion process, if a Node is offline or is powered down, then manually start the cbc_monitor_
hajobs service and point it to the promoted ElastiCenter.

Backing up configurations
How to backup and restore ElastiCenter configuration
By default, CloudByte schedules a backup everyday. You can modify the settings using the following options in Global Settings:
l

devman.backup.files.retain

devman.backup.path

devman.backup.scheduling.interval.

But, in the case you need to do a manual backup, follow the steps:
Backing up

1. In the ElastiCenter server, at command prompt, run the following: cd /usr/local/cb/bin/


2. Run the following command to create backup file: ./backup.sh. The backup file is created in the /var/devman/backups
(unless you modify the path). The following is a sample file name: backup_Jul26_1374815679.tar.bz2.
3. Copy the file and store it elsewhere.
Restoring

1. Copy the backed up TAR file to a location on ElastiCenter, for example /var.
2. Go to the directory /usr/local/cb/bin and then run the following command: ./restore.sh <path of backedup file>.
For example ./restore.sh /var/backup_Jul26_1374815679.tar.bz2.
The configuration is restored.

How to collect logs


Do the following to collect the logs of the datacenter (both Nodes and ElastiCenter):
1. Log in as root.
2. In the ElastiCenter server, at command prompt, run the following command: cd /usr/local/cb/bin/.
3. Run the following command: python logCollector.py
4. At prompt, specify the root password for all Nodes from which you want to gather the logs.

How to backup and restore Node configuration


Backing up

By default, CloudByte schedules a daily backup in the location /cf/conf. CloudByte recommends you to move this backup daily
to a safe location. Either schedule a cron job or manually copy the files from the conf directory.
Restoring

1. Reinstall the Node with the same configurations (for example, same IP address, Hostname, and ElastiCenter details) as in
the previous installation.
2. Copy the following backed up files to the reinstalled Node:

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config.xml file to the location /cf/conf/config.xml

haconfig.xml file to the location /cf/conf/haconfig.xml

ipmi.conf file to the location /usr/local/agent/listener/ipmi.conf

cbc_node_id file to the location /usr/local/agent/cbc_node_id

cbd_node_id file to the location /usr/local/agent/cbd_node_id

3. After copying all the files, reboot the Node.

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CHAPTER IX Advanced settings | Implementation

CHAPTER IX Advanced settings | Implementation


Agenda
l

Defining VLAN interface

Adding LAGG interface

VLAN interface
VLAN interface can be created on a NIC whenever there is a need for the interface to subscribe to a separate broadcast domain (usually needed for high traffic data networks).
Additionally, multiple VLAN interfaces can be created on a single physical NIC, thereby allowing access to multiple networks at the
same time. The VLANs act as virtual individual NICs, each belonging to a separate broadcast domain.

Adding VLAN interface


1. In the HA Groups page (ElastiCenter > HA Groups), go to the actions pane and then click Tasks > Manage VLANInterfaces.

2. In the VLANInterfaces page, go to the actions pane and then click Tasks > Add VLANInterface.
3. In the Add VLANInterface dialog box, specify the VLANtag (which must be a numeric value) and then select the parent NIC.
4. Click OK.

Defining the VLANInterface for the VSM


When you provision a VSM, in the networking details section of the Provision VSMWizard, specify the VLANinterface you created
(in the Interface field).

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LAGG interface
LAGG interface allows aggregation of multiple network interfaces into a single virtual LAGG interface, providing fault-tolerance and
high-speed multi-link throughput. The aggregation protocols supported by LAGG determines which ports are used for outgoing traffic
and whether a specific port accepts incoming traffic.

Adding LAGG interface


1. In the HA Groups page (ElastiCenter > HA Groups), go to the actions pane and then click Tasks > Manage LAGG Interfaces.
2. In the LAGGInterfaces page, go to the actions pane and then click Tasks > Add LAGG Interface.
3. In the Add LAGGInterface dialog box, specify the following details:

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LAGGID:Unique id (numeric value) for the LAGGinterface.

Protocol Type:
l

Failover: Select Failover to send traffic only through the active port. If the master port becomes unavailable,
the next active port is used. The first interface added is the master port. Any interfaces added after that are
used as failover devices. By default, received traffic is only accepted when received through the active port.

Load Balance: Balances outgoing traffic across the active ports based on hashed protocol header information
and accepts incoming traffic from any active port. This is a static setup and does not negotiate aggregation
with the peer or exchange frames to monitor the link

LACP:LACP negotiates a set of aggregable links with the peer in to one or more Link Aggregated Groups. Each
LAGG is composed of ports of the same speed, set to full-duplex operation. The traffic will be balanced across
the ports in the LAGG with the greatest total speed, in most cases there will only be one LAGG which contains
all ports.

CHAPTER IX Advanced settings | Implementation

4. Click Next.
5. From the list of available NICs, drag and drop the ones you want to assign to a LAGG.
6. Click Add.

SASmultipathing
CloudByte ElastiStor supports SASmultipathing. Having multiple physical
paths to the disk array enclosure assures effective path failover by providing
redundant paths for data access.
l

By default, SAS multipathing is enabled.

SAS multipathing is an active/passive setup

At any point in time, there is only one active path for I/O

If a failure occurs, instead of the active path, the one that was redundant (so far) takes over avoiding any interruption to data access

Prerequisites
l

Two LSI SAS616X switches

LSI SAS2008 HBA (at the Node side)


l

Firmware: 07.15.08.00

Driver: 15.00.00.00

By default, SAS multipathing is


enabled
SAS multipathing is an active/passive
setup
At any point in time, there is only one
active path for I/O
If a failure occurs, instead of the active
path, the one that was redundant (so
far) takes over avoiding any interruption to data access

SAS cables

Disk array enclosure with multiple IN ports (for example Dell MD1220)

Controllers (for example Dell R720)

In the Node page, clear all existing pools to avoid Pool name conflicts. To do this, first configure the Disk Array in the Node
page. Then select the Node and then at the bottom of the page, click Clear for the Pools to be deleted.

Sample setup
The following figure shows a simple SASmultipath setup:

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Verifying the setup in ElastiCenter


When you have the multipath set up, the paths are visible in the related Node page.
1. In CloudByte ElastiCenter, click Nodes.
2. In the Nodes page, select the Node and then click Storage. The Disk Table provides the details as highlighted in the following
figure:

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CHAPTER IX Advanced settings | Implementation

In the case of a failure, as shown in the following instance the path disappears from the table:

The figure implies that there is only a single SAS path available.

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CHAPTER X Going Forward

CHAPTER X

Going Forward

Agenda
l

What's the next step?

Getting CloudByte Technical Support

What next
Congratulations.
l

You have completed the basic training in CloudByte ElastiStor.

You are conversant with CloudByte ElastiStor and can provision storage.

You know how to setup, configure and use access protocols.

Your next step is to focus on performance, troubleshooting, and tuning.

Support workflow
Now that you are an expert in CloudByte ElastiStor, you would start setting up the storage infrastructure at your workplace. What if
you get struck?
You have the following options:

Documentation
CloudByte provides elaborate documentation for its products. This includes Product Help, various technical articles, and knowledge
base articles. All these documents are available on search on popular search engines.

Community Forums
Join the CloudByte Forums to connect with other CloudByte users and experts on our Forums.

CloudByte Technical Support


http://www.cloudbyte.com/support/

For immediate assistance,


Email : support@cloudbyte.com
US : +1-(408)-663-6900
Toll Free : +1-855-380-BYTE(2983)
India : (91)-80-2258-2804

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CHAPTER XI Glossary
Terms

Description

Account

An entity with specific storage needs. Account represents a department of an Enterprise or a customer of a Cloud
Service Provider.

Alerts

Notifications that demand action. Alerts can be on a range of issues such as network cable pullout or degradation
of a Pool.

Asynchronous rep- The process of writing data to local storage and then queuing it up for replication on remote storage at assigned
lication
intervals. If the local storage fails before the data is written in remote storage, then replication fails.
Auto-Provisioning

ElastiStor can automate Node selection and resource allocation if you provide the required SLA/QoS parameters.
Sensing the level of storage performance and capacity the application requires, ElastiStor automatically allots the
right Pool.

Block Size

The size of a block in data storage and file systems. Block is a sequence of bytes or bits, having a nominal size.

CIFS

For details, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc939973.aspx

HA Group

Houses a group of Nodes. HA Group enables takeover during failures. Workload of a failed Node is assigned to
another Node in the same HA Group based on availability and performance requirements.

Dashboard

A graphical representation of the key performance indicators. It presents an overview of all the Sites in ElastiCenter
in an organized manner. You can update information instantaneously.

Delegated Administration

The process of distributing administrative tasks and content in the portal to dedicated administrators. Using access
control lists, you determine the actions administrators take on various resources. Delegated administration roles
are mapped to administrative functions using security policies. You can create and maintain separate administration capabilities depending on your needs.

Disaster Recovery

Disaster implies unplanned outage. Your storage system must be capable of effective backup and recovery so that
there is no damage to the data that is handled in the case of any adversity.

Disk Array

Popularly called JBODs, disk array is a set of disks clubbed to single disk shelf.

Disk Type

The type of disk supported by CloudByte ElastiStor. The supported disk types are SAS, SATA, and SSD.

Domain Search

Searching the DNS to which you want to add a controller.

Event

Any storage activity. ElastiStor notifies events based on the configuration.

FC (Fibre Channel)

A high-speed interconnect between controllers and back-end disk enclosures. FC components include HBAs,
hubs, and switches. The term also refers to a high-speed, fully duplex serial communication protocol permitting
data transfer up to 10GB per second.

FTP (File Transfer


Protocol)

An application layer protocol used to transfer bulk-volumes of files between machines or hosts.

Global Settings

Lets the administrator configure options that control ElastiStor.

Grace

Provisioning of Pool's unused IOPS/Throughput to Storage Volumes based on their performance requirements.

High-Availability

High Availability minimizes/prevents the consequences of downtime in the storage setup. A typical High Availability
environment comprises two setups: one active while the partner remains dormant. In a downtime, the passive setup
takes over the storage tasks that the active setup was performing. This effects a reversal of states each setup was
in. When the downtime is over, all events are given back to the original active setup.

Host

Physical machines on which you configure ElastiStor.

Initiator Group

When an initiator group is associated with a LUN, only initiators from that group can access the LUN. Initiators are
identified by unique addressing methods.

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Terms

Description

IOPS (Input/Output
operations per
second)

The number of READs or WRITEs per second. It is used to measure the performance of storage solution. Total
IOPS is the average input/output operations per second, Read IOPS is the average READ operations per second,
and Write IOPS is the average WRITEoperations per second.

iSCSI

Internet Small Computer Systems Interface is a client-server protocol used to enable the transfer of SCSI packets
over a TCP/IP (Ethernet) network.

Lagg Interface

Allows integration of multiple network interfaces with a single virtual interface. This helps in fault-tolerance and
high-speed multi-link throughput.

LUN (Logical Unit


Number)

Unique address to identify a logical unit. Logical unit is the conceptual subunit of a storage disk or set of disks.

Mirrored Disks

A High Availability setup where you have a different set of disks on each node. Active disks are replicated/mirrored
on the partnering node.

Mirroring

Storing duplicate copies of data on one or more sets of additional Storage Volumes, apart from the set of Storage
Volume that stores the original data.

Monitoring

Provides an intuitive visualization of storage statistics. Monitoring foregrounds relevant back end activities in an
easy user interface for the administrator.

Network Failure

Indicates that the system is unable to reach the network. For example, due to physical port failure.

NFS

A distributed file system protocol that lets clients access files over a network in the same way they access local storage.

Physical Infrastructure

Real entities pertaining to the hardware.

Pool

Physical storage devices on which you store data.

Provisioning

A set of steps to allocate storage to Hosts and applications. For example, creating Storage Volumes in Pools.

QoS (Quality of
Service)

Lets you easily commission storage with guaranteed IOPS at various levels. You can decide to configure QoS at a
Pool level, VSM level, or Storage Volume level.

Report

Detailed information related to configuration. Use Configuration Reports for component configuration details.
Dynamic Reports provide QoS statistics.

Rest APIs

Every action performed at ElastiStor admin console translates into a REST based API call in the back end. This
enables administrators to fully manage ElastiStor from their portals. CloudByte plugin for VMware vCenter (also
based on REST API) enables storage management from vCenter.

Shared Disks

A High Availability setup where you have a common set of disks shared between primary and secondary nodes.
The disks can be either hard disks or iSCSI disks.

Shared Storage

Storage devices that are connected to and used by two or more systems.

Site

Represents a data center or part of a data center. Building storage infrastructure starts with the creation of Site. It is
the fundamental infrastructure unit where your controller, storage, and network infrastructure reside.

Snapshot

Copy of a Storage Volume created at specific intervals.

Storage Capacity

The overall disk space (and not the free disk space).

Striping

Writes data across two or more disks in an array but utilizes only a part of the space on each disk. The amount of
space used by stripe on each disk is always the same. A virtual disk may write several stripes on the same set of
disks in the array.

Synchronous Replication

The process of writing the same data to two separate volumes, stored on different physical hardware, before the
application receives an I/O complete message. This results in both the volumes being always in sync.

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Terms

Description

Takeover

The process of taking over the storage control activity from a node. Typically, when there is a downtime on the
primary node, the secondary node takes over the control of storage.

Thin Provisioning

The process of optimizing efficiency of using the available storage space. It is the allocation of disk storage space
flexibly among multiple users, based on the minimum space each user requires at any given time.

Throughput

Amount of work a system can perform at specific intervals. It is also the amount of data moved successfully from
one place to another in a given time period.

VSM (Virtual Storage Machine)

Virtual storage controller capable of hosting Storage Volumes and LUNs.

VSM Architecture

Unique to CloudByte ElastiStor, this is a patented architecture. In a Storage Controller, each application is fully isolated across all storage stack levels and unified under a Virtual Storage Machine (VSM). VSM isolation allows controller resources allotted to applications to be easily monitored, controlled, and provisioned.

VMware vSphere
client

A Microsoft Windows desktop application that enables you to access VMware ESXi and VMware vCenter.

ZFS (Zettabyte File


System)

ZFS is a 128-bit file system that provides features such as data integrity verification, disk management, snapshots,
and transactional operations.

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