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Dell POWERVAULT MD3200I Configuration Manual

Deployment guide for vmware esx4.1 server software
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Download this manual See also: Owner's Manual, User Manual
D
P
ELL
OWER
MD3200
/ MD3600
I
D
EPLOYMENT
ESX4.1 S
ERVER
A Dell Technical White Paper
Version 1.7
PowerVault MD3200i and
MD3600i Storage Arrays
www.dell.com/MD3200i
www.dell.com/MD3600i
www.dell.com/pvresources
V
AULT
I
G
UIDE FOR
S
OFTWARE
VM
WARE

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Summary of Contents for Dell POWERVAULT MD3200I

  • Page 1 OWER AULT MD3200 / MD3600 EPLOYMENT UIDE FOR WARE ESX4.1 S ERVER OFTWARE A Dell Technical White Paper Version 1.7 PowerVault MD3200i and MD3600i Storage Arrays www.dell.com/MD3200i www.dell.com/MD3600i www.dell.com/pvresources...
  • Page 2 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software DISCLAIMER: THIS WHITE PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.
  • Page 3 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software ABLE OF ONTENTS ..........................3 ABLE OF ONTENTS ........................4 ERMINOLOGY LOSSARY ............................5 NTRODUCTION New Features in vSphere4 Software iSCSI Initiator ..................5 ....................6 UPPORTED ARDWARE AND OFTWARE Hardware Requirements ........................
  • Page 4 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software ERMINOLOGY LOSSARY VD == virtual disk VM == virtual machine NIC == network interface card MPIO == Multi-Path I/O SAN == Storage Area Network RDM == Raw Device Map DVS == Distributed Virtual Switch...
  • Page 5 VMware® ESX4.1 Server™. Additionally, Appendix A gives details regarding configuring hardware initiators from within VMware® ESX4.1 Server™. The Dell™ PowerVault™ MD3200i & MD3600i iSCSI SAN storage solution consists of either a standard or high availability configuration. The standard (simplex) configuration has a single controller with four 1GbE ports.
  • Page 6 MD3200 UPPORTED PERATING YSTEMS FOR I ARRAY ESX4.1 and ESXi5.0 are two of the supported VMware OSs for MD3200i. Please see the MD Support Matrix at support.dell.com for a complete listing of supported VMware OSs. June 4, 2012 Page 6...
  • Page 7 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software RCHITECTURAL ETUP As a best practice, Dell recommends using a separate Gigabit Ethernet network switch to handle iSCSI storage traffic, see PowerVault MD32x0i IP SAN Best Practices. An IP SAN consists of one or more hosts, connected to one or more storage arrays through an IP network, utilizing at least one switch in the network infrastructure.
  • Page 8 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 1: H MD3200 MD3600 IGURE EVEL ONNECTION ETAILS FOR BOTH I AND SCSI S ESX4.1 ONSIDERATIONS SING I OFTWARE OR ARDWARE NITIATORS FOR MD3200 ON THE TORAGE RRAY Taking advantage of new ESX4.1 features requires some new steps to be taken by ESX administrators.
  • Page 9 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software STABLISHING ESSIONS TO A Before continuing the examples, we first must discuss how VMware ESX4.1 establishes its connection to the SAN utilizing the vSphere4 iSCSI Software Adapter. With previous versions of ESX, sessions were established using a single NIC path and any additional NICs were there for failover only.
  • Page 10 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 2: Port Binding The following assumptions are made for these examples: 1. Running ESX4.1 2. Running latest Dell PowerVault MD3200i firmware 3. More than one Network Interface Card (NIC) set aside for iSCSI traffic.
  • Page 11 PowerVault MD32x0i IP SAN Best Practices 7. The network topology is connected and both the ESX server and MD3200i are powered on. 8. The environment uses multiple NICs and attaching to a Dell PowerVault SAN utilizing Native Multipathing (NMP) from VMware. SCSI ESX4.1 S...
  • Page 12 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software VI C ONNECT TO THE SERVER ENTER USING LIENT AND FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW 1: C & E ONFIGURE V WITCH NABLE UMBO RAMES This step will create a new vSwitch and enable Jumbo Frame support for this switch.
  • Page 13 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software This next step will assign VMkernel Ports to the new vSwitch2. It will also configure Jumbo Frame support as well as assign the IP Addresses. Administrators familiar with iSCSI connectivity in ESX3.5 will find in 4.1 that it is no longer required to configure a Service Console port for the iSCSI connection.
  • Page 14 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software The following command will add a new iSCSI VMkernel Port named iSCSI1 on the vSwitch created in the previous step. esxcfg-vswitch –A iSCSI1 vSwitch2 This next command will configure the IP Address, Subnet Mask and enable Jumbo Frame support for the new VMkernel Port iSCSI1 esxcfg-vmknic –a –i 10.10.6.206 –n 255.255.255.0 –m 9000 iSCSI1...
  • Page 15 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 4: Adding iSCSI VMKernel ports 3: A SSIGN ETWORK DAPTERS The next step in the process is to assign the network adapters (NICs) that will be attached to the iSCSI network and used for iSCSI traffic. These will be attached to the vSwitch2 that we created earlier.
  • Page 16 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks vSwitch2 9000 PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks iSCSI3 vmnic1,vmnic2,vmnic3 iSCSI2 vmnic1,vmnic2,vmnic3 iSCSI1 vmnic1,vmnic2,vmnic3 Adding a NIC can also be configured and verified in the vCenter GUI. Remember that the polling of vCenter is not instant so a refresh might need to occur to see the latest changes.
  • Page 17 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 6: Assigning Network Adapters (continued) Click Next after you have selected the chosen adapters. For now keep the defaults listed in the Failover Order screen and click Next. Review the adapters listed and click Finish completing the process.
  • Page 18 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software By default, all the vmnics are assigned to each VMkernel port. We need to remove all but one vmnic from each VMkernel port so that each VMkernel port has only one uplink.
  • Page 19 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software esxcfg-vswitch –l The output will look similar to this: Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks vSwitch2 9000 PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks iSCSI3 vmnic3...
  • Page 20 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software following figure shows the completed result. Click Ok to complete the process. Do this same thing for each of the iSCSI VMkernel ports so that each VMkernel port is mapped to only one adapter and they are all balanced.
  • Page 21 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software MD3600 ADD AN I INTO THE RULE SET To use MD3600i with ESX 4.1 and ESX 4.1 Update 1, the MD3600i PID has to be added to the manageable device list for VMW_SATP_LSI module. Otherwise, the guest host will not be able to see the mapped volumes and perform I/O's.
  • Page 22 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software When the iSCSI properties window opens under the General tab click the Configure button. Place a check mark in Enabled and hit Ok. This will enable the iSCSI initiator and assign a unique iqn to the ESX host.
  • Page 23 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 9: Enabling iSCSI Software Initiator June 4, 2012 Page 23...
  • Page 24 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 10: Enabling iSCSI Software Initiator (continued) 7: B SCSI S INDING KERNEL ORTS TO I OFTWARE NITIATOR This next step will bind the VMkernel ports, which were configured in Step 4 earlier, to the iSCSI Software Initiator.
  • Page 25 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software This can also be found by running the following vCLI command to discover all SCSI devices including the iSCSI software adapter: esxcfg-scsidevs –a The output will look something like the following: vmhba0 mptsas link-n/a sas.5001ec90e0ba7c00...
  • Page 26 Now that the advanced configuration for the vSphere4 iSCSI Software Initiator has been completed, the next stage is to connect to the Dell PowerVault SAN. More information for complete administration of the Dell PowerVault SAN can be found in the PowerVault User’s Guide. In this example we will attach the iSCSI Software...
  • Page 27 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Initiator to the SAN. We will skip configuring CHAP but both one way and bi-directional CHAP is supported by the PowerVault SAN. Navigate in the vCenter GUI to Configuration -> Storage Adapters.
  • Page 28 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 14: Dynamic Discovery Click the Dynamic Discovery tab. Click Add. Figure 15: Dynamic Discovery (continued) When this is done click Close or enter in another IP Address if there are multiple SANs in your environment.
  • Page 29 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Note: Port binding requires that all target ports of the storage array must reside on the same broadcast domain as the VMkernel ports because routing is not supported with port binding. See VMware KB #2017084 here.
  • Page 30 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 16: Defining the Storage Array Host Topology June 4, 2012 Page 30...
  • Page 31 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Naming the host Select a name that matches the naming convention used for the environment that you are configuring, for example, VMware_host1. Leave partitions enabled and select Next. Figure 17: Naming the Host...
  • Page 32 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Selecting host port identifiers Using the pull down select the host port identifier. In this example because the iSCSI session has already been established the iqn is already in the list.
  • Page 33 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Entering host port alias An alias is used in the topology tree to identify the port. Add a unique alias for this host port such as the one below, then select Add...
  • Page 34 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software The completed host port screen will be similar to the one below. Select Next to continue. Figure 20: Completed Host Port Identifier June 4, 2012 Page 34...
  • Page 35 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Select VMware as the host type Figure 21: Selecting Host Type June 4, 2012 Page 35...
  • Page 36 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software If you intend to use advanced VMware features such as VMotion then this host will share access with other ESX servers and you will have to create a Host Group. We will create a host group for this example.
  • Page 37 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Host Group name Enter a host group name that is appropriate for your environment. For this example we used VMware_Group1 Figure 23: Host Group Name June 4, 2012 Page 37...
  • Page 38 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Preview Define host If all of the information is correct for your environment select Finish. Figure 1 Preview (Define Host) June 4, 2012 Page 38...
  • Page 39 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Creation successful Select No at this time. You can add additional Hosts after you have finished configuring the current host. Figure 2 Topology Creation Successful June 4, 2012 Page 39...
  • Page 40 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Define Mappings for LUNs Note: In this example the Disk Groups and Virtual Disks have already been created using the wizard under the Setup Tab. In the topology tree expand the Undefined Mappings and highlight one of the Virtual Disks.
  • Page 41 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Remember that the virtual disk is assigned to the host group and not the host. For this example we selected the host group that was defined in the previous steps.
  • Page 42 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 5: Assigning additional virtual disks After the virtual disks are assigned notice that the host group and its associated hosts are no longer under the default group in the topology. This completes the configuration.
  • Page 43 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Figure 6: Completed Topology with Assigned Virtual Disks 10: P ERFORM RESCAN SO WARE SEES THE VIRTUAL DISK June 4, 2012 Page 43...
  • Page 44 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software The next step is to connect to the volume on the SAN and verify the connection status. Since the iSCSI access and configuration was configured in the last step, the only thing to do now is to rescan the iSCSI Adapter and make sure the volume appears correctly.
  • Page 45 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software If everything has been configured properly under Devices there will be new PowerVault iSCSI Disks with the correct LUNs, similar to what’s shown below. Figure 8: Configured Devices If the device information is correct select the Path Tab and verify that there are active...
  • Page 46 VMFS D REATE ATASTORES Now that the iSCSI Software adapter is set up and configured and the Dell iSCSI disks are visible to the adapter, they can also be formatted as VMFS Datastores and utilized as normal. Creating a Data Store from the MD3200i LUNS is the same as creating a Data Store with any local disk.
  • Page 47 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Because an iSCSI disk is considered a local SCSI disk the storage type is Disk/LUN Figure 11: Creating VMFS Datastores (continued) June 4, 2012 Page 47...
  • Page 48 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Select one of the LUNS from the MD3200i to create a Datastore from. Figure 35: Selecting a LUN to create a Datastore June 4, 2012 Page 48...
  • Page 49 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software This screen displays the information about the disk layout. Select next to create a VMFS partition. Figure 36: Disk Layout June 4, 2012 Page 49...
  • Page 50 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Enter a Datastore name and select next. Figure 12: Datastore naming June 4, 2012 Page 50...
  • Page 51 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Adjust the Maximum file size as needed. For this example we used the maximum capacity. Select Next when finished. Figure 13 Maximum File Size June 4, 2012 Page 51...
  • Page 52 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Review the disk layout and click Finish to add storage. Figure 14 Review disk layout June 4, 2012 Page 52...
  • Page 53 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software The new storage is completed and ready to use with VMs. Figure 15: Configured Paths June 4, 2012 Page 53...
  • Page 54 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 12: C ONFIGURING WARE ELECTION OLICY Features enabled by configuring the iSCSI Software Initiator the way we have is that now we can take advantage of several multipathing policies, such as Most Recently Used(MRU) and Round Robin(RR).
  • Page 55 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software The path selection can be either MRU or RR and the Storage Array Type should be VMW_SATP_LSI. ONTACT NFORMATION HTTP SUPPORT DELL SUPPORT TOPICS GLOBAL ASPX SUPPORT PRODUCT SUPPORT PRODUCT SUPPORT &...
  • Page 56 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software PPENDIX Steps for using the iSCSI Offload functions of a NIC Lower CPU utilization and potentially lower power consumption justify offload adapters(a.k.a. h/w initiators). With hardware-based iSCSI storage, you use a specialized third-party adapter capable of accessing iSCSI storage over TCP/IP(a.k.a.
  • Page 57 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software failover alternate path. This LUN/controller relationship is reported by the MD3200i/MD3600i to VMware which then dictates the paths (and the "optimal" condition of the array). On the MD3200i/MD3600i, setup each port on a different subnet with one disk group per controller, each disk group with 4 LUNS (one LUN per port).
  • Page 58 Dell PowerVault MD3200i/MD3600i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software access. Insufficient active paths have been defined to allow multipath access preferred by the MD3200i storage array for performance and redundancy features. The difference between current path and MD3200i preferred path can be a configuration issue, and in most cases is not a functional path or hardware failure.

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