Dell PowerVault MD3220i Deployment Manual
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Dell PowerVault MD3220i Deployment Manual

Dell PowerVault MD3220i Deployment Manual

For vmware esx4.1 server software
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See also: Owner's Manual , Cli Manual
DELL PowerVault MD32xxi Deployment
Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software
A Dell Technical White Paper
Version 1.3
PowerVault MD3200i and MD3220i Storage Arrays

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Summary of Contents for Dell PowerVault MD3220i

  • Page 1 DELL PowerVault MD32xxi Deployment Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software A Dell Technical White Paper Version 1.3 PowerVault MD3200i and MD3220i Storage Arrays...
  • Page 2 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 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: Table Of Contents

    Software Initiator Configuration on ESX4.1 Server ... 9 Clustering with ESX4.1 / Creating DRS Clusters ... 12 Configure iSCSI storage on ESX4.1 Server - Example Installation Steps ... 12 Step1: Configure vSwitch & Enable Jumbo Frames ... 13 Step2: Add iSCSI VMkernel Ports ... 13 Step3: Assign Network Adapters ...

  • Page 4: Terminology/Glossary

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Step A6: Binding VMkernel Ports to iSCSI Software Initiator ... 36 Step A7: Connect to the Dell PowerVault Storage ... 39 Terminology/Glossary VD == virtual disk VM == virtual machine...

  • Page 5: Introduction

    This document provides instructions to setup the MD32XXi iSCSI storage solution for use with VMware® ESX4.1 Server™ software. Provisioning of storage on servers in a VM environment is a multi-step process starting with definition of the server names for host access. The iSCSI connection is then established from the storage subsystem. After which, detection and configuration are established as a two-way link with the associated ESX server(s), completing the iSCSI communication subsystem.

  • Page 6: Supported Hardware And Software

    As a best practice, Dell recommends using a separate Gigabit Ethernet network switch to handle iSCSI storage traffic. Each server is connected to two switches. Each switch has a path to the MD32XXi via two dual-port controllers. In this base HA configuration, the servers, switches, and MD32XXi ports share the same subnet. The NIC ports serving iSCSI traffic on the ESX servers are teamed in order to re-route traffic in the event of an adapter failure.

  • Page 7: Establishing Sessions To A San

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 3. More than one Network Interface Card (NIC) set aside for iSCSI traffic 4. No Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) for iSCSI traffic Not every environment requires all of the steps detailed in this whitepaper.

  • Page 8: Powervault Md32Xxi Storage Setup And Configuration

    MD32 ANAGER AND SELECTING THE MD32 TORAGE ARRAY IS AN XXI WITH VIRTUAL DISKS ALREADY CONFIGURED USING THE HE NEW SERVER BEING ADDED TO AN EXISTING HOST GROUP IS NAMED XXI STORAGE ARRAY TO BE CONFIGURED SELECT THE “V ”.
  • Page 9 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 1. S ELECT ANUALLY EFINE 2. E NTER THE HOST NAME FOR THE SERVER WHICH HAS THE 3. S ELECT WARE AS THE HOST TYPE From the next screen, specify the iSCSI Initiator by entering a name for the iSCSI initiator. The label is auto- populated from the server name.
  • Page 10 Selecting Next provides a Confirmation screen in which the new server being configured is shown and the other previously configured associated hosts are named. For the first server configured in a new host group there will be no associated hosts listed under the Associated host group.

  • Page 11: Iscsi Software Initiator Configuration On Esx4.1 Server

    Helpful Hint: Record the MD32xxi IP address for later configuration iSCSI Software Initiator Configuration on ESX4.1 Server This section lists the steps required to configure the software initiator on the VMware ESX4.1 Server. Connect to the ESX4.1 server/vCenter using VI Client, and follow these steps: 1.
  • Page 12 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 3. Check Software iSCSI Client option. 4. Select Configuration->Storage Adapters on the ESX4.1 server. 5. Select iSCSI Software Adapter and click on Properties. 6. The iSCSI initiator Properties window appears.
  • Page 13 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 8. Select iSCSI Software Adapter under Storage Adapters. You should now see your iSCSI Target name listed. 9. Select Properties under storage adapters. Select Dynamic Discovery. Select Add. Provide the IP address of the MD32xxi iSCSI Target Port and click OK.

  • Page 14: Clustering With Esx4.1 / Creating Drs Clusters

    Refer to the following VMware website for a complete up-to-date list of the prerequisites for clustering with ESX4.1 server. http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_mscs.pdf Configure iSCSI storage on ESX4.1 Server - Example Installation Steps Connect to the ESX server/vCenter using VI Client and follow the steps below. Page 12...

  • Page 15: Step1: Configure Vswitch & Enable Jumbo Frames

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Go to the configuration tab and select Storage Adapters. Select the iSCSI Software Adapter and click Rescan. The newly created iSCSI target and LUN should be visible from the ESX server. Step1: Configure vSwitch & Enable Jumbo Frames This step will create a new vSwitch and enable Jumbo Frame support for this switch.
  • Page 16 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software There are some suggested configurations depending on the number of NICs that will be used for iSCSI traffic. Every environment will differ depending on the number of hosts, the number of members, and the number of volumes.

  • Page 17: Step3: Assign Network Adapters

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software To verify the configuration enter the following command: esxcfg-vswitch –l The output will look similar to this: Switch Name Num Ports vSwitch2 PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports iSCSI3 iSCSI2 iSCSI1 This will show the VMkernel ports that are assigned to the vSwitch.
  • Page 18 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software esxcfg-nics –l The output will look similar to this: Name PCI Driver Link Speed Duplex MAC Address vmnic0 03:00.00 bnx2 Up 1000Mbps Full This will list all of the adapters in the system. Assign the NICs that are physically connected to the SAN infrastructure and to the vSwitch.
  • Page 19 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Click the Network Adapters tab. Then click Add. This will open up the Add Adapter Wizard. From here select the vmnics that you want to add to the vSwitch. In our example it will be vmnic1, vmnic2 and vmnic3.

  • Page 20: Step4: Associate Vmkernel Ports To Physical Adapters

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 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 21 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi 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 22 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks vSwitch2 PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports iSCSI3 iSCSI2 iSCSI1 The important thing to note is that under the Uplinks section there is only one vmnic assigned to each iSCSI VMkernel port and that they are evenly distributed across them.

  • Page 23: Step5: Enable Vmware Iscsi Software Initiator

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Step5: Enable VMware iSCSI Software Initiator The next step, if it has not been done already, is to enable the iSCSI initiator to prepare the ESX host to connect to the PowerVault SAN. This can be done either through a CLI command or through the vCenter GUI.
  • Page 24 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software This will enable the software iSCSI initiator. To verify that it is enabled type the following command: esxcfg-swiscsi –q This can also be accomplished by using the vCenter GUI. From the vCenter GUI on the ESX host navigate to Configuration -> Storage Adapters. Select the iSCSI Software Adapter and click Properties.

  • Page 25: Step6: Binding Vmkernel Ports To Iscsi Software Initiator

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Step6: Binding VMkernel Ports to iSCSI Software Initiator This next step will bind the VMkernel ports, which were configured in Step 4 earlier, to the iSCSI Software Initiator. If this step is skipped there will only ever be a single connection to the PowerVault SAN. This step must be done via CLI.
  • Page 26 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software In this example we see that iSCSI1 is vmk0, iSCSI2 is vmk1, and iSCSI3 is vmk2. This is also information that we need to note. We can also see this in the CLI by using the following command: esxcfg-vmknic –l...

  • Page 27: Step7: Connect To Powervault Md32Xxi Storage

    To configure this, navigate in the vCenter GUI to Configuration -> Storage Adapters. Click on the iSCSI Software Adapter and click Properties. Click the Dynamic Discovery tab. Click Add. In the iSCSI Server box type in the IP Address of the PowerVault SAN and hit Ok. Page 25...
  • Page 28 The next step will be to create a new volume and assign it to the ESX server. This can be done multiple ways so refer to the PowerVault User’s Guide for more information. In this example we will create a 100GB Volume and assign it to this ESX host via the iqn name.
  • Page 29 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 1. Set the volume size and keep the rest of the defaults and click Finish. Page 27...
  • Page 30 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 2. Under iSCSI Access you can choose to use an IP Address or Initiator Name. 3. To find the iSCSI Initiator Name from the vCenter GUI go to Configuration -> Storage Adapters. Click on the iSCSI Software Adapter.

  • Page 31: Step8: Connect To A Volume On Powervault San

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 4. Check Disallow un-named discovery sessions, if desired. Step8: Connect to a Volume on PowerVault SAN 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 HBAs and make sure the volume appears correctly.

  • Page 32: Step9: Enabling Vmware Native Multipathing - Mru

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Step9: Enabling VMware Native Multipathing – MRU One of the new advanced features that is enabled by configuring the iSCSI Software Initiator the way we have is that now we can take advantage of MPIO by using MRU. This combined with the fan-out intelligent design of the PowerVault group allows for greater and better bandwidth utilization than in previous versions of ESX.

  • Page 33: Appendix A

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pages/vsp_pubs_esxi41_e_vc41.html Dell/VMware alliance home page: http://www.dell.com/vmware Appendix A This appendix details an example of how to over commit the number of VMkernel ports to the physical NICs. This is usually done in environments in which the NIC is capable of handling multiple sessions such as 10GbE. This can also be done in larger environments combined with a PowerVault SAN to help achieve maximum bandwidth to the SAN.
  • Page 34 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software esxcfg-vmknic –a –i 10.10.5.175 –n 255.255.255.0 –m 9000 iSCSI3 esxcfg-vswitch –A iSCSI4 vSwitch2 esxcfg-vmknic –a –i 10.10.5.176 –n 255.255.255.0 –m 9000 iSCSI4 esxcfg-vswitch –A iSCSI5 vSwitch2 esxcfg-vmknic –a –i 10.10.5.177 –n 255.255.255.0 –m 9000 iSCSI5 esxcfg-vswitch –A iSCSI6 vSwitch2...

  • Page 35: Step A3: Assign Network Adapters

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Step A3: Assign Network Adapters Just like in the previous example, 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 36: Step A4: Associate Vmkernel Ports To Physical Adapters

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Click the Network Adapters tab. Then click Add. This will open up the Add Adapter Wizard. From here select the vmnics that you want to add to the vSwitch. In our example it will be vmnic2 and vmnic3.
  • Page 37 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks vSwitch2 PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports iSCSI6 iSCSI5 iSCSI4 iSCSI3 iSCSI2 iSCSI1 You can see that there are two vmnics in each uplink for each VMkernel Port. This is what we need to change so that only a single vmnic is in each uplink and that we manually load balance them across all available VMkernel Ports.

  • Page 38: Step A5: Enable Vmware Iscsi Software Initiator

    Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software The important thing to note is that under the Uplinks section there is only one vmnic assigned to each iSCSI VMkernel port and that they are evenly distributed across them all.
  • Page 39 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software The first thing to do is to note the vmhba# of the iSCSI Software Initiator. This can be seen in the vCenter GUI under Configuration -> Storage Adapters. This can also be found by running the following CLI command to discover all SCSI devices including the iSCSI software adapter: esxcfg-scsidevs –a...
  • Page 40 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software In this example we see that iSCSI1 is vmk0, iSCSI2 is vmk1, iSCSI3 is vmk2 and iSCSI4 is vmk3. This is also information that we need to note. We can also see this in the CLI by using the following command: esxcfg-vmknic –l...
  • Page 41 Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software 255.255.255.0 10.10.5.255 00:50:56:7d:b5:f2 9000 65535 true STATIC We can determine the same information as was found from the GUI. Now that we know the vmhba# and the vmk# we can map each VMkernel Port to the iSCSI Software Initiator.

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