In the previous article we have seen the steps on how to install the HPE Centralized Management Console. We are now ready to configure HPE StoreVirtual VSA. For this purpose we’ll use the HPE CMC not just to review the basic settings for the virtual appliance but also to configure the main aspects around Networking. These settings are essential for the correct operations and in particular when creating and joining an HPE StoreVirtual cluster.
Another important tip to share at this point is when possible both the HPE CMC and StoreVirtual VSA should sit on the same network and ideally the same one used by the Storage. Alternatively proper routing and firewall rules should be created to allow communication is working as expected. For example when discovering new appliances broadcast the CMC uses broadcast messages.
Of course it is possible to add manually by IP Address and Hostname the single StoreVirtual VSA appliances.
Configure HPE StoreVirtual basic details
As soon as we start the HPE CMC it will send a broadcast message to help identify StoreVirtual appliances on the same network. Alternatively we can manually add new or existing appliances by IP Address and Hostname. I always recommend to pre-create the necessary DNS entries in prior to Servers and Appliances deployment in order to test FQDN name resolution. In the case of HPE StoreVirtual we’ll need to provision at least the following DNS (A) Records and in particular for:
- VSA appliance
- Server where to install CMC
- HPE StoreVirtual Cluster VIP (even if this will be a single node cluster!)
In case the automatic discovery is successful the avaialable appliances are visible in the Available Systems group. If we hoover the mouse over the VSA name we get the basic info at a glance as per screenshot below. To know more we simply click on any Log in to view link to access more information.
The menu under the appliance name is now showing more sections like Diagnostic, Network and Storage. This article will focus on the Networking bit as we’ll see later on.
Configure HPE StoreVirtual Networking
From the Networking section we can control all the aspects of the communication on a physical and logical level. From the TCP/IP section we can review the details about the available network cards. A double click on each one will give us the option to configure IP Address, Subnet Mask and Gateway.
In the list of the task we also have the option to run a quick ping test to make sure network cards are properly setup. This includes the ability to specify a custom packet size along with number of packets to send.
In the TCP status we can define if the network card is “active”. Interestingly we can also define the MTU size along with Flow Control. Of course in case of changing the default MTU size let’s also make sure same settings are setup on the virtual switch serving the Port Group the VSA is attached to.
Nonetheless the physical switch needs to support the same MTU size. On the contrary depending on the Network Switch Policy, packets might be fragmented or dropped completely.
HPE StoreVirtual VSA also supports bond of multiple NICs. It is highly recommended to setup them in the same way. When creating a bond of two or more network cards from the same configuration window it is possible to choose the preferred one.
From the DNS tab arguably we can setup the DNS Name, DNS suffix along with the IP Addresses for the DNS Servers.
Each StoreVirtual VSA supports up to six DNS Domain Names and three DNS Domain Servers. When more than on DNS suffix is specified the VSA will check all of them for naming resolution purposes.
Should we need this functionality it is also possible to add manual entries to the routing table. For example to reach “non-routed” networks without the need of adding or modifying rules on the main router/firewall serving the network. Very useful for a complete separate and isolated Backup network from Production for example.
In the case of the Communication tab we can also specify which network card will handle the various traffic types. Namely they are for LeftHand OS, iSCSI and Management interface. In case we want to split the traffic types over separate NICs they have to be configured with different subnets.
This will allow for high availability, fault tolerance and load balancing. For example when configuring clusters we can specify single network cards acting as single interfaces per traffic type or even create bonds of multiple NICs acting as a single interface per traffic type.
This concludes this article about how to configure HPE StoreVirtual VSA using the Centralized management Console. Very easy and easy process to follow for all the StoreVirtual appliances we intend to participate to the same Management Group and Cluster. We are now ready to configure Management Groups, Clusters and Volumes as per per next article.
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