Dell EMC VMAX driver¶

Requirements¶

• VMAX eNAS OE for File version 8.1 or higher
• VMAX Unified or File only
• The following licenses should be activated on VMAX for File:
  • CIFS
  • NFS
  • SnapSure (for snapshot)
  • ReplicationV2 (for create share from snapshot)

Supported shared file systems and operations¶

The driver supports CIFS and NFS shares.

The following operations are supported:

• Create a share.

• Delete a share.

• Allow share access.

  Note the following limitations:

  • Only IP access type is supported for NFS.
  • Only user access type is supported for CIFS.

• Deny share access.

• Create a snapshot.

• Delete a snapshot.

• Create a share from a snapshot.

While the generic driver creates shared file systems based on cinder volumes attached to nova VMs, the VMAX driver performs similar operations using the Data Movers on the array.

Pre-configurations on VMAX¶

1. Configure a storage pool

   There is a one to one relationship between a storage pool in embedded NAS to a storage group on the VMAX. The best way to provision storage for file is from the Unisphere for VMAX UI rather than eNAS UI. Go to {array} > SYSTEM > FIle and under Actions click PROVISION STORAGE FOR FILE

   Note

   When creating a new storage group you have the ability to assign a service level e.g. Diamond and disable compression/deduplication which is enabled by default.

   To pick up the newly created storage pool in the eNAS UI, go to {Control Station} > Storage > Storage Configuration > Storage Pools and under File Storage click Rescan Storage Systems

   or on the command line:

   $ nas_diskmark -mark -all -discovery y -monitor y
   

   The new storage pool should now appear in the eNAS UI

2. Make sure you have the appropriate licenses

   $ nas_license -l
   key                 status    value
   site_key            online    xx xx xx xx
   nfs                 online
   cifs                online
   snapsure            online
   replicatorV2        online
   filelevelretention  online
   

3. Enable CIFS service on Data Mover.

   Ensure the CIFS service is enabled on the Data Mover which is going to be managed by VMAX driver.

   To start the CIFS service, use the following command:

   $ server_setup <movername> -Protocol cifs -option start [=<n>]
     # movername = name of the Data Mover
     # n = number of threads for CIFS users
   

   Note

   If there is 1 GB of memory on the Data Mover, the default is 96 threads. However, if there is over 1 GB of memory, the default number of threads is 256.

   To check the CIFS service status, use the following command:

   $ server_cifs <movername> | head
     # movername = name of the Data Mover
   

   The command output will show the number of CIFS threads started.

4. NTP settings on Data Mover.

   VMAX driver only supports CIFS share creation with share network which has an Active Directory security-service associated.

   Creating CIFS share requires that the time on the Data Mover is in sync with the Active Directory domain so that the CIFS server can join the domain. Otherwise, the domain join will fail when creating a share with this security service. There is a limitation that the time of the domains used by security-services, even for different tenants and different share networks, should be in sync. Time difference should be less than 5 minutes.

   Note

   If there is a clock skew then you may see the following error “The local machine and the remote machine are not synchronized. Kerberos protocol requires a synchronization of both participants within the same 5 minutes”. To fix this error you must make sure the times of the eNas controller host and the Domain Controller or within 5 minutes of each other. You must be root to change the date of the eNas control station. Check also that your time zones coincide.

   We recommend setting the NTP server to the same public NTP server on both the Data Mover and domains used in security services to ensure the time is in sync everywhere.

   Check the date and time on Data Mover with the following command:

   $ server_date <movername>
     # movername = name of the Data Mover
   

   Set the NTP server for Data Mover with the following command:

   $ server_date <movername> timesvc start ntp <host> [<host> ...]
     # movername = name of the Data Mover
     # host = IP address of the time server host
   

   Note

   The host must be running the NTP protocol. Only 4 host entries are allowed.

5. Configure User Mapping on the Data Mover.

   Before creating CIFS share using VMAX driver, you must select a method of mapping Windows SIDs to UIDs and GIDs. DELL EMC recommends using usermapper in single protocol (CIFS) environment which is enabled on VMAX eNAS by default.

   To check usermapper status, use the following command syntax:

   $ server_usermapper <movername>
     # movername = name of the Data Mover
   

   If usermapper does not start, use the following command to start the usermapper:

   $ server_usermapper <movername> -enable
     # movername = name of the Data Mover
   

   For a multiple protocol environment, refer to Configuring VMAX eNAS User Mapping on EMC support site for additional information.

6. Configure network connection.

   Find the network devices (physical port on NIC) of the Data Mover that has access to the share network.

   To check the device list on the eNAS UI go to {Control Station} > Settings > Network > Devices.

   or on the command line:

   $ server_sysconfig server_2 -pci
   server_2 : PCI DEVICES:
   
   On Board:
     VendorID=0x1120 DeviceID=0x1B00  Controller
       0:  scsi-0  IRQ: 32
   
       0:  scsi-16  IRQ: 33
   
       0:  scsi-32  IRQ: 34
   
       0:  scsi-48  IRQ: 35
   
     Broadcom 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
       0:  fxg-3-0  IRQ: 36
       speed=10000 duplex=full txflowctl=disable rxflowctl=disable
       Link: Up
   
        0:  fxg-3-1  IRQ: 38
       speed=10000 duplex=full txflowctl=disable rxflowctl=disable
       Link: Down
   

Back-end configurations¶

The following parameters need to be configured in the /etc/manila/manila.conf file for the VMAX driver:

emc_share_backend = vmax
emc_nas_server = <IP address>
emc_nas_password = <password>
emc_nas_login = <user>
driver_handles_share_servers = True
vmax_server_container = <Data Mover name>
vmax_share_data_pools = <Comma separated pool names>
share_driver = manila.share.drivers.dell_emc.driver.EMCShareDriver
vmax_ethernet_ports = <Comma separated ports list>
emc_ssl_cert_verify = True
emc_ssl_cert_path = <path to cert>

• emc_share_backend

  The plug-in name. Set it to vmax for the VMAX driver.

• emc_nas_server

  The control station IP address of the VMAX system to be managed.

• emc_nas_password and emc_nas_login

  The fields that are used to provide credentials to the VMAX system. Only local users of VMAX File is supported.

• driver_handles_share_servers

  VMAX only supports True, where the share driver handles the provisioning and management of the share servers.

• vmax_server_container

  Name of the Data Mover to serve the share service.

• vmax_share_data_pools

  Comma separated list specifying the name of the pools to be used by this back end. Do not set this option if all storage pools on the system can be used. Wild card character is supported.

  Examples: pool_1, pool_*, *

• vmax_ethernet_ports (optional)

  Comma-separated list specifying the ports (devices) of Data Mover that can be used for share server interface. Do not set this option if all ports on the Data Mover can be used. Wild card character is supported.

  Examples: fxg-9-0, fxg-_*, *

• emc_ssl_cert_verify (optional)

  By default this is True, setting it to False is not recommended

• emc_ssl_cert_path (optional)

  The path to the This must be set if emc_ssl_cert_verify is True which is the recommended configuration. See SSL Support section for more details.

Restart of the manila-share service is needed for the configuration changes to take effect.

Snapshot Support¶

Snapshot support is disabled by default, so in order to allow shapshots for a share type, the snapshot_support extra spec must be set to True. Creating a share from a snapshot is also disabled by default so create_share_from_snapshot_support must also be set to True if this functionality is required.

For a new share type:

$ manila type-create --snapshot_support True \
                     --create_share_from_snapshot_support True \
                     ${share_type_name} True

For an existing share type:

$ manila type-key ${share_type_name} \
                  set snapshot_support=True
$ manila type-key ${share_type_name} \
                  set create_share_from_snapshot_support=True

To create a snapshot from a share where snapshot_support=True:

$ manila snapshot-create ${source_share_name} --name ${target_snapshot_name}

To create a target share from a shapshot where create_share_from_snapshot_support=True:

$ manila create cifs 3 --name ${target_share_name} \
                       --share-network ${share_network} \
                       --share-type ${share_type_name} \
                       --metadata source=snapshot \
                       --snapshot-id ${snapshot_id}

Restrictions¶

The VMAX driver has the following restrictions:

• Only driver_handles_share_servers equals True is supported.
• Only IP access type is supported for NFS.
• Only user access type is supported for CIFS.
• Only FLAT network and VLAN network are supported.
• VLAN network is supported with limitations. The neutron subnets in different VLANs that are used to create share networks cannot have overlapped address spaces. Otherwise, VMAX may have a problem to communicate with the hosts in the VLANs. To create shares for different VLANs with same subnet address, use different Data Movers.
• The Active Directory security service is the only supported security service type and it is required to create CIFS shares.
• Only one security service can be configured for each share network.
• The domain name of the active_directory security service should be unique even for different tenants.
• The time on the Data Mover and the Active Directory domains used in security services should be in sync (time difference should be less than 10 minutes). We recommended using same NTP server on both the Data Mover and Active Directory domains.
• On eNAS, the snapshot is stored in the SavVols. eNAS system allows the space used by SavVol to be created and extended until the sum of the space consumed by all SavVols on the system exceeds the default 20% of the total space available on the system. If the 20% threshold value is reached, an alert will be generated on eNAS. Continuing to create snapshot will cause the old snapshot to be inactivated (and the snapshot data to be abandoned). The limit percentage value can be changed manually by storage administrator based on the storage needs. We recommend the administrator configures the notification on the SavVol usage. Refer to Using eNAS SnapSure document on EMC support site for more information.
• eNAS has limitations on the overall numbers of Virtual Data Movers, filesystems, shares, and checkpoints. Virtual Data Mover(VDM) is created by the eNAS driver on the eNAS to serve as the Shared File Systems service share server. Similarly, the filesystem is created, mounted, and exported from the VDM over CIFS or NFS protocol to serve as the Shared File Systems service share. The eNAS checkpoint serves as the Shared File Systems service share snapshot. Refer to the NAS Support Matrix document on EMC support site for the limitations and configure the quotas accordingly.

Other Remarks¶

• eNAS nas_quotas should not be confused with OpenStack manila quotas. The former edits quotas for mounted file systems, and displays a listing of quotas and disk usage at the file system level (by the user, group, or tree), or at the quota-tree level (by the user or group). nas_quotas also turns quotas on and off, and clears quotas records for a file system, quota tree, or a Data Mover. Refer to VMAX eNAS CLI Reference guide on EMC support site for additional information. OpenStack manila quotas delimit the number of shares, snapshots etc. a user can create.

  $ manila quota-show --tenant <project_id> --user <user_id>
  +-----------------------+-------+
  | Property              | Value |
  +-----------------------+-------+
  | share_groups          | 50    |
  | gigabytes             | 1000  |
  | snapshot_gigabytes    | 1000  |
  | share_group_snapshots | 50    |
  | snapshots             | 50    |
  | shares                | 50    |
  | share_networks        | 10    |
  +-----------------------+-------+
  

Driver options¶

Configuration options specific to this driver: