Virtual Storage Console for VMware vSphere uses Monitoring and Host Configuration as the single mechanism to discover storage systems for all capabilities and set storage credentials. VSC tasks require certain Data ONTAP privileges or they will fail.
Before VSC can display and manage storage resources, it must discover the storage systems that provide the storage. As part of the discovery process, you must supply Data ONTAP storage system credentials. These are the privileges (or role) associated with the user name/password pair assigned to each storage system. They use Data ONTAP role-based access control (RBAC). Because the user name/password pairs must be set up from within Data ONTAP, you cannot change their credentials at the Modify Credentials dialog box.
Note: If you log in as an administrator, you automatically have all privileges for that storage system.
When Monitoring and Host Configuration adds a storage system, it displays a pop-up box that lists the credentials associated with the username/ password pair you entered when you logged in. You can either set up default credentials that Monitoring and Host Configuration will use during its storage system discovery process or manually enter credentials when the storage system is discovered.
Note: If you have vFiler units on storage systems running Data ONTAP 8.x software, you must set the httpd.admin.enable for the vFiler unit in order to enable discovery.
Discovery happens in one of the following ways. In each case, you must supply credentials for any newly discovered storage system.
• When the VSC Windows service starts, Monitoring and Host Configuration begins its automatic background discovery process.
• You click Update on the Monitoring and Host Configuration Overview panel.
This runs another automatic discovery.
Note: IPv6 addresses are not supported.
All of the capabilities require specific permissions to perform VSC tasks. You can limit what users can do based on the credentials associated with their vSphere Client account. All users with the same storage system user name/password pair share the same set of storage system credentials, and all can perform the same operations.
Related tasks
Discovering and adding storage resources on page 53
Enabling discovery and management of vFiler units on page 51
Enabling discovery and management of vFiler units on private networks on page 51
Default controller credentials simplify administration of capabilities
You can set up default Virtual Storage Console for VMware vSphere storage controller credentials in Monitoring and Host Configuration. You do not have to manually specify credentials for any storage controller for which the default credentials are valid. These credentials apply to all the VSC
capabilities.
When Monitoring and Host Configuration discovers a new storage controller, it attempts to log in using the default credentials. If the login fails, the controller status is set to Authentication Failure, and you must enter credentials manually from the Overview panel by right-clicking the controller name and choosing Modify Credentials from the pop-up menu.
You can set the default credentials by clicking Set Default Controller Credentials on the Monitoring and Host Configuration Discovery Status panel.
Any time you change the default credentials and run Update, Monitoring and Host Configuration uses the new credentials and attempts to log in to any controller that has a status of either
Authentication Failure or SSL is not configured.
Specifying credentials with Monitoring and Host Configuration
You must use Monitoring and Host Configuration to set up credentials for a storage controller. These credentials then apply to all Virtual Storage Console for VMware vSphere capabilities.
Before you begin
Unless you log in as an administrator, you must have the appropriate RBAC privileges correctly assigned to complete this task successfully. For more information, see Authentication and user management with vCenter RBAC and Data ONTAP RBAC on page 32.
About this task
You either set up default credentials that Monitoring and Host Configuration will use each time it discovers a storage controller, or manually assign the credentials as they are discovered.
Steps
1. Select the Overview panel of Monitoring and Host Configuration.
2. Right-click a storage controller that needs credentials.
3. From the pop-up dialog menu that appears, select Modify Credentials.
4. Fill in the following information:
• Management IP address
VSC uses the management IP address to communicate with the controller. VSC lists the available addresses.
• Management port number
The default management port number is 443 if the SSL box is checked and 80 if it is not checked. These are the Data ONTAP defaults. If you toggle the SSL check box, the port number switches between 443 and 80. You can specify a different port number. If you do that, then toggling the SSL check box only changes the SSL state in the dialog box.
• Whether SSL is enabled
• User name/password
Storage controller credentials are assigned based on the user name/password pair. This can be the root account or a custom account that uses role-based access control (RBAC). You cannot change the roles associated with that user name/password pair at the Modify Credentials dialog box.
• Whether the controller is skipped
If you chose to not provide credentials for this controller, you must select the Skipped check box.
If a controller is skipped, Monitoring and Host Configuration does not export it to the other VSC capabilities. If it exists for these capabilities, it is deleted from their controller lists and no longer available for their work flows.
However, if you uncheck the Skipped check box, Monitoring and Host Configuration adds the controller back to the export list and the capabilities can add it to their work flows again.
5. When you have filled out the information in the dialog box, click OK.
VSC displays the list of allowed and disallowed roles as indicated by the credentials.
6. If the allowed roles support your needs, then click OK.
If the roles are not sufficient, click Cancel. Doing this returns you to the Modify Credentials.
You can either enter a different user name/password pair that will provide different credentials or talk with your system administrator about expanding the privileges for this user name/password pair.
Once a storage controller has credentials, you can view the privileges by right-clicking the controller name on the Overview panel.