FalconStor Network Storage Server Virtual Appliance (NSSVA) User Guide

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FalconStor

®

Network Storage Server

Virtual Appliance (NSSVA)

User Guide

FalconStor Software, Inc.

2 Huntington Quadrangle, Suite 2S01 Melville, NY 11747

Phone: 631-777-5188 Fax: 631-501-7633

Web site: www.falconstor.com

FalconStor Software, IPStor, TimeView, and TimeMark are either registered trademarks or trademarks of FalconStor Software, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

FalconStor Software reserves the right to make changes in the information contained in this publication without prior notice. The reader should in all cases consult FalconStor Software to determine whether any such changes have been made.

This product is protected by United States Patents Nos. 7,093,127 B2; 6,715,098; 7,058,788 B2; 7,330,960 B2; 7,165,145 B2 ;7,155,585 B2; 7.231,502 B2; 7,469,337; 7,467,259; 7,418,416 B2; 7,406,575 B2 , and additional patents pending."

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Introduction

FalconStor® Network Storage Server Virtual Appliance (NSSVA) for VMware Infrastructure 3 and 4 is a pre-configured, production-ready virtual machine that delivers high speed iSCSI and virtualization storage service through VMware’s virtual appliance architecture.

It provides enterprise-class data protection features including application-aware, space-efficient snapshot technology that can maintain up to 64 point-in-time copies of each volume. The FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance can also be used as a cost-effective virtual iSCSI SAN solution by creating a virtual SAN on a VMware ESX server and turning internal disk resources into a shareable pool of storage.

If the FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance is deployed on a single VMware ESX server, that server can share storage resources with other servers in the environment. This is accomplished without the need for external storage arrays, SAN switches, or costly host bus adapters (HBA). Internal data drives are detected by the software and incorporated into the management console through a simple GUI. At that point, storage can be provisioned and securely allocated via the iSCSI protocol, which operates over standard Ethernet cabling.

To enable high availability (HA), the FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance can be deployed on two VMware ESX servers that can share storage with each other as well as additional VMware ESX servers. In this model, each NSS Virtual Appliance maintains mirrored data from the other server. If one of the servers is lost, all virtual machines that were running on the failed server can restart using the storage resources of the remaining server. Downtime is kept to a minimum as applications are quickly brought back online.

Thin Provisioning technology and space-efficient snapshots further decrease costs by minimizing consumption of physical storage resources. The Thin Replication feature minimizes bandwidth utilization by sending only unique data blocks over the wire. Built-in compression and encryption reduce bandwidth consumption and enhance security, without requiring specialized network devices to connect remote locations with the data center or DR site. Tape backup for multiple remote offices can be consolidated to a central site, eliminating the need for distributed tape autoloaders and associated management headaches and overhead.

NSSVA is supported under the VMware Ready program for virtual appliances. It is a TOTALLY Open™ solution for VMware Infrastructure that enables a virtual SAN (vSAN) service directly on VMware ESX servers. The local direct attached storage becomes a shared SAN for all ESX Servers on the iSCSI network. The ability to convert direct attached storage within an ESX Server opens the door for small to medium enterprises to initially deploy VMware Infrastructure without the added expense of a dedicated SAN appliance and to enjoy the broader benefits of VMware’s business continuity and resource management feature.

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Additionally, most businesses, small and large, seek out VMware’s advanced enterprise features VMware VMotion (live migration of a running virtual machine from one ESX server to another), HA (High Availability auto restart of virtual machines), and DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduling moving virtual machine workloads based on preset metrics or schedules).

Components

NSSVA consists of the following components:

Benefits

High Availability

Using FalconStor’s NSSVA virtual SAN appliances in an Active/Passive

configuration enables VMware users to deploy a highly available shared storage environment that takes advantage of VMware Infrastructure enterprise features for better manageability and resiliency. FalconStor NSSVA highly available virtual storage configuration supports iSCSI target failover between NSSVA virtual

appliances installed on the initial two ESX Servers which is required to gain VMware HA and DRS features. VMware VMotion support requires only a single NSSVA on one ESX Server in an ESX Server cluster.

Component Description

NSS Virtual Appliance A virtual machine that runs FalconStor NSS software. This virtual appliance delivers high speed iSCSI and virtualization storage service through

VMware’s virtual appliance architecture: a plug-and-play VMware virtual machine running on VMware ESX server. NSSVA is a TOTALLY Open™ virtual storage array and a VMware Certified Virtual Appliance.

FalconStor

Management Console

The Windows management console that can be installed anywhere there is IP connectivity to the NSS Virtual Appliance.

Snapshot Agents Collaborate with Windows NTFS volumes and applications in order to guarantee that snapshots are taken with full application level integrity for fastest possible recovery. A full suite of Snapshot Agents is available so that each snapshot can later be used without lengthy chkdsk and database/email consistency repairs. Snapshot Agents are available for Oracle®, Microsoft® Exchange, Lotus Notes®/Domino®, Microsoft® SQL Server, IBM® DB2® Universal Database, Sybase® and many other applications.

SAN Disk Manager Host-side software that helps you register host machines with the NSS virtual appliance.

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Introduction

MicroScan

™

Replication

In the branch or remote office, VMware Infrastructure and FalconStor NSSVA can help to reduce operational costs through a server and storage consolidation to a central data center. FalconStor’s MicroScan™ Replication option with built-in WAN acceleration completes remote office server and storage consolidation IT strategies by providing highly efficient replication of branch or remote office data to your central data center. MicroScan™ Replication also reduces the amount of information replicated by ensuring that data already sent to the central data center is not sent more than once, thereby reducing traffic on the WAN.

VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) support

FalconStor NSSVA also supports VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) through integration with FalconStor MicroScan™ replication. FalconStor NSSVA, combined with VMware Infrastructure, provides a complete highly available virtualization solution for most small to medium enterprise as well as large enterprise

environments that are focused on consolidation and virtualization for remote office branch offices.

Cross-Mirror failover

FalconStor NSSVA supports Cross-Mirror failover, a non-shared storage failover option that provides high availability without the need for shared storage. Used with virtual appliances containing internal storage. Mirroring is facilitated over a

dedicated, direct IP connection. This option removes the requirements of shared storage between two partner storage server nodes and allows swapping data functions from a failed virtual disk on the primary server to the mirrored virtual disk on the secondary server. The disks are swapped back once the problem is resolved.

Microsoft VSS compliant

FalconStor NSSVA supports Microsoft Windows Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS), which provides the backup infrastructure and a mechanism for creating consistent point-in-time copies of data known as shadow copies.

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Three Versions

NSSVA is available in the following three versions:

For advanced configuration of high availability, refer to the documentation link that is included in your registration E-mail.

NSSVA Standard Edition • Includes two TB of storage (upgradable to four TB).

• Supports up to 10 clients.

• Includes the following client application support: • VMware Application Snapshot Director • Storage Replication Adapters for VMware

SRM* • SAN Client

• Application Snapshot Agent *Supported in pilot environments only. NSSVA Standard Edition

trial

• Includes all of the features of the standard edition for a 30 day period.

• Can be upgraded to the standard edition NSSVA lite (free iSCSI

SAN) Edition

• Does not include high availability, mirror, or replication.

• Five client limit.

• Two TB storage capacity.

• Can be upgraded to the standard edition. • Does not include the following client application

support:

• VMware Application Snapshot Director • Storage Replication Adapters for VMware

SRM • SAN Client

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Introduction

Hardware/software requirements

Component Requirement

NSS Virtual Appliance NSSVA supports the following VMware ESX Server platform: • VMware ESX Server 3.5 Update 5

• VMware ESXi 3.5 Update 5 • VMware ESX Server 4.0 Update 1 • VMware ESXi 4.0 Update 1

All necessary critical patches for VMware ESX server platforms are available on the VMware download patches web site: http://

support.vmware.com/selfsupport/download/. FalconStor

Management Console

A virtual or physical machine running any version of Microsoft Windows that supports the Java 2 Runtime Environment (JRE).

VMware ESX Server hardware Compatibility

• FalconStor Virtual Appliances for VMware are supported only on VMware certified server hardware.

• To ensure system compatibility and stability, refer to the online compatibility guide http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/ search.php?action=base&deviceCategory=server.

• To download the Systems Compatibility Guides:

For ESX Server 3.5 and ESX Server 3i, go to https://www.vmware.com/ resources/techresources/1032

64-bit processor For maximum virtualization and iSCSI SAN service, NSSVA uses 64-bit system architecture. To verify 64-bit virtual machine support, download the VMware utility below and execute it on the ESX server to see if the CPU supports 64-bit:

http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/processor_check_5_5_dt/ dCpiQGhkYmRAZQ==

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Cross-mirror failover • Each server must have identical internal storage.

• Each server must have at least two network ports (one for the required crossover cable). The network ports must be on the same subnet.

• Only one dedicated cross-mirror IP address is allowed for the mirror. The IP address must be 192.168.n.n.

• Only virtual devices can be mirrored. Service-enabled devices and system disks cannot be mirrored.

• The number of physical disks on each machine must match and the disks must have matching ACSLs (adapter, channel, SCSI ID, LUN).

• When failover occurs, both servers may have partial storage. To prevent a possible dual mount situation, we strongly recommend that you use a hardware power controller, such as IPMI. Refer to

‘Power Control for VMware ESX server’ on page 42 for more information.

• Prior to configuration, virtual resources can exist on the primary server as long as the identical ACSL is unassigned or unowned by the secondary server. After configuration, pre-existing virtual resources will not have a mirror. You will need to use the Verify & Repair option to create the mirror.

BIOS VT Support The VMware ESX server must be able to support hardware virtualization for the 64-bit virtual machine. To verify BIOS VT support: Link to VMware

knowledgeBase to run the esx command.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/

search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1011712

2000 MHz CPU resource reservation

NSSVA reserves NSS resources of 2000MHz for storage virtualization, iSCSI service, Snapshot, and replication processes, ensuring sufficient resources for the VMware ESX server and multiple virtual machines. The specifications are:

• Two Dual-core 1.5 GHz 64-bit process • One Quad-core 2.0 GHz 64-bit process 2 GB Memory

resource reservation

NSSVA reserves 2 GB of memory resources for storage virtualization, iSCSI service, Snapshot, and replication processes, ensuring sufficient resources for the VMware ESX server and multiple virtual machines. The specifications are:

• 500MB for VMware ESX server system • 2 GB for FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance

• More memory for the other virtual machines running on the same ESX server

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Introduction

Storage NSSVA supports up to 2TB of storage for iSCSI storage provisioning and snapshot data. Additional storage can be added in 1 TB increments. Storage is allocated from the standard VMware virtual disk on the local storage or the raw device disk on SAN storage.

NSSVA also supports Storage Pools, into which you can add different sized virtual disks. The system allocates resources for storage provisioning or snapshots on demand.

Network Adapter NSSVA is pre-configured with two virtual network adapters that manage your multiple path iSCSI connection or dedicated cross-mirror link. For the best network performance, the ESX server needs two physical network adapters for one-to-one mapping to the independent virtual switches and the virtual network adapters of NSSVA. In addition, the ESX server may need extra physical network adapters for Virtual infrastructure

management, VMware VMotion, or physical network redundancy.

• Two physical network adapters for one-to-one virtual network mapping to FalconStor NSSVA.

• Optional physical network adapters links to one virtual switch for physical network adapters redundancy.

• Optional physical network adapters for virtual center management though the independent network.

• Optional physical network adapters for VMotion process though the independent network.

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NSSVA Specification and requirement summary

Virtual machine configuration:

Minimum ESX server hardware requirements

Spec VM Configuration Reservation

CPU Two virtual processors 2000 MHz

Memory* 2 GB 2GB

Disk 28 GB

Network Two virtual network adapters

Spec ESX Server Configuration

CPU Two Dual-core 1.5 GHz 64-bit processor OR

One Quad-core 2.0 GHz 64-bit processor

Using ESX requires specific hardware and system resources. If you are using ESX 4, refer to the VMware Online Library for specific ESX hardware requirements: http://pubs.vmware.com/ vsp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href=install/ c_esx_hw.html

Memory* 2 GB

Disk Up to 4 TB free storage space Network Two physical network adapters

Note: *Memory requirements may vary depending upon your usage. Recovering a volume using more than 300 GB of TimeMark data may require additional RAM.

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Introduction

Supported Disk Configuration

Disk Type Vm Configuration

Local Disks Format using VMFS (or use an existing VMFS volume). Create .vmdk file to provision to NSSVA. Virtualize the disk and create an NSS SAN resource (do not use SED).

Once the ESX servers detect the NSS disk over iSCSI, you can use it as a RAW disk RDM (virtual or physical) or as a VMFS volume (recommended).

SAN Disks* Format the SAN disk using VMFS (or use an existing VMFS volume on the SAN). Create a .vmfs file to provision to NSSVA. Virtualize the disk and create an NSS SAN resource (do not use SED).

Raw SAN Disks • Create Raw Device Mapping (RDM) in virtual mode to provision the NSSVA. Virtualize the disk and create an NSS SAN resource (do not use SED).

• Create Raw Device Mapping (RDM) in virtual mode to provision the NSSVA. Reserve the disk for Service -enabled use and create an NSS SED resource. Do not preserve the device Inquiry String so that the disk displays as a FalconStor disk instead of a VMware virtual disk later. Once the ESX servers detect the NSS disk, you must use it as a RAW disk RDM (virtual or physical). Do not use VMFS format in this configuration.

Note: *Assigning an iSCSI ARRAY’s LUN directly to a NSSVA’s iSCSI Initiator is not supported. The physical iSCSI array’s LUN must be provisioned to the ESX servers’ iSCSI Initiator and disks then configured per the instructions described in the guide.

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NSSVA Configuration

ESX server deployment planning

The FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance is a pre-configured and ready-to-run solution installed on a dedicated ESX server in order to function as a storage server. NSSVA can also be installed on a ESX server that runs other virtual machines. To deliver high availability storage service, NSSVA can be installed on a second VMware ESX server that will function as a standby storage server with redundant cross-mirror storage.

Dedicated NSSVA

When NSSVA is installed on a dedicated ESX server no other virtual machine runs on the system.

Dedicated High Availability NSSVA

When NSSVA is installed on two dedicated ESX servers; they can be configured for Active/Passive high availability.

Shared NSSVA

When NSSVA is installed on an ESX server on which other virtual machines are installed or will be installed, NSSVA will share the CPU and memory resources with other virtual machines and still offer storage services for the other virtual machines on the same or the other ESX servers.

Shared HA NSSVA

When NSSVA is installed on two ESX servers on which other virtual machines are installed or will be installed, NSSVA will share the CPU and memory resources with other virtual machines. The two NSSVAs can be configured for Active/Passive high availability.

About this document

This document provides step-by-step procedures for installing and using the NSSVA in a VMware ESX 3.5, 4, ESXi 3.5, and 4 environment.

The following topics will be covered in this document: • Installation on the virtual appliance

• Configuration of the virtual appliance • Host-side software installation • Protection of servers

• High availability

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Introduction

Knowledge requirements

Individuals deploying NSSVA should have administrator level experience with VMware ESX and will need to know how to perform the following tasks:

• Create a new virtual machine from an existing disk

• Add new disks to an existing virtual machine as Virtual Disks or Mapped Raw Disks

• Troubleshoot virtual machine networks and adapters

Although not required, it is also helpful to have knowledge about the technologies listed below:

• Linux • iSCSI • TCP/IP

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Install NSS Virtual Appliance

Installation for VMware virtual infrastructure

The FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance supports generic VMware ESX server 3.5, ESXi 3.5, ESX server 4, and ESXi 4. You can choose one of the easy installation methods according to your ESX server version.

● Installation script for VMware ESX server 3.5, and 4

The generic VMware ESX server provides the local console and SSH remote console connection for management. You can launch the NSSVA installation script on a local or remote console to install NSSVA.

● Virtual Appliance Import for VMware ESX server 3.5, ESXi 3.5, ESX server 4, and ESXi 4

The latest VMware ESX server 4 and hypervisor ESXi supports virtual appliance import execution from a VMware Infrastructure Client. If the VMware ESXi server does not support local and remote console, you will only be able to use the virtual appliance import method to install the NSSVA into the system.

Before installation, you must ensure that the CPU supports 64-bit operating systems and is compatible with the VMware ESX system and the system BIOS can support Virtualization Technology (VT).

To verify 64-bit virtual machine support: Go to http://downloads.vmware.com/d/ details/processor_check_5_5_dt/dCpiQGhkYmRAZQ==

To verify BIOS VT support, go to http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/ search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1011712

Installing NSSVA via the installation script

To launch the NSSVA installation script on the ESX server console, log into the console with root privileges and follow the instructions below to complete the installation.

1. Upload the FalconStor-NSSVA.zip file to the VMware ESX server/root folder using the SCP tool.

2. Execute the unzip command to extract the package to the FalconStor-NSSVA folder.

3. Start the NSS Virtual Appliance installation by executing the following command: ./FalconStor-VA/nssinstall from the unzip path.

The installation script performs several system checks and continues installing if the following requirements are met:

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Install NSS Virtual Appliance

• System memory on the ESX server must be at least 2 GB. • The ESX server must be a supported 64bit virtual machine. • The ESX server must have the BIOS VT function enabled.

4. Enter the number of the VMFS volume where you will be installing the NSS Virtual Appliance system.

The installation script copies the system image source and extracts it to the specified volume. The NSS Virtual Appliance is then registered onto the ESX system.

Installing NSSVA via Virtual Appliance Import from a downloaded zip file

1. On the client machine, unzip the NSSVA.zip file and extract the package to any folder. For example, create a folder called FalconStor-NSSVA.

2. If not already active, launch the VMware Infrastructure/vSphere Client and connect to the ESX server with root privileges.

3. Select File --> Virtual Appliance -->Import (VI client)/ Deploy OVF template (vSphere Client).

4. For the Import Location of the Import Virtual Appliance Wizard, click the Browse button on the Import from file option. Then select the folder to which you

extracted the package (i.e. the FalconStor-NSSVA folder), expand the folder, and select the file: FalconStor-NSSVA.ovf in the FalconStor-VA folder. The Virtual Appliance Details checks the virtual appliance information for FalconStor NSSVA.

5. Click Next to continue the import.

The Name and Location displays the default appliance name: FalconStor-NSSVA. You can change the name of the virtual machine. This change will not be applied into the actual appliance name.

6. On the Datastore list, click on the datastore containing at least 26 GB of space for the NSSVA system Import.

7. For Network Mapping, select the virtual machine network of the ESX server that the NSSVA virtual Ethernet adapter will link to.

8. On the Ready to Complete screen, review all settings and click Finish to start the virtual appliance import task.

The virtual appliance import status window displays the completion percentage. It usually takes five to 10 minutes to complete this task.

Note: For NSSVA Lite: While extracting the NSS virtual appliance system, you will be asked to enter your login credentials for the target. (i.e. Please enter login information for target vi://127.0.0.1)

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9. Click Close when the completion percentage reaches 100% and the import window displays Completed Successfully.

Installing the Snapshot Director on the ESX console server

The Snapshot Director for VMware must be installed on the ESX console server. You must be root (or root equivalent) in order to install the Snapshot Director. 1. Copy the installation files to the local drive of the ESX console server.

• client software (i.e. ipstorclient-x.xx-x.xxx.xxxx.rpm) gets installed first. • Snapshot Director (i.e. asd_vmware-x.xx-xxxx.xxxx.rpm) gets installed

second.

2. Type the following command to install the client software:

The client will be installed to the following location: /usr/local/ipstorclient It is important that you install the client to this location. Installing the client to a different location will prevent the client driver from loading.

3. Install the Snapshot Director software.

Note that during installation, several firewall ports will be opened to allow for snapshot notification and command line communications.

Installing SAN client software on virtual host machines

FalconStor SAN Client software must be installed on each virtual host machine. It runs silently in the background, requires no configuration, and is used to initiate snapshots.

1. Navigate to the NSS Agents zip file that you copied earlier to a Windows machine.

2. Extract the file from the uploaded zip file. 3. Select Install Products --> Install SAN Client

If the installation does not launch automatically, navigate to the \Client\Windows directory and run ISinstall.exe to launch the client install program.

Note: When using OVF import for installing the NSSVA Lite version, you will need to manually add a 100 GB data disk in order to launch the Basic

environment configuration.

rpm -ivh --nodeps /mnt/cdrom/Client/Linux/ipstorclient-x.xx-x.xxx.i386.rpm

# rpm -ivh asd_vmware-x.xx-xxxx.i386.rpm

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During the installation, the Microsoft “Digital Signature Warning” window may appear to indicate that the software has not been certified by Microsoft. Click Yes to continue the installation process.

4. Accept the license agreement.

5. When done, click Finish.

Installing Snapshot Agents on virtual host machines

Installation of the Snapshot Agents has the following requirements:

• You must be an administrator or have administrator privileges in order to install.

• SAN Client software must already be installed on the virtual machine. • If you install a snapshot agent for an application (such as Microsoft

Exchange, Microsoft SQL, or Oracle), you must install the Windows filesystem snapshot agent.

• (Snapshot Agent for Microsoft Exchange) The Snapshot Agent has to be installed on the same virtual machine where the Exchange Server is running. Your Exchange Server must be started before installing the agent. • (Snapshot Agent for Microsoft SQL) The Snapshot Agent has to be installed

on the same machine where the SQL Server database is running. Your SQL Server must be started before installing the agent.

• (Snapshot Agent for Oracle) Your Oracle database must be started before installing the agent. Oracle archive logging must be turned on.

• (Oracle 8i only) Make sure the required library %ORA_HOME%/precompile/ lib/orasql8.LIB is present in the system. If the file is not present, reinstall the Oracle client software and select Programmer as the installation type. To install a FalconStor Snapshot Agent on a Windows system:

1. Navigate to the NSS Agents zip file that you copied earlier to a Windows machine.

2. Extract all of the files to a temporary installation directory. 3. Launch the selected Snapshot Agent setup program.

4. When prompted, review the License Agreement and agree to it to continue.

After accepting the license agreement, the installation program will install the Snapshot Agent into the same directory where the SAN Client is installed.

5. When done, click Finish.

Notes:

● If you are running Windows Server 2003 SP2 on the virtual machine and the firewall is enabled, you need to open TCP ports 11576, 11582, and 11762 for the SAN Client.

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The SAN client automatically starts the Snapshot Agent for you. In addition, it will be automatically started each time the client is restarted.

NSS Virtual Appliance configuration

Basic system environment configuration

Before starting NSSVA, it is recommended that you first add a virtual disk to NSSVA for data storage. Refer to ‘Add virtual disks for data storage’ on page 22 for detailed instructions. Then return to this section to continue configuration.

The first time you log into the NSSVA console, the FalconStor Virtual Appliance Setup utility pops up automatically and displays the basic environment configuration as shown in the picture below. If you want to configure the system after the initial setting, you can run the utility by executing the vaconfig command on the NSSVA virtual appliance console. Once you run the vaconfig utility, the system checks if VMware Tool should be updated.

1. Launch the VMware Infrastructure Client and connect to the ESX server by the account with root privilege.

2. Right-click the installed FalconStor-NSSVA then click Open Console. If the NSSVA has not been powered on, click VM on the top menu then click the Power On.

3. On the NSSVA console, login as a root user. The default password is IPStor101 (case sensitive).

The FalconStor Virtual Appliance Setup utility launches.

4. Move the cursor to <Configure> and scroll to select the item you want to change.

5. Highlight Host Name and click Enter to configure the host name of the virtual appliance.

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6. Highlight Time Zone and click Enter to configure the time zone. Select whether you want to set the system clock to UTC (the default is No). Scroll up and down to search for the correct time zone of your location.

7. Highlight Root Password and click Enter to change the new root password of the virtual appliance. You will need to enter the new password again on the confirm window.

8. Highlight Network Configuration and click Enter to modify your network

configurations. Select eth0 or eth1 to change the IP address setting. Answer No to using DHCP and then set the IP address of the selected virtual network adapter. If you want to set the IP subnet mask, press down to move the cursor on the netmask setting.

The default IP addresses are listed below: eth0: 169.254.254.1/255.255.255.0

eth1: 169.254.254.2/255.255.255.0

9. Repeat the network configuration to set the IP address of another virtual network adapter.

10. Highlight Default Gateway and click Enter to change the new default gateway of the virtual appliance.

11. Highlight Name Server and click Enter to modify the server name. You can add four DNS server records into the virtual appliance setting.

12. Highlight NTP Server configuration and click Enter to add four DNS server records into the virtual appliance setting.

13. After making all configuration changes, tab over to Finish and click Enter. The utility will list the configuration changes you made.

14. Click Yes to accept and apply the setting on the virtual appliance.

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The update VMware tool script is launched and you are prompted to update VMware tools.

16. Enter the ESX inventory host name of this NSSVA (Indicated by the display name of NSSVA on ESX server)

17. Enter ESX/vCenter server IP

18. Enter ESX/vCenter server login user name 19. Enter ESX/vCenter server login password

If the VMware tool is old, it will be updated; Otherwise, it will not be replaced. If an error is encountered during the update, such as an inability to reach the ESX/vCenter, you will be prompted to Force (press F) the update or Cancel (press C). If you cancel the update, the NSSVA VMware tool will not be changed and you will need to update the VMware tool via the vSphere client. Alternatively, you can enter "chk_vm.sh" in the NSSVA serial console to re-run the update script.

Once the installation is complete, you can begin configuration of the NSSVA via the FalconStor Management Console. Refer to the “Configuration and

Management” chapter for details. Once configuration is complete, refer to the checklist at the end of this guide.

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NSS Virtual Appliance User Guide

Configuration and Management

Installing and using the FalconStor Management console

The FalconStor Management Console is the central management tool to manage and configure the FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance system. You will use the console for SAN Client and SAN Resource creation, replication and high availability configuration.

The FalconStor Management Console can be installed on any Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 system. It is

recommended that you install the FalconStor Management Console and VMware Infrastructure Client on the same computer.

1. Unzip the FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance package and then run the setup program.

2. Click Next on the console setup to start the installation.

3. Read the License Agreement and click Yes if you agree to the terms.

4. Enter the User Name and Company Name on the Customer Information screen. 5. On the Choose Destination Location, change the installation folder or click Next

to accept the default destination: "C:\Program Files\FalconStor\IPStor".

6. On the Select Program Folder, click Next to accept the default program folder: FalconStor\IPStor.

7. Review the settings on the Start Copying File and click Next to start the program files installation.

8. Click Finish to close the FalconStor Management Console Setup program. On the FalconStor Management Console, you can manage several FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliances simultaneously. You can configure replication and failover, but you will need to register and connect to both NSSVA to complete the settings between the NSS Virtual Appliances.

Note: Replication and High Availability features are not available in the NSSVA Lite or Trial versions of NSSVA.

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Account Management

There are three types of accounts for the virtual appliance, each with different permission levels. The three accounts have the same default password.

● fsadmin - can perform any VA operation other than managing accounts. They are also authorized for VA client authentication.

● fsuser - can manage virtual devices assigned to them and can allocate space from the storage pool(s) assigned to them. In addition, they can create new SAN/NAS resources, clients, and groups as well as assign resources to clients, and join resources to groups, as long as they are authorized. VA Users are also authorized for VA client authentication. Any time an VA User creates a new SAN/ NAS resource, client, or group, access rights will automatically be granted for the user to that object.

● root user - has full privileges for all the system operations. Only root can manage the user account and system configuration (maintenance).

Connect to the virtual appliance

1. Click Start --> All Programs --> FalconStor --> IPStor, and then click the IPStor Console.

2. Right-click the Servers and click Add.

3. Enter the IP address of NSSVA eth0. Use the default administrator account "root" and enter the default administrator password "IPStor101".

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Configuration and Management

The connected NSS Virtual Appliance is listed on the FalconStor Management Console as shown below. The default host name is "FalconStor-NSSVA".

Add License Keycode

You have to enter a license keycode to enable server functionality. You can find your license keycode on the server license agreement or you can use the trial keycode you obtained when you registered on the web site.

To enter the keycode:

1. In the console, right-click on the NSSVA server and select License. 2. Click Add.

3. Enter the keycode then click OK.

You can click the License Summary tab to check the details of the license.

Register keycodes

If your computer has Internet access, the console will register a keycode automatically after you enter it; otherwise the registration will fail.

You can have a 60 day grace period to use the product without a registered keycode (or 30 day grace period for a trial). If this machine cannot connect to the Internet, you can perform offline registration.

To register a keycode:

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2. Click Next to start the activation.

3. On the Select the method to register this license page, indicate if you want to perform Online registration via the Internet or Offline registration.

4. For offline registration, enter a file name to export the license information to local disk and E-mail it from a computer with Internet access to:

[email protected]

It is not necessary to write anything in the subject or body of the e-mail. If your E-mail is working correctly, you should receive a reply within a few minutes.

5. When you receive a reply, save the attached signature file to the same local disk. 6. Enter the path to the saved file in step 5 and click Send to import the registration

signature file.

7. Afterwards, you will see a message stating that the license was registered successfully.

Add virtual disks for data storage

The FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance supports up to four TB of space for storage virtualization. Before you create the virtual disks for the virtualization storage, you should know the block size of the datastore volume, and the maximum size of one virtual disk size controlled by the volume block size.

If you create a virtual disk that exceeds the maximum size supported by its located volume, an "Insufficient disk space on datastore" error will display. You can resolve the error by changing to the disk size supported by the volume block.

You can check the block size of your volume via the VMware Infrastructure Client: 1. Launch the VMware Infrastructure Client, connect to the ESX server and log into

the account with root privileges.

2. Click the ESX server in the inventory and then click the Configuration setting.

Volume Block Size Maximum size of one virtual disk

1MB 256GB

2MB 512GB

4MB 1024GB

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3. On the Configuration tab, click Storage under the Hardware list. Then right-click one of the datastores and click Properties.

On the Volume Properties, you can see the Block Size and the Maximum File Size in the Format information.

The screen below displays VMware Volume properties with the block size and maximum file size information.

Add the new virtual disk

In the FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance, you do not need to power-off the virtual appliance to add the new virtual disk for storage virtualization usage.

1. On the Virtual Infrastructure Client, right-click the NSS Virtual Appliance: FalconStor-NSSVA and then click Edit Settings.

2. On the Hardware tab, click the Add button.

3. For Select Device Type, click Hard Disk and then click Next.

4. For Select a Disk, click Create a new virtual disk and then click Next.

5. When prompted to Specify Disk Capacity, Provisioning, and Location, enter the Disk Size of the new virtual disk. Make sure the value does not exceed the maximum file size supported by the volume.

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6. Check the Support clustering features such as Fault Tolerance option to force creation of an eagerzeroedthick disk.

7. If the volume of the NSS Virtual Appliance system does not have enough space to store the new virtual disk, click Specify a datastore then click the Browse button. Then Select a datastore by clicking a datastore with available free space. 8. Click Next to keep the default values on Specify Advanced Options.

9. Review your choices and click Finish to complete the virtual disk creation setting.

In the FalconStor-NSSVA Virtual Machine properties, you will see New Hard Disk (adding) in the hardware list,

10. Click OK to save the setting and the new virtual disk will be created on the datastore.

11. Repeat the steps above to add another virtual disk for virtualization storage.

Add the new device to the storage pool

Once you have added the virtual disk for the NSS Virtual Appliance in the virtual machine setting, the NSSVA system must identify those disks and add the new device into the storage pool. For High Availability, refer to the “High Availability” chapter. To add a new device to the storage pool, follow the steps below:

1. On the FalconStor Management Console, click and expand the FalconStor-NSSVA configuration.

2. Right-click the Physical Resources, and then click Rescan. 3. Click Discover New Devices, and then click OK.

The New Device Detected (FalconStor-NSSVA) window displays listing the newly discovered physical devices. Each device's Category displays Unassigned.

4. On the new device detected window, select one of the discovered device and then click the Prepare Disk button.

Notes:

• Do not set EagerZeroThick to both the system/data vmdks and guest VM's vmdks.

• Creating an EagerZeroThick disk is a time-consuming process. You may experience a significant waiting period,

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5. On the Disk Preparation screen, click the drop-down list of Device Category and select Reserve for Virtual Device and then click OK. Then enter YES to confirm the change.

When the task has completed, a message stating "Physical device category has been changed successfully" will display.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to change the device category of all new detected devices to "Reserved for Virtual Device".

7. Highlight Physical Resources and click to expand the Storage Pools. Then right click the StoragePool-Default and click the Properties.

8. On the Storage Pool Properties screen, click the Select All button and then click OK to add all new detected devices into the storage pool.

9. Click and expand the StoragePool-Default to see all configured new devices that have been added into the pool for central space management.

All devices must be added into the storage pool for central resource management.

Create a SAN Client for VMware ESX server

Create a SAN client for each VMware ESX server for storage resource assignment. On the VMware ESX server, you can login the console and use the vmkping command to test the IP network connection from the ESX server iSCSI software adapter to the NSSVA. In addition, you can add the NSSVA IP into the iSCSI server list of the iSCSI software adapter and check whether the iSCSI initiator name registered on the NSSVA.

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Adding the iSCSI server on ESX Software iSCSI Adapter

1. Launch VMware Infrastructure Client and connect to the ESX server by the account with root privilege.

2. Once you are connected to the server inventory, highlight the ESX server and click the Configuration tab.

3. On the ESX server Configuration screen, click the Storage Adapters and right-click the device under iSCSI Software Adapter, for example: vmhba32.

4. Select the iSCSI software adapter device and then click Properties.

5. On the iSCSI initiator (device name) Properties, check the iSCSI properties and record the iSCSI name, for example: iqn.1998-01.com.vmware:esx03. 6. Click the Dynamic Recovery tab, and then click the Add button.

7. On Send Targets, enter the IP address of the NSS Virtual Appliance. 8. It will take several minutes to complete the configuration.

9. Once the IP address has been added into the iSCSI server list, click Close to complete the setting.

Creating the SAN Client for the ESX server

1. Launch the FalconStor Management Console and connect to the NSS Virtual Appliance with IPStor administrator privileges.

2. Click and expand the NSSVA, then right click the SAN Clients and then click Add.

3. The Add Client Wizard launches.

4. Click Next to start the administration task.

5. When prompted to Select Client Protocols, click to enable the iSCSI protocol and click Next.

6. Select Target IP by enabling one or both networks providing the iSCSI service. 7. On the Set Client's initiator, the iSCSI initiator name of the ESX server displays if

the iSCSI server was added successfully. Click to enable it and then click Next. 8. On Set iSCSI User Access, change it to Allow unauthenticated access or enter

the CHAP secret (12 to 16 characters).

9. On Set iSCSI Options, keep the default setting of QoS.

10. On Enter the Generic Client Name, enter the Client IP address using the ESX server's IP address.

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12. On Add the client, review all configuration settings and then click Finish to add the san client into the system.

13. Expand the SAN Clients.

You will see the newly created SAN client for ESX server and the iSCSI Target. The screen below displays the SAN client and iSCSI target created for the ESX server connection.

Assign the SAN resource to VMware ESX server

FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance provides simple and intuitive san resource management via the FalconStor management tool. As an administrator, you can easily create the SAN resource and assign it to ESX server.

1. On the FalconStor Management Console, click to expand the NSSVA. 2. Navigate to Logical Resources --> SAN Resources and click New. 3. The Create SAN Resource Wizard launches.

4. Click Next to start the administration task.

5. Select the SAN Resource Type by selecting the Virtual Device, and then clicking Next.

6. Select the Physical Resource for the Virtual Device(s) by selecting the StoragePool-Default under Storage Pools and then clicking Next.

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7. Select Express as the Creation Method and enter the allocated size of the new san resource you are creating.

8. When prompted to Enter the SAN Resource Name, you can keep the default name created by system or manually change the name.

9. Confirm the allocate size on the Create the SAN resource screen and then click Finish to create the SAN resource.

10. Once the SAN Resource has been created, the Create SAN Resource Wizard prompts you to assign a SAN client to it. If you have already created the SAN client for the ESX server, click Yes.

The Assign a SAN Resource Wizard will launch automatically. 11. Click Next to start the administration task.

12. Select the iSCSI target to be assigned to the SAN resource.

13. When prompted to Select LUN Numbers for the resources, click Next to keep the default setting.

14. Click Finish to Assign iSCSI Target(s) to the SAN Resource.

If you answered NO on the Assign SAN Client process, you can perform this task later by right clicking on the specific SAN resource name under the SAN Resources tree, and then clicking Assign.

The screen below displays the SAN client and iSCSI target created for the ESX server connection.

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Assign the same SAN resource to two VMware ESX server

The SAN Resource plays the role of shared storage that is assigned to two ESX servers to create the VMware VMotion, VMware DRS and VMware HA solution. This kind of SAN resource must have read/write permission to both servers and be allowed to be accessed simultaneously.

1. On the FalconStor Management Console, click and expand the NSSVA and the SAN Clients; and then click and expand the ESX server and iSCSI.

2. Under the iSCSI, right click the iSCSI target created for ESX server and then click Properties.

3. On the iSCSI Target Properties screen, click the Access Mode drop-down list and change it to Read/Write Non-Exclusive to open the access with the other ESX servers that are assigned to the same resource.

4. Repeat the same Access Mode change on all iSCSI target of ESX servers that will share the same resource with others as shown in the screen below.

Note: For advanced configuration of high availability, refer to the documentation link that was included in your registration e-mail.

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Enable VMDirectPath I/O in vSphere v4

Enabling VMDirectPath I/O in vSphere v4 for FalconStor Virtual Appliances (NSS-VA) requires the following steps as described below:

Part I - ‘Enable the VMDirectPath Option’

Part II - ‘Configure a virtual machine to use a passthrough VMDirectPath PCI device/port’

Part III - ‘Modify a FalconStor Virtual Appliance (for ESX 3.5) to load VMware Drivers’

Part IV - Modifying a FalconStor Virtual Appliance (made for ESX 3.5) to properly load the NIC/HBA driver - For VA's that are pre-RHEL5.3 - Page XX

Enable the VMDirectPath Option

1. From the Inventory section, go to the Configuration tab.

2. Click on the Hardware Advanced Settings and Enable the VMDirectPath Configuration option.

3. Reboot.

4. Return to the Configuration tab, and navigate back to the Hardware Advanced Settings.

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5. Click the Edit link to add the PCI device ports to the Passthrough List.

6. Reboot again.

7. Return to the Hardware Configuration Advanced Settings section to confirm the passthrough ports have been enabled:

Once complete, you can follow the steps from the next few sections to add one or several ports to a given virtual machine.

The following restrictions apply:

● If you are using a dual-port NIC/HBA, the ENTIRE NIC is set to passthrough mode. This means both ports will disappear from the VMKernel.

● If you are using a dual-port NIC/HBA, the ENTIRE NIC is given to one specific virtual machine. Therefore, whether you assign one port or two ports to the VM, both ports are "reserved" and none can be given to another virtual machine. The pass through is at the PCI port level, so it's an all-or-nothing rule.

● Once a virtual machine (VM) has a pass through port assigned to it (following the procedures below), the VM can no longer be vmotion'ed (nor DRS'ed, nor HA'ed, nor FT'ed) to another ESX host. It becomes a permanent resident of the current ESX host.

● Once a VM has a pass through port assigned to it, it can no longer take advantage of "Memory over-allocation" (aka overcommitment); instead, the entire "allocated virtual RAM" must be "RESERVED" (done automatically). Thus, enough RAM on the host must be available for the VM to power on.

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Configure a virtual machine to use a passthrough VMDirectPath PCI device/port

The steps necessary to configure a virtual machine (VM) to use a passthrough VMDirectPath PCI device/port are described below:

1. Navigate to File Deploy OVF Template.

2. Select the appropriate ovf file.

3. Right-click and select Upgrade Virtual Hardware. 4. Select Edit Settings.

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6. Click the Add button to add hardware.

The Add Hardware screen displays. 7. Select the type of device you wish to add.

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8. Specify the device to which you want to connect.

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Modify a FalconStor Virtual Appliance (for ESX 3.5) to load VMware Drivers

The procedures below illustrate how to modify a FalconStor Virtual Appliance (made for ESX 3.5) to properly load the updated VMware Drivers from VMware Tools for the updated Virtual Machine Hardware v7 (under vSphere v4).

1. Power ON the NSS-VA virtual machine.

During the boot up process, you may see several FAILED error messages, which you can disregard for now.

2. Login to the system from the console with the user name: root and password: IPStor101.

3. Perform a VMware Tools upgrade.

4. Click Abort at the installation screen, then hit Ctrl+C on the following screen to exit back to the prompt.

5. Connect to the host device.

The Install/Upgrade Tools screen displays. 6. Select Interactive Tools Upgrade then click OK.

When you first try to install/upgrade the VMware Tools, you will get an error, and you will be prompted to remove the existing soft links.

Once the symbolic links are removed, re-run the installation script (vmware-install.pl), and click [ENTER] through the next few screens.

7. Reboot the machine ("sync;sync;reboot" from the command prompt), and then configure the Virtual Appliance per the standard installation guide.

The "vaconfig" script will automatically be executed, and you can then configure your network settings, hostname, NTP, DNS, etc.

The virtual appliance will reboot automatically.

Modify a FalconStor Virtual Appliance (for ESX 3.5) to load the NIC/HBA driver

This step is necessary for virtual appliances that are pre-RHEL5.3. If you are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 (RHEL5.3), then the Intel drivers for the 10Gbe NIC (or QLogic 8Gbps FC) will already be installed. If not, you will need to download, compile, and install the Intel drivers from Intel's web site.

1. Copy the file (i.e. ixgbe-2.0.38.2.tar.gz) to /root.

The easiest way (since your network is down at this point), is to create an ISO file, and mount the ISO to the CD-ROM drive of the virtual machine, using the same commands as earlier to mount the CD (mount /dev/cdrom /media).

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2. Run:

# tar xvfz ixgbe-2.0.38.2.tar.gz # cd ixgbe-2.0.38.2

# vi README

3. Follow the instructions to compile and load the driver.

# cd /root/ixgbe-2.0.38.2/src/ # make install

# modprobe /lib/modules/2.6.18-53.1.19.el5/kernel/drivers/net/ ixgbe/ixgbe.ko

(or simply modprobe ixgbe).

4. Configure your network cards using the "vaconfig" command (if they are eth0 and eth1).

If you are creating new files (for eth2, eth3, in case you did NOT remove the original eth0 and eth1 virtual NIC's from the VMware VM's Settings), use the following commands: # cd /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ # vi ifcfg-eth2 DEVICE=eth2 BOOTPROTO=none IPADDR=192.168.88.112 NETMASK=255.255.255.0 ONBOOT=yes TYPE=Ethernet MTU=9000 DHCP_HOSTNAME=

5. Repeat if you need to configure eth3.

Make sure to modify all parameters from the content of the file above to match the proper settings (IPADDR, DEVICE, etc…).

6. Update the "/etc/modprobe.conf" file to make sure the ixgbe driver is loaded during startup:

# vi /etc/modprobe.conf alias eth0 ixgbe

alias eth1 ixgbe

alias scsi_hostadapter mptbase alias scsi_hostadapter1 mptspi alias scsi_hostadapter2 ata_piix

install pciehp /sbin/modprobe -q --ignore-install acpiphp; /bin/ true

install pcnet32 /sbin/modprobe -q --ignore-install vmxnet;/sbin/ modprobe -q --ignore-install pcnet32 $CMDLINE_OPTS;/bin/true alias char-major-14 sb

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7. Create a new boot image, and reboot to confirm the changes:

# cd /boot/

# mkinitrd -f initrd-53.1.19.el5-8Jun09-230047.img 2.6.18-53.1.19.el5

8. After reboot, run "ifconfig", and confirm your changes.

Note: Replace the name of the.img file from the command above, with the .img filename indicated in your menu.lst file, in the VERY LAST LINE, for example:

# cat /boot/grub/menu.lst

# grub.conf generated by anaconda

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High Availability

FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance High Availability (HA) solution

FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance supports High Availability storage service via two NSS Virtual Appliances in a Cross-Mirror and iSCSI service failover design. The High Availability (HA) option is not available for the Single Node Edition, the Lite version or the trial version of NSSVA.

For best results using the high availability architecture, make sure all of the configurations follow the best practice instructions and guidelines in this chapter.

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High Availability

Configuring the NSS Virtual Appliance Cross-Mirror

failover

Refer to the checklist tables in Appendix A to verify your NSS Virtual Appliance environment and configuration before setting up Cross-Mirror high availability. 1. Launch the FalconStor Management Console, adding and connecting to both

the primary and secondary NSS Virtual Appliance.

2. Expand the SCSI Devices of both NSS Virtual Appliances and make sure you have the same number devices with same size and SCSI ID on both NSS Virtual Appliances.

3. Right-click the primary NSSVA. Then point to the failover appliance and launch the Failover Setup Wizard.

The Failover Setup Wizard checks to make sure the iSCSI option is enabled on the primary NSSVA. Make sure the iSCSI option is also enabled on the

secondary NSSVA. iSCSI is the default service running on the NSSVA. 4. Click Next on the welcome page of Failover Setup Wizard to start the

cross-mirror configuration.

5. Click Yes to re-scan the physical devices to guarantee the device number and size on both server are equal.

You will see the power control enabling suggestions information after the wizard completes. You can ignore this message.

6. At the Configure Cross Mirror Option screen, click Next to start the disk preparation and mirror realization ship creation.

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To save the system configuration for failover purposes, a configuration repository is required for failover primary server.

7. Click OK to close the information.

8. When prompted to Select the Secondary Server and the Cross Mirror Remote Server IP address, enter the IP Address on the Primary Server using the eth1 IP address of the primary NSSVA. Then enter the IP Address on the Secondary Server using the eth1 IP address of secondary NSSVA.

Alternatively, you can enter the primary server IP address and then click the Find button to have the wizard retrieve the IP address in the same IP subnet from the secondary NSSVA.

The wizard completes the task of Checking the secondary server settings. 9. When prompted to Configure Remote Storage, make sure all devices have been

checked and enabled.

10. Click OK to close the dialog screen.

The Enable Configuration Repository Wizard launches. 11. Click Next to start the configuration task.

12. When prompted to Select the Physical Resources for the Virtual Device(s), select a physical device with at least 10 GB of available space to save the configuration repository.

If all physical devices are 10 GB or larger, you can click Next to continue the configuration.

13. When prompted to Select the Physical Device, select a physical device that is at least 10 GB and click Next.

14. Click Finish to confirm the selected physical device on the Create the Configuration Repository screen and complete the creation of configuration repository.

15. The IPStor User List displays, prompting you for the user name and password. Make sure they match on both the primary and secondary NSSVA and click OK. The Select the Failover Subnets dialog displays as the wizard retrieves the IP addresses of both the primary and secondary NSSVA and the IP subnet (except the interface used by Cross-Mirror).

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High Availability

17. Enter the IP address of the server: <the primary NSSVA host name> using the client access IP address. The ESX server iSCSI Software Adapter uses this IP address to log into the iSCSI target and connect the SAN resource. This IP address will failover to the secondary NSSVA if the primary NSSVA encounters the problem.

18. Enter the Health monitoring IP address for the Server <the primary NSSVA host name> by the new eth0 IP address of the primary NSSVA.

19. Confirm the Failover Configuration by reviewing the settings and clicking Finish to complete the failover configuration creation.

The wizard will recommend that you make sure the clocks are in-sync between the failover servers,

20. Click OK to close the wizard.

You are now ready to setup the power control patch to complete the failover settings. Refer to Power Control for VMware ESX server.

Note: It is recommended that you use the original eth0 IP address here so you will not need to re-configure the FalconStor Management Console connection.

Note: It is recommended that you create a new eth0 IP address here so you will not need to re-configure the FalconStor Management Console connection.

Notes:

● Once the configuration of cross-mirror failover is complete via failover setup wizard, the Power Control option in the FalconStor Management Console must not be changed.

● If you do not use the original eth0 IP address as the client access IP, you must delete the primary NSSVA record from the FalconStor Management Console and re-add the primary NSSVA using the new client access IP address.

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Power Control for VMware ESX server

You must configure the power control options for your failover servers by using the NSSVA Power Control Utility. You can configure the NSSVA Power control utility to power off the primary NSSVA if all communication between the two NSSVA servers fail.

The power control options include the following options: • Primary ESX server connection

• Secondary ESX server connection • Primary ESX server root password • Force takeover setting

• Primary NSSVA network test • Power control test

The power control options for the VMware ESX server are used to avoid an unplanned take over by an ESX server physical network problem. The NSSVA Power control utility does the following:

• The NSSVA uses the cross-mirror (via iSCSI connection) so that it does not use the same storage.

• Sets the connection to the primary ESX server that can send the power off command from the secondary NSSVA to the primary ESX server if

necessary. For example, you would use this if the primary NSSVA hangs and cannot answer any failover commands. If the secondary NSSVA cannot send the power off command to the primary ESX server, it will not take over in a default configuration setting.

• Sets the IP address of the secondary ESX server so that it can ping the IP addresses from the primary NSSVAs to check the network connection. • If the force take over option is enabled, the primary NSSVA checks the

network connection periodically. Once the network disconnects and a force take over is enabled, it shuts down the primary NSSVA after 30 seconds. The Takeover option is disabled by default. You will need to enable this option using the NSSVA power control (vapwc-config) utility to force the secondary NSSVA to take over. Enable this option if you want the

secondary NSSVA to always take over when there is no communication with the primary ESX server.

FalconStor Network Storage Server Virtual Appliance (NSSVA) User Guide

FalconStor

Network Storage Server

Virtual Appliance (NSSVA)

User Guide

Contents

Introduction

Install NSS Virtual Appliance

Configuration and Management

High Availability

Replication

Troubleshooting

Appendix A - Checklist

Index

Introduction

Components

Benefits

High Availability

MicroScan

Replication

VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) support

Cross-Mirror failover

Microsoft VSS compliant

Three Versions

Hardware/software requirements

NSSVA Specification and requirement summary

Virtual machine configuration:

Supported Disk Configuration

NSSVA Configuration

ESX server deployment planning

About this document

Knowledge requirements

Install NSS Virtual Appliance

Installation for VMware virtual infrastructure

Installing NSSVA via the installation script

Installing NSSVA via Virtual Appliance Import from a downloaded zip file

Installing the Snapshot Director on the ESX console server

Installing SAN client software on virtual host machines

Installing Snapshot Agents on virtual host machines

NSS Virtual Appliance configuration

Basic system environment configuration

Configuration and Management

Installing and using the FalconStor Management console

Account Management

Connect to the virtual appliance

Add License Keycode

Register keycodes

Add virtual disks for data storage

Add the new virtual disk

Add the new device to the storage pool

Create a SAN Client for VMware ESX server

Assign the SAN resource to VMware ESX server

Assign the same SAN resource to two VMware ESX server

Enable VMDirectPath I/O in vSphere v4

Enable the VMDirectPath Option

Configure a virtual machine to use a passthrough VMDirectPath PCI device/port

Modify a FalconStor Virtual Appliance (for ESX 3.5) to load VMware Drivers

Modify a FalconStor Virtual Appliance (for ESX 3.5) to load the NIC/HBA driver

High Availability

FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance High Availability (HA) solution

Configuring the NSS Virtual Appliance Cross-Mirror

failover

Power Control for VMware ESX server