infortrend vmware solutions

Copyright © 2016 Infortrend Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.

14

Version: 1.3

Revision date: June 2019

Abstract:

This document describes the best practices of using Infortrend storage in

VMware environment. Infortrend storage provides a high degree of compatibility

and entire end-to-end virtual desk solution with VMware. It does not only

centralize the manageability but increase the efficiency and reliability.

Infortrend VMware Solutions

Best Practice

Infortrend VMware Solution – Best Practice

Copyright © 2016 Infortrend Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. / 112

Table of Contents

Infortrend Storage Systems in VMware Virtualized Environments ........................................ 5

Overview ............................................................................................................................... 5

General Topology: VMWare ....................................................................................................... 6

EonStor DS/GS Configuration Guideline for VMware ............................................................. 7

Storage Partition Configuration ............................................................................................. 7

RAID structure Introduction ....................................................................................................... 8

Creating a partition .................................................................................................................... 9

Channel/Host interface configuration .................................................................................. 13

Setting up a host interface....................................................................................................... 13

Setting up Trunking ................................................................................................................. 14

LUN mapping ...................................................................................................................... 16

Automatic LUN Mapping ......................................................................................................... 16

Extended LUN Mapping .......................................................................................................... 18

Adding an ESXi Server ....................................................................................................... 21

Enabling the iSCSI adapter ................................................................................................. 23

Configuration in VMware vCenter .......................................................................................... 24

vSphere Datastore concept/setting ..................................................................................... 24

Configuration consideration ..................................................................................................... 24

vSphere Datastore (VMFS) configuration guide ...................................................................... 25

vSphere Datastore (VM & RDM) configuration guide .............................................................. 27

vSphere Network concept ....................................................................................................... 31

vSphere Standard Swtiches (VSS) ..................................................................................... 31

vSphere Distributed Switches (VDS) ....................................................................................... 33

Configuring VMware Native Multi-pathing ........................................................................... 34

Hardware Acceleration - VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) ................... 38

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 38

VAAI Primitives and Benefits .............................................................................................. 38

How to check if VAAI is supported from storage system? ........................................................ 38

Full Copy ................................................................................................................................. 39

Block zeroing .......................................................................................................................... 40

Hardware-Assisted Locking ..................................................................................................... 42

VSphere APIs for Storage Awareness 3.0 (VASA) with Virtual Volume (VVol) .................... 43

VASA Introduction ............................................................................................................... 43

Virtual Volume (VVol) Overview .......................................................................................... 43

VVol Benefits ...................................................................................................................... 44

Infortrend VASA 3.0 Requirements ..................................................................................... 44

Configuration guide ............................................................................................................. 45

Installing VASA Provider.......................................................................................................... 46

Configuring VASA Provider ..................................................................................................... 47

Registering Infortrend VASA Provider with EonOne ................................................................ 49

Checking Protocol Endpoint (PE) ............................................................................................ 51



Creating Capability profile ....................................................................................................... 52

Creating a storage container ................................................................................................... 53

Creating VVol .......................................................................................................................... 54

Creating a storage policy ........................................................................................................ 55

Creating a VM (with VVol) ....................................................................................................... 59

Vcenter Plug-in ......................................................................................................................... 60

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 60

System Topology ................................................................................................................. 61

Infortrend vCenter Plug-in functions.................................................................................... 61

Installing Infortrend vCenter Plug-in .................................................................................... 62

Requirements.......................................................................................................................... 62

Installing vCenter plug-in ......................................................................................................... 63

vSphere Client Plugin Deployment Server .............................................................................. 65

Registering Service Server...................................................................................................... 66

Navigating the user interface .............................................................................................. 68

Overview ................................................................................................................................. 68

Storage system ....................................................................................................................... 69

Managing the Datastore .......................................................................................................... 71

Registering service server ....................................................................................................... 77

Backup and Restore with vCenter Site Recovery Manager .................................................. 78

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 78

Why you need DS/GS Remote Replication in SRM ............................................................ 79

Without SRM ........................................................................................................................... 79

With SRM and DS/GS Remote Replication ............................................................................. 80

Integration of VMware SRM with EonStor DS/GS Remote Replication .............................. 82

Best practice, recommendations, and limitation on SRM .................................................... 82

Configuring Remote replication with Infortrend storage ...................................................... 83

Downloading and installing SRM and (SRA) ....................................................................... 84

Installing VMware Tools ...................................................................................................... 86

Configuring Site recovery manager (SRM) ......................................................................... 87

Connect protected and recovery site ....................................................................................... 87

Inventory mapping .................................................................................................................. 91

Reverse mapping .................................................................................................................... 93

Configuring placeholder datastore ........................................................................................... 95

Adding array manager and enabling array pair........................................................................ 97

Setting up array manager and array pair ............................................................................... 100

Creating a recovery plan ....................................................................................................... 103

Test and Run Recovery plan ............................................................................................. 105

Testing Recovery plan ........................................................................................................... 105

Running Recovery plan ......................................................................................................... 108

Performing Reprotection ....................................................................................................... 110

Performing Forced Recovery ................................................................................................ 112



Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 112



Infortrend Storage Systems in VMware Virtualized

Environments

Overview

The increasing popularity of virtualization affects businesses of all sizes and generates new storage needs. Supporting large

numbers of virtual machines and their valuable datasets in VMware’s virtual infrastructure requires a fully-integrated SAN and

unified storage that delivers high performance, availability, and agility. Infortrend EonStor DS/GS series integrates with key

VMware vSphere features and APIs, allowing users to enjoy optimal resource efficiency, application productivity, operational

resilience, and management simplicity.

To ensure seamless integration of Infortrend storages into VMware-virtualized environments, Infortrend has performed

comprehensive testing to verify compatibility with VMware products. For details about compatibility, you can refer to

VMWare Compatibility Guide or Infortrend’s EonStor DS and GS Compatibility Matrix.

Effective software suites optimize and manage IT environments through virtualization. They greatly reduce operating costs

and increase IT service availability, security, and scalability while providing the flexibility to choose any OS, application, and

hardware. VMware vSphere delivers many enhanced features in terms of management, application services, infrastructure

services, compatibility, and third party extensibility. For more details about VMware products, visit www.vmware.com.

http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?rct=j&q=vmware%20compatibility&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCkQFjAA&url=http://www.vmware.com/go/hcl&ei=66MLT6vvBMKHmQWP88j8BQ&usg=AFQjCNEXuH3H1BNILfm7AMoBNO0jQXhT-g

http://www.vmware.com/



General Topology: VMWare

VMware General Topology with SAN includes 4 configurations:

1. vCenter Server

vCenter server manages all vSphere ESXi servers by adding the Ethernet IP address of the management port of each

ESXi server. You can setup and operate all VMWare-related settings in this such as creating a virtual machine, assign

a partition from Infortrend storage to any ESXi server you want, include native multipath and operating other

features like VAAI, VASA, etc.

Also, you can configure your system's storage setting such as transmission interface, logical volume, partition setting,

and advanced VMware-integrated setting in the centralized management systems like EonStor DS's SANWatch or

EonStor GS's EonOne.

2. vSphere ESXi Server

After installing the vSphere ESXi software on this server, the server is ready to virtualize itself into numerous virtual

machines. Each screen of the ESXi server shows the Ethernet management IP address, allowing the vCenter Server

to add the ESXi to operate the virtualization setting for the ESXi server.

3. Infortrend storage: EonStor DS/GS

Infortrend virtualization storage solution: A SAN storage with EonStor DS and a unified storage with EonStor GS

provide a large capacity for a virtual machine with high performance that supports high speed block level protocols

such as 10 Gb/s, 40 Gb/s iSCSI, 8 Gb/s, 16 Gb/s FC in a high availability solution with dual controller design. It also

supports VMware vStorage APIs for Array integration (VAAI), Site Recovery Manager (SRM), and vStorage API for

Storage Awareness (VASA) solution, in which their features, how they work, and their importance will be introduced

in the later part.

4. Vsphere client

Aside from vCenter Server, vSphere client also manages the ESXi Server. You can key in the management IP address

of each ESXi server in the web browser and configure the settings of the ESXi Server.



EonStor DS/GS Configuration Guideline for

VMware Before creating a virtual machine on the ESXi server, you must create the useable capacity, which is the partition for all the

virtual machines from these Infortrend storages, EonStor DS or EonStor GS, in the following parts:

Storage partition configuration

RAID structure Introduction

This section introduces the storage basic concept, including Logical Volume and Logical Drive and partition.

Creating a partition

This section details the creation of a partition using EonStor DS with management software, SANWatch.

Channel/Host interface configuration

Setting up a host interface

Setting up Trunking

This section details the configuration of the hoist Interface I/O type and IP and trunking setting with SANWatch

management software.

LUN mapping

Automated LUN mapping

Extended LUN mapping

This section details the configuration of the I/O path for the partition that you want to access a certain ESXi

server.

After completing the three major steps mentioned above, you would see the new storage device, which is the new partition

that you can access and use for ESXi’s server.

Storage Partition Configuration

In this part, we use EonStor DS as a sample machine to show the configuration process. For EonStor GS and its management

software, click the link below and follow the steps indicated in the screenshot to download its manual.

https://www.infortrend.com/global/download/download




RAID structure Introduction

This section explains the concept of RAID in EonStor DS and how it provides a usable capacity for ESXi server ’s VM that you

can use.

RAID configuration for ESXi server’s VM includes the following:

Multiple Disk (SSD/HDD) in EonStor DS

You need to install multiple disks (SSD or HDD) into the EonStor DS storage disk slots for further RAID configuration.

Logical Drive

Combine multiple disks that you installed in EonStor DS to create multiple Logical Drives with different RAID modes (0, 1,

3, 5, and 6). Each RAID mode has different purposes and useable capacity. The following are general guidelines to

configure RAID levels for data volumes in a VMware virtualized environment:

1. Virtual machine boot volumes are generally subject to low I/O rates. You can configure these with

RAID 6 protection.

2. Large file servers with the vast majority of the storage consumed by static files can be provided with RAID

6-protected volumes since I/O rates are expected to be low.

3. Infrastructure servers, such as Domain Name System (DNS), perform most activities that utilize CPU

and RAM, and therefore are often subject to low I/O rates. If users use virtual machines as

infrastructure servers, it is proper to provide RAID 6-protected volumes as storage space.

4. For most applications, RAID 5 is a proper level to protect virtual disks. However, if the application

involves extensive logins such as financial applications, RAID 10 may be a better option which works

best for heavy transactional workloads with high random writes.

5. Log devices for databases should be RAID 10-protected volumes. If databases or application logs are

mirrored, the source and the target must be located on separate sets of disks (in VMFS format, if

applicable).

6. Virtual machines that generate high workloads of small-block random read I/O, such as Microsoft

Exchange, must be allocated RAID 10-protected volumes for better performance.



Logical Volume

You can combine multiple logical drives into one logical volume to increase the capacity and performance. We strongly

recommend you to follow this important note when creating a logical drive:

Each logical drives must have the same member disk quantity, disk type, and disk capacity. If you combine

multiple logical drives of different configuration or type, it might affect the logical drive's performance

severely.

Partition

After creating the logical volume, you can create multiple partitions from this logical volume, and each partition is

accessible by different ESXi servers’ VM. The total capacity for all created partition cannot succeed the logical volume’s

capacity.

Creating a partition

SANWatch is the management software bundled with storage systems at no additional cost. It is a browser-based and

cross-platform software management suite that provides support for many mainstream operating systems. It features SSL

(Secure Socket Layer) link protection and role-based access levels for management carried out on different installation sites

and for different purposes.

To download SANWatch:

1. Open a web browser and click this below:


2. Select the system from Families, Series, and Models dropdown lists, select Software in Files dropdown list, then click

Global in row SANWatch.

Note: We use DS 4024B as an example.




3. Launch SANWatch on any server, which was configured on the same network subnet as the targeted storage, to start

the partition creation for VMware datastore.

4. Select EonStor DS and check its status. In this step, we use DS 4024EUB as an example.

5. In Device panel, click Logical Volumes > Create Logical Volumes.



6. Create a name in Logical Volume Name field, assign it to a controller (Slot A or B), then select the target drive as one of

the member drives using RAID protection (RAID 1, 5, 6, etc.). Click Next.

7. In Device panel, click Logical Volume, select a logical volume number, click Partitions, then click Create Partition.

8. Assign a partition name and size based on the requirement you need, then click Next.

Notes:

A size of 200 GB partition is required to create a full provision for this sample step.

There are two types of partition that you can create in EonStor DS:

Full provision: This provision takes all configured pool size from the available capacity.

Thin provision: This provision allows allocation of a large amount of virtual capacity for a pool regardless of

the available physical capacity. The actual space is used only when data writing occurs. Dynamic allocation

of capacity affects the overall performance. If the performance is a top priority, we recommend you to

disable thin provisioning (which means use the full provisioning).



9. Click Host LUN Mapping to map the partition as the targeted partition to the ESXi server.

10. In Host LUN Mapping screen, click Create to start with the LUN mapping.

Note: The LUN mapping concept is explained in section LUN mapping.



Channel/Host interface configuration

This section provides information on how to check and set the host interfaces and trunking setting.

Setting up a host interface

To set up a host interface, launch SANWatch, then click Channels > Host Channel Settings.

In Host Channel Settings screen, you can see the different settings of the installed host boards in your system (DS 4000 is used

as an example in this section.

a. Channel number: The maximum range of the channel number per storage controller is 0 – 11 (see above image marked 1).

Each controller has four 1 Gb/s iSCSI onboard ports (Channel 0-3) and two host board slots, with a maximum of four ports

each host board, to expand the host interface (Channel 4-7 and 8-11) (see image below).



b. Channel Information: In Host Channel Settings screen, you can see the basic information for the I/O you

selected. Take iSCSI port for instance, the screen shows both controllers’ channel port information such as

IP type, IP address, and other settings.

Note: There are different types of supported host boards for EonStor DS. For dual controller models, the host

boards installed in each controller must be identical.

c. Channel configuration: This allows you to configure the channels such as assigning the IP address and IP type.

Setting up Trunking

Trunking (also known as combining) multiple iSCSI interfaces into one increases the network bandwidth and creates a link

aggregation configuration. With trunking, you can:

Increase bandwidth

Additional bandwidth is added resulted to the combined interfaces.

Improve security

If one iSCSI interface fails, the other interface keeps the network connection in place.

Notes:

Trunking only combines the same type of iSCSI interface in the same controller. Combining multiple iSCSI ports

across the controllers is not supported.

You can also configure VMware Native Multipathing in Vcenter server. However, we suggest you to configure only

one multipathing setting: trunking in SANWatch or VMware Native Multipathing.

2 x 10Gb/s (iSCSI) host board 4 x 16Gb/s (FC) host board 2 x 12Gb/s (SAS) host board



To set up Trunking:

1. Launch SANWatch and log in to your account.

2. From SANWatch home screen, select the device in Device List panel, then click System settings.

3. Click Communications tab > Trunk Group > Create.

4. In Create Trunk Group pop-up screen, tick the iSCSI interface that you want to combine (trunk), then click OK.

5. Go back to channel setting after the Trunking configuration to verify the successful combination of the IP addresses in

all “trunked” channels. You can only see 1 IP address in the screen.



LUN mapping

After creating the partition, you have to set up the LUN mapping. There are two LUN mapping scenarios:

Automatic LUN mapping

Extended LUN mapping

Automatic LUN Mapping

This scenario presents the partition to all host links, if the host links are made via an FC/iSCSI switch and the servers are

attached to the switch that oversees the volume.

To set up automatic LUN Mapping:

1. From SANWatch home screen, click Host LUN Mapping, then click Create.

2. Tick Create a host LUN mapping set automatically. If the host interface you use is FC or SAS, skip this step and go to

step 3.



3. Go to VMware vSphere screen, click the ESXi server in Navigator pane (1), click Configure tab (2), select Storage

Adapters in Storage panel (3), then click the adapter type (4).

4. Click Targets tab (see image above marked in 5) and see the details in Dynamic Discovery or Static Discovery panels

(see image above marked in 6).

5. Click Add (see image in step 3, marked in 7), key in the IP address of all I/O ports’ IP addresses of EonStor DS that you

mapped before, then click OK (see image below).

6. Go to Storage ESXi Server, click Configure tab > Storage Devices pane. Click to refresh the page. This displays the

new devices that you mapped in the ESXi server.



Extended LUN Mapping

This scenario binds a partition with a specific I/O port(s) on EonStor DS rather than through every available I/O ports.

To set up extended LUN Mapping:

1. From Create Host LUN Mapping screen, tick Customize the host LUN mapping configurations.

In this example, you can only access the partition and be seen by the channel that you currently used to access. In this

step, we ticked channels 0 and 1 on Slot A option, which means this partition is only accessible by two 1 Gb/s onboard

iSCSI ports. See the ports of DS 4024 RUB’s rear view image marked in red.

2. Tick Use Extended Host LUN Functionality, then click Configure iSCSI Initiator Alias.



3. From iSCSI Initiator screen, click Add to configure the iSCSI Initiator Alias name. If you have not created the ISCSI’s IQN

of the ESXi Server, follow the steps in sections Adding an ESXi Server and Enabling the iSCSI adapter, resume to this

step, input all settings, then click OK.

4. After the Extended LUN mapping is finished, check whether the mapping information of the Host ID’s IQN is correct or

not.



5. Go back to vSphere home screen, click the ESXi server in Navigator pane (1), click Configure tab (2), select Storage

Adapters in Storage panel (3), then click the adapter type (4).

6. Click Targets tab (see image above marked in 5) and see the details in Dynamic Discovery or Static Discovery panels

(see image above marked in 6).

7. Click Add (see image in step 5, marked in 7), key in the IP address of all I/O ports’ IP addresses of EonStor DS that you

mapped before, then click OK (see image below).

8. Go to Storage ESXi Server, click Configure tab > Storage Devices pane. Click to refresh the page. This displays the

new devices that you mapped in the ESXi server.

Copyright © 2016 Infortrend Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.

14

Adding an ESXi Server

When you add an ESXi server into the vCenter, you must check the IP address of the ESXi server on its screen, then log into

the vCenter server’s account.

To add an ESXi server:

1. After getting the ESXi server’s IP address, log your account in vCenter Server, click VMwareDemoCenter > Getting

Started tab> Add a host.



2. Key in the IP address of the ESXi server you want to add. We use 172.24.110.132 as the sample IP address, as shown in

the screenshot in the introduction.

3. Key in root in User name field and the password that you set during the ESXi installation process.

4. Click Lockdown mode. If you allow remote client, log in to the ESXi server, then tick Disabled to disable Lockdown mode.

To set the created VM center as the VM location, click Next to complete the addition of ESXi.

Note: This step skips Host summary and Assign license configuration.



Enabling the iSCSI adapter

You must enable the iSCSI adapter after you added the ESXi server.

To enable the iSCSI adapter:

1. From VMware vSphere screen, click the ESXi server > Configure tab > Storage > Storage Adapters, then click >

Software iSCSI adapter.

2. When the Software iSCSI adapter is added, check if the iSCSI adapter is now on screen. You can see the detailed

information of the added iSCSI adapter such as ISCSI name (IQN), which you can use for Extended LUN mapping in

SANWatch.



Configuration in VMware vCenter

After configuring SANWatch, learn the concepts and configuration of VMware vCenter, in these parts:

vSphere Datastore concept/setting

Configuration consideration

This section introduces the datastore types VMFS and RDM in VMware, and your guidelines to configure the

datastore type depending on different applications.

vSphere Datastore (VMFS) configuration guide

This section details the step-by-step configuration of VMFS in vSphere Datastore.

vSphere Datastore (VM & RDM) configuration guide

This section details the step-by-step configuration of VM and RDM in vSphere Datastore.

vSphere Networking concept/setting

Networking concept

This section introduces the topology/structure of VMware’s networking, including vmnic, vSwitch, etc

VMWare Native Multi-pathing introduction & configuration guide

This section details the step-by-step creation of a partition from EonStor DS with management software,

SANWatch.

vSphere Datastore concept/setting

Configuration consideration

Data volumes on EonStor DS Series arrays must be configured as either a VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) volume or an

RDM (Raw Device Mapping) volume1 to make them accessible to ESXi Server.

VMFS is a VMware proprietary clustered file system and the most common access method. If users want to allow multiple

virtual machines and multiple physical servers to access a single volume, they must configure using the VMFS format.

Another way to allow virtual machines to access data volumes on storage is RDM. Virtual machines access VMFS volumes

and RDM volumes in different ways. These virtual machines can access a virtual disk directly in VMFS format, but their

access to the RDM volume is enabled via a mapping file in the VMFS volume. This mapping file contains a metadata that

redirects disk access to physical devices. See the image below for the concept of how virtualization works in datastore.

1 Maximum size of an RDM volume out of 2 TB



When the RDM volume behaves as a local disk, virtual machines can properly format the volume. RDM is useful

especially using the following applications:

1. SAN-based snapshot/volume copy or other layered applications on virtual machines.

2. Leveraging Microsoft Clustering Services (MSCS) to implement virtual-to-virtual clusters or

physical-to-virtual clusters. Clustered data and quorum disks must be configured as RDM volumes.

These guidelines can help you to properly deploy VMFS volumes:

1. Virtual machine boot disks and application data must be stored in separate VMFS volumes. Most I/O issued

to boot disks involves paging activities and is sensitive to response time. By separating boot disks from

application data, the risk of prolonged response time due to application related I/O can be mitigated.

2. Database platforms for enterprise data management, such as Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle, often use

active logs and/or recovery data structures to track data changes. In case of unplanned application or

operating system disruptions, these active logs or recovery data structures ensure system recovery and data

consistency. Therefore, all virtual machines supporting such database platforms should be provided with an

independent VMFS volume to store active log files and recovery data structures. If the files or structures are

mirrored, the source and the target must be stored in separate VMFS volumes.

3. Application data, including database files, must be stored in a separate VMware file system. This file system

must not contain any structures that are critical for application and/or database recovery.

4. It is recommended that VMFS volumes are no more than about 80% full. This ensures that administrators

have more space to accommodate user data and VMware snapshots for virtual machines.

vSphere Datastore (VMFS) configuration guide

After checking the Partition map from Infortrend storage, which you can look at the storage device list, you can now configure

the storage device into Datastores for Virtual machine to access.

To configure VMFS in vSphere Datastore:

1. Log in to vCenter, click the Targeted ESXi host > Datastores, then click .



2. Tick the type of datastore in this step. Since EonStor does not currently support VVoI and NFs is for NAS/Ethernet

protocol, we select VMFS.

3. On this screen, select the store device from the table, and enter a datastore name.

4. Tick the VMFS version you want.

Refer to this link for detailed information of the VMFS version.

5. Specify the datastore size that you want to be created from the storage device, set the Space Reclamation Priority (Low

or None) if the created partition is thin provisioning type.

Note: Refer to this link for further information regarding Space Reclamation.

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.storage.doc/GUID-7552DAD4-1809-4687-B46E-ED9BB42CE277.html

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/com.vmware.vsphere.storage.doc/GUID-BC1A172C-E649-4812-B8B2-A9E45AC97051.html



vSphere Datastore (VM & RDM) configuration guide

After creating the VMFS datastores, we can configure the VM and storage related setting.

To configure VM and RDM in vSphere Datastore:

1. Log in to vCenter, click the Targeted ESXi host > Getting Started tab, then click Create a new virtual machine..

2. Click Create a new virtual machine, then click Next.



3. Enter a name for your virtual machine, select the datacenter that you want the VM to be in place, then click Next.

4. Select the ESXi server for your VM, then click Next.

Note: If the EXSi server has compatibility issue, contact VMware.

5. Click the datastore that you created before this VM, then click Next.

Notes:

In this step, we used the datastore default for the VM storage policy.

If you want to create a VM using VVoI, skip this step and refer to section Creating a VM (with VVol).



6. If you want to create multiple VMs with different ESXi version, click Compatible with dropdown list, select the ESXi

version compatibility, then click Next.

Note: We recommend using the same and latest version of ESXi to all VMs for a seamless experience.

7. Select the OS and version that you want to install in this VM, then click Next.

8. Specify the computing and storage resource you want to assign for this VM such as virtual CPU, memory, storage

capacity, and other resources.



9. If you want to assign an additional RDM to this VM, click New Device > RDM Disk, then click Add. Map a new storage

device into the ESXi to add a new RDM, then click OK.

Note: Once you are done, you can now go back to SANWatch to create a 100 GB partition and map the ESXi server to

see the newly-assigned RDM.

10. Click Next to finish the setting.



vSphere Network concept

This section introduces the structure of vSphere network, the characters of the topology and what they stand for, and a

general guide to configure the network. Generally, the structure is classified into two:

1. vSphere Standard Switches (VSS)

2. vSphere Distributed Switches (VDS)

vSphere Standard Switches (VSS)

The image above explains the vSphere Standard Switch topology, from the bottom to above. The network structure starts

from the physical switch to ESXi server, then to each VM (standard port group) or other tasks that need network bandwidth

such as vMotion, ESXi management, vSphere Replication, vSAN, and other features (VMKernel Adapters).

For this part, each component of this topology includes:

Physical Switch

In general virtualization environment, this contains a vSphere server, ESXi server, physical switch, and storage. The

physical switch connects the servers and storages together to provide network links between devices.

Physical adapters (vmnic)

Usually, each ESXi server has an onboard 1 Gb/s or 10 Gb/s RJ-45 interface data ports, and are configurable as Ethernet

or iSCSI protocol for each data port. Also, you can install an HBA to expand the quantity and type of data port on each

ESXi server. We call these ports as physical adapters (vmnic).

Uplink Port & Uplink Port group

You can add one or more physical adapters (vmnic) to the vSwitch to provide a network connection for VM or other

tasks that need the network bandwidth. In the above image, we have 2 vmnics or ESXi servers, and one vmnic is

assigned to one vSwitch. The other vmnic is assigned to the other vSwitch. You can also assign 2 vmnics into one

vSwitch to create an uplink port group and configure the loading balancing and failover.



Virtual Switch (vSwitch)

vSwitch is the network bridge between VM and other task that need the network bandwidth to the uplink ports or

uplink Port group. In the image below, this configuration example shows that one vSwitch connects two vmnic and

three VMKernel adapters together. The gray part in the middle is the vSwitch.

VMKernel Adapters (vmk) & VM Port Groups

VMKernel Adapters (vmk)

Create many VMKernel adapters (vmk) and add into vSwitch. The vmk provides connectivity to the ESXi host that

needs the network bandwidth to operate the features such as vMotion, ESXi management, vSphere Replication or

vSAN, and other tasks. As an example in the image above, vmk0 is under the network area labeled Management

Network and is in charge for the ESXi management network traffic. The IP address 172.24.110.132 is ESXi's

management port IP for vSphere server that you can add and manage.

VM Port Groups

Usually, there are several virtual machines that exist in one EXSi server, and the VM port group provides the

network connectivity to each VM and vSwitch. For example in the above image, the VM network is a VM port

group for the ESXi server and the network traffic of a VM named New Virtual Machine is accessed via this VM

port group. You can create one or more VM port groups and assign a bandwidth to the vmnic being accessed by

the VM port group that manages the bandwidth usage, failover, and load balancing.



vSphere Distributed Switches (VDS)

The VSS (vSphere Standard Switch) can only manage one ESXi server. Ehen the VMware environment has several ESXi servers,

the VDS (vSphere Distributed Switch) might be a necessity because this provides a centralized management solution with all

the network resources that ESXi server has, including vmnic, uplink port, VM network, and VMkernel.

The network switch is comprised of two parts: Management plane and Data plane.

Management plane is a control structure that controls the data plane's behaviors which comprise of packet switching, tagging,

and transferring. In VSS (vSphere Standard Switch) structure, both planes are included in one ESXi server, which means you

can configure/manage the ESXi and the related setting of the data plane's behavior is in the same ESXi server. In VDS (vSphere

Distributed Switch), the management plane and data plane are separated. As an example in the above image, the

administrator controls the VDS at vCenter server, where the management plane is located. All network resources are

managed centrally from two ESXi servers including all uplink port groups, VM network, and VMkernel network after the

configuration is completed in the management plane. All configured settings are then assigned to each ESXi's switch and the

host proxy switch. The data plane resides in each proxy switch per ESXi server to handle package switching, tagging, and

transferring.

You must select the network architecture that you want to use for a different topology. The table below serves as your

guideline of the switches that suits your networking needs:

vSphere Standard Switch (VSS) vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS)

Network Manageability Single ESXi server only

Easy configuration

All the ESXi servers

Complex configuration

More features supported

Availability Limited Yes, with vMotion setting

License No requirement Enterprise plus



For detailed information on VMware network configuration and the difference between VSS and VDS, refer to this VMWare

Network Concept/Guide.

Configuring VMware Native Multi-pathing

Multi-pathing is a fault tolerant technique where there is more than one physical path between the CPU and its mass storage

devices. Redundant physical path components include controllers, switches, and the bridge devices connecting them. In

addition to fault tolerance, a multi-pathing solution redistributes the I/O request load among the multiple paths between the

host and the storage devices. This helps remove bottlenecks and balances workloads.

By default, ESXi provides an extensible multi-pathing module called the Native Multi-pathing Plug-In, or NMP, which supports

three types of Multi-path I/O: Most Recently Used (MRU), Fixed, and Round Robin.

Most Recently Used (MRU): Selects the first working path discovered upon the boot of ESXi. If this active path becomes

unavailable, the ESXi host switches to another alternate path and does not return to previous path even if it is fixed.

Fixed: Sets a dedicated path to transfer I/O or NMP that selects the first working path discovered upon the boot of ESXi.

If this active path becomes unavailable, the ESXi host switches to another available path and return previous path when

it is recovered.

Round Robin (RR): Automatically selects all available paths (by controller) and sends the I/O to each in a circular fashion,

which allows load balancing. All available paths are Active (I/O) and used to transfer data on the primary controller of

this partition (storage device). When all the I/O ports on primary controller failed, all the I/O ports on secondary

controller will take over and configured as RR policy as well.

In this sample step guide, we describe the VMware Native Multi-pathing configuration to help you understand its concept and

how it works.

In the image above, we have DS 4024RUB model as our sample device with one 1 Gb/s iSCSI I/O port on controller A

connected to a switch and two 1 Gb/s iSCSI I/O port on controller B.

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-networking-guide.pdf

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-networking-guide.pdf



To configure VMware Native Multipath:

1. From VMware vSphere Web Client, go to the target ESXi host, click Configure tab > Storage Adapters, select the iSCSI

adapter that you want to configure the native multipath, then click Targets tab and check if the iSCSI channels that you

want to configure are added.

2. Once the targeted iSCSI channels are already added, select the targeted ESXi host in the Navigator panel, click

Configure tab > Storage > Storage Devices, click the storage device > Properties tab, then click Edit Multipathing.



3. Click Path selection policy dropdown list to see the list of policies including Fixed, Round Robin (VMware), and Most

Recenty Used (VMware). Once one is selected, the table shows all available channels that you set during LUN mapping

in SANWatch and the target device added from vCenter server.

Note: Round Robin is highly recommended because all available paths can be used for transferring data with load

balancing. The follow part introduces how Round Robin works with Infortrend Storage.

4. After setting the Round Robin policy for this storage device, go back the storage device’s page, then click Paths tab to

see all available ports in controllers. In this sample step, the only port in controller A that is displayed in the table is 1

GB/s iSCSI port.

Note: If you disable the controller A’s I/O port, the table only displays I/O port failover of two 1 Gb/s iSCSI I/O ports on

controller B.



Hardware Acceleration - VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI)

Introduction

VAAI is a set of APIs (application programming interface) that allows the virtualization hypervisor to offload I/O processing for

certain data-related services to VAAI-supported storage systems, such as the Infortrend EonStor DS family storage systems. It

enables VMware ESX hosts to convey virtual machine operations to storage hardware at a meta-level instead the traditional

data level reducing operational latency and traffic on a Fibre Channel or iSCSI storage network.

VAAI Primitives and Benefits

Full copy: Speeds up the virtual machine clone and migration tasks.

Block Zeroing: Reduces the host overhead associated with initialization job result from space allocation in virtual

machine creation.

Hardware Assisted Locking: Solves the virtual machine locking issue by competing for the same storage resources.

Infortrend storage system works seamlessly with VMware’s ESX/ESXi virtualization hypervisor to improve the efficiency of

tasks such as Storage vMotion, cloning, and provisioning new virtual machines while reducing SCSI reservation locks and

increasing the storage scalability via addition of new related SCSI commands to the standard SCSI command set. All

enhancements mentioned above have related primitives and SCSI commands for storage system integration.

How to check if VAAI is supported from storage system?

To check if VAII is supported from a storage system:

1. From VMware vSphere GUI, select the targeted ESXi host, click Configure tab > Storage > Datastores, then click the

datastore that is mapped from storage.



2. Inside the selected Datastore, click Configure tab > General, then check the row Hardware Acceleration if it displays

Supported on all hosts. This means the storage system supports VAAI.

Full Copy

The primitive is also called hardware-accelerated copy, or copy offload, and it leverages the standard SCSI XCOPY command.

In real case, it always takes a lot of time when the user deploys, clones, or migrating an existing virtual machine with

application data. The primitive lets those processes be entirely executed on storage array, offloading the hypervisor server,

resolving the host overhead associated with VMware initiating, and managing cloning or migrating operations. It can

significantly reduce overall traffic on host and network.

The full copy primitive is helpful for tasks such as virtual machine data cloning, or VMDK file migrating among datastores

within a storage system using VMware Storage vMotion function. The storage system helps reduce the number of disk I/O

requests from host - lowering the host-side I/O bandwidth use while doing copy related operations.



In our Full copy test with EonStor DS 3000T, we cloned 4 virtual machines and 10 virtual machines from one datastore to

another one. As more virtual machines cloned, more significant time is saved from 22% to 40.24%.

4 virtual machines cloned 10 virtual machines cloned

The graph above displays the difference of data copying or migration with or without VAAI support. It can significantly reduce

the I/O requests from host to storage array

Block zeroing

The primitive is also called hardware-accelerated zero, or zero offload, and it leverages the standard SCSI WRITE-SAME

command. When user tries to create a new virtual machine or new virtual disks, a format called eager zeroed thick could be

used for a pre-allocated and pre-zeroed space. The zeroed task is to write data with zero to clean and initialize space for a

new space allocation. This takes much longer time to provision such as virtual disks because it’s a slow and inefficient process

to zero out each disk space. The virtualization server must complete all the zero writes of the entire virtual disk before it

reports back that the disk zeroing is complete, and it’s especially time-consuming for large disks. With the block zeroing

primitive, these zeroing operations could be offloaded to the storage system without issuing multiple zero writing commands.



We tested Block zeroing by creating 100 GB virtual machines in “eager zeroed thick” virtual disk format. With VAAI Block

Zeroing primitive support, the virtual machine creation time is reduced with over 20%.

The difference of block zeroing between without or with VAAI support VAAI helps reduce lots of zeroing write commands

issued by the server.



Hardware-Assisted Locking

If the storage system was used for sharing to multiple virtualization servers, VMware’s file system needs to coordinate all

accesses from multiple servers. It allocates a part of the storage available to it for data describing virtual machines and their

configurations, as well as the virtual disks that they try to access. The implemented locking mechanism within the datastores

that are used to prevent any virtual machine from being run on, or modified by, more than one host at a time. Rather than

locking the entire LUN, Hardware-Assisted Locking (ATS) provides a granular LUN locking method and only locks the blocks on

the LUN that are allocated to specific VMDK used by a specific virtual machine. The initial implementation of mutual exclusion

for updates to these locking structures was built using SCSI RESERVE and RELEASE commands. Under the protection of those

locking methods, one host can update its data records on the device without the risk of interference from other hosts

attempting to update the same records. Multiple hosts can still access its LUNs simultaneously and also reduces the number

of commands required to successfully acquire on-disk locks.

In this test case, we deployed 100 virtual machines from 4 ESXi servers. All servers share the resource from one Infortrend

storage system. We powered on all of the virtual machines with a single shared datastore. Now we see how it helps to reduce

the bottleneck caused by LUN locking.



VSphere APIs for Storage Awareness 3.0 (VASA) with Virtual

Volume (VVol)

VASA Introduction

One of the challenges facing VMware administrators is the time consumed in recognizing the capabilities and configurations

of storage arrays. Infortrend VASA Provider is implemented to allow VMware administrators to gain insight into the EonStor

GS families directly from vCenter, and assist them to efficiently manage storage resource.

This API provides a way of delivering storage arrays information to VMware vCenter, including these main features:

Virtual Volume (VVol) Overview

Infortrend EonStor GS supports VVol feature in VASA 3.0. In the previous part without VVol, administrator has to create LUN

and map to the ESXi server, while ESXi has to turn these LUNs into Datastore and will be finally provided for VM use. Thanks

to VVol, storage administrator can create the “capacity” for VM to use. The image above is the VVOL topology, and it is

categorized into two parts:

Protocol Endpoint (PE)

PE is the data path created by storage administrator between the VM on ESXi servers and VVols in the storage. A single

PE can be the data path for multiple VVols, as the current Infortrend storage supports SAN protocol for supporting VVol,

including iSCSI, FC, FCoE.

Before you create the VVol, you must create the storage container. You can assign and bind multiple storage pools as a

single storage container with thin provision mode and vCenter admin can create multiple VVol on this storage container.

VASA Control Path

VASA provider is the communication path between storage container ’s s capabilities profile and vCenter server’s

storage policies management. Storage admin can mark and provide the information to vCenter server including which

of the storage features can be used in the storage container, including SSD cache, Storage Tiering and Snapshot, and

others. The vCenter admin can then set different management policy among different storage container based on three

levels: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The management policy of these three different levels can be customized by the

vCenter admin, including I/O limitation (for example, the Gold level storage container can have the larger I/O

performance, while Bronze level’s storage container has less I/O performance).



VVol Benefits

Easy storage management for vCenter administrator

Thanks to VASA provider in delivering the storage container's information to vCenter server, vCenter admin can now

create a policy such as I/O limitation to manage different storage containers based on different storage levels (Bronze,

Silver, and Gold) and data service capability (container-supported SSD cache, storage tiering, and more). Without VVoI

and the Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM), administrators may get confused when the VM scales more because

of plenty of datastore created without an efficient way of managing them.

Easy channel management for vCenter administrator

Unlike the traditional storage device connection to ESXi server, each storage device has its own data path information

shown in the channel list. When there are numerous VMs in your environment, it’s very hard for channel management.

For VVol’s Protocol Endpoint technique, a single PE can be a data path for multiple VVols, thus greatly reduces the

complexity for channel management. It means the Protocol Endpoint you see from vCenter interface is very close to the

view from storage administrator’s view, like how many host interfaces you mapped for each storage container.

Infortrend VASA 3.0 Requirements

The following table displays the system requirements of installing Infortrend VASA 3.0 Virtual Volume.

Infortrend system EonStor GS/GSe Family

VMware Version

vCenter Server : 6.5 or later

ESX/ESXi Host version : 6.5 or later

EonStor VASA Setup : 3.0 or later

FW edition : 1.39A.18 or later

Other requirements The server that will be installed with VASA Provider must be installed with the

following components:



At least 2 GB RAM with minimum 512 MB available space for VASA provider server

Configuration guide

This section details the installation of Infortrend VVol on the VMware vSphere Client. In this part, we assume that you have

already configured Infortrend storage system with your ESXi server (host server).

The Infortrend VASA installation includes 3 parts:

1. VASA Provider Installation

2. Create the Storage Container

3. Creating the VVol and storage policy

The flow chart below depicts the detail installation process:



Installing VASA Provider

To install VASA Provider:

1. Open https://www.infortrend.com/global/download/download and download Infortrend VASA Provider (select the DS

model including series, model name and file type is software).

2. Use an administrative account to log in to the Windows server (VMs or physical servers) on which you are installing

Infortrend VASA Provider.

IMPORTANT! VASA Provider and vCenter Server must not be installed in the same server.

3. Open the folder where you downloaded the installer, then click twice to start the installation. Follow the onscreen

instructions.




4. Select the location where you want to install VASA Provider, then click Install.

Configuring VASA Provider

VASA Provider must be configured to allow vCenter Server to communicate with the storage subsystems and monitor their

status.

To configure VASA provider:

1. Fill in the required VASA provider information, then click OK.

2. After the SSL certificate is generated confirmed by the pop-up dialog box, click OK.



3. Set the Login Credentials for VASA provider, then click Save.

Note: Use the same credentials to access the VASA provider in the next steps.

4. If you want to add a storage device into VASA provider via the IP address and credentials of the storage device (same as

EonOne login password), double-click an empty cell and repeat the first step in adding the IP address. Click Save after all

storage devices are added in VASA provider.



Registering Infortrend VASA Provider with EonOne

To register Infortrend VASA Provider with EonOne:

1. Log in to EonOne, click Settings > Access > VMware, then click Add tab.

2. Fill in the vCenter server’s IP address and vCenter login credentials, then click Find ESXi Host.



3. After successfully adding the vCenter server and seeing the ESXi server being managed, click Register VASA provider on

this vCenter server, fill in the needed details such as login credentials, select the host domain to enable VASA feature,

then click OK.

4. Log in to vCenter Server, click the vCenter server > Configure tab > Storage Providers, then check if the newly-added

provider is displayed in the table. Also, check the API version, URL, and status if it is active. When the checking is done,

it means VASA provider registration is finished.



Checking Protocol Endpoint (PE)

To check the Protocol Endpoint (PE):

1. Launch EonOne in your browser, then click Setting > Access > Channel & Network. Check the I/O Status, IP address, and

host interface type of both block and file levels.

Notes:

If the data port is originally file level’s, click on the channel and click Edit and assign it as block level. Do note that

this step requires a controller reset.

If you plan to use iSCSI protocol, check the Configuring VMware Native Multi-pathing and add the IP address into

VMware iSCSI adapters.

2. From EonOne, click Setting > Storage > VMWare volume > Protocol endpoint tab, to see the data paths you have added

in your vCenter server.

In this sample PE check, adding 2 iSCSI ports in the ESXi storage iSCSI adapter displays tow PEs in the list.



Creating Capability profile

1. From EonOne, click Setting > Storage > VMware volume > Capability profile tab, then click Add a capability profile.

Note: A capability profile defines the attributes of a single virtual pool inside a storage container. As a storage container

typically hosts several virtual pools, you can associate a storage container with multiple capability profiles.

2. On the popup screen, create a capability profile by providing the profile name and associated storage pool that you

want to assign as a storage container, and check the information such as service level, drive type and RAID level, and

data service like storage tiering/SSD cache. If the configuration is correct, click Apply.

Notes:

You can also use Add a tag to add more information to describe this storage container. In the procedure Creating

a storage policy, you can set a different storage policy based on the tag as one of the categories.

You can create more than one capability profile for different storage pools and bind these pools into 1 storage

container. Though, we strongly suggest that you assign one pool as one container to ensure the VVoI you created

from each storage container will have specific storage policy.

Service level is automatically generated based on the rules listed in the table below.

Service level Dual controller model Single controller model

Basic Any of the associated pool’s Logical Drive is Non-RAID or RAID 0.

Bronze In the highest tier, the lowest level of drive type is SAS (NL-SAS) HDD or SATA HDD with RAID 5 or

RAID 6.

Silver In the highest tier, the lowest level of drive

type is SAS (NL-SAS) HDD or SATA HDD with

In the highest tier, the lowest level of drive

type is SAS (NL-SAS) HDD or SATA HDD with



RAID 1. RAID 1. Or SAS/SATA SSD with RAID 1, RAID 5,

or RAID 6.

Gold

In the highest tier, the lowest level of drive

type is SAS/SATA SSD with RAID 1, RAID 5 or

RAID 6.

N/A

Creating a storage container

To create a storage container:

1. From EonOne, click Setting > Storage > VMware volume > Storage container tab, then click Add a storage container.

2. Enter a name of the storage container, then click Add a capability profile.

3. Select the capability profile you created, assign a space allocation, then click OK.

Note: You can add more than one capability profile into one storage container by repeating steps 2 and 3. If it is your

first time to build a VVol environment, we suggest you to use one capability profile into one storage container only to

let you configure the storage policy, which is detailed in the next procedure.



4. Click ESXi Host tab and assign which ESXi server you want to map the storage container. Click OK after the storage

container configuration is done.

Creating VVol

To create VVoI:

1. From vSphere Web Client, select the ESXi server, then click Configure tab > Datastores, then click .

2. Tick VVol and click Next.



3. Enter a VVol name, select the storage container you want this VVol to build on, then click Next to proceed with VVoI

creation.

Creating a storage policy

After creating the VVol, you can create the storage policy to define VVols access rule like I/O limitation, data service schedule

setting, and other storage policy features.

To create a storage policy:

1. From VMware vSphere page, click > Home > VM storage policies.



2. Click Storage Policy Components tab to check the policy component that you can use like the default policy

components including the I/O control. If you need additional policy component, click Create Storage Policy Component

and add the component that you want.

Note: Currently, Infortrend’s policy components do not support QoS, Deduplication, and storage container replication.

3. Click VM storage Policies tab then click > Create VM Storage Policy….

4. Enter a policy name and description, then click Next.



5. Tick Use common rules in the VM storage policy, click Storage I/O Control, then select the common rules you want to

deploy for VVoI. If you don’t need to apply the common rules, click Next to skip this step.

6. Tick Use rule-sets in the storage policy and select Infortrend.ESGS.VVOL from Storage type dropdown list.

Note: This step allows EonStor GS family storage to adopt the storage policy that you created



7. Click Add rule, select the filter factor you want, then click Next.

Notes:

You can add all or select a few factors that satisfy your policy management agreement. The current rules include:

Storage properties: RAID level, Drive type, SSD cache, Storage Tiering support

Service level: Standard, Bronze, Silver, Gold

Usage Tag: Set when creating Capability profile in EonOne

8. When the rule is added, the rule-compatible VVoI or datastore is displayed. Click Next to complete the storage policy

configuration.



9. Click > Storage.

10. From the Navigator panel, click the VVoI that you created, then click Configure tab > General. Ensure that you selected

the storage policy that you need. If it is not the needed policy, click Edit.

11. Tick the storage policy that you want, then click OK.

Creating a VM (with VVol)

To create a VM:

1. Follow the steps 1 to 4 in section vSphere Datastore (VM & RDM) configuration guide.

2. Select VVoI, then click Next.



3. Refer again to section vSphere Datastore (VM & RDM) configuration guide, then follow steps 6 to 10 to finish the

procedure.

Vcenter Plug-in

Introduction

Infortrend vCenter Plug-in allows you to integrate VMware vSphere Client with EonStor GS, EonStor GSe Pro, and EonStor DS

storage systems. It provides easy management of the datastores and their corresponding storage repositories or volumes on

the mentioned EonStor storage systems directly via VMware vSphere Client dashboard.

Infortrend vCenter Plug-in screen



System Topology

Traditionally, administrators have to manage multiple devices separately within the virtual data center, including vSphere

Hypervisor (ESX/ESXi) servers, management server with VMware vCenter program, and storage systems. To manage these

devices in a simpler manner, Infortrend provides a software suite that helps you to simultaneously manage and bind VM data

storage on EonStor GS, GSe Pro, and DS storage systems via VMware vSphere Client. See the diagrams below that depict

different VMware system configurations.

General VMware System Configuration

VMware System Configuration with Infortrend vCenter plug-in suite

Infortrend vCenter Plug-in functions

The functions of this plug-in include:

1. Storage system management

This configures VM datastore-related tasks with Infortrend storage arrays.

2. Datastore management

vCenter Server

Infortrend Storage

SAN

VM VMVM

vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) Server LAN

Management Server

Access

Manage

VMware vSphere Client

Infortrend EonOne

InfortrendSANWatch

Infortrend Storage

SAN

VM VM

VM VM

vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) Server

LANManagement Server

Infortrend Intermediate Server

Deploy Server

Service Server

Register

Manage

vSphere Client withInfortrend vCenter

Plug-in

vCenter Server



Create, edit, and delete VM datastores for ESXi hosts and clusters in vSphere client. The datastores are volumes in

Infortrend management tools, so you won't have to maintain mapping relationships.

Installing Infortrend vCenter Plug-in

This chapter provides an introduction on how to install and uninstall Infortrend vCenter Plug-in Suite.

Requirements

The table below displays the system requirements for installing Infortrend vCenter Plug-in Suite:

Infortrend Products EonStor GS Family

EonStor GSe/GSe Pro Family

EonStor DS Family

VMware vSphere

Version

vSphere 6.5 U2

(HTML5-based vSphere Client)

Infortrend vCenter

Plug-in software

Visit and download the file at:


Select your storage model from the drop-down lists, then select Software in Files

category.

This section details the installation of Infortrend vCenter Plug-in suite on the VMware vSphere Client. For this step, we

assume that you have already configured Infortrend storage system with your ESXi server (host server).

The Infortrend vCenter Plug-in installation includes 3 parts:

1. Configure and run Infortrend vCenter plug-in virtual machine.

2. Register the vCenter server (management server) with the Deployment server of Infortrend vCenter plug-in VM.

3. Register the Service server of Infortrend vCenter plug-in VM with vCenter server.

The flow chart below depicts the installation process.




Flowchart of vCenter Plug-in installation

Installing vCenter plug-in

Before you can install vCenter plug-in in your system, you must download our vCenter Plug-in software from our support site:


To install vCenter plug-in:

1. From VMware VSphere Client screen, select the vCenter server > Monitor > Tasks & Events > Scheduled Tasks, then set

or configure the scheduling task that you want.

Note: Infortrend vCenter plug-in file is an OVA image that runs as a virtual machine. Its installation wizard is the same as

deploying an OVF template.

2. Click tab, right-click on your EXSi server (host server), then select Deploy OVFTemplate.

Download vCenter Plug-in OVF Template

Run Infortrend vCenter Plug-in VM

ConfigureDeployment Server

RegisterService Server

Create a Storage Pool (Logical Volume)

Add a Storage System

Operations invSphere Web Client

Operations inEonOne/SANWatch

Configure an alias of initiator IQN

Configure Datastore Management




3. Select InfortrendvCenterPlug-in.ova image file that you downloaded from the support site, then follow the onscreen

instructions to configure Infortrend vCenter plug-in virtual machine.

4. When installed and turned on, select the virtual machine from the list. Click Summary tab and get the IP address of the

register server in IP Addresses.

5. Open a new browser and enter the IP address of the register server displayed in step 4.

Notes:

If the browser does not automatically redirect to the IP address, add port 8080 after the IP address, separated by

a colon. For example: 172.27.123.204:8080. You will be directed to Infortrend vSphere Client Plug-in Deployment

Server.

For HTTPs connection, add the port number 8443 after the IP address, separated by a colon. For example:

172.27.123.204:8443.

6. Enter admin in Username and Password fields, then click Login.



7. From the left panel, click Home, enter vCenter server’s IP address, username and password used for VMware vSphere

Client, then click Register. The log message displays the result of the registration.

8. Close the browser and restart vCenter service to refresh the settings.

Note: If the plug-in does not appear in the vSphere Client when you re-register the plug-in after unregistering, it may be

that Virgo server cache mode is not updated. Refer to this VMware article for more information.

vSphere Client Plugin Deployment Server

Familiarize yourself of the vSphere Client Plug-in Deployment Server’s user interface:

Home This screen allows you to register or unregister your IP/hostname to or from vSphere Client Plug-in Deployment Center. This detects the connection between the host server and management server (vCenter server) in the background. If the Internet connection or operation of the management server fails, the system notifies you of its offline status, in red text.

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/53035



Configure This screen allows you to import/export the configuration of the system. Note that you can only import the exported file to the same storage system.

Password This screen allows you to change or modify your password of Infortrend vSphere Client Plug-in Deployment Server.

Registering Service Server

After Infortrend vCenter Plug-in Suite is installed and integrated its vCenter server, you must register the service server of

Infortrend vSphere Client Plug-in Deployment Server. When the configuration of both servers are registered, Infortrend

vCenter Plug-in can be fully integrated with VMware vSphere Client.

To register the Service Server:

1. Launch vSphere Client browser, then click Infortrend vCenter Plug-in on the left side panel.



Note: You can find Infortrend vCenter Plug-in in Menu > Infortrend vCenter Plug-in or in vSphere Client’s Shortcut

menu.

2. From the left side panel, click Register service server, then click REGISTER.

Notes:

You must register the service server of Infortrend vCenter Plug-in virtual machine before configuring the storage

system. Otherwise, configurations of the plug-in system may not work properly.

If REGISTER button does not appear, click REFRESH at the top of the interface.

3. Enter the required information such as Service server IP, vCenter IP, vCenter username and password, then click OK.



Note: To get the required information, check vSphere Client > Hosts and Clusters > Infortrend vCenter plug-in virtual

machine, or copy the same IP address described in section vSphere Client Plugin Deployment Server.

When registered, the system displays the Service server IP and status on the page.

Navigating the user interface

Overview

This section talks about the basic GUI elements of the Infortrend vCenter Plug-in suite.

Infortrend vCenter Plug-in user interface



Display element Description

1. Management area Infortrend vCenter Plug-in suite provides abundant storage management functions

and can be categorized into the following sections:

Storage system

Datastore management

Register service server

You can switch between screens by using the navigation buttons on the left sidebar.

2. Operation &

Information

Display Area

The system displays the detailed information according to your operation, including

storage system information, datastore management, etc. To register or unregister a

service server, see section Registering Service Server.

Storage system

Adding a device

To add a device:

1. From Infortrend vCenter Plug-in, click Storage System, then click ADD.

2. Enter the system’s management port IP address and password. Click OK when done.

3. After the storage system is successfully connected, it is now listed in the device list. Click the storage system in the list to

display the details such as name, model status, management port IP address, and firmware version.



4. Scroll down the page to see the device details and pool list information of the storage system.

a. Device details: This displays the storage information.

b. Pool list: This lists all storage pools (logical volumes) that were created on the storage system and displays the

relative information.

Note: Currently, the storage system can only add one at a time. If you want to add multiple devices to vSphere

Client, follow the same steps.

Removing a device

To remove a device:

1. From Device list screen, click the storage system, then click REMOVE.

2. On the warning pop-up message, click OK to disconnect the selected device and remove from the list.



Reconnecting a device

The system monitors the connection status between the storage system and vSphere Client in the background. If the storage

system is disconnected, its status becomes is also disconnected. Its device details remains in the previous state on the

webpage and its pool list information disappears.

To reconnect a device:

1. Select the disconnected device from the device list and click RECONNECT.

2. Enter the device password and click OK to reconnect the device.

3. When successfully reconnected, the status of the device is marked as Healthy. If the status says otherwise, click Refresh

on top of the screen to refresh the device information.

Managing the Datastore

The datastore management allows you to add, edit, expand, reclaim, and delete the datastore repository for virtual machines

on Infortrend storage systems.

Adding a datastore

Before creating a datastore for virtual machines, you must configure at least one storage pool (logical volumes) in your

Infortrend storage system via EonOne/SANWatch. The datastore created in Infortrend vCenter Plug-in is based on the capacity

of the existing storage pool on the system.

To add a datastore:

1. From Infortrend vCenter Plug-in, click Datastore management, then click ADD.



2. When Data configuration wizard pops up, tick VMFS (Block-level), then click Next.

Note: Currently, Infortrend vCenter Plug-in only supports VMFS type datastore. Click to view more information.

3. Configure all required fields, then click Next.

a. Datastore name: Enter the name of the datastore.

b. Select device: If there are multiple devices connected to vSphere Client, select a storage device from the

dropdown list.

c. Select a pool used for creating this volume: Specify the storage pool where the datastore volume resides. If there

are multiple storage pools in the storage system, select a pool from the dropdown list.

d. Specify a volume name: Enter a volume name that corresponds to the created datastore.

e. Specify the space allocated to this volume: Enter a space allocation for the volume. The available free space of the

storage pool is displayed on this screen.

f. Thin provisioning feature: Tick Use thin provisioning option then specify a volume size to enable thin provisioning.

The maximum volume is 2 PB.

4. Select a VMFS version based on your needs. Currently, Infortrend vCenter Plug-in supports VMFS version 5 and 6.



5. On Map configuration screen, select a host interface type and configure the channel mapping to access datastore. The

system automatically scans the existing host interface on the storage system and displays on the page. You can also

select the map type at the bottom of the page. Click Next to proceed.

Simple map: The same as the mechanism of Create a host LUN mapping set automatically on EonOne/SANWatch,

the system automatically maps all host channels of the same type.

Filter map: This configures the channel mapping for specific host server to access the datastore by selecting a host

server in the list.

Note: Before configuring the mapping settings, ensure that you have done the following:

The discovery addresses for iSCSI initiators have been configured in vCenter.

The alias of the initiator’s IQN must be configured in Infortrend storage system before using Filter mapping.

To do so in GS systems, go to EonOne, then click Settings > Access > Initiators. For DS, use SANWatch then

click Channels > Scan Ports Information > iSCSI tab > Add button.

6. On the Ready to complete screen, the system displays the configuration summary of the datastore. Click Finish to end

the configuration wizard, or click Back to modify the settings in the previous steps.

After the datastore is successfully created, you will be able to see the newly-added datastore in the datastore list.



Editing a datastore

To edit a datastore:

1. From the datastore list, select a datastore you want to edit, then click EDIT.

2. Rename the datastore and volume names, then click OK.

Expanding a datastore

To expand a datastore:

1. From the datastore list, select a datastore you want to expand, then click EXPAND.

2. On Expand datastore screen, the system displays the current size and available capacity of the volume. Enter the

desired size to expand the datastore, then click OK.

3. Refresh vSphere Client to ensure the system updates the settings.



Reclaiming a datastore

Thin provisioning increases the amount of physical storage on demand when new files are added. This works as long as all the

original files remain intact, but in some cases, some files are deleted by host computers in the long run. As a result, the

available volume capacity of the storage system often appears less than its actual available size. To use most of the storage

capacity, the size of deleted files/blocks must be checked occasionally to adjust the size of the volume. The reclaim function

calculates the size of the deleted files in volumes and reduces its size to reflect the currently-used area.

Note: You can only reclaim a datastore if it is thin-provisioned.

To reclaim a datastore:

1. From the datastore list, select a thin-provisioned datastore, then click RECLAIM.

2. Click OK to reclaim the datastore.

3. Refresh vSphere Client to ensure the system updates the settings.

Deleting a datastore

To delete a datastore:

1. From the datastore list, select a thin-provisioned datastore, then click DELETE.

2. If you want to proceed with the deletion, click OK. If you also want to delete the volume, check Delete the volume

option, then click OK.

You also have the option to manage and monitor your datastore via vSphere Client and Infortrend storage viewer respectively.



Managing datastore via vSphere Client

Go to vSphere Client, click Hosts and Clusters, select the ESXi Server > Datastores tab, then right-click on a selected datastore.

Click Delete Datastore, select Infortrend, then click Expand datastore to expand it, or Reclaim space to recover datastore

space.

Monitoring datastore via Infortrend storage viewer

To monitor datastore via Infortrend storage viewer, go to vSphere Client, click Host and Clusters > Datacenter > Monitor >

Infortrend storage server.

All datastores created in Infortrend storage system are listed on top of Infortrend storage viewer screen. You can also see their

corresponding details by selecting a datastore from the list.



Registering service server

The purpose of registering the service server is to provide the information of Infortrend vCenter Plug-in virtual machines to

vCenter server. This ensures that vCenter server connects to the service server via vCenter Plug-in suite and allows you to

manage/operate the storage system, as detailed in the previous sections.

To register service center:

1. Launch Infortrend vCenter Plug-in > Register service center.

2. The screen displays N/A about the server information and status. Click REGISTER.

Note: You can only register a service server for a vCenter server. To reconfigure Infortrend vCenter Plug-in’s service

server, you must first unregister it.

3. Follow the steps in section Registering service server.

Once the registration is successful, the system shows the server’s IP address and status.

You can also unregister the service server by doing the procedure below:

1. Launch Infortrend vCenter Plug-in > Register service center.

2. Click UNREGISTER.

3. When a pop-up screen notification appears, click OK. This removed all storage management information from the

system.



Backup and Restore with vCenter Site Recovery Manager

Introduction

Disaster Recovery (DR) Failover in a VMware environment has complicated procedures such as setting up inventory, register,

reconfigure, and power up VMs at DR site. VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) is an ideal solution that simplifies and

automates disaster recovery. SRM is an application with a user-friendly GUI that allows you to manage virtual machines in a

datacenter and sets the recovery data plan and policy in advance. You can define each VMs in high, medium, or low priority

groups, determine the recovery procedure running user-defined scripts, and start sequence of individual VMs in advance.

When planned migration or unexpected disaster occurs, you can easily initiate the recovery running via VMware vSphere Web

Client with a push of a button.

SRM enables integration with array-based replication as well as the use of native VMware vSphere-based replication. SRM, a

plug-in for vCenter on both primary (protected) site and recovery site, enables separate VMware environments to

communicate and negotiate with each other. In array-based replication, VMware SRM perfectly coordinates with EonStor DS

Remote Replication technology via Infortrend Storage Replication Adapter (SRA). Remote replication capability allows you to

create full data copies of virtual machines across storage system, in synchronous or asynchronous mode.

VMware SRM architecture

SRM and SRA (Storage Replication Adapter) must be installed in the protected and recovery site. Once SRA is installed, you

can easily discover Infortrend SRA in Array Managers of SRM, and execute additional configurations for the local array at the

protected site and peer arrays at the recovery site.



Below is the step-by-step guide in configuring SRM.

Why you need DS/GS Remote Replication in SRM

Less performance impact by adopting storage computing power

EonStor GS and EonStor DS can execute synchronous replication for business-critical services to meet the toughest

recovery point objective within the same data center or non-cross WAN environment.

Supports vSphere’s range of versions

Comparison vSphere-based EonStor DS/GS

Remote Replication

Replication Type Using host/vSphere layer Using storage layer

Recovery Point Objective

(RPO) RPO of 15 minutes – 24 hours

Synchronous replication : 0 minutes

(Please refer to suggestions)

Asynchronous replication : depending on

the scheduling options

vSphere version update Must be running vSphere 5.0 or later

version vSphere 3.5 – 6.0 or above are supported

Applied scenario Simple, cost efficient replication for Tier

2 applications and smaller sites

High-poerformance replication for

business

Comparisons in SRM Between vSphere-based Replication and Array-based Replication

Without SRM

Without SRM, you may have to undergo of these procedures:

Validate replicated data

1. Execute Remote Replication from Protected site to Recovery site.

2. Create Snapshot for Target Volume.

3. Map the snapshot to host.

4. Boost the host to check data validity.

Manually boot after a disaster

1. Based on the previous procedure of remote replication, map the target volumes to ESXi host via Infortrend GUI.

2. Manually boot each virtual machine to resume service in vCenter server. This needs complicated procedures, such

Protected site Recovery site

TargetSource Snapshot



as connecting to multiple interfaces, to resume services.

With SRM and DS/GS Remote Replication

With SRM and Remote Replication in EonStor DS/GS, you can easily do the steps below under these procedures:

Validate replicated data

1. Simply set the remote replication pairs via SANWatch or EonOne in advance.

2. Click Test. This step allows SRM to check data validity automatically.

Protected site Recovery site

TargetTargetTarget



Recover after a disaster

Based on remote replication's procedure via SRM GUI, click Recovery for SRM to launch the recovery process

automatically. This operation is simpler than without SRM.



Integration of VMware SRM with EonStor DS/GS Remote Replication

SRM and Storage Replication Adapter (SRA) must be installed at both protected and recovery site. Once SRA has been

installed, you can easily discover Infortrend SRA in SRM’s Array Managers and execute additional configurations for the local

array at the protected site and peer arrays at the recovery site. The topology shown below is for environment building

reference.

For the demo topology, we have protected site and recovery sites. For protected site, it has one vCenter Server, one ESXi

server, one additional server for installing the VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM), Infortrend Site Recovery Agent (SRA),

and EonStor DS4024RB model for the storage part.. For recovery site, we set up the mirror setting, which means it is

comprised one vCenter Server, one ESXi server, one additional server for installing the VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM),

Infortrend Site Recovery Agent (SRA), and EonStor DS 4024RB for the storage part.

The procedures in this section mentioned below help you to configure SRM with Infortrend storage and the IP address

(see diagram above).. If you are unsure of the configuration, you can go recheck the IP address and understand each

procedure's purpose.

Best practice, recommendations, and limitation on SRM

Follow this list of best practices, recommendations, and limitation for a smoother configuration of SRM:

1. Prepare an organized recovery plan in advance.

a. Define the backup schedule to meet RTO and RPO requirements.

b. Test the recovery plan to ensure its usability.

c. Define the importance of each virtual machine, assign each VM into High, Medium, or Low priority groups, and

determine the start sequence of individual VM in advance.

2. SRA only supports replication between identical hardware models.

3. SRM’s database and vCenter server’s database cannot be the same. You can use vCenter Server database server to create

and support the Site Recovery Manager database.



4. For Infortrend remote replication feature, it cannot be supported with replication between EonStor GS and DS models;

only GS to GS, or DS to DS.

5. Within the same data center or non-cross WAN environment, EonStor DS/GS can execute Synchronous replication for

business-critical service.

6. You may choose asynchronous mode to allow the mirroring to occur during off-peak hours in order to have effective

bandwidth utilization while to reducing costs.

7. To ensure successful remote replication in array-based scenario, we advise you to reserve extra space in the storage

system at recovery sites.

8. For more information about Infortrend Remote Replication, download the following guides:

a. EonStor DS remote replication feature guide

b. EonStor GS/GSe remote replication feature guide

9. The storage subsystem can be connected to the ESX host server via iSCSI and Fibre Channel simultaneously.

10. A LUN (which contains a datastore and its VMs) stored on the storage subsystem and mapped via one protocol cannot be

mapped again via the other protocols. For example, if a LUN is already mapped via iSCSI, it cannot be mapped via Fibre

Channel.

11. Make sure the LUNs on the protected site’s storage subsystem are mapped to the ESX host server by using Extended

LUN Functionality and modify the Host ID/Alias parameters to specify the host ID(s), referring to WWN (World Wide

Name) number(s) on VMware vSphere ESX server’s HBA port(s).

Configuring Remote replication with Infortrend storage

To configure Remote Replication with Infortrend storage, refer to Remote Replication Feature guide to set up Replication Pair

via SANWatch or EonOne before installing SRM and SRA.

Setting up Replication Pair via SANWatch

http://www.infortrend.com/ImageLoader/LoadDoc/598

https://www.infortrend.com/ImageLoader/LoadDoc/766/True/True/Infortrend%20document

http://www.infortrend.com/ImageLoader/LoadDoc/598



Setting up Replication Pair via EonOne

When configuring Infortrend Remote Application (array-based replication) for VMware SRM, do take note that:

Licensing is required to activate Infortrend storage system’s Remote Replication feature. Contact your local Infortrend

technical support for more information.

SRM supports EonStor DS and EonStor GS series storage subsystems.

SRM supports Infortrend’s Remote Replication via iSCSI and Fibre Channel.

Under SRM architecture, all remote replication tasks created in Infortrend storage subsystems must be carried out via

the same protocol. That said, all tasks must go through iSCSI only or Fibre Channel only.

SRM supports Infortrend’s asynchronous/synchronous replication.

When creating a remote replication pair in asynchronous mirror mode, select Support incremental recovery to enable

failover and failback between paired servers.

Downloading and installing SRM and (SRA)

To download and install SRM and SRA:

1. Download SRM 6.5 from VMware download center and refer to VMware SRM 6.5 installation guide to guide you in

installing SRM in host server.

2. Assign a vCenter server IP address that you want the SRM to connect to, and key in vCenter Single Sign-On credential.

https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=SRM65&productId=617

https://docs.vmware.com/en/Site-Recovery-Manager/6.5/srm-install-config-6-5.pdf



3. In creating a database, you can select Use the embedded database or Use a custom database server. The details of

these two are as follows:

Use the embedded database: Create an embedded database by assigning a DSN (Data Source Name), database

username, and password. This option is recommended for simple environment setup.

Use a custom database server: If you have created a database on local/remote server, you must use ODBC

interface to add the credentials of the dedicated database you want to use for SRM.

4. When SRM is installed, download Infortrend’s SRA (site recovery adapter) from its download center:





5. When a pop-up message appears, it means the SRM and SRA server did not install JRE (Java Runtime Environment). Click

OK and install JRE in your server.

Installing VMware Tools

To ensure VMs can operate properly when they are requested by SRM to perform certain operations such as system startup,

shutdown, reboot, etc, VMware Tools for Guest OS is required for each virtual machine at the protected site.

To install VMware tools:

1. Select the ESXi server and click the VM you want to install the VMware tools. Click Summary tab to see the warning

messages. If it mentions VMware Tools is not installed in the VM, click Install VMware Tools, then click Mount when a

pop-up window appears.

2. From the VM console (via web page or VMRC), launch File Explorer, click This PC > DVD Drive (D:) VMware Tools, and

follow the onscreen instructions to install VMware tools.



Configuring Site recovery manager (SRM)

This section covers the configuration of SRM.

Connect protected and recovery site

To connect protected and recovery site:

1. Ensure that your protected site VMs are created already before configuring the SRM.

Note: In this demo, we use two Windows 2012R2 VM at protected site for SRM.

2. Go to protected site vCenter server’s Web client, click Home > Site Recovery.



3. From the left panel of the screen, click Sites.

4. Select the protected stire vCenter server in the list, click Summary tab > Pair sites.



5. Enter the platform services controller address of the recovery site’s vCenter server, then enter the login credentials of

the recovery site’s vCenter server. Click Next then Finish to end the pairing process.



6. After SRM pair is created, see the SRM management screen if it displays the newly added vCenter server of both

protected site and recovery site.

Note: If you see Unable to find SRA at the paired site note (see first screenshot), select the vCenter server that has the

warning message, click Monitor > SRAs, then click Rescan (see second screenshot).



Inventory mapping

After the connection is created, ensure that you configured the resource, folder, and network mapping to make SRM to

properly move all protected data to the right place in recovery site.

Inventory mapping has three procedures:

Create resource mappings

Create folder mappings

Create network mappings

To create resource mappings:

1. Go to Site, select the protected/recovery site > Summary > Create resource mappings.



2. Select the resource pair between protected and recovery site (an example is ESXi server), then click Add mappings. If

you have multiple resource pairs that you must do, repeat this step and click Next until all resource pairs are configured.

3. Select all applicable reverse mappings, then click Finish.



Reverse mapping

If you want to configure the bidirectional protection and reprotect SRM, configure reverse mappings to map the objects on

the recovery site back to their corresponding objects on the protected site.

To create folder mappings:

1. Go to Site, select the protected/recovery site > Summary > Create folder mappings.

2. Tick the creation mode that you want, click Next, then click Finish to end the process.



Automatic mapping : This option allows the system to automatically map the matching names between

protected and recovery site’s folder, IF you don’t have a specific folder assignment plan, this option is

recommended.

Manual mapping : This option allows you to manually map the folder individually. If you have a specific folder

assignment plan, select this option and assign the folder pair in step Preparing mappings (see above screenshot).

To create network mappings:

1. Go back to Site, select the protected/recovery site > Summary > Create network mappings.

2. Tick the creation mode you want, click Next, then click Finish to end the process.



Automatic mapping: This option allows the system to automatically map the matching names between protected

and recovery site’s network (for example: vSwitch). If you don’t have specific network assignment plan, use this

option and select datacenter mapping between protected and recovery site.

Manual mapping: This option allows you to manually map the Network resource individually. If you have a

specific Network resource assignment plan, select this option and assign the folder pair in step Preparing

mappings (see above screenshot).

Configuring placeholder datastore

For every VM in a protection group, Site Recovery Manager creates a placeholder virtual machine. However, it needs an

additional placeholder datastore to store the placeholder virtual machine's files. These files are tiny, so the placeholder

datastore does not need to be large to accommodate the full virtual machines.

You need to assign the additional placeholder datastore in both protected and recovery sites, depending on your recovery

plan:

If you plan to use array-based replication (for example, Infortrend remote replication) to protect datastore groups, or

vSphere Replication to protect individual virtual machines, you must identify a placeholder datastore on the recovery

site.

If you plan to use migration and reprotect, you must assign a placeholder datastore on both sites.

There are two limitations of the placestore datastore:

You cannot select replicated datastores as placeholder datastores.

As for cluster placeholder datastores, they must be visible to all hosts in the cluster.

To configure a placeholder datastore:

1. From the recovery site, click Summary > Configure placeholder datastore, then select the datastore as the placeholder

datastore.

Note: In this step, we use IP 172.24.110.34 as an example.



2. Verify if the SRM placeholder is checked. This means the recovery site’s placeholder is ready.

3. Go to the protected site, click Configure placeholder datastore, then select the datastore as the placeholder datastore.

Note: This step is optional.



Adding array manager and enabling array pair

For this procedure, we have to configure SRA with Infortrend Storage at both protected and recovery sites.

To add array manager and enable array pair:

1. Go to the protected site and click Add array manager and enable array pair.

Note: In this step, we use IP 172.24.110.52 as an example.

2. Tick Add a pair of array managers to configure SRA servers simultaneously, then click Next.



3. Select the SRM pair you want to configure, then click Next.

4. Select the SRA developed by Infortrend, then click Next.



5. Enter a display name, local array’s IP address and password, and peer array’s IP address and password, then click Next.

Notes:

For local array’s IP address, we use 172.24.110.66. This provides the partition to the protected site’s vCenter and

ESXi server.

For peer array’s IP address, we use 172.24.110.80. This is for recovery site’s vCenter and ESXi server.

Use Infortrend’s storage controller’s password for both arrays. If you have not assign a password for both site, go

to Infortrend support center and download the software manual for your reference of your storage controller ’s

password.

6. Assign the recovery site’s array manager name, key in the IP addresses of local and peer site in opposite manner (IP

172.24.110.80 as local and IP 172.24.110.66 as peer site), then click Next.




7. Enable the array pairs, click Next, then click Finish to end the process.

Setting up array manager and array pair

To set up array manager and enable array pair:

1. From VMware vSphere hone screen, select a protected site and click Create a protection group.

Note: In this step, the IP 172.24.110.52 is used as an example.



2. Enter a protection group’s name and description, then select a vCenter server name for protected and recovery sites.

3. Assign a protection in Direction of protection, tick Datastore group (array-based replication) in Protection group type,

select the protected site’s SRM array manager, then click Next.

Note: In this step, we use Datastore groups (array-based replication) in Protection group type option since Infortrend

remote replication has replicated the storage device between two units.



4. Select one or more source datastore from the protected site that you want to combine in the same protection group. If

you select one datastore, this page also displays the number of VMs' data that are stored in this datastore. Click Next,

check the settings, then click Finish.

Note: If you cannot select the array pair in section Adding array manager and enablinge array pair, check if the

datastore for protected site’s ESXi server is mapped by Extended LUN mapping from Infortrend storage with dedicated

IQN or alias. Auto-LUN mapping is not supported for VMware SRM.



Creating a recovery plan

To create a recovery plan:

1. From VMware vSphere Web Client, click the protected site, then click Create a recovery plan.

Note: In this step, we use the protected site 172.24.110.52 as an example.

2. Key in the name and description of the recovert plan and select a location.



3. Tick the recovery site vCenter server’s IP address, then click Next.

4. Select protection group that you configured in section Setting up array manager and array pair, then click Next.



5. Select the network testing mapping pair between protected and VM network of the recovery site, then click Next.

6. Click Finish to end the procedure.

Test and Run Recovery plan

After configuring the SRM setting between protected and recovery site, the procedures in this section show you on how to

test and run the recovery plan.

Testing Recovery plan

After you created or modified a recovery plan, you MUST test it before you use for planned migration or for disaster recovery.

By testing a recovery plan, you are ensured that the virtual machines the plan protects are recovered correctly to the

recovery site. The testing also allows SRM to check the network configuration, remote replication, and availability of the

replicated data. Doing so does not affect the operations at the protected site, meaning its VMs will neither be powered off

nor taken over by VMs at the recovery site.

When performing planned migration (from site A to B, then back to A), you must conduct the whole process as follows:

Test --> Cleanup --> Recovery --> Re-protect --> Test --> Cleanup --> Recovery --> Re-protect

Important! If the recovery plans are not tested, you may not recover all virtual machines in a disaster recovery situation,

which result to data loss.



To test recovery plan:

1. At the SRM site’s home screen, select the protected site’s vCenter server, click Related Objects > Recovery Plans,

select the recovery plan you created, then click Test.

2. Check the test results, check Replicate recent changes to recovery site, then click Next.

Note: When you select Replicate recent changes to recovery site, it removes the data from the recovery site and creates

a full backup. This option ensures that the recovery site receives the latest copy of protected virtual machine. However,

this may result in longer synchronization time.

3. Click Finish to end the procedure.

After the above procedure, the recovery plan goes through creating virtual disk snapspots on the recovery site’s storage

subsystem, mapping the snapshot virtual disks to ESXi server ,rescanning new devices, and turning on the newly-detected

virtual machines.



To see the newly-added datastore and two additional VMs under the recovery site’s ESXi server, go to the recovery site’s

vSphere Web Client.

When the VMs are turned on and the OS booted up, the test failover plan is done. To verify the functionality of the guest OS,

press Ctrl + Shift + H keys to enter Host and Clusters window. This window displays the powered VMs under Recovery Site.

Use a console to log in to the guest OS to see if the VMs are operating normally.

Note: In a test failover, the network configuration is not yet applied. In this case, you are not allowed to connect to network

resources using the VMs.

When cleaning up the test failover, return to Site Recovery screen, then click Cleanup.



Running Recovery plan

When the protected site goes offline because of unexpected error, you can run the recovery plan to allow the recovery site

to take over and provide services.

The procedure of running a recovery plan is similar to running a test failover, but with several differences:

Replicated virtual disks on the recovery site are promoted to primary status.

Source virtual disks become read-only to mapped hosts.

VMs at the primary site are powered off.

Network resource configurations are applied to the VMs at the recovery site.

Note: If the connection between the protected and recovery sites is interrupted during the execution of the recovery plan,

the following issues might occur:

The replication relationship of the virtual disks is broken, requiring re-establishment when the connection is restored.

VMs at the protected site are not powered off, which might result in network issues when the connection between the

protected and recovery sites is back.

To run the recovery plan:

1. From VMware vSphere Web Client screen, click the protected site’s vCenter server, then click Related Objects tab >

Recovery Plans, select the recovery plan you created, then click Run.



2. Check the agreement clause (I understand that…), select from options Planned migration or Disaster Recovery, then

click Next and Finish.

The recovery plans are:

Planned migration: Use this option when the protected site is available and replicate the recent changes from

protected site to recovery site.

Disaster Recovery: Use this option when the protected site is unavailable.

3. Go to recovery site’s vSphere Web Client to confirm the newly-added datastore and two additional VMs under the

recovery site’s ESXi server.



When the VMs are powered on and the OS starts up, the test failover plan is successfully done. To verify the functionality of

the guest OS, press Ctrl-Shift-H keys to enter the Host and Clusters view. In here, you can see the VMs powered on under

Recovery Site. Use a console to log in to the guess OS to see if it is operating properly.

Performing Reprotection

After the protected virtual machines are migrated to the recovery site and the protected site has been recovered from

disaster, the VMs at both sites are unprotected and vulnerable to potential site failure. Under the circumstances, you can

perform the reprotect operation to re-initiate SRM protection. At this stage, SRM switches the role of the protected and

recovery sites by reversing storage replication for datastores in the opposite direction, meaning the protected site becomes

the new recovery site with placeholder VMs created on it.



To perform Reprotection:

1. From SRM site’s screen, select Protected site’s vCenter server, click Related Objects tab > Recovery Plans, then select

the recovery plan that you executed.

Note: Reprotect button is enabled once running the Recovery Plan is successfully done.

2. Check the new protected/recovery site’s vCenter Server’s IP and information. When all is confirmed and you agreed to

the operation result, click Next to finish Reprotect procedure.



Performing Forced Recovery

If a disastrous event occurs and the protected site goes offline for extended periods of time, the SRM is unable to perform its

standard tasks. To carry out the recovery plan, you can follow the procedure in this section to perform a forced recovery

option.

Note: This section assumes that you are already familiar with the standard tasks of recovery plan. For detailed instructions

on the steps mentioned in this section, refer to the previous content.

Enabling forced recovery

To enable forced recovery:

1. From vSphere Client home screen, click Site Recovery, then click the site that you want to enable forced recovery from

the left panel.

2. Click Manage > Advanced Settings tab.

3. Click Recovery then check recovery.forceRecovery.

4. Repeat above steps for the opposite site.

Performing forced recovery

To perform forced recovery:

1. Shut down the protected site, including the storage subsystem(s) and server hosting vCenter Server.

2. From recovery site’s SRM, perform Rescan SRAs.

3. Click Array manager icon, then click Refresh under Devices. The screen displays the error status.

4. From recovery site storage system’s SANWatch GUI, open Replication Manager to ensure the replication pair is split

(separated?).

5. From vSphere Client’s home screen, click Home > Hosts and Clusters, select the recovery site, then check its virtual

machines to ensure they are turned on.

6. Turn on the protected site, the storage subsystem(s), and the server-running vCenter Server.

7. From SRM on either site, redo steps 3 and 4.

8. From vSphere Client’s home screen, click Home > Hosts and Clusters, select the protected site, then click Configuration

> Storage to ensure the datastore status is normal.

9. Run the recovery process on the recovery site. The protected site must be recovered.

10. Repeat the procedures above such as Testing, Recovery, Reprotect, Second Recovery, and Second Reprotect to ensure

that the recovery plan is working well.

Conclusion

The integration of VMware with Infortrend EonStor DS and GS series storage delivers a number of benefits that significantly

reduce the complexity and workload in a virtual environment. With VASA 3.0: VVol feature, you can do ease of managing

policies with all volumes.

When it comes to the disaster recovery for virtual machines, SRM and SRA enable integration with Infortrend’s array-based

replication engines running on VMware vCenter, with better capabilities. When virtual machines at one site shut down, copies

of these virtual machines at the other site automatically start up and assume the same operation and services.

Therefore, VMware’s integration with Infortrend EonStor DS and GS series storage is the ideal solution to ensure seamless

business continuity.

infortrend vmware solutions

Documents