Posts

Posted on

Unattended/silent deployment of ScaleIO features on Windows Server

Two posts in two days. Phew! So much to talk about, but this is a quick one. In my previous post I wrote about installing ScaleIO on Windows hosts via a manual/user-controlled process using the CLI and running the MSI install file on each server. In larger environments this may not be practical where an automated deployment solution is required. Furthermore, it is invariably necessary to also deploy the software in a “silent” unattended mode so that end-users do not need to interact with the installer. Luckily this is a pretty simple process in Windows environments using the MSI ScaleIO installer.

Continue reading “Unattended/silent deployment of ScaleIO features on Windows Server”

Posted on

Service release SRDF SRA 5.5.1.0 for VMware Site Recovery Manager

As I wrote about in a recent post the 5.1 version of the SRDF Storage Replication Adapter was updated in a service release. Similar fixes and a few other changes have been also added to the SRDF SRA version 5.5. If you are running VMware Site Recovery Manager version 5.1 or 5.5 this is the SRA you should be using. SRM 5.0 users can only use the 5.1 SRA (while the 5.1 SRA supports SRM 5.0 and 5.1 I recommend SRM 5.1 users use the 5.5 SRA).

So what’s new in the latest SR for SRDF SRA (5.5.1.0)?

EMC_Image_C_1310593712538_srdf

Continue reading “Service release SRDF SRA 5.5.1.0 for VMware Site Recovery Manager”

Posted on

Virtual Storage Integrator 5.6.2 Released AppSync and USM

A new version of the EMC Virtual Storage Integrator 5.6.3 has been released for the following VSI features:

  1. AppSync–Allows you to manage service plans and datastore copies (mount, unmount, copy, restore etc.)
  2. Unified Storage Management–Provision storage from VPLEX, VMAX, VNX, VNXe from the vSphere Client

Now obviously this is a minor release and doesn’t include revolutionary changes but for users of these VSI features is worth the upgrade.

EMC_Image_C_1310642735382_header-type-virtual-storage-integrator

Continue reading “Virtual Storage Integrator 5.6.2 Released AppSync and USM”

Posted on

Creating ScaleIO Snapshots in a VMware environment

Let’s talk about snapshots and ScaleIO.

First how does snapshot-ing work with ScaleIO? ScaleIO offers the ability to snapshot a single volume at a time or cloning multiple volumes at once. Importantly, ScaleIO, when snapshot-ing multiple volumes at once, those copies will be consistent with each other at the time of creation. A consistency group is created when a snapshot command includes multiple volumes–this is helpful for situations where multiple VMs on multiple volumes need consistent copies but the source applications may not be able to be quiesced at the time. ScaleIO does not though prevent you from deleting one snapshot in a consistency group–you may manage those volumes after the fact however you wish.

snap_example

Continue reading “Creating ScaleIO Snapshots in a VMware environment”

Posted on

Service release for VMAX SRDF SRA 5.1 posted

The service release for the Symmetrix SRDF Storage Replication Adapter version 5.1 has been posted and is available for download. This isn’t a must-update release for most users but there are some important changes in them that will be very relevant for a few environments. This release will be numbered 5.1.0.2 but in some places may be referred to as 5.1.1.

srdf

Continue reading “Service release for VMAX SRDF SRA 5.1 posted”

Posted on

The VMAX Content Pack v1.5 for VMware vCenter Log Insight v1.5

It’s been a bit but I’m (Drew Tonnesen, [email protected]) back for another guest spot on Cody’s blog.   In August 2013 I wrote about the VMAX Content Pack for VMware’s newly released Log Insight product (v1.0).  At the time of release VMware was pushing hard for content packs and rode me pretty ragged for 2 weeks to produce one.  As a result much of the detail around items like widgets was minimal.  This was perfectly acceptable as VMware was also in the nascent stages of the product and content packs.  Now with VMware’s release of Log Insight 1.5, they have made some important changes, particularly to the content pack component, which has allowed me to expand our VMAX Content Pack.   As I’m only going to cover the new features of the content pack and how it relates to Log Insight v1.5, if you want the full Monty on Log Insight v1.5, VMware’s lead developer goes into detail here.  Another great resource for everything Log Insight is Steve Flander’s blog:  http://sflanders.net/ .  Steve does a great job explaining the new features and how to use them as well as answering any questions.

Continue reading “The VMAX Content Pack v1.5 for VMware vCenter Log Insight v1.5”

Posted on

Using PowerCLI to correlate VMware VMFS and ScaleIO volume info

In my previous post I wrote about expanding a ScaleIO volume in a VMware environment. During that procedure there is a requirement  to correlate the EUI of the device hosting the VMFS to the ScaleIO identifier so that you can ensure that you actually expand the correct volume. Especially important in large environments. So I thought is there a way to script this correlation in a simple fashion to save you some work? Can the whole process be automated?

The answer to both is yes!

intro

Continue reading “Using PowerCLI to correlate VMware VMFS and ScaleIO volume info”