Best Practices For Implementing HPE 3PAR Virtual Service Processor
Best Practices For Implementing HPE 3PAR Virtual Service Processor
Best Practices For Implementing HPE 3PAR Virtual Service Processor
Executive summary
This technical white paper describes the best practices for implementing the HPE 3PAR Virtual Service Processor (VSP) in an HPE 3PAR
StoreServ 7000 Storage environment. The technical audience of this document is intended for individuals who perform deployment or manage
the VSP.
The HPE 3PAR Service Processor (SP) software is available in both physical and virtual versions. The SP is designed to provide remote error
detection, and reporting and to support diagnostic and maintenance activities involving the HPE 3PAR Storage system. The data collected by
the SP is used to maintain, troubleshoot, and upgrade the SP and HPE 3PAR Storage system at the customer’s operating site.
The SP software is built on top of a Linux® distribution. A custom distribution has been created that contains only those packages which are
required to be included in the SP release. The physical SP is a hardware device mounted in the rack of HPE 3PAR Storage system. If the
customer chooses a physical SP, each storage system installed at the operating site includes a physical SP installed in the same cabinet as the
system’s controller nodes. A physical SP uses two physical network connections; one interface requires a connection from the customer’s network
in order to communicate with the HPE 3PAR StoreServ Storage system. The other SP connection is for maintenance purposes only and is not
connected to the customer’s network.
The Service Processor leverages the industry-standard HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol to protect and encrypt data
communication.
The HPE 3PAR Virtual Service Processor is deployed as a virtual machine (VM). It functions as the communication interface between the
customer’s IP network and HPE 3PAR Central by managing all service-related communications in both directions. The VSP is provided in an
Open Virtual Format (OVF) for VMware® vSphere Hypervisor and self-extractable virtual hard disk (VHD) package for Microsoft® Hyper-V.
VSP is tested and supported on the VMware vSphere Hypervisor and the Microsoft Hyper-V. The VSP runs on a customer-owned and
customer-provided server, and communicates with an HPE 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Storage over its Ethernet connection that has improved
security features.
• Collects periodic data from the HPE 3PAR StoreServ (e.g., alert, configuration, events, performance, status, etc.)
• Performs hourly health checks on the HPE 3PAR StoreServ Storage
• Provides remote support capabilities over Ethernet
• Serves as a local maintenance terminal for onsite support
• Serves as a remote maintenance terminal for remote support
• Contains guided maintenance scripts used for guided parts replacement activities
• Fully automated Upgrade Wizard within the Service Process SPOCC user interface.
The dependency on the hypervisor and challenges to provide access to the VSP should be considered when deciding if a physical SP is the right
option for certain customer environment. Lack of a supported hypervisor host in the customer environment or accessibility for certain specific
service options such as serial port connectivity are points that customers should consider as well that would require the use of a physical SP.
One major measure that should guide the selection of the physical vs. virtual SP is the accessibility of the SP to the HPE support personnel.
VSP requirements
• HPE 3PAR OS 3.1.2 or higher
• HPE 3PAR SP 4.1 or later
• VMware vSphere 4.1 or higher
• Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 or higher
• See Single Point of Connectivity Knowledge (SPOCK) for official support matrix
In Secure Network mode, the SP communicates with the HPE 3PAR Collector Server using the HPE 3PAR Secure Service Agent (SSA).The
Collector Server provides software updates, access to service tool applications such as SPOCC, and access to resources such as HPE Support
Center. Rather than using a connection portal to connect to HPE 3PAR Central, an SP in Secure Network mode requires HPE 3PAR Secure
Service Agent for the connection. The HPE 3PAR Secure Service Agent facilitates communication between the SP and Collector Server.
Communications are done with HTTPS.
This is the preferred method of transfer as it is secure, easy for end users to implement in the firewall, and offers the most access control options.
Use Port 443 for this bi-directional communication when using the (VSP) in Secure Network Mode.
It is recommended to deploy the HPE 3PAR VSP using the Secure Network mode.
HPE 3PAR Central Customer site
Service
processor
HPE 3PAR HPE 3PAR Customer Customer
internal external external internal Service
HPE 3PAR firewall firewall firewall firewall processor
support (optional)
There are two types of local notification messages that you might receive: standard notifications and grouped low-urgency notifications.
• Standard notification messages—standard notification is a text-based email message that alerts you to an important event or alert generated
by a storage system.
• Grouped low-urgency notification messages—A grouped low-urgency notification is a text-based email message that informs you of
noncritical events generated by a storage system.
Low-urgency notification messages are informational and do not typically require any corrective action be taken. When a situation or event
reported in a low-urgency notification message becomes urgent, a standard notification message is issued to alert subscribers.
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User should have processes in place to review and update contact info and system information on regular basis.
Remote support
Remote support enables Hewlett Packard Enterprise to provide you with the best possible support for your storage system, including
the following:
• Timely remote service
• Remote online software updates
• Accelerated troubleshooting and issue resolution
Remote support sends diagnostic information, such as system health statistics, configuration data, performance data, and system events to
HPE 3PAR Central. These diagnostics are required for Hewlett Packard Enterprise to perform fault detection and analysis on your HPE 3PAR
StoreServ Storage system that help maximize your storage availability.
All remote communications are encrypted and transferred securely to HPE 3PAR Central, and no customer application data is ever transferred.
No other business information is collected, and the data is managed according to the HPE Data Privacy policy.
Remote support can be configured during the initial setup of the HPE 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Storage using the HPE 3PAR SmartStart in the
Service Processor setup wizard. The user can validate and test the connectivity using the SPOCC.
It is highly recommended to have remote support deployed and configured for your system.
After system installation and everyday thereafter a rescue file for the VSP will be generated and saved on the SP (SPOCC access) under
files/files/rescue. The rescue file contains moment of birth (MOB) information and can be used in case of an SP replacement or rebuild if the
version of SP code is not changing. If outbound access is enabled, rescue file is automatically transferred from the SP back to HPE 3PAR Central.
Rebuilding the VSP can also be an option. It is recommended that you contact HPE Support for assistance in case you need to rebuild your
VSP instance.
This task can be achieved either through the Network Time Protocol (NTP) server or manually. The manual setup is error prone and adds
burden to the system administrators, so it is highly recommended to use NTP whenever possible. Setting the correct date and time enables
VSP real-time monitoring and access.
Failing to have the correct time and date on the hypervisor might cause file system check error during initial deployment that would require to
run the system utility file system check (fsck) for checking the consistency of the file system to resolve. It is also very important to set the correct
date and time during the setup of the VSP.
HPE 3PAR SP audit information is contained in the SP_USER_ACTIVITY log file which provides audit information such as list of users who
accessed the VSP and their logon/logoff times, etc.
Configuration of the SP OS takes place at SP application installation, and at initial system bring-up called SP moment of birth (SPMOB).
The security relevant portions of SPMOB include:
A failover cluster is a group of Windows® hosts working together to increase the availability of an application or clustered services. To make
VSP highly available in a Hyper-V environment, users would implement failover clustering on the Hyper-V host servers. Windows Hyper-V comes
with a number of features for Hyper-V HA and VM mobility.
It is recommended that users leverage VMware HA or the Microsoft Failover Cluster when possible to protect VSP against host failures.
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The current version of VSP 4.2 comes with VMware tools installed. It is highly recommended to use the included version of VMware tools and not
to upgrade to any newer version unless directed by HPE Support.
Hyper-V Integration Services is a collection of utilities in Microsoft Hyper-V, designed to enhance the performance and management of the VM’s
guest OS. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is still in the testing and qualification of these tools, and at this time does not support tools deployment on
the VSP virtual machine (VM).
Providing network redundancy to the virtual network cards of the VSP will enable availability in case of different failure scenarios. Users should
consider using network card teaming in the hypervisor when supported. It is also recommended to consider using multiple network cards and
physical network switches to avoid single point of failure on the hypervisor which may impact the VSP network connectivity.
It is also recommended that the user consider using thin provisioning when deploying the disk for the VSP. It will reduce that amount of disk
space that the VSP would consume.
Summary
Deploying the HPE 3PAR Service Processor as a VM has many advantages. Rather than using a dedicated physical server to deploy SP, it can be
installed in a VM leveraging the user hypervisor environment. The consolidation opportunity for running multiple VSP on the same hypervisor
brings cost saving and management efficiency. Leveraging the hypervisor HA and snapshot features helps provide protection for the
VSP instances.
Technical white paper
Terminology
SP—Service Processor
SPOCC—Service Processor Onsite Customer Care (menu driven software on Service Processor)
VM—Virtual Machine
Resources
HPE 3PAR documents
HPE 3PAR Service Processor Onsite Customer Care (SPOCC) User’s Guide
Learn more at
hpe.com/go/3par
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trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.