Ax45 Software Overview
Ax45 Software Overview
Ax45 Software Overview
Software Overview
March 6, 2008
Topics include:
Prerequisites ................................................................................. 2
About the Navisphere Storage System Initialization Utility .............. 3
About the Navisphere Server Utility ............................................... 4
About the management tools.......................................................... 6
About data replication ................................................................... 9
About path management ............................................................... 11
1
Prerequisites
Before using any of the software listed above, refer to the Setup Guide
that ships with the storage system to complete the following tasks:
Install the host bus adapters (HBAs) or network interface cards
(NICs) and drivers in the servers attached to the storage system.
Cable the server HBAs to the switch or directly to the storage
system.
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About the Navisphere Storage System Initialization Utility
For Fibre Channel storage systems, use the Navisphere® Initialization
utility to discover storage systems and set network parameters (IP
address, subnet mask, and default gateway). In addition, for iSCSI
storage systems with iSCSI data ports attached to Windows servers, use
the utility to set network parameters for these ports.
You can run the initialization utility from the server support CD or you
can install it on a server or other host such as a Navisphere off-array
management station. The only requirement is that the host be connected
to the same network subnet as the storage-system management ports.
Software Overview 3
About the Navisphere Server Utility
The server utility allows you to perform the following functions:
Update server information to the storage system — Lets you
send the server name and IP address to the storage system and,
if needed later on, allows you to update or view this data. For
Windows servers running Navisphere Server Utility version 6.20 or
later, if the Registration Service feature remains enabled after the
installation of the server utility, the utility automatically registers
the server’s NICs or HBAs with the storage system and updates
server information whenever the configuration changes (for
example, when you mount new volumes or create new partitions).
Configure iSCSI connections or mutual CHAP — For servers with
Microsoft iSCSI initiators you can configure iSCSI connections,
such as logging on, logging off, or removing an iSCSI target, and
can configure mutual CHAP. In order to use this option, you must
install the latest supported version of the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
software. This option is available only with Navisphere Server
Utility version 6.20 or later.
You do not need to install the Microsoft iSCSI initiator software on servers
running the Windows Server 2008 operating system. The iSCSI initiator
software is part of the operating system.
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can allow or remove access to the snapshot by the secondary server
(server assigned to the snapshot).
You can run the Navisphere Server Utility from the CD or you can
install it on the servers that are connected to the storage system. We
strongly recommend that you install the utility on each server that is
connected to the storage system.
On AX4–5 series storage systems with Navisphere Manager, you cannot use
the server utility to manage snapshots. Instead, you must install and use the
admsnap utility.
Software Overview 5
About the management tools
After you upgrade to Navisphere Manager, you can also use the
Navisphere Command Line Interface (CLI) to manage the storage
system.
Navisphere Express and Navisphere Manager software are
storage-system-based management tools that consist of the
storage-system integrated management software and a web-based user
interface (UI). The easy-to-use management software is displayed in a
common browser and provides the following:
Security
Storage configuration and allocation
Data redundancy
Status and configuration information display
Event notification
Data migration
Security
Security consists of three basic functions — privacy, audit, and
authentication.
Privacy
The privacy function encrypts all data that passes between the browser
and the storage system. This encryption protects the transferred data
whether it is on a local LAN or over the Internet.
Audit
The audit function maintains an event log of critical storage-system
events. Each entry includes the date and time the event occurred, the
code associated with the event, and a description of the event.
Authentication
The authentication function uses password-based authentication that is
implemented by the storage-system integrated management software
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installed on each storage system. You assign a username and password
when you initialize the storage system.
For storage configurations that support both SAS and SATA II disk drives, we
strongly recommend that you create a unique hot spare for each disk type.
Data redundancy
Data redundancy is a method by which the data contained within a
disk pool or RAID group is protected against the failure of any single
disk pool or RAID group component. The storage-system integrated
Software Overview 7
management software uses RAID (redundant array of independent
disks) technology to improve data reliability and/or performance,
and to provide data redundancy. The Navisphere Express operating
environment supports three types of RAID technology - RAID 5, RAID
3 or RAID 1/0. The Navisphere Manager environment supports RAID
6, RAID 5, RAID 3, RAID 1, RAID 1/0, RAID 0, disk, hot spare, and
proactive hot spare.
Event notification
You can configure the storage system to send email notification of
predefined critical storage-system events to one or more persons. To
do this, enter the email addresses of the persons you want to receive
notification and the IP address of the SMTP mail server that sends the
email notifications. You can also configure the storage system to send
SNMP traps by entering the IP address for an SNMP trap destination.
Data migration
The data migration feature helps you to move data from one disk pool
or LUN to another, in order to improve performance on your storage
system. For example, you might want to move your data to a disk pool
or RAID group of a different RAID type, which may be better suited
for your data and the way applications access it. To migrate your data,
select a virtual disk or LUN and the disk pool or RAID group to which
you want to migrate it, and then start the migration operation. The
software creates a virtual disk or LUN in the destination disk pool or
RAID group and migrates the source data to it.
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About data replication
Data replication software consists of EMC SnapView™, EMC SAN
Copy™, EMC MirrorView™/A and EMC MirrorView/S. Not all storage
systems support data replication software. Support depends on the
storage system type and the version of FLARE OE software that the
system is running. You can install data replication enabler software on
supported AX4-5 dual SP storage systems that are configured with the
expansion enabler and Navisphere Manager. Fibre Channel storage
systems support all data replication software; iSCSI systems support
only SnapView. For more information about supported data replication
configurations, see the online help and the release notes specific to
the software product.
EMC SnapView
EMC SnapView software consists of two main features – snapshots and
clones. Snapshots are supported on some storage systems running
Navisphere Express (without the SnapView enabler), or Navisphere
Manager (with or without the SnapView enabler). Clones are supported
only if the SnapView enabler is installed on the storage system.
The snapshot feature helps you create non-disruptive point-in-time
copies (snapshots) of a virtual disk or LUN. To use the snapshot
feature, you must have a source server (server assigned to the source
virtual disk or LUN) and a secondary server (server assigned to the
snapshot). Use the snapshot for backup purposes or as a base for
temporary operations on the copy of the production data without
damaging the source data. With Navisphere Express, you will use
the Navisphere Server Utility to start and stop snapshots and with
Navisphere Manager, you will use the admsnap utility. Stopping the
snapshot ends the point-in-time copy and frees up the snapshot disk
resources for other snapshots to use.
The clone feature helps you create full image copies of your production
data that you can use to accelerate application development, and if
necessary, restore your storage data quickly and easily.
Software Overview 9
and the storage on CLARiiON SAN Copy storage systems (storage
systems running the SAN Copy software). SAN Copy transfers this
data directly without using host resources.
SAN Copy supports two types of copy sessions— full and incremental.
A full session copies all the data from the source storage device to the
destination storage device. An incremental session copies only the
data that has changed since the last copy session. The source storage
for an incremental session must reside on a SAN Copy storage system.
SAN Copy transfers data through a SAN (storage area network), and,
with the appropriate hardware such as an FC-IP bridge, also supports
protocols that use the IP WAN (Wide Area Network) to send data over
extended distances. SAN Copy supports running multiple copies -
each in its own copy session – simultaneously. On supported Windows
hosts, use the admhost utility to activate and deactivate the source and
destination storage devices being used in a SAN Copy session, and to
flush data from operating system buffers to ensure that the information
on the source storage device is current.
EMC MirrorView
EMC MirrorView software offers two complementary but
separately licensed storage-syste-based remote mirroring
products: MirrorView/Synchronous (MirrorView/s) and
MirrorView/Asynchronous (MirrorView/A). Both provide for disaster
recovery, that is, to let one image continue if a serious accident or
natural disaster disables the other. MirrorView/S is a synchronous
product that mirrors data in real time between local and remote
storage systems. MirrorView/A is an asynchronous product that offers
extended-distance replication based on a periodic incremental-update
model.
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About path management
PowerPath® software, installed on the server, provides path
management for the connection paths between a server and the virtual
disks or LUNs in the storage system. It transfers I/O to a working
path if one path fails and provides load balancing to distribute I/O
load equally among paths.
Software Overview 11
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