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CLARiiON CX3-10c and Hyper-V 2012 Multipathing
I am attempting to setup Hyper-V 2012 servers and use a CLARiiON CX3-10c unit connected via 4Gb FC for storage on the hosts. I was kicking around using Microsoft MPIO for multipathing, but I'm gathering it doesn't support any sort of active/active configuration. I'm trying to see what the best setup is that I can do without investing a bunch of money into something like PowerPath (although I have a couple old licenses I think I got when we first bought this CLARiiON), or if I have no real choice if I want higher throughput with the connection.
I've been searching high and low the last couple days and experimenting some, but at this point I'm in a huge fog on exactly what is possible now. Can someone give me an idea what is possible without investing a bunch of money in multipathing software?
kelleg
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May 28th, 2013 13:00
ALUA is recommended for those operating systems that support ALUA - Windows 2008, ESX 4.x and higher and some of the *nix versions. emc99467 (attached) contains the latest recommendations for using ALUA by operating system.
glen
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emc99467.pdf
Roger_Wu
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May 23rd, 2013 18:00
For I/O path, I think Windows 2008/2012 MPIO supports basic Active/Active (or load-balancing) feature. You can specify the policies in LUN disk > MPIO tab > Load Balance Policy > (Fail Over Only | Round Robin | Round Robin with Subset | Least Queue Depth | Weighted Paths | Least Blocks). Refer to MS KB for more details: MPIO Policies
For storage side, CX3 doesn't support Active/Active, only CX4 (and VNX) supoprts ALUA (an asymmetric Active/Active feature).
AnkitMehta
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May 28th, 2013 06:00
If you are talking about below para (image) then it has a literal meaning!
CX4 Series supports ALUA and this configuration is supported by EMC.
CX3 Series compliant (manageable) with ALUA if they are on FLARE Release 26. However, this ALUA Configuration on CX3 is not recommended and supported by EMC!
ERSpigle
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May 28th, 2013 06:00
If the CX3 doesn't support Active/Active, what is implied by the information in this document:
http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/white-papers/h2890-emc-clariion-asymm-active-wp.pdf
Take note on page 12 under "Storage system support". The document indicates CX3 models with FLARE code 26 are AULA compliant. I'm just trying to better understand my best options using our existing CLARiiON CX3 model and if using Microsoft MPIO makes sense (or the best setup assuming it does).
AnkitMehta
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May 28th, 2013 07:00
There is a need to document on which array, which FLARE ALUA is working! When EMC tests the configuration they might have found that CX3 can be managed with ALUA configuration but configuration doesn't work most of the time or its not reliable so they have mentioned manageable so that someone else do not come up stating hey, you did not mention CX3 can be configured as well....see I configured my CX3! So they did their part, if you are willing to take the risk, you may proceed.
I was unable to find the document for Best Setup. However, you may refer to : http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/white-papers/h6182-using-clariion-microsoft-hyper-v-wp.pdf and also, verify the configuration here, elabnavigator.emc.com
ERSpigle
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May 28th, 2013 07:00
I fail to see why they would mention the CX3 units as being compliant if they're not going to support or recommend that setup. I guess I just need to keep digging deeper for how best to setup this CX3 with Hyper-V 2012 as I'm not finding much in the few days I've spun my wheels trying to figure out the best setup. The EMC document called "Using EMC CLARiiON with Microsoft Hyper-V Server" states to use failover mode 4 (ALUA) on the CLARiiON when using PowerPath or MPIO, though maybe they just mean the CX4 units... they don't really specify. This document was written before Hyper-V 2012 times, but I don't think MPIO has changed a ton from 2008 to 2012 in Windows from what I've read.
ERSpigle
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May 28th, 2013 08:00
Yeah, that linked PDF file is the one I was looking through which said ALUA (failover mode 4 on the CLARiiON) was necessary when using MPIO and PowerPath. I've never used the E-Lab stuff--I'll have to poke around and see what sort of information it has.
AnkitMehta
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May 28th, 2013 08:00
Cool. Good luck!
AnkitMehta
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May 28th, 2013 09:00
In CX3 Series on FLARE 26 ALUA mode is supported. However, is it supported/recommended by EMC?!
kelleg
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May 28th, 2013 09:00
Active/Active (ALUA) or failover mode 4 was introduced in Flare release 26 which is the last release for the CX3. CX3 does support the ALUA mode.
glen
ERSpigle
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May 28th, 2013 13:00
Thanks. This helps quite a bit in getting some raw information on settings and such and what EMC says is recommended.
AnkitMehta
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May 28th, 2013 13:00
I am well aware of emc99467, if you remember we have made several changes together to that KB Article! :)
I was talking about ALUA and its behavior.If I understood this correctly, ALUA allows me to reach my LUN via the active and the inactive service processor. Oversimplified this just means that all traffic that is directed to the non-active service processor will be routed internally to the active service processor.
On a CLARiiON that is using ALUA mode this will result in the host seeing paths that are in an optimal state, and paths that are in an non-optimal state. The optimal path is the path to the active storage processor and is ready to perform I/O and will give you the best performance, and the non-optimal path is also ready to perform I/O but won’t give you the best performance since you/we are taking a detour.
The ALUA mode is available on CX-3 and CX-4, but the results you get can vary between both arrays depending on the environment setup.
kelleg
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May 28th, 2013 13:00
You also might want to look at support.emc.com - do a search for "CLARiiON CX4 Series", then under Documentation, look for the EMC Host Connectivity Guides for XXX (operating system) - these will have the latest information.
glen
dynamox
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May 28th, 2013 13:00
I was talking about ALUA and its behavior.If I understood this correctly, ALUA allows me to reach my LUN via the active and the inactive service processor.
i am not sure i would say it like that because both SP are active, just some are preferred for some LUNs and non-preferred for others in terms of LUN ownership.
AnkitMehta
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May 28th, 2013 13:00
Of course, they are! (Paths NOT the SP's after configuring the ALUA Configuration) EMC CLARiiON is an Active/Passive Storage Array. Asymmetric Active/Active is a request-forwarding implementation that honors the LUN ownership feature of the storage system (only 1 controller owns a given LUN). However, it allows I/O router through either controller. The controller that is not the current owner of the LUN redirects the I/O to the controller that owns the LUN by using internal communication path i.e. CLARiiON Messaging Interface (CMI) within the CLARiiON Storage System.