Did you buy a remote install service with your SAN? If so, I'd suggest to contact that team and schedule to have someone work with you to set up the SAN.
As for SANHQ, why not install it on one of the hyper-v servers? Alternatively take a (physical) server running Windows (any version) with at least 2 NICs, and put 1 NIC on the LAN and the other NIC into the iSCSI network.
I'm not too familiar with backup solutions (main job deals with SANs and connecting servers to SANs), but if the hardware provider is needed, it indicates that it would indeed involve using SAN based snapshots (and reserve). You don't specifically need 100% (default) though. If you just want to use the snapshot to do backups, 20% or maybe even 10% could be enough space, especially if you take the snapshots at a low-IO time and are done with the backups before IO picks up again (e.g. at night).
Guest attached volumes do require more physical NIC ports in your host, as you would use 2 NICs for the host's iSCSI and then 2 more NICs for the guest' s iSCSI (I wouldn't recommend piggy-backing the guest's iSCSI on the same NICs as the host uses for it's iSCSI). You'd turn these extra NICs into (2) external network connections for the guests, give the guests 2 extra NICs (on top of their regular LAN NIC), install the Equallogic HITKIT on the guest and configure the guest for iSCSI connectivity just like you did the host.
Hi, it's Joe with Dell EqualLogic. Welcome to the forum! Moving forward, try to limit each post to just one specific subject. This way you can get better responses from the subject experts.
First ensure you update your array to the latest firmware after you have configured the Array group. The current version is v5.0.7. Information on how to do an update is available on the EqualLogic site at: support.dell.com/equallogic web site (login required).
Q1: If all 4 interfaces are configured for iSCSI traffic, you would need to create a port group (trunk) for remote management of the Array. If you decide to use the dedicated management interface option, the management interface is no longer available for iSCSI traffic. Performace may vary depending on your host disk IO, work load, etc.
Also, see the EqualLogic website listed above for specific information on VMware
Q2: Yes, lowering your snapshot reserve will provide some additional space for volumes, however, since you plan on using snapshots you will need to provide space for this, but this can be adjusted based on your snapshot retention needs. You may want to review this link to ensure you have selected the best RAID policy for your needs (you may be able to use RAID5 or RAIS50 to gain space without losing performance): (Choosing the Right RAID policy: attachments.wetpaintserv.us/H_ZTtYOIygZYOluTq6bP4w955999).
Regarding the backup, you may need to incorporate the EqualLogic ASM/ME (Auto Snapshot Manager/Microsoft Edition) and/or ASM/VE (Auto Snapshot Manger/VMware Edition) (both are free BTW!). Again, download both from the EqualLogic support site to review the documentation, and post any additional questions on this thread.
Q3: Review these links, once reviewed, if you have any additional specific questions, post them on this thread (VMware® ESX Server 3.x Considerations, Configuration and Operation Using an EqualLogic PS Series SAN: attachments.wetpaintserv.us/JI4wgF1klLCXvvgvg5OYGA753490). Again, the EqualLogic support site listed above also has specific information on setting up ESX.
Did you buy a remote install service with your SAN? If so, I'd suggest to contact that team and schedule to have someone work with you to set up the SAN.
Yes we did. I think most of what I had questions about isn't really covered as part of the remote install...particularly tuning for Hyper-V, at least if I'm reading the guide that they included that details the included services. I'm pretty comfortable now with setting up the SAN, configuring the networking, attaching the Hyper-V hosts to the SAN. I've actually done some testing with IOMeter and I was happy to see some really great throughput with MPIO working. I'm just getting anxious as we had to wait for nearly 8 months while we had a lot of physical improvements done (cabling and power). I suppose it doesn't hurt to call.
As for SANHQ, why not install it on one of the hyper-v servers? Alternatively take a (physical) server running Windows (any version) with at least 2 NICs, and put 1 NIC on the LAN and the other NIC into the iSCSI network.
I was trying to keep the hyper-v servers as clean as possible to preserve resources. Your second option is a possibility since we should have a few servers once we get vm's into production. But I still need a way to get mail enabled...I suppose I could set up a smtp relay on the same server and have it forwarding mail from the SAN.
I'm not too familiar with backup solutions (main job deals with SANs and connecting servers to SANs), but if the hardware provider is needed, it indicates that it would indeed involve using SAN based snapshots (and reserve). You don't specifically need 100% (default) though. If you just want to use the snapshot to do backups, 20% or maybe even 10% could be enough space, especially if you take the snapshots at a low-IO time and are done with the backups before IO picks up again (e.g. at night).
Our environment is pretty small (about 250 end users), so I think if I cut down the size of the CSV volume for the VM's I can get away with reserving 40-50% for snapshots.
Guest attached volumes do require more physical NIC ports in your host, as you would use 2 NICs for the host's iSCSI and then 2 more NICs for the guest' s iSCSI (I wouldn't recommend piggy-backing the guest's iSCSI on the same NICs as the host uses for it's iSCSI). You'd turn these extra NICs into (2) external network connections for the guests, give the guests 2 extra NICs (on top of their regular LAN NIC), install the Equallogic HITKIT on the guest and configure the guest for iSCSI connectivity just like you did the host.
Thanks for clearing that up. So is there a general consensus out there that giving the VM's their own iSCSI vNIC is the best way to attach additional volumes to a guest?
Sorry for the multiple topics mashed into one thread-as I mentioned in my previous reply I think I'm just getting anxious. We are a small shop with a staff of 2 people (myself included) so I'm trying to ramp up my knowledge as fast as possible. I probably would benefit by taking a step back and just absorbing as much as possible.
Thanks for the links as well. I've already read through the first two that you provided, the third link doesn't really apply to us since we're going to be a pure Hyper-V environment (think local government with a very limited budget).
Dev Mgr
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9.3K Posts
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June 14th, 2011 07:00
Did you buy a remote install service with your SAN? If so, I'd suggest to contact that team and schedule to have someone work with you to set up the SAN.
As for SANHQ, why not install it on one of the hyper-v servers? Alternatively take a (physical) server running Windows (any version) with at least 2 NICs, and put 1 NIC on the LAN and the other NIC into the iSCSI network.
I'm not too familiar with backup solutions (main job deals with SANs and connecting servers to SANs), but if the hardware provider is needed, it indicates that it would indeed involve using SAN based snapshots (and reserve). You don't specifically need 100% (default) though. If you just want to use the snapshot to do backups, 20% or maybe even 10% could be enough space, especially if you take the snapshots at a low-IO time and are done with the backups before IO picks up again (e.g. at night).
Guest attached volumes do require more physical NIC ports in your host, as you would use 2 NICs for the host's iSCSI and then 2 more NICs for the guest' s iSCSI (I wouldn't recommend piggy-backing the guest's iSCSI on the same NICs as the host uses for it's iSCSI). You'd turn these extra NICs into (2) external network connections for the guests, give the guests 2 extra NICs (on top of their regular LAN NIC), install the Equallogic HITKIT on the guest and configure the guest for iSCSI connectivity just like you did the host.
Joe S586
7 Technologist
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729 Posts
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June 14th, 2011 08:00
Sorry, I miss read the post and thought this was VMware, We have specific information on Hyper-V on the EqualLogic support web site as well.
Also check this link for Hyper-V: attachments.wetpaintserv.us/6bO2uWcS8hgKUohwpLhWxQ813609
Joe
Joe S586
7 Technologist
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729 Posts
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June 14th, 2011 08:00
gkurcon,
Hi, it's Joe with Dell EqualLogic. Welcome to the forum! Moving forward, try to limit each post to just one specific subject. This way you can get better responses from the subject experts.
First ensure you update your array to the latest firmware after you have configured the Array group. The current version is v5.0.7. Information on how to do an update is available on the EqualLogic site at: support.dell.com/equallogic web site (login required).
Q1: If all 4 interfaces are configured for iSCSI traffic, you would need to create a port group (trunk) for remote management of the Array. If you decide to use the dedicated management interface option, the management interface is no longer available for iSCSI traffic. Performace may vary depending on your host disk IO, work load, etc.
See:
www.delltechcenter.com/.../EqualLogic+Configuration+Guide
Also, see the EqualLogic website listed above for specific information on VMware
Q2: Yes, lowering your snapshot reserve will provide some additional space for volumes, however, since you plan on using snapshots you will need to provide space for this, but this can be adjusted based on your snapshot retention needs. You may want to review this link to ensure you have selected the best RAID policy for your needs (you may be able to use RAID5 or RAIS50 to gain space without losing performance): (Choosing the Right RAID policy: attachments.wetpaintserv.us/H_ZTtYOIygZYOluTq6bP4w955999).
Regarding the backup, you may need to incorporate the EqualLogic ASM/ME (Auto Snapshot Manager/Microsoft Edition) and/or ASM/VE (Auto Snapshot Manger/VMware Edition) (both are free BTW!). Again, download both from the EqualLogic support site to review the documentation, and post any additional questions on this thread.
Q3: Review these links, once reviewed, if you have any additional specific questions, post them on this thread (VMware® ESX Server 3.x Considerations, Configuration and Operation Using an EqualLogic PS Series SAN: attachments.wetpaintserv.us/JI4wgF1klLCXvvgvg5OYGA753490). Again, the EqualLogic support site listed above also has specific information on setting up ESX.
Regards,
Joe
gkurcon
9 Posts
0
June 14th, 2011 08:00
Yes we did. I think most of what I had questions about isn't really covered as part of the remote install...particularly tuning for Hyper-V, at least if I'm reading the guide that they included that details the included services. I'm pretty comfortable now with setting up the SAN, configuring the networking, attaching the Hyper-V hosts to the SAN. I've actually done some testing with IOMeter and I was happy to see some really great throughput with MPIO working. I'm just getting anxious as we had to wait for nearly 8 months while we had a lot of physical improvements done (cabling and power). I suppose it doesn't hurt to call.
I was trying to keep the hyper-v servers as clean as possible to preserve resources. Your second option is a possibility since we should have a few servers once we get vm's into production. But I still need a way to get mail enabled...I suppose I could set up a smtp relay on the same server and have it forwarding mail from the SAN.
Our environment is pretty small (about 250 end users), so I think if I cut down the size of the CSV volume for the VM's I can get away with reserving 40-50% for snapshots.
Thanks for clearing that up. So is there a general consensus out there that giving the VM's their own iSCSI vNIC is the best way to attach additional volumes to a guest?
Great information, thanks!
gkurcon
9 Posts
0
June 14th, 2011 08:00
Hi Joe,
Sorry for the multiple topics mashed into one thread-as I mentioned in my previous reply I think I'm just getting anxious. We are a small shop with a staff of 2 people (myself included) so I'm trying to ramp up my knowledge as fast as possible. I probably would benefit by taking a step back and just absorbing as much as possible.
Thanks for the links as well. I've already read through the first two that you provided, the third link doesn't really apply to us since we're going to be a pure Hyper-V environment (think local government with a very limited budget).