MD3220 access to virtual machines - possible?

Question

Spent some time on google as well as 'tinkering' to see if I could get this to work and haven't had much luck.  First, my configuration: (2) Dell PowerEdge R610 servers (1) MD3220 w/2 controllers each R610 has redundant connections to the MD3220.  Port 0 on controllers 0 & 1 connected to R610 #1 and port 1 on controllers 0 & 1 connected to R610 #2 I am running ESXi 5 on each R610 Each R610 has (2) VM's stored locally - Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x64 and Windows Server 2008 Standard x86. What I want to do is give the 2008 Enterprise x64 VM access to a pair of virtual disks on the MD3220 so that I can cluster the 2008 Enterprise x64 VM's.  Can this be done?  Essentially I am NOT going to store the VM's on the array, they will be stored on the R610's.  I want to cluster a database using the array instead. Our existing architecture is to just install 2008 x64 on each R610 and cluster them.  What I want to try and achieve with virtualizing is to try and reduce our deployment time (we build a LOT of clusters for clients that buy our automation systems), and also store a copy of the VM's on yet another virtual disk on the array.  I am hopeful this could be used as somewhat of a quick way to recover from a disaster (just copy the VM back to the local R610, perform some configuration, and be up and running again), and to take advantage of the snapshot features with ESXi. Is what I want to do possible with the 3220 or is this something I would need to try with the 3220i?

DELL-Kenny K · Accepted Answer

Aswarvar,

With the MD3220 being a SAS enclosure it was not meant for this type of operation. With the SAS arrays being a direct connect enclosure there is no kind of real multipathing. For what you are trying to do you would want the iSCSI or Fiber arrays. With the way VMWare sees the SAS enclosure, it thinks it is a form of local storage. Being that it will see it as a form local storage you will not be able to do any kind of vMotion with ESXi. I did find a pdf article from vmware regarding clustering that may assist a little with what you want to do but just keep in mind iSCSI and Fiber is what is recommended with what you want to do.

pubs.vmware.com/.../vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-mscs-guide.pdf

I hope this answers some of the questions that you have. Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions and I would be happy to assist.

mckarto · Answer

Hi Kenny

We got two vSphere5 ESXi5 embedded servers, both attached with two SAS cables to the two controller boards. The MD3220 is to share vm's in case that one server goes down for maintenance or failure, so we also want to vMotion vms between the two SAS-attached ESXi5 servers.

Is this a recommended scenario?

Is there any need to install RAID Software on the ESXi servers or can I handle the MD3220 solely over a webinterface?

thanks and regards,
mckarto

Dev Mgr · Answer

You'll need to install MDSM on a Windows or linux (full GUI) system. You then can manage the MD3220 via the management ports (you'll have to plug them into your LAN/management network).

ESXi won't need any software for the MD.

DELL-Kenny K · Answer

To make it a little easier for you I went ahead and grabbed the link for the MDSM (Modular Disk Storage Manager). Like Dev mgr mentioned once this is installed then you can use this software to manage the storage array.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns and I would be happy to assist.

mckarto · Answer

Hi Kenny and DevMgr

We found the solution, first I added the cables (like port 0 on module 0 and port 3 on module 1) and than after the tests to other ports (like port0 on module 0 and port 0 on module 1). Than the multipathing didn't work, no restarting refreshing helped.

That's because the ESXi holds the older ports and doesn't show up the new cabling, also not after rebooting the ESXi Server and the MD3220.

I reinstalled the ESXi (could have hacked the files) and than he accepted all ports and i was able to configure the multipath to round robin.

DELL-Kenny K · Answer

I am glad to hear that fixed it. Thank you for letting us know.

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MD3220 access to virtual machines - possible?

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