In general, the host HBA initiator should register to VNX array after completing physically connection. The host IP address, Host name and operating system information which facilitate storage administrator to manage host are sent to the storage array during the registration process. There are four common methods to register host such as Unisphere Host Agent, Unisphere Server Utility, manually registration and PowerPath. This article will introduce these methods of host registration.

Unisphere Host Agent

The Host Agent registers the server’s HBA (host bus adapter) with the attached storage system when the Agent service starts, the server must configure TCP/IP connection with the attached storage system. This action sends the initiator records for each HBA to the storage system. Initiator records are used to control access to storage-system data. The Agent can then retrieve information from the host automatically at startup or when requested by Unisphere or CLI. The Host Agent can also:

• Send drive mapping information to the attached VNX storage systems.

• Monitor storage-system events and can notify personnel by email, page, or modem when any designated event occurs.

• Retrieve LUN WWN (World Wide Name) and capacity information from VNX storage systems.

The Unisphere Host Agent is shipped with each array on the support CD. The documentation of Unisphere Host Agent can be found in the support.emc.com.

Unisphere Server Utility

Unisphere Server Utility allows you to register host information to the VNX array via SAN network. It isn’t a real-time operation. When a host needs to registration information to the storage system, run the program to update the relevant information. Lets you send the server name and IP address to the storage system and, if needed later on, allow you to update or view this date. There are obvious distinction between Unisphere Host Agent and Server Utility distinction as the following table:

      

Function	Unisphere   Host Agent	Unisphere   Server Utility
Pushes LUN mapping and OS information   to the storage system.	Yes – LUN mapping information is   displayed in the Manager UI next to the LUN icon or with the CLI using the lunmapinfo command.	No – LUN mapping   information is not sent to the storage system.  Only the server’s name, ID, and IP address are sent to the storage system.
Runs automatically to send information   to the storage system.	Yes – No user interaction is required.	Yes – You can control whether server   information is automatically sent to the storage system by enabling or   disabling the registration service feature. This feature is automatically   enabled during the installation of the server utility, but you can stop the   service at any time through the services option in the Microsoft user   interface. Note that only the server’s name, ID, and IP address are sent to   the storage system; LUN mapping information is not sent.
Requires network connectivity to the   storage system.	Yes – Network connectivity allows LUN   mapping information to be available to the storage system.	No – LUN mapping information aren’t   sent to the storage system. Note that if you are using the server utility to   upload a high-availability report to the storage system, you must have   network connectivity.

Manually registration

EMC strongly recommends that you use the Host Agent or Unisphere Server Utility to register any unregistered hosts, but manually registration is a method to register hosts. Manually registration is a way that manually enters a host name and IP address in the storage system. The input information should be the correct host information, but it doesn’t affect the system running if entering the wrong information. 

For R32 version, use the following steps to register host HBA initiators manually: 

1. Log in to the Unisphere.

2. Select the desire array from the Unisphere dashboard.

3. Select Hosts > Initiators.

4. In the Initiators view, select the HBA or multiple HBAs you want to register.

Note: If Host Agent or Unisphere Server Utility is not installed on the host, and if zoning and cabling is properly done, we see the initiator Loggedin as “Yes” and Registered as “No”.

5. Click Register to open the Create Initiator Record dialog box.

6. Verify that WWN/IQN and SP Port ID are correct.

7. In Initiator Type, select a supported initiator type from the list or enter the type for a supported initiator. (For more information, refer solution emc99467)

8. In Failover Mode, select the correct failover value. (For the correct failover values, refer solution emc99467)

9. In Host Agent Information, do one of the following:

•If this HBA belongs to an existing host, select Existing Host, click Browse Host, and then from the list, select the host in which the HBA resides.

•If this HBA belongs to a new host, select New Host, and then enter the name and IP address for the host.

•Choose Selected Host.

10. For most case select, enable or disable ArrayCommPath. (For more information, refer solution emc99467)

11. For most case select, In Unit Serial Number, select the correct value - Array or LUN.  (For more information, refer solution emc99467)

12. Click OK to register the HBA, and return to the Initiators view.  

The Registered status of the selected HBAs changes from No to Yes. 

Through PowerPath (Thanks to dynamox's input)

Please refer to the first reply to see how to register the host through PowerPath.

Author: Jeffey Liu

             

iEMC APJ

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