The storage data client is a kernel-level driver. This client installs on any host instances like a virtual HBA. It resides on all nodes that consume storage from the storage pool. The client maintains its peer-to-peer connection to every SDS managing the storage pool, allowing it to map the storage to the OS as a block device.
Figure 9. Storage data client connectivity
Confirm that you have the required installation software package for the operating system of the SDC instance that will be consuming the APEX Block Storage. The installation files are available for download as the “PowerFlex Complete Software Download” on the Dell Technologies support site.
The SDC can be downloaded from the Dell support website here.
Figure 10. SDC Download details page
Note: The build numbers in this figure are for example only, and do not reflect those in the current build.
Create your Azure virtual instance according to your defined processes and procedures. Ensure that the cloud instance that will utilize the SDC, and the one that will consume the APEX Block Storage, exist in the same Azure region. While it is possible to connect SDCs to APEX Block storage instances across different regions, the resulting data transfer cost would be substantial, and performance would not be optimal.
The second zip file in the package contains all the SDC files that will need to be manually installed on the machine instances within the public cloud environment that will be consuming the APEX Block Storage system.
There is no official limitation regarding the minimum instance size. However, the instances must be able to supply enough network bandwidth to support the anticipated workload speed. Because the storage traffic traverses the same connection as the rest of the network traffic, Dell Technologies recommends that you select instances with a minimum 10 Gb uplink speed.
The SDC must have proper access to the APEX Block Storage environment:
- Connectivity: The network must be reachable. The SDC can use the same subnet as the APEX Block Storage deployment. If you use a different subnet, configure the routing to ensure proper connectivity.
- Security groups: Adjust the security groups for both the SDC and the APEX Block Storage side to allow connectivity.
For any OS instance, ensure that you have the following:
- The IP address of the proxy server
- The IP address of each SDC Windows or Linux instance
- Login credentials for the Windows or Linux instance
- The IP addresses of the MDM management instances
Operating system requirements
The following is a list of operating system components supported by APEX Block Storage.
Linux | Packages required for all components, all Linux flavors: - numactl
- libaio1
- wget
- apr
- libapr1
- python2-rpm or python3-rpm
- which
|
Windows | - Only SDC, and LIA are supported components on Windows
- To install SDC, ensure that Microsoft Security Update KB3033929 is installed.
- To use the secure authentication mode, ensure that these are installed on all servers in the system:
- OpenSSL 64-bit v1.0.1 or later (v1.1, however, is not supported)
- Visual C++ redistributable 2010 package, 64-bit
|
Installation process for Windows instances:
Steps:
- Copy the following files to the proxy server:
- EMC-ScaleIO-sdc*.msi
- EMC-ScaleIO-lia*.msi
- From the proxy instance, open an RDP connection to the Windows instance and log in using the username and password of the instance.
- Copy the SDC and LIA MSI installation files (EMC-ScaleIO-sdc*.msi, EMC-ScaleIO-lia*.msi) to C:/Users/admin on the instance.
- Run the following commands to install the software:
msiexec /i EMC-ScaleIO-sdc*.msi MDM_IP=<list_mdm_ips>
msiexec /i EMC-ScaleIO-lia*.msi
The PowerFlex Installer opens.
- At the prompt, accept the license agreement.
- When the installation is complete, close the PowerFlex Installer status message, and click Mark operation completed.
- Repeat Step 2 through Step 6 for any additional Windows instances.
Installation process for Linux instances (Ubuntu):
Steps:
- Copy the following files to the proxy server:
- scini.ko
- EMC-ScaleIO-sdc*.deb
- EMC-ScaleIO-lia*.deb
- Log in to the proxy server and open a terminal window.
- Install the generic kernel (for example, 5.4.0-113-generic):
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt install linux-generic -y
- Open /etc/default/grub.cfg in a text editor and edit the default boot option to change the kernel version to the respective one on the system:
set GRUB_DEFAULT="Advanced options for Ubuntu>Ubuntu, with Linux 5.4.0-113-generic"
- Run the following command:
sudo update-grub && sudo update-grub2
- For Ubuntu Server 20 only, open the file /etc/default/grub.d/40-force-partuuid.cfg for editing and comment out the following line:
GRUB_FORCE_PARTUUID
For Ubuntu Server 18.04, skip the next step.
- Reboot the OS.
- Run uname -r to verify that the system has switched to the generic kernel.
Output similar to the following is displayed:
5..4.0-113-generic
- Upload EMC-ScaleIO-sdc*.Ubuntu.*.x86_64.deb and scini.ko to the Ubuntu instance. The scini.ko file should match the generic kernel version (5.4.0-113-generic).
- Upload EMC-ScaleIO-lia*.Ubuntu.*.x86_64.deb to the instance.
- Copy scini.ko to the driver cache:
sudo mkdir -p /bin/emc/scaleio/scini_sync/driver_cache/Ubuntu/3.6.400.107/5.4.0-113-generic/
sudo cp scini.ko /bin/emc/scaleio/scini_sync/driver_cache/Ubuntu/3.6.400.107/5.4.0-113-generic/
- Install the SDC.
sudo MDM_IP=<list_mdm_ips> dpkg -i <sdc_path>.deb
where
- <list_mdm_ips> is a comma-separated list of all primary, and secondary MDM IP addresses.
- <sdc_path> is the path where the SDC installation package is located.
- Install LIA:
sudo TOKEN=My_PowerFlex_Password dpkg -i <sdc_path>.deb
Installation process for Linux instances (RHEL, SUSE, CentOS):
Steps:
- Copy the following files to the proxy server:
- RPM-GPG-KEY-ScaleIO_*
- EMC-ScaleIO-lia*.rpm
- EMC-ScaleIO-sdc*.rpm
- Log in to the proxy server and open a terminal window.
- Copy the SDC installation file (EMC-ScaleIO-sdc*.rpm) from the proxy server to the first SDC instance:
scp -i keyfile.pem EMC-ScaleIO-sdc-* user@<sdc_ip>:/home/user/
- Copy the PowerFlex LIA installation file (EMC-ScaleIO-lia*.rpm) from the proxy server to the SDC instance:
scp -i keyfile.pem EMC-ScaleIO-lia* user@<sdc_ip>:/home/user/
- Log in to the SDC instance using SSH and install the GPG key. From the install folder, run:
rpm --import RPM-GPG-KEY-ScaleIO
- Run the following commands to install the software:
ssh -i keyfile.pem user@<sdc_ip>
sudo TOKEN=My_PowerFlex_Password rpm -ivh EMC-ScaleIO-lia*.rpm
sudo MDM_IP=<list_mdm_ips> rpm -ivh EMC-ScaleIO-sdc*.rpm
- Confirm that the driver is loaded:
systemctl status scini
- For all other Linux types:
service scini status