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Building Azure Arc-enabled Data Services for a SQL Managed Instance on Dell PowerFlex
Introduction Product overview Solution architecture
Solution architecture
PowerFlex setup
Kubernetes and CSI setup
Management and operations
Azure Arc-enabled SQL Managed Instance
Test scenarios Test case results Conclusion Appendix A: SQL MI and Hammer DB Test Harness details Appendix B: SQL MI related service management using kubectl Appendix C: Red Hat Linux configuration References

Management and operations

Management and operations

  • PowerFlex and Azure Arc-enabled data services architecture offers a wide range of tools and services for the management and operations of the PowerFlex system and Azure Arc-enabled data services. These tools and services are broadly categorized into two areas –

    • PowerFlex System Management and Kubernetes related tools
    • Azure Arc supported tools

    PowerFlex System Management and Kubernetes related tools

    The following tools provide the automation of the PowerFlex System build, installation of all software components, PowerFlex specific network configurations, firmware update, disk operations, volume management, storage replication, volume snapshots, firmware, and software update, system monitoring, and so on. Each Kubernetes distribution offers a set of tools for container orchestration, cluster management and monitoring. The following table lists the tools that are used in the lab by Upstream Kubernetes cluster management.

    Table 4.      PowerFlex System Management and Kubernetes related tools

    Tool

    Purpose

    Version

    PowerFlex Manager

    PowerFlex Manager is a robust toolset, which simplifies the IT operations for the entire infrastructure by automating complex LCM and IT operations tasks, boosting IT productivity and infrastructure predictability. PowerFlex Manager also offers standards-based open APIs and custom Ansible modules, making it simple to integrate. PowerFlex Manager is installed as a virtual appliance.

    3.7.1

    PowerFlex GUI

    PowerFlex GUI performs standard configuration and maintenance activities, as well as monitor the storage system’s health and performance. Also, PowerFlex GUI retrieves overall PowerFlex performance metrics, and examines various elements.

    3.6.0

    vCenter

    VMware vCenter Server is an advanced server management software that provides a centralized platform for controlling vSphere environments for visibility across hybrid clouds. The ESXi hosts and VMs running on PowerFlex Systems are managed from vCenter.

    7.0.2

    kubectl

    Used for a wide variety of management and maintenance activities in Kubernetes.

    1.21.2

    helm

    Used to install software built for Kubernetes.

    3.6.3

    Azure Arc supported tools

    The following table lists the set of tools and services that enables the management and monitoring of Azure components running on PowerFlex. These tools enable to deploy DBaaS Azure data services, scale-up or scale-out of the instances as required, editing the running services, backup and restore of the databases, high availability using always on availability group, monitoring of running services, applying Azure policies and RBAC across cloud and on-premises, and many other capabilities.

    Table 5.      Azure Arc supported tools 

    Tool

    Purpose

    Version

     

    Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes

    Provides rich monitoring, GitOps-based configuration management, policy enforcement, and a target for Azure Arc-enabled data services.

    1.3.8

    Azure CLI (including required extensions)

    Used to interact with Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes resources. The following extensions were also installed: k8s-extension (v0.6.1), connectedk8s (v1.1.7), k8s-configuration (v1.0.0).

    2.27.0

    Azure portal

    Used to interact with Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes resources and Azure Arc-enabled data services.

    N/A

    Azure Monitor Container Insights

    Used for monitoring performance and capacity in the Kubernetes environment through the Azure portal.

    2.8.2

    Azure Data Studio

    Azure Data Studio is a cross-platform database tool that enables database management across on-premises and cloud platforms. Azure data controller and SQL MIs deployed on PowerFlex Systems are managed from Azure Data Studio. Functions like SQL database management, backup/restore, and monitoring are performed from here.

    1.35.1