Automate and standardize SAP operations using Dell ESI for storage integration
Thu, 23 Mar 2023 17:46:21 -0000
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SAP landscapes for enterprises can have multiple interrelated instances when you include the nonproduction systems that are used for development, testing, training, and sandbox experimentation. SAP Landscape Management (SAP LaMa) software combined with the Dell Enterprise Storage Integrator (ESI) for SAP LaMa simplifies management of these complex SAP environments using advanced storage-based replication services - local and remote - that are integrated into Dell storage systems.
Dell Technologies offers SAP customers one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of storage array options. ESI for SAP LaMa software supports all the storage systems that are listed in the following table for simplifying landscape management. Customers can choose a solution from N and N-1 PowerStore and PowerMax storage array models, and then purchase integration with SAP LaMa to improve management of their SAP systems. The new PowerStore All-Flash Storage appliance provides a data-centric design and adaptable architecture. PowerMax arrays are larger storage platforms that accelerate applications with end-to-end NVMe flash storage, global deduplication and compression, and data protection.
The following table shows the ESI-supported storage arrays:
NAS/NFS | SAN/Fibre Channel | Unified SAN and NAS |
PowerStore | PowerMax PowerStore | PowerMax PowerStore |
SAP LaMa is an automation and orchestration solution that replaces manual or scripted processes for creating clones and copies and monitoring activities. Simplified landscape management provides key business benefits including improved service quality and the capability to drive new business innovation. SAP LaMa combined with Dell ESI provides a single pane of glass for operations like SAP system relocation, creating and using snapshots, provisioning processes, and more. This increases manageability and enables business agility by facilitating administration teams to address rapidly changing organizational demands. Dell ESI supports SAP LaMa in physical, virtual, and cloud environments, providing a single pathway to manage most landscape configurations.
Improved operational capabilities with ESI for SAP LaMa include:
- SAP LaMa System Relocation: This operation enables relocation of an SAP system from the original host to another host that is recognized by SAP LaMa. System relocation operations are useful when the primary SAP server system needs scheduled maintenance or an upgrade. The entire relocation operation is automated, with ESI enabling administrators to quickly move the running SAP system from one host to another. All the following configurations are supported:
- Physical-to-physical (P2P) bare-metal to bare-metal
- Physical-to-virtual (P2V) bare-metal to VMware virtual using Raw Device Mapping (RDMs) and conversely
- Virtual-to-virtual (V2V) VMware VMDK discs from one VM to another
- Managed SAP LaMa: The managed snapshots operation enables all source volumes from an SAP system to be “snap copied” using a single API call to maintain storage consistency. Storage snapshots are a low-overhead point-in-time image of source volumes on a storage system that can be used in place of full copies for many management tasks. For example, PowerMax arrays use SnapVX to create a consistent image of SAP system volumes. Snapshots are more efficient than full copies because only the data changes between the source volumes and the images are copied to the “snap copied” volumes. For many SAP landscape management operations, PowerMax snapshots consume only a small fraction of the space that is used on the primary SAP system storage system.
- SAP LaMa system provisioning:
- System Clone: This operation duplicates a currently running system or previously created managed snapshot. The duplicated clone and source systems have identical system IDs. The clone is isolated (fenced) from the network to prevent data transfer to an incorrect system by mistake. The default configuration for all system clones, copies, and refresh processes that are created on Dell storage systems is to use space-efficient snapshots of the source volumes (space-saving copies).
- System Copy: This operation creates a copy of an SAP system with a new unique SAP system ID (SID), hostname, and IP address. A system copy is useful when the business needs a copy of either a production or nonproduction system for quality assurance, development, or testing. The key differences between a system clone and system copy are the creation of a new identity (SID) when using a copy operation, and the use of new storage volumes and full space allocations by the copy. Also, the target system is temporarily fenced until the changes take place.
- System Refresh: This operation refreshes a specified part of an existing system, either complete or used. Three options are enabled by system refresh procedures: system refresh, database refresh (database only), and restore-based refresh. The restore-based system refresh operation integrates with the leading Dell Data Protection solutions, such as PowerProtect Application Direct Database Agents and Data Domain with DDBoost.
Figure 1: Dell ESI integration with SAP Landscape Management
Additional operations such as monitoring and data protection can be streamlined by enabling Dell integration with SAP LaMa. For example, with data protection integration, customers can perform on-demand and scheduled backups of the SAP source system. Using PowerMax ESI integration, customers can automate most storage system operations for SAP. In addition, the opportunity for increased storage savings using efficient storage snapshots means that SAP customers can have more SAP systems consuming less overall space on their Dell storage systems.
Resources
- To start learning about the features and capabilities that are offered by Dell storage systems and PowerEdge servers, visit Dell Technologies Solutions for SAP.
- If you are interested in technical prerequisites for deploying ESI, see Enterprise Storage Integrator for SAP Landscape Management Simple Support Matrix.
- The SAP Landscape Management website is the ideal place to learn more about the benefits of automation and orchestration and post any questions you may have.
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Q3 2023: New and Updated Terraform Providers for Dell Infrastructure
Mon, 02 Oct 2023 12:49:02 -0000
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We just concluded three quarters of Terraform provider development for Dell infrastructure, and we have some exciting updates to existing providers as well as two brand new providers for PowerScale and PowerEdge node (Redfish-interface) workflows! You can check out the first two releases of Terraform providers here: Q1-2023 and Q2-2023.
We are excited to announce the following new features for the Terraform integrations for Dell infrastructure:
- NEW provider! v1.0 of the provider for PowerScale
- v1.2 of the provider for PowerFlex
- v1.0 of the provider for PowerMax
- NEW provider! v1.0 Terraform Provider for Redfish v1.0.0
- v1.1 Terraform Provider for OME
Terraform Provider for PowerScale v1.0
The first version of the PowerScale provider has a lot of net new capabilities in the form of new resources and data sources. Add to that a set of examples and utilities for AWS deployment, there is enough great material to have its own blog post. Please see this post--Introducing Terraform Provider for Dell PowerScale--all the details.
Terraform Provider for PowerFlex v1.2: it’s all about day-1 deployment
Day-1 deployment refers to the initial provisioning and configuration of hardware and software resources before any production workloads are deployed. A successful Day-1 deployment sets the foundation for the entire infrastructure's performance, scalability, and reliability. However, Day-1 deployment can be complex and time-consuming, often involving manual tasks, potential errors, and delays. This is where automation and the Dell PowerFlex Terraform Provider come into play.
Dell PowerFlex is the software defined leader of the storage industry, providing the foundational technology of Dell’s multicloud infrastructure as well as APEX Cloud Platforms variants for OpenShift and Azure. PowerFlex was the first platform in Dell’s ISG portfolio to have a Terraform provider. In the latest v1.2 release, the provider leapt forward in day-1 deployment operations of a PowerFlex cluster, now providing:
- New resource and data source for Cluster
- New resource and data source for MDM Cluster
- New resource and data source for User Management
- New data source for vTree (PowerFlex Volume Tree)
Now we’ll get into the details pertaining to these new features.
New resource and data source for Cluster
The cluster resource and data source are at the heart of day-1 deployment as well as ongoing cluster expansion and management. Cluster resource can be used to deploy or destroy 3- or 5-node clusters. Please refer the more detailed PowerFlex deployment guide here. The resource deploys all the foundational components of the PowerFlex architecture:
- Storage Data Client (SDC) -- consumes storage from the PowerFlex appliance
- Storage Data Server (SDS) -- contributes node storage to PowerFlex appliance
- Metadata Manager (MDM) -- manages the storage blocks and tracks data location across the system
- Storage Data Replication (SDR) -- enables native asynchronous replication on PowerFlex nodes
Following are the key elements of this resource:
- cluster for Cluster Installation Details
- lia_password for Lia Password
- mdm_password for MDM Password
- allow_non_secure_communication_with_lia to allow Non-Secure Communication With Lia
- allow_non_secure_communication_with_mdm to Allow Non-Secure Communication With MDM
- disable_non_mgmt_components_auth to Disable Non Mgmt Components Auth
- storage_pools for Storage Pool Details
- mdm_list for Cluster MDM Details
- protection_domains for Cluster Protection Domain Details
- sdc_list for Cluster SDC Details
- sdr_list for Cluster SDR Details
- sds_list for Cluster SDS Details
You can destroy a cluster but cannot update it. You can also import an existing cluster using the following command:
terraform import "powerflex_cluster.resource_block_name" "MDM_IP,MDM_Password,LIA_Password"
You can find example of a complete cluster resource definition here.
New resource and data source for MDM Setup
Out of the core architecture components of PowerFlex, we already have resources for SDC and SDS. The MDM resource is for the ongoing management of the MDM cluster and has the following key parameters for the Primary, Secondary, Tie-breaker, and Standby nodes:
- Node ID
- Node name
- Node port
- IPs of the MDM type
- The management IPs for the MDM node type
- While the Standby MDM is optional, it does require the role parameter to be setup to one of [‘Manager’, ‘TieBreaker’]
You can find multiple examples of using MDM cluster resource here.
New resource and data source for User Management
With the User resource, you can perform all Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations as well as import existing users that are part of a PowerFlex cluster.
To import users, you can use any one of the following import formats:
terraform import powerflex_user.resource_block_name “<id>”
or
terraform import powerflex_user.resource_block_name “id:<id>”
or by username
terraform import powerflex_user.resource_block_name “name:<user_name>”
New data source for vTree (PowerFlex Volume Tree)
Wouldn’t it be great to get all the storage details in one shot? The vTree data source is a comprehensive collection of the required storage volumes and their respective snapshot trees that can be queried using an array of the volume ids, volume names, or the vTree ids themselves. The data source returns vTree migration information as well.
You can find examples of specifying the query details for vTree data source here.
Terraform Provider for PowerMax v1.0
The PowerMax provider went through two beta versions, and we now have the official v1.0. While it’s a small release for the PowerMax provider, there is no arguing the importance of creating, scheduling, and managing snapshots on the World’s most secure mission-critical storage for demanding enterprise applications[1].
Following are the new PowerMax resources and data sources for this release:
- CRUD operations for snapshots-- including support for Secure snapshots.
- Here are examples of the new resource and data source.
- CRUD operations for snapshot policies-- ensure operational SLAs and data protection and retention compliance.
- Here are examples of the new resource and data source.
- CRUD operations for port group objects-- enable end-to-end provisioning workflow automation in Terraform with the existing resources for storage groups, host groups, and masking views.
- Here are examples of how to use the new resource and the data source for port groups.
New Terraform Provider for PowerEdge nodes (Redfish interface)
In addition to the comprehensive fleet management capabilities of OpenManage Enterprise UI, REST API, Ansible collections, and Terraform Provider, Dell has an extensive programmable interface at the node level with the iDRAC interface, Redfish-compliant API, and Ansible collections.
We are also introducing a Terraform provider called redfish to manage individual servers:
terraform {
required_providers {
redfish = {
version = "1.0.0"
source = "registry.terraform.io/dell/redfish"
}
}
}
With this introduction, we now have the complete programmatic interface matrix for PowerEdge server management:
| OpenManage Enterprise | iDRAC/RedFish |
REST API | ✔ | ✔ |
Ansible collections | ✔ | ✔ |
Terraform Providers | ✔ | ✔ |
With the new Terraform Provider for Redfish interface for Dell PowerEdge servers, you can automate and manage server power cycles, iDRAC attributes, BIOS attributes, virtual media, storage volumes, user support, and firmware updates on individual servers. This release adds support for these functionalities and is the first major release of the Redfish provider.
The following resources and data resources are available to get and set the attributes related to the particular attribute groups:
- Power management resource
- iDRAC Attributes resource
- BIOS resource
- Storage Volume resource
- Virtual Media resource
- User account resource
- Simple Update resource
- In addition to the data source corresponding to the attribute groups, two new data sources for Firmware Inventory and System Boot have also been added. Here you can find the examples of all the data sources for the Redfish provider.
Terraform Provider for OME v1.1
In this release of the Terraform Provider for OpenManage Enterprise (OME), multiple resource have been added for device management and security. Following is a list of resources in Terraform provider for Dell OME:
Device discovery and management
New resources under device discovery and management:
- New Discovery resource for automated discovery of devices to be managed.
- New Devices resource to maintain the state of individual devices that are under OME management. Removing the device from the state will take the device out of OME management. The release includes the corresponding data source for devices.
- New Device Action resource.
- New Static Group resource to group devices for easier deployment and compliance.
Security
- New Application CSR resource for Certificate Signing Requests.
- New Application Certificate resource for providing authentication certificate.
- New User resource for performing CRUD operations for OME users.
- New OME Appliance Network resource.
Check out the corresponding data sources for these resources for more information.
Resources
Here are the link sets for key resources for each of the Dell Terraform providers:
- v1.0 of the provider for PowerScale
- v1.0 of the provider for PowerMax
- v1.2 of the provider for PowerFlex
- v1.1 of the provider for PowerStore
- Terraform Provider for Redfish v1.0.0
- Terraform Provider for OME v1.1
[1] Based on Dell internal analysis of cybersecurity capabilities of Dell PowerMax versus cybersecurity capabilities of competitive mainstream arrays supporting open systems and mainframe storage, April 2023
Author: Parasar Kodati, Engineering Technologist, Dell ISG
CSM 1.8 Release is Here!
Fri, 22 Sep 2023 21:29:12 -0000
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Introduction
This is already the third release of Dell Container Storage Modules (CSM)!
The official changelog is available in the CHANGELOG directory of the CSM repository.
CSI Features
Supported Kubernetes distributions
The newly supported Kubernetes distributions are :
- Kubernetes 1.28
- OpenShift 4.13
SD-NAS support for PowerMax and PowerFlex
Historically, PowerMax and PowerFlex are Dell’s high-end and SDS for block storage. Both of these backends recently introduced support for software defined NAS.
This means that the respective CSI drivers can now provision PVC with the ReadWriteMany access mode for the volume type file. In other words, thanks to the NFS protocol different nodes from the Kubernetes cluster can access the same volume concurrently. This feature is particularly useful for applications, such as log management tools like Splunk or Elastic Search, that need to process logs coming from multiple Pods.
CSI Specification compliance
Storage capacity tracking
Like PowerScale in v1.7.0, PowerMax and Dell Unity allow you to check the storage capacity on a node before deploying storage to that node. This isn't that relevant in the case of shared storage, because shared storage generally will always show the same capacity to each node in the cluster. However, it could prove useful if the array lacks available storage.
Using this feature, an object from the CSIStorageCapacity type is created by the CSI driver in the same namespace as the CSI driver, one for each storageClass.
An example:
kubectl get csistoragecapacities -n unity # This shows one object per storageClass.
Volume Limits
The Volume Limits feature is added to both PowerStore and PowerFlex. All Dell storage platforms now implement this feature.
This option limits the maximum number of volumes to which a Kubernetes worker node can connect. This can be configured on a per-node basis, or cluster-wide. Setting this variable to zero disables the limit.
Here are some PowerStore examples.
Per node:
kubectl label node <node name> max-powerstore-volumes-per-node=<volume_limit>
For the entire cluster (all worker nodes):
Specify maxPowerstoreVolumesPerNode or maxVxflexVolumesPerNode in the values.yaml file upon Helm installation.
If you opted-in for the CSP Operator deployment, you can control it by specifying X_CSI_MAX_VOLUMES_PER_NODES in the CRD.
Useful links
Stay informed of the latest updates of the Dell CSM eco-system by subscribing to:
- The Dell CSM Github repository
- Our DevOps & Automation Youtube playlist
- Slack (under the Dell Infrastructure namespace)
- Live streaming on Twitch
Author: Florian Coulombel