DEPLOYMENT GUIDE
DEPLOYING THE F5 ARX WITH
THE DELL NX1950 AND EQUALLOGIC PS5000 STORAGE ARRAY
Version: 1.0
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
Prerequisites and configuration notes (1)
Configuration example (1)
Configuring the Dell NX1950 Server and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage array
Performing the initial PS5000 configuration (3)
Performing the PS5000 Remote Setup (4)
Initializing the array (5)
Defining VDS/VSS management access (6)
Creating the Volumes (7)
Running the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator (8)
Adding the Volumes to the Microsoft Windows Unified Storage Server (10)
Joining the Active Directory Domain (12)
Sharing the PS5000 Virtual Disks (12)
Assigning a Backup Operator (15)
Configuring the ARX device
Creating the CIFS Namespace (16)
Creating a Volume (18)
Adding the External Filers (20)
Adding a root level share (21)
Adding the CIFS Shares to the volume (22)
Creating the Share farm (23)
Creating the File Placement Policy (24)
Creating the Virtual Service (26)
Verifying the Storage Integration
Mounting the Virtual Server CIFS share (29)
Generating an ARX Metadata Report (30)
View the shares from the backend server perspective (32)
Conclusion (33)
F5 Deployment Guide i
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Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
Welcome to the F5 - Dell NX1950 deployment guide. This guide provides
step by step procedures on deploying the Adaptive Resource Switch (ARX)
with Dell NX1950 Unified Storage.
The F5 ARX file virtualization platform decouples file access from the
physical file location within Network Attached Storage (NAS)
environments. The ARX platform automates file migration to the
appropriate tier of storage without affecting data access, thus minimizing
backup and recovery windows.
For more information on the ARX system, see
https://www.doczj.com/doc/1d16411566.html,/products-arx-products.htm
Prerequisites and configuration notes
The following are prerequisites and configuration notes for this deployment:
◆You must have an Active Directory Domain setup, and a proxy-user created and in the Domain.
◆You must have the ARX Initial interview completed for network connectivity and access credentials.
◆The Dell Server has been initially configured for LAN connections.
◆We assume the Legacy storage is installed and the root level share is known.
Configuration example
In the following diagram, we show basic connectivity between clients, ARX
and Dell NX1950 with EqualLogic Storage Array. In this configuration, a
client attempts to retrieve a file from a file share. The ARX proxies the
request, and transparently retrieves the file from the server storing the file.
We configure a policy on the ARX that periodically checks the last time
files were modified, and migrate the file to the appropriate filer if the
conditions of the policy are met. In our example, the ARX policy is Product Tested Version Tested
Microsoft Windows 2003 Unified Data
Storage Server
v5.2.3790EqualLogic Firmware
3.3.1F5 Acopia ARX
4.0.1
Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
F5 Deployment Guide 2checking for a last modified time of less than (or more than) 30 days. If the
policy matches, then the ARX moves the file between the backend filers
according to policy.
The network configuration defined in our lab used an ARX1000 with 4
Gigabit Ethernet links configured into a LACP bundle between the ARX
and the core switch. The ARX, Dell Servers, Incumbent Legacy Storage,
and Test client are all on the same subnet. The Active Directory (AD)
Primary Controller was on a different subnet than the Dell Storage server.
The Dell Storage server is assigned to the AD domain. The Proxy User is
assigned backup operator privileges for the Dell Server.
Figure 1
Logical configuration example
Configuring the Dell NX1950 Server and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage array
The Dell servers come with Windows UDS pre installed. The server to
discover network addressing and the storage arrays. This section shows how
to configure the PS5000 iScsi storage array. We configure the array for
RAID volumes, add the server to the Active Directory Domain and share the
volume to the network.
There are several levels of authentication and access control that are
available to the system administrator. This deployment guide uses a very
relaxed stance on access credentials for demonstration purposes only. The
access rights for a production environment most likely would use a more
strict security policy.
The tasks we will address in this section are as follows:
?Performing the initial PS5000 configuration, following
?Performing the PS5000 Remote Setup, on page 4
?Initializing the array, on page 5
?Defining VDS/VSS management access, on page 6
?Creating the Volumes, on page 7
?Running the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator, on page 8
?Adding the Volumes to the Microsoft Windows Unified Storage Server,
on page 10
?Joining the Active Directory Domain, on page 12
?Sharing the PS5000 Virtual Disks, on page 12
?Assigning a Backup Operator, on page 15
Performing the initial PS5000 configuration
To initially configure the PS5000 Array, we use the console port on the
array controller. Use the Null Modem cable provided with the array and a
terminal emulation application.
The initial configuration defines the iScsi IP network interfaces. At least two
IP addresses are required for this step. The Group IP address is the IP
address assigned to a group of arrays. The member IP address is a unique
address per storage array. In our example we only have a single array.
These configuration steps are located on page 18 of the PS Series Storage
Array Quickstart Guide provided with the PS5000.
The following naming conventions match the examples provided by the
documentation. The values are for example purposes, configure as
applicable for your deployment.
3
Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
To configure the PS5000
https://www.doczj.com/doc/1d16411566.html,ing a terminal application, connect to the PS5000 console port.
Using the following parameters: 9600 Baud, N,8,1, no flow
control.
https://www.doczj.com/doc/1d16411566.html,e the following for both the user name and password: grpadmin
3.Enter the member name as member01.
4.The network interface should be eth0.
5.The IP address should be 192.168.1.2.
6.The Network Mask should be 255.255.255.0.
7.Default gateway should be 192.168.1.5 (Windows 2003 UDS IP
Address).
8.The Group Name should be group01.
9.The Group IP address should be 192.168.1.3.
10.Type a password for the default group administration account.
11.Exit the terminal application.
Performing the PS5000 Remote Setup
The next task is to run the PS5000 Remote Setup Wizard. In this wizard, the
PS5000 discovers the array and adds its group access.
To run the remote setup wizard
1.Log into the Windows Server as Administrator.
The Array discovery tool launches, and automatically searches for
uninitialized arrays.
2.On the Welcome screen, click the Configure this computer to
access a PS Series SAN and then click the Next button.
3.Click the Add Group button. The Add or Modify Group Info dialog
opens.
4.In the Name box, type a name for this group. In our example, we
type group01.
5.In the Group IP address box, type the IP address for the group. In
our example, we type 192.168.1.3 (see Figure 2).
6.The rest of the fields are optional, configure as applicable for your
deployment.
7.Click the Save button. You return to the Configure this computer to
access a PS Series SAN screen.
8.Click the Finish button.
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Figure 2 Adding the Group information
Initializing the array
In this procedure, we initialize the disks.
To initialize the array and create the volumes
1.Log in to the Web UI of the PS5000.
The home page opens.
2.In the left navigation pane, expand Members , and click the name of
the member you created in the preceding procedure. In our example,
we click group01.
3. A warning message appears stating that RAID is not configured.
Click the Yes button to configure the RAID policy. The Step 1 of
the Configure member dialog opens.
4.In the Member Name box, type a name for this member. In our
example, we type member01. You can optionally type a
description.
Click the Next button (see Figure 3).
5.In the Raid Policy section, click an appropriate RAID policy. In our
example, we click RAID-50.
6.Click the Next
button.
Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
F5 Deployment Guide 6
Figure 3 Configuring the General Settings of the member
7.On the Summary screen, review the settings, and then click the
Finish button. An information window opens confirming the
successful configuration, and warning that member space will not
be available until storage initialization completes.
Defining VDS/VSS management access
In order to allow Virtual Disk Services, you need to define VDS/VSS
management access on the array.
To configure VDS/VSS management access
1.From the left navigation page, in the Group section, click Group
Configuration . In the right pane, click the VDS/VSS tab.
2.Click the Add button. The Create create access control record
dialog opens.
3.Click a check in the Limit access by IP address box, and type the
IP address in the space provided. This allows Virtual Disk Services
to access the array. In our example, we type 192.168.1.* (see Figure
4).
4.Click the OK
button.
Figure 4 Adding the access control record.
Creating the Volumes
Next, we create the iSCSI storage volumes. These volumes are accessible to
the Windows UDS server as individual disks (LUNS). With respect to the
server, these LUNS are iSCSI Targets.
To create a volume
1.Return to the home page of the GUI, and from the Activities Panel,
click Create Volume.
2.In the Volume Name box, type a name for this Volume. In our
example, we type Volume1. You can optionally type a description.
3.From the Storage Pool Assignments box, click an appropriate
storage pool. In our example, we click default (see Figure 5).
4.Click the Next button. Step 2 - Space Reserve opens.
5.In the Volume Size box, type a number, then click MB or GB. In
our example, we are creating 100GB Volumes, so we type 100, and
click GB.
6.In the Snapshot Reserve box, type a percentage of volume reserve.
In our example, we type 100.
7.Click the Next button. Step 3 - iSCSi Access opens.
8.From the Step 3 - iSCSI page, click the Restrict Access button.
Click the Limit access by IP address box, and type the IP address
in the space provided. In our example, we type 192.168.1.*.
9.Click the Next button.
10.Review the Summary screen and click Finish.
11.Repeat this entire procedure for each volume to be created. Once the
volumes are created they appear in Volumes tab.
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Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
F5 Deployment Guide 8
Figure 5 Configuring the volume settings
Running the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
The iSCSI initiator is an application that binds the server to the iSCSI
storage array. It authenticates to the iSCSI targets and make the targets
available to the operating system.
The Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator enables connection of a Windows
host to an external iSCSI storage array using Ethernet NICs. The Microsoft
iSCSI software initiator makes it possible for businesses to take advantage
of existing network infrastructure to enable block-based Storage Area
Networks.Important
Do not configure the disks as Dynamic Disks as this causes conflicts with
persistent bindings.
To run the iSCSI Initiator
https://www.doczj.com/doc/1d16411566.html,unch the iSCSI Initiator either from the Desktop shortcut, or from
the Windows Start menu, select All Programs , and then click
Microsoft iSCSI Initiator .
The ISCSI Initiator Properties screen opens.
2.Click the Discovery tab.
3.Click the Add button to add a Target Portal.
4.In the IP address or DNS name box, type the IP address or DNS
name of the PS5000. In our example, we type 192.168.1.3
.
9
5.In the Port box, type the appropriate port, and then click the OK
button. In our example, we type 3260.
Figure 6 Adding a Target Portal from the iSCSI Initiator
6.Click the Targets tab. The list of iSCSI Targets displays.
7.Click an iSCSI target, and then click the Log On button.
8.Click the Automatically restore this connection when the system
reboots box. This makes the target persistent.
9.Click the OK button.
10.Repeat steps 7-9 for each iSCSI target (see Figure 7).
When you are finished, you can click the Persistent Targets tab to
see the targets are now persistent.
11.Click the OK button to exit the iSCSI Initiator.
Figure 7
Configuring the target to restore the connection
Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array Adding the Volumes to the Microsoft Windows Unified Storage
Server
The next step is to add the volumes to the Microsoft Windows Unified
Storage Server, using the Powervault Management plugin. You need to
initialize the disks, then partition them.
Initializing the disks
The first procedure in this section is to initialize the disks.
To initialize the disks
1.Within the PowerVault NX1950 Management Plugin, expand the
Share and Storage Manager folder and select Disk Management.
The Initialize and Convert Disk wizard opens. Click Next.
2.On the Select Disks to Initialize screen, click a check in the boxes of
the disks you want to initialize. In our example, we click the boxes
of all five disks (see Figure 8 on the following page). Click the Next
button.
3.On the Select Disks to Convert page, do not click any of the disks to
be Dynamic Disks. This interferes with persistent bindings across
server reboots. Click the Next button.
4.Click the Finish button. This initializes the disk as basic disks, and
when complete, they are ready for partitioning.
Figure 8 Selecting the disks to be initialized
Partitioning the disks
The next procedure is to partition the disks you just initialized.
F5 Deployment Guide10
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To partition the disks
1.From the PowerVault Management plugin, right-click the first disk
in the list, and click New Partition . The New Partition Wizard
opens.
Figure 9 Creating a new partition
2.From the Welcome screen of the wizard, click the Next button.
3.From the Select Partition Type screen, click the Primary Partition
button , and then click the Next button.
4.From the Specify Partition Size screen, from the Partition Size in
MB box, type an appropriate size. In our example, we use all the
available space: 102398 MB.
Click the Next button.
5.From the Assign Drive Letter or Path screen, click the Assign the
following drive letter list, select an available letter.
Click the Next button.
6.From the Format Partition screen, click the Format this partition
with the following settings button.
a)From the File System list, select NTFS .
b)From the Allocation unit size list, select Default .
c)From the Volume label box, type a name for this volume. In our
example, we type Volume1.
d)Click the Perform a quick format button.
7.Click the Next
button.
Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
Figure 10 Formatting the partition
8.Click the Finish button.
9.Repeat this entire procedure for each disk. One you are finished, the
Disk Manager shows each disk as online and healthy.
Joining the Active Directory Domain
The next procedure is to configure the Windows Storage Server as a
Domain Computer.
To configure the Windows Storage Server as a domain
computer
1.From the Windows Start menu, click Control Panel.
2.On the Control Panel screen, click System. The System Properties
screen opens.
3.Click the Computer Name tab, and then click the Change button.
4.In the Member of section, click the Domain button, and type the
appropriate domain in the box.
5.Click the OK button.
Sharing the PS5000 Virtual Disks
In order for the new Storage Volumes to be available to the F5 ARX, the
volumes need to be shared. You also define the share permissions to allow
read write access.
F5 Deployment Guide12
To share the volumes
1.From the Windows Start menu, select All Programs, then
Administrative Tools, and then click Windows Unified Data
Storage Server.
2.From the left navigation pane, expand Share and Storage
Manager and then click Shares.
3.Under the list of Shares, right-click a Share, and then click New
Share.
Figure 11 Creating a new Share
4.On the Share a Folder Wizard Welcome page, click Next.
5.From the Browse for Folder box, choose the first volume to be
shared, and then click the OK button. In our example, we click
Volume1.
6.From the Folder Path box, either type or browse for the folder path.
In our example, we select E:\. A Warning box appears with a
message about sharing the entire drive. Click the OK button.
The Name, Description, and Settings page opens.
13
Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
F5 Deployment Guide 147.In the Share Name box, type a name for this Share. In our example,
we type Volume1. In the Description box, type a description.
Click Next .
Figure 12 Configuring the Share name and description
8.From the Permissions screen, click the button with the appropriate
permission level. In our example, we click the Administrators
have full access; other users have read and write access button.
9.Click the Finish button, and then click the Close button.
10.Repeat this entire procedure for each Volume to be shared.
Once you are finished, all shares are listed in the user interface.
11.Once all Volumes have been shared, from the Shares main page (as
seen in Figure 11) right-click each new Share, and then click
Properties . Click the Share Permissions tab, and click Everyone .
From the lower box, make sure that Everyone has Full Control
(see Figure 13), and then click the OK button.
Figure 13
Configuring the Volume permissions
Assigning a Backup Operator
The next step is to define a back up operator for the Dell Windows Unified
Storage Server. This operator is the Proxy User the ARX uses to
authenticate to the CIFS Shares, and is a special operator for non-interactive
user sessions. This user should already be configured within Active
Directory.
To assign a backup operator
1.From the Windows Start menu, select All Programs, then
Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and
Computers.
2.Right-click the Dell server, and click Manage. The Computer
Management screen opens.
3.From the left navigation pane, expand System Tools, and then
expand Local Users and Groups. Click Groups.
4.Right-click Backup Operators and click Properties (see Figure
14).
An empty list of operators displays.
5.Click the Add button.
6.In the Enter the object names to select box, type the Proxy User
name. In our example we type pmeuser. Click Check Names, and
select the user from the list. Click the OK button.
7.On the Backup Operators Properties screen, click the OK button.
Figure 14
Configuring the Properties of the Backup Operator
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Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
Configuring the ARX device
In this section, we configure the ARX to access the Incumbent Storage, and
the New Dell Unified Storage Server. In our example, we create a CIFS
namespace with 3 shares added to it. The shares are incorporated into a
managed volume with a file placement policy. As files age and are not
modified for more than 30 days, they are moved between these shares
depending upon the file last modified time.
You must complete the following tasks:
?Creating the CIFS Namespace, following
?Creating a Volume, on page 18
?Adding the External Filers, on page 20
?Adding a root level share, on page 21
?Adding the CIFS Shares to the volume, on page 22
?Creating the Share farm, on page 23
?Creating the File Placement Policy, on page 24
?Creating the Virtual Service, on page 26
?Mounting the Virtual Server CIFS share, on page 29
?Verifying the Storage Integration, on page 29
Creating the CIFS Namespace
The first task in configuring the ARX is to create the CIFS namespace.
To create the CIFS namespace
1.Open the ARX web-based Configuration utility, and in the left
navigation pane, click Common Operations.
2.Click the Create Namespace button. The Create Namespace wizard
opens.
3.In the Namespace name box, type a name. In our example, we type
EqualLogic. You can optionally type a description.
4.From the Protocol list, click the CIFS box, and then click Next.
Figure 15 Configuring the Namespace
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5.From the CIFS authentication information screen, click the Use
NTLM box. Click the Add button to add an NTLM server.
a)In the NTLM Auth. Server Name box, type the Fully Qualified
Domain Name (FQDN) of the server.
b)In the IP address box, type the IP address of the server
c)In the Port box, type the appropriate port, or leave it at the
default setting: 25805.
d)In the Secure Agent password box, type the password. This is
the password assigned on the Domain Controller for the Secure
Agent application. Retype the password.
e)In the Windows Domain box, type the appropriate Windows
Domain.
f)Click Save. You return to the CIFS authentication page.
Figure 16 Configuring an NTLM server
6.In the Proxy User section, click Add to add a proxy user. This is the
Active Directory user that was assigned as the Backup Operator in
the previous section. This user is used to access the backend filer
CIFS shares.
a)In the Proxy User Name box, type the name. In our example, we
type pmeuser.
b)In the Proxy User Account box, type the proxy user account. In
our example, we type pmeuser.
c)In the Proxy User Account Password, type the password.
Retype the password in the Confirm box.
d)In the Windows Domain and Pre Win2k Domain boxes, type
the appropriate Windows Domain. In our example, we type
https://www.doczj.com/doc/1d16411566.html, in both boxes.
e)Click the Save button. You return to the CIFS authentication
page.
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Deploying the F5 ARX with the Dell NX1950 and EqualLogic PS5000 Storage Array
F5 Deployment Guide 18
Figure 17 Creating a new proxy user
7.On the CIFS authentication page, click the Next button.
8.Review the summary, and click the Finish button.
The namespace is created.
Creating a Volume
The backend filer CIFS shares are incorporated into an ARX Managed
Volume. File placement policy is managed at the volume level. The volume
attributes to be defined are namespace, volume name, description, CIFS
parameters, and the metadata store mount point.
In our example we place the Volume Metadata onto the incumbent legacy
storage platform. ARX best practices state Metadata should be created on an
NFS export if one is available. Alternatively, a CIFS share could be used.
To create a volume on the ARX
1.From the left navigation pane, click Common Operations .
2.Click the Create Volume button. The Create Volume wizard opens.
3.From the Namespace list, select the name of the namespace you
created in Creating the CIFS Namespace , on page 16.
In our example, we select EqualLogic .
4.In the Volume name box, type the volume name. In our example, we
type /CIFS . You can optionally add a description. See Figure 18.
5.Click the Next
button.