SimpliVity OmniStack Host Deployment Guide

Transcription

1 SimpliVity OmniStack Host Deployment Guide Version Update 1

2 Trademarks, SimpliVity cube logo, SimpliVity The Data Virtualization Company, SimpliVity, OmniCube, OmniStack, Global Federated Architecture, Data Virtualization Platform, SVT, and RapidDR are trademarks or registered trademarks of SimpliVity Corporation in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Patents SimpliVity OmniCube and OmniStack products are covered by various United States and foreign patents and pending patent applications. Patents include: US ; US ; US ; US ; US2013/ ; US2013/ ; US2012/ ; US2015/ ; US2016/ ; CNZL ; CA 2,840,178; JP ; DK ; EP ; FI ; FR ; DE ; IT ; JP ; JP ; NO ; ES ; SE ; GB ; AU ; AU WO2010/151813; BR WO2010/151813; CA WO2010/151813; IN679/CHENP/2012A; EP ; HK ; AU WO2012/177461; BR WO2012/177461; CA WO2012/177461; CN A; EP ; HK ; IN368/ CHENP/2014A; JP ; BR WO2013/126680; BR WO2016/115219; CA WO2013/126680; CA WO2016/115219; CN A; EP ; HK WO2013/126680; HK WO2016/115219; IN WO2013/126680; IN WO2016/115219; JP WO2013/126680; JP WO2016/ Copyright Information in this document is subject to change without notification. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of SimpliVity Corporation is strictly forbidden. SimpliVity Corporation 2017 Customer support To contact SimpliVity Customer Support, visit When contacting a representative, you need to know the serial number of your OmniStack server to verify your service subscription. SimpliVity uses OmniWatch to automatically monitor the health of your OmniStack equipment and have it send us notifications of any alerts or errors. February Rev B 2

3 Intended audience This document is intended for users of SimpliVity OmniStack products who want to install, manage, and monitor their hyperconverged IT infrastructure. This information is intended for system administrators experienced in hypervisor technology, virtual machine management, and data center operations. Intended audience 3

4 SimpliVity documentation conventions SimpliVity documentation uses the following conventions to assist your reading. General formatting Monospace font represents a command line syntax, file path, system output, or similar code. Italic font represents a user-defined name or variable. Bold font represents a user interface element, such as a button or tab, with which a user interacts. Command Line formatting SimpliVity documentation uses the following format for CLI commands: command --option variable where command is the name of the command and should be typed exactly as shown. --option is a command option and should be typed exactly as shown. variable is an option variable and should be replaced with the required value. SimpliVity documentation conventions 4

5 Reading path SimpliVity provides a comprehensive documentation set for this release of the OmniStack Software. The following reading path lists the documentation for this release. Learn about this OmniStack release. Document Description SimpliVity OmniStack Release Notes Explains new features, fixed issues, and known issues in this release Rev B Read this document first. Note that the information in these Release Notes may supersede information in other OmniStack publications in this documentation set. Install and configure hardware. Document Description SimpliVity OmniCube CN-Series Hardware Installation Quick Start Explains installation and integration steps for OmniCube CN-Series hardware Rev A SimpliVity OmniCube CN-1400, CN-2400, CN-3400, and CN-5400 Series Hardware Installation and Maintenance Guide Explains installation, cabling, and configuration procedures for OmniCube CN-1400, CN-2400, CN-3400, and CN-5400 Series hardware Rev B SimpliVity OmniCube CN-2000, CN-2200, Explains installation, cabling, and configuration CN-3000, and CN-5000 Hardware Installation and procedures for OmniCube CN-2000, CN-2200, Maintenance Guide CN-3000, and CN-5000 hardware Rev A Reading path 5

6 Document Description SimpliVity OmniStack Integrated Solution with Cisco UCS C240 M4SX Hardware Installation Quick Start Explains installation and integration steps for OmniStack Integrated Solution with Cisco UCS C240 M4SX hardware Rev A SimpliVity OmniStack Integrated Solution with Explains installation, cabling, and configuration Cisco UCS C240 M4SX Hardware Installation and procedures for OmniStack Integrated Solution with Maintenance Guide Cisco UCS C240 M4SX hardware Rev B SimpliVity OmniStack Solution with Lenovo x3650 Explains installation and integration steps for M5 Hardware Installation Quick Start OmniStack Solution with Lenovo x3650 M5 hardware Rev A SimpliVity OmniStack Solution with Lenovo x3650 Explains installation, cabling, and configuration M5 Hardware Installation and Maintenance Guide procedures for OmniStack Solution with Lenovo x3650 M5 hardware Rev B Deploy the OmniStack Software on your platform. Document Description SimpliVity OmniStack Host Deployment Quick Start Explains deployment steps for all platforms Rev B SimpliVity OmniStack Host Deployment Guide Rev B SimpliVity OmniStack Upgrade Manager Guide Rev A Explains how to use Deployment Manager to deploy all platforms. Explains upgrade procedures for OmniStack Software. Administer your Federations. Document Description SimpliVity OmniStack for vsphere Web Client Administrator Guide Explains procedures for administering OmniStack hosts using OmniStack for vsphere Web Client Rev B Reading path 6

7 Document Description SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client Help Explains procedures for administering OmniStack hosts using OmniStack for vsphere Web Client Rev B The SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client includes this Help system. SimpliVity OmniStack REST API Getting Started Guide Explains how to use the OmniStack REST API to administer OmniStack hosts Rev B See api.simplivity.com for this guide. SimpliVity OmniStack Command Reference Explains OmniStack command line interface (CLI) commands Rev B Monitor your Federations. Document Description SimpliVity OmniStack Events Reference Explains SimpliVity-specific alarms and events Rev A Reading path 7

8 SimpliVity documentation feedback We welcome your feedback, suggestions, and comments to help us continue to improve the quality of our documentation. Send your comments to and include as much detail as possible to help us identify the affected area. SimpliVity documentation feedback 8

9 Contents Chapter 1: OmniStack deployment overview About OmniStack hosts...11 About OminStack host deployment Deployment tasks summary...12 Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software About SimpliVity software Download the SimpliVity software...14 About VMware products...15 Linked Mode and deployment...15 About Deployment Manager Deployment Manager screen icons Deployment Manager software requirements Install Deployment Manager Uninstall Deployment Manager About Arbiter Arbiter requirements Install Arbiter...19 Uninstall Arbiter Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment About deployment environment requirements About OmniStack user accounts ESXi host root account vcenter Server single sign-on account...21 OmniStack CLI account Networking requirements Maximum transmission unit...22 Network address and vsphere inventory requirements...22 Ports required for SimpliVity servers OmniStack host requirements...26 About OmniStack deployment using IP address pools OmniStack IP address pool guidelines Deployment checklist Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts About deploying OmniStack hosts...30 Deployment prerequisites...31 About OmniStack host discovery...32 Connect to a remote management interface Assign a static IP address to an OmniStack host Contents 9

10 Create a configuration file...33 Deploy one or more OmniStack hosts Deploy OmniStack hosts in an IP pool...57 OmniStack host heartbeats...61 Post-deployment tasks Chapter 5: Troubleshooting About recoverable deployment errors...63 Retry deployment for errors Retry deployment for errors Reset OmniStack host discovery state Retry deployment for errors Reset the boot drive on a CN-Series host Reset the installer image on a Cisco C240 M3S or Cisco UCS C240 M4SX host Reset the boot drive on a Lenovo x3650 host About general deployment issues...67 Cannot connect to port IP address already assigned Disconnected hosts Network connection timeout...68.net needs to be upgraded OmniStack software version outdated Cannot connect to OmniStack host IP address already in use IP address already in use or not associated with server...69 Disconnected hosts Insufficient number of IP addresses in IP pool...70 Deploying hosts to existing addresses in IP pool shows blocked status at 100% complete Deploying hosts to new addresses in IP pool fails with invalid configuration settings IP address associated with failed deployment...71 Failed deployment with Cisco UCSM and Cisco M3S or UCS C240 M4SX platforms Appendix A: SimpliVity terminology...72 Contents 10

11 Chapter 1: OmniStack deployment overview This section contains the following topics: About OmniStack hosts About OminStack host deployment Deployment tasks summary About OmniStack hosts OmniStack from SimpliVity, SimpliVity The Data Virtualization Company, is a converged server and storage solution. It provides: High availability Scalability Efficient disaster protection Global unified management Each OmniStack host comes with the following pre-installed software: SimpliVity OmniStack SimpliVity vstorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI)-network-attached storage (NAS) plug-in To enable key functionality such as high availability, dynamic resource sharing, and efficient data movement, SimpliVity recommends that you deploy OmniStack hosts in sets of two within a cluster. As capacity and performance needs increase, you can add more OmniStack hosts without disruption to users. This network of hosts is called a SimpliVity Federation. Once you deploy OmniStack hosts to a cluster, you can manage them and their related virtual objects using SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client. About OminStack host deployment You can deploy one or more hosts at a time to a cluster using SimpliVity Deployment Manager. Before you begin using the application, install all the required software and verify your network environment. After you complete the necessary tasks, you can run Deployment Manager and follow the prompts to deploy one or more hosts to vcenter Server. You can then manage the virtual hosts and related objects using SimpliVity features in SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client. Chapter 1: OmniStack deployment overview 11

12 Deployment tasks summary To deploy an OmniStack host to an existing cluster in vcenter Server, you need to have the appropriate SimpliVity software installed and know the network details required to run SimpliVity Deployment Manager. This chart provides more details on all the tasks you need to complete in the order shown. Task Description Locate or download the SimpliVity Software. Download the SimpliVity software from the Customer Support website for the OmniStack version you use. This includes Deployment Manager and Arbiter. You can also download SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client, but it is not required to deploy hosts. You use it to manage hosts in the hypervisor. Once you deploy your hosts, you can install SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client as described in the OmniStack for vsphere Web Client Administrator Guide. Install the SimpliVity software. Install Deployment Manager on the Windows computer you plan to use to deploy OmniStack hosts. Install Arbiter on a Windows vcenter Server where you want to deploy hosts or a different Windows computer that the OmniStack hosts can access. The Windows computer and OmniStack hosts must be on the same broadcast domain for Deployment Manager to discover the hosts automatically on the network. If the OmniStack hosts are not on the same broadcast domain but are on a reachable network, you must provide the IP address of each host manually. For more information, see "About OmniStack host discovery." Verify the network environment. Check the accounts to ensure access to the applications, verify the network and required ports for OmniStack, and review the deployment checklist. Deploy the OmniStack hosts. When you first run Deployment Manager, you may want to choose the option to create a configuration file. That way, you can save the network settings in a file to use it as a template. Then you can import it when ready to deploy OmniStack hosts. You make any necessary modifications as you scroll through Deployment Manager. You can deploy hosts to a cluster with or without a configuration file. Your deployment options are: Deploy one or more hosts at once (up to eight at a time). Deploy multiple host using IP pools. Chapter 1: OmniStack deployment overview 12

13 Task Description Perform post-deployment tasks. Perform the post-deployment tasks listed in the "Post-deployment Tasks" topic after you successfully deploy one or more OmniStack hosts. Chapter 1: OmniStack deployment overview 13

14 Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software This section contains the following topics: About SimpliVity software About VMware products About Deployment Manager About Arbiter About SimpliVity software Before you deploy OmniStack hosts to a cluster in vcenter Server, install the following software from SimpliVity: Deployment Manager: Enables you to use a wizard to deploy the OmniStack hosts. You can manually enter network information when prompted, or create a configuration file (through Deployment Manager) to automatically populate fields and import it when ready to deploy hosts. Install Deployment Manager on a supported Window Server or Windows computer. Arbiter: Enables communication between OmniStack and vcenter Server. This communication enables you to deploy and manage OmniStack hosts and related objects. Arbiter preserves the health of the Federation by acting as an independent witness and providing the tie-breaking vote when a Federation contains an even number of OmniStack hosts. Install Arbiter on the vcenter Server where you want to deploy hosts or a different Windows computer that the OmniStack hosts can access. Download the SimpliVity software To deploy hosts, you need the SimpliVity Deployment Manager and Arbiter software. Download this software from the SimpliVity Customer Support website. Procedure 1. Go to the SimpliVity Customer Support website. 2. Enter your user name and password. 3. Click DOWNLOADS & DOCUMENTS. 4. Click the name of the OmniStack host or OmniStack model that you ordered. 5. Scroll down the page and click SimpliVity Software. 6. Click the version of OmniStack software you ordered. 7. Scroll down the page and click SimpliVity Software. Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software 14

15 8. Click the name of the software you want to download (SimpliVity Deployment Manager or SimpliVity Arbiter). 9. Save the files in a location you can access. You can also download the extension software you need to use to manage hosts in your hypervisor (for example, SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client). But, you do not need to install it until you successfully deploy hosts and want to manage them as desribed in the OmniStack Administrator Guide. Next steps See the following sections for details on requirements and steps to install the software. About VMware products Before installing the SimpliVity software and deploying OmniStack hosts, verify that your vsphere environment includes one of the following VMware products: vsphere vcenter Server 5.5, 6.0, or 6.5. vcenter Server Appliance 5.5, 6.0, or 6.5. Either of the listed products comes with vsphere Web Client. If you do not have these products installed or you need to upgrade them, see the VMware documentation. If you need to download the products or access tools, you need to know your VMware customer account credentials. To access vcenter Server, you need an account with administrator privileges. You can also use Enhanced Link Mode with vcenter Server 6.0 or 6.5 or vcenter Server Appliance 6.0 or 6.5. Or you can use Linked Mode with vcenter Server 5.5 or vcenter Server Appliance 5.5. For more information on setting up Enhanced Link Mode, see the VMware vcenter Server 6.0 or 6.5 documentation. For details on setting up Linked Mode, see the VMware vcenter Server 5.5 Deployment Guide. The OmniStack hosts must use the same hypervisor version of any hosts that reside in the cluster you plan to deploy to. For example, if you use vcenter Server 6.0, you can deploy hosts that use ESXi 5.5 or 6.0. But all the OmniStack hosts in a cluster need to use the same version (all ESXi 5.5, 6.0, or 6.5). You cannot mix the hypervisor versions in a cluster. Linked Mode and deployment SimpliVity Federations support VMware vcenter Servers in linked mode and enable access to SimpliVity and VMware virtual objects across all OmniStack hosts. Joining multiple vcenter Server systems using vcenter Server Linked Mode enables them to share information. To support a Federation in linked mode using vcenter 5.5 or later, install single sign-on (SSO) using multisite mode (requires an Active Directory [AD] server for authentication). When you deploy OmniStack hosts to a cluster, Deployment Manager displays the SimpliVity Federation Information screen. In this screen, you specify if you want the OmniStack hosts to create a SimpliVity Federation in the current vcenter Server or join a SimpliVity Federation in a vcenter Server in Linked Mode (or Enhanced Link Mode). If the OmniStack hosts join a SimpliVity Federation, specify Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software 15

16 the Virtual Controller IP address of an OmniStack host in the existing SimpliVity Federation to ensure that the hosts you plan to deploy locates it. About Deployment Manager Deployment Manager is a stand-alone Windows application that configures and deploys OmniStack hosts in an existing cluster. With Deployment Manager, you can do any of the following to deploy one or more OmniStack hosts: Import data from a previously saved configuration file. Enter configuration information manually. Use OmniStack IP address pools to deploy OmniStack hosts. When you import an existing configuration file, Deployment Manager validates the information and stores it in an XML file located in your home directory by default. The file name format is: starting_ip_address_timestamp.xml. For a first-time deployment in a cluster, Deployment Manager creates the virtual switches (vswitches) and port groups for the network connection that you specify. For example, the default vswitch names are vswitch0 and vswitch1 for a 1 Gb/s or 10 Gb/s network. After you use Deployment Manager to deploy at least one OmniStack host to a cluster, you can deploy multiple OmniStack hosts to the same cluster (or another cluster in another datacenter). Before you can deploy a host, the cluster needs to exist in the hypervisor. For example, in vsphere Web Client, you need to create a datacenter and create a cluster for the datacenter. For the options to function properly, the OmniStack hosts must reside in one cluster per datacenter. For more information on creating a cluster, see the OmniStack Administrator Guide or the SimpliVity Extension Help. Deployment Manager screen icons Deployment Manager includes these icons at the top of each screen: Icon Description Blinks when deployment starts. Click it to open the status window. You can start a new deployment as the current one runs, but the cluster must contain at least one previously deployed OmniStack host. The icon also shows the number of deployments in progress. Displays the Settings screen. Use this screen to set a timeout between Deployment Manager and the vcenter Server that is appropriate for your networking environment. The default value is 30 seconds. The maximum value is 120 seconds. Any changes you make in the Settings screen take effect the next time you run Deployment Manager. Displays the version, patents, trademarks, and SimpliVity contact information. Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software 16

17 Deployment Manager software requirements Only use OmniStack hosts with the same software version in the same cluster. (Do not mix versions.) For example, if your cluster contains hosts with OmniStack 3.5.1, do not deploy hosts with OmniStack into that cluster. Upgrade the hosts that already reside in the cluster first, then deploy the new hosts with the same OmniStack version. (For more information on upgrading OmniStack software, contact SimpliVity Customer Support). The following software is required to deploy OmniStack hosts using Deployment Manager. Operating System requirements Deployment Manager is supported on these Windows operating systems: Windows Server 2012 R2. Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows 8.1. Windows 7. Third-party software requirements Install the following third-party software on every Windows computer running Deployment Manager: Oracle Java 1.8 Microsoft.NET Framework 4.0 web installer package or later. Install only one version of the third-party software on the Windows computer you are using to deploy OmniStack hosts. Uninstall an older version before you install a new version. Install Deployment Manager Before you begin Before you install Deployment Manager on a supported Windows computer: Verify the required third-party software is installed on the Windows computer you are using to deploy the OmniStack hosts. See "Deployment Manager requirements." Verify that you have 127 MB of available disk space on the Windows computer. If an older version of Deployment Manager is installed on the Windows computer, uninstall that version. Obtain the vcenter Server administrator credentials. These credentials are required to log on to Deployment Manager. Procedure 1. Double-click the simplivity-deployment-manager-n.n.n.n.msi file. 2. Click Run and follow the prompts to accept the license agreement. 3. On the Select Installation Folder screen, accept the defaults or do any of the following: Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software 17

18 If you need to view the space available, click Disk Cost. To change the default location of the installation folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\simplivity \DeploymentManager) or manually enter a new path, click Browse. If you want all users to access Deployment Manager or just the current user, leave the default of Everyone. 4. Click Next to continue through the screens. 5. Click Close to when the install process ends. Uninstall Deployment Manager Before you begin Before uninstalling Deployment Manager, make sure you have administrator privileges to access the system. Procedure 1. From the Start menu, click Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program. 2. From the list of installed programs, double-click SimpliVity Deployment Manager. 3. To confirm that you want to delete the extension, click Yes. 4. Wait while the installer removes the software. When finished, click Next. 5. To close the information window, click OK. About Arbiter The SimpliVity Arbiter software runs on the computer hosting a vcenter Server or a different Windows computer that the hosts can access. It is required in every SimpliVity Federation. The Arbiter provides the tie-breaking vote when a Federation contains an even number of OmniStack hosts. For example, in a Federation with three hosts, if one OmniStack host loses connectivity, the Arbiter acts as the tie breaker for the two remaining hosts. During a first-time deployment to a cluster, you specify if the OmniStack hosts use Arbiter running on a vcenter Server or a different Windows computer. If the OmniStack hosts use Arbiter on a different Windows computer, you must specify the IP address of that computer to ensure communication with the Federation. Arbiter requirements Your version of Arbiter should match the version of OmniStack used by your hosts. Review these requirements before installing Arbiter on the computer hosting a vcenter Server or a different Windows computer. The Arbiter application ensures the resiliency of the Federation by acting as a tie-breaking vote in cluster failure scenarios that include an even number of OmniStack hosts. It must run on the computer Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software 18

19 hosting vcenter Server or on another Windows computer. Do not install it on a virtual machine that resides on an OmniStack host or any host that uses a SimpliVity datastore. Installing Arbiter on a computer outside the Federation ensures its availability. Feature Requirement CPU frequency 1.0 GHz or higher Number of cores Single core/dual thread or better Memory 1 GB (for Arbiter application) Consult Microsoft documentation for OS memory requirements. Persistent storage Minimum of 16 GB (HDD or SDD) Set disk caching policy to write-through or write cache disabled. Storage type Storage device capable of 80 IOPS per 128 virtual machines in the arbitration control domain. For example: 1 x 7.2K RPM HDD for up to 128 virtual machines. 1 x 10K RPM HDD for up to 256 virtual machines. 1 x SSD for up to 4096 virtual machines. One Arbiter can control up to 4096 virtual machines. Do not recover the Arbiter storage device to a previous point in time with a snapshot or backup and restore process or you could corrupt the virtual machine data. Network 1xGigE Minimum operating system Windows XP SP2 or Windows 2003 SP1x64 Install Arbiter Before you begin Before you deploy OmniStack hosts, install Arbiter. Procedure Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software 19

20 1. To start the setup wizard, click the simplivity-arbiter-n.n.n.n.msi file. (This file comes on the USB stick that ships with the product or you can download it from Customer Support.) 2. Click Run. 3. On the Welcome screen, click Next. 4. Select the license acceptance box and click Next. The Setup Type screen opens. 5. Click Complete and then click Install. 6. In the Completed screen, click Finish. Uninstall Arbiter Before you begin Before uninstalling Arbiter, make sure you have administrator privileges to access the system. Procedure 1. From the Start menu, click Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program. 2. From the list of installed programs, double-click SimpliVity Arbiter. 3. To confirm that you want to delete the extension, click Yes. 4. Wait while the installer removes the software. When finished, click Next. 5. To close the information window, click OK. Chapter 2: Install the SimpliVity software 20

21 Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment This section contains the following topics: About deployment environment requirements About OmniStack user accounts Networking requirements OmniStack host requirements About OmniStack deployment using IP address pools Deployment checklist About deployment environment requirements Before you deploy OmniStack hosts, review the following network sections to ensure you deploy the hosts successfully. Refer to the deployment checklist at the end of this section to review the main tasks. About OmniStack user accounts This section describes the user accounts used to deploy and manage OmniStack hosts, including the ESXi root user, vcenter Server single sign-on accounts, or CLI commands. ESXi host root account Use the ESXi host root user account to log on to an OmniStack host. You create the password for the ESXi host root user account when you deploy an OmniStack host using Deployment Manager. For ESXi host password requirements and restrictions, see the VMware documentation for your ESXi host version. vcenter Server single sign-on account vcenter Server single sign-on accounts are controlled-privilege, vcenter Server (Active Directory supported) accounts that can manage a Federation. OmniStack CLI account When your VMware single sign-on account is not available, use the SimpliVity OmniStack CLI account to run SimpliVity CLI commands as described in the OmniStack Command Reference Guide. Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment 21

22 Networking requirements An OmniStack host in a Federation requires three separate networks: Management, Storage, and Federation. During deployment, you assign the OmniStack host, OmniStack Virtual Controller (a virtual machine running OmniStack software), and the VM Kernel port to one or all of the networks. Also do the following: Maintain a separate network for 10 Gb/s storage data traffic between OmniStack hosts in a Federation. Use existing networks (such as a dedicated virtualization management network) if you have appropriate networks in your VMware environment. Use VLANs to separate management and virtual machine traffic. However, ensure that the Management network and OmniStack host can route to each other through a common VLAN. Open TCP ports 9292 and 9299 on the Management network to deploy OmniStack hosts. You can close these ports after a deployment is complete. To deploy a host with Deployment Manager, enable Service Location Protocol (SLP) for automatic host discovery. Maximum transmission unit For best performance, use the following Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) settings to deploy and manage OmniStack hosts: When using Cisco UCS Manager to manage OmniStack network interfaces with a MTU greater than 1500, set the Quality of Service (QoS) MTU attribute to The MTU size range on the Federation networks is 1000 to 9000 bytes. For a 10 Gb/s network, the MTU on the Management, Storage, and Federation networks must be the same value. For best performance, set the MTU to 9000 for a 10 Gb/s connection. For a 1 Gb/s or 10 Gb/s NIC, the MTU size on the Storage and Federation networks must be the same value. The MTU size on the Management network can be any value (1500 is recommended) but the MTU value must be the same on all Management networks on the subnet. The MTU setting for the Management, Storage, and Federation networks must match the MTU settings used for any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). For Cisco servers managed through Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) with an MTU setting greater than 1500, set the MTU for the Storage and Federation networks to 9000 to ensure vmotion functions as expected. The Management network can remain at the default setting of Network address and vsphere inventory requirements This table describes the network address requirements and objects required in the vsphere inventory to contain the OmniStack hosts. Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment 22

23 Requirement Description NTP The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is preconfigured in an OmniStack host using US internet time servers. The default servers are 0.us.pool.ntp.org through 3.us.pool.ntp.org. Record any NTP servers the vcenter Server is using. At least three NTP servers are required for an OmniStack host deployment. DNS Server The IP address for a primary and optional secondary DNS server. In addition: The DNS servers must be the same and reachable by the OmniStack Virtual Controller, OmniStack host, vcenter Server, vsphere Web Client, and the Windows computer running Deployment Manager. You need a DNS suffix name for each OmniStack host. The host you plan to deploy cannot be a DNS child domain. You need a default DNS suffix to search for a domain. vcenter Server IP address or FQDN The IP address or FQDN for the vcenter Server planned to contain the SimpliVity Federation. Cluster The name of the cluster in vcenter Server where you want to deploy the OmniStack hosts. To create a cluster in a datacenter, see the SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client Help. OmniStack IP Addresses There are separate OmniStack IP address pools that you assign to these five interfaces on the OmniStack networks during a deployment: Management Network. OmniStack host. Virtual Controller. Storage Network. Virtual Controller. VMkernel Port. Federation Network. Virtual Controller. For more information about OmniStack IP address pools, see "About OmniStack deployment using IP address pools." Ports required for SimpliVity servers OmniCube or OmniStack hosts require these ports to communicate with your network and other hosts. Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment 23

24 For ports required by: vsphere hypervisor, see the VMware documentation. Your specific platform, such as the IPMI port, see the vendor documentation. Ports Protocols Networks Sources Destinations Description 22 TCP All Management Workstation OmniStack host For remote access, using SSH, to the server when the web server is unavailable. OmniStack Virtual Controller 80 TCP Management Deployment Manager OmniStack host OmniStack Virtual Controller Deployment monitoring and Support Capture downloads used by SimpliVity Support. 427 TCP and UDP Management Deployment Manager OmniStack host Deployment operation and monitoring. 443 TCP Management OmniCube or OmniStack server vcenter Server Deployment Manager 9190 TCP Management Deployment Manager vsphere Web Client Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment OmniStack host OmniStack Virtual Controller SSL ports for vsphere ESXi and vcenter Server. OmniStack CLI or vsphere Client access to the OmniCube or OmniStack server. 24

25 Ports Protocols Networks Sources Destinations 9292, 9299 TCP Management Deployment Manager OmniStack host Deployment Manager access to the host over SSL. This port must be open to deploy the OmniCube or OmniStack server. You can close this port after a deployment is successful TCP Management OmniStack Virtual Controller OmniStack Virtual Controller Event Manager uses this port to manage events between the OmniStack Virtual Controllers on the OmniStack hosts UDP and TCP Federation OmniStack Virtual Controller OmniStack Virtual Controller Federation traffic between hosts, Arbiter communication, and backups to remote clusters. 111, 2049, UDP and TCP Management and Storage OmniStack host OmniStack host Management and Storage traffic between OmniStack hosts or standard hosts that share a SimpliVity datastore. Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment Description 25

26 OmniStack host requirements Before deploying an OmniStack host, ensure the following: Install at least two OmniStack hosts on a rack in your data center. Check that they are connected to the power and powered on. To deploy multiple OmniStack hosts to a cluster, the model types must be in the same family with the same number of CPUs (single or dual), for example, CN-5000 and CN-5400 dual CPU models. Avoid deploying OmniStack hosts across a wide-area network (WAN). Network disruptions can cause the deployment to fail. For more information about interoperability requirements, see the Interoperability Guide for your platform available from the Downloads & Documents page of SimpliVity Customer Support. About OmniStack deployment using IP address pools OmniStack IP address pools are ranges of IP addresses that are reserved and assigned to OmniStack hosts during a deployment. OmniStack IP address pools allow you to deploy multiple OmniStack hosts in a single session without the need to enter the IP address and network information over again. Using Deployment Manager, you define separate OmniStack IP address pools for the Management, Storage, and Federation networks. OmniStack IP address pools exist at the cluster level. Each cluster contains its own set of OmniStack IP address pool information, and each OmniStack host can view the pool information for the other OmniStack hosts within its cluster. When you define the OmniStack IP address pools, Deployment Manager adds each IP address to the OmniStack IP pool database. When a deployment starts, Deployment Manager allocates and assigns the IP addresses to an OmniStack host based on the serial number of the OmniStack host. You deallocate, manage, and remove IP addresses in an OmniStack IP address pool using the SimpliVity CLI. When you initially define the OmniStack IP address pool ranges, overallocate IP addresses in each pool to ensure that IP addresses are available for future deployments. Deployment Manager allocates the IP addresses in an OmniStack IP address pool when a deployment is complete. If a deployment fails during a Federation join, deallocate the IP addresses assigned to the OmniStack host. The deallocated IP addresses will be available for future deployments. You can check the state of the IP pool database using IP pool commands, specifically the svtipassignments-show command which displays information about the IP assignments for an OmniStack host. If an IP assignment persists after a deployment fails, deallocate the IP address as part of the recovery. OmniStack IP address pool guidelines Review this information before you deploy OmniStack hosts using OmniStack IP address pools. OmniStack IP address pools cannot be within these ranges: Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment 26

27 / / /8 Only IPv4 addresses are supported. Do not use IP addresses that are allocated in a pool within another cluster. For example, Cluster1 is using OmniStack IP address pool /10 on its Management network. An OmniStack IP address pool for Cluster2 cannot overlap or coincide with the Cluster1 IP address pool range. To avoid IP address collisions, use unique IP addresses in an OmniStack IP address pool. (The addresses are not in use by other OmniStack hosts in the network.) IP addresses in an OmniStack IP address pool for each interface on the Management, Storage, and Federation networks must be unique. IP addresses in an OmniStack IP address pool must be contiguous and on the same subnet. When you deallocate IP addresses in an OmniStack IP address pool using the svt-ippooldeallocate command, the IP addresses are returned to the pool and are available for allocation for the next deployment. To permanently remove IP addresses from an OmniStack IP address pool, use the svt-ippool-remove command after you deallocate the IP addresses. This is necessary when you manually deploy an OmniStack host with a static IP address that was originally allocated in an OmniStack IP address pool. A majority of OmniStack hosts in a cluster must be online and accessible to add IP addresses to a pool using the svt-ippool-add command. For example, you cannot add an IP address to a pool when four OmniStack hosts are deployed in a cluster and two are offline. The SimpliVity CLI includes commands that enable you to configure, manage, and display information about OmniStack IP address pools. OmniStack IP Pool and Deployment CLI Summary summarizes these commands. See the SimpliVity OmniStack Command Reference for more information. In vsphere Web Client, you can view IP pool information through the Clusters object (Clusters > Manage (tab) > Network Protocol Profiles [subtab]). For OmniStack IP address pools, use the SimpliVity CLI commands to view information about OmniStack IP address pools. For more information, see the SimpliVity OmniStack Command Reference Deployment checklist To ensure a smooth and an efficient deployment, review the following checklist. Take an inventory of all the OmniStack hosts you plan to deploy by serial number also. Deployment Manager shows the status of a deployment by serial number only. Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment 27

28 Step Details Install one or more servers on racks. Ensure that two or more OmniStack servers are installed in each rack and the servers are powered on. Fill in the predeployment forms. Log on to SimpliVity Support at support.simplivity.com. Click My Support. Then click Deployment Planning. Follow the prompts to fill in a predeployment form online or print a PDF version of it. This information allows you to prepare the information you need to enter when you run Deployment Manager to deploy hosts. (If you saved the form online, you can access it again at any time through the Deployment Planning option in the SimpliVity Support Center.) Check that the vcenter Server version is compatible with the ESXi version. To check the hypervisor compatibility, see the Interoperability Matrix on the SimpliVity Support site (support.simplivity.com). (From the Support Home page, click DOWNLOADS & DOCUMENTS, click the name of the server you use, and scroll down to the link for the Interoperability Guide.) OmniStack UCS only: Requires Cisco UCSM maintenance release (2.0.4) or deploy OmniStack UCS C240 M4SX only in standalone mode. Verify the UCSM version, if managed mode is requested. Check the password complexity. Do not use special characters (for example, asterisk, ampersand, slash) in your OmniStack host password (if prompted to set one during deployment). See your hypervisor documentation and the SimpliVity OmniStack Release Notes for details on character limitations. Check that the following is configured: IPMI, CIMC, or UCSM. See the OmniStack Hardware Installation and Maintenance Guide for your platform for details. Verifty that the DNS resolution of IP Use the nslookup command at each computer to addresses (IPv4 supported) is identical verify address resolution: on the computer with Deployment nslookup <ip-address-of-host> Manager installed and on the computer with vcenter Server installed. Install the correct version of all required Download Deployment Manager, Arbiter, and SimpliVity software. SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client from SimpliVity Customer Support. Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment 28

29 Step Details Check that the OmniStack versions on the hosts are the same. Check that all the hosts you plan to deploy to a cluster use the same version of the OmniStack software. The OmniStack version must also match the version installed on any hosts previously deployed (if you deploy to the same location). Check that you have administrator access to vcenter Server. Obtain the vcenter credentials (if you do not know them already). Check that the firewall is set to allow the specified ports. See "Ports required for SimpliVity servers." Check the IP addresses/network configuration. Verify there are three separate networks: Management, Storage, and Federation. Check for duplicate IP addresses. Verify that the MTU size matches that of existing Federation members. Verify the NTP server. Chapter 3: Verify the deployment environment 29

30 Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts This section contains the following topics: About deploying OmniStack hosts Deployment prerequisites About OmniStack host discovery Create a configuration file Deploy one or more OmniStack hosts Deploy OmniStack hosts in an IP pool OmniStack host heartbeats Post-deployment tasks About deploying OmniStack hosts With Deployment Manager, you can deploy hosts in one of the following ways: Deploy one or more OmniStack hosts to a cluster with or without existing OmniStack hosts. For a new deployment, you create a SimpliVity Federation when you deploy two or more OmniStack hosts. Deploy multiple OmniStack hosts in an IP pool to join an existing Federation. You can also use Deployment Manager to create a configuration file and not deploy any hosts. When you create a configuration file, you store network settings in a file that you can import for later deployments. This helps you deploy hosts faster because you have a template. Just import the file when prompted and make the appropriate modifications to the populated fields as you click through the Deployment Manager wizard. You can deploy up to eight OmniStack hosts to a cluster and up to 32 in a Federation. A datacenter can contain more than one cluster, but the OmniStack hosts must reside within one cluster per datacenter. During the deployment of an OmniStack host, Deployment Manager performs a reverse DNS lookup. When an IP address resolves to a host name, the OmniStack host appears in vcenter Server with an assigned host name. When an IP address does not resolve to a host name, the OmniStack host appears in vcenter Server with an assigned IP address. If Deployment Manager cannot determine the host name associated with the IP address of a host, it deploys the host with the IP address as the name. You can rename a host using the svt-hostrename command as described in the OmniStack Command Reference Guide. The renaming process does not impact the I/O performance of the virtual machines residing on the host. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 30

31 Before you deploy one or more hosts, Deployment Manager runs a series of validation tests on the network settings. For example, it checks the IP address, port group name, Network Interface Card (NIC) speed and connection. If it detects any issues, you see a message with an appropriate workaround. You can stop and start the tests at any time if you need to make any changes to your settings before you continue. Once you deploy your hosts, you can manage them and their associated virtual objects through SimpliVity options in your hypervisor. For more information, see "Post-deployment tasks." You can deploy OmniStack hosts using the procedures in this document or see the OmniStack Command Line Reference Guide for details on using deployment commands. Deployment prerequisites Before you begin using Deployment Manager, review the following list to ensure that you successfully deploy the OmniStack hosts: You created a cluster under the datacenter where you want to deploy the OmniStack hosts. The datacenter can contain more than one cluster, but the OmniStack hosts must reside in one cluster per datacenter. All OmniStack hosts you plan to deploy use the same OmniStack software version. Do not mix OmniStack versions in the same cluster. Check that the OmniStack hosts in the same cluster are the same model types with the same number of CPUs (single or dual). For example, the cluster you plan to deploy to has CN-5000 and CN-5400 dual CPU server models and you plan to deploy two more CN-5400 dual CPU models. Check that your version of Deployment Manager is the same version as the OmniStack version of your hosts or later. For example, if your hosts use OmniStack 3.5.2, use Deployment Manager or later. Only IPv4 addresses are supported. OmniStack IP address pools cannot be within these ranges: / / /8 The IP addresses allocated in each OmniStack IP address pool on the Management, Storage, and Federation networks must be unique for each OmniStack host deployment. Overallocate IP addresses in each OmniStack IP address pool to ensure that IP addresses are available for future OmniStack host deployments. If you are deploying one OmniStack host, the starting IP address in an OmniStack IP address pool range is required and the ending IP address is optional. For best performance, know what you want as the starting and ending OmniStack IP address pool ranges so that IP addresses are available for future OmniStack host deployments. IP addresses in a pool must be contiguous and on the same subnet. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 31

32 The Windows computer and OmniStack hosts you plan to deploy must be on the same network. If the Windows computer and an OmniStack host are not on the same network, you must manually obtain an IP address for the OmniStack host. For more information, see "About OmniStack discovery." Open TCP ports 9292 and 9299 on the Management network to deploy an OmniStack host. You can close these ports after the deployment is successful. Know the hypervisor version used (for example, ESXi 5.5, 6.0, or 6.5) on each OmniStack host you plan to deploy. Verify the Windows computer you are using to deploy an OmniStack host is not configured to enter hibernation or sleep mode during the deployment. If deploying a single OmniStack host, do not enable vsphere High Availability (HA). You do not have enough OmniStack hosts. (With vsphere HA, virtual machines on one failed host can restart on a healthy OmniStack host if one is available.) About OmniStack host discovery When you power on an OmniStack host, it obtains a temporary IP address from a DHCP server. The temporary IP address allows the Deployment Manager client to communicate with the OmniStack host. The Deployment Manager client uses the Service Location Protocol (SLP) to discover the OmniStack host. The temporary IP address connects to an installer and collects the properties of an OmniStack host, such as model type and serial number. In certain situations, an OmniStack host may not acquire a temporary IP address automatically. This requires that you manually assign a static IP address, netmask, and gateway to the OmniStack host during the deployment process. Connect to a remote management interface If you need to assign a static IP address to the host you want to deploy because the host could not obtain one automatically, connect the OmniStack server to a Windows computer, connect to the remote management interface for your server (for example, IDRAC), and launch the virtual console or KVM console before you can assign a static IP address. Procedure 1. Connect an Ethernet cable from the Windows computer to the Ethernet management port on the rear of the OmniStack host. 2. Configure the remote management interface for your platform. 3. Connect to the remote management interface and launch the virtual console or KVM console for your platform. The SimpliVity Installer screen opens. For more information, see the SimpliVity Hardware Installation and Maintenance Guide for your platform. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 32

33 Assign a static IP address to an OmniStack host Procedure 1. On the SimpliVity Installer screen, when the status is Waiting to be discovered, press Ctrl+N. 2. Determine the network interface for the connection you are planning to use on the Management network to deploy the OmniStack host. If the Management network and network interface are on different VLANs, indicate the VLAN for the network interface as follows: Use the Tab key to select Add VLAN and press Enter. a) Use the Tab key to select Add VLAN and press Enter. b) Enter the VLAN ID for the network interface. Then use the Tab key to select OK and press Enter. 3. Press Tab to select Enable NIC and press Enter. 4. Press Tab to specify the IP address, netmask, and gateway for the OmniStack host. 5. Press Tab to Apply and press Enter. 6. Press Tab to select Done and press Enter. 7. In Deployment Manager, specify the IP address on the Select OmniStack Host screen. Create a configuration file Before you deploy one or more hosts, you may want to create a configuration file to store your deployment settings. You can import the file and make any necessary changes when ready to deploy hosts. Procedure overview Use this procedure to create a configuration file that you can use for later deployments. (The configuration file only stores settings. It does not store credentials.) This procedure is optional. You can manually enter settings to deploy hosts and still have the option to store them in a configuration file before starting the deployment as described in the next procedure. Procedure 1. Open Deployment Manager on the Windows computer you want to use to deploy the OmniStack hosts. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 33

34 2. Leave the hypervisor set to VMware vsphere. Then enter the vcenter Server IP address and administrator credentials. (Do not try to log on to the local host or use the loopback address.) Click Login to open the Select Deployment Location for Hosts screen. For example: 3. Select a cluster for the configuration file. Click Refresh Inventory to update the contents if necessary. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 34

35 OmniStack hosts must reside in one cluster per datacenter to ensure that the virtual machines that reside on the hosts can maintain HA compliance and access the correct datastore. 4. Do one of the following: If you selected a cluster with existing OmniStack hosts, skip to step 7. If you selected a cluster without existing OmniStack hosts, click Next to open the Define Settings for Federation, Arbiter, or Both screen. 5. Select one of the following: Create a SimpliVity Federation: You want to create a configuration file to deploy one or more OmniStack hosts to create a new Federation in vcenter Server. Join an existing SimpliVity Federation: You want to create a configuration file to deploy one or more OmniStack hosts to a Federation with vcenter Server in Linked Mode or Enhanced Link Mode. In the Existing SimpliVity Federation Virtual Controller management IP address field, enter the management IP address of a Virtual Controller in the Federation. This ensures that Deployment Manager can locate the correct vcenter Server you want to use. (The management IP address is part of the Virtual Controller name.) 6. If shown, select one of the following to define the Arbiter information: SimpliVity Arbiter is installed on this vcenter SimpliVity Arbiter is installed on a different Windows computer In the IP address of the Windows server running the SimpliVity Arbiter field, enter the Windows server IP address. 7. Click Next to open the Select Deployment Method or Create Configuration File screen. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 35

36 If you recently deployed your first host to a cluster, you cannot continue to this screen until that first host completes the deployment process. You can check the progress through the deployment icon ( ). If you selected a cluster with existing hosts, you also see the Deploy a host by using existing IP address pools option. 8. Select Create a configuration file and do not deploy a host to manually enter the network information and save the file as a template. 9. Click Next to open the Configure Management Network Settings screen. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 36

37 You can right-click some fields to access Cut, Copy, and Paste options. If deploying hosts to a cluster with existing OmniStack hosts, you see some of the fields populate with default responses that provide limited options for changes or must remain as shown. 10. Enter the following Management network information for the management connection, Virtual Controller, and host: vswitch Name. Select the name from the drop-down list (if more than one vswitch is available). Deployment Manager accesses the vswitch names from vcenter Server. If performing a new deployment, you cannot change the default vswitch name that populates the field. If you selected one NIC for the Management and Storage and Federation networks, select the same vswitch for all the networks (for example, all vswitch0). If you selected two NICs, you can select one vswitch for the Management network and another vswitch for the Storage and Federation networks. However, the Storage and Federation networks should use the same vswitch because they use the same NIC. MTU. Enter a value between The MTU setting must match the MTU settings used for the Management network of any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). VLAN ID. Enter a value between 0 to Virtual Controller Port Group Name. Select the name from the drop-down list. If performing a new deployment, you cannot change the default name. Starting Virtual Controller IP Address. Enter the IP address of the Virtual Controller for the first host you want to deploy. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 37

38 Ending Virtual Controller IP Address. Enter the IP address of the Virtual Controller for the last host you want to deploy. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Virtual Controller Netmask. Virtual Controller Gateway. Starting Host IP Address. Enter the IP address of the first host you want to deploy. Ending Host IP Address. Enter the IP address of the last host you want to deploy. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Host Netmask. Host Gateway. 11. Click Next to open the Configure Storage Network Settings screen. 12. Enter the following Storage network information for the storage connection, Virtual Controller, and host: vswitch Name. Select the name from the drop-down list (if more than one vswitch is available). This field defaults to the name used for the Management network and you cannot change it when creating a configuration file. (You can change it when you deploy hosts.) MTU. Enter a value between The MTU setting must match the MTU settings used for the Storage network of any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). VLAN ID. Enter a value between 0 to Virtual Controller Port Group Name. Select the name from the drop-down list. If performing a new deployment, you cannot change the default name. Starting Virtual Controller IP Address. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 38

39 Ending Virtual Controller IP Address. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Virtual Controller Netmask. Virtual Controller Gateway. Starting Host IP Address. Ending Host IP Address. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Host Netmask. Host Gateway. 13. Click Next to open the Configure Federation Network Settings screen. 14. Enter the following Federation network information for the connection and Virtual Controller: vswitch Name. Select the name from the drop-down list. This field defaults to the name used for the Management network and you cannot change it when creating a configuration file. (You can change it when you deploy hosts.) MTU. Enter a value between The MTU setting must match the MTU settings used for the Federation network of any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). VLAN ID. Enter a value between 0 to Virtual Controller Port Group Name. Select the name from the drop-down list. (For a new deployment, you cannot change the default name.) Starting Virtual Controller IP Address. Enter the IP address of the Virtual Controller for the first host you want to deploy. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 39

40 Ending Virtual Controller IP Address. Enter the IP address of the Virtual Controller for the last host you want to deploy. (This field is required when deploying more than one OmniStack host for deployment.) Host Netmask. Host Gateway. 15. Click Next to open the Configure Host DNS Settings screen. 16. Enter the following host DNS information: Domain. Enter the domain name (with a DNS suffix). Search Domain. Primary Server. Secondary Server. Find and register by host name. Leave this option selected for DNS to perform a lookup for the hostname and register it in vcenter with that name. If it cannot find the name, Deployment Manager still deploys the host to vcenter with the IP address. You can change the name at any time after deployment using the svt-host-rename command. For more details on using this command, see the OmniStack Command Line Reference Guide. 17. Click Next to open the Select NTP Servers for Host screen. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 40

41 18. Select at least three NTP servers and click Add. The default servers are: 0.us.pool.ntp.org 1.us.pool.ntp.org 2.us.pool.ntp.org 3.us.pool.ntp.org You can add an IP address or DNS name for an alternate NTP server in the Alternate Server field and then click Add. Click Up or Down to change the priority order of the NTP servers. 19. Click Next to review the information in the Review Deployment Details screen. You can scroll down the screen to see all of the settings. For example: Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 41

42 If you need to make corrections, click Back to return to the screen where you need to make the change. Click Next until you return to the Review Deployment Details screen. 20. Click Next to open the Start Deployment, Save Settings, or Both screen. 21. Select Save settings in a configuration file and browse to a directory to save the settings in configuration file that you can import as a template for later deployments. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 42

43 22. Click Finish. You can browse to this configuration file to import the settings when you want to run Deployment Manager again to deploy hosts. Deploy one or more OmniStack hosts Procedure overview Follow the steps in this procedure to deploy one or more OmniStack hosts to a cluster. You can use this procedure for first-time deployments or to add hosts to a cluster with predeployed OmniStack hosts. You can manually enter the host settings or import a configuration file to automatically populate fields. For details on creating a configuration file, see "Create a configuration file." If you want to deploy hosts in an IP pool, skip to the next procedure. Procedure 1. Open Deployment Manager on the Windows computer you want to use to deploy the OmniStack hosts. 2. Leave the hypervisor set to VMware vsphere. Then enter the vcenter Server IP address and administrator credentials. (Do not try to log on to the local host or use the loopback address.) Click Login to open the Select Deployment Location for Hosts screen. For example: Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 43

44 3. Expand a datacenter and select a cluster for deployment. Click Refresh Inventory to update the contents if necessary. OmniStack hosts must reside in one cluster per datacenter to ensure that the virtual machines that reside on the hosts can maintain HA compliance and access the correct datastore. 4. Do one of the following: If you selected a cluster with existing OmniStack hosts, skip to step 7. If you selected a cluster without existing OmniStack hosts, click Next to open the Define Settings for Federation, Arbiter, or Both screen. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 44

45 If you only see the "SimpliVity Arbiter Information" section to specify the location of Arbiter, you logged into a vcenter Server with previously deployed OmniStack hosts in the Federation. But, the cluster you selected does not have any existing hosts. Skip to step 6 if you only see Arbiter options. 5. Select one of the following: Create a SimpliVity Federation: You plan to deploy one or more OmniStack hosts to create a new Federation in vcenter Server. Join an existing SimpliVity Federation: You plan to deploy one or more OmniStack hosts to a Federation with vcenter Server in Linked Mode or Enhanced Link Mode. In the Existing SimpliVity Federation Virtual Controller management IP address field, enter the management IP address of a Virtual Controller in the Federation. This ensures that Deployment Manager can locate the correct vcenter Server you want to use. (The management IP address is part of the Virtual Controller name.) 6. If shown, select one of the following to define the Arbiter information: SimpliVity Arbiter is installed on this vcenter SimpliVity Arbiter is installed on a different Windows computer In the IP address of the Windows server running the SimpliVity Arbiter field, enter the Windows server IP address. 7. Click Next to open the Select Deployment Method or Create Configuration File screen. If you recently deployed your first host to a cluster, you cannot continue to this screen until that first host completes the deployment process. You can check the progress through the deployment icon ( ). Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 45

46 If you selected a cluster with existing hosts, you also see the Deploy a host by using existing IP address pools option. If you want to use this option, see Deploy OmniStack hosts in an IP pool on page 57 instead of this procedure. 8. Do one of the following: Deploy a host by manually entering settings: Leave this option selected to manually enter the network information to deploy one or more hosts. Deploy a host by importing a configuration file: Select this option to import data from an existing configuration file and automatically populate some network fields. You can modify the data at any time during the deployment. Click Browse to select the configuration file (XML) you want to import. By default, Deployment Manager stores configuration files to the C:\Users\<user name>\my Documents directory. (You need Read privileges to import the file.) If you only want to create a configuration file (not deploy hosts), see "Create a configuration file" instead of this procedure. 9. Click Next to open the Select OmniStack Hosts screen. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 46

47 If you selected a cluster with previously deployed OmniStack hosts, you do not see the Hypervisor Version column. Deployment Manager automatically selects the hypervisor version running on the previously deployed hosts. 10. Click Scan to automatically discover hosts on the broadcast domain and populate the table. If you do not see the host you want to deploy, enter the IP address in the Add host IP address field and click Add. For example, your screen populates with details similar to this (IP not shown in example): Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 47

48 11. Click the NIC Details icon ( ) to see each Network Interface Card (NIC) used on each host. Expand the network adapter name to review the interface, MAC address (physical address and unique port identifier), model name and number, maximum link speed (1 gigabit per second [Gb/ s] or 10 Gb/s), and link status (Connected or Disconnected). A host may come equipped with many NICs (for example, three to 10). These details help you determine what NIC to use for the networks. Click the X icon to close the NIC details. If you do not see any NIC details for a host or a NIC appears disconnected, check the physical server. You may have a faulty cable, port, card, or switch. Or, the version of the SimpliVity Installer application on the host may be older than the Deployment Manager version. To update the Installer application on the host, contact SimpliVity Support at support.simplivity.com. 12. If shown, select the hypervisor version each host uses from the Hypervisor Version drop-down menu. For example, if you use vcenter Server 6.5, you can select ESXi 6.0 or 6.5. But, each host in a cluster must use the same hypervisor version (all 5.x or all 6.x). 13. Select the hosts you want to deploy and click Next to open the Select Network Interface Cards screen. 14. In the Management NIC and Storage and Federation NIC fields, select the NIC you want to use for each network from the chart that opens in the drop-down lists. For example: Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 48

49 You can use the same NIC for the each network. But, use a NIC with a link speed of at least 1 Gb/ s for the Management network and 10 Gb/s for the Storage and Federation network. In addition, select NICs with the same link speed combination for each host (for example, all 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s or all 10 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s). Your selections must also match the link speed combination of any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). 15. Click Next to open the Set OmniStack Passwords screen. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 49

50 16. Enter the password for the root user account to log on to the OmniStack host and confirm it. (Use the password requirements of the hypervisor.) Then enter the Command Line Interface (CLI) password and confirm it for command line access. 17. Click Next to open the Configure Management Network Settings screen. You can right-click some fields to access Cut, Copy, and Paste options. If deploying hosts to a cluster with existing OmniStack hosts, you see some of the fields populate with default responses that provide limited options for changes or must remain as shown. 18. Enter the following Management network information for the management connection, Virtual Controller, and host: vswitch Name. Select the name from the drop-down list (if more than one vswitch is available). Deployment Manager accesses the vswitch names from vcenter Server. If performing a new deployment, you cannot change the default vswitch name that populates the field. If you selected one NIC for the Management and Storage and Federation networks, select the same vswitch for all the networks (for example, all vswitch0). If you selected two NICs, you can select one vswitch for the Management network and another vswitch for the Storage and Federation networks. However, the Storage and Federation networks should use the same vswitch because they use the same NIC. MTU. Enter a value between The MTU setting must match the MTU settings used for the Management network of any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). VLAN ID. Enter a value between 0 to Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 50

51 Virtual Controller Port Group Name. Select the name from the drop-down list. If performing a new deployment, you cannot change the default name. Starting Virtual Controller IP Address. Enter the IP address of the Virtual Controller for the first host you want to deploy. Ending Virtual Controller IP Address. Enter the IP address of the Virtual Controller for the last host you want to deploy. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Virtual Controller Netmask. Virtual Controller Gateway. Starting Host IP Address. Enter the IP address of the first host you want to deploy. Ending Host IP Address. Enter the IP address of the last host you want to deploy. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Host Netmask. Host Gateway. 19. Click Next to open the Configure Storage Network Settings screen. 20. Enter the following Storage network information for the storage connection, Virtual Controller, and host: vswitch Name. Select the name from the drop-down list (if more than one vswitch is available). If you selected the same NIC link speed for the networks of a new deployment, this field defaults to the name used for the Management network and you cannot change it. If you selected one NIC for the Management and Storage and Federation networks, select the same vswitch for all the networks. If you selected two NICs, you can select one vswitch for the Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 51

52 Management network and another vswitch for the Storage and Federation networks. However, the Storage and Federation networks should use the same vswitch because they use the same NIC. MTU. Enter a value between The MTU setting must match the MTU settings used for the Storage network of any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). VLAN ID. Enter a value between 0 to Virtual Controller Port Group Name. Select the name from the drop-down list. If performing a new deployment, you cannot change the default name. Starting Virtual Controller IP Address. Ending Virtual Controller IP Address. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Virtual Controller Netmask. Virtual Controller Gateway. Starting Host IP Address. Ending Host IP Address. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Host Netmask. Host Gateway. 21. Click Next to open the Configure Federation Network Settings screen. 22. Enter the following Federation network information for the connection and Virtual Controller: vswitch Name. Select the name from the drop-down list (if more than one vswitch is available). If you selected the same NIC link speed for the networks of a new deployment, this field defaults to the name used for the Management network and you cannot change it. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 52

53 If you selected one NIC for the Management and Storage and Federation networks, select the same vswitch for all the networks. If you selected two NICs, you can select one vswitch for the Management network and another vswitch for the Storage and Federation networks. However, the Storage and Federation networks should use the same vswitch because they use the same NIC. MTU. Enter a value between The MTU setting must match the MTU settings used for the Federation network of any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). VLAN ID. Enter a value between 0 to Virtual Controller Port Group Name. Select the name from the drop-down list. If performing a new deployment, you cannot change the default name. Starting Virtual Controller IP Address. Enter the IP address of the Virtual Controller for the first host you want to deploy. Ending Virtual Controller IP Address. Enter the IP address of the Virtual Controller for the last host you want to deploy. This field is required if you selected more than one OmniStack host for deployment. Host Netmask. Host Gateway. 23. Click Next to open the Configure Host DNS Settings screen. 24. Enter the following host DNS information: Domain. Enter the domain name (with a DNS suffix). Search Domain. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 53

54 Primary Server. Secondary Server. Find and register by host name. Leave this option selected for DNS to perform a lookup for the hostname and register it in vcenter with that name. If it cannot find the name, Deployment Manager still deploys the host to vcenter with the IP address. You can change the name at any time after deployment using the svt-host-rename command. For more details on using this command, see the OmniStack Command Line Reference Guide. 25. Click Next to open the Select NTP Servers for Host screen. 26. Select at least three NTP servers and click Add. The default servers are: 0.us.pool.ntp.org 1.us.pool.ntp.org 2.us.pool.ntp.org 3.us.pool.ntp.org You can add an IP address or DNS name for an alternate NTP server in the Alternate Server field and then click Add. Click Up or Down to change the priority order of the NTP servers. 27. Click Next to review the information in the Review Deployment Details screen. You can scroll down the screen to see all of the settings. For example: Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 54

55 If you need to make corrections, click Back to return to the screen where you need to make the change. Click Next until you return to the Review Deployment Details screen. 28. Click Next to open the Test Host Settings screen. 29. Click Start Test when ready to test the host settings. Use the legend to review the status as the test runs. If Deployment Manager detects any issues, you see the messages with any necessary troubleshooting tips in the Test Details section. You can toggle between starting and rerunning the test as needed through the Start/Rerun Test button. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 55

56 If some tests fail, the Start Test button toggles to Rerun Test. This gives you time to make corrections. For example, you can make changes to physical hardware, the network, or click Back and change settings. When ready, click Rerun Test. Once the tests pass, you can continue. 30. Click Next to open the Start Deployment, Save Settings, or Both screen. 31. Do one of the following: Select both options to deploy the OmniStack hosts and create a configuration file. Select Start deployment to deploy the OmniStack hosts. (This option is disabled if you selected Create a configuration file and do not deploy hosts in the Select OmniStack Systems screen.) Select Save settings in a configuration file and browse to a directory to save the settings in configuration file that you can import as a template for later deployments. You do not deploy any hosts at this time if you only select this option. 32. Click Finish. 33. If you chose to deploy the OmniStack hosts, click the square blinking deployment icon (for example, ) at the top of the screen to view the status. You can start a new deployment while the current one runs if the cluster you choose already has one host deployed. If not, you must wait until the first host deploys to the location successfully before you can start another deployment. The deployment icon shows the number of deployments in progress. Once a host successfully completes the deployment, you can clear it from the list by clicking Clear Completed. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 56

57 Deploy OmniStack hosts in an IP pool Use this procedure when you want to deploy OmniStack hosts to a cluster in an IP pool. For example, if you need to repair a deployed OmniStack host and redeploy it, you can reassign the same IP address to it. Or, you can deploy a new host to an existing IP pool. Procedure 1. Open Deployment Manager on the Windows computer you want to use to deploy the OmniStack hosts. 2. Leave the hypervisor set to VMware vsphere. Then enter the vcenter Server IP address and administrator credentials. (Do not try to log on to the local host or use the loopback address.) Click Login to open the Select Deployment Location for Hosts screen. 3. Expand a datacenter and select a cluster for the deployment. Click Refresh Inventory to update the contents if necessary. OmniStack hosts must reside in one cluster per datacenter to ensure that the virtual machines that reside on the hosts can maintain HA compliance and access the correct datastore. 4. Click Next to open the Select Deployment Method or Create Configuration File screen. 5. Select Deploy a host by using existing IP address pools as shown: If you selected a cluster without existing hosts, you do not see the Deploy a host by using existing IP address pools option. You must select a cluster with previously deployed hosts to complete this procedure. 6. Click Next to open the Select OmniStack Hosts screen. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 57

58 7. Click Scan to automatically discover hosts on the broadcast domain and populate the table. If you do not see the host you want to deploy, enter the IP address in the Add host IP address field and click Add. 8. Click the NIC Details icon ( ) to see each Network Interface Card (NIC) used on each host. Expand the network adapter name to review the interface, MAC address (physical address and unique port identifier), model name and number, maximum link speed (1 gigabit per second [Gb/ s] or 10 Gb/s), and link status (Connected or Disconnected). A host may come equipped with many NICs (for example, three to 10). These details help you determine what NIC to use for the networks. Click the X icon to close the NIC details. If you do not see any NIC details for a host or a NIC appears disconnected, check the physical server. You may have a faulty cable, port, card, or switch. Or, the version of the SimpliVity Installer application may be older than the Deployment Manager version. To update the Installer application on the host, contact SimpliVity Support at support.simplivity.com. 9. Select the hosts you want to deploy and click Next to open the Select Network Interface Cards screen. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 58

59 10. In the Management NIC and Storage and Federation NIC fields, select the NIC you want to use for each network from the chart that opens in the drop-down lists. For example: You can use the same NIC for the each network. But, use a NIC with a link speed of at least 1 Gb/ s for the Management network and 10 Gb/s for the Storage and Federation network. In addition, select NICs with the same link speed combination for each OmniStack host (for example, all 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s or all 10 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s). Your selections must also match the link speed combination of any OmniStack hosts that already reside in the cluster (if available). Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 59

60 11. Click Next to review the information in the Review Deployment Details screen. You can scroll down the screen to see all of the settings. For example: If you need to make corrections, click Back to return to the screen where you need to make the change. Click Next until you return to the Review Deployment Details screen. 12. Click Next to open the Start Deployment, Save Settings, or Both screen. 13. Leave Start deployment selected and click Finish. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 60

61 14. Click the square blinking deployment icon at the top of the screen (for example, ) to view the status. You can start a new deployment while the current one runs if the cluster you choose already has one host deployed. If not, you must wait until the first host deploys to the location successfully before you can start another deployment. The deployment icon shows the number of deployments in progress. Once a host successfully completes the deployment, you can clear it from the list by clicking Clear Completed. OmniStack host heartbeats Once you deploy hosts to a Federation, you can monitor and maintain their connections through two heartbeat functions. The Arbiter application provides a connection heartbeat between the OmniStack hosts within a Federation. If the Arbiter heartbeat stops, vcenter Server displays the following error message: Lost contact with the Arbiter at ip-address. The Accelerator Firmware also provides a heartbeat. If this heartbeat stops, vcenter Server displays the following error message: SimpliVity Accelerator Firmware Unresponsive. SimpliVity also supports the VMware vsphere HA datastore heartbeat if it is configured in your environment. See the SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client Help for information about monitoring events and alarms. You can also find steps to restart Arbiter (if necessary). Post-deployment tasks After a successful deployment, complete these tasks for each OmniStack host. Configure the VMware license settings for vcenter Server and the ESXi hosts. For more information, see the VMware documentation at: Install SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client on the computer where the vcenter Server is installed. (To download the application, go to support.simplivity.com.) Complete the following tasks as described in the OmniStack Administrator Guide or SimpliVity Extension Help: (Optional) Configure NIC teaming on the standard or distributed port groups. Install SimpliVity Extension for vsphere Web Client on the computer where the vcenter Server is installed. Set the time zone for all the clusters (defaults to Coordinated Universal Time [UTC]). Create backup policies. Create datastores. Set up your virtual environment. For example, create or migrate virtual machines. Assign backup policies to the virtual machines. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 61

62 Add rules to the backup policies. If Deployment Manager could not determine the host name associated with the IP address of a host, it deploys the host with the IP address as the name. But, you can rename a host using the svthost-rename command as described in the OmniStack Command Reference Guide. The renaming process does not impact the I/O performance of the virtual machines residing on the host. Chapter 4: Deploy OmniStack hosts 62

63 Chapter 5: Troubleshooting This section contains the following topics: About recoverable deployment errors Retry deployment for errors 1-3 Retry deployment for errors 4-6 Retry deployment for errors 7-33 About general deployment issues About recoverable deployment errors An OmniStack host deployment can fail when these conditions occur: There is a temporary network interruption. Deployment Manager did not locate the OmniStack host during discovery. There are no IP addresses available in an OmniStack IP address pool to assign to the OmniStack host. To view status messages when a deployment is in progress, click the blinking deployment icon at the top of the screen (for example, ). When a deployment fails, Deployment Manager displays an error message with the serial number of the OmniStack host. For example: Chapter 5: Troubleshooting 63

64 The point when a deployment fails determines the action you can take to retry the deployment. For errors between steps 1-3, review the error message, make any necessary changes on the screens and retry the deployment. For errors between steps 4-6, reset the OmniStack host discovery state as described in this guide and try the deployment again. For errors between steps 7-33, reset the boot drive or installer image as described in this guide and retry the deployment. (The procedure you follow depends on your server type.) See the section that applies to your error to troubleshoot the issue. If the procedures fail, contact SimpliVity Customer Support at support.simplivity.com. Retry deployment for errors 1-3 When a deployment fails between steps 1-3, retry the deployment. If it continues to fail between steps 1-3, contact SimpliVity Customer Support at support.simplivity.com. Retry deployment for errors 4-6 When a deployment fails between steps 4-6, reset the OmniStack host discovery state using the SimpliVity Installer software and retry the deployment. See the following section for details. If deployment continues to fail between steps 4-6, contact SimpliVity Customer Support at support.simplivity.com. Reset OmniStack host discovery state Before you begin Verify an active instance of Deployment Manager is not currently discovering or deploying the OmniStack host where you are resetting the discovery state. Chapter 5: Troubleshooting 64

65 Procedure 1. Connect an Ethernet cable from the Windows computer to the Ethernet management port on the rear of the OmniStack host. 2. Configure and connect the remote management interface for your platform and launch the virtual console. The SimpliVity Installer screen opens. 3. On the SimpliVity Installer screen, press Ctrl+R when the status is Discovered. The following messages may appear during the reset process: a) Press Enter to continue if OmniStack displays the following message. b) Press Tab to make a selection. Press Enter if OmniStack displays the following message. This message indicates that the OmniStack host is available and is ready for redeployment. This message indicates that an instance of Deployment Manager has discovered this OmniStack host and is in the process of deploying it. Select Cancel if deployment of this OmniStack host is in progress. Select OK to prepare this OmniStack host for deployment. 4. Retry the deployment using Deployment Manager. If the deployment fails, contact Customer Support. Chapter 5: Troubleshooting 65