applying vmware vsphere virtual volumes on netapp...

Technical Report

Applying VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes on NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP 8.3 Eric Wagar, NetApp

June 2015 | TR-4400

Abstract

NetApp® technology enables data centers to extend their virtual infrastructures to include the

benefits of advanced storage virtualization. NetApp leads the storage industry with an

information platform that is hardware agnostic and that can aggregate disparate forms of

hardware together and virtualize access to storage; in effect, a platform that functions as a

storage hypervisor. NetApp clustered Data ONTAP® technology is the cornerstone of the

storage hypervisor. This document aligns the storage hypervisor with the server hypervisor by

prescribing best practices for deploying VMware vSphere 6.0 on clustered Data ONTAP 8.3

storage by using VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes.

2 Applying VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes on NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP 8.3 © 2015 NetApp, Inc. All rights reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Solution Overview ................................................................................................................................ 4

1.1 Target Audience ..............................................................................................................................................4

1.2 VVOL Concepts ..............................................................................................................................................4

1.3 Solution Technology .......................................................................................................................................9

1.4 Use Case Summary ........................................................................................................................................9

1.5 VVOL Limitations ............................................................................................................................................9

2 Technology Requirements .................................................................................................................. 9

2.1 Hardware Requirements ............................................................................................................................... 10

2.2 Software Requirements ................................................................................................................................ 10

3 Initial Setup ......................................................................................................................................... 10

3.1 Configure and Test DNS Entries ................................................................................................................... 11

3.2 Configure Time Services ............................................................................................................................... 12

3.3 Create and Configure an SVM for VVOL Use ............................................................................................... 12

3.4 Configure the Storage Protocol ..................................................................................................................... 12

3.5 Deploy Physical Servers and Install ESXi 6.0 ............................................................................................... 13

3.6 Deploy vCSA 6.0 ........................................................................................................................................... 14

3.7 Deploy VSC and VASA Provider ................................................................................................................... 14

4 Storage Capability Profiles and VM Storage Policies ..................................................................... 24

4.1 Enable VM Storage Policies on ESXi Servers or Cluster .............................................................................. 24

4.2 Create SCPs ................................................................................................................................................. 24

4.3 Create a VM Storage Policy and Map It to the SCP ...................................................................................... 26

5 VVOL Datastores ................................................................................................................................ 27

5.1 Create a VVOL Datastore ............................................................................................................................. 27

5.2 Add FlexVol Volumes to an Existing VVOL Datastore .................................................................................. 30

6 VM Management ................................................................................................................................. 32

6.1 Create VMs with VVOLs Using VM Storage Policies .................................................................................... 32

6.2 Migrate VMs to VVOLs ................................................................................................................................. 35

7 Advanced Features............................................................................................................................. 35

7.1 Deduplication ................................................................................................................................................ 35

7.2 Compression ................................................................................................................................................. 35


References ................................................................................................................................................. 35

Version History ......................................................................................................................................... 36

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1) NetApp storage supported capabilities. ............................................................................................................5

Table 2) VVOL types and implementation. .....................................................................................................................6

Table 3) VVOLs on clustered Data ONTAP hardware requirements. ........................................................................... 10

Table 4) VVOLs on clustered Data ONTAP software requirements. ............................................................................ 10

Table 5) Entity DNS and IP address list. ...................................................................................................................... 11

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1) Binding relationship between a PE LUN and a VVOL. ....................................................................................7

Figure 2) LUN PEs. ........................................................................................................................................................8

Figure 3) NFS PEs. ........................................................................................................................................................8

Figure 4) vCenter, VSC, VASA Provider, ESXi servers, and clustered Data ONTAP storage........................................9


1 Solution Overview

Server virtualization continues to be a transforming force in IT, and VMware vSphere has been at the

leading edge of this evolution. The pace of new announced products and released updates has been

rapid and significant. VMware vSphere 6.0 has expanded its capabilities in the areas of networking,

virtual machine (VM) management, and storage.

vSphere Virtual Volumes (VVOLs) is one such new storage feature. NetApp has been at the forefront of

this technology since it was announced by VMware, helping to provide architectural input to the design as

a design partner. Before the release of VVOLs, storage administrators and virtual infrastructure (VI)

administrators had separate environments with disparate management methodologies. The separation

resulted in long planning cycles to refine the storage environments needed by VI administrators. The lack

of granularity in the ability to manage storage at the per-VM level offered no guarantee that VI

administrators would use the correct datastore for each VM.

VVOLs allow storage administrators to configure storage volumes and easily communicate storage

capabilities to VI administrators. VI administrators, in turn, assign VM storage policies to those volumes.

These policies allow VI administrators to manage VMs in a more consistent, effective, and efficient way.

More importantly, they reduce time to deployment because the communication between storage

administrators and VI administrators is streamlined.

This technical report explains fundamental VVOL concepts. It includes sample methodologies for

configuring and deploying the software required to make VVOLs work with NetApp FAS storage systems,

and it highlights important best practices. NetApp encourages you to follow these best practices as much

as possible to maximize performance, simplicity, and reliability when deploying a VVOL environment.

1.1 Target Audience

The deployment instructions in this report assume that the audience has a working knowledge of VMware

vSphere 5 or earlier versions, including how to deploy OVF or OVA files, create VMs, mount ISO images

as a CD/DVD for a VM, and similar tasks. The instructions also assume a working knowledge of the

NetApp clustered Data ONTAP software. Some deployment steps are omitted, but steps that vary from

normal procedures are explicitly explained.

1.2 VVOL Concepts

VVOLs and related components are the building blocks for VM granular management. The fundamental

goal of the technology is to separate the management of storage from the management of VMs so that

the required knowledge and understanding for the two technology areas can be better focalized.

Before the addition of VVOLs to vSphere, administrators with an understanding of storage had to explain

to VI administrators who did not specialize in storage-related tasks how to identify the datastores to use

for specific classes of VMs or for component virtual disks and other objects that consume storage. They

tried to achieve that objective through some combination of documentation and conventions for datastore

naming. However, consistency, compliance, and verification were difficult to maintain and enforce.

VM Storage Policies

VM storage policies constitute one of the key elements of the VVOL solution. These policies existed in

versions of vSphere earlier than vSphere 6.0, but they lacked the sophistication to query the storage for

the capabilities to include in rule sets. Consequently, capabilities could be advertised only as a single

string.

VMware APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) 2.0 provides the technology to query storage and return a

set of storage capabilities to vCenter. VASA vendor providers supply the translation between the storage

system APIs and constructs and the VMware APIs that vCenter understands. In the NetApp

implementation, the VASA vendor provider is NetApp VASA Provider 6.0 for Clustered Data ONTAP, an


appliance VM that is deployed to vCenter from an OVA file. VASA Provider is managed through pages

and context-sensitive menus in the NetApp Virtual Storage Console for VMware vSphere (VSC) plug-in.

VASA Provider presents the set of capabilities of the storage array or of an object in the array to vCenter.

The capabilities include features such as availability, performance, capacity, space efficiency, replication,

and protocol. Support for a capability might require specific hardware, licenses, or configuration. A set of

capabilities for a volume or a set of volumes is called a storage capability profile (SCP). Storage

administrators use VSC to create and manage SCPs.

Storage for VMs that use VVOLs is provisioned through VM storage policies. The VI administrator creates

VM storage policies to define the storage requirements for the VMs and then maps NetApp storage

capabilities to one or more VM storage policies. Capabilities can be mapped to VM storage policies as an

SCP, as individual capabilities, or as both. If both mapping methods are used, the individual capability

selected in the VM storage policy overrides the capability selected in the SCP. For example, if a VM

storage policy includes both an SCP that requires deduplication and a separate deduplication capability

with the setting No, the resulting VM storage policy requires a NetApp FlexVol® volume without

deduplication.

The Create VM Storage Policy wizard lists the storage objects that are compatible and incompatible with

the VM storage policy after the VI administrator selects capabilities and/or a profile to add to the policy.

Table 1 summarizes the NetApp storage capabilities that are supported by VVOLs.

Table 1) NetApp storage supported capabilities.

Capabilities VM Storage Policy Values

Storage Capability Profile Values

Requirements and Notes

Profile name Selection from a list N/A Used in VM storage policies to map a NetApp SCP; allows the VI administrator to select a predefined set of capabilities

Autogrow Yes, no Yes, no, any Volume set to allow autogrow

Compression Yes, no Yes, no, any Compression enabled on volume

Deduplication Yes, no Yes, no, any Deduplication enabled on volume

Disk types Multiselection: SATA, FCAL, SAS, SSD

SATA, FCAL, SAS, SSD, any

Aggregate consisting of disks of the specified type

Flash accelerated Yes, no Yes, no, any One of the following:

NetApp Flash Cache™

cards installed in the node that hosts the containing aggregate

NetApp Flash Pool™

aggregates containing SSDs and another disk type, and

aggregate setting is -

hybrid=true

High availability Yes, no HA pair, no HA, any Nodes configured as HA pairs

MaxThroughput_IOPS Numeric value Enter number, then select IOPS or MBPS

QoS on the FlexVol volume with an IOPS limit

MaxThroughput_MBPS Numeric value Enter number, then select IOPS or

QoS on the FlexVol volume with a throughput limit


Capabilities VM Storage Policy Values

Storage Capability Profile Values

Requirements and Notes

MBPS

Protocol Multiselection: NFS, iSCSI, FCP

NFS, iSCSI, FCP, any

Matching protocol licensed and properly configured in the storage virtual machine (SVM), including necessary data logical interfaces (LIFs)

Replication Yes, no Async, sync, none, any

NetApp SnapMirror® relationship

replicating the FlexVol volume to another FlexVol volume

Note: Replication relationships are created and managed outside of vCenter, VSC, and VASA Provider. For example, they can be created using NetApp OnCommand

® System Manager.

VVOL Datastores

Traditional datastores are either Virtual Machine File Systems (VMFSs) created on LUNs or storage

controller file systems presented as NFS mounts. Within these datastores, each VM has a directory that

contains a set of files: virtual disks, which are large files containing a disk image, and other files such as

VM swap files, configuration files, and logs.

In the NetApp implementation of VVOLs, a VVOL datastore consists of one or more FlexVol volumes

within a storage container (displayed as “backing storage”). A storage container is simply a set of FlexVol

volumes used for VVOL datastores. All FlexVol volumes in a storage container must be accessed through

the same protocol (NFS, iSCSI, or FC) and must be owned by the same SVM, but they can be hosted on

different aggregates and nodes of the NetApp cluster.

FlexVol volumes can be created outside of the VSC workflows or through the new VVOL Datastore

wizard. However, all LUNs and other VVOL-related objects are created and managed by VASA Provider.

A VVOL is either a LUN used with block protocols or a file or directory used with NFS. A VVOL LUN is not

mapped (“masked,” in common SAN terminology) to storage in the sense that traditional LUNs are. Table

2 lists the different types of VVOLs and describes how they are implemented.

Table 2) VVOL types and implementation.

VVOL Type Block Implementation NFS Implementation Notes or Examples

Configuration LUN, 4GB Directory containing configuration files and pointers to other VVOLs

Contains VMX, NVRAM, logs, VMDK descriptors, and VMware snapshot descriptors. One per VM; contains small VMFS

Data LUN, size of virtual disk File, size of virtual disk N/A

Swap LUN, size of virtual memory*

File, size of virtual memory*

Created when the VM is powered on; deleted when the VM is powered off

Memory LUN, size of virtual memory

File, size of virtual memory

Created only if a memory VMware snapshot is selected when running a VM snapshot


VVOL Type Block Implementation NFS Implementation Notes or Examples

Other Depends on use case Depends on use case VMware HA datastore heartbeat information (4GB LUN or NFS directory)

* Technically, the swap VVOL is the size of the VM memory minus any VM memory reservation.

Protocol Endpoints

The I/O path to a VVOL travels through a new storage object called a protocol endpoint (PE). VVOL

LUNs are bound to a specific PE through a binding call that is managed by VASA Provider. VASA

Provider determines which PE is on the same node as the FlexVol volume that contains the VVOL and

binds the VVOL to that PE.

VVOLs are bound to a PE when they are accessed by a VMware ESXi server. The most common form of

access is powering on the VM. The blue lines in the command block in Figure 1 show the binding

relationship between a VVOL and the PE LUN through which the ESXi server accesses that VVOL.

Figure 1) Binding relationship between a PE LUN and a VVOL.

Vserver Name: WestPac_a_iSCSI

PE MSID: 2147484733

PE Vdisk ID: 8000043d000000000000000000000060193f1b9a

VVol MSID: 2147484733

VVol Vdisk ID: 8000043d00000000000000000000378e193fe3b7

Vserver UUID: 4fe2e2b0-7cd8-11e4-b968-00a0983d22b6

Protocol Endpoint: /vol/NetApp_iSCSI_vvol_FlexVol/vvolPE-1425587566225

PE UUID: 047d0366-ee7b-4bcf-9cdc-99cecc643666

PE Node: alpha-01

VVol: /vol/NetApp_iSCSI_vvol_FlexVol/naa.600a0980543157784d24464f69737830.vmdk

VVol Node: alpha-01

VVol UUID: 534dc4ff-116c-47bb-8964-7d27f97370cb

Secondary LUN: d2249d800000

Optimal binding: true

Reference Count: 1

Best Practice

Perform the VVOL workflows through VSC to remove the need to create PEs manually.

For block protocols, a PE is a small (4MB) LUN. VASA Provider creates one PE in each FlexVol volume

that is part of a VVOL datastore, as shown in Figure 2. PEs are mapped to initiator groups that are

created and managed by VASA Provider.

Best Practice

LUN PEs are mapped using LUN IDs 300 and higher. Ensure that the advanced option Disk.MaxLUN

allows a LUN ID number that is higher than 300 (the default is 1,024).


Figure 2) LUN PEs.

For NFS, a PE is a mount point to the root of the SVM. VASA Provider creates a PE for each data LIF of

the SVM by using the LIF’s IP address, as seen in Figure 3. VASA Provider creates PEs when the first

VVOL datastore is created on the SVM by using a specific protocol. VASA Provider also creates export

policy rules automatically.

Figure 3) NFS PEs.


1.3 Solution Technology

In the NetApp solution described in this technical report, the core enabling component for VVOLs is VASA

Provider. It communicates with vCenter by using VASA APIs and with clustered Data ONTAP by using

the APIs in the NetApp Manageability SDK. Figure 4 shows the technical components of the solution.

Figure 4) vCenter, VSC, VASA Provider, ESXi servers, and clustered Data ONTAP storage.

VASA Provider is deployed as an OVA file and is managed through the VSC plug-in in the vSphere Web

Client. The administrator manages VASA and VVOLs through the Web Client.

Best Practice

Do not install or migrate VASA Provider, vCenter Server (appliance or Windows-based), or VSC onto a

VVOL datastore. Because of the circular nature of VVOLs, moving these critical infrastructure items to

a VVOL makes them inaccessible during a catastrophic event such as a power outage.

1.4 Use Case Summary

This solution applies to the following uses cases:

Deploying VVOLs with NetApp clustered Data ONTAP on NFS

Deploying VVOLs with NetApp clustered Data ONTAP on iSCSI

Deploying VVOLs with NetApp clustered Data ONTAP on FC

1.5 VVOL Limitations

For the NFS protocol, vSphere 6.0 supports VVOLs only with NFS version 3.

2 Technology Requirements

The deployment of VVOLs on clustered Data ONTAP storage requires several hardware and software

components.


2.1 Hardware Requirements

Table 3 lists the hardware components required to implement the use cases.

Table 3) VVOLs on clustered Data ONTAP hardware requirements.

Hardware Quantity

Servers that support vSphere 6.0 1 minimum, 2 preferred for HA purposes

NetApp cluster that supports clustered Data ONTAP 8.3 or later

1 cluster, with a minimum of 1 HA pair

Networking hardware (switches, HBAs, NICs, and so on) to support the selected protocol

Varies depending on the specific deployment

2.2 Software Requirements

Table 4 lists the software components required to run VVOLs on clustered Data ONTAP. The procedures

documented in this report might apply to later versions of the listed software, but some steps are likely to

change. For example, some manual steps might become part of a wizard or workflow.

Table 4) VVOLs on clustered Data ONTAP software requirements.

Software Version or Other Information

NetApp clustered Data ONTAP 8.3 or later (minimum supported is version 8.2.2)

VMware vSphere 6.0 or later

NetApp Virtual Storage Console (VSC) 6.0.0 running on Windows Server 2008 or 2012

NetApp VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP 6.0

3 Initial Setup

The VVOL solution assumes that you have deployed a clustered Data ONTAP storage system. Setting up

VVOLs on NetApp storage involves the following tasks:

Configuring and testing DNS entries for vCenter Server, VASA Provider, and the Windows Server host running VSC

Configuring time services for all components of the solution

Creating and configuring an SVM for VVOL use

Configuring the storage protocol

Deploying physical servers and installing ESXi 6.0

Deploying vCSA 6.0

Deploying VSC and VASA Provider:

Creating or cloning a Windows Server VM

Installing VSC in the Windows Server VM

Deploying NetApp VASA Provider

Adding the storage system to VSC


3.1 Configure and Test DNS Entries

Specific steps for configuring DNS entries for your environment depend on your installed infrastructure. In

any case, the following entities must have correctly configured DNS entries, and the host names used

when you deploy these entities must match the DNS entries:

vCenter Server 6.0 (vCSA or Windows-based)

NetApp VASA Provider appliance

Windows Server host running VSC

The following entities should have DNS entries, but if they do not have them, VVOLs might still work:

ESXi servers

Clustered Data ONTAP cluster-management LIF and node-management LIF

SVM management LIFs

Note: SVM data LIFs do not require DNS entries, especially if they are on a separate private storage network.

You can use Table 5 to notate the DNS and IP address entries for the suggested list of entities in the first

column. Depending on the number of nodes in your Data ONTAP cluster and on the protocols that you

are using, some of these entities might not be needed in your configuration. NFS and iSCSI require

separate LIFs with their own IP addresses because clustered Data ONTAP allows NFS LIFs to move and

fail over, but not iSCSI LIFs.

Table 5) Entity DNS and IP address list.

Entity DNS FQDN or Host Name IP Address

vCenter Server

NetApp VASA Provider

VSC server

ESXi server1

ESXi server 2

Clustered Data ONTAP cluster-management LIF

Clustered Data ONTAP node 1




SVM 1 management LIF

SVM 1 NFS LIF 1 (home port on node 1)





Entity DNS FQDN or Host Name IP Address

SVM 1 iSCSI LIF 1 (home port on node 1)




3.2 Configure Time Services

NetApp recommends the use of a common time server for all servers (the ESXi 6 servers and the servers

hosting vCSA, VSC, and VASA Provider), storage, and VMs in the environment. Ensure that each device

or VM is configured to use the same time server.

3.3 Create and Configure an SVM for VVOL Use

You must create and configure an SVM to contain all FlexVol volumes in a VVOL datastore.

Create the SVM

You can use either OnCommand System Manager or the clustered Data ONTAP CLI to create an SVM

for VVOL use.

OnCommand System Manager

For instructions on how to use the wizards in OnCommand System Manager to create the SVM, see the

OnCommand System Manager documentation library on the NetApp Support site.

Clustered Data ONTAP CLI

For instructions on how to use the clustered Data ONTAP CLI to create the SVM, see the Data ONTAP 8

documentation library in the NetApp Support site.

Configure NDMP on the SVM

After you create the SVM, disable node-scoped NDMP mode and enable NDMP on the SVM:

1. Run the following commands:

cluster::> system services ndmp node-scope-mode off

NDMP node-scope-mode is disabled.

cluster::> vserver modify -vserver <svm> -allowed-protocols fcp,ndmp

cluster::> vserver services ndmp on -vserver <svm>

Important

Disabling node-scoped NDMP mode is a one-time task per cluster. Ensure that you include all

protocols to be used with the solution in the allowed protocols list of the vserver modify command.

3.4 Configure the Storage Protocol

You have a choice of storage protocols to use with the NetApp VVOL solution.

http://mysupport.netapp.com/documentation/productlibrary/index.html?productID=61372




Best Practice

Create a LIF per node per fabric (NFS, FC/FCoE, or iSCSI) for each protocol to be used for VVOLs. It is

not necessary to create a LIF per datastore or per FlexVol volume.

NFS

To prepare for VVOLs over NFS, ensure that you have a data LIF per node for the SVM that supports

VVOLs. The data LIFs must have a home port on the network that connects the ESXi server to the

storage. iSCSI and NFS LIFs must be separate, but they can coexist on the same network and physical

port, interface group, or VLAN.

If you did not create an NFS service on your SVM when you created the SVM, complete the following

steps to set it up:

1. Create and configure ESXi NFS VMkernel ports on the same network, VLAN, and subnet as the SVM target LIFs.

2. Optional: Create volumes manually. However, NetApp strongly recommends that you manage VVOLs through VSC.

Note: You do not need to manage export policies because VASA Provider manages them automatically.

Best Practice

Whenever possible, use VSC to perform the VVOL workflows.

iSCSI

To prepare for VVOLs over iSCSI, ensure that you have a data LIF per node for the SVM that supports

VVOLs. The data LIFs must have a home port on the network that connects the ESXi server to the

storage. iSCSI and NFS LIFs must be separate, but they can coexist on the same network and physical

port, interface group, or VLAN.

To create an iSCSI service on your SVM, complete the following step:

1. Create and configure ESXi iSCSI VMkernel ports on the same network, VLAN, and subnet as the SVM target LIFs.

FC

To prepare for VVOLs over FC, ensure that you have a data LIF per node per fabric for the SVM that

supports VVOLs. For example, if you have two nodes and typical dual redundant SAN fabrics, you should

have four FC target LIFs in the SVM, each homed on a different physical FC target port.

To create an FC service on your SVM, complete the following step:

1. Apply all zoning rules and practices to the FC network. Use soft zoning to specify the target WWPN of the SVM LIFs and not the physical ports of the nodes.

3.5 Deploy Physical Servers and Install ESXi 6.0

Instructions for installing physical server hardware are out of the scope of this document. To install ESXi,

follow the steps in the vSphere 6.0 Installation and Setup guide.

ESXi has no special requirements for use with VVOLs other than the appropriate networking and/or SAN

configuration.

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-60/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-60-installation-setup-guide.pdf


Best Practice

To install ESXi, NetApp recommends that you follow the instructions and recommendations in the

latest version of the VMware vSphere on NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP technical report.

3.6 Deploy vCSA 6.0

VMware has changed the installation instructions of vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) to include a

vCenter Server Appliance installer, which is distributed as an ISO image.

For instructions on how to install vCSA, see chapter 9 of the vSphere 6.0 Installation and Setup guide.

3.7 Deploy VSC and VASA Provider

To deploy VSC and VASA Provider, you must create a Windows Server VM for VSC, install and configure

both applications, and then add your storage system to VSC.

Create or Clone a Windows Server VM for VSC

The exact steps for creating a Windows Server VM for Virtual Storage Console (VSC) depend on your

environment. The VSC server can be physical or virtual. Verify that the Windows Server VM is genuine

and properly activated. Verify that your firewall settings allow VSC, VASA Provider, and vCenter traffic.

VASA Provider menus will not be displayed in VSC until the application is deployed and configured as

described in the section “Deploy VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP.”

Install and Configure VSC

To install and configure VSC, refer to the following documentation:

For an overview of VSC and information about how to download the software, see the VSC 6.0 download page.

For information about role-based access control (RBAC), see the VSC 6.0 documentation library on the NetApp Support site.

For information about the RBAC User Creator tool, see the RBAC User Creator for Data ONTAP community site.

Deploy VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP

You deploy the VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP virtual appliance on an ESXi host. After VASA

Provider is installed, you must register it with VSC.

Best Practice

Do not install or migrate VASA Provider, vCenter Server (appliance or Windows based), or VSC onto a

VVOL datastore. Because of the circular nature of VVOLs, moving these critical infrastructure items to

a VVOL makes them inaccessible during a catastrophic event such as a power outage.

To deploy VASA Provider, complete the following steps:


http://mysupport.netapp.com/NOW/download/software/vsc_win/6.0/

http://mysupport.netapp.com/documentation/docweb/index.html?productID=61789

https://communities.netapp.com/docs/DOC-19074


1. In the vSphere Web Client inventory lists, right-click a data center, cluster, or specific ESXi server and select Deploy OVF Template.

2. Enter a URL or select Local File and browse to find the VASA Provider OVA file. Click Open and then click Next.


3. Review the template details and click Next.

4. Read and accept the license agreement and click Next.


5. Give the VASA Provider VM a name, select a folder or data center, and click Next.

6. Select a specific resource (a cluster or an ESXi server) and click Next.

7. Select a datastore and a virtual disk format (Thin Provision is an acceptable format). You can use VM storage policies if your vSphere 6.0 environment is configured for them.


Best Practice

Keep all nontransient components of VASA Provider (such as configuration files and virtual disks) on

the same datastore.

8. Select the correct destination network for VASA Provider. This network must be accessible to the management connections of all entities in the environment, including your workstation or jump box (or jump host, if you use one), VSC, and vCSA.

9. Fill in the Network Properties fields and click Next.


10. Review the settings for VASA Provider. Select Power On After Deployment and click Finish.

11. After the deployment completes, open the virtual console to VASA Provider.


12. VMware Tools must be installed when you boot for the first time after deploying VASA Provider. To install VMware Tools in the VASA Provider VM, click the VM in the inventory tree. Then, in the yellow warning box, click Install VMware Tools and select Mount to mount the CD/DVD image.

13. When the VASA Provider console window comes up, press Enter to continue the VMware Tools installation.


14. In the installer dialog box, edit the VM settings. Verify that the CD-ROM is disconnected and set to Client Device.

15. In the VASA Provider console, press Enter to reboot.

16. Set passwords for the maintenance user and the vpserver user. The best practice is to use different passwords for these two accounts.


17. Wait for VASA Provider to start all processes and its status to change to vpserver is running

and waiting for vSphere registration.


18. In the vSphere 6.0 Web Client, click the Home icon and select Virtual Storage Console > Configuration > Register/Unregister VASA Vendor Provider.

19. Enter the IP address or host name of VASA Provider and the vpserver password. Click Register.

20. After VASA Provider is successfully registered, click OK.

21. If you have not already been forced to, log out of the vSphere Web Client.

22. Log back in as a vSphere Web Client administrator to load the VASA Provider menus and workflows.

Note: For more information about how to install VASA Provider, see the VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP User's Guide.

Best Practice

Back up the VASA Provider VM regularly. At a minimum, create hourly NetApp Snapshot® copies of

the traditional datastore that contains VASA Provider. For more information, see NetApp KB 3014620.

https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_download_file/ECMP12405937


https://kb.netapp.com/support/index?page=content&id=3014620&locale=en_US


Add the Storage System to VSC

After you install VSC and VASA Provider, you must add the storage system to VSC. To do so, complete

the following steps:

1. From the vSphere Web Client homepage, select Virtual Storage Console > Storage Systems.

2. Under Objects, click the green plus-sign icon.

3. Enter the cluster management IP address or host name, admin for the user name, and the password

that you specified for the admin account. Click OK.

4. Review the allowed privileges and click OK.

4 Storage Capability Profiles and VM Storage Policies

VASA Provider allows you to create storage capability profiles (SCPs) and map them to VM storage

policies. SCPs help you maintain consistency across the storage. You can also use VASA Provider to

check for compliance between the storage and the SCPs.

4.1 Enable VM Storage Policies in ESXi Servers or the Cluster

VVOLs and storage policy–based management of storage are automatically enabled in the cluster.

4.2 Create SCPs

SCPs can be created in the following ways:

From default SCPs that are installed with VASA Provider


From scratch

By cloning another SCP

Automatically by reference to existing traditional datastores on clustered Data ONTAP

To create a new SCP from scratch, complete the following steps:

1. On the vSphere Web Client homepage, select Virtual Storage Console > VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP > Storage Capability Profiles.

2. Click the green plus icon.

3. Give the SCP a name and click Next.

4. For each capability category, make the appropriate selections and then click Next:

Yes means that the capability is required in this profile.

No means that the capability is forbidden in this profile.

Any means that the capability is optional in this profile.

Note: See Table 1 for a complete list of SCP options.

5. Review the summary of capability selections and click Finish.


4.3 Create a VM Storage Policy and Map It to the SCP

To create a VM storage policy and map it to the SCP, complete the following steps:

1. On the vSphere Web Client homepage, click VM Storage Policies.

2. Click the new VM storage policy icon (green plus icon with a scroll).

3. Give the VM storage policy a name and click Next.

4. On the Rule-Sets page, click Next.

5. On the Rule-Set 1 page, make the following selections:

a. From the Rules Based on Data Services drop-down list, select NetApp.Clustered.Data.ONTAP.VP.vvol.

b. Under the Add Rule drop-down list, select Profile Name.

Note: VI administrators can build a VM storage policy from individual capabilities or add capabilities that were selected as Any in the SCP, but the best practice is to use the SCPs as they were created by the storage administrator.


6. Select an SCP from the list that is displayed to the right of Profile Name and click Next.

7. Review the compatible and incompatible storage to verify that you have storage that is compliant with the VM storage policy.

Note: If no compatible storage is available, you can configure compatible storage by following the instructions in the section “VVOL Datastores.”

8. After you review the available storage, click Next.

9. Review the settings for the VM storage policy and click Finish.

5 VVOL Datastores

You do not need to create a VVOL datastore for each FlexVol volume that will be used for VVOLs. In

most cases, using a single datastore is the simplest solution even if the datastore includes FlexVol

volumes that have different capabilities. The VVOL technology excels in this area because a single VVOL

datastore can contain multiple underlying FlexVol volumes with different capabilities. VM storage policy–

based management applies the correct policy and subsequently places the VM in the correct underlying

volume.

Important

Do not use the built-in vCenter New Datastore wizard to provision NetApp VVOL datastores. The

NetApp workflow performs all of the required storage-side setup, such as creating export policies,

initiator groups, and LUN mappings. You can perform these steps manually and then use the vCenter

New Datastore wizard to provision the VVOL datastores, but the manual process is more error prone.

5.1 Create a VVOL Datastore

To create a VVOL datastore and add FlexVol volumes to it, complete the following steps:


1. From the vSphere Web Client homepage, click Inventory Trees.

2. Select an inventory view that shows the level at which you want to create the VVOL datastore (virtual datacenter, datastores, ESXi cluster, or individual ESXi host). The host and cluster tree can be expanded to show all three levels of physical hosts.

3. Right-click the object on which you want to create the VVOL datastore and select VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP > Provision VVOL Datastore.

4. Enter a name for the VVOL datastore, select a protocol, and click Next.

5. Select one or more SCPs and click Next.

6. Select the desired cluster (storage system) and SVM and click Next.

7. On the FlexVol Selection page, select one or more FlexVol volumes and click Next.

Note: The wizard allows you to either select existing FlexVol volumes or provision new FlexVol volumes, but not both in the same step. If you select one or more existing FlexVol volumes, the Provision FlexVol wizard page is no longer displayed.


8. Alternatively, click Next to skip the FlexVol Selection page and move to the Provision FlexVol page.

9. On the Provision FlexVol page, click Add to create new FlexVol volumes:

a. Fill in the details for the new FlexVol volume.

b. Click OK.

Note: Only aggregates that the SVM is allowed to use (listed in the SVM aggr-list parameter) are displayed in the Aggregate list.

10. Repeat step 9 to create additional volumes as part of this VVOL datastore.

11. Select the default SCP and click Next.

12. Review the settings for the VVOL datastore and click Finish.


Note: The new FlexVol volumes are created only after you click Finish.

5.2 Add FlexVol Volumes to an Existing VVOL Datastore

In one pass of the Add Storage wizard, you can either add existing FlexVol volumes or create new

FlexVol volumes to add to an existing VVOL datastore.

Add Existing FlexVol Volumes to the VVOL Datastore

To add existing FlexVol volumes to an existing VVOL datastore, complete the following steps:


2. Click the Datastores tree icon.

3. Right-click the VVOL datastore and select VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP > Add Storage to VVOL Datastore.

4. On the Storage Type page, select the FlexVol volumes that you want to add to the VVOL datastore:

Note: All FlexVol volumes in a VVOL datastore must be from the same SVM. Therefore, the Add Storage dialog box shows only FlexVol volumes from the SVM used by the VVOL datastore.


a. In the Storage Capability Profile column, use the drop-down list to either select one of the existing profiles or create a new profile. The autogenerate feature creates a profile based on the storage capabilities (such as disk type, high availability, disaster recovery, performance features, deduplication, and space efficiency) that are associated with the FlexVol volumes that you select.

b. Click Next.

5. Review the storage settings for the VVOL datastore and click Finish.

Create FlexVol Volumes and Add Them to the VVOL Datastore

To create FlexVol volumes and add them to an existing VVOL datastore, complete the following steps:


2. Click the Datastores tree icon.

3. Right-click the VVOL datastore and select VASA Provider for Clustered Data ONTAP > Add Storage to VVOL Datastore.

4. On the Storage Type page, click Next to skip the Storage Type page (this page is used only for adding existing FlexVol volumes to the VVOL datastore).

5. On the Provision FlexVol page, click Add:


a. Fill in the details for the new FlexVol volume, including selecting an appropriate SCP.

Note: Only aggregates that the SVM is allowed to use (listed in the SVM aggr-list parameter) are displayed in the Aggregate list.

b. Click OK.

6. Repeat step 5 to create additional volumes as part of this VVOL datastore.

7. On the Provision FlexVol page, click Next.

8. Review the storage settings for the VVOL datastore and click Finish.

6 VM Management

The VM management tasks in a VVOL solution include using VM storage policies to create VMs with

VVOLs and migrating VMs to VVOLs.

6.1 Create VMs with VVOLs Using VM Storage Policies

To create a VM with VVOLs, complete the following steps:

1. From the vSphere Web Client homepage, click Inventory Trees and select the Hosts and Clusters view.

2. Right-click a cluster or host and select New Virtual Machine.

3. Select Create a New Virtual Machine and click Next.

Best Practice

When you create SCPs and VM storage policies, check the compliant datastore list to verify that at least

one datastore can support the policy. This measure will help you troubleshoot issues between the VI

administrator and the storage administrator.


4. Give the VM a name, select an inventory location, and click Next.

5. Select a compute resource and click Next.

6. Select a VM storage policy and a compatible datastore and click Next.

7. Select the appropriate level of host compatibility and click Next.

8. Select a guest OS family and version and click Next.

9. Optional: Customize the VM by following these steps:

a. Add additional virtual disks.

b. For each disk, click the arrowhead to the left of New Hard Disk to display detailed disk settings.

c. Select a VM storage policy in the Location drop-down list and click Browse.

d. Select a compatible datastore and click OK.

Note: If no compatible datastores are available, you can select a different VM storage policy from this wizard page.

e. Click OK.


10. On the Customize Hardware page, click Next.

11. Review the VM settings and click Finish.


6.2 Migrate VMs to VVOLs

You can migrate VMs from traditional datastores to VVOLs. To migrate VMs to VVOLs, complete the

following steps:

1. Right-click the VM and click Migrate.

2. Click Change Storage Only and then click Next.

3. Select a VM storage policy and a compatible datastore and click Next.

4. Review the VM settings and click Finish.

Note: Migration of VMs from traditional datastores to VVOLs does not use VAAI offloads.

7 Advanced Features

You must enable clustered Data ONTAP features such as deduplication and compression on FlexVol

volumes to be able to use an SCP or a VM storage policy that includes the deduplication and

compression capabilities.

For detailed information about deduplication and compression, see the following documentation:

Clustered Data ONTAP 8.2 Logical Storage Management Guide

TR-3966: NetApp Data Compression and Deduplication Deployment and Implementation Guide for Clustered Data ONTAP.

7.1 Deduplication

To use an SCP or VM storage policy with deduplication, enable the feature on one or more FlexVol

volumes. You can enable deduplication by using OnCommand System Manager or by running the

following command in the clustered Data ONTAP CLI:

cluster::> volume efficiency on -vserver <svm> -volume <volume>

7.2 Compression

To use an SCP or VM storage policy with compression, enable the feature on one or more FlexVol

volumes. You can enable compression by using OnCommand System Manager or by running the

following command in the clustered Data ONTAP CLI:

cluster::> volume efficiency modify -vserver <svm> -volume <volume> -compression true

References

This report references the following documents and resources:

Release notes for Virtual Storage Console 6.0 for VMware vSphere: https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_get_file/ECMP12405912

VASA Provider 6.0 for Clustered Data ONTAP User’s Guide: https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_get_file/ECMP12405937

VSC 6.0 documentation: http://mysupport.netapp.com/NOW/download/software/vsc_win/6.0/

vSphere installation and setup information: http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-60/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-60-installation-setup-guide.pdf


http://media.netapp.com/documents/tr-3966.pdf


https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_get_file/ECMP12405912

https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_get_file/ECMP12405937

http://mysupport.netapp.com/NOW/download/software/vsc_win/6.0/




Role-based access control (RBAC) information: http://mysupport.netapp.com/documentation/docweb/index.html?productID=62017

RBAC User Creator for Clustered Data ONTAP community site: https://communities.netapp.com/docs/DOC-19074

NetApp KB article: Virtual Volumes: Protecting and Recovering the NetApp VASA Provider: https://kb.netapp.com/support/index?page=content&id=3014620&locale=en_US

Clustered Data ONTAP 8.2 Logical Storage Management Guide: https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_download_file/ECMP1368017

TR-3966: NetApp Data Compression and Deduplication Deployment and Implementation Guide for Clustered Data ONTAP: http://media.netapp.com/documents/tr-3966.pdf

OnCommand System Manager documentation: http://mysupport.netapp.com/documentation/productlibrary/index.html?productID=61372

Data ONTAP 8 CLI documentation: http://mysupport.netapp.com/documentation/productlibrary/index.html?productID=30092

Version History

Version Date Document Version History

Version 1.0 June 2015 Initial release

http://mysupport.netapp.com/documentation/docweb/index.html?productID=62017

https://communities.netapp.com/docs/DOC-19074

https://kb.netapp.com/support/index?page=content&id=3014620&locale=en_US






Refer to the Interoperability Matrix Tool (IMT) on the NetApp Support site to validate that the exact product and feature versions described in this document are supported for your specific environment. The NetApp IMT defines the product components and versions that can be used to construct configurations that are supported by NetApp. Specific results depend on each customer's installation in accordance with published specifications.

Trademark Information

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ONTAP, Clustered Data ONTAP, Customer Fitness, Data ONTAP, DataMotion, Fitness, Flash Accel,

Flash Cache, Flash Pool, FlashRay, FlexArray, FlexCache, FlexClone, FlexPod, FlexScale, FlexShare,

FlexVol, FPolicy, GetSuccessful, LockVault, Manage ONTAP, Mars, MetroCluster, MultiStore, NetApp

Insight, OnCommand, ONTAP, ONTAPI, RAID DP, RAID-TEC, SANtricity, SecureShare, Simplicity,

Simulate ONTAP, SnapCenter, Snap Creator, SnapCopy, SnapDrive, SnapIntegrator, SnapLock,

SnapManager, SnapMirror, SnapMover, SnapProtect, SnapRestore, Snapshot, SnapValidator,

SnapVault, StorageGRID, Tech OnTap, Unbound Cloud, WAFL and other names are trademarks or

registered trademarks of NetApp Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. All other brands or

products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as

such. A current list of NetApp trademarks is available on the web at

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