MSA1000 Information and Setup

[Bryan M. Heusmann]

Hi,

I've got an MSA1000 currently running Active/Passive v.5.20 Firmware with one MS30 shelf connected. It also has dual 2/8 SAN switch controllers.

I wanted to get some information regarding the configuration. Currently I have some DL380 G4 servers connected to it via QLogic dual 2342 HBA's. I have 7 x 300GB drives in an Array, RAID 5 Logical Drive. The rest of the MSA1000 and the MS30 are filled with 21 x 146 GB hard drives. There is a second array created with the remaining 7 146GB drives in the MSA1000, the drives in the MS30 shelf have not been added to an array or LD.

So basically I'm trying to understand how to setup the SAN switch, if zoning is needed and if I should enable SSP to specify data stores for the HBA's. Currently I have one cSphere 4 server and the MAS1000 is available as SAN storage. I also have a Windows 2008 R2 server and it has access to the SAN storage as well. Can anyone point me in the right direction for some reading or have any suggestions on configurations. I'm waiting for the console cable for the MSA1000 to arrive via UPS so I can ensure the LUN's are set to "Linux" for any vSphere/ESX connections.

Also, this may be because of my inexperience with SAN's, but for instance when in Windows 2008 R2 and I open up the disk manager, I see 2 disks for the logical drives I have connected. I'm assuming it's one from each controller/HBA but only the online controllers LD is accessible??? Thanks for any help. I'm sorry if it's a lot of informatino jumbled together, I can provide specific details if needed.

-B

[cnb]

I'm not sure if you've already seen these reference guides, but you might find something here:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DocumentIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&contentType=SupportManual&prodTypeId=12169&prodSeriesId=377751&docIndexId=64180

HTH

Rgds,

[Bryan M. Heusmann]

Yeah I have read the reference guides, I've updated firmware etc. I'm more looking for some advice or information on what is best for running with good performance. Maybe I need to skim through the SAN for dummies for some general info lol.

[Johan Guldmyr]

Hey!

HP has a san guide as well. It is good to read this once.

Zoning is good, to separate the different os.
Use ssp on the msa and do you have mpio manager on the windows 2008? It might come by default. In there you can see and select more decisions about the paths.
Why don't you have active active firmware?
Also, is this a supported setup? Do you plan to run this in a production/do you have a carepack?

Also, does npiv work on those msa 2/8 switches? Latest firmware on them is 3.2.1c I believe.

[Bryan M. Heusmann]

Johan, Thanks for the info. I'll look through the HP SAN Guide.

I'll look at the zoning as well, currently there are no zones setup. I will have 4 servers connected to the SAN, I believe they are all going to be ESX/vSphere servers. I did have SSP enabled last week, but I also had a snafoo with 2 Emulex HBA's and ended up frying them because of a bad firmware flash. I think Emulex should replace because it was their software that said the firmware was correct, but that's a different issue lol.

I do not have the MPIO manager on the 2008 server as this will be loaded with vSphere, it was loaded with 2008 to flash the HBA firmware and to use the HP ACU to create the arrays and LD's.

I did have Active/Active firmware, but flashed back to Active/Passive. I'm actually thinking about flashing back to the 7.30 Active/Active, I'm not really looking for redundancy/failover with the Active/Passive.

From what I've read, no this is not a supported setup, but I do have vSphere 4.x machines at work in a Production/Test-Lab environment, Windows NFS, and NetApp backend running as smooth and bad-a$$ as can be. These are DL380 G4's and a DL580 G4....I have to rob peter to pay paul when the Excess servers are being shipped out ;o) No official budget makes it hard to work around. This setup does not have a carepack nor is one needed as it's not a mission critical production environment, just a small project on the side right now. It used to be the core of my business, but I've upgraded some old servers and added some enhancements, all thanks to eBay!!!

As far as NPIV, I know the HBA's support it and from the web admin util on the 2/8 SAN, I believe it does as well, and vSphere too, but I haven't delved that deep into it all yet. I'm still wrapping my brain around how to setup all this mess. I'm one for working through unsupported configurations, and it's worked very well for me in the past. I'll look at the FW version on the 2/8 SAN switch and ensure it is up to date as well.

Thanks for any info, and feel free to email me if you'd like to get further in-depth info. Keeping it on here as well is ok so other might benefit from this type of setup, however off the wall it might be ;o)

-Bryan

[Johan Guldmyr]

Hey again, is nice with a little project!

Looks like you're on good progress too.

I would implement zoning, even if it's a pretty small environment; it does help when troubleshooting.

Do you have the MSA1000 serial cable? To connect in the front? This is really good to have for a worst case scenario.

Couldn't find your e-mail but you can probably find mine if you click around ;)

[Bryan M. Heusmann]

Hey. Yes, I enjoy working on stuff like this. Keeps you sharp, mostly ;o)

I'll look into setting up zoning on the 2/8 SAN Switch, I'm new to it so I will tread carefully.

I should be receiving the serial cable via UPS today. I went ahead and ordered one because I can't locate the one I had. I should be able to then ensure the LUN's are set to "Linux" for the vmware hosts and from what I read this is the only way to do do LUN management etc.

I looked quick for your email, but I didn't see it either, I don't know if HP Forums have Private Messges either?

-Bryan

[Johan Guldmyr]

Don't think so, you can find my contact details on guldmyr.com ;)

[Bryan M. Heusmann]

I saw that, got it....I was only one click away from it ;o)

-Bryan