Dell NX3500 User Manual
Dell PowerVault
NX3500 System
Administrator’s Guide
Notes and Cautions
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of
your computer.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if
instructions are not followed.
____________________
Information in this publication is subject to change without notice.
© 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc.
is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell™, the DELL logo, and PowerVault™ are trademarks of Dell Inc.
Microsoft
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Symantec™,
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Simpana
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this publication to refer to either the entities claiming
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2012 - 01 Rev. A02
®
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and
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
About This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Other Information You May Need
. . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Terms Used in the Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
PowerVault NX3500 Architecture
Key Features
PowerVault NX3500 Views
System Components
NAS Controller Pair
PowerVault MD Storage
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
BPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
SAN Network
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Internal Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Internal Network A
Internal Network B
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
LAN or Client Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2 Setting Up Your PowerVault
NX3500 Solution
Setting Up the Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Choosing the Topology
Completing the NAS System Setup
Worksheet
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
. . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Contents 3
NAS System Setup Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Preparing Your Management Station. . . . . . . . 45
Installing the Solution in the Rack . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Setting Up Your MD Storage Solution
. . . . . . . 45
Creating Disk Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Creating Virtual Disks
Creating a Host Group
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Creating Host-to-Virtual Disk Mappings . . . . . . 52
Running the PowerVault NASCU . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Installing the PowerVault NASCU
. . . . . . . . . 53
Launching the PowerVault NASCU . . . . . . . . . 54
NAS Manager Configuration Wizard
. . . . . . . . 64
Accessing the NAS Manager Web Interface
PowerVault NAS Manager
Configuration Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3 Accessing the Dell PowerVault
NAS Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Browser Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
. . . 64
4 Monitoring PowerVault NX3500. . . . . . . 73
4 Contents
NAS Manager Overview
Action Bar
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Admin Tabs
Admin Tree
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Page
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Search Bar
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Capacity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Current Performance
Load Balancing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Network Performance
Client Network Throughput—Read or Write
Operations Per Second
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
. . . . 78
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Network Aggregated Throughput . . . . . . . . . 78
Load Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Over Time
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Client Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Usage Considerations
CIFS Connections
Hardware
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Component Status
Capacity
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Space Utilization
Quota Usage
Replication
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Active Remote Replication Jobs
Remote Replication Report
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
. . . . . . . . . . 86
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5 Monitoring PowerVault NX3500
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Event Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Defining Queries
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Contents 5
6 Using Volumes, Shares, and Quotas . . . 91
NAS Volumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Usage Considerations
Solution 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Solution 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Solution 3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Managing NAS Volumes
Adding a NAS Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Modifying a NAS Volume
Removing a NAS Volume
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Shares and Exports
Managing NFS Exports
Managing CIFS Shares
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Setting Access Control Lists and Share Level
Permissions on FluidFS
CIFS Storage Administrator Account
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
. . . . . . . 100
Active Directory Configuration . . . . . . . . . . 100
Setting ACLs or SLPs on a CIFS Share
. . . . . . 100
Access Using CIFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Configuring CIFS Shares Level Permissions
Removing a CIFS Share
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Resetting Local Administrator Password
. . . 103
. . . . . 104
Quotas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Default Quotas
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
User or Group Specific Quotas . . . . . . . . . . 105
Quota Types
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6 Contents
7 Protecting Data on PowerVault
NX3500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Replication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
NAS Replication
Activating Replication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Setting Up a Replication Partner
Adding a Replication Policy
Managing Replication Policies . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Deleting a Replication Policy
Removing a Replication Partner
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
. . . . . . . . . . 110
. . . . . . . . . . . . 110
. . . . . . . . . . . . 110
. . . . . . . . . . 111
Managing Snapshots
Snapshots
Activating Snapshots
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Creating a Snapshot (Without a Policy) . . . . . . 112
Adding or Modifying a Snapshot Policy
Accessing Snapshots
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
. . . . . . 112
Restoring Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Restoring a NAS Volume From a Snapshot
. . . . 113
Deleting a Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Backing Up and Restoring Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Supported Applications
Enabling NDMP Support
Changing NDMP Password
Modifying DMA Servers List
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
. . . . . . . . . . . . 117
. . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Specifying NAS Volume for Backup . . . . . . . . 118
Displaying Active NDMP Jobs
Terminating an Active NDMP Job
NDMP Design Considerations
Using Antivirus Applications
Overview
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
. . . . . . . . . . . 118
. . . . . . . . . 118
. . . . . . . . . . . 119
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Contents 7
Supported Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Adding Antivirus Hosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Enabling Antivirus Support Per CIFS Share
. . . 120
8 Managing the PowerVault NX3500 . . . . 121
Managing the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Managing Client Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Viewing the Defined Subnets
Modifying a Subnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Removing a Subnet
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
. . . . . . . . . . . 124
Managing Administrator Users
Adding an Administrator
Changing the Administrator’s Password
Modifying an Administrator
. . . . . . . . . . . . 125
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
. . . . . 125
. . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Modifying an Administrator's
E-Mail Filter Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Removing an Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Managing Local Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Adding Local Users
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Modifying Local Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Deleting Local Users
Changing the Password
Managing Local Groups
Adding a Local Group
Modifying a Local Group
Deleting a Local Group
Authentication
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Configuring an Identity Management
Database
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
8 Contents
Enabling User Authentication Through
an NIS Database
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Enabling User Authentication Through
an LDAP Database
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Disabling the Use of an External UNIX
Identity Management Database . . . . . . . . . . 132
Active Directory
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Synchronizing PowerVault NX3500 With
the Active Directory Server
Configuring the Active Directory Service
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
. . . . . 133
Network Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Accessing the System
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Performance and Static Routes . . . . . . . . . . 134
Configuring DNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Adding DNS Servers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Removing DNS Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Adding DNS Domains
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Deleting DNS Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Managing Static Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Adding Static Routes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Modifying a Static Route . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Deleting a Static Route
Defining File System Protocols
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Configuring CIFS Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Configuring General CIFS Parameters
Configuring Advanced CIFS Parameters
. . . . . . . 138
. . . . . . 139
Configuring System Time Parameters
Changing the Time Zone
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
. . . . . . . . . . 140
Contents 9
Manually Configuring the Current Date
and Time
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Removing an NTP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Synchronizing PowerVault NX3500 With
a Local NTP Server
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
9 Maintaining the PowerVault NX3500 . . . 143
Shutting Down the PowerVault NX3500 System. . . . 143
Turning On the PowerVault NX3500 Solution
Installing the Service Pack
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
. . . . . 144
Expanding the PowerVault NX3500
Storage Capacity
Prerequisites
Adding LUNs to PowerVault NX3500
Running Diagnostics on PowerVault
Online Diagnostics
Offline Diagnostics
Reinstalling the PowerVault NX3500
Replacing a PowerVault NX3500 Controller
Prerequisites
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
. . . . . . . 147
. . . . . . . . . 148
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
. . . . . . . . . 150
. . . . . . 151
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Detaching the PowerVault NX3500
Controller
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Removing and Replacing the PowerVault
NX3500 Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Attaching the PowerVault NX3500
Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
10 Contents
10 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Troubleshooting CIFS Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Clients Cannot Access CIFS Files
CIFS Access Denied
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
CIFS ACL Corruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
CIFS Client Clock Skew
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
CIFS Client Disconnection on File Read
CIFS Client General Disconnection. . . . . . . . . 157
CIFS Client Login Failure
CIFS Connection Failure
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
CIFS Delete-On-Close Denial . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
CIFS File Access Denied
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
CIFS File Sharing Conflict
CIFS Guest Account Invalid . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
CIFS Locking Inconsistency
CIFS Maximum Connections Reached
CIFS Share Does Not Exist . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
CIFS Path Share Not Found
CIFS Write to Read Only Volume . . . . . . . . . . 161
Troubleshooting NFS Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Cannot Mount NFS Export
NFS Export Does Not Exist . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
NFS File Access Denied
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
NFS Insecure Access to Secure Export
NFS Mount Fails Due to Export Options . . . . . . 165
NFS Mount Fails Due to Netgroup Failure
NFS Mount Path Does Not Exist
NFS Owner Restricted Operation
NFS Write to Read-Only Export
NFS Write to Read-Only Volume
NFS Write to Snapshot
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
NFS Access Denied to a File or Directory
. . . . . . . . . 155
. . . . . . 157
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
. . . . . . . . . . . . 159
. . . . . . . 159
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
. . . . . . 165
. . . . . 166
. . . . . . . . . . 167
. . . . . . . . . . 167
. . . . . . . . . . . 168
. . . . . . . . . . 168
. . . . . 168
Contents 11
Troubleshooting Replication Issues . . . . . . . . . . 169
Replication Configuration Error
. . . . . . . . . . 169
Replication Destination Cluster is Busy . . . . . 169
Replication Destination FS is Busy
Replication Destination is Down
. . . . . . . . 170
. . . . . . . . . 170
Replication Destination is Not Optimal . . . . . . 170
Replication Destination Volume is Busy
Reclaiming Space
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Replication Destination Volume
is Detached . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Replication Disconnection
. . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Replication Incompatible Versions . . . . . . . . 172
Replication Internal Error
Replication Jumbo Frames Blocked
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
. . . . . . . 172
Replication Destination Does Not
Have Enough Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Replication Source is Busy
. . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Replication Source is Down . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Replication Source is Not Optimal
. . . . . . . . 173
Replication Source Volume is Busy
Reclaiming Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
12 Contents
Troubleshooting Active Directory Issues
. . . . . . . 174
Group Quota For an Active Directory
User Does Not Work
Active Directory Authentication
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
. . . . . . . . . 175
Troubleshooting Active Directory
Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Troubleshooting BPS Issues
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Backup Power Supply LED Displays
a Solid Amber Light
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Backup Power Supply LED Flashes
Green and Amber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Backup Power Supply Displays a
Blinking Amber LED
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
BPS LED Is Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Troubleshooting NAS File Access and
Permissions Issues
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Cannot Change the Ownership of a
File or a Folder
Cannot Modify NAS Files
Mixed File Ownership Denied
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
. . . . . . . . . . . 179
Problematic SMB Access From a
Linux Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Strange UID and GID Numbers on
Dell NAS System Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Troubleshooting Networking Issues . . . . . . . . . . 181
Name Server Unresponsive
. . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Specific Subnet Clients Cannot Access
the PowerVault NX3500 System . . . . . . . . . . 181
Troubleshooting DNS Configurations
. . . . . . . . 182
Determining the IQN of the PowerVault
NX3500 Controllers Using CLI . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Troubleshooting RX and TX Pause
Warning Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Troubleshooting NAS Manager Issues
NAS Dashboard is Delayed
NAS System Time is Wrong
Cannot Connect to the NAS Manager
. . . . . . . . . 183
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
. . . . . . . 184
Blank Login Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Troubleshooting Backup Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Troubleshooting Snapshots
. . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Troubleshooting an NDMP Internal Error . . . . . 187
Troubleshooting System Issues
Troubleshooting System Shutdown
NAS Container Security Violation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
. . . . . . . . . 188
. . . . . . . . . 189
Contents 13
Multiple Errors Received During
File System Format
Associating LUN Names to Virtual Disks
Identifying Controllers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
. . . . . 191
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Troubleshooting NAS Configuration
Utility Issues
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Error Received While Running the
PowerVault NASCU
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Cannot Launch PowerVault NX3500
NAS Configuration Utility
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
11 Command Line Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
12 Internationalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
14 Contents
Accessing the CLI
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
CLI Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Unicode Client Support Overview
NFS Clients
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
. . . . . . . . . . . 201
CIFS Clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Unicode Configuration Parameters
Unicode Configuration Limitations
File Size and Directory Name
Clients Compatibility Problems
Japanese Compatibility Issues
. . . . . . . . . . 202
. . . . . . . . 203
. . . . . . . . . . . 203
. . . . . . . . . . 203
. . . . . . . . . . 203
13 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . 205
NDMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Replication
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
A BPS Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
B Cabling Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Contents 15
16 Contents
1
Introduction
The Dell PowerVault NX3500 clustered network attached storage (NAS)
system is a high-availability storage solution. The solution aggregates multiple
NAS controllers in a cluster and presents them to UNIX, Linux, and
Microsoft Windows clients as one virtual file server.
About This Document
This document provides information on the features available to the storage
administrator. It is organized as follows.
Chapter Description
Introduction Provides information on the PowerVault NX3500 cluster
solution architecture and features.
Setting Up Your
PowerVault NX3500
Solution
Accessing the Dell
PowerVault NAS
Manager
Monitoring
PowerVault NX3500
Monitoring
PowerVault NX3500
Events
Using Volumes,
Shares, and Quotas
Protecting Data on
PowerVault NX3500
Provides instructions on setting up the PowerVault NX3500, the
various topologies, and cabling options. It also includes the
detailed setup procedure and available configuration options.
Provides an overview of the NAS Manager web console and
instructions for accessing it.
Provides descriptions and procedures for monitoring the
PowerVault NX3500.
Provides procedures for searching events and defining queries.
Provides instructions for managing NAS volumes, shares,
and quotas.
Provides procedures for configuring data protection options
such as, snapshots, replication, and backup agent.
Introduction 17
Chapter Description
Managing the
PowerVault NX3500
Maintaining the
PowerVault NX3500
Troubleshooting Provides information on troubleshooting your NAS
Command Line
Interface
Internationalization Provides information about unicode support in
BPS Alarms Contains additional information on troubleshooting the Dell
NAS Setup Worksheet Provides a worksheet that will help you set up and configure
Provides procedures and descriptions about the initial
configuration, system information, users management,
license management, system time, networking, protocols,
authentication, monitoring configuration, and maintenance.
Provides procedures for shutting down, powering up,
upgrading, and running diagnostics.
storage solution.
Provides basic information for using the PowerVault
NX3500 CLI.
PowerVault NX3500.
Backup Power Supply (BPS).
your solution.
Other Information You May Need
Document Description
Getting Started Guide Provides an overview of system features, setting up your
solution, and technical specifications. This document is
shipped with your system and is also available at
support.dell.com/manuals.
Hardware Owner's
Manual
Rack Installation
Instructions
Online Help Provides information about configuring and managing the
Provides information about solution features and describes
how to troubleshoot the system and install or replace system
components. This document is available at
support.dell.com/manuals.
Describes how to install your system into a rack. This
document is shipped with your rack solution and is also
available at support.dell.com/manuals.
NAS Manager. The online help is integrated with the system
and can be accessed from the NAS Manager.
18 Introduction
Terms Used in the Document
Table 1-1. PowerVault NAS System Terms
Term Description
Backup Power
Supply
Client access VIP Virtual IP addresses that clients use to access CIFS shares and
Controller (NAS
controller or nodes)
Controller pair Two NAS controllers that are configured as pair in a
Data Management
Application (DMA)
Dell PowerVault
Modular Disk
Storage Manager
(MDSM)
Fluid File System High-performance, scalable file system software installed on
Host Port Identifier Unique ID used to identify hosts in a network.
Internal network A
(peer connection)
Internal network B
(internal
management or
IPMI)
Provides back up battery power in the event of a power loss.
NFS exports hosted by a PowerVault NAS system. The
PowerVault NAS system supports multiple client access
Virtual IPs (VIPs).
NAS appliance installed with the Dell Fluid File System
(FluidFS) software.
PowerVault NAS clustered system. Cache data is mirrored
between the paired NAS controllers.
Also known as the Backup Application Server.
The management software that ships with the PowerVault
MD32x0i or MD36x0i array.
NAS controllers.
The PowerVault NX3500's internal network consists of two
independent Gigabit Ethernet ports. The internal network is
the infrastructure for PowerVault NX3500 clustering,
including the heartbeat monitor, data transfer, and mirroring
information between the controllers.
The PowerVault NX3500 internal management network (also
known as internal network b) connects both controllers. All
administrative related functions and controller reboots are
performed on this network.
Introduction 19
Table 1-1. PowerVault NAS System Terms
Term Description
LAN or client
network (primary
network)
NAS storage pool Virtual disks created on the PowerVault MD32x0i or MD36x0i
NAS volume (NAS
container or virtual
volume)
NAS replication Replication between two PowerVault NAS systems or between
NAS replication
partners
Network Data
Management
Protocol
Peer controller The peer NAS controller with which a specific NAS controller
Power module
(battery unit)
PowerVault
MD3xx0i
PowerVault NAS
Configuration
Utility (NASCU)
NAS Manager The web-based user interface, which is part of the PowerVault
PowerVault NAS
system
The network through which clients access NAS shares or exports.
The PowerVault NAS system is connected to customer’s IT
environment and its NAS clients using this network.
storage arrays dedicated to the PowerVault NX3500 system.
A virtualized volume that consumes storage space in the NAS
storage pool. Administrators can create CIFS shares and NFS
exports on a NAS volume and share them with authorized users.
A PowerVault NAS system supports multiple NAS volumes.
two NAS volumes.
PowerVault NAS systems participating in a replication activity.
Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) used for
backup and restore.
is paired in a PowerVault NAS system.
One of the battery units in a BPS.
Refers to the PowerVault MD3200i, MD3220i, MD3600i,
MD3620i iSCSI storage solutions.
The setup wizard used to initially discover and configure a
PowerVault NAS system. This utility is only used for the initial
setup.
NX3500 software, used to manage the PowerVault NAS system.
A fully configured, highly-available and scalable NAS
appliance, providing NAS (CIFS and/or NFS) services, which
is comprised of a pair of NAS controllers, a BPS, a PowerVault
storage subsystem, and the NAS Manager.
(continued)
20 Introduction
Table 1-1. PowerVault NAS System Terms
Term Description
Standby controller A NAS appliance that is installed with the FluidFS software
but not part of a cluster. For example, a new or replacement
controller from the Dell factory is considered as a standby
controller.
SAN network (iSCSI
network)
The network that carries the block level (iSCSI) traffic and to
which the storage subsystem is connected.
(continued)
NOTE: It is recommended that this network be isolated from the
LAN or client network.
PowerVault NX3500 Architecture
The PowerVault NX3500 combined with MD3xxxi provides you with a unified
storage solution (see Figure 1-1). This solution provides you with access to
both block and file storage (see Figure 1-2).
The PowerVault NX3500 clustered NAS solution consists of a pair of
controllers and the PowerVault Modular Disk (MD) iSCSI storage array. In
addition, both controllers are protected by BPS, which helps protect data
during power failure.
Each controller has:
• Two connections (four for the solution) to the customer's LAN or
client network.
• Two connections (four for the solution) to the customer's SAN network.
• Two controller peer to peer connections for the cluster's internal network.
Introduction 21
Figure 1-1. PowerVault NX3500 Architecture
Peer Connection
(Internal Network A)
Client Network
Management
Connection From MD
Array
iSCSI Network
Internal Network B
22 Introduction
Key Features
The PowerVault NX3500:
• Helps administrators expand existing capacity and improve performance
when needed, without impacting the applications or users.
• Provides administrative functions for storage administrators who perform
day-to-day system operations and storage management.
• Has a distributed file system, which creates a single interface to the data.
• Uses a quad core processor per controller.
• Is capable of storing terabytes in a single file system.
• Allows for dynamic increase in capacity.
• Has a centralized, easy to use, web-based NAS management console.
• Has on-demand virtual storage provisioning.
• Has granular disk space management.
• Is capable of providing user-accessible Point-In-Time snapshots.
•Is capable of sharing files with Microsoft Windows, Linux, and UNIX users.
• Offers flexible, automated online replication and disaster recovery.
• Features built-in performance monitoring and capacity planning.
PowerVault NX3500 Views
You can access the PowerVault NX3500 as a client or an administrator
depending on the access privileges you have.
NOTE: It is recommended that you do not attempt to log on to both the CLI and NAS
Manager at the same time.
Introduction 23
Figure 1-2. File-Level Storage and Block-Level Storage
NX3500 NAS Configuration Utility
NAS Manager
File Management
Block Management
Modular Disk Configuration Utility
Modular Disk Storage Manager
Wizard-based installation
Configure NAS network IP
Create and manage volumes and shares
Performance monitoring
Set up snapshots and replication
NDMP backup
Configure iSCSI storage array
Map virtual disks
Monitor and manage component status,
capacity, host, mappings, arrays and
virtual disks
Provision MD iSCSI storage for NAS
Define NAS host in MD iSCSI array
Client View
To the client, the PowerVault NX3500 presents itself as a single file-server
with a single file system, IP address, and name. The PowerVault NX3500's
global file system serves all users concurrently without performance
constraints. It offers end users the freedom to connect to the PowerVault
NX3500 using their respective operating system's NAS protocols.
• NFS protocol for UNIX users.
• CIFS protocol for Windows users.
Administrator View
As an administrator, you can use either the CLI or the NAS Manager to
configure or modify system settings, such as configuring protocols, adding
users, and setting permissions.
The NAS Manager provides access to system functionality, using standard
internet browsers.
24 Introduction
System Components
The PowerVault NX3500 system consists of:
• Hardware
– NAS controller pair
– MD PowerVault storage
– Backup power supply
•Network
– SAN network
– Internal network
– LAN or client network
NAS Controller Pair
The PowerVault NX3500 clustered NAS solution consists of two NAS
controllers configured as a pair. This redundant configuration ensures that
there is no single point of failure. The controllers handle load balancing of
client connections, manage read-write operations, perform caching, and
interface with servers and workstations. The cluster and its internal networks
are consolidated using a virtual IP.
The PowerVault NX3500 software is installed on both controllers. The
software is a complete package, consisting of an operating system, volume
management, distributed file system, and clustering technology.
Read-write operations are handled through mirrored non-volatile RAM
(NVRAM). Mirroring the cache data between the paired NAS controllers,
ensures a quick response to clients' requests, while maintaining complete data
integrity. Data from the cache to permanent storage is transferred
asynchronously through optimized data-placement schemes.
Each controller is equipped with a 12 GB RAM, most of which is used for
caching. The file system uses the cache efficiently to provide fast and reliable
writes and reads. Writing or modifying files occurs first in the cache. Data is
then mirrored to the peer controller’s cache. This feature ensures that all
transactions are duplicated and secured.
Introduction 25
PowerVault MD Storage
The controllers connect to the PowerVault MD iSCSI storage array, which is a
RAID subsystem. RAID storage subsystems are designed to eliminate single
points of failure. Each active component in the storage subsystem is
redundant and hot-swappable. The solution supports typical RAID
configurations including RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10.
BPS
The BPS provides continuous power to the controllers. Each controller
receives its power from a dedicated BPS and from the power grid. The
controllers regularly monitor the BPS battery status, which requires the BPS
to maintain a minimum level of power for normal operation. The BPS has
sufficient battery power to allow the controllers to safely shut down.
The BPS enables the controllers to use the cache as NVRAM. The BPS
provides the clustered solution enough time to write all the data from the
cache to the disk if the controller experiences a loss of power.
NOTE: You can view the BPS events on the NAS Manager.
SAN Network
The SAN network is a critical part of the PowerVault NX3500 solution. The
controller pair that resides on the SAN network communicates to the storage
subsystem using the iSCSI protocol. The PowerVault NX3500 communicates
on the SANa and SANb networks, rendering a high availability (HA) design.
Internal Network
The PowerVault NX3500 solution requires an internal network for peer-topeer data transfer and management. To achieve complete data distribution
and to maintain HA, each controller must have access to its peer controller.
The internal network achieves this goal.
The internal network is classified into internal network A and internal network B.
NOTE: Ensure that the IP addresses you assign to internal network A and internal
network B are from a private IP space and do not conflict with other subnets on
your network.
26 Introduction
Internal Network A
PowerVault NX3500's internal network A is comprised of two independent
Gigabit Ethernet ports. The internal network is the infrastructure for the
PowerVault NX3500 clustering, and includes heartbeat monitoring, data
transfer, and mirroring of information between the controllers' caches. The
internal network also distributes data evenly across all LUNs in the system.
NOTE: Internal network A is also referred to as peer-to-peer connections. The
network uses point-to-point cable connections.
Internal Network B
Internal network B is the PowerVault NX3500 internal management network,
which is plugged into the SAN switch and connects both controllers. All
administrative related functions are performed on this network.
In the event where the controllers lose communication with each other but
continue to function independently (known as the split-brain situation), the
PowerVault management network automatically resets the suspected
controller. This prevents the split-brain situation and ensures data integrity.
LAN or Client Network
After the initial configuration, a virtual IP (VIP) address connects the
PowerVault NX3500 to the client or LAN network.
The VIP address allows clients to access the PowerVault NX3500 as a single
entity, thereby providing access to the file system. It enables the PowerVault
NX3500 to perform load balancing between controllers, and ensures that the
service continues even if a controller fails.
The LAN or client network is comprised of two Gigabit Ethernet ports on
each controller, which connect to the LAN or client network switches. The
solution can have a maximum of four VIPs that serve the system. For more
information, see “Setting Up Your PowerVault NX3500 Solution” on page 29.
The PowerVault NX3500 solution is administered using the LAN or client
network on the NAS Management VIP.
Introduction 27
28 Introduction
2
Setting Up Your PowerVault NX3500 Solution
This chapter describes the procedure to configure the Dell PowerVault
NX3500 NAS cluster solution and integrate it into your environment.
A successful configuration of the PowerVault NX3500 involves:
• Setting up the environment (see "Setting Up the Environment" on
page 30).
• Installing the solution in a rack.
• Setting up the MD storage solution (see "Setting Up Your MD Storage
Solution" on page 45).
• Installing and running the PowerVault NAS configuration utility (see
"Running the PowerVault NASCU" on page 53).
• Initializing the filesystem.
• Utilizing the system.
Setting Up Your PowerVault NX3500 Solution 29
Figure 2-1. Setting Up Your PowerVault NX3500 Solution
Environment Setup
Select switch topology
Complete worksheet
Prepare management
station
Verify IPv6 address
Install software
Rack, Stack, and Cable Set up Storage
Utilize SystemInitialize File SystemConfiguration utility
Create HostGroup, Virtual
Disks, and map them together
Complete final step during
step 5
Execute PowerVault
NASCU
Complete initialization steps
in web admin interface
Create NAS volumes, CIFS
shares
Setting Up the Environment
To set up the environment:
1
Choose the topology and cable your solution.
2
Complete the NAS system setup worksheet.
3
Prepare your management station.
Choosing the Topology
Choosing the topology involves choosing the MD topology and the
switch topology.
30 Setting Up Your PowerVault NX3500 Solution
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