Storage Automation with System Center 2012

and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S

Reference Architecture and Best Practices

EMC and Microsoft

Abstract

Microsoft System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager introduces new storage
automation features enabled by the Storage Management Initiative
Specification (SMI-S) and supported by EMC Symmetrix VMAX, CLARiiON CX4,
and VNX series of storage systems. This document explains the new storage
architecture and how to set up the environment to explore and validate these
new storage capabilities.

October 2012
 Copyright © 2012 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the USA.

Published October, 2012.

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Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S

Reference Architecture and Best Practices

Part Number 300-060-038

2 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
Reference Architecture and Best Practices
 Contents

Chapter 1 Overview ...................................................................... 13

Introduction ............................................................................................ 14
Why automate storage?........................................................................... 14
Standards-based storage automation ..................................................... 15
More sophisticated, yet simpler and faster ............................................. 16
Testing storage automation in a private cloud ........................................ 17
Joint private cloud planning and implementation ................................... 17
Chapter 2 Architecture .................................................................. 19
System Center 2012 VMM architecture ................................................... 20
Industry standards for a new storage architecture .................................. 20
SNIA SMI-S and related industry standards .................................................... 21
EMC SMI-S Provider and the SNIA CTP ............................................................ 22
Storage automation architecture............................................................. 23
Storage automation architecture elements..................................................... 23
Top-down design precedes bottom-up implementation.................................. 30
Storage automation scenarios ................................................................ 30
Scenario 1: End-to-end discovery and end-to-end mapping............................ 30
Scenario 2: Storage on demand with host and cluster storage
management.................................................................................................. 33
Scenario 3: SAN-based VM rapid provisioning with snapshots or clones ........ 36
Chapter 3 Plan a Private Cloud ...................................................... 39
Plan your private cloud ........................................................................... 40
Coordinate storage requests and storage allocation needs..................... 40
Identify global VMM-storage planning issues ................................................. 41
Specific storage requests from IT to storage administrators ........................... 43
Storage administrator requests to IT administrators ....................................... 44

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 Contents

Coordinate storage-related security measures ........................................ 45

VMM role-based access control to grant rights to VMM host groups
and clouds ..................................................................................................... 45
Run As Accounts and Basic Authentication .................................................... 47
Storage system global administrator account................................................. 47
SMI-S Provider object security ........................................................................ 47
Frequently asked questions .................................................................... 48
Known issues and limitations ................................................................. 50
Chapter 4 Build a Preproduction Test Environment ........................ 53
Build your preproduction test environment ............................................. 54
Preview the test environment .................................................................. 54
Minimum hardware requirements for a test environment ........................ 54
Minimum hardware requirements explained for a test environment ....... 55
Relationships among servers and arrays in test environment ................. 57
Set up EMC storage devices for storage validation testing ...................... 58
VMM storage automation test summary ......................................................... 58
Maximum snapshots and clones supported by array type .............................. 60
Array system requirements ..................................................................... 61
Set up EMC SMI-S Provider for storage validation testing ........................ 66
EMC SMI-S Provider software requirements .................................................... 66
Install and configure the EMC SMI-S Provider ................................................. 68
Configure the EMC SMI-S Provider to manage EMC storage systems ............... 69
EMC SMI-S information resources .................................................................. 71
Set up VMM for storage validation testing .............................................. 72
VMM prerequisites ......................................................................................... 73
Install VMM.................................................................................................... 75
Configure VMM to discover and manage storage ............................................ 75
Add a stand-alone Hyper-V Server as a VM host to VMM ................................ 75
Add an existing Hyper-V host cluster to VMM ................................................. 78
Add EMC SMI-S Provider to VMM and place storage pools
under management ........................................................................................ 81
Add SMI-S and storage pool management to VMM private cloud .................... 84
Configure arrays for VM rapid provisioning of select snapshots or clones....... 88
Specify the default for creating storage groups for a Hyper-V host cluster ...... 89
Create SAN-copy-capable templates for testing VM rapid provisioning ........... 90

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Chapter 5 Validate Storage Automation in your Test Environment .. 107
Test environment validation .................................................................... 108
Set up the Microsoft VMM storage automation validation script ............. 108
Download the Microsoft VMM validation script .............................................. 109
Use a script editor that supports breakpoints................................................. 109
Script configuration XML input file contents ................................................... 109
Sample XML file ............................................................................................. 112
Configure trace log collection .................................................................. 113
Configure tracing for the Microsoft Storage Management Service ................... 113
ECOM I/O tracing for the EMC SMI-S Provider ................................................. 115
Review the full test case list developed by VMM ..................................... 117
Test case list for EMC storage arrays ....................................................... 119
Test results for Symmetrix VMAX arrays .......................................................... 119
Test results for CLARiiON CX4 arrays............................................................... 120
Test results for VNX arrays.............................................................................. 122
Test storage automation in your preproduction environment .................. 123
Chapter 6 Prepare for Production Deployment ............................... 125
Production deployment ........................................................................... 126
Identify issues unique to your production environment .......................... 126
Production deployment resources .......................................................... 126
Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track program ............................................ 129
Appendix A Install VMM .................................................................. 131
Appendix B Array Masking and Hyper-V Host Clusters ...................... 137
Appendix C Enable Large LUNs on Symmetrix VMAX Arrays .............. 151
Appendix D Configure Symmetrix VMAX TimeFinder for Rapid
VM Provisioning ........................................................... 155
Appendix E Configure VNX and CLARiiON for Rapid
VM Provisioning ........................................................... 161
Appendix F Terminology.................................................................. 163
Appendix G References ................................................................... 175

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 Contents

6 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Figures

Figure 1. The Storage Management component within the Fabric in

VMM 2012 .................................................................................. 20
Figure 2. SMI-S Provider is the interface between VMM and storage
arrays in a VMM private cloud..................................................... 23
Figure 3. Managing one or more storage arrays from multiple vendors ....... 28
Figure 4. Managing storage from multiple instances of VMM ..................... 29
Figure 5. Cloud and storage administration (formerly separate) now
require coordinated planning ...................................................... 40
Figure 6. The scope for this delegated administrator role includes only
one host group ............................................................................ 46
Figure 7. Storage is allocated by host group .............................................. 46
Figure 8. Minimum servers and arrays recommended by Microsoft for
validating storage capabilities .................................................... 57
Figure 9. VMM Add Resource Wizard .......................................................... 76
Figure 10. VMM Discovery scope page ......................................................... 79
Figure 11. VMM Target resources page ........................................................ 80
Figure 12. VMM Host settings page.............................................................. 80
Figure 13. VMM Jobs dialog box ................................................................... 81
Figure 14. ECOM Administration Login Page ................................................ 82
Figure 15. Add a user for ECOM Security Administration .............................. 83
Figure 16. ECOM Security Admin Add User page .......................................... 84
Figure 17. Gather information for added storage devices ............................. 85
Figure 18. Select the storage pools for VMM to manage and create
classification ............................................................................... 86
Figure 19. Confirm your settings .................................................................. 87
Figure 20. Wait until the jobs complete successfully .................................... 87
Figure 21. Confirm your storage pools are listed .......................................... 87
Figure 22. Add Library Shares page.............................................................. 92
Figure 23. Allocate Storage Pools ................................................................ 93
Figure 24. Create a logical unit..................................................................... 94
Figure 25. Create Logical Unit ...................................................................... 95
Figure 26. Mount in the following empty NTFS folder.................................... 95
Figure 27. Select Destination folder for HA Template ................................... 96
Figure 28. Create a logical unit..................................................................... 97
Figure 29. Select Destination folder ............................................................. 97
Figure 30. Add Library Shares page in VMM ................................................. 99
Figure 31. Confirm the dummy VHD is in the Library folder ........................... 100
Figure 32. Select the dummy VHD in the HATemplateShare folder ............... 100

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 Figures

Figure 33. Configure Operating System page in the Create VM Template

Wizard......................................................................................... 101
Figure 34. Create VM Template Summary page ............................................ 102
Figure 35. Select VM Template Source page ................................................ 102
Figure 36. VMM Library Templates ............................................................... 104
Figure 37. Hardware Configuration Advanced Availability setting for
HATemplate................................................................................. 104
Figure 38. Hardware Configuration Advanced Availability setting for
SATemplate ................................................................................. 105
Figure 39. Create a VM with the SATemplate ................................................ 105
Figure 40. EMC sample StorageConfig.xml file ............................................. 112
Figure 41. Sample SCX CIM-XML trace log .................................................... 114
Figure 42. Example Traceview ETL ................................................................ 115
Figure 43. Figure 1: A storage group is an instance of the CIM class
SCSIProtocolController ................................................................ 139
Figure 44. Figure 2: VMM modifies storage groups during masking
operations to unmask LUNs to hosts ........................................... 140
Figure 45. Each storage group has at least two target ports ......................... 146
Figure 46. Each storage group has only one target port set to either True
or False for CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster ............................... 147
Figure 47. Configuring TimeFinder / Snap for VM deployment ...................... 157

8 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Tables

Table 1. Document map ............................................................................ 12

Table 2. Advantages provided by the integration of VMM and EMC
storage systems .......................................................................... 16
Table 3. Standards used by VMM and EMC to provide integrated
storage automation ..................................................................... 21
Table 4. EMC SMI-S Provider includes three provider components ............ 25
Table 5. Sequence for storage design is the inverse of
implementation........................................................................... 30
Table 6. VMM uses services to discover storage objects on an array
or host ........................................................................................ 31
Table 7. Sequence in which VMM provisions storage to an existing
Hyper-V VM host or host cluster................................................... 35
Table 8. VMM 2012 automates the entire workflow for VM
rapid provisioning ....................................................................... 37
Table 9. Storage administrators: private cloud storage requests and
processes for global issues ......................................................... 42
Table 10. IT administrators: private cloud storage requests and
processes for global issues ......................................................... 43
Table 11. Planning that IT administrators coordinate with storage
administrators for specific issues ................................................ 43
Table 12. Planning that storage administrators coordinate with IT
administrators for specific issues ................................................ 44
Table 13. Known issues and limitations for EMC storage systems ............... 50
Table 14. Communication protocol requirements for the test
infrastructure .............................................................................. 58
Table 15. EMC arrays that support SCVMM 2012 ........................................ 59
Table 16. Tests run, by array type, that validate EMC support for
VMM 2012 storage capabilities ................................................... 59
Table 17. Maximum number of clones and snapshots per source LUN ........ 61
Table 18. Symmetrix VMAX software and license requirements .................. 62
Table 19. Symmetrix VMAX configuration and license requirements ........... 62
Table 20. VNX software and license requirements ...................................... 63
Table 21. VNX configuration and license requirements ............................... 64
Table 22. CLARiiON CX4 software and license requirements ....................... 65
Table 23. CLARiiON CX4 configuration and license requirements ................ 65
Table 24. Software requirements for the SMI-S Provider server in your
test environment ......................................................................... 67
Table 25. Software requirements for installing VMM 2012 in a test
environment ................................................................................ 74

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 Tables

Table 26. Contents of StorageConfig.xml input file read by the VMM

validation script .......................................................................... 109
Table 27. Tests developed by VMM that exercise storage automation
functionality and scale ................................................................ 118
Table 28. Tests developed by VMM that EMC ran successfully on
Symmetrix family arrays .............................................................. 119
Table 29. Tests developed by VMM that EMC ran successfully on EMC
CLARiiON family arrays ................................................................ 120
Table 30. Tests developed by VMM that EMC ran successfully on EMC
VNX family arrays ........................................................................ 122
Table 31. Commonly used synonyms for storage groups, initiators, and
targets......................................................................................... 138
Figure 43. Figure 1: A storage group is an instance of the CIM class
SCSIProtocolController ................................................................ 139
Figure 44. Figure 2: VMM modifies storage groups during masking
operations to unmask LUNs to hosts ........................................... 140
Table 32. Array-side properties whose values affect how storage groups
are set for host clusters ............................................................... 146
Table 33. Meta device sizes enabled by the Auto Meta feature ................... 152
Table 34. Property descriptions and default values in the
OSLSProvider.conf settings file ................................................... 159
Table 35. Terminology ................................................................................ 164
Table 36. SNIA, DMTF, and other standards related to storage
automation ................................................................................. 176
Table 37. EMC related document for VMM 2012 storage automation .......... 177
Table 38. Microsoft sources related to VMM 2012 storage automation ....... 178

10 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Preface

As part of an effort to improve and enhance the performance and capabilities of its
product line, EMC® from time to time releases revisions of its hardware and
software. Therefore, some functions described in this guide may not be supported
by all revisions of the software or hardware currently in use. For the most up-to-date
information on product features, review your product release notes.

If a product does not function properly or does not function as described in this
document, please contact your EMC representative.

Note This document was accurate as of the time of publication. However, as

information is added, new versions of supporting and companion documents,
or this document, may be released to EMC Online Support at
https://support.emc.com/. Check the website to ensure that you are using
the latest instructions.

Purpose

This document describes how EMC supports new storage automation features that
are available in Microsoft® System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager (VMM).
These new features build on the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S)
developed by the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).

EMC has validated in a test environment the new VMM storage capabilities with
supported EMC storage systems. This document serves as a guide to build and test a
similar environment.

Audience

Introducing a private cloud into your IT infrastructure requires joint planning by

multiple stakeholders Table 1 identifies these stakeholders and the chapters and
appendices that are applicable to them.

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 Preface

Table 1. Document map

Chapter or Appendix Primary audience Secondary audience
Chapter 1: Overview Technical decision Hyper-V and other server administrators
makers Network administrators
Solution architects Self-service portal administrators
Cloud administrators Security administrators
Storage administrators
VMM administrators

Chapter 2: Architecture Solution architects Hyper-V and other server administrators

Cloud administrators Network administrators
Storage administrators Self-service portal administrators
VMM administrators Security administrators

Chapter 3: Plan a Private Cloud Cloud administrators Hyper-V and other server administrators
Storage administrators Network administrators
VMM administrators Self-service portal administrators
Security administrators

Chapter 4: Build a Preproduction VMM administrators Cloud administrators

Test Environment

Chapter 5: Validate Storage Cloud administrators Hyper-V and other server administrators
Automation in your Test Environment Storage administrators VMM administrators

Chapter 6: Prepare for Production Solution architects Hyper-V and other server administrators
Deployment Cloud administrators Network administrators
VMM administrators Self-service portal administrators
Security administrators

Appendix A: Install VMM VMM administrators Cloud administrators

Appendix B: Array Masking and Cloud administrators Cloud administrators

Hyper-V Host Clusters VMM administrators

Appendix C: Enable Large LUNs on Cloud administrators Storage administrators

Symmetrix VMAX Arrays VMM administrators

Appendix D: Configure Symmetrix Cloud administrators Storage administrators

VMAX TimeFinder for Rapid VM VMM administrators
Provisioning

Appendix E: Configure VNX and Cloud administrators Storage administrators

CLARiiON for Rapid VM Provisioning VMM administrators

Appendix F: Terminology Cloud administrators Anyone

VMM administrators

Appendix G: References Anyone Anyone

12 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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Chapter 1 Overview

This chapter presents the following topics:

Introduction .................................................................................... 14
Why automate storage? ....................................................................... 14
Standards-based storage automation .................................................. 15
More sophisticated, yet simpler and faster ........................................... 16
Testing storage automation in a private cloud....................................... 17
Joint private cloud planning and implementation .................................. 17

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 Chapter 1: Overview

Introduction
EMC and Microsoft collaborate to deliver a private cloud with new and enhanced
storage automation features. Microsoft® System Center 2012 Virtual Machine
Manager (VMM) introduces the automatic discovery of storage resources and
automated administration of those resources within a private cloud. Multiple EMC
storage systems support these new capabilities.

Standards-based storage management is a major part of what is new in VMM 2012.

VMM can manage arrays from the EMC Symmetrix® VMAX, CLARiiON® CX4, and VNX®
storage system families through a standards-based interface. Microsoft System
Center and EMC solutions deliver cost-effective and agile data center services that
enable integrated management of physical, virtual, and cloud environments.

Why automate storage?

The VMM product team asked customers if they automate any storage tasks now. Of
those who responded, 86 percent answered no. Why? Because of the 86 percent who
do not currently automate storage:

Half indicated that they do not have in-house expertise to automate storage
tasks.
Half indicated that they have so many different types of arrays that the
development effort and time required to automate storage tasks often blocks
major storage automation initiatives.
Of the 14 percent of respondents who do automate storage tasks, they do just
enough automation to reduce the chance of human error. More advanced automation
is a goal, but often a deferred goal, because it requires expertise and time that are in
short supply. An industry standard is needed that enables automation of storage
tasks, yet simplifies storage automation across multiple types of array.

14 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Chapter 1: Overview

Standards-based storage automation

VMM introduces standards-based discovery and automation of iSCSI and Fibre
Channel (FC) block storage resources in a virtualized data center environment. These
new capabilities build on the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S)
developed by the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). The SMI-S
standardized management interface enables an application such as VMM to
discover, assign, configure, and automate storage for heterogeneous arrays in a
unified way. An SMI-S Provider uses SMI-S to enable storage management.

To take advantage of this new storage capability, EMC updated its SMI-S Provider to
support the System Center 2012 VMM release.

The EMC SMI-S Provider aligns with the SNIA goal to design a single interface that
supports unified management of multiple types of storage array. The one-to-many
model enabled by the SMI-S standard makes it possible for VMM to interoperate by
using the EMC SMI-S Provider, with multiple disparate storage systems from the same
VMM Console that is used to manage all other VMM private cloud components.

VMM is not an SRM

VMM focuses on automating storage tasks in a Hyper V environment. VMM is not a

Storage Resource Management (SRM) tool and does not replace array management
consoles or SAN administration tools:

Storage administrators continue to design, implement, and manage storage

resources.
Cloud administrators use VMM to consume storage resources available to a
private cloud.

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 Chapter 1: Overview

More sophisticated, yet simpler and faster

Multiple EMC storage systems are built to take advantage of VMM storage
automation capabilities.

Table 2. Advantages provided by the integration of VMM and EMC storage

systems
Value add Description
Integrate Coordination: Fosters integrated planning of virtual and storage infrastructures.
virtualization
Visibility: Allows VMM infrastructure administrators and VMM cloud administrators
and storage
to access supported EMC storage systems and both are members of the VMM
Administrator role.
End-to-end map: Automates end-to-end discovery, and maps virtualization to
storage assets:
 First: VMM discovers all relevant storage assets and their relationships.
 Next: VMM maps a VM to its respective storage resource, creating a full end-
to-end map directly accessible either from the VMM Console or by using a
VMM PowerShell™ script.
 Result: Outdated diagrams or additional consoles to access storage are no
longer needed. Administrators can discover available storage assets and
understand how the underlying storage area network (SAN) infrastructure
interacts with other private cloud resources.

Reduce costs On-demand storage: Aligns IT costs with business priorities by synchronizing
storage allocation with fluctuating user demand. VMM elastic infrastructure
supports thin provisioning, that is, VMM supports expanding or contracting the
allocation of storage resources on EMC storage systems in response to waxing or
waning demand.
Ease-of-use: Simplifies consumption of storage capacity by enabling the
interaction of EMC storage systems with and the integration of storage automation
capabilities within, the VMM private cloud. This saves time and lowers costs.

Simplify Private cloud GUI: Allows administration of private cloud assets (including storage)
administration through a single management UI, the VMM Console, available to VMM or cloud
administrators.
Private cloud CLI: Enables automation through VMM’s comprehensive set of
Windows PowerShell™ cmdlets, including 25 new storage-specific cmdlets.
Reduce errors: Minimizes errors by providing the VMM UI or CLI to view and request
storage.
Private cloud self-service portal: Provides a web-based interface that permits users
to create VMs, as needed, with a storage capacity that is based on predefined
classifications.
Simpler storage requests: Automates storage requests to eliminate delays of days
or weeks.

16 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Chapter 1: Overview

Value add Description

Deploy faster Deploy VMs faster and at scale: Supports rapid provisioning of VMs to Microsoft
Hyper-V® hosts or host clusters at scale. VMM can communicate directly with your
SAN arrays to provision storage for your VMs. VMM 2012 can provision storage for
a VM in the following ways:
 Create a new logical unit from an available storage pool: Control the number
and size of each logical unit.
 Create a writeable snapshot of an existing logical unit: Provision many VMs
quickly by rapidly creating multiple copies of an existing virtual disk. This
requires minimal load on hosts and uses space on the array efficiently.
 Create a clone of an existing logical unit: Offload the creating of a full copy of
a virtual disk from the host to the array. Clones are not as space-efficient as
snapshots and take longer to create.
Reduce load: Rapid provisioning of VMs using SAN-based storage resources takes
full advantage of EMC array capabilities while placing no load on the network.

Testing storage automation in a private cloud

The SMI-S Provider model introduces an interface between VMM and storage arrays
available to the VMM private cloud. To ensure that customers can successfully use
the full set of new storage features, Microsoft developed a set of automated
validation tests that can be used in both preproduction and production environments
to confirm that systems are correctly configured and deployed. Scenarios tested
include end-to-end discovery, Hyper-V host and host cluster storage management,
and VM rapid provisioning.

Joint private cloud planning and implementation

Making optimal use of VMM storage automation capabilities with supported EMC
storage systems requires an organization’s administrators, particularly cloud and
storage administrators, to jointly plan, design, implement, verify, and manage their
integrated cloud environment. As described in detail later in this document, this
brings together what were formerly separate disciplines in a new way that requires a
greater level of cooperation and coordination than was needed in the past.

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 Chapter 1: Overview

18 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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Chapter 2 Architecture

This chapter presents the following topics:

System Center 2012 VMM architecture ................................................. 20

Industry standards for a new storage architecture ................................. 20
Storage automation architecture .......................................................... 23
Storage automation scenarios.............................................................. 30

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 Chapter 2: Architecture

System Center 2012 VMM architecture

VMM 2012 architecture builds on, and extends, the architectural design used in VMM
2008 R2 SP1. One major area where VMM architecture, and corresponding
functionality, is enhanced significantly is in the area of storage.

Figure 1 is a high-level depiction of VMM components available in the 2012 release of

VMM. The highlighted Storage Management component in the Fabric Management
section is the focus of this document.

Figure 1. The Storage Management component within the Fabric in VMM 2012

Delivering the new storage functionality required innovation and transformation in

the following areas:

Industry standards for a new storage architecture

Storage automation architecture
Storage automation scenarios

Industry standards for a new storage architecture

A virtualized data center typically includes heterogeneous compute, network, and
storage resources. Achieving interoperability among these diverse technologies
requires, first, a common way to describe and represent each element and, second,
the development of accepted industry standards that enable management of these
elements.

20 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Chapter 2: Architecture

SNIA SMI-S and related industry standards

Table 3 summarizes major models and standards that make the storage architecture
possible that enables VMM to communicate with supported EMC arrays in a private
cloud.

Major organizations that develop standards integral to IT and storage automation

include:

Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA): SNIA develops management

standards related to data, storage, and information management. SNIA
standards are designed to address challenges such as interoperability,
usability, and complexity. The SNIA standard that is central to this document
is Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S). SNIA has more details
at http://www.snia.org/forums/smi.
Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF): DMTF develops platform-
independent management standards. DMTF standards are designed to
promote interoperability for enterprise and Internet environments. For more
details, go to www.dmtf.org. DMTF standards relevant to VMM and EMC
storage include:
 Common Information Model (CIM)
 Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM)
Table 3 describes some of the most important standards used by VMM and EMC to
deliver storage-related services.

Table 3. Standards used by VMM and EMC to provide integrated storage

automation
Standard Description
EMC SMI S The EMC SMI S Provider is used by VMM and certified by SNIA as compliant with the
Provider SMI-S standard.
VMM uses the EMC SMI-S Provider to discover arrays, storage pools, and logical units,
and to classify and assign storage to one or more VMM host groups. It also creates,
clones, snapshots, and deletes logical units, and unmasks or masks logical units to a
Hyper-V host or cluster. Unmasking assigns a logical unit to a host or cluster. Masking
hides a logical unit from a host or cluster.
Note SMI-S builds on CIM and WBEM standards from DMTF.

WBEM WBEM is a collection of standards for accessing information and managing computer,
network, and storage resources in an enterprise-environment. WBEM includes:
 A CIM model that represent resources.
 An XML representation of CIM models and messages (xmlCIM) that travels by way
of CIM-XML.
 An XML-based protocol, CIM-XML over HTTP, that lets network components
communicate.
 A protocol based on SOAP-(Simple Object Access Protocol) and Web Services for
Management (WS Management, or WS-Man) that support communication
between network components.

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 Chapter 2: Architecture

Standard Description
CIM The CIM standard provides a model for representing heterogeneous compute, network, and
storage resources as objects and for representing relationships among those objects. CIM lets
VMM administer dissimilar elements in a common way. Both SMI-S and WBEM build on CIM.
CIM Infrastructure Specification defines the object-oriented architecture of CIM.
CIM Schema defines a common, extensible language for representing dissimilar
objects.
CIM Classes identify specific types of IT resources (for example, CIM_StorageVolume).
Note EMC SMI-S Provider version 4.4.0 (or later) supports DMTF CIM Schema version 2.31.0.

ECIM The EMC Common Information Model (ECIM) defines a CIM-based model for representing IT
objects (for example, EMC_StorageVolume, which is a subclass of CIM_StorageVolume).

ECOM EMC Common Object Manager (ECOM) implements the DMTF WBEM infrastructure for EMC.
The EMC SMI-S Provider utilizes ECOM to provide a single WBEM infrastructure across all EMC
hardware and software platforms.

EMC SMI-S Provider and the SNIA CTP

The SNIA Conformance Testing Program (CTP) validates SMI-S Providers against
different versions of the standard. EMC works closely with SNIA to ensure that the
EMC SMI-S Provider supports the latest SMI-S standard.

The EMC SMI-S Provider is certified by SNIA as compliant with SMI-S versions 1.3.0,
1.4.0, and 1.5.0. EMC plans to update the EMC SMI-S Provider, as appropriate, to
keep current with the SMI S standard as both the standard itself and VMM’s support
for the standard evolve.

For information about the SNIA CTP program and EMC participation in that program:

“SNIA Conformance Testing Program (SNIA-CTP)” at http://www.snia.org/ctp/

“SMI-S Conforming Provider Companies” at
http://www.snia.org/ctp/conformingproviders/index.html

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Storage automation architecture

Figure 2 depicts the storage architecture that VMM 2012 delivers in conjunction with
the EMC SMI-S Provider and EMC storage systems. This figure includes the primary
components of the new storage architecture enabled in VMM by the SMI-S standard.

Figure 2. SMI-S Provider is the interface between VMM and storage arrays in a
VMM private cloud

Storage automation architecture elements

This section describes the primary components in Figure 2 and the relationships
between these components.

VMM Server

The VMM Management Server or VMM Server is the service that a cloud and VMM
administrators use to manage VMM objects. These include hypervisor physical
servers, VMs, storage resources, networks, clouds, and services, which are deployed
together as a set of VMs.

The VMM Server uses WS-Man and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), the
Microsoft implementation of DMTF’s WBEM and CIM standards, to enable
management applications to share information:

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Web Services Management (WS-Man): The Microsoft implementation of WS-

Man is Windows Remote Management (WinRM). VMM components use this
client interface to communicate with the Microsoft Storage Management
Service through WMI. VMM does not use WS-Man to communicate with SMI-S
Providers. It uses the Microsoft Storage Management Service, which uses the
CIM-XML protocol for communications with the SMI-S Provider.
Windows Management Instrumentation Service (WMI Service): WMI provides
programmatic access to a system so that administrators can collect and set
configuration details on a wide variety of hardware, operating system
components, subsystems, and software. This service is:
 The Windows implementation of a standard CIM Object Manager
(CIMOM).
 A self-hosted service that provides hosting for the Microsoft Storage
Management Service (WMI provider).
Microsoft Storage Management Service (a WMI Provider): This service is a new
WMI provider (installed, by default, on the VMM Server) for managing VMM
storage operations. This service:
 Is an SMI-S client that communicates with the SMI-S Provider server over
the network.
 Uses the SMI-S Module to convert SMI-S objects to Storage Management
Service objects.
 Discovers storage objects, such as arrays, storage pools, and LUNs. The
service also discovers host initiators and storage controller endpoints on
the arrays.
 Performs storage operations against storage arrays.
SMI-S module: A component of the Storage Management Service on the VMM
Server that maps Storage Management Service objects to SMI-S objects. The
CIM-XML Client uses only SMI-S objects.
CIM-XML client: A component of the Storage Management Service that
enables communication with the SMI-S Provider through the CIM-XML
protocol.

CIM-XML

CIM-XML is the protocol that is used as the communication mechanism between the
VMM Server and the SMI-S Provider. The use of the CMI-XML protocol is mandated by
the SMI-S standard.

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EMC SMI-S Provider

The EMC SMI-S Provider is the SMI-S-compliant management server that enables
VMM to manage storage resources on EMC storage systems in a unified way.

The EMC SMI-S Provider kit contains the following components:

EMC SMI-S Provider

ECOM
EMC Solutions Enabler
The EMC SMI-S Provider kit also makes available the providers listed in the following
table.

Table 4. EMC SMI-S Provider includes three provider components

Provider Description
Array Provider The VMM storage feature requires the installation of the Array Provider. This provider
allows the VMM client to manage a supported EMC Symmetrix VMAX, VNX, or CLARiiON
CX4 series of storage arrays.
EMC SMI-S Provider and EMC SMI-S Array Provider are used interchangeably in this
document. Both represent the provider that enables VMM to access EMC arrays.

Host Provider The Host Provider is not used for VMM storage operations. Do not install the Host
(N/A to VMM) Provider in your test environment.

VMware® VASA VMware’s Storage API for Storage Awareness (VASA) Provider is installed automatically
Provider during the Array Provider installation. This default is due to the VASA Provider’s
(N/A to VMM) dependency on the Array Provider.
VMM does not use the VASA Provider for VMM storage operations. However, if your
environment includes VMware vSphere® as well as VMM, you have the option to use the
same EMC SMI-S Provider in both environments.

Array

A storage array is a disk storage system that contains multiple disk drives attached to
a storage area network (SAN) in order to make storage resources available to servers
that have access to the SAN.

In the context of a VMM private cloud, storage arrays, also called storage systems,
make storage resources available to for use by cloud and VMM administrators and by
cloud users.

EMC arrays support one or more of the following storage protocols:

iSCSI
Fibre Channel (FC)
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)

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Each array communicates with its EMC SMI-S Provider as follows:

CLARiiON CX4 and VNX arrays: All management traffic between the provider
and array travels over the TCP/IP network.
Symmetrix VMAX arrays: The communication path between the SMI-S Provider
server and the array is in band by means of FC, FCoE, or iSCSI. Communication
to VMAX arrays also requires gatekeeper LUNs. EMC recommends that six
gatekeeper LUNs be created on each VMAX array.
Within an array, the storage elements most important to VMM are:

Storage Pools: A pool of storage is located on an array. You can use VMM to
categorize storage pools based on service level agreement (SLA) factors such
as performance. An example naming convention is to classify pools as “Gold,
Silver, and Bronze.”
Logical Units: A logical unit of storage (a storage volume) is located within a
storage pool. In VMM, a logical unit is typically a virtual disk that contains the
VHD file for a VM. The SMI-S term for a logical unit is storage volume. (A SAN
logical unit is often, if somewhat imprecisely, referred to as a logical unit
number or LUN).

Element Manager tool

The storage administrator uses an Element Manager tool that is provided by the
vendor to access and manage storage arrays and, typically, the administrative
domain. An Element Manager is one of an administrator’s key Storage Resource
Management (SRM) tools. EMC Unisphere® is an example of an Element Manager.

Library Server or Hyper-V host and host cluster

Currently, VMM supports storage automation only for Hyper-V hosts and host
clusters.

In Figure 2, the stand-alone Hyper-V Server is both a VM host and a VMM Library
Server. This is the same configuration that is found in the SCVMM test validation
environment:

VM host: A physical computer managed by VMM and on which you can deploy
one or more VMs. VMM 2012 supports Hyper-V hosts (on which the VMM
agent is installed), VMware ESX hosts, and Citrix® XenServer® hosts. However,
in the current release, VMM supports storage provisioning only for Hyper-V
hosts.
Library Server: A file server managed by VMM that you can use as a repository
to store files used for VMM tasks. These files include virtual hard disks
(VHDs), ISOs, scripts, VM templates (typically used for rapid provisioning),
service templates, application installation packages, and other files.
 You can use VHD files stored on the VMM Library Server provision VMs.
VHD files used to support VM rapid provisioning are contained within

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LUNs on storage arrays but are mounted to folders on the VMM Library
Server.
 You can install the VMM Library Server on the VMM Server, on a VM host,
or on a stand-alone Hyper-V host. However, to fully implement (and test)
all VMM 2012 storage functionality, the VMM Library Server must be
installed on a stand-alone Hyper-V host that is configured as a VM host.
“Minimum hardware requirements explained” on page 55 has more
details.
Hyper-V hosts or host clusters in a VMM private cloud must be able to access one or
more storage arrays:

iSCSI initiator (on the host) to access iSCSI SAN: If you use an iSCSI SAN,
each Hyper-V host accesses a storage array by using the Microsoft iSCSI
initiator, which is part of the operating system. During storage operations,
such as creating a logical unit and assigning it to the host, the iSCSI initiator
on the host is logged on to the array.
An iSCSI initiator (on the Hyper-V host) is the endpoint that initiates a
SCSI session with an iSCSI target (the storage array). The target (array) is
the endpoint that waits for commands from initiators and returns
requested information.
Note Whether you use an iSCSI HBA, TCP/IP Offload Engines (TOE), or a
network interface card (NIC), you are using the Microsoft iSCSI
Initiator to manage them and to manage sessions established
through them.
HBA Provider (on the host) to access FC SAN: If you use an FC SAN, each
Hyper-V host that accesses a storage array must have a host bus adapter
(HBA) installed. An HBA connects a host system (the computer) to a storage
fabric. Storage devices are also connected to this fabric. Each host and
related storage devices must be zoned correctly so that the host can access
the storage arrays.
NPIV Provider (on the host) for FC SAN: VMM supports N_Port ID Virtualization
(NPIV) on an FC SAN. NPIV uses HBA technology (which creates virtual HBA
ports, also called vPorts, on hosts) to enable a single physical FC port to
function as multiple logical ports, each with its own identity. One purpose of
this is to provide an identity for a VM on the host. In this case, a vPort enables
the host to see the LUN that is used by the VM. VMM 2012 does not support
creation or deletion of vPorts on the host as an individual operation. However,
for an existing VM, VMM 2012 can move the vPort that identifies that
particular VM from the source host to the destination host and the SAN
transfer is used to migrate the VM. Moving the vPort refers to deleting the
vPort from the source host and creating the vPort on the destination host.
VMM storage automation requires discovery of storage objects not only on arrays but
also on each host and host cluster:

VMM agent and software VDS on the host for discovery: Just as the Microsoft
Storage Management Service on the VMM Server enables VMM by using the
SMI-S Provider to discover storage objects on external arrays. VMM can also
discover storage-related information on Hyper-V hosts and host clusters.

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 VMM agent on the host: VMM uses the VMM agent installed on a
physical Hyper-V host computer to ask the iSCSI initiator (on the host
side) for a list of iSCSI targets (on the array side). Similarly, the VMM
agent queries the FC HBA APIs for FC ports.
 Microsoft VDS software provider on the host: VMM uses the VDS API
(VDS software provider) on the host to retrieve disk and volume
information on the host, to initialize and partition disks on the host, and
to format and mount volumes on the host.
VDS hardware provider on the VMM Server for arrays that do not support
SMI-S: The VDS hardware provider is used by VMM 2008 R2 SP1 to discover
and communicate with SAN arrays. In VMM 2012, the SMI-S Provider
supersedes the VDS hardware provider because SMI-S provides more
extensive support for storage automation than does the VDS hardware
provider. However, the VDS hardware provider is still available in VMM 2012
and can be used to enable SAN transfers if no SMI-S Provider is available.
However, if an SMI-S Provider is available, do not install the VDS hardware
provider in a VMM 2012 environment.

VMM supports multiple SMI-S providers and vendors

The SMI-S standard and VMM 2012 make it possible for one instance of VMM to use
a single provider to communicate with one or more arrays of different types. In
addition, a single VMM instance can communicate with multiple providers at the
same time. Some vendors implement more than one provider. Some customers might
choose to use multiple providers from different vendors and might incorporate
storage systems from different vendors in their private cloud. In addition, multiple
VMM instances can communicate, simultaneously, with multiple providers.

Figure 3 provides a common configuration where VMM uses a separate provider to

manage arrays from different vendors.

Figure 3. Managing one or more storage arrays from multiple vendors

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Figure 4 provides a configuration where multiple instances of VMM are in use. It is

important to note that the instances of VMM do not communicate with each other.

Figure 4. Managing storage from multiple instances of VMM

Administrators who deploy a cloud infrastructure with multiple instances of VMM

need to be aware that it is possible. For example, for two VMM instances to compete
simultaneously for the same storage resource. So whichever transaction completes
first, gets the resource. The VMM team has not tested storage automaton capabilities
in this configuration.

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Top-down design precedes bottom-up implementation

The order that you design and plan the components of a VMM-based private cloud is
the inverse of the order in which you implement the components.

Table 5. Sequence for storage design is the inverse of implementation

Top-down design Bottom-up implementation
Cloud infrastructure1 Arrays

VMM SMI-S Provider

SMI-S Provider VMM

Arrays Cloud infrastructure

After you complete a top-down design, you can then implement that design from the
bottom up. Becoming familiar with some of the scenarios of storage automation is
useful before building your test environment. Also reviewing the issues and
limitations, as summarized in the planning section are useful.

Storage automation scenarios

The three scenarios described in this section explain what the new storage
architecture enables you to do:

Scenario 1: End-to-end discovery and end-to-end mapping

Scenario 2: Storage on demand with host and cluster storage management
Scenario 3: SAN-based VM rapid provisioning with snapshots or clones
Automation of common and recurring storage tasks enables VMM and cloud
administrators to become more productive and more responsive in managing storage
resources. Moreover, storage automation provides extra time to focus on other critical
tasks.

In VMM 2012, the deep integration of storage provisioning with the VMM Console and
VMM PowerShell substantially reduces the learning curve for administrators. For
example, you do not need a special plug-in to add shared storage capacity to a Hyper-
V cluster, nor do you have to learn complex new skills to perform rapid provisioning of
VMs. These capabilities are built into and delivered by VMM.

Scenario 1: End-to-end discovery and end-to-end mapping

VMM discovers both local and remote storage. The first storage automation scenario
includes end-to-end discovery of all storage objects on each array and on each Hyper-
V host. This scenario also includes end-to-end mapping of each discovered
association between an array object and a host object as well as a complete VM-to-
LUN map.

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End-to-end discovery of array and host objects

VMM 2012 discovers two broad categories of storage, which are remote (on the array)
and local (on the host), as summarized in Table 6.

Table 6. VMM uses services to discover storage objects on an array or host

Discovery type Discovery agent Discovered objects
Array object Microsoft storage Level 1 discovery uses an SMI-S Provider registered
level 1 discovery management service: with VMM to return the following array objects:
(1 of 2) Resides on the VMM Storage pools
Server. Storage endpoints (FC ports, iSCSI Targets)
Discovers storage Storage iSCSI portals
objects on remote
arrays by using the
SMI-S Provider.

Array object Microsoft storage Level 2 discovery is targeted against storage pools
level 2 discovery management service: already under VMM management and returns the
Resides on the VMM following array objects:
(2 of 2)
Server. Storage logical units (commonly called LUNs)
Discovers storage associated with that storage pool
objects on remote Storage initiators associated with the
arrays by using the imported LUNs
SMI-S Provider. Storage groups (often called masking sets)
associated with the imported LUNs
Note Storage groups are discovered by VMM but
are not displayed in the VMM Console. You can
display storage groups by using the following VMM
PowerShell command line:
Get-SCStorageArray -All | Select-Object
Name,ObjectType, StorageGroups | Format-
List

Host object VMM agent: VMM agent discovery returns information about the
agent discovery Resides on a Hyper-V following Hyper-V (VM host) storage objects:
(1 of 2) Server (a VM host). FC endpoints
Discovers specific FC ports
storage objects on the iSCSI endpoints (iSCSI targets)
local host.
iSCSI portals

Host object Virtual Disk Service (VDS VDS discovery returns information about the
VDS discovery software provider): following Hyper-V (VM host) storage objects:
(2 of 2) Resides on a Hyper-V Disks
Server (a VM host). Volumes
Discovers specific
storage objects on the
local host.

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End-to-end mapping of LUN and array objects to hosts

The VMM Level 1 discovery retrieves information about all storage objects of specific
types (storage pools, endpoints, and iSCSI portals) on an array with which VMM is
configured to interact through the SMI-S Provider.

Level 2 discovery starts by retrieving information about logical units (only about
logical units for storage pools that have already been brought under VMM
management), and then retrieves storage initiators and storage groups associated
with the imported logical units.

As part of importing information about logical units, VMM also populates the VMM
database with any discovered associations between storage group objects and
logical unit objects. In VMM, storage groups are defined as objects that bind together
host initiators (on a Hyper-V host or host cluster) with target ports and logical units
(on the target storage array). Thus, if a storage group contains a host initiator, the
logical unit is unmasked to (assigned to) that host (or cluster). If no association
exists, the logical unit is masked (that is, it is not visible to the host or cluster).

By default, when VMM manages the assignment of logical units for a host cluster,
VMM creates storage groups per node (although it is also possible to specify storage
groups per cluster instead of by individual node). A storage group has one or more
host initiators, one or more target ports, and one or more logical units. “Appendix B:
Array Masking and Hyper-V Host Clusters” on page 137 provides more detail on how
VMM handles storage groups in the context of masking and unmasking Hyper-V host
clusters.

End-to-end mapping takes place as follows:

LUN-to-host map: With information now stored in the VMM database about
discovered associations between storage groups and logical units, VMM has
an initial logical map of each discovered logical unit that is associated with a
specific host.
Array-to-host map: However, detailed information about a Hyper-V host is
available only if the VMM agent is installed on the host. The VMM agent is
installed on any Hyper-V Server that acts as a VM host and is therefore,
managed by VMM. A more detailed map between storage objects on a VM
host and on any associated arrays is automatically created. This information
tells you which arrays are visible to a given host.
VM-to-LUN map: After VMM discovers all available storage assets, VMM maps
a VM, which is any VM that consumes storage from the SAN (VHDs or
passthrough disks), to its LUN. VMM then creates a complete VM-to-LUN map.
The administrator can access this VM-to-LUN map in the VMM Console or by
using a VMM PowerShell script. A sample script is provided in the “List all the
VMs hosted on a specific SAN array” blog at
http://blogs.technet.com/b/hectorl/archive/2011/07/26/list-all-the-vms-
hosted-on-a-specific-san-array.aspx.

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Examples for why it matters

Example 1: VM deployment based on storage pool classification

Discovery provides VMM with rich information about the arrays under
management, but it is not initially obvious which array offers the best storage
for which purpose. Therefore, VMM lets you tag each storage pool with a user-
defined classification that indicates the capabilities of that pool. One
common classification scheme is to label high-performance storage pools as
“Gold,” good performance pools as “Silver,” and moderate performance
pools as “Bronze.” VMM stores this information in the VMM database.
You can take advantage of the storage classification capability to initiate
automated deployment of VMs to only those hosts or clusters that have
access to a storage pool of a given classification. Afterwards, you can see
what storage classification is for any VM.
Example 2: Identifying underlying storage associated with a service instance
In VMM 2012, a service instance is a collection of connected VMs that
together provide a service to users. Each VM in this service contains one or
more virtual hard disks (on a host volume within a logical disk), a
passthrough disk (represented by a different logical disk), or both. Each
logical disk on the VM host is associated with a specific logical unit on the
array. All logical units associated with this service instance are contained by
one or more storage pools on a specific array.
You can use VMM 2012 to identify the underlying storage array, storage pool,
and logical units associated with a specific service instance.
Example 3: Simpler array decommissioning
When a storage array must be decommissioned, you can use the VMM
Console (or VMM PowerShell) to identify quickly which Hyper-V hosts have
data on that array by enumerating all of the logical units on that array and
then determining which hosts each logical unit is unmasked to (associated
with).
You can then use VMM to move that data to another location before the array
is taken out of service. You move data by manually un-assigning and then
reassigning logical units or by using SAN transfer to migrate the data.

Scenario 2: Storage on demand with host and cluster storage management

VMM automates the assignment of storage to a Hyper-V VM host or to a Hyper-V host
cluster (by unmasking LUNs to a host or cluster), and monitors and manages any
supported storage system associated with a host or a cluster.

Note Although VMM supports VMware ESX hosts and Citrix XenServer hosts in
addition to Hyper-V hosts, in the current release, the storage provisioning
functionality of VMM applies only to Hyper-V hosts.

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VMM allocates storage by VMM host group in a cloud

Local storage on a VM host or on a host cluster is, by definition, always available to

the host or cluster. By contrast, remote storage must be assigned explicitly to a host
or host cluster. Instead of assigning storage resources directly to a host or cluster,
however, VMM uses the more flexible mechanism of allocating storage first to a VMM
host group. This approach enables administrators to make storage available to
different sets of users, such as different VMM roles, types of IT administrators, or end
users in separate business units. This is independent of when or whether allocated
storage is assigned to a particular host or cluster.

Each VMM cloud must have one or more VMM host groups. Before you can provision
new logical units or assign storage to a host or cluster, you must first assign storage
to a host group. You can allocate both logical units and storage pools to a VMM host
group.

It is important not to confuse storage allocation with storage assignment. Allocation

of storage to a VMM host group is simply a way of staging storage capacity (thus
making it available, for example, to different types of IT administrators, or to multiple
business units, or to both. Allocation of storage to a host group does not assign the
storage to each (or to any) host or cluster in the host group. In fact, you can allocate
storage without having yet added any hosts or clusters to the host group. Whenever
hosts or clusters are added to that host group, storage that has been allocated to that
host group will be available to the hosts or clusters in the host group (and thus to the
set of users with permissions to use resources in that host group).

Storage pools and logical units are allocated to host groups differently:

Storage pools can be allocated to one or multiple VMM host groups.

Logical units are allocated exclusively to a specific VMM host group and can
be used only by hosts or clusters in that host group.
However, allocating storage to a VMM host group does not imply that storage can be
unmasked to all of the hosts in that host group. Allocation of storage (whether pools
or logical units) to a host group takes place at multiple levels, according to the
following rules:

Capacity management: The administrator determines the storage, or the

subset of storage, that can be consumed by the host or clusters in a VMM
host group. At this level, which host or cluster can view and access the SAN is
determined by FC zoning or by iSCSI target logon.
Storage pools: As part of rapid provisioning workflow (which uses SAN-copy-
capable templates), the VMM placement feature determines whether the
template VHD resides on a storage logical unit that is on the same pool that
has been allocated to the host group. During assignment (unmasking) of
storage to a host or cluster, new storage logical units can be created from
allocated pools.
Storage logical unit: VMM does not place VMs on allocated logical units.
Allocation is used when assigning (unmasking) a LUN to a host or cluster.
Only allocated LUNs can be unmasked.

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VMM storage provisioning

After storage resources available to your private cloud are discovered and allocated
to a host group, you can start to make use of those storage resources. For example,
you can set up your private cloud so that users with different types of requirements,
such as a software development team, members of a marketing department, and
inventory-control staff, know what storage resources are allocated to them. From
storage allocated to their business unit, they can assign what they need to a Hyper-V
host or host cluster and can focus quickly on their job-related tasks because VMM
automates the provisioning process.

In addition, you can assign storage to a new cluster by using the new cluster wizard.
VMM supports the creation of a new cluster from available Hyper-V hosts. In the new
cluster wizard you can select which logical units to assign to the cluster. As part of
creating the new cluster, the logical units are unmasked to all of the nodes and
prepared as cluster shared volumes (CSVs).

Table 7. Sequence in which VMM provisions storage to an existing Hyper-V VM

host or host cluster
Provisioning
Task How?
sequence
Logical unit Provision new storage You can use VMM to provision new storage from a storage
operations from a storage pool pool assigned to a VMM host group in one of three ways:
assigned to a VMM Create a new logical unit from available capacity.
host group.
Create a new logical unit by cloning an existing logical
unit.
Create a new logical unit by creating a snapshot of an
existing logical unit.
In each case, the new logical unit can be used to deploy a
new VM to a host, or it can be used by an existing VM
(passthrough).

Assign a newly created You can use VMM to assign a newly created logical unit, or an
logical unit (or an existing one, to a Hyper-V VM host or to an existing host
existing one) to a cluster by unmasking (assigning) the logical unit to that host
Hyper-V VM host. or cluster.

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Provisioning
Task How?
sequence
Host disk and Prepare disks and After storage is assigned to a host or cluster, VMM lets you
volume volumes. perform the following tasks on the host or cluster:
operations Disk (LUN) on a stand-alone host:
Format the volume as NTFS volume (optional):
Specify partition type: GBT or MBR (GUID Partition
Table or Master Boot Record)
Specify a volume label
Specify allocation unit size
Choose Quick format (optional)
Specify the mount point:
Specify a drive letter, a path to an empty NTFS folder,
or none
Cluster disk (LUN):
Format the volume as an NTFS volume (required):
Specify partition type: GBT or MBR
Specify a volume label
Specify allocation unit size
Choose Quick format (optional)
Note No mount point fields exist for a cluster disk.

Scenario 3: SAN-based VM rapid provisioning with snapshots or clones

VMM rapid provisioning encompasses both the rapid provisioning of a large number
of VMs and the ability to migrate rapidly a VM from one computer to another by using
a SAN transfer.

Use snapshots or clones to create a large number of new VMs rapidly

VMM 2008 R2 SP1 introduced a type of VM rapid provisioning by using Windows

PowerShell scripts to duplicate a logical unit that then is used to create and deploy a
VM. However, with VMM 2008 R2 SP1, rapid provisioning on the SAN side requires
vendor tools (external to VMM).

In VMM 2012, the earlier rapid provisioning capability is greatly extended by the
introduction of SMI-S support. This support enables automated SAN-based rapid
provisioning of new VMs on a large scale. With VMM 2012, the entire process is
intrinsic to VMM and you can use either the VMM Console or VMM PowerShell to
rapidly provision new VMs.

Copying a VHD on a LUN from one location to another on a SAN (SAN transfer) when
two VM hosts are connected to the same SAN is far faster than copying a VHD from
one computer to another over a local area network (LAN transfer).

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With VMM 2012, you can create and customize easy-to-use SAN-copy-capable
templates (SCC templates) to perform automated large-scale rapid provisioning of
VMs either to stand-alone Hyper-V VM hosts or to Hyper-V host clusters. Once
created, these templates are stored in the VMM library and are therefore reusable.

Table 8. VMM 2012 automates the entire workflow for VM rapid provisioning
Task Automation workflow
Identify an SCC VHD in Identify a SAN-copy-capable VHD (SCC VHD) in the VMM Library that resides on a
library SAN array. The array must support copying a logical unit by cloning it or by
creating a writeable snapshot of it (or both).

Create an SCC Create an SCC template that uses the SCC VHD as the source for repeatedly
template creating new VMs with identical hardware and software characteristics (as
specified in this particular template). This is a SAN-copy-capable template (SCC
template). Like the SCC VHD, it is stored in the VMM library and is available for re-
use.

Use the SCC template The template:

to rapidly deploy a Finds one or more potential hosts: The template uses the VMM placement
new VM engine to automatically identify appropriate hosts based not only on
characteristics of available hosts but also by automatically identifying
which of those hosts are attached to the same storage array where the SCC
VHD resides.
Clones or snapshots the SCC VHD: The template creates a copy of the SCC
VHD and uses the copy to create a new VM, customizing the VM as
specified by the settings in the template.
Assigns storage for the new VM to a host: The template unmasks (assigns)
the new VM logical unit either to a stand-alone Hyper-V host or to all of the
nodes in a Hyper V host cluster, as specified in the template.

See also:

For details on how to create and use an SCC template:

 “Configure arrays for VM rapid provisioning of select snapshots or
clones” on page 88
 “Create SAN-copy-capable templates for testing VM rapid provisioning”
on page 90
For information about creating reserved LUNs for snapshots on CLARiiON or
VNX arrays:
 “EMC CLARiiON Reserved LUN Pool Configuration Considerations: Best
Practices Planning” (September 2010) at
http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/white-papers/h1585-clariion-
resvd-lun-wp-ldf.pdf
 EMC Unisphere online help

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Use SAN transfer to migrate existing VMs rapidly

Existing VMs that use a dedicated logical unit can be migrated by using SAN transfer
(also called SAN migration). A Hyper-V-based VM can have either a virtual hard disk
(VHD) file attached or a passthrough SCSI disk. In either case, SAN transfer moves the
LUN regardless of whether the manifestation of the LUN on the Hyper-V side is a VHD
or a passthrough SCSI disk.

Example: SAN transfer of a VM with a VHD

In the case of a VM with a VHD attached (the LUN contains the VHD), using SAN
transfer to migrate the VM from a source host to a destination host simply transfers
the path to the LUN from one Hyper-V server to another. Assuming that both the
source and destination Hyper-V VM hosts can access the storage array, the only
change required is to the path.

The mechanism for moving the LUN path is unmasking and masking. The path to the
storage volume (to the LUN) is masked (hidden) from the source host and unmasked
(exposed) to the destination host. The storage volume is mounted on the destination
host so that the VHD can be accessed.

A SAN transfer is much faster than copying a VHD file over a local area network (LAN)
to move a VM from a source to a destination host. The LUN is not moved. The only
change made is that the path to the LUN changes.

VMM supports SAN transfer for both iSCSI and FC storage:

iSCSI migration
 VMM can use either of the following methods (based on what the
underlying array supports):
Unmask and mask
iSCSI initiator logon/logoff
FC migration
Prerequisite: Zoning must be set up appropriately.
 VMM can use either of the following methods:
Unmask and mask
NPIV vPort creation/deletion

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 Chapter 3 Plan a Private Cloud

This chapter presents the following topics:

Plan your private cloud ........................................................................ 40

Coordinate storage requests and storage allocation needs ................... 40
Coordinate storage-related security measures ...................................... 45
Frequently asked questions ................................................................. 48
Known issues and limitations............................................................... 50

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Plan your private cloud

The architecture that you use to design the preproduction environment will follow the
standards-based architecture described in “Chapter 2: Architecture” on page 19.

Before you set up your environment for testing, consider the following:

Coordinate storage requests and storage allocation needs

Coordinate storage-related security measures
Review frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Review known issues and limitations
This chapter provides information about each of these topics.

Developing your approach now for coordinating private cloud and storage
requirements, developing jointly agreed-on security measures, and gaining familiarity
with FAQs and known issues will enable you to set up your preproduction test
environment in an optimal way. Planning and coordination will also help ensure a
more efficient deployment into your production environment later.

Coordinate storage requests and storage allocation needs

When you plan the infrastructure for a VMM private cloud that is now capable of
supporting far more sophisticated storage automation functionality, it is critical to
include storage considerations as an integral part of the earliest planning phase.

What the VMM cloud administrator manages now What the storage administrator manages now

Figure 5. Cloud and storage administration (formerly separate) now require

coordinated planning

Coordination between cloud and storage administrators, starting with design and
planning, is critical to the successful deployment of one or more private clouds that
can take advantage of all available storage automation capabilities.

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However, the necessity for coordinated planning of all aspects of a private cloud goes
beyond cloud and storage administrators. Administrators who need to identify and
coordinate storage-related needs for a VMM-based private cloud include:

Storage administrators
VMM administrators
Cloud administrators
Self-service portal administrators
Hyper-V and other server administrators
Network administrators
Security administrators
Note In an enterprise-scale heterogeneous environment, this document assumes
that the role, or VMM cloud administrator or cloud administrator, refers to a
person who focuses on and is responsible for cloud services provided to
users. Although a VMM cloud administrator must have VMM administrator or
VMM delegated administrator permissions to view and manage cloud storage
systems, the VMM cloud administrator role is different from the VMM
administrator role. The VMM administrator role focuses on managing and
monitoring the VMM infrastructure that supports the cloud and ensures that
cloud services remain accessible at all times.

Identify global VMM-storage planning issues

Understanding your global storage requirements starts with an understanding of the
services that you want to provision in your clouds. This is true whether you plan to
deploy a private, hybrid, community, or public cloud. Because a service can be
migrated across one or more types of cloud, it is important to plan for these
workflows early so that your cloud remains elastic and can continue to handle
dynamic workloads over time.

Design your cloud infrastructure based on the number and types of private clouds
that VMM will host. Each cloud will have capacity, performance, scale, and elasticity
requirements defined as SLAs.

For storage-related issues, consider:

Which services will be migrated across clouds?

For each of those services:
 What are the storage allocation requirements for that service?
 What is the storage provisioning completion time requirement for that
service?
 What are the storage security requirements for that service?
 How should storage be allocated and classified for that service?

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Given the sophisticated storage automation capabilities introduced with the VMM
2012 private cloud, storage and non-storage administrators need to develop
systematic ways to communicate with each other any requirements, preferences, and
limitations.

Table 9 lists some areas where the storage administrator will likely need to take a
leadership role when working with other IT administrators.

Table 9. Storage administrators: private cloud storage requests and processes

for global issues
Systematize Role of storage administrator working with non-storage IT administrators
Identify Gain familiarity with new and enhanced storage capabilities delivered by the VMM private
private cloud cloud. Ask whether the new capabilities require:
storage needs Installing ancillary software on a storage system.
Enabling functionality on a storage system that is set off by default.
Adding more storage to a storage system.
Rebalancing storage usage across storage systems (and whether support for this
rebalancing capability exists).

Balance Respond to multiple, often simultaneous, competing storage and SAN requests
competing from VMM, cloud, self-service portal, server, and network administrators.
requests
Will existing methods for balancing competing requests be modified to handle
increased demand from private cloud administrators and users? For example:
 Can you expect to install additional SMI-S Providers in order to provide load
balancing by reducing the number of arrays managed by each provider?
 Do you need to install additional SMI-S Providers in order to eliminate a
service or workload interdependency?

Allocate for a Allocate storage in a systematic way that is appropriate for the new private cloud
private cloud environment.
Ask whether rapid provisioning will alter storage administration, and ask:
 How much? Will the quantity of storage allocated in a very short time in order
to rapidly provision VMs change how storage resources are tracked and
allocated?
 How fast? Will the speed at which storage is made available need to be
expedited to keep up with rapid provisioning of large numbers of VMs?
Define and create the appropriate storage classifications. The following should be
considered for each storage classification:
 Disk drive types
 Tiered storage
 Caching
 Thick and thin pools

Table 10 lists some areas where IT administrators (other than storage administrators)
likely need to take a proactive role in communicating their needs to storage
administrators.

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Table 10. IT administrators: private cloud storage requests and processes for
global issues
Systematize Role of IT administrators working with storage administrators
Understand Gain familiarity with the impact of storage requests on the storage domain.
storage domain
How will storage administrators classify and allocate storage for IT areas?

Communicate Communicate to the storage administrator, in a predictable way, the specific storage
storage needs needs for each IT area, and the specific storage needs of your users.

Identify available Ascertain how much storage the storage administrator can make available to
storage each IT area and to each set of users within that area.
Ascertain how the storage administrator plans to handle storage allocation for
sets of users whose needs fluctuate significantly based on factors such as
shopping season, accounting quarters, project development cycles, and so on.

Identify location Ascertain which specific storage pools the storage administrator can make available to
of available each IT area and to each set of users in that area.
storage

Specific storage requests from IT to storage administrators

Planning for storage requests that other IT administrators make to storage
administrators includes information, actions, and joint action.

Table 11. Planning that IT administrators coordinate with storage administrators

for specific issues
IT administrators Need the following from storage administrators
VMM Storage to support VMM database
administrators
Storage to support VMM Library Server (for example, library LUNs)
SMI-S Server or Servers to act as an interface for all storage resources available
to VMM

Cloud Storage to support existing VMs and services (if any), and expansion of VMs
administrators and services
Capacity-planning requirements that meet expected cloud workflow demands,
including populating the Reserved LUN Pool with sufficient capacity to support
rapid provisioning with snapshots
Recovery of storage from deleted VMs and services
Storage for new VMs and services
Classification of storage based on established SLAs
Required storage system features

Self-service Storage to support existing VMs or expanding growth in VM requests

administrators
Recovery of storage from deleted VMs
Storage for new VMs
Classification of storage based on established SLAs

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IT administrators Need the following from storage administrators

Hyper-V Storage required for saving VMs
administrators
Host zoning requirements

Server Required host-based software, such as EMC PowerPath (license required)

administrators
Number of host bus adapters (HBAs) and ports needed
(non-Hyper-V)

Network Required storage protocols, such as FC, FCoE, or iSCSI

administrators
Required bandwidth and quality of service
Multipath requirements

Storage administrator requests to IT administrators

Planning and resource requests that storage administrators make to other IT
administrators include information, action, and joint action.

Table 12. Planning that storage administrators coordinate with IT administrators

for specific issues
IT administrators Storage administrators need the following from the other IT administrators
VMM How many VMM servers need an SMI-S Server configured with a specific
administrators storage system?
The SMI-S Server cannot be clustered. What is the impact of that on meeting
the availability requirements for each configured storage system?
Does your organization require that each VMM server must have a separate
account to access each SMI-S Provider server, or can all VMM servers share
the same account?

Cloud What storage SLAs must be provided to the storage administrator?

administrators
Only explicitly specified storage pools can be administered by VMM. Is there a
systematic way that the storage administrator will notify the cloud
administrator which storage pools are available to VMM?
Note Currently, VMM does not have a built-in capability to restrict (deny)
the ability to limit which storage pools are under management.
There might, or might not, be LUNs in a storage pool that should be treated as
reserved. Is there a systematic way that the storage administrator will notify
the cloud administrator which LUNs are not available to VMM?
Note Currently, VMM does not have a built-in capability to restrict (deny)
the ability to create a LUN.
What are the backup and recovery requirements for non-self-service VMs and
for their storage?

Self-service What are the backup and recovery requirements for self-service VMs and for their
administrators storage?

Hyper-V What is the location (geographical location, subnet, Active Directory®

administrators domain, VMM host group, and so on) of the Hyper-V hosts and host clusters
that are managed by VMM?
Will VM storage migration and/or SAN copy be used?

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IT administrators Storage administrators need the following from the other IT administrators
Server Do I need to install storage management software on one or more servers?
administrators
What dependent software is required?
(non-Hyper-V)

Network What HBAs have been installed on the Hyper-V hosts?

administrators
Are iSCSI and/or Fibre Channel supported on the Hyper-V hosts?
Note If a Hyper-V host connects to the same array with both iSCSI and FC,
VMM uses FC by default.

Security What SMI-S Provider communications requirements exist (such as http/https

administrators and available ports)?
What SMI-S Provider configured security protocols and accounts exist?

Coordinate storage-related security measures

Storage-related security issues that require coordination between the cloud
administrator, security administrator, and storage administrator when planning to
deploy a VMM-based private cloud include:

VMM role-based access control to grant rights to VMM host groups and
clouds
Run As Accounts and Basic Authentication
Storage system global administrator account
SMI-S Provider object security
The following section addresses these issues.

VMM role-based access control to grant rights to VMM host groups and clouds
VMM supports role-based access control (RBAC) security for defining the scope within
which a specific VMM user role can perform tasks. In VMM, this refers to having rights
to perform all administrative tasks on all objects within the scope allowed for that
user role. The scope for the VMM administrator role extends to all objects that VMM
manages. The scope for any particular delegated administrator role is limited to
objects within the assigned scope, which can include one, a few, or all host groups,
clouds, and library servers.

The current RBAC model allows members of the VMM roles administrator and
delegated administrator roles to add and remove SMI-S Providers from VMM.

Members of the VMM administrator and delegated administrator roles can also
allocate storage, but which storage they can allocate is limited to those VMM host
groups or clouds that they have the right to access.

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The following screenshots illustrate how VMM defines the scope for a delegated
administrator role that is limited to host groups, but does not include clouds, and can
administer storage resources allocated to the defined host group:

Properties for delegated administrator: The Scope page shows a defined

scope for this role that (in this case) includes only the VMM host group
named LMHostGroup1.

Figure 6. The scope for this delegated administrator role includes only one host
group

Properties for LDMHostGroup1 host group: The Storage allocated to this host
group page shows total storage capacity in GB and represents allocated
storage in terms of logical units and storage pools.

Figure 7. Storage is allocated by host group

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Run As Accounts and Basic Authentication

VMM security includes Run As Accounts. The VMM administrator and delegated
administrator roles can create and manage Run As Accounts.

However, the VMM Run As Accounts do not grant or deny rights to administer storage
associated with a specific SMI S Provider. Instead, you use the EMC SMI-S Provider
Run As account (which is not associated with any VMM user role) to access storage.
This account is an ECOM account and must be created separately (outside of VMM)
by using the ECOM Configuration Tool. This account allows a connection from the
VMM Server to the provider by using Basic Authentication.

The storage administrator should work with the VMM administrator and Security
administrator to determine the security model to use for storage in a VMM-based
private cloud. This includes determining how many Run As Accounts are needed
based on the number of VMM and SMI S Provider management servers.

See also:

“Install and configure the EMC SMI-S Provider” on page 68

“Configuring Run As Accounts in VMM” on Microsoft Tech Net at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg675096.aspx has more
information about Run As accounts in VMM 2012.
The latest version of the EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes on EMC Online
Support at https://support.emc.com/.

Storage system global administrator account

The storage administrator must use a storage domain global administration account
for a storage system when configuring the storage system for management by the
SMI-S Provider server. Depending on your storage domain security configuration, a
single account or multiple accounts might be required.

SMI-S Provider object security

Currently, ECOM and the SMI-S Provider support only class-level security (but not
instance-level security). If Instance-level security exists, it enables a storage
administrator to restrict access to specific existing pools and to LUNs within a pool.
Currently, when you define pools and use VMM’s role-based security to restrict
access and operations, no instance-level provider security is present. Access to SMI S
objects is allowed only if the VMM provider RunAs account has permissions to access
those objects. Permissions are set through ECOM role-based security.

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Frequently asked questions

This section provides answers to questions that EMC customers commonly ask.

Question: Can I install the SMI-S Provider and VMM on the same computer?

Answer: No, Microsoft and EMC recommend that you do not install the SMI-S Provider
on the VMM Server in either a preproduction or a production environment. This
configuration is untested and therefore unsupported. Install the SMI-S Provider on a
dedicated server with sufficient resources to support your performance requirements.
“Set up EMC SMI-S Provider for storage validation testing” on page 66 provides
details.

Question: On what type of server should the SMI-S Provider be installed?

Answer: To build the preproduction test infrastructure described later in this

document, EMC recommends installing the 64-bit version of the SMI-S Array Provider
on a Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit computer with at least two cores and 8 GB
of RAM.

Note EMC SMI-S Provider can be installed on other Windows and Linux
platforms, as listed in the latest version of the EMC SMI-S Provider
Release Notes. However, the validation tests in this document
were performed with an EMC SMI-S Provider installed on a
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit computer.

Question: Can I install the SMI-S Provider into a cluster?

Answer: No, installing the EMC SMI-S Provider on a cluster is an unsupported

configuration.

Question: Is there a limit to the number of arrays per SMI-S Provider?

Answer: In a production environment, EMC recommends that you configure an SMI-S

Provider server with no more than five arrays to ensure optimal performance. Within
this limit, the specific recommended ratio of arrays to provider can vary depending on
the expected load for a specific SMI-S Provider. Overloading a provider can cause the
VMM server to experience timeouts with the result that workflows will not complete.

Question: Why would you install fewer than five arrays per SMI-S Provider?

Answer: If you have an array with a large number of storage groups, or a large number
of storage volumes within its storage groups, reduce the number of storage systems
per SMI-S Provider to ensure acceptable performance. Storage groups are often called
masking views or SCSI Protocol Controllers (SPCs).

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Question: Do I need to install the EMC VDS Hardware Provider on Hyper-V hosts?

Answer: No. VMM uses the Microsoft VDS Software Provider on a Hyper-V host to
retrieve and configure disk and volume information on the host. Installation of the
EMC VDS Hardware Provider is not needed on the Hyper-V host.

Note Install the VDS hardware provider on the VMM Server only in the
case where you use arrays (such as VNXe arrays) in your private
cloud environment that are not supported by the EMC SMI-S
Provider.

Question: If I install the EMC VDS Hardware Provider on my VMM Server, will I be able
to do rapid provisioning as it is available in VMM 2012?

Answer: No, you cannot do automated rapid provisioning at scale unless you use
VMM 2012 in conjunction with the EMC SMI-S Provider. Installing the EMC VDS
Hardware Provider on the VMM Server provides only the more limited rapid
provisioning capability that was possible with SCVMM 2008 R2 SP1.

Question: Is there a limit on how many VMs you can rapidly provision at the same
time?

Answer: Rapid VM provisioning should be batched to contain no more than eight VMs
to avoid the possibility of VMM and/or provider timeouts. Results will vary depending
on the configuration.

Question: What do I need to know about array management ports and their IP
addresses?

Answer: A CLARiiON or VNX array has two management port IP addresses that the
SMI-S Provider uses to manage the array. To configure a CLARiiON or VNX array with
the provider, you must specify both management port IP addresses and must open
port 443. The IP addresses of both management ports must be accessible so that the
provider can fully discover and manage the array.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) port 443 is the port used for the communication. If a
firewall exists between the SMI-S Provider installation and a CLARiiON or VNX array,
open SSL port 443 in the firewall (inbound and outbound) for management
communications to occur with the array.

Question: What storage licensing issues do I need to know about?

Answer: Some array features needed by VMM might be disabled by default and
require licenses to be added. For more information about licensing, review “Array
system requirements” on page 61.

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Question: What is required for a Symmetrix VMAX array to communicate with the
SMI-S Provider?

Answer: Symmetrix VMAX arrays must have an inband (iSCSI, FC, or FCoE)
communication path between the SMI-S Provider server and each array. EMC
recommends that six gatekeeper LUNs be created on each array. And to enable the
provider to manage the array, the array must be zoned and unmasked to the SMI-S
Provider server.

Known issues and limitations

This section describes issues or limitations encountered by EMC during validation
testing of the new VMM storage capabilities when incorporating EMC storage systems
into a VMM-based private cloud. This section also calls out any scale or functionality
limitations. “Build your preproduction test environment” on page 54 has more test
environment information.

Important The latest version of the EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes has the
most up-to-date information for:

Known problems and limitations

Technical notes
Table 13 describes the known issues or limitations identified by EMC during
validation testing of EMC storage systems with VMM. Awareness of these issues can
be useful to customers who want to set up a VMM-based private cloud that includes
EMC storage systems.

Table 13. Known issues and limitations

Storage system Issue or symptom Solution or limitation
Symmetrix VMAX Only supports clones and This is a product limitation, so no solution is available.
10K (VMAXe) series does not support
snapshots.

Symmetrix VMAX VMM can discover and You cannot use the VMM Console or VMM PowerShell
series modify cascading storage commands to create cascaded storage groups. This is a
groups, but cannot create product limitation, so no solution is available.
them. However, if cascading storage groups are created and
configured outside of VMM on VMAX arrays, VMM can
discover these as externally created cascading storage
groups.
VMM can perform masking operations on cascaded
storage groups that VMM has discovered. VMM can also
modify an existing cascaded storage group by assigning
storage from that cascaded storage group to a Hyper-V
VM host or host cluster that is a member of the VMM
host group.

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Storage system Issue or symptom Solution or limitation

Symmetrix VMAX VMM cannot create a LUN You must set the auto_meta setting before you can
series larger than 240 GB create LUNs larger than 250 GB for VMAX arrays. You can
unless you set the set system-wide Symmetrix meta settings, which include
auto_meta setting. auto_meta by using the symconfigure command and
specifying a command file.
The auto_meta setting is a system-wide Symmetrix
setting (Enable/Disable) that enables automatic creation
of metadevices. The default value is set to Disable.
Metadevices allow individual devices to be
concatenated to create larger devices. The devices
assigned in a meta sequence do not need to be
adjacent. “Appendix C: Enable Large LUNs on
Symmetrix VMAX Arrays” on page 151 has more details.

CLARiiON CX4 Cannot specify a new size The workaround is to supply additional LUNs to increase
series when expanding the size of the reserved snapshot pool. Use EMC
snapshot pool capacity. Unisphere to perform this operation.

CLARiiON CX4 Managing pools with Managing pools with MetaLUN is not supported. This is
series MetaLUNs is not a product limitation, so no solution is available.
supported.

EMC SMI-S Array HTTPS connection fails. The default configuration of ECOM can conflict with the
Provider Windows HTTPS implementation. To change the value:
1. Open the following file: C>:\Program
Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\conf\security_settings.xml
2. Change the following setting from the current value:
<ECOMSetting Name=“SSLClientAuthentication”
Type=“string” Value=Optional"/>
To:
<ECOMSetting Name=“SSLClientAuthentication"
Type=“string” Value=“None”/>
3. Restart the ECOM service.

EMC SMI-S Array Timeouts appear in the When you perform multiple provisioning steps at the
Provider VMM event log when same time, VMM can create more connections to the
performing multiple SMI-S Provider server than the default configuration
provisioning steps at the supports. “Install and configure the EMC SMI-S Provider”
same time. on page 68 provides connection limit settings.

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52 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Chapter 4 Build a Preproduction Test
Environment

This chapter presents the following topics:

Build your preproduction test environment ........................................... 54

Preview the test environment ............................................................... 54
Minimum hardware requirements for a test environment ...................... 54
Minimum hardware requirements explained for a test environment ....... 55
Relationships among servers and arrays in test environment ................ 57
Set up EMC storage devices for storage validation testing ..................... 58
Array system requirements ................................................................... 61
Set up EMC SMI-S Provider for storage validation testing ...................... 66
Set up VMM for storage validation testing ............................................ 72

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Build your preproduction test environment

This section explains how to build a preproduction environment that you can use
for functional storage validation testing using a basic configuration. You can use
this test environment to exercise most of VMM’s storage automation scenarios and
primitives (individual capabilities), enabling you to quickly detect and address any
problems encountered.

A quick preview of the test environment is followed by array, provider, and VMM
requirements that customers must consider when planning how to build and
deploy a private cloud.

Note This document does not include steps to configure the virtual network
required for the test infrastructure.

Preview the test environment

This preview describes the minimum test infrastructure that you need to validate
the new storage capabilities when you deploy VMM 2012 with EMC storage
systems, especially for VM rapid provisioning.

Minimum hardware requirements for a test environment

Microsoft describes the ideal minimum hardware requirements for storage
validation testing as follows:

Management Servers (two physical servers):

 One VMM server with at least four processor cores, which includes a
SQL Server® for a VMM database, unless you use a separate SQL
Server
 One EMC SMI-S Provider server
Hyper-V Servers (five physical servers):
 One stand-alone Hyper-V Server, which also acts as the Library Server
 One four-node Hyper-V failover cluster, which is made up of four
Hyper-V Servers
One or more EMC storage systems:
 One or more Symmetrix VMAX 10K (VMAXe), or VMAX 20K (VMAX SE)
running Enginuity 5875 or later. Or a Symmetrix VMAX 40K array
running Enginuity 5876 or later.
 One or more VNX arrays running VNX OE 31 or later
 One or more CLARiiON CX4 series arrays running FLARE 30 or later

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Notes

Both EMC and Microsoft used the VMM Storage Automation Validation
Script to test configurations with hardware similar to the preceding
minimum requirements. “Validate Storage Automation in your Test
Environment” on page 107 has more details. EMC also performed
validation testing with another configuration with an eight-node Hyper-
V host cluster.
The VMM server and SMI-S Provider server can be installed on VMs,
however Microsoft recommends installing all servers in the preceding
list on physical servers for the reasons listed in the following section.

Minimum hardware requirements explained for a test environment

The servers and arrays listed in the preceding subsection are the minimum
recommended hardware requirements for testing storage automation in a VMM-
based private cloud for the following reasons:

Stand-alone host versus cluster:

Masking operations for a stand-alone host and cluster differ because
VMM offers two models for creating masking sets in the cluster case;
this is not applicable to stand-alone hosts. “Appendix B: Array Masking
and Hyper-V Host Clusters” on page 137 has more details.
 A 4-node cluster is the recommended minimum configuration because
four nodes typically enable you to catch the majority of issues.
Optimally, you can also perform testing with 8-node and 16-node
clusters to identify a larger set of issues.
 Workflow and APIs differ for a stand-alone server versus a cluster for
disk initialization, partition creation, volume format, and volume
mounting code paths, and for cluster resource creation.
Validation testing differs for host and cluster:
 Parameters specify a host or cluster. VMM PowerShell cmdlets use
parameters to specify whether a cmdlet targets a stand-alone VM host
or a host cluster.
For example, Register-SCStorageLogicalUnit has different parameter
sets for VMHostCluster and VMHost:
Register-SCStorageLogicalUnit [-StorageLogicalUnit]
<StorageLogicalUnit[]> -VMHostCluster <VMHostCluster> [-
JobVariable <String>] [-PROTipID <Guid>] [-
RunAsynchronously <SwitchParameter>] [<CommonParameters>]

Register-SCStorageLogicalUnit [-StorageLogicalUnit]
<StorageLogicalUnit[]> -JobGroup <Guid> -VMHost [<String
Host>] [-JobVariable <String>] [-PROTipID <Guid>] [-
RunAsynchronously <SwitchParameter>] [<CommonParameters>]

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Notes

Verification is not performed by the VMM Storage Automation

Validation Script. “Validate Storage Automation in your Test
Environment” on page 107 has more details. Instead, verification is
handled by the VMM engine. When VMM unmasks a LUN to a host or to
a cluster, VMM validates that the disk is visible to the specified server.
Or in the case of a cluster, that the disk is visible to all servers.
VMM PowerShell is merely an API to the VMM engine. The core logic is
in the VMM engine. This means that operations that partition disks and
mount volumes are the same in the stand-alone host case and the
cluster case. However, VMM calls additional APIs in the cluster case.
This is why it is important to test primitives and end-to-end scenarios.
 Context differentiates between host and cluster. In a number of other
VMM storage PowerShell cmdlets, the context of stand-alone or cluster
determines how the LUN is unmasked. SMI-S calls are the same
between cluster and stand-alone hosts. However, the sequence and
frequency differ. This is another reason why testing primitives is not
sufficient and why end-to-end scenario testing is essential. Passing
SMI CTP tests is necessary, but is an insufficient prerequisite to help
ensure that a provider works with VMM.
A dedicated stand-alone Hyper-V host is required for:
 Rapid provisioning with FC SAN
 To serve as a VMM Library Server
Important

Adding a VMM Library Server role to a physical Hyper-V Server already

configured as a stand-alone VM host is required in your test
environment to test fully all VMM 2012 storage automation
functionality with EMC arrays. Using the same Hyper-V Server for a VM
host and a VMM Library Server lets you unmask and mask LUNs to that
server. This is because the folder mount path you specify on the VM
host is a path that is managed by the Library Server.
Using a physical server is a requirement primarily for FC-based arrays.
There is no way to expose FC-based storage to a VM. Exposing storage
to a VM is possible only with iSCSI, by using the iSCSI initiator that
comes with Windows Server.
In addition, to streamline the setup for rapidly provisioning VMs and to
enable the administrator to work primarily in the VMM Console,
Microsoft recommends co-hosting the VMM Library Server with a Hyper-
V Server because VMM can unmask LUNs only to Hyper-V servers.
If, in your production environment, you prefer not to co-host a VM host
and a VMM Library Server on the same physical server, VMM also
supports adding each role to separate servers. In this case, however,
you will need to do all unmasking and masking for the Library Server
outside of VMM (not through the VMM Console or by using VMM
PowerShell cmdlets).

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SMI-S Provider servers, one is the minimum, but the number can vary
depending on:
 Number of arrays
 Size of arrays (that is, the number of pools and LUNs on each array)
 Array product family and model
 Array OS version
 Connectivity
At scale, Microsoft recommends testing with physical rather than virtual
servers to maximize throughput, scalability, and reliability of the entire
system. Running the infrastructure servers, which include the VMM, SQL,
and SMI-S Provider servers, on VMs limits the throughput. The main cause
of limited throughput is the CPU sharing model when running
multithreaded applications in a VM. The storage validation tests kick off
multiple parallel operations. VMM uses multiple threads to handle those
parallel operations:
 Physical VMM Server is recommended and requires a minimum of four
processor cores.
 Virtual VMM Server is not recommended for scalability, but requires a
minimum of four logical processors.

Relationships among servers and arrays in test environment

Figure 8 depicts the relationships among the minimum required number of servers
and arrays used by EMC to test VMM in a way that takes full advantage of the new
storage capabilities.

Figure 8. Minimum servers and arrays recommended by Microsoft for validating

storage capabilities

Table 14 lists the communication protocol requirements for the test infrastructure
that is depicted in Figure 8.

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Table 14. Communication protocol requirements for the test infrastructure

Protocol Description
TCP/IP TCP/IP indicates that the two endpoints use TCP over an IP network to communicate.

FC or iSCSI FC indicates that the two endpoints send SCSI commands over an FC network.
iSCSI indicates that the two endpoints send SCSI commands over an IP network.
Note If a Hyper-V host has FC and iSCSI connections to an array, VMM uses FC by
default.

FC or iSCSI FC or iSCSI | TCP/IP indicates that the EMC SMI S Provider needs one of the following for
TCP/IP communications between the provider and array through the EMC Solutions Enabler:
TCP/IP for CLARiiON CX4 or VNX arrays
FC or iSCSI for Symmetrix VMAX arrays
Note Communication to VMAX arrays also requires gatekeeper LUNs. EMC
recommends that six gatekeeper LUNs be created on each Symmetrix array

Set up EMC storage devices for storage validation testing

EMC updated its SMI-S Provider so that Symmetrix VMAX, CLARiiON CX4, and VNX
series of storage systems now support VMM 2012. To perform storage automation
validation testing with these storage systems, you need to set up a test
infrastructure similar to the one described in this document.

VMM storage automation test summary

VMM supports FC and iSCSI storage arrays. EMC storage systems that use the FC or
iSCSI protocol and that can be incorporated into a VMM private cloud are in the
following Table 15. EMC tested the Symmetrix VMAX, CLARiiON CX4, and VNX series
by using a test infrastructure similar to the one described in this document.

“Test case list for EMC storage arrays” on page 119 has detailed results of a VMM
Storage Automation Validation Script test.

Note If a Hyper-V host has both FC and iSCSI connectivity to the same array, VMM
uses FC by default.

The EMC storage systems in Table 15 were tested with VMM. EMC SMI-S version
4.3.2 introduced support for VMM. EMC recommends that you use SMI-S version
4.4.0 or later with a maximum of five arrays per SMI-S Provider. EMC Online
Support at https://support.emc.com/ has more details about EMC storage
systems.

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Table 15. EMC arrays that support SCVMM 2012

EMC arrays Minimum array OS Protocol
Symmetrix VMAXe (10K) series Enginuity release level 5875 (or later) FC

Symmetrix VMAX 20K (SE) series Enginuity release level 5875 (or later) iSCSI, FC

Symmetrix VMAX 40K series Enginuity release level 5876 (or later) iSCSI, FC

VNX5100™ series VNX OE 31 (Operating Environment 31 or later) FC

VNX5300™, VNX5700™, VNX5700™, VNX OE 31 (or later) iSCSI, FC

and VNX7500™ series

CLARiiON CX4 120C, 240C, 480C, and iSCSI, FC

FLARE 30
960C series

VMM storage capabilities for each tested EMC array

Table 16 lists the specific storage capabilities delivered by VMM. In a test

environment, EMC validated these capabilities for each of the arrays listed in
Table 15.

Table 16. Tests run, by array type, that validate EMC support for VMM 2012
storage capabilities
EMC arrays tested
Private cloud
Storage primitives VMAX CX4 VNX
scenario
series series series1
End-to-end Discover arrays X X X
discovery
scenario2 Discover storage pools X X X

Discover FC ports (storage endpoints) X X X

Discover iSCSI targets (storage endpoints) X X X

Discover iSCSI portals X X X

Discover LUNs X X X

Discover host initiator endpoints (Initiator ports) X X X

Discover storage groups (masking sets) X X X

Host and Create LUN X X X

cluster storage
capacity Snapshot LUN (writeable) X X X
management
Clone LUN X X X
scenario
Unmask LUN (create OR modify) to a host X X X

Mask LUN (modify OR delete) on a host X X X

Unmask LUN (create OR modify) to a cluster X X X

Mask LUN (modify OR delete) on a cluster X X X

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EMC arrays tested

Private cloud
Storage primitives VMAX CX4 VNX
scenario
series series series1
Delete LUN X X X

Mount multiple LUNS to a host X X X

Mount multiple LUNs to a cluster X X X

Rapid Concurrent create LUN X X X

provisioning of
VMs on SANs at Concurrent snapshot LUN X X X
scale
Concurrent clone LUN X X X
scenario4,5
Concurrent unmask LUN X X X

Concurrent mask LUN X X X

Notes for numbered items in Table 16:

1. Supported arrays include the VNX storage family, with the exception of
VNXe, which is not supported.
2. Discovery primitives are only in reference to VMM discovery of storage
resources on arrays and not storage objects on hosts.
3. Table 17 has the number of snapshots and clones supported by each
array type. VMAX 10K (VMAXe) series arrays support only clones by
design.
4. “Appendix B: Array Masking and Hyper-V Host Clusters” on page 137 has
more details on array masking.
5. The number of arrays per provider at scale is one array to one provider.
Deployment to host or cluster is limited by array capabilities.
EMC performed comprehensive testing with the “VMM Storage Automation
Validation Script” provided by Microsoft on each the array types listed in Table 16.
“Test case list for EMC storage arrays” on page 119 has detailed results of VMM
Storage Automation Validation Script testing.

Maximum snapshots and clones supported by array type

Table 17 lists the maximum number of clones and snapshots that you can create
by type of supported EMC array. This information is central to VM rapid
provisioning.

“Test case list for EMC storage arrays” on page 119 has result details of snapshot
and clone testing for each EMC array series.

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Table 17. Maximum number of clones and snapshots per source LUN
EMC array Maximum snapshots Maximum clones
VMAX 40K and 20K (VMAX SE) series 128 15

VMAX 10K (VMAXe) 0 (not supported) 15

VNX series 8 100

CX4 series 8 100

Note To see the maximum number of clones or snapshots per source LUN in your
environment, open a VMM PowerShell command shell and type the
following command line:
Get-SCStorageArray - All | Select-Object Name, ObjectType,
Manufacturer, Model, LogicalUnitCopyMethod,
IsCloneCapable, IsSnapshotCapable,
MaximumReplicasPerSourceClone,
MaximumReplicasPerSourceSnapshot | Format-List

Array system requirements

This section identifies specific software packages for each type of array that you
may need to install, enable, or purchase and obtain a license for supporting
specific storage automation functionality. The ancillary software that you actually
need depends on which storage automation features you plan to make available in
your VMM-based private cloud.

One example of a storage automation feature obtained by purchasing add-on

software is VM rapid provisioning. VMM can quickly create a large number of LUNs
used for automated rapid VM creation, but this requires arrays that support
snapshots, clones, or both. Both snapshot and clone features can be licensed on
all EMC arrays.

The following sections list software that you need for Symmetrix VMAX, VNX, and
CLARiiON CX4 series of storage systems.

VMAX requirements

Table 18 lists software and license requirements and Table 19 lists configuration
and license requirements for Symmetrix VMAX arrays that support VMM storage
automation.

See also:

The latest version of the EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes on EMC Online
Support at https://support.emc.com/
Hardware and platforms documentation also on EMC Online Support
EMC Symmetrix VMAX data sheets:

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 http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/h8816-
symmetrix-vmax-10k-ds.pdf
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/h6193-
symmetrix-vmax-20k-ds.pdf
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/h9716-
symmetrix-vmax-40k-ds.pdf
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/product-
description/h6544-vmax-w-enginuity-pdg.pdf
Table 18. Symmetrix VMAX software and license requirements
Additional
Requirement Description Version license
required?
Firmware

Enginuity An operating environment (OE) VMAX 40K Series: Enginuity 5876 (or No
designed by EMC for data later)
storage; used to control
components in Symmetrix VMAX 20K (VMAX SE): Enginuity 5875 No
VMAX arrays. (Installed with the (or later)
array)
VMAX 10K (VMAXe): Enginuity 5875 (or No
later)

Management software

EMC Solutions Provides the interface between Version 7.4.0 (or later) No
Enabler the EMC SMI-S Provider and (installed with EMC SMI-S Provider kit)
Symmetrix VMAX, VNX, and
CLARiiON arrays

Table 19. Symmetrix VMAX configuration and license requirements

Additional
Requirement Description license
required?
Firmware

EMC Symmetrix Management Web-based interface used to discover, monitor, configure, No

Console (SMC) and and control Symmetrix VMAX arrays.
EMC Unisphere for VMAX

EMC TimeFinder® TimeFinder Snap is required for: Yes

Snapshots
Cloning

Management software

Gatekeeper devices Gatekeepers enable the EMC SMI-S Provider to manage the No
Symmetrix VMAX array. EMC recommends that six
gatekeeper LUNs be created on the array and masked to the
EMC SMI S Provider server.

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VNX requirements

Table 20 lists software and license requirements and Table 21 lists configuration
and license requirements for VNX arrays that support VMM storage automation.

See also:

Latest version of the EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes on EMC Online
Support at https://support.emc.com/
Hardware and platforms documentation also on EMC Online Support
EMC VNX Series Total Efficiency Pack
VNX data sheets:
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/software/data-sheet/h8509-vnx-
software-suites-ds.pdf
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheets/h8520-vnx-
family-ds.pdf
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/software/specification-sheet/h8514-
vnx-series-ss.pdf

Table 20. VNX software and license requirements

Additional
Required Description Version
license required
Firmware

VNX OE A specialized operating environment OE version 31 (or later) Basic: No

(OE) designed by EMC to provide file and Advanced1: Yes
block code for a unified system. VNX OE
contains basic features, such as thin Major update:
provisioning. Yes

Management software

EMC Provides the interface between the EMC Version 7.4.0 (or later) No
Solutions SMI-S Provider and Symmetrix, (installed with EMC
Enabler CLARiiON, and VNX arrays SMI-S Provider kit)
1 For advanced features, you can buy add-ons, such as the Total Efficiency Pack. The
feature FAST Suite, for example, is purchased as part of a pack.

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Table 21. VNX configuration and license requirements

Additional
Requirement Description license
required
Firmware

EMC VNX SnapView™ Required for snapshots Yes

EMC VNX SAN Copy™ Required for cloning Yes

EMC VNX Access Required for masking/unmasking Yes

Logix™ (ACLX)

EMC VNX Virtual Required for thin provisioning Yes

Provisioning™

Management software

EMC Unisphere Web-based interface used to discover, monitor, configure, No

and control CLARiiON arrays.

CLARiiON CX4 requirements

Table 22 lists software and license requirements and Table 23 lists configuration
and license requirements for CLARiiON CX4 arrays that support VMM storage
automation.

See also:

Latest version of the EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes on EMC Online
Support at https://support.emc.com/
Hardware and platforms documentation on EMC Online Support
CLARiiON data sheets:
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/h5527-emc-
clariion-cx4-ds.pdf
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/software/data-sheet/h2306-clariion-
rep-snap-ds.pdf
 http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-sheet/h5521-clariion-
cx4-virtual-ds.pdf

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Table 22. CLARiiON CX4 software and license requirements

Additional
Required Description Version license
required
Firmware

FLARE A specialized operating environment FLARE 30 (or later) No

(OE) designed by EMC for data storage
and used to control components in a
CLARiiON array. FLARE manages all
input/output (I/O) functions of the
storage array. (Installed with the array)

Management software

EMC Provides the interface between the EMC Version 7.4.0 (or later) No
Solutions SMI S Provider and Symmetrix, (installed with EMC SMI-S
Enabler CLARiiON, and VNX arrays Provider kit)

Table 23. CLARiiON CX4 configuration and license requirements

Additional
Requirement Description license
required
Firmware

EMC CLARiiON SAN Copy Required for SMI-S cloning Yes

EMC CLARiiON SnapView™ Required for SMI-S snapshots Yes

EMC CLARiiON Access Logix™ Required for masking/unmasking Yes

(ACLX)

EMC CLARiiON Virtual Required for thin provisioning Yes

Provisioning™

Management software

EMC Unisphere Web-based interface used to discover, monitor, No

configure, and control CLARiiON arrays.

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Set up EMC SMI-S Provider for storage validation testing

EMC updated its existing SMI-S Provider to provide support for the new storage
resource management capabilities made available by VMM 2012. The updated
EMC SMI-S Provider supports the SNIA SMI-S 1.5 standard. This standard makes
available a single interface for storage objects on multiple storage systems in a
private cloud environment that are discovered by VMM. These objects are then
allocated by administrators for use by administrators and end-users. The current
version of the EMC SMI-S Provider is version 4.4.0.

EMC SMI-S Provider is hosted by the EMC CIMOM Server, ECOM, to provide an SMI-
S compliant interface for EMC Symmetrix VMAX, VNX, and CLARiiON CX4 series of
storage systems.

This section shows you how to set up the SMI-S Provider so that you can test VMM
storage capabilities with one or more EMC storage systems.

Important The latest EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes on EMC Online Support
at https://support.emc.com/ has the most up-to-date information
for:

Installation
Post-installation tasks

EMC SMI-S Provider software requirements

To enable EMC SMI-S Provider version 4.4.0 (or later) to support VMM storage
capabilities, you must install the software listed in Table 24 on the SMI-S Provider
server.

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Table 24. Software requirements for the SMI-S Provider server in your test
environment
Requirement Description
Server operating Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit
system Notes
EMC recommends installing the operating system for the computer that will
host the 64-bit version of the EMC SMI-S Provider on a multiple core server with
a minimum of 8 GB of physical memory.
EMC SMI-S Provider can be installed on any Windows or Linux platform listed in
the latest version of the EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes. EMC performed the
tests in this document with an EMC SMI-S Provider installed on a Windows
Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit computer.

EMC SMI-S EMC SMI-S Provider 64-bit (version 4.4.0 or later)

Provider EMC SMI-S Provider uses SMI-S to enable VMM to interact with EMC storage systems.
(array provider) Array provider (select only the Array Provider): VMM requires the installation of
the Array Provider of the SMI-S Provider. The Array Provider enables VMM (the
‘client’) to retrieve information from the server about, and modify configuration
information for EMC Symmetrix VMAX, VNX, or CLARiiON CX4 storage systems.
Note Do not install the Host Provider in your VMM test environment. The
VASA provider is automatically installed with the Array Provider but is not used
by VMM.
Download the EMC SMI-S Provider: On https://support.emc.com/, click
Downloads on the top menu and search for SMI S Provider. When the results
appear, in the Browse Products, select the version number of the SMI S
Provider that you want to download.

EMC CIM Object ECOM Server

Manager (ECOM) Service that is installed with the SMI-S Provider. The ECOM Server hosts the provider,
server creating an SMI-compliant interface for EMC Symmetrix, CLARiiON CX4, and VNX
(Installed with arrays.
EMC SMI-S
Provider)

Solutions Enabler Solutions Enabler version 7.4.0 (or later)

(Installed with the Solutions Enabler provides the interface between the SMI-S Provider and the
EMC SMI-S Symmetrix, CLARiiON, and VNX arrays.
Provider kit) Note If Solutions Enabler Access Control is enabled on a Symmetrix array, the
computer on which the SMI-S Provider is installed must have sufficient privileges. At
minimum, the computer must belong to a group with access to ALL_DEVS with BASE
and VLOGIX privileges.

C++ 2008 SP1 Visual C++ 2008 SP1 redistributable package with KB 973923 applied
(Installed with Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package with KB973923 applied is required for
EMC SMI-S Windows environments (this is a Microsoft Visual Studio runtime requirement).
Provider)

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Install and configure the EMC SMI-S Provider

Use the following procedure to install and configure the EMC SMI-S Array Provider
for VMM.

Important The latest version of the EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes is on EMC
Online Support at https://support.emc.com/.

To install and configure the EMC SMI-S Provider for a VMM-based private cloud:

1. On EMC Online Support at https://support.emc.com/, click Downloads.

Search for the applicable SMI-S Provider and follow the instructions to
download it.
2. On a computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit, locate and
double-click se7400-WINDOWS-x64-SMI.exe to start the installation.
3. When prompted, install Solutions Enabler version 7.4.0 (or later).
4. Accept the default installation directory for the SMI-S Provider and
Solutions Enabler.
5. On Provider List, select only the Array Provider (this is the default
selection).
6. On Ready to Install the Program, click Install to start the installation
wizard.
7. When the Installation Wizard completed message appears, click Finish.
8. On the SMI-S Provider server, you can choose to update your environment
variable path to include the Solutions Enabler installation directory and
the ECOM directory, so that you can run command-line utilities from any
directory.
 The default path for the Solutions Enabler installation directory is:
C:\Program Files\EMC\SYMCLI\bin
 The default path for the ECOM directory is:
C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\bin
9. Update the Windows Firewall settings to enable inbound communication
with the SMI-S Server with these commands:
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="SLP-udp" dir=in
protocol=UDP localport=427 action=allow

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="SLP-tcp" dir=in

protocol=TCP localport=427 action=allow

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="CIM-XML in"

dir=in protocol=TCP localport=5988-5989 action=allow

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10. Change the ECOM External Connection Limit and HTTPS settings:
a. On the SMI-S Provider server, if necessary, stop Ecom.exe by typing
services.msc to open Services, click ECOM, and then click Stop.
b. Open Windows Explorer, navigate to and open the following XML file:
C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\Conf\Security_Settings.xml
c. To increase the ECOM external connection limit and HTTP options,
change the following settings:
Change the default value for ExternalConnectionLimit from 100 to
600:
<ECOMSetting Name="ExternalConnectionLimit" Type="uint32"
Value="600"/>

Change the default value for ExternalConnectionLimitPerHost from

100 to 600:
<ECOMSetting Name="ExternalConnectionLimitPerHost"
Type="uint32" Value="600"/>

Change the default value for SSLClientAuthentication to None:

<ECOMSetting Name="SSLClientAuthentication" Type="string"
Value="None"/>

11. Save the Security_Settings.xml file and then restart ECOM.

Configure the EMC SMI-S Provider to manage EMC storage systems

Perform the following procedures to configure EMC arrays for the SMI-S Provider
and VMM.

Before you start:

For optimal performance, choose no more than five storage systems to be

managed by any one SMI-S array provider.
Then perform the next two procedures to add the applicable storage
systems to an SMI-S array provider.

To add Symmetrix VMAX storage systems:

1. On the SMI-S Provider server, configure six gatekeepers for each

Symmetrix VMAX array.
Note For details, on EMC Online Support at
https://support.emc.com/, search for “EMC Solutions Enabler
Symmetrix Array Management CLI Product Guide.”
2. After configuring the gatekeepers, restart ECOM. After ECOM restarts, the
SMI-S Provider automatically discovers all Symmetrix arrays connected to
the server on which the provider is running.

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3. On the SMI-S Provider, open a command prompt and type the following
command:
%ProgramFiles%\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\bin\TestSmiProvider.exe

4. Enter the requested information for the storage system and its
management ports. To accept the default values that are displayed just
left of the colon, press Enter for each line:
Connection Type (ssl,no_ssl) [no_ssl]:
Host [localhost]:
Port [5988]:
Username [admin]:
Password [#1Password]:
Log output to console [y|n (default y)]:
Log output to file [y|n (default y)]:
Logfile path [Testsmiprovider.log]:

5. To verify your configuration, type this command:

dv

6. To confirm that the Symmetrix arrays are configured correctly, check that
they are listed as the output of the dv command.

To add VNX and CLARiiON CX4 storage systems to an SMI-S Provider:

1. On the SMI-S Provider server, open a command prompt and type the
following command:
%ProgramFiles%\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\bin\TestSmiProvider.exe

2. For requested connection information, accept all of the default values.

3. Request to add a storage system by typing addsys at the prompt:
localhost:5988) ? addsys

4. Enter the requested information for the storage system and its
management ports. To accept the default values that are displayed just
left of the colon, press Enter for each line:
Connection Type (ssl,no_ssl) [no_ssl]:
Host [localhost]:
Port [5988]:
Username [admin]:
Password [#1Password]:
Log output to console [y|n (default y)]:
Log output to file [y|n (default y)]:
Logfile path [Testsmiprovider.log]:

5. After connecting, a menu displays a list of commands, followed by these

entries:
Namespace: root/emc
repeat count: 1
(localhost:5988) ?

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6. At the prompt, collect the following key data for your applicable storage
system details.
<Key data>:
<YourIPAddress1> is the SP A management port, which is required
for CLARiiON or VNX.
<YourIPAddress1> is the SP B management port and both addresses
are required to successfully connect to the array.
<YourGlobalAdminAccountName> is the user name required to
connect to the storage system.
<YourGlobalAdminAccountPwd> is the password required to connect
to the storage system.
And then type the following commands, but replace the <key data> with your
specific storage system data:
(localhost:5988) ? addsys
Add System {y|n} [n]: y
ArrayType (1=Clar, 2=Symm) [1]: 1
One or more IP address or Hostname or Array ID
Elements for Addresses
IP address or hostname or array id 0 (blank to quit):
<YourIPAddress1>
IP address or hostname or array id 1 (blank to quit):
<YourIPAddress2>
IP address or hostname or array id 2 (blank to quit):
Address types corresponding to addresses specified above.
(1=URL, 2=IP/Nodename, 3=Array ID)
Address Type (0) [default=2]: 2
Address Type (1) [default=2]: 2
User [null]: <YourGlobalAdminAccountName>
Password [null]: <YourGlobalAdminAccountPwd>

7. Repeat for each storage system to be managed.

8. To verify your configuration, type the following command:
dv

EMC SMI-S information resources

To find the most current version of the EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes:

1. On the top menu on EMC Online Support at https://support.emc.com/,

click Support By Product.
2. In Find a Product, type SMI-S Provider and click the search icon.
3. In the results pane, click the entry for “SMI-S Provider Release Notes”
(whatever the current version number is at the time you run this search) to
open the release notes document.

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To use the public EMC web page for EMC VMM 2012 support:

1. Open the “Everything Microsoft at EMC” web page at

https://community.emc.com/community/connect/everything_microsoft.
2. On the left pane, expand Virtualization and Management, click EMC SMI-S
Provider, and then click EMC Storage Systems that Support System Center
2012 – Virtual Machine Manager. This page contains:
 EMC arrays that support SMI-S and VMM 2012. If EMC expands or
changes the list of arrays described in this document, you can find the
latest list of arrays on the EMC SMI-S Provider and EMC Storage
Systems that Support System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager
web page.
 Developer Information for EMC and the SNIA SMI-S at
http://developer.emc.com/developer/devcenters/storage/snia/smi-
s/index.htm
 Proxy Provider Download for EMC SMI-S Provider is available on EMC
Online Support at https://support.emc.com/. Click Downloads and
then search for “SMI S Provider.”
 Provider Best Practice Document for EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes
version 4.4.0 (or later) is available on EMC Online Support at
https://support.emc.com/.
See also:

The EMC Community Network page ( the parent page for “Everything
Microsoft at EMC”) at https://community.emc.com/index.jspa
Virtual Machine Manager page (online VMM product team page) at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610610.aspx
“Appendix G: References” on page 175

Set up VMM for storage validation testing

VMM 2012 uses the SMI-S standard to provide advanced storage capabilities for
storage systems that support this standard. This section shows you how to set up
VMM so that you can test VMM storage capabilities using the EMC SMI-S Provider
and one or more EMC storage systems.

This document describes a simple installation of VMM that is sufficient for storage
validation testing.

See also:

For comprehensive installation and configuration instructions for VMM

2012: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610610.aspx

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For more about the VMM 2012 private cloud:

 “EMC Microsoft Virtualization and Private Cloud Solutions” at
http://www.emc.com/platform/microsoft/microsoft-virtualization-
private-cloud-solutions.htm
 “Microsoft Private Cloud” at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-
cloud/private-cloud/default.aspx

VMM prerequisites
This section lists hardware and software requirements for installing the VMM
Server in the storage validation test environment.

VMM server hardware

Install VMM on a server running Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 with at least four
processor cores. For large-scale testing, Microsoft recommends installing VMM on
a physical server.

See also:

“Minimum hardware requirements” on page 54

“Minimum hardware requirements explained” on page 55

VMM server software

The following table lists the software requirements for a test deployment, as
described in this guide. “System Requirements: VMM Management Server” at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610562.aspx has a comprehensive
list of system requirements for installing VMM 2012 in a production environment.

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Table 25. Software requirements for installing VMM 2012 in a test environment
Requirement Description
Active directory One active directory domain
You must join the VMM Server, SQL Server (if it is on a separate server than the
VMM Server), and Hyper-V Servers (VM Host or Library Server, and cluster nodes)
to the domain. Optionally, you can join the EMC SMI-S Provider to the domain.
Note VMM supports Active Directory with a domain functional level of Windows
Server 2003 (or later) that includes at least one Windows Server 2003 (or later)
domain controller.

Windows Server Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (full installation)

Edition: Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter
Service Pack: Service Pack 1 or later
Architecture: x64
Processors: At least four processor cores
Domain joined: Yes
iSCSI access: Yes (initiator logged into target) [if applicable]
FC access: Yes (zoned to array) [if applicable]

WinRM Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 2.0

(Installed with WinRM 2.0 is included in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and, by default, is set to
Windows Server) start automatically (delayed start).

SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server 2008

Install any version of SQL Server 2008 RTM or later. SQL Server stores the VMM
database.
Notes
SQL Express not supported: VMM 2012 does not support Microsoft SQL
Server 2008 Express (which was available in earlier releases of VMM).
Co-host VMM and SQL Server for test: A dedicated SQL Server is not
required for the test environment described in this document. Therefore,
one option is to install SQL Server on the same server as the VMM Server.
Separate SQL Server for production. In a full-scale production environment,
Microsoft recommends using a dedicated SQL Server to store the VMM
database. For example, one SQL Server may contain 400 hosts on which
8,000 VMs are deployed.

WAIK Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK, or WAIK) for Windows 7
You can download WAIK from the Microsoft Download site
athttp://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=575
3

.NET 3.5 (SP1) Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 (SP1) or later

On a computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, if the Microsoft .NET
Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) feature is not installed (it is not installed by
default), the VMM Setup wizard will install the feature.

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Install VMM
“Appendix A: Install VMM” on page 131 provides instructions for installing a VMM
Server in your preproduction environment. The installation instructions in this
appendix do not relate to storage automation, but are simply the major installation
steps for a deployment.

Configure VMM to discover and manage storage

The steps in this section explain how to set up a test environment that you can use
to validate storage functionality in a VMM private cloud that includes EMC arrays.

Add a stand-alone Hyper-V Server as a VM host to VMM

A stand-alone Hyper-V host is required in your test environment in order to test
VMM 2012 storage automation functionality with EMC arrays.

Before you start:

Hyper-V Server: You must have a physical server running Windows Server
2008 R2 SP1 with the Hyper-V Server role installed. Join this server to the
same Active Directory domain to which the VMM Server belongs.
If the Windows Server computer that you want to add as a VM host, does
not already have the Hyper-V Server role installed, make sure that the BIOS
on the computer is configured to support Hyper-V. If the BIOS is enabled to
support Hyper-V but the Hyper-V role is not already installed on the server,
VMM automatically adds and enables the Hyper-V role when you add the
server.
See also:
 “Minimum hardware requirements for a test environment” on page 54
 “Hyper-V Installation Prerequisites” at
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/cc731898.aspx and “System
Requirements: Hyper-V Hosts” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/gg610649
Note A test environment may not need to meet all requirements that
are recommended for a production environment.
Run As Account: You must have, or create, a Run As Account with the
following characteristics:
 You must use an Active Directory domain account, and that account
must be added to the local administrators group on the Hyper-V host
that you want to add as a VM host to VMM.
 If you configured your VMM Server to use a domain account when you
installed the VMM Server, then do not use the same domain account
to add and remove VM hosts.

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Group Policy and WinRM: If you use Group Policy to configure Windows
Remote Management (WinRM) settings, then before you add a Hyper-V host
to VMM management, review the “Prerequisites” section in the “How to
Add Trusted Hyper-V Hosts and Host Clusters” online help topic at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610648.

To add a stand-alone Hyper-V Server as a VM host to VMM:

1. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, click Fabric and on the ribbon,
click the Home tab. Then click Add Resources and select Hyper-V Hosts
and Clusters.

Figure 9. VMM Add Resource Wizard

2. On the Resource location page, select Windows Server Computers in a

trusted Active Directory domain to specify the location of the server that
you want to add as a VM host.
3. On the Credentials page, select Use an existing Run As account and then
click Browse.
4. On Select a Run As Account, click Create Run As Account, and then
specify the following field values for an Active Directory domain account
that already has (or will have) local administrator privileges on the Hyper
V host that you want to add to VMM:
 Name
 Description (optional)
 User name
 Password
 Confirm Password
5. Accept the default selection for Validate domain credentials and click OK.

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6. In Select a Run As Account, click the name of the new Run As account that
you just created and click OK.
7. On the Credentials page, click Next.
8. On the Hyper-V host, open Server Manager, expand Configuration, and
then expand Local Users and Groups.
9. Click Groups, double-click Administrators.
10. On the Administrators Properties page, click Add, and then in Enter the
object names to select, type the applicable values:
<DomainName>\<NewRunAsAccountName>
11. Click Check Names and then click OK twice.
12. On the VMM Server Console, return to the Discovery scope page in the
Add Resources Wizard.
13. Select Specify Windows Server computers by names and in Computer
names, type the name (or part of the name) of the computer that you want
to add as a VM host.
14. Wait until the name of the server that you specified appears and in
Discovered computers, select the server name.
15. In the Host Settings page, specify:
 For Host group, assign the host to a host group by selecting All Hosts
or by selecting the name of a specific host group.
 For Add the following path, do one of the following to specify the path
to the directory on the host where you want to store VM files, which
will be deployed on this host:
To accept the default VM placement path of
%SystemDrive%\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V leave
this field blank and click Add.
Or to specify a VM placement path other than the default, type the
path and then click Add. For example, type C:\MyVMs as the path.
Note Add a path only for a stand-alone host. For a host cluster, VMM
automatically manages the paths that are available for VMs
based on the shared storage available to the host cluster.
16. In the Summary page, confirm the settings that you selected and then
click Finish.
17. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm that adding the host completes
successfully and then close the dialog box.

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Add an existing Hyper-V host cluster to VMM

A Hyper-V host cluster is required in your test environment in order to test VMM
2012 storage automation functionality with EMC arrays.

Before you start:

Hyper-V Servers configured as a host cluster: You must have four servers
running Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 with the Hyper-V Server role
installed. These servers must belong to the same Active Directory domain
as the VMM Server.
These four servers should be the nodes of an existing host cluster. The
steps used in the following procedure assume that you have an existing
Hyper-V host cluster that you want to add to VMM.
See also:
 “Minimum hardware requirements for a test environment” on page 54
 “Hyper-V: Using Hyper-V and Failover Clustering” at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/cc732181(v=WS.10).aspx.
Note A test environment may not need to meet all of the
requirements recommended for a production environment.
 With VMM 2012, you can create a host cluster as described in “How to
Create a Hyper-V Host Cluster in VMM” at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610614.
Run As Account: You must have or need to create a Run As account with the
following characteristics:
 An Active Directory domain account and that account must be added
to the local administrators group on each node (each Hyper-V host) in
the cluster.
 If you configured your VMM server to use a domain account when you
installed the VMM server, do not use the same domain account to add
or remove host clusters.
Group Policy and WinRM: If you use Group Policy to configure Windows
Remote Management (WinRM) settings, before you add a host cluster to
VMM management, see the “Prerequisites” section for steps you might
need to take in the online help topic “How to Add Trusted Hyper-V Hosts
and Host Clusters” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/gg610648.

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To add an existing Hyper-V host cluster to VMM:

1. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, click Fabric and on the ribbon,
click the Home tab. Then click Add Resources and select Hyper-V Hosts
and Clusters.
2. To specify the location of the cluster that you want to add, on the
Resource location page, select Windows Server Computers in a trusted
Active Directory domain.
3. Select Use an existing Run As account and click Browse.
4. On the Select a Run As Account dialog box, click the name of the Run As
account that you want to use (the one that you created for each of the
cluster nodes), and click OK.
5. On the Credentials page, click Next.
6. To search for the cluster that you want to add, on the Discovery scope
page, select Specify Windows Server computers by names.
7. In Computer names, type either:
 The NETBIOS name of the cluster. For example: LAMANNA-CLUS01
 Or you can type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the cluster.
For example: LAMANNA-CLUS01.sr5fdom.eng.emc.com
8. For Skip AD verification, confirm the check box is clear or not selected.
You do not want to skip the AD verification.

Figure 10. VMM Discovery scope page

9. In the Target resources page, wait until the Discovered computers are
listed and then confirm that both the FQDN of the cluster and the FQDN of
each cluster node for each VM host appears. Then select the name of the
cluster that you specified in the previous step.

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Figure 11. VMM Target resources page

10. In Host group on the Host settings page, select the specific host group
that you want to assign for the host cluster. Also confirm that the wizard
recognizes that you have chosen to add a cluster (rather than a stand-
alone host) and therefore, Add the following path is unavailable on this
page.
Note You add a VM path only for a stand-alone host. For a cluster,
VMM automatically manages paths based on the shared
storage available to the cluster:
For shared storage, VMM uses Failover Clustering WMI API to list the
paths for shared storage. These paths are usually similar to:
C:\ClusterStorage\Volume1, C:\ClusterStorageVolume2.
For SAN deployments to a cluster, VMM uses a volume GUID path
similar to: (Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.). If this GUID path is
used, the administrator does not need to specify a path in Add the
following path.

Figure 12. VMM Host settings page

11. Confirm the settings and click Finish.

12. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm that adding a cluster completes
successfully and then close the dialog box.

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Figure 13. VMM Jobs dialog box

13. After all jobs complete successfully, in the lower left pane on the VMM
Console, click Fabric.
14. In the upper-left pane, expand Servers, expand All Hosts, and navigate to
the host group for the host cluster. Select and right-click the cluster name
and click Properties.
15. Click the General tab and for the Cluster reserve (nodes) specify 0, and
then click OK.
Note This setting specifies the number of node failures that a cluster
must sustain while supporting all virtual machines deployed on
the host cluster. “Configuring Hyper-V Host Cluster Properties”
at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh389112 has
more details.

Add EMC SMI-S Provider to VMM and place storage pools under management
The EMC SMI-S Provider is required in your test environment in order to test VMM
2012 storage automation functionality with EMC arrays.

Before you start:

Confirm SMI-S Provider server is installed. You must have already installed
the EMC SMI-S Provider on a server. “Install and configure the EMC SMI-S
Provider” on page 68 and “Configure the EMC SMI-S Provider to manage
EMC storage systems” on page 69 has more details.
Pick a port to use for the SMI-S Provider server. The default HTTP port for
the EMC SMI-S Provider is 5988 and the default HTTPS port is 5989 (SSL
port). When adding a provider, VMM assumes you will use a Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL) port. Ask your storage administrator which port to use in your
environment. A specific security policy might be required. Also, the provider
might have been configured with ports different from these defaults.
Confirm the availability of storage pools. Check with your Storage
administrator to see which storage pools are available for you to add to
your VMM private cloud.
Caution Identifying available storage pools is particularly important if
you plan to use storage arrays in your test environment from
which the Storage administrator has already allocated some
storage pools to the production environment.

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Create a separate ECOM Run As account on the SMI-S Provider server for
VMM use. Before you can add the SMI-S Provider to VMM, you must create
a Run As account for the SMI-S Provider. This Run As account must be an
ECOM administrator account. VMM will use the account when it uses Basic
Authentication to connect to ECOM and to the provider.
EMC recommends that you create a separate account solely for VMM use so
that any required security policies can be applied independently of any
other IT services in your environment that are using the same provider.
Consult with your security and storage administrators for additional
guidance.

To create the ECOM account, use the ECOM Administration Web Server:

1. Open a browser on the SMI S Provider server that needs the new ECOM
account and enter the following URL: http://localhost:5988/ecomconfig
2. Confirm that the ECOM Administration Login Page appears.

Figure 14. ECOM Administration Login Page

3. Log on to the ECOM Administration Login Page with the applicable

credentials.
 To use the default administrator credentials:
In Username, type admin.
And in Password, type #1Password and click Submit.
 Or to use another set of credentials with administrator rights, type your
applicable values in Username and Password and then click Submit.
4. When the ECOM Administration page opens, click Add User.

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Figure 15. Add a user for ECOM Security Administration

5. When the ECOM Security Admin Add User page opens, create an ECOM
account that you will use solely for VMM operations and type the
following field values. Replace <text> with the applicable values:
 User Name: <YourNameForEcomUserAccountForVMM>
 Password: <YourPassword>
 Role: Administrator
 Scope: Local
 Password never expires: Select true or false, depending on your
organization's security policies. If you select false, the password
expires every 90 days.

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Figure 16. ECOM Security Admin Add User page

6. Click Add User to create the new ECOM account.

7. Click Back to return to the ECOM configuration page.
8. On the main page, click Logout.
9. Be sure to use this user account in the following steps to create a Run As
Account for this provider.

Add SMI-S and storage pool management to VMM private cloud

Use the following procedure to add the EMC SMI-S Provider to the VMM private
could and to bring EMC storage pools under VMM management.

To add EMC SMI-S Provider to VMM and place storage pools under management:

1. In the lower-left pane on the VMM Console, click Fabric and in the upper-
left pane, expand Storage. Then click Providers and review the list of
existing SMI-S Providers (if any).
2. In the lower-left pane on the VMM Console, click Fabric and on the ribbon,
click the Home tab. Then click Add Resources and select Storage Devices.
3. In the Specify Discovery Scope page, type one of these applicable values
for the Provider IP address or FQDN and the applicable default port
number, or if you have specified new port numbers, use your new
numbers:
<Provider IP Address>: 5988
<Provider FQDN>:5988
<Provider IP Address>: 5989
<Provider FQDN>:5989

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Note 5988 is the default non-secure port number and 5989 is the
default secure port number (use 5989 only if the provider uses
SSL).
4. For Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection, do one of the following
based on the port in the path you received from the storage administrator:
 Select the Use SSL connection checkbox if the port is an SSL port (this
is the default for VMM).
 Or Clear the Use SSL connection checkbox if the port is not an SSL port
(this is the default for the EMC SMI-S Provider).
5. For Run As account, click Browse, and select a Run As account, which
must be a Run As Account that you created earlier on this SMI-S Provider
server by using the ECOM Administration Web Server. Then click Next.
6. In the Gather Information page, wait until the discovery of the storage
device information is complete and confirm that the discovered storage
arrays appear. Then click Next.

Figure 17. Gather information for added storage devices

7. In the Select Storage Pools page, select one or more storage pools that
you want to place under VMM management and click Create
classification.
Caution You may see storage pools that the storage administrator
has assigned to other IT administrators. Confirm that you
know which storage pools on this array that you need to
assign for VMM management in your test environment.

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Figure 18. Select the storage pools for VMM to manage and create classification

8. In the New Classification dialog box, specify a name, and optionally a

description for the storage classification that you want to create, and then
click Add.
For example, depending on the quality of the storage pool, you could
specify:
Name: Gold
Description: High performance storage pool
Name: Silver
Description: Good performance storage pool
Name: Bronze
Description: Moderate performance storage pool
9. In the Select Storage Pools page, if applicable, select additional storage
pools to manage with VMM, and either create a new storage
classification, or select an existing classification from the list box. When
you have added and classified all of the storage pools that you want, click
Next.
10. In the Summary page, confirm the settings that you specified, and then
click Finish.

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Figure 19. Confirm your settings

11. Wait until the adding the SMI-S Provider server job, and the discovering
and importing the storage information jobs are successfully completed,
and then close the Jobs dialog box.

Figure 20. Wait until the jobs complete successfully

12. In the lower-left pane of the VMM Console, click Fabric and in the upper-
left pane, expand Storage, and then click Classification and Pools.
13. In the main pane, confirm that the storage pools that you assigned to
VMM management are listed. These were assigned when you added the
EMC SMI-S Provider to VMM.

Figure 21. Confirm your storage pools are listed

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Configure arrays for VM rapid provisioning of select snapshots or clones

Enable the array or arrays that you brought under VMM management when you
added the SMI S Provider for VM rapid provisioning.

Before you start:

Pre-populate Reserved LUN Pool. Ask your storage administrator to pre-

populate your Reserved LUN Pool with sufficient capacity to support rapid
provisioning with snapshots. The pool should contain a sufficient number
of LUNs, of the appropriate size, to handle the load in your environment.
Configure snapshots or clones on Symmetrix arrays:
 “Appendix D: Configure Symmetrix VMAX TimeFinder for Rapid VM
Provisioning” on page 155
 “EMC Symmetrix TimeFinder Product Guide” at
https://support.emc.com/docu31118_Symmetrix-TimeFinder-Product-
Guide.pdf?language=en_US
Configure snapshots or clones on VNX or CLARiiON arrays:
 “Appendix E: Configure VNX and CLARiiON for Rapid VM Provisioning”
on page 161
 “EMC CLARiiON Reserved LUN Pool Configuration Considerations: Best
Practices Planning” (September 2010) at
http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/white-papers/h1585-
clariion-resvd-lun-wp-ldf.pdf
 EMC Unisphere online help

To select snapshots or clones on an array:

1. In the lower-left pane of the VMM Console, click Fabric and in the upper-
left pane, expand Storage, and then click Arrays to display arrays under
VMM management in the main pane.
2. In the main pane, right click an array, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Settings tab to display the Storage array Settings page, select
the following applicable choice for VM rapid provisioning, and then click
OK. The choice you make depends on the capabilities of the array:
 Select Snapshots if the array supports creating snapshots at scale
 Select Clone logical units if the snapshot technology for this array is
not designed or optimized for application data.
Note The default value depends on the capabilities that are returned
from the array to VMM:
If using a Symmetrix VMAX, the default value depends on the
array.
If using a VNX or CLARiiON CX4, the default value depends on
the software packages installed on the array.

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If the array supports both snapshots and clones, the VMM

default value is snapshots.
4. Be sure to specify clones or snapshots for each array that is assigned to
VMM management.

Specify the default for creating storage groups for a Hyper-V host cluster
By default, VMM sets the value for CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster (a property on a
storage array object) to False, which means that VMM creates storage groups per
node for a Hyper-V host cluster and adds host initiators to storage groups by node
(not by cluster). Storage groups are also called masking sets.

For some storage arrays, if the provider does not scale for unmasking storage
volumes to a cluster, it is preferable to specify that VMM manage storage groups
for the entire cluster. In this case, VMM adds host initiators for all cluster nodes (as
a set) to a single storage group.

If storage groups on an array are discovered by VMM, but do not display in the
VMM Console, perform the following procedure to change the defaults.

To change the defaults on an array for how VMM creates storage groups for a
cluster:

1. In the ribbon on the VMM Console, click PowerShell to open the Windows
PowerShell Virtual Machine Manager command shell.
2. To display storage groups, and other information about the arrays in your
test environment, type:
Get-SCStorageArray -All | Select-Object Name, Model,
ObjectType, StorageGroups, LogicalUnitCopyMethod,
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster | fl

Confirm that output is similar to the following displays:

Name : APM00101000787
Model : Rack Mounted CX4_240
ObjectType : StorageArray
StorageGroups : {Storage Group1}
LogicalUnitCopyMethod : Snapshot
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster : False

Name : 000194900376
Model : VMAX-1SE
ObjectType : StorageArray
StorageGroups : {ACLX View, ACLX View,
ACLX View, ACLX View1}
LogicalUnitCopyMethod : Snapshot
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster : False

Name : APM00111102546
Model : Rack Mounted VNX5100
ObjectType : StorageArray
StorageGroups : {Storage Group}
LogicalUnitCopyMethod : Snapshot

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CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster : False

Notes

For the StorageGroups property, two possible values correspond to

objects in the list returned for the Name property:
{Storage Group} is The SPC type for a CLARiiON or VNX array (SPC is
the acronym for SCSI Protocol Controller)
{ACLX View} is the SPC type for a Symmetrix array (ACLX is the
acronym for Access Logix.)
To view specific properties for StorageGroups for a specific array, type:
$Arrays = Get-SCStorageArray -All
$Arrays[0].StorageGroups | Select-Object ObjectType,
Name, Description | fl

3. To change the default value for CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster, type:

$Array = Get-SCStorageArray -Name "YourArrayName"
Set-SCStorageArray -StorageArray $Array -
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster $True

Create SAN-copy-capable templates for testing VM rapid provisioning

This section provides step-by-step instructions for creating two SAN-copy-capable
(SCC) templates for VM rapid provisioning.

Create local shares, add shares as Library Shares, designate a VM host as a Library Server

Adding the VMM Library Server role to a Hyper-V Server already configured as a
stand-alone VM host is required in your test environment if you want to fully test all
VMM 2012 storage automation functionality with EMC arrays. Using the same
Hyper-V Server for a VM host and a Library Server lets you unmask and mask LUNs
to that server. This is because the folder mount path that you specify on the VM
host (in the test steps described in this document) is a path that is managed by the
Library Server.

Note If you prefer not to co-host a VM host and a Library Server on the same
physical server in your production environment, VMM also supports adding
each role to different servers. In this case, you would have to do all
unmasking and masking for the Library Server outside of VMM (you cannot
be able to use the VMM Console or VMM PowerShell).

Before You Start:

VM Host: You need an existing server running Windows Server 2008 R2 with
the Hyper-V role installed that belongs to the same Active Directory domain
as the VMM Server. This server must have been already added to VMM as a
VM host. In this example test environment, this server is the VM host that
you added in “Add a stand-alone Hyper-V Server as a VM host to VMM” on
page 75.

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This Library Server must be on a server that is also a VM host so that you can
use VMM to assign a logical unit to this server. VMM assigns logical units to
the VM host component, but cannot assign logical units to Library Servers.
See also:
 “Minimum hardware requirements for a test environment” on page 55
 “System Requirements: VMM Library Server” at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610631. However, this
test environment may not need to meet all requirements
recommended for a production environment.
Run As Account: When you add a Library Server to VMM, you must provide
credentials for a domain account that has administrative rights on the
computer that you want to add. In this procedure, you can use the same
Run As account that you used earlier to add the VM host.
Firewall: When you add a Library Server to VMM, the firewall on the server
that you want to add must allow File and Print Sharing (SMB) traffic so that
VMM can display available shares.
Windows shared folders become VMM library shares: To add resources to a
library share, an administrator typically needs to access the share through
Windows Explorer.

To create local shares, add shares as Library Shares, and add a VM host as a
Library Server:

1. On the VM host that you want to add to VMM as a Library Server, open
Windows Explorer and create the following parent folder:
C:\Library

2. Create child folders. For example, create:

HATemplateShare
SATemplateShare

3. In Windows Explorer, right-click the Library parent folder that you just
created, and then click Properties.
4. On the Properties page, click the Sharing tab, click Advanced Sharing, on
the Advanced Sharing dialog box, and then select Share this folder.
5. In the lower left pane on the VMM Console, click Library in the upper-left
pane, right-click Library Servers, and then click Add Library Server.
6. In Use an existing Run As Account section, click Browse, select a Run As
account with permissions on the VM Host that you will now add as a
Library Server, click OK to return to the Credentials page, and then click
Next.

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7. In the Select Library Servers page, specify the following:

 For Domain, confirm that the domain field is populated.
 For Computer name, type the name of the VM Host that you want to
add as a Library Server, click Add, and confirm that the name now
appears in the Selected servers pane.
 In the Selected servers pane, click the computer name that you added,
and then click Next.
8. In the Select library shares to add section, click the name of the local
share called Library that you created earlier on the host, and then click
Next.

Figure 22. Add Library Shares page

9. In the Summary page, confirm that the name of the server you want to add
as a Library Server appears under Confirm the Settings, and then click
Add Library Servers.
10. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm that the job to add the Library Server
completes successfully, and then close the dialog box.

Allocate a storage pool to a host group

In VMM, you allocate a storage pool on an array to a VMM host group. This action
makes that storage pool available for use by Hyper-V VM hosts (or by Hyper-V host
clusters) in the VMM host group. In VMM, the storage available to a host or cluster
from a storage pool is used only for VM workloads.

To allocate a storage pool to the host group to which the VM host Library Server
belongs:

1. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, click Fabric. In the upper left
pane, expand Servers and expand the host group where the VM host
Library Server is stored. For example, LDMHostGroup1. Then right-click
the VM host, and click Properties.
2. Click the Storage tab and click Allocate Storage Pools.
3. In the Allocate Storage Pools dialog box, select a storage pool, click Add
and click OK.
4. On the Storage tab, click OK.

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Figure 23. Allocate Storage Pools

5. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm that the specific storage pool is
successfully allocated to the VMM host group (on which the VM host
Library Server computer resides) and then close the dialog box.

Create and mount a LUN on the VM host Library Server for the HA Template

Before running the validation tests, you must create a logical unit and mount it on
the standalone VM host that is also a Library Server. You use this LUN in “Create an
HA VM template to test rapid deployment to a host cluster” on page 100.

Note VHD files used to support rapid provisioning of VMs are contained within
LUNs on the arrays but are mounted to folders on the VMM Library Server.

Before You Start:

Confirm VM host connectivity to array: Confirm that you have configured the
VM host correctly to access the storage array. This varies by array.
Optionally, when configuring the connection from the host to the array, you
can add the Microsoft Multipath Input/Output (MPIO) feature to the host to
improve access to an FC or iSCSI array.

MPIO supports multiple data paths to storage and, in some cases, can
increase throughput by using multiple paths simultaneously. “How to
Configure Storage on a Hyper-V Host” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/gg610696.aspx and “Support for Multipath IP (MPIO)” at
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/cc770294.aspx provide more details.
SAN Type:
 For FC SAN, the VM host must have a host bus adapter (HBA) installed
and must be zoned so that the host can access the array.
 For iSCSI SAN, the VM host must have the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
Service started and set to Automatic startup.

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Note You can use the following VMM PowerShell command to

determine whether this VM host is connected to an FC SAN, or
to an iSCSI SAN, or to both:
Get-SCVMHost <YourVMHostName> | select-object Name,
ObjectType, FibreChannelSANStatus, iSCSISANStatus |
Format-List

Example output:
Name : <YourVMHostName>.<YourDomainName>.com
ObjectType : VMHost
FCSANStatus : Success (0)
ISCSISANStatus: Success (0)

To create and mount a LUN as HATemplateLU1 for the HA template on VM host

Library Server:

1. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, click Fabric. In the upper left
pane, expand Servers and expand the host group where the VM host
Library Server is stored. For example, LDMHostGroup1. Then right-click
the VM host, and click Properties.
2. In the upper left menu, click the Storage tab and click Add (Disk: Add),
which opens the screen for creating a logical unit. Then click Create
Logical Unit.

Figure 24. Create a logical unit

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3. In the Create Logical Unit dialog box, specify the following field values:
 For Storage Pool, select SMI-Thin or an applicable storage pool from
your VMM management list.
 For Description, type a description for the LUN. This field is optional.
 For Name, type HATemplateLU1.
 For Size, select the applicable size. For example, 25.

Figure 25. Create Logical Unit

4. Click OK to return to the Storage tab. Wait until this step completes.
5. On the Storage tab, confirm that HATemplateLU1 appears in the Logical
unit field, and in the Mount point section, select Mount to the following
empty NTFS folder.

Figure 26. Mount in the following empty NTFS folder

6. Click Browse to open the Select Destination Folder dialog box; in the
server name section, expand the C:\ drive, expand C:\Library, and then
click the HATemplateShare or applicable folder.

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Figure 27. Select Destination folder for HA Template

7. Click OK to return to the Storage tab, and then click OK to close the VM
host Properties page.
8. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm the HATemplateLU1 is successfully created
and then close the dialog box.

Create and mount a LUN on the Library Server for the SA Template

Before running the validation tests, you need to create a second LUN (logical unit)
and mount it on the stand-alone VM host, which is also a Library Server.

Use this new LUN when you “Create an SA VM template to test rapid deployment to
a stand-alone host” on page 102 for testing rapid provisioning of VMs to a stand-
alone Hyper-V host. The following procedure is almost identical to the previous
procedure, except for the folder and the logical unit names.

To create and mount a LUN as a SATemplateLU1 for the SA template on the VM host
Library Server:

1. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, click Fabric. In the upper left
pane, expand Servers and expand the host group where the VM host
Library Server is stored. For example, LDMHostGroup1. Then right-click
the VM host, and click Properties.
2. In the upper left menu, click the Storage tab, click Add (Disk: Add), which
opens the screen that lets you create a logical unit.

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Figure 28. Create a logical unit

3. Open Create Logical Unit dialog box and on the Storage tab, click Create
logical unit.
4. In the Create Logical Unit dialog box, specify the following field values:
 For Storage Pool, select SMI-Thin or an applicable storage pool from
your VMM management list.
 For Description, type a description for the LUN. This field is optional.
 For Name, type SATemplateLU1.
 Size, select the applicable size. For example, 25.
5. Click OK to return to the Storage tab. Wait until this step completes.
6. On the Storage tab, confirm that SATemplateLU1 appears in the Logical
unit field, and in the Mount point section, select Mount to the following
empty NTFS folder.
7. Click Browse to open the Select Destination Folder dialog box and in the
server name section, expand the C:\ drive. Then expand C:\Library and
click the SATemplateShare or applicable folder.

Figure 29. Select Destination folder

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8. Click OK to return to the Storage tab, and then click OK to close the VM
host Properties page.
9. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm that the job to create SATemplateLU1
completes successfully, and then close the dialog box to complete the
task.

Copy and import a dummy operating system VHD to local shared folders in VMM

For this test environment, you need to copy and import a VHD into the
HATemplateShare and SATemplateShare folders on the host in VMM. You will use
this VHD later to create the actual VM templates, which in this example test
environment are named HATemplate and SATemplate, respectively.

Before you start:

Windows OS VHD: For the following procedure, you can use a VHD that
contains an operating system, but you do not need an operating system to
test storage automation. Typically, administrators use a dummy VHD or an
empty VHD for this procedure. In this example procedure, the VHD is named
DummyW2k8r2.vhd, which helps explain that this VHD does not contain an
operating system.

To copy and import a dummy OS VHD into VMM:

1. On the stand-alone VM host Library Server, open Windows Explorer,

navigate to the location where the OS VHD (or "dummy" OS VHD) is
stored, and copy that VHD to both of the following folders:
C:\Library\HATemplateShare
C:\Library\SATemplateShare

Note If you had copied the VHD file into a Windows folder that is an
existing VMM Library share, you do not need to perform the
following steps to add a library share. Instead, right-click the
applicable <Library Share Name> and click Import.
2. In the lower-left pane of the VMM Console, click Library, and in the upper
left pane, expand Library Servers. Then click the applicable server name
that contains the C:\Library folder you just created.
3. Above the ribbon, click the Library Server tab, and then click Add Library
Shares.

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Figure 30. Add Library Shares page in VMM

4. On the Add Library Shares page, select C:\Library and click Next.
5. On the Summary page, click Add Library Shares.
6. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm that the library share import completes
successfully and then close the dialog box.
7. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, confirm that the dummy VHD
appears in the VMM Library and click Library.
8. In the upper left pane, expand Library Servers, expand the name of the
server that you created in the C:\Library folder, expand Library, and then
expand the HATemplateLU1 template.
9. In the Physical Library Objects section, confirm that DummyWin2k42.vhd
appears with SAN Copy Capable set to Yes.

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Figure 31. Confirm the dummy VHD is in the Library folder

Create an HA VM template to test rapid deployment to a host cluster

You are now ready to create a VM template, which is named HATemplate in this test
environment. You can use this template to deploy VMs to a Hyper-V host cluster.

To create an HA VM template for rapidly deploying VMs to a Hyper-V host cluster:

1. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, click Library and on the ribbon,
click the Home tab. Then click Create VM Template and the Create VM
Template Wizard appears.
2. In the VM Template Source dialog box, select Use an existing VM
template or a virtual hard disk stored in the library and click Browse. The
Select VM Template Source dialog box appears.
3. In the HATemplateShare folder, select the applicable VHD or for this test
environment, select DummyWin2k8r2.vhd and click OK.
Caution Do not select DummyWin2k8r2.vhd in the SATemplateShare
folder.

Figure 32. Select the dummy VHD in the HATemplateShare folder

4. On the Select Source page, click Next.

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5. On the VM Template Identity page, type the applicable VM template name

or for this test environment, type HATemplate, and click Next.
6. In the Advanced section on the Configure Hardware page, click
Availability, in the main pane, select Make this virtual machine highly
available, and then click Next.
Notes
If you do not see the Availability option, in the center pane, close
Compatibility, General, Bus Configuration, and Network Adapter,
and then expand Advanced.
In this procedure to create an HA template, this is the only step that
differs from the steps in the next procedure for creating an SA
template.
7. In the Guest OS profile drop-down list on the Configure Operating System
page, select [None – customization not required], and then click Next.

Figure 33. Configure Operating System page in the Create VM Template Wizard

Notes
When creating a VM template for creating and deploying new VMs,
you rarely will choose not to install and customize an operating
system. However, because the HA and SA templates use dummy
VHDs, this option is applicable. This choice saves time when testing
storage automation in the test environment.
If you do choose [None – customization not required], the new VM
template wizard skips the Configure Application and Configure SQL
Server pages and goes directly to the Summary page.
8. On the Summary page, confirm that HATemplate is set as the VM
Template and is the only setting specified, and then click Create.

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Figure 34. Create VM Template Summary page

9. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm that HATemplate is created successfully

and then close the dialog box.

Create an SA VM template to test rapid deployment to a stand-alone host

You are now ready to create a VM template, which is named SATemplate in this test
environment. You can use this template to deploy VMs to a stand-alone Hyper-V
host.

This procedure is almost identical to the preceding one, except for the template
name. In this procedure, you use SATemplate, not HATemplate, and omit the
Availability High option.

To create SATemplate for rapidly deploying VMs to an individual Hyper-V host:

1. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, click Library and on the ribbon,
click the Home tab. Then click Create VM Template. The Create VM
Template Wizard appears.
2. In the VM Template Source dialog box, select Use an existing VM
template or a virtual hard disk stored in the library and click Browse. The
Select VM Template Source dialog box appears.
3. In the SATemplateShare folder, select the applicable VHD or for this test
environment, select DummyWin2k8r2.vhd and click OK.
Caution Do not select DummyWin2k8r2.vhd in the HATemplateShare
folder.

Figure 35. Select VM Template Source page

4. On the Select Source page, click Next.

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5. On the VM Template Identity page, type the applicable VM template name

or for this test environment, type SATemplate, and click Next.
6. In the Advanced section on the Configure Hardware page, because no
customization is required, click Next.
Caution Do not select the HATemplateShare folder. In this procedure
to create the SA template, this is the only step that differs
from the steps for creating an HA template.

7. In the Guest OS profile drop-down list on the Configure Operating System

page, select [None – customization not required], and then click Next.
8. On the Summary page, confirm that SATemplate (not the HA template) is
set as the VM Template and is the only setting specified, and then click
Create.
9. In the Jobs dialog box, confirm that the SA Template is created
successfully and then close the dialog box.

View the two new SCC templates in the VMM Library

You have now created the two SAN-copy-capable (SCC) VM templates that you will
use to validate storage automation in your test environment. The following
procedure confirms that both templates exist and are available for use in the VMM
Library.

To confirm the SCC templates exist in the VMM Library:

1. In the lower left pane of the VMM Console, click Library and in the upper
left pane, expand Templates. Then click VM Templates and confirm that
you see both templates in the main pane.

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Figure 36. VMM Library Templates

2. In the main pane, right-click HATemplate, click Properties, and click the
Hardware Configuration tab. In the Advanced section, click Availability
High to confirm that this template has the option selected so that this
template can be used to create a highly available VM.

Figure 37. Hardware Configuration Advanced Availability setting for HATemplate

3. In the main pane, right-click SATemplate, click Properties, and click the
Hardware Configuration tab. In the Advanced section, click Availability to

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confirm that this template is set to Normal, which means it can be used to
create a VM with normal availability.

Figure 38. Hardware Configuration Advanced Availability setting for SATemplate

4. This step is optional, because any VM template stored in the VMM Library
can be used again. Before you start automated testing, you can
experiment with non-automated VM provisioning (non-scripted
provisioning) by using either or both of the VM templates that you just
created.

Right-click one of the templates, select Create Virtual Machine, and then
complete the steps as prompted in the Create Virtual Machine wizard.

Figure 39. Create a VM with the SATemplate

Note “How to Deploy a New Virtual Machine from the SAN-Copy-Capable

Template” in VMM online help at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/gg610618.aspx has details on an alternative entry point to the
Create Virtual Machine Wizard.

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Chapter 5 Validate Storage Automation in your
Test Environment

This chapter presents the following topics:

Test environment validation ................................................................. 108

Set up the Microsoft VMM storage automation validation script ............ 108
Configure trace log collection ............................................................... 113
Review the full test case list developed by VMM ................................... 117
Test case list for EMC storage arrays ..................................................... 119
Test storage automation in your preproduction environment ................. 123

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Test environment validation

EMC is a Microsoft partner that develops an SMI-S Provider and storage systems to
support VMM 2012 by using a Windows PowerShell validation script. This script is
developed by the Microsoft VMM product team to perform comprehensive validation
testing. The tests provided by the script validate VMM storage automation
functionality with EMC SMI-S Providers and storage arrays. As a storage vendor, you
can perform this testing and then publish vendor-specific support in a document
similar to this one.

EMC and Microsoft co-authored this document. Microsoft defined the structure, which
is common to all vendors who perform similar testing. This document provides:

Configuration for VMM, the EMC SMI-S Provider, and managed EMC arrays
Best practices and software and hardware configuration requirements for
enabling specific storage features
List of limitations and known issues that can emerge from the development
and testing process
You or your customers can use this document as a guide for deploying a configuration
in a lab or data center that is similar to the EMC preproduction environment. Setting
up a similar test environment enables customers to benefit directly from the storage
automation validation testing that is performed by EMC. “Test storage automation in
your preproduction environment” on page 123 has more details.

You can take this EMC testing one step farther by setting up a similar test
environment and running the same VMM storage validation script that EMC and other
vendors use.

In addition, the validation configuration results can be useful to customers later as a

reference even after deploying one or more VMM private clouds into the production
environment. You can run the VMM validation script again to confirm configuration
changes and, if necessary, to gain information useful for troubleshooting.

Set up the Microsoft VMM storage automation validation script

The Microsoft VMM product team developed the Windows PowerShell-based
validation script, which is the VMM storage automation validation script that EMC has
used to test multiple scenario-based and functionality-based test cases.

The purpose of the validation script is to validate that the EMC SMI-S Provider and
each supported EMC array meet VMM’s defined functionality and scale requirements.

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Download the Microsoft VMM validation script

You can download the VMM validation script and store it on the VMM Server.

To download the storage validation script:

1. Download the VMM Storage Automation Validation Script from the Microsoft
TechNet blogs site (requires a login account) at
http://blogs.technet.com/b/hectorl/archive/2012/06/12/sc-2012-vmm-
storage-automation-validation-script.aspx
Notes
The file name of the script that EMC used to validate the
preproduction environment described in this paper is named
StorageAutomationScript.ps1.
However, a later script version of the script (for VMM 2012 SP1) is
expected to be backward compatible and also work for a VMM 2012
environment.
2. On the VMM server, open Windows Explorer and create the following folder:
C:\Toolbox\VMMValidationScript.
3. Unzip the contents of the downloaded validation script to:
C:\Toolbox\VMMValidationScript

Use a script editor that supports breakpoints

When you choose a Windows PowerShell script editor, use one that allows you to
insert breakpoints. This is great for learning how the test cases are structured and for
debugging test cases.

Script configuration XML input file contents

When the VMM Storage Automation Validation Script starts, it reads the file
StorageConfig.xml to obtain configuration information. The contents of this XML file
are defined Table 26. Also review the “Sample XML file” on page 112 as an example
of what your XML file may include.

Table 26. Contents of StorageConfig.xml input file read by the VMM validation
script
XML tag Description
VmmServer Name of the server that the VMM Management Server is installed.

ProviderName Name of the provider used when you add it to the VMM Management Server:
ServerName:Port.

UserName Name of the ECOM user account used to add the provider to the VMM
Management Server.

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XML tag Description

Password Password of the ECOM user account used to add the provider to the VMM
Management Server.

NetName URL for the provider computer to which to connect. For example:
http://ServerName.

Port Port on which the provider listens to a client (such as VMM).

PoolName Name of a storage pool that is managed by VMM.

ArrayName Name of the array from which the storage pool should be selected, which is
usually the serial number of the array.
Note Required only if the provider manages multiple arrays and two or more
have duplicate names for storage pools. Otherwise, this tag is optional.

ClassificationName Any name to be used for classifying types of storage. This name must agree with
the pool specified.

HostName1 Name of the stand-alone VM host against which validation tests are run.

ClusterName1 Name of the Hyper-V host cluster against which validation tests are run.

ClusterNodes A list that contains the name of each node in the specified cluster.

Node Name of a node in the cluster. Add a node name for each node in the cluster.

LunDescPrefix Prefix used for all LUNs that are created by the validation test. This prefix
facilitates clean-up in case tests fail to complete.

ParallelLunsCount Number of LUNs created in parallel (simultaneously); this value can be

overwritten in the test function.

ParallelSnapshotCount Number of parallel operations for creating snapshots. This value can be
overwritten in the test function.

ParallelCloneCount Number of parallel operations for creating clones. This value can be overwritten
in the test function.

VmNamePrefix Prefix used for new VMs that are created.

ServiceNamePrefix Prefix used for new services that are created.

Note “Creating and Deploying Services in VMM” at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg675074.aspx has more details.

VmTemplate Template name used for creating and deploying new VMs to a stand-alone host.
Note In this document, it is the SATemplate.

HaVmTemplate Template name used for creating and deploying new VMs to a Hyper-V host
cluster.
Note In this document, it is the HATemplate.

VmLocation Path to the location on the VM host where new VMs will be stored.
Note For SAN deployments to a Hyper-V host cluster and for VM rapid
provisioning to a cluster, no paths are required.

DomainUserName Name of the Active Directory user account that is a VMM administrator or
delegated administrator for the specified host and storage resources.

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XML tag Description

DomainPassword Password of the DomainUserName account that is used.

OutputCSVFile Name of the CSV file that contains the results of each test together with the
completion time for each operation.

LibServer Name of the Library Server that is used.

(optional) Note In this document, the Library Server is the same computer as the stand-
alone VM host.

LibLocalShare Local path to shared folder (on the Library Server computer) where LUNs are
(optional) mounted that are used to create SCC templates.

LibShareName Name of the VMM Library Share for the specified local LibLocalShare folder that
(optional) is used.

VhdName Name of the virtual hard disk that are copied onto the SCC LUN.
(optional)

Note Assuming that you have already created the templates as specified earlier in
this document, the following four values in the StorageConfig.xml file are
optional: LibServer, LibLocalShare, LibShareName, and VhdName (and will
not be used if you do fill them in).

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Sample XML file

Figure 40 is an example of the tags and contents of a StorageConfig.xml file that EMC
used during one of its actual validation tests.

Figure 40. EMC sample StorageConfig.xml file

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Configure trace log collection

This section explains how to configure trace log collection for the Microsoft Storage
Management Service and for ECOM.

Configure tracing for the Microsoft Storage Management Service

The Microsoft Storage Management Service introduced with VMM 2012
communicates with SMI-S–based providers from storage vendors, including the EMC
SMI-S Provider. To facilitate troubleshooting, VMM now includes substantial storage-
related tracing information in its own logs. Whenever possible, VMM also includes
the CIM-XML output from the vendor's SMI-S Provider.

In some cases, however, you will need to obtain CIM-XML output and trace output
from the Storage Management Service directly to help you troubleshoot.

The three levels of tracing that you will need, and how to enable each one, are
described in this section.

Configure trace logging

To configure trace logging for storage automation validation testing:

Enable VMM tracing to collect traces on the VMM server. “How to collect traces
in System Center Virtual Machine Manager” at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970066 has instructions to set up VMM
tracing.
VMM traces produce error and exception information. You need Hyper-V host
traces only if the failure occurs on the Hyper V side. For example, this can be
helpful if you encounter volume mount issues.

Enable SCX CIM XML command tracing

Microsoft Storage Management Service uses CIM-XML to communicate with the SMI S
Provider.

To enable SCX CIM-XML command tracing:

1. Open the Registry Editor.

2. Add a registry subkey in the following location called CIMXMLLog:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Storage Management\CIMXMLLog
3. Add a registry DWORD named LogLevel with a value of 4.
4. Add a registry String named LogFileName, and specify the full path and file
name to use for logging. Confirm that the directory exists and that the
Network Service account has read-and-write access to that directory.
5. Close the Registry Editor.

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6. Open Services to stop and start Microsoft Storage Management Service.

Note Logging fails to start if a space exists in any of the registry
VALUES. For example, compare these two:
“LogFileName” is correct.
“LogFileName ” has a trailing space, and logging will not start.

Sample SCX CIM-XML trace log

The output produced by SCX CIM-XML command tracing is the raw call-and-response
interaction between the service and the provider. This information is very verbose, so
to help minimize noise, collect this information only when you reproduce the issue.

Figure 41 is a sample of the type of information collected in the trace:

Figure 41. Sample SCX CIM-XML trace log

Enable Traceview ETL

Microsoft Storage Management Service has its own trace output, which you can
collect by using Traceview Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL).

To enable Traceview ETL:

1. From Microsoft Download Center, download “Windows Driver Kit Version

(WDK) 7.1.0” at http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/download/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=11800 and install it on the
VMM Server.

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2. Also download “Traceview.zip” from “SCVMM 2012: Collecting storage

related traces” at
http://blogs.technet.com/b/hectorl/archive/2011/12/08/scvmm-2012-
collecting-storage-related-traces.aspx and unzip it to a local folder on the
VMM Server.
3. Copy the Traceview.exe from the WDK folder to the same local folder.
4. Run Traceview.exe with administrator rights on the VMM Server.
5. In the Traceview installation wizard, click File, click Open Workspace, select
SCX, and then click OK.
6. The Traceview UI starts to display trace information when the next storage
operation occurs. This information is also logged to the StorageService.etl
file, which is located in the same folder as Traceview.exe.
Example Traceview ETL

Figure 42 is an example of the type of information collected in the trace:

Figure 42. Example Traceview ETL

ECOM I/O tracing for the EMC SMI-S Provider

You need to configure the I/O (Input/Output) ECOM tracing for the EMC SMI-S
Provider.

To configure ECOM trace logging for storage automation validation testing:

1. In a command shell on the EMC SMI-S Provider server, shut down Ecom.exe:
C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\bin\sm_service Stop Ecom.exe

Note Alternatively, you can use one of these to shut down ECOM:
Service Manager
Command shell command: net stop ECOM

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2. Clean up the log files by deleting the existing log files in the ECOM log
folder:
C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\log

3. Then open and edit the Log_settings.xml file to turn on ECOM HTTP I/O
tracing at the following location: C:\Program
Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\conf\Log_settings.xml
4. In a command shell, make the following changes to the Log_settings.xml
file:
a. Change the value for Severity from this:
<ECOMSetting Name="Severity" Type="string"
Value="NAVI_WARNING"/>

To this:
<ECOMSetting Name="Severity" Type="string"
Value="NAVI_TRACE"/>

b. Change the value for HTTPTraceOutput from this:

<ECOMSetting Name="HTTPTraceOutput" Type="boolean"
Value="false"/>

To this:
<ECOMSetting Name="HTTPTraceOutput" Type="boolean"
Value="true"/>

c. Change the value for HTTPTraceInput from this:

<ECOMSetting Name="HTTPTraceInput" Type="boolean"
Value="false"/>

To this:
<ECOMSetting Name="HTTPTraceInput" Type="boolean"
Value="true"/>

d. Change the value for HTTPTraceMaxVersions from this:

<ECOMSetting Name="HTTPTraceMaxVersions" Type="uint32"
Value="3"/>

To this:
<ECOMSetting Name="HTTPTraceMaxVersions" Type="uint32"
Value="30"/>

5. Save the Log_settings.xml file.

6. Restart Ecom.exe:
C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\bin\sm_service Start
Ecom.exe

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Note Alternatively, you can use one of these to start ECOM:

Service Manager
Command shell command: net start ECOM
7. Run a test that reproduces the issue for which you want to enable ECOM
tracing.
Note Run the test only long enough to trigger the issue.
8. Shut down Ecom.exe:
C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\bin\sm_service Stop Ecom.exe

Note Alternatively, you can use one of these to shut down ECOM:
Service Manager
Command shell command: net stop ECOM
9. Collect all of the files in both of the following locations:
C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\log
C:\Program Files\EMC\SYMAPI\log

10. Undo each change made to Log_settings.xml by reverting the value for each
ECOMSetting modified above to its original value.
11. Restart ECOM Start Ecom.exe:
C:\Program Files\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\bin\sm_service Start
Ecom.exe

Note Alternatively, you can use one of these to start ECOM:

Service Manager
Command shell command: net start ECOM

Review the full test case list developed by VMM

The VMM Storage Automation Validation Script contains multiple test cases that
exercise functionality and scale. Vendors capture test-case results in an Excel
spreadsheet named Provider-StabilizationTests-Template.xlsx.

The following table lists the test cases for the three different types: single operation
tests, baseline scale tests, and full scale tests.

Note In Table 27, Test207 is the only test that is different between the full-scale
tests and the baseline-scale tests.

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Table 27. Tests developed by VMM that exercise storage automation functionality
and scale
Test type Test
Single Test102_CreateDeleteOneLun -LunSizeinMB 10240
operations Test103_CreateOneSnapshotOfLun -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test104_CreateOneCloneOfLun -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test105_RegisterUnRegisterOneLunToHost
Test155_RegisterUnRegisterOneLunToCluster
Test106_RegisterOneLunAndMountToHost -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test107_RapidCreateOneVMToHost
Test157_RapidCreateOneVMToCluster

End-to-end Test101_AddRemoveProvider
scenarios Test202_CreateDeleteMultipleLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
(baseline
scale test) Test203_CreateMultipleSnapshotsOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test204_CreateMultipleClonesOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test205_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToHost -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test255_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test206_MountMultipleLunsToHost -LunSizeinMB 1024 -Count 10
Test256_MountMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test207_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToHost -Count 10
Test257_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -Count 10
Test501_MigrateMultipleVMFromHost2Cluster -VMCount 10
Test502_MigrateMultipleVMFromCluster2Host -VMCount 10
Test400_PerformAllClusterTests

End-to-end Test101_AddRemoveProvider
scenarios (full Test202_CreateDeleteMultipleLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
scale test)
Test203_CreateMultipleSnapshotsOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test204_CreateMultipleClonesOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test205_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToHost -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test255_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test206_MountMultipleLunsToHost -LunSizeinMB 1024 -Count 10
Test256_MountMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
Test207_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToHost -Count 10
Test257_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -Count 10
Test207_BatchRapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -BatchSize 10 -NumberofBatches 251
Test501_MigrateMultipleVMFromHost2Cluster -VMCount 10
Test502_MigrateMultipleVMFromCluster2Host -VMCount 10
Test400_PerformAllClusterTests

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Test case list for EMC storage arrays

The EMC test results in this section were obtained by using the VMM Storage
Automation Validation Script. The test results are for the EMC Symmetrix VMAX,
CLARiiON CX4, and VNX storage families. Each of these array families supports VMM
2012 storage functionality.

The test results validate the operation of each supported array, its operating
environment, and the EMC SMI-S Provider that communicates with the Microsoft
Storage Management Service.

Test results for Symmetrix VMAX arrays

Table 28 lists the EMC tests obtained by using the VMM Storage Automation
Validation Script for the EMC Symmetrix VMAX storage family.

All of the following tests received a test result of Pass.

Table 28. Tests developed by VMM that EMC ran successfully on Symmetrix family
arrays
Test type Test
Single Test102_CreateDeleteOneLun -LunSizeinMB 10240
operations
Test103_CreateOneSnapshotOfLun -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test104_CreateOneCloneOfLun -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test105_RegisterUnRegisterOneLunToHost

Test155_RegisterUnRegisterOneLunToCluster

Test106_RegisterOneLunAndMountToHost -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test107_RapidCreateOneVMToHost

Test157_RapidCreateOneVMToCluster

End-to-end Test101_AddRemoveProvider
scenarios
(baseline scale Test202_CreateDeleteMultipleLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
tests)
Test203_CreateMultipleSnapshotsOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test204_CreateMultipleClonesOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test205_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToHost -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test255_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test206_MountMultipleLunsToHost -LunSizeinMB 1024 -Count 10

Test256_MountMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test207_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToHost -Count 10

Test257_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -Count 10

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Test type Test

Test501_MigrateMultipleVMFromHost2Cluster -VMCount 10

Test502_MigrateMultipleVMFromCluster2Host -VMCount 10

Test400_PerformAllClusterTests

End-to-end Test101_AddRemoveProvider
scenarios
(full scale Test202_CreateDeleteMultipleLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
tests)
Test203_CreateMultipleSnapshotsOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test204_CreateMultipleClonesOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test205_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToHost -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test255_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test206_MountMultipleLunsToHost -LunSizeinMB 1024 -Count 10

Test256_MountMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test207_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToHost -Count 10

Test257_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -Count 10

Test207_BatchRapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -BatchSize 10 -NumberofBatches 25

Test501_MigrateMultipleVMFromHost2Cluster -VMCount 10

Test502_MigrateMultipleVMFromCluster2Host -VMCount 10

Test400_PerformAllClusterTests

Test results for CLARiiON CX4 arrays

Table 29 lists the results of EMC testing obtained by using the VMM Storage
Automation Validation Script for the EMC CLARiiON CX4 storage family.

All of the following tests received a test result of Pass.

Table 29. Tests developed by VMM that EMC ran successfully on EMC CLARiiON
family arrays
Test type Test
Single Test102_CreateDeleteOneLun -LunSizeinMB 10240
operations
Test103_CreateOneSnapshotOfLun -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test104_CreateOneCloneOfLun -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test105_RegisterUnRegisterOneLunToHost

Test155_RegisterUnRegisterOneLunToCluster

Test106_RegisterOneLunAndMountToHost -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test107_RapidCreateOneVMToHost

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Test type Test

Test157_RapidCreateOneVMToCluster

End-to-end Test101_AddRemoveProvider
scenarios
(baseline Test202_CreateDeleteMultipleLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
scale tests)
Test203_CreateMultipleSnapshotsOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test204_CreateMultipleClonesOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test205_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToHost -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test255_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test206_MountMultipleLunsToHost -LunSizeinMB 1024 -Count 10

Test256_MountMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test207_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToHost -Count 10

Test257_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -Count 10

Test501_MigrateMultipleVMFromHost2Cluster -VMCount 10

Test502_MigrateMultipleVMFromCluster2Host -VMCount 10

Test400_PerformAllClusterTests

End-to-end Test101_AddRemoveProvider
scenarios
(full scale Test202_CreateDeleteMultipleLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
tests)
Test203_CreateMultipleSnapshotsOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test204_CreateMultipleClonesOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test205_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToHost -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test255_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test206_MountMultipleLunsToHost -LunSizeinMB 1024 -Count 10

Test256_MountMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test207_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToHost -Count 10

Test257_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -Count 10

Test207_BatchRapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -BatchSize 10 -NumberofBatches 25

Test501_MigrateMultipleVMFromHost2Cluster -VMCount 10

Test502_MigrateMultipleVMFromCluster2Host -VMCount 10

Test400_PerformAllClusterTests

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Test results for VNX arrays

Table 30 lists the results of EMC testing obtained by using the VMM Storage
Automation Validation Script for the EMC VNX storage family.

All of the following tests received a test result of Pass.

Table 30. Tests developed by VMM that EMC ran successfully on EMC VNX family
arrays
Test type Test
Single Test102_CreateDeleteOneLun -LunSizeinMB 10240
operations
Test103_CreateOneSnapshotOfLun -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test104_CreateOneCloneOfLun -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test105_RegisterUnRegisterOneLunToHost

Test155_RegisterUnRegisterOneLunToCluster

Test106_RegisterOneLunAndMountToHost -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test107_RapidCreateOneVMToHost

Test157_RapidCreateOneVMToCluster

End-to-end Test101_AddRemoveProvider
scenarios
(baseline scale Test202_CreateDeleteMultipleLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
tests)
Test203_CreateMultipleSnapshotsOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test204_CreateMultipleClonesOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test205_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToHost -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test255_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test206_MountMultipleLunsToHost -LunSizeinMB 1024 -Count 10

Test256_MountMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test207_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToHost -Count 10

Test257_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -Count 10

Test501_MigrateMultipleVMFromHost2Cluster -VMCount 10

Test502_MigrateMultipleVMFromCluster2Host -VMCount 10

Test400_PerformAllClusterTests

End-to-end Test101_AddRemoveProvider
scenarios
(full scale Test202_CreateDeleteMultipleLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240
tests)
Test203_CreateMultipleSnapshotsOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test204_CreateMultipleClonesOfLun -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

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Test type Test

Test205_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToHost -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test255_RegisterUnRegisterMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test206_MountMultipleLunsToHost -LunSizeinMB 1024 -Count 10

Test256_MountMultipleLunsToCluster -Count 10 -LunSizeinMB 10240

Test207_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToHost -Count 10

Test257_RapidCreateMultipleVMsToCluster -Count 10

Test storage automation in your preproduction environment

You now know how EMC built a preproduction test environment to validate VMM
2012 storage functionality. You also know exactly what storage functionality the VMM
Storage Automation Validation Script is designed to test and the results of EMC
testing by using the Microsoft validation script.

Now, you can build your own preproduction test environment, download the VMM
validation script, and run your own validation testing. This will enable you to learn
about VMM 2012, EMC storage arrays, and how your private cloud components
interact in your own environment.

Specifically, in a preproduction environment, you can use the validation script to

confirm that the configuration is working as expected before deploying a private
cloud into your production environment. The script enables you to establish a
baseline of what the environment can do. After production deployment, you can
compare the current performance and behavior to that baseline.

For example, masking operations are working in the preproduction setting. However,
they start to fail at the same 16-node cluster that you used earlier. You can eliminate
issues with VMM first by restarting the failed masking job. If the job completes,
investigate whether a timeout for the job occurred. Timeouts on the provider side
might indicate an overloaded provider.

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Chapter 6 Prepare for Production Deployment

This chapter presents the following topics:

Production deployment ....................................................................... 126

Identify issues unique to your production environment ......................... 126
Production deployment resources ....................................................... 126
Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track program .......................................... 129

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Production deployment
Carefully plan the transition from a preproduction or lab environment to a production
environment. Effectively using VMM to create and manage one or more private clouds
requires that you design and implement your management of storage resources with
VMM in mind. This chapter can help you do that by describing how to get started and
identifying important resources.

Identify issues unique to your production environment

Optimally, your preproduction environment accurately models your production
environment. If not, it is important to identify what are the differences or limitations.

You must also understand what issues may exist in your production environment that
limit the performance and scale of your private cloud. One example is the number of
nodes that you plan to use in your production Hyper-V host clusters. Another example
is the set of rapid provisioning requirements that your organization plans to specify
for VMM host groups.

Production deployment resources

A number of resources are available to support you in designing, implementing, and
verifying your private cloud environment. Which resources you choose to use will
depend on your goals for building, operating, and maintaining a private cloud.

If you are just starting with VMM, viewing Microsoft Private Cloud Videos can help
familiarize you with VMM features and functionality. After viewing the videos, contact
an EMC representative about how to use the Microsoft Technology Centers (MTCs) to
aid you in building your private cloud. The representative might recommend validated
Fast Track configurations to expedite deploying VMM and EMC storage in your
production environment.

Microsoft private cloud videos

You can use the following Microsoft videos as an introduction on how to deploy a
private cloud.

Microsoft IT showcase video

You can find the IT Showcase video “How Microsoft IT Uses System Center Virtual
Machine Manager to Manage the Private Cloud” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/edge/Video/hh748210.

VMM 2012 helps enable centralized management of both physical and virtual IT
infrastructure, increases server utilization, and improves dynamic resource
optimization across multiple virtualization platforms. Microsoft uses VMM to plan,
deploy, manage, and optimize their own virtual infrastructure, while at the same time
maximizing its datacenter resources.

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Microsoft jump start videos

The following jump start videos by Microsoft introduce VMM 2012:

“Private Cloud Jump Start (01): Introduction to the Microsoft Private Cloud
with System Center 2012” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
US/edge/private-cloud-jump-start-01-introduction-to-the-microsoft-private-
cloud-with-system-center-2012
“Private Cloud Jump Start (02): Configure and Deploy Infrastructure
Components” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/video/private-
cloud-jump-start-02-configure-and-deploy-infrastructure-components

Microsoft Technology Centers (MTCs)

Today, you can find Microsoft Technology Centers (MTCs) all over the world. These
centers bring together Microsoft and its partners in a joint effort to help enterprise
customers find innovative solutions for their unique environments.

EMC participates in these centers as a member of the Microsoft Technology Center

Alliances Program. Through the Alliances program, working directly with an MTC
Alliance Manager, EMC provides hardware, software, and services to all of the MTC
facilities.

Customers can meet with solution and technology experts at an MTC location and
find answers to questions such as the following:

What is the best solution?

How do we get a solution to market faster?
How do we solve this difficult problem?
What are the appropriate development best practices to apply?
Should we be looking at release or pre-release software?
Can we verify this proposed solution before making a purchase?
What are the appropriate products to purchase for the solution?
Can we see a live demo of the solution?
MTCs have three types of offerings, each of which focuses on a different stage of your
organization’s search for a solution:

Strategy Briefing at http://www.microsoft.com/en-

us/mtc/offerings/strategy.aspx
Architecture Design Session at http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/mtc/offerings/architecture.aspx
Proof-of-Concept Workshop at http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/mtc/offerings/proofofconcept.aspx

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No matter what development stage you are at with your solution, MTC can help get
you to the next step.

MTCs focus on the following business goals:

Build customer connections

Drive real-world business process
Drive business performance
Enable your mobile workforce
Optimize your application platform
Optimize your business productivity infrastructure
Optimize and secure your core infrastructure
Test and tune performance
For more information about EMC as an MTC Alliance partner, watch the following
video: “Inside The Partnership (EMC/MSFT) ITP01 - The MTC” at
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mtc/partners/emc2.aspx

To engage with EMC at the MTC, contact your local Microsoft or EMC account
manager. MTC visits are free, with convenient locations and flexible schedules. You
can also schedule a visit using the EMC online booking request form at
http://powerlink.emc.com/km/appmanager/km/secureDesktop?_nfpb=true&_pageL
abel=formsPgSecureContentBk&internalId=0b014066800248e7&_irrt=true.

For more information about MTCs, visit http://www.microsoft.com/en-

us/mtc/default.aspx or speak to your local Microsoft or EMC account manager.

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Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track program

The Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track program helps accelerate customer
deployments of a Microsoft private cloud into a production environment by defining a
specific configuration that implements best practice guidance. These previously
validated configurations utilize multiple points of integration with the Microsoft
System Center product set. For System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 (VMM
2012), Fast Track solutions defined by EMC in conjunction with associated server and
SAN vendors to utilize the SMI-S Provider to deliver end-to-end storage system
automated operations.

Additional integration between System Center and EMC is provided in Fast Track
deliverables that include System Center 2012—Operations Manager and System
Center 2012—Orchestrator as well as other solutions that include EMC PowerShell
components. Customers implementing Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track solutions
are provided with a pre-staged, validated configuration of storage, compute, and
network resources that fulfill all private cloud requirements. These solutions
significantly improve return on investment for private cloud deployments.

EMC and Microsoft sources for the Fast Track program

“Microsoft Virtualization and Private Cloud Solutions” at

http://www.emc.com/hypervcloud
“Microsoft Private Cloud” at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-
cloud/private-cloud/default.aspx

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 Appendix A Install VMM

This appendix presents the following topics:

Install System Center 2012 VMM .......................................................... 132

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 Appendix A: Install VMM

Install System Center 2012 VMM

Prerequisites

Confirm you meet the prerequisites for installing VMM:

“Minimum hardware requirements” on page 54

“VMM prerequisites” on page 73

To install the VMM management server:

1. On the VMM installation media, to open the Microsoft System Center

2012Virtual Machine Manager Setup Wizard, right-click Setup.exe, and
then click Run as administrator.
2. On the opening screen, click Install and select the following features to
install:
 VMM management server
 VMM Console (This is selected automatically when you select VMM
management server)
3. Specify the following product registration information:
 Name
 Organization (optional)
 Product key
4. Accept the license agreement.
5. Select Yes or No, depending on whether or not you want to join CEIP
(Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program).
6. If the Specify Microsoft Update behavior window appears, specify
whether or not you want to use Microsoft Update.
Note If, on this computer, you earlier chose to use Microsoft Update,
this page does not appear in the VMM Setup wizard.
7. Accept the default installation path:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Microsoft System Center 2012\Virtual Machine
Manager
8. The Setup wizard checks whether all hardware and software requirements
for VMM 2012 are met. If any requirements are not met, a page of
warnings appears. If you get warnings:
 Fix any errors
 Fix or ignore any warnings

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Note If any errors or warnings appear, consider reviewing “VMM

prerequisites” on page 73 and “System Requirements for
System Center 2012–Virtual Machine Manager” on Microsoft
TechNet at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/gg610592.
9. Specify the following settings for the SQL Server that will contain the VMM
database:
 Server name. For example: If SQL Server is on the same computer that
you are now installing VMM, type localhost, or type the server name,
such as vmmserver01.
 Port. Leave this value blank unless all of the following are true:
SQL Server is on a remote computer.
SQL Server browser service is not started on that computer.
SQL Server is not configured to use the default port of 1433.
 Optionally, specify:
Domain\Username
Password
 Instance name. The default instance name is MSSQLSERVER. A server
can host only one default instance of SQL Server, so if you plan to
install multiple instances of SQL Server on this computer, specify a
named instance. “Instance Configuration” at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143531(v=sql.105).aspx
has more details.
12. Specify whether you will create a new database or use an existing
database:
 New database. If the account you use to install the VMM Server does
not have permissions to create a new SQL Server database, select Use
the following credentials and provide the user name and password of
an account that does have permissions. For example, name the
database: VMMDatabase01
or
 Existing database
10. To configure the service account and the distributed key management
information, select: Local System account.
Cautions
This is the account that the VMM Service uses. If you change the
VMM service account after installation, this is not supported. This
includes changing from the local system account to a domain
account, from a domain account to the local system account, or
from one domain account to another domain account.
If you specify a domain account, the account must be a member of
the local administrators group on the computer.

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If you plan to use shared ISO images with Hyper-V virtual machines,
you must use a domain account. “Specifying a Service Account for
VMM” at http://technet.microsoft.com/library/gg697600.aspx has
more details about which type of account to use.
 Optionally, you can select Store my keys in Active Directory. However,
for this preproduction test installation, you may not need to select this
option. “Configuring Distributed Key Management in VMM” on
Microsoft TechNet at
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/gg697604.aspx has more
details.
11. For this and most test installations, you can accept the following default
values for ports:
 8100: Communication with the VMM Console
 5975: Communication to agents on hosts and Library Servers
 443: File transfers to agents on hosts and Library Servers
 8102: Communication with Windows Deployment Services
 8101: Communication with Windows PE agents
 8013Communication with Windows PE agent for time synchronization
Note The values you assign for these ports during setup cannot be
changed without uninstalling and reinstalling the VMM Server.
12. To specify a share for the VMM library, select Create a new library share.
13. Accept the following default values:
 Share name: MSSCVMMLibrary
 Share location: C:\ProgramData\Virtual Machine Manager Library Files
 Share description: VMM Library Share
Notes
MSSCVMMLibrary is the default library share name; its location is:
%SYSTEMDRIVE%\ProgramData\Virtual Machine Manager Library
Files
Because ProgramData is a hidden folder, if you want to see the
contents in Windows Explorer, then configure Windows Explorer to
show hidden folders.
After VMM setup completes, you can add library shares and
additional library servers by using the VMM Console or by using
VMM PowerShell.
14. On the Review Installation summary page, review your selections and
click Install.
15. Wait for the VMM management server and VMM console to install. When
you see a message that the Setup wizard has completed the installation,
click Close.

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16. After you have successfully installed the VMM Server in your
preproduction environment, configure storage by referring to the following
procedures:
 “Configure VMM to discover and manage storage” on page 75
 “Create SAN-copy-capable templates for testing VM rapid
provisioning” on page 90

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 Appendix B Array Masking and Hyper-V
Host Clusters

This appendix presents the following topics:

Array masking and Hyper-V host clusters .............................................. 138

Factors that affect unmasking for Hyper-V Host clusters in VMM ............ 140
Ports per View property options ........................................................... 141
Hardware ID per View property option................................................... 142
Storage groups setting per node or cluster............................................ 143
How Ports per View and Hardware ID per View influence
unmasking to a cluster ......................................................................... 145
Impact of Ports per View and Hardware ID on storage groups
per clusters .................................................................................... 145
Using VMM 2012 cmdlets to display information about storage
groups per cluster ................................................................................ 148

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Array masking and Hyper-V host clusters

Storage groups unmask, or associate, servers with specific logical units on an array
and with target ports on that array. These are the ports through which a logical unit is
visible to the server. When a cluster is involved, how VMM unmasks storage to a
cluster varies, depending on factors described in this section. This appendix can help
administrators determine the appropriate configuration for unmasking storage to
host clusters in a way that helps avoid issues such as timeouts.

Before addressing how VMM handles unmasking operations for clusters, the next
section introduces the concept of storage groups and explains how VMM uses
storage groups to bind logical units on arrays to specific VM host servers.

Storage groups unmask logical units to Hyper-V VM hosts

In a VMM 2012 private cloud, the purpose of storage groups is to make storage on an
array available to Hyper-V VM hosts or to Hyper-V host clusters. The mechanism to
enable unmasking or assigning a logical unit on an array to a host is to use storage
groups to bind or map initiator endpoints on Hyper-V VM hosts (or initiator endpoints
on clusters) to target endpoints on the storage array.

VMM creates new storage groups and modifies existing storage groups. The following
table lists commonly used synonyms for storage groups, initiator endpoint, and target
endpoint.

Table 31. Commonly used synonyms for storage groups, initiators, and targets
Synonyms for the interface that Synonyms for the endpoint Synonyms for the endpoint on a
binds initiators to targets on a Hyper-V host storage array
Cell Bullet 1 Initiator Target
Storage groups Storage initiator Target endpoint
Masking sets Host initiator Target port
Masking Views Host initiator endpoint Target portal
Views Host initiator port Target iSCSI portal
SCSI Protocol Controllers (SPCs) Initiator port Storage endpoint
 SPC is the term Port Storage target
typically used by SMI-
Hardware ID Storage endpoint
S.
A specific implementation Storage port
 SCSI is the common
(FC SAN): Port
protocol used (over FC
or over Ethernet) when  FC initiator port
ISCSI portal2
storage is assigned  HBA1 port
remotely to a server. A specific implementation (FC
 HBA1 SAN):
A specific implementation FC target port
(iSCSI SAN):
A specific implementation (iSCSI
 iSCSI initiator port SAN):
 iSCSI initiator  iSCSI target port
 iSCSI target

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Notes for numbered items in the previous table:

1. HBA is the physical adapter. An HBA adapter may have one or more physical
ports. In the NPIV case, one physical port can have multiple virtual ports
associated to it, each with its own World Wide name (WWN).
2. The portal in “iSCSI Portal” refers to the IP address that initiators use to first
gain access to iSCSI targets.
As indicated in preceding table, the term “storage groups” is sometimes is used
interchangeably with SPCs. Using SCSI as the first element of the SPC acronym is
appropriate because SCSI is the protocol used for both FC and iSCSI communications
in a SAN. From an SMI-S perspective, a storage group is an instance of the CIM class
CIM_SCSIProtocolController, as illustrated in the following figure.

Figure 43. Figure 1: A storage group is an instance of the CIM class

SCSIProtocolController

VMM 2012 discovers existing storage groups during Level 2 discovery when it
retrieves storage groups (and storage endpoints) associated with discovered logical
units in VMM-managed storage pools on an array. VMM populates the VMM database
not only with discovered storage objects, but also with any discovered association
between a host and a logical unit. Storage groups act as the interface that binds host
initiator endpoints (called InitiatorPorts in the figure) on a Hyper-V VM host (or Hyper-
V host cluster) to storage endpoints (called TargetPorts in the figure) for specific
logical units on target arrays.

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Figure 44. Figure 2: VMM modifies storage groups during masking operations to
unmask LUNs to hosts

Thus, if a storage group contains a host initiator endpoint (InitiatorPort in the figure)
on the host side that maps to TargetPorts on the array side, VMM unmasks the logical
unit to that host through the association established by the storage group. If no
association exists, the logical unit is masked (the logical unit is not visible to the
host).

Factors that affect unmasking for Hyper-V Host clusters in VMM

Array-side properties that affect how VMM 2012 configures unmasking for Hyper-V
host clusters include:

Ports per View (Ports refers to target ports on an array and View refers to
storage groups)
This property indicates that the array supports one of the following options:

 Only one target port per storage group

 All target ports per storage group
 One, multiple, or all target ports per storage group
Hardware ID per View (Hardware ID refers to the host initiator on a VM host
and View refers to storage groups)
This property indicates that the array supports one of the following options:

 Only one hardware ID per storage group

 Multiple hardware IDs per storage group

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Note The Hardware ID per View setting does not apply to EMC arrays but is included
in this document for completeness. If you run the following VMM PowerShell
command in an environment with EMC arrays, you can see that the value
returned for MaskingOneHardwareIDPerView is always returned as FALSE:
$Arrays = Get-SCStorageArray –All
$Arrays | Select-Object ObjectType, Name, Model,
MaskingOneHardwareIDPerView, HardwareIDFlags

A host-side configurable setting, called storage groups, is affected by values for the
above two array-side properties. Hardware ID per View and Ports per View individually
and together determine, how you should configure VMM to managed storage groups
for Hyper-V host clusters:

Storage groups (storage groups are also referred to as masking views or

SPCs). VMM manages storage groups in one of the following ways:
 Per node
 Per cluster
By default, VMM manages storage groups for clusters per node (not per cluster).
However, you might need to change this setting so that VMM instead manages
storage groups per cluster. Understanding the array-side Hardware ID per View and
Ports per View properties can help you decide which option for Storage Groups per
Cluster is appropriate in your VMM-based private cloud.

Ports per View property options

In the context of unmasking or masking a logical unit to a host or host cluster, the
Ports per View property on an array specifies the number of target ports per masking
view (per SPC or storage group) that the underlying storage array supports. The value
returned from Ports per View indicates the requirement from the array. This value is
not configurable.

Valid values for the Ports per View property are a set of read-only strings limited to
those in the following list. In each case, the value returned indicates the option that a
specific type of array supports:

OnePortPerView (traditional):
 Adding only one target port to the storage group is the only option
 Not implemented by EMC VMAX, VNX, and CLARiiON CX4 arrays that
support VMM 2012
AllPortsShareTheSameView (simplest):
 Adding all target ports to the storage group is required
 Supported by EMC VNX and CLARiiON CX4 arrays

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MultiplePortsPerView (most flexible):

 Any of the following is supported:
Adding one target port to the storage group
Adding multiple target ports to the storage group
Adding all target ports to the storage group
 Supported by EMC VMAX arrays
The Ports per View property is an array-based property; its value is not set by VMM,
nor can you modify its value by using VMM. However, the True or False value for this
property is made available to VMM through the SMI-S Provider. You can therefore use
VMM cmdlets to return its value.

Example commands for VMM PowerShell

$Arrays = Get-SCStorageArray -All
$Arrays| Select-Object ObjectType, Name, Model,
MaskingPortsPerView | Format-List

Example output
ObjectType : StorageArray
Name : APM00101000787
Model : Rack Mounted CX4_240
MaskingPortsPerView : AllPortsShareTheSameView

ObjectType : StorageArray
Name : 000194900376
Model : VMAX-1SE
MaskingPortsPerView : MultiplePortsPerView

ObjectType : StorageArray
Name : APM00111102546
Model : Rack Mounted VNX5100
MaskingPortsPerView : AllPortsShareTheSameView

Hardware ID per View property option

In the context of unmasking or masking a logical unit to a host or host cluster, the
Hardware ID per View property refers to an object on the array that corresponds to a
host-initiator endpoint on a host (or on a node of a host cluster). The value for
Hardware ID per View is not configurable.

Note The Hardware ID per View setting does not apply to EMC arrays but is included
in this document for completeness.

VMM creates a new masking set if no hardware ID already exists. The array detects
which hardware IDs exist on the host and a corresponding hardware ID object is
created on the array.

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The Boolean value returned for the Hardware ID per View property indicates:

True (traditional):
 This type of array supports only one hardware ID object (host initiator
port) per masking view (per SPC or storage group).
 Not implemented by EMC VMAX, CLARiiON, or VNX arrays that support
VMM 2012.
False (more flexible):
 This type of array supports multiple hardware ID objects (host initiator
ports) per masking view (per SPC or storage group). Storage groups can
contain multiple host initiator ports and more than one masking view can
exist.
 Supported by EMC VMAX, CLARiiON and VNX arrays.
The Hardware ID per View property is an array-based property. The value is not set or
modified by VMM. However, the True or False value for this property is made available
to VMM through the SMI-S Provider. So you can use VMM cmdlets to return its value.

Example commands for VMM PowerShell

$Arrays = Get-SCStorageArray -All
$Arrays[0] | Select-Object ObjectType, Name, Model,
MaskingOneHardwareIDPerView, HardwareIDFlags

Example output
ObjectType : StorageArray
Name : APM00101000787
Model : Rack Mounted CX4_240
MaskingOneHardwareIDPerView : False
HardwareIDFlags : SupportsPortWWN, SupportsISCSIName

Storage groups setting per node or cluster

Create Storage Group per Cluster is a VMM 2012 configurable setting. By default,
VMM sets the value for CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster (a property on a storage array
object) to FALSE for any VMM-managed array. The default value specifies that storage
groups are created per node (rather than per cluster).

You can manually change the default value to specify that storage groups be created
per cluster. Note that this setting has an array scoping and therefore affects all host
clusters that have storage allocated to this array.

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The Boolean value that you can configure for Create Storage Groups per Cluster
specifies:

CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster = False
(more flexible default setting)
 Creates storage groups on an array at the node level. Each storage group
contains all initiator ports for one node. Thus, the LUN (or LUNs)
associated with this storage group are made available to a single node or
to a subset of nodes in the cluster.
 Drivers:
Supports the ability to make a specific LUN available to just one node,
which means that you can have a separate LUN for boot-from-SAN
scenarios. In the boot-from-SAN scenario, the boot LUN must be
specific to a particular host and only that host can access that LUN.
 Supported by EMC VMAX, CLARiiON, and VNX arrays
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster = True
(the simplest setting that improves performance with only one storage group
to manage)
 Creates storage groups on an array at the cluster level. The storage group
contains all host initiator ports for all nodes in that cluster. Thus, the LUN
(or LUNs) associated with this storage group are made available to all
nodes in the cluster.
 Drivers:
On some arrays, masking operations are serialized, which means that
the time required to unmask or mask a LUN increases if there are
multiple masking requests. In this case, timeouts can occur, so you
should consider setting CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster to True.
If you have a large number of nodes (8 to 16) in a cluster, you may
encounter timeout issues. The more nodes, the greater the chance of
timeouts. If so, consider setting CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster to
True.
If you have fewer than eight nodes per cluster, but the cluster is
heavily used, you may encounter timeout issues. If so, consider
setting CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster to True.
Notes

If you do set CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster to True, be aware that you

lose the ability to make a specific LUN available to just one node or to a
subset of nodes. This means that a separate LUN is no longer available for
boot from SAN scenarios.
Setting CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster to True is supported by (and
appropriate for) EMC VMAX arrays. It is also supported by CLARiiON or
VNX arrays, which is typically not recommended.

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You can change the default value of False to True by using VMM cmdlets.

Example commands for VMM PowerShell

$Arrays = Get-SCStorageArray -All
$Arrays[0] | Select-Object ObjectType, Name, Model, StorageGroups,
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster | Format-List

Example output
ObjectType : StorageArray
Name : APM00101000787
Model : Rack Mounted CX4_240
StorageGroups : {Storage Group, Storage Group}
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster : False

How Ports per View and Hardware ID per View influence unmasking to a
cluster
This section ties together the array-side Hardware ID per View and Ports per View
properties with the host-side Storage Groups per Cluster setting. The former two
sections explain the appropriate way to unmask a LUN either to cluster nodes or to
the entire cluster.

As noted earlier, configuring storage groups per cluster or per node is a VMM 2012
setting, whereas the value for Ports per View (one, all, or multiple) and for Hardware
ID per View (True or False) are array-based read-only properties. Because SMI-S
makes available to VMM the values for both of these properties, VMM can utilize both
properties to help determine the appropriate (or required) value for
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster.

Impact of Ports per View and Hardware ID on storage groups per clusters
Table 32 provides the intersection between the value for the Hardware ID per View
property and the value for the Ports per View property determines the configuration
that VMM can or must use for host clusters. For each cell in Table 32, the combination
of the value for these two array-side properties indicates whether
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster is True, False, or N/A (Not Applicable).

Notes

The term of storage groups is used interchangeably with the SPCs and
masking views.
The values of these array-side properties affect how storage groups are
managed or modified if storage groups already exist. Or if none currently
exist, the values affect how storage groups are created.

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Table 32. Array-side properties whose values affect how storage groups are set for
host clusters
All target ports
Multiple target ports One target port
Setting share same storage
per storage group per storage group
group
One Initiator Port CreateStorageGroups CreateStorageGroups CreateStorageGroups
per Storage Group = PerCluster = TRUE or PerCluster = TRUE or PerCluster = TRUE or
FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
One Initiator Port CreateStorageGroups CreateStorageGroups CreateStorageGroups
per Storage Group PerCluster – N/A to PerCluster – N/A to PerCluster – N/A to
View = TRUE EMC Storage Arrays EMC Storage Arrays EMC Storage Arrays

Set CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster to either True or False as shown in the first two

columns of the first row in Table 32.

In this case: VMM creates one storage group for In this case: VMM creates one storage group for each
the entire cluster (for all nodes in the cluster). node in the cluster.

Figure 45. Each storage group has at least two target ports

In Figure 46, the result is not as intuitive as in Figure 45, because when you set
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster to True, the result is one storage group per node.

Set CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster to either True or False in the third column of the

first row in Table 32.

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In this case: In this case:

Only one storage group is allowed per Only one storage group is allowed per target port, so
target port, so you must have a minimum you must have a minimum of one storage group per
of one storage group per target port. In this target. However, you can have more than one storage
example, two target ports exist and group per target, as in this example.
therefore two storage groups must exist. In this example, two or more initiator ports are allowed
In this example, two or more initiator ports in a storage group, so each storage group contains
are allowed in a storage group, so each initiator ports for a given node. Since each node has
storage group contains both initiator ports two storage groups, both storage groups must contain
for a given node. both initiator ports.
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster is set to CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster is set to FALSE, so
True, so typically you would only see one VMM can create more than one storage group for each
storage group. However for this example, node in the cluster—but it remains true that each
you must have more than one, as storage group must contain both initiator ports for each
explained in the first bullet. node.
Here, you unmask the LUN through both Here, you have the flexibility to unmask the LUN
initiator ports on a given node. through one initiator port on a given node, but not
through the other initiator port on that node.

Figure 46. Each storage group has only one target port set to either True or False for
CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster

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Using VMM 2012 cmdlets to display information about storage groups

per cluster
You can display storage groups in your own environment by using VMM cmdlets as
shown in the following examples. You can also display information about the
Hardware ID per View and Ports per View properties and related information.

Example commands for VMM PowerShell

$Arrays = Get-SCStorageArray -All | Select-Object ObjectType,
Name, Model, StorageGroups, CreateStorageGroupsPerCluster,
StoragePools, StorageInitiators, StorageEndpoints,
StorageiSCSIPortals, MaskingPortsPerView,
MaskingOneHardwareIDPerView, HardwareIDFlags

Example 1 command

To use $Arrays to see details about a specific storage group:

$StorageGroups = $Arrays[4].StorageGroups
$StorageGroups[0] | Select-Object ObjectType, Name, ObjectId,
StorageArray, StorageInitiators, StorageEndpoints,
StorageLogicalUnits

Example 1 output
ObjectType : StorageGroup
Name : Storage Group
ObjectId : root/emc:hSMIS-SRV-
VM1.SR5DOM.ENG.EMC.COM:5988;Clar_LunMa

skingSCSIProtocolController.CreationClassName=%'Clar_LunM

askingSCSIProtocolController%',DeviceID=%'CLARiiON+APM001

11102546+b266edfa68a4e011bd47006016372cc9%',SystemCreatio

nClassName=%'Clar_StorageSystem%',SystemName=%'CLARiiON+A
PM00111102546%'
StorageArray : APM00111102546
StorageInitiators : {5001438001343E40}
StorageEndpoints : {500601603DE00835, 500601683DE00835}
StorageLogicalUnits : {LaurieTestLun}

Example 2 command

To use $Arrays to see details about a specific LUN:

$LUNs = $StorageGroups[0].StorageLogicalUnits
$LUNs | Select-Object ObjectType, Name, HostGroup, HostDisks,
StorageGroups, StoragePool, NumberOfBlocks, ConsumableBlocks,
AccessDescription, TotalCapacity, AllocatedCapacity,
InUseCapacity, RemainingCapacity

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Example 2 output
ObjectType : StorageLUN
Name : LaurieTestLun
HostGroup : All Hosts
HostDisks : {\\.\PHYSICALDRIVE2, \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE2}
StorageGrouops :
StoragePool : Pool 1
NumberOfBlocks : 33554432
ConsumableBlocks : 33554432
AccessDescription : Read/Write Supported
TotalCapacity : 17179869184
AllocatedCapacity : 0
InUseCapacity : 0
RemainingCapacity : 17179869184

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 Appendix C Enable Large LUNs on Symmetrix
VMAX Arrays

This appendix presents the following topics:

Enable large LUNs on Symmetrix VMAX arrays ...................................... 152

Maximum device size limits ................................................................. 152
Enable Auto Meta with the EMC Solutions Enabler ................................ 153
Enable Auto Meta with the Symmetrix Management
Console (SMC) .................................................................................... 154

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 Appendix C: Enable Large LUNs on Symmetrix VMAX Arrays

Enable large LUNs on Symmetrix VMAX arrays

For Symmetrix VMAX arrays, VMM cannot create a LUN larger than 240 GB unless you
first configure the auto_meta setting. You set system-wide Symmetrix meta settings,
including the auto_meta setting, by using the Symconfigure command to specify a
command file.

Note The contents of this appendix are adapted from “EMC Solutions Enabler
Symmetrix Array Controls CLI” available at
https://support.emc.com/docu40313_EMC-Solutions-Enabler-Symmetrix-
Array-Controls-CLI-V7.4-Product-Guide.pdf?language=en_US

Maximum device size limits

The maximum size for Symmetrix devices depends on the Enginuity version:

For Enginuity 5874 and later, the maximum device size in cylinders is 262668.
For Enginuity 5773 and earlier, the maximum device size in cylinders is 65520.

Meta devices exceed maximum device size limits

EMC first introduced the auto_meta feature in Solutions Enabler V6.5.1, running
Enginuity version 5773. The auto_meta setting enables automatic creation of
metadevices (a set of logical volumes) in a single configuration change session. A
metadevice is also referred to as a metavolume.

If the auto_meta feature is set to DISABLED (the default value) and you try to create a
device larger than the allowable maximum, creating the device will fail. However, if
you set auto_meta to ENABLE and then specify the creation of a single standard
device larger than the maximum allowable size, Symmetrix will create a metadevice
instead of a standard device.

The following table lists, by Enginuity version, the meta device sizes that are enabled
by the auto_meta feature.

Table 33. Meta device sizes enabled by the Auto Meta feature
Auto Meta
Max single Maximum single Minimum Auto
Enginuity version member size
device size (CYL) device size (GB) Meta size (CYL)
(CYL)
5874 262668 240 262669 262668

5773 65520 59 65521 65520

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Auto Meta parameter dependencies

You can enable the auto_meta setting only if the following auto_meta parameters are
set to valid values:

Min_auto_meta_size: Specifies the size threshold that triggers auto_meta

creation.
 When you create a device with a maximum size larger than
min_auto_meta_size, and auto_meta is enabled, then a metadevice will
be created.
 The min_auto_meta_size cannot be set to a value smaller than the
auto_meta_member_size.
 The min_auto_meta size must be smaller than or equal to the value in
the preceding table.
Auto_meta_member_size: Specifies the default meta member size in cylinders
when the auto_meta feature is enabled:
 The auto_meta_member_size must be smaller than or equal to the value
in the preceding table.
Auto_meta_config: Specifies the default meta config when the auto_meta feature
is enabled:
 Valid values include CONCATENATED, STRIPED, or NONE.
These settings apply to all EMC Symmetrix VMAX arrays.

Enable Auto Meta with the EMC Solutions Enabler

How to enable the Auto Meta feature with the EMC Solutions Enabler:

1. Open the command shell (using the Windows Command Prompt, Windows
PowerShell, or a Linux or Unix shell).
2. Run the following command to verify if auto_meta is disabled:
symcfg list -sid xxxx -v

Note Replace xxxx with your Symmetrix ID (SID).

3. If auto_meta is not disabled, create a file called 1.txt, and then add the
following text to that file:
set Symmetrix auto_meta=enable, min_auto_meta_size=xxxx,
auto_meta_member_size=xxxx, auto_meta_config=xxxx;

4. Run the following command:

symconfigure -sid xxxx -f 1.txt commit -nop

Note Replace xxxx with your Symmetrix ID (SID).

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5. Verify that auto_meta is enabled:

symcfg list -sid xxxx -v

Note Replace xxxx with your Symmetrix ID (SID).

Enable Auto Meta with the Symmetrix Management Console (SMC)

To enable the Auto Meta feature with the Symmetrix Management Console (SMC):

1. In the Console, right-click Symmetrix ID, and then select Symmetrix Admin.
2. Select Set Symmetrix Attributes, and then enable the Auto Meta feature.
3. Enter applicable values for each of the following parameters:
 Minimum Auto Meta Size
 Auto Meta Member Size
 Auto Meta Configuration
“Maximum device size limits” on page 152 for more details on the correct
values.
4. Select Add to Config Session List (which will create a configuration session
task).
5. Commit the task from the Config Session menu.

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 Appendix D Configure Symmetrix VMAX
TimeFinder for Rapid VM
Provisioning

This appendix presents the following topics:

Configure Symmetrix VMAX TimeFinder for rapid VM provisioning ......... 156

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 Appendix D: Configure Symmetrix VMAX TimeFinder for Rapid VM Provisioning

Configure Symmetrix VMAX TimeFinder for rapid VM provisioning

EMC Symmetrix VMAX TimeFinder capabilities include:

TimeFinder/Snap: Creates pointer-based logical copies that consume less storage

than clones.
TimeFinder/Clone: Creates full-device and extent-level point-in-time copies.
Automated rapid VM provisioning with VMM requires EMC TimeFinder. This appendix
provides an overview of TimeFinder and outlines what you need to know about both
TimeFinder/Snap and TimeFinder/Clone in order to set up your preproduction
environment to test rapid VM provisioning.

You can use this appendix to help determine which configuration steps to perform
before deploying VMs.

See Also:

“EMC Solutions Enabler Symmetrix TimeFinder Family CLI V7.4 Product Guide” at
https://support.emc.com/docu40317_EMC-Solutions-Enabler-Symmetrix-
TimeFinder-Family-CLI-V7.4-Product-Guide.pdf?language=en_US
“EMC Symmetrix Timefinder Product Guide” at
https://support.emc.com/docu31118_Symmetrix-TimeFinder-Product-
Guide.pdf?language=en_US

TimeFinder/Snap overview
TimeFinder/Snap creates space-saving, logical point-in-time images called
snapshots. You can create multiple snapshots simultaneously on multiple target
devices from a single source device. Snapshots are not complete copies of data. They
are logical images of the original information, based on the time the snapshot was
created.

Virtual device (VDEV)

TimeFinder/Snap uses source and target devices where the target device is a special
Symmetrix device known as a virtual device (VDEV). Through the use of device
pointers to the original data, VDEVs allow you to allocate space based on changes to
a device (using an Asynchronous Copy on First Write, or ACOFW, mechanism), rather
than replicating the complete device.

A VDEV is a Symmetrix host-addressable cache device used in TimeFinder/Snap

operations to store pointers to point-in-time copies of the source device. Virtual
devices are space efficient because they contain only address pointers to the actual
data tracks stored on the source device or in a pool of SAVE devices.

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SAVE device

A SAVE device is a Symmetrix device that is not accessible to the host and can be
accessed only through VDEVs that store data on SAVE devices. SAVE devices provide
pooled physical storage and are configured with any supported RAID scheme. SAVE
devices are placed within logical constructs called snap pools (also referred to as
SAVE pools) in order to aggregate or isolate physical disk resources for the purpose of
storing data associated with TimeFinder/Snap. The following figure shows the
relationship between source devices, VDEVs, and SAVE devices.

Figure 47. Configuring TimeFinder / Snap for VM deployment

Configuring TimeFinder/Snap for VM deployment

To support rapid VM deployment in a VMM 2012 private cloud with TimeFinder/Snap,

the default snap pool, named DEFAULT_POOL, must be pre-populated with SAVE
devices sized appropriately to accept the expected write workload associated with
the VMs to be deployed. The configuration of the SAVE devices and their placement
into the DEFAULT_POOL is beyond the scope of this document. Review the
appropriate EMC Solutions Enabler or Symmetrix Management Console
documentation for details about configuring the default snap pool. Also for more
information, search https://support.emc.com or review your storage documentation.

To support snapshot operations, the EMC SMI-S Provider can automatically select
appropriately sized VDEVs, or it can create new VDEVs. By default, the SMI-S Provider
first attempts to find pre-created VDEVs within the Symmetrix array before the
provider creates new VDEVs. You can find the settings that control this behavior in the
file called OSLSProvider.conf (located in the EMC\ECIM\ECOM\Providers installation
directory on your SMI-S Provider server). (These settings are described in the table
labeled “Property descriptions and default values in the OSLSProvider.conf settings
file” at the end of this section.)

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For the provider to select existing VDEVs automatically, those VDEVs:

Must be the same size as the source

Must have the same metadevice configuration as the source
Must not be in a snap relationship
One benefit of pre-creating VDEVs for automatic selection is that doing so accelerates
the VM deployment process, especially when multiple snapshots are requested in
parallel. When the SMI-S Provider creates devices, it does so in a serial fashion. If
multiple snapshot requests occur, and if those requests must create VDEVs as part of
establishing the snapshot relationship, the VM deployment process will be extended
(slower). By pre-creating VDEVs of the appropriate size and metadevice configuration,
the provider need only choose the VDEV and create the snapshot relationship. Using
this technology substantially speeds up VM deployment.

When a VM is deleted from VMM (by using the VMM Console or VMM PowerShell), a
request is sent to the provider to automatically terminate the snapshot relationship.
However, the VDEV is not deleted as a part of the VM delete process.

TimeFinder/Clone overview
TimeFinder/Clone is a local Symmetrix replication solution that creates full-device
point-in-time copies that you can use for backups, decision support, data warehouse
refreshes, or any other process that requires parallel access to production data. To
support rapid VM deployment in a VMM 2012 private cloud, TimeFinder/Clone is
used to create full-device copies. VMM uses these copies to deploy VMs from VM
templates that reside on a source LUN on an array that the VM host can access.

Configuring TimeFinder/Clone for VM deployment

When using TimeFinder/Clone, by default, the SMI-S Provider creates a full volume,
non-differential copy of the source device. Non-differential means that after the clone
copy is complete, no incremental relationship is maintained between the source
device and the clone target. The VM deployment process waits for the full data copy
(from the source to the clone target) to complete before VMM continues the
associated VM deployment job. After the copy completes, the provider terminates the
clone relationship.

Similar to VM deployment with TimeFinder/Snap, with TimeFinder/Clone, the SMI-S

Provider can automatically select appropriately sized clone targets, or it can create
new clone targets to support the clone operation. By default, the SMI-S Provider does
not attempt to find pre-created clone devices within the Symmetrix array before the
provider creates new devices.

You can find the settings that control this behavior in the file OSLSProvider.conf
(located in the EMC\ECIM\ECOM\Providers installation directory). For the provider to
select existing clone devices automatically, you must change the default setting in
the file OSLSProvider.conf. For a list of the possible default values, review Table 34.

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In addition, the clone target must:

Reside in the same disk group as the source

Be the same size as the source
Have the same meta device configuration as the source
Be the same RAID type as the source
Not be visible to a host, including not being mapped to any front-end ports
Not be labeled (not have a user-friendly name)
Not be in a clone relationship with another device
If the SMI-S Provider cannot find an appropriate clone target, by default, the provider
will create a clone target of the correct size, of the same RAID type as the source, and
within the same disk group as the source.

One benefit of pre-creating clone targets for automatic selection is that doing so
accelerates the VM deployment process, especially when multiple clones are
requested in parallel. When the SMI-S Provider creates devices, it does so in a serial
fashion. By default, the clone copy process also occurs serially when there are
multiple requests. If multiple clone requests occur, and if those requests must create
clone targets as part of establishing the clone relationship, the VM deployment
process will be slower. By pre-creating clone targets based on the requirements listed
in the bullets, the provider must only choose the clone target, establish the clone
copy session, and then wait for the clone copy to complete.

When a VM is deleted from VMM (by using the VMM Console or VMM PowerShell), a
request is sent to the provider to automatically delete the device (in the case of a
clone, the device is not a VDEV) that is associated with the virtual machine. This frees
space within the disk group.

Table 34. Property descriptions and default values in the OSLSProvider.conf

settings file
= OptVal |
SMI-S Provider properties Description
DefaultVal
OSLSProvider/com.emc.cmp.osls.se.array. If true, the provider can create
false | true
ReplicationService.provider.creates.snap. target target snap elements

OSLSProvider/com.emc.cmp.osls.se.array. If true, the provider first tries to

ReplicationService.provider.autoselects. false | true find a suitable snap target before
snap.target creating one.

OSLSProvider/com.emc.cmp.osls.se.array. If true, the provider can create

false | true
ReplicationService.provider.creates.clone.target target clone elements.

OSLSProvider/com.emc.cmp.osls.se.array. If true, the provider first tries to

ReplicationService.provider.autoselects. true | false find a suitable clone target before
clone.target creating one.

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Appendix E Configure VNX and CLARiiON for
Rapid VM Provisioning

This appendix presents the following topics:

Configure VNX and CLARiiON for rapid VM provisioning ......................... 162

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 Appendix E: Configure VNX and CLARiiON for Rapid VM Provisioning

Configure VNX and CLARiiON for rapid VM provisioning

When rapidly provisioning a VM, snapshot or clone, the SMI-S Provider either
automatically selects an existing LUN or provisions a new LUN. If you create LUNs
before provisioning, the provider will automatically select existing target LUNs, which
will improve performance.

The SMI-S Provider will select existing devices, if they:

Reside in the same Raid Group or Storage Pool as the source.

Are the same size as the source.
Are not visible to a host.
Do not have a default name or label (the user-friendly name is not in the form
of “LUN <lunid>”).
If the SMI-S Provider cannot find a LUN that satisfies the auto-selection criteria, the
provider will create one. This new target device is:

Created in the same pool as source volume.

The same size as the source LUN.
Automatic selection and creation is controlled through the Replication Services
settings found in the following configuration file:
% ProgramFiles%\EMC\ECIM\ECOM\Providers\AutoOSLSProvider.conf

By default, automatic selection and creation are enabled.

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 Appendix F Terminology

This appendix presents the following topics:

Terminology .................................................................................... 164

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 Appendix F: Terminology

Terminology
The following defines terms used in this document.

Table 35. Terminology

Term Definition
Array See “storage array.”

Array OS Refers to the collection of software components resident within an array

that controls array hardware. The array operating system (array OS) makes
available an interface that supports the virtualization and management of
storage. See also “Operating Environment (OE).”

boot from SAN Refers to a computer booting (loading) its operating system over
connection to a SAN rather than from a local hard disk on the computer.

CIM See “Common Information Model (CIM).”

CIM-XML client A component on the VMM Server that enables the Microsoft Storage
Management Service by using the SMI-S Module to communicate with the
SMI-S Provider, which uses the CIM-XML protocol.

CIM-XML protocol The communication mechanism between the VMM Server's Storage
Management Service and the SMI-S Provider.

Common Information Model A DMTF (Distributed Management Task Force) standard that provides a
(CIM) model for representing heterogeneous computer, network, and storage
resources as objects. The model also includes the relationships among
these objects:
CIM Infrastructure Specification defines the object-oriented
architecture of CIM.
CIM Schema defines a common, extensible language for representing
dissimilar objects.
CIM Classes identify specific types of IT resources (for example:
CIM_NetworkPort).
CIM enables VMM to administer dissimilar elements (storage-related
objects) in a common way through the SMI-S Provider. The EMC SMI-S
Provider version 4.4.0 (or later) supports CIM Schema version 2.31.0.

Discovery VMM discovers storage objects on a storage array or on a Hyper-V VM

host.
Refer also to “Scenario 1: End-to-end discovery and end-to-end mapping”
on page 30.

Distributed Management Task An international organization that promotes the development of standards
Force (DMTF) that simplify management of millions of IT systems worldwide. DMTF
creates standards that enable interoperability at the enterprise level
among multi-vendor systems, tools, and solutions.

DMTF See “Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF).”

ECIM See “EMC Common Information Model (ECIM).”

ECOM See “EMC Common Object Manager (ECOM).”

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 Appendix F: Terminology

Term Definition
EMC Common Information Defines a CIM-based model for representing IT objects (for example:
Model (ECIM) EMC_NetworkPort, which is a subclass of the CIM class CIM_NetworkPort).

EMC Common Object Manager Serves as the interoperability hub for the EMC Common Management
(ECOM) Platform (CMP) that manages EMC storage systems.

EMC SMI-S Provider EMC software that uses SMI-S to allow management of EMC arrays. EMC
SMI-S Provider version V4.4.0 is certified by SNIA as compliant with SMI-S
1.3, 1.4, and 1.5. VMM uses the EMC SMI-S Provider to discover arrays,
storage pools, and logical units. And to classify storage, to assign storage
to one or more host groups, to create a clone, create a snapshot, or delete
logical units. And to unmask or mask logical units to a Hyper-V host or
cluster.

EMC WBEM Uses ECOM to provide a single WBEM (Web-Based Enterprise

Management) infrastructure across all EMC hardware and software
platforms. WBEM is the standard that enables ECOM to serve as the
interoperability hub of the EMC CMP. EMC SMI-S Provider 4.4.0 (or later)
uses EMC WBEM.

endpoint Two endpoints are associated with each other and are thus best described
(host initiator endpoints together:
-and- Host-initiator endpoints
storage endpoints)
storage endpoints
Host-initiator endpoints on a Hyper-V VM host are bound (mapped) to
storage endpoints on the target array. This mapping is done through an
intermediary called a storage group (also called a masking set or SPC).
See also the lists of synonyms for initiator endpoints and storage
endpoints in “Storage groups unmask logical units to Hyper-V VM hosts”
on page 138.

Fibre Channel (FC) A gigabit-speed network technology used to connect devices on

enterprise-scale storage area networks (SANs). FC is an ANSI (American
National Standards Institute) standard. FC signaling can use not only fiber-
optic cables but also twisted-pair copper wire.

Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) A transport protocol (analogous to TCP on IP networks) that sends SCSI
commands over Fibre Channel networks. All EMC storage systems support
FCP.

gatekeeper Gatekeepers on a Symmetrix storage array provide communication paths

(EMC Symmetrix arrays) into the array used by external software to monitor and/or manage the
array. A gatekeeper “opens the gate” to enable low-level SCSI commands
to be routed to the array.

hardware VDS See “Virtual Disk Service (VDS)”

HBA See “Host Bus Adapter (HBA).”

host agent Service installed on Hyper-V Servers (VM hosts) that communicates with
the VMM Server. VMM does not install host agents for Citrix XenServer
hosts or VMware ESX hosts.

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Term Definition
Host Bus Adapter (HBA) Connects a host computer to a storage device for input/output (I/O)
processing. An HBA is a physical device that contains one or more ports; a
single system contains one or more HBAs. FC HBAs are more common, but
iSCSI HBAs also exist:
FC HBA: A physical card on the host that acts as the initiator that sends
commands from the host to storage devices on a target array.
iSCSI HBA: A physical card on the host that acts as the initiator that
sends commands from the host to storage devices on a target array.
A computer with more than one HBA can connect to multiple storage
devices. HBA is used in this test environment to specifically connect to
one or more devices on a VM host that initiates a connection to storage
arrays. This connection most likely is an FC HBA connection.

IETF See “Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).”

initiator/target These terms are binary opposites and are thus best defined together:
Initiator (on the host): The endpoint (a SCSI port or an FC port) on
the host requests information and receives responses from the
target array.
Target (on the array): The endpoint (a SCSI port or an FC port) that
returns information requested by the initiator. A target consists of
one or more LUNs and, typically, returns one or more LUNs to the
initiator. See “endpoint.”

Internet Engineering Task An international organization that promotes the publication of high-
Force (IETF) quality, relevant technical documents and Internet standards that
influence the way that people design, use, and manage the Internet. IETF
focuses on improving the Internet from an engineering point of view. The
IETF's official products are documents, called RFCs, published free of
charge.

Internet SCSI See “Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI).”

Internet Small Computer An IP-based standard developed by IETF that links data storage devices to
System Interface (iSCSI) each other and to computers. iSCSI carries SCSI packets (SCSI commands)
over TCP/IP networks, including local area networks (LANs), wide area
networks (WANs), and the Internet. iSCSI supports storage area networks
(SANs) by enabling location-independent data storage and retrieval and
by increasing the speed of transmission of storage data. Almost all EMC
storage systems support iSCSI, in addition to supporting FC (one
exception is the VNX 5100, which supports only FC).

iSCSI See “Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI).”

iSCSI initiator See “initiator/target.”

iSCSI target See “initiator/target.”

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 Appendix F: Terminology

Term Definition
logical unit A unit of storage within a storage pool on a storage array in a SAN. Each
logical unit exported by an array controller corresponds to a virtual disk.
From the perspective of a host computer that can access that logical unit,
the logical unit appears as a disk drive.
In VMM, a logical unit is typically a virtual disk that contains the VHD file
for a VM.

Example commands (run in the VMM PowerShell command shell):

Get-SCStorageLogicalUnit | Select-Object
ObjectID,ObjectType,Name, ServerConnection | fl

Get-SCStorageLogicalUnit | Select-Object
ObjectID,ObjectType,Name,Description,Enabled,SMDisplayName
,SMName,SMLunIdFormat,SMLunIdDescription

Get-SCStorageLogicalUnit | Select-Object
ObjectID,ObjectType,Name,BlockSize,NumberOfBlocks,Consumab
leBlocks,TotalCapacity,InUseCapacity,AllocatedCapacity,Rem
ainingCapacity

Get-SCStorageLogicalUnit | Select-Object
ObjectID,ObjectType,Name,WorkloadType,Status,ThinlyProvisi
oned,StoragePool,StorageGroups,HostGroup,IsAssigned,IsView
Only | fl

Get-SCStorageLogicalUnit | Select-Object
ObjectID,ObjectType,Name,
SourceLogicalUnit,LogicalUnitCopies,LogicalUnitCopySource
| fl

Example commands: Register a logical unit with a host:

Sample set of commands — Register a logical unit with a host:
$VMHost = Get-SCVMHost -ComputerName "VMHost01"
$LU = Get-SCStorageLogicalUnit -Name "LUN01"
Register-SCStorageLogicalUnit -StorageLogicalUnit $LU -
VMHost $VMHost

Logical Unit Number (LUN) A number that identifies a logical unit of storage within a storage pool on a
SAN array. Frequently, the acronym LUN is used as a synonym for the
logical unit that it identifies.

LUN mapping Refers to configuring access paths (by means of a target port) to logical
units, which makes storage that is represented by logical units available
for use by servers.

LUN masking Refers to configuring access permissions to determine which hosts have
access to specific logical units on SANs.

LUN mask A set of access permissions that identify which initiator (on a host) can
access specific LUNs on a target (an array). This mask makes available a
LUN (and the logical unit of storage identified by that LUN) to specified
hosts, and makes that LUN unavailable to other hosts.

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 Appendix F: Terminology

Term Definition
mask / unmask These terms are binary opposites and are thus best defined together:
Unmask: Assign a logical unit to a host or host cluster.
Mask: Hide a logical unit from a host of host cluster.

Microsoft Storage A service (a WMI provider installed by default on the VMM Server) used by
Management Service VMM to discover storage objects and to manage storage operations. This
service is an SMI-S client that communicates with the SMI-S Provider
server over the network. It converts retrieved SMI-S objects to Storage
Management Service objects that VMM can manage.

N_Port A port on the node (located either on a host or on a storage device) in a

(applies only to Fibre Channel) Fibre Channel SAN. Also known as a node port.

N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) Enables multiple N_Port IDs to share a single physical N_Port. This allows
(applies only to Fibre Channel) multiple FC initiators to occupy a single physical port, easing hardware
requirements for SANs.
In VMM, the NPIV Provider (on a VM host) uses HBA technology (which
creates virtual HBA ports, also called vPorts, on hosts) to enable a single
physical FC vPort to function as multiple logical ports, each with its own
identity. VMM 2012 automates the creation (and deletion) of vPorts as
part of the SAN transfer of a VM (from one computer to another) on an FC
SAN. VMM 2012 does not create vPorts when creating a new VM.

NPIV See “N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV).”

OE See “Operating Environment (OE).”

Operating Environment (OE) The Operating Environment (array OS) on an EMC storage array:
Enginuity is a specialized operating environment (OE) designed by EMC
for data storage. It is used to control components in a Symmetrix array.
FLARE is a specialized operating environment (OE) designed by EMC for
data storage and used to control components in a CLARiiON array.
FLARE manages all input/output (I/O) functions of the storage array.
VNX OE is a specialized operating environment designed by EMC to
provide file and block code for a unified system. VNX OE contains basic
features, such as thin provisioning. For advanced features, you can buy
add-ons, such as the Total Efficiency Pack.
See also “Array OS.”

rapid provisioning VM creation using SAN snapshot or clone technologies

SCSI initiator See “initiator / target.”

SCSI target See “initiator / target.”

self-hosted service A service that runs within a process (application) that the developer
created. The developer controls its lifetime, sets the properties of the
service, opens the service (which sets it into a listening mode), and closes
the service. Services can be self-hosted or can be managed by an existing
hosting process.

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Term Definition
Small Computer Systems A set of standards that define how to physically connect, and transfer data
Interface (SCSI) between, computers and external devices such as storage arrays. SCSI
standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical
interfaces. Typically, a computer is an initiator and a data storage device
is a target.

SMI-S See “Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S).”

SMI-S module A component of the Microsoft Storage Management Service that maps
Storage Management Service objects to SMI-S objects.

SMI-S Provider An implementation of the SMI-S standard. An SMI-S Provider is software

developed by a storage vendor to enable management of diverse storage
devices in a common way. Thus, an SMI-S Provider provides the interface
between a management application (such as VMM) and multiple storage
arrays. The EMC SMI-S Provider is the EMC implementation of the SMI-S
standard.

SNIA See “Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).”

software VDS See “Virtual Disk Service (VDS)”

storage area network (SAN) A dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level
data storage, thus making storage devices, such as disk arrays, accessible
to servers. Storage devices appear, to the server's operating system, like
locally attached devices.
VMM 2012 supports FC and iSCSI SANs:
FC SAN: The VM host uses a host bus adapter (HBA) to access the array
by initiating a connection to a target on the array.
iSCSI SAN: The VM host uses the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service to
access the array by issuing a SCSI command to a target on the array.

storage array A disk storage system that contains multiple disk drives attached to a SAN
in order to make storage resources available to servers. Also called a
storage system.
SANs make storage arrays available to servers. Arrays appear like
locally attached devices to the server operating system.
EMC storage systems that support the VMM private cloud include the
Symmetrix VMAX family, the CLARiiON CX4 series, and the VNX family.
VMM discovers storage resources on storage arrays and can then make
storage resources available to VM hosts. An array in a VMM private
cloud must support the FC or iSCSI storage protocol, or both. Within an
array, the storage elements most important to VMM are storage pools
and logical units.

storage classification A string value defined in VMM and associated with a storage pool that
represents a level of service or quality of service guarantee. For example,
one typical naming convention used is to categorize storage pools as
Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

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 Appendix F: Terminology

Term Definition
storage group Binds host initiator endpoints on a Hyper-V host to storage endpoints on
the target array. VMM discovers existing storage groups but does not
display storage groups in the VMM Console. Instead, you can display
storage groups by using the following VMM PowerShell command:
Get-SCStorageArray -All | Select-Object
Name,ObjectType,StorageGroups | Format-List
Synonyms:
Masking set
SCSI Protocol Controller (SPC)
See also:
“endpoint”
“initiator / target”
“Appendix B: Array Masking and Hyper-V Host Clusters” on page 137

Storage Management Initiative A standard developed by the Storage Networking Industry Association
Specification (SMI-S) (SNIA). SMI-S defines a standardized management interface that enables
a management application, such as VMM, to discover, assign, configure,
and automate functionality for heterogeneous storage systems in a unified
way.
An SMI-S Provider implements SMI-S standard. The EMC SMI-S Provider
enables VMM to manage EMC VMAX, CLARiiON, and VNX arrays in a
unified way.

storage management service See “Microsoft Storage Management Service.”

Storage Networking Industry An international organization that develops management standards

Association (SNIA) related to data, storage, and information management in order to address
challenges, such as interoperability, usability, and complexity. The SNIA
standard that is central to VMM 2012 storage automation is the Storage
Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S).

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Term Definition
storage pool A repository of homogeneous or heterogeneous physical disks on a
storage array from which logical units (often called LUNs) can be created.
A storage pool on an array can be categorized by VMM based on service
level agreement (SLA) factors, such as performance. For example, a typical
naming convention used is to categorize storage pools as Gold, Silver, and
Bronze.
To see information about the storage pools in your environment, open the
VMM PowerShell command shell and type the following:

Example commands (run in the VMM PowerShell command shell):

$Pools = Get-SCStoragePool
$Pools | Select-Object ObjectType, Name, StorageArray,
IsManaged, Classification, TotalManagedSpace,
RemainingManagedSpace, StorageLogicalUnits | where
{$_.IsManaged -eq "True" -and $_.Name -eq "Pool 1"}
Example output:
ObjectType : StoragePool
Name : Pool 1
StorageArray : APM00111102546
IsManaged : True
Classification : EMC_VNX_Bronze
TotalManagedSpace : 2301219569664
RemainingManagedSpace : 2100037681152
StorageLogicalUnits : {LUN 73, LUN 67, LUN 56, LUN
30...}

storage system See “storage array.”

target / initiator See “initiator / target.”

thin provisioning Configurable feature that lets you allocate storage based on fluctuating
demand.

unmask / mask See “mask / unmask.”

Virtual Disk Service (VDS) VDS can be either of the following, which should not be confused:
VDS software provider on the VM host (central to VMM 2012):
Retrieves disk and volume information on the host, initializes and
partitions disks on the host, and formats and mounts volumes on the
host.
VDS hardware provider on the VMM Server (deprecated in VMM 2012):
Used only for storage arrays that do not support SMI-S. The VDS
hardware provider can discover and communicate with SAN arrays and
can enable SAN transfers, but the VDS hardware provider does not
support automated provisioning.

VM host A physical computer (managed by VMM) on which you can deploy one or
more VMs. VMM 2012 supports Hyper-V hosts (on which is installed the
VMM agent), VMware ESX hosts, and Citrix XenServer hosts. However, in
the current release, VMM supports storage provisioning only for Hyper-V
hosts.

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 Appendix F: Terminology

Term Definition
VMM PowerShell command Command-line interface (CLI) for the VMM Server. VMM 2012 provides 450
shell Windows PowerShell cmdlets developed specifically for VMM to perform
all tasks that are available in the VMM Console. VMM 2012 includes 25
new storage-specific cmdlets.

VMM Console Graphical user interface (GUI) for the VMM Server. You can use the VMM
Console on the VMM Server or from a remote computer.

VMM Library Server File server (managed by VMM) used as a repository to store files (used for
VMM tasks) such virtual hard disks (VHDs), ISOs, scripts, VM templates
(typically used for rapid provisioning), service templates, application
installation packages, and other files.
VHD files used to support rapid provisioning of VMs are contained within
LUNs on the arrays but are mounted to folders on the Library Server.
You can install the VMM Library on the VMM Server, on a VM host, or on a
stand-alone Hyper-V host.

VMM Management Server Service used to manage VMM objects such as virtual machines, hypervisor
(VMM Server) physical servers, storage, network, clouds, and services. Also called VMM
Server.

WBEM See “Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM).”

Web Services Management Enables IT systems to access and exchange management information. WS-
(WS-Man) Man is a DMTF standard that supports the use of web services to enable
remote access to network devices and promotes interoperability between
management applications and managed resources.

Web-Based Enterprise A group of standards that enable accessing information and managing
Management (WBEM) compute, network, and storage resources in an enterprise environment.
WBEM includes:
CIM: A model to represent resources.
CIM-XML: An XML-based protocol, CIM-XML over HTTP, that lets
network components communicate.
WS-Man: A SOAP-based protocol, Web Services for Management (WS
Management, or WS-Man), that lets network components
communicate.
xmlCIM: An XML representation of CIM models and messages (xmlCIM)
that travels by way of CIM-XML

Windows Management The Microsoft implementation of the WBEM standard that enables
Instrumentation (WMI) accessing management information in an enterprise-scale distributed
environment.
WMI uses the CIM standard to represent systems, applications,
networks, devices, and other managed components.
The WMI Service is the Windows implementation of the CIM Object
Manager (CIMOM), which provides applications with uniform access to
management data.
The Microsoft Storage Management Service that VMM 2012 uses to
communicate with the SMI-S Provider is implemented as a WMI
provider.

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 Appendix F: Terminology

Term Definition
Windows Remote The Microsoft implementation of WS-Man. WinRM enables Windows
Management (WinRM) PowerShell 2.0 cmdlets and scripts to be invoked on one or more remote
machines.

WS-Man See “Web Services Management (WS-Man).”

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 Appendix F: Terminology

174 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Appendix G References

This appendix presents the following topics:

References .................................................................................... 176

Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S 175
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 Appendix G: References

References
The sources in this appendix focus on storage automation enabled by the SNIA SMI-S
standard in the context of EMC storage systems and the VMM 2012 private cloud.

Standards sources

Table 36. SNIA, DMTF, and other standards related to storage automation
Source Website Link
CIM Infrastructure http://dmtf.org/sites/default/files/standards/documents/DSP00
DMTF
Specification 04_2.6.0_0.pdf

CIM Operations Over http://www.dmtf.org/sites/default/files/standards/documents/D

DMTF
HTTP SP0200_1.3.1.pdf

CIM Schema 2.31.0 http://www.dmtf.org/sites/default/files/cim/cim_schema_v2310/

DMTF
Release Notes releasenotes.html

CIM Schema: Version

DMTF http://dmtf.org/standards/cim/cim_schema_v282
2.8.2 (Final)

Common Information
DMTF http://dmtf.org/standards/cim
Model (CIM)

DMTF DMTF Tutorial http://www.wbemsolutions.com/tutorials/DMTF/index.html

Standards and
DMTF http://dmtf.org/standards
Technology

Web Services
DMTF http://dmtf.org/standards/wsman
Management (WS-MAN)

Web-Based Enterprise
DMTF http://dmtf.org/standards/wbem
Management (WBEM)

Windows Management http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-

Microsoft
Instrumentation (WMI) us/library/windows/desktop/aa394582(v=vs.85).aspx

http://www.snia.org/sites/default/files/SMI-Sv1.6r4-
SNIA SMI Specification
Block.book_.pdf

SNIA SMI-Lab Program http://www.snia.org/forums/smi/tech_programs/lab_program

SMI-S Conforming
SNIA http://www.snia.org/ctp/conformingproviders/index.html
Provider Companies

SNIA – SMI-S
Conformance Testing
SNIA Program – Official CTP http://www.snia.org/ctp/conformingproviders/emc.html
Test Results – EMC
Corporation

SNIA Conformance
SNIA Testing Program (SNIA- http://www.snia.org/ctp/
CTP)

176 Storage Automation with System Center 2012 and EMC Storage Systems using SMI-S
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 Appendix G: References

Source Website Link

SNIA Storage
SNIA Management Initiative http://www.snia.org/smi/home/
(SMI) home page

Storage Management
SNIA http://www.snia.org/forums/smi
Initiative (SMI) forums

Storage Management
http://www.snia.org/tech_activities/standards/curr_standards/s
SNIA Initiative Specification
mi
(SMI-S)

Storage Management
http://www.snia.org/sites/default/files/SMI-
SNIA Technical Specification
Sv1.3r6_Overview.book_.pdf
Overview

Storage Networking
SNIA Industry Association http://www.snia.org/
(SNIA)

SNIA Video – SMI Overview http://www.snia.org/forums/smi/video/smioverview

EMC sources
EMC sources in Table 37 introduce some of the EMC sources relevant for storage
systems that support VMM storage automation.

You can find all EMC documents on EMC Online Support at https://support.emc.com.
Access to these documents requires login credentials. Contact your EMC sales
representative for details about obtaining a valid support agreement or to answer any
questions about your account.

Table 37. EMC related document for VMM 2012 storage automation
EMC related document Link or location
Arrays–Announcing the EMC Symmetrix VMAX http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/white-
40K, 20K, 10K Series and Enginuity 5876 papers/h10497-enginuity5876-new-features-vmax-wp.pdf

Arrays–Introduction to the EMC VNX Series: A http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/white-

Detailed Review (September 2011) papers/h8217-introduction-vnx-wp.pdf

Arrays–Symmetrix Data Sheet – VMAX 10K http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-

sheet/h8816-symmetrix-vmax-10k-ds.pdf

Arrays–Symmetrix Data Sheet – VMAX 20K http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-

sheet/h6193-symmetrix-vmax-20k-ds.pdf

Arrays–Symmetrix Data Sheet – VMAX 40K http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-

sheet/h9716-symmetrix-vmax-40k-ds.pdf

Arrays–VNX Data Sheet – EMC VNX Family: http://www.emc.com/collateral/hardware/data-

Next-generation unified storage, optimized sheets/h8520-vnx-family-ds.pdf

Arrays–VNX Data Sheet – EMC VNX Series http://www.emc.com/collateral/software/data-

Total Efficiency Pack sheet/h8509-vnx-software-suites-ds.pdf

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 Appendix G: References

EMC related document Link or location

Arrays–CLARiiON Data Sheet – EMC http://www.emc.com/collateral/software/data-
Replication Manager and SnapView sheet/h2306-clariion-rep-snap-ds.pdf
Replication for EMC CLARiiON Arrays in
Physical and Virtual Environments

Cloud–Everything Microsoft at EMC https://community.emc.com/community/connect/everyth

ing_microsoft

Cloud–Inside the Partnership (EMC/MSFT) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9trcD-oGkkQ

ITP23

Cloud–Microsoft Virtualization and Private http://www.emc.com/hypervcloud

Cloud Solutions (on EMC.com)

Cloud–Solutions for Microsoft http://www.emc.com/solutions/microsoft

EMC and the SNIA SMI-S http://developer.emc.com/developer/devcenters/storage

/snia/smi-s/index.htm

EMC SMI-S Provider Download https://support.emc.com/downloads/5587_SMI-S-

Provider

EMC SMI-S Provider Release Notes version “SMI-S Provider Release Notes” on EMC Online Support at
4.4.0 (or later) https://support.emc.com/.
(Navigate to the most recent version)

Microsoft sources

Table 38. Microsoft sources related to VMM 2012 storage automation

Microsoft related source Link
Storage automation in VMM 2012 http://blogs.technet.com/b/scvmm/archive/2011/03/
29/storage-automation-in-vmm-2012.aspx

Cloud–Microsoft Private Cloud http:// www.microsoft.com/privatecloud

MTC–Microsoft Technology Center Alliances http://www.microsoft.com/en-

Program - EMC us/mtc/partners/emc2.aspx

MTC–Microsoft Technology Centers http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mtc/default.aspx

MTC–Microsoft Technology Centers Alliances http://www.microsoft.com/en-

Program us/mtc/partners/alliance.aspx

SMI-S–Microsoft SMI-S Roadmap Update http://www.snia.org/sites/default/files2/SDC2011/pre

sentations/wednesday/JeffGoldner_Microsoft_Roadma
p_Update.pdf

VMM–System Requirements: VMM Management http://technet.microsoft.com/en-

Server (for installing VMM 2012 in a production us/library/gg610562.aspx
environment)

VMM–Technical Documentation Download for http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?i

System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager d=6346

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 Appendix G: References

Microsoft related source Link

VMM–Virtual Machine Manager page (online http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
VMM product team page) us/library/gg610610.aspx

Video–How Microsoft IT Uses System Center http://technet.microsoft.com/en-

Virtual Machine Manager to Manage the Private us/edge/Video/hh748210
Cloud

Video–Private Cloud Jump Start (01): http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/edge/private-

Introduction to the Microsoft Private Cloud with cloud-jump-start-01-introduction-to-the-microsoft-
System Center 2012 private-cloud-with-system-center-2012

Video–Private Cloud Jump Start (02): Configure http://technet.microsoft.com/en-

and Deploy Infrastructure Components us/edge/video/private-cloud-jump-start-02-configure-
and-deploy-infrastructure-components

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