emc visualsan

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EMC Global Education© 2004 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

SAN Management using EMC ToolsPart 2Module 5

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Module 5: SAN Management using EMC Tools -Part 2

After completing this module, you will be able to:Identify the components, functions, and services of VisualSANList the components of the VisualSAN architectureNavigate the VisualSAN interface– Identify the meanings of icon colorization– Interpret the meanings of symbols in the status bar

Activate the discovery process– Configure the discovery settings

Navigate the VisualSAN interface for zone informationDescribe the process for zone creation and implementationIdentify the VisualSAN utility used for storage provisioningList the steps to perform storage provisioning using the VisualSAN Provision Storage Wizard

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Lesson 1: EMC VisualSAN

Deep integration with CLARiiON arraysUnique functionalityManagement Functions – Discovery– Visualization– Central management– Status monitoring– Event monitoring w/alert management– Zone management– Reporting

The EMC VisualSAN® Network Management Suite provides management of storage area networks (SANs) through device discovery and management, switch and port performance and activity analysis, and physical comparisons between current and past SAN configurations.The primary features of EMC VisualSAN include:

• Automatic discovery of devices based on IP addresses and SNMP protocol; devices include switches, ports, routers, hosts, host bus adapters (HBAs), and storage systems.

• Topographical layout of SAN elements including hosts, storage systems, and their interconnects.• Health monitors that display the number of devices in each status. This status list provides at-a-glance

information for well-functioning as well as problem devices.• User-defined alerts that notify users when a device reaches a predefined condition. Alerts can be sent to a

systems administrator, or any other user, via e-mail or pager, and to another computer via an SNMP trap.• Inventory reporting which lists device characteristics including IP address, model number, serial number, and

so on.• Tracking, recording, and analysis of eligible devices' performance statistics, including a real-time graph

analysis of the most active devices.• Capture of a SAN configuration at a user-defined point in time for comparison, historical reference, and

change management.• Zone control and management through which a set of ports on the same fabric can be managed.• Control of storage provisioning on the CLARiiON arrays. This functionality, new with version 4.0 of

VisualSAN previously had been restricted to Navisphere Manager and Navisphere CLI.• User-defined URL links that can start a device's management software.

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Visual SAN Components

Software components:– Network Manager– Performance Manager– Configuration Manager– SAN Assistant– Support Center

Functional components:– Web interface– Summary screen– Alert scheduler– Zone visualization– Real time and historical

performance management– Configuration and change

management– Storage Provisioning

VisualSAN consists of the following software components:• Network Manager• Performance Manager• Configuration Manager• SAN Assistant• Support Center

VisualSAN consists of the following functional components:• Web interface• Summary screen• Alert scheduler• Zone visualization• Real time and historical performance management• Configuration and change management• Storage Provisioning

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Network Manager (NSM)

VisualSAN includes several license based components:Network Manager: The base component allowing for SAN management and monitoring. Beginning with version 4.0, this component also includes Support Link functionality for e-mailing configurations to an authorized support center. This functionality had been previously included in the Support Center component.Performance Manager: An optional component for monitoring SAN performanceConfiguration Manager: An optional component for viewing SAN changesSAN Assistant: An optional component for provisioning storage (in prior releases, this component had been called Path Assistant)In addition, Support Center installs at the EMC Support Center and allows the support engineer to analyze uploads from customer’s sites. This is not available for customer environments.VisualSAN Network Manager (NSM) discovers, manages, and monitors multi-vendor SAN devices, generating a topology map that depicts the SAN environment and its interconnects. This drill-down map, viewed via an intuitive user interface, indicates which devices and interconnects are active and which areas need attention. VisualSAN Network Manager monitors events, quickly and intelligently distinguishing urgent SAN events and generating alerts.VisualSAN Network Manager provides zone management for CLARiiON supported switches and supports node zoning. Through the VisualSAN Zone Explorer, the user can create, define, and manage storage zones. The Zone Explorer minimizes SAN complexity by enabling the user to directly define zones, activate zone configurations, and visualize all zones.The Network Manager can be used to view extended device attributes and launch management apps such as Navisphere or the Brocade GUI. Inventory and custom reports are easily generated through the NM console.Embedded in Network Manager is Support Link. This is a background application that runs at the customer site. It maintains a baseline capture of the SAN configuration. Support Link provides the ability to update the baseline capture if the configuration changes. It can be commanded to send an e-mail to the support center with captures and events up to a specified file size.

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Performance Manager (PM)

VisualSAN Performance Manager (PM) is an add-on application within the VisualSAN Network Management Suite that delivers real-time and historical performance monitoring of SANs and renders this data in an intuitive visual format with alert generation.It features an intuitive user interface which can be used to monitor historical trending and predict element saturation. VisualSAN Performance Manager provides real time graphs with thresholds and can monitor multiple devices and statistics. The interface allows access to an historical database and can provide historical graphs.

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Configuration Manager (CM)

VisualSAN Configuration Manager (CM) is an add-on application within the VisualSAN Network Management Suite that delivers configuration management tools for comparison, historical reference, change management, asset management, and replication. Configuration Manager can create point-in-time configuration captures which may also be automated. The configuration capture can be used for visual topology comparison. The comparisons can be tailored through a user defined comparison filter. When a capture is performed it can be compared against a live SAN or up to two previous captures.

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SAN Assistant (PA)

VisualSAN SAN Assistant (PA) enables the user to create a path between a host and a storage system by creating LU masks that enable authorized HBAs to access specified devices on storage ports. The user can further secure access to the data by configuring zoning on the switches. On the topology map, the user can visualize paths by selecting a host or storage system. All valid paths to and from the selected device are highlighted on the topology map. Through VisualSAN SAN Assistant, it is possible to:

• Provision paths between hosts and storage systems for CLARiiON arrays and clusters, specify the storage system and LUN, configure zones automatically or manually, and create the LUN mask (storage group).

• Discover and represent the complete path, including fabrics, switches, ports, HBAs and LUNs, between a storage system and host.

• Visualize the volume and application association between a storage system and host.• View device relationships and hierarchies from a host and storage system point of view.

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Support Center (SC)

Support Center runs at the EMC Support Center and has a central database that all support technicians can access through a web client. This component can compare customer configurations. It imports up to 3 captures (baseline, updated baseline, and problem) along with modification events using a 1-step process. Technicians can compare configurations using a topology map, detail tree, and modification history.Support Center maintains customer information. It tracks customers by a unique ID included in each customer email. Information about existing customers can be accessed by entering their unique ID in an ‘Open Customer…’ dialog box.

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Lesson 1: Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:VisualSAN is comprised of 5 licensed software components:– Network Manager– Performance Manager– Configuration Manager– SAN Assistant– Support Center

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Lesson 2: VisualSAN Architecture

FibreChannel Ethernet

VisualSANManagement Server

BusinessApplication

Server

Components on Server:• VisualSAN Application• Navi CLI

VisualSAN gathers Host and HBA info through:• SNMP (MIB II)• SNMP (QLogic MIB)• CLI (Navi CLI agent)

VisualSAN gathers Brocade switch info through:• SNMP (MIB)• SNMP (API for Control)

VisualSAN gathers CLARiiON array info through:•CLI (Navisphere)

VisualSAN gathersTape Library info through:• SNMP (MIB)

VisualSAN gathers Bridge info through:• SNMP (MIB)

EMC VisualSAN can run either as an application on the management station using local VisualSAN services or, it can run in a Web browser through a Java applet using the services installed on the management station. Running VisualSAN through the Web browser is less resource intensive on the local computer since services are located on another computer.The application services are a core component of VisualSAN and must be running in order to gain the most information, in some cases any information, from the SAN devices. Services start automatically after setup and must be running before starting the application.

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VisualSAN Layers

SANDAPISANDAPI

Software LayersSoftware Layers

DiscoveryDiscoveryEngineEngineServiceService

DeviceDeviceManagerManagerServiceService

EventEventQueueQueueServiceService

AlertAlertNotificationNotification

ServiceService

RepositoryRepositoryManagerManagerServiceService

User DefinedUser DefinedClientClient

ProcessProcessUserUser

InterfaceInterface

TRAPTRAPServiceService

ProxyProxyServiceService

The VisualSAN Network Management Services are:Discovery Engine Service: Discovers SNMP devicesDevice Manager Service: Launched per device type

• Out-of-band (SNMP) Device Manager launched on any host• In-band (non-SNMP: HBA/SCSI) Device Managers launched on each HBA resident host, polls devices,

provides status and performance dataEvent Queue Service: Central process - All events posted to or received from Event Queue ServiceAlert Notification Service: Filters events, sends email, pages, and SNMP TrapsRepository Manager Service: Service providing Fibre & SCSI connectivity informationTRAP Service: Receives and processes SNMP TrapsProxy Service: Conduit to Network Management Services when in browser UI operational mode

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VisualSAN Dataflow

Network ManagerUser Interface

Performance ManagerUser Interface

(optional)

Configuration ManagerUser Interface

(optional)

Third-PartyUser Interface

Alert NotificationService

Repository ManagerService

Database ServicePerformance ManagerPerformance EngineServices (optional)

Event QueueService

Trap ListenerService

Device ManagerService

Windows SNMPTrap Service

Discovery Engine Service Device Manager Service

License Manager Service Login Service

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Here we see the services and other components in VisualSAN and where they fit within the application architecture. In order to create the topology display, VisualSAN begins with user and application validation. The discovery step relies on the Discovery Engine and Device Manager services. After extracting and logging events, alerts are created and the repository is updated. Finally, the display components create and display the topology map and other visuals.

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VisualSAN Services

Services are designed to facilitate application development. The Services window will display the VisualSAN services and their current status. All of the services are Java-based, the binaries are encapsulated in JAR files.Note: The services are bound to the default IP address of the Management host. In a multi-homed machine there could be login issues if an IP address is lost or changed.

The services provide support for these functions on the management station:License management (License Service)Device management (DM)Performance management (PM)Proxy management (PS)Repository management (RM)Mapping (TS)

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Repository Manager Service

Receives device status eventsProcesses the events producing connectivity informationProcessing components:– Fibre Channel Connectivity Service (FCS)

• Processes in-band (HBA) and out-of-band (SNMP device) information to produce fabric topology

– SCSI Device Service (SDS)• Processes SCSI information

– SCSI Information obtained via the HBA device manager• Adds SCSI/JBOD connectivity to the fabric topology

The Repository Manager service receives and processes incoming events.

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Event Queue Service

Central service for all posted events– Device Manager posts heartbeat & status events– Repository Manager posts network element information– Alert Notification Service posts alert notification information– SANDAPI allows for non-NM service event posting

Central service for event delivery to client processes– Repository Manager receives device status events– Alert Notification Service receives all events:

• “Correlators” determine if an alert should be sent– User Interface receives

• Element events• ANS alert notification events

– SANDAPI allows for non-NM client to receive events– Client event backlog is configurable ensuring no events are lost

Logs all events to the database

The Event Queue service queries the other services, listening for events to be recorded into the Repository.

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Discovery Engine Service

Discovers all SNMP devices– Performed out-of-band, over Ethernet using SNMP requests– Configurable characteristics

• Ethernet IP addresses or ranges• Poll timeout and discovery retry attempts• Rediscovery Interval

Communicates discovered devices to the Device Manager Service or Client Service

• The DiscoveryEngineApi class allows a Client to start & stop discovery, modify the IP Address ranges, retrieve discovery and complete information, etc.

• The DiscoveryEngineListenerApi class allows the Discovery Engine Service to notify the client when discovery is started & completed, when new devices are added, when the Discovery Engine Service has been shutdown, etc.

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Device Manager Service

The Device Manager Service (DMS) is the Windows service that contains all of the individual Device Manager objectsThe DMS loads the devicemgr.properties file– File is formatted as single lines containing the fully qualified

class path to each class that the DMS will load– Comment lines may be entered by preceding the text with a #

When the DMS starts, it will attempt to load each Device Manager (DM) defined within the devicemgr.properties file. If a class cannot be found an error is output to the log file and the loading of other classes continues. The DMS will then start its scheduler in order to schedule each class (Object) to do its job.

What is a Device Manager?• A Device Manager (DM) is a class that monitors a device for information• The DM knows nothing of the system architecture • Monitors a device and reads all pertinent information about that device• Formats the information into a standard format• Reports when a device is not responding• Reports performance information about a device if available

Device Managers are written to interface with and gather information from specific devices. Some Examples:• Silkworm Monitors Silkworm devices• ClariionDM Monitors CLARiiON devices• GenericHostDM Monitors host devices

DMS and DM notes:• The DMS will poll the DMs once every 2 minutes (configurable) for a heartbeat• The heartbeat is hidden from the DM since this is just a call to getStatusInfo• Any DM that does not answer a heartbeat will be assumed failed and thus be set to critical• The performance polling rate and the status polling rates are independent• A DM can have custom polling rates per device

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VisualSAN Agents

Report connectivity information to a VisualSAN ServerSAN attachedWindows, Solaris and Linux based agentsUsed for reporting only, cannot run application on remote machine

Installing Agents enables VisualSAN to monitor SAN hosts more effectively by collecting information about the SAN’s Fibre Channel connectivity. This information is not available without the VisualSAN Agent.

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Lesson 2: Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:VisualSAN has several software layersThe VisualSAN dataflow model is:– Validate→Discover→Monitor→Process→Display

Two ways to interact with VisualSAN:– Application on the management station – Web browser running a java applet communicating to the

management station

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Lesson 3: VisualSAN Configuration (Post-Install)

When VisualSAN 4.0 is started for the first time, the user will be prompted via the Configuration Wizard to define the IP discovery range and e-mail notification parameters. These values may be altered at a later time through the VisualSAN interface.Step 1 in the Configuration Wizard defines the IP Addresses to include in the discovery process. Click Add to open the Add Discovery Addresses dialog. The user has the option of adding a single address or a range of addresses. When Add a Single Address is selected, a single address field is opened and the address can be entered. When Add an Address Range is selected, address fields for the beginning and ending addresses will be opened. An SMTP read community other than the default of Public may be selected in this dialog box. After entering the addresses click OK to proceed.

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Configuration Wizard - Step 1 Completed

The selected addresses have been entered. If additional ranges or addresses need to be added, the Add function must be executed again. When all ranges and addresses have been added click Next to proceed.

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Configuration Wizard - Step 2

Step 2 of the Configuration Wizard allows the user to exclude addresses from the discovery process. To add addresses to the exclusion list click Add. As with the inclusion list, the exclusion list may contain single addresses or ranges of addresses. Select either Exclude a Single Device or Exclude an Address Range, and enter the appropriate IP addresses. When the addresses have been entered, click OK to proceed.

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Configuration Wizard - Step 2 Completed

If additional ranges or addresses need to be added to the exclusion list, the Add function must be executed again. When the exclusion list is complete click Next to proceed to step 3 of the Configuration Wizard.

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Step 3 of the Configuration Wizard requires identification of the customer’s Mail Server and a valid customer e-mail address.

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The final step in the initial configuration is to commit the entries made in the three previous steps to the database. Click Finish to close the Configuration Wizard and launch the VisualSAN application.

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Lesson 3: Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:VisualSAN configuration is initiated with first logon after installationEnvironment discovery can be done by input of a single IP address or a range of addressesThe SNMP community string can be changed during the initial configuration (default is public)

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Lesson 4: VisualSAN GUI Navigation

(User Interface w/ Topology Map)

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The features of the main window of VisualSAN are:1. A menu bar to access features and settings2. A taskbar with single-click links to commonly used features3. Rollup panels that display at-a-glance information on features and devices4. A content panel, also known as the application area, that is populated with major feature components (In this

case the Topology Map which presents a visual representation of all devices discovered and their Fibre Channel interconnections)

5. A Details Pane that provides content-specific information on the device selected in the content panel, visible when the Topology Map is displayed in the Content Panel

6. A status bar that displays the status of SNMP discovery, devices, and the add-on modules

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Understanding Icons

(User Interface w/ Device Summary)

OK

Warning

Critical

Unknown

The device icons, a number of which are pictured here, appear on the Topology Map, SAN Devices List and Tree, and other device trees throughout the application. When a device’s status changes from normal to another status, the device color changes and a status icon is added to the graphic.

The high-level meanings of the color and status icons are as follows:

OK: Device is OK and functioning properlyWarning: Device is warning of a condition that may impact its ability to functionCritical: Device is critical and is not operating properly due to a failureUnknown: Device is unknown or unreachable

User defined devices are assigned “unknown” status after creation. Since VisualSAN is not actively monitoring these devices, their status must be manually changed.

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1. SNMP Discovery Progress Fuel-bar2. Device Summary Total and by Status3. Performance Manager Module - Performance Capable

Objects/Devices with Live Graph, Monitoring & Data Recording Status

4. Configuration Manager Module – Operational Status5. VisualSAN Management Station Information – Hostname & Host

IP Address

The Status Bar contains quick-view reference information in these areas:

51 2 3 4

Status Bar

The status bar is divided into these 5 subsections:1. This section will track the progress of an active discovery session. A message will be displayed when a

discovery session is complete. Another possible message here will be ‘SNMP Discovery Not Running’, this does not indicate an error but an ideal discovery state.

2. The summary totals will list the total number of devices found (∑), along with a breakdown by status showing, from left to right, OK, critical, changed, unknown and suppressed.

3. The performance section will list, from left to right, the number of devices that can track performance information, the number of devices displaying on a Live Graph, the number of devices monitoring performance data, and the number of devices logging performance data to the database.

4. This colored icon indicates that VisualSAN is connected to the Configuration Manager. If connectivity to the CM service is lost, the icon will be dimmed.

5. The last area lists the name and IP address of the VisualSAN Management Station.

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Integrated Functionality1

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All functions can be accessed from the Network Management interface. These include:• Zoning, which is included in Network Manager• Configuration Manager• Performance Manager• SAN Assistant

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Add Device – Add either a user-defined or SNMP device

Show Links – Display links for selected device

Save as Image – Save the topology map or selected devices to an image file

Zoom Out – Zoom out of the map area on display

Zoom In – Zoom in to the center of the map area on display

Interactive Zoom – Use the mouse pointer to zoom in and out of an area of the map

Marquee Zoom – Use the mouse pointer to select an area of the map and zoom in

Center and Zoom Out – Use the mouse pointer to zoom out of an area of the map

Center and Zoom In – Use the mouse pointer to zoom into an area of the map

Pan – Use the mouse to scroll the map

Select – Use the mouse pointer to select a device or connection

Grid – Overlay a grid on the map

Fit in Window – Zoom out or fit as much of the map into the panel as possible

Layout Options – Display the devices in one of four arrangements

Refresh Layout – Update the map with new information

Overview – display a miniature map of entire network in a separate window


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Topology Map Navigation Tools

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Device Properties

Each device in the SAN has a set of properties associated with it that can be accessed by right-clicking on it and selecting Properties from the menu.

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Device Properties (Cont’d)

The tabs that are displayed in the properties window differ depending on the device selected. Shown here is the display for a storage system. Hosts will have a tab for adapters, and switches will have a tab for ports.

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While a global polling rate exists, this may be altered for individual devices. Each device also has a comment tab associated with it.

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Each device has a default number of attributes. Some of these attributes are system values, while some are user-editable. The user can also define attributes and add them to the list.

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Device Properties – Add Management

Management of a device by a program external to VisualSAN can be set through the management tab. Notice that a link exists to launch the website for the manufacturer. In the next slides, an additional link will be created to the array-based Management software - Navisphere. To begin this process, click the Add button.

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Device Properties – Add Management (Cont’d)

Define the display name and the path to the device management software. Here, a link has been set to the Browser-based Navisphere software residing within an array.

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Device Properties – Add Management (Cont’d)

With the array-based Management link created, it can be launched from this dialog box. It can also be easily launched from the main VisualSAN 4.0 GUI. Click OK to close the dialog box.

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Device Properties – Management

With the link set, right-clicking the device and selecting Manage Device and selecting the newly created item will start the application at the specified location.

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Lesson 4: Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:The VisualSAN status bar provides a quick glance detailed reference of the monitored environmentWithin the VisualSAN GUI there are 4 primary icon signals:– OK– Warning– Critical– Unknown

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Lesson 5: Discovery Configuration

Device discovery configuration includes– Selecting IP address ranges for discovery – Selecting IP addresses to be excluded from discovery– Selecting the discovery process interval (how often the

discovery process is performed)– Selecting the SNMP read communities

Using IP addresses and the SNMP read community, the application services search for devices that support the SNMP protocol and match an IP address and the SNMP Read Community entered. After a device is discovered, EMC VisualSAN monitors it through frequent polling.

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SNMP Discovery Settings

Discovery runs on a perpetual basis so new devices can be discovered in a timely manner. The frequency with which the application discovers new devices is based on the discovery settings. Device discovery automatically runs when the application is started and at each discovery interval. However, device discovery can be started manually at any time.

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SNMP Discovery Settings (Cont’d)

To ensure that particular devices are not discovered, enter their IP addresses on the Exclude tab of the SNMP Discovery Settings dialog box. Discovered devices will be shown in the Discovered tab.

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Global Device Polling Rate

The application periodically checks, or polls, the status of discovered devices based on a defined polling rate, either a global rate for all devices or at a device-specific rate. At each polling interval, the discovery service checks that the device is still online and verifies its status.To ensure that devices are polled according to their defined polling rate, the polling rate must either be equal to the heartbeat rate, or be a value which is divisible into the heartbeat rate. For example, if the default heartbeat rate is 1 hour (or 60 minutes), the polling rate could be set to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 10 minutes, and so on.

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Specific Device Polling Rate

Individual polling periods can be set for each discovered device on the Polling tab of the device’s DeviceProperties dialog box. If the global polling rate is not set to always override the device-specific settings, a device’s specific polling period overrides the global polling period.

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Live Event Monitor

VisualSAN allows the user to view the events that are currently being posted via the Live Event Monitor, and the events that have already been posted and recorded into the Event Database via the Event Log Viewer. There are multiple ways to show the Live Event Monitor (such as via the toolbar or the menu bar).The Events - Live Viewer is a real-time listing of events that are posted to the application’s event queue. When devices are polled according to the device polling interval, the event queue and the viewer are updated.

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Event Log Viewer

The events that are stored in the database can also be viewed. To activate the Events Log Viewer, select the application from the VisualSAN Explorer rollup application

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Lesson 5: Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:Discover configuration includes:– Selecting IP addresses to included or exclude– How frequently the discovery polling should occur– Changing of SNMP read strings as required by site-specific

policies

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Lesson 6: VisualSAN Zoning

Displays and allows switch zoning information– Supports B-series and M-series switches

30 minute zoning information refresh rate– Zoning changes performed by other apps will be reflected in

VisualSANB-series security enforced

VisualSAN not only has the ability to display Fibre Channel switch zoning information in the User Interface Topology Map, it also allows the user to perform zone control commands, such as to create an alias or zone. This ability to zone a fabric is limited to the B-series and M-series switches at this time. With the default configuration settings, the alias, zone, and zone set information is obtained every thirty minutes; it is not an item that is polled for at the switches’ polling rates.If any zoning information related to any non-active Zone Set is changed via another application (not VisualSAN), VisualSAN will not reflect these changes until the next discovery cycle, which could be as long as the set discovery interval (30 minute interval default value).Any changes related to an active Zone Set made through another application will be reflected by VisualSAN if these conditions are met:

• FabricWatch is installed and operating on at least one of the Fabric switches related to the change • The Fabric’s FabricWatch-installed switch is configured to send SNMP Traps to the VisualSAN Management

Station • The Fabric’s FabricWatch installed switch is configured to send SNMP Traps of Event Trap Level 5.

Status information for B-series switches is obtained via SNMP. Zoning is done via the Brocade Application Programmer Interface (API) and requires a username and password.

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Accessing Zone Settings

When VisualSAN is installed, the username and password for discovered switches is assumed to be the Brocade default (admin and password.) The Zone Settings configuration user interface window can be used to modify the username and password information for each switch.Each discovered Fibre Channel switch will be shown in the display. To modify a username and/or a password for a particular switch, simply select the switch in the display window, type in a valid username and password, and click the OK button.

Note: Failure to connect to a particular fabric may be a result of many things. The most common reasons are:• An incorrect username/password combination is entered• The maximum number of API connections to the Brocade API are already established• The firmware revision of the fabric switches is not supported.

When a proper connection is made to each fabric, VisualSAN will obtain the zoning information. At this point, full zone visualization is possible.

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Zone Visualization

The Zone Visualization Rollup is a convenient mechanism for display of the fabric aliases, zones, and zone sets (configs). It also serves as a color-keyed legend to assist in the identification of each item displayed.To display the Zone Visualization rollup, simply select the Zone Visualization sub-menu option from the View Menu Bar, Topology option. The Zone Visualization rollup initially shows no items - to show aliases, zones, and/or zone sets, click the button to the left of the ?, or simply right-mouse-click in the empty space to show the selection menu

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Zone Visualization (Cont’d)

Alias

ZoneZoneSet

Active Inactive

With devices visible in the Topology Map, the new menu functionality includes the ability to change the color of the selected item or remove the item from the Topology Map. Also, double-clicking an item in the list brings up the Color Chooser dialog for that particular item. The Zone Visualization display also displays the type and activity level of each item.

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Zone Visualization – Topology Map

Zone Visualization can also be obtained by right-clicking on the Topology Map and making a menu selection.Zone Visualization: View Alias, View Zone, and View Zone Set menus, show all aliases, zones and zone sets for all discovered fabrics.

• If a fabric-filtered list is desired, right-clicking a fabric object or fabric switch will list only those aliases, zones and zone sets which apply to that selection.

The VisualSAN Menu Bar Map selection also contains the Zone Visualization menu. When any alias, zone or zone set is chosen via this menu, the Zone Visualization rollup is automatically activated. The Topology Map menu also allows the user to bring up the Zone Explorer application.

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Zone Explorer

The Zone Explorer application is designed to incorporate all of the Zone Visualization and Control functionality of VisualSAN into one convenient user interface.To activate the Zone Explorer, simply click on the Zone Explorer toolbar item or choose Zone Explorer from the View menu.The Zone Explorer – Zone Visualization pane incorporates the same Zone Visualization functionality as the Zone Visualization rollup. In addition, after selecting any alias, zone or zone set in the Zoning Network Tree Hierarchy View, the View on Map button is activated, allowing the user to view the selected item on the Topology Map. The right-mouse-click menu for each item in the Zoning Network Tree Hierarchy View also incorporates this “View on Map” functionality.

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Zone Control – Topology Map

To create aliases or zones from the Topology Map, select the objects to be zoned and then right-click on one of them. Select Create Alias or Create Zone from the Zone Control sub-menu .

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Zone Control – Topology Map (Cont’d)

When creating a Zone, the Create Zone dialog appears, requiring the user to enter a zone name, select a fabric from the list of fabrics and select the type of zoning to implement. World Wide Port Zoning is the supported CLARiiON zoning scheme.Note: If a fabric or switch is selected along with the other devices to be zoned, the Fabrics dropdown selection will not be available – selecting a switch or a fabric automatically fills in this field. When the OK button is clicked, the user will be prompted for the username and password for the fabric in which the zone or alias will be created. After an initial change to a particular fabric, the user will not be prompted for username and password for any subsequent changes. When multiple switches are ISLed (Inter-Switch Linked) together, VisualSAN requires the passwords for each switch in the Fabric to be identical.The process for creation of an alias is identical to the zone creation process.The Topology Map right-click menu also allows the user to add or remove selected devices from existing aliases or zones. However, the Topology Map does not allow the user to manipulate zone sets – this activity must be done in Zone Explorer.

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Zone Explorer Components

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Components of Zone Explorer components are:1.The Menu Bar2.The Tool Bar3.The Zoning Network Tree Hierarchy View - displays the complete hierarchy of Fabrics and their

corresponding aliases, zones, and zone sets. Context-sensitive right-click functionality is implemented in this view.

4.The Zone Summary View - displays a summary of information pertaining to the selected item in the Zoning Network Tree view.

5.The Zone Visualization pane

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Zone Explorer – File Menu

There are three menu choices on the File menu:

Commit: Any changes, additions, and deletions of aliases, zones, or zone sets made to any fabric in Zone Explorer are not activated until they are committed to the fabric switch(es). This function is also available on the toolbar.Discard Changes: Any uncommitted modifications are discarded and Zone Explorer reverts to the currently active zoning configuration.Close: Exits Zone Explorer. This function is not available on the toolbar.

The Commit and Discard Changes functionalities are activated when the user makes a change (addition, modification, deletion) to the discovered fabric zoning information. At this point, the zoning information in Zone Explorer will not be updated until either the changes have been committed to the Fabric, or the Discard Changes button is used to restore the discovered information.

Note: Changes will be reflected in the Zoning Network Hierarchy tree. Before they are committed in Zone Explorer, the following symbols represent modifications to zone objects:

• Before it is committed to the fabric, it is shown with a “+” next to it• A modified alias, zone, or zone set will have a “~” next to it• A deleted item will have a “–” next to it

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Zone Explorer – View Menu

There are three menu choices on the View menu:

1.Show Toolbar: Shows/Hides the Tool Bar. This function is not available on the toolbar.2.View on Map: Shows/Hides the alias, zone or zone set that is selected in the Zoning Network tree. This

function is also available on the toolbar.3.Show Active Zones: Shows/Hides active zones for all fabrics on the Topology Map. Zone Visualization

pane and rollup are updated. This function is not available on the toolbar.

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Zone Explorer – Control Menu

There are five menu choices on the Control menu:

1.Create has three choices on a sub-menu:• New Alias - Launches the Create Alias dialog. This function is also available on the toolbar.• New Zone - Launches the Create Zone dialog. This function is also available on the toolbar.• New Zone Set - Launches the Create Zone Set dialog. This function is also available on the toolbar.

2.Activate/Deactivate: Makes the selected zone set active (if not active) or inactive (if active). This function is also available on the toolbar.

3.Delete: Deletes the selected alias, zone, or zone set. This function is also available on the toolbar.4.Modify: Launches the Modify... dialog for the selected alias, zone or zone set. This function is also available

on the toolbar.5.Remove: Removes the selected alias from a zone, the selected zone from a zone set, or the selected device

from an alias. This function is also available on the toolbar.

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Zone Hierarchy View – Fabric Selected

If a fabric is selected, the fabric ID, active zone set, and total number of alias, zone and zone sets in the fabric are shown.

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Zone Hierarchy View – Zone Selected

If a zone is selected, the zone components are listed, whether they are ports, aliases, etc.

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Zone Explorer – Creating Zones/Aliases

Creation of an alias or zone via the Create Alias or Create Zone dialog boxes is similar to what was described in the Zone Control – Topology Map described earlier, with these differences:

• The Fabrics dropdown box is not selectable when the Create Alias or Create Zone dialog is launched. • The Members section of the dialog is not automatically populated. The user is required to manually select

the items to include in the alias or zone.

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Zone Explorer – Creating Zone Sets

In addition to aliases and zones, the user can create zone sets. The Create Zone Set dialog requires the user to enter a zone set name and select the zones that will be members of the new zone set.Modifying an alias, zone or zone set launches the Modify Alias, Modify Zone or Modify Zone Set dialogs, respectively. These dialogs are identical to their Create dialog counterparts, showing the current members of the selected item to modify.

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Lesson 6: Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:Zoning and refresh of information is communicated from VisualSAN via SNMPBoth M and B-series switches are supportedBy default, a 30 minute zoning information refresh rate is set

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Lesson 7: Storage Provisioning Wizard

Storage Provisioning WizardSelecting objects in Storage Provisioning Wizard– Hosts– LUNs– Storage Path– Zones

Lesson 7 Contents

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Storage Provisioning Wizard

As part of the path configuration process, first create a path from a host to a storage system. This pathing is achieved via LUN masking, the process by which certain LUNs are made available to certain hosts. To define the path, select an eligible device (either a host, cluster, storage system, logical unit, or fabric) in the topology map or device tree, right-click it, and select Provision Storage. Instead of right-clicking, select Provision Storage from the Settings menu.

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Storage Provisioning – Select Host

In the Storage Provisioning Wizard Step 1 dialog box select the Host to create volume access for (if a cluster is selected, select a single host and complete all 5 steps for the first host and then repeat this procedure for each additional host in the cluster.) Click Next.

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Storage Provisioning – Select LUNs

The Storage Provisioning Wizard Step 2 dialog box appears. Select a radio button to filter the list of selectable LUNs.Select one of the following options:

• All logical units: to display all logical units physically connected to the host• Unassigned logical units: to display the logical units physically connected to the selected host and not in

any LUN masks with other hosts• Logical units used by cluster: to display only logical units that are in a LUN mask with one or more

members of the clusterSelect the checkbox of the LUNs to associate with the host or cluster. Note that LUNs must be selected from the same storage system.Click Next.

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Storage Provisioning – Customize Search

To locate LUNs that are not listed, click Search Criteria to enter specific details about the LUNs to be located. The results of the search are added to the list.Click Next.

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Storage Provisioning – Select Storage Group

In the Storage Provisioning Wizard Step 3 dialog box, select one of the following options:• Create new storage group and type the name of the storage group to be created. This new group is created

in Navisphere Manager and is available for use in VisualSAN.• Use Existing Storage Group and select an existing group from the list. These groups are created in

Navisphere Manager for CLARiiON storage systems and are detected by VisualSAN.For more information on a storage group, select the group and click Properties.Click Next.

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Storage Provisioning – Zone Paths

On the Storage Provisioning Wizard Step 4 dialog box select one of the following options:• Automatic Zoning to use an existing zone or create a zone through an existing fabric. The available fabrics

appear in the tree when this option is chosen.• The Automatic Zoning tree displays the fabric to which the selected host is connected, its HBA port,

and the storage ports potentially visible to the HBA port. A green check mark precedes a storage port if it is already zoned in the selected zone set. Otherwise, if the ports are not already zoned, click on their checkboxes to include them.

• Click Configure Zone Set to verify or change the zone set to which this zone belongs. The active zone set appears by default. Expand a fabric tree and select the desired zone. For more information on a fabric, such as the HBA and storage port to which it connects, click Details.

• Click Configure Zoning to make modifications to the selected zone. In the Zoning dialog box, select the zone set to which the zone is added. Select either Create New Zone and type the name of the zone or Use Existing Zone and select an existing zone.

• Manual Zoning to use other tools, such as Zone Explorer, to configure the zone for this path. Click Next.

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Storage Provisioning – Commit Changes

The Storage Provisioning Wizard Step 5 dialog box displays the changes that will take effect when Finish isclicked. If satisfied with these changes, click Finish.No settings that are created in the wizard are committed to the appropriate devices until Finish is clicked. The progress of the desired changes is tracked with the current operation highlighted.After each step is completed it will be identified as completed by a green check mark. At the completion of the entire operation the Cancel button is replaced with a Close button.

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Lesson 7: Summary

Key points covered in this lesson:The workflow for storage provisioning with VisualSAN is:– Select host– Select LUNs– Select storage group– Select zone paths– Commit changes

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Module 5: Summary

Key points covered in this module:Identify VisualSAN components, services, functions and high-level architectureNavigate the VisualSAN interface– Identify the meanings of icon colorization– Interpret the meanings of symbols in the status bar

Activate the discovery process– Configure the discovery settings

Identify the components of the VisualSAN interface used for:– zone visualization– zone creation

Identify the switches qualified for use with VisualSANDescribe the process for zone creation and implementationList the steps to perform storage provisioning using the VisualSAN Provision Storage Wizard

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emc visualsan

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