raidix 4.7 installation and configuration guide · [email protected] raidix.com 2019 raidix 4.7...

[email protected] raidix.com

2019

RAIDIX 4.7 INSTALLATION AND

CONFIGURATION GUIDE

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.raidix.com/

RAIDIX 4.7 Software Installation and Configuration Guide

All rights reserved © RAIDIX, 2019 /46

Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 3

Document Purpose ................................................................................................................... 3

Related Documentation ........................................................................................................... 3

How this Guide is Organized ................................................................................................... 3

Contact us .................................................................................................................................. 3

1. Installation prerequisites ............................................................................. 4

2. Installation ...................................................................................................... 5

2.1 Add the crash dump module .................................................................................... 18

3. Installation on a mirrored array ................................................................20

3.1 Add the crash dump module .................................................................................... 30

4. Network setup..............................................................................................32

5. Configuring SAS connection .....................................................................33

5.1 Configuring SAS with managesas utility ................................................................ 33

5.1.1 Preparation .......................................................................................................................................... 33

5.1.2 Update and update firmware ............................................................................................................ 33

5.1.3 Configure SAS adapter ...................................................................................................................... 34

5.2 Configuring SAS with scrtnycli ................................................................................ 36

5.2.1 Preparation .......................................................................................................................................... 36

5.2.2 Configure SAS adapter ...................................................................................................................... 36

6. Set up the license and configure account ..............................................39

7. Dual-controller mode configuration .........................................................41

7.1 Set up InfiniBand synchronization .......................................................................... 43

7.2 Set up iSCSI synchronization ................................................................................... 44

7.3 Set up SAS synchronization ..................................................................................... 45



Introduction

Document Purpose

This guide describes the procedure of installation of RAIDIX 4.7 software for storages.

This document is mandatory for use by partners of RAIDIX LLC while installing and

configuring RAIDIX 4.7.

Related Documentation

The following set of documentation is available for RAIDIX 4.7:

1. RAIDIX 4.7 Installation and Configuration Guide.

2. RAIDIX 4.7 Administrator Guide.

3. RAIDIX 4.7 What’s New.

4. RAIDIX 4.7 Hardware Compatibility List.

How this Guide is Organized

This Guide includes the following sections:

1. Installation prerequisites.

2. Installation.

3. Installation on a mirrored array.

4. Network setup.

5. Configuring SAS connection.

6. Set up the license and configure account.

7. Dual-controller mode configuration.

Contact us

If you have encountered a problem not covered in this guide or have RAIDIX 4.7 related

issues, please contact RAIDIX technical support through the e-mail:

[email protected] or [email protected].





1. Installation prerequisites

Before installing RAIDIX 4.7, please perform the following:

1. Assemble and test the hardware system, on which RAIDIX 4.7 software is to be

installed. Connect both nodes to one enclosure.

2. Connect the storage to Ethernet network.

3. Power on the system (220 V).

4. Set correct time and date values in BIOS.

5. Make sure hyperthreading in BIOS is turned off.

For proper RAIDIX 4.7 work with SATA-controller we recommend selecting «AHCI» controller

mode in BIOS. See your motherboard manual for detail.



2. Installation

The RAIDIX 4.7 software comes as an .ISO file.

To install RAIDIX 4.7, perform the following:

1. Extract all drives except for the system one.

2. Insert the flash drive into the USB port.

3. Enter the BIOS, open the tab Boot, select 1st Boot Device and press Enter. In the

opened list, select the flash drive containing RAIDIX .ISO file and press Enter

(Figure 1).

4. While operating in UEFI, flash-device is detected as an UEFI-device (Figure 2).

BIOS windows and operations may insignificantly differ from those described here

depending on features of your system.

Figure 1. Specify the Boot Device



Figure 2. Select UEFI device to install RAIDIX 4.7

1. Press Save & Exit (Figure 3).



Figure 3. Selecting boot device in BIOS

2. In the first dialog window, select Install RAIDIX 4.7 and click Enter (Figure 4).



Figure 4. RAIDIX 4.7 Software installation window

3. In the appeared window, click End User License Agreement (Figure 5).



Figure 5. Installation wizard

4. In the opened window, read the license agreement. After reading is complete, check

Accept license agreement terms and click Done (Figure 6).



Figure 6. License Agreement window

5. In the installation wizard window, click Date & Time (Figure 7).



Figure 7. Date & Time Settings

6. In the opened window, select your local time zone by marking it on the map. Enable

the option Network time (Figure 8).



Figure 8. Selecting your local time zone

7. In the installation wizard window, click Installation Destination (Figure 9).



Figure 9. Selecting a Drive for Installation

8. In the opened window in section Local Standard Disks, select a drive for installation

of RAIDIX 4.7. Click Done (Figure 10).

If the system drive already contains partitions (shown in the Unknown section), delete them

as follows:

1. Click the button .

2. In the opened window, tick Delete all file systems which are only used by Unknown,

and then click Delete It.



Figure 10. Drive Selection

9. In the opened window Manual Partitioning in the drop-down list, select Standard

Partition menu.

If installation is performed in UEFI, click the plus button and specify the following

parameters for the boot partition:

Mount Point: /boot/efi.

Desired Capacity: 200.

In course of installation in UEFI, make sure value in the File System box matches

EFI System Partition.

10. To create a root partition, click the icon .

If you install RAIDIX on the drive whose volume does not exceed 32 GB, specify

the following parameters for the root partition:

Mount Point: /.



Desired Capacity - do not specify the parameter so that the root partition will

take all the free space on the drive.

In this case, var partition is not to be created so skip the steps 14 and 15.

If you install RAIDIX on the drive whose volume is larger than 32 GB, specify the

following parameters for the root partition:

Mount Point: /.

Desired Capacity: 16384.

Click Add mount point (Figure 11).

Figure 11. Creating the root partition

11. To create a var partition, click the symbol (Figure 12).



Figure 12. Creating the var partition

12. Specify the following parameters for the var partition:

Mount Point: /var.

Desired Capacity – do not specify the parameter so that /var partition will take

all the free space left on the drive.


Figure 13. Creating a /var partition. Specifying parameters of the partition



13. Click Done. As system warnings appear, click Done again to confirm the creation of

the configuration (Figure 14).

Figure 14. Confirmation of changes

1. In the opened window Summary of Changes, click Accept Changes (Figure 15).

Figure 15. Summary of changes window

2. In the installation wizard, click Begin Installation. At the bottom of the window, the

progress bar, displaying the installation process, will appear (Figure 16).



Figure 16. Installation in progress

3. After the installation is complete, the appropriate message will appear. Click Reboot

and wait for the system to restart.

4. If the system is installed on a drive connected through SAS LSI 93xx/94xx or Lenovo

430-8e/430-16e adapter, you will have to add the crash dump module. Otherwise,

the installation is complete.

2.1 Add the crash dump module

If the system is installed on a drive connected through SAS LSI 93xx/94xx or Lenovo 430-

8e/430-16e adapter, add the crash dump module manually. Skip this section if you use

another configuration.

To add the crash dump module, do the following:

1. In the file /etc/kdump.conf, replace the string



dracut_args --add-drivers "qla2xxx" --omit-drivers

"mpt3sas”

with

dracut_args --add-drivers "qla2xxx"

2. Remove the current image by running the command

rm /boot/initramfs-3.10.0-693.2.1.el7.x86_64kdump.img

3. Remount the new image by running the command

service kdump restart



3. Installation on a mirrored array

You can install RAIDIX 4.7 system on a mirrored array (array of two disks) to improve fault

tolerance and reliability.

Before performing the installation on a mirrored array, verify that both drives in the

controller are of the same size.

To install RAIDIX 4.7, perform the following:

1. Extract all drives except the two system drives.

2. Insert the flash drive into the USB port.

3. Enter the BIOS, open the tab Boot, select 1st Boot Device and press Enter. In the

opened list, select the flash drive containing RAIDIX .ISO f ile and press Enter

(Figure 17).

BIOS windows and operations may insignificantly differ from those described here depending

on features of your system.

Figure 17. Specify the Boot Device



4. Press Save & Exit (Figure 18).

Figure 18. Selecting boot device in BIOS

5. After booting, in the appeared window, select Install RAIDIX 4.7 and click Enter

(Figure 19). Installer starts.



Figure 19. RAIDIX 4.7 Software installation window

6. In the appeared window, click End User License Agreement (Figure 20).



Figure 20. Installation wizard

7. In the opened window, read the license agreement. After reading is complete, check

Accept license agreement terms and click Done (Figure 21).



Figure 21. License Agreement window

8. In the installation wizard window, click Date & Time (Figure 22).



Figure 22. Date & Time Settings

9. In the opened window, select your local time zone by marking it on the map. Enable

the option Network time (Figure 23).



Figure 23. Selecting your local time zone

10. In the installation wizard window, click Installation Destination (Figure 24).



Figure 24. Selecting Installation Destination

11. In the opened window in the section Local Standard Disks, select two drives for

RAIDIX 4.7 installation. In the section Partitioning, select the option I will configure

partitioning. Click Done (Figure 25).

If the system drives already contain any partitions, delete them.

To this end, in the opened window, click the button , tick Delete all other file systems

and click Delete it.



Figure 25. Selection of system drives

12. In the opened window Manual Partitioning, in the drop-down list, select Standard

Partition menu and click the icon .

13. Specify the following parameters for the root partition:

Mount Point: /.

Desired Capacity - do not specify the parameter so that the root partition will

take all the free space on the drive.


Figure 26. Creating the root partition



14. After the root partition is created, set the following parameters (Figure 27):

Device Type: RAID;

RAID Level: RAID1;

File system: ext4.

Figure 27. Selection of parameters for the root partition

15. As the partition is created, click Done. If system warnings appear, click Done again

to confirm the creation of the configuration.

16. In the opened window Summary of Changes, click Accept Changes (Figure 28).



Figure 28. Summary of Changes window

17. In the installation wizard, click Begin Installation. At the bottom of the window, the

progress bar, displaying the installation process, will appear.

18. After the installation is complete, the appropriate message will appear. Click Reboot

and wait for the system to restart. If the system is installed on a drive connected

through SAS LSI 93xx/94xx or Lenovo 430-8e/430-16e adapter, you will have to add

the crash dump module. Otherwise, the installation is complete.

3.1 Add the crash dump module

If the system is installed on a drive connected through SAS LSI 93xx/94xx or Lenovo 430-

8e/430-16e adapter, add the crash dump module manually. Skip this section if you use

another configuration.

To add the crash dump module, perform the following:

1. In the file /etc/kdump.conf, replace the string

dracut_args --add-drivers "qla2xxx" --omit-drivers

"mpt3sas”

with

dracut_args --add-drivers "qla2xxx"

2. Remove the current image by running the command

rm /boot/initramfs-3.10.0-693.2.1.el7.x86_64kdump.img



3. Remount the new image by running the command

service kdump restart



4. Network setup

If your network uses DHCP, the system will obtain an IP address at the first launch. Use

the command ifconfig to get the obtained IP ad use it to log in the system.

To configure DHCP, perform the following command:

rdcli network interface modify --dhcp 1 --up 1 –name

<interface_name>

To configure a static IP address, do the following:

1. Log in to the RAIDIX 4.7 web interface.

2. Select SYSTEM > Network.

3. In the Network Interfaces Parameters list, choose the interface to which you want to

assign a static IP address.

4. In the network interface line of your choice, click and select Edit.

5. The pane of network interface configuration opens.

6. In the network interface configuration pane, turn off DHCP.

7. In the IP address field, enter the IP address to be used as static IP.

If there is no DHCP server in the network, configure a static IP address by performing the

following:

1. Define the interfaces to which the network cable is connected by using the command

ifconfig.

2. Select the interface to be used for system administration.

3. Perform the command

rdcli network interface modify -n <interface name> -a

<IP address> -m <subnet mask> -u 1

4. Log in the web interface using the specified IP address.



5. Configuring SAS connection

You can use SAS 12G

to synchronize nodes’ caches – Initiator and Target mode;

to connect to a host – Target mode;

to connect to drive enclosure – Initiator mode.

To configure connection via LSI adapter 93xx or earlier, use managesas utility.

To configure connection via LSI adapter 94xx or later, use scrtyctl utility.

5.1 Configuring SAS with managesas utility

5.1.1 Preparation

Before you configure your SAS adapter, perform the following:

1. Disable the SAS adapter in BIOS when starting the system.

2. Make sure the system drive is not connected to the adapter that you plan to use as

a target.

3. If you use a switch, perform the switch zoning.

5.1.2 Update and update firmware

Make sure your SAS adapter uses the required firmware version and – if necessary –

update the firmware.

1. Perform the command managesas.

2. Select the required device.

3. To see the current firmware version, select the option 1 (Identify firmware,

BIOS, and/or FCode). You need the firmware version IT (IT mode) for correct

adapter operation.

4. If the adapter uses another firmware version, update the firmware by using the option

2 (Download firmware). After updating, reset the adapter by using the option

99 (Reset port to force a reset of the chip).



5.1.3 Configure SAS adapter

Configure your SAS adapter 93xx or earlier models using managesas utility.

1. Run managesas.

2. Select a SAS adapter. The command displays the list of available options

(Figure 29).

Figure 29. Managesas main menu

3. Enter the option 13 (Change SAS I/O Unit) (Figure 30). The settings of adapter

will display.



Figure 30. Port configuration menu

SAS adapter consists of one or more ports.

Each port includes one or more physical level channels (Phy).

Configure Wide Port if there is more than one Phy in the port.

4. Select a Phy number and configure the required connection mode (Initiator, Target,

or Initiator and Target):

For synchronization of nodes’ cache.

Specify the port numbers manually and configure Wide Port. Select the Initiator

and Target mode – Initiator enabled, Target enabled.

For synchronization of nodes’ caches through SAS Backplan.

Configure the ports automatically, without Wide Port. Select the Initiator and

Target mode – Initiator enabled, Target enabled.

For connection to hosts.

Specify the port numbers manually and configure Wide Port. Select the Target

mode – Initiator disabled, Target enabled.

For connection to the driver enclosure

Configure the ports automatically, without Wide Port. Select the Initiator mode

– Initiator enabled, Target disabled.

Repeat the settings for each PhyNum.

5. Reset the adapter by using the option 99 (Reset port).



6. Reboot the nodes.

7. To see connected devices and other adapters, enter the option 16 (Display

attached devices).

8. To configure dual-controller mode, set up the heartbeat connection and select

targets for synchronization. To learn more, see Set up SAS synchronization.

5.2 Configuring SAS with scrtnycli

5.2.1 Preparation

Before you start configuring your SAS adapter, perform the following:

1. Disable the SAS adapter in BIOS when starting the system.

2. Make sure the system drive is not connected to the adapter that you plan to use as

a target.

3. If you use a switch, perform the switch zoning.

5.2.2 Configure SAS adapter

Configure your SAS adapter 94xx or later models by using the scrtnycli utility.

1. Run scrtnycli.

2. Select a SAS adapter. The command displays the list of available options

(Figure 31).

Figure 31. Scrtnycli output

3. Enter the command ioc –configsas to configure parameters of the adapter

(Figure 32).



Figure 32. Adapter parameters

SAS adapter consists of one or more ports.

Each port includes one or more physical level channels (Phy).

Configure Wide Port if there is more than one Phy in the port.

4. Select a Phy number and configure the required connection mode (Initiator, Target

or Initiator and Target).

For synchronization of nodes’ cache.

Specify the port numbers manually and configure Wide Port. Select the Initiator

and Target mode – Initiator enabled, Target enabled.

For synchronization of nodes’ caches through SAS Backplan.

Configure the ports automatically, without Wide Port. Select the Initiator and

Target mode – Initiator enabled, Target enabled.

For connection to hosts.

Specify the port numbers manually and configure Wide Port. Select the Target

mode – Initiator disabled, Target enabled.

For connection to the driver enclosure.



Configure the ports automatically, without Wide Port. Select the Initiator

mode – Initiator enabled, Target disabled.

Repeat the settings for each PhyNum.

5. To see the connected devices and other adapter, use the scan command

(Figure 33).

Figure 33. Scan command output

6. To configure dual-controller mode, set up the heartbeat connection and select

targets for synchronization. To learn more, see Set up SAS synchronization.



6. Set up the license and configure account

To start working with the RAIDIX 4.7 system, you must configure the license parameters

(to operate in the dual-controller mode, you must configure license parameters on both

nodes). To do this:

1. Open the RAIDIX 4.7 GUI by using the following address:

http://<RAIDIX_IP_address>

where <RAIDIX_IP_address> – IP address to manage the system through the

RAIDIX 4.7 web interface. The login window appears.

2. In the Username field, enter admin, then in the Password field, enter raidix. Click

Login.

Make sure cookies are enabled in your browser.

Define the port assigned as primary by running the command

rdcli network show

Get the assigned IP by running the command

rdcli network interface show

To learn how to change the assigned IP address for system management, see the chapter

“Setting Up Network Interfaces Parameters” in RAIDIX 4.7 Administrator’s Guide.

3. On the one of the nodes, select SYSTEM > License.

4. Copy the current license key from the System Key field.

5. To configure the dual-controller mode, repeat steps 1-4 on the second node.

6. Send the license key (in dual-controller mode – keys from both nodes) to RAIDIX

technical support center ([email protected], [email protected]).

7. To upload the received license, click Add a License File.

8. Information on the uploaded license file appears in the table in both nodes web

interfaces (Figure 34).





Figure 34. License page after dual-controller license file was added

9. After license file is uploaded, create system user accounts. To do this, run the

command:

rdcli system user create –l <login> –p <password> –la

<language>

You can set up license by using CLI. Commands that you can use to set up and renew the

license are described in the RAIDIX 4.7 Administrator's Guide “Appendix A. Command

Console Interface Features and Syntax”.



7. Dual-controller mode configuration

After connecting the nodes to one enclosure, installing the system and configuring license

parameters, to configure the dual-controller mode, set up the heartbeat connection and

caches' synchronization.

After setting dual-controller mode, you can manage both nodes from the web interface of

any one of them, following the links to the remote node.

To set up the Heartbeat connection, do the following:

1. Select SYSTEM > Network.

2. In the Network Interface Parameters section, click in the line of the network

interface to be used for the Heartbeat connection. The pane to set up the network

interfaces parameters appears (Figure 35).

Figure 35. Setting up Heartbeat connection parameters

3. In the appropriate fields, specify the Enabled parameter as On, enter IP Address,

and Netmask values.

Heartbeat IP address must be specified on both nodes from one subnet

4. Click Apply to save settings.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for the second node.

6. Select SYSTEM > Nodes (Figure 36).



Figure 36. Nodes page before configuring dual-controller mode

7. Click Configure DC. The pane to add the remote node settings appears (Figure 37).

Figure 37. Dual-controller mode configuration

8. In the Remote IP field, enter the Heartbeat IP address of the remote node specified

in step 3, then click Configure.

9. Parameters for the second node appear in the table of the Nodes section. Both nodes

will have automatically assigned ID in the appropriate column (Figure 38).

Figure 38. Nodes page. Dual-controller mode



For the system to work properly in the dual-controller mode, you must set up targets for

cache synchronization over SAS, InfiniBand or iSCSIand start OpenSM service (for

synchronization over InfiniBand).

7.1 Set up InfiniBand synchronization

To set up caches’ synchronization over InfiniBand, do the following:

1. Select HOSTS&INTERFACES > Adapters. The table with targets corresponding to

InfiniBand ports appears (Figure 39).

Figure 39. Adapters page

2. Select Target Synchronization to open a setup window (Figure 40).

Figure 40. Selecting Targets for Synchronization set up window



3. Select GUID of the corresponding InfiniBand adapters for nodes cache

synchronization and click Select.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 on the second node, selecting the appropriate adapters GUID for

synchronization.

The best way to set up the synchronization is the following: leave active InfiniBand

connections only for synchronization and specify adapters with LinkUp status as targets for

synchronization in the appropriate window (Figure 40).

To start the OpenSM service (and set up InfiniBand cache nodes synchronization), do the

following:

As only one subnet manager can run on each InfiniBand fabric, configure the OpenSM on

every port of your InfiniBand interface but only on one node.

1. Select HOSTS & INTERFACES > Adapters (Figure).

2. Click OpenSM. A window to specify OpenSM service parameters appears

(Figure 41).

Figure 41. Start OpenSM service window

3. Select ports for synchronization and click Select.

If synchronization of caches is configured correctly, after creating a RAID array, its

synchronization status will change to On.

7.2 Set up iSCSI synchronization

To set up caches’ synchronization over iSCSI, do the following:



1. Select HOSTS & INTERFACES > iSCSI Targets.

2. Enable iSCSi in the widget on the right (Figure 42).

Figure 42. Enabling iSCSI

3. Select HOSTS & INTERFACES > Adapters.

4. Click Target Synchronization to open a setup window (Figure 43).

Figure 43. Targets for synchronization window

5. Select the iSCSI target type and Remote iSCSI IP for nodes cache synchronization

and click Select.

If everything has been configured correctly, after the creation of a RAID array, its

synchronization status would change to On.

If desired IP address of the port is not on the list, check that network settings of the remote

node are correct. To see the network configuration, select SYSTEM > Network. Network

settings are displayed in the remote node interface.

7.3 Set up SAS synchronization

To set up caches’ synchronization over SAS, do the following:



1. Select HOSTS & INTERFACES > Adapters. The table with targets corresponding

to SAS ports appears.

2. Select Target Synchronization to open a setup window.

3. Select SAS Address of the corresponding SAS ports for nodes cache

synchronization and click Select.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 on the second node.

You can set up synchronization by doing the follow: make connections through SAS active

only for synchronization, define adapters that have Up status for the port connection and

select them as targets for synchronization in the corresponding window.

raidix 4.7 installation and configuration guide · [email protected] raidix.com 2019 raidix 4.7...

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