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mmurray47
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Q: New to xSAN - need help

I'm new in my job and trying to help our "Storage Administrator" figure out an issue.  Before my arrival, he connected an IBM System x3850 M2 (SAS) 4 LUNs to an OS X Lion Server I'll be administering.  The LUNs are connected to the server's backplane by 4 separate fiber connections. 

 

Subsequently, the server "sees" 4 individual drives (showing in Disk Utility) which can be erased, repaired, mounted/unmounted etc.  However the goal is to make thus LUN appear as a single, writable 520GB Drive.  Future storage expansion is expected.

 

I'm told by the storage administrator that in order to accomplish this, a proper or compatible MPIO driver is needed. 

 

Two questions:

 

1) I where I can find a compatible MPIO driver if such a thing exists?  Thanks.

 

2) I'm new to xSAN but I'm wondering if the Storage Administrator (who's new to Apple products) should be using the xSAN Admin tools already installed on the Lion Server to properly configure the LUNs?

Posted on Nov 29, 2011 5:39 AM

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mmurray47

Q: New to xSAN - need help

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  • by mmurray47,

    mmurray47 mmurray47 Nov 30, 2011 7:12 AM in response to mmurray47
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    Nov 30, 2011 7:12 AM in response to mmurray47

    Just a quick update.  We dropped two of the fabric connections (mostly for simplicity) so now only 2 drives appear.  When we copy a file to one of the drives, it appears on the other after reboot.  ??? 

     

    Essentially the only "problem" we believe we have at this point is figuring out how to get the host (or the SAN) to represent the LUN as one icon or one drive instead of the two we're still seeing?

  • by receng,

    receng receng Nov 30, 2011 11:16 AM in response to mmurray47
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Nov 30, 2011 11:16 AM in response to mmurray47

    The fact that you can see the drives in disk utility is good. It means the server can see the LUNS. You have to open Xsan admin in Lion Server and label the LUNS and then configure a Volume. This will not happen automatically. You can refer to this http://images.apple.com/xsan/docs/Xsan_2_Admin_Guide_v2.3.pdf and llok at SAN Setup intructions. Step 6 and later tells you how to configure the SAN and create a volume

  • by mmurray47,

    mmurray47 mmurray47 Nov 30, 2011 12:19 PM in response to receng
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    Nov 30, 2011 12:19 PM in response to receng

    receng: Thanks!  I'll have a look at this tomorrow AM - then I'll close out the question.

  • by mmurray47,

    mmurray47 mmurray47 Dec 2, 2011 6:16 AM in response to receng
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    Dec 2, 2011 6:16 AM in response to receng

    receng: THANKS AGAIN and roger on the Admin Guide and Step 6.

     

    But when I open Xsan admin, I'm given two choices:

     

    Connect to an existing SAN or Configure new SAN

     

    1) Connect to an existing SAN Option:  dialog box appears for a login to the local server (only). User name "root" is already poopulated. When I log in as root, I get: This computer is not a controller. You must connect to a controller of an existing SAN... ?

     

    2) Configure new SAN:  dialog box: "before configuring your clients and storage, you need to give the SAN a name and an administrator.  The SAN name will be used to IS which SAN you are connected to and the administrator email will be used for status notifications".  CONTINUE" to Add Computers Dialog Box: no computers appear. There's a button to "Add remote Computers"...?

  • by receng,

    receng receng Dec 5, 2011 7:24 AM in response to mmurray47
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Dec 5, 2011 7:24 AM in response to mmurray47

    Before creating a new volume, the controller and any other computers have to have three things working:

    1. DNS - computers need to be able to see each other on the network, the Xsan uses a private and public ethernet networks. If you are installing just one controller with no clients that will probably not be an issue. Also, inside a company network you can use the company's DNS for the public side of the XSAN. The XSAN will work without a private network, but that is recommend to keep metadata traffic outside of the public.

    2. Directory Services - the controller needs to host or be bound to a directory, the clients need to be bound too. This can be Apple's Open Directory hosted on the controller or the company's AD.

    3. Fibre Channel - LUNS appear on Disk Utility

  • by mmurray47,

    mmurray47 mmurray47 Dec 6, 2011 4:56 AM in response to receng
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    Dec 6, 2011 4:56 AM in response to receng

    receng: thanks again.  I believe we've met all three requirements you've listed.   So my questions are:

     

    1) Two posts up - which option will we be using of the two?

    2) You mentioned a single controller architecture so I'll assume this is common?  (We don't have two servers to dedicate).

    3) APparently the person who setup the Lion Server initially may have setup the machine as a "Standard" configuration in the Server Configuration wizard early on as opposed to making it an "XSan Metadata Controller". My guess is that this is a problem. Is there a way to tell if the server is setup as a Metadata Controller and if not, are we looking at a rebuild?

  • by receng,

    receng receng Dec 8, 2011 7:13 AM in response to mmurray47
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Dec 8, 2011 7:13 AM in response to mmurray47

    Here you go:

     

    1) Option 2. You don't need to add computers if you do not have any other servers or clients yet.

    2) No, the most commom is to have a two or three controller architeture, so you can have fail over capabilities

    3) This is true for Snow Leopard Server. I have never tried it with Lion Server. The server is now an app and you have the option of downloading the advanced admin tools to complement that. I think this article will help you:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4782