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Path Set for Dell Storage Forum 2012 London

January 11th, 2012

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In just a few days, Dell Storage Forum 2012 kicks off at the Grange St Paul’s Hotel in London. I will be in attendance and I hope that you will have the chance to join myself and the rest of the Dell staff and of course an array of storage customers, channel partners, enthusiasts, and analysts. At DSF your appetite will be satisfied with Executive lead Keynote sessions, Breakout sessions delivered by Technical Experts, Instructor lead training, and Hands-on/Self-Paced labs covering Compellent Storage Center, Dell EqualLogic, and PowerVault storage.

This venue won’t be an exact carbon copy of past DSF events. Dell Storage will be showcasing an updated product roadmap and we’ll also see new product announcements. One of the announcements you’ll hear about is the availability of Compellent Storage Center 6.0. As a Technical Marketing Product Specialist who spends all time working on the VMware integration points, this is a release I’ve been looking forward to since starting my career at Dell Compellent in May of last year. This is a significant launch for Dell Compellent from an architectural perspective. SC 6.0 now leverages the FreeBSD 64-bit platform. The 64-bit architecture is the springboard for new features launched this week (such as multithreading opportunities and 12GB memory per Series 40 controller) and will serve as a key enabler for future scalability, integration, and feature enhancements.

If you’re a current Dell Compellent customer with vSphere 4.1 or newer in your datacenter, you know that through SC 5.5.x we supported one VAAI primitive: Zero Blocks or Write Same. Storage Center 6.0 supports additional VMware vSphere VAAI primitives:

  • Copy Offload
  • Hardware Assisted Locking
  • Of course we still support Block Zeroing

On a side note, VMware also released a 4th VAAI primitive in vSphere 5 focusing on Thin Provisioning for block storage arrays.  However, shortly after the release, VMware pulled support on this primitive (applies to all storage vendors) to work out some kinks.  I wrote about that here.

VAAI excites me because of the performance and scalability gains it brings to the vSphere virtual datacenter in addition to vSphere bolt ons such as VMware View and vCloud Director.

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Compellent SC 6.0 VAAI support:

  • 41% faster block cloning operations on Eager Zeroed Thick and Lazy Zeroed Thick virtual disks
  • 98% faster Eager Zeroed Thick disk creation
  • Up to 100% reduction in Block Zeroing data traffic from host to storage
  • Offloaded operations result in significantly reduced copy traffic between host and storage
  • Offloaded operations result in reduction of ESX(i) host resource and storage fabric utilization

Find more details about VAAI at VMware KB 1021976 vStorage APIs for Array Integration FAQ.

This should be a really great week.  Personally, it will be my first Dell Compellent focused conference.  I do hope to see you there and look forward to some good discussions.  If you’re not able to attend in person, you can use these links to follow the action remotely:

Event Links:

Twitter/Social Media Links:

Other Links:

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BrownBag Blow Out – vSphere Lab Give Away

December 9th, 2011

Snagit CaptureCody Bunch over at ProfessionalVMware has pulled together a whole bunch of fantastic lab resources which he plans to give away to one lucky contest winner at the BrownBag Blow Out – vSphere Lab Give Away.  This is a great opportunity to walk away with books, videos, 1×1 VCAP training, storage, laptop PC, VMware Workstation, VMware exam vouchers, a brand new v3 vCalendar from you-know-who, and maybe more (I hear Cody has a book coming…)

Contest Rules:

1) Create and send a 1 – 3 minute video, explaining who you are and how you think the lab would help you.

2) Shipping to US addresses only.

3) Employees of prize vendors and Cody’s tight friends are ineligible.

4) Entries must be received by midnight 12/13.

5) Winner will be announced between 12/14 and 12/16.

6) The very best of luck to all contestants and may the luckiest and most deserving person win. If you sue Cody or cause trouble for him you will be the biggest loser.

Head on over there now & submit your entry!

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Unable to Remove Stubborn Hosts from Unisphere (and the solution)

November 14th, 2011

Last weekend I was working in the home lab and needed to remove a few fibre channel connected hosts from the EMC Celerra NS-120.  This is the procedure I followed:

  1. Open Unisphere
  2. Drill down to the CLARiiON side of the Celerra (APM000…)
  3. From the menu on the left, choose Storage System Connectivity Status
  4. Drill down on the host to remove, highlight each HBA one by one and click the Deregister button
  5. Click OK

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Unfortunately, I ran into an issue.  The problem which occurred was that the host I was attempting to remove remained in the host list instead of being deleted once the final HBA was deregistered.  This was a problem because I needed to add a new host with the same name.  At this point, there was no clear way to remove the host:

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Logging in to Engineering mode (I found this on the public facing/Google cached EMC Community Network forums searching for help… CTRL + SHIFT + F12 password messner) did not provide me with additional options to remove the host.

Thanks to the help from Jase McCarty who had a watchful eye on Twitter, I was able to follow a procedure to resolve the situation:

  1. Access each of the Storage Processor Management Servers (http://w.x.y.z/setup)
  2. Scroll down and click the Restart Management Server button (each can be performed in parallel; doesn’t impact storage connectivity)
  3. Wait 5 minutes for the reboot of the Management Servers
  4. Close and Re-open Unisphere
  5. The host is now gone from all host lists.  Problem solved.

This was an isolated incident.  I wasn’t able to repeat this problem but if it happens in the future, I’m ready.  All I have to do is search Google and end up at my own blog.

Thanks Jase!

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VMware View Client for iPad 1.2 Released

October 23rd, 2011

Back in September during the VMworld 2011 US time frame, I wrote New View Client for iPad Sneak Peak at VMworld 2011 which talked about an upcoming release and some of the new features to be expected for VMware’s tablet based View client.  I saw a tweet from Tedd Fox tonight that the new client has been released.  In checking the Apple App Store, indeed it has.

The new version is 1.2 and it boasts the following features and updates:

  • Optimized for VMware View 5 with improved performance
  • Support for iOS 5 including AirPlay
  • Presentation Mode for use with external display and AirPlay
  • Embedded RSA soft token simplifies login to desktop
  • Background tasking to move between Windows and iOS apps
  • Updated look and feel
  • Integrated online help
  • Buffered text input for multibyte text entry
  • Now in French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese
  • Bug Fixes

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Requirements: Requires iPad iOS 4.2 or later.

I just upgraded and right away I noticed the new interface as well as some advanced finger gestures I hadn’t seen before (these may or may not be new).

The next thing that I noticed was that I could multitask!  This is the feature I’ve wanted the most personally.  I can now stop in the middle of a session, switch to another application or exit out to the iPad desktop and the View desktop connection remains established when I go back to it.

If you have in iPad, go grab your free copy.  I don’t have an Android but I’m hearing a version was released for that platform as well.

Thank you VMware and Thank you Tedd!

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Changing the default vSphere 5.0 PSP to Round Robin

September 28th, 2011

If you have a vSphere 5.0 environment backed by a storage array (SAN) which supports multipathing over two or more active front end ports (or if you have an array with ALUA support), you may be interested in using VMware’s Round Robin PSP (Path Selection Policy) to distribute storage I/O evenly across multiple fabrics and/or fabric paths.  One of the benefits with the Round Robin PSP is that it performs the I/O balancing automatically as opposed to manually tuning fabric and path utilization which is associated with the Fixed PSP – typically the default for active/active arrays.  If you’re familiar with Round Robin, you’re probably already aware that you can manually change the PSP using the vSphere Client.  However, this can become a tedious affair yielding inconsistent configurations since each LUN on each host in the cluster needs to be configured.

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A better solution would be to modify the default PSP for your SATP (Storage Array Type Plugin) so that each new LUN presented to the hosts is automatically configured for Round Robin.

Taking a look at the default PSP for each SATP, I see there is a mix of two different PSPs: VMW_PSP_FIXED (generally for active/active arrays) and VMW_PSP_MRU (generally for active/passive arrays).  Notice the Round Robin policy VMW_PSP_RR is not the default for any SATP:

[root@lando /]# esxcli storage nmp satp list
Name                 Default PSP    Description
——————-  ————-  ——————————————————-
VMW_SATP_ALUA_CX     VMW_PSP_FIXED  Supports EMC CX that use the ALUA protocol
VMW_SATP_ALUA        VMW_PSP_MRU    Supports non-specific arrays that use the ALUA protocol
VMW_SATP_MSA         VMW_PSP_MRU    Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AP  VMW_PSP_MRU    Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_SVC         VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_EQL         VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_INV         VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_EVA         VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_SYMM        VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_CX          VMW_PSP_MRU    Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_LSI         VMW_PSP_MRU    Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA  VMW_PSP_FIXED  Supports non-specific active/active arrays
VMW_SATP_LOCAL       VMW_PSP_FIXED  Supports direct attached devices

Modifying the PSP is achieved with a single command on each ESXi host (no reboot required):

[root@lando /]# esxcli storage nmp satp set -s VMW_SATP_ALUA_CX -P VMW_PSP_RR
Default PSP for VMW_SATP_ALUA_CX is now VMW_PSP_RR

If I take a look at the the default PSP for each SATP, I can see the top one has changed from VMW_PSP_FIXED to VMW_PSP_RR:

[root@lando /]# esxcli storage nmp satp list
Name                 Default PSP    Description
——————-  ————-  ——————————————————-
VMW_SATP_ALUA_CX     VMW_PSP_RR     Supports EMC CX that use the ALUA protocol
VMW_SATP_ALUA        VMW_PSP_MRU    Supports non-specific arrays that use the ALUA protocol
VMW_SATP_CX          VMW_PSP_MRU    Supports EMC CX that do not use the ALUA protocol
VMW_SATP_MSA         VMW_PSP_MRU    Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AP  VMW_PSP_MRU    Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_SVC         VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_EQL         VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_INV         VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_EVA         VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_SYMM        VMW_PSP_FIXED  Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_LSI         VMW_PSP_MRU    Placeholder (plugin not loaded)
VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA  VMW_PSP_FIXED  Supports non-specific active/active arrays
VMW_SATP_LOCAL       VMW_PSP_FIXED  Supports direct attached devices

Now when I present a new LUN to the host which uses the VMW_SATP_ALUA_CX SATP, instead of using the old PSP default of VMW_PSP_FIXED, it applies the new default PSP which is VMW_PSP_RR (Round Robin):

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To clarify just a little further, what I’ve done is change the default PSP for just one SATP.  If I had other active/active or ALUA arrays which used a different SATP, I’d need to modify the default PSP for those corresponding SATPs as well.

This is good VCAP-DCA fodder.  For more on this, take a look at the vSphere Storage Guide.

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New View Client for iPad Sneak Peak at VMworld 2011

September 3rd, 2011

Wednesday night I bumped into VMware Product Manager Tedd Fox at the Palazzo pool side party. You may remember Tedd as the man behind the VMware View Client for iPad. He invited me to stop by the VMware EUC booth for a look at “something”.  The following day I met up with him at the booth.  He grabbed his second generation iPad, I rolled camera, and he showed me some never before seen footage of the next release of the VMware View Client for iPad expected to be released within the next few weeks to both iPad generations.

This particular release sports security minded features as well as enhancements to improve ease of use.  Following are some notes on what Ted talked about during the demo of his production environment:

  • Blurred thumbnails of previously opened desktop connections
  • Certificate checking
  • Three native levels of security: High, Medium, and Low
  • Embedded RSA Soft Token
  • The above keyboard toolbar has been modified to display most of the commonly used function and arrow keys above the keyboard instead of on a separate “floater” which consumed valuable display real estate
  • Plugging in the video out dongle converts the iPad into a Macbook pro sized trackpad and keyboard
  • Release expected within the next few weeks in the App Store
  • Will be compatible with Apple IOS 5
  • An Android version (minus presentation mode) will be made available at the same time, in addition to Cisco Cius

Following is a video capture of the demo and below that a static image of presentation mode trackpad and keyboard:

Tedd didn’t have video dongle at the time of the interview but he did follow up with an email showing what presentation mode trackpad and keyboard looks like on the iPad:

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I’d like to thank Tedd and VMware for their time and the exclusive demo.  As a gen 1 iPad owner who already has gotten a lot of mileage out of the View Client for iPad + View 4.6 and now 5.0 beta, I’m pretty excited about this release and future developments.  The iPad and other comparable tablets are convenient for conferences such as VMworld because of apps like the one Tedd develops.  Just Enough Device to access email, access my calendar and schedule, access my home lab remotely while in a VMworld session.

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USB Thumb Drive Not Recognized – 3 Fast Beeps

July 27th, 2011

No Earth-shattering material tonight.  In fact this tip isn’t even VMware/virtualization related other than the fact that the problem came up while working in the lab.  It has been several months since the last article I wrote under the “General” category which contains no VMware/virtualization content.

Anyway, I was working in the lab when…

My Windows 7 OS would no longer recognize my USB thumb drive.  Inserting the thumb drive into any of the USB  ports produced three quick USB-style beeps.  Having cut my x86 teeth in the days when A+ certification amounted to quite a bit, the three beeps told me something wasn’t right from a hardware standpoint but with a hint of driver hence the USB audio indicator.  I was mildly concerned because I sometimes carry data around on this drive which hasn’t been backed up or cannot be quickly reproduced.  A warm reboot of the OS produced no joy.  Neither did a power off.

Back in Windows Device Manager, the device was shown as disabled with an option to re-enable.  This did not work however.

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This being a USB device which can easily be reinstalled, the next step was to uninstall the driver by right clicking on the device and choosing Uninstall (notice the “down arrow” depicted on the device indicating it is disabled):

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After the uninstall of the driver, I unplugged the USB thumb drive, waited a few seconds, plugged it back in, and immediately heard the friendly USB sound I had been wanting all along.  Windows 7 went through a device discovery process, installed drivers, and I was on my way.

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