Getting started with storage system management
Get started by reviewing the web-based user interface and the management workflow. Then, review the management client requirements and the log-in procedure.
Storage Advisor Embedded overview
Storage Advisor Embedded provides simplified management of a storage system.
Storage Advisor Embedded is a tool for performing simple operations to change configurations. If you want to perform detailed or complicated operations, use other tools along with Storage Advisor Embedded. For details about other tools, see the "Management tools for system administration" section in the System Administration guide for your storage system.
Storage Advisor Embedded allows you to quickly build an environment with a storage system and its resources, such as pools, where you can perform simple operations using a web-based user interface without having to consider complicated storage system configurations.
In this interface, 1KB (kilobyte), 1MB (megabyte), 1GB (gigabyte),and 1TB (terabyte) are 1,000 bytes, 1,000KB, 1,000MB,and 1,000GB, respectively.
1KiB (kibibyte), 1MB (mebibyte), 1GB (gibibyte),and 1TB (tebibyte) are 1,024 bytes, 1,024KiB, 1,024MiB,and 1,024GiB, respectively.
The following describes the web-based user interface of Storage Advisor Embedded, and the information displayed on the dashboard.
You can manage and operate storage systems in Storage Advisor Embedded by selecting and operating the resources displayed in the navigation bar.
This area displays statuses such as Error or Warning when any of the following events are detected:
- The pool usage rate exceeds a threshold value
- A pool is partially blocked
- An error occurs in a backup or a restore operation
- SIMs (messages that are generated when the controller of the storage system detects an error or a service request) are sent
For VSP E series storage systems, you can check information that was sent as notifications to the screen while you were logged in by checking the notification history.
When you log in, the dashboard opens. In the dashboard, you can check the storage system status, check the storage system total capacity, and view the following:
- Information about the storage system, including the storage system name, model name, and serial number. The resource status is also displayed in this area, and you can check the Health Status message by clicking the status and launching the maintenance utility to view alerts. Click (Information) , and then select System Information to view detailed information about the storage system.
- Capacity Usage, including the total pool capacity of the storage systems and the amount of used capacity.
- The number of registered servers. Access the Servers page to perform operations related to servers.
- The number of volumes. Access the Volumes page to perform operations related to volumes.
- Total efficiency includes savings from
deduplication and compression, accelerated compression*, snapshots,
and Dynamic Provisioning. Total efficiency does not include metadata or garbage
data generated by the capacity saving.
* For VSP E series storage systems, the saving efficiency is not included because the accelerated compression function is not supported.
NoteAfter a volume is created from a pool and before data is written to the volume, the maximum value (99999.99) appears.
- Data Reduction, including savings from the capacity saving (deduplication and compression).
- Software Saving, including the amount of capacity reduction for volumes using the capacity saving function (deduplication and compression). This is displayed for VSP E series only.
- Storage System Performance, including
the status of IOPS, the response time (time required to respond to a request
from the server), and the data transfer speed. By checking the performance
values regularly, you identify any large changes from the
usual performance values at an early stage. In particular, a
large increase in the response time signals a problem in the storage system.
Note
Performance reports may not show the current information if performance data is not obtained from the storage system. This issue should resolve itself after some time when the storage system is less busy and able to obtain performance data.
Storage system resource configuration
The following figure shows the storage system resources that can be configured and managed using Storage Advisor Embedded.
Drives are hardware composed of storage media, and devices for reading and writing to the storage media. According to the specified settings, you can use drives as data drives for reading and writing data, or as spare drives for copying data to continue storage system operations if an error occurs in the data drive. Drive capacity is displayed as physical capacity in one of the following units: KB (kilobyte), MB (megabyte), GB (gigabyte), or TB (terabyte).
Pools for thin provisioning are virtual areas in a storage system that are associated with multiple drives. Thin provisioning provides virtual volumes to a server and uses the actual capacity from a pool when a server makes a write request.
Volumes are virtual storage areas attached to the server.
Snapshots are images of volumes at a specific point. When a snapshot is created, differential data from the original volume is stored in the pool. You can use snapshots to create backups, or to create volumes to clone a snapshot so that the data can also be used on other servers.
Ports are interfaces for connecting storage systems with servers.
Servers are units for managing business servers that use a storage system by Storage Advisor Embedded. For cluster configurations, all of the servers (nodes) that make up a cluster are managed as one server.
Storage system management workflow
Storage Advisor Embedded allows you to easily configure your storage system resources, such as volumes and pools, and perform daily tasks, such as backing up data and monitoring. You can complete tasks by using a web-based user interface or by using REST API incorporated into business applications or run automatically as scripts. The following figure shows the workflow for configuring and managing storage systems using Storage Advisor Embedded.
Management client OS and browser requirements
The following describes the requirements for the management client to log in to Storage Advisor Embedded.
OS and architecture |
Browser and version |
Windows Server 2019 (64-bit) |
Microsoft Edge Internet Explorer 11 |
Windows Server 2016 (64-bit) Windows 10 (32-bit or 64-bit) Windows 8.1 (32-bit or 64-bit) |
Microsoft Edge Internet Explorer 11 Google Chrome (version 63 or later) |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 (64-bit) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5 (64-bit) |
Mozilla Firefox |
If the browser does not display Storage Advisor Embedded correctly, make sure you are using the latest version of the browser.
- If the OS is Windows Server 2019, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5, Google Chrome is not supported. If you want to use Google Chrome, use another OS. Alternatively, use another browser.
- Use the latest version of the browser.
- For Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft has announced that support will end in FY 2022. For this reason, we recommend that you use a different browser. For details about the schedule for the end of support, see the Microsoft website.
Logging in to Storage Advisor Embedded
You must log in to Storage Advisor Embedded.
Before you begin
Verify the following:
-
For Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome, make sure that the pop-up blocker is disabled.
-
For Internet Explorer, verify the following settings:
- Pop-up blocker is disabled.
- Compatibility View is off.
- Font download is enabled.
- Protocol
Specify a valid protocol in the storage system settings.
For SSL communication, use
https
. For non-SSL communication, usehttp
. - IP address of the storage system
Use the IP address of CTL1 or CTL2, as specified in the maintenance utility.
If you use the Microsoft Edge browser and the period of inactivity exceeds a certain length of time, you are logged out from the Storage Advisor Embedded session. Either turn off the sleep tab function, or add Storage Advisor Embedded to the sites for which the sleep state is not applied.
Procedure
Open a web browser and specify the following URL:
protocol://IP-address-of-storage-system/
NoteIf the web browser repeatedly fails to open, close all active browser windows, and then clear the web browser cache.
If the web browser fails to open even after you clear the cache, start the maintenance utility by specifying the following URL, and then check for alerts:
protocol://IP-address-of-storage-system/MaintenanceUtility/
To check for alerts, log in as a user registered in the Maintenance user group (a built-in user group).
Enter a user name and password, and then log in.
Use the following account when logging in for the first time:
User name: maintenance
Contact your administrator for the password.
The account will be locked for 60 seconds after three consecutive unsuccessful login attempts.
If you are unable to log in to Storage Advisor Embedded
If you are unable to log in to Storage Advisor Embedded, access the following URL to start the maintenance utility, and check the status of the storage system. If the storage system power is off, turn the power on.
protocol://IP-address-of-storage-system/MaintenanceUtility/
Working with security certificates
If you encounter a warning message about the security certificate when logging in to Storage Advisor Embedded, the cause may be one of the following:
- Use of a self-signed security certificate. The connection is secure but the certificate has not been issued by a Certificate Authority.
- The certificate is outdated.
Website security certificates
When the message "There is a problem with this website's security certificate" is displayed, click Continue to this website (not recommended).
If the security certificate is not issued by a trusted certificate authority, the browser displays a warning message when you use encrypted SSL communications to connect to the storage system.