Deploying Core and Edge as a System
This chapter describes the process and procedures for deploying the SteelFusion product family at both the branch office and the data center. This chapter is a general introduction to one of the possible scenarios to form a basic, but typical, SteelFusion deployment. Further details on specific stages of deployment, such as a Core and Edge configuration, high availability, configuration scenarios for snapshots, and so on, are covered in following chapters of this guide.
This chapter includes the following sections:
The SteelFusion family deployment process
This section provides a broad outline of the process for deploying the SteelFusion product family. Depending on the type of deployment and products involved (for example, with or without redundancy), the details of certain steps can vary. Use the outline below to create a deployment plan that is specific for your requirements. The tasks are listed in approximate order; dependencies are listed when required.
The tasks are as follows:
Basic design scenarios
When deploying SteelFusion with NFS, all of the basic design principles that would be used for a SteelFusion deployment in a block storage (iSCSI or Fibre Channel) scenario can generally be applied. Some of the key principles are:
• A single SteelFusion Core can service one or more SteelFusion Edge appliances, but a SteelFusion Edge appliance is only ever assigned to a single SteelFusion Core, and its peer in the case of a SteelFusion Core high-availability (HA) design.
• In a block storage deployment, each LUN is dedicated to a server in a branch and can only be projected to a specific Edge appliance, the same applies with NFS exports. Each individual NFS export is specific to a branch ESXi server (external or internal to the SteelFusion Edge) and only projected across the WAN link to a specific Edge.
• With a block storage deployment, the LUNs in the backend storage array that are assigned for SteelFusion use cannot be simultaneously accessed by other appliances for reading and writing. Backups are performed in the data center by first taking a snapshot of the LUN and then using a proxy host to back up the snapshot. The same rules and guidance apply for NFS exports. They should be protected on the NFS file server from read/write access by other devices. If necessary, other NFS clients could mount an export with a read-only option. Backups should be performed on a snapshot of the exported fileshare.
• There are some differences to be aware of when planning and implementing a design that incorporates NFS. These differences are primarily related to the allocation and use of Ethernet network interfaces on the Edge. There is also the requirement for an Edge Virtual IP (VIP) to be configured on the Edge. The reason for this is to provide the option of HA at the Edge.
Provisioning exports on the file server
This section describes how to provision exports on the NFS file server. For more information, see the documentation for your file server.
To provision exports on the NFS file server
1. Determine the filesystems and/or directories you want to share as NFS datastores and expose to the branch. For example: /prod_VMs/branch1, /prod_VMs/branch2, and /development/test_VMs.
2. Determine which exported fileshares you want to dedicate to specific branches.
3. Create the necessary NFS exports.
Note: Step 4 and Step 5 are optional. The exports to be exposed to the branch can be empty and populated later. For example, if you require the exports to be preloaded with virtual machine images as part of the ESX datastore, you only need to perform Step 3 and Step 4 if you want to preload the exports with data. For details, see the
Knowledge Base article https://supportkb.riverbed.com/support/index?page=content&id=S30235.
4. Using a temporary ESX server, mount the exported fileshares to deploy virtual machines (VMs) for branch services.
5. After you deploy the VMs, unmount the fileshares from the temporary ESX server.
NFS exports are now ready to be mounted by the Core.
Installing the SteelFusion appliances
This section describes at a high level how to install and configure Core and Edge appliances. For complete installation procedures, see the SteelFusion Core Installation and Configuration Guide and the SteelFusion Edge Installation and Configuration Guide.
To install and configure Core
1. Install the Core or Core-v in the data center network.
2. Connect the Core appliance to the NFS file server.
3. Through the Core, discover and configure the desired exports on the file server.
4. (Recommended) Enable and configure HA.
Additional steps are required on the Edge to complete a typical installation. A high-level series of steps is shown in the following procedure.
To install and configure the Edge appliance
1. Install the Edge in the branch office network.
2. On the appliance, configure disk management to enable SteelFusion storage mode.
3. Preconfigure the Edge for connection to Core.
4. Connect the Edge and the Core.
Export pinning and prepopulation in the Core
Export pinning and prepopulation are two separate features configured through the Core that together determine how block data is kept in the blockstore on the Edge.
When you pin an export in the Core configuration, you reserve space in the Edge blockstore that is equal in size to the export at the storage array. Furthermore, when blocks are fetched by the Edge, they remain in the blockstore in their entirety; by contrast, blocks in unpinned exports might be cleared on a first-in, first-out basis.
Pinning only reserves blockstore space; it does not populate that space with blocks. The blockstore is populated as the application server in the branch requests data not yet in the blockstore (causing the Edge to issue a read through the Core), or through prepopulation.
The prepopulation functionality enables you to prefetch blocks to the blockstore. You can prepopulate a pinned export on the blockstore in one step; however, if the number of blocks is very large, you can configure a prepopulation schedule that prepopulates the blockstore only during specific intervals of your choice: for example, not during business hours. After the prepopulation process is completed, the schedule stops automatically.
Note: Prefetch does not optimize access for VMs that contain any SE SPARSE (Space Efficient Sparse) format snapshots.
For more information about pinning and prepopulation, see the SteelFusion Core User Guide.
To configure pinning and prepopulation
Note: If the exports that you want to pin and prepopulate have already been mounted, you can click the “Map previously mounted exports” link to skip to the Map wizard. In the steps below, this means you can begin at Step 7.
1. Choose Configure > NFS: Exports to display the Exports page.
2. Click Start in the Mount and Map Exports section to start the Mount and Map Exports wizard and move through the following steps of the wizard.
3. Select a Storage array from the drop down list, or add a new storage array. Click Next.
4. In the Exports step, in the “Available” list, select the exports to be mounted and use the right-facing arrow to move the exports to the “Selected” list. Click Next.
5. A summary of the configuration is displayed. Click Mount.
6. A status of the mount operation is displayed. Click Next to proceed to the Map wizard.
7. In the Edge and Exports step, specify the Edge to map the exports to and select the exports you want to map. Click Next .
8. In the Access Control step, select the access settings for the exports. Click Next.
9. In the Pin step, select the exports to be pinned. Notice that the available space for pinning is updated as you select the exports. Click Next.
10. In the Prepopulate step, select the pinned exports that you wish to have prepopulated. Click Next.
11. A summary is displayed of the exports to be mapped. Click Done.
When the export is pinned, the prepopulation settings are activated for configuration.
Configuring snapshot and data protection functionality
Core integrates with the snapshot capabilities of the storage array to enable you to configure application-consistent snapshots through the Core Management Console.