PowerStore
Manage your Dell PowerStore array from VMware vCenter, with VSI 8.5
We have just released our latest (8.5) version of our VMware vCenter plugin. If you are new to the VSI plugin, i suggest you start by reading about it here […]
We have just released our latest (8.5) version of our VMware vCenter plugin.
If you are new to the VSI plugin, i suggest you start by reading about it here What is Dell Technologies PowerStore – Part 17, Managing the array via VMware vCenter with the VSI 8.4 Plugin | Itzikr’s Blog (volumes.blog)
What’s new in this version?
This release supports the following features:
● Snapshot management for Unity, PowerMax, and PowerStore storage systems.
○ For VMAX All Flash/PowerMax VMFS datastores :
￭ Enable users to manage snapshots
￭ Create snapshot on demand
￭ Delete snapshot
￭ Edit snapshot
￭ Link snapshot
￭ Unlink snapshot
￭ View snapshot details in the snapshot page and storage details page.
○ For Unity VMFS and NFS datastores:
￭ VMFS datastore:
– Automatic snapshot creation during datastore provisioning
– Create snapshot on demand
– Delete snapshot on demand
– Edit snapshot
– Edit snapshot schedule
– Attach snapshot
– Detach snapshot
– View snapshot details in the snapshot page and storage details page
￭ NFS datastore:
– Automatic snapshot creation during datastore provisioning
– Create snapshot on demand
– Delete snapshot on demand
– Edit snapshot
– Edit snapshot schedule
– View snapshot details in the snapshot page and storage details page.
○ For PowerStore VMFS datastores:
￭ Policy-based snapshot creation
￭ Create snapshot on demand
￭ Delete snapshot
￭ Edit snapshot
￭ View snapshot details in the snapshot page and storage details page
￭ Create thin clone of snapshot
● On demand space reclamation on datastores for all supported storage systems.
● PowerStore support:
○ Delete VMFS datastore
○ Delete vVol datastore
○ View VM hard disk on vVol datastore
○ Delete RDM Disks
You can see a demo showing how to deploy and use it below
You can download the plugin by clicking the screenshot below
the release notes can be downloaded by clicking the link below
and the product guide can be downloaded from the link below
if you are using an existing 8.x version of the plugin, you can simply upgrade it:
Upgrade VSI Plug-in using DockerHub
Use the procedure in this topic to upgrade the VSI plug-in using DockerHub.
Prerequisites
Log out of the vCenter before upgrading the plug-in.
2
Steps
1. Log in to the IAPI VM through SSH.
2. Stop the current IAPI container. Use the following command:
docker stop iapi
3. Pull the latest IAPI/VSI image from DockerHub: docker pull dellemc/vsi
4. Disable or remove the previous IAPI container. Use the following commands:
docker rename iapi iapi-before-upgrade
docker update –restart=no iapi-before-upgrade
or
docker rm iapi
a. Back up the previous IAPI container. Use the following commands:
b. Back up the IAPI database. Use the following command:
docker cp vsidb:/data/appendonly.aof <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>
c. Backup the existing VSI plug-in. Use the following command:
cp /opt/files/vsi-plugin.zip <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>
d. Backup existing SSL certificates. Use the following command:
e. All the back up files in the previous steps can be restored after the container upgrade by copying the files to the new
container. For example, docker cp <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>
5. This is an optional step. To backup IAPI and VSI files, use the following commands:
a. IAPI database:
docker cp vsidb:/data/appendonly.aof <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>
b. Existing VSI plug-in:
cp /opt/files/vsi-plugin.zip <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>
c. Existing SSL certificates:
docker cp iapi:/etc/ssl/certs/java/cacerts <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY>
6. Copy VSI plugin and script files from the Docker image to the local file system of the IAPI VM.
a. Create a temporary IAPI container with bash access:
docker create -ti –name iapi-temp dellemc/vsi bash
b. Copy and extract the files from the Docker image to the local file system:
docker cp iapi-temp:/opt/files/vsi-plugin.zip /opt/files/
unzip -o /opt/files/vsi-plugin.zip -d /opt/files/vsi-plugin/
docker cp iapi-temp:/opt/scripts /opt/
c. Remove temporary IAPI container:
docker rm iapi-temp
12 Deploying and Unregistering VSI Plug-in
7. Configure and start the new IAPI container:
docker run –net host –restart=always -v “iapi-logs:/opt/iapi/log” -v “/opt/
files:/opt/files” –name iapi -d dellemc/vsi
docker start iapi
8. This is an optional step. To restore previous files from backup, use the following command:
Any files backed up in the previous steps can be restored after the container upgrade if needed by copying the files to the
new container. For example:
docker cp <OUTPUT_DIRECTORY> vsidb:/data/appendonly.aof
9. Upgrade the VSI plug-in.
● To register the VSI plug-in without SSL verification, use the following command:
python3 /opt/scripts/register_extension.py -ignoressl true
● To see other options for using SSL certificate verification during registration, use the following command:
python3 register_extension.py -h
NOTE: After upgrade, the SSL is not enabled by default. To enable SSL, see Change settings in application.conf of the
IAPI container.
10. Refresh the VSI plug-in:
● If you have a current vCenter already open, log out and log back in to refresh the plug-in.
Or
● If you do not have a vCenter open, log in to the vSphere Client, log out, and log back in to refresh the plug-in.
Upgrade VSI using Package
Use the procedure in this topic to upgrade the VSI 8.x to 8.3 version.
Prerequisites
Log out of the vCenter before upgrading the plug-in.
Steps
1. Download the VSI 8.3 upgrade.tar package from Dell EMC Support Site or DockerHub.
2. Copy the upgrade package to /tmp folder of the IAPI server.
To copy the upgrade file, use the following command:
scp iapi-vsi-upgrade.tar root@<IAPI server>:/tmp
NOTE: If SSH is enabled, the default password is root.
3. Change the directory to /tmp folder.
4. Extract the upgrade package. Use the following command:
tar -xf /tmp/<iapi-vsi-upgrade.tar>
NOTE:
● The upgrade package contains the .tar file, the upgrade script, and the docker image.
● You might have to install the tar utility before extracting the upgrade package.
Deploying and Unregistering VSI Plug-in 13
5. Run the upgrade script. Use the following command:
./upgrade_iapi.sh –upgrade <iapi-vsi-upgrade.tar.gz>
The upgrade script backs up and renames the VSI 8.x docker image, lay down the new docker image. The script also restores
the necessary files to a backup folder. An example for the folder name, <iapi-before-upgrade-20190412194829>
NOTE: You can also restore the application.conf and SSL certificates after the completion of upgrade. Use the restore
command with the .tar file that resides in the backup folder:
./upgrade_iapi.sh –restore ./<20190412194829.tar>
6. To upgrade the VSI plug-in, use the following command:
python3 /opt/scripts/register_extension.py -ignoressl true
NOTE: After upgrade, the SSL is not enabled by default. To enable SSL, see Change settings in application.conf of the
IAPI container.
7. Refresh the VSI plug-in:
● If you have a current vCenter already open, logout and log back in to refresh the plug-in.
Or
● If you do not have a vCenter open, log in to the vSphere Client, log out, and log back in to refresh the plug-in.
