Managing HX Controller VMs

Managing Storage Controller VMs

Storage controller VMs provide critical functionality for the Cisco HX Distributed Data Platform. A storage controller VM is installed on every converged node in the storage cluster. The storage controller VMs provide a command line interface for running stcli commands on the storage cluster.


Note
For HX220C-M4 server models, the storage controller VM is located on your SD cards and the datastore is a fixed size of 3.5Gb. The datastore is identified as Springpath<SN> and cannot be managed. If you notice an alert in vCenter regarding usage of the Springpath<SN> datastore, you can safely ignore it.

Powering On or Off Storage Controller VMs

You can power on or off VMs through the vSphere Web Client or through the ESX command line. This also applies to storage controller VMs, though generally the storage cluster operations handle powering on or off the storage controller VMs.

Procedure

Step 1

Using the vSphere Web Client to power on or off a VM.

  1. Login to the vSphere Web Client.

  2. Locate the VM.

    From the Navigator select, Global Inventory Lists > Virtual Machines > vm.

    Storage controller VMs, have the prefix, stCtlVM.

  3. From the right-click or Actions menu select, Power > Power On or Power > Power Off.

Step 2

Using the ESX command line to power on or off a VM.

  1. Login to the command line for the ESX host for a VM.

  2. Locate the VM vmid.

    This is specific to the ESX host. Run the command.

    # vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms

    Sample response 

    Vmid   Name    File   Guest OS   Version   Annotation
1   stCtlVM-<vm_number>   [SpringpathDS-<vm_number>]  stCtlVM-<vm_number>/stCtlVM-<vm_number>.vmx  ubuntu64Guest   vmx-11
3   Cisco HyperFlex Installer  [test]  Cisco HyperFlex Installer/Cisco HyperFlex Installer.vmx   ubuntu64Guest   vmx-09
Retrieved runtime info
Powered off
    Storage controller VMs, have the prefix, stCtlVM.

  3. To power on a VM. Run the command specifying the VM to power on.

    # vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on 1

  4. To power off a VM. Run the command specifying the VM to power off.

    # vim-cmd vmsvc/power.off 1

Disabling HA VM Monitoring in HX Controller VMs

To avoid All Paths Down (APD) state in an HX cluster, use the vSphere Web Client to disable HA VM Monitoring for all the HX Controller VMs.

Procedure

Step 1

Login to the vSphere Web Client.

Step 2

Select the HX cluster that you want to modify.
Step 3

Select Configure > VM Overrides from the menu.

Step 4

Click Add.

Add VM Override Sandbox window is displayed along with the list of VMs in vCenter.

Step 5

Select all the available HX Controller VMs in the window.

Note 

The HX Controller VM names begin with stCtlVM-.

Step 6

Click Next.

Add VM Override dialog box is displayed.

Step 7

Locate the vSphere HA - VM Monitoring option and select the following:

  • Override checkbox

  • Disabled from the drop-down list

Step 8

Click Finish to apply the configuration changes.

HA VM Monitoring is disabled for all the HX controller VMs.