Configuring Storage Connections

This chapter contains the following sections:

Global VSANs

You can define global VSANs in the domain group root, or a domain group below the root. Global VSANs are fabric-interconnect specific and can be created for either Fabric A or Fabric B. A global VSAN cannot be a common VSAN.

Resolution of global VSANs takes place prior to the deployment of global service profiles. If a global service profile references a global VSAN, and that VSAN does not exist, deployment of the global service profile fails due to insufficient resources. All global VSANs created in a Cisco UCS Central account must be resolved before deploying the global service profile.

A global VSAN is not deleted when you delete a global service profile that references it. Delete the global VSAN from the Cisco UCS Central account.

A global VSAN is visible to a Cisco UCS Manager account only if you deploy a global service profile that references the VSANs. Once a VSAN that is deployed with a global service profile becomes available in a Cisco UCS Manager account, you can include it in a local service profile and policy. You cannot turn a global VSAN into a local VSAN.

Creating a Global VSAN

You can create a global VSAN with IDs from 1 to 4093, except for those in the following reserved ranges:

  • If you plan to use FC switch mode in a Cisco UCS domain, do not configure VSANs with an ID in the range from 3040 to 4078.

  • If you plan to use FC end-host mode in a Cisco UCS domain, do not configure VSANs with an ID in the range from 3840 to 4079.


Note

FCoE VLANs in the SAN cloud and VLANs in the LAN cloud must have different IDs. Using the same ID for an FCoE VLAN in a VSAN and for a VLAN results in a critical fault and traffic disruption for all vNICs and uplink ports using that VLAN. Ethernet traffic is dropped on any VLAN which has an ID that overlaps with an FCoE VLAN ID.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

On the Compute page, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Compute page, choose the UCS Central Account under Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 4

On the UCS Central Accounts page, choose the account and click View Details.

Step 5

Click VSANs.

Step 6

Click Add.

Step 7

On the Add VSAN screen, do the following:

  1. In the VSAN Name field, enter a unique name for the VSAN. The VSAN name is case-sensitive.

  2. In the VSAN ID field, enter a unique identifier to be assigned to the network.

  3. In the Domain Group field, check the check box for the domain group in which you want to create the global VSAN.

  4. From the Fabric ID drop-down list, choose the fabric interconnect where you want to create the global VSAN.

  5. In the FCOE VLAN field, enter the ID for the VLAN to be used for transporting the VSAN and its Fibre Channel packets.

  6. Click Submit.

WWN Pools

WWNN Pools

A WWNN (World Wide Node Name) pool is a WWN (World Wide Name) pool that contains only WW (World Wide) node names. If you include a pool of WWNNs in a service profile, the associated server is assigned a WWNN from that pool. You can view the WWN blocks and initiators in a WWNN pool by double-clicking the pool in the WWNN Pools tab.

Creating a WWNN Pool

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

On the Compute page, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Compute page, choose the UCS Central Account under Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 4

On the UCS Central Accounts page, choose the account and click View Details.

Step 5

Click Organizations.

Step 6

Click the organization in which you want to create the pool and then click View Details.

Step 7

Click WWNN Pools.

Step 8

Click Add.

Step 9

On the Add WWNN Pool screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Name field

A unique name for the pool.

Description field

A description for the pool.

From field

The first WWNN address in the block.

Size field

The number of WWNN addresses in the block.

ID Range Qualification Policy drop-down list

Choose the ID Range Qualification Policy.

Step 10

Click Submit.

WWXN Pools

A WWXN pool is a WWN pool that contains both WW node names and WW port names.

Creating a WWXN Pool

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

On the Compute page, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Compute page, choose the UCS Central Account under Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 4

On the UCS Central Accounts page, choose the account and click View Details.

Step 5

Click Organizations.

Step 6

Click the organization in which you want to create the pool and then click View Details.

Step 7

Click WWXN Pools.

Step 8

Click Add.

Step 9

On the Add WWXN Pool screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Name field

A unique name for the pool.

Description field

A description for the pool.

From field

The first WWXN address in the block.

Size field

The number of WWXN addresses in the block.

ID Range Qualification Policy drop-down list

Choose the ID Range Qualification Policy.

Step 10

Click Submit.

WWPN Pools

A WWPN (World Wide Port Name) pool is a WWN pool that contains only WW port names. If you include a pool of WWPNs in a service profile, the port on each vHBA of the associated server is assigned a WWPN from that pool. You can view the WWN blocks and initiators in a WWPN pool by double-clicking the pool in the WWPN Pools tab.

Creating a WWPN Pool

Procedure

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

In the left pane, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

In the left pane, expand UCS Central Accounts and then click the Cisco UCS Central account.

Step 4

In the right pane, click the Organizations tab.

Step 5

Click the organization in which you want to create the pool and then click View Details.

Step 6

Click the WWPN Pools tab.

Step 7

Click Add.

Step 8

In the Add WWPN Pool dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Name field

A unique name for the pool.

Description field

A description for the pool.

From field

The first WWPN address in the block.

Size field

The number of WWPN addresses in the block.

ID Range Qualification Policy drop-down list

Choose the ID Range Qualification Policy.

Step 9

Click Submit.

Adding a WWN Block

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

On the Compute page, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Compute page, choose the UCS Central Account under Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 4

On the UCS Central Accounts page, choose the account and click View Details.

Step 5

Click Organizations.

Step 6

Click the organization in which you want to modify the pool and then click View Details.

Step 7

Click one of the following tabs:

  • WWNN Pools
  • WWPN Pools
  • WWXN Pools
Step 8

Click the pool to which you want to add a WWN block.

Step 9

Click Create WWN Block.

Step 10

On the Create WWN Block screen, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Description field

Type a description.

From field

The first WWNN, WWPN, or WWXN address in the block.

Size field

The number of WWNN, WWPN, or WWXN addresses in the block.

ID Range Qualification Policy drop-down list

Choose the ID Range Qualification Policy.

Step 11

Click Submit.

IQN Pools

An IQN pool is a collection of iSCSI Qualified Names (IQNs) for use as initiator identifiers by iSCSI vNICs in a Cisco UCS domain. IQN pools created in Cisco UCS Central can be shared between Cisco UCS domains. IQN pool members are of the form prefix:suffix:number, where you can specify the prefix, suffix, and a block (range) of numbers. An IQN pool can contain more than one IQN block, with different number ranges and different suffixes, but sharing the same prefix

Creating an IQN Pool

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

On the Compute page, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Compute page, choose the UCS Central Account under Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 4

On the UCS Central Accounts page, choose the account and click View Details.

Step 5

Click Organizations.

Step 6

Click the organization in which you want to create the pool and then click View Details.

Step 7

Click IQN Pools.

Step 8

Click Add.

Step 9

On the IQN Pool screen, enter a name, description, and prefix for the IQN pool.

Step 10

In the IQNPool Block, enter Suffix, From, Size, and ID Range Qualification Policy information.

Step 11

Click Submit.

vHBA Template

This template is a policy that defines how a vHBA (virtual Host Bus Adapter) on a server connects to the SAN. It is also referred to as a vHBA SAN connectivity template.

You need to include this policy in a service profile for it to take effect.

Creating a vHBA Template

Before you begin

One or more of the following resources must already exist:

  • Global VSAN

  • WWPN pool

  • SAN pin group

  • Statistics threshold policy

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

On the Compute page, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Compute page, choose the UCS Central Account under Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 4

On the UCS Central Accounts page, choose the account and click View Details.

Step 5

Click Organizations.

Step 6

Click the organization in which you want to create the policy and then click View Details.

Step 7

Click vHBA Templates.

Step 8

Click Add.

Step 9

On the Add vHBA Template screen, enter a unique name and description for the policy.

Step 10

From the Fabric ID drop-down list, choose the fabric interconnect that you want to associate with vHBAs created from this template.

Step 11

From the VSAN drop-down list, choose the VSAN that you want to associate with vHBAs created from this template.

Step 12

From the Template Type drop-down list, choose one of the following:

  • Initial Template—vHBAs created from this template are not updated if the template changes.

  • Updating Template—vHBAs created from this template are updated if the template changes.

Step 13

In the Max Data Field Size field, enter the maximum size of the Fibre Channel frame payload bytes that the vHBA supports.

Enter an integer between 256 and 2112. The default is 2048.

Step 14

To associate policies with vNICs created from this template, complete the following fields:

Name Description

Max Data Field Size field

The maximum size of the Fibre Channel frame payload bytes that the vHBA supports.

Enter an integer between 256 and 2112. The default is 2048.

WWPN Pool drop-down list

Choose the WWPN pool that a vHBA created from this template uses to derive its WWPN address.

QoS Policy drop-down list

Choose the QoS policy that is associated with vHBAs created from this template.

Pin Group drop-down list

Choose the SAN pin group that is associated with vHBAs created from this template.

Stats Threshold Policy drop-down list

Choose the statistics threshold policy that is associated with vHBAs created from this template.

Step 15

Click Submit.

What to do next

Include the vHBA template in a vHBA policy.

Creating a vHBA Policy

Before you begin

Make sure that at least one of the following exists in the Cisco UCS Central account and organization to which this policy applies:

  • vHBA template

  • Fibre Channel adapter policy

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Policies > Physical Infrastructure Policies > UCS Central.

Step 2

Click vHBA.

Step 3

Click Add.

Step 4

On the Create UCS Central vHBA Policy screen, do the following:

  1. In the vHBA Name field, enter a unique name for the policy.

  2. From the Account Name drop-down list, choose a Cisco UCS Central account to which this policy applies.

  3. From the Organization drop-down list, choose the organization to which this policy applies.

  4. From the vHBA Template drop-down list, choose a vHBA template.

  5. From the Adapter Policy drop-down list, choose an adapter policy.

  6. Click Submit.

What to do next

Include the vHBA policy in a storage policy.

SAN Connectivity Policy

SAN connectivity policies determine the connections and the network communication resources between the server and the LAN on the network. These policies use pools to assign WWNs and WWPNs to servers and to identify the vHBAs that the servers use to communicate with the network.


Note

We do not recommend that you use static IDs in connectivity policies, because these policies are included in service profiles and service profile templates and can be used to configure multiple servers.

Creating a SAN Connectivity Policy

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

On the Compute page, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Compute page, choose the UCS Central Account under Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 4

On the UCS Central Accounts page, choose the account and click View Details.

Step 5

Click Organizations.

Step 6

Click the organization in which you want to create the policy and then click View Details.

Step 7

Click SAN Connectivity Policies.

Step 8

Click Add.

Step 9

On the SAN Connectivity Policy screen, enter a name and description for the policy.

Step 10

From the WWNN Pool drop-down list, choose the WWNN pool that you want to associate with this policy.

Step 11

In the vHBAs table, click Add and do the following:

  1. Enter a name for the vHBA.

  2. To use a vHBA template to create the vHBA, check the Use vHBA Template check box and choose the appropriate template from the drop-down list that is displayed.

  3. To create a new vHBA without a template, do not check the Use vHBA Template check box and complete the fields that are displayed.

    For more information about these fields, see Creating a vHBA Template.

  4. Click Submit.

Repeat this step if you want to add more vHBAs to the policy.

Step 12

After you have created all vHBAs required for the policy, click Submit.

Storage Policy

The storage policy is a Cisco UCS Director policy that configures the connections between a server and SAN storage, including the World Wide Node Name (WWNN) assigned to the server and the virtual host bus adapters (vHBAs) used by the server. Depending upon the configuration you choose, this policy can be used to configure two or more vHBAs for the server. You can choose to create the vHBAs in this policy or use a SAN connectivity policy to determine the vHBA configuration.

You must include this policy in a service profile and that service profile must be associated with a server for it to take effect.

Creating a Storage Policy

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Policies > Physical Infrastructure Policies > UCS Central.

Step 2

Click Storage Policy.

Step 3

Click Add.

Step 4

On the Create UCS Central Storage Policy screen, enter a name and description for the policy.

Step 5

Complete the following fields to specify the Cisco UCS Central connections for the policy:

  • UCS Account Name drop-down list—Choose the Cisco UCS Central account to which you want to add this policy.

  • UCS Organization Name drop-down list—Choose the Cisco UCS Central organization to which you want to add this policy.

Step 6

From the Local Disk Configuration Policy drop-down list, choose the local disk configuration policy that you want to include in this storage policy.

Step 7

From the SAN Connectivity Type drop-down list, choose one of the following connectivity types:

Option Description

Expert

Allows you to create up to 10 vHBAs that the server can use to access SAN storage.

Continue with Step 8.

Simple

Allows you to create a maximum of two vHBAs that the server can use to access SAN storage.

Continue with Step 9.

No vHBAs

Does not allow you to create any vHBAs. If you choose this option, any server associated with a service profile that includes this policy is not connected to SAN.

Continue with Step 11.

Hardware Inherited

Uses the vHBAs assigned to the Fibre Channel adapter profile associated with the server.

Continue with Step 11.

Use SAN Connectivity Policy

Uses a SAN connectivity policy to determine the SAN connectivity for the server.

Continue with Step 10.

Step 8

If you chose the expert SAN storage option, do the following:

  1. From the WWNN Pool drop-down list, choose the WWNN pool that you want to assign to this policy.

    The WWNN pool must contain enough of WWNNs to assign a WWNN to each server that is associated with a service profile that uses this storage policy.

  2. In the Add vHBA drop-down, choose the number of vHBAs (up to 10) that you want to add to the storage policy.

  3. From the Template For vHBA1.....vHBA10 list, choose a vHBA template for each vHBA.

  4. Continue with Step 11.

Step 9

If you chose the simple SAN storage option, do the following:

  1. From the WWNN Pool drop-down list, choose the WWNN pool that you want to assign to this policy.

    The WWNN pool must contain enough of WWNNs to assign a WWNN to each server that is associated with a service profile that uses this storage policy.

  2. In the vHBA0 (Fabric A) area, complete the following fields:

    • In the vHBA0 Name field, enter a unique name for the vHBA.

    • From the Select VSAN drop-down list, choose the name of the VSAN with which this vHBA is to be associated.

  3. In the vHBA1 (Fabric B) area, complete the following fields:

    • In the vHBA1 Name field, enter a unique name for the vHBA.

    • From the Select VSAN drop-down list, choose the name of the VSAN with which this vHBA is to be associated.

  4. Continue with Step 11.

Step 10

If you chose the SAN connectivity policy option, choose the policy that you want to associate with the server from the SAN Connectivity Policy drop-down list.

Step 11

Click Submit.

What to do next

Include the storage policy in a service profile.

ID Range Qualification Policy

ID range qualification policies allow you to create policies and assign them to qualified domain groups and domain IP addresses. The ID range qualification policy is then visible to those domain groups and domain IP addresses. You can also create ID range qualification policies without assigning qualified domain groups or IP addresses. If you do not set qualifiers, the policy is available to all domain groups. ID resolution occurs hierarchically in the organization structure in the same manner as other global policies.

The ID Range Qualification Policy can be associated to:

  • MAC Pool
  • WWNN Pool
  • WWPN Pool
  • WWXN Pool
  • IP Pools
  • IQN Pools.

After you create an ID range qualification policy, you can apply it to a block in a new pool or an existing pool.

Creating an ID Range Qualification Policy

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Physical > Compute.

Step 2

On the Compute page, expand Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 3

On the Compute page, choose the UCS Central Account under Multi-Domain Managers.

Step 4

On the UCS Central Accounts page, choose the account and click View Details.

Step 5

Click ID Range Qualification Policies.

Step 6

Click Add.

Step 7

On the Create a ID Range Qualification Specification screen, enter a name and description for the policy.

Step 8

In the Domain Group table, click the check box for the appropriate Domain Group or groups.

Step 9

Expand the IPv4 Addresses field, to select or add addresses.

Step 10

Expand the IPv6 Addresses field, to select or add addresses.

Step 11

Click Submit.