Storage Area Network implementation using HP MSA 1040 2-port Fiber Channel Dual Controller SFF Storage2

Jakarta, Indonesia

Original work and learning, one of the alumni of Computer Engineering and Networking Al Furqon Bantarkawung, Graduation 2019.                       

          Hi everyone, this time I will be implementing Storage Area Network using HP MSA 1040 1040 2-port Fiber Channel Dual Controller SFF, here I will not use Fiber Channel switch, as there is only one server I will be a member of this Storage (direct connected). this time I'm using the HP DL20 Gen 10 Server with Windows Server 2016 OS as a member of Storage, and of course with the additional HPE 82E 8Gb/ 16 Gb 2-port PCIe FC HBA module (for Storage Area Network protocol using Fiber Channel Cable). with the topology below : 

1. Front View  

    Okay, here I am only using 3 SAS disks with a capacity of 900 GB  per disk, total capacity : 2,7 TB.  only fulfills to configure   Raid 1.

2. Network Topology 

  

     it looks like on the HP MSA 1040 there are 2 controllers with 2 Port Fiber channels per controller (There are even 4 ports for another series of controllers), where each controller has the function of reducing failures in running storage area network, so the path created on storage members uses 2 paths connected to controller A and controller B with the status of the active inactive and standby active path. so when a link is broken on one controller, the other controller can still function as a Storage Area Network without any data path failure.

3. Work Order 

   3.1 On HPE MSA 1040 

• Configure System settings
• Create Spares Disk, Disk group and configure Raid System
• Create Volume
• Create Initiator for server member 
• Mapping 

   3.2 On HPE DL20 Gen 10 (Operating System Configuration)

• Add a multipath I / O feature
• Enable MPIO and add Device Storage
• Perform disk management, create partitions and format volumes from Storage, and perform storage volumes on servers

4. Work

    4.1 Configuration HPE MSA 1040 

       connect the LAN cable to the port management controller in the MSA, you can select controller  A or B, of course if your new Storage device has IP Address and default user as follows:

Controller A : IP Address 10.0.0.2, Controller B : IP Address 10.0.0.3 ,with the same default user, Username: manage  Password: !manage . here I connect my LAN cable to controller A, open browser and access IP Address https://10.0.0.2 and in SMU enter default username and password from Storage and login, and before login you can select User Language. (Make sure your Laptop / Computer is already connected to Controller)

welcome to the MSA 1040 home menu, make sure the firmware is green, which indicates that the firmware is ok and that there is no need to upgrade. Next on the System settings menu there is an exclamation mark indicating that the system settings we have not set any

To start the system settings, on the home menu select actions, then select the configuration wizard

Step 1 : Introduction , next

Step 2 :  Set Date and Time, You can set the time manually or if there is an NTP Server you can add it, here I choose to set the manual. Next

Step 3 : Password Setup , You can set the password as you wish to manage and monitor the HPE MSA 1040, but I choose to bypass it and leave the MSA 1040 with its default password. Next 

Step 4 : Network Configuration , The following is the IP Address for controllers A and B, where the function is only for MSA 1040 management. You can use the DHCP server if there is one, or set the IP Address manually, if you don't change the IP Address, the MSA 1040 still uses the default IP Address it, and here I miss it again, and choose with the default IP Address. Next

Step 5 : Enable system-management services , You can enable or disable the service you need, next

Step 6 : System Information  , the information system contains the user's name, user contact, user location or Datacenter name, I chose to pass it again. next

Step 6 : Configure event notification   , You can register an SNMP server (If available) to facilitate the device monitoring process, I chose to skip it. next

Step 8 : Port configuration, set the port speed A1, A2, B1, B2 (I chose auto) the fiber channel port on controllers A and B, and make sure the connection mode select point-to-point, because here I only connect to one server as a client, not to many servers. system setting finished, clik next and confirm system changes on Step 9.

After the system settings are finished we set, the next step is to setup the disk configuration :

• Create Global Spare 

The maximum amount of spare disk is 16 disks for Raid 1,3,5,6,10,50. And each Raid has a maximum of disks each. Now I only have 3 disk drives in the MSA, 2 disks I use as disk group and will use Raid Level 1. where maxsimal disk damage on Raid 1 is 1 disk. so I just made at least 1 spare disk for this Raid 1. But for those with a lot of disks, you can use 1-16 spares disk.

OK here are the steps to add a spares disk,

 Open system menu , and click action and select change global spares 

select the disk to be global spares, here I select the 3rd disk to be 900 GB of spares, click change 

Then we can see the spare disk we created, on menu System - front ,you can see that there is a disk with the letter "S" which means that the disk has been added as spares

• Create Disk Group , select the action menu on the top left, and select the add disk group menu

Select Type , I chose linear type, (Recommendation), input name example name : dg01 , and assign to : Controller A  ,select the bottom disk image, enter the number of disks that you want to create a disk group, since there are only two, I select all and enter it into controller A, Next select raid level : RAID-1 (because the disk that I use is only 2 pieces, and can only use RAID-1) , and click Add.

Description:

• Type: You can choose the type of disk group you create such as Virtual, Read Cache, and Linear
• Name: Is the name of the disk group you are about to create
• Assign to: is the controller you select for the disk group you created, you can select the A / B controller, it is good that the entire controller is used for the disk disk group
• Raid Level: You can apply Raid Level to your disk group, for example if you want to apply Raid 5 to your disk group, then it requires at least 7 disks, which is 6 disks for data and 1 disk for Hot Spares. Note: Each Raid Level has its own conditions
• Spare:

Example disk group and disk spare description:

Using Raid 5  , Minimum Spares disk 1 ,  max 16

Using Raid 6 , Minimum Spares Disk 1-2 (Recommended 2) , Max 16 

okay after we make the disk group,