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In the VMware vSphere environment, the controller occupies a virtual machine with a dedicated number of processor cores and
amount of memory, allowing it to deliver consistent performance and not affect the performance of the other virtual machines on
the cluster. The controller can access all storage without hypervisor intervention through the VMware VM_DIRECT_PATH feature.
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Cisco dCloud
It uses the nodes memory and SSD drives as part of a distributed caching layer, and it uses the nodes HDDs for distributed
capacity storage. The controller integrates the data platform into VMware software through the use of two preinstalled VMware
ESXi vSphere Installation Bundles (VIBs):
IO Visor: This VIB provides a network file system (NFS) mount point so that the ESXi hypervisor can access the virtual
disk drives that are attached to individual virtual machines. From the hypervisors perspective, it is simply attached to a
network file system.
VMware vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI): This storage offload API allows vSphere to request advanced file
system operations such as snapshots and cloning. The controller causes these operations to occur through manipulation
of metadata rather than actual data copying, providing rapid response, and thus rapid deployment of new application
environments.
Limitations
This demonstration is based on an HX simulator with limited local storage. Any of the following actions will cause the hosts to run
out of space:
Requirements
The table below outlines the requirements for this preconfigured demonstration.
Table 1.
Requirements
Required
Laptop
Optional
Cisco AnyConnect
Topology
This content includes preconfigured users and components to illustrate the scripted scenarios and features of the solution. Most
components are fully configurable with predefined administrative user accounts. You can see the IP address and user account
credentials to use to access a component by clicking the component icon in the Topology menu of your active session and in the
scenario steps that require their use.
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Figure 2.
dCloud Topology
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Get Started
BEFORE PRESENTING
Cisco dCloud strongly recommends that you perform the tasks in this document with an active session before presenting in front of
a live audience. This will allow you to become familiar with the structure of the document and content.
It may be necessary to schedule a new session after following this guide in order to reset the environment to its original
configuration.
PREPARATION IS KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION.
Follow the steps to schedule a session of the content and configure your presentation environment.
1.
Browse to dcloud.cisco.com, select the location closest to you, and log in with your Cisco.com credentials.
2.
(Optional) Register and configure your router if this is the first time you will use the router with dCloud. [Show Me How]
3.
4.
5.
Verify that the status of your session is Active in My Dashboard > My Sessions.
7.
For best performance, connect to the workstation with Cisco AnyConnect VPN [Show Me How] and the local RDP client on
your laptop [Show Me How]
NOTE: You can also connect to the workstation using the Cisco dCloud Remote Desktop client [Show Me How]. The dCloud
Remote Desktop client works best for accessing an active session with minimal interaction. However, many users experience
connection and performance issues with this method.
8.
Figure 3.
Start Menu
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Scenario 1.
The purpose of this scenario is to demonstrate the preparation and setup of a HyperFlex environment.
There are two options for performing this scenario, users must select one and proceed:
Option 1: Create a Virtual Datacenter, Cluster and Hosts via the vSphere client
These two methods, both detailed in this scenario, are mutually exclusive. Once the environment is set up manually, you must use
a different demo session to demonstrate the script, and vice versa.
Steps
Option 1: Create a Virtual Datacenter, Cluster, and Hosts via vSphere Client
1.
Figure 4.
2.
Figure 5.
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b.
Figure 6.
3.
Change the name of the New Datacenter to dCloud-HX-DC and hit Enter.
Change the Name of the Datacenter
b.
Figure 7.
c.
d.
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Cisco dCloud
Figure 8.
Cluster Options
e.
Click Next through the next few screens to the vSphere HA screen.
f.
Click the Disable: Allow VM power on operations that violate availability constraints radio button.
Figure 9.
vSphere HA
g.
4.
b.
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Figure 10.
c.
Advanced Options
d.
e.
Figure 11.
HA Advanced Options
NOTE: These Advanced settings suppress HA warnings in the virtual center. in a production environment they would not be
needed, because the environment would include a resilient connection to the hosts and multiple datastores presented.
5.
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b.
Figure 12.
Add a Host
c.
d.
e.
f.
Figure 13.
6.
Security Pop-Up
g.
Click Next through the Host Summary window, no changes are required.
h.
In the License window, select the only available VMware vSphere 6 Enterprise Plus license and click Next.
i.
j.
In the Choose Resource Pool window, click Next (no changes necessary).
k.
Click Finish.
Repeat Step 5 to create three more hosts, incrementing the IP address by 1 each time (198.18.134.202 to .204) and leaving
all other parameters the same.
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Figure 14.
7.
New Hosts
b.
c.
Figure 15.
d.
e.
f.
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Figure 16.
8.
NOTE: Wait until all of the tasks in the Recent Tasks bar have completed before proceeding to Scenario 2. Proceeding prior to
the completion of all the tasks will break the session.
This concludes the activities in this scenario. Do not continue with Option 2 if you have completed Option 1.
login.
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Cisco dCloud
Figure 17.
2.
Click Hosts and Clusters from the side menu there are no Data Centers, Clusters or Hosts in vc1.dcloud.cisco.com.
3.
Figure 18.
4.
Scripts Folder
Double-click the Scenario 1 Virtual Center Setup file and watch as the configured components drop into the vSphere
hierarchy.
Figure 19.
Configured Components
NOTE: Wait until all of the tasks in the Recent Tasks bar have completed before proceeding to Scenario 2. Proceeding prior to
the completion of all the tasks will break the session.
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Scenario 2.
Create HX Cluster
These two methods, both detailed in this scenario, are mutually exclusive. Once the environment is set up manually, you must use
a different demo session to demonstrate the script, and vice versa.
Steps
Option 1: Configure the Cluster via Cisco HX Data Platform Wizard
1.
2.
3.
4.
Log in (admin/Cisco123).
5.
6.
bookmark.
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Figure 20.
7.
to increase the hypervisors count up to three. Add four if you dont want to expand the cluster
later.
8.
Enter the IP addresses of the Hypervisor (198.18.134.201) and the Storage Controller (198.18.134.205) in the Start
Address boxes.
Figure 21.
9.
10. Scroll down to Hypervisor Credentials and change the root Password to Cisco123.
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Figure 22.
Cluster Parameters
13. Click Validate to confirm access to all the configured appliances, then click OK on the pop-up.
14. Click the Save Configuration File link to save the configuration. Click Save in the resulting window.
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Figure 23.
15. Click Deploy to begin the deployment of the HX Data Center. In approximately five minutes a Deployment Page will be
displayed.
Figure 24.
Deployment Page
16. Click F5 to refresh the page manually until the deployment completes.
NOTE: The deployment page will refresh itself, but may not go to the correct link. When the Configuring Cluster percentage
reaches 100%, redirect the page to https://198.18.134.205/ if it does not happen automatically. It will probably take 10-15 minutes
for the Configuring Cluster percentage to reach 100%.
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Figure 25.
This concludes the activities in this scenario. Do not continue with Option 2 if you have completed Option 1.
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Cisco dCloud
1.
login.
Figure 26.
2.
Click Hosts and Clusters from the side menu and review the existing hosts.
Figure 27.
3.
4.
NOTE: Wait approximately 10 minutes for the ESX Agents resource pool to be created and populated. You will notice that the last
VM ending 204 is not currently within the ESX Agents resource group. Once you add the last host, in the Expand HX Cluster
section in Scenario 3, it will move into the ESX Agents group.
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Figure 28.
5.
You will see a number of tasks running and completing in the Recent Tasks in the vSphere Client.
Figure 29.
6.
The script window will finally display the following message once completed.
Figure 30.
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7.
Open a Chrome tab and click the [Deploy] Cisco HX shortcut if the HX Data Platform is not already open. Login if necessary
(admin/Cisco123).
8.
Figure 31.
9.
HX Summary Screen
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Scenario 3.
The purpose of this scenario is to demonstrate the simplicity of a number of the most common administrative and operational tasks
Steps
New Datastore Creation
The purpose of this section is to show how simple it is to create a new datastore and then how it is automatically mounted onto all
hosts with the HX Storage Cluster.
1.
Open a new Chrome tab and click the vSphere Web Console shortcut. If Chrome is not already open, from the wkst1
desktop, double-click the vSphere Web Client shortcut
2.
If a security warning is generated, click Advanced, then Proceed to the vSphere Web Client.
3.
Figure 32.
4.
5.
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Figure 33.
6.
Figure 34.
7.
8.
Figure 35.
9.
Manage Datastore
In the resulting pop-up, enter HX-Datastore1 in the Datastore Name field and 50 in the Size field, then click OK.
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Figure 36.
Create Datastore
10. Observe the creation of the new datastore in the Datastores window 100% free and available for use.
Figure 37.
New Datastore
Expand HX Cluster
The purpose of this section is to show how simple it is to add additional HX Nodes to your Cisco HX Cluster.
NOTE: Do not perform this section if you used the Xpress Four Node Cluster Creation script in Scenario 2.
1.
Within the vSphere Web Console, click Cisco HX Data Platform and see that there are 3 Converged Nodes. Note the total
storage.
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Cisco dCloud
Figure 38.
2.
(admin/Cisco123).
3.
Enter the IP address of the Hypervisor (198.18.134.204) and the Storage Controller (198.18.134.208).
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Enter the parameters as shown in the following figure, and click Validate, then OK.
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Figure 39.
12. Once the VM is in the ESX Agents resource group, go back to the [Expand] Cisco HX tab, where the Cluster Summary
shows that the fourth appliance/hypervisor is online. Refresh if necessary.
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Figure 41.
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Figure 43.
Click Datastore
Figure 45.
Recent Tasks
In the vSphere Web Client, click the Back arrow twice to reach the vCenter Inventory Lists menu.
Figure 46.
2.
Back Arrow
Select Clusters.
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3.
Click dCloud-HX-Cluster.
4.
Figure 47.
5.
6.
7.
Figure 48.
8.
Click Open.
9.
Click Next.
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Figure 51.
21. The Deploy OVF template task starts in Recent Tasks bar.
Figure 52.
Recent Tasks
22. Wait for the tasks to finish, which takes approximately 3 minutes.
23. Click the Back arrow to get to the vCenter Inventory Lists.
24. Click Virtual Machines.
25. Click the newly created HX-VM-1, then click the Summary tab and scroll down to see that it is deployed on HX-Datastore1.
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Figure 53.
VM Deployed on HX-Datastore1
2.
Click Cisco HX Data Platform > Snapshot Now on the resulting menu.
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Figure 54.
Snapshot Now
3.
4.
Monitor the Create virtual machine native snapshot task in the Recent Tasks bar until completed.
Figure 55.
Recent Tasks
2.
3.
Click hx-storage-cluster.
4.
Click Manage > Datastores. The size of the existing datastore is 50.00 GB.
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Figure 56.
5.
Datastore Size
Figure 57.
Edit Datastore
6.
7.
Refresh if necessary until the size change takes effect (this only takes a few seconds.)
Figure 58.
Ready Clones of a VM
The purpose of this section is to demonstrate using the ReadyClone feature to quickly create multiple clones of a deployed VM.
Fast, space-efficient clones help users provision new applications from existing templates or deployments with little use of storage.
Thin provisioning allows deployment of more virtual machines with existing storage, maximizing efficiency and making storage a
pay-as-you-go operation.
1.
2.
3.
Right-click HX-VM1 and select Cisco HX Data Platform > ReadyClones from the menu.
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Figure 59.
4.
Select ReadyClones
Number of clones: 10
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Figure 60.
ReadyClone Parameters
5.
Click OK.
6.
Wait a minute and click Refresh. The VMs come online one by one.
Figure 61.
7.
Click the Home button and select vCenter Inventory Lists. Click Cisco HX Data Platform in the side menu.
8.
Click hx-storage-cluster.
9.
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Click HX-Datastore1
Free Storage
Datastore Graphs
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2.
Click the Virtual Machines tab and show which VMs are running on each host. Note particularly that some of the VMs are
running on 198.18.134.201.
Figure 65.
3.
On the laptop, outside of the demo workstation, open a Chrome browser and login to the dcloud home page
dcloud.cisco.com.
4.
5.
Click Dashboard.
6.
Figure 66.
7.
Click View
Figure 67.
Servers Tab
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8.
Expand hx-node1.
9.
Figure 68.
11. Return to the vSphere client. Within minutes the VMs are up, and those that were running on host .201 earlier have migrated
to other hosts.
Figure 70.
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