Storage Management with System Center Virtual Machine 2012

Following the series of posts on features of SCVMM 2012 integrated with VMWare ESX and Xen Server now will cover another resource that is managing arrays. Previous Post: integration with live migration http://bit.ly/ndwjA0 and Dynamic and Power Optimization http://bit.ly/nD8SQ8.

With VMM 2012 you can classify arrays for performance, set the storage being used and create LUNs without needing to know the software from each manufacturer. I.e. you can use the concept of storage virtualization with VMM 2012 interfaces.

 

SMI-S API

A new feature that is being discussed with manufacturers of arrays is the creation of a communication protocol very similar to SNMP but allowing details of the specifications of an array, called the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S).

This Protocol is an API based on WBEM/CIM models, which many already know by also specifying basic WMI in Windows operating systems. Use this overhead is not so simple, and you must have a CIMOM that is nothing more than a proxy for “translate” the native APIs for storage SMI-S Protocol.

However, manufacturers of arrays already have these well-established standards and with firmware upgrades may include the CIMOM, one of them is the OpenPegasus at storage already exists.

 

SMI-S in VMM 2012

Now comes in VMM 2012 that owns the SMI-S communications interface to communicate with the arrays and information, and on the basis of these can sort arrays according to their performance, as the table below is withdrawn from the TechNet (reference to end of document):

 

Storage automation in VMM 2012

Now we can put into practice this functionality by creating storage arrays and link to hosts.

Imagine that in your company have with SAS and SATA disk arrays, where the automatic classification is SILVER and BRONZE respectively and both the Group of servers as a VM can have not specified the LUN, but the classification.

This automation includes the creation of LUNs, i.e. no longer need to have knowledge of the manufacturer’s software to create the LUNs individually since SMI-S API implements the commands necessary to manage.

Figure 1 – Storage Array Manager main Screen

Figure 2 – Default pool and creating a new pool

Figure 3 – Adding a storage to the pool

Figure 4 – Linking a storage pool to a group of hosts hypervisors

With this feature of a datacenter management will be easier, and when we have multiple arrays regardless of manufacturer we can use it in a simple way with SMI-S APIs.

TechNet Reference: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610600.aspx e http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2011/10/14/windows-server-8-standards-based-storage-management.aspx

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