Dell EMC Unity™ Family

Version 4.5

Configuring VVols
H14975
REV 06
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Published January 2019

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2 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

CONTENTS

Preface 5

Chapter 1 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores 7

VMware virtual volumes............................................................................... 8
VVols workflow.............................................................................................8
Create a traditional pool in physical deployments........................................10
Create a pool in virtual deployments........................................................... 10
About VMware host configurations..............................................................11
vCenter server and ESXi host connections to VMware datastores....
11
Add a VMware vCenter server or ESXi host................................... 12
Change ESXi host properties..........................................................13
Change vCenter properties............................................................ 13
Capability profiles........................................................................................13
Create a capability profile...............................................................15
Change a capability profile............................................................. 15
Overview of configuring NAS servers......................................................... 16
Create a NAS server for UNIX-only file sharing (NFS)................... 18
Create a NAS server for multiprotocol file sharing (SMB and NFS)...
19
Change NAS server properties....................................................... 21
Protocol endpoints..................................................................................... 22
NAS protocol endpoint servers...................................................................22
Change VMware protocol endpoint information......................................... 22
VVol datastores.......................................................................................... 23
Create a VMware VVol datastore...................................................23
Change a VVol datastore............................................................... 23
Types of VVol objects.................................................................... 24
About VASA support...................................................................................24
Add the system as a VASA provider...............................................25

Chapter 2 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI 27

Create a NAS server...................................................................................28
Change NAS server settings..........................................................30
Manage VMware NAS protocol endpoint servers....................................... 34
Create protocol endpoint servers.................................................. 35
View VMware protocol endpoint servers....................................... 35
Delete protocol endpoint servers................................................... 36
Manage host configurations....................................................................... 36
Create host configurations............................................................ 39
View host configurations................................................................ 41
Change host configuration settings............................................... 42
Delete host configurations.............................................................44
Manage host initiators................................................................................ 45
Create initiators............................................................................. 47
View initiators................................................................................ 49
Change initiator settings............................................................... 50

Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols 3

CONTENTS

Manage VMware vCenter........................................................................... 51

Create VMware vCenter................................................................52
Delete an existing vCenter server..................................................55
View all vCenter servers................................................................ 55
Refresh all vCenter servers........................................................... 56
Manage ESXi hosts.................................................................................... 56
Create an ESXi host.......................................................................57
Change ESXi host credentials........................................................58
Delete ESXi host credentials......................................................... 59
View all existing ESXi hosts........................................................... 59
Discover all ESXi hosts.................................................................. 60
Refresh an ESXi host..................................................................... 61
Manage capability profiles...........................................................................61
Create a capability profile.............................................................. 64
View capability profiles.................................................................. 65
Change capability profiles..............................................................66
Delete capability profiles................................................................67
Manage VMware protocol endpoints.......................................................... 68
View protocol endpoints................................................................ 69
Manage VVol datastores.............................................................................69
Create VVol datastores.................................................................. 71
View VVol datastores..................................................................... 72
Manage VVol datastore allocation..................................................73
Change VVol datastores.................................................................74
Delete VVol datastores.................................................................. 76
Manage VVol objects.................................................................................. 77
View VVol objects.......................................................................... 78
Delete VVol objects........................................................................79

Chapter 3 Troubleshooting, Tips, and Best Practices 81

Troubleshooting VMware VVol datastores on Unity....................................82
Failed to deploy VM to a VVol datastore of sufficient size............. 82
VVols inaccessible after registering a second vCenter................... 82
File VVol creation failure—Failed to create directory.................... 82
VVols changes fail during an SP reboot......................................... 83
VVol operations time out under high stress loads...........................83
VMware Certificate Authority (VMCA) support......................................... 83
VMware Horizon support............................................................................84

4 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

Additional resources

As part of an improvement effort, revisions of the software and hardware are

periodically released. Therefore, some functions described in this document might not
be supported by all versions of the software or hardware currently in use. The product
release notes provide the most up-to-date information on product features. Contact
your technical support professional if a product does not function properly or does not
function as described in this document.
Where to get help
Support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows:
Product information
For product and feature documentation or release notes, go to Unity Technical
Documentation at: www.emc.com/en-us/documentation/unity-family.htm.
Troubleshooting
For information about products, software updates, licensing, and service, go to Online
Support (registration required) at: https://Support.EMC.com. After logging in, locate
the appropriate Support by Product page.
Technical support
For technical support and service requests, go to Online Support at: https://
Support.EMC.com. After logging in, locate Create a service request. To open a
service request, you must have a valid support agreement. Contact your Sales
Representative for details about obtaining a valid support agreement or to answer any
questions about your account.
Special notice conventions used in this document

DANGER

Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will result in death or

serious injury.

WARNING

Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in death or

serious injury.

CAUTION

Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in minor or

moderate injury.

NOTICE

Addresses practices not related to personal injury.

Note

Presents information that is important, but not hazard-related.

Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols 5

Additional resources

6 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

CHAPTER 1
Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

This chapter addresses the following topics:

l VMware virtual volumes....................................................................................... 8

l VVols workflow.................................................................................................... 8
l Create a traditional pool in physical deployments............................................... 10
l Create a pool in virtual deployments................................................................... 10
l About VMware host configurations..................................................................... 11
l Capability profiles............................................................................................... 13
l Overview of configuring NAS servers................................................................. 16
l Protocol endpoints.............................................................................................22
l NAS protocol endpoint servers.......................................................................... 22
l Change VMware protocol endpoint information................................................. 22
l VVol datastores..................................................................................................23
l About VASA support.......................................................................................... 24

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores 7

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

VMware virtual volumes

Virtual Volumes (VVols) are a VMware object type that corresponds to a Virtual
Machine (VM) disk, and its snapshots and fast-clones. There are different types of
VVol objects, including Config-VVol, Data-VVol (equivalent to VMDK), Memory-VVol,
and Swap-VVol.
On the storage system, VVols reside in VVol datastores, also known as storage
containers. VVol datastores are another type of VMware datastore, in addition to
VMFS and NFS datastores, which allow VVols to map directly to a storage system.
Whereas VMware VMFS and NFS datastores are managed and provisioned at the LUN
or file system-level, VVol datastores are more granular: VMs or virtual disks can be
managed independently. You can create VVol datastores based on one or more
underlying storage pools and then allocate a specific portion of the pool to be used for
the VVol datastore and its associated VVols.
VMware vSphere 6.0 and later uses Storage Policy-Based Management (SPBM) to
define application or VM-specific storage requirements. These storage policies dictate
which storage containers are compatible with VVols. A capability profile, configured by
the storage administrator, is a set of performance characteristics for a VVol
datastore/storage container on the storage system. These characteristics are based
on the underlying storage pools and include three categories of capabilities:
l Service level-based provisioning
l Usage tags
l Storage properties
l Host IO limits
Capability profiles are populated through the VMware vStorage API for Storage
Awareness (VASA) protocol from the storage system into vSphere or vCenter. These
capability profiles map to VMware VVol storage policy profiles. When a storage policy
is selected in vSphere or vCenter, only those VVol datastores compatible with these
policies will appear as eligible storage containers for the virtual volume.
NAS and SCSI Protocol Endpoints (PEs) are access points for ESXi host I/O
communication from VMs to their VVol datastores on the storage system.

VVols workflow
Creating virtual volumes involves several steps in Unisphere. This prepares the storage
system for the deployment of virtual volumes from the ESXi host.

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 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

Figure 1 Block VVols Workflow

Block VVols Workflow

Unisphere

Configure Create an iSCSI Create Block

Create Add VMware
capability interface VVol
storage pools hosts
profiles (if not using FC) datastores

Add the system Mount VVol Provision VMs Select

Add iSCSI target Create VM
vSphere

as a VASA datastores to and assign compatible

(if not using FC) storage policies
storage provider ESXi hosts storage policies storage

Figure 2 File VVols Workflow

File VVols Workflow

Unisphere

Configure Create a VVols-

Create storage Add VMware Create File VVol
capability enabled NAS
pools hosts datastores
profiles server

Add the system

vSphere

Provision VMs and

as a VASA Mount VVol datastores Create VM Select compatible
assign storage
storage to ESXi hosts storage policies storage
policies
provider

VVols workflow 9
Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

Create a traditional pool in physical deployments

Before you begin
All pools created with All-Flash models running Unity OE version 4.1.x and earlier, and
all hybrid and VSA models support traditional pools only. With newer All-Flash models,
you can create a traditional pool using the Unisphere CLI and REST API.
Before you create a traditional pool:
l If you have a hybrid model, find out whether the storage system is licensed for
FAST Cache. To do this, select the Settings icon, and then select Storage
Configuration > FAST Cache. If the storage system is licensed for FAST Cache,
you can choose whether to use it for the pool.
l If you have a hybrid model, find out whether the storage system is licensed for
FAST VP. To do this, select the Settings icon, and then select Storage
Configuration > FAST VP. If the storage system is licensed for FAST VP you can
choose which storage tiers to add to the pool.
l Decide whether to change the suggested RAID type of the tiers.
l Decide whether to create a capability profile that has capabilities based on the
pool configuration. To use the capability profile for VMware VVols, you must
assign specific usage tags, which are propagated to the VMware vSphere
environment, and can be used in policy profiles. The virtualization administrator
and storage administrator should work together to define these tags.
Procedure
1. Under Storage, select Pools.
2. Select the Add icon.
3. Follow the steps in the wizard, taking into account the following considerations:
l On the Tiers screen, you can only select multiple storage tiers if the system
is a hybrid model that is licensed to use FAST VP. The wizard displays a
maximum usable capacity for each selected tier, which it calculates based on
the default RAID configuration. You can optionally change the RAID
configuration for all selected tiers.
l The number and types of drives you can choose is based on the RAID
configuration.

Create a pool in virtual deployments

Before you begin
All pools created in virtual deployments are traditional pools.
Before you create a traditional pool:
l From the storage administrator, obtain information about the underlying
characteristics of the drives to use in the pool. You will use this information to
assign tiers to the virtual disks that do not already have them assigned. You can
create a multi-tier pool if the system has multiple underlying drive types.
l Decide whether to create a capability profile for VMware VVols that has
capabilities based on the pool configuration. To use the capability profile, you must
assign specific usage tags, which are propagated to the VMware vSphere

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 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

environment, and can be used in policy profiles. The virtualization administrator

and storage administrator should work together to define these tags.

Note

You cannot shrink a pool or change its storage characteristics without deleting the
storage resources configured in the pool and the pool itself. However, you can add
drives to expand the pool.

Procedure
1. Under Storage, select Pools.
2. Select the Add icon.
3. Select the tiers and virtual disks to use in the pool. Each virtual disk must have
an assigned tier. If the virtual disks you want to include in the pool do not have
assigned tiers, you must assign one. The tier you select for a virtual disk must
be based on the underlying drive characteristics.
4. Optionally create a VMware capability profile for use by VVols, and specify
usage tags for that profile.

About VMware host configurations

A host configuration defines a communication path through which a specific host or
range of hosts can access storage resources. It also provides a mechanism by which
you can manage access to storage resources by configuring the level of access
permitted for particular host configurations.
Unisphere provides VMware discovery capabilities to collect virtual machine and
datastore storage details from vSphere and display them in the context of the storage
system. This automates the iSCSI target discovery for ESXi hosts to access the
storage. In Unisphere, you can provision storage for a VMware datastore and
configure access to the relevant ESXi host. The storage system then automatically
connects to the ESXi host and configures the relevant datastore access. When you
modify or delete a datastore in Unisphere, the storage system automatically updates
the ESXi host to include the change or remove the datastore. If vCenter or ESXi host
is created as a manual host, these automation tasks will not work. For VVol datastores,
the Unity system must be registered as a VASA provider on the host to support this
automation. You can register the Unity system as a VASA provider when adding host
access in Unisphere.

Note

By default, the storage system automatically polls for updated configuration

information every 24 hours. You can also choose to poll for updated configuration
information at any time by selecting the polling options under More Actions of the
appropriate VMware host tab.

vCenter server and ESXi host connections to VMware datastores

After you create a VMware datastore and configure access to it for a particular host
configuration, you can connect the vCenter server or ESXi host to the storage
resource using one of the following methods:

About VMware host configurations 11

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

Table 1 Host access configuration methods

Datastore type Method of connection

VMFS datastores Use vSphere to re-scan for new storage
devices. When the VMware datastore appears
as an accessible storage device, add each
VMFS datastore to the ESXi host.

NFS datastores Use vSphere to add new network file system

storage, specifying the following:
l IP address of the associated NAS server
l Export path to the datastore

VVol datastores Hosts that have access to the respective NAS

protocol endpoints or SCSI protocol
endpoints will have access to the VVols File or
VVols Block datastores that use these
protocol endpoints.

Note

Automatic registration of the datastore in vCenter or the ESXi host is only available
for automatically discovered hosts. For VVols datastores, the Unity system must be
registered as a VASA provider on the host for automatic datastore registration in
vCenter or vSphere. If you want to set up manual registration of a datastore on the
ESXi host, you must manually register the host on the Unity system instead of using
autodiscover.

Add a VMware vCenter server or ESXi host

Before you begin
Obtain the following information:
l Network name or IP address of the vCenter server or the ESXi host. Ensure that
the vCenter server is available on the local network.
l User name and password of a VMware administrator account with access to the
vCenter server.
Procedure
1. Under Access, select VMware > vCenters.
2. Select Add.
3. On the Add vCenter or Add ESXi Host window, enter the relevant details, and
click Find.
4. From the list of discovered entries, select the relevant ESXi hosts, and click
Next.
5. To register the Unity system as a VASA provider with the vCenter, select
Register VASA Provider and enter the Unity Unisphere credentials.
6. On the Summary page, review the ESXi hosts, and click Finish.

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 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

Change ESXi host properties

Procedure
1. On the General tab, edit the description of the host.

2. On the Network Addresses tab, select an IP network address and click the
Edit icon. Check the checkbox for any network addresses that should be
ignored by the host. For example, you may want to ignore any network
addresses used exclusively for system management.
3. On the Initiators tab:
a. Select an FC initiator that you want the ESXi host to Ignore.
Once an initiator is ignored, ESXi hosts will no longer be able to access any
storage from it.
b. Select an iSCSI initiator and select the Edit icon to change the CHAP
properties.

Change vCenter properties

Procedure
1. Under Access, select VMware > vCenters.
2. Select a vCenter server and click the Edit icon.
3. Edit the description of the vCenter server.
4. Edit the VMware administrator account credentials that the storage system
uses to access the vCenter server.

Capability profiles
A VVol datastore is associated with one or more capability profiles. A capability profile
is a set of storage capabilities for a VVol datastore. These capabilities are derived
based on the underlying pools for the VVol datastore. The VVol datastore will show as
compatible storage in vCenter or the vSphere Web Client if the associated capability
profiles meet VMware storage policy requirements. Capability profiles must be created
before you can create a VVol datastore. Capability profiles can be created at the time
of pool creation (recommended), or can be added to an existing pool later.
You can define a capability profile in the following ways:

Table 2 Storage capabilities

Service level-based provisioning (physical Expected service level for the pool:
deployments)
l Platinum
n Single-tiered Flash pool
l Gold
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Flash
and SAS drives
n Single-tiered pools with SAS RAID 10
l Silver

Change ESXi host properties 13

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

Table 2 Storage capabilities (continued)

n Single-tiered pools with SAS RAID 5

or RAID 6
n Multitiered pools with a mix of SAS
and NL-SAS
l Bronze
n Single-tiered pools with NL-SAS
n Multitiered pools with a mix of Flash
and NL-SAS

Service level-based provisioning (virtual Expected service level for a virtual pool:
deployments)
l Gold
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Extreme
Performance and Performance tiers
n Single-tiered Extreme Performance
pool
l Silver
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Extreme
Performance, Performance, and
Capacity tiers
n Multitiered pool with a mix of
Performance and Capacity tiers
n Single-tiered Performance pool
l Bronze
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Extreme
Performance and Capacity tiers
n Single-tiered Capacity pool

Usage tags Usage tags can be applied to capability

profiles to designate them and their
associated VVol datastores for a particular
use. For example, a VVol datastore may be
tagged for VVols and VMs that support a
particular application. The virtualization
administrator and storage administrator
should collaborate to define these usage tags.

Storage properties Supported storage properties include:

l Drive type:
n Extreme Performance [Flash]
n Performance [SAS]
n Capacity [NL-SAS]
n Multitier [mixed]
n Extreme Multitier [mixed with Flash]
l RAID type (physical deployments only):

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 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

Table 2 Storage capabilities (continued)

n RAID5
n RAID6
n RAID10
n Mixed
l FAST Cache (physical deployments only):
n Enabled
n Disabled
l FAST VP tiering policy:
n Highest Available Tier
n Start High then Auto-Tier
n Auto-Tier
n Lowest Available Tier
l Space Efficiency

Create a capability profile

Before you begin
Before creating a capability profile, you must create the pools that will be used by the
VVol datastore.
It is recommended that you create capability profiles during pool creation. You can
also add them to existing pools using the following method.

Note

You must create a capability profile before you can create a VVol datastore.

Procedure
1. Under Storage, select VMware > Capability Profiles.
2. Click the Add icon.
3. Enter a Name for the capability profile, and optionally add a Description.
4. Select the underlying Pool for the capability profile.
5. Optionally, enter any Usage Tags that will be used to identify how the
associated VVol datastore should be used. For example, enter a particular
application name or business unit that this datastore should be used for. The
virtualization admin and the storage admin should work together to define
usage tags.

Change a capability profile

Change an existing capability profile.
Procedure
1. Under Storage, select VMware > Capability Profiles.
2. Click the Edit icon.

Create a capability profile 15

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

3. On the Details tab, edit the Name and Description.

4. On the Constraints tab, edit the Usage Tags.
5. Click Apply.

Overview of configuring NAS servers

Before you can provision a VMware NFS datastore or file system storage, a NAS
server that is appropriate for managing the storage type must be running on the
system. A NAS Server is a file server that uses the SMB protocol, NFS protocol, or
both to share data with network hosts. It also catalogs, organizes, and optimizes read
and write operations to the associated file systems.
Configuring a NAS server requires specifying the following information:
l SP that the NAS server will run on.
l Pool used to store the NAS server's configuration data, such as anti-virus
configurations, NDMP settings, network Interfaces and IP addresses.
l IP addresses that will be assigned to the NAS server to allow network hosts to
access the shared data.
Performance balancing with NAS servers (physical deployments only)
You can balance the performance load on the storage system's SPs by choosing which
NAS servers run on each SP, and which file systems are associated with which NAS
server. For example, if you plan to provide file systems for two high-load database
applications, you can choose to run a separate NAS server on each SP, and provision
the storage for each application from a separate NAS server. This balances system
performance by ensuring that the applications draw their processing resources from
separate SPs.
File sharing with NAS servers
You can create NAS servers that support different types of file sharing. The table
below describes the available NAS server configurations.

Table 3 NAS server configurations by operating environment

Operating NAS server Recommended configuration options

Environment function
Unix-only Provide only NFS On the Sharing Protocols tab of the Create
environment access to file system a NAS Server wizard, select Linux/Unix
data. shares (NFS).
Windows-only Provide only SMB On the Sharing Protocols tab of the Create
environment access to file system a NAS Server wizard, select Windows
data. shares (SMB, CIFS).
Balanced Unix and Provide both SMB and 1. Make sure an NTP server is configured for
Windows NFS access to the the system.
environment same file systems data.
2. Do the following in the Create a NAS
Server wizard:
l On the Sharing Protocols tab,
select Multiprotocol.
l Join the NAS server to a Windows
Active Directory domain.

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 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

Table 3 NAS server configurations by operating environment (continued)

Operating NAS server Recommended configuration options

Environment function

l Configure local files, a Unix Directory

Service (UDS), or both. If you
configure local files with a UDS , the
system queries the local files first. The
UDS can be LDAP or NIS.
l Configure DNS.
3. Optionally customize the mappings
between Windows user accounts and Unix
user accounts by modifying and uploading
a user mapping file with advanced naming
rules (ntxmap). You only need to do this
when the names of the same users follow
different naming rules in Windows and
Unix.

Unix environment Provide NFS access to 1. Follow the steps in the Balanced Unix and
with the ability to file system data and Windows environment row for creating a
access file system optionally provide SMB NAS server and optionally customizing the
data through SMB access to the same file mappings between Windows user
system data for some accounts and Unix user accounts.
user accounts.
2. On the NAS server properties page for the
new NAS server, select Sharing
Protocols > Multiprotocol, and then
configure a default Unix user account. All
unmapped Windows accounts will be
mapped to this user account.
3. When you create file systems for the NAS
server, It is recommended that you specify
a file system access policy of Unix.

Windows Provide SMB access to 1. Follow the steps in the Balanced Unix and
environment with file system data and Windows environment row for creating a
the ability to access optionally provide NFS NAS server and optionally customizing the
file system data access to the same file mappings between Windows user
through NFS system data for some accounts and Unix user accounts.
user accounts.
2. On the NAS server properties page for the
new NAS server, select Sharing
Protocols > Multiprotocol, and then
optionally do either of the following:
l Select Enable automatic mapping
for unmapped Windows
accounts. When you select this
option, the system generates a Unix
UID for each Windows users that is not
already mapped to a Unix account
through a directory service (LDAP or

Overview of configuring NAS servers 17

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

Table 3 NAS server configurations by operating environment (continued)

Operating NAS server Recommended configuration options

Environment function

NIS) or local files. This functionality

allows for the retention of file system
quotas for each unmapped Windows
user. (File system quotas are based on
the Unix UID.)
l Select Enable default account for
unmapped users and configure a
default Unix user account. All
unmapped Windows accounts will be
mapped to this Unix user account and
will share the same file system quotas.
3. When you create file systems for the NAS
server, It is recommended that you specify
a file system access policy of Windows.

Create a NAS server for UNIX-only file sharing (NFS)

Before you begin
Obtain the following information:
l (Optional) Name of the tenant to associate with the NAS server.
l Name of the pool to store the NAS server's metadata.
l Storage Processor (SP) on which the NAS server will run.
l IP address information for the NAS server.
l VLAN ID, if the switch port supports VLAN tagging. If you associate a tenant with
the NAS server, you must choose a VLAN ID.
l (Optional) UNIX Directory Service (UDS) information for NIS or LDAP, or local
files. This can be used to resolve hosts defined on NFS share access lists.
l (Optional) DNS server information. This can also be used to resolve hosts defined
on NFS share access lists.
l (Optional) Replication information.
It is recommended that you balance the number of NAS servers on both SPs.
Procedure
1. Under Storage, select File > NAS Servers.
2. Select the Add icon.
3. On the General and Interface pages, specify the relevant settings. Note the
following:
l On the General page, the Server name identifies the NAS server. It is not a
network name.
l Optionally select a tenant to associate with the NAS server.

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Note

Once you create a NAS server that has an associated tenant, you cannot
change this association.
l On the Interface page, optionally select a VLAN. If you selected a tenant on
the General page, you must select a VLAN. The list of VLANs represent the
VLANs associated with the selected tenant.

4. On the Sharing Protocols page:

l Select Linux/Unix shares (NFS).
l Select whether to enable NFSv3, NVSv4, or both.
l Optionally enable support for Virtual Volumes (VVols).
l Optionally click Configure secure NFS to enable secure NFS with Kerberos.
When you enable secure NFS for a NAS server that supports Unix-only file
sharing, you must configure a custom Kerberos realm.

5. On the Unix Directory Service page, configure one of the following directory
services (optional unless you are configuring secure NFS):
l Local files
l NIS
l LDAP
l Local files and NIS
l Local files and LDAP
If you configure local files with NIS or LDAP, the system queries the local files
first. You can configure LDAP to use anonymous, simple, and Kerberos
authentication. You can also configure LDAP with SSL (LDAP Secure) and can
enforce the use of a Certificate Authority certificate for authentication.
6. On the DNS page, optionally configure DNS for the NAS server.
7. On the Replication page, optionally select a replication mode and Recovery
Point Objective (RPO) for the NAS server.

Create a NAS server for multiprotocol file sharing (SMB and NFS)
Before you begin
When you create a NAS server that supports multiprotocol file sharing, it must be
joined to an Active Directory (AD). This requires that an NTP server is configured on
the storage system.
Obtain the following information:
l (Optional) Name of the tenant to associate with the NAS server.
l Name of the pool to store the NAS server's metadata.
l Storage Processor (SP) on which the NAS server will run.
l IP address information for the NAS server.
l VLAN ID, if the switch port supports VLAN tagging. If you associate a tenant with
the NAS server, you must choose a VLAN ID.
l AD information, including the SMB computer name (used to access SMB shares),
and either the domain administrator's credentials or the credentials of a user of
the domain who has privileges for joining the AD. You can optionally specify the

Create a NAS server for multiprotocol file sharing (SMB and NFS) 19
Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

NetBIOS name and organizational unit. The NetBIOS name defaults to the first 15
characters of the SMB server name. The organizational unit defaults to
OU=Computers,OU=EMC NAS servers.
l UNIX Directory Service (UDS) information for NIS, LDAP, or local files. The UDS
provides the UNIX UID and GUID for AD users.

Note

You can configure mappings for some users in the UDS and let the others be
mapped through the default account.
l DNS server and domain information.
l Replication information (optional).
It is recommended that you balance the number of NAS servers on both SPs.
You cannot disable multiprotocol file sharing for a NAS server once a file system is
created on that NAS server.
Procedure
1. Under Storage, select File > NAS Servers.
2. Select the Add icon.
3. On the General and Interface pages, specify the relevant settings while noting
the following:
l On the General page, the Server name identifies the NAS server. It is not a
network name.
l Optionally select a tenant to associate with the NAS server.

Note

Once you create a NAS server that has an associated tenant, you cannot
change this association.
l On the Interface page, optionally select a VLAN. If you selected a tenant on
the General page, you must select a VLAN. The list of VLANs represent the
VLANs associated with the selected tenant.

4. On the Sharing Protocols page:

l Select Multiprotocol, and join the NAS server to the AD.
l Optionally click Advanced to change the default NetBios name and
organizational unit.
l Select whether to enable NFSv3, NFSv4, or both.
l Optionally enable support for Virtual Volumes (VVols).
l Optionally click Configure secure NFS to enable secure NFS with Kerberos.
When you enable secure NFS, you can choose to authenticate using the
Windows Kerberos realm (that is, the Windows domain) configured on the
NAS server, or you can configure and use a custom realm.

Note

It is recommended that you use LDAPS with secure NFS.

5. On the Unix Directory Service page, configure one of the following directory
services:

20 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

l Local files
l NIS
l LDAP
l Local files and NIS or LDAP
If you configure local files with NIS or LDAP, the system queries the local files
first. You can configure LDAP to use anonymous, simple, and Kerberos
authentication. You can also configure LDAP with SSL (LDAP Secure) and can
enforce the use of a Certificate Authority certificate for authentication.
6. On the DNS page, configure DNS for the NAS server.
7. On the Replication page, optionally select a replication mode and Recovery
Point Objective (RPO) for the NAS server.

Change NAS server properties

Procedure
1. Under Storage, select File > NAS Servers.
2. Select the relevant NAS server, and then select the Edit icon.
3. On the General tab:
l Change the NAS server name.
l Select SP Owner to transition from one SP to the other SP for this NAS
server. For example, you may want to do this if you have an overloaded SP,
and want to reduce the load by moving the server to the other SP.

4. On the Network tab:

l Select the Interfaces & Routes sub-tab to add, change, delete, or verify
NAS server interfaces, enable or disable IP packet reflect for the NAS
server, or change the NAS server's preferred interfaces. Select an interface,
and then select Show external routes for interfaces to access the per-
interface routing table, where you can add, change, or delete the selected
interface's routes for responding to client requests.
l Select the Routes to External Services sub-tab to add, change, or verify
NAS server routes for external service requests, or to configure default
gateways.

5. On the Naming Services tab, configure DNS and either configure the UNIX
Directory Service (UDS) for the NAS server (LDAP or NIS) or use local files.
Alternatively, you can use local files with a UDS. In this case, the system checks
the local files first.
6. On the Sharing Protocols tab:
l Select the FTP sub-tab to enable or disable FTP or SFTP, or to change FTP
or SFTP properties.

7. On the Protection & Events tab:

l Select the NDMP Backup sub-tab to enable or disable NDMP, and to
change the NDMP password.
l Select the DHSM sub-tab to enable or disable Distributed Hierarchical
Storage Management (DHSM) and to change the DHSM password.

Change NAS server properties 21

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

l Select the Events Publishing sub-tab to enable or disable Events

Publishing, create or modify an event pool, and create or modify events
policy settings.

8. On the Replication tab, optionally select a replication mode and Recovery Point
Objective (RPO) for the NAS server.

Protocol endpoints
Protocol Endpoints (PEs) are access points for ESXi host communication to the
storage system. These endpoints establish a datapath on-demand for virtual machines
and their respective VVol datastores. I/O from VMs is communicated through the PE
to the VVol datastore on the storage system. A single protocol endpoint can multiplex
I/O requests from a large number of VM clients to their virtual volumes. Protocol
endpoints are automatically created when a host is granted access to a VVol
datastore.
NAS protocol endpoints are created and managed on the storage system and
correspond to a specific NFS-based NAS server. A File VVol will be bound to the
associated NAS PE every time that VM is powered on. When the VM is powered off,
the VVol is unbound from the PE.
SCSI protocol endpoints can utilize any iSCSI interface or Fibre Channel connection
for IO. Two iSCSI PEs are created for every ESXi host-to-VVol datastore (storage
container) pair; this ensures high-availability. The Block VVol will be bound to the
associated SCSI PE every time that the VM is powered on. When the VM is powered
off, the PE is unbound. SCSI protocol endpoints are like LUN mount points that allow
I/O access to VVols from the ESXi host to the storage system.

NAS protocol endpoint servers

VMware protocol endpoint servers are NFS-based NAS servers enabled to provide an
I/O path from the VMware host to it's respective File VVol datastore on the storage
system.
You can enable a NAS server for VVols in the Create a NAS server wizard. The IP
address assigned to the NAS server at creation time becomes the Advertised IP
address for the NAS protocol endpoint. When enabling VVols on an existing NAS
server, you can select which IP address should be the Advertised IP address from the
list of IP interfaces already created for the NAS server. It is recommended that you
enable at least two NAS servers for VVols, one on each SP, for high availability. The
system will select one of these NAS PEs automatically based on which will maximize
throughput.

Change VMware protocol endpoint information

Procedure
1. Under Storage, select VMware > Protocol Endpoints.
2. Click the Edit icon.
3. On the General tab, edit the description of the protocol endpoint.
4. On the Host Access tab, change your selections of which hosts have access to
use the protocol endpoint.

22 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

VVol datastores
VVols reside in VVol datastores, also known as storage containers, which are
comprised of storage allocations from one or more capability profiles. Capability
profiles are built on top of one or more underlying pools. You can create VVol
datastores based on one or more capability profiles and then allocate a specific
amount of space from the capability profile to the VVol datastore.
Each VVol datastore has one or more capability profiles that describe its performance
and capacity characteristics, such as drive type, FAST VP tiering policy, and space
efficiency policy. These characteristics are derived based on the underlying pool.
When a virtual volume is created in vSphere, it is assigned a storage policy profile.
vSphere filters the compatible and incompatible available VVol datastores (from one or
more storage systems) when the VVol is being created based on these profiles. Only
VVol datastores that support the storage policy profile are considered compatible
storage containers for deploying the VVol.

Create a VMware VVol datastore

Before you begin
You must create capability profiles before creating a VVol datastore.
Procedure
1. Under Storage, select VMware > Datastores.
2. Click the Add icon.
3. On the Type page, select VVOL (File) or VVOL (Block).
4. Enter a Name and optionally a Description for the VVol datastore.
5. Select one or more capability profiles that will be used by the VVols datastore.
a. Optionally, click on the current size or Edit in the Datastore Size (GB)
column to adjust the space allocated from the pool to each selected
capability profile.
b. Adjust the size and/or unit of measure (TBs or GBs) of the capability profile.
c. Click OK.
6. Select the hosts that will have Access to the datastore.

Change a VVol datastore

Procedure
1. Under Storage, select VMware > Datastores.
2. Select the datastore and click the Edit icon.
3. On the General tab, edit the Name and Description. Click Apply.
4. On the Capability Profiles tab, edit the selected capability profiles used for the
VVol datastore.
To change the size of an existing capability profile:

a. Click on the current size in the Datastore Size (GB) column for the
capability profile.
b. Adjust the size and/or unit of the capability profile.

VVol datastores 23
Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

c. Click OK.
To add a new capability profile:

a. Click Add to add a new capability profile to the VVol datastore.

This will open a new window with the list of available capability profiles on
the system.
b. Select a new capability profile for the VVol datastore and click OK.
To delete an existing capability profile not currently in use:

a. Select the capability profile.

b. Click the Delete icon.
5. On the Host Access tab, edit the hosts that have access to the datastore.

Types of VVol objects

Virtual volumes are encapsulations of virtual machine files, virtual disks, and their
derivatives. There are several types of VVol objects that correspond to an individual
virtual volume, including a VMDK VVol (data VVol), Config VVol, Memory VVol, and
Swap VVol.

Table 4 Types of VVols

VMDK (Data) VVol The VMDK VVol, displayed as Data VVol in

Unisphere, contains the vDisk file, or the hard
disk drive, for the VM.

Config VVol The Config VVol contains settings,

configuration, and state information for the
VM. This includes .vmx, nvram, and log files.

Memory VVol The Memory VVol contains a complete copy

of the VM memory as part of a with-memory
VM snapshot.

Swap VVol The Swap VVol is created when VMs are

powered on and contain copies of the VM
memory pages that are not retained in
memory.

About VASA support

The VMware vSphere APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) is a set of APIs that
provides storage awareness to VMware vSphere clients. It enables vSphere clients to
request and display basic information on the storage system and the storage
resources it exposes to the virtual environment. Using the VASA protocol, you can
configure the vSphere client to view information on physical storage system objects
that are associated with the storage system datastores. This information includes
storage policies and properties, such as tiering and RAID level. You can also view the
health status of these components in vSphere. Changes in the health status or
information about storage resources reaching space capacity thresholds are reported
as VASA alarms in the vSphere client.
VASA has introduced new APIs to support virtual volumes (VVols) starting with
vSphere 6.0. These updated VASA APIs enhance storage system awareness of

24 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

individual VM disks. This enables the storage system to perform operations on

individual VM disks such as snapshots and clones.

Note

The Unity system can be registered as a VASA provider automatically in vSphere when
corresponding vCenter and ESXi hosts are created, and the option to add Unity as a
VASA provider is enabled. Unity can only be registered as a VASA provider for one
vCenter server at a time. Refer to the Unity Configuring VVols guide for additional
options.

Add the system as a VASA provider

Note

The Unity system is registered as a VASA provider automatically in vSphere when

corresponding vCenter and ESXi hosts are granted access to the system.

For the vCenter server to communicate with the system, add the system as a storage
provider in the vSphere client. Use the following information:
l Name - Name of the storage provider that will appear in the vSphere client. You
can choose to use any name you want.
l URL - The VASA Provider service URL. The URL must be in the following format:
https://<management IP address>: 8443/vasa/version.xml
l Login - Unisphere user name with the Administrator or VM Administrator role. It is
recommended that you specify a user account with the VM Administrator role.
Note the following syntax:
n For local users: local/<user name>
n For LDAP users: <domain>/<user name>
l Password - The password associated with the user account.
For more information on adding a storage provider, refer to the VMware
documentation.

Note

If you create VM Storage Policies in vSphere during the same vSphere login session
where you added the storage system as a VASA provider, rule set labels may appear as
ID strings instead of the correct rule set names. Logging out of vSphere and logging
back in may resolve this issue.

Add the system as a VASA provider 25

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores

26 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

CHAPTER 2
Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with
CLI

This chapter addresses the following topics:

l Create a NAS server.......................................................................................... 28

l Manage VMware NAS protocol endpoint servers............................................... 34
l Manage host configurations...............................................................................36
l Manage host initiators........................................................................................45
l Manage VMware vCenter................................................................................... 51
l Manage ESXi hosts............................................................................................ 56
l Manage capability profiles.................................................................................. 61
l Manage VMware protocol endpoints..................................................................68
l Manage VVol datastores.................................................................................... 69
l Manage VVol objects.......................................................................................... 77

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI 27

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Create a NAS server

Create a NAS server.

Note

The NFSv3 protocol is enabled by default when creating a NAS server.

Format
/net/nas/server create -name <value> -sp <value> {-pool <value>
| -poolName <value>} [-tenant <value>] [-mpSharingEnabled {no |
yes [-autoUserMappingEnabled {yes | no}][-unixDirectoryService
{local | ldap | nis | localThenNis | localThenLdap | none}] [-
defaultUnixUser <value>] [-defaultWindowsUser <value>]}] [-
replDest {yes [-backupOnly {yes | no}] | no}] [-
enablePacketReflect {yes | no}]
Action qualifiers

Qualifier Description
-name Specifies the NAS server name.

Note

NAS server names can contain alphanumeric

characters, a single dash, and a single underscore.
Server names cannot contain spaces or begin or
end with a dash. You can create NAS server names
in four parts that are separated by periods
(example: aa.bb.cc.dd). Names can contain up to
255 characters, but the first part of the name
(before the first period) is limited to 15 characters.

-sp Specifies the parent SP for the NAS server. Value is

SPA or SPB.
-pool Specifies the ID of the storage pool for the NAS
server.
-poolName Specifies the name of the storage pool for the NAS
server.
-tenant Specifies the tenant identifier.

Note

If a tenant is not specified, the NAS server is

created in the default network namespace.

-mpSharingEnabled Indicates whether multiprotocol sharing mode is

enabled. Value is yes or no (default).
-unixDirectoryService Directory Service used for querying identity
information for Unix (such as UIDs, GIDs, net
groups). Valid values are:

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 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Qualifier Description

l nis
l ldap
l local
l none (default)
l localThenNis
l localThenLdap

-autoUserMappingEnabled Indicates whether a Windows user who is not

mapped to a known Unix/Linux username is allowed
to access the NAS server's files Valid values are:
l yes— The system generates an internal UID
for the Windows user and allows access to the
NAS server's files through Windows.
l no (default)— The Windows authentication
fails unless there is a default Unix username
configured.

-defaultUnixUser Default Unix user name or Unix ID that grants file

access in the multiprotocol sharing mode. This user
name or ID is used when the corresponding Unix/
Linux user name or ID is not found by the mapping
mechanism.
The Unix ID format is @uid=xxxx,gid=yyyy@, where
xxxx and yyyy are the decimal numerical values of
the UID and the primary GID, respectively. When
using this ID, the user does not need to be defined
in the UDS.

-defaultWindowsUser Default Windows user name that grants file access

in the multiprotocol sharing mode. This user name is
used when the corresponding Windows user name
is not found by the mapping mechanism.
-replDest Replication destination settings for the NAS server.
When this option is set to yes, only mandatory
parameters may be included. All other optional
parameters will be inherited from the source NAS
server. Valid values are:
l yes
l no (default)

-backupOnly Indicates whether to create NAS server as backup

only. The backup only NAS server cannot be a
production site, which means both planned failover
and unplanned failover are disallowed in a backup
only NAS server associated replication session.
Valid values:
l yes
l no

Create a NAS server 29

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Qualifier Description
-enablePacketReflect Indicates whether the reflection of outbound
(reply) packets through the same interface that
inbound (request) packets entered is enabled. Valid
values are:
l yes (default)
l no

Example
The following command creates a NAS server with these settings:
l Name is NasServer_1.
l Associated with SP A.
l Associated with storage pool pool_0.
l IP Packet Reflect is enabled.
l The ID of the new NAS server is ID nas_1.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /net/nas/server
create -name NasServer_1 -sp spa -pool pool_0 -enablePacketReflect yes

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = nas_1
Operation completed successfully.

Change NAS server settings

Modify an existing NAS server.
Format
/net/nas/server {-id <value | -name <value } set [-name
<value>] [-sp {spa | spb}] [-mpSharingEnabled {yes | no}] [-
unixDirectoryService {ldap | nis | none}] [-
autoUserMappingEnabled {yes | no}] [{-defaultAccessDisabled |
[-defaultUnixUser <value>] [-defaultWindowsUser <value>]}] [-
enablePacketReflect {yes | no }] [-replDest {yes | no }] [-
backupOnly {yes | no}] [-preferredProductionOverride { no |
yes }][-preferredProductionIPv4 { auto | <value>}] [-
preferredProductionIPv6 { auto | <value>}] [-
preferredBackupIPv4 {auto | <value>}] [-preferredBackupIPv6
{auto | <value>}
Object qualifiers

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the NAS server to change.
-name Type the name of the NAS server to change.

30 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Action qualifiers

Qualifier Description
-name Shared folder server name.
-sp Owner SP. Valid values are:
l spa
l spb

-mpSharingEnabled Indicates whether multiprotocol sharing

mode is enabled. Valid values are:
l yes
l no

Note

You cannot disable multiprotocol file sharing

for a NAS server once a file system is
created on that NAS server.

-unixDirectoryService Directory Service used for querying identity

information for Unix (such as UIDs, GIDs, net
groups). Valid values are:
l nis
l ldap

-defaultAccessDisabled Disables file access when no user mapping

mechanism is found.
-autoUserMappingEnabled Indicates whether a Windows user who is not
mapped to a known Unix/Linux username is
allowed to access the NAS server's files
Valid values are:
l yes. The system generates an internal
UID for the Windows user and allows
access to the NAS server's files through
Windows.
l no (default). The Windows
authentication fails unless there is a
default Unix username configured.

-defaultUnixUser Default Unix user name or Unix ID that

grants file access in the multiprotocol
sharing mode. This user name or ID is used
when the corresponding Unix/Linux user
name or ID is not found by the mapping
mechanism.
The Unix ID format is @uid=xxxx,gid=yyyy@,
where xxxx and yyyy are the decimal
numerical values of the UID and the primary
GID, respectively. When using this ID, the
user does not need to be defined in the UDS.

Change NAS server settings 31

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Qualifier Description
-defaultWindowsUser Default Windows user name that grants file
access in the multiprotocol sharing mode.
This user name is used when the
corresponding Windows user -
defaultWindowsUser name is not found
by the mapping mechanism.
-enablePacketReflect Indicates whether the reflection of outbound
(reply) packets through the same interface
that inbound (request) packets entered is
enabled. Valid values are:
l yes
l no

-replDest Replication destination settings for the NAS

server. Valid values are:
l yes
l no

-backupOnly Indicates whether the NAS server is used as

backup. Only a replication destination NAS
server can be set as backup only. This
attribute reflects that the NAS server cannot
be the production site. This means both
planned failover and unplanned failover are
disallowed in the backup only NAS server
associated replication session. Valid values
are:
l yes
l no

-preferredProductionOverride Override the replicated production

interfaces "preferred interface" settings.
Valid values are:
l yes
l no

-preferredProductionIPv4 Production IPv4 preferred interface settings.

The interface must be IPv4 and belong to
this server. Valid values are:
l <interface ID>
l auto

-preferredProductionIPv6 Production IPv6 preferred interface settings.

The interface must be IPv6 and belong to
this server. Valid values are:
l <interface ID>
l auto

32 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Qualifier Description
-preferredBackupIPv4 Backup and DR test IPv4 preferred interface
settings. The interface must be IPv4 and
belong to this server. Valid values are:
l <interface ID>
l auto

-preferredBackupIPv6 Backup and DR test IPv6 preferred interface

settings. The interface must be IPv6 and
belong to this server. Valid values are:
l <interface ID>
l auto

Example 1
The following command updates NAS server nas_1 with these settings:
l Enables multiprotocol sharing.
l Uses LDAP as the Unix Directory Service.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /net/nas/server -id
nas_1 set -mpSharingEnabled yes -unixDirectoryService ldap

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = nas_1
Operation completed successfully.

Example 2
The following command changes the replication settings for NAS server nas_1.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /net/nas/server -id
nas_1 set -replDest yes

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = nas_1
Operation completed successfully.

Example 3
The following command changes the storage processor to SPB for NAS server nas_1.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /net/nas/server -id
nas_1 set -sp spb

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

WARNING: Modifying the NAS server's SP disrupts any running NDMP

jobs, and may also result in data unavailability for some client
configurations other than NFS (v3, v4, and v4.1) and SMB3+CA. The

Change NAS server settings 33

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

NDMP jobs must be restarted after the SP modification is completed.

Are you sure you want to modify the default SP?
yes / no:yes

ID = nas_1
Operation completed successfully.

Note

l When the SP is being modified, the NAS server health attribute is updated to
INFO, and the health details attribute is updated to Transitioning to other
Storage Processor. When the SP modification completes, the NAS server
health and health details are reverted back to the previous values.
l A change to the SP cannot be performed on a NAS Server that is part of an active
VDM File Import operation. The Import operation must be completed before the
SP can be changed. Otherwise, the following error occurs: Failed: Cannot
complete the operation because the resource is under import.
(Error Code:0x900012a).
l A change to the SP cannot be performed on a NAS Server that is part of an active
replication session. Pause the replication session, perform the SP change, and
then resume the replication session. Otherwise, the following error occurs:
Cannot modify the NAS server's Storage Processor when there
are non-paused replication sessions on the NAS server or its
file systems. (Error Code:0x6720665).

Manage VMware NAS protocol endpoint servers

VMware protocol endpoint servers are NFS-based NAS servers enabled to provide an
I/O path from the VMware host to it's respective File VVol datastore on the storage
system.
When creating a NAS protocol endpoint server, you can choose which IP address the
NAS PE will use from the list of IP interfaces already created for the NAS server. It is
recommended that you enable at least two NAS servers for VVols, one on each SP, for
high availability. The system will select one of these NAS PEs automatically based on
which will maximize throughput.

Table 5 Protocol endpoint server attributes

Attribute Description
ID VMware protocol endpoint identifier.

NAS server Identifier of the associated NAS server for

NAS PEs.

NAS server interface Identifier of the NAS server IP interface to be

used by the VMware NAS protocol endpoint
server.

34 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Note

Only one VMware protocol endpoint server per NAS server is supported.

Create protocol endpoint servers

Create VMware protocol endpoints servers for File VVols.
Format
/net/nas/vmwarepe create [-async] {-server <value> | -
serverName <value>} -if <value>
Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.
-server Type the identifier of the NAS server.
-serverName Type the name of the NAS server.
-if Type the name of the identifier for the NAS IP interface to be used
by the VMware protocol endpoint server.

Example
The following example creates a protocol endpoint server on NAS server "nas_1" with
the IP interface "if_1".
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /net/nas/vmwarepe
create -server nas_1 -if if_ 1

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = PES_0
Operation completed successfully.

View VMware protocol endpoint servers

View VMware protocol endpoints servers for File VVols.
Format
/net/nas/vmwarepe [{-id <value> | -server <value> | -serverName
<value>}] show
Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the identifier of the NAS protocol endpoint server.
-server Type the identifier of the associated NAS server.
-serverName Type the name of the associated NAS server.

Example
The following example shows the details for all of the VMware protocol endpoint
servers on the system.

Create protocol endpoint servers 35

Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456!/net/nas/vmwarepe

show -detail

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: ID = PES_0
NAS server = nas_1
NAS server interface = if_1

Delete protocol endpoint servers

Delete a VMware protocol endpoints server.
Format
/net/nas/vmwarepe -id <value> delete [-async] [-force]
Object qualifiers

Qualifier Description
-id Type the identifier or the VMware protocol endpoint server to be deleted.

Action qualifiers

Qualifier Description
-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.
-force Unconditionally removes all VMware NAS protocol endpoints using the
VMware protocol endpoint server and unbinds all virtual volumes using the
protocol endpoint server.

Example
The following example deletes VMware NAS protocol endpoint server "PES_0".
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /net/nas/vmwarepe –
id PES_0 delete

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully.

Manage host configurations

Hosts are the clients or servers in your network that access storage on the system.
Host configurations are logical connections through which hosts or applications can
access storage resources. Before a host can access storage, you must define a
configuration for it and associate it with a storage resource. Create a host
configuration for each host, host subnetwork (subnet), or network group (netgroup)
that will access storage resources on the system.
You can create the following types of host configurations:

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 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

l Individual host configurations — Enable you to define and control access to

storage resources on a host-by-host basis.
l Subnet and netgroup configurations — Enable you to define and control access to
storage resources for multiple hosts or network segments.
Each host configuration is identified by an ID.
The following table lists the attributes for host configurations.

Table 6 Host configuration attributes

Attribute Description
ID ID of the host configuration.

Name Name of the host configuration.

Description Brief description of the host configuration.

Tenant Tenant with which the host is associated.

Address Hostname or IP address associated with the host, IP address of the

subnet, or name of the netgroup.

Note

This information is required when connecting hosts to network shares on

the system.

Netmask Subnet mask for the host.

Type Type of host configuration. Value is one of the following:

l host — A host defines and controls access to storage resources on
a host-by-host basis.
l subnet — A subnet is a logical grouping of connected network
devices. Devices on a subnet share contiguous ranges of IP
addresses. A subnet mask, or network mask, defines the boundaries
of an IP subnet.
You can associate a host configuration with a subnet mask to define
and control storage access for hosts on a particular network
segment.
l netgroup — A netgroup is a named sets of hosts, users, or
domains on a network. A netgroup can provide a way to reference
sets of Linux/UNIX hosts collectively for accessing storage over NFS.
You can create a host configuration for a netgroup to define and
control storage access for multiple Linux/UNIX hosts or users
through a single configuration.

OS type Type of operating system (OS) running on the host. You can enter any
value you want. Here are suggestions for some of the common operating
systems:
l undefined — OS is not specified (default) or unknown.
l other — Other.
l win2003srv — Windows Server 2003.
l winxp — Windows XP.
l win2008srv — Windows Server 2008.

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Table 6 Host configuration attributes (continued)

Attribute Description

l winvista — Windows Vista.

l win2012srv — Windows Server 2012.
l esx — VMware ESX.
l redhat — Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
l sles — SUSE Linux Enterprise.
l win7 — Windows 7.
l hyperv — Microsoft Hyper-V.
l solaris — Solaris.

Ignored A comma-separated list of host IP addresses to exclude from data access.

address

Health state Health state of the host. The health state code appears in parentheses.
Value is one of the following:
l Unknown (0) — Status is unknown.
l OK (5) — Working correctly.
l OK BUT (7) — Working correctly, but there could be a problem.
l Degraded/Warning (10) — Working and performing all
functions, but the performance may not be optimum.
l Minor failure (15) — Working and performing all functions
but overall performance is degraded. This condition has a minor
impact on the system and should be remedied at some point, but
does not have to be fixed immediately.
l Major failure (20) — Failing and some or all functions may be
degraded or not working. This condition has a significant impact on
the system and should be remedied immediately.
l Critical failure (25) — Failed and recovery may not be
possible. This condition has resulted in data loss and should be
remedied immediately.
l Non-recoverable error (30) — Completely failed and cannot
be recovered.

Health Additional health information. See Appendix A, Reference, for health

details information details.

Management Indicates the way the host is managed. Value is one of the following:
type
l VMware — The host is managed through VMware web services.
l Other — The host is automatically created on the storage system.
l Manual — The host is created manually.

Accessible A comma-separate list of LUNs that are accessible to the host.

LUNs

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Table 6 Host configuration attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Host LUN IDs Comma-separated list of HLUs (Host LUN identifiers), which the
corresponding hosts use to access the LUN.

Create host configurations

Create a host configuration to establish a connection between the system and hosts
that access the system.
Format
/remote/host create -name <value> [-descr <value>] [-tenant
<value>] -type {host [-addr <value>] [-ignoredAddr <value>] [-
osType <value> ] | subnet -addr <value> [-netmask <value>] |
netgroup -addr <value>}
Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-name Specifies the name of the host configuration.
-descr Specifies a brief description of the host configuration.
-type Specifies the type of host configuration. Value is one of the
following:
l host — A host defines and controls access to storage
resources on a host-by-host basis.
l subnet — A subnet is a logical grouping of connected
network devices. Devices on a subnet share contiguous ranges
of IP addresses. A subnet mask, or network mask, defines the
boundaries of an IP subnet.
You can associate a host configuration with a subnet mask to
define and control storage access for hosts on a particular
network segment.
l netgroup — A netgroup is a named sets of hosts, users, or
domains on a network. A netgroup can provide a way to
reference sets of Linux/UNIX hosts collectively for accessing
storage over NFS.
You can create a host configuration for a netgroup to define
and control storage access for multiple Linux/UNIX hosts or
users through a single configuration.

-tenant Specifies the identifier of the tenant with which the host is to be
associated.

Note

If not specified, the host is created in the default network

namespace and the tenant attribute will be blank.

-addr Specifies the hostnames or IP addresses associated with the host,

IP addresses of the subnet, or the name of the netgroup. Separate
each value with a comma.

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Qualifier Description

l Format: <IP address>/[<prefix length>].

l Default prefix length for IPv4 addresses is 24 and for IPv6
addresses is 64.

Note

This information is required when connecting hosts to network

shares on the system.

-ignoredAddr Specifies a list of IP addresses associated with the host that are
excluded from data access. Separate each value with a comma.
-netmask Specifies the subnet mask for the host configuration.
-osType Specify the type of operating system (OS) running on the host.
You can enter any value you want. Here are suggestions for some
of the common operating systems:
l undefined — OS is not specified (default) or unknown.
l other — Other.
l win2003srv — Windows Server 2003.
l winxp — Windows XP.
l win2008srv — Windows Server 2008.
l winvista — Windows Vista.
l win2012srv — Windows Server 2012.
l esx — VMware ESX.
l redhat — Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
l sles — SUSE Linux Enterprise.
l win7 — Windows 7.
l hyperv — Microsoft Hyper-V.
l solaris — Solaris.

Example 1
The following command creates a host configuration for a host with these settings:
l Name is MyHost.
l Description is “accounting”.
l IP address is 10.64.74.10.
l OS is Windows XP.
The host configuration receives ID Host_1014:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/host create
–name MyHost –descr “accounting” -type host –addr 10.64.74.10 -osType
winxp

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443

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HTTPS connection

ID = Host_1014
Operation completed successfully.

Example 2
The following command creates a host configuration for a subnet with these settings:
l Name is MySubnet.
l Description is “subnet1”.
l IP address is 192.168.10.0.
l Subnet mask is 255.255.255.0.
The host configuration receives ID Subnet_1015:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/host create
–name MySubnet –descr “subnet1” -type subnet –addr 192.168.10.0 –
netmask 255.255.255.0

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = Subnet_1015
Operation completed successfully.

Example 3
The following command creates a host configuration for a subnet with these settings:
l Name is IPv6Subnet.
l Description is “V6_HE_Subnet”.
l IPv6 address is 2001:db8:c25:
l Prefix length is 48.
The host configuration receives ID NetGroup_1023:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 /remote/host create -name IPv6Subnet -descr
"V6_HE_Subnet" -type subnet -addr 2001:db8:c25::/48

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = NetGroup_1023
Operation completed successfully.

View host configurations

View details about a host configuration. You can select the ID of the host
configuration or the host type.
Format
/remote/host [{{-id <value> | -name <value>} | -type {host |
subnet | netgroup}}] show

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Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Specify the host ID.
-name Specify the host name.
-type Specifies the host type. Valid values are:
l host
l subnet
l netgroup

Example
The following command lists all host configurations on the system:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/host show -
brief

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: ID = 1014
Name = MyHost
Description = this is my host
Tenant = tenant_3
Type = host
Address = 10.64.74.10, 10.64.80.10
Netmask =
OS type = winxp
Ignored address = 10.64.80.10
Health state = OK (5)

2: ID = 1015
Name = MySubnet
Description = this is my subnet
Tenant =
Type = subnet
Address = 192.168.10.0
Netmask = 255.255.255.0
OS type =
Ignored address =
Health state = OK (5)

Change host configuration settings

Change the settings for a host configuration.
Format
/remote/host {-id <value> | -name <value>} set [-name <value>]
[-descr <value>] [-addr <value>] [-ignoredAddr <value>] [-
netmask <value>] [-osType <value>] [-addLuns <value> [-hlus
<value> ]] [-removeLuns <value>]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id ID of the host configuration to change.

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Qualifier Description
-name Name of the host configuration to change.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-name Specifies the new name for the host configuration.
-desc Specifies the new description of the host configuration.
-addr Specifies the hostnames or IP addresses associated with the host,
IP addresses of the subnet, or the network addresses of the
netgroup. Separate each value with a comma.
l For subnet type, specifies the new IP address of the subnet.
l For netgroup, specifies the new netgroup's name.
l Format: <IP address>/[<prefix length>].
l Default prefix length for IPv4 addresses is 24 and for IPv6
addresses is 64.

Note

This information is required when connecting hosts to network

shares on the system.

-ignoredAddr Specifies a list of IP addresses associated with the host that are
excluded from data access. Separate each value with a comma.
-netmask Specify the subnet mask for the host configuration.
-osType Specify the type of operating system (OS) running on the host.
You can enter any value you want. Here are suggestions for some
of the common operating systems:
l undefined — OS is not specified or unknown.
l other — Other.
l win2003srv — Windows Server 2003.
l winxp — Windows XP.
l win2008srv — Windows Server 2008.
l winvista — Windows Vista.
l win2012srv — Windows Server 2012.
l esx — VMware ESX.
l redhat — Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
l sles — SUSE Linux Enterprise.
l win7 — Windows 7.
l hyperv — Microsoft Hyper-V.
l solaris — Solaris.

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Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Qualifier Description
-addLuns Specify a comma-separated list of LUN friendly IDs for LUNs to
add to the host.
-hlus Specifies the comma-separated list of Host LUN identifiers to be
used by the corresponding hosts which were specified in the -
lunHosts option. The number of items in the two lists must
match. However, an empty string is a valid value for any element
of the Host LUN identifiers list, as long as commas separate the
list elements. Such an empty element signifies that the system
should automatically assign the Host LUN identifier value by which
the corresponding host will access the LUN.
If not specified, the system will automatically assign the Host LUN
identifier value for every host specified in the -lunHosts
argument list.

-removeLuns Specify a comma-separated list of LUN friendly IDs for LUNs to

remove from the host.

Example
The following command updates the description of host configuration 1014 to indicate
that it now holds the payroll database:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/host –id
1014 set -descr “Accounting” –osType winxp

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = 1014
Operation completed successfully.

Delete host configurations

Delete a host configuration.

NOTICE

Deleting a host configuration breaks the block-based (Fibre Channel or iSCSI) storage
connections associated with the configuration. Hosts that use the configuration for
NFS-based storage connections, such as NFS shares, revert to the default access
privileges for any storage resources that they can access.

Format
/remote/host {-id <value> | -name <value>} delete
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id ID of the host configuration to delete.
-name Name of the host configuration to delete.

Example
The following command deletes host configuration 1014:

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uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/host –id

1014 delete

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully.

Manage host initiators

After you create a host configuration for controlling host access to storage on the
system, you need to create one or more initiators for each host configuration that
accesses the storage system. Each initiator represents the initiator on the host, which
will connect to the storage system. There are two types of initiators, Fibre Channel
(FC) and iSCSI.
A FC initiator contains the WWN of an HBA on the host. This WWN is not the WWN of
the host.
An iSCSI initiator contains the IQN (iSCSI Qualified Name) used by the host, and
optionally the CHAP authentication password associated with the host. explains how
to configure reverse (two-way) CHAP authentication on the system.
Each initiator is identified by an ID.
The following table lists the attributes for initiators.

Table 7 Initiator attributes

Attribute Description
ID Host initiator ID.

Host Name of the parent host.

UID FC WWN or iSCSI IQN of the initiator.

Initiator type The type of initiator. Value is one of the following:

l FC
l iSCSI

Ports logged in Comma-separated list of array target ports that the initiator is
logged into.

Ignored Indicates whether the initiator is ignored for data access to the host.
Value is one of the following:
l Yes — The initiator is ignored.
l No — The initiator is not ignored.

Health state Health state of the system. The health state code appears in
parentheses. Value is one of the following:
l Unknown (0) — Status is unknown.
l OK (5) — Working correctly.
l OK BUT (7) — Working correctly, but there could be a
problem.

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Table 7 Initiator attributes (continued)

Attribute Description

l Degraded/Warning (10) — Working and performing all

functions, but the performance may not be optimum.
l Minor failure (15) — Working and performing all
functions but overall performance is degraded. This condition
has a minor impact on the system and should be remedied at
some point, but does not have to be fixed immediately.
l Major failure (20) — Failing and some or all functions
may be degraded or not working. This condition has a significant
impact on the system and should be remedied immediately.
l Critical failure (25) — Failed and recovery may not
be possible. This condition has resulted in data loss and should
be remedied immediately.
l Non-recoverable error (30) — Completely failed and
cannot be recovered.

Health details Additional health information. See Appendix A, Reference, for health
information details.

CHAP users List of CHAP accounts configured for the initiator.

Source type The source initiator type. Values are:

l HPAutotrespass - HP with Auto-trespass
l OpenNative (default) - Open native (such as CLARiiON Open)
l SGI - Silicon Graphics
l HPNoAutotrespass- HP without Auto-trespass
l Dell
l FujitsuSiemens
l Tru64- Compaq Tru64

Failover mode The failover mode for the initiator. Values are:
l AutoTrespass- Any media access to the non owning SP is
rejected.
l PassiveNotReady- A command failure during I/O is sent to
the non-owning SP.
l DMP- Quiet trespass on I/O to non owning SP.
l PassiveAlwaysReady- Some commands, e.g. Test Unit
Ready, returns PAR status.
l ALUA(default) - Initiators are permitted to send I/O to a LUN
regardless of which SP actually owns the LUN.

LUNZ enabled Specifies whether LUNZ is enabled. Values are:

l yes
l no

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Table 7 Initiator attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Unit serial Indicates the unity serial number. Values are:
number
l Array (default)
l LUN
For SCSI-3 interfaces, the Unity Serial Number page (Vital Product
Data page 0x80) reports the serial number for the array or LUN.

Create initiators
Create an FC or iSCSI initiator and assign it to a host configuration.
Format
/remote/initiator create –host <value> -uid <value> -type
{iscsi|fc} [-sourceType {HPAutotrespass | OpenNative | SGI |
HPNoAutotrespass | Dell | FujitsuSiemens | Tru64}] [-
failoverMode {AutoTrespass | PassiveNotReady | DMP |
PassiveAlwaysReady | ALUA}] [-lunzEnabled {yes | no}] [-
unitSerialNumber {Array | LUN}]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-host Identifies the host configuration to which to assign the
initiator. View host configurations on page 41 explains how
to view the IDs of host configurations on the system.
-uid Specifies the FC WWN or the iSCSI IQN of the host to
which to assign the initiator.
-type Specifies the type of initiator. Value is one of the following:
l iscsi
l fc

-sourceType Specify the source type for the initiator. Valid values are:
l HPAutotrespass - HP with Auto-trespass
l OpenNative (default) - Open native (such as
CLARiiON Open)
l SGI - Silicon Graphics
l HPNoAutotrespass- HP without Auto-trespass
l Dell
l FujitsuSiemens
l Tru64- Compaq Tru64

-failoverMode Specify the failover mode for the initiator. Valid values are:
l AutoTrespass- Any media access to the non owning
SP is rejected.

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Qualifier Description

l PassiveNotReady- A command failure during I/O is

sent to the non-owning SP.
l DMP- Quiet trespass on I/O to non owning SP.
l PassiveAlwaysReady- Some commands, e.g. Test
Unit Ready, returns PAR status.
l ALUA (default) - Initiators are permitted to send I/O to
a LUN regardless of which SP actually owns the LUN.

-lunzEnabled Set whether LUNZ will be enabled. Valid values are:

l yes (default)
l no

-unitSerialNumber Specify the Unit Serial Number. Valid values are:

l Array (default)
l LUN
For SCSI-3 interfaces, the Unity Serial Number page (Vital
Product Data page 0x80) reports the serial number for the
array or LUN.

Example 1
The following command creates an FC initiator for host configuration 1014. The FC
initiator receives ID 1021:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/initiator
create -host 1014 -uid "20:00:00:00:C9:29:0F:FD:
10:00:00:00:C9:29:0F:FD" -type fc

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = 1021
Operation completed successfully.

Example 2
The following command creates an iSCSI initiator for host configuration Host_3. The
iSCSI initiator receives ID 1022:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! -sslPolicy accept /
remote/initiator create -host Host_3 iqn.1000-05.com.fancy:win-123456
-type iscsi

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = 1022
Operation completed successfully.

Example 3
The following command creates an iSCSI initiator for "Host_3" with:

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l A source type of "OpenNative"

l A failover mode of "PassiveAlwaysReady"
l LUNZ disabled
l And an "Array" Unit Serial Number
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/initiator
create -host Host_3 -uid iqn.1993-08.com.microsoft:win -type iscsi -
sourceType OpenNative -failoverMode PassiveAlwaysReady -lunzEnabled no
-unitSerialNumber Array

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = HostInitiator_8
Operation completed successfully.

View initiators
View a list of initiators. You can filter on the initiator ID, host ID, or whether the
initiator is registered.
Format
/remote/initiator [{-id <value> | -host <value> | -
unregistered}] show
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Identifies the initiator.
-host Type the ID of a host configuration to view the initiators assigned
to the host configuration.
-unregistered Specifies unregistered initiators.

Example
The following command lists the details of all initiators on the system:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/initiator
show

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: ID = HostInitiator_7
Host = Host_4
UID = iqn.
1991-05.com.microsoft:cnenfanw4l1c.corp.emc.com
Initiator type = iscsi
Ports logged in = spb_eth2,spa_eth2
Ignored = no
Health State = OK (5)
Health Details = "The component is operating normally. No
action is required."
CHAP users =
Source type = Open_Native
Failover mode = ALUA

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LUNZ = yes
Unit serial number = Array

Change initiator settings

Modify an already created initiator.
Format
/remote/initiator -id <value> set [-ignored {yes | no}] [-host
<value>] [-sourceType {HPAutotrespass | OpenNative | SGI |
HPNoAutotrespass | Dell | FujitsuSiemens | Tru64}] [-
failoverMode {AutoTrespass | PassiveNotReady | DMP |
PassiveAlwaysReady | ALUA}] [-lunzEnabled {yes | no}] [-
unitSerialNumber {Array | LUN}]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Specifies the ID of the initiator

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-ignored Specifies whether the initiator is ignored for data access to
the host. Valid values are:
l yes — The initiator is ignored.
l no — The initiator is not ignored.

-host Identifies the host configuration to which the initiator is

assigned. View host configurations on page 41 explains how
to view the IDs of host configurations on the system.
-sourceType Specify the source type for the initiator. Valid values are:
l HPAutotrespass — HP with Auto-trespass
l OpenNative — Open native (such as CLARiiON Open)
l SGI — Silicon Graphics
l HPNoAutotrespass — HP without Auto-trespass
l Dell
l FujitsuSiemens
l Tru64 — Compaq Tru64

-failoverMode Specify the failover mode for the initiator. Valid values are:
l AutoTrespass — Any media access to the non
owning SP is rejected.
l PassiveNotReady — A command failure during I/O is
sent to the non-owning SP.
l DMP — Quiet trespass on I/O to non owning SP.

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Qualifier Description

l PassiveAlwaysReady — Some commands, e.g. Test

Unit Ready, returns PAR status.
l ALUA — Initiators are permitted to send I/O to a LUN
regardless of which SP actually owns the LUN.

-lunzEnabled Set whether LUNZ will be enabled. Valid values are:

l yes
l no

-unitSerialNumber Specify the Unit Serial Number. Valid values are:

l Array
l LUN
For SCSI-3 interfaces, the Unity Serial Number page (Vital
Product Data page 0x80) reports the serial number for the
array or LUN.

-force Specify to bypass the validation of setting a new host when

there are already storage resources associated with the
host and attached to the initiator.
If you want to delete a stale initiator for which the
associated host has LUN access and as such those LUNs
cannot be deleted, you will need to ignore the associated
host by setting the stale initiator to an empty host with this
-force option.

Example
The following command changes the source type, failover mode, LUNZ settings, and
Unit Serial Number of the initiator:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /remote/initiator -
id HostInitiator_6 set -sourceType HPAutotrespass -failoverMode
PassiveNotReady -lunzEnabled yes -unitSerialNumber Array

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully.

Manage VMware vCenter

Manage VMware vCenter servers.
The following table lists the attributes for VMware vCenter.

Table 8 VMware vCenter attributes

Attribute Description
ID ID of the VMware virtual center

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Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Table 8 VMware vCenter attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Address Domain name or IP address of VMware
vCenter.

User name Name of the administrator account on the

VMware vCenter.

Password Password of the administrator account on the

VMware vCenter.

Description Description of the VMware vCenter.

VASA provider state Indicates whether the system is registered as

a VASA provider in vCenter. Values are:
l Registered
l Not registered
l Not supported

Note

Automatic VASA registration is not supported

on vSphere versions earlier than 6.0. The
storage system can be registered as a VASA
provider with only one vCenter at a time.

Local username The username of the local account that

vSphere will use to register the system as a
VASA provider.

Note

It is recommended that you create a new user

with the /user/account command and set
the role to vmadmin.

Local password The password of the local account that

vSphere will use to register the system as a
VASA provider.

Create VMware vCenter

Adds the vCenter credentials and discovers any ESXi host managed by that vCenter.
The vCenter credentials are stored in the storage system. In order to execute this
command, the user must have account on the storage system.
Format
/virt/vmw/vc create -addr <value> -username <value> {-passwd
<value> | -passwdSecure} [-descr <value>] [-
registerVasaProvider {yes -localUsername <value> {-localPasswd
<value> | -localPasswdSecure} | no}]

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Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-addr Domain name or IP address or domain name of the
VMware vCenter.
-username Specify the VMware administrator username used to
access the VMware vCenter.
-passwd Specify the VMware administrator password used to
access the VMware vCenter.
-passwdSecure Specify the password in secure mode. The user will be
prompted to input the password.
-descr Specify the description of the VMware vCenter
server.
-registerVasaProvider Specify to register the system as a VASA provider
with this vCenter server. Valid values are:
l yes
l no

-localUsername Specify the username of the system account that will

be used by vCenter to register the system as a VASA
provider.

Note

It is recommended that you create a new user with

the /user/account command and set the role to
vmadmin. The storage system can be registered as a
VASA provider with only one vCenter at a time.

-localPasswd Specify the password of the system account that will

be used by vCenter to register the system as a VASA
provider.
-localPasswdSecure Specify the VASA password in secure mode, which
requires the user to input the password when
prompted.

Example 1
The following command adds virtual center credentials:
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/vc create
-addr 10.11.11.111 -username [email protected] -passwd xxx -
descr "Add vCenter"

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = VC_1
Operation completed successfully

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Example 2
The following command adds a vCenter and registers the storage system as a VASA
provider.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/vc create
–address 10.11.11.111 –username root –passwd xxx –descr "Add virtual
center" –registerVasaProvider yes –localUsername admin –localPasswd
Password321

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = VC_1
Operation completed successfully

Set the credentials or description of an existing vCenter server

Modifies the credentials or description of the existing vCenter server. In order to
execute this command the user must have an account on the storage system.
Format
/virt/vmw/vc -id <value> set [-addr <value>] [-username <value>
{-passwd <value> | -passwdSecure} ] [-descr <value>]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Identifies the VMware vCenter server.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-addr Specifies the new IP address or domain name of the VMware
vCenter server.
-username Specifies the VMware administrator username.
-passwd Specifies the VMware administrator password.
-passwdSecure Specifies the password in secure mode - the user will be
prompted to input the password.
-descr Specifies the new description of the VMware vCenter server.

Example
The following command specifies the new description of the VMware vCenter server:
uemcli /virt/vmw/vc -id VC_1 set -descr "This vCenter manages 2 ESXi
hosts"

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

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ID = VC_1
Operation completed successfully.

Delete an existing vCenter server

Removes an existing VMware vCenter server and its associated ESXi hosts.

Note

If the Unity system is registered as a VASA provider in vCenter and you delete the
vCenter from Unity, the Unity system will be unregistered as a VASA provider from
vCenter.

Format
/virt/vmw/vc -id <value> delete
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Identifies the VMware vCenter server.

Example
The following example deletes an existing vCenter server and any of its associated
ESXi hosts.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/vc -id
VC_1 delete

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully

View all vCenter servers

Displays a list of configured VMware vCenter servers.
Format
/virt/vmw/vc [-id <value>] show
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Identifies the VMware vCenter server.

Example
The following example shows a list of all vCenter servers.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/vc show

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

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1: ID = VC_1
Address = 10.1.1.1
Description = This vCenter manages 2 ESXi hosts
VASA provider state = yes

Refresh all vCenter servers

Rescan details of all configured VMware vCenter servers.
Format
/virt/vmw/vc refresh [-scanHardware]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Specify the ID of the vCenter. If not specified, all attached
vCenters are refreshed.
-scanHardware Specify to rescan hardware changes (this takes additional time).

Example
The following example rescans all vCenters.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/vc refresh
-scanHardware

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully.

Manage ESXi hosts

Manage VMware ESXi hosts.
The following table lists the attributes for ESXi hosts.

Table 9 ESXi host attributes

Attribute Description
ID ID of the ESXi host.

Name Name of the ESXi host.

Address Domain name or IP address of ESXi host.

Virtual center Identifier of the VMware VCenter server

managing the ESXi host.

Username Name of the user account on the ESXi host.

Password Password of the user account on the ESXi

host.

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Table 9 ESXi host attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Description Description of the ESXi host.

NFSv4 supported Indicates if the NFSv4 protocol is supported

for the host. Valid values are:
l yes
l no

NFS username Displays the NFS user authentication

information configured for the ESXi host. The
same username should be configured on the
VMware NFS datastore in order to enable
secure NFS access with Kerberos for that
datastore.

Create an ESXi host

Adds a VMware ESXi host.
Format
/virt/vmw/esx create -addr <value> { -vc <value> | -username
<value> {-passwd <value> | -passwdSecure} } [ -descr
<value> ] ] [ -resolveConflicts { yes | no } ]
Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-addr Domain name or IP address of the ESXi host.
-vc Identifies the VMware vCenter server.
-username Specifies the username used to access the VMware ESXi
host.
-passwd Specifies the password used to access the VMware ESXi
host.
-passwdSecure Specifies the password in secure mode - the user will be
prompted to input the password.
-descr Specifies the description of the VMware ESXi host.
-resolveConflicts Specifies the option to resolve IP address or initiator
conflicts interactively. Valid values are yes or no (default).

Example 1
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/esx create
-addr 10.1.1.1 -username root -passwd xxx -descr "My ESXi host"

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

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ID = ESX_1
Operation completed successfully

Example 2
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/esx create
-addr 10.1.1.1 -vc VMwareVC_12 -resolveConflicts yes

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

The ESX host to be created has IP addresses and/or Initiators

already present in an existing host.
The ID of the existing host is: Host_12
The IP addresses in conflict are: 10.14.12.219, 10.14.12.220
The Initiators in conflicts are: iqn.1998-01.com.vmware:test1-1,
iqn.1998-01.com.vmware:test1-2

WARNING, the existing host has IP addresses and/or Initiators not

found in the ESX host to be created. If you continue with the ESX
host creation, those IP addresses and/or Initiators will be removed
and can no longer be used for storage access.
The IP address not in the ESX host are: 10.14.12.217, 10.14.12.218
The Initiators not in the ESX host are: iqn.
1998-01.com.vmware:test1-3

Do you want to convert the existing host to the ESX host?

Yes / no:yes

ID = ESX_1
Operation completed successfully

Change ESXi host credentials

Changes ESXi host credentials and/or description. In order to execute this command
the user must have account on the storage system.
Format
/virt/vmw/esx -id <value> set [ -descr <value> ] [ -username
<value> { -passwd <value> | -passwdSecure } ] [ -addr <value> ]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Identifies the VMware ESXi host.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-descr Specifies the comment or description.
-username Specifies the username used to access the VMware ESXi host.
-passwd Specifies the password used to access the VMware ESXi host.
-passwdSecure Specifies the new password in secure mode - the user will be
prompted to input the password.

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Qualifier Description
-addr Specifies the domain name or IP address of the ESXi host in
order for Unisphere to contact the ESXi host directly.

Note

This is only applicable for standalone ESXi hosts.

Example
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/esx -id
ESX_1 set -descr "Changing ESXi host description"

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = ESX_1
Operation completed successfully.

Delete ESXi host credentials

Deletes ESXi host credentials. This will also remove access from the specified host to
any VMware datastores or protocol endpoints that are associated with it.
Format
/virt/vmw/esx -id <value> delete
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Identifies the ESXi host.

Example
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/esx -id
ESX_1 delete

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully.

View all existing ESXi hosts

Displays a list of all configured VMware ESXi hosts.
Format
/virt/vmw/esx [{-id <value> | -vc <value>}] show
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Identifies the VMware ESXi host.

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Qualifier Description
-vc Identifies the VMware vCenter server.

Example
The following example shows how to display all of the ESXi hosts on the vCenter
connected to the system.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/esx -vc
VC_1 show

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: ID = ESX_1
Name = nlpc12240.aa.bb.com
vCenter = VC_1
Address = 10.10.10.100
Description =
NFSv4 supported = yes
NFS username = root

2: ID = ESX_2
Name = nlpc12241.xx.yy.com
vCenter = VC_1
Address = 10.10.10.101
NFSv4 supported = no
NFS username =

Discover all ESXi hosts

Lists all VMware ESXi hosts on the specified VMware vCenter server.
Format
/virt/vmw/esx discover { -vc <value> | -vcAddr <value> -
username <value> {-passwd <value> | -passwdSecure} } [ -
createAll ]
Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-vc Identifies the existing VMware vCenter.
-vcAddr IP address or domain name of the VMware vCenter.
-username Specifies the name of the VMware vCenter.
-passwd Specifies the password of the VMware vCenter
-passwdSecure Specifies the password in secure mode - the user will be
prompted to input the password.
-createAll Adds all discovered ESXi hosts automatically.

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Example
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/esx
discover -vc VC_1

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: Name = nlpc12240.us.dg.com

2: Name = nlpc12241.us.dg.com

Operation completed successfully

Refresh an ESXi host

Rescans details of a VMware ESXi host.
Format
/virt/vmw/esx [-id <value>] refresh [-scanHardware]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Identifies the ESXi host. If an ID is not specified, all virtualization objects
are rescanned.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-scanHardware Specify to rescan hardware changes also (takes additional time).

Example
The following command rescans the hardware to discover additional ESXi hosts.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /virt/vmw/esx
refresh -scanHardware

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully.

Manage capability profiles

A capability profile is a group of storage capabilities that are applicable for VVol
datastores. You must create one or more capability profiles before creating VVol
datastores.
Capabilities are automatically derived from the underlying storage pool and are
determined by the pool properties. Usage tags are assigned by the storage admin.
There are three ways to profile storage capabilities for a pool:

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Table 10 Storage capabilities

Capability name Description

Service level-based provisioning Expected service level for the pool:
(physical deployments)
l Platinum
n Single-tiered Flash pool
l Gold
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Flash and SAS
drives
n Single-tiered pools with SAS RAID 10
l Silver
n Single-tiered pools with SAS RAID 5 or RAID 6
n Multitiered pools with a mix of SAS and NL-SAS
l Bronze
n Single-tiered pools with NL-SAS
n Multitiered pools with a mix of Flash and NL-
SAS

Service level-based provisioning Expected service level for a virtual pool:

(virtual deployments)
l Gold
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Extreme
Performance and Performance tiers
n Single-tiered Extreme Performance pool
l Silver
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Extreme
Performance, Performance, and Capacity tiers
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Performance and
Capacity tiers
n Single-tiered Performance pool
l Bronze
n Multitiered pool with a mix of Extreme
Performance and Capacity tiers
n Single-tiered Capacity pool

Usage tags Usage tags can be applied to capability profiles to

designate them and their associated VVol datastores
for a particular use. For example, a VVol datastore may
be tagged for VVols and VMs that support a particular
application. The virtualization administrator and storage
administrator should collaborate to define these usage
tags.

Storage properties Supported storage properties include:

l Drive type:

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Table 10 Storage capabilities (continued)

Capability name Description

n Extreme Performance [Flash]

n Performance [SAS]
n Capacity [NL-SAS]
n Multitier [mixed]
n Extreme Multitier [mixed with Flash]
l RAID type (physical deployments only):
n RAID5
n RAID6
n RAID10
n Mixed
l FAST Cache (physical deployments only):
n Enabled
n Disabled
l FAST VP tiering policy:
n Highest Available Tier
n Start High then Auto-Tier
n Auto-Tier
n Lowest Available Tier
l Space Efficiency:
n Thick
n Thin

Table 11 Capability profile attributes

Attribute Description
ID Capability profile identifier.

Name Capability profile name.

Description Capability profile description.

VMware UUID VMware UUID of the capability profile.

Storage pool Associated storage pool identifier.

Service level Service level of the underlying storage pool.

Valid values are:
l Platinum
l Gold
l Silver
l Bronze

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Table 11 Capability profile attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Usage tag Comma-separated list of user-defined tags.
Each tag is an alphanumeric string value.

Drive type Specifies the drive type of the underlying

storage pool. Valid values are:
l CapacityTier
l PerformanceTier
l ExtremePerformanceTier
l MultiTier
l ExtremeMultiTier

RAID level (physical deployments only) Specifies the RAID level of the underlying
storage pool. Valid values are:
l RAID5
l RAID10
l RAID6
l Mixed

FAST Cache (physical deployments only) Indicates whether or not FAST Cache is
enabled on the underlying storage pool. Valid
values are:
l On
l Off

FAST VP policy Comma-separated list of FAST VP storage

policies for the underlying storage pool. Valid
values are:
l Start high then auto-tier
l Auto-tier
l Highest available tier
l Lowest available tier

Space efficiency Comma-separated list of available space

efficiency policies for the underlying storage
pool. Valid values are:
l Thick
l Thin

Health state Health state.

Health details Additional health information.

Create a capability profile

Create a capability profile for VVol datastores.

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Format
/stor/config/cp create [-async] -name <value> [-descr <value>]
-pool <value> [-usageTag <value>]
Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.
-name Type a name for the capability profile.

Note

The name may contain alphanumeric values, a hyphen, an underscore,

and a period. It cannot start with hyphen or period, and cannot consist
only of digits.

-descr Type a description for the capability profile.

-pool Specify the identifier of the storage pool the capability profile is based
on.
-usageTag Type a comma-separated list of user-specified usage tags. Each tag is
an alphanumeric string value.

Example
The following command creates a capability profile with these settings:
l Specifies a capability profile name of "CapabilityProfile1"
l Specifies that the capability profile is based on "pool_1"
l Specifies the usage tag as "Production"
l Not specified to be created in asynchronous mode
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/config/cp
create -name "CapabilityProfile1" -pool pool_1 -usageTag "Production"

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = cp_1
Operation completed successfully.

View capability profiles

Displays a list of existing capability profiles and their characteristics.
Format
/stor/config/cp [-id <value>] show
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the capability profile.

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Example
The following command displays a list of existing capability profiles and their
characteristics.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/config/cp show
-detail

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = cp_1
Name = CapabilityProfile1
Description =
VMware UUID = 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
Storage pool = pool_1
Service level = Gold
Usage tag = Exchange, OLTP
Drive type = ExtremeMultiTier
RAID level = Mixed
FAST Cache = Off
FAST VP policy = Start high then auto-tier, Auto-tier,
Highest available tier, Lowest available tier
Space efficiency = Thin, Thick
Health state = OK (5)
Health details = "The component is operating normally. No
action is required."

Change capability profiles

Modify an existing capability profile.
Format
/stor/config/cp -id <value> set [-async] [-name <value>] [-
descr <value>] [{-addUsageTag <value> | -removeUsageTag
<value>}]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the capability profile to be modified.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.
-name Type a name for the capability profile.

Note

The name may contain alphanumeric values, a hyphen, an

underscore, and a period. It cannot start with hyphen or
period, and cannot consist only of digits.

-descr Type a description for the capability profile.

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Qualifier Description
-addUsageTag Comma-separated list of user-specified usage tags to be
added to the specified capability profile. Each tag is an
alphanumeric string value.
-removeUsageTag Comma-separated list of user-specified usage tags to be
removed from the specified capability profile. Each tag is an
alphanumeric string value.

Example
The following command changes the name of capability profile "cp_1".
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/config/cp -id
cp_1 set -name "CapabilityProfile2"

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = cp_1
Operation completed successfully.

Delete capability profiles

Deletes specified capability profiles.
Format
/stor/config/cp [-id <value>] delete [-async]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the capability profile.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.

Example
The following command deletes capability profile cp_1.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/config/cp -id
cp_1 delete

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully.

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Manage VMware protocol endpoints

Protocol Endpoints (PEs) are access points for ESX/ESXi host communication to the
storage system. These endpoints establish a datapath on-demand for virtual machines
and their respective VVol datastores. I/O from VMs is communicated through the PE
to the VVol datastore on the storage system. A single protocol endpoint can multiplex
I/O requests from a large number of VM clients to their virtual volumes.
NAS protocol endpoints are created and managed on the storage system and
correspond to a specific NFS-based NAS server. It is recommended that you enable at
least two NAS servers for VVols, one for each SP, for high availability. A File VVol will
be bound to the associated NAS PE every time that VM is powered on. When the VM
is powered off, VVols are unbound from the PE.
SCSI protocol endpoints correspond to a specific iSCSI interface or Fibre Channel
connection. The Block VVol will be bound to the associated SCSI PE every time that
the VM is powered on. When the VM is powered off, the PE is unbound. SCSI protocol
endpoints are like LUN mount points that allow I/O access to VVols from the ESXi
host to the storage system.

Table 12 Protocol endpoint attributes

Attribute Description
ID VMware protocol endpoint identifier.

Name Protocol endpoint name.

Type Type of protocol endpoint. Valid values are:

l SCSI
l NAS

VMware UUID VMware UUID of the protocol endpoint.

Export path (NAS PEs Export path to the PE.

only)

IP address IP address of the NAS server for File PEs.

WWN The World Wide Name for Block PEs.

Default SP Identifier for the preferred SP. Valid values are:

l SPA
l SPB

Current SP Identifier for the current SP. Valid values are:

l SPA
l SPB

NAS server Identifier of the associated NAS server for NAS PEs.

VMware NAS PE server ID of the corresponding VMware NAS PE server.

(NAS PEs only)

VVol datastore (NAS ID of the VVol datastore using the PE.

PEs only)

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Table 12 Protocol endpoint attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Host (SCSI PEs only) Comma-separated list of identifiers for hosts that use the PE.

LUN ID Logical Unit Number for the protocol endpoint on the host.

Health state Health state.

Health details Additional health information.

View protocol endpoints

Displays a list of existing protocol endpoints and their characteristics.
Format
/stor/prov/vmware/pe [-id <value>] show
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the protocol endpoint.

Example
The following example shows the detail for all protocol endpoints on the system.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/prov/vmware/pe
show -detail

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: ID = rfc4122.60060160-
ca30-3c00-962b-87806445241a
Name = scsi_pe_1
Type = SCSI
VMware UUID = rfc4122.60060160-
ca30-3c00-962b-87806445241a
Export path =
IP address =
WWN = 60:06:01:60:CA:30:3C:00:96:2B:
87:80:64:45:24:1A
Default SP = SPA
Current SP = SPA
NAS Server =
VMware NAS PE server =
VVol datastore =
Host = Host_1
LUN ID =
Health state = OK (5)
Health details = "The protocol endpoint is operating
normally. No action is required."

Manage VVol datastores

VVols reside in VVol datastores, also known as storage containers, which are
comprised of storage allocations from one or more capability profiles. Capability
profiles are built on top of one or more underlying storage pools. You can create VVol

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datastores based on one or more capability profiles and then allocate a specific
amount of space from the capability profile to the VVol datastore.
Each VVol datastore has one or more capability profiles that describe its performance
and capacity characteristics, such as drive type, FAST VP tiering policy, and space
efficiency policy (thick or thin). These characteristics are derived based on the
underlying storage pool. When a virtual volume is created in vSphere, it is assigned a
storage policy profile. vSphere filters the compatible and incompatible available VVol
datastores (from one or more storage systems) when the VVol is being created based
on these profiles. Only VVol datastores that support the storage policy profile are
considered compatible storage containers for deploying the VVol.

Table 13 VVol datastore attributes

Attribute Description
ID VVol datastore identifier.

Name VVol datastore name.

Description VVol datastore description.

VMware UUID VWware UUID of the VVol datastore.

Type Type of VVol datastore. Valid values are:

l File
l Block

Health state Health state of the VVol datastore. Value is one of the following:
l Unknown (0) - Health is unknown.
l OK (5) - Operating normally.
l OK BUT (7)
n Storage resource allocation from one or more pools has
exceeded the 85% threshold.
n Storage resource allocation from one or more pools has
exceeded the 95% threshold.
l Degraded/Warning (10)
n Pool performance is degraded on one or more of the
underlying storage pools for the virtual volume.
n Storage resource allocation from one or more pools has
exceeded the 95% threshold, and the storage resource is
oversubscribed.
l Major failure (20)
n The storage resource has failed due to one or more failed
storage pools.
n The storage resource is unavailable due to one or more
unavailable servers.
n The storage resource is unavailable and requires a Storage
Integrity Check.
l Critical failure (25) - One or more of the underlying
storage pools for a virtual volume is offline.

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Table 13 VVol datastore attributes (continued)

Attribute Description

l Non-recoverable error (30) - Resource unavailable due to

one or more unavailable storage pools.

Health details Detailed health state for the VVol datastore.

Capability Comma-separated list of identifiers of capability profiles supported by

profile the VVol datastore. Each identifier with a "(Not used)" suffix
indicates that this profile can be removed from the VVol datastore.

Storage pool ID Comma-separated list of identifiers of storage pools used for the VVol
datastore.

Total capacity Total capacity of the VVol datastore.

Total current Total current allocation of the VVol datastore in all associated storage
allocation pools.

Total used Total used capacity of the VVol datastore.

capacity

Creation time Time when the VVol datastore was created.

Hosts Hosts that have access to the datastore.

Last modified Time when the VVol datastore was last modified.
time

Create VVol datastores

Create a datastore for VMware VVols.
Format
/stor/prov/vmware/vvolds create [-async] -name <value> [-descr
<value>] -cp <value> -size <value> -type { block | file } [-
hosts <value>]
Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.
-name Type a name for the VVol datastore.

Note

The name may contain alphanumeric values, a hyphen, an underscore, and

a period. It cannot start with hyphen or period, and cannot consist only of
digits.

-descr Type a brief description for the VVol datastore.

-cp Specify the list of identifiers of capability profiles supported by the VVol
datastore.
-size Specify the list of allocation sizes. Specify one allocation for the amount of
total space available for VVol provisioning on the VVol datastore for the

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Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Qualifier Description
specified capability profile. If there are multiple capability profiles, the list
should include allocation size respective to each capability profile.
-type Specify the VVol datastore type. Valid values are:
l block
l file

-hosts Specify the comma-separated list of hosts that will have access to the
VVol datastore. For a list of eligible hosts, refer to View host configurations
on page 41.

Example
The following command creates a VVol datastore with these settings:
l A VVol datastore name of "Engineering department"
l Associates the "cp_1" and "cp_2" capability profiles with this VVol datastore
l Allocates 10 GBs and 12 GBs from capability profiles cp_1 and cp_2, respectively,
to the VVol datastore
l Grants access for "Host_1" and "Host_2" to the datastore
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/prov/vmware/
vvolds create –name “Engineering department” –cp cp_1,cp_2 –size 10G,
12G –type file –hosts “Host_1,Host_2”

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = res_1
Operation completed successfully.

View VVol datastores

Display a list of existing VVol datastores and their characteristics.
Format
/stor/prov/vmware/vvolds [-id <value>] show
Object qualifiers
Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the VVol datastore.

Example
The following command displays a list of VVol datastores and their characteristics.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/prov/vmware/
vvolds show -detail

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: ID = res_1

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 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Name = Performance
Description =
VMware UUID = 550e8400-e29b-41d4-
a716-446655440000
Type = Block
Health state = OK (5)
Health details = "The component is operating
normally. No action is required."
Capability profile = cp_1, cp_2 (Not used)
Storage pool = pool_1,pool_3
Total capacity = 128849018880 (120G)
Total current allocation = 12884901888 (12G)
Total used capacity = 1073741824 (1G)
Hosts = Host_1
Creation time = 2015-12-21 12:55:32
Last modified time = 2016-01-15 10:31:56

2: ID = res_2
Name = engineering
Description =
VMware UUID = rfc4122.534e0655-
f5a3-41d7-8124-9d53be5d0c0d
Type = file
Health state = OK (5)
Health details = "The component is operating
normally. No action is required."
Capability profile = cp_1, cp_2
Storage pool = pool_1, pool_2
Total capacity = 644245094400 (600.0G)
Total current allocation = 0
Total used capacity = 0
Creation time = 2015-06-20 01:48:54
Last modified time = 2015-06-20 01:48:54

Manage VVol datastore allocation

Manage the allocation of storage to VVol datastores.

Table 14 VVol datastore allocation attributes

Attribute Description
ID VVol datastore allocation identifier.

VVol datastore VVol datastore identifier.

Capability profile Identifier of the associated capability profile.

Storage pool Comma-separated list of identifiers of storage

pools associated with the capability profile.

Size Amount of total space available for VVol

provisioning for a particular capability profile
on the VVol datastore.

Current allocation Quantity of primary storage currently

allocated for the VVol datastore for VVols
provisioned with a particular capability profile
on the VVol datastore.

Size used Amount of space used by virtual volumes

provisioned with a particular capability profile
on the VVol datastore.

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Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Table 14 VVol datastore allocation attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Health state Health state of the VVol datastore allocation.

Health details Additional health information.

View VVol datastore allocation details

Displays existing VVol datastore allocations.
Format
/stor/prov/vmware/vvolds/alloc {-id <value> | -vvolds <value>
[{-pool <value> | -cp <value>}]} show
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the allocation identifier of the VVol datastore.
-vvolds Type the ID of the VVol datastore.
-pool Type the ID of the storage pool.
-cp Type the ID of the capability profile.

Note

To obtain the ID of the VVol datastore and it's associated pool and capability profile
IDs, refer to View VVol datastores on page 72.

Example
The following command shows the allocation details for the VVol datastore "vvol_1"
from pool "pool_1", including associated capability profile IDs, current size of the
storage pool, and current size allocated to the VVol datastore from the storage pool.
uemcli /stor/prov/vmware/vvolds/alloc -vvolds vvolds_1 -pool pool_1
show -detail

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: ID = cpa_1
VVol datastore = res_1
Capability profile = cp_1
Storage pool = pool_1
Size = 128849018880 (120G)
Current allocation = 12884901888 (12G)
Size used = 1073741824 (1G)
Health state = OK (5)
Health details = "The component is operating normally.
No action is required."

Change VVol datastores

Modify an existing VVol datastore.

74 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Format
/stor/prov/vmware/vvolds -id <value> set [-async] [-name
<value>] [-descr <value>] [{-addCp <value> -size <value> | -
modifyCp <value> -size <value> | -removeCp <value>}] [-hosts
<value> [-force]]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the VVol datastore to be modified.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.
-name Type a name for the VVol datastore.

Note

The name may contain alphanumeric values, a hyphen, an underscore,

and a period. It cannot start with hyphen or period, and cannot consist
only of digits.

-descr Type a new description for the VVol datastore.

-addCp Type the list of identifiers of new capability profiles the VVol datastore
will support.
-modifyCp Type the list of identifiers of capability profiles already supported by
the VVol datastore and specify the new allocated sizes for each.
-size Specify the list of allocation sizes. Specify one allocation for the
amount of total space available for VVol provisioning on the VVol
datastore for the specified capability profile. If there are multiple
capability profiles, the list should include allocation size respective to
each capability profile.
-removeCp Type the list of identifiers of capability profiles you would like to
remove from the VVol datastore.

Note

This command can only used on capability profiles that are not
currently in use by existing virtual volumes.

-hosts Type the list of comma-separated hosts that will have access to the
VVol datastore.
-force Type to unconditionally unbind all virtual volumes that are currently
bound to a protocol endpoint associated with a particular host.

Note

If host access is changed or removed for a VVol datastore, the

associated protocol endpoints are automatically unbound.

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Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Example
The following command modifies the following settings of a VVol datastore:
l Changes the description of the VVol datastore to "My new description"
l Changes the name of the VVol datastore to "MyNewName"
l Associates the capability profile "cp_1" with VVol datastore "res_1"
l Allocates 10 GBs of space from the pool to capability profile "cp_1"
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/prov/vmware/
vvolds -id res_1 set -name MyNewName -descr "My new description" -
addCp cp_1 -size 10G

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

ID = res_1
Operation completed successfully.

Delete VVol datastores

Deletes specified VVol datastores and their associated virtual volumes.
Format
/stor/prov/vmware/vvolds [-id <value>] delete [-async] [-force
{ yes | no}]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the VVol datastore.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-force Delete the VVol datastore and any of its associated VVols. Valid values are:
l yes
l no

-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.

Example
The following command deletes VVol datastore res_1 as well as its virtual volumes.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/prov/vmware/
vvolds -id res_1 delete -force yes

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

76 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Operation completed successfully.

Manage VVol objects

Virtual volumes are encapsulations of virtual machine files, virtual disks, and their
derivatives. There are several types of VVol objects that correspond to an individual
virtual volume, including a VMDK VVol (data VVol), Config VVol, Memory VVol, and
Swap VVol.

Table 15 Types of VVols

VMDK (Data) VVol The VMDK VVol, displayed as Data VVol in

Unisphere, contains the vDisk file, or the hard
disk drive, for the VM.

Config VVol The Config VVol contains settings,

configuration, and state information for the
VM. This includes .vmx, nvram, and log files.

Memory VVol The Memory VVol contains a complete copy

of the VM memory as part of a with-memory
VM snapshot.

Swap VVol The Swap VVol is created when VMs are

powered on and contain copies of the VM
memory pages that are not retained in
memory.

Table 16 VVol attributes

Attribute Description
ID Virtual volume identifier.

Name Virtual volume name.

Type Type of virtual volume. Valid values are:

l Data
l Config
l Memory
l Swap
l Other

Replica type Virtual volume replica type. Valid values are:

l Base
l Prepared Snap
l Ready Snap
l Fast-Clone

Parent Identifier of the base/parent virtual volume for the snap, prepared snap, or
fast-clone.

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Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Table 16 VVol attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Health state Health state of the virtual volume.

Health Additional health information for the virtual volume.

details

Datastore Identifier of the datastore associated with the virtual volume.

Storage pool Identifier of the storage pool that contains the virtual volume.

Capability Identifier of the capability profile associated with the virtual volume.
profile

Policy Name of the VMware vSphere policy profile.

profile

Compliant Indicates whether the virtual volume is compliant with the VMware vSphere
policy profile.

Size Size of the virtual volume.

Current Total current allocation of the virtual volume.

allocation

Bound to Comma-separated list of protocol endpoint identifiers to which the virtual

volume is bound. An empty value indicates an unbound virtual volume.

Binding Binding details of the protocol endpoint to which the virtual volume is
details bound.
l For virtual volumes bound to NFS protocol endpoints, this displays the
full NFS paths.
l For virtual volumes bound to iSCSI protocol endpoints, this displays the
virtual volume iSCSI secondary ID.
l For unbound virtual volumes, this value is empty.

Virtual Identifier of the virtual machine.

machine

VM hard disk Name of the associated VM hard disk.

View VVol objects

Display a list of existing VVol datastores and their characteristics.
Format
/stor/prov/vmware/vvol {[-id <value> | [-vm <value>] [-cp
<value>] [-pool <value>] [-datastore <value>] [-pe <value>] [-
parent <value>] [-bound] [-noncompliant] } show
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the virtual volume.
-vm Type the ID of the associated VM for the virtual volume.

78 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Qualifier Description
-cp Type the ID of the capability profile associated with the virtual
volume.
-pool Type the ID of the storage pool that contains the virtual volume.
-datastore Type the ID of the associated VVol datastore.
-pe Type the ID of the protocol endpoint for which you want to see
bound virtual volumes.
-parent Type the ID of the parent virtual volume.
-bound Specify in order to display a list of only bound virtual volumes.
-noncompliant Specify in order to display only a list of virtual volumes not
compliant with their respective VMware policy profiles.

Example
The following example displays the details of all VVols for the VM with the ID VM_1.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/prov/vmware/
vvol –vm VM_1 show -detail

Storage system address: 10.64.75.201

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

1: ID = rfc4122.de305d54-75b4-431b-adb2-
eb6b9e546014
Name = Hard disk 1
Type = Data
Replica type = Base
Parent =
Health state = OK (5)
Health details = "The component is operating normally.
No action is required."
Datastore = res_1
Storage pool = pool_1
Capability profile = cp_1
Policy profile = VMware policy profile
Compliant = yes
Size = 1073741824 (1G)
Thin = yes
Current allocation = 107374182 (100M)
Bound to = NASPE_1
Binding details = 192.168.3.3:/vvol1
Virtual machine = VM_1
VM hard disk = VM Hard Disk 1

Delete VVol objects

Deletes the specified existing VVol objects.

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Manage VMware virtual volume datastores with CLI

Note

Deletion of VVol objects must be exclusively confirmed by the user. The following
confirmation message will display:

Virtual volume deletion will also unbind and delete associated snapshots
and fast-clones. Do you want to delete the virtual volume?
yes / no:

The default in silent mode is yes.

Format
/stor/prov/vmware/vvol -id <value> delete [-async]
Object qualifier

Qualifier Description
-id Type the ID of the virtual volume.

Action qualifier

Qualifier Description
-async Run the operation in asynchronous mode.

Example
The following command deletes the virtual volume with the ID naa.
6006016005603c009370093e194fca3f.
uemcli -d 10.0.0.1 -u Local/joe -p MyPassword456! /stor/prov/vmware/
vvol –id naa.6006016005603c009370093e194fca3f delete

Virtual volume deletion will also unbind and delete associated

snapshots and fast-clones. Do you want to delete the virtual
volume?
yes / no:
yes

Storage system address: 10.0.0.1

Storage system port: 443
HTTPS connection

Operation completed successfully.

80 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

CHAPTER 3
Troubleshooting, Tips, and Best Practices

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Troubleshooting VMware VVol datastores on Unity........................................... 82

l VMware Certificate Authority (VMCA) support................................................. 83
l VMware Horizon support................................................................................... 84

Troubleshooting, Tips, and Best Practices 81

Troubleshooting, Tips, and Best Practices

Troubleshooting VMware VVol datastores on Unity

This section describes possible issues and workarounds, limitations, and things to be
aware of when deploying VVol datastores on the storage system. For a detailed list of
system limits, refer to the Simple Support Matrix on the support site. For a complete
list of all issues, refer to the Release Notes.

Failed to deploy VM to a VVol datastore of sufficient size

When deploying virtual volumes to VVol datastores on the storage system, the virtual
volume files take up additional overhead beyond the size of the VMDK itself (data-
vvol). This overhead can lead to failures when deploying new VMs to VVol datastores,
even though the combined vDisk sizes are less than the overall size of the VVol
datastore. This is especially true when VMs are powered on (swap-vvol) and has
snapshots (memory-vvol).
For example, if the VVol datastore is 50 GB and currently has a virtual volume that is
25 GBs, attempting to deploy a new virtual volume of 20 GBs may fail due to the
overhead.
It is recommended that you reserve 10-20% of the VVol datastore size as free space.

VVols inaccessible after registering a second vCenter

If a second vCenter server registers the Unity system as a VASA provider when there
is already a registered vCenter, this may cause the VVol datastores to be inaccessible
and thus VM operations to fail. To change vCenters, unmount all datastores and
unregister the VASA provider from the original vCenter before registering the system
as a VASA provider for the new vCenter.
Alternatively, to use multiple vCenters with Unity, you should deploy Platform
Services Controller (PSC) as a separate appliance (refer to the VMware
documentation for details: http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2015/03/vcenter-
server-6-topology-ha.html). You can then install multiple vCenter appliances and
configure them all to use the same PSC. In this configuration, each vCenter uses the
same PSC CA certificate allowing you to register Unity as the VASA Provider on
multiple vCenter servers.

File VVol creation failure—Failed to create directory

When deploying a File VVol in vSphere and the VMware limit of eight maximum NFS
datastore mounts is exceeded, vSphere returns a vague error message such as:
Cannot complete file creation operation.Operation failed,
diagnostics report: Hostsvc::osfs::CreateDirectory : Failed to
create directory new-vm1 (Cannot Create File.
This error message is less intuitive than the vSphere error that displays when
deploying an NFS datastore that exceeds this limit: NFS has reached the
maximum number of supported volumes.
For instructions on increasing the limit of eight maximum NFS mounts in vSphere,
refer to the following VMware Knowledge Base article: https://kb.vmware.com/
selfservice/microsites/search.do?
language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2239

82 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols

 Troubleshooting, Tips, and Best Practices

VVols changes fail during an SP reboot

VVol changes made in vSphere may appear to have failed when Unity has an SP
reboot..
Some VVol operations initiated through vSphere, such as SPBM migrations, may
appear to fail if there is a concurrent SP reboot on the Unity system. This occurs
because during an SP reboot, VASA is temporarily unavailable. Errors such as the
following may display in vSphere:

The ESXi VVol session is invalid.

In most of these cases, the operations did complete successfully on Unity, but
vSphere was not unable to get an accurate status through VASA. Occasionally, the
operations also fail on Unity and error messages similar to the following may display in
Unisphere:

Task was rolled back and marked as failed. This is because some
tasks failed or SP rebooted during task execution.

Restart the vSphere operation once the Unity system comes back online after the SP
reboot.

VVol operations time out under high stress loads

With high-stress workloads where many VMs are created/booted in parallel, such as a
bootstorm in a VDI environment, sporadic timeouts of VVols operations may occur.
This is more likely to occur on arrays that use NL-SAS system drives.
Adjust the settings in vSphere to reduce the number of possible concurrent VVols
operations.

VMware Certificate Authority (VMCA) support

In vSphere 6.0 and later, there are three different modes for how the Certificate
Authority (CA) provisions certificates for ESXi hosts and vCenter servers:
1. Using the VMCA (default).
2. Using the VMCA as a subordinate CA to a custom certificate authority.
3. Using a custom CA as the direct root CA.
The Unity system supports only the default configuration where the VMCA provisions
certificates as the root certificate authority. ESXi hosts and vCenter servers are
authenticated by ensuring that the client certificate presented to the array has been
signed by a trusted CA, which must be the VMCA for Unity systems.
Refer to the following VMware article for more details on CA modes for vSphere 6.0
and later:
https://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-60/index.jsp#com.vmware.vsphere.security.doc/
GUID-4D658104-1D80-441D-B6BA-4CBBCD0EDD3C.html

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Troubleshooting, Tips, and Best Practices

Note

Unity VVol datastores do not support full VVol datastore isolation between
independent vSphere components using the VASA control path.

VMware Horizon support

The current Unity VVol implementation has not yet been fully certified for use with
VMware Horizon View for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). It is recommended
that you use VDI and Unity when deploying less than 500 desktops.

84 Unity Family 4.5 Configuring VVols