NexentaFusion 2.0.

5
User Guide

Date: April 2023

Part Number: nf-2.0-userguide-RevE

Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

www.nexenta.com
 Table of Contents

Preface ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Intended Audience ..................................................................................................................... 7
Document History ...................................................................................................................... 7
1. Introduction to NexentaFusion 2.0 ...................................................................................... 8
Overview .................................................................................................................................... 8
Registering a NexentaStor Appliance ......................................................................................... 8
Removing an Appliance .............................................................................................................. 9
Viewing the Historical Analytics of a Removed Appliance ......................................................... 9
Identifying NexentaFusion GUI from NexentaStor .................................................................... 9
Reviewing License for NexentaStor Appliance ........................................................................... 9
Updating License for NexentaStor Appliance .......................................................................... 10
2. Managing Pools .................................................................................................................. 11
Viewing Existing Pools .............................................................................................................. 11
Creating Pools on Single or Clustered Nodes ........................................................................... 11
Naming the Pool ....................................................................................................................... 12
Selecting Pool Options ............................................................................................................. 12
Selecting Pool Build Method .................................................................................................... 12
Selecting Data Devices for Pool Using Auto Method ............................................................... 12
Selecting Data Devices for the Pool Manually ......................................................................... 13
Adding Cache, Log, and Spare Devices to a Pool...................................................................... 14
Smart Sparing ........................................................................................................................... 15
Completing Pool Creation ........................................................................................................ 15
Exporting Pools......................................................................................................................... 15
Importing Pools ........................................................................................................................ 16
Destroying a Pool ..................................................................................................................... 16
Maintaining Pools ..................................................................................................................... 17
Scrubbing .................................................................................................................................. 17
Unmapping and Trimming........................................................................................................ 17
Pool Properties ......................................................................................................................... 18
Adding Capacity to an Existing Pool ......................................................................................... 19
Viewing Pool Status .................................................................................................................. 20
Administering Pool Data Devices ............................................................................................. 21
Smart Sparing and Device Replacement .................................................................................. 21
Removing a Device from a Pool ............................................................................................... 21
Replacing a Device in a Pool ..................................................................................................... 21
Attaching a New Mirror Device ................................................................................................ 22
Detaching a Device from a Mirror ............................................................................................ 22
Setting a Device in a Pool to Offline ......................................................................................... 22
Setting a Physical Device to Online .......................................................................................... 22
Clearing Errors from a Device................................................................................................... 22
Clearing Errors from all Devices in a Pool ................................................................................ 22
2
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 3. Managing FileSystems ........................................................................................................ 23
Creating a File System on a Pool .............................................................................................. 23
Viewing File Systems ................................................................................................................ 25
Sharing File Systems Using NFS ................................................................................................ 28
Configuring and Enabling the NFS Server................................................................................. 28
Creating an NFS Share .............................................................................................................. 29
Open Shares ............................................................................................................................. 29
Shares with Security Options ................................................................................................... 29
Creating an NFS Share for a File System .................................................................................. 30
Sharing File Systems Using SMB ............................................................................................... 31
Configuring and Enabling the SMB Server ............................................................................... 31
Setting Minimum and Maximum Protocol Version for SMB Client ......................................... 33
Creating an SMB Share ............................................................................................................. 33
Mapping an SMB Share on Windows ....................................................................................... 35
4. Managing Volumes ............................................................................................................. 36
Creating and Managing Volume Groups and Volumes ............................................................ 36
Creating a Volume Group ......................................................................................................... 36
Creating Volumes ..................................................................................................................... 37
Editing Properties for Volume Groups and Volumes ............................................................... 38
Deleting a Volume Group or Volume ....................................................................................... 40
Managing iSCSI Host Groups, Targets, and Target Groups ...................................................... 40
About Creating, Editing, and Destroying iSCSI Targets and Target Groups ............................. 40
Creating iSCSI Targets............................................................................................................... 41
Creating iSCSI Target Groups.................................................................................................... 42
Viewing iSCSI Target Information and Sessions ....................................................................... 42
Editing or Deleting iSCSI Targets .............................................................................................. 42
Removing iSCSI Targets from a Group and Destroying the Target Group ............................... 43
Configuring Secure Authentication .......................................................................................... 44
Configuring iSCSI Host Groups ................................................................................................. 44
Managing FC Host Groups, Targets and Target Groups ........................................................... 45
Configuring FC Host Groups ..................................................................................................... 45
Adding FC Targets to a New or Existing FC Target Group ........................................................ 46
Removing FC Targets from a Group ......................................................................................... 46
Viewing Target Group Sessions ................................................................................................ 47
Destroying FC Target Groups ................................................................................................... 47
Managing LUNs ........................................................................................................................ 47
Viewing LUN Information ......................................................................................................... 48
Editing and Destroying LUN Mappings..................................................................................... 49
5. Data Protection .................................................................................................................. 50
Taking a One-Time Snapshot.................................................................................................... 50
Cloning a Snapshot and Promoting a Clone ............................................................................. 51
Rolling Back or Deleting a Snapshot ......................................................................................... 52
Preparing the Appliance for Replication .................................................................................. 53
Setting the Replication Network Interface............................................................................... 53
Setting the Replication Group Password.................................................................................. 53
Adding a Protection Service ..................................................................................................... 54
Working with Protection Services ............................................................................................ 54
3
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Adding a Scheduled Replication Service .................................................................................. 54
Adding a Scheduled Snapshots Service .................................................................................... 56
Filtering Snapshots and Data Protection Service Data............................................................. 57
Configuring Continuous Replication......................................................................................... 57
Editing or Deleting a Schedule ................................................................................................. 58
Manually Executing a Service ................................................................................................... 59
Disabling and Enabling a Protection Service ............................................................................ 59
Destroying a Protection Service ............................................................................................... 60
Viewing the Replication History ............................................................................................... 61
Flipping the Direction of a Replication Service ........................................................................ 61
Activating a Destination Dataset .............................................................................................. 62
Recovering a Faulted Replication Service ................................................................................ 62
Verifying and Querying Data Protection Data .......................................................................... 63
6. High Availability .................................................................................................................. 64
About NexentaStor High Availability ........................................................................................ 64
NexentaStor HA on Bare-Metal................................................................................................ 64
NexentaStor VSA on VMware .................................................................................................. 65
About NexentaStor High Availability and HA Services ............................................................. 66
Editing vCenter Credentials for VSA-based Clusters ................................................................ 67
Verifying Cluster Status ............................................................................................................ 68
Viewing Network Heartbeats ................................................................................................... 68
Configuring an HA Service for a Pool with Shared Devices ...................................................... 68
Adding an Unshared Pool to an HA Service ............................................................................. 69
Viewing Status Details for a Shared Pool ................................................................................. 69
Moving a Pool under HA Service Control ................................................................................. 70
Removing a Pool from HA Control ........................................................................................... 70
Managing HA Services .............................................................................................................. 71
Verifying Service Status ............................................................................................................ 71
Viewing VIPs Associated with an HA Service............................................................................ 72
Adding a VIP ............................................................................................................................. 72
Editing and Deleting a VIP ........................................................................................................ 73
Viewing Disk Heartbeats .......................................................................................................... 73
Viewing SCSI Reservation Details ............................................................................................. 73
Fail Over Services Manually...................................................................................................... 74
Moving an HA Service............................................................................................................... 74
Setting the HA Service Mode ................................................................................................... 75
Stopping and Starting an HA Service ........................................................................................ 75
Destroying an HA Service ......................................................................................................... 75
7. Managing Hardware ........................................................................................................... 76
Viewing Appliance Hardware Information ............................................................................... 76
Viewing an Appliance Profile and Version ............................................................................... 76
Reviewing Server Sensors......................................................................................................... 77
Rescanning Storage Devices ..................................................................................................... 77
Chassis Section ......................................................................................................................... 77
Representation Modes ............................................................................................................. 77
Chassis Sensor Values............................................................................................................... 78
Enclosure/Bay Blink Feature .................................................................................................... 78
4
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Enclosure Labels ....................................................................................................................... 78
Faulted Drives........................................................................................................................... 78
8. Managing Network ............................................................................................................. 79
IP Links Management ............................................................................................................... 79
Common Datalink Operations .................................................................................................. 79
Adding an IP Address to Datalink ............................................................................................. 80
Adding a Link to Aggregation ................................................................................................... 80
Assigning VLAN Tag .................................................................................................................. 80
Changing Datalink MTU ............................................................................................................ 80
Unconfiguring Links .................................................................................................................. 80
Creating Aggregates ................................................................................................................. 81
Creating IPMP Group................................................................................................................ 82
Configuring a Network Interface .............................................................................................. 82
Unconfiguring Interface ........................................................................................................... 83
Creating IP Routes .................................................................................................................... 84
Modifying IP Network Settings................................................................................................. 85
Verifying FC Interfaces ............................................................................................................. 85
9. Configuring Appliance Settings .......................................................................................... 86
System Settings ........................................................................................................................ 86
Services Configuration.............................................................................................................. 86
Configuration Settings .............................................................................................................. 86
Node Management .................................................................................................................. 87
Data Settings ............................................................................................................................ 88
Log Severity .............................................................................................................................. 88
Active Probes............................................................................................................................ 88
10. Performance Monitoring and Analytics ............................................................................. 89
Terminology ............................................................................................................................. 89
NexentaFusion Analytics Overview .......................................................................................... 90
Data Aggregation and Retention .............................................................................................. 91
Using the Appliance Dashboard ............................................................................................... 91
Canvas Management ................................................................................................................ 92
Using Canvas Widgets .............................................................................................................. 92
Widget Management ............................................................................................................... 93
Chart Widget Management...................................................................................................... 93
Analyzing Data .......................................................................................................................... 93
Analyzing Performance Data .................................................................................................... 93
Working with Top N Widgets ................................................................................................... 94
Analyzing Capacity Data ........................................................................................................... 95
Analyzing Health and Utilization Data ...................................................................................... 95
Viewing the Historical Analytics of a Removed Appliance ....................................................... 95
Global Analytics ........................................................................................................................ 95
Query Builder Overview ........................................................................................................... 96
Chart Area ................................................................................................................................ 97
11. Fault Management............................................................................................................. 98
About NexentaFusion Alerts, Logs, Audits, and Events.......................................................... 98
About Alerts ............................................................................................................................. 98
5
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Managing Alerts ....................................................................................................................... 98
Acknowledging Alerts ............................................................................................................... 99
Exporting Alerts ........................................................................................................................ 99
Removing Alerts ....................................................................................................................... 99
Managing Alert Rules ............................................................................................................... 99
Creating Alert Rules ................................................................................................................ 100
Editing Alert Rules .................................................................................................................. 100
Deleting Alert Rules ................................................................................................................ 101
Email Settings for Alerts ......................................................................................................... 101
Logs......................................................................................................................................... 101
Searching for Logs and Audits ................................................................................................ 102
Exporting Audits and Logs ...................................................................................................... 102
12. Manage Users and Roles .................................................................................................. 103
User Accounts in NexentaFusion............................................................................................ 103
Adding a Local UI User…………………………………………………………………………………………..103
Destroy User………………………………………………………………………………………………………….104
Change Password…………………………………………………………………………………………………..104
Changing User Roles………………………………………………………………………………………………105
Roles in NexentaFusion .......................................................................................................... 107
Administrator………………………………………………………………………………………………………..107
Security Admin………………………………………………………………………………………………………107
Storage Admin……………………………………………………………………………………………………….107
Read-only………………………………………………………………………………………………………………107
Additional Resources .............................................................................................................. 109

6
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Preface
This documentation presents information specific to Nexenta products. The information is for reference
purposes and is subject to change.

Intended Audience
This documentation is intended for Storage Administrators and assumes that you have experience with
data storage concepts, such as NAS, SAN, NFS, and ZFS; Fibre Channel (FC) and iSCSI interfaces; Microsoft
Windows Active Directory.

For additional user documentation, see https://nexenta.com/products/documentation.

Document History
Revision Date Description
2.0.5 GA Version. Deleted “Configuring
nf-2.0-userguide-RevE April 2023 NexentaCloud” chapter and cloud references from
the document.
2.0.4 GA Version. Updated the cover page to
nf-2.0-userguide-RevD December 2022
reflect the 2.0.4 release.
2.0.3 GA Version. Added a new chapter “Manage
nf-2.0-userguide-RevC October 2022
Users and Roles”.
Updated the cover page to reflect the 2.0.2
nf-2.0-userguide-RevBB July 2022
release.
Updated the cover page to reflect the 2.0.1
nf-2.0-userguide-RevBA May 2022
release.
2.0.0 GA Version. Re-organized the chapter
nf-2.0-userguide-RevB April 2022
sections to make it consistent.
nf-2.0-userguide-RevA February 2022 2.0.0 GA Version

7
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 1. Introduction to NexentaFusion 2.0
Overview
NexentaFusion is a graphical user interface that provides centralized management of multiple
NexentaStor appliances. It tracks performance analytics trends and monitors system faults.
From a single pane, NexentaFusion provides appliance-specific summary views of hardware components,
services, and storage logical objects such as shares, snapshots, and clusters. You can navigate the GUI
using its intuitive tabs, drill-down menus, action cog wheels, and expand or contract arrows.

Registering a NexentaStor Appliance

Before NexentaFusion can manage NexentaStor storage appliances, the appliances must be registered in
NexentaFusion. You can choose to register clustered or single node appliances.
1. Log in to NexentaFusion as an Administrator.
2. Click Register Appliance.
3. Enter the IP address or FQDN of one node in the cluster, or of the single node appliance.
4. Edit the port number if you do not want to use the HTTPS default of 8443.
5. In the Connection to Appliance dialog box, enter the credentials, click I trust this certificate, and
then click Continue.

8
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 6. For a clustered appliance, after the first node successfully authenticates, a second dialog box
appears with the pre-filled credentials used for the first node. If the credentials for the second node
are different, enter the appropriate credentials. Click I trust the certificate, and then click Continue.
7. After successful registration, you are redirected to a new appliance configuration page.

Note: Immediately after registering an appliance, its health is shown as “unknown” until the background
tasks with additional requests to the appliance have been completed.

Removing an Appliance
You can remove a registered NexentaStor single or clustered node by doing the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion as an Administrator.
2. In the Appliances page, click the COG next to the appliance you want to remove.
3. Click Remove from the action items listed under the COG.
4. If you want to retain all the data such as analytics or logs in the NexentaFusion database, clear the
check box.
5. Now click Remove.
If you removed the appliance but retained the data in the NexentaFusion database, the appliance is
still listed in the appliance list page with the status “removed”. This option is provided so that you
can view the historical analytics of a decommissioned appliance anytime.

Viewing the Historical Analytics of a Removed Appliance

When removing the appliance, if you retained all the data in the NexentaFusion database, you could view
the historical analytics of the decommissioned NexentaStor appliance. A decommissioned appliance is
listed with a Removed status.
To view the historical analytics of a removed appliance, go to Analytics view.

Identifying NexentaFusion GUI from NexentaStor

To identify the NexentaFusion GUI on which a NexentaStor appliance is registered:
1. Note the IP address of the appliance.
2. Point your browser to the NexentaStor appliance URL with no port number.
This page provides you the link to access the NexentaFusion interface as well as the link to access
the REST API doc for the appliance.

Reviewing License for NexentaStor Appliance

To review the appliance license:
1. Log into NexentaFusion.
2. Open Appliances page.
3. Locate the card of appropriate appliance.

9
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 4. Click the COG on the top right corner of the card and select License option to open license window.
The license window contains vital information about the licenses installed on the appliance nodes. For a
clustered appliance, the information is presented per node.
When the license is no longer valid for a NexentaStor appliance (time expired or capacity limit exceeded),
you can update the NexentaStor appliance license using the NexentaFusion UI.

Updating License for NexentaStor Appliance

To update the NexentaStor license using NexentaFusion, you need the activation key.
There are two activation types of licenses for NexentaStor appliance:
• Installation with license activation key
This type of license installation is suitable only for the appliances that are connected to the Internet
and have access to Nexenta servers. The type implies that the user has a specific license activation
key. The key is the same for both the appliance nodes in a cluster.
• Installation with license file
This type of license installation is suitable for both the dark site appliances and the ones that are
connected to Internet. To use this type of license installation, user must have license files. Each
unique per appliance node).
To obtain the appropriate license you must provide the nodes GUIDs to Nexenta by DDN. The GUIDs are
available on the license renew screen under Node GUID for both activation key and license file modes.

Note: When the license is no longer valid for a NexentaStor appliance (time expired or capacity limit
exceeded), the appliance card content will be blurred and contain a license warning. In this mode you will
not be able to access any views to manage the appliance from the UI, create or import pools, add devices
to pools (even from node CLI). But appliance I/O continues, and you will be able to use the CLI to view
information about the appliance.

To update appliance license:

1. Log into NexentaFusion.
2. Open appliance license review window.
3. Click Update in the right bottom corner.
4. Select Activation type.
5. If activation type is Activation key, enter the activation key in the input box.
6. If activation type is License file, select the files from your local filesystem in the appropriate fields.
For clustered appliances, every node must have a unique license file.
7. Click Activate.

10
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 2. Managing Pools
Pools are the basic storage entity of NexentaStor system, which group several storage drives together,
provide drive redundancy and host filesystems, volumes, and volume groups.
With NexentaFusion, you can create, manage, import, export and destroy storage pools. For clustered
appliances, High Availability feature for pools is supported, which could automatically move the pool to
the working node of the appliance, if the node where the pool is currently hosted fails.

Viewing Existing Pools

Pools page is the entry point for managing pools for a particular appliance. It lists all the pools belonging
to that specific appliance.
To open Pools page:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. In the left menu, navigate to Management > Pools.

Note: By default, the table does not list exported pools. To show exported pools, toggle Show exported
pools to YES. For exported pools, some of the information in the table is unavailable until the pool is
imported.

Creating Pools on Single or Clustered Nodes

A pool is a virtual storage entity consisting of one or more virtual devices (vDevs) comprising of block
devices. Pools enable you to manage a collection of devices as a single entity, independent of the storage
under the pool. Before you can create a pool, NexentaStor must have physical or virtual disks available.
Consider the following factors before creating a storage pool:
• Determine the capacity and performance for each pool.
• Determine if the pool is intended for a clustered or non-clustered environment.
• Analyze and plan the organization of the pools.
• Determine if redundancy is required, and what type is best suited for your site: mirror, RAID-Z1, RAID-
Z2, or RAID-Z3.
• Determine the replication requirement based on storage needs. You can increase the size and
capacity of a pool, but you are not allowed to decrease the size of a pool.

The following sections demonstrate how to create a pool on standalone and clustered appliance. The first
step in the pool creation process is to establish a name, choose the storage type, specify a High Availability
(HA) configuration or not, identify if you want to use inactive devices and specify the build method for
the pool.

11
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Naming the Pool
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. Open Pools page for appropriate appliance.
4. Click Create pool on the right top of the page
5. In the Create Pool panel on the left, enter the desired pool name in the appropriate field

Note: Pool name should be unique per node for standalone appliance and per appliance in a clustered
appliance.

Selecting Pool Options

1. Only for clustered appliances: select the appropriate HA mode. If you select a specific node from
the selection box, the non-HA pool is created. To turn on HA mode, select Enable.
2. Select the appropriate setting in Allow inactive devices if you want to reuse the devices that were
previously part of the pools (these pools may be inactive or exported or destroyed).

Note: Using these inactive devices in the current pool will make the earlier pool permanently unavailable.

Selecting Pool Build Method

• Automatic pool data device selection method: Nexenta recommends using Auto pool data device
selection method as it prevents pools being created with different device types or sizes and
unbalanced across chassis. When this method is selected, NexentaFusion automatically selects the
devices based on specified parameters. You can review and optionally change the selections before
creating the pool.
• Manual pool data device selection method: Choose the manual data device selection method if you
have a need to create unique type of pool using different sized drives. Using this method you select
the devices, optionally in a guided manner.

Selecting Data Devices for Pool Using Auto Method

Selecting Auto for build method opens an Auto-Select Data vDevs for Pool window and displays the
enclosures in the appliance and their available drives by capacity.
For a NexentaStor Appliance:
• Select the Enclosures you would like to use for the pool by clicking on the check boxes. The grayed
columns show devices that are available in all the selected enclosures. These populate the Select
drive size drop down. When Enclosure level redundancy is selected, the number of enclosures
selected constrain the choices in the Redundancy drop-down.
• By default, the Enclosure-level redundancy is set to YES. When it is set to YES , the redundancy
choices are constrained by the number of selected enclosures and the devices are spread throughout

12
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 the enclosures to eliminate data loss during a single enclosure failure. When it is set to NO, the system
distributes device selection among the selected enclosures, but an enclosure failure might result in
data loss.

Selecting Data Devices for the Pool Manually

If you have selected Manual as build method, you must explicitly specify the data devices and the data
redundancy level for a new pool.
Guided Configuration
The Guided Configuration option provides greater efficiency in showing the appropriate available disks
when creating the data vdevs for the pool. This feature is enabled by default. You can opt-out through
guided configuration, which would provide more flexibility in selecting devices for a new pool, though
disabling guided configuration is not recommended.
Guided Configuration follows these basic guidelines:
• Disks must be of the same type (HDD or SSD).
• Disks must be of the same capacity.
• Available disks of the same type are shown in bright green with a plus (+) sign.
• After an initial selection of drives, Guided Configuration displays recommended drives, based on the
logic (drive type, size, and location) of the previous selection.
• Redundancy configurations must contain the following minimum number of disks:
• Mirror: Must have at least two (2) devices
• RAIDZ1: Must have at least three (3) devices
• RAIDZ2: Must have at least four (4) devices
• RAIDZ3: Must have at least seven (7) devices

If guided configuration is enabled:

1. Select redundancy for the pool from the drop-down list:
o Stripe (Non-redundant, typically selected when using NexentaCloud virtual devices)
o Mirror (two-way or three-way)
o RAID-Z1 (3 or more disks)
o RAID-Z2 (4 or more disks)
o RAID-Z3 (7 or more disks)
2. Optionally, you can use a filter for available selections, choosing options from the Select chassis and
Select disks drop-down lists. The disk display changes to reflect the filter results.
o Bright green devices marked with a plus sign are in a healthy state and can be used for
building the pool. Green devices also marked with an asterisk are now inactive devices that
were previously part of a pool.
o Red indicates a failed, unavailable device. Devices shown with just an outline and a capacity
are already part of an active or exported pool or are blacklisted.

13
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 o Before adding disks to the pool, verify the details of the available drives by hovering the
cursor over the disk label in the table.
3. If you selected Allow inactive devices to be part of the pool you are creating, the inactive devices
appear with an asterisk symbol. For these devices, the previous pool becomes permanently
unavailable if this device is used in the new pool.
4. Click the plus icon ( + ) to add a disk to the vDev in the pool. Click the minus ( - ) icon to remove an
incorrectly selected disk from the vDev and select another. The disk outlines in the vDev show the
minimum number of disks needed for the selected redundancy. Additional devices can be added by
clicking the plus icon ( + ) for the desired disks.
5. To add another vDev, click New vDev +. When Guided Configuration is ON, the vDev is populated
with disks like those chosen for the previous vDev, if available.
6. Click Next and continue with adding Cache, Log, and Spare Devices to a Pool.

Adding Cache, Log, and Spare Devices to a Pool

To improve the performance, you can also add optional devices when creating a pool. You can also set
the Auto Expand property during the pool creation.
• Cache: To improve the performance for random-read workloads, you can add an additional layer of
caching between main memory and disk with cache devices. You have the option to add more than
one cache device when creating a pool. Cache devices can also be removed any time after you create
the pool. For cache, use high performance devices such as SSD.
• Log: To improve the performance, use ZFS Intent Log (ZIL) for non-volatile temporary storage for
writes not yet stored on the pool. ZIL works as a WRITE cache layer in-between main memory and
disk storage pool. When adding the log devices, specify the log redundancy too. For log, use high
performance devices such as SSD.
• Spare: You can also specify devices to replace a failed device in the storage pool you create. When
you designate a device as a hot spare, it automatically replaces the failed device. Spares should be
the same device size and type as the data devices.
• Auto Expand property: Select this option to automatically increase the size of a pool when the
underlying device is grown.

Now that you have selected the data devices to the pool using Manual or Auto method, you can add
cache and log to a pool.
Guided configuration is enabled by default to display only SSD devices for Log, or Cache vDevs. Although
not recommended, you can disable guided configuration to use non-SSD devices for Log or Cache.

To add cache and log devices to a pool, do the following:

1. To add an optional cache device, select Cache and do one of the following:
2. Click Create. Click the plus icon (+) on the desired device(s) to add as cache and click Save.
3. Click Skip to continue without adding a cache device.
4. To add an optional log device, select Log and do one of the following:

14
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 o Select log redundancy type from the drop-down list and click Create. Click the plus icon (+)
on the desired devices to add as log. If the redundancy type mirror was selected, additional
mirror vDevs can be added by clicking New vDev and adding additional devices.
o Click Skip to continue without adding a log device.

Smart Sparing
When a device in a pool with raid-z or mirror redundancy fails, smart-sparing automatically selects the
right spare device to activate by means of an ordered search using media type, size, and locality as
criteria. Media types currently supported are HDD and SSD. The size attribute is used to ensure that the
spare is at least the same size or bigger than the failed drive. Locality of the device refers to the storage
enclosure.
For example, for a pool configured with an SSD hot spare (for Log devices) and HDD hot spares (for data
devices) in each storage enclosure:
• Smart sparing will make sure that the SSD spare is only activated when there is a Log SSD failure.
• For an HDD failure, smart sparing preferentially activates the HDD spare in the storage enclosure
where the failure occurred.
To add spare devices to a pool, do the following:
1. Choose options from the Select chassis and Select disks drop-down to filter the available disks by
enclosure and size, to help locate devices that will be suitable for spares.
2. To add optional spare devices, select Spare and do one of the following:
o Click Create.
o Click the plus icon (+) on the desired devices to add as spares and click Save.
o Click Skip to continue without adding a spare device.

Completing Pool Creation

1. Do the following, as necessary:
o Click Auto expand to allow the pool to automatically increase in size when the underlying
device grows.
o Enter a descriptive Comment for the pool.
o For an HA cluster node, if HA mode enable was selected, select the node on which to Activate
pool on. After the pool is created, you can configure the High Availability service.
2. Click Create Pool.
3. If you selected Enable High Availability, the screen for configuring HA access to the pool appears.

Exporting Pools
Exporting a pool from the appliance detaches it from its associated storage. All the devices belonging to
the pool are marked as exported and are in use. Exported pools can be moved between appliances and
imported if enough devices are available. All mounted datasets of the pool are unmounted before the
pool is exported.

15
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 To export the pool, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. Open the Pools page.
4. Click the COG for the pool and select Export from the drop-down list.

Importing Pools
Importing a pool means making this pool active and usable by the system.
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. Open the Pools page.
4. Toggle Show exported pools to yes.
5. Click the COG for the exported pool that you would like to import and select Import.
6. Set up appropriate import parameters such as pool name (to rename a pool during import), read-
only mode import, force, and the node to import the pool.
7. Click Import to start the pool import.

Destroying a Pool
Destroying a pool enables the devices used in the pool available for other purposes. If the pool was under
HA control, it needs to be removed from HA control before it can be destroyed.
The Pool Destroy dialog box informs you if you still have shared filesystems or mapped volumes (LUNs)
in the pool. LUNs must be destroyed separately; their existence can cause pool to destroy to fail. Shared
filesystems can be unmounted as part of the pool destroy process if the Force checkbox is checked.
When a pool is destroyed, the data on the pool is not destroyed. If the pool devices have not been
reallocated, the pool can be imported and made available for use again, using the CLI.
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. Open the Pools page.
4. Click the COG for the appropriate pool and select Destroy from the drop-down list.
5. If the pool dialog indicates that shared filesystems are detected, and you still want to destroy the
pool, click on the check box to force the datasets to be unmounted.
6. Now click Destroy.

16
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Maintaining Pools
To perform a management action on a pool, do the following:
1. Open the Pools page for appropriate appliance
2. Select the COG for a pool and choose a management action from the drop-down list. If the pool
belongs to an HA cluster, two HA specific options are also available.
See Pool Management Actions for High Availability section for detailed descriptions of each of the
management actions.

Scrubbing
The scrub process traverses the data of the entire pool and checks to make sure that there are no data
integrity issues. The scrub process can be scheduled using a cron expression.
Before initiating a scrubbing service, consider the following guidelines:
• Scrubbing is a resource-consuming operation like resilvering. It is preferable to schedule scrubbing
during a maintenance window and to do only one operation at a time.
• If a scrub is already in progress, a subsequent start-scrub returns an error.
• If a resilver is in progress, the system schedules the scrub operation to start after the resilver
completes.
• You can manually start a scrub service when replacing a disk to ensure that the replacement device
is functional. This also ensures that data is written correctly and verifies the integrity of the pool.
To scrub, do the following:
1. Click the COG for the pool and select Scrub from the drop-down list. The dialog that is displayed
provides status information about the last scrub/resilver, and gives you the options to
o Set a schedule for the scrub task
o Initiate a scrub now
2. Scrub can also be scheduled from the Pool Properties dialog box.

Unmapping and Trimming

When enabled for pools on SSDs, the Unmap/Trim feature in NexentaStor notifies the underlying storage
media about certain sectors that are no longer needed in a volume or a file system enabling the SSD to
handle garbage collection and wear-leveling management more efficiently.
The Pool Properties dialog box is used to enable Auto unmap, and to schedule the unmap process. The
Pool Unmap dialog box can be used to change the unmap schedule, and to trigger an unmap process
now.

17
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 To unmap, do the following:
1. Click the COG for the pool, select Status from the drop-down list and switch to Properties tab.
2. On the Unmap section, you can:
o Enable the auto-unmap feature for this pool.
o Schedule the start and stop times for the unmap process.
o Enable Force unmap – if set, it forces ZFS to issue unmap even if it thinks a device does not
support it.
3. Unmap can also be scheduled or triggered to process now from the pool Unmap option of pool COG
menu.

Pool Properties
You can edit pool properties any time after a pool is created. If you edit the pool properties for a clustered
appliance, the modifications are made on the node where the pool is active.
To edit pool properties, do the following:
1. Click the COG for the pool and select Status from the drop-down list.
2. Switch to Properties tab on the opened Status of Pool dialog box.
3. Modify the option settings as necessary.
The List of Pool Properties table explains the available options.
4. Click Save button to save the changes.

Table 1: List of Pool Properties

Properties Description
Auto-expand=(on|off) Enables automatic pool expansion when the underlying device is grown.

Runs the auto-scrub service on this schedule. NexentaFusion enables you to

run a scrubbing service automatically to periodically examine all the data in
Scrub-schedule the specified pools to verify that it checksums correctly and also to check for
consistency errors. If the pool has a redundant configuration, NexentaFusion
corrects any errors it finds.

Comment=TEXT User-defined pool comment

NexentaFusion supports two modes for UNMAP, for efficient use of the
storage. With UNMAP, a storage appliance can notify the underlying storage
media about certain sectors that are no longer needed in a volume or a file
system, enabling the SSD to handle garbage collection and wear-leveling
Real-time Auto unmap management more efficiently.
=(on|off)
Auto Unmap: At the pool level, you can set the AUTO-UNMAP property to
ON for the ZFS to issue UNMAP commands to the underlying vDevs of any
blocks as it trims blocks. By default, the AUTO-UNMAP zpool property is set
to OFF.

18
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Properties Description
Force Unmap: By turning this option ON or OFF, you can control whether
device support is taken into consideration when issuing UNMAP commands
Real-time Force
to the underlying vDevs of the pool. By turning it on, at the pool level, you
unmap =(on|off)
can invoke the ZFS to force run UNMAP job even if the underlying device does
not support it.

You can invoke ZFS to run UNMAP jobs at a scheduled time for a set duration.
When invoked, a manual trim runs through all the empty space on a pool and
Scheduled Unmap
immediately trims it. Note that trimming may have a considerable
=(start|stop)
performance impact on the pool if the device does not handle trim
effectively.

Delegation Grant a non-privileged user access based on the dataset permissions.

• Normal: Resilver I/O priority is 1/10 of user I/O
Resilver priority • High: Resilver I/O priority is 1/2 of user I/O
• Critical: Resilver I/O priority is equal to any other user I/O

Failure mode System behavior in the event of catastrophic pool failure.

• Normal: Scrub I/O priority is 1/5 of user I/O
Scrub priority • High: Scrub I/O priority is 1/2 of user I/O
• Critical: Scrub I/O priority is equal to any other user I/O

Note: The Delegation and Failure mode properties should not be changed without consulting Nexenta
Support. Changes to these properties could result in data corruption.

Adding Capacity to an Existing Pool

It is recommended that you plan for pool capacity before creating them. However, you can add to the
capacity of a pool later should the need arise.

Note: You are not allowed to decrease the size of a pool.

The following rules apply for increasing the size of redundant pools:
• When increasing the size of a non-redundant pool you are prompted to Add disks.
• When increasing the size of a redundant pool, you are prompted to add a New vDev.
To edit the capacity of an existing pool, do the following:
1. For an existing pool on the Management > Pools page, click COG on the far right and select Edit
from the drop-down list.
2. In the Edit Pool panel on the left, do one of the following:
o For a redundant pool, click New vDev.
o For a non-redundant pool, click Add disks.

19
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 3. Toggle the Show only: pool disks to OFF.
Disks available for selection are displayed with a white + sign in a bright green background.
4. Select the prompted number of disks from the table on the right and click Save.

To optionally add cache, log, or spare devices, do the following:

1. To add a cache or spare device, do the following:
o Select Cache or Spares.
o Click Create and select the prompted number of disks.
o Click Save.
2. To add a log device, do the following:
o Select Log.
o Select log redundancy type from the drop-down list and click Create. Click the plus icon (+)
on the desired devices to add as log and click Save.
If the redundancy type mirror was selected, additional mirror vDevs can be added by clicking
New vDev and adding additional devices.
3. To add another mirror vDev to an existing mirror log device, do the following:
o Select Log.
o Click New vDev. Click the plus icon (+) on the desired devices to add and click Save.

Viewing Pool Status

This section demonstrates how to view pool status, which includes information on the selected pool, the
disks in the pool, and the pool properties.
To view pool status, do the following:
1. Open Pools page for appropriate appliance.
2. Click the COG for the appropriate pool and select Status from the drop-down list. The Info tab is
selected by default, showing an Overview of the pool health, status, capacity, and operations.
3. Click the Disks tab to view information on disk health, errors, physical state.
4. To view the chassis ID of the disks and the enclosure location, click on the Expander arrow.
5. Click on Show Indicators to view and optionally blink the Ident LED on the device.
6. Click the Properties tab to view information on configured pool properties.
7. Click Close to close the dialog box.

20
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Administering Pool Data Devices
The Edit Pool dialog provides the mechanisms for managing individual devices in a pool, should a device
become unreliable or not functioning properly.
To manage data devices in a pool, do the following:
1. Open Pools page for appropriate appliance
2. Click the COG for the appropriate pool, and select Edit from the drop-down list
3. Click the device in the left panel and select the appropriate action from the drop-down list.
The available actions will vary depending upon the redundancy and the type of vDev.

Smart Sparing and Device Replacement

Smart-sparing and auto-replace are NexentaStor features that improve storage availability and simplify
maintenance operations. When a device in a pool fails, smart sparing automatically selects the right spare
device to activate by means of an ordered search using media type, size, and locality as criteria.
When a spare has been activated to replace a failed device, it will be displayed in a spare vDev.
With auto-replace, the failed device can be simply removed and physically replaced with a new device.
NexentaStor automatically detects the insertion of the new device and triggers re-silvering to the new
device. After resilvering from the spare to the replacement device is complete, the former spare will
revert to being a spare.
An alternative is to make the spare as the permanent replacement member of the pool to eliminate a
second resilvering. Using the Edit Pool dialog box, click on the image of the failed device, and select
“detach” from options on the device COG.

Removing a Device from a Pool

Only non-data devices can be removed from a pool. If the Log is a mirror, the initial device must be
“detached”. Then the remaining device can be “removed”. After removing a disk from the pool, the disk
remains online in the system.

Replacing a Device in a Pool

Replacing a device in a pool with another physical device is equivalent to attaching a new device,
resilvering, and then removing the original device from the pool. When resilvering is complete the
removed device becomes available for another purpose. For optimal performance, NexentaStor
recommends that the new disk be of the same size, speed, and media type as the disk it replaces.
To replace a disk, click on the device COG and select Replace. The enclosure view changes to show the
disks that are valid replacement candidates, filtered by the disks that are the same size and media type
as the disk to be replaced. (The filter can be changed to expose other disks if needed). Click the “+” on
the desired replacement disk.
The left-side panel displays the disk to be replaced and its replacement, until rebuilding completes.

21
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Attaching a New Mirror Device
Select Attach on the COG of a device in a 2-way mirror to create a 3-way mirror. The enclosure view
changes to show the disks that are valid attachment candidates, filtered by the disks that are the same
size and media type as the disk to be replaced. Click the “+” on the desired replacement disk.
Select Attach on the COG of a device in a non-redundant pool to create a 2-way mirror with the existing
device.

Detaching a Device from a Mirror

You can detach a device or spare from a mirrored storage data pool on the node. This is helpful if you
need to use the device in another pool, or if the disk is corrupted. A spare can also be detached from a
RAIDZ storage pool if an existing device was physically replaced.

Note: The operation is refused if there are no other valid replicas of the data.

Setting a Device in a Pool to Offline

You can set a device in a pool offline if there are hardware issues. When a disk shows hardware errors,
bad blocks, or other issues, you can take the device offline, replace it, and then online the new disk. This
prevents writing to or reading from the device.

Setting a Physical Device to Online

You can bring a device in a pool back online after being offline to address device issues. When you set a
device in a pool to online, the specified device on the node can be accessed again by read and write
operations. You can also expand the device to use all the available spaces.

Clearing Errors from a Device

When you check the status of a disk and find any transient errors, you can reset the error counters with
the Clear option. Only choose this option if the errors do not indicate a potential failure and have not
caused unrecoverable data errors in the pool.

Clearing Errors from all Devices in a Pool

Use the COG at the upper right of the Edit Pool view to clear the error counters of all the devices in the
Pool.
Alternatively, on the Pools view, select the COG for a particular pool, and click Clear Errors.

22
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 3. Managing FileSystems
You can create file systems and share them for anonymous access or authenticated access in workgroup
mode or domain. Likewise, you can create volume groups and volumes, and share the volumes by
mapping them as LUNs. NexentaFusion provides data protection capabilities that apply to any dataset,
be it a file system, volume group, or volume. Data protection is accomplished using snapshots and
replication that can be scheduled or continuous.
Configuring a file system, or volume group and volumes: The file system is managed by multiple
properties for maximum performance and optimization. A volume group is a container for managing
volume datasets.
Sharing a file system or volume: NexentaFusion consolidates advanced capabilities to share file systems
and volumes over the network.
Protecting data with snapshots and replication: Data protection capabilities apply to any dataset, be it
a file system, volume group, or volume.
NexentaFusion allows you to see the status of all the file systems, including compression performance,
and share a file system using various sharing protocols (SMB, NFS) that enable both Windows and Unix
hosts to access the datasets. NexentaFusion also enables virus scanning on the file system, allows you to
search for a specified file system and manages Access Control Lists when creating and editing shares. The
storage pool is always a root directory for the file system hierarchy.

Creating a File System on a Pool

This section demonstrates how to create a file system on a pool and explains the properties of a file
system. A file system is a manageable storage unit that enables you to organize and share data over the
network. After creating a storage pool that provides logical space for the creation of datasets, you can
create a hierarchy of multiple file systems. A file system can contain nested file systems, also known as
child file systems. Each nested file system is part of the hierarchy (tree structure), with its mount point
being the sub-directory of another file system — the parent file system. The top-most directory, which
does not have a parent, is the root directory. You can have up to 13 levels of nested file systems below
the parent root directory (14 levels in total).

To create a file system, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance on which the pool exists.
3. Select Management > Filesystems.
The Filesystems tab is selected by default. A list of all pools belonging to the appliance is shown.
4. Click the arrows on the left of the heading bar to expand the view of the hierarchy.
5. Click the COG for a pool or file system and select Add New Filesystem from the drop-down list.
6. Set the necessary properties, as described in the table below and click Create.

23
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Note: When you create a child file system, most unspecified property values are inherited from its
parent dataset. Some properties can only be set when the file system is created.

Table 2: Properties of File System

Property Description

Inherit ACL rules Controls the inheritance of the ACL settings by new files and
subdirectories from the parent directory. You can change the
properties at any time, using the following options:
• discard — Does not inherit the ACL entries.
• noallow — Inherits ACL entries only with deny access
type.
• restricted — Inherits ACL entries, excluding
write_owner, write_acl .
• passthrough — Defines mode of newly created files
with the inherited ACL entries.
• passthrough-x — Assigns a permission to execute to
newly created files, if this permission is defined in file
creation mode and inherited by the ACL.

Name Relative dataset name

Record size Specifies a suggested block size for files in a file system

Case sensitivity Indicates whether the file name matching algorithm used by
the file system should be case sensitive, case insensitive, or
allow a combination of both styles of matching

Accept only UTF-8 characters If enabled, the file system will reject file names that include
characters not present in the UTF-8-character set, the
"unicodeNormalizationMode" property must either not be
explicitly set or be set to "none"

Minimum space reserved for data Sets the minimum amount of disk space that is guaranteed to
and protection a dataset, not including descendants, such as snapshots and
clones. Value zero means no quota

Quota size Limits the amount of disk space a dataset and its descendants
can consume. Value zero means no quota

Unicode normalization mode Indicates whether the file system should perform a unicode
normalization of file names whenever two file names are
compared, and which normalization algorithm should be
used. If this property is set to a legal value other than "none",
and the "utf8Only" property was left unspecified, the
"utf8Only" property is automatically enabled.

24
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Minimum space reserved for data Sets the minimum amount of disk space that is guaranteed to
only a dataset, not including descendants, such as snapshots and
clones. Value zero means no quota

Allow extended attributes Indicates whether extended attributes are enabled or

disabled for this file system

Dedupe mode Controls whether duplicate data is removed from the dataset

Expose snapshot directory Controls whether the .ZFS directory is hidden or visible in the
root of the file system

Update access time = true or false Controls whether to the access time for files is updated when
they are read. Turning this property off (false) avoids
producing write traffic when reading files, which can result in
significant performance gains, but might confuse mailers or
other similar utilities that use this field.

Estimated maximum IOPs The estimated maximum IOPs is computed using this
filesystem’s rate limit and record size. This estimate assumes
that the client is utilizing a matching record size. The value is
n/a when no rate limit is set

Quota size for data only Sets the amount of disk space that a dataset can consume.
Value zero means no quota

Compression mode Enables or disables compression for a dataset

Enable virus scanning Enable virus scanning on a file system

Inherit ACL rules Controls how ACL entries are inherited when files and
directories are created

Rate limit Sets the maximum bandwidth per second that can be
consumed when this filesystem is shared. Example: 1 GiB

User Quotas / Group Quotas Sets the filesystem quota per user or group

Note: The values that is shown on the Performance Widget (with the IOPs chart) for the share is like the
Estimated Maximum IOPs value if the transfer size (xfer size) of the clients doing IO is the same as the
record size used for the estimate.

Viewing File Systems

This section demonstrates how to view the status of a file system. The file system status shows the
available space, quota, and allocated size for all file systems. When a file system is part of an HA pool, the
first column on the far left of the table is shown with an HA service status shield icon. Hover the cursor
over a shield icon to display a pop-up dialog with status information for the HA service. A shield icon only
appears beside a pool that is part of an HA service on a clustered appliance.

25
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 To view file system status, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Filesystems. A list of all pools belonging to the selected appliance is shown.
For a clustered appliance, a list of the pools that are part of an HA service are shown, as well as
the pools that are not.
4. To only view data for a specific pool, start from selecting an appropriate criterion using the Filter by
drop-down list. The default is to show all pools.
5. To view the entire file system structure, click the arrows on the left of the table header.
6. To view the list of file systems in a pool, click the expander arrow next to the pool name.
7. Optionally, sort by a specific column by clicking the column head. If compression was enabled when
the file system was created, the Reduction Ratio column appears showing the correlation of actual
storage capacity to uncompressed capacity. This number represents the compression effectiveness.
8. To view file system properties, click the COG for a file system and select Properties.
A dialog box appears showing the editable properties.

Table 3: Managing File Systems Using the COG

Action Description
Activate This action is used to activate a file system.

Add New Filesystem This action is used to add a new file system.

Data Protection This action is used to go to file system data protection page.

Properties This action is used to open file system properties dialog.

Edit NFS Share This action is used to open NFS share edit dialog

Remove NFS Share This action is used to disable NFS share.

Edit SMB Share This action is used to open SMB share edit dialog

Remove SMB share This action is used to disable SMB share.

Edit S3 Share This action is used to open S3 share edit dialog.

Remove S3 share This action is used to disable S3 share.

Show ACL This action is used to open dialog with a list of ACLs.

You can choose to destroy a NexentaFusion file system, even if there

are open files. If the file system is not busy when you attempt to
destroy it, is automatically unshared and unmounted. When
Destroy destroying a file system, you can also choose to destroy its snapshots.
From NexentaFusion, you cannot destroy a file system if it has child
file systems nested under it. However, using the CLI, you can destroy
a parent file system even if it has nested file systems.

26
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 You can view the following file system metrics:
• Bytes used: amount of disk space consumed by a dataset and all
its descendants, which is the same as Allocated amount shown in
the table.
• Bytes used by itself: amount of disk space that is used by a dataset
itself, which would be freed if the dataset was destroyed, after
first destroying any snapshots and removing any reservations.
• Bytes referenced: amount of data accessible by a dataset, which
might or might not be shared with other datasets in the pool.
View capacity usage • Bytes used by protection: amount of disk space that is consumed
summary by snapshots of a dataset.
• Compression ratio: compression ratio achieved for a dataset,
expressed as a multiplier.
• Bytes used by children: amount of disk space used by the children
of this dataset.
• Original snapshot: property for cloned file systems or volumes
that identifies the snapshot from which the clone was created.
• To view file system metrics, select the file system, then select COG
> Properties, and expand Usage Data.

You can share a file system so that users can remotely access its
contents. A child file system inherits the sharing protocol of its parent.
An individual child file system can also have addition sharing
Share using NFS/SMB protocols. For example, if a parent file system uses the SMB protocol,
its child file system must also use SMB, along with any other protocol
assigned to the child individually. To mount a file system in Windows,
you must share it first.

You can use filters to narrow the file systems data display, allowing you to view only the information that
is needed. You can also filter filesystem snapshots and data protection services. This section
demonstrates both procedures.
To filter data for file system listings, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Filesystems, then select one of the following: Filesystems or Shares.
4. To only show data for a specific pool, select a Pool from the drop-down list. The default is to show
all pools.
5. To refine the data display, select an option to Filter by from the drop-down list.
6. Specify the desired parameters by making selections from drop-down lists and entering filter values,
as needed. Filter criteria varies with the selected option.
7. Click Filter to apply the filter and view the results or click Clear to reset the fields.

27
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Sharing File Systems Using NFS
NFS allows you to share file systems on Linux and UNIX operating systems. A shared file system appears
as a local resource. NexentaFusion supports NFS v2, NFS v3, and NFS v4.

Configuring and Enabling the NFS Server

By default, the NFS server is enabled on the NexentaStor appliance. If the NFS server is not enabled before
sharing a file system, enable the NFS server.
You must have Administrator privileges to perform this procedure.
To configure the NFS server, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Settings > System.
4. Under System services, click the COG for an NFS server and do one of the following:
o To enable NFS, select Enable.
o To modify NFS tunables, select Properties and change the following options, as necessary.
You can configure NFS server tunables listed in the following table to meet the IT requirements at your
site.
Table 4: NFS Server Tunables

NFS Server Option Description

Specifies the number of seconds after a server reboot that the

clients must reclaim both NFS version 3 locks, provided by
Grace Period NLM, and version 4 locks
Default: 60 seconds

Specifies the maximum number of concurrent NFS requests.

Max concurrent requests
The default is 256.

Sets the minimum version of the NFS protocol to be registered

Min NFS version
and offered by the NFS server. The default is 2.

Sets the maximum version of the NFS protocol to be registered

Max NFS version
and offered by the NFS server. The default is 4.

Controls whether the version 4 delegation feature is enabled

NFSv4 delegation for the NFS server. Turn the feature On or OFF, as necessary for
your environment.

NFSv4 identity domain Specifies the common domain for NFS clients and servers.

Specifies the maximum number of concurrent locked requests.

Max locked threads per client
The default is 256.

28
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Creating an NFS Share
Sharing file systems using the NFS protocol provides the following advantages:
• Shared storage.
• Simultaneous read/write access to NFS share by multiple clients.
• Fast performance, compression, snapshots, ACLs (NFS v4 only), etc.
• Easy to create and manage, without additional resources.
NexentaFusion provides an intuitive interface for sharing an NFS file system that is accessible to all hosts,
or restricted to specific clients:
• Open share for VMware and Virtualization — Use this sharing option if the share is to be mounted in
a VMware environment for use as a Datastore that is accessible to all hosts. Or, if the share is to be
mounted on hosts in other virtualization environments that require full root access.
• Open share for any NFS client — Use this sharing option to allow all hosts read and write access to
the share.
• Advanced - share with security options — Use this sharing option to specify the clients that are
allowed access to the share using selected authentication protocols.

Open Shares
Open shares trust the client to perform authentication. The user’s UNIX user-id and group-ids are passed
in the clear over the network, unauthenticated by the NFS server.
• Open share for VMware and Virtualization — The share provides full root access to all hosts.
• Open share for any NFS client — The file system ACL is modified to give everyone@ full read, write,
and modify permissions.

Shares with Security Options

Authenticated users typically have the appropriate permissions for full access to the network and file
systems.
• Authenticated user (AUTH_SYS) access requires that a user sign in with a unique user name and
password and trusts the client to perform the authentication. The user's UNIX user-id and group-ids
are passed in the clear on the network, unauthenticated by the NFS server.
• AUTH_NONE trusts the client to perform authentication. The NFS clients have no identity and are
mapped to anonymous user 'nobody' by the NFS server. Users have read-write access to the contents
of a shared top level file system.
You can also set Anonymous File Access Control permissions:
• Disabled — Sets anon=1. Allows setting the access control element (ACE) for everyone@ with read,
write, and modify permissions. This is the default for shares that use the Open share for any NFS
client option.
• Nobody — Sets anon=nobody. Allows setting the ACE for user:nobody with read, write, and modify
permissions.

29
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 • Root — Sets anon=root. Allows root access to all hosts. It is the default setting for shares that use the
Open share for VMware and Virtualization option.
• Other — Sets anon=<username>. Allows you to set the ACE for a specified user (username) with read,
write, and modify permissions.

Creating an NFS Share for a File System

To create an NFS share for a file system, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select an appliance.
3. Select Management > Filesystems. The pools belonging to the appliance appear in the table.
4. To view the hierarchy of file systems in all the pools, click the heading Expand All / Collapse All
arrows on the left.
5. Click the COG for a file system and select Share using NFS.
The NFS sharing options are explained in the NFS Sharing Options table.
6. To provide open access to the file system for all hosts, do one of the following:
o Select Open share for VMware and Virtualization to set the share so that it trusts the client
to perform authentication and provides full root access to all hosts.
o Select Open share for any NFS client to set the share so that all hosts can have read/ write
access to this share.
7. To provide restricted access to the file system, click the Advanced - share with security options and
do one of the following:
a. Click Use AUTH_SYS, then:
o Click Add Row.
o Enter Hosts values.
o Select a host type.
o Specify Root access, Read/Write privileges, Read Only, or No Access.
o Repeat for other hosts, networks, netgroups, and domains.
b. Click Use AUTH_NONE, then:
o Click Add Row.
o Enter Hosts values.
o Select a host Type.
o Specify Read/Write privileges, Read Only, or No Access.
o Repeat for other hosts, networks, netgroups, and domains.

30
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 c. Click the arrow on the right of Anonymous File Access Control to choose from the following
options.
Clicking the radio button on the left activates a selection check box on the right:
o disabled (-1) — Anonymous access is disabled. This is the default selection for Open share for
any NFS client shares. If not already selected, click the check box to the right to activate this
option. Click the check box again to deselect.
o nobody — Automatically allows access for user nobody. Click the check box to the right to
activate this option.
o root — Allows root access to the share for all hosts. This is the default selection for Open
share for VMware and Virtualization shares. If not already selected, click the check box to the
right to activate this option.
o other — Provides a text field in which you can specify a user (username) that can have read,
write, and modify access for the share. Click the check box to the right to activate this option.
Click the check box again to deselect.
The access control entries (ACEs) to be added and removed appear below.
8. Click Save.
Table 5: NFS Sharing Options

Option Description

Authentication AUTH_SYS — In secure authentication, the user name and password are transferred
Protocols transparently. AUTH_NONE — Null authentication, where NFS clients are mapped
by NFS servers as user nobody.

Open Share Allows all hosts to have read and write access to a share, or the share can be
mounted on hosts in VMware or another virtualized environment. An open share
trusts the client to perform authentication.

Note: Using group ACLs is recommended, as it is more efficient than per-user ACLs.

Sharing File Systems Using SMB

The Server Message Block (SMB) protocol is a network file sharing protocol. Creating an SMB share makes
the dataset available to NexentaStor users. SMB 1.0, 2.1, 3.0 and 3.02 are supported. NexentaFusion
provides kernel and ZFS-integrated CIFS stacks, with native support for Windows Access Control Lists
(ACL). Mount the file system as a shared drive on each Windows machine allowed access to the file
system.

Configuring and Enabling the SMB Server

This section demonstrates how to configure and enable an SMB server. The following table explains the
configurable options for an SMB server. By default, the SMB server is enabled on the NexentaStor
appliance. If SMB server is disabled, you first must enable SMB on the appliance. The procedure that
follows demonstrates how to enable SMB and edit tunables for the SMB server. You must have
Administrator privileges to perform this procedure.

31
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Table 6: SMB Server Tunables

SMB Server Options Description

Enter a Workgroup name and click Save to change the

Edit Workgroup
workgroup name.

Enter AD credentials and click Save to join a Windows domain.

Join Domain
The default is Workgroup mode.

Sets the minimum version of the SMB protocol to be registered

Min SMB Protocol level
and offered by the SMB server.

Sets the maximum version of the SMB protocol to be registered

Max SMB protocol level
and offered by the SMB server.

Specifies the Active Directory site. Leave this field blank if you
AD site name
do not have a local Active Directory site.

This property can be used when there are multiple domain

Preferred domain controller
controllers to indicate which one is preferred.

Signing Enables SMB signing.

Specifies the LAN Manager (LM) authentication level. The LM

LanMan compatibility level compatibility level controls the type of user authentication for
workgroup mode or domain mode.

Enable IPv6 Enables IPv6 Internet protocol support within the CIFS Service.

Enables guest access to shares. When this option is selected,

ACLs (with read/write permissions) for Guests@BUILTIN are
Enable guest access automatically set.
For more information, see the NexentaStor 5.x CLI
Configuration Guide.

Enable NetBIOS Enables NetBIOS.

Restrict anonymous Disables anonymous access to IPC$.

The following procedure demonstrates how to enable SMB on the appliance, and optionally configure
tunables for the SMB server to meet the needs of your IT infrastructure.
To configure the SMB server, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Administration > System Settings.
4. Under System services, click the COG for the SMB server and select Enable to activate SMB.
5. To configure SMB, click the COG again and select Properties from the drop-down list.

32
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 6. Do the following as necessary:
o Enter a system comment to describe the server.
o To modify the workgroup, click Edit Workgroup, enter a Workgroup name, and click Save.
7. To join the Active Directory Domain, click Join Domain, and then in the Active Directory Domain
Settings dialog box, do the following:
o Enter the Active Directory domain and the Primary Domain Controller (PDC) address.
o Enter your AD Login and Password.
o Click Save.
8. Expand the Advanced Options section and make the necessary selections or changes.

Setting Minimum and Maximum Protocol Version for

SMB Client
NexentaStor supports using the SMB 2.1 client protocol to connect to the Active Directory infrastructure.
This is specifically targeted at enabling the appliance to connect to Active Directory servers on which SMB
1 has been disabled.
The SMB client protocol version negotiation can be constrained by setting the min and max protocol
versions as appropriate for your environment.
To configure the SMB client, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance that contains the pool.
3. Select Administration > System Settings.
4. Under System services, click the COG for the SMB client and select Enable to activate SMB.
5. To configure SMB, click the COG again and select Properties from the drop-down list.
6. In the SMB client service properties window, do the following as necessary:
o Validate the current min and max SMB client protocol version.
o Set the min, max client protocol version if not set.

Creating an SMB Share

This section demonstrates how to create an SMB share. The following table explains the SMB share
options you can set when creating an SMB share.
Selecting a sharing protocol for a parent file system automatically assigns that protocol to all child file
systems. However, individual child file systems can be shared using additional sharing protocols.

33
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Table 7: SMB Share Options

SMB Sharing Option Description

By convention, a file system named

Share name <pool_name/filesystem_name> becomes an SMB share named
<pool_name_filesystem_name>.

To see only the files and directories for which you have access, select
Access-based enumeration Access-Based Enumeration (ABE) in the SMB share option. You may
enable ABE to filter large directories or to hide files.

Quota management Enables SMB quota management for this share.

Allow guest access Enables guest access with read/write access to the share.

Encryption Enables encryption for the share.

This property specifies how the client should manage client-side

Client caching policy
caching and access to offline files. The default value is “manual”.

This property will be visible and can be set only if the server max
Continuous availability protocol version is 3.0 or higher. It enables continuous availability for
the SMB share.

Before you can share a file system using SMB, you must have enabled SMB as described in Configuring
and Enabling the SMB Server.
To create a SMB share for a file system, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Filesystems. The pools belonging to that appliance are shown in the “Name”
column.
4. To view the file systems in a pool, click the expand arrow beside the pool name.
5. Click the COG for the filesystem and select Share using SMB.
6. Enter a Description and click Save.

34
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Mapping an SMB Share on Windows
This section demonstrates how to map an SMB share on Windows. To map an SMB share on Windows,
you must enable guest access for the SMB file system. Windows users are mapped as guest users. You
can enable guest access in the SMB file system properties with NexentaFusion.

Note: To access an SMB share as an SMB client when the SMB share exists on a shared pool enabled for
high availability, you must know the VIP address.

To connect to a shared file system with guest access, using Windows:

1. In Windows, select Start > Computer.
2. Click Map network drive.
3. In the Folder field, type the path to the shared file system.
Example: \192.168.1.10\data_public
4. Click Finish.

35
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 4. Managing Volumes
Creating and Managing Volume Groups and Volumes
This section demonstrates how to create volume groups and volumes. A volume is a dataset that
represents a block device. A volume must be configured as a member of a volume group below a pool.
You can then set volume properties such as compression modes and volume size. A volume can be
accessed remotely by mapping it as an iSCSI or FC LUN.
The following table is a task map that outlines the process for creating volume groups and volumes.
Table 8: Task Map: Managing Volume Groups and Volumes

Task Topic

Create a Pool Creating Pools on Single or Clustered Nodes

Create a volume group Creating a Volume Group

Create volumes with the same characteristics, Creating Volumes

to be included in the same volume group.

Optional: Edit the properties of an existing Editing Properties for Volume Groups and Volumes
volume group or volume.

Optional: Deleting a volume group or volume. Deleting a Volume Group or Volume

Creating a Volume Group

You create a volume group as a container for volumes. You must create a volume group before creating
a volume, even if you only intend to create a single volume. This section demonstrates how to create a
volume group. A volume group resides within a pool. Volume groups also serve as consistency groups,
simplifying creation of transaction-consistent snapshots of all the volumes they contain.
The properties set for a volume group become the default property values for new volumes that are
created in the group.
To create a volume group, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > Volumes. The pools belonging to the appliance are shown in the
“Name” column in bold.
4. To create a volume group in a pool, click the COG at the far right and select Add New Volume Group
from the drop-down list.

36
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 5. Specify the following characteristics in the Create Volume Group dialog:
o Name — Enter a unique name for the volume group.
o Block size — Select a block size from the drop-down list. Block-size of a volume group (as a
default value for the new volumes) can be changed later. You also can change a block-size
value of a new volume while you are creating it.
o Minimum space reserved for data and protection — Specify the minimum amount of disk
space guaranteed for the volume group and its descendants. There is no default value. A
value of zero means there is no minimum.
o Minimum space reserved for data only — Specify the minimum amount of disk space
guaranteed for the volume group not including descendants, such as snapshots and clones.
There is no default value. A value of zero means there is no minimum. Cannot be changed
after volume group was created.
6. Expand the Optional Settings and specify the following properties as necessary:
o Compression mode — Enables or disables compression mode for the volume group. The
default is Iz4.
o Read only — Controls whether the volume group can be modified. The default is false.
o Dedupe mode — Controls whether duplicate data is removed from the file system. The
default is off.
o Sync mode — Controls synchronous behavior. The default is standard.
7. Click Create.

Creating Volumes
This section demonstrates how to create a new volume of a specified size. Volumes that are to be
included in a volume group inherit the properties for that volume group by default. You can modify
volume properties, if desired.
To create a volume, do the following:
1. Complete the following tasks:
o Create Pools on Single or Clustered Nodes.
o Create a Volume Group.
2. Click the arrow to the left of the pool that contains the volume group, then click the COG for the
volume group and select Add New Volume.
3. In the Create Volume dialog box, specify the following:
o Name — Specifies a unique name for the volume.
o Volume size — Specifies the logical size of the volume.
o Block size — Sets the block size. Select a block size from the drop-down list. The block size
cannot be changed after the volume has been written, so set the optimum size at this time.
o Thin-provisioned — Controls whether a volume is thin-provisioned. Thin provisioning
provides the ability to allocate storage capacity on demand. The default is NO. For a thin-
provisioned volume, toggle to YES. Cannot be changed later.

37
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 o Minimum space reserved for data only — For thin-provisioned volumes, specify the minimum
amount of disk space guaranteed for the volume not including descendants, such as
snapshots and clones. There is no default value. A value of zero means there is no quota.
Cannot be changed later
o Minimum space reserved for data and protection — Specify the minimum amount of disk
space guaranteed for the volume and its descendants, including snapshots and clones. There
is no default value. A value of zero means there is no quota.
4. Expand the Optional Settings and specify the following properties, or accept the defaults:
o Compression mode — Enables or disables compression mode for the volume. The default is
Iz4.
o Read only — Controls whether the volume can be modified. The default is false.
o Dedupe mode — Controls whether duplicate data is removed from the volume. The default
is off.
o Sync mode — Controls synchronous behavior. The default is standard.
5. Click Create.

Editing Properties for Volume Groups and Volumes

Volumes created under a volume group inherit the properties that have been set for that volume group.
However, you can modify the properties of a volume or volume group at any time. This section
demonstrates how to use filters to easily find and view data for volumes, and then modify the properties
of a volume group and volume.
To filter data for volumes, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > Volumes.
4. All pools are shown by default. To further refine the data display, select an option to Filter by from
the drop-down list.
5. Specify parameters by making selections from drop-down lists and entering filter values, as
necessary. Filter criteria options vary with the selected option.
6. Click Filter to apply the selected filter parameters and view the results or click Clear to reset the
fields.

To modify the properties of a volume group, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > Volumes.
4. Expand the pool that contains the volume group, then click the COG for the volume group and select
Properties from the drop-down list.

38
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 5. In the Edit Volume Group Properties dialog box, modify the following properties as necessary:
o Block size — Sets the block size. Select a block size from the drop-down list.
o Minimum space reserved for data only — For thin-provisioned volumes, specify the minimum
amount of disk space guaranteed for the volume not including descendants, such as
snapshots and clones. A value of zero means there is no quota. Cannot be changed later.
o Minimum space reserved for data and protection — Specify the minimum amount of disk
space guaranteed for the volume and its descendants, including snapshots and clones. There
is no default value. A value of zero means there is no quota.
6. Review the Usage Data, expand the Optional Settings, and modify the following properties as
necessary:
o Compression mode — Enables or disables compression mode for the volume.
o Read only — Controls whether the volume can be modified.
o Dedupe mode — Controls whether compressed data is removed from the volume.
o Sync mode — Controls synchronous behavior.
7. Click Save.

To modify the properties of a volume, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > Volumes.
4. Expand the pool, then expand the volume group.
5. Click the COG for the volume and select Properties from the drop-down list.
6. In the Edit Volume Properties dialog box, modify the following properties as necessary:
o Volume size — Specifies the logical size of the volume.
o Minimum space reserved for data and protection — Specify the minimum amount of disk
space guaranteed for the volume and its descendants, including snapshots and clones. There
is no default value. A value of zero means there is no quota.
7. Review the Usage Data, expand the Optional Settings, and modify the following properties as
necessary:
o Compression mode — Enables or disables compression mode for the volume.
o Read only — Controls whether the volume can be modified.
o Dedupe mode — Controls whether compressed data is removed from the volume.
o Sync mode — Controls synchronous behavior.
8. Click Save.

39
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Deleting a Volume Group or Volume
You can easily delete volumes and volume groups. Delete all the volumes within a volume group before
you attempt to delete the group.
To delete a volume, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > Volumes.
4. Expand the pool that contains the volume group, then click the COG for the volume to be deleted
and select Destroy from the drop-down list.
5. In the confirmation dialog box, click the Destroy volume’s snapshots check box to delete all the
volume’s snapshots, or leave it blank to retain the snapshots and only delete the volume.
6. Click Destroy.

Note: You cannot destroy a volume group that is not empty. Delete all the volumes within a volume group
before attempting to destroy the group itself.

To delete a volume group, do the following:

1. Delete all the volumes within the group, as described in the previous task.
2. Expand the pool that contains the volume group, then click the COG for the volume group to be
deleted and select Destroy from the drop-down list.
3. In the confirmation dialog box, click Destroy.

Managing iSCSI Host Groups, Targets, and Target Groups

This section covers how to configure and manage iSCSI host groups (initiator groups), iSCSI targets, and
iSCSI target groups.
• Creating, Editing, and Destroying iSCSI Targets and Target Groups
• Configuring Secure Authentication
• Configuring iSCSI Host Groups

Note: When making iSCSI changes on a clustered appliance, it may take a few seconds for the screen to
refresh and reflect the changes.

About Creating, Editing, and Destroying iSCSI Targets and

Target Groups
An iSCSI target is a storage resource located on a server that uses the iSCSI protocol to link data storage
devices over the network. A target group is a container for targets with a set of network portals within
an iSCSI node over which an iSCSI session is conducted. This section demonstrates how to create, edit,
and destroy targets and target groups, as well as how to view target sessions.

40
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Creating iSCSI Targets
You can create an iSCSI target with a specified authentication method, or no authentication at all.
Assigning a target to a target group is optional.

To create an iSCSI target, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > iSCSI Targets and Groups.
4. Click Create Target.
5. In the Create Target dialog box, specify the following:
o Optional: Enter a unique name for the target in the Alias field.
o Optional: Select an Authentication method from the drop-down list. The default is None.
When you choose CHAP, the CHAP Name and Secret fields appear. For Uni-Directional CHAP,
leave the Name and Secret fields empty. For Bi-Directional CHAP, providing a Name is
optional, but you must enter a CHAP Secret. If a CHAP name is not provided, the system uses
the generated IQN as the CHAP name.
o Optional: Enter an IQN address to use. Otherwise, the system auto-generates one if this field
is left blank.
o If a clustered appliance, select the Address set from the drop-down list. For example, to map
a volume on an HA pool, the target should use the VIP associated with that pool.
o Select the IP addresses where the system should listen for the iSCSI traffic. If no port is
specified, the system listens on the default port of 3260.
6. Optional: Select a Target Group from the drop-down list or enter a unique name in the text field to
create a new target group.
7. Click Save.

To remove a target, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select iSCSI Targets and Groups.
5. In the far-right column, click the COG for the target and select Destroy Target.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
The page will refresh automatically. You can click Refresh to update the display manually if needed.

41
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Creating iSCSI Target Groups
A target group can contain one or more targets. You must successfully complete Creating iSCSI Targets
before you can create a target group.
To create a target group, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select iSCSI Targets and Groups.
5. In the far-left column, select the check boxes of the targets to be included in the target group, then
click Assign To Target Group at the bottom of the window.
6. In the Add targets to group dialog box, do one of the following:
o Enter a New group name in the text field at the top.
o Select the Target group from the list.
7. Click Add.
The page refreshes automatically. You can click Refresh to update the display manually if needed.

Viewing iSCSI Target Information and Sessions

You can view target information, as well as details on specific target sessions. To view target
information and sessions, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select iSCSI Targets and Groups. Target information appears in a table, showing the Group, Target
Alias, Status, Target IQN, Authentication method, and IP Address.
5. To view sessions for a specific target, click the COG on the right and select Show sessions.
The Active sessions dialog box appears, showing information for active targets: alias, creation
time, and initiators accessing the targets.
The page refreshes automatically. You can click Refresh to update the display manually if needed.

Editing or Deleting iSCSI Targets

You can edit iSCSI target properties or delete a target entirely.
To edit or remove a target, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select iSCSI Targets and Groups.
5. In the far-right column, click the COG and select Edit Target.

42
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 6. In the Edit Target dialog box, modify the target settings, as needed.
7. Click Save.

To remove a target, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select iSCSI Targets and Groups.
5. In the far-right column, click the COG for the target and select Destroy Target.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
The page refreshes automatically. You can click Refresh to update the display manually if needed.

Removing iSCSI Targets from a Group and Destroying the

Target Group
You can easily remove iSCSI targets from a group and delete a target group entirely.
To remove a target from a group, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select iSCSI Targets and Groups.
5. In the far-right column, click the COG for a target and select Remove Target from Group.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
The page refreshes automatically. You can click Refresh to update the display manually if needed.

To delete a target group, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select iSCSI Targets and Groups.
5. In the far-right column, click the COG for a target and select Destroy Target Group.
6. Optional: In the confirmation dialog box, select the check box to Also delete member targets.
7. Click Yes.

43
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Configuring Secure Authentication
Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) is a scheme that the PPP protocol uses to
authenticate the remote clients in the network. Secure authentication is optional. However, the following
CHAP options ensure that only trusted hosts can access specified targets:
• Unidirectional CHAP — Unidirectional CHAP is the most used iSCSI security level. It enhances data
security and ensures that only authorized initiators access the data with unidirectional CHAP between
a particular initiator and the NexentaStor appliance on a peer-to-peer model.
• Bidirectional CHAP — Bidirectional CHAP provides a two-layer authentication protection. It requires
that the target identifies an initiator, as well as the initiator identifying the target.
Unidirectional CHAP Authentication
Unidirectional CHAP assumes that an initiator has its own secret, which you specify on the NexentaStor
appliance side. When an initiator connects to a target, the SCSI Target verifies the initiator credentials
before granting access to data. An initiator logging in to an appliance iSCSI target with unidirectional CHAP
enabled must have a CHAP secret set.
Bidirectional CHAP
You can establish bidirectional CHAP to provide more secure authentication. Set up a CHAP User name
and password on the target side by choosing the CHAP authentication method when you create the iSCSI
target.

Configuring iSCSI Host Groups

A host group contains one or more remote initiators. You can use initiator groups to restrict the access
of various initiators so they can only see specific targets and datasets. You can choose to allow all hosts
to access a LUN, or specify that only select hosts have access privileges. For enhanced security, you can
configure secure authentication for remote initiators that use CHAP authentication.
To create a host group, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > Host Groups, and then click Add Host Group.
4. In the Create Host Group dialog, enter a unique Host Group name. A host group may contain iSCSI
and FC initiators, but this is not recommended. Each initiator can only be a member to one host
group.
5. Click the iSCSI host initiator.
6. To add Unassigned Host Initiators that have been communicated to the appliance with the CLI
command "iscsiauth" for use with unidirectional CHAP, select an initiator in the table and click Add
to Group.
7. To manually add an initiator, in the Manual initiator entry field, do the following:
o Enter an IQN or EUI address.
o Optional: Enter a CHAP name and CHAP secret.
o Click Add to Group.

44
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 8. Click Save.

To edit or destroy a host group, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance you want to edit or destroy.
3. Select Management > Volumes > Host Groups.
4. Click the COG to the right of the host group and select Remove from the drop-down list.
5. In the confirmation dialog box, click Destroy.

Managing FC Host Groups, Targets and Target Groups

A Fibre Channel (FC) target is a storage resource located on a server that utilizes the Fibre Channel
Protocol (FCP) to link data storage devices over the network. A target group is a container for targets with
a set of network portals within a node over which an FCP session is conducted.

Note: When making FC changes on a clustered appliance, it may take a few seconds for the screen to
refresh and reflect the changes.

Fibre Channel functionality requires an additional license. Use the NexentaStor 5.x CLI to set up FC
targets, changing ports from initiator to target mode. Currently, NexentaFusion does not provide the
ability to configure FC targets.

Configuring FC Host Groups

A host group contains one or more remote initiators. You can use initiator groups to restrict the access
of various initiators so they can only see specific targets and datasets. You can choose to allow all hosts
to access a LUN, or specify that only select hosts have access privileges.
This section demonstrates how to add, edit, and destroy a host group. FC initiator addresses follow the
World Wide Name (WWN) format. A WWN is a unique identifier assigned to a manufacturer and hard-
coded into a Fibre Channel device.
To create a FC host group, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select Host Groups, then click Add Host Group.
5. In the Create Host Group dialog box, enter a unique Host Group name. A host group may contain
iSCSI and FC initiators, though this is not recommended. Each initiator can only be a member to one
host group.
6. Click the Fibre channel host initiators tab, select Unassigned Host Initiators to be added to the
group. Optionally, you can filter for an initiator in the list by entering characters for the initiator
name in the search field.

45
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 7. Click Add to Group.
8. To manually add an initiator to the group, enter a WWN address and click Add to Group.
9. Click Save.

Adding FC Targets to a New or Existing FC Target Group

This section demonstrates how to create FC target group with the available targets.
To add FC targets to a new or existing FC target group, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select FC Targets and Groups.
5. Click the check box to the left of the target or targets to be added, then in the lower right corner of
the window click Assign to Target Group. Node columns only appear if the appliance is a cluster.
Targets that do not yet belong to a group are shown with a blank Target Group name and an empty
check box. A target can only belong to one target group.
6. In the Add targets to group, do one of the following:
o To create a New group with the FC targets, enter a group name in the text field and click Add.
o To add the FC targets to an existing Target group, click the radio button for the FC group and
click Add.
The page refreshes automatically. You can click Refresh to update the display manually if needed.

Removing FC Targets from a Group

This section demonstrates how to remove FC targets from an FC target group.
To remove FC targets from a group, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select FC Targets and Groups.
5. To remove a target from a group, click the target COG and select Remove Target from Group in the
drop-down list in the FC Targets and Groups page.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
The page refreshes automatically. You can click Refresh to update the display manually if needed.

46
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Viewing Target Group Sessions
This section demonstrates how to view session details for all the FC targets belonging to a group.
To view target group sessions, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select FC Targets and Groups.
5. Click the target COG and select Show sessions in the drop-down list. The Active sessions dialog
appears.
6. Click Close to return to the FC Targets and Groups page.

Destroying FC Target Groups

This section demonstrates how to delete a FC target group.
To delete a FC target group, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes.
4. Select FC Targets and Groups.
5. Click the target group COG and select Destroy Target Group in the drop-down list.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

Managing LUNs
NexentaFusion allows you to map volumes to LUNs. A logical unit number (LUN) identifies a logical unit,
a device addressed by protocols, such as Fibre Channel or iSCSI. This section includes topics on managing
LUNs after the volumes have been mapped.

Note: LUN can be mapped with iSCSI or Fibre Channel (FC), but not both. iSCSI and FC mappings on the
same LUN are not supported.

You can map a volume as an iSCSI LUN or FC LUN. LUN mappings enable you to select the targets to which
to export the current LUN, and the initiators that are allowed to see the LUN. In the simplest
configuration, all initiators can see the mapped targets.
Before you begin mapping a volume to a LUN, you should have already completed Creating Volumes, and
Managing iSCSI Host Groups, Targets, and Groups, or Managing FC Host Groups, Targets and Target
Groups.
Fibre Channel functionality requires an additional license. If there is no Fibre Channel license, only the
iSCSI option is active and is selected by default for mapping.

47
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 To map a volume, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > Volumes.
4. Expand the pool and volume group that contains the volume to be mapped, click the COG for the
volume, and select Map Volume from the drop-down list.
5. Select a Protocol: iSCSI or Fibre Channel.
6. If required in your environment, change the block size to use for this LUN. The block size cannot be
changed after the first mapping has been created.
7. In the Map Volume dialog box, click Add Mapping and do the following:
o Select host group from the drop-down list, or select All to allow any host access to the
volume.
o Select target group from the drop-down list.
o Optional: Assign a LUN # to the volume. The system assigns a LUN number by default, but
you can enter a specific value, if desired.
o Click Save.
8. Additional mappings can be added by repeating step 7.
9. Click Close when the mappings are complete.

Viewing LUN Information

This section demonstrates how to view information about LUNs, including health status, host group,
target group and size.
To view information for a LUN, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > LUNs.
4. In the far left column, click the Expand All / Collapse All arrows to show the mappings. The volume
Name, Status, Serial number, Host Group, Target Group, Size of the LUN, and Protocol are shown in
the table.
5. Mouse over a target group entry to see information on the targets in the group.
6. In the far right column, click the COG for a LUN and select Properties to see additional information
such as LUN block size.

48
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Editing and Destroying LUN Mappings
This section demonstrates how to edit the LUN mappings and destroy a LUN.
To edit LUN mappings, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > LUNs.
4. In the far right column, click the COG for a LUN and select Edit Mappings.
5. In the dialog box, modify LUN mappings in the following ways:
o To add a new mapping, click Add Mapping, select a host group, and target group from the
respective drop-down lists. Click the diskette icon to save changes.
o To delete a mapping, click the trash can icon for the mapping, then click Yes in the
confirmation dialog.
6. Click Close.

To destroy a LUN, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Volumes > LUNs.
4. In the far right column, click the COG for the LUN and select Destroy.
5. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

49
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 5. Data Protection
Data protection can be used with any dataset, be it a file system, volume group, or volume. Data
protection is accomplished using snapshots, clones, and with replication.
• Snapshots — A read-only point-in-time copy of a dataset. You can create a one-time snapshot of a
dataset or create a schedule to automatically take snapshots at specified intervals.
• Clones — A copy of a snapshot that is a separate, readable, and writable dataset. A clone remains
linked to the original snapshot from which it was created, until the clone is promoted. The snapshot
from which a clone is created cannot be deleted if the clone exists. Promoting a clone doesn't create
an independent dataset. Promoting allows to replace the origin dataset with a clone by swapping
them in the data structure.
• Replication — Frequent copying from a database in one location to a database in another location.
Replication creates a new dataset, then copies any changes made to the original dataset to the
replication location at specified intervals. A replication dataset can be local or remote. There are two
types of replications: scheduled replication and continuous replication. Replication, by definition, is
scheduled to occur at specified intervals. Continuous replication does not follow a schedule, instead
replication is triggered whenever a change is detected in the original dataset. To perform remote
replication to another appliance, the replication group password and data address must be
configured.

Note: Scheduled Replication and Continuous Replication each require an additional license. Scheduled
snapshot functionality is included with the base NexentaStor license. For more information, contact your
NexentaStor Sales Engineer.

Taking a One-Time Snapshot

This section demonstrates how to take a one-time snapshot of a file system, volume, or volume group. A
snapshot is a read-only point-in-time representation of a file system, volume, or other dataset. Snapshots
allow safety across reboots and upgrades.
To take a one-time snapshot of a dataset, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appliance.
3. Select Management and do one of the following:
o For a volume group or volume, select Volumes > Volumes.
o For a file system, select Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. Expand the pool, navigate to the dataset, click the COG, and select Data Protection.
5. On the Snapshots page, click Snap Now.
6. Enter a Snapshot name in the text field. For file systems, you can optionally select the Recursive
check box to take snapshots of the selected parent dataset and all child (multiple layers of nested)
datasets.
7. Click Confirm.

50
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Cloning a Snapshot and Promoting a Clone
A snapshot is a copy of a dataset at a specific point in time. A clone is a new dataset created from a
snapshot that is readable and writable. A clone has an implicit dependency on the snapshot from which
it was created. Even though the clone may be at another location in the dataset hierarchy, the original
snapshot cannot be destroyed if the clone exists. You can clone a file system or volume, but not a volume
group, as a volume group is merely a container for volumes.

Note: Promoting a clone created by a replication service is not supported. For more information, see the
NexentaStor High Performance Replication User Guide.

Promoting a clone doesn't create an independent dataset. Promoting allows to replace the origin dataset
with a clone by swapping them in the data structure. This section demonstrates how to clone a snapshot,
and then promote the clone.
To create a clone, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. Click the COG to the right of the dataset and select Data Protection.
5. Click the COG for the snapshot and select Clone from the drop-down list.
6. Enter a Path for clone in the text field that includes the clone name. The clone is automatically
generated with the name specified in the path.
7. Click Clone.

To promote a clone, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance that contains the pool.
3. Select Management and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. Click the COG to the right of the cloned dataset and select Promote.
5. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

51
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Rolling Back or Deleting a Snapshot
This section demonstrates how to roll back a dataset to a previous snapshot, and how to delete a
snapshot.
Note: A rollback operation reverts all changes made to the dataset since the time the snapshot was taken.

To rollback a dataset to a previous snapshot, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. To rollback a snapshot for mapped volume, first Unmap it.
5. Expand the pool, click the COG on the far right of the dataset, and select Data Protection.
6. To rollback a snapshot for a dataset that has replication services, first select Protection Services,
and disable the replication services.
7. Select Snapshots , click the COG next to the snapshot you want to roll the dataset back to, and
select Rollback.
8. In the confirmation dialog box, click Confirm.

Note: Destroying a snapshot that has dependent datasets, such as a clone created from the snapshot is
not allowed. Promote any dependent clones before trying to delete snapshots.

To delete snapshots, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. Expand the pool, click the COG to the right of the dataset, and select Data Protection.
5. Do one of the following:
o Click the check boxes to the left of the snapshot Name to select individual snapshots to be
deleted. The check box changes color, and a check mark appears.
o At the left of the heading bar, click the check box to automatically select all snapshots to be
deleted. The check boxes change color and check marks appear.
6. At the bottom of the window, click Destroy.
7. In the confirmation dialog box, click Destroy.
You can also delete an individual snapshot through its COG menu, Destroy.

52
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Preparing the Appliance for Replication
This section covers how to specify the dedicated network interface to use for replication, and how to
specify the replication group password.

Setting the Replication Network Interface

To run high-performance replication (HPR) on an appliance, it is recommended that the interface on each
node should be configured with a static IP interface, a 10 Gigabit Ethernet with Jumbo frames. This
interface should be dedicated to replication, and not be used for appliance management. HPR uses port
6000 as the default.
To change the data protection dedicated network interface, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Data Protection.
4. Under Settings the service status is shown.
5. Click the pencil icon next to the interface you want to modify.
The Data Protection Dedicate Network Interface Address dialog box appears.
6. Select the IP address for use when receiving replication data.
7. Click Save.

Setting the Replication Group Password

Before configuring replication services between NexentaStor appliances, you must ensure that they are
part of the same replication group. A replication group is defined as a set of appliances that share the
same replication password. The replication password provides a simple, non-intrusive level of
authentication that protects the appliances from being configured as a replication target of systems that
are not in the same replication group.
To set or change the replication password:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Data Protection.
4. Click on Change Replication Password to display the dialog box where you can type a new
password.
The password text entry field will not display any indication that a password was previously set.
5. Click OK.

53
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Adding a Protection Service
A service (function) performs a specific task on a dataset. A protection service creates a snapshot instance
based on a specified schedule and dataset. You establish a protection service as a basis for scheduling
snapshots and replication.

Working with Protection Services

Local replication replicates data to another location on the same host. Remote replication replicates data
from one host to another host. After a replication service is enabled, a heartbeat mechanism keeps the
service up to date through synchronization.

Note: A service can have more than one schedule.

The icons in Table: Protection Service Icons appear in the Protection column for Filesystems and Volumes
as a visual indicator for the type and status of the service.
Table 9: Protection Service Icons

Protection Service Icon Description

Indicates the destination location for a replication service. Green indicates

the service is in working order. Red indicates the service is not working.
Gray indicates the service is disabled. Transparent green indicates that the
child filesystem or volume is protected by a parent data protection policy.

Indicates the source location for a replication service. Green indicates the
service is in working order. Red indicates the service is not working. Gray
indicates the service is disabled. Transparent green indicates that the child
filesystem or volume is protected by a parent data protection policy.

Indicates a scheduled snapshot service. Green indicates the service is in

working order. Red indicates the service is not working. Gray indicates the
service is disabled. Transparent green indicates that the child filesystem or
volume is protected by a parent data protection policy.

Adding a Scheduled Replication Service

For scheduled replication, snapshots are created on a specified schedule and replicated to a designated
destination, either locally or on a remote host.
To create a scheduled replication service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.

54
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 4. Expand the pool, click the COG on the far right of the dataset, and select Data Protection.
5. Select Protection Services , click Add New Service + , then in the New Protection Service dialog box,
do the following:
o Enter a Service name that is unique and is made up of only letters, numbers, and any of the
following symbols: underscore (_), dash (-), or forward slash (/).
o Select Scheduled replication from the drop-down list.
o For Local replication, click the check box.
o For a Remote replication, specify the following:
o IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the destination appliance
o Port number. The default port number is 8443
o For local and remote replication, enter the complete path to the Secondary dataset to which
the snapshots will be replicated.
6. Click the Recursive check box to take snapshots of the nested datasets under the selected parent
dataset.
7. In the Advanced options window, optionally, for filesystems shared with NFS, click Send NFS
settings to replicate NFS share permissions to the destination.
8. In the Throttle field, set a maximum transfer rate for all replication by limiting the total bandwidth
used by all transfers at any time.
9. Check the Mount destination filesystem to mount the destination filesystem to the default
mountpoint. If unchecked, mountpoint is set to none.
10. To Set destination as read-only, click the check box.
11. Click Add Schedule. In the New Schedule dialog box, select a Repeat interval (the time interval at
which the snapshots should be taken) from the drop-down list:
o Hourly — Specify the hours interval, then select a Minutes value from the drop-down list.
The minute intervals appear in the field. Optionally, you can click inside the field and manually
enter additional minute interval values.
o Daily — Specify the Run every number of days interval, then specify the time of day at which
to take the snapshot in the Run at field.
o Weekly — Select the Days of Week on which to take the snapshot, then specify the time of
day at which to take the snapshot in the Run at field.
o Monthly — Specify the Run every number of months interval, type in the Days of Month on
which to take the snapshot and press Enter. Then you can type another date. Next, specify
the time of day at which to take the snapshot in the Run at field.
12. In Snapshots Keep Policy:
o Specify the number of latest snapshots to be kept locally.
o Specify the number of latest snapshots to be kept on the secondary dataset or server.
13. Click Add Schedule, and then click Create.

55
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Adding a Scheduled Snapshots Service
For scheduled snapshots, snapshots are created on a specified schedule. Schedule services can then
replicate data on a given schedule. A service can have multiple schedules.
To create a scheduled snapshot service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. Expand the pool, click COG on the right of the dataset, and select Data Protection.
5. Select Protection Services , click Add New Service + , then in the New Protection Service dialog
box, do the following:
o Enter a Service name that is unique and is made up of only letters, numbers, and any of the
following symbols: underscore (_), dash (-), or forward slash (/).
o Select Scheduled snapshots from the Service type drop-down list, if not already selected.
o Click the Recursive check box to take snapshots of nested datasets (filesystems) under the
selected parent dataset.
6. Click Add Schedule, then in the New Schedule dialog box, select a Repeat interval (the time interval
at which the snapshots should be taken) from the drop-down list:
o Hourly — Specify the hours interval, then select a Minutes value from the drop-down list.
The minute intervals appear in the field. Optionally, you can click inside the field and manually
enter additional minute interval values.
o Daily — Specify the Run every number of days interval during which to take the snapshot.
Then specify the time of day in the Run at field.
o Weekly — Select the Days of Week during which to take the snapshot. Then specify the time
of day in the Run at field.
o Monthly — Specify the Run every number of months interval, and then type in the Days of
Month during which to take the snapshot. Press Enter. Then you can type another date. Next,
specify the time of day in the Run at field.
7. In Snapshots Keep Policy, specify the number of latest snapshots to be kept locally.
8. Click Add Schedule, and then click Create.

56
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Filtering Snapshots and Data Protection Service Data
NexentaFusion provides filtering capabilities that greatly improve efficiency for viewing snapshot and
data protection service data.
To filter snapshot and data protection service data, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. Click the COG of a file system or volume and select Data Protection from the drop-down list.
5. Do one of the following:
o Click Snapshots and select a Filter by option from the drop-down list.
o Click Protection Services and select a Filter by option from the drop-down list.
6. Enter a query string, or make selections as appropriate, then click Filter. The results appear in a
table.
7. Click Clear to reset the default values for a new query.

Configuring Continuous Replication

Continuous replication provides optimum data protection by continually copying dataset updates, and
storing them locally or remotely. Changes to data trigger an automatic snapshot that is immediately
replicated to a specified destination.

Note: Continuous Replication requires an additional license. Scheduled snapshot functionality is included
with the base NexentaStor 5.x license. For more information, contact your NexentaStor Sales Engineer.

To configure continuous replication, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. Expand the pool, click the COG on the far right of the dataset, and select Data Protection.
5. Select Continuous Replication, and then click Configure Continuous Replication.
6. In the New Protection Service dialog box, do one of the following:
o For Local replication, click the check box.
o For remote replication, specify the following for the Remote host :
o IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the destination appliance
o Port number. The default port number is 8443.

57
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 o For local and remote replication, enter the complete path to the Secondary dataset to which
the snapshots are to be replicated.
7. Optional: For a file system with nested datasets, click the Recursive check box to take snapshots of
all the nested datasets under the selected parent dataset. There is no recursive selection for
volumes and for volume groups. All volumes in a selected group are automatically replicated.
8. In the Advanced options window, optionally, for filesystems shared with NFS, click Send NFS
settings to replicate NFS share permissions to the destination.
9. In the Throttle field, set a maximum transfer rate for all replication by limiting the total bandwidth
used by all transfers at any time.
10. Check the Mount destination filesystem to mount the destination filesystem to the default
mountpoint. If unchecked, mountpoint is set to none.
11. To Set destination as read-only, click the check box.
12. In the confirmation dialog box, click Create.
13. If Continuous Replication has been disabled, you can update the target at any time doing the
following:
o Selecting Management > Filesystems.
o Select the COG for the pool and choose Data Protection from the drop-down list.
o Select Continuous Replication and then click Run Once.

Editing or Deleting a Schedule

This section demonstrates how to edit or delete a schedule.
To manually edit or delete a schedule, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion and in the Appliances page, select the appliance.
2. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Filesystems , click the COG for a file system, and select Data Protection from the drop-
down list.
o Select Volumes , click the COG for a volume or volume group, and select Data Protection
from the drop-down list.
3. To modify the schedule, do the following:
o Select Protection Services.
o Click the arrow next to the service Name to expand the tree, click the COG for the schedule
and select Edit from the drop-down list.
o In the Schedules field of the dialog, click the pencil (Edit) icon.
o In the Edit Schedule dialog box, modify the necessary fields as described in Adding a
Scheduled Replication Service or Adding a Scheduled Snapshots Service topic.
o Click Save.
4. To delete the schedule, do the following:
o Select Protection Services.
o Click the COG for the schedule, and select Destroy from the drop-down list.
o In the confirmation dialog box, click Destroy.

58
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Manually Executing a Service
This section demonstrates how to execute a scheduled service manually.
To manually execute a service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion and in the Appliances page, select the appliance.
2. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Filesystems , click the COG for a file system, and select Data Protection from the drop-
down list.
o Select Volumes , click the COG for a volume or volume group, and select Data Protection
from the drop-down list.
3. Select Protection Services , click the COG for the service and select Snap Once or Run Once from
the drop-down list.

Disabling and Enabling a Protection Service

You can disable a protection service at any time. Disabling a protection service ends replication,
overriding the configured replication schedule. Disabling the service on the Primary node of an HA cluster
simultaneously disables the service on the Secondary node. Disabling the service on both HA nodes at
the same time is important in controlling failover.
You can also choose to destroy a protection service. When you destroy a replication service, you can
destroy the destination dataset and snapshots, as applicable to the protection service.

Note: Forcibly disabling recursive replication can result in data inconsistencies. You must disable a
replication service before you are allowed to destroy the service.

To disable a protection service, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion and in the Appliances page, select the appliance.
2. Select the Management tab and do one of the following:
o Select Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Filesystems > Filesystems.
3. Expand the pool, click the COG to the right of the dataset, and do one of the following:
o Select Data Protection > Protection Services.
o Select Data Protection > Continuous Replication.
4. For Protection Services, find the service to be disabled, and clear the check box in the Service
column.
If the protection service is a replication service, a confirmation dialog will be displayed. If replication
is in progress when DISABLE is clicked, it will complete and then the service will be disabled. Selecting
Force the service to be disabled and stop replications immediately may result in data
inconsistencies, if a replication is in progress. It is recommended that this option only be selected in
critical situations.
5. For Continuous Replication, toggle Service enabled to OFF. To re-enable the service, toggle Service
enabled back to ON.

59
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

Destroying a Protection Service

You can destroy a protection service if the service is disabled. You have the option of destroying the
source snapshots and destination snapshots or dataset, as desired.
To destroy a protection service, do the following:
1. Disable the service, as described in Disabling and Enabling a Protection Service.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Do one of the following:
o Select Management > Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Management > Filesystems > Filesystems.
4. Expand the pool, click the COG on the far right of the dataset and do one of the following:
o Select Data Protection > Protection Services.
o Select Data Protection > Continuous Replication.
5. Do one of the following:
o Click the COG for the service, and select Destroy from the drop-down list.
o Select Remove Continuous Replication Service.
6. Choose from the following options:
o Destroy source snapshots — Deletes the source snapshots while destroying the service,
leaving the destination snapshots and dataset intact.
o Destroy destination snapshots — Deletes the destination snapshots while destroying the
service, leaving the source snapshots and destination dataset intact.
o Destroy the destination dataset — Deletes the destination dataset, which includes the
destination snapshots, while destroying the service.
o Force the service to be destroyed under all circumstances — Deletes the service under all
conditions.

Note: When deleting a Continuous Replication service, "Destroy the destination dataset" and
"Force the service to be destroyed under all circumstances" are the only available options.

When deleting a Scheduled snapshot service, "Destroy service snapshots" and "Force the service
to be destroyed under all circumstances" are the only available options.

7. Click Destroy.

60
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Viewing the Replication History
The appliance stores the results of the last 10 runs including run-once, scheduled and recovery runs.
To view the replication history:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion and in the Appliances page, select the appliance.
2. Select Management and do one of the following:
o Select Filesystems, click the COG for a file system, and select Data Protection from the drop-
down list.
o Select Volumes, click the COG for a volume or volume group, and select Data Protection from
the drop-down list.
o Select Data Protection and query for the desired Replication Services.
3. Select Protection Services, click the COG for the service and select Show history from the drop-
down list.

Flipping the Direction of a Replication Service

Flipping the direction of the replication service can be used to restore data back to the source site as part
of a dataset recovery operation. Flipping the direction of the service does not create a copy of the
replication service at the secondary site. This operation can only be performed on disabled replication
services.

Note: Disable a replication service before flipping the direction of a replication service. All clients should
be quiesced prior to flipping the direction of the service, otherwise data may be compromised during the
process. Clients can resume writing data after the flip process is complete.

The following guidelines apply when flipping the direction of a replication service:
• When the replication direction is flipped, keep policy values are flipped as well.
• Two services cannot replicate to the same destination. It is not allowed.
• Check all clients prior to beginning the flip process, to maintain the integrity of the data.
• If a replication service is active when flipping the direction, an error dialog appears.

Note: For information on the advanced configuration options for a HPR service, see the NexentaStor High
Performance Replication User Guide.

Nexenta recommends that you use these advanced functionalities only as disaster recovery solutions.
To flip the direction of a service, do the following:
1. Disable the service as described in Disabling and Enabling a Protection Service.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Do one of the following:
o Select Management > Volumes > Volumes.
o Select Management > Filesystems > Filesystems.

61
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 4. Expand the pool, click the COG on the far right of the dataset and do one of the following:
o Select Data Protection > Protection Services.
o Select Data Protection > Continuous Replication.
5. Do one of the following:
o Click the COG next to the dataset and select Flip direction.
o Click Flip Replication Direction.
6. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box that appears.

Activating a Destination Dataset

In disaster recovery scenarios, following a failure at the source site and the replication is disabled, you
must explicitly activate the destination dataset (file system or volume) of a replication service before it
can be shared to applications. Activating the destination dataset ensures that the dataset is ready to be
shared and used by applications on the secondary site.
• If the destination is a file system, it ensures it is mounted to its default mount point. If file system is
replicated with sendShareNfs option, file systems will be shared with the same settings as they were
shared on the source.
• Activating the dataset sets readonly of any datasets to OFF if it is already ON.
• Activating destroys incompletely received snapshot of any datasets that remains after a replication
gets interrupted and may prevent creating new snapshots.
The mount point property is inherited from the parent pool or filesystem.
To activate a filesystem, do the following:
1. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
2. Select Management > Filesystems > Filesystems.
3. Expand the pool and click the COG on the far right of the dataset.
4. Click Activate.
To activate a volume, do the following:
1. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
2. Select Management > Volumes > Volumes.
3. Expand the pool and click the COG on the far right of the volume.
4. Click Activate.

Recovering a Faulted Replication Service

Modifying, deleting, or creating snapshots of the destination dataset may cause the replication service to
become faulted. Errors include:
• Destination has been modified since the most recent snapshots.
• Source and destination snapshots do not match, the replication serviced should be recovered.
A “Data Protection service faulted” alert will be generated. Use the Data Protection view to query for
services where the State is Faulted. Click on the service COG to see if the Recover option is available.

62
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Click Recover to see the exact steps that will be taken if the RECOVER button is clicked. It will create a
new recovery snapshot; then try to find the common snapshot for each replicated dataset separately,
and replicate all snapshots created after the common snapshot to the destination. Any changes or
snapshots created after the common snapshot will be destroyed. If the common snapshot does not exist,
the dataset is replicated from scratch.

Verifying and Querying Data Protection Data

The Management > Data Protection page provides a summary of data protection data, in tabular and
graphical formats, from which you can verify the established services and configurations. The Data
Protection page also provides querying capabilities by protection service type.
To verify and query data protection data, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Data Protection.
4. Verify the following information, as necessary:
o Summary of data protection
o Summary of dedicated network interface configurations.
o Summary of configured Data Protection services, shown in tabular format.

To query snapshot and protection data, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances page, select the appliance.
3. Select Management > Data Protection.
4. To query snapshot data, click Snapshots and do the following:
o Select from the drop-down list on the far left. The default is Snapshot name. The query fields
change in accordance with the selection.
o Specify the necessary query options, as appropriate.
o Click Filter. Results appear in a table.
o Hover the cursor over a Protection Service icon to view a pop-up with detailed information.
o Click a COG to perform related actions for the selected snapshot.
5. To query protection data, click Protection Services and do the following:
o Select a Service name from the drop-down list. The resulting query options vary in
accordance with the selected service.
o Enter query parameters or select from the drop-down list, as appropriate for the service.
o Click Filter. The results appear in a table.
o Hover the cursor over an icon next to the Name of the service, to view a pop-up with detailed
information.
o Click a COG to perform related actions for the selected service.
6. Click Clear to reset the fields to their defaults and perform another query.

63
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 6. High Availability
About NexentaStor High Availability
NexentaStor High Availability (HA) is an enterprise-proven cluster product that manages the availability
of critical storage pools. Based on your requirement, the HA cluster can be either configured on bare
metal or between NexentaStor Virtual Machines on VMware vSphere.
Configure the NexentaStor HA cluster using the NexentaStor Command Line Interface (CLI), and then
manage the clustered nodes with NexentaFusion.
High Availability functionality is only available when a valid NexentaStor HA license is installed on an
appliance. For more information, contact your Nexenta sales engineer or Nexenta Customer Support at
[email protected].

NexentaStor HA on Bare-Metal
NexentaStor HA cluster on bare metal consists of two servers with shared storage and any number of
configured HA services. Each service in the cluster contains one or more storage pools and zero or more
associated VIPs. The high availability of the pools is maintained by the cluster software that manages the
startup and failover of the HA services within the cluster.
An example of a High Availability (HA) cluster configuration would consist of two HA services. Each service
is created independently, then assigned to one or more pools. Under normal operation, each node
provides services to their designated pools.
In the event of either node failure, the high availability of the pools on bare-metal is maintained by the
cluster software that uses two functions to provide reliable automated failover services:
• Heartbeats: Each node in the cluster communicates with the other node through different heartbeat
mechanisms such as Network and disk heartbeats. These heartbeats are used to monitor the status
of the remote node. If a remote node responds to network or disk heartbeats, it is deemed
operational. If a remote node stops responding to heartbeats for a specific time, the HA cluster
detects system failure, and an automatic failover operation is initiated.
• SCSI based disk reservations: SCSI persistent reservations on devices in the pool are used to protect
the data in the pool if split brain scenarios where two nodes may concurrently attempt to take
ownership of a pool, or a node that was temporarily hung attempts to write to a pool it no longer
owns.
When a failed node is repaired and restarted, it re-joins the cluster and the administrator controls when
the pools are redistributed.

64
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 NexentaStor VSA on VMware
NexentaStor High Availability is also supported between NexentaStor Virtual Machines on VMware
vSphere. This configuration is popular for customers looking to add full featured NAS file services to
VMware vSphere environments on all-block SANs or Hyper-Converged Infrastructure such as VMware
Virtual SAN and Nutanix.
A NexentaStor HA cluster on VMware vSphere relies on two functions to provide reliable automated
failover services:
• Heartbeats: Each node in the cluster communicates with the other node through different heartbeat
mechanisms such as Network and disk heartbeats. These heartbeats are used to monitor the status
of the remote node. If a remote node responds to network or disk heartbeats, it is deemed
operational. If a remote node stops responding to heartbeats for a specific time, the HA cluster
detects system failure, and an automatic failover operation is initiated.
• vCenter control point: vCenter is used to control the power state of NexentaStor virtual machines to
protect against split brain scenarios and ensure that a storage pool is only imported on a single node
at any time. This is used as an alternative to SCSI persistent reservations used on bare metal clusters.

65
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 About NexentaStor High Availability and HA Services
HA Cluster
• A pair of NexentaStor appliances that have the HA feature licensed on both nodes.
• Runs a defined set of services and monitors each cluster member for failures. Clustered NexentaStor
appliances are connected through various communication channels, and exchange heartbeats that
continually send information about their states.
• Can have multiple pools and services, with at least one dedicated pool per HA service.
• Includes a built-in monitoring mechanism that detects a failure in the interface between the clients
and the datasets that can trigger an automatic failover to the other node in the cluster.

66
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Note: NexentaStor HA Cluster creation must be done in the NexentaStor CLI before registering the
appliance to NexentaFusion. Configuration settings in NexentaFusion are limited to HA services and the
VMware vCenter credential, used when deploying a VSA-based cluster.

HA Service
Detects server hardware, software and network failures across the HA Cluster and makes speedy,
predictable, and predefined decisions as to what remedial action to take.
Continually passes HA service state around the HA cluster so that services (and their associated pools)
can be automatically started on the alternate node in the cluster if necessary.
Allows manual movement of services (and their associated pools) in the HA Cluster for load balancing and
administrative needs. Provides robust data fencing of pools in the HA Cluster.
• Is configurable using NexentaFusion, NexentaStor CLI or RESTful API.
• Provides notification of significant events across the HA Cluster.
• Exercises unused system components ensuring they are available if required on failover.
• Has no automatic bounce back of HA service after the failed node is repaired.
• Has any number of VIPs that failover with the service.

Editing vCenter Credentials for VSA-based Clusters

To deploy a VSA-based cluster, you must establish the connection between the NexentaStor VMs and the
vCenter host by setting up the vCenter credentials. This capability is only applicable for NexentaStor
appliance 5.2.0 and later.
To set up the vCenter credentials, you must meet all prerequisites that are listed under the section
“Outline of HA service configuration for NexentaStor VSA on VMware” in NexentaStor HA CLI QuickStart
Guide.
To set up the vCenter credentials, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Cluster Status. The Cluster Status table appears.
5. To configure VSA-based cluster, click on the COG icon to the right of the Configuration section.
6. In the VSA_based cluster configuration window, enter the vCenter server address or name, port,
user, and password and click Save.
7. Under Configuration, the VSA-based cluster displays:
o “n/a” if the VSA is not configured yet.
o “offline” in red if configured, but the connection failed. Hover-over the text “offline” to see
the details.

67
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Verifying Cluster Status
You can review and verify the details and status of cluster nodes immediately from the Cluster Status
page, including net heartbeat and configuration information.
To verify the status of cluster nodes, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Cluster Status. The Cluster Status table appears.
5. Click Refresh to update the data.

Viewing Network Heartbeats

To view the network heartbeats, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Cluster Status.

Configuring an HA Service for a Pool with Shared Devices

The primary benefit of an HA Service is to provide high availability access to user data. This is
accomplished by detecting Nexenta node failures along with client communication drops and transferring
ownership of the shared pools to the alternate NexentaStor node. A VIP is a virtual address associated
with a shared pool service. The network clients use the VIP to connect to the shared pool.
To configure HA service for a shared pool, do the following:
1. Complete creating pools on single or clustered nodes with HA enabled. The Add to HA Control
screen appears.
2. Do one of the following:
o Select Use existing service to control pool, select the radio button next to the Service name
in the table, and click Save.
o Select Create a new service to control pool.
3. Enter description in Service description.
4. Optionally, configure a virtual IP address in the following way:
o Enter the VIP Name. Additional VIPs can be configured later.
o Select an IP protocol from the drop-down list.
o Enter the IP address used for the VIP when the HA cluster was configured.
o Enter the Netmask used for the VIP when the HA cluster was configured.
o Select the interface for each node upon which the VIP should be placed, such as an
aggregated link, VLAN link, or physical link.

68
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 5. Click Create Service.
This entire sequence may take a few minutes.

Note: If needed, additional VIPs can be configured for the service.

After associating a pool with an HA service, the pool table appears with a flashing yellow shield. After
service creation completes, the screen refreshes and a green shield appears. This means the pool is ready
to handle IOs.

Adding an Unshared Pool to an HA Service

For pools on a clustered appliance that have not been enabled for high-availability, you can add the pools
to an HA service later. This section demonstrates how to add an unshared pool to an HA service. Clicking
on Pools lists all the pools belonging to an appliance that are part of an HA service, as well as the pools
that are not part of an HA service. If the devices in a pool are not available to both the nodes in the cluster,
you cannot add the HA service.
To add an unshared pool to a cluster service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select the clustered appliance on which the HA service exists.
3. Select Management > Pools, click the COG of the pool to be added, and select Add to HA control
from the drop-down list.
4. Do one of the following:
o To use an existing service, click Use existing service to control pool, select the service, and
click Save.
o To use a new service, click Create new service to control pool, enter a Service description,
and optionally configure VIPs as described in Configuring an HA Service for a Pool with Shared
Devices. Click Create Service.
5. After associating the pool with an HA service, the pool table displays with a flashing yellow shield
again. After service update or creation completes, the screen refreshes, and a green shield appears.
This means the pool is ready to handle IOs.

Note: This entire sequence may take a few minutes. If after a refresh and several minutes the shield is
not green, mouse over the shield to see whether the status indicates a problem.

Viewing Status Details for a Shared Pool

This section demonstrates how to view the status details of a shared pool under the control of an HA
service.
To view the service status for a pool, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select the clustered appliance on which the HA service exists.
3. Select Management > Pools.

69
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 For a clustered appliance, the pool view shows the node that owns the pool. The status of the pool
is shown in the Health column. The first column in the following figure (only shown for a clustered
appliance) represents the Cluster service state.
4. In the first column, hover the cursor over the shield icon to view information on the configured VIP
and states of the service. The Unblocked parameter indicates whether the HA Service is enabled to
be started on the node.

Moving a Pool under HA Service Control

When a pool is configured for HA with NexentaFusion, it is set to failover automatically when the HA
cluster detects a system failure. However, you can move a pool (enabled for high-availability) manually,
from the active node to the secondary node in a clustered environment. The service, the pool, and any
other pools that are managed by the service are moved to the other node. You might move a pool that is
under an HA service when the active node needs to be taken down for maintenance.

Note: Clients using the pool during migration will see a temporary suspension of IO while the failover is
in progress.

To manually move an HA pool from one node to another, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select the clustered appliance on which the HA service exists.
3. Select Management > Pools.
All the pools belonging to the appliance are shown.
4. Click the COG of the pool enabled for high-availability and select Move HA Pool. If the HA service
manages a pool or multiple pools, a dialog box appears. The text displayed on the dialog is different
for just one pool, however.
5. To move all pools managed by the service to the designated node, click Yes.

Removing a Pool from HA Control

When you remove a pool from HA control, the pool remains on the node where the HA service was
running, and all the shares stay accessible from this node, but the VIP addresses are removed. Removing
a pool from HA control has no effect on the service or the other pools the HA service manages unless you
remove the initial pool with which the service was created.

Caution! The HA service is destroyed when the initial pool (with the same name as the HA service) with
which the service was created is removed from HA control.

The HA service takes the name of the first pool with which it is associated. Multiple pools can be managed
by one HA service. If the HA service is stopped, the pools under its control remain in an exported state,
but can be manually imported. You can remove all pools from HA control and destroy the service from
the Destroy HA Service screen.

70
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 To remove a pool from HA control, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select the clustered appliance on which the HA service exists.
3. Select Management > Pools.
All the pools belonging to the appliance are shown.
4. Click the COG of the HA pool enabled for high-availability and select Remove from HA Control from
the drop-down list.
The Destroy HA service confirmation dialog box appears, which allows you to remove all pools from
HA control and destroy the service.
5. To remove all pools from HA control and destroy the service, click Yes. The pool remains on the
node where the service was running and all the shares stay accessible from this node, but not the
VIP address.
A dialog box appears in the following cases:
o When you remove a pool from the HA service that is not the initial pool with which the service
was created.
o When you remove the initial pool with which the HA service was created.

Managing HA Services
An HA service runs on clustered nodes to provide high availability (HA) access to user data. When the HA
service detects a node failure, it transfers ownership of the shared storage to the other node in the cluster
pair. HA services are managed independently from one another and can be in several possible states.
An HA cluster must be configured using the NexentaStor 5.x CLI before it is added (registered) to
NexentaFusion. NexentaFusion only configures HA services.

Verifying Service Status

This section demonstrates how to review an overall summary of services running on clustered nodes and
view details for each service.
To view service status and details, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
The Services summary and Services details tables appear showing at-a-glance information about
the services running on both nodes in the cluster.
5. Select a service in the Service summary table.
The table entry displays the node that owns the service and the pools. The Unblocked parameter
indicates whether the HA service is enabled to be started on the node.
6. Additional details for the service are displayed in tables beneath the service details label.
7. To update the data display, click Refresh in the upper right corner.

71
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Viewing VIPs Associated with an HA Service
A VIP is a virtual address associated with a shared pool service. The network clients use the VIP to connect
to the shared pool. When you created an HA Service for a shared pool, as described in Managing HA
Services, you may have added one or more VIPs. This section demonstrates how to view the VIPs
associated with an HA service.
To view a list of configured VIPs associated with an HA service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. Select the desired service in the Services summary table.
The first table in the Service details section shows the VIPs configured for the selected service.

Adding a VIP
This section demonstrates how to add a virtual IP (VIP) to an existing service. A VIP is an address
associated with a shared pool. Network clients use a VIP to connect to a shared pool. After creating an
HA service, you can add a VIP in a cluster-wide fashion on all cluster nodes.
To add a VIP to a service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management and then select the desired service.
5. In the Services details panel, click Add VIP.
A row is added to the table.
6. Do the following:
o Enter a unique VIP Name in the text field.
o Select an IP protocol from the drop-down list. IPv4 is the default.
o Enter an IP Address and Netmask in the appropriate fields.
o Select an interface for each node from their respective drop-down lists.
7. Click the disk icon on the far right to Add VIP. Alternatively, click the X to Cancel Editing and delete
the entries for the new VIP.
After adding the VIP, the VIP information is displayed again in the table with a COG on the far right.

72
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Editing and Deleting a VIP
This section demonstrates how to edit and delete HA VIPs with NexentaFusion.
To edit an HA VIP, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. In the Services details panel, click the COG for the VIP and click Edit.
6. Modify the VIP settings as necessary, and click the disk icon to save changes.
To delete an HA VIP, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. In the Services details panel, click the COG for the VIP and click Delete.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

Viewing Disk Heartbeats

To view the disk heartbeats, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. In the Services Summary table, select the service.
6. To physically locate the device, click on Show Indicators.
Clicking on Show Indicators displays a small icon reflecting the ident light LED.
7. To locate the disk using the blink feature, click the Ident LED icon.
8. The Blink feature enables you to make the indicator for a specific disk bay blink.

Viewing SCSI Reservation Details

To view the state and physical location on the physical devices that are configured with SCSI reservations
in a cluster, navigate to the following page.
To view the SCSI reservation details, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select the cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.

73
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 4. Select Service Management.
5. To physically locate the device, click on Show Indicators.
Clicking on the Show Indicators displays a small icon reflecting the ident light LED.
6. To locate the disk using the blink feature, click the Ident LED icon. The Blink feature enables you
to make the indicator for a specific disk bay blink.

Fail Over Services Manually

This section demonstrates how to manually fail over all services running on one node in a cluster to the
other node. You would typically fail over all services running on a cluster node (to the other cluster node)
to perform maintenance on the node. This procedure moves all services from one node to the other.
To manually fail over services, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. In the upper right corner of the Services summary panel, click Failover.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, select the desired direction for the failover, and then click Yes.

Moving an HA Service
This section demonstrates how to manually move a selected service to the alternate node in a cluster.
You might want to move a specific service and its associated pools to a different node for load-balancing
purposes.
You would typically fail over all services running on a cluster node (to the other cluster node) to perform
maintenance on the node.

Note: Clients using the pool during migration will see a temporary suspension of IO while the failover is
in progress.

To manually move a service to the other cluster node, do the following:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. In the Services summary table, click the COG for the service and select Move.
6. In the Move HA service to another node confirmation dialog, click Yes.
The service and the associated pools are moved to the alternate node in the cluster.

74
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Setting the HA Service Mode
After creating an HA service, you can set the service mode to start automatically after the service stops,
or set the service mode to manual, requiring that the service be started manually. This section
demonstrates how to set the service mode to either automatic or manual.
Changing the service mode has no effect on the state of an active service.
To set the mode of a service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. In the Services summary table, click the COG for the service and select Set Mode.
6. In the Set service mode dialog, click the appropriate radio button to set the mode for each node:
automatic or manual.
7. Click Set to apply the changes.

Stopping and Starting an HA Service

This section demonstrates how to manually stop and start an HA service at any time with NexentaFusion.
To stop and start an HA service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. In the Services summary table, click the COG for the service and do one of the following:
o To stop the service, select Stop from the drop-down list.
o To start the service, select Start from the drop-down list.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

Destroying an HA Service
This section demonstrates how you can destroy an HA service with NexentaFusion.
To destroy an HA service, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. In the Appliances List page, select a cluster.
3. Select Management > High Availability.
4. Select Service Management.
5. In the Services summary table, click the COG for the service and select Destroy from the drop-down
list.
6. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

75
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 7. Managing Hardware
Viewing Appliance Hardware Information
After registering a NexentaStor appliance, you can view the appliance hardware information on the
Hardware page.
For easy management, NexentaFusion provides a graphical or tabular view of the enclosures and disks
connected to the appliance. Use this Hardware page to identify the physical location of certain devices.
The Hardware page enables you to view:
• System software version
• Current system storage profile
• CPU information: CPU model, vendor, number of cores, number of threads.
• RAM information: total amount, available amount.
• HBA information: installed controllers, their models and driver types.
• NIC information: available interfaces, their state and speed.
• Sensors information based on IPMI data: sensor id, name, current value, units, type, and state.
• Rescan inventory option.
• Chassis information: connected enclosures vendor, model, sensor information, list of connected
devices per enclosure and enclosure connection information.
• Blink enclosure option.
• Blink device option.
To open hardware page:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. From the menu on the left, navigate to Management > Hardware.

Viewing an Appliance Profile and Version

After you select the registered appliance from the Appliance List view and click on Management >
Hardware, the interface displays the Appliance profile and the software version under the label Profile,
Version and Server.
The appliance profile is a collection of default tunables on the NexentaStor appliance. Setting a profile
can be done at the initial setup of a NexentaStor appliance during the installation or later using the
NexentaStor 5.x CLI. The default profile is generic. All-flash profiles change kernel settings and storage
pool defaults for the best performance of the system configuration based on SSD drives.
To view the appliance profile and its software version, do the following:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. From the menu on the left, navigate to Management > Hardware.

76
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Reviewing Server Sensors
Sensor information is provided per node based on IPMI data. If the node does not have IPMI controller,
the sensor information will be missing for this node.
To review sensor information:
1. Navigate to hardware page for appropriate appliance.
2. Select the appropriate node (if the appliance is HA cluster).
3. Click the COG on the right near the Refresh button.
4. Click Display server sensors information.
The sensor data is not updated live. To update to the current values, click Refresh on the sensors
page.

Rescanning Storage Devices

When a new storage device or enclosure is attached to the node, the inventory information does not
update automatically. Thus, the inventory rescan must be triggered manually.
1. Navigate to hardware page for appropriate appliance.
2. Select the appropriate node (if the appliance is HA cluster).
3. Click the COG on the right near the Refresh button.
4. Click Rescan inventory to rescan all the devices attached to the node.
5. In the opened modal window, select the appropriate rescan options.
6. Click Rescan.
It takes several minutes to retrieve the new details.

Chassis Section
Chassis section of appliance Hardware page helps to identify and manage recognized chassis, enclosures,
and storage devices (drives). There is an ability to review sensor information for enclosures that support
it as well as trigger blinking the indicator for certain enclosure or drive bay. The drives that are located
within server case are presented under the Internal or attached media section.

Representation Modes
Chassis section provides several representation modes to ease the review for devices (drives). In general,
the drives are grouped by enclosures and then by bays, trays, rows, etc. within enclosure. The grouping
intends to copy the physical layout of the enclosure model and the location of the devices according to
this layout.
There are two representation modes for Chassis section - grid mode and table mode. While grid mode
could be more helpful to present the physical layout of drives in enclosure, table mode provides more
information on the usage of drive in system. For example, the drive might be used to storage pool
affiliation.

77
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 The number of displayed drives can be filtered by enclosure, disk type, pool, or disk attributes. In the
table mode, only the devices that meet the filtered-condition appear. In the graphical view, the devices
that meet the condition appear in solid colors and the devices that do not meet the filtered condition
appear in muted color.

Note: In the Internal or attached media section, a device could appear as an outline and labelled as RMV.
These are removable devices that cannot be used for pools.

Chassis Sensor Values

Some enclosures provide sensor information. To review it, click the COG on a panel to the right of
enclosure caption. Then select the Display enclosure sensors information menu option. If a particular
enclosure model provides sensor information with IPMI protocol, there is a need to provide valid
credentials (Set IPMI Credential option under enclosure cog) to obtain sensor data.

Enclosure/Bay Blink Feature

To easily locate a particular enclosure in a rack or chassis, some enclosures have a specific indicator light
that could be switched on/off from Chassis section of Hardware page. To trigger this indicator, activate
Show indicators switch located on the right part of the enclosure panel.
After the Show indicators mode is activated, the indicator state is shown for enclosures and bays that
support it. A click on indicator toggles it on or off, depending on its state.

Enclosure Labels
Every external enclosure could be assigned an arbitrary label to ease its identification. By default, the
value of the label is set to internal system identifier of the enclosure, but this can be changed any time.
To change the label, double click the area to the right of the enclosure model (when you hover the cursor
over this area, it shows a tooltip) and enter the desired label and press Enter key on the keyboard.
To remove the label and set it to default value, delete the label completely and press Enter. The label will
be reset to default.

Faulted Drives
Error icons on a device indicate that FMA (Fault Management) has detected an issue and created an
appliance alert case. Click on the error icon to view the details of the alert case. A click on the case ID will
navigate the user to the Alert Cases view, with the filter set to that case ID. Click the COG to view
additional information.

78
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 8. Managing Network
NexentaFusion enables you to manage network configuration of appliance nodes in the following ways:
• IP Links management
• Network Aggregates management
• IPMP Group management
• VLAN management
• MTU management
• IP Addresses management
• IP Routes management
• IP network settings
• FC Interfaces overview

To open Networks page:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. Navigate to Management > Network.
4. Select the desired tab at the top.

IP Links Management
IP datalink management is performed through IP Links tab of the Networks page.
IP links page provides an ability to manage physical and virtual datalinks. The set of operations that may
be performed on a particular datalink depend on its type and link purpose.
Every link type supports basic operations such as adding new address, adding a link to aggregate,
assigning a VLAN tag, setting MTU and unconfiguring.
Some of the link types support additional operations, such as removing members from aggregates or
destroying for virtual datalinks such as aggregates and IPMP.

Note: There is a specific link type called mgmt. Links of this type are management interfaces and cannot
be managed from Fusion. Even basic operations are unavailable for links of this type. To control these
links, you should use NexentaStor CLI.

Common Datalink Operations

Most of the commonly available datalink operations are available under COG menu for a particular
datalink.

79
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Adding an IP Address to Datalink
The operation is available under Add Address option of datalink COG menu. Alternatively, check the
checkbox to the left for datalink and click Add Address at the bottom of the page.
You can have any number of associated addresses for a single datalink. When creating an address object,
you specify a name, type (static, dhcp, mgmt, addrconf), and network mask.
For a static address, you set the network IP address, network mask and name. For dynamic address
configurations ("dhcp" for IPv4 and "addrconf" for IPv6) only a name is required. IPv4 and IPv6 are both
for addresses and network masks. The protocol version depends on your input.

Adding a Link to Aggregation

The operation is available under Add to... option of datalink COG menu.
A link could be added to an existing aggregation interface such as aggregate or IPMP interface. You need
to select the desired aggregate to add datalink to.

Assigning VLAN Tag

The operation is available under Assign VLAN option of datalink COG menu. Alternatively, check the
checkbox to the left for datalink and click Assign VLAN button on the bottom of the page.
Adding a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) is recommended for flexibility in managing network traffic.
A VLAN is a group of hosts with a common set of requirements that communicate as if they were attached
to the broadcast domain, regardless of their physical location.
NexentaFusion allows you to group network hosts together according to resource needs, rather than
being limited to grouping hosts that are on the same network switch. Using VLANs with NexentaStor 5.x
provides greater flexibility in managing and responding to network traffic needs.
VLANs provide the segmentation services traditionally provided by routers in LAN configurations. You can
configure VLANs to address issues, such as scalability, security, and network management.
To create a VLAN on top of specified links, a datalink name and VLAN identification number (VID) is
required.

Changing Datalink MTU

You can set MTU or destroy a link using the Advanced Settings under COG menu for a particular datalink.

Unconfiguring Links
You can unconfigure the link using Unconfigure IP Address option under COG menu for a particular
datalink.

80
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Creating Aggregates
Link aggregation combines multiple physical Ethernet links into one logical link to increase network
performance and protect the appliance against failures.
Link aggregations are beneficial in the following ways:
• Administering multiple interfaces as a single port.
• Using one IP address to aggregate multiple interfaces.
• Securing the IP address of an aggregation from external applications.
• Allowing for the automatic failover of IOs from a failed interface to a usable link in the aggregation.
• Increasing the bandwidth within a physical network setup.

Aggregation prevents appliances from being limited to the bandwidth of the largest NIC, increasing the
throughput to that of the combined NICs. When creating an aggregate, you are asked to (optionally)
specify Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) mode settings for the aggregations. NexentaStor
supports LACP - IEEE 802.3ad. LACP automatically bundles multiple physical ports into a single logical
channel, thus providing greater performance and availability.

The following LACP modes are supported on NexentaStor Ethernet ports:

• off — The port does not participate in link aggregation negotiation.
• passive — The port responds to link aggregation control commands and participates in negotiations
initiated by the remote switch.
• active — The port actively issues link aggregation control commands and tries to negotiate link
bundles with the remote switch.

To create an aggregation, at least two physical links are required.

You can add additional network interfaces (NIC) to an appliance for use in high availability scenarios, link
aggregation, and multipath. You can create a link aggregation or VLAN on top of specified network links.

To create an aggregation, do the following:

1. Click the check boxes to the left of two or more available links, then click the Create Aggregate
button that appears at the bottom of the screen.
2. Specify the following information:
o Aggregate Name — An alphanumeric value that ends with a digit, such as aggr0.
o LACP Mode — Optional: Default, Off, Active, Passive
o LACP Policy — Optional: Default, L2, L3, L4
o LACP Timer — Optional: Default, short, long
o MAC Address — Optional: MAC address of aggregation
3. Click Create.

81
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 4. In the Add Network Address dialog box, do the following:
o Enter a Name.
o Select an address Type from the drop-down list. The remaining fields change depending on
the Type of link selected. The information required varies with the type of address.
o Specify the information for the remaining fields and click Add Address.
To remove interface from aggregate, select Remove [link-name] from the COG menu.
To destroy the aggregate, select Destroy from COG menu.

Creating IPMP Group

The IP network multipathing or IPMP provides fault-tolerance and load spreading for network interface
cards (NICs).
To create an IPMP group:
1. Click two or more check boxes of the links to be included in the IPMP group.
2. Click Create IPMP Group.
3. Enter an IPMP Group Name in the Create IPMP Group dialog box and click Create.
4. In the Add Network Address dialog box, specify the following:
o Enter a Name that is an alphanumeric string that begins with an alphabet letter and is 32
characters or less.
o Select a network type from the drop-down list. Static (IPv4) is the default.
o Enter a valid IP address.
o Enter a Netmask.
5. Click Add Address.
The group appears in the IPMP Group table.

Configuring a Network Interface

To configure a network interface:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Click Appliances from the drop-down list, if not already in the Appliance view.
3. In the Appliances List, click an appliance and select the Management tab.
4. Click Networks > IP Links.
A table displays the link names, state, speed, class, over, IP address, and VLAN tag (as applicable).
5. Do one of the following:
o Click the COG for the link or for the IPMP group and select Add Address from the drop- down
menu.
o Alternatively, click the check box to the left of the Link name, and then click Add Address at
the bottom of the window.

82
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 6. In the Add Network Address dialog box, do the following:
o Enter a Name.
o Select an Address Type from the drop-down list.
The information required varies with the type of address being added. The remaining fields
change depending on the type of link selected.
o Specify the information for the remaining fields and click Add Address.

To destroy the IPMP group, do the following:

• Select Destroy from COG menu.

Note: You cannot destroy IPMP group when it has members. You must delete all members from IPMP
group to be able to destroy it.

To delete a member from IPMP group, do the following:

• Expand the group contents and select Remove from group under member COG menu.

Unconfiguring Interface
To unconfigure an interface:
1. Click the COG on the far right.
2. Select Unconfigure from the drop-down list.
3. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
To add a member to an existing IPMP group:
1. In the Links table, click the COG of the link to be added as a member, and select Add to... from the
dropdown.
2. In the resulting dialog box, select the IPMP group from the dropdown, and click Add.
3. The IPMP Groups table are updated to display the new member.
To remove a member from an IPMP group:
1. Expand the IPMP group in the IPMP Groups table so that the members are visible.
2. Click the COG on the member to be removed and select Remove from Group.
To delete an IPMP group:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Click Appliance, if not already in the Appliance view.
3. In the Appliances List, click an appliance and select the Management tab.
4. Click Networks > IP Links.
5. In the IPMP Groups table, click the expand arrow to the left of the IPMP Group name.
6. Click the COG of each group member, select Remove from group from the drop-down list, and click
Yes in the confirmation dialog box.
The IPMP must be empty before it can be deleted.
7. Click the COG for the IPMP group, choose Destroy from the drop-down list, and click Yes in the
confirmation dialog box to destroy the selected IPMP group.

83
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Creating IP Routes
IP routes management is performed through IP Routes tab of the Networks page.
You can view existing network routes, create new network routes, and delete network routes as
necessary. You create a new network route by providing the network or host as destination and specifying
a reachable gateway address through which the packets are to be routed.
To create a route to a specific host, specify a specific IP address for the destination (for example,
192.168.10.44).
To create a route to a network, you can use the network/cidr format for the destination (for example,
192.168.10.0/24) or a specific IP address (192.168.10.0).

To verify and create an IP route, do the following:

1. Switch to IP Routes tab of Networks page.
A tabular display of information for any existing IP routes appears.
2. Click Create New Route.
3. In the Create Network Route dialog box, do the following:
o Enter a route Destination address that is a reachable host or network.
o Enter a Gateway address, which can be a host, network, or default. Consult your network
administrator for the appropriate address for your site.
4. Click Create.

To verify or delete an IP route

1. Switch to IP Routes tab of the Networks page. A tabular display of information for existing IP routes
appears.
2. To view the status of route flags, hover the cursor over the address in the Destination column.
3. Verify the following information for each route:
o Destination — Address assigned as the route destination
o Gateway — Address assigned for the Gateway
o Protocol — Route protocol (IPV4, IPV6)
o Interface — Route interface
o References — Number of references associated with the route
o Static — Check mark appears if it is a static route, and empty if not
4. To delete a static route, click the trash can icon in the far right column.

84
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Modifying IP Network Settings
IP network settings management is performed through IP Network settings tab of the Networks page.
During NexentaStor installation, you may have set up a domain name server (DNS) during the initial
NexentaStor installation. This section demonstrates how to verify the established DNS settings, and
modify them as needed.

To verify and modify DNS settings:

1. Switch to IP Network Settings tab of Networks page.
The DNS settings for the selected appliance appear.
2. Enter new DNS settings, as necessary, and then click Save.
3. Optional: For clustered nodes, click the Use same settings for all nodes check box to apply the DNS
settings to both nodes.
4. Click Save.

Verifying FC Interfaces
To verify information for Fibre Channel (FC) appliance interfaces, do the following:
1. FC interfaces overview is performed through FC Interfaces tab of the Networks page.
2. Select Networks > FC Interfaces.
A table displays the appliance FC interface information.
3. Verify the following information:
o Port WWN — unique World Wide Name (WWN) indicator for the port assigned to the
appliance interface
o State — current health status for the port
o Current Speed — measured in Gb
o Mode — initiator or target mode
o Node WWN — unique WWN indicator assigned to the node
o HBA — make and model of the Host Bus Adapter (HBA)

85
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 9. Configuring Appliance Settings
System Settings
The System Settings page provides the following appliance configuration and maintenance features and
tools:
• Services configuration
• Configuration settings
• Node version management
• Node power management

To open the System Settings page:

1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. In left menu navigate to Settings > System

Services Configuration
System services allows you to control and manage appliance nodes services. The services are managed
per node, so neither service state nor configuration is automatically synchronized between cluster nodes.
For every service, Enable/Disable commands are available through the service cog menu. In addition,
some of the services provide some configuration options that are accessible through Properties option
of the service cog menu.

Configuration Settings
With System Configuration Settings section, you can change appliance-wide configuration settings. For
most of the options, you can select whether the setting will be the same for all cluster nodes or unique
to each node.
The following configuration options are available:
• Administrator Email
Set up the email address of the NexentaStor admin user for system failure notifications.
• Alert Emails
Set up an email address to receive email notifications directly from the appliance, in addition to
displaying the alerts in NexentaFusion. You can also subscribe to be notified by only a subset of all
alerts by providing the class prefixes.
Example of a class prefix: If you want to receive notifications about all faults, set the Class prefix to
fault. If you want to receive notifications only for zfs faults, set the Class prefix to fault.fs.zfs.
Fusion can generate an email notification for alert case events too.
• Alert threshold settings

86
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Using this feature, you can specify whether the appliance should generate an alert when CPU
utilization thresholds or Network utilization thresholds are exceeded, and set the threshold values.
You can also edit the email address to receive the alert notifications directly from the appliance.
• Defaults for CPU Utilization
CPU utilization is configured to alert when the default warning threshold exceeds 75% and the error
threshold exceeds 90%.
• Defaults for Network Utilization
The network usage is configured to alert when the warning threshold exceeds 75% and the error
threshold exceeds 90%.
• Network Hostmodel
Controls how outbound IP traffic is routed across multiple interfaces on the NexentaStor node using
either the Weak end system model or the Strong end system model as defined in RFC1122. The Weak
hostmodel, also known as asymmetric routing, allows the NexentaStor node to select any outbound
interface that can reach the destination IP address, independent of the source IP address of the
packet. The Strong hostmodel, also known as symmetric routing, should be used for scenarios where
outbound traffic must be kept on interfaces that are on the same subnet as the source IP address in
the packet. This is particularly useful when strict segregation of IP traffic across different interfaces
is required.
• Resilver priority
Sets ZFS scrub and resilver priority.
• SMTP
Appliance SMTP configuration, which is required for sending email notifications.
• Swagger
Controls the availability of appliance REST API online documentation. Disabled by default.

Node Management
The Node Management section allows you to perform power management and version management of
each node.
The NexentaStor version and the API version is displayed under the corresponding node hostname. If
there is a bell icon and an Upgrade button to the right of node version, there is a version update available.
Hovering the pointer over the bell icon or the Upgrade button will display a tooltip with a list of available
updates.
Clicking Upgrade button opens a modal window with the detailed list of available upgrades with details
such as the system version, the build number, and the packaging date.
To upgrade the system to a specific version:
1. Click Upgrade to open upgrade modal window.
2. Click the radio button corresponding to the version you want to upgrade to.
3. Select the Force creation of new boot environment during upgrade checkbox to force-create a new
system boot environment (BE).
For significant changes between the current and the selected system version, the new BE is created
even if not requested.

87
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 4. Click Upgrade to start the upgrade.
5. After the upgrade is finished, reboot the node manually any time.
The Node Management section provides node power management capabilities as well. The power
management controls are located at the bottom of upgrade section and are represented by Reboot and
Power off buttons.

Data Settings
The Data Settings page provide an ability to configure settings for log severity and active probes.
To open the Data settings page:
1. Log in to NexentaFusion.
2. Select the appropriate appliance.
3. From the menu on the left, navigate to Settings > Data.

Log Severity
The Log Severity section controls how many data is pushed by node syslog to analytics server. The more
verbose level is set, the more messages are available for analysis.
To set the severity, move the slider to the desired level and click Save button. For a clustered appliance,
the same configuration is applied to both nodes of a cluster.

Active Probes
The Active Probes section controls the types of statistic data that is pushed to the database from the
appliance. This data can be used in Dashboard widgets and in Analytics section.
You can select what exact statistics is pushed by appliance nodes to analytics database. To do this, check
the desired statistics and click Save button.
For a clustered appliance, the same settings are applied to both the nodes of a cluster.

88
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 10. Performance Monitoring and Analytics
Terminology
The following table introduces NexentaFusion terms used for performance monitoring and analytics.
Table 10: Analytics Terminology

Terms Description

A group of statistic parameters (metrics) that provide operational

Probe information for a particular appliance module or service. Examples
include disk, network link, and NFS share.

A specific statistic parameter that represents one of the measurable

aspects of operation of a particular appliance module or service and
Metric
expressed units. For example, I/O read bandwidth in kb/sec or CPU
usage by kernel in %.

An automatically repeated job that counts an average for real-time

Analytics data aggregation
value of every metric data for a configured period.

An automatically repeated job that deletes the older values of every

Analytics data retention
metric to reduce the size of analytics data saved in the database.

The global Analytics page allows to monitor, investigate, and compare

Global Analytics page
operation and performance of several appliances on a single chart.

The Appliance Dashboard page provides real-time visual data for a

selected NexentaStor appliance. To open the appliance dashboard, log
Appliance Dashboard page in to NexentaFusion and click on the specific appliance card. The page
that is opened while opening the appliance is the Appliance Dashboard.
The dashboard can contain one or more canvases.

A canvas is a container in which you view widgets. You can place one
Canvas and more widgets on any canvas to investigate aspects of the appliance
components operation and performance.

The Dashboard canvas is the predefined canvas that is present in

NexentaFusion by default. It acts as any other user-defined canvas. The
Dashboard Canvas only difference between Dashboard canvas and user-defined canvases
is that one might not add widgets from performance group to
Dashboard canvas.

A widget provides a visual display of information for various aspects of

your appliance. There are several groups of widgets: Top N widgets,
Widgets Performance widgets (chart metric data in real-time or historical time),
Capacity and Dashboard widgets (provide summaries of capacity and
performance metrics).

89
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Note: When logged in as read-only, the Dashboard view and Analytics views are not subject to the
inactivity timeout. This allows the dashboard to be displayed in a NOC-type of environment.

NexentaFusion Analytics Overview

NexentaFusion provides several tools to monitor and examine the operational characteristics of
connected NexentaStor appliances. Every NexentaStor appliance pushes the analytics data to
Elasticsearch.
To push analytics data to the database, complete the following steps:
• Elasticsearch must be configured and launched.
• NexentaFusion must be configured to be aware of the presence of Elasticsearch to configure the
appliances properly
• Optionally, every appliance should be configured to the exact probes that are pushed by it to
Elasticsearch. By default, there are several probes selected. This list should be reviewed to add
include more probes or remove unnecessary ones (Note: If some probe data is pushed to
Elasticsearch, this data is not automatically deleted after the probe is disabled. Normal
aggregation/retention policies affect this data).

After Elasticsearch is properly configured, running, and NexentaFusion analytics is configured, the
appliances connected to the NexentaFusion instance start pushing the analytics data directly to
Elasticsearch. The appliances push the current value for every metric of enabled probes to Elasticsearch
on the regular time intervals, which could vary for certain probes. The default push interval for most of
the probes is 15 seconds.

The following probes have different push intervals:

• filesystemUsage: 5 minutes
• poolUsage: 30 minutes

Enabled/disabled probes are configured per appliance.

For every push to Elasticsearch, the appliance submits the value of the metric that is current at the time
of push.
Since most of the probes are pushed with 15 seconds interval the database capacity grows quickly. To
avoid running out of storage capacity, there are specific procedures (Aggregation and Retention policies)
that optimize and delete the old data in the Elasticsearch so it does not grow too quickly.
There are two main tools to monitor and examine the data that is in Elasticsearch database: Appliance
Dashboard and global Analytics page. Both these tools examine the same data from the database. The
Appliance Dashboard provides widgets that are optimized to monitor the probes such as Top NFS shares
widget or SAN IO performance. The global Analytics page is flexible and provides a way to compare the
data from multiple appliances.

90
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Data Aggregation and Retention
NexentaStor appliances push the real-time probes data to Elasticsearch. The time interval between the
pushes for most of the probes is 15 seconds. To avoid overwhelming the database with data, there are
specific Aggregation and Retention jobs that run automatically according to a configured schedule.
Data Aggregation and Retention jobs work together to optimize the database capacity. Aggregation jobs
create new entries in the database that represents the average value of the real-time metric per a specific
time interval. In other words, aggregation jobs create an average metric value out of the several real-
time metric values stored in the database.
After the aggregated value per metric is created, there is no longer needed to store the real-time entries
for the values that were used for this aggregation so these entries could be deleted from the database.
Data Retention jobs are the ones that perform the actual removal of the real-time data from the
database.

Using the Appliance Dashboard

The Appliance Dashboard workspace is divided into three major areas.
Canvas Workspace
The canvas is the container for widgets. Drag a widget from the widget selection panel and drop to any
place on the canvas. A widget can be resized and moved around in the canvas. For every canvas you can
configure the widgets to tailor to your needs with specific query parameters. You can create multiple
canvases to follow several analytics or monitoring scenarios. Configured widgets can be saved for reuse
on other canvases, and appear in the Configured Widgets section.
Canvas Bar
Canvas bar is a horizontal bar on top of the canvas workspace. It allows to switch between the existing
canvases and create new ones. As well, it contains a COG menu where specific canvas management
actions are available.
Widget Selection Panel
NexentaFusion includes several sets of widgets that are grouped into categories. The categories include
Configured, Top N, Performance, Capacity, and Dashboard widgets. There is also a specific category of
Configured widgets, which are user-customized widgets saved for reuse.
Open the Widget Selection panel using any of the following options:
1. Click the Toggle Widgets Panel option under the COG menu of the canvas bar.
2. Click on the narrow vertical panel with > symbol to the left of canvas workspace.

91
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Canvas Management
The following operations are available for all user-defined canvases (available on the canvas bar COG
menu):
• Edit canvas name
• Export canvas blueprint: Exports the configuration of currently opened canvas as JSON file. This file
could be used to create another canvas with the same configuration of widgets using Import canvas
blueprint option
• Remove canvas
• Add new canvas (also available by pressing + sign to the right of all canvas names on canvas bar)
• Clone current canvas: Creates a new canvas with the same configuration of widgets as on the
currently opened canvas
• Import canvas blueprint: Creates new canvas from the previously saved JSON file.
The Dashboard canvas is different from the user-defined canvases since it does not support most of
the management options that are available for user-defined canvases.
• Reset to defaults: Discards the modifications made to Dashboard canvas by the user and restores the
default canvases.

Using Canvas Widgets

NexentaFusion provides a set of widgets on the Widget Selection Panel that are grouped in functional
categories.
Widget Categories
All the available widgets are grouped into the following functional categories:
• Configured widgets — Provides easy access to user-customized widgets that have been saved for
reuse.
• Top N widgets — Provides aggregated data for selected metrics for you to analyze, showing the
highest values in a specified set of data collections over a set period.
• Performance widgets — IO widgets provide real-time/historical IO metrics for pools, NFS or SMB
shares, iSCSI or FC LUNs, IP Links, FC target ports and the cache hit rate of the appliance. The capacity
utilization widget provides historical capacity utilization metrics for pools. You can load and save
widgets with specific parameters to fine tune the monitoring of appliance performance. Performance
widgets are not available on the dashboard.
• Capacity widgets — Provides information that allow you to make capacity management decisions.
Capacity widgets provide detailed information for a NexentaStor appliance.
• Dashboard widgets — Provides a summary of the appliance health, appliance IO performance, CPU
utilization, cache hit rate, high priority events (alerts), and data reduction ratio by pool.

92
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Widget Management
When dropped to the canvas, the widgets could be additionally configured to show the piece of metric
that is needed, like the bandwidth of HPR service or I/O performance of the FC LUN. But some widgets
such as pool capacity widgets cannot be configured.
All the widgets dropped to the canvas have a COG menu with the following options available:
• Save: Saves the widget to configured widgets section. The current widget size is preserved and can
be recovered when the saved widget is placed on any canvas. For widgets that support additional
configuration, this configuration will be preserved as well
• Clone: Creates a copy of the widget on the currently opened canvas. The size and widget
configuration are preserved
• Remove: Removes the widget from the canvas
There is also a possibility to change the name of the widget placed on the canvas. To rename the widget,
double click the widget and enter the new name.

Chart Widget Management

Chart widgets support an additional Export to CS option, which enables you to export the area that is
currently displayed on the chart to CSV.
To select the time range for chart widgets, click the time range link to the right of the widget name. You
can also zoom the chart within the selected range. To zoom, place a mouse pointer of the chart area to
the start of the desired range, hold the mouse button and drag it to the end of the range. To restore the
original (not zoomed) time interval, click the restore button to the right of the widget name.

Analyzing Data
This section describes how to use the widgets of the Widget Selection Panel.

Analyzing Performance Data

Performance widgets provide a visual display of appliance IO and capacity performance metrics
aggregated over a specified period.
IO Performance Widgets include the following:
• Cache Hit Rate
• CPU Utilization Performance
• FC LUN Performance
• FC Ports Performance
• HPR Service Bandwidth
• IP Link Performance
• iSCSI LUN Performance
• NFS Share IO Performance
93
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 • Pool IO Performance
• SMB Share IO Performance
The following procedure demonstrates how to view IO performance metrics aggregated for a specified
time interval.
To use the Performance widget to view metric data, do the following:
• Select one of the time ranges (either pre-defined or custom) over which to filter.
• Optionally, double-click the title to bring up a dialog box to rename the widget.
• Select the object to chart (shares, LUNs, or pools). Objects are available for selection only after IO has
been captured on the object.
• Hover the cursor over the chart to view details about the IOs for that specific point in time.
• Zoom in to view a detailed segment of the selected time range. This allows you to get a more granular
view of the data.

Working with Top N Widgets

Top N widgets allow you to analyze aggregated data for selected metrics, viewing the highest values in a
specified collection of data over a set period. Top N widgets can help you to identify elements that are
under or overutilized.
Top N widgets include the following:
• Top FC LUNs
• Top iSCSI LUNs
• Top NFS shares - % of rate limit
• Top NFS shares
• Top SMB shares - % of rate limit
• Top SMB shares
You can select from the following metrics for analysis over a specified time:
• IOPS: Total, Read, Write
• Latency: Average, Read, Write
• Bandwidth: Total, Read, Write
The Top NFS/SMB shares by % of rate limit widgets include only shares whose underlying filesystem rate
limit property has been set to a non-zero value. You can edit this widget to further filter the shares to
those within a rate limit range.
For Top N widgets, you can select the type of metrics and time interval over which the data is aggregated.
If the pre-defined time intervals are not sufficient, you can specify a custom time interval. Aggregation
data is updated at 20% of the selected time interval, with a maximum refresh rate of 1 minute.
For example:
• 5 min interval, refreshes every 1 minute
• 15 min interval, refreshes every 3 minutes
• 30 min interval, refreshes every 6 minutes

94
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Analyzing Capacity Data
The following Capacity widgets provide visual summaries of logical and physical capacities:
• Configured Capacity shows the sum of the free capacity and the allocated capacity of the pool after
applying redundancies (raid/mirror).
• Data Reduction shows the data reduction ratio for pools, not including dedupe reduction.
• Pools Configured Capacity displays a graphical summary of the free capacity and the allocated
capacity of all configured pools on the appliance. Hover the cursor over a pool graph to view the
allocated capacity and available free space for the pool.
• Pools % Allocated Capacity shows the allocated capacity, and capacity used for data protection, for
each individual pool in the appliance. Pool allocated capacity values are shown as a percentage of the
total values.

Analyzing Health and Utilization Data

Dashboard widgets are used to monitor appliance health and performance. Dashboard widgets include
the following:
• Cache Hit Rate shows real-time data for the percentage of accesses that result in cache hits.
• Appliance Alerts displays warning and error alerts in easy-to-read tabular format. You can customize
the widget to specify the type of alert displayed.
• Appliance Health shows the health status for all NexentaStor appliances and their pools, conveying
good health, warnings, and critical alerts with at-a-glance icons.
• CPU Utilization displays CPU usage for each node of the NexentaStor appliance.
• NAS IO Performance displays performance metrics for OPS, Latency, and Bandwidth. You can set IO
thresholds for a specific time interval and configure alert displays for when thresholds are exceeded.
• SAN IO Performance displays SAN performance metrics for iSCSI and FC, as desired. You can select
options from drop-down lists at the top of the widget to customize the information displayed.

Viewing the Historical Analytics of a Removed Appliance

When removing the appliance, if you retained all the data such as analytics or logs in the NexentaFusion
database, you could view the historical analytics of that decommissioned NexentaStor appliance in
Dashboard section.

Global Analytics
The Global Analytics page is the most flexible way to examine the data saved in Elasticsearch. Unlike
appliance Dashboard, global Analytics page is not tied to a particular appliance and does not have any
predefined selectors for metrics like widgets. This allows you to build more sophisticated charts for
analysis.
The Global Analytics page is available on the top horizontal toolbar of NexentaFusion and is available
from any screen.

95
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 You can see the following controls on the Global Analytics page:
• Query builder - a set of drop-down lists that specify the analytics data search parameters
• Chart area - displays the selected metrics as charts based on grouping selection
• Summary table - displays the boundary, average and latest values of every selected metric per
selected time range

Query Builder Overview

NexentaFusion analytics database stores different kinds of analytics data. Global Analytics Query builder
is needed to select the data from the Elasticsearch to be displayed on the chart. The dropdowns of the
Query builder are not fixed, some of it may be added or disappear depending on the values currently
selected on the other dropdowns.
The following options might be available in query builder:
• Time range selector (permanently available) - specifies the time range for the data to be displayed.
Has some predefined values as well as custom range selector.
• Hosts selector (permanently available) - specifies host or hosts to display analytics data from. If
nothing is selected, the data is retrieved for all hosts available.
• Probe selector (permanently available) - specifies the probe which data should be retrieved. The field
is required, and only one probe could be selected. If Object selector is empty, all the probes are
available for selection. If there are any objects selected in Object selector, the list of probes available
for selection is narrowed down to reflect only the probes that has the data for selected objects.
• Object selector (permanently available) - specifies the target system object for probe. Multiple
objects such as pool, network link, and share can be selected here.
• Pool selector (available only for certain probes) - specifies the pool to which the selected objects
belong to. Some probes have a reference to a pool to be able to filter the objects that belong to
specific pools. The selector is available only when the selected probe contains a reference to the pool.
Multiple pools can be selected.
• Metric selector (available when other required selectors have selected values) - specifies one or more
metrics for the probe and object. Multiple metrics can be selected, but only metrics that have the
same units can be selected together. For example, it is impossible to select both read bandwidth and
read latency metrics, since they are expressed in different units.
• Grouping selector (available only when metric is selected) - specifies how the selected metric values
will be grouped to be displayed as chart. May have no selection, which means that there will be no
grouping for metrics and every metric will be displayed as a separate chart on the chart area. There
four options available for this selector:
o Total - all the values of the selected metrics will be added, and the result displayed as a chart
o Total by host - same as Total, but there will be several resulting charts displaying the total
metrics value per selected host
o Average - all the values of the selected metrics will be used to count an average and the result
will be displayed as a chart
o Average by host - same as Average, but there will be several resulting charts displaying the
average metrics value per selected host

96
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Chart Area
Chart area displays the selected metrics as charts built according to the selected grouping mode.
Hovering any place on the chart will open a tooltip describing the values of all charts on the corresponding
point in time.
There is a way to quickly zoom in the time range on the chart. To do that, drag the mouse pointer holding
the left mouse button on the chart from the start to the end of the desired time interval.
To reset the zoomed chart to the value originally selected in Time range selector, click Reset time range
to the left of the Time range selector.

97
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 11. Fault Management
About NexentaFusion Alerts, Logs, Audits, and Events
NexentaFusion enables you to perform analysis and monitoring of the appliances connected to a particular
NexentaFusion instance. NexentaFusion collects logs, alerts and metrics from the connected appliances
and provides an interface to perform the analysis of this information. In addition, NexentaFusion can be
configured to notify the administrators through email if certain parameters match the conditions or a
particular event was generated by appliance.
To store logs, alerts, and metrics, NexentaFusion uses external ElasticSearch database. These databases
must be set up and configured separately to provide the ability for NexentaFusion to collect and analyze
the data from appliances.
The following sections in NexentaFusion are dedicated to event, logs, and metrics analysis: Alerts, Logs
and Analytics. Change to any of these sections from any page of NexentaFusion (located on the top
horizontal bar next to Appliances switch).

About Alerts
Alerts are generated by NexentaFusion when a certain event or log meets the conditions specified in a
NexentaFusion rule. NexentaFusion has a set of default rules that generate alerts for events and logs. You
can edit these rules to create email notifications, in addition to displaying the alerts in NexentaFusion.
Every alert could be acknowledged, which removes it from the alerts shown on the Alerts Widget of
NexentaFusion Dashboard, as well as from the alert count shown on the Appliance List view.

Managing Alerts
The Alerts page allows you to review and manage alerts notification rules and email settings related to
alerts.
The search fields at the top of the Alerts page allow you to search for alerts by alert message. The search
results can be filtered by specifying time range, host, resource, severity, and acknowledgement status in
addition to a search query.
The following capabilities are available to specify the search query:
• To search by a word that occurs in the alert message, enter that word in a search query.
• You can specify several words separated by space. The query searches for alert messages where all
the specified words are present. The order of the words in search query might not correspond to the
order these words appear in the alert message
• To search by a particular phrase in alert message or if the search query contains special characters,
place the query in double quotes: “kernel panic” “node-10”
• An asterisk (*) is supported as a wildcard
• & (AND), | (OR) and - (NOT) Boolean operations are supported. For example, (reboot | restart)

98
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Acknowledging Alerts
When you acknowledge (ACK) an alert, the ACK icon is replaced by a check mark. You can acknowledge
(ACK) alerts individually or all alerts currently visible on the screen.
To acknowledge alerts, do the following:
1. To acknowledge a single alert, click the ACK icon on the far right or click Acknowledge under the
alert cog menu.
2. To acknowledge all the alerts that are currently visible on the screen, click ACK visible alerts.

Exporting Alerts
To export alerts to (CSV) file, filter the alerts needed for export using search query and additional filters.
Then select Export as CSV.

Removing Alerts
You can remove an alert or a group of alerts. If an alert is removed, it will still be generated and visible
when the corresponding alert rule conditions are satisfied next time.
To remove on alert, select the Remove alert option under specific alert cog menu.
To remove a group of alerts, search for the alerts that need to be deleted using search query and filters.
Click the Remove alerts link on the Alerts page. This option removes all the alerts matching the search
query, not just the visible ones.

Managing Alert Rules

Alert rules define how alerts are being generated by NexentaFusion. There are some predefined (Default)
rules. In addition, there is a possibility to create user-defined rules to get the ability to receive more
specific alerts.
To review the existing alert rules (both default and user-defined):
1. Open NexentaFusion Alerts page.
2. Switch to Alert Rules page.
3. The table on the Alert Rules page display the list of currently existing alert rules (both predefined
and user-created).
4. Every alert rule has the following attributes:
o Name - short description of the alert rule
o Description - detailed description of the alert rule
o Neither alert rule name nor alert rule descriptions are related to the alert message that
appears on Alerts page. This alert message is generated automatically by alert source. Alert
rule name and description are needed strictly to help managing alert rules.
o Active/Enable - a flag that shows whether the alert rule is currently used to generate alerts

99
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 o Email - a flag that that causes for email notification to be sent. It's the same flag responsible
for generation an alert according to the alert rule
o Severity (Warning, Serious, Critical or Auto) - shows the importance of the alerts that are
generated according to the alert rule
o Type (Default or Custom) - shows whether the alert rule is predefined (Default) or user-
defined (Custom)

User-defined alert rules do have two additional attributes that define what conditions cause the
alert to be generated:
o Alert source - the system entity that generates the events that cause the alerts
o Event filters - alert source specific options that define the conditions for alert generation for
the source. Some common filters:
o Hosts - list of hosts from all connected appliances that trigger the alert. Multiple hosts may
be selected at the same time
o Event names - list of possible events of the selected alert source that might trigger the alert.
Multiple events are selected at the same time
o Target object name (Resource) - a system object that triggers the event (for example, pool
that is being created or logical unit that is being shared). If not specified, the event is triggered
for any object that might cause the event type
o Severity - the severity of FMA event that should trigger the alert. Multiple severity levels
might be selected.

Creating Alert Rules

To create user-defined alert rule:
1. Open the Alert Rules page.
2. Click Add Custom Alert Rule.
3. In the New Alert Rule dialog box, enter the desired alert rule parameters and click Save.

Editing Alert Rules

To edit user-defined alert rule:
1. Open Alert Rules page.
2. Locate the user-defined alert rule that needs to be edited and click the Edit alert rule option under
the cog menu.
3. Change the desired parameters and click Save.

Note: Predefined alert rules cannot be edited. Though the default alert can be edited to trigger email
notification. To change this, select Settings under cog menu of predefined alert rule and change the
desired settings.

100
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Deleting Alert Rules
To delete user-defined alert rule, click Remove alert rule option under cog menu of the specific alert rule
and confirm the deletion.

Note: Predefined alert rules cannot be deleted. The only option for predefined rules is the ability to
disable it, so the rule does not trigger the generation of alert. To change this, select Settings under cog
menu of predefined alert rule and edit the Enabled flag accordingly.

Email Settings for Alerts

You can set up email addresses to receive alert notifications for alert rules:
1. Open the NexentaFusion Alerts page.
2. Switch to the Email settings tab.
3. Enter comma separated list of email addresses to which the alert notifications are to be sent.

Logs
NexentaFusion has an ability to collect logs from connected appliances and from NexentaFusion itself.
• Logs include system events, process information, and errors that may disrupt the normal provisioning
of the storage appliance.
• Events represents a raw log of system events generated by connected appliance and NexentaFusion
itself. Alert rules are applied over these events log to generate alerts.
• Audit logs collect the record of NexentaFusion user actions that change a NexentaStor appliance with
a timestamp on when the change has been performed. An audit log also records user authentication,
when they log in and out of NexentaFusion or a NexentaStor appliance.

NexentaFusion displays the logs and audit in a tabular format with messages displayed in reverse
chronological order. You can search for a select set of logs or audits and export the results to a CSV file.
You can control what level of logs are persisted for each appliance from the appliance Settings > Data
Settings screen.

101
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Searching for Logs and Audits
Logs, Events and Audit pages provide an ability to search for logged messages and filter results. The
search query field looks for Message, Description or URL fields for Logs, Events and Audit respectively.
In addition, the time range, host, severity, component, event, user, and IP address filters could be
available for a particular log type.
For search queries, the following rules apply:
• To search by a word that is present in the searchable option, enter the word.
• You can specify several words separated by space. The query searches for strings where all the
specified words are present. The order of the words in search query might not correspond to the
order these words appear in the log message.
• To search by a particular phrase in log message or if the search query contains special characters,
place the query in double quotes: “kernel panic” “node-10”.
• An asterisk (*) is supported as a wildcard.
• & (AND), | (OR) and - (NOT) Boolean operations are supported. For example, (reboot | restart).

Exporting Audits and Logs

To export any type of log to CSV file, filter the messages needed for export using search query and
additional filters. Then select Export as CSV.

102
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 12. Manage Users and Roles
User Accounts in NexentaFusion
In NexentaFusion, you can create user and assign roles to the user.
• Currently, we can assign one role at a time.
• Assigning multiple roles to the user is not possible at the moment.

Adding a Local UI User

To add a local UI user:
1. Go to NexentaFusion > Fusion Settings > USERS. Click NEW USER. Add Local UI User screen is
displayed now.

2. Enter the fields in Add Local UI User screen as shown below.

103
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 3. Click SAVE.

Destroy User
To delete a NexentaFusion User account:
1. Go to NexentaFusion > Fusion Settings > USERS.
2. Select the User and click Settings button. Choose the Destroy option.

3. Click DESTROY.

Change Password
In NexentaFusion, the Change password option is available for Administrator, Read-only, Storage Admin,
and Security Admin users.
To change the password:
1. Go to NexentaFusion > Fusion Settings > Change password.

104
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 2. Enter the fields in Change Password screen.

3. Click SAVE.

Changing User Roles

The Admin or Security Admin can change or modify user roles in NexentaFusion.
To change the user roles:
1. Go to NexentaFusion > Fusion Settings > USERS.
2. Select the User and click Settings button. Choose the Edit option.

105
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 The Edit Local UI User window for User 1 is displayed.

3. Select the desired User role from the drop-down menu of Edit Local UI User: User1 window. In this
example, Storage Admin is selected as User role.

4. Click SAVE.
5. Enter your password in Security check window. Click OK.

106
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Now, the User1 role updated successfully by Security Admin with role changed from Read-only to Storage
Admin.

Roles in NexentaFusion
Administrator
The “Administrator” role has complete administrative privileges in NexentaFusion. A user assigned with
Administrator role can do any configurations, perform all actions, and recover lost passwords.

Security Admin
The “Security Admin” role has all the user management privileges in NexentaFusion. A user assigned with
Security Admin role can create, edit, and delete users in NexentaFusion.

Storage Admin
The “Storage Admin” role has all the storage management privileges, including registering an appliance,
managing NexentaFusion settings (except for “Users” and “LDAP” settings), managing the appliances
services (under "System services" menu). Storage Admin can Reboot, Power Off and Upgrade the
appliances.
However, the Storage Admin role does not have user management privileges (cannot create, edit, and
delete any users like the Security Admin role can do).

Read-only
The “Read-only” role has read-only permissions and no administrative permissions. Users assigned with
“Read-only” role can view, but cannot create, delete, or modify actions. The “Read-only” role cannot
reboot or power-off the appliance.

107
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Table: Tasks and Roles in NexentaFusion
Storage Security
Task Administrator Read-Only
Admin Admin
Configure, manage, and update
✓ ✓ – –
software
Reboot and power off appliance ✓ ✓ – –
Register an appliance ✓ ✓ – –
Configure settings related to
pools, services, datasets, and ✓ ✓ – –
network
Create, manage, and destroy
✓ ✓ – –
storage pools
Create, manage, and destroy HA
✓ ✓ – –
services
Create, configure, and delete
✓ ✓ – –
datasets
Configure fault, performance, and
log information (examples: SNMP,
✓ ✓ – –
Carbon and rsyslog) to be
delivered to OMC
Configure account management
✓ – ✓ –
options
Create and delete accounts ✓ – ✓ –
Assign and revoke roles to an
✓ – ✓ –
account
Reset the password of any
✓ – ✓ –
account
Change password ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Note: Tasks marked “✓” are doable by the respective roles, while tasks marked “–” are not.

Note: Security Admin cannot

• Manage Admin or Administrator users.

• View Admin or Administrator user information.
• Reset the password for Admin and Administrator Users.

108
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com
 Additional Resources
After installing NexentaStor 5.5 and NexentaFusion 2.0.5, use the resources listed here for more
information. These documents are posted in https://nexenta.com/products/documentation.

NexentaStor 5.5 CLI Reference Guide

This reference guide provides a summary of the CLI commands.

NexentaStor 5.5 External Availability Resource Monitor Guide

This reference guide provides procedures on installing, configuring, and managing NexentaStor External
Availability Resource Monitor High Availability (HA) cluster add-on.

NexentaStor 5.5 HA CLI Config Guide

This reference guide provides the basic steps and commands for configuring and managing the
NexentaStor 5.5 HA cluster.

NexentaFusion 2.0.5 Installation Guide

This document provides instructions on how to install and upgrade NexentaFusion.

NexentaFusion 2.0.5 User Guide

This documentation provides step-by-step instructions for common configuration and monitoring tasks
for NexentaFusion.

109
Copyright © 2023 Nexenta® by DDN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.nexenta.com