Configuring VMware VASA for EMC VNX

vSphere Storage APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) are one of several VMware vSphere Storage APIs.  VASA, new in vSphere 5.0, provides vCenter with a way of interrogating storage array LUNs and associated datastores to gain visibility into the underlying hardware and configuration of the storage layer.  Storage capabilities, such as RAID level, thin or thick LUN provisioning, replication state, caching mechanisms, and auto-tiering are presented through VASA to vCenter (a unidirectional read operation by vCenter against the array).  With VASA, vCenter can identify which datastores possess certain capabilities.  By associating a VM – or specific virtual disks within a VM – to storage profiles, we can begin to take advantage of VMware’s Profile Driven Storage capabilities.  With VASA helping to guide VM placement, IT can deliver a higher quality of service to match SLA’s.

A few examples of how using VASA can help IT guarantee SLAs are:

• A user-defined storage profile defined for ‘High Speed Sequential Write’ could be associated with a VMDK used for database logging.  This same profile would be assigned to VMFS datastores based on RAID10, with ample write cache.
• VM’s running critical applications could be associated with a storage profile for ‘Synchronous Replication’.  Datastores protected by a SAN-based replication package (such as EMC SRDF or EMC RecoverPoint) would be assigned this profile to guarantee replication of VM’s on the datastore.  VMware SRM would then be used to guarantee crash and application consistency, and automated failover/back capabilities.
• Test/Dev VM’s could be associated with a storage profile for lower tiered disk without a flash based caching mechanism (i.e. EMC FAST Cache) to keep low priority machines from consuming expensive disk and cache.
• A cloud provider configures multiple tiers of storage in a gold/silver/bronze fashion and assigns appropriate storage profiles to the datastores.  Customers choose which tier they want (based on cost vs. performance) and have VM’s automatically provisioned on the correct storage tier.  This can be done in vCenter or in vCloud Director!

VASA-enabled profile driven storage can be combined with vSphere Storage DRS for automated capacity and performance (IOPS) load balancing of like-datastores.  Greater degrees of automation decrease risk while improving SLA’s.  Taken one step further, VMware’s forthcoming vVols technology will basically create a bidirectional VASA capability, where a VM can tell the underlying storage what performance, features, and capabilities it requires and the storage array will automatically create a VMDK on itself to match the demands from the VM.

EMC VNX fully supports the current version of VASA in vSphere 5.1.  To give you an idea of what data can be seen through VASA, here are the storage capabilities exposed to one of the vCenters running against a VNX 5500 (OE 32) in the Clearpath lab:

Enabling VASA against an EMC VNX is very simple.  As of OE (Flare) for Block 5.32, the VASA provider is embedded in the storage processors.   The same is true for OE 7.1 for File and Unified systems, where the VASA provider is embedded in the Control Station.  If your VNX runs versions prior to these I recommend upgrading (feel free to give us a call at Clearpath to discuss your upgrade process and solution compatibilities).  If you can’t upgrade just yet, you’ll need to do a few extra steps of installing the EMC Solutions Enabler to broker access between vCenter and the Storage Processors for VASA.  Here’s the step-by-step procedure for configuring VASA against a VNX running OE 5.32 or later:

From your vCenter Server vSphere Client switch to the Storage Providers node under Administration:

In the Web Client, switch to vCenter -> Storage -> ‘Manage’ tab -> Storage Providers:

Click Add to add a new Vendor Provider:

Enter the details for your array.  For VNX Block, this will be the Name/IP of one of your Storage Processors (SPA or SPB).  You should register only one SP per array for VASA – using both SPA and SPB on the same array is not supported.  I suggest adding a dedicated user account for VASA on the VNX to prevent account lockouts.  The URL should be added in this format: https://<Name or IP of SP>/vasa/services/vasaService:

If you get an error: “A problem was encountered while registering the provider”, try using the vSphere Web Client or log into the vCenter Server and launch the C# vSphere Client there to complete the addition of the Vendor Provider.

You may be prompted to accept certificates when adding the Vendor Provider.  These are certificates from the VNX.  Click Yes to accept them.

Give vCenter some time to sync with the VASA Provider on the VNX.  After a few moments you can review your array datastores to see discovered VASA information:

You can now Manage Storage Capabilities, Enable VM Storage Profiles, and Create VM Storage Profiles.  To do this, switch to the VM Storage Profiles tab under the Home | Management screen on the vSphere Client:

From here you can take several actions:

1. First, Manage Storage Capabilities to verify that all of the characteristics you want to expose have been discovered through VASA.  You can also define your own Capabilties
2. Next, create VM Storage Profiles (as pictured here) to associate one or multiple storage capabilities with your profile.  For example, you might select “Solid State Storage, FAST Cache, Synchronous Replication” for a Platinum tier VM Storage Profile.  For example, you could create a User-Defined Storage Capability for ‘Busted up old SAN’ and associate it with your old Dell iSCSI array, and a User-Defined Storage Capability for “New Hotness in a EMC VNX wrapper”.  You would assign these User-Defined profiles to their respective datastores.  You could then mix and match capabilities present on both arrays with the busted/hotness capability to have VM’s provisioned to the right LUN type on the correct array.
3. Finally, Enable VM Storage Profiles.  Storage Profiles are enabled at the Cluster or Host level, and require Enterprise Plus vSphere Licensing.

With profiles defined in vCenter, you can now edit the settings of individual VM’s and assign your desired VM Storage Profile to the entire VM, or selectively apply profiles to individual VMDK’s depending on their needs.

If you assign VM Storage Profiles to a VM that you later clone or convert to a template, those VM Storage Profiles stay with the VM so any new VM’s created/cloned inherit the same settings.

You’re done.  Your vCenter is now using VASA to communicate with your VNX to enable Profile Driven Storage – a basic building block in the Software Defined Datacenter!

If you have problems, wonder about creating a user account for VASA on the VNX, or want to see other best practices, I recommend EMC Primus 297057: “Login to the VASA Provider on the VNX Control Station fails with “A problem was encountered while registering the provider.””