Notes: StorageGRID 11.0: Using VMware Software to Install SG

VMware Installation Steps

Step 1) Preparation: Have all of the required materials, installation files, hardware, and networks.
Step 2) Deployment: Deploy the grid nodes - the individual grid nodes are created and connected to one or more networks.
Step 3) Configuration: After all nodes are deployed, use the SG Grid Management Interface to configure the grid and complete the installation.

1: Preparation

1.1: Required Materials

- NetApp StorageGRID license - must be valid and digitally signed
- StorageGRID installation archive for VMware - StorageGRID-Webscale-version-VMware-uniqueID.zip (or tgz)
 - VMware software and documentation - virtual grid nodes are deployed in the vSphere Web Client
- Service laptop/workstation - Network port, SSH client, web browser (Chrome, IE, Firefox)

1.2: Downloading and Extracting Files


1.3: Hardware Requirements

See ‘Installation Guide for VMware Deployments’.
See NetApp IMT for supported servers.

1.4: Software Requirements

One virtual machine is required for each virtual StorageGRID node.

VMware vSphere Hypervisor configuration:
- Configure networking in the hypervisor to support the StorageGRID nodes that you are installing.
- Ensure that the datastore is large enough for the VMs and disks required to host the grid nodes.

VMware configuration:
- vCenter is required before you deploy the grid nodes.
- See IMT for supported versions of hypervisor and vCenter.

1.5: Virtual Machine Requirements

Admin node: 8 vCPU, 24GB RAM, 100GB OS LUN, 200GB MySQL LUN, 200GB Audit LUN
Storage node: 8 vCPU, 24GB RAM, 100GB OS LUN and Storage LUNs as required
API Gateway node: 8 vCPU, 24GB RAM, 100GB OS LUN
Archive node: 8 vCPU, 24GB RAM, 100GB OS LUN

1.6: Networking Requirements

Verify that the networking infrastructure and configuration is in place - 3 networks can be configured:

Grid traffic is the internal StorageGRID traffic that travels between all nodes in the grid. The Grid Network is required.
Admin traffic is the traffic that is used for system administration and maintenance. The Admin Network is optional.
Client traffic is the traffic that travels between external client applications and the grid. The Client Network is also optional.

When you first deploy a node, you must attach the node to the Grid Network and ensure that it has access to the primary Admin node. If the Grid Network is isolated, you can configure the Admin node for configuration and installation access from outside the Grid Network. If the Grid Network has a gateway configured, it is the default gateway for the node during deployment.

After the nodes are deployed, the nodes register themselves with the primary Admin node using the Grid Network. You can then use the Grid Management Interface, the configure-storagegrid.py Python, or the installation API to configure the grid and approve the registered nodes. During grid configuration, you can configure multiple grid subnets. Static routes to these subnets through the Grid Network gateway are created on each node when you complete the grid configuration. If you need to, you can also configure subnets that contain NTP servers that require access to the Grid Management Interface or API as grid subnets.

During the node approval process, you can configure nodes to use the Admin Network, the Client Network, or both, as needed. If a node is configured to use the Client Network, the default gateway for that node changes from the Grid Network to the Client Network when you complete the grid configuration steps.

2: Deployment

Image: StorageGRID on VMware example topology

NetApp provides a universal node image VMDK and the OVF files for each node type. You deploy the grid nodes as VMs via the vSphere Web Client.

Step 2.1) Deploy Admin node
Step 2.2) Deploy Storage nodes (3 Storage Nodes is the minimum requirements)
Step 2.3) (Optional) Deploy Gateway and Archive nodes.

2.1: Deploy Admin Node

Image: Deploy the Admin Node process

1) Deploy the primary Admin node OVF.
2) Name the VM and select the appropriate cluster, OS datastore, and networks
3) Provide the grid node parameters. These include:
- Node name
- Grid Network details (IP, mask, gateway)
- Admin Network details (IP, mask, and gateway + subnet list for routing)
- Client Network details (IP, mask, and gateway)

2.2: Deploy Storage nodes

Image: Deploy the Storage Node process

1) Deploy the Storage node OVF.
2) Name the VM and select the appropriate cluster, OS datastore, and networks.
3) Edit the VM to add storage (if you want more than 3 disks or larger disks)

2.3: (Optional) Deploy Gateway and Archive nodes

To deploy the archive and gateway nodes, perform steps 1 through 2 of the Storage Node deployment process.

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