Getting started with Lenovo Storage V series e-Learning course

After you have completed all the initial tasks of setting up the system, you are ready to launch the management GUI, and configure the Lenovo Storage V series system. This e-Learning module introduces you to the management GUI, and guides you through several system setup tasks, including configuring the system, migrating and configuring storage, configuring iSCSI, creating hosts, creating and mapping volumes, setting up email notifications, and other configuration tasks.

First, log in to the management GUI. The superuser will be required to log in for the first time, and you will be asked to change your password.

The first time you launch the management GUI, a wizard is displayed to guide you through some initial system setup tasks. Read the license agreement and indicate whether you agree with the terms. Select the license that was purchased, and enter the number of enclosures that will be used for FlashCopy, remote copy, Easy Tier, and external virtualization.

Next, enter a name for the system.

Then, configure the date and time settings.

Next, verify that all detected storage enclosures are displayed. To add an enclosure, click an empty slot to display cabling instructions. Click Close and then Apply and Next. The system will automatically detect newly connected enclosures. Proceed only after verifying that all storage is present.

It is highly recommended that you configure email event notifications, which will automatically notify IBM support centers when problems occur. Enter the complete company name and address. Next, enter the information for the person at your company whom the support center should contact. Enter the IP address and server port for one or more of the email servers that you are providing. The following screen displays the message that the Call Home email notification is automatically configured. Next, add or delete email addresses of those users who are to receive event notifications. For more information, see the Events and notifications e-Learning module.

Next, choose whether to configure storage at this time. Storage can be configured later using the management GUI.

Review the final summary page, and click finish to complete the System Setup wizard.

Go to the Overview panel to display the system that has been set up. This view is customized to your system. Clicking an image reveals information about a specific system component. Click Suggested Tasks to view available system actions. The options available in this menu vary, depending on your current configuration. We will now look at a few of these actions.

One of the available tasks is to migrate any external storage. Click Start New Migration. The Storage Migration Wizard prompts you to perform several tasks to prepare for the migration, including mapping the storage devices. The system then discovers the storage devices. Select the Mdisks you want to migrate, and then ensure that you have installed host drivers and zoned the hosts. If needed, use the wizard to create a host and configure it. Map the volumes to the hosts, and select the destination storage pool. When the wizard finishes, the volumes are automatically created and migrated using volume mirroring. You must go to the Migration panel and select Actions > Finalize before disconnecting the external storage.

If you did not opt for automatic storage configuration during initial setup, you can configure the storage by creating one or more storage pools. Go to the MDisks by Pools panel. Click Create Pool, and enter the name of the new storage pool. Optionally, you can choose a different icon to represent the storage pool. Select the managed disks to include and click Create to complete the process. You can modify, delete, and create additional storage pools in the MDisks by Pools panel.

If you are planning to connect hosts using iSCSI, configuring iSCSI is a task that you can select at this time. The iSCSI Configuration panel is displayed. It is important to verify the name of the system, which is also used in the IQN name. Changing the system name at a later time will disrupt host access. You have the option of configuring iSCSI aliases to the iSCSI qualified names, known as IQNs. The alias is a free-form text string that is associated with an IQN. Click Apply Changes to save the alias name. You can also, optionally, specify an IP address for the iSCSI storage name service, or ISNS. Host systems use the ISNS server to manage iSCSI targets and for iSCSI discovery. Click Apply Changes to save the information entered.

You need to create a host object for every host system that will use the volumes. To create a host, click Create Host, then select Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or SAS as the host type. Enter a name for the host. You can configure various host and port options depending on the host type you are creating. Select Create Host to complete this task. You can modify, delete, and create additional hosts later using the Hosts panel. For more information, see the Host attachment e-Learning modules.

Creating volumes is your next suggested task. Go to the Volumes panel and click Create Volume. Select a preset and then select the storage pool. You can create volumes that are generic, thin-provisioned, mirrored, or thin mirrored. For Volume Details, enter a quantity, the total volume capacity for each volume that you want to create, and a name for the new volume. Click Create to complete this task. You can modify, delete, and create additional volumes at any time using the Volumes panel. For more information about volumes, see the Using volumes e-Learning module.

After you have created at least one volume and added at least one host, you need to map the volumes to the hosts that can access them. From the Hosts panel, select a host and choose Modify Mappings. A list of unmapped volumes is displayed on the left. Select the volumes that you want to map to this host, and click the right arrow, then click Map Volumes. You can use the Host Mappings panel to view and modify host mappings.

Users who want to use LDAP to define access to their system have the option of configuring remote authentication. To configure remote authentication, click the Configure Remote Authentication button. Select the appropriate portal, and then select the LDAP type and security setting. Enter the IP address and browse for the SSL Certificate. To learn more about configuring remote authentication, see the User Authentication e-Learning module.

Additionally, you can create IBM FlashCopy(R) mappings. A FlashCopy mapping is used to copy data instantaneously from a source volume to a target volume. Select Create FlashCopy Mapping on the FlashCopy Mappings panel. Select the source volume from the menu, then select the target volume. Click Add, then click Next. Select a preset for the new FlashCopy mapping. Decide if you want to add the new FlashCopy mapping to a consistency group, and then click Finish to complete the setup of the new mapping.

In this e-Learning module, you were introduced to the management GUI and learned how to perform several system setup tasks for the Lenovo Storage V series system.

For additional information, see the e-Learning modules and help topics in this information center.