Aaaaaaand we’re back! Today, we’ll walk through the next step of onboarding Hyper-V (compute) systems to Windows Admin Center: Virtualization Mode (vMode) and give you a sneak peek at what’s coming for storage profiles.
| If you’ve been following along, we’ve accepted the quest and slayed the onboarding dragon before we doubled back with Great Gatsby-like panache to configure our networking. And now, with an Austin Powers-like swagger that only an integrated onboarding wizard can evoke, we’ll strut through the storage configuration page for a smooth, mojo-friendly storage experience. |
Profile vs Configuration
Before we begin, let’s address the JUMBO jet in the room: there’s a subtle difference between selecting a host profile on the first screen of the Add Resource wizard and configuring settings on the following pages.
Host Profile – The service being provisioned on the system(s) specified in the wizard.
For example:
- Compute Host Profile – Provides a hypervisor (compute) service to virtual machines
- Storage Host Profile – Provides storage (SAN, NAS, HCI) service to compute systems
- Network Host Profile – Provides SDN services (NC, SLB, Gateway) to compute systems and virtual machines.
In short, the host profile defines the services this system offers, the views you'll find the system in after setup, and which management tools you’ll need. In the screenshot below, the storage profile is selected and subsequent pages in the wizard will ensure that this system provides SAN, NAS, or HCI storage to compute systems.
While we’re hard at work on Storage and Network profiles, the focus of this blog is storage configuration for a system with a compute profile (next section).
Configuration – Configures the services consumed by the system(s) being added.
For example, a compute system requires storage to host its VMs. Storage may come from an external SAN or NAS device and be as a cluster shared volume (CSV) accessible to all compute nodes. The CSV may be configured on these pages.
In simple terms, the first page in the Add Resource wizard specifies the service being provisioned (host profile) and the remainder of the pages configure the service.
As previously mentioned, the focus of this blog will be on storage configuration for a compute profile system.
Storage Configuration in the Compute Profile
|
As you stroll through the first few pages of the wizard like Bacharach on a rooftop with a piano and a smile, you’ll come to the storage configuration page where you’re presented with a few options for configuring storage.
|
Note: You can use this final option whether you’ve already configured storage or plan to do it later—the storage step will stand by with the steady stoicism of a Scotland Yard bobby.
You can learn more about each of these architectures at the following Microsoft link. Now let’s look at SAN and NAS storage to see how the wizard helps you get things going.
SAN Storage
If you choose SAN storage, the system scans for available SAN disks and sorts them into three categories:
- Ready: These disks are already properly configured as a CSV and ready for use
- Auto configure: This is the wizard’s way of saying, “we’ll take it from here!”
These disks can be set up as CSVs if you choose. Just enter a CSV Name, and the wizard will bring the disk online, initialize it, partition it, and create the CSV for you. It’ll even enable the CSV cache for you.
In short, if you provision a new LUN for each node in the cluster, we can set everything else up for you. However, if you don’t want the wizard to do anything to that LUN, just leave the CSV name blank and it will ignore it.
- Manual configuration: These disks require manual intervention.
|
There’s an issue and we can't resolve it automatically. Hover over the info bubble to see why the disk is in this category. In this case, the disk is only presented to one of the nodes in the cluster so it can’t be made into a CSV. You’ll need to ensure the other nodes in the cluster can see the disk before proceeding. There are several other reasons why we might require manual intervention; the more information section on the wizard explains all the requirements. |
NAS Storage
NAS storage is essentially a SMB file share. This can run on a Windows Server or one of our many partner devices. If it runs on Windows, you can manage the file server directly through the vMode browser.
Whatever you choose, you’ll simply type in the file share path into the wizard. The wizard will validate that the share exists and see if it has access.
Windows Based File Servers
If a file share is running on a supported Windows OS, we’ll install the vMode agent so you can manage that system on the Storage view after the wizard completes. This means that you’ll be able to create more file shares and configure settings on the file server without changing browser tabs.
Permissions and Delegation
You may have noticed that we don’t ask you to configure permissions for the file share. Setting permissions and SMB delegation for live migration has historically been a critical, yet overwhelming step for Hyper-V administrators.
Any management tool with real mojo turns tangled complexity into smooth and simple vibes. With that ambiance set, we’ve added two extra settings for file shares to keep things groovy.
Eventually, vMode will ask you if:
- you want vMode to configure access permissions
If selected, the permissions will be updated to include all the systems needed for live migration as specified in the link above.
- you want vMode to enable SMB delegation
If selected, we’ll attempt to enable SMB delegation making this a “1-click” experience for enabling live migrations. If we don’t have the Active Directory permissions necessary to make the delegation changes, we’ll inform you in the deployment status so you can take care of it yourselves.
For non-Windows based NAS systems, we won’t be able to set permissions or delegation settings so these options will be greyed out.
So, now what?
After configuring storage for your compute systems, you may need to manage or review their connections. Simply open the Storage view to see all onboarded storage devices and their linked systems.
If the onboarded system uses Windows, an agent will be installed to enable full management through the Storage view. For other operating systems, you'll still see the system listed, but management options will be limited unless your storage partner provides a vMode extension.
Summary
If you’ve been reading this blog series, you’re starting to see how the vMode Add Resource wizard makes onboarding simple and straightforward whether you’re using SAN or NAS storage (HCI coming soon!). Keep an eye out for Public Preview 2 dropping soon and make sure you give us feedback on our progress so far!
Dan “Danger” Cuomo
Microsoft