Automating Oracle RAC Storage Provisioning using Ansible on Hitachi Vantara VSP One Block Storage Array
Introduction
This blog presents an automated approach to Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One) storage provisioning using Ansible, a powerful open-source automation tool. By utilizing Ansible language programming, infrastructure teams can automate the full lifecycle of Hitachi's VSP One Storage provisioning from discovery and allocation to formatting and mounting across Oracle RAC environments.
VSP One developed by Hitachi Vantara. VSP One integrates block, file, and object storage into a single, scalable platform, enabling seamless data management across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
Why Automation?
In old days, to allocate LUNs for Oracle RAC node was a manual which was bit time consuming process which can prone to human error and inconsistencies. Also, when infrastructure scales up it is necessary to streamline operations to reduce risk and improve efficiency.
In Oracle RAC environment key component is shared storage infrastructure, which must be precisely provisioned to support cluster operational demand. By automating storage LUN provisioning, it enhances deployment speed but also enforces compliance with organizational standards.
To address these challenges, organizations can now leverage the Hitachi Vantara VSP One Block Storage modules for Red Hat Ansible, which simplifies and accelerate the Oracle RAC storage LUNs provisioning process. These modules enable seamless integration between Ansible automation and Hitachi storage systems, allowing for consistent, policy-driven provisioning across all RAC nodes.
Automation Benefit
- Accelerated Provisioning - Automating LUN provisioning reduces the time required to allocate and configure storage.
- Consistency and Standardization – Hitachi Vantara Ansible module ensures that every LUN is provisioned using the same configuration and policies, eliminating human error and configuration drift across Oracle RAC nodes.
- Seamless Integration with Hitachi VSP One Block - The dedicated Hitachi Vantara Ansible modules are built to interact with VSP One Block systems, enabling direct provisioning and management of storage resources.
- Improved operational efficiency - By automating repetitive storage tasks, infra team can focus on higher-value activities, improving overall productivity and reducing operational overhead.
Hitachi VSP One Block
The Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One Block series simplifies system setup and management through Hitachi Clear Sight and VSP One Block Administrator. It combines simplicity, sustainability, and robust security features to optimize system management, energy efficiency, and data protection.
Accomplishment using Ansible for Hitachi VSP One Block
With Red Hat Ansible we can automate the following task using Hitachi VSP One Block Storage modules.
- Automate Oracle RAC volume creation via Hitachi VSP REST APIs
- Configure VSP One Block Storage Ports
- Configure Port group and add WWNs
- Create Parity Groups with the required RAID
- Create Pool Volumes and Storage Pool
- Create Virtual Volumes for Oracle RAC node
- Map LUNs to Oracle RAC cluster nodes
Automating Hitachi VSP One Block Storage with Ansible
Hitachi Vantara providing pre-built VSP One Block Storage Modules for Ansible to manage storage systems. Below is a brief description of how we can leverage it for Oracle RAC LUN provisioning.
Architecture Diagram
Hardware requirements
- VSP One Block 20
- VSP One Block 24
- VSP One Block 26
- VSP One Block 28
- VSP 5100, 5500, 5100H, 5500H, 5200, 5600, 5200H, 5600H (SAS)
- VSP 5100, 5500, 5100H, 5500H, 5200, 5600, 5200H, 5600H (NVMe)
- VSP E590, E790, E990, E1090,
- VSP F350, F370, F700, F800, F900, F1000, F1500
- VSP G350, G370, G700, G900, G1000, G1500
Software requirements
- Red Hat Ansible Core - 2.16, 2.17, 2.18
- Python - 3.9 or higher
- Hitachi UAI Gateway 4.7 for using Gateway Connection (Not required for Direct Connection)
Supported operating systems on control node
- Oracle Enterprise Linux 8.9 or higher
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.9 or higher
Recommended Control Node configuration
- CPU/vCPU – 2
- Memory - 4 GB
- Hard Disk - 30 GB
Installation of module on Ansible Control Node
#ansible-galaxy collection install hitachivantara.vspone_block
Playbooks
A ready to use automation pipeline available on official Hitachi Vantara’s GitHub and defined in the master.yml playbook has been developed to streamline the initial creation of Oracle RAC volumes on Hitachi VSP One Block storage.
Configure Storage Port: Sets up the necessary storage ports on the Hitachi VSP system using 1_storage_port_create.yml
Create & Configure Hostgroups: Establishes host groups and adds WWNs of hosts using 2_hostgroup_create.yml
Parity Group Creation: Creates parity groups with the required RAID type for data redundancy with 4_paritygroup_create.yml, after retrieving the parity group ids with 3_paritygroup_get_pg_id.yml
Single Storage Pool with Pool volumes Creation: Create a storage pool with approx. 4 or 8 Pool Volumes (PVOLs) with 5_storagepool_create.yml
VVOLs Creation and Mapping: Provisions for Virtual Volumes (VVOLs) are made for operating system and Oracle database components, including shared OCR disk, redo log, and data volumes, utilizing the 6_vvol_creation_in_pool.yml configuration file. These volumes are then mapped to the host groups that contain the host WWNs. The creation process adheres to Hitachi Vantara's best practices for Oracle RAC, ensuring optimal performance and reliability.
Variables: To manage variables effectively, we have utilized the below variable file.
Ora_variables.yml: A file containing global variables for the storage provisioning process, there would be a separate file for modification and deletion.
Run the ansible playbook command to use pipeline:
#ansible-playbook master.yml -e vsp_storage=b28 -J
-e EXTRA_VARS, --extra-vars EXTRA_VARS set additional variables as key=value
-J, --ask-vault-password, --ask-vault-pass ask for vault password
Conclusion
By utilizing powerful integration between Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Hitachi Vantara’s VSP One Block storage, organizations can eliminate manual processes, reduce provisioning time, and ensure standardized configurations across complex Oracle RAC environments.
Automating storage provisioning for Oracle RAC using Ansible and Hitachi VSP One Block represents a significant advancement in infrastructure operational efficiency, consistency, and scalability.
References
Ansible Galaxy
GitHub - Hitachi-Vantara/hv-playbook-Oracle-VSP
GitHub - Public repository for Hitachi Storage Modules for Red Hat® Ansible®