Objective
When a storage system is registered with the API Configuration Manager (CMREST) Server, the default communication mode between the REST API server and the storage system is set to lanConnectionMode (Out-of-band). However, the processing speed of the API Configuration Manager server is faster in fcConnectionMode (In-band). This blog shows how to change the communication mode of the API Configuration Manager (CMREST) Server from lanConnectionMode to fcConnectionMode to achieve faster processing speeds.
Environment
● A Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform 5000 series (VSP 5000 series) storage system
● A VSP E series storage system
● A VSP F or G series storage system
● A Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One Block 20 family (VSP One B24, B26, and B28) storage system
● API Configuration Manager installed as a standalone product and as a part of the Ops Center Suite
● CMREST installed in a Linux environment
● CMREST installed in a Windows environment
Procedure
Note: We performed this procedure in our lab environment using the HTTP protocol. You can use the HTTPS protocol. Additionally, you can use a session ID instead of storage user ID and password.
Step-1: To obtain the existing communication mode of a storage system registered with the CMREST server, run the following API query:
curl -v -H "Accept:application/json" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -u <storage_user_id>:<storage_pwd> -X GET http://X.X.X.X:23450/ConfigurationManager/v1/objects/storages/<storage_device_id>
Output:
{
"storageDeviceId" : "836000XXXXXX",
"model" : "VSP F800",
"serialNumber" : XXXXXX,
"svpIp" : "172.X.X.X",
"mappWebServerHttpsPort" : 443,
"rmiPort" : 1099,
"ctl1Ip" : "172.X.X.X",
"ctl2Ip" : "172.X.X.X",
"dkcMicroVersion" : "83-05-49/01",
"communicationModes" : [ {
"communicationMode" : "lanConnectionMode"…> Default communication mode is lanConnection mode.
} ],
"isSecure" : false
Step-2: Create a command device in a storage system with the following settings and map it to the server where API Configuration Manager is installed.
- User authentication setting: Enabled
- Security settings: Disabled
- Resource group: meta_resource
- Settings for device group information authentication: Disabled
You can create a command device using various storage management tools, such as Ops Center Administrator, Storage Navigator, API command, or CCI. In this scenario, a command device is created using Storage Navigator as shown in the following screenshot:
When using VSP One Block 20, use embedded CLI or RAIDCOM to create a command device as follows:
a. Create a DP volume:
raidcom add ldev -pool <pool_id> -ldev_id auto -request_id auto -capacity 77M
Note: 77M is the size of the command device in MB.
b. Optionally, add a name to the LDEV:
raidcom modify ldev -ldev_id <ldev_id> -ldev_name CMD_device
c. Modify the LDEV to be a Command Device:
raidcom modify ldev -ldev_id <ldev_id> -command_device y 2
Note: 2 is the security value of the command device, indicating Security: OFF, User authentication: ON, and Group information acquisition: OFF. The security value range can be from 0-7. For more details, see the CCI guide.
Step-3: Map the command device to the host. In this scenario, API Configuration Manager is installed on a VM; therefore, we mapped the command device to the ESXi host where the VM is running.
Now, add the Command Device to the VM as a raw or an RDM disk.
Step-4: To change the communication mode to fcConnectionMode, run the following CMREST API query:
curl -v -H "Accept: application/json" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -u <storage_user_id>:<storage_pwd> -X PUT --data-binary @./FCModeInput.json http://X.X.X.X:23450/ConfigurationManager/v1/<storage_device_ID>/services/communication-mode/actions/change/invoke
Content of the FCModeInput.json file
{
"parameters": {
"communicationModes": [
{
"communicationMode": "fcConnectionMode"
}
]
}
}
Step-5: To verify that the communication mode is changed, run the following CMREST API query:
curl -v -H "Accept:application/json" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -u <user_id>:<password> -X GET http://X.X.X.X:23450/ConfigurationManager/v1/objects/storages/<storage_device_id>
Output:
{
"storageDeviceId" : "836000XXXXXX",
"model" : "VSP F800",
"serialNumber" : XXXXXX,
"svpIp" : "172.X.X.X",
"mappWebServerHttpsPort" : 443,
"rmiPort" : 1099,
"ctl1Ip" : "172.X.X.X",
"ctl2Ip" : "172.X.X.X",
"dkcMicroVersion" : "83-05-49/01",
"communicationModes" : [ {
"communicationMode" : "fcConnectionMode"……>Communication mode has been changed to FC
} ],
"isSecure" : false
Now you can see that communication mode of the API Configuration Manager (CMREST) and the above storage has been changed to In-band of fcConnectionMode.