Configuration Notes

Asynchronous Replication

  • When activating or deactivating the replication side, please make sure there is no I/O running on this virtual disk (vDisk) to avoid data corruption.

  • Entering Test mode on many vDisks at the same time might cause the DataCore Management Console to stop responding, even though the test mode will complete successfully in the background.

  • For setting up addresses specific to a partner replication server:

    • Modify the 'hosts' files for the destination servers with the correct IP addresses that should be used to reach the source server. The 'hosts' file is located at "%windir%\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts".

      This will affect all the applications running on these machines.

    • Then, set the network interface for the remote machine back to 'Default' which will allow the destination servers to use the different IP addresses stored in their 'hosts' files.

Base License Support

From SANsymphony 10.0 PSP16 onwards, base licenses are no longer required for EN, ST, and BZ capacity licenses. They are optional.

Base licenses are still supported, and no changes are required for the existing license configurations.

Custom Cache Setting

If you have a custom cache setting on a DataCore Server and you then add that server to a different server group, the cache setting will be changed back to the default, "Use system managed cache size". However, you will need to do a stop and start on the DataCore Server you added to the group for the default cache setting to be fully applied.

DataCore SANsymphony Help

See About the Help for details on accessing the DataCore SANsymphony Help.

Fibre Channel Adapters

  • Do not configure host Emulex Fibre Channel adapters to use Third Party Logout (TPRLO) as a method of resetting storage target devices.
  • Installing DataCore SANsymphony software will set the Fibre Channel Port WW Port Name (WWPN) and the WW Node Name (WWNN) to be the same. If the native QLogic driver was previously configured with unique WWPN and WWNNs, these will be reset to be the same and will have to be reconfigured.

Qlogic Service Update

A Service Update installation is required to address the issue regarding the ports not starting with certain Qlogic QLE26xx and QLE27xx firmware.

The SANsymphony 10.0 PSP13 and 10.0 PSP15 releases included an optional Service Update package for customers needing to update the Qlogic QLE26xx and QLE27xx series compatible Host Bus Adapter (HBA) firmware to the latest version from their vendor. From SANsymphony 10.0 PSP16 onwards, the new driver is incorporated from that Service Update into SANsymphony.

If you are on SANsymphony 10.0 PSP13 or 10.0 PSP15 version and have previously taken the steps to apply the Service Update provided with the respective releases, an upgrade can be performed according to the standard documented procedures with no additional actions.

SANsymphony 10.0 PSP16 does not support Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system or older.

For all other customers, if nearly all configurations meet the upgrade criteria for SANsymphony 10.0 PSP16, customers may upgrade their systems using the standard documented procedures mentioned earlier. However, for customers who have never upgraded to SANsymphony 10.0 PSP13 or 10.0 PSP15 version, or have never applied the Software Update packaged with those releases, refer to the notes.

  • Customers specifically using HPE systems, with HPE branded SN1100Q or SN1600Q HBAs should inspect their adapters' information detail in BIOS to ensure that the HBAs are on a firmware package greater than 1.71.XX. This firmware revision was pulled from the HPE Support site and may result in a system crash (Blue Screen) when the above-mentioned HBAs running this old firmware version try to load the Qlogic driver. If you find that your HPE HBAs listed above still have this old firmware revision, DataCore strongly recommends that you DO NOT upgrade until your firmware is updated. The latest available firmware packages for these cards are mentioned here: HPE Support Center.
  • Customers using HPE servers with HPE branded SN1100Q or SN1600Q HBAs must check the adapters' details in BIOS and ensure that the HBAs are on a firmware package later than 1.71.XX prior to starting the upgrade.
    If an earlier firmware revision is installed, stop the SANsymphony server, upgrade the firmware to the newest available version, and perform a manual SANsymphony upgrade (do not use the DataCore Deployment Wizaed). It is expected that the HBAs will have the state "Not Started" after the firmware is upgraded and before SANsymphony 10.0 PSP16 is applied. Upgrading SANsymphony 10.0 PSP16 will then allow the HBAs to start.
  • After the new firmware version is applied on a server, the above-mentioned HBAs on machines running SANsymphony 10.0 PSP13 or 10.0 PSP15 version without the Service Update or SANsymphony 10.0 PSP12 may appear as "Not Started". This is due to the mismatch between the firmware and the driver installed by default with these versions. If you are on SANsymphony 10.0 PSP13 or 10.0 PSP15 version and find that the ports do not start after the firmware upgrade, it is recommended to install the Service Update packaged with those releases found in the DataCore\SANsymphony\Service Update directory at the installed path. Follow the accompanying ReadMe in that folder for full instructions on applying that update.
  • Once the Service Update procedure is complete for the server, ports on the QLogic HBAs should start. Wait for a full recovery, and repeat the procedure outlined in Steps 2-3 on each remaining server, one at a time.
  • Once the firmware upgrade and Service Update have been applied on all servers and all storage is healthy, proceed with the SANsymphony 10.0 PSP16 upgrade according to the standard documented procedures.
  • Customers on SANsymphony 10.0 PSP12 version, who need to upgrade their firmware based on the recommendation above, your servers should be upgraded to SANsymphony 10.0 PSP16 one at a time, using the upgrade instructions mentioned below for individual server upgrades.

Front-End Ports

Most host operating systems require the DataCore Server port to be configured with FE-only ports (or FE/MR ports where the target-only property has been explicitly set) for failover to work when the host is stopped. Refer to the appropriate Host Configuration Guide for host-specific operating system requirements (see DataCore FAQ 838).

Historic Performance Recording

Historic performance recording functionality has been deprecated and is no longer supported.

Host Operating Systems

Before performing storage source replacements for mirrored virtual disks (vDisks) on Sun Solaris or HP-UX hosts, perform manual failover I/O paths to the "other" DataCore Server.

Individual Component Installation

Do not install individual components (e.g. DataCore cmdlets) from the DataCoreServer.exe because uninstall and upgrade to the full product are known to fail. As a workaround, install the stand-alone version of the component (DataCorePowerShellSupport.exe or DataCoreManagementConsole.exe).

Microsoft IIS Settings

Existing configuration settings will be overwritten when installing for the first time. In addition, IIS logging is enabled by default. See DataCore FAQ 2196 for information on managing IIS log files on a DataCore SANsymphony node.

Microsoft Windows Features or Roles on Microsoft DataCore Servers

  • Do not create storage pools from with Windows Server Manager/File and Storage Services as this will interfere with DataCore SANsymphony.
  • The DataCore REST service will install the following Windows features: Web-Server, NET-WCF-HTTP-Activation45, Web-Http-Redirect, and Web-Mgmt-Console.

Network Interface Cards (NICs)

  • Ensure that there is at least one network interface card with an IP address configured. DataCore Servers will time out when connecting to the user interface if there are no network cards with IP addresses present in the system.
  • The installation of the DataCore iSCSI driver will pause if one or more NICs do not have an IP address or a network connection. Please choose OK in the resulting dialog box to continue the install and troubleshoot after the installation completes.

Physical Disks

  • Disks under DataCore SANsymphony management will appear as Unknown/Not initialized in Microsoft Windows Disk Management. An Unknown/Offline disk appears in Disk Management for each mirrored virtual disk (vDisk). Upon opening Windows Disk Manager, a prompt to initialize these disks will be displayed. Select Cancel to close the dialog box.

  • Do not present disks that are being used by a DataCore Server to any other non-DataCore Server at the same time, as this could lead to corrupt data.

Post-Processing Deduplication

  • Post-Processing Deduplication is considered to be experimental.
  • On Windows Server 2016 installations, ensure that Microsoft KB4013429 (July 2017 Rollup) or greater is installed.
  • Post-Processing Deduplication is not appropriate for high I/O patterns where hosts are constantly changing the same files over extended periods.
  • Create deduplication pools one at a time. Wait for completion before creating another pool.
  • Do not run disk defragmentation software on volumes used to create deduplication pools or on volumes created from deduplication pools. In Windows 2012, defragmentation is a maintenance mode task that occurs automatically during optimization. Disks are optimized automatically by default, so optimization must be disabled for volumes involved in post-processing deduplication. Settings for scheduled optimization must be changed by the administrator in the Windows Defragment and Optimize Drives utility so that volumes used in deduplication pools and volumes created from deduplication pools are not selected for optimization. See Microsoft documentation for more information and also DataCore FAQ 1622

Server and Host Clocks

System clocks on all DataCore Servers and hosts should be time-synchronized wherever possible. This makes it easier to use the Asynchronous Replication, Snapshot, and Continuous Data Protection (CDP) features as well as helps troubleshoot issues using Windows and DataCore log files.

Server Group Connections and the DataCore Management Console

Always use the same DataCore Management Console version when connecting to a server group.

Support of DataCore VDI Services

DataCore Virtual Desktop Integration (VDI) Services have been deprecated and are no longer supported.

Support of Microsoft Hyper-V Server as SANsymphony Server

Installation in the parent partition of the Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016 stand-alone product (that contains only the Windows hypervisor) is not supported.

Support of Microsoft Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2 as SANsymphony Operating System

Installation on Microsoft Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2 operating system is not supported.

Virtual Disk Allocation Monitor

The virtual disk allocation threshold monitor has been removed from virtual disk, snapshot, and virtual disk template. Additionally, the controls from the User Interface (UI) have been removed from the virtual disk details, template details, and snapshot details.

The thresholds parameters for Set-DcsVirtualDiskThreshold, Set-DcsVirtualDiskTemplateProperties, and Add-DcsVirtualDiskTemplate in the PowerShell cmdlet have been marked as deprecated. Even if a user provides these parameters, the inputs will be ignored.