Install the SDC on an ESXi-based server and connect it to
PowerFlex using esxcli
Install the SDC with the appropriate parameters to connect it to an existing
PowerFlex system. This procedure is relevant both for adding more SDCs to an existing system, and for adding SDCs to a two-layer system during initial deployment activities.
Prerequisites
Ensure that you have:
The virtual IP address or MDM IP address of the existing system. If an MDM virtual IP address is not in use, obtain the IP addresses of all the MDM managers.
NOTE: Obtain and include the IP addresses of as many potential manager MDMs as possible when performing this task, to make it easier to switch MDMs in the future. You can add a total of eight IP addresses.
Login credentials for the intended SDC host
The required installation software package for your SDC's operating system (available from the zipped software packages that can be downloaded from the Customer Support site)
A GUID string for the SDC. These strings can be generated by tools that are freely available online. The GUID needs to conform to OSF DCE 1.1. The expected format is xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx where each x can be a digit (0–9) or a letter (a–f).
About this task
The following procedure explains how to manually install an external SDC on an ESXi-based using esxcli in command line.
NOTE: This procedure requires two server reboots.
Steps
On the ESXi-based server on which you are installing the SDC, set the acceptance level:
esxcli software acceptance set --level PartnerSupported
Install the SDC:
Option
Description
ESXi 6.x
esxcli software vib install -d <path_to_zip_file>
where
<path_to_zip_file> is the absolute path to the SDC ZIP file.
NOTE: The SDC offline ESXi 6.0 bundle is the same for all ESXi 6.x versions.
where
<path_to_zip_file> is the absolute path to the SDC ZIP file.
Get permission to reboot the ESXi-based server, and perform a graceful reboot cycle to load the SDC driver on the server.
In a first-time install, the SDC will not automatically boot up at this point. Further configuration and an additional reboot are required, as described in this procedure.
Set the IP address of the MDM:
esxcli system module parameters set -m scini -p "IoctlIniGuidStr=<XXXXXX> IoctlMdmIPStr=<LIST_VIP_MDM_IPS> IoctlMdmPasswordStr=<ip>-<password>"
where
<LIST_VIP_MDM_IPS> is a comma-separated list of all the MDM IP addresses, or the virtual IP address of the MDM. Do not include
tiebreaker addresses here.
Separate the IP addresses of the same MDM cluster with a “,” symbol.
Separate multiple MDM clusters with the “+” symbol.
In the following example, there are two MDM clusters. The first has two IP addresses and the second has only one:
10.20.30.40,50.60.70.80+11.22.33.44
<XXXXXX> is the user-generated GUID string. Example GUID: 12345678-90AB-CDEF-1234-567890ABCDEF
Optional:
IoctlMdmPasswordStr is used for SDC authentication to the MDM for access to the
PowerFlex system.
Back up the parameters:
/bin/auto-backup.sh
Perform another graceful reboot cycle.
Ensure that the driver is loaded:
vmkload_mod -l | grep scini
Output similar to the following indicates that the driver is loaded:
scini 2 808
The SDC component is installed on the ESXi-based server.
Results
The SDC is installed on the ESXi-based server and is connected to
PowerFlex.
Next steps
In newly deployed systems, perform the post-deployment tasks described in this guide.
In existing systems, map volumes to the new SDCs that you added to the system.
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