NetApp E-Series Driver for OpenStack Block Storage (Cinder)

The NetApp E-Series driver for Cinder was introduced in the Icehouse release as a new storage family supported within the NetApp unified driver framework. The E-Series driver provides OpenStack with access to NetApp E-Series controllers for provisioning and maintaining OpenStack block storage volumes that use the iSCSI protocol.

Deployment Topology

As described in the section called “Theory of Operation & Deployment Choices”, Cinder with NetApp E-Series requires the use of the NetApp SANtricity Web Services Proxy server deployed as an intermediary between Cinder and the E-Series storage system. A common deployment topology with Cinder, Nova, and an E-Series controller with the SANtricity Web Services Proxy can be seen in Figure 4.7, “Cinder & E-Series Deployment Topology”.

Figure 4.7. Cinder & E-Series Deployment Topology

An logical diagram of the deployment topology with Cinder and NetApp E-Series Storage Solutions

	Tip
	Documentation (including installation instructions) for the NetApp SANtricity Web Services Proxy server are available for download at https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_download_file/ECMP1506075.

Dynamic disk pools (as described in the section called “Description of E-Series and EF-Series Systems”) are the only supported disk collection strategy when utilizing the Cinder E-Series driver. For more information on the capabilities of the E-Series storage systems, visit http://support.netapp.com.

	Tip
	While formally introduced in the Icehouse release of OpenStack, NetApp has backported the E-Series driver to the Grizzly and Havana releases of OpenStack, accessible at https://github.com/NetApp/cinder. Be sure to choose the branch from this repository that matches the release version of OpenStack you are deploying with.

	Important
	The use of multipath and DM-MP are required when using the OpenStack Block Storage driver for E-Series. Ensure that all unconfigured iSCSI host ports on the E-Series array are disabled for both IPv4 and IPv6 in order for multipath to function properly.

Configuration Options

To set up the NetApp E-Series driver for Cinder, the following stanza should be added to the Cinder configuration file (cinder.conf):

[myESeriesBackend] 
volume_backend_name=myESeriesBackend
volume_driver=cinder.volume.drivers.netapp.common.NetAppDriver
netapp_server_hostname=hostname
netapp_server_port=80
netapp_storage_protocol=iscsi 
netapp_storage_family=eseries 
netapp_controller_ips=1.2.3.4,1.2.3.5
netapp_sa_password=storage_array_password
netapp_storage_pools=myPool1,myPool2
netapp_login=admin_username
netapp_password=admin_password
use_multipath_for_image_xfer=True

	Be sure that the value of the `enabled_backends` option in the `[DEFAULT]` stanza includes the name of the stanza you chose for the backend.
	As the E-Series solution only provides block storage services, the value of `netapp_storage_protocol` MUST be set to `iscsi`.
	The value of `netapp_storage_family` MUST be set to `eseries`, as the default value for this option is `ontap_cluster`.

	Important
	In order for OpenStack Block Storage and OpenStack Compute to take advantage of multiple paths, the following configuration options must be correctly configured: The `use_multipath_for_image_xfer` should be set to `True` in `cinder.conf` within the driver stanza. The `iscsi_use_multipath` should be set to `True` in `nova.conf` within the `[libvirt]` stanza.

Table 4.20, “Configuration options for E-Series with iSCSI” lists the configuration options available for the unified driver for a E-Series deployment that use the iSCSI storage protocol.

Table 4.20. Configuration options for E-Series with iSCSI
Option	Type	Default Value	Description
`netapp_server_hostname`	Required		The hostname or IP address for the proxy server.
`netapp_server_port`	Optional		The TCP port to use for communication with the storage system or proxy server. If not specified, Data ONTAP drivers will use 80 for HTTP and 443 for HTTPS; E-Series will use 8080 for HTTP and 8443 for HTTPS.
`netapp_login`	Required		Administrative user account name used to access the proxy server.
`netapp_password`	Required		Password for the administrative user account specified in the `netapp_login` option.
`netapp_storage_protocol`	Required		The storage protocol to be used. Valid options are `nfs` or `iscsi`.
`netapp_transport_type`	Required	`http`	Transport protocol for communicating with the proxy server. Valid options include `http` and `https`.
`netapp_webservice_path`	Optional	`/devmgr/v2`	This option is used to specify the path to the E-Series proxy application on a proxy server. The value is combined with the value of the `netapp_transport_type`, `netapp_server_hostname`, and `netapp_server_port` options to create the URL used by the driver to connect to the proxy application.
`netapp_controller_ips`	Required		This option is only utilized when the storage family is configured to `eseries`. This option is used to restrict provisioning to the specified controllers. Specify the value of this option to be a comma separated list of controller hostnames or IP addresses to be used for provisioning.
`netapp_sa_password`	Optional		Password for the NetApp E-Series storage array.
`netapp_storage_pools`	Required		This option is used to restrict provisioning to the specified storage pools. Only dynamic disk pools are currently supported. Specify the value of this option to be a comma separated list of disk pool names to be used for provisioning.
`netapp_storage_family`	Required	`ontap_cluster`	The storage family type used on the storage system; valid values are `ontap_7mode` for Data ONTAP operating in 7-Mode, `ontap_cluster` for clustered Data ONTAP, or `eseries` for E-Series.
`netapp_eseries_host_type`	Optional	`linux_dm_mp`	This option is used to define how the controllers in the E-Series storage array will work with the particular operating system on the hosts that are connected to it. Valid values include `aix`, `avt`, `factoryDefault`, `hpux`, `linux_atto`, `linux_dm_mp`, `linux_mpp_rdac`, `linux_pathmanager`, `macos`, `ontap`, `svc`, `solaris_v11`, `solaris_v10`, `vmware`, `windows`, `windows_atto`, or `windows_clustered`.

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