You may use the following command line interface (CLI) commands on a Brocade fibre channel (FC) switch to view the model number and firmware version of the switch.
switchshow
firmwareshow
In particular the switchType: field of the switchshow command will provide you with the model number of the switch.
You may use the Microsoft Windows PowerShell script below to remotely verify the Enterprise Manager and Enterprise Services Agent Service status. These services are essential to a healthy Enterprise Manager infrastructure.
<#
.SYNOPSIS
This script will provide the status of the Enterprise Manager service on EM01. Additionally, it will provide the status of the Enterprise Services Agent Service on servers utilizing the Enterprise Manager Server Agent.
.DESCRIPTION
This script will automate the process of providing the status of the Enterprise Manager service on EM01. Additionally, it will automate the the process of providing the status of the Enterprise Services Agent Service on servers utilizing the Enterprise Manager Server Agent.
.EXAMPLE
N/A.
.AUTHOR
Written by Noel Enrique Alvarez on Friday, September 30, 2016.
#>
#Query the status of the Enterprise Manager service on EM01
Get-Service -ComputerName EM01 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “EnterpriseManagerDataCollector”}
#Query the status of the Enterprise Services Agent Service on servers utilizing the Enterprise Manager Server Agent
Get-Service -ComputerName SERVER01 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “CompellentEMServerAgent”}
Get-Service -ComputerName SERVER02 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “CompellentEMServerAgent”}
Get-Service -ComputerName SERVER03 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “CompellentEMServerAgent”}
#End of script
You may use the Dell Enterprise Manager Data Collector Manager to configure the SMTP settings of a Dell Compellent Storage Area Network (SAN) and provide you with alerts. In addition to this you may manually verify that the front and back end ports of the storage array are Up. To do so navigate to Dell Storage > Storage Centers > Storage Center > Fault Domains. As you can see from the output below all of the ports are Up.
You may use Darik’s Boot And Nuke (DBAN) to delete the data from a physical hard drive using the method below.
1. Press the ENTER key to start DBAN in interactive mode.
2. Entropy: Linux Kernel (urandom)
3. PRNG: Mersenne Twister (mt19937ar-cok)
4. Method: DoD 5220.22-M
5. Verify: Last Pass
6. Rounds: 3
You may modify the script below to automate the process of configuring an iSCSI Initiator with the Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system.
You may use the following method to identify an iSCSI Initiator IQN in Microsoft Windows Server 2012 from Windows PowerShell.
After opening Windows PowerShell type the command iscsicli.
In this example the iSCSI Initiator IQN is iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:clus01a.root.sysadmin.net.
Enjoy!
You may use the following method to very which iSCSI Initiators are currently connected to an iSCSI Target in Windows Storage Server 2012.
On the Server Manager navigate to File and Storage Services > iSCSI.
Right click the iSCSI Target that you would like to verify under the iSCSI TARGETS section and select Properties. In this example the iSCSI Target is iqn.1991-05.microsoft.com:iscsi01-clus01.
In the properties dialog box for the iSCSI Target select the Connections option to view the iSCSI Initiator Sessions. In this example there are (2) sessions from iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft.com:clus01a.root.sysadmin.net and iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft.com:clus01b.root.sysadmin.net.
Enjoy!
You may use the following method to install and configure the Windows Server 2012 Multipath I/O role that may be used for a Windows Server 2012 Failover Cluster. The steps below assume that an iSCSI target has already been properly configured. Additionally, below you will find the Internet Protocol (IP) information that will be used in this configuration.
iSCSI Targets: 172.16.25.1/24 & 172.16.50.1/24
iSCSI Initators: 172.16.25.102/24 & 172.16.50.102/24
We begin by configuring the iSCSI Initiator on the server that will be utilizing the iSCSI SAN. On the Targets tab in the Target: field enter the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the iSCSI target and click Quick Connect….
In the Quick Connect dialog box click Done after verifying that the connection has been established successfully (Progress report > Login Succeeded.).
On the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box click OK.
Next, we will enable the Multipath I/O feature. Begin by opening the Server Manager then navigate to Manage > Add Roles and Features.
On the Before You Begin page click Next >.
On the Installation Type page select Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next >.
On the Server Selection page select the local server (in this example it is CLUS01B.ROOT.SYSADMIN.NET) then click Next >.
On the Server Roles page click Next >.
On the Features page click the box to select Multipath I/O then click Next >.
On the Confirmation page click Install.
On the Results page click Close.
Next, we will enable iSCSI for Multipath I/O. Open the MPIO Properties dialog box by navigating to Start > MPIO.
On the Discover Multi-Paths tab click the check box to Add support for iSCSI devices then click Add.
On the Reboot Required dialog click Yes.
After the reboot open the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box and remove the current sessions from the Target, Discovery and Favorite Targets tabs.
Click on the Discovery tab and click Discover Portal…then enter the IP address of the iSCSI target in the Discover Target Portal dialog and click OK.
To create the first session switch to the Targets tab then click Connect. In the Connect To Target dialog box select the check box to Enable multi-path and click on Advanced…. In the Advanced Settings dialog box select Microsoft iSCSI Initator for the Local adapter:. Additionally, for the Initiator IP: select 172.16.25.102 and for the Target portal IP: select 172.16.25.1 / 3260. After these settings have been select continuing clicking OK to close out each dialog box.
To create the second session click Properites… on the Targets tab. In the following Properties dialog box click Add Session. On the Connect To Target dialog box select the check box to Enable multi-path and click Advanced…. In the Advanced Settings select Microsoft iSCSI Initiator for the Local adapter:. Additionally, for the Initiator IP: select 172.16.50.102 and for the Target portal IP: select 172.16.50.1 / 3260. After these settings have been select continuing clicking OK to close out each dialog box.
Lastly, we will verify the iSCSI sessions that we have just configured. On the Favorite Targets choose one of the each session then click Details.
Additionally, on the Targets tab click on Devices… to view a list of devices per session.
Now you may use Disk Management to mount the LUNs.
This completes the configuration.
Enjoy!
You may use the following method to connect your VMware ESXi 5.x host to an iSCSI SAN. Please keep in mind that this post assumes you have configured the SAN to allow the VMware host access to the appropriate LUN(s).
After logging into the vSphere Client navigate to Configuration > Networking then click Add Networking….
Under Connection Types select VMkernel then click Next >.
Select the vmnic that will be used for iSCSI traffic then click Next >. In this example it is vmnic0.
Type iSCSI for the Network Label: setting then click Next >.
Select Use the following IP settings: and enter the correct Internet Protocol (IP) address and subnet mask for your particular network then click Next > (no VMkernel Default Gateway: setting is necessary because the iSCSI traffic will exist on the same local network). In this example the IP address is 192.168.31.82 and the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. The iSCSI traffic will exist on the 192.168.31.0/24 network.
On the Ready to Complete page click Finish.
On the Configuration > Networking page you will now see a new switch labeled Standard Switch: vSwitch 1.
Next, navigate to Configuration > Storage Adapters. Right click the iSCSI Software Adapter (vmhbaxx) and select Properties….
Under the Network Configuration tab click Add….
Under Port Group select iSCSI (vSwitch 1) and click OK.
On the Dynamic Discovery tab click Add….
In the iSCSI Server: field type the IP address of the iSCSI target server then click OK. In this example it is 192.168.31.91.
The IP address of the iSCSI targer server should now be visible under the Dynamic Discovery and Static Discovery tab. If so, click Close.
Select Yes when prompted to rescan the host bus adapter.
Under the Details section of the window you should now see the LUN(s) that have been configured for use.
Next, navigate to Configuration > Storage then click Add Storage….
Under Storage Type select Disk/LUN then click Next >.
Select the LUN(s) then click Next >.
Under File System Version select VMFS-5 then click Next >.
After reviewing the configuration click Next >.
Enter a datastore name that will identify the datastore then click Next >. In this I chose openfiler01 because that is the hostname of the iSCSI SAN used in this example.
Under Capacity select Maximum available space then click Next >.
On the Disk layout: page click Finish.
After the VMFS datastore is created it will be visible on the Configuration > Storage page.
Now when you create virtual machines you may store them on this VMFS datastore.
This completes the process.
Enjoy!
You may use Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2012 as an iSCSI Storage Area Network (SAN). To do so you must install the iSCSI Target feature. Below you will find a step-by-step guide to installing this feature.
On the Server Manager > Dashboard page select Manage > Add Roles and Features.
On the Before you begin page click Next >.
On the Installation Type page select Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next >.
On the Server Selection page select the server that you would like to enable the iSCSI Target. In this example, I will be choosing iSCSI01. After selecting the server click Next >.
On the Server Roles page select File And Storage Services (Installed) > File and iSCSI Services > iSCSI Target Server. When the Add features that are required for iSCSI Targer Server? dialog box appears click Add Features. When you return to the Server Roles page click Next >.
On the Features page click Next >.
On the Confirmation page click Install.
On the Results page verify that the installation was successful (i.e. Installation succeeded on server), then click Close.
This completes the installation.
Enjoy!