IBM Storage Scale System Deployment Guide

Change history
Quick deployment sheet
The quick sheet lists concise sets of steps for the ESS deployment procedures. For more information, see the respective procedures.
ESS software deployment preparation
Install an ESS software package and deploy the storage servers by using the following information. The goal is to create a cluster that allows client or protocol nodes to access the file systems.
ESS common installation instructions (POWER EMS)
The following common instructions need to be run for a new installation or an upgrade of an ESS system.
ESS new deployment instructions (POWER EMS)
ESS upgrade instructions (POWER EMS)
Upgrade can be done by using the following methods
ESS deployment from an x86 Utility Node EMS
These instructions outline the steps to deploy systems with protocols from an x86 Utility Node EMS.
ESS known issues
Adding additional nodes or building block(s)
The following example procedure describes how to add IBM Storage Scale System 5149-091 Storage EnclosureIBM Storage Scale System 5147-102 Storage Enclosure nodes to an existing IBM Storage Scale System 5149-091 Storage EnclosureIBM Storage Scale System 5147-102 Storage Enclosure environment thus extending the existing file system.
Configuring call home in ESS 3000, ESS 3200, ESS 3500, ESS 5000, and IBM Storage Scale System 6000
In ESS 3000, ESS 3200, ESS 5000, and IBM Storage Scale System 6000, ESS version 6.1.1.x can generate call home events when a drive in an attached enclosure needs to be replaced. In ESS 3000, ESS 3200, ESS 3500, ESS 5000, and IBM Storage Scale System 6000, can also generate call home events for other hardware-related events in the I/O server nodes, protocol nodes, and client nodes that need service.
Security-related settings in ESS
The following topics describe how to enable security related settings in ESS.
Enabling Chrony timeset in ESS
Enabling Chrony timeset in an ESS environment is done as follows. It can be enabled for EMS, I/O server nodes, and protocol nodes by using the timeset sub-command of the essrun command.
Upgrading the Power9 firmware
The POWER9™ firmware must be upgraded manually. If the firmware is not at the latest level, do the following steps.
How to set up chronyd (time server) in non-ESS nodes
ESS protocol node deployment by using the IBM Storage Scale installation toolkit
The following guidance is for adding a protocol node after storage deployment in an ESS environment.
Protocol virtual machine deployment on ESS 3500 I/O nodes
Until ESS 6.1.2, the deployment of protocol nodes was supported through POWER 64 LE nodes. However, from ESS 6.1.3.1, the protocol nodes deployment is moved on ESS 3500 nodes to reduce the initial deployment cost and support the protocol deployment in the ESS 3500 environment.
Sample scenarios with mixed ESS types
Use these instructions for setting up ESS 3000 and ESS 5000 mixed cluster and file system.
ConnectX-5 or ConnectX-6 VPI support
Check and enable adapter port configurations on the VPI adapter as follows.
Client node tuning recommendations
IBM Storage Scale node configuration is optimized for running IBM Storage Scale RAID functions.
Capacity upgrade flow in ESS 5000
For customers who are looking to add storage to an existing building block, this option is now supported. The goal of a capacity upgrade is to expand a customer’s available storage, either by expanding an existing file system or adding new file systems, without the need to buy an entirely new building block. Capacity upgrade is designed to be an online operation and to not interrupt customer workloads.
Switch VLAN configuration instructions
This topic describes the instructions that are needed to configure an IBM® Cumulus switch VLAN.
Dual 24 port (48 ports) MGMT switch ESS configuration
This topic describes how to configure a pair of ECS4100-28T to be the ESS top of the rack (TOR) switches.
EMS network card port assignment
The ports on POWER9 EMS node network card need to be assigned as follows.
Enabling RoCE for IBM Elastic Storage Server
The topic describes setting up RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) to use within an IBM Storage Scale cluster. RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) is a network protocol that allows Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) over an Ethernet network.
Enabling goconserver
To configure manually the console server, you need to perform the following steps on the EMS. By default, conserver is setup automatically during deployment.
Utility Node co-existence with POWER9 EMS
EMS utility node conversion
You can convert a Power9 EMS environment to a unified EMS utility node. After the conversion, the Power9 EMS is re purposed or decommissioned. After this conversion, you can manage life cycle from the single utility node for all supported node types (except BYOE).
Summary of ESS deployment scenarios
ESS 3500 does not update the firmware automatically during the deployment. You must issue the mmchfirmware command to update the firmware (offline or online).
The IPv6 support for the ESS cluster creation on a high-speed network
From ESS 6.1.6.0, the essgennnetwork command can configure an IPv6 address on high-speed interfaces. These high-speed interfaces can be used to create a future-ready ESS cluster by using the IPv6 address over the high-speed network.
Multi-rail over TCP support in ESS
ESS provides basic multi-rail over TCP (MROT) support. You can find a new switch named -MROT in the essgennetwork command. This switch can be used with the --assign-ip switch to assign an IP address to the specified interface for MROT.
Bring your own EMS
From ESS 6.1.5.1 and higher, you can manage ESS 3500 by using IBM Power9 hardware or you can bring your own hardware, and run a virtual machine (VM) on this hardware. This hardware is the EMS for your cluster, which is BYOE, and the VM is EMSVM.
Dual EMS support in ESS
This appendix describes the basic requirements, use cases, and configuration steps for the dual EMS support.
Network bridges cleanup from an EMS node (applicable for a POWER9 EMS node only)
In earlier ESS releases, the mgmt_bridge and fsp_bridge bridges are used on a POWER9 EMS node to serve the management and BMC network connectivity to the ESS deployment container. Starting from ESS 6.1.8.2, these bridges are not needed on a POWER9 EMS node.
IBM Storage Scale System Utility Node (MTM 5149-23E)
The IBM Storage Scale System Utility Node (MTM 5149-23E), also called as utility node, is an x86 management server, which is fully sold and supported by IBM.