EMC symmetrix array discovery using Solutions Enabler.

[learnthestorage]

Hello All,

I am a storage admin and needed on discovering EMC Symmetrix storage array using Solutions Enabler (CLI) using CLI performance and SMI-S performance.

I have a Symmetrix DMX4 array, I have installed the Solutions Enabler(v7.2.0) with SMI-S Provider(v4.2.0) on a host which already have luns from the DMX4.

I run the following commands with output.

C:\Program Files\EMC\SYMCLI\bin> symcfg list

                               S Y M M E T R I X

                          Mcode    Cache      Num Phys  Num Sym
    SymmID       Attachment  Model     Version  Size (MB)  Devices   Devices

    000190300*** Local       DMX4-6    5773       32768         4       488

I created a data source

Vendor: EMC

Model: Solutions Enabler (CLI) with SMI-S performance.

IP address of the host running Solutions enabler and SMI-S

Credentials: of the SMI-S provider

Service insight error: Failed to execute Sym CLI Symcfg.

Help me resolve this issue ASAP.

Thanks and regards,

John Jr.

[learnthestorage]

APOLOGIES.

Forgot to mention SANscreer v6.1

[krzysztof_kuzmick]

Hi,

     I'm using SYMCLI (not SMI-S) method through symapi server to collect performance statistics and it works fine. Maybe you should try SYMCLI method. Please show also:
symauth -sid 423 list
symauth -sid 423 list -users

Best regards,

Krzysiek

[learnthestorage]

Hi Krzysiek, thanks for the note.

I assume you are asking me to try the Solutions Enabler(CLI) with CLI performance. However, with this method, the Symmetrix CLI or SYMCLI needs to be installed on the SANscreen server. Here with my case, I do not have any LUNs comming from Symmetrix to the SANscreen server machine. Below is the output of symauth -sid 878, and there are no users configured at present

C:\Program Files\EMC\SYMCLI\bin>symauth -sid 878

   S Y M M E T R I X   A U T H O R I Z A T I O N

Symmetrix ID: 000****00878

  Authorization Control           : Disabled

  Time Enabled                    : N/A

  Time Disabled                   : N/A

  Time Updated                    : N/A

  Enforcement Mode             : Enforce

  Server Policy                      : Trust clients

Also is there any way to make my SYMCLI (on SANscreen server) to communicate the SMI-S provider installed on different machine?

Thanks,

John Jr.

[learnthestorage]

Hi, after the disocvery, the data source shows red and this is the service insight error.

'FAILED TO EXECUTE Sym CLI symcfg'

I checked the symcfg command gives result.

symcfg list gives the details of all Symm devices connected

symcfg list -clariion gives details of clariion devices.

Also the storsrvd service is running.

I have a lun to my sanscreen server, and the SE configured locally.

Regards,

John Jr.

[ostiguy]

Is Solutions Enabler installed on the SANscreen server?

SANscreen runs symcli calls against the storsrvd daemon running on the production Solutions Enabler host. Or, does the SANscreen server have FC gatekeepers, and thus has direct FC connectivity to the arrays?

[learnthestorage]

Hi Ostiguy,

I have a different machine; other than SANscreen server which has Solutions enabler(SYMCLI) v7.2 installed, as well as SMI-S v4.2 installed.

This machine has 2 gatekeepers and thus direct FC connectivity; and 'symcfg list' displays the locally connected symmetrix array. I can also discover the symm array in the SMI-S's TestSmiProvider

So the SYMCLI with SMI-S performance using the IP of this machine should discover the symm array, but NO LUCK.

I now installed the SYMCLI on the SANscreen server, but not gatekeepers present, unable to discover any symmetrix arrays.

Is there a way to make my SYMCLI (SANscreen server) to communicate the SMI-S(residing on a different server with gatekeepers)??

Thanks in advance.

John Jr.

[krzysztof_kuzmick]

Hi,

You should install symcli locally and do the symcli calls to remote symapi server. You must have server with installed SE and GK connected to it, then you must configure it to accept incoming calls from remote symcli commands (remote SE).

On SanScreen server (remote to server with GK end SE) you must defaine symapi server in /var/symapi/config/netcnfg

SYMAPI_SERVER  -  TCPIP  node001  WWW.XXX.YYY.ZZZ  2707  -

On server connected to array you must define security style:

SYMAPI_SERVER_SECURITY_LEVEL = NONSECURE

You must be sure thath you have both servers in /etc/hosts on both.

Best regards,

Krzysiek

[learnthestorage]

Hi Krzysiek,

I followed all the steps

     * Added the entries for the host files in both SANscreen server and the remote server having SE and GK. Able to ping with the host names.

     * Edited the netcnfg file on SANscreen server SYMAPI; replace WWW.XXX.YYY.ZZZ with the IP address of the server having SE and GK

     * Edited the netcnfg file on Server with SE and GK, replaced WWW.XXX.YYY.ZZZ with the SANscreen server IP address and added this entry -> SYMAPI_SERVER_SECURITY_LEVEL = NONSECURE    

     * Restarted both the server, checked all the services running.

Still my SYMCLI is not communicating with the SYMAPI of the remote server. I guess a very little modification should make it work, missing the catch in this case.

Any further help appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

John Jr.

[krzysztof_kuzmick]

Hi,

Take a look at /var/symapi/log/storsrvd.log0 on the server connected to the array. Be sure to start storpsrvd and then try to symcfg discover on remote (SANScreen server). Those steps should prodcue some helpful information in the log file.

Best regards,

Krzysiek

[ostiguy · Accepted solution]

I do not believe "nonsecure" will work - Solutions Enabler 7.0 introduced SSL only communications by default. When you manipulate your netcnfg file, you are changing how you will behave as a SE client - by setting nonsecure, you will only attempt non SSL secured communications. This will fail against a SE 7.x server by default, as they will only communicate via SSL.

Setting it to secure is the best bet. SECURE has some annoyances - SE uses mutual certificate authentication, so both the SE host and server need to be able to resolve the other's hostname to an IP, or else handshake errors will be typically encountered.

Recommendation:

On the SANscreen server, edit netcnfg, change to secure.

On the sanscreen server, In a cmd prompt

set SYMCLI_CONNECT_TYPE=REMOTE_CACHED
set SYMCLI_CONNECT=SYMAPI_SERVER

You have just set environmental variables in the *context* of that particular command prompt.

Within that prompt, navigate to the symcli \ bin folder

Perform a symcfg list -v

With those variables set, in the cmd prompt, when you issue sym* commands, you will now be attempting to issue them agaisnt the server referenced by "SYMAPI_SERVER", and not the local host.

Getting symcfg list -v to work resolves 99% of all Symmetrix discover issues in SANscreen

[learnthestorage]

Hi Ostiguy,

After setting the environment variables and running the command symcli\bin>symcfg list -v give a service error saying

"A requested network service was not found in the service file"

Regards,

John Jr.

[ostiguy]

This would be an EMC problem - if a symcfg list -v won't work, we cannot begin to collect the data we need.

[learnthestorage]

Hi,

At the client SE end, editing netcnfg file with these two entries and with the above environment variable on client end, the symcfg list -v works fine.

Also need to make sure the service storsrvd daemon running on server.

SYMAPI_SERVER  -  TCPIP  node001  WWW.XXX.YYY.ZZZ  2707  -

SYMAPI_SECURE  -  TCPIP  node001  WWW.XXX.YYY.ZZZ  2707  SECURE           

Thanks Ostiguy and Krzysiek, great help.

Regards,

John Jr.