Think of this as a quick install guide. It will not go into configuring or using the hypervisor, or how to complete the NetApp setup script. Instead it will focus on the steps that are important to building/customizing the simulator itself. For everything else, see the Simulate ONTAP 8.2.1 Installation and Setup Guide, which covers the simulator basics as well as detailed instructions for loading it into inventory on the various supported hypervisors, and how to complete the setup scripts to configure Data ONTAP.
This procedure will get one or more NetApp simulators (vSims) up and running quickly, in either 7mode or cluster mode. Both the serial number and simdisk inventory can be customized as part of this process. This guide is written specifically for 8.2.1 but should work on older releases as well. With recent versions of the simulator, simulated disk capacities approaching 220gb can be configured with minimal effort. Larger capacities are possible, but outside the scope of this guide.
Before you begin, you should have the following:
- A supported VMware hypervisor (ESXi, VMWare Workstation, VMware Fusion, or VMware player)
- A copy of the NetApp simulator for your chosen hypervisor
- The corresponding simulator license files
There are 3 choices to make when building a vsim. The best time to make these choices is before you boot the sim for the first time.
- Boot mode: 7 mode or cluster mode
- Serial Number: which serial number to use
- Simdisk Inventory: which sizes & quantities of simulated disks to use
Here is the procedure:
- Extract the vSim files.
- Open the vmx file (fusion, player, or workstation) or upload the files to ESX and add the vmx to the inventory.
- Open the vmware console for the vSim VM.
- Power on the VM and press space during boot to stop at the VLOADER> prompt.
IMPORTANT: Do not miss the first boot. If you do, start over at step 1 with clean files. Otherwise changing the serial number and simdisk inventory will not work.
- Pick a Boot Mode - 7mode or cluster mode
If this will be a 7 mode simulator, enter these commands at the VLOADER> prompt:
setenv bootarg.init.boot_clustered false
if this will be a cluster mode simulator, enter these commands:
setenv bootarg.init.boot_clustered true
setenv bootarg.bsdportname e0c
- Pick a serial number.
If you only plan to run 1 instance of the simulator, skip this step.
Pick one of the following serial numbers and enter the corresponding commands at the VLOADER prompt:
#Serial Number 4082368507
setenv SYS_SERIAL_NO 4082368507
setenv bootarg.nvram.sysid 4082368507
#Serial Number 4082368508
setenv SYS_SERIAL_NO 4082368508
setenv bootarg.nvram.sysid 4082368508
Notes:
This is not an exhaustive list. The licenses are locked to the serial number, not the boot mode. The feature keys from the cluster mode sheet will work in 7mode, and 7mode feature keys will work in cluster mode. There are plenty of serial numbers and key sets to choose from. For current valid choices, see the Simulator license files published on the simulator download page.
- Pick a simdisk inventory.
If you want to use the default disk inventory, skip this step.
Pick a simdisk inventory and enter the corresponding setenv commands at the VLOADER> prompt.
The default simdisk inventory is 28x1gb 15k:
setenv bootarg.vm.sim.vdevinit “23:14:0,23:14:1”
setenv bootarg.sim.vdevinit “23:14:0,23:14:1”
This inventory enables the simulation of multiple disk tiers and/or flash pools: (28x1gb 15k+14x2gb 7.2k+14x100mb SSD)
setenv bootarg.vm.sim.vdevinit “23:14:0,23:14:1,32:14:2,34:14:3”
setenv bootarg.sim.vdevinit “23:14:0,23:14:1,32:14:2,34:14:3”
This one maximizes the usable capacity of the DataONTAP-sim.vmdk
: (54x4gb 15k)
setenv bootarg.vm.sim.vdevinit “31:14:0,31:14:1,31:14:2,31:12:3”
setenv bootarg.sim.vdevinit “31:14:0,31:14:1,31:14:2,31:12:3”
NOTES:
The simdisks are created at first boot according to two bootargs:
bootarg.vm.sim.vdevinit
bootarg.sim.vdevinit
In a default vsim, they are set to “23:14:0,23:14:1”, which is equivalent to running the following in the systemshell:
vsim_makedisks -t 23 -n 14 -a 0
vsim_makedisks -t 23 -n 14 -a 1
Custom disk inventories can be constructed by adjusting the type and number of simdisks on each of the 4 adapters.
For a complete list of disk types, run vsim_makedisks -h from the systemshell.
- type boot
- Press CTRL-C when prompted to enter the boot menu
- Use option 4 to initialize the disks and install Data ONTAP.
Note:
To control which disks the root aggregate is created on, use option 5 to enter maintenance mode and disk assign the desired disks before running option 4.
- Complete the setup script as prompted
- Install the licenses that correspond to the serial number you picked in step 6. See the license files on the simulator download page.
Remember:
- Do not clone an existing sim once it has been powered on, start over with clean files.
- Give each vSim a different serial number.
