FAS 2050 e0m / BMC / RLM / RMC and connectivity

[it_4]

Hi,

I have a FAS 2050 which has been installed by a consultant. I'm reviewing the configuration (this is my first Netapp), and I'm surprise to see that he has used one of the Data ethernet port as a management port.

I'm pretty sure that I can use the port (with a wrench on top of it) as a managment port, I have been reading many ONTAP doc, and I'm confused.

Is this port (the one with the wrench) name e0m, or it is BMC,RLM or RMC ? Is there a command to determine what this port is ? and if I can use it a managment port ?

Thanks

[amiller_1]

On the 2050 it's a BMC port -- it's used for remote console access and also for sending AutoSupport's out if the main port is down however you can't actually access FilerView over it or point System Manager at it.

So.....what he did does make sense from a security perspective however it would have been better if he'd discussed it with/explained it to you.

[kvinay]

If you are interested in understanding the BMC information, you can use the command " bmc help " which will give you the options.

"bmc status" will give you the information of its configuration.

[danielpr]

Document says e0m can be used for Management purpose, but it doesnt explain how to configure and use it. I will try to explore much.

Thanks;

Daniel

[it_4]

On page 44 of the Data ONTAP 7.3 System Administration Guide is stated

"The e0M interface
Some storage system models include an interface named e0M. The e0M interface is dedicated to Data
ONTAP management activities. It enables you to separate management traffic from data traffic on your
storage system for security and throughput benefits.
On a storage system that includes the e0M interface, the Ethernet port that is indicated by a wrench
icon on the rear of the chassis connects to an internal Ethernet switch. The internal Ethernet switch then
provides connectivity to the e0M interface and the Remote LAN Module (RLM). The following diagram
illustrates the connections"

So my e0m port and my RLM port are connected to the same internal FAS switch.

On page 45 is stated "e0M is the preferred interface for the management LAN. The setup script then prompts you to configure e0M.
The e0M configuration is separate from the RLM configuration. Both configurations require unique IP
and MAC addresses to allow the Ethernet switch to direct traffic to either the e0M interface or the RLM.
For information on how to set up the e0M interface, see the Data ONTAP Software Setup Guide.

After you have set up the e0M interface, you can use it to access the storage system with the following
protocols:
• Telnet
• RSH
• HTTP
• SSH (if SecureAdmin is enabled)
• SNMP

"

I'm still reading the System Admin Guide. Does one of you could tell me how to configure the e0m interface as a management port. For now one of my Data port (e0a I think) is configured as the managment port, I would like to reconfigure it as a Data port, and use it in a vif. And the use e0m a the managment.

[RichardSopp]

Here's a quick list (from memory) of which management port types exist on which model / series.

FAS900 series - RMC

FAS2000 series - BMC

FAS3000 series - RLM

FAS3100 series - e0M (private switched network consisting of dedicated management port and RLM)

FAS6000 series - RLM

The system administration guide for ONTAP is written with all the hardware models in mind so the term Management Port means different things according to the hardware model.

The FAS2000 series uses the BMC (baseboard management controller) as the service processer is built onto the system board of the Filer, most probably because of the small form factor of the FAS2000 series.

The RLM is a separate module that plugs into the system board on the other models.

Hope this helps.

Richard

[ogra · Accepted solution]

Hi,

For using the Management port you simply need to run 'bmc setup' from your cli.

It will prompt for all the IP details you want it to have. It can be any other dedicated network also. It works like a ILO port in servers providing remote console connectivity over IP.

Regards

[kvinay]

As mentioned please use the "bmc setup" command to set the bmc,for further details you can also use "bmc help" or"man bmc"

commands.Once you are done with the set up you should be able to use it in the following way as mentioned in the ontap guide

Using the e0M interface to perform a Data ONTAP management task

You can use the e0M interface to access the storage system to manage Data ONTAP.

Steps

1. Open a Telnet, RSH, or SSH session on a client.
   • To use SSH, you must ensure that SecureAdmin is enabled.
   • For information on how to use the e0M interface with SNMP, see the Data ONTAP Network Management Guide.
2. Connect to the storage system using the address of the e0M interface.
3. Log in to the storage system with an appropriate user name and a valid password.
4. At the storage system prompt, enter a Data ONTAP CLI command.

   Example

   To obtain the Data ONTAP version information, enter version.

Regards,

Vinay

[danielpr]

BMC again different from Filer console. How ever to get the Full CLI access ,its better to go with Serial connectivity for the management console port . The other option would be management port via ethernet interfaces.

Thanks

Daniel

[it_4]

Thanks for your help

So a FAS2050 has a BMC not a RLM.

Can I use Fileviewer (HTTP) with BMC ?

[eric_barlier]

Hi,

It would seem you can yes;

After you have set up the e0M interface, you can use it to access the storage system with the following
protocols:
• Telnet
• RSH
• HTTP
• SSH (if SecureAdmin is enabled)
• SNMP

If for whatever reason you cant the public IP of the controller will work.

Cheers,

Eric

[danielpr]

I doubt if this features are supported as part of FAS2050 BMC. I think  you can do this with the e0M port on the FAS31x0 series but not the BMC port on the FAS20x0 series.

Thanks;

Daniel

[danielpr]

Yes, FAS2050/2020 has BMC not RLM. AFAIK BMC is only console management and doest allow you to manage the Data ONTAP features.

Thanks

Daniel

[it_4]

This confirm what I was thinking

So I'll try to summarize:

My config: FAS 2050, with 2 controllers with 1 console port, 1 BMC port, and 2 data ports each

2 aggregates (3 disk RAID4 + 17 disk RAID-DP) 300 GB SAS

If I want to manage my appliance with Fileview (HTTP) I have to use one of my data port, because I cannot use my BMC port. Correct ?

If I want to use vif, I would be only able to manage my FAS with the BMC port or Console port through CLI. Correct ?

So if I want to use fileviewer and vif, I will have to buy more data port for my FAS 2050 because for now my only way for fileviewer is to use on of my data port.

Thanks

[ogra]

Hi,

If I want to manage my appliance with Fileview (HTTP) I have to use one of my data port, because I cannot use my BMC port. Correct ? Yes

These next two points are not very clear what you want to accomplish. I think you are confusing FilerView with VIF ( Virtual InterFaces). VIF is not an application like FilerView to use.

"If I want to use vif, I would be only able to manage my FAS with the BMC port or Console port through CLI. Correct ?

So if I want to use fileviewer and vif, I will have to buy more data port for my FAS 2050 because for now my only way for fileviewer is to use on of my data port."

It's just Ethernet-Channelling of Ports on the FAS. You can learn more about VIF at this link.

For simplicity :

FilerView is the Web GUI for managing NetApp Controllers. They require access to NetApp controllers via some IP or the other. Now in your case you have total - BMC, e0a( data port),e0b ( data port), Console i.e 4 Ports.

As you have been already told, IP's are assigned only to BMC,e0a,e0b.

Now, BMC doesn't support Data ONTAP features and hence you can't use BMC to manage your controller with either using 'NetApp System Manager' or 'FilerView' or say any Management Product. Hence in order to manage your System you will have to access it via IP set given to either e0a, e0b or combined e0a & e0b(VIF). In your case you want to Ether-Channel the 2 Ports for better speed/performance. This Logical binding in NetApp is termed as VIF ( Virtual InterFace). Hence you will be accessing FilerView for administering your system via VIF only ( If configured). There are different types of VIF you can configure go through the Link provided above and you would get a clear idea.