Data Backup and Recovery

How to make disks visible on Windows - without snapmanager

NUNOPEDROSILVA
2,473 Views

Hi all,

I wonder if anyone can help me. I have a FAS2020 set up, only needing to make the LUN's visible to windows. I've got the WWN's also wrote down, from the previous set up. I still don't have the Snapmanager license, which would make all the work for me, automatically, from what I've understood. So, basically, I have for now to put everything by hand.

How can I do that?

Thanks,

nuno

2 REPLIES 2

briansr
2,473 Views

Firstly, the software you are referring to is SnapDrive.  SnapDrive is used by the SnapManager tools if the server is hosting an application, for which there is a snapmanager tool, and you'd like to take application-consistent snapshots.  SnapDrive communicates with the filer (for things like mounting disks, creating disks, and snapshotting disks) while SnapManager communications with the application (to understand application data layout and to integrate with any hot-backup mechanisms that exist for the server/application.)  They function in partnership is probably the easiest way to think about it.  However SnapDrive can used, and is recommended, for servers mounting LUNs regardless and where possible.  That said you can certainly mount a disk on a server without SnapDrive.  Snapdrive just makes things infinitely easier to do, faster to make things happen, and ensures things like Disk alignment are correct among other things.  As such it is a best practice.

workflow without snapdrive:

1.  Create volume

2.  Create LUN in volume (Be sure to select the proper disk personality, Windows>windows boxes, Windows2008>Windows2008 boxes, WindowsGPT>windows boxes for which you plan on using GPT partition type when you create the partition.

3.  Create an iGroup (used to mask off access to this Lun for only the included list of initiators)

From here I will keep the instructions simple and assume iscsi and ms-iscsi-initiator service

4.  open up the MS Iscsi Initiator control panel on server and notice the node-name in the general tab

5.  Place iscsi initiator address (iqn.....) of said server in iGroup.

6.  Make a target connection for the filer by entering the DNS name for the controller hosting the LUN in the Discovery Tab (be sure to select for the connection to remap after system boot which amkes the connection persistent.)

7.  Click the Targets tab, select the IQN for the Controller that should now be in the selection pane.

8.  Click Log On

9.  Open up Disk Management MMC

10.  Disk should now be there in an unknown state.  (needs a filesystem), if not there re-scan though with my workflow it should be there.

11.  Right Click disk and create a partition then format it.

SnapDrive performs these actions in 5 clicks or less once installed and setup for controller communication.  Well, everything after you create the Volume anyhow.

-Brian

briansr
2,473 Views

One more thing.  Make sure to install the NetApp Host Utilities and run them.  This will ensure the proper timeout values and such are set on the initiators of your server.

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