A server is a computer on a network that is used as a storage node in a cluster. You can add a new server to the storage cluster to expand the amount of available storage.
The console enables you to monitor your servers in your cluster from the Summary tab. To display the summary of your servers, click the Servers node from the left pane of the console window. Servers tab provides a summary of all the servers, list of running tasks, and any alerts of your servers in your cluster.
A server is a physical 64-bit server with the Intel or AMD running:
A server on the Red Hat Storage platform:
- Red Hat Storage 2.0
- Must belong to only one cluster in the system. For more information on clusters, refer Chapter 3, Managing Clusters.
- Can have an assigned system administrator with system permissions.
Red Hat Storage Console platform uses various network ports for management. These ports must be open on Red Hat Storage server. For a full list of ports, see Red Hat Storage Console Installation Guide.
The Servers tab provides a graphical view of all the Servers in the system. The following properties of the Server are displayed on the Servers tab, and on the New and Edit dialog boxes. The Network Interfaces tab is described in Section 4.1.2.2, “Managing Server Network Interfaces”.
Table 4.1. Servers Properties
|
Field/Tab
|
Description/Action
|
|---|---|
Cluster
| The selected cluster. All servers in a cluster must be of the same architecture. |
Name
| The Server name. Provide a descriptive name. |
Address
| The IP address, or resolvable Servername of the server (provided during installation). |
Root Password
| The password of the designated server; used during installation of the server. |
Servers must be correctly installed before you can add them to the Red Hat Storage Console platform. Before adding Servers ensure that they have been configured correctly with a name and IP address.
Once added to the Administration Portal, Servers must be either approved or activated from the Servers tab on Red Hat Storage Console.
Important
If you re-install Red Hat Storage Console, you must remove the Servers to enable them to be reconnected with the correct ssh keys for the new installation of Red Hat Storage Console. In contrast, if you upgrade Red Hat Storage Console, the Servers remain connected, and no action is required from you.
Before you can add a Server to Red Hat Storage platform, ensure the following criteria have been met.
- The Server hardware is Red Hat Enterprise Linux certified. Refer to https://hardware.redhat.com/ to confirm that the server has Red Hat certification.
- If you are using VLAN, the network VLAN should be configured for access to the Red Hat Storage Console.
- The server has a resolvable Servername or static IP address.
Before adding a server, ensure you have the correct IP and password of the server. The process of adding a new server can take some time; the progress can be followed in the Events pane.
- Click the Servers tab. The Servers tab displays a list of all servers in the system.
- Click the New button. The New Server dialog box displays.Enter the following details in the tab:
Cluster: The cluster to which the server belongs (select from the drop-down list).Name: A descriptive name for the server.Address: The IP address, or resolvable Servername of the Server (provided during installation).Root password: the password of the designated server; used during installation of the server.
- Alerts, if any, appear on the Alerts panel. The Alerts panel displays on the bottom right corner of the screen. If there are existing alerts, the alert text changes color to brighter red.
Note
The Alerts panel can be resized by using the button, or dragging the border upwards/downwards. - Click .The new server displays in the list of servers with a status of "Installing". Once installation is complete, the status of the newly added server is Pending Approval. The server must be activated for the status to change to Up.
Note
View the process of the server installation on the Details pane.
The Network Interfaces tab on the Details pane of a server allows you to define the attachment of the logical network in the Administration Portal to the physical network interface cards (or NICs) of the server. This is a simple operation in which you attach one or more of the server's physical network interface cards (NICs) to a predefined logical network in the cluster.
Note
New logical networks cannot be defined at the server level.
The management and storage subnets are defined by default in the cluster. Typically, eth0 is allocated to the management network interface and eth1 is allocated to the storage network interface (which may display as data). The Administration Portal automatically detects the attached subnets and networks, so all that is required is to match the logical network name to the correct subnet.
Each server can support up to 32 interfaces, and these are grouped by logical networks. If the default settings are not correct, or more subnets need to be added, the Network Interfaces tab can be used to make changes.
You can edit the Server NICs and the network using the Network Interfaces tab on a server's Details pane.
The Network Interfaces tab displays the name, network name, address, MAC address, speed, and link status for each interface. The , , , and buttons enable you to manage Server NICs.
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays.
- Click the button to place the server into maintenance. The field of the Server changes to Preparing for Maintenance, followed by Maintenance. The icon changes to indicate that the Server is in maintenance mode.
- Click the Network Interfaces tab on the Details pane. The Network Interfaces tab displays the list of NICs on the Server, their address and other specifications. Select the NIC that you want to edit.
- Click the button. The Edit Network Interface dialog box displays.
- To attach the NIC to a different logical network, select a different Network from the list of available logical networks.
- Select the network setting of None, DHCP, or Static. For Static setting, provide the IP, Subnet and Default Gateway information for the Server.
- Select the Check Connectivity check box if necessary.
- Click .
- Activate the server. See Section 4.1.2.1.3, “Activating a Server”.
The Network Interfaces tab displays the name, network name, address, MAC address, speed, and link status for each interface. In the course of editing the Server NICs, it may be necessary to check or edit the Management Network Interface.
Important
Communication between the cluster and the server is via the management interface. Changing the properties of the management interface may cause the server to become unreachable.
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays.
- Click the button to place the server into maintenance. The field of the server changes to Preparing for Maintenance, followed by Maintenance. The icon changes to indicate that the server is in maintenance mode.
- Click the Network Interfaces tab on the Details pane. The Network Interfaces tab on the Details pane that displays the list of NICs on the server, their address and other specifications. Select the appropriate management NIC that you want to edit.
- Click the button. The Edit Management Network dialog box displays.
- To attach the ovirtmgmt management network to a different NIC, select a different interface from the drop-down list of available NICs.
- Select the network setting from or . For setting, provide the IP, Subnet and Default Gateway information for the server.
- Select the Check Connectivity check box if necessary.
- Select the check box to make the changes persistent, since changes done to the Networking configuration are temporary until explicitly saved.
- Click .
- Activate the server. See Section 4.1.2.1.3, “Activating a Server”.
After editing the NICs to ensure that the physical NICs connect to the logical networks, some further configuration may be necessary. For example, you may want to aggregate links, separate bonded links, or even detach NICs from the network. When the server is correctly configured and linked to the
ovirtmgmt network, you may want to save the network configuration.
Network bonding (also known as link aggregation, NIC bonding) consists of aggregating multiple network interfaces into a single logical bonded interface that correspond to a single IP address. Network bonding uses multiple network cables/ports in parallel to increase the link speed beyond the limits of any one single cable or port, and to increase the redundancy for higher availability. Red Hat Storage Console conforms to what used to be clause 43 of IEEE 802.3-2005 Ethernet standard, usually referred to by its working group name of "IEEE 802.3ad".
Note
Ensure that the NICs have been configured correctly across the network, that is, configure your routers accordingly.
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays.
- Click the button to place the server into maintenance. The Status field of the server changes to Preparing for Maintenance, followed by Maintenance. The icon changes to indicate that the server is in maintenance mode.
- Click the Network Interfaces tab on the Details pane that displays the list of NICs on the server, their address and other specifications.
- Select the multiple NICs that are to be bonded together.
Important
You cannot bond between NICs if the status for all is “UP” (The status arrow in the beginning is Green). To use the Bond feature, at least one NIC should be down (The status arrow in the beginning is Red). - Click the button. The Bond Network Interface dialog box displays.
- To create a bonded interface select a Bond Name from the list.
- Select the network setting from None, DHCP or Static. For Static setting, provide the IP, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway information for the server.
- Select the Check Connectivity check box if necessary.
- Select the check box to make the changes persistent, since changes done to the Networking configuration are temporary until explicitly saved.
- Click .
The Network Interfaces tab displays the name, network name, address, MAC address, speed, and link status for each interface. In the course of editing the Server NICs, it may be necessary to detach a particular NIC.
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays.
- Click the button to migrate to an alternative Servers, and place the server into maintenance. The Status field of the server changes to Preparing for Maintenance, followed by Maintenance. The icon changes to indicate that the server is in maintenance mode.
- Click the Network Interfaces tab on the Details pane that displays the list of NICs on the server, their address, and other specifications.
- Select the NIC (or NICs) to be detached, and click the button. The Detach Network Interface dialog box displays.
- The dialog box lists the NICs selected for detachment.
- Click to confirm the detachment.
- Activate the server. See Section 4.1.2.1.3, “Activating a Server”.
When the server is correctly configured and linked to the network, you may want to save the network configuration.
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays.
- Click the button to place the server into maintenance. The Status field of the server changes to Preparing for Maintenance, followed by Maintenance. The icon changes to indicate that the server is in maintenance mode.
- Click the tab on the Details pane that displays the list of NICs on the server, their address, and other specifications.
- Click the button.
- The server network configuration is saved and the following message is displayed on the task bar: “Network Changes were saved on Server
<Servername>."
The tab on the Details pane provides information on an individual server, including hardware and software versions, and whether updates are available.
- Click the Servers tab. If the server you want to view is not displayed, perform a search (see Section 2.2, “Search”).A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays. The Details pane displays general information, network interface information and server information.
- Click the tab. The General tab displays the following information:
- Version Information for OS, Kernel and VDSM.
- Status of Memory Page Sharing (Active/Inactive) and Automatic Large Pages(On/Off).
- CPU information like number of CPUs attached, CPU name and type, total Physical Memory allocated to the selected Server, Swap Size, and Shared Memory proportion.
- In addition, if an updated version of the server is available, an Alert appears.
The tab on the Details pane provides information about logical and physical networks of the server.
- Click the tab. A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays.
- Click the tab on the Details pane. This allows you to define the attachment of the logical network in the Administration Portal to the physical network interface cards (or NICs) of the Server. The Network Interfaces tab is discussed in detail in Section 4.1.2.2, “Managing Server Network Interfaces”.
The tab on the Details pane provides information about user roles and their inherent permissions.
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays.
- Click the tab on the Details pane. The tab displays a list of users, their roles, and their inherited permissions.
The Events tab on the Details pane provides information about an important or unusual event.
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays.
- Click the tab on the Details pane. The Events tab displays information about any important events that a system administrator should know about, such as problems with storage or notifications that have been sent to users for unexpected events.
You can use the Administration Portal to complete many server maintenance tasks. For example, you may have to change the network configuration details of the server, or the cluster to which it belongs.
Warning
Maintaining servers may involve the shut down, de-activation and restart of the server. Moving servers into Maintenance must be planned and considered carefully.
Servers must occasionally be brought down for maintenance. Follow the below mentioned steps to move a server into maintenance mode:
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. If the server you want to edit is not displayed, perform a search.
- Select the appropriate server. The Details pane displays information about the server.
- The Status field of the server changes to Preparing for Maintenance, followed by Maintenance. The icon changes to indicate that the server is in maintenance.
- Perform any required tasks. When the server is ready to be reactivated, click the button to bring the server back up.The Status field of the server changes to Up.
Note
If Red Hat Storage Console is unable to communicate with and control the server, its status displays Non-responsive.
You can edit the details of a server, such as its name or network configuration. You can also change the cluster to which the server belongs.
Before changing the cluster that the server belongs to, you must first place it into maintenance mode (see Section 4.1.4.1.1, “Moving a Server into Maintenance Mode”). Follow this procedure to edit server details:
Warning
Maintaining servers may involve the shut down, de-activation and restart of the servers. If any servers are running, be aware that you may lose data and configuration details if the server has not been shut down. Moving servers into maintenance must be carefully planned and executed with due care and consideration.
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers is displayed. If the server you want to edit is not displayed, perform a search (see Section 2.2, “Search”).
- Select the server that you want to edit. Click the button. The Edit Server dialog box opens.
- Edit the details as required. Click to save the changes.The details of the server are updated in the Servers tab, and the status changes appropriately.
You can assign user defined tags to objects and aggregate these objects into a group; for example you can create a group of servers running in a department or location.
To tag a Server:
- Click the Servers tab.A list of servers is displayed. If the server you want to edit is not displayed, perform a search (see Section 2.2, “Search”).
- Select the appropriate server, and click the button.The Assign Tags dialog box opens. It displays a list of available tags.
- Select the required tags.
- Click .
The tagged server displays in the result of searches for the assigned tag.
Servers that are no longer being used by the Red Hat Storage Console platform can be permanently removed. Deleting unused servers saves system resources, as existing servers are checked (or pinged) at fixed intervals. Follow this procedure to delete a server:
- Click the Servers tab. If a server that you want to delete is not displayed, perform a search and select the server to be deleted.
- Place the Server into Maintenance mode (see Section 4.1.4.1.1, “Moving a Server into Maintenance Mode”).
- Click the button. A confirmation message displays.
- Click . The server is removed from Red Hat Storage Console platform and deleted from the Servers tab.
While the superuser or system administrator of the platform has the full range of permissions, a Server Administrator is a system administration role for a specific server only. This is a hierarchical model, it means that the Cluster Administrator have permissions to manage the severs This is useful in an enterprise where there are multiple servers, perhaps running specific sets of clusters, each of which require their own system administrators. A Server Administrator has permissions for the assigned server only, not for all servers in the cluster.
To assign a system administrator role for a server:
- Click the Servers tab.A list of servers displays. If the required server is not visible, perform a search (see Section 2.2, “Search”).
- Select the server that you want to edit, and click the tab from the Details pane.The Permissions tab displays a list of users and their current roles and permissions, if any.
- Click to add an existing user. The Add Permission to User dialog box displays. Enter a Name, or User Name, or part thereof in the Search text box, and click . A list of possible matches display in the results list.
- Select the check box of the user to be assigned the permissions. Scroll through the Assign role to user list and select .
- Click .The name of the user displays in the Permissions tab, with an icon and the assigned Role.
Note
You can only assign roles and permissions to existing users. See Chapter 6, Users.
You can also change the system administrator of a server, by removing the existing system administrator, and adding the new system administrator, as described in the previous procedure.
To remove a system administrator role:
- Click the Servers tab. A list of servers displays. If the required server is not visible, perform a search.
- Select the required server and click the tab from the Details pane.The Permissions tab displays a list of users and their current roles and permissions, if any. The Super User and Cluster Administrator, if any, will display in the Inherited Permissions tab. However, none of these higher level roles can be removed.
- Select the check box of the appropriate user.
- Click . The user is removed from the Permissions tab.