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Chapter 4. Create the Environment File

The environment file contains the settings you want to apply to the Block Storage service. In this case, the Block Storage service will be configured to store volume backups to Google Cloud. For more information about environment files, see the Director Installation and Usage guide.

Each setting is defined in the environment file as follows:

Entry format

SECT/PARAM: # 1
    value: CONFIG # 2

1
All Block Storage settings are configured in the /etc/cinder/cinder.conf file of the node hosting the Block Storage service. This file is divided into different sections, making it easier to manage different settings. PARAM is the setting you want to apply, and SECT is the section to which it belongs.
2
CONFIG is the value you want to set to PARAM.

In this document, all parameters are declared in the DEFAULT section. The following table describes each setting required to configure Google Cloud Storage (GCS) as your backup service:

  1. Google Cloud backup settings

PARAM

Default

CONFIG Description

backup_driver

cinder.backup.drivers.swift

The backup driver that the Block Storage server should use. For Google Cloud Storage, use cinder.backup.drivers.google.

backup_gcs_credential_file

 

The absolute path to the service account key file you created earlier in Chapter 3, Create and Download the GCS Credentials File.

backup_gcs_bucket

 

The GCS bucket (or object storage repository) to use, which may or may not exist. If you specify a non-existent bucket, the Google Cloud Storage backup driver creates one using the name you specify here. See Buckets and Bucket name requirements for more information.

backup_gcs_bucket_location

US

The location of the GCS bucket. This value is only used if you specify a non-existent bucket in backup_gcs_bucket; in which case, the Google Cloud Storage backup driver will specify this as the GCS bucket location.

See Bucket Locations for more information.

backup_gcs_project_id

 

The project ID of the service account you are using, as noted in the project_id of the service account key from Chapter 3, Create and Download the GCS Credentials File.

backup_gcs_object_size

52428800

The size (in bytes) of GCS backup objects.

backup_gcs_block_size

32768

The size (in bytes) that changes are tracked for incremental backups. This value must be a multiple of the backup_gcs_object_size value.

backup_gcs_user_agent

gcscinder

The HTTP user-agent string for the GCS API.

backup_gcs_reader_chunk_size

2097152

GCS objects will be downloaded in chunks of this size (in bytes).

backup_gcs_writer_chunk_size

2097152

GCS objects will be uploaded in chunks of this size (in bytes). To upload files as a single chunk instead, use the value -1.

backup_gcs_num_retries

3

Number of retries to attempt.

backup_gcs_storage_class

NEARLINE

Storage class of the GCS bucket. This value is only used if you specify a non-existent bucket in backup_gcs_bucket; in which case, the Google Cloud Storage backup driver will specify this as the GCS bucket storage class. See Storage Classes for more information.

backup_gcs_retry_error_codes

429

List of GCS error codes.

backup_gcs_enable_progress_timer

True

Boolean to enable or disable the timer for sending periodic progress notifications to the Telemetry service (ceilometer) during volume backups. This is enabled by default (True)

Warning

When creating new buckets, Google Cloud Storage charges based on your chosen storage class (backup_gcs_storage_class). The default NEARLINE class is appropriate for backup services.

In addition, you cannot edit the location or class of a bucket once it is created. For more information, see Managing a bucket’s storage class or location.

The following sample shows the typical contents of an environment file for configuring GCS as a backup service:

/home/stack/templates/gcs-backup.yaml

parameter_defaults:
  ControllerExtraConfig: # 1
    cinder::config::cinder_config:
        DEFAULT/backup_driver
            value: cinder.backup.drivers.google
        DEFAULT/backup_gcs_credential_file
            value: /etc/cinder/Cloud-Backup.json
        DEFAULT/backup_gcs_bucket
            value: mycinderbucket
        DEFAULT/backup_gcs_project_id
            value: cloud-backup-1370
        DEFAULT/backup_gcs_user_agent
            value: myuseragent

1
ControllerExtraConfig defines custom settings that will be applied to all Controller nodes. The cinder::config::cinder_config class means the settings should be applied to the Block Storage (cinder) service. This, in turn, means that the back end settings will ultimately end in the /etc/cinder/cinder.conf file of each Controller node.

After creating the environment file, see Chapter 5, Re-Deploy the Overcloud for instructions on deploying its settings to the overcloud.