QoreStor 5.1.0 - User Guide

Configuring email notification settings

Using the QoreStor CLI, you can configure email notifications that are sent when a QoreStor Alert occurs. The email alert service is disabled by default, and must be properly configured before the service can be enabled.

To begin using email alerts, peform the actions below :

• Configure the email alerts service using the command email_alerts --configure.
  • To configure email alerts, you will need to have:
    • The SMTP Relay FQDN or IP address
    • The sender's name
    • A list of email recipients' email addresses.
    • [Optional] a list of email addresses to be CC'ed
    • Optional] a list of email addresses to be BCC'ed
• Enable the email alerts service using the command email_alerts --enable.

Managing storage groups

To organize your data, you can easily create storage groups and create containers within those storage groups on your QoreStor system. A storage group allows you to create separate storage policies for different data groups and the different capacities utilized on a single QoreStor. You can also create and organize storage groups for the different organizations in your enterprise, such as Engineering, Sales, Finance, and so on.

After initialization, QoreStor contains a single default storage group, named DefaultGroup.

Refer to these important notes about storage groups.

• Only administrator users can create storage groups.
• Data/containers cannot be moved between storage groups.
• Deduplication is defined at the storage group level and is not global to the appliance.
• Encryption is defined separately for each storage group.
• Compression is defined separately for each storage group.
• The system cleaner cannot be run on a single storage group; only at the system level.
• Before you can delete a storage group, you must delete all containers contained in that storage group.
• A filesystem scan can be run on a single storage group.

To view the Storage Groups page, on the left navigation menu, click Storage Groups in the QoreStor navigation bar.

Viewing storage group information

In the QoreStor GUI you can easily view all of your storage groups on the Storage Groups page.

To view storage groups, complete the following steps.

1. In the navigation menu, click Storage Groups.
2. On the Storage Groups page you can view the following columns of information about your storage groups.
   • Name—Displays the name of the Storage Group.
   • Encryption—Displays whether Encryption is turned On or Off.
   • Compression—Displays the compression type as either Fast or Best.
   • Containers—Displays the number of containers in this storage group. You can click this number, which links to the Containers page for the storage group.
3. To view a chart of throughput activity and detailed storage group statistics, select a storage group, and, in the Actions column, click the Chart icon. A page for the selected storage group is displayed, showing the following:
   •  Throughput chart—Displays the number of read data in Mebibytes/per second (MiB/s) based on time (in minutes), and the number of write data in MiB/s based on time (in minutes)
   •  Statistics—Lists the following statistics for the storage group.
     • Capacity Used
     • Capacity Used in GB
     • Current Files
     • Post Dedupe Bytes
     • Post Encryption Bytes
     • Bytes Decrypted
     • Compression Status
     • Dedupe Savings
     • Total Inodes
     • Capacity Free
     • Capacity Free in GB
     • Current Bytes
     • Post Compression Bytes
     • Post Encryption Bytes in GiB
     • Cleaner Status
     • Encryption Status
     • Compression Savings
     • Total Savings

Adding a storage group

You can add a storage group to QoreStor through either the QoreStor GUI or the command line interface. In both cases, when creating a storage group you define the name and compression level.

Adding a storage group through the GUI

To add a storage group, complete the following steps.

1. In the navigation menu click Storage Groups.
2. On the right side of the page, click Add Storage Group. The Add a Storage Group pane is displayed.
3. In the Name field, enter a name for the storage group.
4. For Storage Optimization, select a Compression Type from the drop-down list:
   • Fast — Results in shorter backup time, but with less space savings.
   • Best — Provides the highest space savings, but with a longer backup time.
5. To apply encryption, select Encryption and enter the following:
   • Passphrase — the passphrase is user-defined and is used to generate a passphrase key that encrypts the file in which the content encryption keys are kept. The passphrase is a human readable key, which can be up to 255 bytes in length. It is mandatory to define a passphrase to enable encryption.

     NOTE: It is mandatory to define a passphrase to enable encryption. If the passphrase is compromised or lost, the administrator should change it immediately so that the content encryption keys do not become vulnerable.

   • Confirm Passphrase — re-enter the passphrase used above.
   • Encryption Mode — Select either static or internal.
     • static - A global mode of key management in which a fixed key is used to encrypt all data.
     • internal - A mode of key lifecycle management in which the keys are periodically generated and rotated. The minimum key rotation period before the content encryption key can be rotated and a new key is generated is 7 days. This rotation period is user-configurable and can be specified in days.

   NOTE: Refer to Configuring and Using Encryption at Rest for more information about encryption.

   NOTE: Due to export regulations, the encryption at rest feature is not available in certain markets, and, therefore, may not be available in your locale. For more information about recommended guidelines for encryption, see Understanding Encryption at Rest

   NOTE: After encryption is enabled, all of the data that is backed up is encrypted and is kept encrypted until it is expired and cleaned by the system cleaner. Note that encryption is an irreversible process.

6. Click Add

Adding a storage group through the command line

To add a storage group, complete the following steps.

1. Access the QoreStor CLI. Refer to Using the QoreStor command line for more information.
2. Add a new storage group using the command

   storage_group --add --name <name> [--compression_mode <fast|best>]

   Refer to the QoreStor Command LIne Reference Guide for more information

3. To apply encryption to the data in this storage group, use the command:

   storage_group --encryption --name <name> [--set <ON | OFF>] [--mode <static|internal> <--interval <7 days to 70 years>]

   For more information, refer to the Storage Group commands section of the QoreStor Command Line Reference Guide.

   NOTE: Due to export regulations, the encryption at rest feature is not available in certain markets, and, therefore, may not be available in your locale. For more information about recommended guidelines for encryption, see Understanding Encryption at Rest

   NOTE: It is mandatory to define a passphrase to enable encryption. If the passphrase is compromised or lost, the administrator should change it immediately so that the content encryption keys do not become vulnerable.

   NOTE: After encryption is enabled, all of the data that is backed up is encrypted and is kept encrypted until it is expired and cleaned by the system cleaner. Note that encryption is an irreversible process.