QoreStor 6.1.0 - VM Deployment Guide

Deploying QoreStor on VMware ESXi

This topic provides information about deploying the QoreStor on VMware ESXi.

Refer to QoreStor VM Specifications for information about the different QoreStor VM template configurations available for VMware. For detailed information about supported VMware ESXi versions, platform and license limits, virtual infrastructure and memory requirements, and other information, see the QoreStor Interoperability Guide.

The deployment process comprises the following tasks:

1. Deploying the QoreStor via the vSphere Web Client.

   NOTE: The security policy for vSwitches in VMware environments should be configured to allow MAC Address Changes, this can be achieved by enabling the Allow MAC Address changes and Forged Transmits option in the Layer-2 security policies of the vSphere vSwitches. To edit the Layer 2 security policies of vSphere vSwitches, navigate to Security Policy settings and set the value for the MAC Address Changes and Forged Transmits to Accept. For more information about security, see the vSphere Security documentation.

2. Setting up and configuring your QoreStor system.

Deploying the QoreStor using the vSphere Web Client

The following instructions describe the steps for deploying QoreStor on VMware ESXi using the vSphere web client.

1. Acquire the QoreStor installation package and store it on your system or a network location. This package is in VMware ESXi ova format.
2. Launch and log on to the vSphere Web Client.
3. Right-click the ESXi host that will host the QoreStor VM, and select Deploy OVF Template.
4. In the Deploy OVF Template window, select Local file and click Browse to locate the QoreStor OVA template on your system. Click Open.
5. Click Next to proceed.
6. On the Select Name and location page, enter a Name for the virtual machine and select the folder that hosts it, and then click Next to proceed.
7. On the Select a resource page, select a host, cluster, resource pool, or vApp to run the virtual machine. Click Next to proceed.
8. On the Review details page, review the template details. Click Next to proceed.
9. On the Accept license agreements page, review the license agreements and click Accept. Click Next to proceed.
10. On the Select Storage page, select the virtual disk format and the destination datastore, and then click Next to proceed. You must choose a data store that meets the storage space requirement (with minimum free space of at least the size the of the QoreStor system).

    NOTE: Quest recommends that you select on of the the virtual disk formats below: Thick provision lazy zeroed - - Allocates all space required for the disk at the time of creation. Residual data on the physical disk space used for the virtual disk is not erased, and must be zeroed out during first write. This is faster to create than an eager zeroed disk, and while there is a slight performance impact during first write operations, that impact does not occur during subsequent writes. Thick provision eager zeroed - Allocates all space required for the disk at the time of creation. Residual data on the physical disk space used for the virtual disk is erased at the time the disk is created. This takes longer to create than a lazy -zeroed disk, but does support clustering features that a lazy-zeroed disk does not. Selecting a Thin provisioned disk will result in disk fragmentation and possible storage over-subscription. For those reasons, thin provisioning is not recommended.

11. On the Select Networks page, configure the networks that the deployed template should use. Click Next to proceed.
12. On the Ready to Complete page, review the configured settings. Click Finish.
13. In the Deployment Completed Successfully dialog box, click Close.

    The QoreStor VM will boot up. (It takes approximately 3-5 minutes to self-extract the installation package and install all of the components.)

14. When deployed on vSphere 6.5 or later, you must upgrade the VM compatibility using the procedure below:
    • in vSphere, right-click on the deployed QoreStor VM and click Compatibility > Upgrade Compatibility.
    • At the Confirm VM Compatibility Upgrade prompt, click Yes.
    • In the Compatible With drop-down menu, select ESXi 6.7 Update 2 and later.
    • Click OK.
15. Ensure that the Guest OS for the QoreStor VM is correctly configured.
    • in vSphere, right-click on the deployed QoreStor VM and click Edit Settings.
    • Click the VM Options tab.
    • In the Guest OS Version drop-dowm menu, select Oracle Linux 7 (64-bit).
16. Proceed with the initial setup and configuration of QoreStor. Refer to the topic, “Configuring the QoreStor virtual machine,” for instructions.

Deploying QoreStor on Microsoft Hyper-V

The topics in this section provide information about deploying QoreStor on Microsoft Hyper-V.

For detailed information about supported Microsoft Hyper-V versions, platform and license limits, virtual infrastructure and memory requirements, and other information, see the QoreStor Interoperability Guide.

Before you begin the deployment process, ensure you have met the prerequisites described in the topic, “Prerequisites for the QoreStor on Microsoft Hyper-V.”

The deployment process comprises the following tasks:

1. Deploying QoreStor on one of the following:
   • On a local Hyper-V Host
   • On a remote Hyper-V Host

     NOTE: As Microsoft only supports OVF format on system center Virtual Machine Manager, using the Power Shell scripts, the QoreStor appliance’s deployment for the Hyper-V infrastructure is made easier, and the procedure for creating virtual appliance with required settings is automated.

2. Converting the disk to fixed disk.
3. Setting up and configuring QoreStor.

Prerequisites for deploying QoreStor in Microsoft Hyper-V 2012 R2 environments

To deploy QoreStor on Microsoft Hyper-V and to use the QoreStor Hyper-V cmdlets, ensure that the following prerequisites are met. For more information about the available QoreStor Hyper-V cmdlets, see the topic, “Using the Suppported cmdlets for QoreStor for Hyper-V” in this document.

1. Required User Privileges:

   You must have administrator privileges or you must be a member of the administrator’s group

2. Extract the downloaded QoreStor installation package on the Hyper-V host to access its files. It may take couple of seconds for the files to be extracted. Before executing the Hyper-V installation process the following software pre-requisites are required:

   NOTE: This software is easily accessible from the Pre-Requisites folder. The pre-requisite file names may change due to different QoreStor OS versions release and also other updates may be required.

   • Installing .NET Framework 4.5

     NOTE: For convenience both online and offline version of .NET 4.5 is available along with the .NET security update packages. For this deployment use the .NET Framework 4.5.1 offline full install option along with the two security update file of .NET.

   • Installing Windows PowerShell 4.0

     Windows PowerShell 4.0 is part of the Windows Management Framework 4.0. Refer to the following link for more information: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40855.

Additional prerequisites for deploying QoreStor in Microsoft Windows 2012 R2 Hyper- V environment

Installing the Hyper-V Management Tools

This prerequisite is a Windows feature that contains a PowerShell extension to manage Hyper-V servers on Windows 2012 R2 systems. Using PowerShell to install this feature, enter the following commands with elevated privileges:

• Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V-Tools – This command enables Windows to administer Hyper-V.
• Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V-PowerShell – This command installs additional PowerShell commands specialized for Hyper-V.
• Set-ExecutionPolicy AllSigned – This command allows scripts signed by a trusted publisher to be run on Windows server..

After the pre-requisites are complete, you can deploy QoreStor on the local Hyper-v host. For more information, see the topic “Deploying QoreStor on a Local Hyper-V Host”.