Creating a VVol-enabled service on storage systems that run IBM Spectrum Virtualize

The IBM Spectrum Connect features a comprehensive storage virtualization support, using VMware Virtual Volume (VVol) technology.

This section details how to create a VVol-enabled storage service on storage systems that run IBM Spectrum Virtualize (7.6 or later).

To create a VVol-enabled storage service:

  • Enable VVol utilization at the side of a storage system that runs IBM Spectrum Virtualize.
  • Create the service, using Spectrum Connect.
  1. Activate the storage system CLI utility and log in as SecurityAdmin, and then create a user group with role VASAProvider (mkusergrp -name <vasa_group_name> -role VASAProvider).
  2. Create a VASAProvider user in the user group (mkuser -name <user_name> -usergrp <vasa_group_name>).
  3. Create a metadata volume (mkmetadatavdisk -mdiskgrp <pool_name>). For the storage systems that run microcode 7.6.1.0 or later, this operation requires the SecurityAdmin access level. Also, on these storage systems, you can enable the VVol feature by toggling the Enable VVOL switch under Settings -> System -> VVOL, using the web GUI.
  4. For each ESXi host, define the host on the storage system as adminlun type (svctask mkhost -name <host_name> -fcwwpn <fibre_channel_wwpn> -iscsiname <iscsi_wwn> -type adminlun).
  5. Launch Spectrum Connect.
  6. Define a high-availability group. See Defining a high-availability group.
  7. Generate a self-signed Spectrum Connect server certificate. See Managing server certificates.
  8. Set up VASA credentials. See Setting the VASA credentials.
  9. Enable the VASAProvider user to access the storage resources. See Entering the storage system credentials.
  10. Add the storage system with VASAProvider user to the Spectrum Connect. See Adding a storage system.
  11. Add a new storage space. See Adding a storage space.
  12. Add a VVol-enabled service to the storage space. See Adding a storage service.
  13. Define a storage resource and attach it to the VVol-enabled service. See Defining and attaching storage resources.
  14. Register Spectrum Connect as a storage provider on VMware vCenter server. See Registering Spectrum Connect as a storage provider on vCenter server.
  15. Launch the vWC and create a VVol-enabled datastore. Select the storage space that you defined as an underlying storage resource for the datastore.