Registering Spectrum Control Base as a storage provider in vCenter server

To use the IBM® Storage Provider for VMware VASA solution component, you need to register IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition as a storage provider on VMware vCenter server.

Before you begin

When the IBM Storage Provider for VMware VASA and the IBM Tivoli® Storage Productivity Center (TPC) storage provider are registered on the same VMware vCenter server, while the same storage system is configured for both, vCenter uses IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center provider as the only source of information for that system's storage views on vSphere Web Client.
In such a case, determine whether the IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center capabilities are sufficient for replacing the IBM Storage Provider for VMware VASA. If the IBM Storage Provider for VMware VASA is still needed, IBM TPC 5.2 (or later) provides a method of excluding storage systems from a specific storage provider, allowing you to remove the system association with the IBM TPC provider.
The date and time that are defined on both the vCenter server and on Spectrum Control Base must be identical. To accurately synchronize the date and time between the two servers, you can connect both to a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server.

Note: VMware VASA 2.0 is required for implementing virtual volume functionality.

About this task

The following procedure describes how to register Spectrum Control Base on a single vCenter server by using vSphere Web Client.

Procedure

To register Spectrum Control Base in VMware vCenter Server, complete the following steps.

In vSphere Web Client, click vCenter > vCenter Servers, and click on vCenter server, which has been already connected to Spectrum Control Base.
On the Manage tab, click Storage Providers.
Click the plus sign to add a new storage provider.
Figure 1. vSphere Web Client – Storage Providers list
The New Storage Provider dialog box is displayed.
Enter the name, URL, and pre-configured username and password (VASA Secret) for accessing Spectrum Control Base (the VASA Secret is predefined as explained in GUI – Adding a new user). The URL should be entered in the ip:port format, specifying the relevant IP address and port number of Spectrum Control Base:
- https://[Spectrum Control Base IP address]:8443/services/vasa1 for VASA 1.0
- https://[Spectrum Control Base IP address]:8443/services/vasa for VASA 2.0
Note: In this example, "Spectrum Control Base IP address" stands for the IP address or domain namespace of Spectrum Control Base .

Figure 2. New Storage Provider dialog box for VASA 2.0
Click OK. A security alert dialog box is displayed.
Figure 3. vCenter certificate thumbprint dialog box
Click Yes to accept the certificate. Spectrum Control Base is added to vCenter Server.
Note: The certificate provides improved security by adding server authentication.

If, during the registration process, you have an active Spectrum Control Base instance, restart your web browser or refresh the Spectrum Control Base GUI window to ensure the successful acquisition of the new server certificate.
Figure 4. Storage Providers list displaying Spectrum Control Base

You can ensure continuous storage management by combining multiple Spectrum Control Base instances, registered as storage providers, into high-availability groups. This process is described in GUI – Defining a high-availability group.

Note: Storage spaces and services defined on an active storage provider do not appear on the standby Spectrum Control Base. The spaces and services become visible on the Spaces/Services pane of the Spectrum Control Base GUI, when it becomes active after system failover.

Some operations on a VVol-based VM with deployed Spectrum Control Base instance, such as hard disk removal, may result in the Invalid Virtual Machine configuration message, displayed by the vWC. This message is not relevant to the VM functionality and indicates a loss of connectivity between the Spectrum Control Base and the vCenter server.