Operation and management

This chapter describes the initial operation tasks, as well as the full range of management options that are available on IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition.

Required and optional initial tasks
After IBM® Spectrum Control Base Edition is installed, different tasks are required before the server can become fully operational.
Configuring LDAP-based directory user access
You can allow external directory users to connect to Spectrum Control Base and manage it without having a locally-defined user account.
Logging in
To log in to Spectrum Control Base from a browser, you need to enter the web address (URL) of the Linux host upon which Spectrum Control Base is installed.
Spectrum Control Base GUI
The IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition GUI provides an intuitive easy-to-use browser-based interface for managing IBM storage resources.
Running initial setup
After you log in to Spectrum Control Base, the program invokes a setup wizard to facilitate with the initial configuration.
Managing high-availability groups
IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition implements VMware's high-availability architecture for multiple VASA providers.
Managing server certificates
During the installation, a self-signed Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is generated to create a secure communication channel for servers and clients. If you already have a trusted certificate that you want to use, you can replace the self-signed certificate with an existing trusted certificate or generate a new certificate.
Managing Spectrum Control Base users
At any time, you can add new Spectrum Control Base user accounts, change user account passwords, or delete existing user accounts.
Managing storage systems
All IBM storage systems that provide storage resources to your VMware platforms must be defined as storage systems on IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition.
Managing and monitoring VASA access
You can control and monitor the utilization of the IBM Storage Provider for VMware VASA, which is part of the IBM Spectrum Control Base Edition solution.
Managing storage spaces and services
After defining physical storage resources on Spectrum Control Base you must add virtual storage elements: spaces and services.
Managing integration with vSphere Web Client
Before you can use the IBM Storage Enhancements for VMware vSphere Web Client on the web client side, you need to define on the Spectrum Control Base side the vCenter servers for which you want to provide storage resources. Then, you can attach storage services that you want to make available to each vCenter server.
Managing integration with vRealize Orchestrator
The IBM Storage Plug-in for the VMware vRealize Orchestrator is used for discovery of the IBM storage resources and provisioning automation workflows in the vRealize Orchestrator (vRO).
Managing integration with vRealize Operations Manager
Before you can use the IBM Storage Management Pack for VMware vRealize Operations Manager, you must set a connection to at least one vRealize Operations Manager (vROps) server, and then define which storage systems should be monitored in vROps.
Managing integration with Microsoft PowerShell
The IBM Storage Automation Plug-in for PowerShell is used for automated provisioning of storage volumes from an external IBM storage system via PowerShell cmdlets.
Managing integration with IBM Storage Enabler for Containers
The IBM Storage Enabler for Containers is used for provisioning of storage volumes from an external IBM storage system to Kubernetes containers.

Parent topic: Version 3.3.0