Configuration and Discovery

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The following sections describe how to configure and discover Dell EMC VMAX systems for monitoring by SL1 using the EMC: VMAX PowerPack:

Prerequisites for Monitoring Dell EMC VMAX

Before you can monitor Dell EMC VMAX systems using the EMC: VMAX PowerPack, you must have the following information about an EMC SMI-S Provider that has already been properly installed and configured: 

  • Username and password for a user with access to the SMI-S Provider
  • IP address and port for the SMI-S Provider

Creating a Credential for Dell EMC VMAX

To configure SL1 to monitor Dell EMC VMAX storage systems, you must first create a Basic/Snippet credential. This credential allows the Dynamic Applications in the EMC: VMAX PowerPack) to connect with a VMAX SMI-S Provider. An example Basic/Snippet credential that you can edit for your own use is included in the EMC: VMAX PowerPack.

To create a Basic/Snippet credential to access a VMAX SMI-S Provider:

  1. Go to the Credential Management page (System > Manage > Credentials).
  2. Locate the EMC VMAX Example credential, then click its wrench icon (). The Edit Basic/Snippet Credential modal page appears.

  1. Enter values in the following fields:
  • Credential Name. Enter a new name for the Dell EMC VMAX credential.

  • Hostname/IP. Enter "%D".
  • Port. Enter "5988" for an HTTP connection or "5989" for an HTTPS connection.
  • Timeout. Enter "10".
  • Username. Enter the username for a user with access to the VMAX SMI-S Provider.
  • Password. Enter the password for the user you specified in the Username field.
  1. Click the Save As button.
  2. When the confirmation message appears, click OK.

Discovering Dell EMC VMAX Devices

To model and monitor your Dell EMC VMAX system, you must run a discovery session to discover the SMI-S Provider that SL1 will use as the root device for monitoring the VMAX system.

The discovery session will discover the SMI-S Provider as a pingable device using the Basic/Snippet credential that you created. You must then manually align the "EMC: VMAX Array Discovery" and "EMC: VMAX Statistics Cache" Dynamic Applications to the SMI-S Provider root device to enable SL1 to discover, model, and monitor the remaining component devices in your VMAX system.

To discover your VMAX storage system in SL1:

  1. Go to the Discovery Control Panel page (System > Manage > Classic Discovery or System > Manage > Discovery in the classic user interface).
  2. In the Discovery Control Panel page, click the Create button.

  1. The Discovery Session Editor page appears. In the Discovery Session Editor page, define values in the following fields:
  • IP Address Discovery List. Enter the IP address for the VMAX SMI-S Provider.

  • Other Credentials. Select the Basic/Snippet credential you created for the VMAX SMI-S Provider.
  • Discover Non-SNMP. Select this checkbox.
  • Model Devices. Select this checkbox.
  1. Optionally, you can enter values in the other fields on this page. For more information about the other fields on this page, see the Discovery & Credentials section.
  2. Click Save to save the discovery session and then close the Discovery Session Editor window.
  3. The discovery session you created will display at the top of the Discovery Control Panel page. Click its lightning-bolt icon () to run the discovery session.
  4. The Discovery Session window will appear. When the root device is discovered, click its device icon (). The Device Properties page appears.
  5. Click the Collections tab. The Dynamic Application Collections page appears.

  1. Click Action and then select Add Dynamic Application from the menu. The Dynamic Application Alignment page appears.

  1. In the Dynamic Applications field, select EMC: VMAX Array Discovery.
  2. In the Credentials field, select the Basic/Snippet credential you configured for the VMAX SMI-S Provider.
  3. Click Save. A few minutes after aligning the Dynamic Application, SL1 will discover and model your VMAX system and automatically align other Dynamic Applications to the devices in the system.
  4. Repeat steps 8-12 to manually align the "EMC: VMAX Statistics Cache" Dynamic Application to the SMI-S Provider.

Viewing Dell EMC VMAX Devices

After discovering your Dell EMC VMAX system, SL1 will create component devices that represent each component in your VMAX system.

In addition to the Device Manager page, you can view the VMAX system and all associated component devices in the following places in the user interface:

  • The Device View modal page (click the bar-graph icon []for a device, then click the Topology tab) displays a map of the selected device and all of the devices with which it has parent-child relationships. Double-clicking any of the devices listed reloads the page to make the selected device the primary device:

  • The Device Components page (Devices > Device Components) displays a list of all root devices and component devices discovered by SL1 in an indented view, so you can easily view the hierarchy and relationships between child devices, parent devices, and root devices. To view the component devices associated with your VMAX system, find the root device and click its plus icon (+):

  • The Device Component Map page (Classic Maps > Device Maps > Components) allows you to view devices by root node and view the relationships between root nodes, parent components, and child components in a map. This makes it easy to visualize and manage root nodes and their components. SL1 automatically updates the Device Component Map page as new component devices are discovered. The platform also updates each map with the latest status and event information. To view the map for your VMAX system, go to the Device Component Map page and select the map from the list in the left NavBar. To learn more about the Device Component Map page, see the section on Views.