Setting Up Lattus Object Storage Destinations

The Configuration menu's Storage Destinations option enables you to view, add, edit or delete Object Storage destinations.

For information on troubleshooting Object Storage and Cloud errors, see Debugging StorNext for Object Storage Systems and Cloud Providers.

Follow this procedure to view a list of currently configured Object Storage destinations.

  1. Click Storage Destinations from the Configuration menu.

  2. Click the Object Storagetab. Information for any previously configured Object Storage destination is shown. For each configured destination, the page displays the Name, Provider, State (online or offline), Controller State, I/O Path State, Manager host address, Containers count, Controllers count, I/O Paths count, and File Count.

  3. Select the Object Storage destination whose information you want to view.

  4. Click View....

  5. When you are finished viewing library information, click Done.

Follow this procedure to add a new Object Storage destination.

Note: If you plan to use HTTPS, you must create or import a security certificate prior to creating a Lattus Object Storage Destination. This applies to each Lattus controller configured for HTTPS. If you only intend to use HTTP, certificates are not needed.

To create or import a Lattus Object Storage security certificate, see Tools > Object Storage CertificatesTools > Object Storage Certificates. To manage SSL certificates, click Object Storage Certificates on the Tools menu. For additional information, see Basic Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Guidelines, which outlines some standard information about using private and public certificates.

  1. If you have not already done so, click Storage Destinations from the Configuration menu.

  2. Click the Object Storagetab.

  3. Click New....

  4. Enter the appropriate value into the following parameters:

Note: Parameters marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

Parameter Description

*Name

Enter the name of the new Object Storagedestination

*Provider

Select LATTUS.

*Manager Host

Enter the host address for the Object Storage manager host.

*Manager Port

Enter a decimal integer to specify the port number of the Object Storage manager GUI interface. The default port number is 80.

Manager Protocol

Select the http or https protocol.

Note: If you plan to use HTTPS, you must create or import a security certificate prior to creating a Lattus Object Storage Destination. This applies to each Lattus controller configured for HTTPS. If you only intend to use HTTP, certificates are not needed.

To create or import a Lattus Object Storage security certificate, see Tools > Object Storage CertificatesTools > Object Storage Certificates. To manage SSL certificates, click Object Storage Certificates on the Tools menu. For additional information, see Basic Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Guidelines, which outlines some standard information about using private and public certificates.

Authentication

Select if authentication is required for this configuration.

User Name

Select a global username to be used for namespace permission, for this configuration. This parameter is mandatory if Authentication is set to “Enabled”.

Password

Select a global password to be used for namespace permissions, for this configuration. This parameter is mandatory if Authentication is set to “Enabled”.

  1. In the Controllers section, click Add or Add Controller, and then specify the following criteria:

    Note: If you plan to use HTTPS, you must create or import a security certificate prior to creating a Lattus Object Storage Destination. This applies to each Lattus controller configured for HTTPS. If you only intend to use HTTP, certificates are not needed.

    To create or import a Lattus Object Storage security certificate, see Tools > Object Storage CertificatesTools > Object Storage Certificates. To manage SSL certificates, click Object Storage Certificates on the Tools menu. For additional information, see Basic Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Guidelines, which outlines some standard information about using private and public certificates.

Parameter Description

Name

Enter the name of the controller.

Note: The name can be any string of 256 characters or less and is case sensitive. The name cannot already be used by another component.

Object Access Protocol

Select the protocol to be used for Object Storage or Cloud Cold Storage object access. By default, the protocol is set to http.

Note: If you plan to use HTTPS, you must create or import a security certificate prior to creating a Lattus Object Storage Destination. This applies to each Lattus controller configured for HTTPS. If you only intend to use HTTP, certificates are not needed.

To create or import a Lattus Object Storage security certificate, see Tools > Object Storage CertificatesTools > Object Storage Certificates. To manage SSL certificates, click Object Storage Certificates on the Tools menu. For additional information, see Basic Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Guidelines, which outlines some standard information about using private and public certificates.

Port(s)

Enter port numbers using a comma-separated string (for example, 8080,8081,8082) to specify the port number(s) of the Object Storage or Cloud Cold Storage manager GUI interface. A maximum of 64 characters, including commas, is allowed.

Note: For improved performance, it is recommended to define two ports for each controller.

Max Streams

The Max Streams value defines the number of concurrent I/O operations that can write concurrently to the controller. By default, the maximum number of streams is set to 48, or you can select another value from the Max Streams drop-down list.

  1. In the I/O Paths section, click Add or Add I/O Path, and then specify the following criteria:

Parameter Description

Name

Enter the name of the I/O path.

Note: The name can be any string of 256 characters or less and is case sensitive. The name cannot already be used by another component.

Controller Name

Select the name of the controller associated with the new I/O path.

Media Type

The StorNext GUI requires an API to query for namespaces/buckets on a particular host. This parameter specifies which API to use for the particular host.

  • For LATTUS, the available options are AXR and S3.

URL Style

There are two ways to format the URL:

  • PATH
  • VHOST

This parameter defines which style of URL to use.

Object Access Protocol

Select the protocol to be used for Object Storage object access. By default, the protocol is set to http.

Note: If you plan to use HTTPS, you must create or import a security certificate prior to creating a Lattus Object Storage Destination. This applies to each Lattus controller configured for HTTPS. If you only intend to use HTTP, certificates are not needed.

To create or import a Lattus Object Storage security certificate, see Tools > Object Storage CertificatesTools > Object Storage Certificates. To manage SSL certificates, click Object Storage Certificates on the Tools menu. For additional information, see Basic Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Guidelines, which outlines some standard information about using private and public certificates.

Host[:Port]

Enter the connection endpoint address that contains host name or IP address with the optional port number separated by a colon ":". If the port number is not specified, the default (80 for http, 443 for https) is assumed. Connection endpoints must be unique.

  1. In the Containers section, perform one of the following:

    1. On the Container Selection list, click Scan or Manual. This parameter gives you the option to either scan the available container or enter the container name manually. If you select Scan and you need to specify user name and password, you can either use the credential specified for the manager host or a different credential. If you use a different credential, check the Use different credentials box, and enter user name and password. You are then presented with a pre-populated list of available containers. If you select Manual, you are presented with a text box to manually enter the name of the container. To view or add S3 buckets, on the Tools menu, click S3 Buckets.

    2. Click Add or Add Container, and then specify the following criteria:

Parameter Description

Container

Select (Scan mode) or enter (Manual mode) the appropriate container for this configuration.

Media ID

Enter the StorNext Media ID associated with the selected container. The Media ID must be unique.

Media Type

The StorNext GUI requires an API to query for namespaces/buckets on a particular host. This parameter specifies which API to use for the particular host.

  • For LATTUS, the available options are AXR and S3.

Authentication

Select if authentication needs be enabled for this container. If the authentication is disabled, the global username and password will be used, if applicable.

User Name

Select a username to be used to access this container. This parameter is mandatory if Authentication is set to “Enabled”. This selection overrides the global permissions settings.

Password

Select a password to be used to access the container. This parameter is mandatory if Authentication is set to “Enabled”. This selection overrides the global permissions settings.

Copy Number

Select the copy number (1-4) assigned to the container. The copy number can be changed if no data has been written to the media.

Note:  If no data has been written to a controller, I/O path, or container, you can click Delete to remove the item, and then click Apply to save the changes

  1. Click Apply to save your changes, or Cancel to exit without saving.

  2. Repeat Step 2 through Step 7 to add additional Object Storage destinations.

Note:  The containers on Lattus-M share the same I/O paths and storage capacity. There is no advantage to define multiple containers for the same Policy Class and Copy number. Storage Manager selects the first available container that meets the policy class criteria for store operation.

Follow this procedure to edit an existing Object Storage destination.

  1. If you have not already done so, click Storage Destinations from the Configuration menu.

  2. Click the Object Storage tab.

  3. Select the Object Storage destination whose information you want to edit.

  4. Click Edit....

  5. To edit a field, type directly in the field (for example, type a new name and IP address for an I/O path), or select another option from the drop-down list.

Note: To return to the last saved configuration for a controller, I/O path, or namespace, click Reset.

  1. Click Apply to save your changes, or Cancel to exit without saving.

  2. When a confirmation message appears, click Yes to proceed, or No to abort.

  3. After a message informs you that the Object Storage destination was successfully modified, click OK.

Follow this procedure to delete an existing Object Storage destination.

  1. If you have not already done so, click Storage Destinations from the Configuration menu.

  2. Click the Object Storage tab.

  3. Select the Object Storage destination you want to delete.

  4. Click Delete.

  5. When a confirmation message appears, click Yes to proceed with the deletion or No to abort.

  6. After a message informs you that the storage disk was successfully deleted, click OK.

Follow this procedure to launch the Object Storage manager GUI application.

  1. If you have not already done so, click Storage Destinations from the Configuration menu.

  2. Click the Object Storage tab.

  3. Select the Object Storage destination.

  4. Click Launch Manager. A new browser window appears, and displays the Object Storage manager GUI application login page. If you entered a User Name and Password when you created the selected Object Storage destination, then the credentials are used as your login.

Note: If you are using Safari as your browser, you may have to enable pop-ups. See Enable Pop-ups in Safari.

  1. Open Safari if it is not already open.

  2. On the Safari menu, click Preferences.

  3. Click the Security heading.

  4. Un-check (turn off) the box marked Block pop-up windows to allow pop-ups. Safari will then ask if you would really like to change the setting.

  5. Click OK.

  6. Close the Preferences window.

  7. Shut down and restart Safari.

If you block pop-up windows, you might miss important information for a web page. For example, the Launch Manager might use a pop-up window to request your login credentials.

You can also change the current state of Object Storage destinations, controllers, and I/O paths. To change the state, select the Object Storage destination, and then choose one of these options from the Select Action drop-down list:

Parameter Description

Online

Select this option to set the Object Storage destination online.

Offline

Select this option to take the Object Storage destination offline.

Controllers Online

Select this option to set the controllers online.

Controllers Offline

Select this option to take the controllers offline.

I/O Paths Online

Select this option to set the I/O Paths online.

I/O Paths Offline

Select this option to take the I/O Paths offline.

A Multi-Geo (multiple geographic) Lattus configuration consists of three sites configured under the same durability policy. It is likely that WAN (Wide Area Network) communication with remote sites will be slower due to higher latency in the WAN link. If you have significantly higher latency to the remote Lattus sites, it is recommended that only the I/O Paths to the local controller be “Online”.

Object Storage I/O Paths can be configured offline with the Tools > Storage Manager > Storage Components screen. Select the remote Object Storage I/O Paths and then click the Offline button (Change the Current State of Object Storage Destinations, Controllers, and I/O Paths). The fschstate(1) command may also be used for this.

If the local Lattus controller is down, but the remote sites are still up, then you may want to change the local I/O Paths to the “Offline” state and the remote I/O Paths to “Online” state in order to continue using Lattus.