Cloud-Based Analytics

For a list of all the Appliance Controller commands, see the Command Index.

The Cloud-Based Analytics feature enables StorNext to collect data regarding appliance and environment performance. The collected data is bundled and upload to the remote Cloud-Based Analytics server for analysis.

  • All on-premise communication to the Cloud-Based Analytics server uses a secure HTTPS connection via port 443.
  • The DNS hostname api-as.quantum.com must be resolvable by the device that the Cloud-Based Analytics agent is enabled on.
  • For Cloud-Based Analytics, only port 443 needs to be opened through the on-premise firewall.
  • No connections from the Cloud-Based Analytics server back to on-premise system are required or used.

Security and Connections

Data policies ensure the security and privacy of your uploaded data. The following information is not included with a data upload:

  • Passwords or encryption keys.
  • Network architecture.
  • Proprietary or confidential data.

You must manually enable Cloud-Based Analytics before collecting system data using the Appliance Controller. To enable Cloud-Based Analytics:

  1. Log in to the Appliance Controller CLI.
  2. Enter:

    cloudanalytics enable

    Example:

    > cloudanalytics enable

    Cloudanalytics successfully enabled

    If you run the cloudanalytics show after enabling, you will see:

    Cloudanalytics successfully enabled

    If you run cloudanalytics show detail after enabling, you will see:

    Cloud-Based Analytics:
        Enabled: Yes

        Server Reachable: Yes

        Cloud-Based Analytics Jobs:
        ----------------------------
        autosupport.upload_interval     /usr/bin/env python /usr/local/quantum/bin/
dispatch_event.py -e autosupport_upload_report
        autosupport.query_interval      /usr/bin/env python /usr/local/quantum/bin/
dispatch_event.py -e autosupport_upload_support_bundle
        autosupport.collection_interval /usr/bin/env python /usr/local/quantum/bin/
dispatch_event.py -e data_collection

To disable Cloud-Based Analytics:

  1. Log in to the Appliance Controller CLI.
  2. At the prompt, enter:

    cloudanalytics disable

    Example:

    > cloudanalytics disable

    Cloudanalytics successfully disabled

Use the Remote Tunneling feature to facilitate Quantum Technical Support access to your appliance (protected by a VPN, a firewall , an isolated network, and so on).

Do the following to enable remote tunneling.

  1. Log in to the Appliance Controller CLI.
  2. At the prompt, enter:

    3. cloudanalytics tunnel access enable <ssh|gui|full> [time to live]

    The parameters are:

    <ssh>

    Enable remote tunneling for the SSH port (default port 22) only.

    <gui>

    Enable remote tunneling for the GUI port (default port 443) only.

    <full>

    Enable remote tunneling for both the SSH and the GUI ports.

    [time to live]

    The amount of time the remote tunneling remains active (opened). If you do not set the value or it equals 0, then the remote tunneling remains active (open) until you manually disable it (see Disable Cloud-Based Analytics Remote Tunneling).

    Example - Enable remote tunneling for the GUI with an expiration time of one hour:

    > cloudanalytics tunnel access enable gui 1

    Cloud-Based Analytics tunnel successfully enabled

    If you run cloudanalytics show detail after you enable remote tunneling, you see:

    Cloud-Based Analytics:
   Enabled: Yes
   URL: https://insight.quantum.com/appliance/12345
   Server Reachable: Yes

Remote tunneling:
   Enabled: Yes
   Mode: gui
   Expire: 2021-10-06 15:20:51 CDT

Cloud-Based Analytics Jobs:
---------------------------
   upload_interval          240 minutes
   collection_interval      10 minutes
   query_interval           5 minutes

Do the following to disable remote tunneling.

  1. Log in to the Appliance Controller CLI.
  2. At the prompt, enter:

    3. cloudanalytics tunnel access disable

    Example:

    > cloudanalytics tunnel access disable

    Cloud-Based Analytics tunnel successfully disabled

    If you run cloudanalytics show detail after you disable remote tunneling, you see:

    Cloud-Based Analytics:
   Enabled: Yes
   URL: https://insight.quantum.com/appliance/12345
   Server Reachable: Yes

Remote tunneling:
   Enabled: No

Cloud-Based Analytics Jobs:
---------------------------
   upload_interval          240 minutes
   collection_interval      10 minutes
   query_interval           5 minutes

A CBA proxy enables connection to the CBA Portal over the proxy host and port, indicated as command arguments. There is no direct connection between the Appliance Controller and the portal after a proxy connection is enabled.

Note: You must configure a proxy server and port before you use this command.

To set a Cloud-Based Analytics proxy connection:

  1. Log in to the Appliance Controller CLI.

  2. At the prompt, enter the following:

    cloudanalytics proxy set <proxy_host> <proxy_port> [<proxy_user>]

    Example without proxy user:

    > cloudanalytics proxy set proxy.example.com 3128

    cloudanalytics proxy host successfully set to: proxy.example.com

    cloudanalytics proxy port successfully set to: 3128

    Example with proxy user:

    > cloudanalytics proxy set proxy.example.com 3128 proxyadmin

    Please enter password for user 'proxyadmin':

    Enter password again:

    cloudanalytics proxy host successfully set to: proxy.example.com

    cloudanalytics proxy port successfully set to: 3128

    cloudanalytics proxy username successfully set to: proxyadmin

To remove a Cloud-Based Analytics proxy configuration:

  1. Log in to the Appliance Controller CLI.

  2. At the prompt, enter one of the following:

    cloudanalytics proxy reset

    Example:

    > cloudanalytics proxy reset

    cloudanalytics proxy successfully reset

To verify that you have Cloud-Based Analytics properly configured:

  1. Log in to the Appliance Controller CLI.
  2. At the prompt, enter the following:

    3. For a short CBA portal status, enter:

    cloudanalytics show

    Results example:

    Cloud-Based Analytics: Enabled: Yes Server Reachable: Yes

    For a longer CBA status, which includes jobs, enter:

    cloudanalytics show detail

    Results example:

    > cloudanalytics show detail
Cloud-Based Analytics:
        Enabled: Yes

        Server Reachable: Yes

        Cloud-Based Analytics Jobs:
        ----------------------------
        upload_interval          240 minutes
        collection_interval      10 minutes
        query_interval           5 minutes

    The parameter is:

    <detail>

    Displays the Cloud-Based Analytics jobs being run default once the CBA service is enabled.

    Example (for a System with Cloud-Based Analytics Enabled and Details are Displayed):

    > cloudanalytics show detail
Cloud-Based Analytics:
        Enabled: Yes

        Server Reachable: Yes

        Cloud-Based Analytics Jobs:
        ----------------------------
        upload_interval          240 minutes
        collection_interval      10 minutes
        query_interval           5 minutes

    Example (for a System with Cloud-Based Analytics Disabled and Details are Displayed):

    > cloudanalytics show detail
Cloud-Based Analytics:
        Enabled: No

        Server Reachable: Yes

        Cloud-Based Analytics Jobs:
        ----------------------------
        # upload_interval disabled
        # collection_interval disabled
        # query_interval disabled

To test status of the Cloud-Based Analytics portal:

  1. Log in to the Appliance Controller CLI.
  2. At the prompt, enter the following:

    cloudanalytics test

    Results:

    Successfully contacted Quantum Cloud-Based Analytics server

When Cloud-Based Analytics is enabled, your Quantum appliance collects performance data at regular 10-minute intervals, or at an appropriate interval for the given metric. All data that is collected is stored locally in system cache.

Data collected with Cloud-Based Analytics includes the following:

  • Cluster-level statistics for SMB and StorNext use
  • Device-specific statistics for CPU usage, memory usage, and network activity
  • Count of events, such as SMB restarts, system restarts, and winbindd restarts
  • Log file entries, including the level of the entry (error, warning, fatal, or fail)

Your Quantum appliance will automatically upload the data bundles to the Cloud-Based Analytics server every 4 hours. The uploaded data bundles supply the Cloud-Based Analytics server with current statistics, which in turn provides the opportunity for early identification of any problems with the your appliance.

After data is uploaded to the Cloud-Based Analytics server, it is analyzed to determine the status of the Quantum appliance.

You can access information about the uploaded data on the Cloud-Based Analytics dashboard (at: insight.quantum.com). This displays the analytic results of the uploaded data through flexible charting tools, along with an overall health score of the Quantum appliance.

To request an account for Cloud-Based Analytics, click the "Request an account" link on the Cloud-Based Analytics site at insight.quantum.com.

You can access your Appliance Controller performance and health results on the Cloud-Based Analytics dashboard (at: insight.quantum.com). This dashboard displays the analytic results of the uploaded Cloud-Based Analytics data using flexible charting tools, along with an overall health score of each Quantum appliance configured for the Cloud-Based Analytics account.

To request an account for Cloud-Based Analytics, click the "Request an account" link on the Cloud-Based Analytics site at insight.quantum.com.