DXi Installation

The OVA file can be used as-is with VMware ESXi. Simply import the OVA image and start your V5000 VM.

Quantum tested importing the OVA with ESXi versions 6.7 and later. Other versions may also work, possibly with warnings about the hardware version and VM configuration.

Note: With an OVA install it is possible to modify the disk sizes before powering on the VM for the first time, to set the SN-meta and BP-meta disks to larger sizes.

The VM installed from the OVA file is configured as the Minimal VM. See System Overview.

The following screens show how to import the V5000 OVA into an ESXi 7.0.2 hypervisor.

Note: The OVA file is large, approximately 3.5 GB.

1. From 1. Select creation type on your VMware screen, select Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file and click Next.



2. From 2. Select OVF and VMDK files:

   1. Enter the name to use for the VM.

   2. Click on the OVA file to select for the installation and click on Next.



3. From 3. Select storage, choose an ESXi datastore that is large enough to hold the fully expanded V5000.

4. Click Next.

Note: In the following example, any of the disks labeled Data1,2,3,4,5 would be available for use.

You may briefly see the boot menu.



Note: By default, the highlighted item is booted. The other options are used for support purposes only.

After the DXi is booted, the VM Console Desktop is displayed with the Status Information window at top-right showing the system initializing.



Note: For descriptions of functions available from your VM Desktop Console, see VM Desktop Tools.

The Status Information window displays 2 items and one more if network I/O is in progress:



• System:DXi software stack status

• IP: The IP address of the first network port. This is usually used for accessing the admin GUI.

  The V5000 is designed to attach to the customer network via DHCP at first install / boot. If a network is found via DHCP, then the Status Information window will display the IP to be used as the web GUI management IP. If a DHCP address is not found, then this window will display 10.1.1.1. For more information see DHCP Server Connection.

• During network I/O activity, the window displays network interface throughput activity.

• Depending on your hypervisor and hardware, your installation time from system boot to profile setup should take about 5 - 10 minutes, followed by a reboot into setup and Normal mode taking another 5 - 10 minutes.

DHCP Server Connection

By default, a newly installed VM will use DHCP to get an IP address from your LAN. This can be changed later to a static IP if needed in the DXi web GUI .

Because the V5000 is installed as a virtual machine you will need to setup a connection to your network. There are different ways to do this, but the DXi must be able to communicate with your network to backup and store data or be remotely managed. See Accessing Remote Management.

After the status window shows System: Normal, your V5000 VM is ready for use:

At this point you no longer need the desktop UI and can switch to the DXi web GUI. Enter the IP address shown in the Status Information window in a browser or use the Firefox browser that you can access from the VM Desktop.

Your initial login begins with:

• User name: admin

• Password: password

Note: You can enable the ServiceLogin with a new password. The only way to log on to the DXi Console Desktop is with the ServiceLogin account. When the ServiceLogin is disabled, you can no longer access the Console desktop. You can enable and disable the ServiceLogin account at any time within the DXi GUI. Console Desktop access is only needed when you decide to expand the VM, but it is helpful to see the Status Information window for a current and accurate system status.

After your initial login to the DXi GUI, the system takes you through the DXiGetting Started Wizard, where you can change passwords, make any network, date/time, and other changes as needed.

Video: Complete the Getting Started Wizard

To complete the DXi Getting Started wizard:

1. Select the login user name and password.

   • User name - Type your user name in the field.
   • Password - Type password in the field at your first system login.

2. If you log in as a user assigned to the Admin role (local or LDAP) and there were previous unsuccessful DXi logins, a dialog box appears indicating the previous number of unsuccessful login attempts for both the current account and all accounts on the DXi.

   1. Click OK to continue.

   2. Click View Admin Log to access the Administrative Activity Log page. See Administrative Activity Log.

      Note: Accessing the Administrative Activity Log page will cause the security message banner and service ticket banner (if applicable) to not display.

   3. Click Reset Counts to reset the unsuccessful login count to zero.

The Welcome page displays.

Note: If a message on the page indicates the DXi is in Limited Mode, wait ten minutes, and then log on again.



3. Read the information about the wizard, and then click Next to continue.

   The License Agreement page displays.

   

4. Select the I have read and accept this License Agreement check box, and then click Next to continue.

   Note: If you do not accept the license agreement, the DXi will not function.

   The Access Control page displays.

   

5. Create a new password for the GUI Administrator user account:

   1. Enter the existing password (password) in Old Password.

   2. Enter a New Password.

      Note: The GUI Administrator password can be up to 32 characters. Alphanumeric characters and special characters are allowed.

   3. Enter the new password again in Confirm New Password.

6. Create a new password for the Service SSH (ServiceLogin) user account:

   1. Enter a New Password.

      Additional Information

      • The Service SSH password can be up to 20 characters. Alphanumeric characters and special characters are allowed.
      • The Access Control page in the Remote Management Console allows you to change the password of the SSH Service account.
   2. Enter the new password again in Confirm New Password.

7. Click Next to continue.

   The Network page displays.

   IMPORTANT - READ BEFORE CONTINUING

   Steps 7-12 below provide an example of configuring network settings on the DXi. In this example, the DXi is configured as follows:

   • All Ethernet ports are configured as individual devices (Not Bonded).
   • A single network interface with one IP address is configured for eth1.
   • All traffic types (management, data, and replication) travel over the single network interface.
   • All other settings are at default values.

   The actual network settings you will enter depend on the configuration of your company’s network and may differ from those below. Work with your network administrator to determine the correct settings for integrating the DXi into your company’s network.

   If you set up the DXi using the example below, you can always change the network settings as needed at a later time. For more information, see Network.

   Caution: For effective bonded network use, a properly configured network switch is required. (A network switch is not supplied with the DXi.) The DXi bonding settings must match the switch settings. If the switch settings and the DXi settings do not match, your system may become inaccessible through the switch.

   Note: The figure below is for illustrative purpose only. The Network page will reflect the actual number of physical ports in the system.

   

   

8. Under General, enter the following network information as provided by your network administrator:

   1. Enter the Hostname used to identify the DXi system.

      The Hostname cannot be blank and must contain only letters [ A–Z, a–z ], numbers [ 0–9 ], hyphens [ - ], underscores [ _ ], and dots [ . ].

   2. (Optional) Enter the Default Gateway IP address.

      Specifying a default gateway is optional if all access is local to a particular subnet. For example, if the DXi and all of its clients are on the same subnet, you do not need to specify a default gateway.

      Caution: Specifying a default gateway is required to enable connectivity with all subnets other than those that the DXi is directly connected to. For example, if the DXi and its clients are on different subnets, you must specify a default gateway.
      

   3. (Optional) In the DNS Suffix Search List box, enter the local domain to search first when resolving domain names.

      The domain suffix is a single domain name. The domain name may contain only letters (A–Z), numbers (0–9), dots (.), and hyphens (-).

   4. (Optional) In the Primary,Secondary, and TertiaryDNS IP Address boxes, enter the IP address of up to three DNS servers used to resolve domain names and translate them into IP addresses.

      Caution: You must specify a DNS IP address if you plan to use hostname format when configuring an NTP time server, outgoing e-mail server, replication sources and targets, and other information.

9. Under IP Address Configuration > Bonding Details, configure each Ethernet port as a separate network device:

   1. If necessary, click the Show link to show the bonding details table.
   2. In the Not Bonded row, make sure each Ethernet port is selected (eth1, eth2, and so on).
   3. If necessary, click Update to save the changes you made to the Bonding Details table.
10. Do not make any changes under IP Address Configuration > Interface Details unless directed by your network administrator. (For more information about the VLAN tag and MTU size options, see Network.

11. Under IP Address Configuration > IP Address Table, enter network information for the eth1 device:

    Note: Do not make any entries in the VLAN ID,External Host IP,NATed, or NAT IP Address columns unless directed by your network administrator.

    1. Select the eth1 row in the table. Or, if necessary, click Add IP in the eth1 row to enable entry in the IP Address box.

    2. Enter the following network information as provided by your network administrator (all fields are required):

       Caution: Make sure you enter the correct IP address information and that you write this information down. If you enter the incorrect IP address information and reboot, you will not be able to access the system.

       • IP Address - The IP address of the DXi.
       • Netmask - The network mask of the DXi.
       • Gateway - The gateway of the DXi. (This is usually not the same as the default gateway.)
    3. Select the Any check box to allow all traffic types (management, replication, and data) on the interface.
    4. Click Update to save the changes you made to the IP Address table.

12. Do not make any changes under IP Address Configuration > Routing Details unless directed by your network administrator.

    Note: If the DXi needs to communicate with another subnet that is not reachable using the default gateway, a route must be added under the Routing Details section. (For more information about interface routing, see Network.

13. Click Next to continue.

    The Date & Time page displays.

    

14. If necessary, select Manual Date & Time Settings to manually set the system date and time.

    Specify the New System Date by clicking Calendar. Specify the New System Time using the drop-down boxes.

    Note: You can also choose to synchronize the system time with an NTP time server.

15. In the Timezone drop-down box, select the time zone where the DXi is located.
16. Next to Time Format, select the format to use when displaying times (24 hours or 12 hours).

17. Click Next to continue.

    The Confirm page displays.

    

18. Review the settings you selected to make sure they are correct. If necessary, click Previous to return to a previous step to make changes

19. After you have confirmed all settings, click Finish.

    A message appears stating that completing the setup will restart the system.

20. Click Yes to restart the system.
    
21. Disconnect the computer from the DXi service port. Reset the computer network settings back to the default values.

22. Wait for the system to fully restart. This can take up to 30 minutes.

Caution: Never force-power-off the V5000 system through the hypervisor or the server's power button. Always use the DXi desktop tools, Admin GUI, or CLI to power-off or reboot your system. Stopping the DXi software stack is a system-controlled process, where the DXi GUI or desktop tool ensures that all data securely resides where intended before system shutdown. If you force a system shutdown without using the GUI controls, your system may require lengthy automatic repairs upon restart.

Note: You can enable the ServiceLogin with a new password. The only way to log on to the DXi Console Desktop is with the ServiceLogin account. When the ServiceLogin is disabled, you can no longer access the Console desktop. You can enable and disable the ServiceLogin account at any time within the DXi GUI. Console Desktop access is only needed when you decide to expand the VM, but it is helpful to see the Status Information window for a current and accurate system status.

The ISO installer works using:

• VMware: ESXi, Workstation

• Linux: KVM, Workstation

• Windows: Hyper-V (Generation 1 only), Workstation

The ISO installer requires 3 steps:

1. Boot from ISO

This installation uses your VM Console.

1. Start the VM.

2. Type <esc> and press Enter.

3. Type 6 and press Enter to select to boot from the CD-ROM image.



Note: This boot menu is from the KVM used for this example. Your hypervisor's startup menu may look slightly different.

ISO Boot Menu

The default automatic installer should be used if possible. A 10-second countdown begins.

Note: To skip the countdown, press your Spacebar once.

DXi Installer

Two options are available on this screen:

• DXi V5000 (Boot + 3 SCSI disks, Desktop with DHCP) - Use this option for a first install, even if you chose to use a 2-disk setup.

• DXi V5000 (Re-install, Desktop with DHCP) - This option may be useful in rare cases, to reinstall your V5000 while preserving all data, settings and licenses.

  Caution: The re-install option is not supported unless instructed by Quantum Service. Only V5000 systems that have a purchased service contract are supported.

2. Automatic VM Reboot and DXi Software Installation

In this step, the system automatically reboots and installs the OS. As the installer starts, you will a screen resembling the following image.

During installation, the installer will check for minimum configuration requirements. Various errors can arise at this point if disks are not properly configured. If your install errors-out, please review the configuration guide and try re-creating the VM.

3. Automatic VM Reboot and Desktop Console Configuration

After the DXi OS installation completes, the VM will reboot and a blank VM Desktop Console is initially displayed, as your DXi software is installed.

Note: For descriptions of functions available from your VM Desktop Console, see VM Desktop Tools.

Following DXi software installation in the VM, the VM will shut down.

Depending upon the type of install you are doing you may be prompted to select a system profile. The system profile determines your memory requirements, available stream counts, disk usage, and capacities. See V5000 System Profiles in System Overview. Depending on the amount of memory in your VM and the amount of metadata space you will configure, you can select one of 12 different profiles.

1. Click in the row to select from available profiles.



Note: This dialog is an example of what you might see based on the amount of memory that you added to the VM you created. If only one profile is suitable for your memory size, you may not see this dialog.

PROFILE CONFIGURATION EXAMPLE

• Your actual usable capacity is limited by your capacity license. You can use the free 5 TB at install to use the free Community Edition, or you can increase up to 256 TB capacity with a capacity license. See DXi Licensing.

• Remember that to change from a Community to Licensed Edition, you must purchase an Ingest License and a Capacity License.

2. Click OK when complete.

After the status window shows System: Normal, your V5000 VM is ready for use:

At this point you no longer need the desktop UI and can switch to the DXi web GUI. Enter the IP address shown in the Status Information window in a browser or use the Firefox browser that you can access from the VM Desktop.

Your initial login begins with:

• User name: admin

• Password: password

After that, the system takes you through the DXi Getting Started Wizard.

After your initial login to the DXi GUI, the system takes you through the DXiGetting Started Wizard, where you can change passwords, make any network, date/time, and other changes as needed. See the Home Page for any help needed in setting up your system.

Video: Complete the Getting Started Wizard

To complete the DXi Getting Started wizard:

1. Select the login user name and password.

   • User name - Type your user name in the field.
   • Password - Type password in the field at your first system login.

2. If you log in as a user assigned to the Admin role (local or LDAP) and there were previous unsuccessful DXi logins, a dialog box appears indicating the previous number of unsuccessful login attempts for both the current account and all accounts on the DXi.

   1. Click OK to continue.

   2. Click View Admin Log to access the Administrative Activity Log page. See Administrative Activity Log.

      Note: Accessing the Administrative Activity Log page will cause the security message banner and service ticket banner (if applicable) to not display.

   3. Click Reset Counts to reset the unsuccessful login count to zero.

The Welcome page displays.

Note: If a message on the page indicates the V5000 is in Limited Mode, wait ten minutes, and then log on again.



3. Read the information about the wizard, and then click Next to continue.

   The License Agreement page displays.

   

4. Select the I have read and accept this License Agreement check box, and then click Next to continue.

   Note: If you do not accept the license agreement, the DXi will not function.

   The Access Control page displays.

   

5. Create a new password for the GUI Administrator user account:

   1. Enter the existing password (password) in Old Password.

   2. Enter a New Password.

      Note: The GUI Administrator password can be up to 32 characters. Alphanumeric characters and special characters are allowed.

   3. Enter the new password again in Confirm New Password.

6. Create a new password for the Service SSH (ServiceLogin) user account:

   1. Enter a New Password.

      Additional Information

      • The Service SSH password can be up to 20 characters. Alphanumeric characters and special characters are allowed.
      • The Access Control page in the Remote Management Console allows you to change the password of the SSH Service account.
   2. Enter the new password again in Confirm New Password.

7. Click Next to continue.

   The Network page displays.

   IMPORTANT - READ BEFORE CONTINUING

   Steps 7-12 below provide an example of configuring network settings on the DXi. In this example, the DXi is configured as follows:

   • All Ethernet ports are configured as individual devices (Not Bonded).
   • A single network interface with one IP address is configured for eth1.
   • All traffic types (management, data, and replication) travel over the single network interface.
   • All other settings are at default values.

   The actual network settings you will enter depend on the configuration of your company’s network and may differ from those below. Work with your network administrator to determine the correct settings for integrating the DXi into your company’s network.

   If you set up the DXi using the example below, you can always change the network settings as needed at a later time. For more information, see Network.

   Caution: For effective bonded network use, a properly configured network switch is required. (A network switch is not supplied with the DXi.) The DXi bonding settings must match the switch settings. If the switch settings and the DXi settings do not match, your system may become inaccessible through the switch.

   Note: The figure below is for illustrative purpose only. The Network page will reflect the actual number of physical ports in the system.

   

   

8. Under General, enter the following network information as provided by your network administrator:

   1. Enter the Hostname used to identify the DXi system.

      The Hostname cannot be blank and must contain only letters [ A–Z, a–z ], numbers [ 0–9 ], hyphens [ - ], underscores [ _ ], and dots [ . ].

   2. (Optional) Enter the Default Gateway IP address.

      Specifying a default gateway is optional if all access is local to a particular subnet. For example, if the DXi and all of its clients are on the same subnet, you do not need to specify a default gateway.

      Caution: Specifying a default gateway is required to enable connectivity with all subnets other than those that the DXi is directly connected to. For example, if the DXi and its clients are on different subnets, you must specify a default gateway.
      

   3. (Optional) In the DNS Suffix Search List box, enter the local domain to search first when resolving domain names.

      The domain suffix is a single domain name. The domain name may contain only letters (A–Z), numbers (0–9), dots (.), and hyphens (-).

   4. (Optional) In the Primary,Secondary, and TertiaryDNS IP Address boxes, enter the IP address of up to three DNS servers used to resolve domain names and translate them into IP addresses.

      Caution: You must specify a DNS IP address if you plan to use hostname format when configuring an NTP time server, outgoing e-mail server, replication sources and targets, and other information.

9. Under IP Address Configuration > Bonding Details, configure each Ethernet port as a separate network device:

   1. If necessary, click the Show link to show the bonding details table.
   2. In the Not Bonded row, make sure each Ethernet port is selected (eth1, eth2, and so on).
   3. If necessary, click Update to save the changes you made to the Bonding Details table.
10. Do not make any changes under IP Address Configuration > Interface Details unless directed by your network administrator. (For more information about the VLAN tag and MTU size options, see Network.

11. Under IP Address Configuration > IP Address Table, enter network information for the eth1 device:

    Note: Do not make any entries in the VLAN ID,External Host IP,NATed, or NAT IP Address columns unless directed by your network administrator.

    1. Select the eth1 row in the table. Or, if necessary, click Add IP in the eth1 row to enable entry in the IP Address box.

    2. Enter the following network information as provided by your network administrator (all fields are required):

       Caution: Make sure you enter the correct IP address information and that you write this information down. If you enter the incorrect IP address information and reboot, you will not be able to access the system.

       • IP Address - The IP address of the DXi.
       • Netmask - The network mask of the DXi.
       • Gateway - The gateway of the DXi. (This is usually not the same as the default gateway.)
    3. Select the Any check box to allow all traffic types (management, replication, and data) on the interface.
    4. Click Update to save the changes you made to the IP Address table.

12. Do not make any changes under IP Address Configuration > Routing Details unless directed by your network administrator.

    Note: If the V5000 needs to communicate with another subnet that is not reachable using the default gateway, a route must be added under the Routing Details section. (For more information about interface routing, see Network.

13. Click Next to continue.

    The Date & Time page displays.

    

14. If necessary, select Manual Date & Time Settings to manually set the system date and time.

    Specify the New System Date by clicking Calendar. Specify the New System Time using the drop-down boxes.

    Note: You can also choose to synchronize the system time with an NTP time server.

15. In the Timezone drop-down box, select the time zone where the DXi is located.
16. Next to Time Format, select the format to use when displaying times (24 hours or 12 hours).

17. Click Next to continue.

    The Confirm page displays.

    

18. Review the settings you selected to make sure they are correct. If necessary, click Previous to return to a previous step to make changes

19. After you have confirmed all settings, click Finish.

    A message appears stating that completing the setup will restart the system.

20. Click Yes to restart the system.
    
21. Disconnect the computer from the DXi service port. Reset the computer network settings back to the default values.

22. Wait for the system to fully restart. This can take up to 30 minutes.

Caution: Never force-power-off the V5000 system through the hypervisor or the server's power button. Always use the DXi desktop tools, Admin GUI, or CLI to power-off or reboot your system. Stopping the DXi software stack is a system-controlled process, where the DXi GUI or desktop tool ensures that all data securely resides where intended before system shutdown. If you force a system shutdown without using the GUI controls, your system may require lengthy automatic repairs upon restart.

Note: You can enable the ServiceLogin with a new password. The only way to log on to the DXi Console Desktop is with the ServiceLogin account. When the ServiceLogin is disabled, you can no longer access the Console desktop. You can enable and disable the ServiceLogin account at any time within the DXi GUI. Console Desktop access is only needed when you decide to expand the VM, but it is helpful to see the Status Information window for a current and accurate system status.

Double-click the Browser icon to launch the Firefox browser and connect to the DXi web GUI. Use the 127.0.0.1 IP address, which can be used when the VM cannot get a DHCP address or instead of the default 10.1.1.1.

1. Double-click the Information icon to open the Hardware Information window, which displays basic VM information.



2. (optional) Click on the Details button to expand the Hardware Information screen to show additional details, like expanded memory, CPU counts, etc. Click OK to collapse the Details section and return to display the basic VM information.



3. (optional) Click on the Analyze button to display the System Configuration Analysis screen, displaying your storage size, license (if applicable), blockpool profile, and memory.

Note: There are many valid combinations of memory, storage, and storage capacities by disk that will work in a functioning V5000 system, but they not be optimal or even efficient for the capabilities listed on this screen.

Depending on your existing configuration, the System Configuration Analysis screen may provide some recommendations on optimizing your system profile, like Your profile capacity is larger than needed for the profile. You have x GiB extra memory for the OS.

Double-click the Logout icon to log out from the VM desktop, after you confirm in a pop-up dialog. This icon will also disconnect the system if it is configured using a VNC connection. Use the ServiceLogin password that you created during the DXi Getting Started Wizard to log back on to the system.

Double-click the Profile icon to see the System Profile screen, which displays available profiles for your system based on your memory size. Click Yes, reboot to restart the VM. Following reboot, a dialog displays where you can change your system profile. If no profiles are available, click No, cancel.

Double-click the Shutdown icon to reboot or power-off the VM (after confirmation).

Caution: Never force-power-off the V5000 system through the hypervisor or the server's power button. Always use the DXi desktop tools, Admin GUI, or CLI to power-off or reboot your system. Stopping the DXi software stack is a system-controlled process, where the DXi GUI or desktop tool ensures that all data securely resides where intended before system shutdown. If you force a system shutdown without using the GUI controls, your system may require lengthy automatic repairs upon restart.