Storage Management

This chapter mainly introduces how to use storage virtualization resources, including data storage. This section covers the use of data storage in the following topics:

Add a Data Storage

Add a Local Storage

If you wish to use the local hard disk directory of a host to create storage resources, you can refer to this section for instructions.

Before you begin

  • Make sure to plan the mount path for the local storage on the host's disk in advance.
  • Check the quantity and type limitations between the cluster and the data storage to the attached. For more information, see Cluster and Data Storage.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Actions > Add Data Storage.
  3. In the Add Data Storage dialog, set the following parameters:
    Basic Information
    • Name: Name of the local storage.
    • Description: Optional. You can add relevant information as a note.
    • Type: Select Local Storage.
    • Data Center: Location of the data center where the local storage resides.
    Configurations
    • Cluster: The cluster where the local storage needs to be attached.
    • Addition Method: Supports Free Disk and Local Directory methods
      If you choose Free Disk, you need to configure the following parameter:
      • Host Disk: Add unmounted or unpartitioned free disks on the host
        Note: Configuring a free disk will format the selected disk, completely clearing all partitions, file systems, and data on the disk.
    • Mount Path: The mount path for the local storage on the host's disks
      Note: System directories such as /, /dev/, /proc/, /sys/, /usr/bin, and /bin cannot be used. Using system directories might cause the hosts unable to work properly.
  4. Review the configuration and click OK.

Add an NFS Storage

If you wish to use a Network File System (NFS) to create storage resources, you can refer to this section for instructions.

Before you begin

  • Make sure to plan the mount path and set the appropriate directory permissions on the NFS Server in advance.
  • Check whether the NFS Server supports mount parameters in advance. If it does, you can specify relevant parameters when adding NFS storage to optimize the performance, security, and reliability of the network file system.
  • It is recommended to plan a separate storage network in advance to avoid network congestion.
  • Check the quantity and type limitations between the cluster and the data storage to the attached. For more information, see Cluster and Data Storage.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Actions > Add Data Storage.
  3. In the Add Data Storage dialog, set the following parameters:
    Basic Information
    • Name: Name of the NFS storage.
    • Description: Optional. You can add relevant information as a note.
    • Type: Select NFS.
    • Data Center: Location of the data center where the NFS storage resides.
    Configurations
    • Cluster: The cluster where the NFS storage needs to be attached.
    • Mount Path: The shared directory URL of the NFS Server. Format: NFS_Server_IP:/NFS_Share_folder
      Note: System directories such as /, /dev/, /proc/, /sys/, /usr/bin, and /bin cannot be used. Using system directories might cause the hosts unable to work properly.
    • Mount Option: Mount parameters for the NFS Server end, you can refer to the content in the -o parameter of mount. If the parameters set here conflict with those on the NFS Server, the NFS Server's settings take precedence.
    • Storage Network: The CIDR of the storage network specified for the NFS storage.
  4. Review the configuration and click OK.

Add a SAN Storage

If you wish to use shared LUNs to create storage resources, you can refer to this section for instructions.

Before you begin

  • LUNs are provided by iSCSI, FC, or NVMe storage. For more information, see .
  • Check the quantity and type limitations between the cluster and the data storage to the attached. For more information, see Cluster and Data Storage.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Actions > Add Data Storage.
  3. In the Add Data Storage dialog, set the following parameters:
    Basic Information
    • Name: Name of the SAN storage.
    • Description: Optional. You can add relevant information as a note.
    • Type: Select SAN Storage.
    • Data Center: Location of the data center where the SAN storage resides.
    Configurations
    • Cluster: The cluster where the SAN storage needs to be attached.
    • Default Provisioning Type: The allocation method for disk storage space. Default: Thick Provision. Options include Thick Provision and Thin Provision.
      • Thick Provision: Pre-allocate the required storage space, providing sufficient storage capacity to ensure storage performance.
      • Thin Provision: Allocate storage space according to actual usage, achieving higher storage utilization.
    • Storage Network: Specify a storage network for the shared storage. The system uses the storage network to check the health status of virtual machines.
    • Storage Addition Method: Select a method to add the storage.
      • New: Creates a brand new data storage by initializing an unused LUN into a data storage usable by the platform. You can choose whether to clear existing data on the LUN device during addition.
      • Register: Imports LUNs that already contain data (for example, storage migrated from another platform or replicated through disaster recovery) into the platform. The platform will identify its SAN storage structure and repair the metadata. During registration, all LUN devices under that SAN storage will be automatically added.
    • LUN: Select LUN devices provided by iSCSI storage, FC storage, or NVMe storage.
    • Cleanse LUN: Choose whether to forcibly clear data from the LUN devices, such as file system, RAID, or partition table labels. Default: Unselected.
      Note: If data or partition exists in the LUN, you might fail to add LUNs or attach data storage.
    • Storage UUID: When you select Register as the storage addition method, you must specify how to handle the storage UUID.
      • Keep: Retains the existing UUID of the SAN storage unchanged.
      • Reset: Regenerates a new UUID for the SAN storage. This is useful in scenarios such as UUID conflicts after cloning or snapshots, or when decoupling from the production environment during disaster recovery drills. After reset, the original UUID becomes invalid. If other hosts continue to access the storage using the original UUID, I/O errors will occur.
  4. Review the configuration and click OK.

Add an iSCSI Storage

iSCSI storage is a SAN storage that uses the iSCSI protocol for data transmission.

Before you begin

You have allocated and mapped the LUNs on the storage side.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Storage Target.
  3. On the Storage Target tab, select iSCSI Storage.
  4. Click Add iSCSI Storage.
  5. In the Add iSCSI Storage dialog, set the following parameters:
    • Name: Name of the iSCSI storage.
    • IP Address: IP address of the iSCSI storage server.
    • Port: Target port for the iSCSI storage. Default: 3260.
    • Cluster: The cluster where the iSCSI storage will be attached. You can also attach the iSCSI storage to a cluster after the addition.
      Note: If you want to use the LUNs provided by the iSCSI storage, you need to attach the iSCSI storage to the cluster where the SAN storage is attached.
    • CHAP Username: CHAP authentication username.
    • CHAP Password: CHAP authentication password.
  6. Review the configuration and click OK.

What to do next

You can add iSCSI LUNs as SAN storage or pass through them to a virtual machine. LUNs that have been added as SAN storage cannot be passed through to a virtual machine.

Synchronize a FC Storage

FC storage is a SAN storage that uses the FC protocol for data transmission.

Before you begin

  • You have set up the FC storage in advance.
  • Make sure network connectivity between the host and storage is established.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Storage Target.
  3. On the Storage Target tab, select FC Storage.
  4. Click Sync Device Info.

What to do next

You can add FC LUNs as SAN storage or pass through them to a virtual machine. LUNs that have been added as SAN storage cannot be passed through to a virtual machine.

Add a NVMe Storage

Before you begin

  • You have set up the NVMe storage in advance.
  • Make sure network connectivity between the host and storage is established.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Storage Target.
  3. On the Storage Target tab, select NVMe Storage.
  4. Click Add NVMe Storage.
  5. In the Add NVMe Storage dialog, set the following parameters:
    • Name: Name of the NVMe storage.
    • Transmission Mode: Support two transmission modes: RDMA and TCP.
    • IP Address: IP address of the NVMe storage.
    • Port: Port of the NVMe storage.
    • Cluster: The cluster where the NVMe storage will be attached.
  6. Review the configuration and click OK.

What to do next

You can add NVMe LUNs as SAN storage or pass through them to a virtual machine. LUNs that have been added as SAN storage cannot be passed through to a virtual machine.

Add a ZCE Distributed Storage

If you wish to use distributed block storage to create storage resources, you can refer to this section for instructions.

Before you begin

  • You have set up the ZCE distributed storage on the storage side. If you wish to use the specified image cache pool and storage pool, you need to create the corresponding storage pools in the distributed storage cluster in advance.
  • It is recommended to plan a separate storage network in advance to avoid network congestion.
  • Check the quantity and type limitations between the cluster and the data storage to the attached. For more information, see Cluster and Data Storage.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Actions > Add Data Storage.
  3. In the Add Data Storage dialog, set the following parameters:
    Basic Information
    • Name: Name of the distributed storage.
    • Description: Optional. You can add relevant information as a note.
    • Type: Select Distributed Storage ZCE.
    • Data Center: Location of the data center where the ZCE distributed storage resides.
    Configurations
    • Cluster: The cluster where the ZCE distributed storage needs to be attached.
    • Key Authentication: Choose whether to use key authentication for the ZCE distributed storage. Default: Enabled.
      Note: Make sure that the authentication option on the distributed storage side is consistent with this option. If the authentication is disabled on the ZCE distributed storage side but enabled here, you might fail to create virtual machines, and vice versa.
    • Monitoring Node: Add monitoring nodes and complete the monitoring node IP, SSH port, username, and password configurations.
    • Image Cache Pool: Specify a storage pool for image caches. If you do not specify a storage pool, the system creates one automatically.
    • Storage Pool: Specify a storage pool for data disks. If you do not specify a storage pool, the system creates one automatically.
    • Storage Network: The CIDR of the storage network specified for the ZCE distributed storage.
  4. Review the configuration and click OK.

Add a ZHPS Distributed Storage

If you wish to use vhost-user mode to connect with high-performance SSD distributed storage, you can refer to this section for instructions.

Before you begin

  • You have set up the ZHPS distributed storage on the storage side.
  • Check the quantity and type limitations between the cluster and the data storage to the attached. For more information, see Cluster and Data Storage.
  • Make sure the platform is installed with a valid Advanced Edition license.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Actions > Add Data Storage.
  3. In the Add Data Storage dialog, set the following parameters:
    Basic Information
    • Name: Name of the high-performance storage.
    • Description: Optional. You can add relevant information as a note.
    • Type: Select Distributed Storage ZHPS.
    • Data Center: Location of the data center where the ZHPS distributed storage resides.
    Configurations
    • Cluster: The cluster where the ZHPS distributed storage needs to be attached.
    • IP Address: The management address of the ZHPS distributed storage.
    • Port: The port corresponding to the management address of the ZHPS distributed storage.
    • Username: The username of the management address of the ZHPS distributed storage.
    • Password: Password corresponding to the username.
    • Storage Pool: After a successful connection test, specify storage pools. You need to create storage pools on the storage side in advance.
  4. Review the configuration and click OK.

Add a ZBS Distributed Storage

If you wish to Connects high-performance distributed block storage through the CBD interface, you can refer to this section for instructions.

Before you begin

  • You have set up the ZBS distributed storage on the storage side.
  • Check the quantity and type limitations between the cluster and the data storage to the attached. For more information, see Cluster and Data Storage.
  • Make sure the platform is installed with a valid Advanced Edition license.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, choose Inventory > Data Storage.
  2. Select the target data center and click Actions > Add Data Storage.
  3. In the Add Data Storage dialog, set the following parameters:
    Basic Information
    • Name: Name of the ZBS distributed storage.
    • Description: Optional. You can add relevant information as a note.
    • Type: Select Distributed Storage ZBS.
    • Data Center: Location of the data center where the ZBS distributed storage resides.
    Configurations
    • Cluster: The cluster where the ZBS distributed storage needs to be attached.
    • MDS Node: Add MDS nodes. You need to specify the MSD node management IP, SSH port, username, and password.
    • Storage Pool: Enter the pool name after creating the storage pool on the storage side in advance.
  4. Review the configuration and click OK.

Modify Data Storage Configuration

If you have added data storage, you can modify the data storage configuration as needed based on your business scenarios.

Modify Local Storage Configuration

If you have added local storage, you can modify the local storage configuration as needed based on your business scenarios, including basic and advanced configurations.

Modify Basic Configuration

If you only need to modify the name and description of the local storage, you can click Action > Edit Name and Description on the target local storage page to make the changes.

Modify Advanced Configuration

If you want to modify the advanced configuration information for local storage, including the storage over-provisioning ratio and hard disk pre-allocation strategy, you can follow these steps:
  1. Navigate to the target local storage page.
  2. Enter the Advanced Settings sub-page.
  3. Click Edit.
ZStack ZSphere supports modifying the following advanced configurations for local storage:
  • Data Storage Overcommit Ratio: Used to control the allocatable space of data storage for virtual machines.

    Calculation formula: Data storage allocatable capacity = [(actual capacity - reserved capacity) × over-provisioning ratio] - (threshold capacity + sum of all hard disks allocated to virtual machines + snapshots + image cache + migration cache)

  • Disk Preallocation Policy: Used to set the hard disk pre-allocation strategy in data storage. The default is none.
    • none: Does not use pre-allocation strategy. With this strategy, files are dynamically allocated the required space as needed.
    • metadata: Only pre-allocates the space required for file metadata, without allocating any space for the data. With this strategy, the required storage space for the hard disk is dynamically allocated as data is written.
    • falloc: Pre-allocates the required space for the file but does not immediately erase the corresponding data on the physical device. Erasure occurs when the virtual machine first writes data to the hard disk.
    • full: Pre-allocates the required space for the file.

Modify NFS Storage Configuration

If you have added NFS storage, you can modify the NFS storage configuration as needed based on your business scenarios, including basic and advanced configurations.

Modify Basic Configuration

If you only need to modify the name and description of the NFS storage, you can click Action > Edit Name and Description on the target NFS storage page to make the changes.

Modify Advanced Configuration

If you want to modify the advanced configuration information for NFS storage, including the storage over-provisioning ratio and hard disk pre-allocation strategy, you can follow these steps:
  1. Navigate to the target NFS storage page.
  2. Enter the Advanced Settings sub-page.
  3. Click Edit.
ZStack ZSphere supports modifying the following advanced configurations for NFS storage:
  • Data Storage Overcommit Ratio: Used to control the allocatable space of data storage for virtual machines.

    Calculation formula: Data storage allocatable capacity = [(actual capacity - reserved capacity) × over-provisioning ratio] - (threshold capacity + sum of all hard disks allocated to virtual machines + snapshots + image cache + migration cache)

  • NFS Storage Disk Preallocation Policy: Used to set the hard disk pre-allocation strategy in NFS storage. The default is none.
    • none: Does not use pre-allocation strategy. With this strategy, files are dynamically allocated the required space as needed.
    • metadata: Only pre-allocates the space required for file metadata, without allocating any space for the data. With this strategy, the required storage space for the hard disk is dynamically allocated as data is written.
    • falloc: Pre-allocates the required space for the file but does not immediately erase the corresponding data on the physical device. Erasure occurs when the virtual machine first writes data to the hard disk.
    • full: Pre-allocates the required space for the file.

Modify SAN Storage Configuration

If you have added SAN storage, you can modify the SAN storage configuration as needed based on your business scenarios, including basic configuration, advanced configuration, and expanding the SAN storage.

Modify Basic Configuration

If you only need to modify the name and description of the SAN storage, you can click Action > Edit Name and Description on the target SAN storage page to make the changes.

Modify Advanced Configuration

If you want to modify the advanced configuration information for SAN storage, including the hard disk pre-allocation strategy, storage allocation strategy, and storage over-provisioning ratio, you can follow these steps:
  1. Navigate to the target SAN storage page.
  2. Enter the Advanced Settings sub-page.
  3. Click Edit.
ZStack ZSphere supports modifying the following advanced configurations for SAN storage:
  • Disk Preallocation Policy: Used to set the hard disk pre-allocation strategy in SAN storage. The default is metadata.
    • metadata: Only pre-allocates the space required for hard disk metadata, without allocating any space for the data. With this strategy, the required storage space for the hard disk is dynamically allocated as data is written.
    • none: Does not use pre-allocation strategy.
  • SAN Storage Allocation Strategy: Used to set the landing strategy for hard disks and snapshots on SAN storage LUN devices. The default is according to system allocation. Available strategies include according to system allocation, hard disks created in the LUN with the most remaining capacity, and hard disks created in the LUN with the least number of LVs (snapshots + hard disks).
  • Data Storage Overcommit Ratio: Used to control the allocatable space of data storage for virtual machines.

    Calculation formula: Data storage allocatable capacity = [(actual capacity - reserved capacity) × over-provisioning ratio] - (threshold capacity + sum of all hard disks allocated to virtual machines + snapshots + image cache + migration cache)

Expand SAN Storage

If during the use of SAN storage, you find that the storage capacity is insufficient to meet your business needs, you can add new LUN devices or expand existing LUN devices. You can follow these steps to add LUN devices:
  1. In the physical environment, expand the LUN device for iSCSI storage, FC storage, or NVMe storage.

    After successfully expanding the LUN device, return to the platform. You can view the usage of block devices on the Data Center > Storage Target sub-page. You can also manually click the refresh button to get the latest storage information.

  2. Navigate to the target SAN storage page.
  3. Enter the Shared Block sub-page.
  4. Click Add and select the newly expanded LUN device.
    Note: If the LUN device contains data, it may cause failure when adding the LUN device or mounting the SAN storage. You can check Cleanup Block Device on the Add Shared Block page.

If you need to obtain the latest capacity information for a LUN device, you can do so on the Shared Block sub-page by selecting the target LUN device and clicking Refresh Capacity.

Modify Distributed Storage Configuration

If you have added distributed storage, you can modify the distributed storage configuration as needed based on your business scenarios, including basic configuration, advanced configuration, adding, deleting, or modifying monitoring nodes, and adding, deleting, or modifying storage pools.

Modify Basic Configuration

If you only need to modify the name and description of the distributed storage, you can click Action > Edit Name and Description on the target distributed storage page to make the changes.

Modify Advanced Configuration

If you want to modify the advanced configuration information for distributed storage, including the storage over-provisioning ratio, you can follow these steps:
  1. Navigate to the target distributed storage page.
  2. Enter the Advanced Settings sub-page.
  3. Click Edit.
ZStack ZSphere supports modifying the following advanced configurations for distributed storage:
  • Data Storage Overcommit Ratio: Used to control the allocatable space of data storage for virtual machines.

    Calculation formula: Data storage allocatable capacity = [(actual capacity - reserved capacity) × over-provisioning ratio] - (threshold capacity + sum of all hard disks allocated to virtual machines + snapshots + image cache + migration cache)

Modify Monitoring Nodes

Add Monitoring Node

You can follow these steps to add a monitoring node to the distributed storage:
  1. Navigate to the target distributed storage page.
  2. Click Monitoring Nodes > Add Monitoring Node.
    • Mon Node Management IP: The IP address of the monitoring node
    • SSH Port: The SSH port of the monitoring node
    • Username: The SSH username for the monitoring node
    • Password: The password for the SSH username of the monitoring node
  3. After confirming that the configuration information is correct, click OK to add a monitoring node.

Modify Monitoring Node Configuration

If you want to adjust the configuration of an added monitoring node, including modifying the SSH username, SSH password, SSH port, and Mon port, you can do so on the Monitoring Nodes sub-page by clicking Actions and making the necessary modifications.

Delete Monitoring Node

If you need to delete an existing monitoring node, you can do so on the Monitoring Nodes sub-page by clicking Actions > Delete Monitoring Node. You can also delete monitoring nodes in batch.
Note: Deleting a monitoring node may cause the distributed storage cluster to lose connectivity. Please proceed with caution.

Modify Storage Pool

Add Storage Pool

You can follow these steps to add a storage pool to the distributed storage:
  1. Navigate to the target distributed storage page.
  2. Click Storage Pools > Add Storage Pool.
    • Pool Name: The UUID of the storage pool
    • Display Name: A custom display name for the storage pool
  3. After confirming that the configuration information is correct, click OK to add a storage pool.

Modify Storage Pool Configuration

If you want to edit the display name of a storage pool, you can do so on the Storage Pools sub-page by clicking Actions > Set Display Name and making the necessary changes.

Delete Storage Pool

If you need to delete an existing storage pool, you can do so on the Storage Pools sub-page by clicking Actions > Delete.
Note:
  • The image cache pool does not support deletion operations.
  • If there is data in the storage pool, it cannot be deleted.
  • You must retain at least one storage pool.

Data Storage Cleanup & Deletion

You can refer to the content in this section to clean up data storage space or delete data storage as needed.

Clean up Data Storage

You can also clean up the original data retained in the data storage due to cross-storage migration. On the Data Cleanup sub-page of the target data storage details page, click Action > Cleanup to clean up the original data.
Note: Make sure that the migrated data is intact after the storage migration. The original data cannot be recovered after cleanup. Please proceed with caution.

Delete Data Storage

If you no longer need a particular data storage, you can delete it to save storage resources. Before deleting data storage, you need to unload it from the cluster, otherwise, deletion will not be possible.

You can delete data storage through the following methods:
  • Delete a single data storage: Navigate to the target data storage page and click Actions > Delete to perform the deletion operation.
  • Bulk delete data storage: Navigate to the Data Center > Data Storage sub-page, select the data storages you want to delete. Then click Bulk Action > Delete to perform the deletion operation.
Note: During deletion, all resources on the selected data storage, including virtual machines, hard disks, snapshots, etc., will be deleted. Please proceed with caution.