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K2000 Storage TechNote

The Dell KACE K2000 Deployment Appliance, version 3.4, expands storage by substituting an external Network Attached Storage (NAS) device for the appliance's internal storage.  It also expands the virtual K2000/RSA storage by using an additional virtual disk. When external storage is enabled, internal storage is no longer available for use.

Dell | KACE supports NFS-based storage solutions for offboard storage.

We have tested and confirmed at least one configuration for each of the following devices:

  • Synology DSM (3.4.54256 and higher)
  • NETGEAR ReadyNAS (3.4.54256 and higher)
  • Dell Equalogic FS7500 (3.5.76460 and higher)
  • Windows 2008 Storage Server (3.4.63129 and higher)
  • Windows 2012 Foundation Server (3.5.76460 and higher)
  • Virtual disk (3.4.54256 and higher)

NOTE: This list is not exclusive. Dell | KACE will continue to certify NFS-based solutions on an ongoing basis.

The Process

The process to make this happen is quite simple, we copy all the data from the internal drive, like images, pre/post install tasks, usmt, media, boot environments, and drivers to the offboard storage location, leaving the internal data as is, but not being used.  Everything on the K2000 then points to this offboard storage location, which can be seen under the new Settings and Maintenance | Control Panel | Storage.  This process does not “expand” the current drive as some expect.

Enabling external storage on the K2000 appliance

Enabling external storage on the K2000 requires that Dell KACE Technical Support set up part of the initial configuration. Submit a ticket to http://www.kace.com/support/contact.php to request a support tether to enable the external storage. Before submitting a ticket, ensure that you:

Use the Network File System (NFS) protocol for the NAS device.

Test the network access to your NAS device and confirm its configuration settings to provide the name of the NAS, such as NETGEAR ReadyNAS and the IP address of the device If using a physical NAS, better performance will be achieved by having a direct connection between the NAS device and the 2nd NIC of the k2000.  To do this, you can assign the 2nd NIC on the K2000 an IP on a private network, such as 10.0.0.2.  Then assign the 2nd NIC (if it has one) on the NAS as 10.0.0.3.  This will allow the device to be separate of your network and boost performance.  Please make sure to provide support with this information.

Note: If unusual configuration problems occur with your NAS, Dell KACE may require that you engage Professional Services for assistance.

Configurations for supported NAS devices

Common settings

  1. Enable Asynchronous Transfer if this setting is available on your device. This might improve the expandable storage performance.
  2. Disable Root squash if this setting is available on your device, for example set no_root_squash for the NFS share.
Synology DSM settings > NFS privileges
  • Privilege: Read/Write.
  • Root squash: No mapping.
  • Select the Enable asynchronous check box.

NETGEAR ReadyNAS settings In the Share Access Restrictions section:

  1. Enable Root privilege-enabled hosts.
  2. Specify the IP address of the K2000 in the text field (specifically the 2nd NIC if you have connected your device directly to the K2000).

In the Advanced Share Permission section:

  • Share folder owner: root
  • Share folder group: root
  • Share folder group rights: Read/Write
  • Share folder everyone rights: Read/Write

Dell EqualLogic FS7500


  • Under "Client Access Permissions" section
    • Choose "Limit access to IP address(asterisks allowed)" and specify K2000 IP address or a specific network eg.172.0.0.0
  • Under "Access type" section
    • Choose "Set Read-write"
  • Under "Trusted Users" section
    • Choose "All"
  • Under "Access permissions"
    • File Security Style: UNIX
    • UNIX Permissions of Windows Files: "Owner=Read, Write, Execute", "Group=Read", "Others=Read", "Numeric value=744"
    • UNIX Permissions of Windows directories: "Owner=Read, Write, Execute", "Group=Read, Execute", "Others=Read, Execute", "Numeric value=755"
  • NFS Export needs to be created with "no_root_squash" option


 

Windows 2008 Storage Server

  1. Set up the Windows Storage Server 2008.
  2. Disable the firewall.
  3. Set up the NFS service on the server: Start > Administrative Tools > Server Manager > Roles > File Services > Add Role Services > Services for Network File System (NFS).
  4. Create a directory for the NFS share, for example e:\mynfs.
  5. Disable any anti-virus software to prevent it from scanning this shared folder.
  6. Go to Start > Share and Storage Management and from the Actions drop-down list, select Provision Share.
  7. Browse to the newly created NFS share directory.
  8. Ensure that the No, do not change NTFS permissions check box is selected. This retains the default NTFS permissions.
  9. Under Share Protocols, select NFS and provide the appropriate NFS share name.
  10. For NFS Authentication, select Enable unmapped user access and Allow unmapped user Unix access.
  11. For NFS Permissions, under Groups and host permissions, select Add. On the resulting dialog box, provide the K2000 server IP address as host and set the permission as Read/Write.
  12. Select the Allow root access check box. Click OK, then Next.
  13. Continue with the default settings and complete the NFS share configuration.
  14. Mount this share onto the K2000 server using the regular steps used for configuration of expandable storage.
  15. Reboot the K2000 appliance.

 

 Setting for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Foundation (3.5.76460 and higher)

  • Install Network File System on Storage 2012
    • To install Network File System on the server using Server Manager:
    • From the Add Roles and Features Wizard, under Server Roles, select File and Storage Services if it has not already been installed.
    • Under File and iSCSI Services, select File Server and Server for NFS. Click Add Features to include selected NFS features.
    • Click Install to install the NFS components on the server.
  • To Create NFS file share:
    • Log on to the server as a member of the local Administrators group. Server Manager will start automatically. If it does not automatically start, click Start, type servermanager.exe, and then click Server Manager.
    • On the left, click File and Storage Services, and then click Shares.
    • Click To create a file share, start the New Share Wizard.
    • On the Select Profile page, select either NFS Share – Quick or NFS Share - Advanced, and click Next.
    • On the Share Location page, select a server and a volume, and click Next.
    • On the Share Name page, specify a name for the new share, and click Next.
    • On the Authentication page, specify the authentication method you want to use for this share.
    • On the Share Permissions page, click Add, and then specify the host, client group or netgroup you want to grant permission to the share.
    • In Permissions, configure the type of access control you want the users to have, and click OK.
    • On the Confirmation page, review your configuration, and click Create to create the NFS file share.




Virtual disk settings (3.4.xxxxx and higher)


  Enabling external storage for a virtual disk requires that Dell KACE Technical Support set up part of initial configuration. Submit a support ticket to http://www.kace.com/support/contact.php to request a support tether to enable external storage. 


 The VK2000 and virtual disk communicate using the Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI). VMware ESX and ESXi support this protocol.


 Before contacting support, power down the K2000/RSA virtual machine from the Settings and Maintenance | Appliance Maintenance page.  Then create a disk the size you would like and add it to the SCSI controller of the K2000/RSA.  Power the virtual machine back on, and then once your tether is in place, support will do the rest.


Reverting data from external storage to the K2000 internal storage 


  Reverting the data from an external storage device to the K2000 appliance, RSA, or Virtual K2000 internal storage requires a support tether and must be done by Dell | KACE Technical Support. Submit a support ticket to http://www.kace.com/support/contact.php.


Note: After reverting an RSA, you must sync the RSA with the K2000 manually at least once. You do this from the Choose Action drop-down list on the Deployments > Remote Sites page.


 Requirements 


  The data on external storage devices must be less than or equal to the amount of space on the appliance’s internal storage; otherwise, the external storage data is not migrated and the original data is retained.


 Important: You must validate the newly created data on the external storage device before reverting.


 Security notes


  The K2000 data on external storage might be visible to those applications or users if the share is not, or cannot be restricted for particular network address IP by the NAS device. Restrict the share to a particular network IP address if the NAS device permits it. Alternately, put the NAS on a private network, or explicitly connect the device to a second Network Interface Card (NIC).


 Best practices


  For maximum performance, connect the external storage device directly to the second NIC of the K2000 appliance (see notes above under the enabling external storage on the K2000 appliance). 


 The K2000 uses all of the available space on the volume or partition on which the NFS share exists. You cannot restrict the size (quota) of the share on the storage server; the available space varies according to the space used by all of the shares. Dell KACE recommends using a dedicated partition for K2000 external storage.