Nimble SFA Initial Setup

Following on from Part 1 of this blog series, we will take a look at the initial setup of the Nimble SFA array. This is from discovery to establishing access to the user interface. If you have configured a Nimble CS or AF array, the process is the same. I have a 10Gbe model but other connection options are available such as Fibre Channel.

Configuration

At this point I am assuming the array has been racked and patched into the network accordingly. Before proceeding with setup it is a good idea to identify some IP addresses for use with the array for management and group/iSCSI traffic.

Nimble Setup Manager forms part of Nimble Windows Toolkit available for download on Nimble Infosight portal. Launch the application to discover the array on the network.

Select the array and click next. This will redirect you to the array web interface.

Read and accept the EULA before proceeding

As this was the first array I have, I chose to set up a new group rather than join an existing group.

Choose a name for the array, management IP details, domain name and create a password for the admin account

Wait for management IP to change

Then initialisation should be complete

You should now be redirected to the management IP that was just set. Log into the array with the new password.

Configuration setup wizard will continue. The management network should be predefined

Add another subnet for iSCSI traffic and set MTU size accordingly. Note that my IP address zone is set to Single but the array can be configured to use multiple subnets for multi path purposes. Both are supported for multi path however. Ensure iSCSI and Group are assigned to the iSCSI NICS.

Define what kind of traffic should be assigned to each interface. eth1 and eth 2 are management NICS. TG1 and TG2 are the 10Gbe SFP+ interfaces. The management IP we defined earlier is the group IP. The IP addresses defined below are the individual interface IP’s.

Set the domain name and DNS servers.

Set up mail alerts.

Wait for array setup to complete.

Some useful info for mail relays and firewall exceptions.

That’s it. Click continue to check the status of the device. Hopefully green ticks all round.

• PART 1 – What is the Nimble SFA?
• PART 3 – Creating a Volume and presenting it to Veeam.
• PART 4 – Creating a Veeam backup job and what to look out for.
• PART 5 – A closer look at the deduplication. 
• PART 6 – Putting your backup data to work.

Ian