Working With Core Filers
Core Filers are the back-end storage component of an Avere Edge Filer.
Core filers typically are either a NAS storage appliance or a cloud object store, but they also can be a clustered filesystem or other arrangement.
An NFS-based system must meet these requirements:
- Serves NFS client requests over NFSv3
- Exposes data over NFS exports
A non-NFS system (like a cloud object store) must use the S3 protocol.
An Avere cluster can serve as the front end for up to 50 core filers. (Some limitations apply; contact your Avere sales team for specific information about supporting large numbers of core filers.) Each core filer is treated as a single dataset by the Avere cluster.
Each core filer in the system has an administrative name that is used for quick identification. This name does not have to be the same as its network name - for example, a core filer with the domain name filer1.example.com could be named filer1 in the system.
Note
Earlier versions of Avere OS used the term mass instead of core filer to refer to back-end storage volumes. Some API commands and log messages still refer to core filers as masses.
You can monitor core filer status by using the Core Filers tab on the dashboard.
Use the Core Filer section of the Avere Control Panel Settings tab to create and configure core filers for your cluster.
Before Defining a Core Filer
Before adding a core filer to the Avere OS cluster, make sure that it is compatible with the system and configured appropriately.
The list of supported core filers is included in Appendix C: Supported Core Filer Types; contact Avere Global Services if you have questions.
Read the information below to learn about creating a cloud core filer, and about configuration for core filers that will be accessed over SMB.
Configuring A Cloud Container As A Core Filer
Before starting the New Cloud Core Filer wizard, you must create an instance of cloud or local object storage (that is, create a bucket or container on your object store) to use as a core filer. Then use the wizard to define the core filer in the cluster.
Configuring Storage for SMB Access
You might need to customize some settings on your storage systems before adding it to your Avere OS cluster. For example, to support SMB access (from Microsoft Windows clients), some changes to the storage system can be necessary.
Note that some storage systems (listed in Appendix C: Supported Core Filer Types ) must be added as two separate core filers, one for SMB access and one for NFS access. SMB clients should access the SMB version of the core filer over a junction that serves only SMB clients. NFS clients should access the NFS version of the core filer over a junction that serves only NFS clients.
This kind of configuration is optional for some types of storage. For some types of core filers, you can optionally set up a separate core filer definition to handle only NFS traffic, which avoids exposing NFS requests to the overhead of access cache processing. Contact Avere Global Services for more information.
The table in Appendix C: Supported Core Filer Types lists which storage systems require or permit this kind of configuration.
Adding a New Core Filer
Before starting to configure the core filer on the cluster, make sure you have the following information.
For a NAS core filer:
The fully qualified domain name of the core filer (for example, nas1.example.com).
Note that you must use the domain name instead of an IP address in order to access the core filer with SMB.
For a cloud core filer:
- A valid and active license for FlashCloud on this cluster. Read Appendix A: Adding or Removing Feature Licenses for more information.
- An existing credential for your cloud storage provider, or the access and private keys to create a new one.
- The name of an existing cloud storage container that will be used as a core filer. The container can be empty, or it can contain Avere-managed data that you still are able to decrypt. (You cannot use a cloud bucket to import non-Avere data.)
- Encryption details - whether or not to encrypt the core filer, and the type of key storage used. If using KMIP, you should have a key server set up before creating the core filer; read Configuring KMIP for an Avere Cluster to learn how.
The Add New Core Filer wizard guides you through the steps to define a new storage volume. Start the wizard by clicking the Create label from the Manage Core Filer page.
The steps are different for NAS core filers and for cloud storage. They are explained in detail in these two documents: