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
Cloud object storage and other non-NFS systems must use the S3 API.
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.
Contact your Avere Systems representative for the current list of supported core filers.
Read the information below to learn about creating a cloud core filer, and about configuration for core filers that will be accessed over SMB.
Using Cloud Storage As A Core Filer
Avere OS allows you to use object storage, including private object stores and cloud storage, with the same methods used to access back-end NAS hardware storage.
Before adding a cloud storage container to the Avere cluster as a core filer, make sure you have set up appropriate storage and access in your cloud environment:
- Create a storage bucket to use as a core filer. The bucket should be empty, unless it is populated with Avere-managed data from previous use as a core filer and the data is unencrypted or you have its encryption key and passphrase.
- Create a user account that has full access to the cloud storage bucket. Copy the user account credentials and use them to create a cloud access credential in the Avere cluster. Use the Cluster > Cloud Credentials page to store the credential in the cluster.
After you have created a storage container on the cloud system that you want to use, and set up access credentials, use the New Cloud Core Filer 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.
The Appendixes section of this document includes configuration advice for some commonly used core filer systems. If your system is not documented there, consult your Avere Systems representative for help.
Note that for some storage systems you should consider separating SMB access and NFS access by defining two separate core filers. SMB clients can access the SMB version of the core filer over a junction that serves only SMB clients. NFS clients can access the NFS version of the core filer over a junction that serves only NFS clients. This configuration avoids exposing NFS requests to the overhead of access cache processing. Contact Avere Global Services for more information.
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.
A cloud credential defined in the cluster that allows it to access your cloud storage container. If you have not defined the credential yet, you can create it while adding the core filer if you have the access and private keys.
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 more.
If using a storage container that contains Avere-managed encrypted data, you must have access to the same KMIP server or supply the simple key storage recovery file for that data.
The Add New Core Filer wizard guides you through the steps to define a new storage volume. Start the wizard by clicking the Create button 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: