Guidelines for using the IPv6 protocol

Guidelines

• If the IPv6 address of the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host is not resolvable on the SnapCenter Server host

  SnapCenter uses the name of the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host for registration. If the IPv6 address of the host is not resolvable on the SnapCenter Server host, then you must make an entry in the hosts file (/etc/hosts) for resolving the IPv6 address. You also must make a similar entry in the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host file for resolving the SnapCenter IPv6 address.

• If the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host only uses the IPv6 protocol

  If the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host has only an IPv6 protocol stack, then the Plug-in for VMware vSphere registration with SnapCenter and vCenter occurs through the IPv6 protocol. In this case, there is no need to add the enable.ipv6=true parameter in the scbr.override file. The SnapCenter and vCenter registration will be IPv6 protocol enabled.

• If the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host only uses the IPv4 protocol

  If the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host has only an IPv4 protocol stack, then the Plug-in for VMware vSphere registration with SnapCenter and vCenter occurs through the IPv4 protocol. Even if you add the enable.ipv6=true parameter in the scbr.override file, the SnapCenter and vCenter registration will be IPv4 protocol enabled.

• If the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host uses both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols

  If the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host has both an IPv4 and an IPv6 protocol stack, then the Plug-in for VMware vSphere registration with SnapCenter and vCenter occurs through the IPv4 protocol by default. To use IPv6 protocol for registration, you must add the enable.ipv6=true parameter in the scbr.override file.

• Adding or upgrading the Plug-in for VMware vSphere

  When you add or upgrade the Plug-in for VMware vSphere using the SnapCenter GUI, you must enclose the vCenter Server IP address in square brackets in the installation wizard.

• Adding a host

  When you specify the host name or an IPv6 address in the Add Host wizard, the following error message might be displayed: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

  Select the Skip preinstall checks check box and continue with adding the host.

Creating the scbr.override configuration file and enabling IPv6

1. Stop the SnapCenter Plug-in for VMware vSphere service.
2. On the Plug-in for VMware vSphere host, go to C:\Program Files\NetApp\Virtual Storage Console\etc\scbr\scbr.override-template, and then copy the scbr.override-template file to a new file called scbr.override in the C:\Program Files\NetApp\SnapCenter\SnapCenter Plugin for VMware\etc\scbr directory.
3. Uncomment and modify the required entries in the scbr.override file.

   To enable IPv6, add the enable.ipv6=true parameter.

4. Unregister the SnapCenter Plug-in for VMware vSphere extension from the vCenter mob (com.netapp.scvm.webclient and com.netapp.aegis).
5. Restart the SnapCenter Plug-in for VMware vSphere service.
6. On the SnapCenter GUI, click Add/Update vCenter details.
7. Check the Add/Update vCenter details box and enter the appropriate vCenter IP address and Run As credentials, then check the Update SnapCenter details box, and then click OK.
8. Restart the vSphere Web Client service and log in to the vCenter.

Configuring a preferred Ethernet interface

If you want the registration to occur through a specific Ethernet interface, then you must add the interface to the scbr.override file using the name of the interface as the value in the parameter, as follows:

• For an IPv4 interface name:

  preferred.ipv4.interface = Name of the interface to prefer IPv4 communication

• For an IPv6 interface name:

  preferred.ipv6.interface = Name of the interface to prefer IPv6 communication