Registering the NetApp Element VASA Provider

You must register the NetApp Element VASA Provider with vCenter so that vCenter is aware of VVol functionality on the cluster. Registering the VASA provider with vCenter is a one-time configuration task.

Before you begin

You have enabled the VVols feature on the Element storage cluster version 9.2 or later.
You have vCenter 6.x.
You have ESXi 6.x.

About this task

This procedure describes the steps available in version 6.7 of vSphere. Your vSphere user interface may differ slightly from what is described depending on the version of vSphere installed. For additional help, see VMware vCenter documentation.

Attention: Do not register a NetApp Element VASA provider to more than one vCenter instance. The NetApp Element VASA provider can only be registered to a single vCenter due to limitations with how vCenter handles SSL. A single vCenter can have multiple NetApp Element clusters, but a cluster cannot be shared between two instances of vCenter.

Note: VASA support for multiple vCenters is available as an upgrade patch if you have already registered a VASA provider with your vCenter. To install, follow the directions in the VASA39 manifest and download the .tar.gz file from the NetApp Software Downloads site. The NetApp Element VASA provider uses a NetApp certificate. With this patch, the certificate is used unmodified by vCenter to support multiple vCenters for VASA and VVols use. Do not modify the certificate. Custom SSL certificates are not supported by VASA.

Procedure

From vSphere Client Home, click Hosts and Clusters.
Select a vCenter instance on which to register the NetApp Element VASA Provider.
Click Configure > Storage Providers.
From Storage Providers, click the add icon.
The New Storage Provider dialog box appears.
Enter the following information:
- VASA Provider name.
- VASA Provider URL.
  Note: The VASA Provider URL is provided to you when you enable VVols in the vCenter Plug-in. You can also find the URL in the following locations:
  - vCenter Plug-in: Select NetApp Element Configuration > Clusters, click Actions for the cluster you are enabling, and click Details.
  - Element UI: From https://MVIP/cluster, select Cluster > Settings.
- Administrative account user name for the NetApp Element cluster.
- Administrative account password for the NetApp Element cluster.
- Click OK to add the VASA Provider.
Approve the thumbprint of the SSL cert when prompted.
The NetApp Element VASA Provider should now be registered with a status of Connected.
Note: Refresh the storage provider, if necessary, to show the current status of the provider after registering the provider for the first time. You can also verify that the provider is enabled in NetApp Element Configuration > Clusters. Click Actions for the cluster you are enabling and click Details.