Reinstalling NAS Bridge in case of failure

If a NAS Bridge fails, you must reinstall the NAS Bridge software, import saved configuration settings, and activate the file systems before you can resume operations.

Before you begin

If you plan to import saved settings, you must know the location of the recovery package.
If you added an Active Directory server, you must know the account password for that server.

About this task

You can recover NAS Bridge from most failures without the risk of losing data. The only type of disaster that puts data at risk is the unrecoverable failure of a cache device. If a cache device fails, any data that has not yet been uploaded to the StorageGRID system is lost. In addition, the following inconsistencies can occur in the namespace:

The mtime of a file might not be updated correctly. For example, new data is written to the file but the mtime stays the same.
The nlink count of a file might be artificially incremented by 1. While the file can be deleted from the namespace, the data remains in StorageGRID and is not deleted.
The mtime of a directory might not be updated correctly. For example, a file or directory is created, deleted, or renamed in a directory, but the mtime of that directory is not updated.
The nlink count of a directory might be artificially incremented by 1. For example, a subdirectory is deleted, but the nlink count is not decremented. Or, NAS Bridge increments the nlink count, but the creation of the actual subdirectory fails.
Note: This inconsistency has no impact on your ability to delete the directory when it becomes empty.
The namespace might have a hard link to a directory. For example, a hard link might result if the cache device failed during a directory rename, and the removal of the old name was not processed before the disaster recovery event. The old name will be deleted the first time the directory is listed or accessed.

Attention: You cannot recover a version 2.3.1 NAS Bridge by using a version 2.2.1 recovery package. You must use a recovery package with a major version that matches the version of the NAS Bridge you are recovering. For example, you can use a version 2.3 recovery package to recover a version 2.3.1 NAS Bridge.

Steps

Reinstall the NAS Bridge software by downloading and deploying the NAS Bridge virtual machine .ova file.
If you want to change the networking setup, you can do so during deployment, before performing the recovery procedure. Your networking setup will not be overwritten when you import the recovery package.
Create and attach new cache devices.
You must create the same configuration of cache device disks for the replacement virtual machine as you did for the original virtual machine. You must attach the cache devices to the virtual machine in the same order as you attached the original cache devices. If desired, you can create cache devices of larger capacities than the originals.

Example
If you originally had three cache devices with capacities of 1 TB, 4 TB, and 4 TB, create three new cache devices with a minimum of 1 TB for the first disk that you attach, and two disks with a minimum of 4 TB.

Note: If the cache was not destroyed during the failure, you don’t have to create the cache first. Just attach the cache devices to the virtual machine in the same order as you attached the cache devices to the original virtual machine. Use vSphere to verify that the new virtual machine has a disk configuration that is identical to the original disk configuration.
Import the saved configuration settings.
1. Click Maintenance at the top of the web page.
2. Click Recovery Package.
3. Depending on your browser, click Browse or Choose File, and select the saved recovery package.
4. Click Upload.
  The recovery package is displayed in the table on the web page.
5. Select the recovery package in the table, and click Import to update the NAS Bridge with the saved configuration data.
Note: If you do not have access to a saved recovery package, you must re-enter all configuration data. Repeat the configuration steps you performed during installation as well as the configuration steps you followed when administering NAS Bridge.
When prompted, click Yes to import the file and reboot the NAS Bridge.
When you import a configuration file, the NAS Bridge reboots. You might receive error messages if you access the NAS Bridge or Management API while the system is rebooting. To avoid these errors, do not attempt to access the NAS Bridge for approximately 15 minutes after starting the import process.
After the NAS Bridge reboots, log in again.
If you had previously added an Active Directory server, that server's status will be FAILED ADD. To reconnect the server:
1. Select Configuration > Active Directory Server.
2. Select the Active Directory server in the table, and click Edit.
3. Enter the admin password, and click Save.
4. Wait for the Active Directory server status to be Ready.
5. Reboot the NAS Bridge again so that the SMB file system can mount correctly.
  If you reboot the NAS Bridge before Active Directory is ready, you might need to reenter the password and reboot the NAS Bridge.
Manually activate the file systems by following the file system emergency takeover procedure in the administration instructions.