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Setup and administration

Manage existing Connectors

Contributors netapp-bcammett

After you create a Connector, you might need to manage it every now and then. For example, you might want to switch between Connectors if you have more than one. Or you might need to manually upgrade the Connector when using BlueXP in private mode.

Note

The Connector includes a local UI, which is accessible from the Connector host. This UI is provided for customers who are using BlueXP in restricted mode or private mode. When you use BlueXP in standard mode, you should access the user interface from the BlueXP SaaS console

Operating system and VM maintenance

Maintaining the operating system on the Connector host is your responsibility. For example, you should apply security updates to the operating system on the Connector host by following your company's standard procedures for operating system distribution.

Note that you don't need to stop any services on the Connector host when running an OS update.

If you need to stop and then start the Connector VM, you should do so from your cloud provider's console or by using the standard procedures for on-premises management.

VM or instance type

If you created a Connector directly from BlueXP, BlueXP deployed a virtual machine instance in your cloud provider using a default configuration. After you create the Connector, you should not change to a smaller VM instance that has less CPU or RAM.

The CPU and RAM requirements are as follows:

CPU

4 cores or 4 vCPUs

RAM

14 GB

View a Connector's version

You can view the version of your Connector to verify that the Connector automatically upgraded to the latest release or because you need to share it with your NetApp representative.

Steps
  1. In the upper right of the BlueXP console, select the Help icon.

  2. Select Support > BlueXP Connector.

    The version displays at the top of the page.

    A screenshot that shows the Connector version in the Support Dashboard.

Switch between Connectors

If you have multiple Connectors, you can switch between them to see the Working Environments that are associated with a specific Connector.

For example, let's say that you're working in a multi-cloud environment. You might have one Connector in AWS and another in Google Cloud. You'd need to switch between those Connectors to manage the Cloud Volumes ONTAP systems running in those clouds.

Step
  1. Select the Connector drop-down, select another Connector, and then select Switch.

    A screenshot that shows the Connector icon in the header and the Switch action.

Result

BlueXP refreshes and shows the Working Environments associated with the selected Connector.

Download or send an AutoSupport message

If you're having problems, NetApp personnel might ask you to send an AutoSupport message to NetApp support for troubleshooting purposes.

Steps
  1. In the upper right of the BlueXP console, select the Help icon, and select Support.

    A screenshot of the Help menu where Support is the first option listed

  2. Select BlueXP Connector.

  3. Depending on how you need to send the information to NetApp support, choose one of the following options:

    1. Select the option to download the AutoSupport message to your local machine. You can then send it to NetApp Support using a preferred method.

    2. Select Send AutoSupport to directly send the message to NetApp Support.

    A screenshot of the Support Dashboard showing where users can select to download and send AutoSupport messages.

Connect to the Linux VM

If you need to connect to the Linux VM that the Connector runs on, you can do so by using the connectivity options available from your cloud provider.

AWS

When you created the Connector instance in AWS, you provided an AWS access key and secret key. You can use this key pair to SSH to the instance. The user name for the EC2 Linux instance is ubuntu (for Connectors created prior to May 2023, the user name was ec2-user).

Azure

When you created the Connector VM in Azure, you specified a user name and chose to authenticate with a password or SSH public key. Use the authentication method that you chose to connect to the VM.

Google Cloud

You can't specify an authentication method when you create a Connector in Google Cloud. However, you can connect to the Linux VM instance using the Google Cloud Console or Google Cloud CLI (gcloud).

Require the use of IMDSv2 on Amazon EC2 instances

Starting in March 2024, BlueXP now supports the Amazon EC2 Instance Metadata Service Version 2 (IMDSv2) with the Connector and with Cloud Volumes ONTAP (including the mediator for HA deployments). IMDSv2 provides enhanced protection against vulnerabilities. Learn more about IMDSv2 from the AWS Security Blog

  • IMDSv2 is enabled by default on all new Connector EC2 instances. IMDSv1 was enabled prior to March 2024.

  • IMDSv1 is enabled by default on all new and existing Cloud Volumes ONTAP EC2 instances.

If required by your security policies, you can configure your EC2 instances to use IMDSv2.

Before you begin
  • The Connector version must be 3.9.38 or later.

  • This change requires you to restart the Cloud Volumes ONTAP instances.

About this task

These steps require the use of the AWS CLI because you must change the response hop limit to 3.

Steps
  1. Require the use of IMDSv2 on the Connector instance:

    1. Connect to the Linux VM for the Connector.

      When you created the Connector instance in AWS, you provided an AWS access key and secret key. You can use this key pair to SSH to the instance. The user name for the EC2 Linux instance is ubuntu (for Connectors created prior to May 2023, the user name was ec2-user).

    2. Install the AWS CLI.

    3. Use the aws ec2 modify-instance-metadata-options command to require the use of IMDSv2 and to change the PUT response hop limit to 3.

      Example

      aws ec2 modify-instance-metadata-options \
          --instance-id <instance-id> \
          --http-put-response-hop-limit 3 \
          --http-tokens required \
          --http-endpoint enabled
    Note The http-tokens parameter sets IMDSv2 to required. When http-tokens is required, you must also set http-endpoint to enabled.
  2. Require the use of IMDSv2 on Cloud Volumes ONTAP instances:

    1. Go to the Amazon EC2 console

    2. From the navigation pane, select Instances.

    3. Select a Cloud Volumes ONTAP instance.

    4. Select Actions > Instance settings > Modify instance metadata options.

    5. On the Modify instance metadata options dialog box, select the following:

      • For Instance metadata service, select Enable.

      • For IMDSv2, select Required.

      • Select Save.

    6. Repeat these steps for other Cloud Volumes ONTAP instances, including the HA mediator.

    7. Stop and start the Cloud Volumes ONTAP instances

Result

The Connector instance and Cloud Volumes ONTAP instances are now configured to use IMDSv2.

Upgrade the Connector when using private mode

If you are using BlueXP in private mode, you can upgrade the Connector when a newer version is available from the NetApp Support Site.

The Connector needs to restart during the upgrade process so the web-based console will be unavailable during the upgrade.

Note When you use BlueXP in standard mode or restricted mode, the Connector automatically updates its software to the latest version, as long as it has outbound internet access to obtain the software update.
Steps
  1. Download the Connector software from the NetApp Support Site.

    Be sure to download the offline installer for private networks without internet access.

  2. Copy the installer to the Linux host.

  3. Assign permissions to run the script.

    chmod +x /path/BlueXP-Connector-offline-<version>

    Where <version> is the version of the Connector that you downloaded.

  4. Run the installation script:

    sudo /path/BlueXP-Connector-offline-<version>

    Where <version> is the version of the Connector that you downloaded.

  5. After the upgrade is complete, you can verify the Connector's version by going to Help > Support > Connector.

Change the IP address for a Connector

If it's required for your business, you can change the internal IP address and public IP address of the Connector instance that is automatically assigned by your cloud provider.

Steps
  1. Follow the instructions from your cloud provider to change the local IP address or public IP address (or both) for the Connector instance.

  2. If you changed the public IP address and you need to connect to the local user interface running on the Connector, restart the Connector instance to register the new IP address with BlueXP.

  3. If you changed the private IP address, update the backup location for Cloud Volumes ONTAP configuration files so that the backups are being sent to the new private IP address on the Connector.

    You'll need to update the backup location for each Cloud Volumes ONTAP system.

    1. Run the following command from the Cloud Volumes ONTAP CLI to display the current backup target:

      system configuration backup show
    2. Run the following command to update the IP address for the backup target:

      system configuration backup settings modify -destination <target-location>

Edit a Connector's URIs

Add and remove the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) for a Connector.

Steps
  1. Select the Connector drop-down from the BlueXP header.

  2. Select Manage Connectors.

  3. Select the action menu for a Connector and select Edit URIs.

  4. Add and remove URIs and then select Apply.

Fix download failures when using a Google Cloud NAT gateway

The Connector automatically downloads software updates for Cloud Volumes ONTAP. The download can fail if your configuration uses a Google Cloud NAT gateway. You can correct this issue by limiting the number of parts that the software image is divided into. This step must be completed by using the BlueXP API.

Step
  1. Submit a PUT request to /occm/config with the following JSON as body:

    {
      "maxDownloadSessions": 32
    }

    The value for maxDownloadSessions can be 1 or any integer greater than 1. If the value is 1, then the downloaded image will not be divided.

    Note that 32 is an example value. The value that you should use depends on your NAT configuration and the number of sessions that you can have simultaneously.

Remove Connectors from BlueXP

If a Connector is inactive, you can remove it from the list of Connectors in BlueXP. You might do this if you deleted the Connector virtual machine or if you uninstalled the Connector software.

Note the following about removing a Connector:

  • This action doesn't delete the virtual machine.

  • This action can't be reverted—​once you remove a Connector from BlueXP, you can't add it back.

Steps
  1. Select the Connector drop-down from the BlueXP header.

  2. Select Manage Connectors.

  3. Select the action menu for an inactive Connector and select Remove Connector.

    A screenshot of the Connector widget where you can remove an inactive Connector.

  4. Enter the name of the Connector to confirm and then select Remove.

Result

BlueXP removes the Connector from its records.

Uninstall the Connector software

Uninstall the Connector software to troubleshoot issues or to permanently remove the software from the host. The steps that you need to use depends on whether you installed the Connector on a host that has internet access (standard mode or restricted mode) or a host in a network that doesn't have internet access (private mode).

Uninstall when using standard mode or restricted mode

The steps below enable you to uninstall the Connector software when using BlueXP in standard mode or restricted mode.

Steps
  1. Connect to the Linux VM for the Connector.

  2. From the Linux host, run the uninstallation script:

    /opt/application/netapp/service-manager-2/uninstall.sh [silent]

    silent runs the script without prompting you for confirmation.

Uninstall when using private mode

The steps below enable you to uninstall the Connector software when using BlueXP in private mode where no internet access is available.

Steps
  1. Connect to the Linux VM for the Connector.

  2. From the Linux host, run the following commands:

    ./opt/application/netapp/ds/cleanup.sh
    rm -rf /opt/application/netapp/ds