Prerequisites for deploying ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere
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Before deploying ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere, you should be familiar with the space requirements for the deployment package and some basic host system requirements.
You can use ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere with VMware vCenter Server Virtual Appliance (vCSA). You should deploy ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere on a supported vSphere client that includes ESXi system.
System requirements
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Installation package space requirements per node
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10 GB for thin provisioned installations
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248 GB for thick provisioned installations
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Host system sizing requirements per node Recommended memory as per the size of deployment and per node is as shown in the table below:
Type of deployment |
CPUs |
Memory (GB) |
Small (S) |
8 |
16 |
Medium (M) |
12 |
24 |
Large (L) |
16 |
32 |
Refer to Configuration limits to deploy ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere section below for more details.
Minimum storage and application requirements
| Storage, host, and applications | Minimum version requirements |
|---|---|
ONTAP |
Latest patch release of ONTAP 9.12.1, 9.13.1, 9.14.1, and 9.15.1. |
ESXi hosts |
ESXi 7.0.3 |
vCenter server |
vCenter 7.0U3 |
VASA provider |
3.0 |
OVA Application |
10.2 |
The Interoperability Matrix Tool (IMT) contains the latest information about the supported versions of ONTAP, vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, and plug-in applications.
Configuration limits to deploy ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere
You can use the following table as a guide to configure ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere.
Deployment |
Type |
Number of vVols |
Number of hosts |
Protocol type |
Easy Deployment |
Small (S) |
~12K |
32 |
NFS, iSCSI |
Easy Deployment |
Medium (M) |
~24K |
64 |
NFS, iSCSI |
High-Availability |
Small (S) |
~24K |
64 |
NFS, iSCSI |
High-Availability |
Medium (M) |
~50k |
128 |
NFS, iSCSI |
High-Availability |
Large (L) |
~100k |
256 [NOTE] The number of hosts in the table shows the total number of host from multiple vCenters. |
NFS, iSCSI |
For details on host system sizing requirements per node, refer to Prerequisites for deploying ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere.
ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere - Storage Replication Adapter (SRA)
The following table shows the numbers supported per VMware Live Site Recovery instance using ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere.
| vCenter Deployment size | Small | Medium |
|---|---|---|
Total number of virtual machines configured for protection using array-based replication |
2000 |
5000 |
Total number of array-based replication protection groups |
250 |
250 |
Total number of protection groups per recovery plan |
50 |
50 |
Number of replicated datastores |
255 |
255 |
Number of VMs |
4000 |
7000 |
The following table shows the number of VMware Live Site Recovery and the corresponding ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere deployment size.
Number of VMware Live Site Recovery instances |
ONTAP tools deployment Size |
Upto 4 |
Small |
4 to 8 |
Medium |
More than 8 |
Large |
For more information, refer to Operational Limits of VMware Live Site Recovery.
Pre-deployment checks
Ensure the following items are in place before you proceed with the deployment:
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vCenter Server environment is set up and configured.
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(Optional) For automation user - NetApp provided Postman collections JSON file is gathered.
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Parent vCenter Server Credentials to deploy the OVA are in place.
Parent vCenter Server password should not contain these special characters($, ', "). -
You have the login credentials for your vCenter Server instance to which the ONTAP tools for VMware vSphere will connect to post deployment, for registration.
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Browser cache is deleted.
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Ensure that you have three free IP addresses available for non-HA deployment - one free IP address for load balancer and one free IP address for the Kubernetes control plane and one IP address for node. For HA deployment, along with these three IP addresses you'll need two more IP addresses for second and third nodes. Host names should be mapped to the free IP addresses on the DNS before assigning for both HA and non-HA deployments. All the five IP addresses in HA deployment and the three IP addresses in non-HA deployment should be on the same VLAN that is selected for deployment.
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Ensure that domain Name on which the certificate is issued is mapped to the Virtual IP address in a multi-vCenter deployment where Custom CA certificates are mandatory. nslookup check on the domain name is performed to check whether the domain is getting resolved to the intended IP address. The certificates should be created with domain name and IP address of the load balancer IP address.