External storage requirements
This guide outlines the essential prerequisites for connecting external storage (SAN or NAS) to your CubeCOS environment. Before beginning the configuration process, verify that your infrastructure meets the network, hardware, and access requirements listed below.
Prerequisitesβ
To successfully connect your storage appliance, verify the following setup in your environment.
Hardware Configurationβ
Verify Fiber Channel (FC) configurationβ
- Fibre Channel (FC):
- HBA Cards: You must install Fibre Channel HBA cards on all Control Nodes and Compute Nodes.
- Zoning: You must configure zoning on your FC switch. This allows the CubeCOS servers to "see" and communicate with the storage array.
Verify that the Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) are physically recognized and online by performing the following steps:
# Verbose listing of FC hosts; check for "Online" status
systool -c fc_host -v
Verify iSCSSI and NFS configurationβ
- Ethernet (iSCSI/NFS):: Ensure that sufficient physical network cabling is connected between the Compute/Control Nodes and the designated data ports on the storage appliance.
Do not connect a single storage device using both Fibre Channel and iSCSI simultaneously.
Using both protocols simultaneously creates redundant and conflicting communication paths that the system cannot resolve. These overlapping connections cause a protocol conflict, which inevitably leads to total connection failure and potential data access issues.
Network Connectivityβ
- Management Access: The CubeCOS system (specifically the Control Nodes) must be able to connect to the Management IP address of your storage device. This allows CubeCOS to automatically send commands to create and manage volumes.
- Data Traffic (iSCSI/NFS):
- iSCSI: It is highly recommended to physically separate iSCSI storage traffic from other network traffic (such as management or internal cluster communication) to prevent performance issues.
- NFS: Ensure the NFS server is accessible from all Control Nodes and Compute Nodes.
Access Credentialsβ
CubeCOS uses storage controller credentials to automate volume management. Ensure these credentials have the required provisioning permissions.
- You must have the administrative Username and Password for your storage controller.
- CubeCOS requires these credentials to log in to the storage system and verify permissions to provision disk space.
For details on credential setup, refer to the Configuration page.
Hardware Compatibilityβ
Check if your storage device is on the validated list below.
Validated Storage Appliancesβ
These models have been tested and verified by Bigstack for production use.
| Brand | Model | Connection Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NetApp | AFF C250 | NFS / iSCSI | All-Flash models |
| FAS8300 | NFS / iSCSI | HDD models | |
| Dell | SC Series (SC5020/F) | FC | Fibre Channel only |
| PowerStore Series (1000T) | FC | Fibre Channel only | |
| Fujitsu | Eternus DX200 | FC / iSCSI |
Other Supported Storage Appliancesβ
CubeCOS supports many other storage brands via standard OpenStack drivers. While these are supported, specific models may require verification before being used in a critical production environment.
Common supported brands includeβ
- Dell EMC: PowerMax, Unity, VMAX, VNX, XtremIO
- Pure Storage: FlashArray
- HPE: 3PAR, Nimble, MSA
- IBM: DS8k, Storwize, FlashSystem
- Others: Fujitsu, Hitachi, Lenovo, Synology, QNAP
If your storage device is not on the validated list, but is from a supported brand, contact us to confirm compatibility.