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NetApp® E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft® SQL Server Management Studio Installation Guide
NetApp, Inc. Telephone: +1 (408) 822-6000 Part number: 215-08594_A0
495 East Java Drive Fax: +1 (408) 822-4501 Release date: November 2013
Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Support telephone: +1 (888) 463-8277
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Feedback: [email protected]
Table of Contents - i
Table of Contents
1.1 E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Solution Architecture .................................... 1
Overview .............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Server Architecture .............................................................................................................................................. 1
Client Architecture ............................................................................................................................................... 2
Multi-instance Architecture .................................................................................................................................. 4
1.2 E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Deployment Procedures .............................. 4
Downloading the SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-In .............................................................................................. 4
Installing the SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-In ..................................................................................................... 4
SQL Server Installation Notes ........................................................................................................................... 14
1.3 E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Provisioning Procedures ............................ 15
Overview ............................................................................................................................................................ 15
Modify How Often Configuration and Performance Statistics are gathered ...................................................... 15
Configuring Additional Instances to Monitor ...................................................................................................... 18
Removing Instances from Monitoring ................................................................................................................ 19
Removing the Storage Explorer application from the server ............................................................................. 20
1.4 E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Operational Procedures ............................. 21
Overview ............................................................................................................................................................ 21
Viewing Properties ............................................................................................................................................. 24
Viewing Reports ................................................................................................................................................. 25
Support .............................................................................................................................................................. 31
1.1 E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Solution Architecture
Overview
SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is a tool included with Microsoft SQL Server for configuring, managing, and
administering all components within Microsoft SQL Server. The tool includes both script editors and graphical tools which
work with objects and features of the server.
A central feature of SSMS is the Object Explorer, which allows the user to browse, select, and act upon any of the objects
within the server. SSMS is the principal database administration portal for Microsoft SQL Server databases and many
database administrators spend a large percentage of time utilizing the tool to perform their job responsibilities.
The NetApp SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-in extends the out-of-box SSMS functions, to give the database administrator
insight into the NetApp E-Series storage subsystem and provide feedback of the proper functioning of that storage.
Figure 1 provides a graphical view of the SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-in architecture. The Storage Explorer Plug-in is
integrated with SSMS as a Client side extension that performs:
Displaying attached storage properties (logical & physical).
Generating and displaying performance reports.
Figure 1) Architecture for NetApp SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-in
Server Architecture
The Server-side (Managed Host), services are installed and run in the background, independently from the Client. The
majority of the work performed on the server side is done using Power Shell cmdlets that connect to the attached NetApp
SSMS(Client)
PowerShell
Data Acquisition ®
Network Invocation Snapshot
Refresh
.NET
Power Shell
CmdLet Lib
SQL Server Instance
SQL Server
System32
WMI
Java
OEM Device
Services
Requester
VSS
Writer
HW Provider
NetApp E-Series Storage Explorer Plug-in
Managed Host
NetApp E-Series Storage Systems
Storage Explorer Database
Storage ExplorerReports
SYMbol/SMIS Report
Gen
E-Series storage devices collecting storage subsystem configuration information. All data collected on the Server side is
persisted in a set of SQL Server Storage Explorer database tables created during installation. The Server-Side Services
perform:
1. Attached NetApp E-Series Storage Subsystem discovery.
2. Retrieval and persistence of the discovered storage subsystem’s logical and physical properties.
3. Retrieval, persistence, and generation of the discovered storage subsystem’s performance data.
4. Retrieval, persistence, and generation of the database Instance to Volume/LUN mapping.
Storage Explorer Database
The Storage Explorer database is a SQL Server database with tables and relationships that describe the high-level
storage objects, such as arrays, volumes, volume groups, thin provisioned volumes (TPV), dynamic disk pools (DDP),
disk drives and disk enclosures, and high-level, host-side presentations of the exposed storage, such as LUNs, physical
devices, and OS partitions.
The Storage Explorer database and the SQL Server jobs used to insert configuration and performance data into it are
created during the Plug-in Server Components installation process.
The Storage Explorer database can be created in the default location of the SQL Server system databases, or in an
alternate location chosen by the database administrator.
Note: No other install-time configuration of the Storage Explorer database is available.
Data Collection
One service and two SQL Server jobs are installed and run on each host machine.
The SSMS StorageExplorer BusScan service is installed on the Local System during the SSMS installation process. This service scans the SCSI bus for new volumes that are used by SQL Server.
The two SQL Server jobs run periodically and automatically restart when the host is rebooted. For the SQL Server jobs to
run, the SQL Server Agent service must be running on the host operating system. The installation program and cmdlets
invoking the jobs verify that the SQL Server Agent service is running and provide notification if it is not.
Configuration Data Collection (StorageExplorer_ConfigScript)
Performance Data collection (StorageExplorer_PerfScript)
Configuration data collection is handled by the StorageExplorer_ConfigScript SQL Server job and inserts data into the
Storage Explorer database configuration tables. This job runs the BusScan service and uses the data it produces to
update the Storage Explorer configuration.
Performance data is collected for all drives, volumes, volume groups, TPV, DDP and the storage array and inserted into
the performance tables. Performance data is collected at a regular interval, defaults to ten minutes, but can be modified in
the SQL Server Job management interface.
Client Architecture
The Plug-in is comprised of three distinct components as illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 2) SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-in Client Architecture
Components include: SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-in, Storage Explorer Reports, and Report Generator.
The Plug-in client uses the communication protocols built into SSMS. Once a database has been added to the server, the
Plug-in will collect information specific to a SQL Server Database instance, and the physical mappings of database to
LUN, as well as the performance statistics. Data is retrieved by performing a set of queries to the specific views created
on the SQL Server instance. The context of the data (logical, physical, or performance), will be indicated by the view
name(s).
If the data retrieved is metadata describing the physical and logical elements (i.e. database, LUN, volume, volume group
etc…), it will be displayed in a grid. If it is performance data, the data will be displayed in a graphical report.
Data flows are illustrated in Figure 3.
Figure 3) Data flows for SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-in.
1. The Plug-in queries the SQL Server Instance for the SSMS Plug-in supported views.
2. The data is then returned from the instance and displayed in a grid or report on the SSMS Client side.
3. If the data is performance data, it’s sent to a report generator. The generator produces the XML output representing the report.
4. The report is then displayed within the SSMS Client.
Multi-instance Architecture
The Storage Explorer Plug-in is designed to work with multiple instances of SQL Server using the client-server
architecture described above for each instance. The Storage Explorer database is installed on each instance that has a
NetApp E-Series storage array as its storage subsystem as shown in figure 1 above. Then all needed data is read from
the Storage Explorer database by the client as shown in figure 2. The storage subsystem of only one instance can be
viewed simultaneously.
The Storage Explorer Plug-in also works in a cluster environment, when a cluster fails-over or fails-back the Plug-in will
continue to properly display NetApp E-Series storage properties.
1.2 E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Deployment Procedures
Table 1) E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio prerequisites
Prerequisites
NetApp storage subsystem utilizing an E2600, E2700, E5400 or E5500 controller.
NetApp storage subsystem utilizing the following firmware versions 7.84, 7.86, or 8.10.
Standard, Enterprise and Cluster x64 versions of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 or Server 2012.
SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise or SQL Server 2012 Enterprise.
Power Shell version 2.0 or higher
.Net Framework 3.5
.Net Framework 4.0
.Net Framework 4 Client Profile
Downloading the SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-In
The SSMS Plug-in download contains the following files:
• SSMS_StorageExplorer_WSX64_00.00.xxxx.xxxx
• SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-In User Guide
To download the SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-In, visit the NetApp Support site.
Installing the SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-In
To install the SSMS Storage Explorer plug-in, complete the following steps:
1. Close any open SSMS sessions.
2. Locate the SSMS_StorageExplorer executable file.
3. Start the installation:
Note: For a server installation, the installation should be performed as the server administrator.
Note: For a client installation, the installation should be performed as the local administrator of the client or, right-click the SSMS_StorageExplorer executable file and choose Run as administrator.
4. If Storage Explorer has already been installed, then an error will be received and the older version of Storage Explorer will need to be uninstalled.
5. Click Next on the Welcome screen to begin the install of SSMS Storage Explorer.
6. If reinstalling the same version of SSMS Storage Explorer, then it is possible at this point to repair installation errors in the program, or remove it.
a. If Repair is chosen, the go to step 9 after clicking Next.
b. If Remove is chosen, verify all instances have been removed before proceeding. Click Next.
c. Click Remove, to complete removal of SSMS Storage Explorer.
7. Accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next.
8. Accept the default destination folder for the software to be installed into, or click change to install into a different folder. When done click Next.
9. Choose type of install and click Next.
10. If ready to install or repair the Plug-in components, click Install to start.
a. Begin installation process.
b. Begin repair process.
Client Components Only
11. Once the client software has been installed, check Show the Windows Installer Log if desired and click Finish to exit the installer.
Server Components (Includes Client Components)
Note: The SSMS Storage Explorer Plug-in can only monitor NetApp E-Series storage systems. While the plug-in can be installed on a SQL Server instance that does not have any databases residing on a NetApp E-Series storage system, it won't be able to provide any information.
Note: SQL Server agent for the instance must have required permissions on the local server during the install to create database files on the server, such as the Local System account.
12. Once the server software has been installed, launch the Storage Explorer Instance Manager.
13. Instance Manager starts and searches for SQL Server instances installed on the server that do not have Storage Explorer SQL Server Agent jobs installed.
Note: It is possible that the Storage Explorer database exists but the jobs do not.
14. Choose the type of connection security to connect to SQL Server. If SQL server authentication is chosen the credentials must be validated before proceeding.
Note: The login chosen must have the SQL Server role sysadmin to perform the install.
15. Choose the first SQL Server instance to be monitored by Storage Explorer. The Instance Manager will install the Storage Explorer database, procedures and required jobs to collect configuration and performance data from NetApp E-Series storage systems only. To change the file paths for the Storage Explorer data and log file, using the browse button is the only method.
Note: If the Storage Explorer database already exists, the path may not be modified and the Browse button is disabled.
16. Click Add instance to complete adding the instance. The Instance Added Successfully dialog will appear confirming installation.
17. Continue adding instances until all desired instances have been added; click Close to complete the installation.
SQL Server Installation Notes
Since the SSMS Storage Explorer plugin is multi-instance aware and is designed to be used from a client workstation a
few additional configuration items must be performed.
1. Within SSMS the server to be connected to remotely must have "Allow remote connections to this server", enabled.
2. It is also necessary to enable the appropriate protocol for remote connections.
3. In order to manage named SQL Server instances from a remote client the SQL Server Browser service must be running. It is recommended that this service is set to start automatically.
1.3 E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Provisioning Procedures
Overview
The Storage Explorer plug-in provides for some maintenance to help the DBA control the software. These include
allowing the DBA to control how often configuration and performance data is gathered, add instances to be monitored on
a server, remove instances from monitoring when no longer required, and removing the Storage Explorer application from
the server.
Modify How Often Configuration and Performance Statistics are gathered
Note: The SQL Server Agent must be running to gather performance statistics and configuration data.
How often configuration and performance data is gathered is controlled by two SQL Server Agent jobs:
StorageExplorer_ConfigScript
StorageExplorer_PerfScript
The defaults are to gather data every 5 minutes for configuration data and every 10 minutes for performance data. These
times can be easily modified with SSMS.
Note: The time to gather data should not be reduced to less than two minute intervals. The jobs should be monitored initially to verify they complete within this time.
1. Go to the Jobs section in the Object Explorer, select the job to be modified right-click and select Properties for the job to be modified.
2. On the Job Properties window select Schedules in the left pane and then click Edit.
3. On the Job Schedules Properties window modify the Occurs every item to the desired interval, then click OK.
Configuring Additional Instances to Monitor
To configure additional instances to monitor start Storage Explorer Instance Manager.
1. On a server where Storage Explorer is already installed, go to programs and locate Storage Explorer Instance Manager.
2. Once Storage Explorer Instance Manager has started, the installation of additional instances proceeds in the same way as described in the Deployment Procedures.
Removing Instances from Monitoring
1. Start Storage Explorer Instance Manager and select the tab, Remove Instances.
2. Choose the type of connection security to connect to SQL Server. If SQL server authentication is chosen the credentials must be validated before proceeding.
Note: The login chosen must have the SQL Server role sysadmin to perform the removal of the two Storage Explorer SQL Server Agent jobs.
3. Select the instance to remove from monitoring, and then click Remove. On the pop-up screen click OK to accept removal of the listed instances.
Note: The Storage Explorer database is not removed when an instance to monitor is removed. This allows the DBA to keep the statistics for the NetApp storage system. The database can be removed later using SSMS when it is no longer required.
Removing the Storage Explorer application from the server
1. Remove all instances from monitoring using the Storage Explorer Instance Manager as described earlier.
Note: Removing the Storage Explorer application will remove the Instance Manager application, so it is important to perform this step first.
2. To remove the application software, go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features and select the SSMS Storage Explorer application. Right-click and select Change to begin the uninstall process.
3. Click Yes on the dialog to confirm uninstall of SSMS Storage Explorer.
Note: If the Storage Explorer application is removed before all instances it is important to manually remove the two Storage Explorer SQL Server Agent jobs from each instance where they have been installed. These jobs will continue to attempt execution and write into the error log.
Note: The Storage Explorer database is not removed automatically to allow the DBA to decide the disposition of the gathered statistics. When no longer desired it should be deleted manually.
1.4 E-Series Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Operational Procedures
Overview
The NetApp E-Series Plug-in for SSMS is started from within SSMS. Once an instance that uses NetApp E-Series
storage has been selected in the Object Explorer, in the menu select View > Storage Explorer.
After Storage Explorer starts expand the Databases object, to see all databases that have their database files on NetApp
E-Series storage. Continue drilling-down to see all objects.
Note: To change what instance is being viewed in Storage Explorer, select the instance to be viewed in SSMS Object Explorer, and then select View > Storage Explorer.
If none of the databases in the instance selected reside on NetApp E-Series storage, then the following informational
message will be displayed.
A description of the Storage Explorer tree is shown in figure 1.
Figure 1) Description of Storage Explorer tree view
The refresh button can be used if Storage Explorer has been open for longer than 10 minutes and the user would like to
have the statistics refreshed from the Storage Explorer database. A description of the icons used by the Storage Explorer
application is provided in figure 2.
Refresh Button
SQL Server Instance
Storage Explorer Version
SQL Server Database Files
Windows Mount Point/LUN
NetApp Storage Objects
Figure 2) Icons used by Storage Explorer application
Viewing Properties
The properties of the NetApp storage objects can be viewed by right-clicking the object. The objects which display
properties are the Volume, Thin Provisioned Volume (TPV), Volume Group, Dynamic Disk Pool (DDP), Drive, Tray, and
Storage System.
The properties for the Volume above are shown here. By selecting a property in the list a brief description is provided at
the bottom of the property sheet as shown.
Properties for the other objects function in the same way.
Viewing Reports
Two types of reports are provided by the Storage Explorer application and accessed by right-clicking the object and
choosing the type of report.
Associated Databases Report
The Associated Databases report is available for Volumes, Volume Groups, TPV, and DDP.
The Associated Databases report provides a listing of all database files stored on the object chosen.
The data can then be exported to a CSV file for later review.
Performance Report
The Performance reports are available for Volumes, Volume Groups, TPV, DDP and Storage Systems.
The Performance reports represent all activity occurring on the specific object. For example, on the Storage System
Performance report the activity for all IO/s on the storage array are shown, not just one database or datafile.
This allows the DBA to begin at a volume level, verify what database files are on the volume using the Associated
Databases report, and then look at the Performance reports at this level before moving on to the Volume Group level.
The same type of activity is then performed at the volume group level and finally for the whole storage array.
The performance data can be filtered to control how much data to see at one time, as shown.
Not only can one view one of the fixed time intervals, it is also possible to customize the number of days seen at one time
by choosing the custom option. Range start day must be before range end day.
Note: The Performance Scorecard section of the report displays data from the last collection point for the time range shown.
Note: If a chosen time range does not contain at least two data points, then a graph will not be produced. This is seen most often when Storage Explorer is first installed, but before two non-zero performance statistics collections have occurred.
At the bottom of the report screen it is possible to select the "What is this chart telling me?" link to have additional
information about the types of data on the chart or export the data as described previously.
The main chart for each of the objects, Volumes, Volume Groups, TPV, DDP, and the Storage System, also includes
additional charts that can be selected at the bottom of the main chart. These charts use the same timeline filter as the
main chart. For example, Read/Write Throughput.
Support
Producing a support bundle
To aid NetApp customer support in resolving issues with the SSMS Storage Explorer plugin an application, Gather
Support Data, has been provided as part of the installation.
When this application is selected it starts a Power Shell command to gather support data.
After all support data files are created, their location is provided.
The folder with these files can then be zipped up and sent to NetApp support if required.
The SSMS StorageExplorer BusScan Service
The service is installed on the Local System during the SSMS installation process and scans the SCSI bus for new
volumes that are used by SQL Server. This service is set to restart automatically with a delayed start when the host is
rebooted.
Note: For the BusScan service to function correctly the E-Series Storage System being monitored must be using Management Port 1 as is recommended when installing the storage system.
When the StorageExplorer_ConfigScript SQL Server Agent job runs, it makes use of the BusScan service through
Management Port 1 on the storage system to know if the configuration has changed.
If the StorageExplorer_ConfigScript job appears to run without finishing or when a configuration change is made that is
not reflected in the Storage Explorer application, then the BusScan service should be checked that it is running and the
storage system should be verified that it is using Management Port 1.
Known Issues
1. When navigating the add instance panel of the Instance Manager application, if you are using the arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate the radio buttons selecting the authentication method, then it is possible the application will stop functioning. This is an unresolved Microsoft bug.
2. When the host instance being monitored in under a heavy load, it is possible the date range on charts will become garbled. Refreshing Storage Explorer will return the date range field to correct operation.
3. When the host instance being monitored in under a heavy load, it is possible a time out will occur while using storage Explorer. This will cause SQL Server Management Studio to shut down. Restart SSMS and Storage Explorer.
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