Deploying an IO Filter solution to a cluster using VMware MOB

Description

Deploying an IO Filter solution to a cluster using VMware MOB  

Prerequisites

Stage the bundle file to a Web server (not the VIB file). Use HTTP or HTTPS. Don’t stage the bundle to an FTP or other server.

1. VMware has enhanced the VIM API with several functions for managing the IO Filters on a cluster. Common parameters to these functions include:

clusterMOID — this is the Managed Object ID (MOID) of the cluster to which you want to deploy the IO Filter. 

filterID — this is a string that is a concatenation of these items (each separated by an under-score): The 3-letter vendor_code in the filter's SCONS file; The string bootbank; The filer's name from its SCONS file; The filter's version from its SCONS file, a dash, and then a string assigned by the build system, for example:
"1OEM.600.0.0.2329218" (the numbers after the last decimal are the build number of ESXi at which the SDK is targeted). For example, ZZZ_bootbank_countio_1.0.01OEM.6.0.0.2329218. 

2. Required privileges: Host.Configuration.Query patch

3. Remove the IO Filter from the cluster if you had deployed it previously.

Procedure

1. Browse to https://IP/mob  

where, IP is the IP address or host name of the vCenter Server containing the cluster to which you are deploying your IO Filter solution. 
The MOB requires authentication. Your browser displays a standard browser authentication dialog. 

2. In the authentication dialog, enter credentials of a vCenter Server user with the required privileges mentioned in the prerequisites section.

On successful authentication, the MOB Home displays. 

Figure 1: MOB Home page 

3. Click Content (in the Value column, under the Properties section) The browser displays the MOB's content as follows:

Figure 2: Content page with IOFilterManager outlined for emphasis

4. Click IOFilterManager (outlined in Figure 2, in the previous step). 
The browser displays a page with the IO Filter Manager VIM functions: 

Figure 3: IOFilterManager page, with InstallIoFilter_Tasks

5. Click InstallIoFilter_Task. 
6. The browser displays a page with fields for each of the parameters for the function:

Figure 4: IOFilterManager, InstallIoFilter_Task page

7. Enter the URL of the staged IO Filter Bundle file in the vibURL field.  

8. Get Cluster MOID (Content and screenshot taken from VRP doc https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.100044394 )

• Login to vCenter mob using : https://<vcenterserver>/mob
• Click on content

• Click on group:

• Click on data center

• Click on hostfolder

• MOID is one listed against the cluster: for e.g.: domain-c24397 for MTVCluster1

9. Replace the text MOID obtained in the above step with the managed object ID of the cluster, to which you are deploying your IO. 
The following figure shows the form filled out with the URL for the countIO bundle, staged at https://172.16.193.11 to the cluster whose MOID is domain-c7: 


Figure 5: MOB: IO Filter Manager, InstallIOFilter_Task example

10. Click Invoke Method. 

The MOB creates a vCenter Server task that invokes the InstallIoFilter_Task() function, passing the arguments that you placed in this Web form. The browser displays the task ID in another form at the bottom of the form. 
The following figure shows an example: 

Figure 6: MOB: IO Filter manager, InstallIOFilter_Task method results

11. Click the task ID, as outlined on Figure 6.  
The MOB queries the vCenter Server for properties of the task, results are displayed as follows: 

Figure 7: MOB: IO Filter manager, InstallIOFilter_Task properties page

12. Click info. Outlined in Figure 7  
The MOB queries the vCenter server for information about the task, results are displayed as follows:

Figure 8: MOB: IO Filter Manager, Task Info page

13. Continue to refresh the task info page, until the state is either Success or Error. 

On success, you are ready to create SPBM policies, attach the policies to VMDKs, and so on. 
On error, you need to explore the log files (especially /var/log/hostd.log on each of the ESXi hosts) to determine why the operation has failed.
 
Deploying IO Filter solution on a single ESXi Host and on a cluster

• Deploying an IO Filter solution on a Single ESXi host   (reference from https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.troubleshooting.doc/GUID-F408B02D-F914-4951-86CE-92FB8D886171.html)

1. Install the VIB by running the following command CLI command
   
   esxcli software vib install --depot path_to_veritas_iofilter_vib_ZIP_file
    
2. Verify that VIB is installed successfully on the ESX host using following command
   
   esxcli software vib list  

There are also other methods available to deploy IO filter. Contact VMware admin of your cluster/node for more information