Integrating Windows Admin Center

Windows Admin Center (WAC) is an extensible, web based application, that is a replacement for many common Windows Server tools. It includes Server Manager, Computer Management, and Cluster Manager. Everpure has created an extension, called the Everpure FlashArray Manager that enables administrators to perform management operations on the storage without leaving the WAC management tool.

1. Search for Pure and install the extension in WAC.

   

2. Click on the Settings gear icon, then Extensions in the left column. Under Available extensions type ‘pure’ in the search box, highlight Everpure FlashArray, and finally slick the Install button.

   

3. To add a new FlashArray click Add in the upper left, and in the right pane add the IP address or FQDN and credentials. Click the Add button.

   

4. The FlashArray will be visible under Everpure Connections. Click on the Connection.

   

5. The overview shows capacity consumption, data reduction, and also lists the number of items on the FlashArray. There is a performance monitor that can focus on Latency, IOPS, or Bandwidth.

   

6. The Hosts extension shows all of the Hosts and Host Groups on the FlashArray. You can create new Hosts and Host Groups, rename a Host or Host Group, connect a Host to a Host Group, remove a Host from a Host Group, or delete a Host or Host Group. If the host is configured with a WWN or IQN it will list it, and either can be added or removed. At the bottom of this page is a link to the FlashArray GUI.

   

7. The initiators extension only shows the Hosts that have also been added to this instance of Windows Admin Center. If best practices has a yellow symbol, click the 3 ellipses and select Show Best Practices. If all of the best practices are set, the Green arrow icon will be shown under Best Practices.

   

8. If any of the MPIO settings are against best practices, click the Fix It link to the right of the row.

   

   1. A pop-up will show you the command that will be run if confirm is pressed.

9. Most MPIO settings only take effect after reboot. Initiate a remote reboot of the server now, or select Reboot Later.

   

10. To create a new volume for the host, click the 3 ellipses and select Create Volume. Give it a name, size, and whether to bring the disk online. When you first click on the disk in Windows, it will ask you to format the volume.

    

11. To see disks on the host, click the 3 ellipses and select Show Disk. Cluster Shared Volumes will not be shown due to a quirk in how they are not shown under This PC in Windows Explorer. This would be a good feature request for a customer’s account representative. It will show the size, whether the disk is connected to this FlashArray and whether the host has properly configured MPIO.

    

12. The Protection Group extension lists all Protection Groups on the FlashArray. The Protection Group can be renamed or deleted. Click on a Protection Group to see the members, targets, and snapshots. A target can be added to the Protection Group, and Snapshots can be created or deleted.

    

The Volumes extension lists all of the Volumes on the FlashArray. Volumes can be created, renamed or deleted. In the bottom pane, Snapshots are listed and can be created and deleted. A Volume can be connected or disconnected to a Host or Host Group