Once this feature is added to the instance of Windows Server, using the SMI-S Provider is very straightforward. The first task is to register the SMI-S Provider. The PowerShell to register the provider is below. The Get-Credential will provide a dialog to enter credentials that will be used with the Register-SmisProvider cmdlet.
PS C:\> $Creds = Get-Credential
cmdlet Get-Credential at command pipeline position 1
Supply values for the following parameters:
Credential
PS C:\> Register-SmisProvider -ConnectionUri https://10.0.0.1 -Credential $Creds
The SMI-S Provider is registered there are a few cmdlets that can be used to check the FlashArray. Using Get-StorageProvider will show that the FlashArray registered is from the Manufacturer PureStorage and it is of Type SMI-S. The Get-StorageSubSystem will retrieve details about the FlashArray’s HealthStatus, OperationalStatus and FriendlyName.
PS C:\> Get-StorageProvider
Type Name Manufacturer
---- ---- ------------
SMP Windows Storage Management Provider Microsoft Corporation
SMI-S 10.0.0.1 PureStorage
PS C:\> Get-StorageSubSystem
FriendlyName HealthStatus OperationalStatus
------------ ------------ -----------------
Windows Storage on SERVER01 Healthy OK
solutions-lab-m20-c09-29 Healthy OK
Next is to update the cache of the PureStorage provider and associated child objects from the FlashArray.
If there are multiple storage vendors registered within the environment and DiscoveryLevel Full is used and a Manufacturer (Eg. PureStorage) is not specified this will attempt to query all registered storage providers which can be an expensive operation.
Update-StorageProviderCache -Name 10.0.0.1 -DiscoveryLevel Full -Manufacturer PureStorageThe below screenshot illustrates the tasks being performed as indicated by the Windows PowerShell progress notifications.
Now the physical disks can be viewed from a specific storage vendor. In the below example the display shows all of the drives and details for the FlashArray//M20.
PS C:\> Get-PhysicalDisk -Manufacturer PureStorage | Format-Table -AutoSize
FriendlyName SerialNumber CanPool OperationalStatus HealthStatus Usage Size
------------ ------------ ------- ----------------- ------------ ----- ----
CH0.BAY0 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY1 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY10 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY11 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY12 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY13 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY14 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY15 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY16 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY17 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY18 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY19 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY2 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY3 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY4 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY5 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY6 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY7 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY8 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.BAY9 N/A False OK Healthy 476.45 GB
CH0.NVB0 N/A False OK Healthy 7 GB
CH0.NVB1 N/A False OK Healthy 7 GBThe last example to show is how to provision a new volume. The name of the volume is SMIS-VOL and will be 2 TB in size. Along with showing how to create a new volume the Web Management interface shows that the volume has been created and ready for use.
PS C:\> New-StorageSubsystemVirtualDisk -StorageSubSystemFriendlyName solutions-lab-m20-c09-29 -FriendlyName 'VOLUME01' -Size 2.5TB
FriendlyName ResiliencySettingName OperationalStatus HealthStatus IsManualAttach Size
------------ --------------------- ----------------- ------------ -------------- ----
VOLUME01 OK Healthy 2.5 TBThe below screenshot of the FlashArray management interface shows the new volume, VOLUME01, has been created.
The final task is to unregister the SMI-S provider.
Unregister-SmisProvider -ConnectionUri https://10.0.0.1