aka Object Storage
The terms NFS (Network File Storage), Object Storage, and shared network drive are used interchangeably to describe online storage that can have multiple concurrent connections. The opposite is Block Storage, which can only handle a single connection at a time.
For setting up a new NFS mount make sure the customer understand we will need to perform some setup on their server, including installing some software and enabling a secondary network connection (NIC). Help gather information, such as the specific servers they want to be able to connect, the access details (IP addresses and root logins), and what folder name they want to use for the mount points.
Back-End Setup
Setup comprises a ‘back-end’ setup on the Isolon server and a ‘front-end’ setup on the customer’s server. There’s also an in-between setup to get networking on the correct VLAN between the Isolon and the customer’s server.
Open ‘File System > File System Explorer’ then within the Directories panel navigate to ‘ifs > home’ and Add Directory in the center panel. Give the directory ‘775’ permissions.
Next, open ‘File Sharing > NFS > Add Export’ and enter directory path (such as /ifs/home/948573), Clients (allowed IP address connectors), Enable mount access to subdirectory’s, and leave the rest as the defaults.
In order to determine what IP address to use for the customer’s second NIC to use to connect to the Isolon you will need to access the appropriate network and search via ping or nmap to isolate unused IP addresses. Access another server already in that range and test IPs where ‘host unreachable’ suggests it’s unused. A list is being prepared to add to the wiki for future reference. Once you verify an available IP address you can use that in the Clients field in the NFS Exports.
Front-End Setup
The customer’s server must have a secondary NIC configured to connect to the Isilon and the NFS client software installed.
To configure networking, assuming the secondary NIC will be eth1:
# vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1
DEVICE=eth1
BOOTPROTO=static
IPADDR=10.31.2.[x]
NETMASK=255.255.252.0
ONBOOT=yes
HWADDR=[...]
VH servers access a different network and use IPs in the range of 10.30.7.X
Now enable the interface and check networking:
# ifup eth1
# ping cluster1.objectstorage.nethosting.com
-or-
# ping 10.31.1.2
Edit /etc/fstab to define the NFS mount point. Append:
# vi /etc/fstab
cluster1.objectstorage.nethosting.com:/ifs/home/[id] [mount directory] nfs rw,bg,hard,intr,tcp,vers=3,timeo=10,retrans=10,noatime,nodiratime,rsize=32768,wsize=32768 0 0
-for example-
cluster1.objectstorage.nethosting.com:/ifs/home/959885 /data nfs rw,bg,hard,intr,tcp,vers=3,timeo=10,retrans=10,noatime,nodiratime,rsize=32768,wsize=32768 0 0
For the NFS software installation, run:
# yum install nfs-utils nfs-utils-lib rpcbind
# /etc/init.d/rpcbind start
# chkconfig rpcbind on
Note: Be sure to add the Isilon IP addresses to the firewall or csf.allow list. If you don’t your attempt to mount the NFS share will hang (dropped packets).
Once this is set you can mount the NFS share:
# mount -a
# mount
The second ‘mount’ command should show the NFS drive, for example:
cluster1.objectstorage.nethosting.com:/ifs/home/959885 on /data type nfs (rw,bg,hard,intr,tcp,vers=3,timeo=10,retrans=10,noatime,nodiratime,rsize=32768,wsize=32768 addr=10.31.1.2)
cPanel shared NFS
If a customer wants to use NFS to sync files between load balanced servers, they can do so. However, the only thing that can be synced is 1 account’s public_html. If you try to mount it as the home directory it will cause havoc with the cPanel system, as that is where the cPanel account information is stored.
Mounting the public_html should be enough to sync the site content between servers, however any cpanel changes will have to be made to both servers.