Requirements on the NFS server configuration
These requirements allow for the ability of the vCloud Director to write files to and read files from an NFS-based transfer server storage location for both the standard cloud operations performed by the vcloud user and the multi-cell log collection by the root user via the vmware-vcd-support script and its multi-cell options.
- The export list for the NFS server must allow for each server member in your vCloud Director server group to have read-write access to the shared location that is identified in the export list. This capability allows for the vcloud user to write files to and read files from the shared location for the purposes of the transfer server storage.
- The NFS server must allow read-write access to the shared location by the root system account on each server machine in your vCloud Director server group. This capability allows for collecting the logs from all cells at once in a single bundle using the vmware-vcd-support script with its multi-cell options. This requirement can be achieved by either:
- Setting chmod 1777 permissions on the volume on the NFS server that is the shared location that is exported in the export list, or
- Using no_root_squash in the NFS export configuration for this shared location
If you choose the chmod 1777 permissions method to achieve this requirement, the chmod 1777 permissions must be set on the volume on the NFS server machine. If you choose the no_root_squash method, the no_root_squash is set in the NFS export configuration.
Example: Export configurations in the NFS export file
Assume the NFS server has IP address 192.168.120.7, and a directory created with the name vCDspace on the NFS server, which is to be used as the vCloud Director server group's transfer space:
/nfs/vCDspace
Method for allowing read-write access to the shared location for two cells named vcd-cell1-IP and vcd-cell2-IP | Example settings on the NFS server |
Use chmod 1777 method |
- Set chmod 1777 on vCDspace directory.
- Add a line like the following line to the /etc/exports file, where vcd-cell1-IP and vcd-cell2-IP are the IP addresses of the cells in a two-cell vCloud Director server group.
192.168.120.7/nfs/vCDspace vcd-cell1-IP(rw,sync,no_subtree_check) vcd-cell2-IP(rw,sync,no_subtree_check)
|
Use no_root_squash method |
Add a line like the following line to the /etc/exports file, where vcd-cell1-IP is the IP address of a cell in your vCloud Director server group.
192.168.120.7/nfs/vCDspace vcd-cell1-IP(rw,sync,no_subtree_check,no_root_squash) vcd-cell2-IP(rw,sync,no_subtree_check)
|
Notes:
Requirements at each vCloud Director server group member (cell)
Each server group member must mount the NFS shared volume at the same mount point, typically /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/data/transfer.
Example: Mount configuration in the /etc/fstab file on each cell
Assume the NFS server has an IP address 192.168.120.7 and the directory vCDspace has been set up appropriately in the NFS server's /etc/exports file to be used as the vCloud Director transfer server storage. Add a line to the /etc/fstab file on each cell like the following line:
192.168.120.7:/nfs/vCDspace /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/data/transfer nfs intr 0 0
The last two entries (0 and 0) are the dump and fsckorder, and they must be set to zero. The
intr option allows NFS requests to be interrupted if the server goes down or cannot be reached.
Port Requirements for NFS
Please see https://ports.esp.vmware.com/home/VMware-Cloud-Director for full up-to-date details on required ports.
Troubleshooting tips
- Ensure that each server in the vCloud Director server group is allowed to mount the NFS share by inspecting the export list for the NFS export.
- Ensure the mount is exported by running exportfs -a to re-export all NFS shares.
- Ensure NFS daemons are running on the server (running rpcinfo -p localhost or service nfs status).
- Ensure that the /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/data and /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/data/transfer directories on the vCloud Director server members are owned by the vcloud user and vcloud group and have the permissions 750. If you create these directories for mounting before running the vCloud Director installer, the directories might have root as the owner. In this case, the log will state the transfer folder is not writable, and you can use chmod and chown to change the permissions and ownership to vcloud:vcloud 750.
Considerations when planning to upgrade your vCloud Director installation to a later version
During an upgrade of a vCloud Director server group, you run the installation file for the upgraded version to upgrade all of the members of the vCloud Director server group. For convenience, some organizations choose to download the installation file for the upgrade to the transfer server storage location and run it from there, because all of the cells have access to that location. Because the
root user must be used to run the upgrade installation file, if you want to use the transfer server storage location for running an upgrade, ensure the
root user can run the upgrade installation file when you are performing the upgrade. An alternative method is to use
cp to upgrade installation bin file to
/tmp or another directory outside the NFS mount.