Managing Dell MD Storage with SCVMM 2012

In the new SCVMM 2012, you can now centrally manage storage devices using SMI-S providers from various vendors. Till now, only a small handful of storage devices are supported in SCVMM 2012. Among Dell storage portfolios, only the expensive Compellent series are officially supported. There is actually a SMI-S provider (MD Storage Array vCenter Plug-in) for the cheaper Dell MD storage but it is meant for VMWare vCenter. Fortunately being open standard, you can use the same provider even for SCVMM 2012. Download either the x86 or x64 program. As this provider is a proxy type, install it on a Windows Server 2003 or 2008 (WS2012 is not supported) that is reachable by the VMM server. Run the executable to install. Ignore any vCenter settings, since we are using SCVMM here.

Post Installation of Dell MD SMI-S on Proxy Server

1. Create a local user account on the proxy server. Run "cimuser -a -u username -w password"  (where username is the same local user account) using local Administrator credential (not just elevated prompt) to add it as a CIM user account. The command can be found under "C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\pegasus\bin".
2. Create/Edit ArrayHosts.txt in the directory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Dell\pegasus\providers\array". Add the management IP addresses of the storage array. Use a new line for each IP address.
3. Restart cimserver service using "services.msc". Check TCP 5988 is running using "netstat -ano"
4. Enable host firewall rule to permit TCP 5988

Configuration of SCVMM 2012 SP1 on VMM Server

1. Create a RunAs account using the same credential that you created earlier using cimuser.
2. Go to "Fabric". Right click on "Providers" to add storage devices. Choose the one with "SMI-S" option.
3. On next page, choose "SMI-S CIMXML" protocol. Specify the proxy server on the Provider IP address and select the RunAs account.

Complete the remaining wizard step and the MD storage can now be managed as part of SCVMM 2012 Storage Fabric. You can create new LUN and assign them to the VMs directly under the same console seamlessly.