Veritas Flex Appliance Getting Started and Administration Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): Appliances (4.2, 4.1, 4.0)
Platform: Flex Appliance OS
  1. Product overview
    1.  
      Introduction to Veritas Flex Appliance
    2.  
      Flex Appliance terminology
    3.  
      About the Flex Appliance documentation
  2. Release notes
    1.  
      Flex Appliance 4.0 new features, enhancements, and changes
    2.  
      Flex Appliance 4.1 new features, enhancements, and changes
    3.  
      Flex Appliance 4.2 new features, enhancements, and changes
    4.  
      Supported update paths to this release
    5.  
      Operational notes
    6.  
      Flex Appliance 4.0 release content
    7.  
      Flex Appliance 4.1 release content
    8.  
      Flex Appliance 4.2 release content
  3. Getting started
    1.  
      Initial configuration guidelines and checklist
    2.  
      Performing the initial configuration
    3.  
      Adding a node
    4.  
      Accessing and using the Flex Appliance Shell
    5.  
      Accessing and using the Flex Appliance Console
    6.  
      Setting the date and time for appliance nodes
    7.  
      Common tasks in Flex Appliance
  4. Managing network settings for instances
    1.  
      Creating a network bond
    2.  
      Editing a network bond
    3.  
      Deleting a network bond
    4.  
      Configuring or editing a network interface
    5. Managing the appliance Fibre Channel ports
      1.  
        Viewing the devices that are connected to the Fibre Channel ports
  5. Managing users
    1.  
      Overview of the Flex Appliance default users
    2. Managing Flex Appliance Console users and tenants
      1.  
        Adding a tenant
      2.  
        Editing a tenant
      3.  
        Removing a tenant
      4.  
        Adding a local user to the Flex Appliance Console
      5.  
        Connecting a remote user domain to the Flex Appliance Console
      6.  
        Editing a remote user domain in the Flex Appliance Console
      7.  
        Importing a remote user or user group to the Flex Appliance Console
      8.  
        Managing single sign-on (SSO)
      9.  
        Managing identity providers (IDPs)
      10.  
        Importing a single sign-on user or user group to the Flex Appliance Console
      11.  
        Managing user authentication with smart cards or digital certificates
      12.  
        Changing a local user password in the Flex Appliance Console
      13.  
        Expiring local user passwords in the Flex Appliance Console
      14.  
        Unlocking a user account in the Flex Appliance Console
      15.  
        Removing users from the Flex Appliance Console
    3.  
      Changing the password policy
    4.  
      Changing the hostadmin user password in the Flex Appliance Shell
    5.  
      Changing the sysadmin user password in the Veritas Remote Management Interface
    6. Managing multifactor authentication
      1.  
        Configuring or reconfiguring multifactor authentication
      2.  
        Enforcing multifactor authentication
      3.  
        Resetting multifactor authentication
      4.  
        Disabling multifactor authentication
  6. Using Flex Appliance
    1. Managing the repository
      1.  
        Adding files to the repository
      2.  
        Removing files from the repository
    2.  
      Creating application instances
    3.  
      Managing application instances from Flex Appliance and NetBackup
    4. Managing application instances from Flex Appliance
      1.  
        Resizing instance storage
      2.  
        Editing instance network settings
      3.  
        Assigning Fibre Channel ports to an instance
      4.  
        Unassigning Fibre Channel ports from an instance
      5. Managing application add-ons on instances
        1.  
          Installing application add-ons
        2.  
          Uninstalling application add-ons
        3.  
          Changing the application add-on installation order
        4.  
          Updating an application add-on to a newer revision
      6.  
        Viewing instance performance metrics
      7.  
        Clearing a configuration error status on an application instance
      8.  
        Deleting an application instance
    5. Upgrading application instances
      1.  
        Warnings and considerations for instance rollbacks
    6.  
      Updating an application instance to a newer revision
    7. About Flex Appliance updates
      1.  
        Updating Flex Appliance
      2.  
        Updating the firmware
  7. Remote replication
    1.  
      About remote replication
    2.  
      Pairing appliances for remote replication
    3.  
      Creating a replica
    4. Managing remote replication
      1.  
        Remote replication best practices
      2.  
        Monitoring remote replication
      3.  
        Editing the replication network
      4.  
        Repairing a lost connection between paired appliances
      5.  
        Pausing and resuming replication
      6.  
        Resolving discrepancies between an active and a replica instance
      7.  
        Changing the replication role of an instance
      8.  
        Unlinking active and replica instances
      9.  
        Forgetting a paired appliance
  8. Appliance security
    1.  
      Security overview
    2. About lockdown mode
      1.  
        Changing the lockdown mode
    3.  
      Using a sign-in banner
    4.  
      Using an external certificate
    5. Using network access control
      1.  
        Changing the SSH port
  9. Monitoring the appliance
    1.  
      Registering an appliance
    2. Configuring alerts
      1. About AutoSupport and Call Home
        1.  
          Configuring Call Home
      2.  
        Configuring email alerts
      3.  
        Configuring SNMP alerts
      4.  
        Setting the threshold values for disk usage alerts
    3.  
      Monitoring the appliance from the System Health Insights portal
    4. Viewing the hardware status
      1.  
        Viewing node information
      2.  
        Viewing storage shelf information on a Veritas 53xx Appliance
      3.  
        Viewing storage shelf information on a Veritas 52xx Appliance
    5.  
      Viewing hardware faults
    6.  
      Viewing system data
    7.  
      Clearing the hardware status
    8.  
      Forwarding logs
    9.  
      Providing access for external monitoring
    10.  
      Revoking access for external monitoring
  10. Reconfiguring the appliance
    1.  
      Reconfiguring the appliance network
    2.  
      Changing DNS or Hosts file settings
    3.  
      Shutting down the appliance
    4.  
      Performing a factory reset
    5.  
      Performing a reimage
    6.  
      Recovering storage data after a factory reset or a reimage
    7.  
      Performing a storage reset
    8.  
      Removing a node
    9.  
      Viewing or resetting the storage shelf order on a Veritas 52xx Appliance
  11. Troubleshooting guidelines
    1.  
      General troubleshooting steps
    2.  
      Unlocking access in lockdown mode
    3.  
      Gathering logs

General troubleshooting steps

If you experience any issues with Flex Appliance, use the following steps as a guide to help you resolve the problem.

Table: Steps for troubleshooting Flex Appliance problems

Step

Action

Description

Step 1

Note the error message

Error messages are usually the vehicle for telling you something went wrong. If you receive an error message, first follow any troubleshooting steps that are listed in the message.

Some error messages begin with a Unique Message Identifier (UMI) code. UMI codes consist of the letter V followed by a string of numbers in the following format: V-123-456-789.

To find additional troubleshooting information for specific error messages, perform a search for the message or the UMI code on the Veritas Support website.

Step 2

Check the appliance monitoring information

If you cannot resolve the issue based on the error message, or if you don't see an error message in an interface but still suspect a problem, you can:

  • Use the hardware monitoring information to check for hardware errors. See Viewing the hardware status.

  • Run an appliance self-test. See Viewing system data.

  • Use the support shell command to access additional read-only information on the appliance.

Step 3

Gather information for Technical Support

If you cannot resolve the issue on your own, you may need to contact Technical Support for assistance.

Before you contact Support, gather the following information:

  • Relevant error messages

    Record or take screen shots of any error messages you received, including the UMI code if applicable.

  • Data Collect logs

    Generate a Data Collect log package from the Flex Appliance Console. See Gathering logs.

  • Appliance serial number

    Locate and record the serial number of the appliance node. If you have a multi-node appliance, record the serial number of both nodes. For more information on locating serial numbers, see the Product Description guide for your particular appliance hardware.

Also make sure that Call Home is enabled for maximum supportability.

Step 4

Contact Technical Support

Contact Veritas Technical Support from the Veritas Support website.

Step 5

If your appliance is in lockdown mode, you may need to unlock access for support

If your appliance is in lockdown mode, your representative may need an access key to unlock greater access to troubleshoot the issue. Support can generate this access key on their own, but if you prefer, you can also generate it from System Health Insights. The access key has a two-hour expiration period, so make sure that your support representative is ready to assist before you generate it. See Unlocking access in lockdown mode.