HPE2-K45 Using HPE SimpliVity Questions and Answers

According to the HPE SimpliVity Administration Guide1, the file level restore option allows you to recover individual files or folders from a backup of a virtual machine. Thisoption is useful when you need to restore a specific file that was accidentally deleted or corrupted, without affecting the rest of the virtual machine. The file level restore option supports both Windows and Linux based virtual machines, and can be performed using the HPE SimpliVity plugin in the vSphere Web Client. The file level restore option creates a temporary virtual machine from the backup, mounts the virtual disks, and copies the selected files or folders to a destination of your choice. The temporary virtual machine is then deleted automatically.

The other options are not suitable for recovering a single file from a Linux based virtual machine. Restoring a virtual machine from the backup would overwrite the entire virtual machine with the backup data, which may not be desirable or necessary. Moving a virtual machine from DR site to the primary site would not help if the file was deleted from both sites. Reverting to the SimpliVity snapshot would also overwrite the entire virtual machine with the snapshot data, which may not be the latest or the most relevant version. References:

• 1: HPE SimpliVity Administration Guide, https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=sf000062138en_us&docLocale=en_US, page 76-78

The HPE SimpliVity OmniStack Interoperability Guide is a document that provides the information about the supported hardware and software components for the HPE SimpliVity solution, such as the HPE SimpliVity nodes, the VMware ESXi hosts, the VMware vCenter Server, the HPE OmniStack software, the HPE SimpliVity Arbiter, and the guestoperating systems1. The guide also provides the compatibility matrix and the configuration guidelines for the HPE SimpliVity solution. The ESXi version (option B) and the guest OS version (option C) are two items that can be found in the HPE SimpliVity OmniStack Interoperability Guide, as they are essential for the proper functioning and performance of the HPE SimpliVity solution. The guide lists the supported ESXi versions for each HPE SimpliVity node model and HPE OmniStack software version, as well as the supported guest OS versions for each HPE SimpliVity node model1. The GPU accelerators (option A), the vSphere license (option D), and the processor model (option E) are not items that can be found in the HPE SimpliVity OmniStack Interoperability Guide, as they are not relevant or required for the HPE SimpliVity solution. The GPU accelerators are not supported by the HPE SimpliVity solution, as they are not compatible with the HPE SimpliVity nodes2. The vSphere license is not specified by the HPE SimpliVity solution, as it depends on the customer’s choice and needs3. The processor model is not listed by the HPE SimpliVity solution, as it is already determined by the HPE SimpliVity node model4. References:

• 1: HPE SimpliVity OmniStack Interoperability Guide 4.2.0, HPE, 2021, pp. 1-25.
• 2: HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 Node Data sheet, HPE, 2019, p. 5.
• 3: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 27.
• 4: Using HPE SimpliVity Official Certification Study Guide (HPE2-K45), HPE Press, 2019, p. 17.

The Support Capture file is a compressed file that contains diagnostic data from the HPE SimpliVity hosts, such as system status information and log files. The system status information includes the configuration, performance, and health of the host and its components, such as the HPE OmniStack Virtual Controller, the HPE OmniStack Accelerator Card, the datastore, the network, and the virtual machines. The log files include the messages and events that are generated by the host and its components, such as the kernel, the hypervisor, the HPE SimpliVity software, and the HPE SimpliVity hardware1. The Support Capture file is used by the HPE Support team to troubleshoot and resolve issues with the HPE SimpliVity system.

The other options are not included in the Support Capture file. The license entitlement is the information that verifies the customer’s right to use the HPE SimpliVity software and features, but it is not part of the diagnostic data2. The HPE InfoSight connection parameters are the settings that enable the HPE SimpliVity system to connect to the HPE InfoSight cloud-based platform for predictive analytics and proactive support, but they are not part of the diagnostic data3. The security token to access the system remotely is a temporary credential that allows the HPE Support team to access the HPE SimpliVity system via a secure tunnel, but it is not part of the diagnostic data.

References: 1: Simplivity Video - How to gather a SimpliVity Support Capture 2: [HPE SimpliVity License Entitlement] 3: [HPE SimpliVity and HPE InfoSight] : [HPE SimpliVity Remote Support]

HPE SimpliVity provides storage HA by creating two copies of each virtual machine data across different nodes in a cluster. This ensures that the virtual machines can continue to run even if one node fails. However, this also consumes twice the storage capacity for each virtual machine. For development virtual machines that do not require storage HA, the customer can save storage capacity by creating a single-replica datastore for these virtual machines. A single-replica datastore is a datastore that has only one copy of the virtual machine data on one node. This reduces the storage consumption by 50%, but also increases the risk of data loss and unavailability in case of node failure. Therefore, the customer should carefully weigh the trade-offs between storage efficiency and data protection when using a single-replica datastore. References: HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform; HPE SimpliVity User Guide

Before moving a virtual machine to another datastore, you need to take a snapshot of the virtual machine using the HPE SimpliVity plugin in vSphere. This ensures that the virtual machine is in a consistent state and that the data is protected. The snapshot also serves as a backup in case the move operation fails or is interrupted. After taking the snapshot, you can use the HPE SimpliVity move operation to move the virtual machine to the desired datastore, either within the same cluster or across clusters. The move operation preserves the data efficiency and resiliency of the virtual machine, and does not require any downtime or reconfiguration12. References: Move a virtual machine to another datastore - Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE SimpliVity frequently asked questions

 According to the HPE InfoSight for HPE SimpliVity Getting Started document1, HPE InfoSight provides the following functionality for HPE SimpliVity:

• Monitoring of cluster, node, and virtual machine performance, capacity, and health
• Reporting of system configuration, inventory, and compliance
• Analysis of trends, anomalies, and root causes
• Prediction of future resource needs and potential issues
• Recommendation of best practices and optimization actions

One of the key features of HPE InfoSight is the ability to monitor the latency of virtual machines, which is the time it takes for a request to be processed by the system. Latency is an important indicator of the performance and efficiency of the system, and HPE InfoSight provides detailed and granular data on the latency of each virtual machine, as well as the breakdown of the latency components, such as CPU, memory, network, and storage. HPE InfoSight also provides alerts and notifications when the latency exceedsthe predefined thresholds, and helps to identify and resolve the root causes of the latency issues.

Therefore, the correct answer is D. monitoring of virtual machine latency, as this is one of the functionality that HPE InfoSight provides for HPE SimpliVity. References:

• 1: HPE InfoSight for HPE SimpliVity Getting Started, https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/api/document/a00089726en_us?docLocale=en_US

• HPE SimpliVity is a hyperconverged infrastructure solution that combines compute, storage, networking, and data services in a single platform. HPE SimpliVity integrates with HPE StoreOnce, a disk-based backup appliance, to provide efficient and reliable data protection and disaster recovery for distributed edge sites12.
• HPE SimpliVity uses HPE StoreOnce Catalyst, a deduplication protocol, to replicate data from HPE SimpliVity clusters to HPE StoreOnce appliances. HPE SimpliVity leverages its global deduplication and compression capabilities to send only the unique data blocks to HPE StoreOnce, reducing the bandwidth and storage requirements34.
• To optimize the replication performance, the design aspects that need to be evaluated are the number of the HPE SimpliVity clusters and Catalyst stores used. According to the HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce Reference Architecture document, the following best practices are recommended:
• The other options are not relevant for optimizing the replication performance. The performance optimization features provided by VMFS datastores compared to NFS datastores are not applicable for HPE SimpliVity, as it uses its own file system and data virtualization platform. The intelligent workload optimizer settings are not related to the replication performance, but to the VM placement and load balancing within the HPE SimpliVity cluster. The HPE SimpliVity model used does not affect the replication performance, as long as it meets the minimum requirements for the HPE StoreOnce integration.

References:

1: SimpliVity Hyperconverged | HPE 2: Expand backups to secondary storage with HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure and HPE StoreOnce 3: HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce 4: HPE SimpliVity with HPE StoreOnce: A better together story : [HPE SimpliVitywith HPE StoreOnce Reference Architecture] : [HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform] : [HPE SimpliVity Intelligent Workload Optimizer]

To use this option, you need to select the backup from which you want to restore the files, then click Backup Actions > Restore Files. You will be prompted to enter the following information:

• The name of the virtual machine where you want to restore the files
• The path of the folder where you want to restore the files
• The path of the folder that you want to restore from the backup
• The credentials of the virtual machine where you want to restore the files

After you enter the required information, click OK to start the restore process3.

• HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VMware vSphere 3.7.10 Administration Guide, page 97
• HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VMware vSphere 3.7.10 Best Practices Guide, page 20
• Restore files from a backup - techhub.hpe.com