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    Increasing Available CTERA Edge Filer Storage (Except for H series Edge Filers)
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    Increasing Available CTERA Edge Filer Storage (Except for H series Edge Filers)

    • 6 Minutes to read
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    Article summary

    H Series edge filers are supplied with a fixed amount of storage which cannot be increased.

    You can increase the volume size when the volume defined in the CTERA Edge Filer does not use all the available storage, as described in Managing Volumes.

    When the volume defined in the CTERA Edge Filer does use all the available storage and the initial storage allocated was not the maximum allowed by the license, you can increase the storage by either increasing the size of the disk or adding another existing disk.

    Note

    CTERA recommends, whenever possible, increasing the size of the disk rather than adding a new disk, except for edge filers running on an ESXi platform.

    The amount of storage that can be used by a CTERA Edge Filer is dependent on the license:

    • For an EV16 license the maximum is 16TB.
    • For an EV32 license the maximum is 32TB.
    • For an EV64 license the maximum is 64TB.
    • For an EV128 license the maximum 128TB.
    • For an EV256 license the maximum 256TB.

    CTERA Edge Filer in AWS

    The following procedure includes creating a snapshot of the existing volume as a backup.

    To increase storage:

    1. Log in to your Amazon Web Services account.
    2. Perform the following steps to take a snapshot of the CTERA Edge Filer database EBS volume as a backup.
      1. In the Amazon Web Services > Compute area, click EC2.
        The EC2 Dashboard screen is displayed.
      2. In the navigation pane, click ELASTIC BLOCK STORE > Volumes.
        The ELASTIC BLOCK STORE > Volumes screen is displayed.
        image.png
      3. Locate the EBS volume to enlarge, right-click it and click Create Snapshot.
        The Create Snapshot pane is displayed.
      4. Optionally, enter a description for the snapshot.
      5. Click Create Snapshot.
    3. In the Amazon Web Services EC2 Dashboard under ELASTIC BLOCK STORE > Volumes, locate the currently attached database EBS volume to enlarge, right-click it and click Modify Volume.
      The Modify Volume window is displayed.
    4. Specify a disk size greater than the current size. CTERA recommends storage at least 20% of the CTERA Portal Global Name Space. The maximum usable storage is dependent on the license.
      • For an EV16 license the maximum is 16TB.
      • For an EV32 license the maximum is 32TB.
      • For an EV64 license the maximum is 64TB.
      • For an EV128 license the maximum 128TB.
      • For an EV256 license the maximum 256TB.
    5. Click Modify.
    6. Follow the instructions in the procedure To create or edit a volume in Managing Volumes.

    CTERA Edge Filer in ESXi

    Notes

    CTERA recommends adding a new disk rather than increasing the size of the disk.

    ESXi limits disks to a maximum of 62TB. If more than 62TB is required you must use more than one virtual disk. Storage greater than 62TB is only applicable to edge filers with an EV64, EV128, or EV256 license.

    To increase available edge filer storage:

    1. In the vSphere Client, right-click the CTERA Edge Filer VM and select Edit Settings.
      The configuration is displayed for the CTERA Edge Filer.
    2. Click ADD NEW DEVICE and select Hard Disk from the drop-down menu.
    3. Specify the disk size. CTERA recommends that the total storage is at least 20% of the CTERA Portal Global Name Space. The maximum usable storage is dependent on the license.
      • For an EV16 license the maximum is 16TB.
      • For an EV32 license the maximum is 32TB.
      • For an EV64 license the maximum is 64TB.
      • For an EV128 license the maximum 128TB.
      • For an EV256 license the maximum 256TB.
      Note

      A VMware ESXi host limits disks to a maximum of 62TB. To support storage greater than 62TB, you need to create multiple disks, each up to 62TB and then add the new disk to the storage array.

    4. Click OK.
    5. Restart down the CTERA Edge File. For details, see Restarting or Shutting Down an Edge Filer.
    6. In the Configuration view, select Storage > Arrays in the navigation pane.
    7. Select the array and click Edit.
      The Select drives to join this array wizard is displayed, which shows you all drives available and asks you to select drives to join the array.
    8. Check the Member box for each drive to include in the array.
    9. Click Next to the end of the wizard and then click Finish.
    10. Follow the instructions in the procedure To create or edit a volume in Managing Volumes.

    CTERA Edge Filer in Hyper-V

    To increase available edge filer storage when the current disk is Dynamically expanding:

    Note

    You can only expand a disk in Hyper-V if it was initially defined as Dynamically expanding. If it was defined as Fixed size, you can add another disk but you cannot expand the existing disk. For details of adding another disk, see the procedure To increase available edge filer storage when the current disk is Fixed size.

    1. In the Hyper-V Manager, shut down the virtual machine.
    2. Right-click the edge filer VM and select Settings.
      The configuration is displayed for the edge filer.
    3. Choose the hard disk and click Edit.
      The Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard is displayed.
    4. In the Choose Action page, select Expand and click Next.
    5. Enter a new size greater than the current size. The maximum disk size is dependent on the edge filer license:
      • For an EV16 license the maximum is 16TB.
      • For an EV32 license the maximum is 32TB.
      • For an EV64 license the maximum is 64TB.
      • For an EV128 license the maximum 128TB.
      • For an EV256 license the maximum 256TB.
    6. Click Finish.
    7. Start the virtual machine and follow the instructions in the procedure To create or edit a volume in Managing Volumes.

    To increase available edge filer storage when the current disk is Fixed size:

    Note

    When the current disk is Fixed size and not Dynamically expanding, you must add additional virtual disks.

    1. In the Hyper-V Manager, shut down the virtual machine.
    2. Right-click the edge filer VM and select Settings.
      The configuration is displayed for the edge filer.
    3. Select SCSI Controller and click Add to add a hard drive.
    4. Click New.
      The New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard opens, displaying the Choose Disk Format window.
    5. Choose the VHDX format and click Next.
      The Choose Disk Type window is displayed.
    6. If you are not likely to increase the disk size, choose Fixed size otherwise, choose Dynamically expanding.
      Note

      Using a dynamically expanding, thin provisioned, disk is initially very slow to format the disk in the edge filer user interface.

    7. Click Next.
      The Specify Name and Location window is displayed.
    8. Specify a name and location for the disk and click Next.
      The Configure Disk window is displayed.
    9. Specify the disk size. CTERA recommends that the storage is at least 20% of the Portal Global Name Space. The maximum storage is dependent on the license.
      • For an EV16 license the maximum is 16TB.
      • For an EV32 license the maximum is 32TB.
      • For an EV64 license the maximum is 64TB.
      • For an EV128 license the maximum 128TB.
      • For an EV256 license the maximum 256TB.
    10. Click Next to review the disk details and then click and Finish.
    11. Click Apply.
      The disk is created.
    12. Click OK.
    13. Start the virtual machine.
    14. Log in to the CTERA Edge Filer as an administrator.
    15. In the Configuration view, select Storage > Arrays in the navigation pane.
    16. Select the array and click Edit.
      The Select drives to join this array wizard is displayed, which shows you all drives available and asks you to select drives to join the array.
    17. Check the Member box for each drive to include in the array.
    18. Click Next to the end of the wizard and then click Finish.
    19. Follow the instructions in the procedure To create or edit a volume in Managing Volumes.

    CTERA Edge Filer in Other Platforms

    For all other platforms, either increase the size of the virtual disk and then follow the instructions in Managing Volumes, or add another disk to the virtual machine and then add the disk to an array, as described in Managing Arrays.

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