Install an Edge Filer in Azure Not Using the Azure Marketplace Version

The edge filer image used to create the CTERA Edge Filer instance is created from a vhd file that is obtainable from CTERA support. The file needs to be moved to your Azure portal, using either Azure Storage Explorer or Azcopy.exe. Azcopy is available for download from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-use-azcopy-v10. The zip file contains the azcopy.exe program.

After installing the CTERA Edge Filer, you perform an initial configuration, described in First Time Setup for your version.

The edge filer can be installed in a Microsoft Azure environment with the following:

• Microsoft Azure portal premium account.

• Azure instance that matches the license:

  License	Maximum Data
  EV16	16TB
  EV32	32TB
  EV64	64TB
  EV128	128TB
  EV256	256TB

• Premium disks: P40 or P50 with maximum throughput of 250MB/s.

Contact CTERA, and request the latest Azure edge filer vhd file.

Create the Edge Filer Image in Azure

To get the image vhd files:

1. Log in to your Azure portal and access the Storage Accounts service to display the images.
   The list of available storage accounts is displayed.
2. Either create a new storage account for the image or click the storage account to use for the image.
   The storage account details are displayed.
3. Click Access Keys under Security + Networking in the navigation menu and note the Storage account name and the Key 1 key value.
   Note

   Click Show keys to display the key.

4. Click Storage browser in the navigation menu and then click Blob containers and select Add container.
   The New container page is displayed.
5. Enter a name for the container and click Create.
6. Click the container.
7. Click Shared access signature under Security + Networking in the navigation menu.
   The Shared access signature page is displayed.
8. Set the permissions and click Create.
9. Copy the URI that is generated and save it.
   The URI includes a shared access key.

To copy the vhd file:
To copy the vhd file, you can use Azure Storage Explorer for a graphical user interface (GUI) or AzCopy.exe for a command line option.

Via AzCopy.exe, run the following command from the folder where you saved AzCopy.exe for the vhd file:
AzCopy.exe cp "<source_uri>" "<destination_uri>"
source_uri – The source URI location and path of the vhd file obtained from CTERA.
destination_url – The destination URL.

The vhd file is copied to the container. This can take some time.

To create the CTERA Edge Filer server instance in Azure:

1. Log in to your Azure portal and access the Images service to display the image obtained from CTERA support.
   The list of available images is displayed.

2. Click Create.
   The Create an image page is displayed.
   

3. Enter the following in the Basics tab.
   Resource group – The resource group to be used. The resource group must use premium storage.
   Name – A name to uniquely identify the virtual machine.
   Region – The region to host the image.
   OS type – Select Linux.
   VM generation – Select Gen 1.

   Note

   You must select Gen 1.

   Storage blob – Either enter the storage blob URI for the OS vhd file from CTERA or click Browse.
   The Storage accounts page is displayed.

   1. Select the storage account from the list.
      The Containers page is displayed.
   2. Select the container from the list.
      The container content is displayed.
   3. Select the OS vhd file received from CTERA and click Select.

   Account type – Select Premium SSD.

4. Click + Add data disk.
   The data disk options are displayed.

5. Either enter the storage blob URI for the data disk vhd file from CTERA or click Browse.
   The Storage accounts page is displayed.

   1. Select the storage account from the list.
      The Containers page is displayed.
   2. Select the container from the list.
      The container content is displayed.
   3. Select the data disk vhd file received from CTERA and click Select.
   4. For Account type, select Premium SSD from the drop-down box.
   5. Set Host caching to None. Setting it to Read/write can cause issues during periods of heavy writes, mainly during portal upgrades.
      

6. Leave the other fields with their defaults and click Review + create.
   The information is checked and if okay, it is validated.

7. Click Create.
   Deployment starts. Upon completion, click Go to resource.
   The image details are displayed.

Install the Edge Filer

To create the CTERA Edge Filer instance in Azure:

1. Log in to your Azure portal and access the Images service to display the image obtained from CTERA support.
   The list of available images is displayed.

2. Click the image for the CTERA Edge Filer.
   The image details are displayed.

3. Click Create VM.
   The Create a virtual machine window is displayed.

4. Enter the following in the Basics tab for the virtual machine.
   Resource group – The resource group to be used. The resource group must use premium storage.
   Virtual machine name – A name to uniquely identify the virtual machine.
   Region – The region to host the virtual machine.
   Size – Click See all sizes to specify the size of the storage used for the edge filer software.
   The Select a VM size window is displayed.
   

   1. Select a VM that matches your requirements. The size you select should be dependent on the license.

      License	Maximum Memory
      EV16	8GB
      EV32	16GB
      EV64	32GB
      EV128	64GB
      EV256	128GB

      The edge filer software requires less than 1GB SSD storage. CTERA limits the number of data disks for a gateway to 16.

   2. Click Select.

   Authentication type – Choose either SSH public key or Password. The tab changes depending on this choice to enable entering the SSH public key or a password and confirmation password. Make a note of any password entered, as it is used to log on to the edge filer instance.
   Username – A name to access the virtual machine. This is an administrator name that can access the edge filer.
   Public inbound ports – Choose the None option. Inbound and outbound ports will be added later.
   Leave the other values with their defaults.

5. Click the Disks tab, or click Next: Disks.
   

6. Set the OS disk type.

7. Under Data disks, click Create and attach a new disk.
   The Create a new disk window is displayed.
   

8. Enter a unique name to identify the disk.

9. Click Change size and enter the storage type and size of the disk. You can add more than one disk, up to the number allowed for the size of selected virtual machine. CTERA recommends storage of 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 is 128TB.
   • For an EV256 license, the maximum is 256TB.

   Click OK.

10. Leave the Source type value as None and click OK.

11. Click the Networking tab, or click Next: Networking.

12. Set the network and subnet details to access the edge filer.

13. Click the Review + Create tab, or click Review + Create.
    

14. Review the virtual machine details and click Create.
    The machine is deployed, which can take a few minutes.
    
    The machine is started automatically.

15. Click Go to resource to display the edge filer details.
    The virtual machine includes the OS disk and the added data disks, which are used for the edge filer data.

16. Note the Public IP address.

17. In the options for the virtual machine in the left pane, click Networking, under Settings, to add inbound and outbound port rules.

18. For the Inbound port rules tab, click Add inbound port rule.
    The Add inbound security rule pane is displayed.

19. Add the inbound port rules, clicking Add after adding each rule, using the ports listed in Port Requirements.

20. For the Outbound port rules tab, click Add outbound port rule.
    The Add outbound security rule pane is displayed.

21. Add the outbound ports listed in Port Requirements.