The Dell EqualLogic volume driver interacts with configured EqualLogic arrays and supports various operations.
Supported operations
Create, delete, attach, and detach volumes.
Create, list, and delete volume snapshots.
Clone a volume.
The OpenStack Block Storage service supports:
Multiple instances of Dell EqualLogic Groups or Dell EqualLogic Group Storage Pools and multiple pools on a single array.
Multiple instances of Dell EqualLogic Groups or Dell EqualLogic Group Storage Pools or multiple pools on a single array.
The Dell EqualLogic volume driver's ability to access the EqualLogic
Group is dependent upon the generic block storage driver's SSH settings
in the /etc/cinder/cinder.conf file (see the section called “Block Storage sample configuration files” for reference).
| Configuration option = Default value | Description |
|---|---|
| [DEFAULT] | |
eqlx_chap_login = admin |
(StrOpt) Existing CHAP account name. Note that this option is deprecated in favour of "chap_username" as specified in cinder/volume/driver.py and will be removed in next release. |
eqlx_chap_password = password |
(StrOpt) Password for specified CHAP account name. Note that this option is deprecated in favour of "chap_password" as specified in cinder/volume/driver.py and will be removed in the next release |
eqlx_cli_max_retries = 5 |
(IntOpt) Maximum retry count for reconnection. Default is 5. |
eqlx_cli_timeout = 30 |
(IntOpt) Timeout for the Group Manager cli command execution. Default is 30. |
eqlx_group_name = group-0 |
(StrOpt) Group name to use for creating volumes. Defaults to "group-0". |
eqlx_pool = default |
(StrOpt) Pool in which volumes will be created. Defaults to "default". |
eqlx_use_chap = False |
(BoolOpt) Use CHAP authentication for targets. Note that this option is deprecated in favour of "use_chap_auth" as specified in cinder/volume/driver.py and will be removed in next release. |
The following sample /etc/cinder/cinder.conf
configuration lists the relevant settings for a typical Block Storage
service using a single Dell EqualLogic Group:
Example 2.1. Default (single-instance) configuration
[DEFAULT] #Required settings volume_driver = cinder.volume.drivers.eqlx.DellEQLSanISCSIDriver san_ip =IP_EQLXsan_login =SAN_UNAMEsan_password =SAN_PWeqlx_group_name =EQLX_GROUPeqlx_pool =EQLX_POOL#Optional settings san_thin_provision =true|falseeqlx_use_chap =true|falseeqlx_chap_login =EQLX_UNAMEeqlx_chap_password =EQLX_PWeqlx_cli_timeout = 30 eqlx_cli_max_retries = 5 san_ssh_port = 22 ssh_conn_timeout = 30 san_private_key =SAN_KEY_PATHssh_min_pool_conn = 1 ssh_max_pool_conn = 5
In this example, replace the following variables accordingly:
- IP_EQLX
The IP address used to reach the Dell EqualLogic Group through SSH. This field has no default value.
- SAN_UNAME
The user name to login to the Group manager via SSH at the
san_ip. Default user name isgrpadmin.- SAN_PW
The corresponding password of
SAN_UNAME. Not used whensan_private_keyis set. Default password ispassword.- EQLX_GROUP
The group to be used for a pool where the Block Storage service will create volumes and snapshots. Default group is
group-0.- EQLX_POOL
The pool where the Block Storage service will create volumes and snapshots. Default pool is
default. This option cannot be used for multiple pools utilized by the Block Storage service on a single Dell EqualLogic Group.- EQLX_UNAME
The CHAP login account for each volume in a pool, if
eqlx_use_chapis set totrue. Default account name ischapadmin.- EQLX_PW
The corresponding password of
EQLX_UNAME. The default password is randomly generated in hexadecimal, so you must set this password manually.- SAN_KEY_PATH (optional)
The filename of the private key used for SSH authentication. This provides password-less login to the EqualLogic Group. Not used when
san_passwordis set. There is no default value.
In addition, enable thin provisioning for SAN volumes using the
default san_thin_provision =
setting.true
Example 2.2. Multi back-end Dell EqualLogic configuration
The following example shows the typical configuration for a Block Storage service that uses two Dell EqualLogic back ends:
enabled_backends = backend1,backend2 san_ssh_port = 22 ssh_conn_timeout = 30 san_thin_provision =true [backend1] volume_driver = cinder.volume.drivers.eqlx.DellEQLSanISCSIDriver volume_backend_name =backend1san_ip =IP_EQLX1san_login =SAN_UNAMEsan_password =SAN_PWeqlx_group_name =EQLX_GROUPeqlx_pool =EQLX_POOL [backend2] volume_driver = cinder.volume.drivers.eqlx.DellEQLSanISCSIDriver volume_backend_name =backend2san_ip =IP_EQLX2san_login =SAN_UNAMEsan_password =SAN_PWeqlx_group_name =EQLX_GROUPeqlx_pool =EQLX_POOL
In this example:
Thin provisioning for SAN volumes is enabled (
san_thin_provision =). This is recommended when setting up Dell EqualLogic back ends.trueEach Dell EqualLogic back-end configuration (
[backend1]and[backend2]) has the same required settings as a single back-end configuration, with the addition ofvolume_backend_name.The
san_ssh_portoption is set to its default value, 22. This option sets the port used for SSH.The
ssh_conn_timeoutoption is also set to its default value, 30. This option sets the timeout in seconds for CLI commands over SSH.The
IP_EQLX1andIP_EQLX2refer to the IP addresses used to reach the Dell EqualLogic Group ofbackend1andbackend2through SSH, respectively.
For information on configuring multiple back ends, see Configure a multiple-storage back end.

