Xenserver pool and NFS SR

[bwilling]

Trying to create a shared NFS storage repository for my 3 host Xenserver pool using the latest version of DSS V6 (currently in trial mode). I created the share with SMB off, NFS on, and the 3 IP's of the pool members listed as both access and write for the share.

Xenserver sees the share and connects, but only the pool master shows to be connected to the SR, with the remaining members showing as 'unplugged'. Trying to repair the SR does not fix it... an xe sr-probe shows only the pool master IP in the access list, even though the other IP's are listed in DSS. What am I missing here?

[Gr-R]

the access and write list cant be the same.
give access to the /24, and single IPs to the write list.
all others will have read only at that point.

[bwilling]

Thanks for the help, but with access set to the /24 block and write set to the pool members IPs, xenserver won't create the SR at all "There was an error trying to create the NFS storage repository - check your settings and try again"

With access left blank (giving read access to all in the subnet according to the docs) and write set to the pool members IPs, I get the same thing. Pool master is the only member connected after the SR is built, others are 'unplugged'.

I'll admit to being a xenserver noob too, maybe I'm missing something on the xenserver side...

[Gr-R]

are you using vlans?

[bwilling]

no sir, my iSCSI/NFS traffic is on a separate physical network.

[Gr-R]

if you leave both fields blank, does it work?

[bwilling]

It's definitely related to the pool, I can put the IP of my lab machine in DSS as both allow and write, and it happily builds a SR on the same share...

[Gr-R]

certainly a xen issue then.
I cant remember off the top of my head the config on the xen side, but if you give me a day or 2, I can get it set up here, and let you know.

[bwilling]

Thanks for your help! I'll continue to look for a solution also and report back if I figure it out. So much fun learning so much new stuff all at once! Not.

[bwilling]

God I hate computers! No really!

Turned out to be a Xenserver issue all along... I had bonded nics for both VM traffic and storage traffic before I got around to pooling the hosts, and xenserver complained about the primary management interface being bonded, so I broke those bonds but left the storage traffic bond in place while I pooled them.

I noticed some 'weirdness' centered around those bonded interfaces when it was done pooling the hosts, but I just took care of it so that it 'looked' correct. I say looked, because in reality the storage interface on the non pool master members was in place but not functional (ah, thank God for ping!), which is why the SR wouldn't build right. I broke the bond and recreated it, and all is good now.

The NFS share will indeed work with all the pool member IPs listed as both allow and write, and in fact Xenserver won't build the SR with a /24 block as allow and all the pool IPs as write. Well, it will work if all your network interfaces actually work.

Chalk another one up to hard learned experience!