Morro Data - Support Center

The V201 installation tutorial video can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FOFI-JvCh0 

The V201 is a CacheDrive running in a VM under Hyper-V.

Each CacheDrive virtual machine image is customized with a unique identifier. The virtual machine runs on Hyper-V and contains a bootable disk image. 

Requirements

• Windows Server 2012 R2 or later
  
  
• SATA Controller
  The data disk needs to be attached to an SATA controller.
  
  
• Minimum Disk Space: 250GB
  The minimum disk space for the VM is 250 GB. We recommend at least 500 GB per CacheDrive (1 TB preferred).
  
  
• Virtual Network Adapter
  Create a virtual network adapter to your network with Internet access.
  NOTE: This is common mistake. Make sure your Virtual LAN has Internet access.
  
   
• DHCP Server
  CacheDrives use DHCP to obtain an IP Address. You can reserve the IP Address once a lease is established on your DHCP server. Although we recommend to use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to setup IP address for the virtual CacheDrive, it is possible to setup to static IP. Please see document https://support.morrodata.com/en/support/solutions/articles/14000099664 . This document applies to virtual CacheDrive as well. 

Recommendations

• 2 vCPU (more can be added for heavy workloads)
• 2 GB RAM with Dynamic Memory disabled.  If you expect a large number of simultaneous users, we suggest 4 MB per user with 2 GB being the minimum recommended.
• High-performance storage (NVMe or SATA SSD) for the OS disk. (see below)

To begin the installation process, download the zip file provided by Morro Data and save it to a computer that has access to your Hyper-V server. The zip file contains a custom VHDX file that is used as the boot disk for the Hyper-V virtual machine.

There are three steps to installing your V101 CacheDrive:

1. Create a virtual machine with a large enough disk for the CacheDrive.
2. Add the downloaded CacheDrive boot image as the boot disk and start up the CacheDrive VM.
3. Add the CacheDrive to your account.

1. Create the Virtual Machine

Create a new virtual machine in Hyper-V and use the downloaded boot disk to install the CacheDrive software on the newly created virtual machine.

1. Open the Hyper-V Manager.
2. Click "New", then select "Virtual Machine" to start the New Virtual Machine Wizard.
   
   
   
3. In the New Virtual Machine Wizard window, specify a name for your virtual machine.
   
   
   
4. In the Specify Generation panel, select Generation 2, then click "Next".
   
   
   
5. Specify memory size. We recommend 1 GB or more. Disable Dynamic Memory.
   
   
   
6. Select Network adapter. (You need to provision network adapter in advance.)
   
   
   
7. Create data disk(s). V201 supports single and two-disk installations.
   
   
   Single-disk (lower performance) Installations
   Add one disk that will hold both the OS and data volumes. The larger the disk, the larger the amount of data that can be cached. We recommend a disk size of at least 500 GB (1 TB preferred).
   
   Two-disk (higher performance) Installations
   Add one disk for the OS and a larger disk for the data. We recommend using at least 128GB (larger for large file system) of the fastest storage available (NVMe or SATA SSD) for the OS disk to maximize database performance. The data disk will be used for the cache and can use slower storage if desired.
   
   OS and volume disks can be expanded later if required.  The installer will automatically use the larger disk for the data volume.
   
   
8. In Installation Options, select "Install later" as our install media is virtual hard disk.
   
   
   
9. In Summary, confirm entries and click "Finish".

2. Add boot disk and configure the Virtual Machine

Once the virtual machine is deployed, configure the virtual machine as follows:

1. Select Virtual Machine we just created and click "Settings..."
   
   
   
2. Add the boot disk image you downloaded.
   
   Select "SCSI Controller" from left side, select "Hard Drive" in selection box, then click Add.
   
   
   Browse and enter the virtual hard disk image file (.VHDX) provided by Morro Data. Click Apply to save the changes.
   
   

   Note: The VHDX file can be downloaded using the link received after purchasing the V201.  If you did not receive the link, please contact your Account Manager.

   
   

   
   
3. Set the VHDX boot image as the first boot option.

   
   

   Select "Firmware" from the left side menu. Make sure the downloaded boot disk image VHDX is at the top of list. Click Apply to save changes.

   
   

   
   

4. Disable Secure Boot mode.
   
   By default, the system will use Secure Boot. Make sure this setting is disabled.
   
   From the "Security" menu in the left, uncheck the "Enable Secure Boot" option. Click Apply to save changes.
   
   
   

5. Configure Integration Services.
   
   By default, the system will use Time Synchronization. Make sure this setting is disabled.
   
   From the "Integration Services" menu in the left, disable "Time synchronization". Click Apply to save changes.
   
   
   

6. Click OK to close the Settings dialog. Start the Virtual Machine to complete the configuration process.
   
   Select the virtual machine and click Start from the Actions panel.
   
   The virtual machine will reboot after installing the boot image to the main disk. The boot disk will no longer work after the reboot, so it should be removed. If you need to deploy the virtual machine again, be sure to download a fresh copy of the boot disk.
   
   
   Now you can visit https://account.morrodata.com to create an account with your virtual appliance or add the device to an existing account using the Add Gateway feature from MCM.

3. Add the CacheDrive to Your Account

There are two ways to add your CacheDrive to your account:

1. Add a CacheDrive to a new account
2. Add a CacheDrive to an existing account

Add a CacheDrive to a New Account

For information on how to add a CacheDrive to a new account, please refer to the article Morro Account Sign Up.

Add a CacheDrive to an Existing Account

For information on how to add a CacheDrive to an existing account, please refer to the article Add Gateway (CacheDrive).

After adding the drive, the system will show that there is an invalid disk attached. Follow the final steps to complete the VM installation process.

Final Steps

After adding the virtual CacheDrive to your account, please go back into Hyper-V manager and remove the boot disk provided by Morro Data. If you skip this step, you will see the "Non-data disk found" warning in Morro Cloud Manager > Devices.

1. Power down the VM. 

2. Select your VM and click Settings.

3. Choose boot disk and click Remove (the drive size is 512MB).

4. Click OK

Once the process is completed, power on the VM.

Common Mistakes

Below is a list of common mistakes.  Please review them if you are having trouble deploying your virtual CacheDrive.

1. The V201 must be connected to a virtual switch with Internet access and a valid DHCP server (or you can configure the V201 with a static IP address).
2. Make sure you select Generation 2 for Hyper-V.
3. Secure Boot should be disabled.
4. Time Sync with Host should be disabled.
5. Allocate enough memory (2GB or larger for production systems, 768MB minimum for testing) and disable Dynamic memory.
6. If you forgot to remove the installation boot disk (usually 512MB disk), you will see the "Non-data disk found" warning in the Morro Cloud Manager > Devices. This is a harmless warning but you can follow the Final Steps above to remove the installation boot disk.

FAQ

My CacheDrive VM is very slow. What should I check?

How do I expand the hard drive on my VM (V200/V201/V202)?

My CacheDrive won't boot or is offline. What should I do?