Configuring a Portal Relationship Between Two Qumulo Clusters

This section explains how to use the Cloud Data Fabric functionality in Qumulo Core by creating a spoke portal on one cluster, proposing a portal relationship to another cluster (which creates the hub portal), and authorizing the relationship by using the qq CLI.

Tip
Global Namespace is now a core component of Qumulo Cloud Data Fabric.

Configuring a Portal Relationship Between Two Qumulo Clusters

This section explains how to configure a portal relationship between two Qumulo clusters by using the qq CLI.

Important

Before you begin to implement Cloud Data Fabric in your organization, we strongly recommend reviewing How Portal Relationships between Qumulo Clusters Enable Cloud Data Fabric in Qumulo Core, especially the Known Limits section.
For any questions, contact the Qumulo Care team.

Prerequisites

Two clusters with the same version of Qumulo Core
Network connectivity on TCP port 3713 from the cluster that shares a portion of its file system for the spoke portal root directory to the cluster that will share a portion of its file system for the hub portal root directory
PRIVILEGE_PORTAL_GLOBAL_READ for viewing the status for a hub portal or spoke portal and retrieving general portal information
Spoke portals
- PRIVILEGE_PORTAL_SPOKE_EVICT: Control automatic cache management for active spoke portals by configuring a free threshold
- PRIVILEGE_PORTAL_SPOKE_READ: View the status of a single spoke portal
- PRIVILEGE_PORTAL_SPOKE_WRITE: Create a spoke portal and propose a relationship with a hub portal
Hub portals
- PRIVILEGE_PORTAL_HUB_READ: View the status of a specific hub portal
- PRIVILEGE_PORTAL_HUB_WRITE: Authorize a hub portal and confirm a relationship with a spoke portal

Important

If both of the clusters use Active Directory, they must be joined to the same domain or each cluster must be joined to Active Directory domains that have a two-way trust relationship to each other.
In Qumulo Core 7.5.0.1 to 7.5.1, it is possible for a Qumulo cluster to host only up to 32 hub portals or up to 32 spoke portals.

Step 1: Create the Spoke Portal

This section explains how to create the spoke portal on one cluster and propose the creation of a portal relationship to another cluster (which creates the hub portal).

On one cluster, choose a location for the spoke portal root directory. For example, /remote/projects.
To propose an initial portal relationship, run the qq portal_create command and specify the spoke portal root directory, the IP address of the proposed hub portal host cluster, and the proposed hub portal root directory on that cluster. For example:
```
qq portal_create \
  --spoke-root /remote/projects \
  --hub-address 203.0.113.0 \
  --hub-root /projects
```
The spoke portal enters the Pending state. The following is example output.
```
ID  State    Status    Type  Spoke Root        Hub Host     Hub Portal ID
==  =======  ========  ====  ================  ===========  =============
2   Pending  Inactive  RW    /remote/projects  203.0.113.0  4
```
Hub Portal ID 4 is the ID that the hub portal host cluster allocates for this portal relationship. You can use it to authorize the relationship on the hub portal host cluster as described later.
Note
- We recommend using floating IP addresses.
- Qumulo Core doesn't support fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) for this operation.
- Portal IDs are unique within each cluster. It isn't possible to use a portal ID from a spoke portal to identify the other side of the relationship, or the other way around.
When Qumulo Core can’t establish a connection from the spoke portal host cluster to the hub portal host cluster, it displays an error message. Try re-establishing the portal relationship.

When the portal relationship is established, both spoke portal and hub portal enter the Pending state.

Note
In this state, the spoke portal root directory is empty and Qumulo Core doesn’t transfer any data until the hub portal authorizes the portal relationship.

To check the status of a cluster, use the qq portal_list command. The following is example output.

From the spoke portal host cluster

ID  State     Status    Role   Local Root
==  ========  ========  =====  ================
2   Pending   Inactive  Spoke  /remote/projects

From the hub portal host cluster

ID  State     Status    Role   Local Root
==  ========  ========  =====  ==========
4   Pending   Inactive  Hub    /projects/

Step 2: Authorize the Portal Relationship

This section explains how to authorize the portal relationship from the hub portal to the spoke portal.

Caution
This action makes both clusters in the portal relationship unavailable for less than 30 seconds while the systems reconfigure.

To find the hub portal ID, run the qq portal_list command.

Tip
To retrieve portal configuration information, run the qq portal_list_spokes and qq portal_list_hubs commands.
To authorize the proposed portal relationship, run the qq portal_authorize_hub command and specify the hub portal ID and the IP address that the current cluster can use to contact the cluster that proposed the relationship. For example:
```
qq portal_authorize_hub \
  --id 4 \
  --spoke-address 203.0.113.1
```
Note
Portal IDs are unique within each cluster. It isn't possible to use a portal ID from a spoke portal to identify the other side of the relationship, or the other way around.

The following is example output.
```
ID  State       Status  Hub Root   Spoke Host   Spoke Name  Spoke Type
==  ==========  ======  =========  ===========  ==========  ==========
4   Authorized  Active  /projects  203.0.113.1  qfsd-edge   RW
```
After a few seconds, the spoke portal enters the Authorized state as well. You can now use the spoke portal root directory.

Deleting a Portal Relationship Between Two Qumulo Clusters

When you delete the spoke portal and the hub portal (in any order), the portal relationship is deleted completely. This section explains how to delete a portal relationship between two Qumulo clusters by using the qq CLI.

Caution
This action makes both clusters in the portal relationship unavailable for less than 30 seconds while the systems reconfigure.

Prerequisites

A spoke portal or hub portal in any state
Privileges
- PRIVILEGE_PORTAL_SPOKE_WRITE: Delete a spoke portal
- PRIVILEGE_PORTAL_HUB_WRITE: Delete a hub portal

Step 1: Delete the Spoke Portal

You can initiate the deletion of a spoke portal in the Unlinked, Pending, or Authorized state. This section explains how to delete the spoke portal from a portal relationship.

Caution
When you delete a spoke portal, all synchronized changes remain on the hub portal and all unsynchronized changes on the spoke portal are lost.

To find the spoke portal ID, run the qq portal_list command. The following is example output.

ID  State       Status  Role   Local Root
==  ==========  ======  =====  ================
3   Authorized  Active  Spoke  /remote/projects

To initiate the deletion of the spoke portal, run the qq portal_delete_spoke command and specify the spoke portal ID. For example:
```
qq portal_delete_spoke --id 3
```
The relationship becomes read-only and enters the Deleting state. Qumulo Core synchronizes any outstanding changes from the spoke portal to the hub portal and then removes the portal relationship from each cluster.
To monitor the deletion progress, run the qq portal_get_spoke command and specify the spoke portal ID. For example:
```
qq portal_get_spoke --id 3
```
The following is example output.
```
ID  State     Status  Type  Spoke Root        Hub Host     Hub Portal ID
==  ========  ======  ====  ================  ===========  =============
2   Deleting  Active  RW    /remote/projects  203.0.113.0  4
```
When the synchronization process is complete and the spoke portal configuration is removed, Qumulo Core begins to reclaim the spoke portal’s cluster capacity in the background.

Note
A spoke portal with connectivity issues receives the Degraded status, which in turn can cause the deletion of a portal relationship to stall in the Deleting state. If it isn’t possible to restore connectivity between portals, you can use the qq portal_get_spoke command with the --force flag to delete a spoke portal with any status and in any state.

Step 2: Delete the Hub Portal

You can delete a hub portal in either the Pending or Authorized state.

Caution
This action makes the spoke portal root directory and all cached data inaccessible.

To find the hub portal ID, run the qq portal_list command. The following is example output.

ID  State       Status  Role   Local Root
==  ==========  ======  =====  ==========
4   Authorized  Active  Hub    /projects/

To delete the hub portal, run the qq portal_delete_hub command and specify the hub portal ID. For example:
```
qq portal_delete_hub --id 4
```
The relationship becomes read-only and enters the Deleting state. Qumulo Core synchronizes any outstanding changes from the spoke portal to the hub portal and then removes the portal relationship from each cluster.

Qumulo Core deletes the hub portal without affecting any of the data on the hub portal host cluster.
To monitor the deletion process, run the qq portal_get_hub command and specify the hub portal ID. For example:
```
qq portal_get_hub --id 4
```
The following is example output.
```
ID  State     Status  Hub Root   Spoke Host   Spoke Name  Spoke Type
==  ========  ======  =========  ===========  ==========  ==========
4   Deleting  Active  /projects  203.0.113.1  qfsd-edge   RO
```
Note
A spoke portal with connectivity issues receives the Degraded status, which in turn can cause the deletion of a portal relationship to stall in the Deleting state. If it isn’t possible to restore connectivity between portals, you can use the qq portal_get_spoke command with the --force flag to delete a spoke portal with any status and in any state.

Configuring a Portal Relationship Between Two Qumulo Clusters