EMC Unity CIFS Test

EMC Unity uses Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol as an open standard for network file service. CIFS is a file access protocol designed for the Internet and is based on the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol that the Microsoft Windows operating system uses for distributed file sharing. The CIFS protocol lets remote users access file systems over the network. You can configure the CIFS protocol on a storage processor to enable that data mover to allow remote users to access the file systems that it contains via CIFS. By continuously monitoring the CIFS operations on every storage processor, you can easily identify that data mover on which CIFS is most ineffective/problematic. This is where, the EMC Unity CIFS test helps. This test monitors the CIFS reads and writes performed on each storage processor in the target storage system and reports the following:

How well the I/O operations were performed using the CIFS protocol, and whether any delays were noticed;
The bandwidth consumption when CIFS reads and writes are performed on the storage processor

These statistics will not only enable administrators to promptly detect current or probable latencies in I/O operations when using CIFS, but will also help them figure out which I/O activity was most latent - i.e., whether reading or writing - and on which storage processor.

Target of the test : An EMC Unity Storage System

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each Storage Processor: LUN combination on the target storage system being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The IP address of the storage system for which this test is to be configured.
UniSphere CLI Path	The eG agent uses the command-line utility, UEMCli.exe, which is part of the UniSphere Management Suite, to communicate with and monitor the storage device. To enable the eG agent to invoke the CLI, configure the full path to the CLI here.
Username and Password	Provide the credentials of a user possessing 'monitor' role to access the storage system in the Username and Password text boxes.
Confirm Password	Confirm the Password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box.
Timeout	Specify the duration (in seconds) beyond which this test should time out in the Timeout text box. The default is 300 seconds.
Detailed Diagnosis	To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option. The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled: The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Peak read bandwidth	Indicates the maximum amount of data read through CIFS protocol from this storage processor per second.	MB/sec	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the time, name of the storage processor and the read bandwidth corresponding to that time.
Average read bandwidth	Indicates the average amount of data read through CIFS protocol from this storage processor per second.	MB/sec	Compare the value of this measure across the storage processors to figure out the storage processor on which maximum bandwidth is consumed for reading the data.
Peak write bandwidth	Indicates the maximum amount of data written using CIFS protocol to this storage processor per second.	MB/sec	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the time, name of the storage processor and the write bandwidth corresponding to that time.
Average write bandwidth	Indicates the average amount of data written using CIFS protocol to this storage processor per second.	MB/sec	Compare the value of this measure across the storage processors to figure out the storage processor on which maximum bandwidth is consumed for writing the data.
Peak read IOPS	Indicates the maximum number of read operations performed using CIFS protocol on this storage processor per second.	IOPS	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the time, the name of the storage processor and the read IOPS corresponding to that time.
Average read IOPS	Indicates the average number of read operations performed using CIFS protocol on this storage processor per second.	IOPS	Compare the value of this measure across the storage processors to figure out the storage processor that is performing the maximum read operations.
Peak write IOPS	Indicates the maximum number of write operations performed using CIFS protocol on this storage processor per second.	IOPS	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the time, name of the storage processor and the write IOPS corresponding to that time.
Average write IOPS	Indicates the average number of write operations performed using CIFS protocol on this storage processor per second.	IOPS	Compare the value of this measure across the storage processors to figure out the storage processor that is performing the maximum write operations.
Peak total IOPS	Indicates the total number of I/O operations performed using CIFS protocol on this storage processor per second.	IOPS	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the time, name of the storage processor and the total IOPS corresponding to that time.
Average total IOPS	Indicates the average number of I/O operations performed using CIFS protocol on this storage processor per second.	IOPS	Compare the value of this measure across the storage processors to figure out the storage processor that is performing the maximum I/O operations.