Configuring a Hitachi Content Platform external storage manager

Content Manager OnDemand supports data storage in a Hitachi Content Platform repository. More information on Hitachi Content Platform can be found at: https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/products/cloud-object-platform/content-platform.html

Note: You can use these instructions or you can implement Hitachi Content Platform for Cloud Scale by using an Amazon S3 configuration as documented in Configuring an Amazon S3 external storage manager and Cloud Services which use the Amazon S3 API.

Updating the ARS.CFG file on AIX, Linux, or Linux on System z servers

Perform these steps to configure Hitachi Content Platform on an AIX, Linux, or Linux on System z server.

  1. Two new entries must be added to the ARS.CFG file.

    For AIX servers: 
    ARS_HITACHI_CONFIG_FILE=/opt/IBM/ondemand/V10.5/config/ars.hcp
  ARS_HITACHI_CONFIG_DIR=/opt/IBM/ondemand/V10.5/config
    For Linux and Linux on System z servers: 
    ARS_HITACHI_CONFIG_FILE=/opt/ibm/ondemand/V10.5/config/ars.hcp
  ARS_HITACHI_CONFIG_DIR=/opt/ibm/ondemand/V10.5/config

    The ARS_HITACHI_CONFIG_FILE entry specifies an existing Hitachi Content Platform configuration file which the server uses by default.

    The ARS_HITACHI_CONFIG_DIR entry specifies the directory in which any alternate configuration files are kept. This directory is used if additional Hitachi Content Platform configuration files are defined. The names of these additional configuration files can be specified when defining storage nodes in Content Manager OnDemand. If no configuration file is specified in the storage node, the default configuration file is used.

    The configuration file name and directory path shown in the examples are the recommended values for these entries.

  2. The ARS_STORAGE_MANAGER entry in the ARS.CFG file might also need to be changed. If you specify ARS_STORAGE_MANAGER=CACHE_ONLY, this disables all storage managers supported by Content Manager OnDemand.

    To configure the Content Manager OnDemand server to use Hitachi Content Platform as a storage manager, the value must be set to one of the following:
    ARS_STORAGE_MANAGER=TSM
    This setting will enable all external storage managers supported by Content Manager OnDemand. The Content Manager OnDemand server requires additional software to utilize Tivoli® Storage Manager (TSM) as a storage manager. If that additional software is not installed, the server will not start when the ARS_STORAGE_MANAGER value is set to TSM.
    ARS_STORAGE_MANAGER=NO_TSM
    This setting will enable all external storage managers supported by Content Manager OnDemand except Tivoli Storage Manager. This setting is used when the additional software to support Tivoli Storage Manager is not installed and Tivoli Storage Manager is not required as an external storage manager.

Updating an instance configuration on Windows servers

Perform these steps to configure Hitachi Content Platform on a Windows server. Both steps use the OnDemand Configurator to create or update the configuration information.
  1. Select Hitachi Content Platform as an external storage manager.
  2. Set the configuration entries:
    Configuration Directory
    The Configuration Directory specifies the directory in which any alternate configuration files are kept. This directory is used if additional Hitachi Content Platform configuration files are defined. The names of these additional configuration files can be specified when defining storage nodes in Content Manager OnDemand. If no configuration file is specified in the storage node, the default configuration file is used. For example: C:\Program Files\IBM\OnDemand\V10.5\config
    Default Configuration File
    The Default Configuration File specifies an existing Hitachi Content Platform configuration file which the server uses by default. For example: C:\Program Files\IBM\OnDemand\V10.5\config\ars.hcp A sample configuration file is included as part of the installation of Content Manager OnDemand.

Creating a Hitachi Content Platform configuration file

A Hitachi Content Platform configuration file for Content Manager OnDemand contains entries specific to your Hitachi Content Platform implementation. You specify the location and name of the default configuration file in the ARS.CFG entry or by using the OnDemand Configurator. Required entries must be specified. Optional entries are not required in the configuration file unless those values need to be changed.

The following list describes the entries that can be specified in a Hitachi Content Platform configuration file.

ARS_HITACHI_SERVER
Specifies the Hitachi Content Platform server name. Do not include http:// or https:// in the name. This entry is required.
ARS_HITACHI_USE_SSL
Indicates whether or not to use SSL in server communications. The possible values are:
  • 0 - SSL will not be used
  • 1 - SSL will be used
The default value is 0. This entry is optional.
ARS_HITACHI_CONNECT_ TIMEOUT
Specifies the maximum number of seconds that Content Manager OnDemand waits for a response from the storage manager. The default is 60. This entry is optional. Warning: Setting this value too low might cause connection failures.
ARS_HITACHI_HLD
Specifies the high-level directory name. This attribute is available to group sets of Content Manager OnDemand data together which might be needed if sharing external storage among multiple Content Manager OnDemand servers. Warning: Once this value is set, it must not be changed. If it is changed, any data that is already stored will not be retrievable. There is no default value. This entry is optional.
As an example, for a URL such as http://sample.hitachi-hcp.com/, the Hitachi Content Platform configuration file contains:
ARS_HITACHI_SERVER=sample.hitachi-hcp.com

Defining a Hitachi Content Platform storage node with the Administrator client

You can define the settings for using the Hitachi Content Platform access method on the Add a Primary Node dialog of the OnDemand Administrator client.

The Storage Node field becomes Namespace when the Access Method is set to Hitachi Content Platform. The namespace must exist in your repository or access to Hitachi Content Platform will fail.

The Logon and Password fields contain the Hitachi Content Platform logon and password that Content Manager OnDemand needs to access your Hitachi Content Platform repository.

The Access Method radio button is set to Hitachi Content Platform. For Content Manager OnDemand servers running on all platforms except Windows, the Configuration File Name defaults to the value specified by the ARS_HITACHI_CONFIG_FILE parameter in the ARS.CFG file if no value is entered. Otherwise, Content Manager OnDemand looks for the configuration file in the directory defined by the ARS_HITACHI_CONFIG_DIR parameter specified in the ARS.CFG file. For Content Manager OnDemand servers running on Windows, the server uses the Configuration File Name field and the Configuration Directory field that are specified in the OnDemand Configurator instead of using the ARS.CFG file parameters.