Managing cloud accounts
A cloud account is an object on the system that represents a connection to a cloud service provider by using a particular set of credentials. These credentials differ depending on the type of cloud service provider that is being specified. Most cloud service providers require the host name of the cloud service provider and an associated password, and some cloud service providers also require certificates to authenticate users of the cloud storage. Public clouds use certificates that are signed by well-known certificate authorities. Private cloud service providers can use either a self-signed certificate or a certificate that is signed by a trusted certificate authority. These credentials are defined on the cloud service provider and passed to the system through the administrators of the cloud service provider. You can manage cloud accounts with the management GUI or the command-line interface.
If you configured a cloud account in the management GUI, use the Transparent cloud tiering page to monitor the status and data usage for the account. Use the status values for the cloud account to monitor and troubleshoot connection disruptions between the cloud service provider and the system. You can also display the amount of cloud storage that remains available for cloud snapshots and restore operations. You can also use the command-line interface to manage cloud accounts that are configured on the system.
Verify cloud account
To verify the cloud account state is online, use the panel in the management GUI. If the cloud account is not online, the connection to the cloud service provider is not available. Use the panel to investigate the cause of the problem. You might need to access the cloud service provider to determine the connection problem.
Changing settings on cloud account
Certain settings are controlled by the cloud service provider and cannot be changed. However, you can update credential information for a cloud account if necessary.
When settings are changed on the cloud account, any snapshot versions of volumes that are stored on the cloud becomes unavailable. Before you change any settings that are related to the cloud account, ensure that you restore data from the cloud storage or delete the cloud snapshots from cloud storage. After the changes are completed to the cloud account, new cloud snapshots can be created of volume data. Some situations might require that you update certain settings on the cloud account. For example, if a cloud service provider updates credential information, then changes to the cloud account information on the system are required. For some settings, the system restricts any updates.
OpenStack Swift account
For a cloud account with OpenStack Swift, the following settings cannot be changed:
- Tenant
- A tenant is a container that is used to store objects that are created for a particular account. Tenant names are defined by the cloud service provider and represent the underlying storage that is used by the account. Tenant names must remain consistent or data that is stored on the cloud cannot be accessed.
- Container prefix
- Container prefixes are added to the beginning of the tenant name to identify which tenants are associated with the system. Prefixes can also be used to identify multiple systems that use the same cloud account to store snapshots of volume data. Like with tenant names, these prefixes must remain consistent to access data on the cloud.
- Encryption
- After encryption is set for a cloud account, it cannot be changed.
Use the panel in management GUI to change settings for an OpenStack Swift account. Expand Account information to view the settings that are related to the account. The following settings can be updated:
- User name
- Enter the new user name that is associated with the account. The user name is used to identify clients that can access content that is stored by the cloud service provider.
- Password
- Enter the new password that gives access to the cloud storage for the specified user name. To update the password, click Edit.
- Endpoint
- Enter the new URL that the system uses to access cloud storage on the cloud service provider.
- SSL Certificate
- Select the new SSL certificate that is used to authenticate the system to the cloud service provider.
- Keystone
- Keystone authentication system is required for all OpenStack Swift cloud accounts. The management GUI automatically detects whether Keystone is enabled. If it is not enabled, a warning message displays. Click Enable to configure Keystone authentication for the account.
To change settings using the command-line interface for the OpenStack Swift storage account, see the chcloudaccountswift command.
Amazon S3 account
For a cloud account with Amazon S3, the following settings cannot be changed:
- Region
- Enter the user name that is associated with the account. The user name is used to identify clients that can access content that is stored by the cloud service provider.
- Bucket Prefix
- Enter short string that is added to the name of the bucket to identify which storage objects are associated with the system. Prefixes can also be used to identify multiple systems that use the same cloud account to store snapshots of volume data. A bucket is a container that Amazon S3 creates to hold objects that are associated with a particular client.
- Encryption
- If encryption is configured on the system, this value is preselected. If encryption is not enabled on the system, this option is unavailable.
- Access key ID
- Enter the new public part of the credential that the system uses to authenticate to cloud services. The access key ID is essentially a user name.
- Secret access key
- Enter the new private part of the credential that the system uses to authenticate the system to cloud services. To update the secret access key, click Edit.
To change settings using the command-line interface for the Amazon S3 storage account, see the chcloudaccountawss3 command.
Microsoft Azure account
For a cloud account with Microsoft Azure, the following settings cannot be changed:
- Container Prefix
- Prefixes are added to the beginning of the container names. Container prefixes help to identify the objects that the system creates and uses on the cloud storage.
- Encryption
- If encryption is configured on the system, this value is preselected. If encryption is not enabled on the system, this option is not available.
Use the panel in management GUI to change settings for the Microsoft Azure storage account. Expand Account information to view the settings that are related to the account.
For Storage account key, you can add an access key or update the existing access key that the system uses to authenticate the cloud account.
To change settings using the command-line interface for the Microsoft Azure storage account, see the chcloudaccountazure command.
Testing a cloud account
The command-line interface supports diagnostics and status reports for network connectivity, authentication, and the ability to use cloud storage. You can use this information for troubleshooting and monitoring the status of your cloud account.
To test a cloud account, enter the command testcloudaccount cloud_account_id_or_name. For more information, see testcloudaccount.
Removing a cloud account
If a cloud account is no longer needed, it can be removed from the system. You can use the management GUI or the command-line interface to delete a cloud account.
If cloud snapshots are not currently in the cloud storage that is associated with the account, the cloud account settings and any containers and metadata are deleted from the cloud service provider. If cloud snapshots do exist on the cloud, only the cloud account information is deleted, but the cloud snapshots are retained on the cloud service provider. If at some point the data on the cloud is needed, you can re-create a new cloud account that uses the same settings and you can access the data that is stored on the cloud service provider. For the remove operation to succeed, no active cloud snapshots or restore operations can be in progress.
Use the panel in management GUI to remove the cloud account. Expand Account information to view the settings that are related to the account.
To remove a cloud account using the command-line interface, see the rmcloudaccount command.