In this blog post I will share the instructions and best practices for using VMware VASA (vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness) with NetApp Storage. This is one of the vStorage APIs available from VMware which helps in storage management.
Setup NetApp VASA Provider:
Download the latest version of NetApp VASA provider from NetApp Download site. Note that you need to have valid credentials to login and download this software. At the download page, check the supported version of ONTAP by NetApp VASA Provider.
Once you download the executable (netappvp-1-0-1-winx64.exe) launch the installer and click Next to continue. Complete the installation in three clicks. I have installed VASA provider on Windows 2008 R2.
Launch the NetApp VASA Provider configuration window and perform the following steps:
- Provide the SSO administrator password for VASA provider to communicate with vCenter
- Add the NetApp FAS Storage. Here you would have the provide the root credentials. Alternatively you may use RBAC to create a user account specifically for VASA Provider. There is an excellent KB by NetApp How to configure storage and vCenter RBAC for FAS/V-Series VASA Provider 1.0 for vCenter 5.0 which provides detailed information about creating a custom user account for VASA.
- Register the VASA provider with the vCenter Server using the SSO or administrative credentials. NOTE: You can use the RBAC user created in the previous step while registering the provider with vCenter.
IMPORTANT: If you are unable to register the VASA Provider with vCenter from the VASA configuration window, login to vCenter server and use the following procedure
Register VASA Provider from the vSphere Client
Login to the vCenter server using the vSphere Client and naviate to Home > Storage Providers.
Click on Add and provide the following details to register the plugin
Once the VASA Provider is registered successfully you would see the following details.
Registering VASA Provider from vSphere Web Client
Login to the vSphere Web Client and navigate to Home > Select the vCenter Server > Manage > Storage Providers > Click 
to add the provider. Provide the following details while adding the VASA provider.
to add the provider. Provide the following details while adding the VASA provider.
Ensure that the provider is detected.
With this I will wrap up this blog post and stay tuned I will discuss the use case in my next blog post.
