DSF Content: nfs_ls Utility

Acropolis uses iSCSI and NFS for storing VM files. Since you want to be able to see what was uploaded to the container, you can check from any of the controller VMs the container content using the nfs_ls utility to list NFS servers, exports or directories.

List contents of one container:

nfs_ls –l /<container_name>

Each disk which maps to a VM is defined as a separate iSCSI target. The Nutanix scripts work with libvirtd in the kernel to create the necessary iSCSI structures in Acropolis. These structures map to vDisks created in the Nutanix container specified by the administrator. If no container is specified, the script uses the default container name.

Nutanix storage containers can be accessed by the Acropolis host as NFS datastores. NFS datastores are used to manage images which may be used by multiple VMs, such as ISO files. When mapped to a VM, the script maps the file in the NFS datastore to the VM as a iSCSI device, just as it does for virtual disk files.

Images must be specified by absolute path, as if relative to the NFS server. For example, if a datastore named ImageStore exists with a subdirectory called linux, the path required to access this set of files would be /ImageStore/linux. Use then fs_ls script to browse the datastore from the Controller VM.

It is possible to download files from the CVM with WinSCP. Here is a good KB detailing the process.

Location Images [Prism Image Service]

Raw images, collected through the Prism Image can be found in Prism Element in the container that was chosen during the Image Configuration script, under /<container_name>/.file_repo/

Prism Central Images

When uploading images in Prism Central, those raw images are automatically saved in the container, and on the cluster that was used during the deployment of Prism Central: no specific container can be chosen as with Prism (Element).