How to use the vME Microweb
Overview
For casual use that doesn't require automation, vME has a web frontend.
Pools
A pool is a combination of one or many disk drives. A pool can have one or more sources. Sources created within the pool see all the pool's capacity and can grow up to the available space for the whole pool.
Creating a Pool
Navigate to the Pool screen.
To create a new pool, click on the “+ Pool” button.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Pool Name | Name of the pool. |
| Pool Size | Size of the pool drive to be allocated (In MBs). |
| Device Path | The volume path of the disk(s) to be utilised by the pool. |
Disk Details
Navigate to the Pool screen and below the Manage Pool table, the details of the disks listed on the vME server are present.
Sources
A source is created in the boundaries of a pool. A source file can only belong to one pool, but pool can contain more than one source.
Creating a Source
Navigate to the Source screen.
To create a new source, click on the “+ Source” button.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Pool Name | Name of the pool. |
| Database Method | Choose container (default), network_iscsi (Network - iSCSI), or network_nfs (NFS). |
| Database Type | Database type, select from dropdown. For iSCSI sources, Database Type is set to Microsoft SQL automatically. |
| Source Name* | Enter your Source Name. |
When selecting the iSCSI method for source creation, the below fields will have to be configured.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| iSCSI volume size (GB) | Optional. Leave blank for auto-grow (thin provisioned iSCSI LUN). Enter a value only to set a fixed maximum size. |
| iSCSI Network Settings | Configure portal bind IP and NFS compatibility fields; use "Edit Settings" to open the dialog. |
By default, the database type is set to "Microsoft SQL". After this select the "Edit Settings" option in the iSCSI Network Settings field.
iSCSI Network Settings
| Field Name | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Client Address* | 0.0.0.0 | For iSCSI this is the portal bind IP. Use 0.0.0.0 to listen on all vME interfaces, or set specific IPv4 address(es). |
| anonuid* | 65534 | anonuid/anongid are for NFS anonymous user/group mapping. They are stored for compatibility but not used by iSCSI LUN creation. |
| anongid* | 65534 | anonuid/anongid are for NFS anonymous user/group mapping. They are stored for compatibility but not used by iSCSI LUN creation. |
iSCSI Source Form Instructions
When creating an iSCSI source from the Source form, fill the fields as follows:
- Set
Database Methodtonetwork_iscsi. - Select
Pool Name,Database Type, and enterSource Name. - In
iSCSI volume size (GB), leave blank for auto-grow (thin provisioning), or enter a fixed GB value for a hard cap. - Open
iSCSI Network Settings(cog icon) and confirm:Client Address:0.0.0.0to listen on all vME interfaces, or specific IPv4 address(es).anonuid/anongid: compatibility values stored with network settings.
- Click
Saveto create the source and apply iSCSI network settings.
Auto-Grow Behavior
When vsize is blank, vME creates thin-provisioned iSCSI storage:
- Logical capacity is capped by platform policy.
- Physical usage grows only as data is written.
- Pool free space must still be monitored.
For network_iscsi sources, continue with the iSCSI connector workflow:
iSCSI (SQL Server) Connector.
For network_nfs sources, ensure your NFS client access is configured for the vME export before use.
Snapshots
Snapshots are point-in-time snaps of the source's state. Creating a snapshot means recording source vnodes and keeping track of them. Once the data on that inode is updated, the old block of data is retained. You can access the old data view by using said snapshot, and only use as much space as has been changed between the snapshot time and the current time.
For network_iscsi sources, you still create snapshots in vME, but you will export clones as iSCSI
targets and mount them on a SQL Server via the connector workflow.
For network_nfs sources, snapshots and clones are consumed via NFS mounts.
Creating a Snapshot
Navigate to the Snapshots screen.
To create a new source, click on the “+ Snapshot" button.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Source | Source to create snapshot from. |
| Snapshot Name | Name of snapshot to be created. |
Clones
Snapshots are read-only. If you want to mount a snapshot and make changes to it, you'll need to create a clone.
Each clone works just like a normal database, but takes only a few seconds to create.
For network_iscsi sources, clones are consumed via iSCSI targets rather than container mounts.
See the connector workflow: iSCSI (SQL Server) Connector.
For network_nfs sources, clones are consumed via NFS mounts rather than container mounts.
Creating a Clone
Navigate to the Clones screen.
To create a new clone, click on the “+ Clone" button.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Source | Source to create clone from. |
| Snapshot | Snapshot to create clone from. |
| Clone Name | Name of clone to be created. |
Container Images
Container Images are the docker database images for serving the source or clone databases.
Pull Image
Navigate to the Containers screen.
To pull a new container image, click on the “+ Pull Image" button.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Database Type | Type of database, image is for. |
| Repository URL | Repository URL to pull image from. Note: URL must be accessible from the VME Server. |
| Tag | Image Tag. Default is latest. |
| Repository Username | Username for repository to authenticate if required. |
| Repository Password | Password for repository to authenticate if required. |
Container
Run a container
Navigate to the Containers screen.
To run a new container, click on the “+ Container" button.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Database Type | Type of database container to create. |
| Container Name | Name of the container to create. |
| HostPort:ContainerPort | Ports to bind inside the container. It is a string in the format "host_port:container_port" where the container port is an exposed port. For example: "12345:3306" for MySQL. Several host and container port pairs can be assigned by seperateing with a comma. |
| Image | Container Image to use. |
| Source Directory | Source or Clone volume which will be mounted on the container. |
| Environment Variables | Environment variables to be used for the database inside the container. |
| Data Directory | Path of the data directory. |
Onboard Application (Beta)
The Onboard Application wizard clones a SQL Server database from this vME appliance onto a target SQL host attached to a second vME appliance. It runs the same iSCSI snapshot, send, clone, and attach steps as the iSCSI connector, sequenced across both appliances and driven through the Windows iSCSI agents.
This wizard is Beta. Only one flow is available in this release: SQL Server, sent vME to vME, DB server to DB server. Oracle, same-vME, and container flows are shown as "Coming soon" and cannot be selected yet.
Before you start
- Two vME appliances: a source (where the database is ingested) and a target (where the clone is mounted).
- An enrolled Windows iSCSI agent on the source SQL host and on the target SQL host. See the iSCSI connector guide to install and enroll agents.
- A pool on the source and a destination pool on the target.
SSH trust between the two appliances is set up automatically when you validate the target during the Send step.
Start a workflow
Navigate to the Onboard Application screen and click the "New Onboarding" button. Give the workflow a name, confirm the three choices (SQL Server, vME to vME, DB server to DB server), and click "Create & start".
Work through the steps
The wizard runs as a twelve-step stepper down the left, each step showing its own status. You can leave at any point and resume the workflow later from the Recent Workflows list.
| # | Step | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Workflow basics | Name the run, review your choices, add optional notes. |
| 2 | Provision source | Create the two iSCSI sources (<name>_data and <name>_log) in a pool. |
| 3 | Source SQL agent | Select an online agent on the source SQL host, or enroll one. |
| 4 | Discover source host | Send a DiscoverHost job; the agent reports SQL instances, databases, drives, and iSCSI targets. |
| 5 | Ingest data | The agent moves SQL data onto the iSCSI LUNs (backup + restore, restore from .bak, or raw file copy). |
| 6 | Snapshot source | Create matching snapshots of the data and log LUNs. |
| 7 | Send to target vME | Validate the target (URL, admin username, API key), then send the snapshots across. |
| 8 | Create clone | Create writable data and log clones on the target vME. |
| 9 | Target SQL agent | Select an online agent on the target SQL host. |
| 10 | Discover target host | Run discovery against the target agent. |
| 11 | Mount + attach clone | Queue a CloneMount job: bring the clone LUNs online, assign drive letters, attach the databases. |
| 12 | Complete | Review the summary and audit trail, then mark complete (or tear down the clone). |
Recent Workflows
The Recent Workflows list shows every run with its state and current step. Use "Resume" to reopen an unfinished workflow at its saved step, or "Delete" to remove it. Delete offers to also destroy the sources, snapshots, and clones the workflow created on both appliances.
Access Management
List Users
Navigate to the Access Management screen.
Add User
To add a new user, click on the "+Add User" button on the top right.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
With LDAP Authentication selected:
With Local Authentication selected:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Username | Login name for the new user. |
| Full Name | Display name of the user. |
| Email address for the user. | |
| Authentication Type | LDAP or Local authentication. |
Modify User
To modify an existing user, click on the pen icon next to any existing user
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
With LDAP Authentication selected:
With Local Authentication selected:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Username | Login name of the user to modify. |
| Full Name | Updated display name of the user. |
| Updated email address for the user. | |
| Authentication Type | LDAP or VME Server (Local). |
| Rotate API Key | If true, invalidates the user's current API key and issues a new one. |
**Note: If modifying the user from LDAP to Local authentication, the current password and new password are needed for update.
Configure LDAP
To set the required field values for the LDAP server, click on the "Configure LDAP" screen for this.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| LDAP Server | Hostname or IP address of the LDAP server. |
| Port | Port on which the LDAP server listens (e.g. 389 for LDAP, 636 for LDAPS). |
| Bind DN | Distinguished Name (DN) used to bind/authenticate to the LDAP server. |
| Bind Password | Password for the bind DN account. |
| User Search Base | Base DN under which user entries are searched (e.g. ou=people,dc=example,dc=com). |
| User Filter | LDAP search filter for users; 0 is replaced by the login name (e.g. (uid=0)). |
| Username Attribute | LDAP attribute mapped to VME username (default: uid). |
| Name Attribute | LDAP attribute mapped to VME display name (default: givenName). |
| Mail Attribute | LDAP attribute mapped to VME email (default: mail). |
Getting container connection info
Navigate to the Containers screen.
Scroll to the containers table and click the Connection Info button for the desired container.
This presents a popup with the container's connection info.
Agent Manager
Agent Manager is where administrators manage the vME agents installed on Windows servers. From here you can register new agents using enrollment tokens and rotate agent keys when needed.
Navigate to the Agent Manager screen. The agents list shows all registered agents.
Add Agent
Navigate to the Agent Manager screen.
To register a new agent, click on the "+ Add Agent" button.
On click a new popup form will be shown which has the following inputs.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Label | A friendly name for this agent, e.g. sql-source-01. |
| Environment | A free-text tag for this server, e.g. staging or test. |
| TTL (minutes) | How many minutes the enrollment token stays valid. Default is 60. |
Click Create Token. The enrollment token will be displayed once.
Copy the token immediately - it is shown only once and cannot be retrieved again after closing this dialog.
Rotate Key
Navigate to the Agent Manager screen and locate the agent in the list.
To generate a new key, click on the Rotate Key button in the Actions column.
A dialog will appear showing the new agent key.
Copy the key immediately - it is shown only once. Apply it on the Windows server using the Rotate Agent Key option in the agent tray menu.