IOCA: How to Analyze and Optimize Your Isilon Cluster with One Tool

How to Download and Run the Isilon On-Cluster Analysis Tool (IOCA)

If you are using an Isilon cluster, you may want to check its health and performance regularly, especially before upgrading to a newer version of OneFS. One of the tools that can help you do that is the Isilon On-Cluster Analysis tool (IOCA). In this article, we will explain what IOCA is, why you need it, how to download it, how to run it, and how to interpret its output.

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What is IOCA and Why You Need It

IOCA is a Perl script that analyzes a running Isilon cluster's health and assists in planning upgrades. It performs various checks on the cluster's configuration, hardware, software, network, storage, performance, security, and compliance. It also provides recommendations for upgrading to a specific OneFS version based on the cluster's current state.

You need IOCA because it can help you identify and resolve potential issues that may affect your cluster's functionality, availability, or performance. It can also help you prepare for a smooth and successful upgrade by ensuring that your cluster meets the requirements and compatibility criteria for the target OneFS version.

IOCA Features and Benefits

Some of the features and benefits of IOCA are:

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Is there a difference between ioca and isi_healthcheck?

What are the benefits of using ioca over isi_healthcheck?

How often should i run ioca on my isilon cluster?

How long does it take to run ioca on my isilon cluster?

How much disk space does ioca require on my isilon cluster?

How can i update ioca on my isilon cluster?

How can i uninstall ioca from my isilon cluster?

How can i provide feedback or suggestions for ioca?

How can i report bugs or issues with ioca?

• It runs on the cluster itself, so you don't need to install or configure any external tools or agents.

• It supports all OneFS versions from 6.5.x to 9.x.

• It can run in two modes: health check only or health check plus upgrade plan.

• It generates a comprehensive report that includes detailed information about each health check item, as well as links to relevant Knowledge Base (KB) articles for further guidance.

• It can detect common issues such as hardware failures, configuration errors, network problems, storage inefficiencies, performance bottlenecks, security vulnerabilities, and compliance violations.

• It can suggest optimal upgrade paths based on your cluster's current OneFS version and the target OneFS version you specify.

• It can estimate the time required for each upgrade step and the total upgrade duration.

IOCA Requirements and Compatibility

Before you run IOCA on your cluster, you need to make sure that:

• Your cluster is running OneFS 6.5.x or later.

• Your cluster has internet access or you have access to a computer that can download IOCA from FTP or HTTPS.

• Your cluster has enough free space in /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ directory (at least 100 MB).

• You have root or administrator privileges on your cluster.

• You have read and understood the OneFS Upgrade Planning and Process Guide for your target OneFS version.

How to Download IOCA from FTP or HTTPS

You can download IOCA from either FTP or HTTPS, depending on your cluster's internet access. The latest release of IOCA is always available at these locations:

• FTP: [8](ftp://ftp.emc.com/pub/rcm/Isilon/tools/IOCA)

HTTPS: [9](

FTP Access Method

If your cluster has FTP access, you can use the following commands to download IOCA from FTP:

# Log in to the cluster as root or administrator ssh root@<cluster_ip> # Change to the /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ directory cd /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ # Download IOCA from FTP curl -O ftp://ftp.emc.com/pub/rcm/Isilon/tools/IOCA/ioca.pl

If the download is successful, you should see a message like this:

% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed 100 302k 100 302k 0 0 302k 0 0:00:01 --:--:-- 0:00:01 302k

HTTPS Access Method

If your cluster does not have FTP access, you can use a computer that has HTTPS access to download IOCA from the Dell Support website and then transfer it to your cluster using SCP or a USB drive. Here are the steps to follow:

• Go to [10]( and click on the Download button under IOCA Script.

• Save the ioca.pl file to your computer.

• Use SCP or a USB drive to copy the ioca.pl file to the /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ directory on your cluster.

How to Run IOCA on Your Isilon Cluster

Once you have downloaded IOCA to your cluster, you can run it using the following steps:

Verify Cluster Connection

Before you run IOCA, you need to verify that your cluster is connected to the internet or has access to the Dell Support website. This is because IOCA needs to download some files and KB articles from Dell Support during its execution. To verify the connection, you can use the ping command:

# Ping the Dell Support website ping support.emc.com

If you see a response like this, it means your cluster is connected:

PING support.emc.com (143.166.135.105) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from support.emc.com (143.166.135.105): icmp_seq=1 ttl=54 time=15.6 ms 64 bytes from support.emc.com (143.166.135.105): icmp_seq=2 ttl=54 time=15.6 ms 64 bytes from support.emc.com (143.166.135.105): icmp_seq=3 ttl=54 time=15.6 ms

If you see a response like this, it means your cluster is not connected:

PING support.emc.com (143.166.135.105) 56(84) bytes of data. From <cluster_ip> icmp_seq=1 Destination Host Unreachable From <cluster_ip> icmp_seq=2 Destination Host Unreachable From <cluster_ip> icmp_seq=3 Destination Host Unreachable

If your cluster is not connected, you need to troubleshoot your network settings or contact your network administrator for assistance.

Create and Change Directory

Next, you need to create a directory where IOCA will store its output files and change to that directory. You can use any name for the directory, but we recommend using a name that includes the date and time of the IOCA run, such as ioca_20230620_1455. You can use the following commands to create and change directory:

# Create a directory under /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ mkdir /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ioca_20230620_1455 # Change to the directory cd /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ioca_20230620_1455

Stage IOCA Script

Then, you need to copy the IOCA script from the /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ directory to the current directory and make it executable. You can use the following commands to do that:

# Copy IOCA script cp /ifs/data/Isilon_Support/ioca.pl . # Make it executable chmod +x ioca.pl

Run IOCA Script with Arguments

Now, you are ready to run the IOCA script with the appropriate arguments. The IOCA script has two mandatory arguments and sever