Creating a Gateway

In this section, you can find instructions on how to download, deploy, and activate a Volume Gateway.

Set up a Volume Gateway

To set up a new Volume Gateway

1. Open the AWS Management Console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/home/, and choose the AWS Region where you want to create your gateway.

2. Choose Create gateway to open the Set up gateway page.

3. In the Gateway settings section, do the following:

   1. For Gateway name, enter a name for your gateway. You can search for this name to find your gateway on list pages in the Storage Gateway console.

   2. For Gateway time zone, choose the local time zone for the part of the world where you want to deploy your gateway.

4. In the Gateway options section, for Gateway type, choose Volume Gateway, then choose the volume type your gateway will use. You can choose from the following options:

   • Cached volumes - Stores your primary data in Amazon S3 and retains frequently accessed data locally in cache for faster access.

   • Stored volumes - Stores all of your data locally while also backing it up asynchronously to Amazon S3. Gateways using this volume type cannot be deployed on Amazon EC2.

5. In the Platform options section, do the following:

   1. For Host platform, choose the platform on which you want to deploy your gateway, then follow the platform-specific instructions displayed on the Storage Gateway console page to set up your host platform. You can choose from the following options:

      • VMware ESXi - Download, deploy, and configure the gateway virtual machine using VMware ESXi.

      • Microsoft Hyper-V - Download, deploy, and configure the gateway virtual machine using Microsoft Hyper-V.

      • Linux KVM - Download, deploy, and configure the gateway virtual machine using Linux KVM.

      • Amazon EC2 - Configure and launch an Amazon EC2 instance to host your gateway. This option is not available for Stored volume gateways.

      • Hardware appliance - Order a dedicated physical hardware appliance from AWS to host your gateway.

   2. For Confirm set up gateway, select the check box to confirm that you performed the deployment steps for the host platform you chose. This step is not applicable for the Hardware appliance host platform.

6. Choose Next to proceed.

Now that your gateway is set up, you need to choose how you want it to connect and communicate with AWS. For instructions, see Connect your Volume Gateway to AWS.

Connect your Volume Gateway to AWS

To connect a new Volume Gateway to AWS

1. Complete the procedure described in Set up a Volume Gateway if you have not done so already. When finished, choose Next to open the Connect to AWS page in the Storage Gateway console.

2. In the Endpoint options section, for Service endpoint, choose the type of endpoint your gateway will use to communicate with AWS. You can choose from the following options:

   • Publicly accessible - Your gateway communicates with AWS over the public internet. If you select this option, use the FIPS enabled endpoint check box to specify whether the connection should comply with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS).

     Note

     If you require FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic modules when accessing AWS through a command line interface or an API, use a FIPS-compliant endpoint. For more information, see Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2.

     The FIPS service endpoint is only available in some AWS Regions. For more information, see Storage Gateway endpoints and quotas in the AWS General Reference.

   • VPC hosted - Your gateway communicates with AWS through a private connection with your VPC, allowing you to control your network settings. If you select this option, you must specify an existing VPC endpoint by choosing its VPC endpoint ID from the drop-down menu, or by providing its VPC endpoint DNS name or IP address.

3. In the Gateway connection options section, for Connection options, choose how to identify your gateway to AWS. You can choose from the following options:

   • IP address - Provide the IP address of your gateway in the corresponding field. This IP address must be public or accessible from within your current network, and you must be able to connect to it from your web browser.

     You can obtain the gateway IP address by logging into the gateway's local console from your hypervisor client, or by copying it from your Amazon EC2 instance details page.

   • Activation key - Provide the activation key for your gateway in the corresponding field. You can generate an activation key using the gateway's local console. Choose this option if your gateway's IP address is unavailable.

4. Choose Next to proceed.

Now that you have chosen how you want your gateway to connect to AWS, you need to activate the gateway. For instructions, see Review settings and activate your Volume Gateway.

Review settings and activate your Volume Gateway

To activate a new Volume Gateway

1. Complete the procedures described in the following topics if you have not done so already:

   • Set up a Volume Gateway

   • Connect your Volume Gateway to AWS

   When finished, choose Next to open the Review and activate page in the Storage Gateway console.

2. Review the initial gateway details for each section on the page.

3. If a section contains errors, choose Edit to return to the corresponding settings page and make changes.

   Note

   You cannot modify the gateway options or connection settings after your gateway is created.

4. Choose Activate gateway to proceed.

Now that you have activated your gateway, you need to perform first-time configuration to allocate local storage disks and configure logging. For instructions, see Configure your Volume Gateway.

Configure your Volume Gateway

To perform first-time configuration on a new Volume Gateway

1. Complete the procedures described in the following topics if you have not done so already:

   • Set up a Volume Gateway

   • Connect your Volume Gateway to AWS

   • Review settings and activate your Volume Gateway

   When finished, choose Next to open the Configure gateway page in the Storage Gateway console.

2. In the Configure storage section, use the drop-down menus to allocate at least one disk with at least 165 GiB capacity for CACHE STORAGE, and at least one disk with at least 150 GiB capacity for UPLOAD BUFFER. The local disks listed in this section correspond to the physical storage that you provisioned on your host platform.

3. In the CloudWatch log group section, choose how to set up Amazon CloudWatch Logs to monitor the health of your gateway. You can choose from the following options:

   • Create a new log group - Set up a new log group to monitor your gateway.

   • Use an existing log group - Choose an existing log group from the corresponding drop-down menu.

   • Deactivate logging - Do not use Amazon CloudWatch Logs to monitor your gateway.

4. In the CloudWatch alarms section, choose how to set up Amazon CloudWatch alarms to notify you when gateway metrics deviate from defined limits. You can choose from the following options:

   • Create Storage Gateway's recommended alarms – Create all recommended CloudWatch alarms automatically when the gateway is created. For more information about recommended alarms, see Understanding CloudWatch alarms.

     Note

     This feature requires CloudWatch policy permissions, which are not automatically granted as part of the preconfigured Storage Gateway full access policy. Make sure your security policy grants the following permissions before you attempt to create recommended CloudWatch alarms:

     • cloudwatch:PutMetricAlarm - create alarms

     • cloudwatch:DisableAlarmActions - turn alarm actions off

     • cloudwatch:EnableAlarmActions - turn alarm actions on

     • cloudwatch:DeleteAlarms - delete alarms

   • Create a custom alarm – Configure a new CloudWatch alarm to notify you about your gateway's metrics. Choose Create alarm to define metrics and specify alarm actions in the Amazon CloudWatch console. For instructions, see Using Amazon CloudWatch alarms in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide.

   • No alarm – Don't receive CloudWatch notifications about your gateway's metrics.

5. (Optional) In the Tags section, choose Add new tag, then enter a case-sensitive key-value pair to help you search and filter for your gateway on list pages in the Storage Gateway console. Repeat this step to add as many tags as you need.

6. Choose Configure to finish creating your gateway.

   To check the status of your new gateway, search for it on the Gateway overview page of the Storage Gateway.

Now that you have created your gateway, you need to create a volume for it to use. For instructions, see Creating a volume.