UltraFast™ Common Configuration Steps

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Last updated: Mar 22, 2021
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Note: SoftNAS® UltraFast™ was a part of our legacy SoftNAS Platinum offering. In versions 4.4.1 and later of our SoftNAS product, Ultrafast has been deprecated, and is no longer available. This document is included for legacy purposes only.

There are several common setup steps, no matter what use case you are deploying SoftNAS® UltraFast™ to address. For example, each scenario will require setup of two SoftNAS instances, either Premise (VMware) to Public Cloud, or Public Cloud to Public Cloud (AWS, separate Regions). Each instance will require mirrored network configurations, allowing each instance to send and receive the same traffic. This section serves as a guide for initial deployment of UltraFast™. Each step provides a link to the additional information required to set up your two UltraFast™ nodes. This allows users experienced in basic SoftNAS setup to quickly configure their instances, and provides first time users with the information they need. Refer back to the steps in Common Configuration Steps if at any time you are stalled in your setup.

The following instructions are common to each use case:

  1. Deploy the source and target SoftNAS with UltraFast instances from Amazon AMI, Azure virtual machine, or VMware OVA/OVF.
    Deploy Source and Target SoftNAS® with UltraFast™ Instances

  2. Assign static IP addresses if starting with DHCP on VMware. Instructions for applying network settings to VMware can be found here:
    Configure the Network Using SoftNAS Console (VMware)

  3.  Configure password/licensing if needed. To configure these items, see the guidance provided in Configuring Passwords and Licensing.

    Note: Amazon instances which are to be an UltraFast “Target” must have a public IP address assigned. Amazon instances which are to be an UltraFast “Source” must have a public IP address assigned or access to the Internet through a high-speed NAT router.

  4. Configure the security group for Amazon instances to allow 8888/TCP, 8888/UDP, and 443/TCP incoming from the source instance’s public-facing IP address. Instructions for configuring Security groups in Amazon can be found below:
    Network Configuration in AWS (Security Groups)

  5. Configure the firewall for VMware instances to allow 8888/TCP, 8888/UDP, and 443/TCP from the Amazon instance’s public IP address as incoming connections. If using the built in Linux Firewall provided by SoftNAS, see our Managing Firewall documentation for guidance.

  6. Access the UltraFast Storage Accelerator applet on the UltraFast source instance. If you do not see the UltraFast Storage Accelerator option, found under the Storage Administration panel, UltraFast™ has not yet been activated (or installed if an older version). Ensure your  instance has been updated to the latest version, and that a valid license key with access to Platinum features has been applied (see Configuring Passwords and Licensing).

  7. Create a connection from the UltraFast™ source to the public-facing Internet IP address of the UltraFast™ target.

  8.  Allow the initial speed test to run.

  9. Submit your speed test results to SoftNAS, as described in Comparing Results: UltraFast™ vs TCP.

  10. Follow the instructions provided for your particular use case.