3PAR InForm® OS 2.3.1 Concepts Guide (320-200112 Rev B, February 2010)

2.2
3PAR Storage Concepts and Terminology
3PAR InForm OS Concepts Guide InForm OS Version 2.3.1
2.1 3PAR Storage Concepts and Terminology
3PAR InServ Storage Servers include both the hardware components that physically store your
data, and the software applications that manage your data. For more information about
InServ Storage Server hardware platforms, see 3PAR InServ Storage Server Hardware. For more
information about InServ Storage Server software applications and features, see 3PAR InForm
Software.
The 3PAR InServ Storage Server is comprised of the following logical data layers:
■ Physical Disks
■ Chunklets
■ Logical Disks
■ Common Provisioning Groups
■ Virtual Volumes
The relationship between the InServ Storage Server data layers is illustrated in Figure 2-1. Each
layer is created from elements of the layer above. Chunklets are drawn from physical disks,
logical disks are created from groups of chunklets, Common Provisioning Groups (CPGs) are
groups of logical disks, and virtual volumes use storage space provided by CPGs. The virtual
volumes are exported to hosts and are the only data layer visible to hosts.