HP 3PAR InForm OS 3.1.1 CLI Administrator's Manual

1. Refer to the HP 3PAR InForm OS Concepts Guide for assessment and preparation
considerations.
2. After determining to proceed with converting your volumes, prepare the volumes for conversion
to the new TPVV by removing unnecessary data. Perform clean-up tasks on the source volume
by:
• Emptying trash cans.
• Archiving unused files.
• Shrinking databases.
• Deleting temporary files.
3. Use a host application to write zeros to the allocated but unused volume space. F-Class,
T-Class, and P10000 Storage Systems detect and discard the zeros during the volume copy
operation.
4. Convert the base volume to a TPVV by creating a physical copy of the volume. Create a
physical copy of the base volume with the createvvcopy command. For more information,
see “Creating a Physical Copy” (page 103)
The createvvcopy command automatically enables the zero_detect policy on the
destination TPVV. After the copy operation is completed, the zero_detect policy is
automatically disabled.
5. Use the showvv-s command to view the size of the TPVV created in Step 4. The destination
TPVV should use significantly less total reserved space, and have a smaller volume size than
the original base volume.
6. Optional. After verifying the data on the converted destination TPVV, you can use the
removevv command to remove the base volume converted in Step 4.
Reducing Volume Size with HP 3PAR Thin Persistence Software
HP 3PAR Thin Persistence Software is an optional feature that keeps system TPVVs and read/write
snapshots of TPVVs small by detecting pages of zeros during data transfers, and not allocating
space for the zeros in the destination TPVV. This feature works in real-time and analyzes the data
before it is written to the destination TPVV. You must have an F-Class, T-Class, or P10000 Storage
System to use Thin Persistence with TPVVs. For more information about the Thin Persistence feature,
refer to the HP 3PAR InForm OS Concepts Guide.
To enable the Thin Persistence feature on a TPVV or a read/write snapshot of a TPVV, use the
setvv command to enable the zero_detect policy on the destination TPVV. For more information,
see “Modifying Virtual Volumes” (page 88).
NOTE: Thin Persistence can have some performance implications during extremely busy system
conditions. HP recommends the zero_detect policy only be enabled during Thin Persistence
and Thin Conversion operations. The zero_detect policy should be disabled during normal
operation.
NOTE: Maintaining TPVV and read/write snapshot size with the Thin Persistence feature requires
an F-Class, T-Class, or P10000 Storage System, an HP 3PAR Thin Provisioning Software license,
an HP 3PAR Thin Conversion Software license, and an HP 3PAR Thin Persistence Software license.
Contact your HP representative for more information.
Managing Virtual Volume Autonomic Groups
Virtual volumes can be combined into autonomic groups. Autonomic groups are sets of objects
that can be managed as one object. If you have a group of volumes used by a database or another
application and all the virtual volumes require the same administrative procedures, it is easier to
group those volumes into a set and manage them together. Individual virtual volumes can be
members of multiple virtual volume sets.
Reducing Volume Size with HP 3PAR Thin Persistence Software 89